We’re off to Israel later today. All being well, we’ll light the Chanukah candles in our hotel in Tel Aviv.
I Probably won’t have much internet access while I’m gone, so this may be my last post for a few weeks. But I’m sure I’ll much to write about when I get back.
We pray that G-d will watch over us and guide us through a safe and spiritually meaningful trip.
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Difference Between Hellenism and Judaism
This one phrase really sums up what the Maccabees were fighting for. “To the Greeks, what is beautiful is holly. To the Jews what is holy is beautiful.”
The Greeks glorified the physical. The Jews appreciate the physical, but not in and of itself. We know that it all comes from G-d, and that is where our worship is directed.
The Greeks glorified the physical. The Jews appreciate the physical, but not in and of itself. We know that it all comes from G-d, and that is where our worship is directed.
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Chanukah Musings
We’re right in the middle of the holiday of Chanukah. I just wanted to make a few brief thoughts about the holiday.
First, Chanukah is one of the most widely celebrated holidays among non-observant Jews. I find that ironic since it is not at all clear which side most of them would have been on had they lived in the time of the Maccabees. Would they have sided with those in favour of abandoning Judaism and assimilating into the wider Hellenist culture, or would they have been willing to give their lives by standing with Matathies, when he called “All those who are for G-d follow me”? Something to think about
Second, I wanted to point out another example of some terrible PR work by Israel. Israel has a knack for picking the worst possible symbols for things. The ministry of Tourism uses the man holding the huge bunch of grapes as their logo. Do you remember where this image comes from? It’s the tragedy of the spies; the event that lead to the establishment of Tisha B’Av, the most tragic day in Jewish History. Throughout history, just about every bad thing that has happened to the Jews happened on that day (the destruction of the first and second temple, the expulsion from England, The expulsion from Spain, The start of WWI – which lead to the Holocaust…).
The story of Chanukah is about the Maccabees fighting against Judaism being overrun by Hellenist culture. They gave their lives for the cause. Today, when we think of the name Maccabees, what do we think of? The most obvious is the “Jewish Olympics”. The Olympics is the most Greek of all things; let’s run around naked, show off our perfect bodies and glorify the physical. To take the most Greek of all events and name it after the Maccabees, who gave their lives to prevent Judaism from being overrun by Greek culture, is just about the biggest slap in the face you can think of. It’s like naming a Shul “Congregation I Eat Pork”.
Being in the high tech field, I do openly welcome modern culture, but I always know where it stands in relation to my Jewish roots. That’s what many of us need to keep in mind. There is no problem with participating in the modern world, but it should come after G-d, not before.
First, Chanukah is one of the most widely celebrated holidays among non-observant Jews. I find that ironic since it is not at all clear which side most of them would have been on had they lived in the time of the Maccabees. Would they have sided with those in favour of abandoning Judaism and assimilating into the wider Hellenist culture, or would they have been willing to give their lives by standing with Matathies, when he called “All those who are for G-d follow me”? Something to think about
Second, I wanted to point out another example of some terrible PR work by Israel. Israel has a knack for picking the worst possible symbols for things. The ministry of Tourism uses the man holding the huge bunch of grapes as their logo. Do you remember where this image comes from? It’s the tragedy of the spies; the event that lead to the establishment of Tisha B’Av, the most tragic day in Jewish History. Throughout history, just about every bad thing that has happened to the Jews happened on that day (the destruction of the first and second temple, the expulsion from England, The expulsion from Spain, The start of WWI – which lead to the Holocaust…).
The story of Chanukah is about the Maccabees fighting against Judaism being overrun by Hellenist culture. They gave their lives for the cause. Today, when we think of the name Maccabees, what do we think of? The most obvious is the “Jewish Olympics”. The Olympics is the most Greek of all things; let’s run around naked, show off our perfect bodies and glorify the physical. To take the most Greek of all events and name it after the Maccabees, who gave their lives to prevent Judaism from being overrun by Greek culture, is just about the biggest slap in the face you can think of. It’s like naming a Shul “Congregation I Eat Pork”.
Being in the high tech field, I do openly welcome modern culture, but I always know where it stands in relation to my Jewish roots. That’s what many of us need to keep in mind. There is no problem with participating in the modern world, but it should come after G-d, not before.
Sunday, December 21, 2003
Parashat Vayeishev
I tried to talk my sister into coming to Shul yesterday by telling her that she would see the first act of “Joseph and the Amazing Techno-Colored Dreamcoat”. After figuring out what I meant, she decided against it.
Yesterday we read the first Parashat about Joseph, the story continues for the rest of the book of Genesis. I think most of us know the story, so I don’t want to talk about that. What I do want to talk about is a tiny section, which seems insignificant, but in reality, all of Jewish History is based on it.
Here’s the story. Josephs brothers head out to plot to kill Joseph. Jacob sends Joseph out to make peace with his brothers. When Joseph gets to where he thought his brothers would be, the following happens
Doesn’t sounds like much. But this man could have saw Joseph wandering in the field and thought to himself, “He’s just some kid playing in the field, not my business’. In fact that’s what most people today probably would have done. But if things had happened that way, Joseph would have never found his brothers, he would never have been sent to Egypt, and the upcoming famine would have wiped the Jews out. In other words, this unidentified man’s act of kindness is what allowed the Jewish nation to be born.
They say that the world stands on three things Torah, Service of G-d, and Acts of Kindness. This is what they are refereeing to.
Yesterday we read the first Parashat about Joseph, the story continues for the rest of the book of Genesis. I think most of us know the story, so I don’t want to talk about that. What I do want to talk about is a tiny section, which seems insignificant, but in reality, all of Jewish History is based on it.
Here’s the story. Josephs brothers head out to plot to kill Joseph. Jacob sends Joseph out to make peace with his brothers. When Joseph gets to where he thought his brothers would be, the following happens
- Then a man found him, and behold, he was straying in the field, and the man asked him, saying, "What are you looking for?" And he said, "I am looking for my brothers. Tell me now, where are they pasturing?" And the man said, "They have traveled away from here, for I overheard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.' " [37:15-17]
Doesn’t sounds like much. But this man could have saw Joseph wandering in the field and thought to himself, “He’s just some kid playing in the field, not my business’. In fact that’s what most people today probably would have done. But if things had happened that way, Joseph would have never found his brothers, he would never have been sent to Egypt, and the upcoming famine would have wiped the Jews out. In other words, this unidentified man’s act of kindness is what allowed the Jewish nation to be born.
They say that the world stands on three things Torah, Service of G-d, and Acts of Kindness. This is what they are refereeing to.
Friday, December 19, 2003
Happy Birthday to Me!
Today is my 29th birthday (both on the English and Hebrew calendars).
I’d like to look back on the past year and then forward to the next.
One year ago, I was taking Hebrew-reading lessons. I had just recently started laying Tefilin and davening every morning. I had just run 10K for the first time. I was getting ready to go on a Caribbean cruise to renew my body. Today I am one of only two people who attend the morning minyon at my Shul (other than the Rabbi ad Cantor) who are not saying Kaddish. I can lead any of the weekday services and Shacharit for Shabbat. I have run 2 ½ marathons, and am getting ready for a trip to Israel to renew my soul.
It has been an amazing year in many ways, and I think that today, I’m much closer to the person I want to be than I was a year ago.
Of course, this has also been the most difficult year of my life. Our two miscarriages alone would be more than enough to take that title, but add everything that has happened with my brother and many other things that I’m not even going to list.
When faced with such a year, some people turn away from their faith. I turned towards G-d. The more that happened, the harder I prayed and the more I learned. I pray that all these things were given to me as a test of my faith, and I hope that I’ve passed the test. If that’s the case, I hope I can look forward to a year filled with joy.
Here is my prayer for the coming year. I pray for a safe and meaningful trip to Israel. I pray that our new home will be one filled with the “Pintele Yid’, and house full of Torah learning and a home that can help kindle the “Pintele Yid’ in our friends and family. I pray that this year will bring Mandy and I a healthy child so that we can share all of this with our new family.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach
I’d like to look back on the past year and then forward to the next.
One year ago, I was taking Hebrew-reading lessons. I had just recently started laying Tefilin and davening every morning. I had just run 10K for the first time. I was getting ready to go on a Caribbean cruise to renew my body. Today I am one of only two people who attend the morning minyon at my Shul (other than the Rabbi ad Cantor) who are not saying Kaddish. I can lead any of the weekday services and Shacharit for Shabbat. I have run 2 ½ marathons, and am getting ready for a trip to Israel to renew my soul.
It has been an amazing year in many ways, and I think that today, I’m much closer to the person I want to be than I was a year ago.
Of course, this has also been the most difficult year of my life. Our two miscarriages alone would be more than enough to take that title, but add everything that has happened with my brother and many other things that I’m not even going to list.
When faced with such a year, some people turn away from their faith. I turned towards G-d. The more that happened, the harder I prayed and the more I learned. I pray that all these things were given to me as a test of my faith, and I hope that I’ve passed the test. If that’s the case, I hope I can look forward to a year filled with joy.
Here is my prayer for the coming year. I pray for a safe and meaningful trip to Israel. I pray that our new home will be one filled with the “Pintele Yid’, and house full of Torah learning and a home that can help kindle the “Pintele Yid’ in our friends and family. I pray that this year will bring Mandy and I a healthy child so that we can share all of this with our new family.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
We Bought a House
This seems to be a week full of news. First Israel, now a house.
I think I’ve written before about my dilemma about where to buy a house. Do we buy within walking distance of our Shul (which is no longer a very Jewish area), or do we buy in a Jewish area (even though that would mean we have to either walk to Shul, or switch to an Orthodox Shul – which we are not willing to do at this time). We decided on the latter.
We bought in a new community in the Bathurst and Highway #7 area of Thornhill. It’s a very Jewish area, with a lot of couples our age buying there. There is a small Orthodox Shul a short walk away (The Country Shul). They offer any educational programs, which I look forward to taking advantage of, and I may even go to Shabbat service there when Mandy is not able to come with. When Mandy comes with to Shul, we’ll have to rely on the Conservative position allowing you to drive to Shul on Shabbat.
They are building a whole Jewish Community Centre complex 10 minutes away (complete with several Jewish day schools) so it should be a very nice area to live in.
I really don’t like the Conservative position about driving to Shul… basically it allowed for the destruction of any cohesive Conservative Jewish Community. There is no longer any need to live around the Shul, so there is no need to have a spatially localized community. Of course, I think the logic behind the ruing is valid; you can make a strong case for limited driving being permitted on Shabbat (I’ll present that case another time) – almost as strong as the case that the Orthodox make to say it’s not permitted. So you would be breaking what is at most a modern Rabbinic prohibition, in order to be able to daven with an minion on Shabbat. Seems like a reasonable trade off.
Of course, right now this is a moot point, since we drive on Shabbat anyway. But if we ever decide to become more observant (which we very well may), it would have been nice to be able to walk to our Shul. I guess we could always move at that point.
I think I’ve written before about my dilemma about where to buy a house. Do we buy within walking distance of our Shul (which is no longer a very Jewish area), or do we buy in a Jewish area (even though that would mean we have to either walk to Shul, or switch to an Orthodox Shul – which we are not willing to do at this time). We decided on the latter.
We bought in a new community in the Bathurst and Highway #7 area of Thornhill. It’s a very Jewish area, with a lot of couples our age buying there. There is a small Orthodox Shul a short walk away (The Country Shul). They offer any educational programs, which I look forward to taking advantage of, and I may even go to Shabbat service there when Mandy is not able to come with. When Mandy comes with to Shul, we’ll have to rely on the Conservative position allowing you to drive to Shul on Shabbat.
They are building a whole Jewish Community Centre complex 10 minutes away (complete with several Jewish day schools) so it should be a very nice area to live in.
I really don’t like the Conservative position about driving to Shul… basically it allowed for the destruction of any cohesive Conservative Jewish Community. There is no longer any need to live around the Shul, so there is no need to have a spatially localized community. Of course, I think the logic behind the ruing is valid; you can make a strong case for limited driving being permitted on Shabbat (I’ll present that case another time) – almost as strong as the case that the Orthodox make to say it’s not permitted. So you would be breaking what is at most a modern Rabbinic prohibition, in order to be able to daven with an minion on Shabbat. Seems like a reasonable trade off.
Of course, right now this is a moot point, since we drive on Shabbat anyway. But if we ever decide to become more observant (which we very well may), it would have been nice to be able to walk to our Shul. I guess we could always move at that point.
Monday, December 15, 2003
We’re Going To Israel
It’s all set. Mandy and I are going to Israel.
We have a two-week trip planned. 8 night tour, 2 extra days on our own in Jerusalem and 3 days in Eilat. Info on our trip can be found at the ISRAM tour site.
We’re both really looking forward to the trip, especially Jerusalem. We’ll be in Jerusalem on one Shabbat and we plan to attend a service at the Wall. Our Hotel in Jerusalem is less than 1KM from the wall, so hopefully I’ll be bale to daven there every day.
Our parents (of course) are a little scared for us. I think my mother is not only worried about our safety, but she’s also worried that we’ll like it so much we’ll want to make Aliya. She may have good reason to worry about that one… but not for a few years at least.
Our flight leaves one night and gets to Israel the next evening. That means that Shacharit would have to be davened on the plane. The question is, with all the time zone changes we go through, when are the proper times to daven?
I haven’t found a good answer, but if I were to have to rule on the issue, here’s what I would say. You start by calculating the number of daylight hours you’ll get on the ride (this could be very short, depending on the speed of the pane and the route). You then daven Shacharit between dawn and 1/3 of daylight hours passing. This could mean that in some cases you would have to daven very quickly. I’ll let you know if I come across any other answers to this problem.
We have a two-week trip planned. 8 night tour, 2 extra days on our own in Jerusalem and 3 days in Eilat. Info on our trip can be found at the ISRAM tour site.
We’re both really looking forward to the trip, especially Jerusalem. We’ll be in Jerusalem on one Shabbat and we plan to attend a service at the Wall. Our Hotel in Jerusalem is less than 1KM from the wall, so hopefully I’ll be bale to daven there every day.
Our parents (of course) are a little scared for us. I think my mother is not only worried about our safety, but she’s also worried that we’ll like it so much we’ll want to make Aliya. She may have good reason to worry about that one… but not for a few years at least.
Our flight leaves one night and gets to Israel the next evening. That means that Shacharit would have to be davened on the plane. The question is, with all the time zone changes we go through, when are the proper times to daven?
I haven’t found a good answer, but if I were to have to rule on the issue, here’s what I would say. You start by calculating the number of daylight hours you’ll get on the ride (this could be very short, depending on the speed of the pane and the route). You then daven Shacharit between dawn and 1/3 of daylight hours passing. This could mean that in some cases you would have to daven very quickly. I’ll let you know if I come across any other answers to this problem.
Friday, December 12, 2003
Parashat Vayishlach
It turns out that this weeks Torah portion is in fact my Bar Mitzvah portion. I just realized that today when reading over the text. My Maftir was about the Chiefs of Esau, and towards the end of the parashat, we start reading about the generations of Esau, it sounded familiar for I looked at the Hebrew of the Maftir, and I can still chant along with it.
The text relates the story of Jacob and his family after leaving Lavan. Jacob is given the name Israel by an angel (and later by G-d). Jacob meets Esau. Jacob’s daughter Dinah is raped y the locals who are then killed y Jacobs children. Jacob returns to his father’s house. We read of the death of Yitzchak. And then conclude with the generations of Esau (including Amalek and the King of Edom – Rome).
It is the story of the meeting of Jacob and Esau that I’ll talk about. When they meet, Jacob offers Esau a present (as a peace offering). Esau refuses saying I have more than I need. Jacob insists saying, I have all that I need, please take it. This language does not seem to be representative of either of them.
Esau is a man who loves physical wealth. You would not expect to hear him say that he has more than he needs, because he always wants to get more. Jacob, on the other hand, was a very rich man, but one who would have been perfectly happy being poor, since his focus was on G-d. Saying that he has all that he needs implies that if he had less, he would not have all that he needs. You would expect to hear Jacob say he has more than he needs, because material wealth is meaningless to him.
So why did Jacob say “I have as much” and Esau ay “I have more”? If you have the right outlook on life, you can never have more than you need. G-d gives each of us exactly what we need to carry out our unique mission. Jacob knew that the reason he had all his wealth is because he needs it to serve G-d in the way that G-d wants Jacob to serve him. If he had said that he has more then he needs, would be to deny this fact.
In fact we say a blessing to this effect every morning. We thank G-d for “providing me with my every need.” We’re saying that everything I have was provided by G-d because I need it. And everything I don’t have, I don’t need.
It takes a person like Esau who looks at possessions as a way to serve his own selfish purposes to say that he has more than he needs.
Of course, Esau ends up taking the gift.
Esau then says to Jacob “My brother, it’s good to have you back. Come with me to Har Sa'ir, where I live and we'll go into business together. With your brains and my brawn we'll dominate the whole Middle East." (not a direct quote) There is no question that if they had teamed up they would have been quite a force in human history. Imagine a people with the physical strength of the Romans and the spiritual and intellectual strength of the Jews.
But Jacob says “You go ahead of me, I’ll catch up later.” We know that Jacob never goes to Har Sa'ir to live with Esau.
Rabbi Spiro explains:
Shabbat Shalom
The text relates the story of Jacob and his family after leaving Lavan. Jacob is given the name Israel by an angel (and later by G-d). Jacob meets Esau. Jacob’s daughter Dinah is raped y the locals who are then killed y Jacobs children. Jacob returns to his father’s house. We read of the death of Yitzchak. And then conclude with the generations of Esau (including Amalek and the King of Edom – Rome).
It is the story of the meeting of Jacob and Esau that I’ll talk about. When they meet, Jacob offers Esau a present (as a peace offering). Esau refuses saying I have more than I need. Jacob insists saying, I have all that I need, please take it. This language does not seem to be representative of either of them.
Esau is a man who loves physical wealth. You would not expect to hear him say that he has more than he needs, because he always wants to get more. Jacob, on the other hand, was a very rich man, but one who would have been perfectly happy being poor, since his focus was on G-d. Saying that he has all that he needs implies that if he had less, he would not have all that he needs. You would expect to hear Jacob say he has more than he needs, because material wealth is meaningless to him.
So why did Jacob say “I have as much” and Esau ay “I have more”? If you have the right outlook on life, you can never have more than you need. G-d gives each of us exactly what we need to carry out our unique mission. Jacob knew that the reason he had all his wealth is because he needs it to serve G-d in the way that G-d wants Jacob to serve him. If he had said that he has more then he needs, would be to deny this fact.
In fact we say a blessing to this effect every morning. We thank G-d for “providing me with my every need.” We’re saying that everything I have was provided by G-d because I need it. And everything I don’t have, I don’t need.
It takes a person like Esau who looks at possessions as a way to serve his own selfish purposes to say that he has more than he needs.
Of course, Esau ends up taking the gift.
Esau then says to Jacob “My brother, it’s good to have you back. Come with me to Har Sa'ir, where I live and we'll go into business together. With your brains and my brawn we'll dominate the whole Middle East." (not a direct quote) There is no question that if they had teamed up they would have been quite a force in human history. Imagine a people with the physical strength of the Romans and the spiritual and intellectual strength of the Jews.
But Jacob says “You go ahead of me, I’ll catch up later.” We know that Jacob never goes to Har Sa'ir to live with Esau.
Rabbi Spiro explains:
The great biblical commentator Rashi explains, quoting the Prophet Ovadiah, that they will meet again -- at the end of days. In effect, Jacob, representing the great intellectual, spiritual force in human history, is saying to Esau, the great physical force: "I give you permission to go on ahead and dominate human history physically. But at the end of days, when the 'lion lies down with the lamb,' then we'll get together. Then the Jews will be on top."
This doesn't mean in the end Jews are going to conquer the world and make a great empire. In the end, the whole world will come to recognize one God and live with one standard of morality in peace and brotherhood. The Jewish mission will be fulfilled then, but in the meantime, Esau is going to be on top.
Ultimately the struggle of history will be between Jewish ideas and the ideas of Esau and the culture that he's going to create in human history. That's the cosmic battle: good versus evil. This is a very powerful idea and the dominating pattern of Jewish history.”
Shabbat Shalom
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
The 4th Aliah of Parashat Vayeitzei
Last week’s Portion contains the birth of most of Jacob’s children, and of how Rachel was barren for many years, until G-d remembered her and she gave birth to Jacob’s favourite son Joseph.
Our Shul is holding a fundraiser to commission a new Torah scroll. Members can sponsor a letter, or word, or sentence. Or an Aliah or even a Parahat. If you do an Aliah or Parashat you get to pick which one to dedicate.
Mandy and I decided to dedicate an Aliah. After much study, we decided on the 4th Aliah of Parashat Vayeitzei (described above). The selection was very carefully made. We wanted one talking about the birth of children. This portion talks about the birth of many children and how, after not being able to have a child, G-d remembers Rachel and she conceives.
Mandy and I have had two miscarriages. This act of Tzedukah and the mitzvah of writing a torah scroll are dedicated to the two souls that never got to enter this world.
Every time I daven, at the end of the silent Amidah, I add a personal prayer, similar to the following. May the merit of these mitzvahs enhance our prayers for Mandy to conceive and carry through to completion, in health and safety for the mother and unborn child, and that the child be delivered into the world at appropriate time, complete in all its limbs and senses, so that we may raise it according to your will as revealed in your Holly Torah.
Our Shul is holding a fundraiser to commission a new Torah scroll. Members can sponsor a letter, or word, or sentence. Or an Aliah or even a Parahat. If you do an Aliah or Parashat you get to pick which one to dedicate.
Mandy and I decided to dedicate an Aliah. After much study, we decided on the 4th Aliah of Parashat Vayeitzei (described above). The selection was very carefully made. We wanted one talking about the birth of children. This portion talks about the birth of many children and how, after not being able to have a child, G-d remembers Rachel and she conceives.
Mandy and I have had two miscarriages. This act of Tzedukah and the mitzvah of writing a torah scroll are dedicated to the two souls that never got to enter this world.
Every time I daven, at the end of the silent Amidah, I add a personal prayer, similar to the following. May the merit of these mitzvahs enhance our prayers for Mandy to conceive and carry through to completion, in health and safety for the mother and unborn child, and that the child be delivered into the world at appropriate time, complete in all its limbs and senses, so that we may raise it according to your will as revealed in your Holly Torah.
Monday, December 08, 2003
Logical vs. Illogical vs. Meta-Logical
You often hear people taking about all the laws of Judaism, and how many of them seem illogical. The prohibition against murder seems perfectly logical, but not being allowed to mix wool and linen seems illogical.
The term “illogical” is really not accurate here. There is nothing illogical about being told not to mix wool and linen (or any of the other laws), it’s just that we don’t understand the logic behind it. Not understanding the logic does not make something illogical; it makes it “meta-logical”.
We abide by the logical laws because we can see the reason for them. But why should be abide by the laws who’s logic escapes us?
Lets look at an example. Lets say you’re on your way home from work and you check your messages on your cell phone. There is a message from your husband/wife asking you to pick up a pizza on the way home. Do you do it? Probably. (The correct answer is “if you know what’s good for you”) Why, because it is a perfectly logical request. You and your family need to eat dinner, pizza is a good dinner so you pick it up.
Now what if the message on your cell phone was to drive 30 minutes out of your way down to the riverbank and fill a bag full of sand and bring that home. Would you carry out this illogical request? Depending on your relationship with your husband/wife, you probably would. The first request you carry out based on logic, the second you do out of love.
The same hold for G-d’s laws. The logical ones we do because we see how it’s good for us. The others we do out of love for G-d. We know that G-d loves us, and he would not tell us do to something if there wasn’t a reason; even if we don’t understand what the reason is.
But in fact, all of G-d’s laws (the seemingly logical and seemingly illogical ones) are meta-logical. Whether or not we think we understand the logic behind a law, how do we know if that’s the real reason?
Lets look back at our two examples. The pizza request seemed perfectly logical. But what if you get home and your wife gives the pizza to the neighbours and feeds you leftovers for dinner? You got the pizza because you though it was a logical request – you were going to have pizza for dinner. But it turns out that there was a different logic behind it. The request was, in fact, meta-logical.
The sand request seemed illogical. But when you get home and give the sand to your wife she gives it to your son who needs it for a science fair experiment. You carried out this seemingly illogical request out of love, but it turned out that there was a perfectly logical reason behind it – you just didn’t know what it was.
Presumably, all of Judaism’s meta-logical laws are in fact perfectly logical; it is just that we may not be able to fully understand the logic while in this world.
The term “illogical” is really not accurate here. There is nothing illogical about being told not to mix wool and linen (or any of the other laws), it’s just that we don’t understand the logic behind it. Not understanding the logic does not make something illogical; it makes it “meta-logical”.
We abide by the logical laws because we can see the reason for them. But why should be abide by the laws who’s logic escapes us?
Lets look at an example. Lets say you’re on your way home from work and you check your messages on your cell phone. There is a message from your husband/wife asking you to pick up a pizza on the way home. Do you do it? Probably. (The correct answer is “if you know what’s good for you”) Why, because it is a perfectly logical request. You and your family need to eat dinner, pizza is a good dinner so you pick it up.
Now what if the message on your cell phone was to drive 30 minutes out of your way down to the riverbank and fill a bag full of sand and bring that home. Would you carry out this illogical request? Depending on your relationship with your husband/wife, you probably would. The first request you carry out based on logic, the second you do out of love.
The same hold for G-d’s laws. The logical ones we do because we see how it’s good for us. The others we do out of love for G-d. We know that G-d loves us, and he would not tell us do to something if there wasn’t a reason; even if we don’t understand what the reason is.
But in fact, all of G-d’s laws (the seemingly logical and seemingly illogical ones) are meta-logical. Whether or not we think we understand the logic behind a law, how do we know if that’s the real reason?
Lets look back at our two examples. The pizza request seemed perfectly logical. But what if you get home and your wife gives the pizza to the neighbours and feeds you leftovers for dinner? You got the pizza because you though it was a logical request – you were going to have pizza for dinner. But it turns out that there was a different logic behind it. The request was, in fact, meta-logical.
The sand request seemed illogical. But when you get home and give the sand to your wife she gives it to your son who needs it for a science fair experiment. You carried out this seemingly illogical request out of love, but it turned out that there was a perfectly logical reason behind it – you just didn’t know what it was.
Presumably, all of Judaism’s meta-logical laws are in fact perfectly logical; it is just that we may not be able to fully understand the logic while in this world.
Friday, December 05, 2003
Lavan vs. Pharaoh
There is a line in the Passover Haggadah that compares Pharaoh to Lavan. It says that Lavan was worse, because Pharaoh only wanted to kill the first-born sons, and Lavan wanted to destroy everything. The only problem is that the Torah never records any instance of Lavan wanting to kill anyone (let alone everyone).
The commentators trace that statement back to this week’s portion. Jacob decides that it’s time to leave Lavan’s house and go back to the land that G-d promised to give him. He tells Lavan about his plans to leave, and Lavan hugs him and tells him he is family and shouldn’t go.
Most explanations of this passage reflect poorly on Lavan. Because of Jacob’s blessings, he is very prosperous while in Lavan’s house, and thus Lavan becomes very prosperous. Lavan knows that it’s all Jacob’s doings, so he doesn’t want him to go. Some commentaries even go so far as to say that the reason Lavan hugged Jacob was so that he could pick his pockets. This might not reflect well on Lavan, but it hardly seems like he was trying to ‘destroy everything�.
But what would have happened if Lavan had been more persuasive and convinced Jacob to stay? As I said last posting, Jacob’s family became a nation when they left Lavan’s house. So if Lavan had convinced them to stay, they would have never become a nation. This is why the Haggadah says Lavan wanted to destroy everything. He wanted to prevent Jacob from becoming a nation so he cold personally benefit from his blessings. He tried to do that by telling Jacob that they are family – that they are all one people. In other words, he tied to assimilate Jacob’s family into his own.
What the Haggadah is telling us, is that the threat of assimilation (Lavan) is greater then the threat of physical violence (Pharaoh). While physical violence can kill individuals (or many individuals), assimilation can wipe out an entire generation, and thus the entire nations.
We are all very conscious of the physical threat we face today in many parts of the world. Lets make sure we pay as much (or more) attention to the even bigger threat of assimilation
Shabbat Shalom.
The commentators trace that statement back to this week’s portion. Jacob decides that it’s time to leave Lavan’s house and go back to the land that G-d promised to give him. He tells Lavan about his plans to leave, and Lavan hugs him and tells him he is family and shouldn’t go.
Most explanations of this passage reflect poorly on Lavan. Because of Jacob’s blessings, he is very prosperous while in Lavan’s house, and thus Lavan becomes very prosperous. Lavan knows that it’s all Jacob’s doings, so he doesn’t want him to go. Some commentaries even go so far as to say that the reason Lavan hugged Jacob was so that he could pick his pockets. This might not reflect well on Lavan, but it hardly seems like he was trying to ‘destroy everything�.
But what would have happened if Lavan had been more persuasive and convinced Jacob to stay? As I said last posting, Jacob’s family became a nation when they left Lavan’s house. So if Lavan had convinced them to stay, they would have never become a nation. This is why the Haggadah says Lavan wanted to destroy everything. He wanted to prevent Jacob from becoming a nation so he cold personally benefit from his blessings. He tried to do that by telling Jacob that they are family – that they are all one people. In other words, he tied to assimilate Jacob’s family into his own.
What the Haggadah is telling us, is that the threat of assimilation (Lavan) is greater then the threat of physical violence (Pharaoh). While physical violence can kill individuals (or many individuals), assimilation can wipe out an entire generation, and thus the entire nations.
We are all very conscious of the physical threat we face today in many parts of the world. Lets make sure we pay as much (or more) attention to the even bigger threat of assimilation
Shabbat Shalom.
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
Parahat Vayeitzei - Becoming a Nation
This week’s Torah reading is about Jacob while living in Lavan’s house. Taking Rachel and Leah as wives, and having most of his children. But what is really happening in this portion is the birth of the Jewish Nation.
The parashat starts with Jacob, after leaving his father’s house, putting a stone under his head and going to sleep by the side of the road. Jacob had just gotten a spiritual and physical blessing from Yitzchak. He has all the potential in the world, but he has nothing. The modern day equivalent would be a person graduating from Harvard Law, but has no job and lies down on a park bench with a news paper under his head and goes to sleep.
This is when he has his famous “Jacob’s Ladder” dream. He wakes up and realizes the place he is on is “the house of G-d’. He takes the rock he used as a pillow, turns it on it’s side, pours oil on it and makes it into a “matzavah”. In Modern Hebrew that means headstone, but in ancient Hebrew it meant “an altar”. This doesn’t sound like such a strange thing for Jacob to have done. However, in Deuteronomy 16:22, we are told not to make a matzavah, because G-d hates it.
Now we like to say that our forefathers kept the entire Torah before it was given. How literally they kept it is open to debate, but you’d think Jacob would be spiritually sensitive enough not to do something that G-d hates.
The commentators explain this by saying that at the time of Moses, G-d hated it, but in the time of Jacob he loved it. So what could have changed to make G-d hate something he once loved?
To understand this, we need to look at the concept of Jewish prayer. In Judaism, prayer is both communal and individual. Look at the Amidah, the central prayer in our liturgy. It is said (ideally) in a group of 10 or more, where each person prays to himself. What are they praying for? “Heal us”, “Forgive us”. They are praying for the entire Jewish people. So we have a group of people, each praying individually for the welfare of the community; the prefect synergy between community and self.
Because of this communal aspect, altars are supposed to be made up of many stones, representing the many members of the Nation of Israel. That explains why G-d hates single stoned alters now, but why would he have loved it in the time of Jacob? The answer is because until Jacob, there was no Nation of Israel. Judaism was a single person, first Abraham, the Yitzchak, now Jacob. So there is no problem with making an altar out of a single stone.
Just when does Israel become a nation? It has clearly happened by the middle of next week’s parashat (the term nation is used to describe Israel for the first time). But I would say that it actually happens this week, specifically when Jacob takes his family and leaves Lavan’s house. You have an independent, identifiable group of people with common beliefs and customs. That certainly sounds like a good definition of nationhood.
The parashat starts with Jacob, after leaving his father’s house, putting a stone under his head and going to sleep by the side of the road. Jacob had just gotten a spiritual and physical blessing from Yitzchak. He has all the potential in the world, but he has nothing. The modern day equivalent would be a person graduating from Harvard Law, but has no job and lies down on a park bench with a news paper under his head and goes to sleep.
This is when he has his famous “Jacob’s Ladder” dream. He wakes up and realizes the place he is on is “the house of G-d’. He takes the rock he used as a pillow, turns it on it’s side, pours oil on it and makes it into a “matzavah”. In Modern Hebrew that means headstone, but in ancient Hebrew it meant “an altar”. This doesn’t sound like such a strange thing for Jacob to have done. However, in Deuteronomy 16:22, we are told not to make a matzavah, because G-d hates it.
Now we like to say that our forefathers kept the entire Torah before it was given. How literally they kept it is open to debate, but you’d think Jacob would be spiritually sensitive enough not to do something that G-d hates.
The commentators explain this by saying that at the time of Moses, G-d hated it, but in the time of Jacob he loved it. So what could have changed to make G-d hate something he once loved?
To understand this, we need to look at the concept of Jewish prayer. In Judaism, prayer is both communal and individual. Look at the Amidah, the central prayer in our liturgy. It is said (ideally) in a group of 10 or more, where each person prays to himself. What are they praying for? “Heal us”, “Forgive us”. They are praying for the entire Jewish people. So we have a group of people, each praying individually for the welfare of the community; the prefect synergy between community and self.
Because of this communal aspect, altars are supposed to be made up of many stones, representing the many members of the Nation of Israel. That explains why G-d hates single stoned alters now, but why would he have loved it in the time of Jacob? The answer is because until Jacob, there was no Nation of Israel. Judaism was a single person, first Abraham, the Yitzchak, now Jacob. So there is no problem with making an altar out of a single stone.
Just when does Israel become a nation? It has clearly happened by the middle of next week’s parashat (the term nation is used to describe Israel for the first time). But I would say that it actually happens this week, specifically when Jacob takes his family and leaves Lavan’s house. You have an independent, identifiable group of people with common beliefs and customs. That certainly sounds like a good definition of nationhood.
Monday, December 01, 2003
The Colour of Blue
I was listening to an MP3 file from Aish Audio, and they were talking about the blue fringes that are supposed to be on the Tzitzis (one of the 8 threads are supposed to be blue, the others white). A description was given as to just what colour of blue it was. The response is very mystical on many levels. What they said was “The blue of the Tzitzis is like the blue of the seas. The blue of the seas is like the blue of the sky. The blue of the sky is like the throne of G-d.”
The simple reading is that G-d has a blue throne… while that sounds like a nice tidbit of trivia, hardly earth shattering news. But we know that G-d takes no form, thus doesn’t really have a throne. So what’s this trying to say? I can see two meanings.
First, by drawing the connection between the Tzitzis and G-d we get a glimpse of the power of the mitzvah of Tzitzis. Wearing the blue fringe (or to a lesser extent the all while fringes we wear today) connects us with the throne of G-d. Simply by glancing down, we are able to be reminded of G-d presence and active role in our lives.
The second meaning draws from the comparison of the blue of the sea and sky to G-d’s throne. The sea and sky are magnificent shades of blue… but have you ever tried to capture that colour? Take a glass of sea, is it still blue? What about a glass full of sky? We know they are both blue, we can see and feel it, but when we try to put our hands on it, it’s no longer there. The same can be said for G-d’s presence. We know it’s there, we can even see it if we look at the big picture. But when we try to capture it, when we try to grasp it, it seems to slip between our fingers. But just like the sea and sky, even though we may not be able to put our hands on it, we never doubt its reality.
The simple reading is that G-d has a blue throne… while that sounds like a nice tidbit of trivia, hardly earth shattering news. But we know that G-d takes no form, thus doesn’t really have a throne. So what’s this trying to say? I can see two meanings.
First, by drawing the connection between the Tzitzis and G-d we get a glimpse of the power of the mitzvah of Tzitzis. Wearing the blue fringe (or to a lesser extent the all while fringes we wear today) connects us with the throne of G-d. Simply by glancing down, we are able to be reminded of G-d presence and active role in our lives.
The second meaning draws from the comparison of the blue of the sea and sky to G-d’s throne. The sea and sky are magnificent shades of blue… but have you ever tried to capture that colour? Take a glass of sea, is it still blue? What about a glass full of sky? We know they are both blue, we can see and feel it, but when we try to put our hands on it, it’s no longer there. The same can be said for G-d’s presence. We know it’s there, we can even see it if we look at the big picture. But when we try to capture it, when we try to grasp it, it seems to slip between our fingers. But just like the sea and sky, even though we may not be able to put our hands on it, we never doubt its reality.
Friday, November 28, 2003
Deception of Yitzchak
I want to talk about the famous story in the Torah where Jacob “tricks” his father into giving him the blessing meant for Esau.
If you recall, the story goes something like this… Yitzchak was getting old and wanted to bless his two children. He favoured Esau and wanted to give an extra blessing to him, but Rebecca favoured Jacob and wanted him to get the extra blessing. Yitzchak send Esau out to hunt some dinner so Yitzchak can eat before giving Esau his blessing. Rebecca hears this and tells Jacob to go into the yard and bring a goat so she can prepare some food for Yitzchak. Then tells Jacob to dress in Esau’s clothes and place the goat’s hair on his arms and neck (since Jacob was smooth skinned and Esau was hairy) and go to his father pretending to be Esau, thus tricking Yitzchak into giving Jacob the extra blessing. When Jacob comes before his father in Esau’s clothes, Yitzchak doesn’t believe it is Esau (since their voices were different) so asks to feel his arms. He feels the goat hair and says “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau”. Yitzchak seems to buy the trick and Jacob gets the extra blessing.
The simple reading seems to be a child trying to pull a fast one on his elderly, poor sighted, father. As usual there is much more going on here.
To explain what’s going on here, we need to first need to understand why Yitzchak wanted to give Esau the extra blessing (and why Rebecca knew it had to go to Jacob). Yitzchak knew that his children would have to carry on the mission of Abraham. Doing this required spirituality, since it’s a spiritual mission, but the mission involves changing the world and that required someone with an aggressive personality. Jacob was clearly the spiritual one and Yitzchak knew he would be the one to take the message forward. But Yitzchak felt the Jacob was to passive, so his plan was to give the spiritual blessing to Jacob and a physical one to Esau, and they would work together to carry out Abraham’s mission. Rebecca knew that as long as Jacob was dependant on Esau, the mission would never be carried out.
When Yitzchak says: “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau”, he’s not speaking literally. He knows the person in front of him is Jacob (this is Yitzchak we’re talking about), so how do we interpret that saying?
The voice represents the power of intellect, and the hands represent the power of action. Yitzchak is saying that the person before him has the intellect of Jacob and the action of Esau. He then knew that Jacob would be able to carry out the mission himself, and gave him both the physical and spiritual blessings.
Of course when Esau finds out what happened, he’s not very happy and asks for some sort of blessing. Yitzchak gives the following blessing to him: “Behold, your dwelling place shall be the fat places of the earth and of the dew of the heaven from above. And you shall live by your sword, and you shall serve your brother, and it will be, when you grieve, that you will break his yoke off your neck." Remember that Esau is the father of Rome (and thus the Christians), keep that in mind when you evaluate the accuracy and meaning of this blessing.
Shabbat Shalom
If you recall, the story goes something like this… Yitzchak was getting old and wanted to bless his two children. He favoured Esau and wanted to give an extra blessing to him, but Rebecca favoured Jacob and wanted him to get the extra blessing. Yitzchak send Esau out to hunt some dinner so Yitzchak can eat before giving Esau his blessing. Rebecca hears this and tells Jacob to go into the yard and bring a goat so she can prepare some food for Yitzchak. Then tells Jacob to dress in Esau’s clothes and place the goat’s hair on his arms and neck (since Jacob was smooth skinned and Esau was hairy) and go to his father pretending to be Esau, thus tricking Yitzchak into giving Jacob the extra blessing. When Jacob comes before his father in Esau’s clothes, Yitzchak doesn’t believe it is Esau (since their voices were different) so asks to feel his arms. He feels the goat hair and says “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau”. Yitzchak seems to buy the trick and Jacob gets the extra blessing.
The simple reading seems to be a child trying to pull a fast one on his elderly, poor sighted, father. As usual there is much more going on here.
To explain what’s going on here, we need to first need to understand why Yitzchak wanted to give Esau the extra blessing (and why Rebecca knew it had to go to Jacob). Yitzchak knew that his children would have to carry on the mission of Abraham. Doing this required spirituality, since it’s a spiritual mission, but the mission involves changing the world and that required someone with an aggressive personality. Jacob was clearly the spiritual one and Yitzchak knew he would be the one to take the message forward. But Yitzchak felt the Jacob was to passive, so his plan was to give the spiritual blessing to Jacob and a physical one to Esau, and they would work together to carry out Abraham’s mission. Rebecca knew that as long as Jacob was dependant on Esau, the mission would never be carried out.
When Yitzchak says: “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau”, he’s not speaking literally. He knows the person in front of him is Jacob (this is Yitzchak we’re talking about), so how do we interpret that saying?
The voice represents the power of intellect, and the hands represent the power of action. Yitzchak is saying that the person before him has the intellect of Jacob and the action of Esau. He then knew that Jacob would be able to carry out the mission himself, and gave him both the physical and spiritual blessings.
Of course when Esau finds out what happened, he’s not very happy and asks for some sort of blessing. Yitzchak gives the following blessing to him: “Behold, your dwelling place shall be the fat places of the earth and of the dew of the heaven from above. And you shall live by your sword, and you shall serve your brother, and it will be, when you grieve, that you will break his yoke off your neck." Remember that Esau is the father of Rome (and thus the Christians), keep that in mind when you evaluate the accuracy and meaning of this blessing.
Shabbat Shalom
Thursday, November 27, 2003
Paraha Toldot – Part 1
There are two stories in this week’s paraha that are potentially troubling. I think I’ll address these two issues at Shabbat dinner.
The first is the story of Jacob buying Esau’s first-born-ship for a bowl of red lentil pottage. The second being the story of Jacob tricking Yitzchak and getting the blessing meant for Esau.
First, the story of the pottage. The text tells us that Jacob was making pottage and Esau comes in from the hunt and tells Jacob he is starving and asks for some pottage. Jacob says he’ll give the pottage if Esau in exchange for Esau’s first-born-ship. Esau says “I’m going to die, what use do I have for the first-born-ship.” The deal is made. Jacob gets the first-born-ship and Esau gets his pottage.
The problem here is that it seems like Jacob took advantage of Esau’s hunger and made him enter into a contact he may not have really liked. If Esau was really dieing of hunger, he’d make just about any deal to get some food. Halacha tells us that a contact entered into under these conditions is not valid. So how do we resolve this problem.
First, some context. The Midrash tells us that the reason that Jacob was making lentil pottage is that it was the day of Abraham’s funeral. Lentils are a traditional food eaten by mourners. So on the day of his grandfather’s funeral, Esau is out hunting. So let’s look at a simple reading of the text and see what it tells us. After the deal was made the text says “And Jacob gave Esau bread and a pottage of lentils, and he ate and drank and arose and left, and Esau despised the birthright.” [Gen:25:34].
The deal seemed to be to sell the birthright for pottage – so where did the bread come from. The commentators tell us that the bread was to make the deal valid. If Esau was really starving, then the deal would be void. So Jacob gave Esau some bread to satisfy Esau’s hunger. Only then did the ask Esau to make the deal. Jacob did not take advantage of his starving brother; he did everything possible to make sure Esau really wanted to make this deal.
Now let’s look at a deeper understanding of the text. When Esau said “"Behold, I am going to die; so why do I need this birthright?"”, [Gen 25:33] what did he mean by that? The simple reading is that Esau was starving to death, but the deeper meaning tells us that the dieing he was refereeing to was not an immediate death – he was talking generally. Esau’s live philosophy was “Eat, drink, for tomorrow we die” - a denial of the afterlife. The birthright is a spiritual blessing, what use does Esau have for that – he was interested in material goods. Going even deeper, Esau knew that the role of the first born was to be the families emissary in the Temple. The temple service required complete concentration – if your thoughts wavered for even a second, you would die on the spot. That’s why there were so many High Priests in the Second Temple – they were never of good character and kept dieing on us. Esau knew that if he was the family’s representative in the temple, he would not be able to do the job and would die. What does he need that tzuris for? What Esau was saying is that he has no use of the birthright; in fact he despises it and would happily sell it for even the smallest material gain (i.e. some pottage). Jacob knew that such a person should not get the blessing of the firstborn.
Next time I’ll talk about the story of Jacob tricking Yitzchak into giving him Esau’s blessing.
The first is the story of Jacob buying Esau’s first-born-ship for a bowl of red lentil pottage. The second being the story of Jacob tricking Yitzchak and getting the blessing meant for Esau.
First, the story of the pottage. The text tells us that Jacob was making pottage and Esau comes in from the hunt and tells Jacob he is starving and asks for some pottage. Jacob says he’ll give the pottage if Esau in exchange for Esau’s first-born-ship. Esau says “I’m going to die, what use do I have for the first-born-ship.” The deal is made. Jacob gets the first-born-ship and Esau gets his pottage.
The problem here is that it seems like Jacob took advantage of Esau’s hunger and made him enter into a contact he may not have really liked. If Esau was really dieing of hunger, he’d make just about any deal to get some food. Halacha tells us that a contact entered into under these conditions is not valid. So how do we resolve this problem.
First, some context. The Midrash tells us that the reason that Jacob was making lentil pottage is that it was the day of Abraham’s funeral. Lentils are a traditional food eaten by mourners. So on the day of his grandfather’s funeral, Esau is out hunting. So let’s look at a simple reading of the text and see what it tells us. After the deal was made the text says “And Jacob gave Esau bread and a pottage of lentils, and he ate and drank and arose and left, and Esau despised the birthright.” [Gen:25:34].
The deal seemed to be to sell the birthright for pottage – so where did the bread come from. The commentators tell us that the bread was to make the deal valid. If Esau was really starving, then the deal would be void. So Jacob gave Esau some bread to satisfy Esau’s hunger. Only then did the ask Esau to make the deal. Jacob did not take advantage of his starving brother; he did everything possible to make sure Esau really wanted to make this deal.
Now let’s look at a deeper understanding of the text. When Esau said “"Behold, I am going to die; so why do I need this birthright?"”, [Gen 25:33] what did he mean by that? The simple reading is that Esau was starving to death, but the deeper meaning tells us that the dieing he was refereeing to was not an immediate death – he was talking generally. Esau’s live philosophy was “Eat, drink, for tomorrow we die” - a denial of the afterlife. The birthright is a spiritual blessing, what use does Esau have for that – he was interested in material goods. Going even deeper, Esau knew that the role of the first born was to be the families emissary in the Temple. The temple service required complete concentration – if your thoughts wavered for even a second, you would die on the spot. That’s why there were so many High Priests in the Second Temple – they were never of good character and kept dieing on us. Esau knew that if he was the family’s representative in the temple, he would not be able to do the job and would die. What does he need that tzuris for? What Esau was saying is that he has no use of the birthright; in fact he despises it and would happily sell it for even the smallest material gain (i.e. some pottage). Jacob knew that such a person should not get the blessing of the firstborn.
Next time I’ll talk about the story of Jacob tricking Yitzchak into giving him Esau’s blessing.
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Shabbat Dinner
This coming Shabbat, my wife and I will be hosting a Shabbat dinner for our Friends. As RSVP’s come in, it looks like we’ll have 13 people. This will be the first time we come together as a group of friends for Shabbat – hopefully the first of many.
I’m planning this as a traditional Shabbat including a sumptuous meal and some Torah study. I’m not sure which one will be harder to prepare.
The menu is set, and I’ve done the pilgrimage to the kosher supermarket to get the kosher meat. The cooking will be spread out over 3 days … hopefully everything will come together nicely.
Now I need to plan the Torah study. I’ll talk about the weekly Torah portion, but I need to work out specifics. As I figure out what to talk about I’ll port it here.
Wish me luck.
I’m planning this as a traditional Shabbat including a sumptuous meal and some Torah study. I’m not sure which one will be harder to prepare.
The menu is set, and I’ve done the pilgrimage to the kosher supermarket to get the kosher meat. The cooking will be spread out over 3 days … hopefully everything will come together nicely.
Now I need to plan the Torah study. I’ll talk about the weekly Torah portion, but I need to work out specifics. As I figure out what to talk about I’ll port it here.
Wish me luck.
Friday, November 21, 2003
Marriage vs. Creation
The Torah uses words sparingly. The entire story of creation is 31 verses. This week we read about how Abraham’s servant found a wife (Rebecca) for Isaac. This takes 67 verses. This tells us something about the importance of the decision of who to marry.
We also learn something about how choose a spouse. Abraham’s greatest trait was kindness. He was matched with Sarah, whose greatest trait was judgment. They complemented each other, two halves of the same soul. Isaac took after his mother, and was a very good judge. That’s why Abraham’s servant was looking for a woman of total kindness. He looked for a woman who would not only offer him water, but would offer to water his 10 camels. Abraham knew that kindness to animals is a good indication to kindness to people.
Perhaps this is where the concept of “opposites attract” comes from? Your spouse should not be someone who is identical to you in every way, but someone who complements you. Someone who challenges you in the areas you cold improve on, and can learn from you in the areas they can improve on.
I was lucky enough to find a wife who complements me perfectly. We’re both better people because of each other. G-d willing, we will be able to put this to use in raising a family with our combined values.
Shabbat Shalom.
We also learn something about how choose a spouse. Abraham’s greatest trait was kindness. He was matched with Sarah, whose greatest trait was judgment. They complemented each other, two halves of the same soul. Isaac took after his mother, and was a very good judge. That’s why Abraham’s servant was looking for a woman of total kindness. He looked for a woman who would not only offer him water, but would offer to water his 10 camels. Abraham knew that kindness to animals is a good indication to kindness to people.
Perhaps this is where the concept of “opposites attract” comes from? Your spouse should not be someone who is identical to you in every way, but someone who complements you. Someone who challenges you in the areas you cold improve on, and can learn from you in the areas they can improve on.
I was lucky enough to find a wife who complements me perfectly. We’re both better people because of each other. G-d willing, we will be able to put this to use in raising a family with our combined values.
Shabbat Shalom.
Parashat Chayei Sarah
This week’s parahat starts with the death of Sarah. The text details how Abraham made sure he paid full price for the plot of land where he buried Sarah (which became the Tomb of the Patriarchs – in today’s Hebron). He was offered the land as a gift, but he insisted on paying full price. We need to ask why?
Rashi tells us that it’s because Abraham wanted to make sure no one in the future could come and say we stole the land. The other piece of land that the Torah records the purchase of (for the same reason) is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. King David bought the land for full value to make sure that the site of the temple can never be claimed by anyone else.
It’s ironic that the two most hotly contested pieces of land today are Hebron and Jerusalem. Apparently, Abraham had very good foresight, but it didn’t seem to help.
The parashat ends with the death of Abraham. Ishamel and Isaac come together to burry their father. Ishamel is that father of Islam, and Isaac is the father of Judaism and Christianity (Isaac’s had two sons, Jacob who father Judaism, and Essau, who fathered the Romans – who became the Christians). The Torah tells us that in the end they all put their differences aside and came together... maybe we will see a parallel some time soon.
Rashi tells us that it’s because Abraham wanted to make sure no one in the future could come and say we stole the land. The other piece of land that the Torah records the purchase of (for the same reason) is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. King David bought the land for full value to make sure that the site of the temple can never be claimed by anyone else.
It’s ironic that the two most hotly contested pieces of land today are Hebron and Jerusalem. Apparently, Abraham had very good foresight, but it didn’t seem to help.
The parashat ends with the death of Abraham. Ishamel and Isaac come together to burry their father. Ishamel is that father of Islam, and Isaac is the father of Judaism and Christianity (Isaac’s had two sons, Jacob who father Judaism, and Essau, who fathered the Romans – who became the Christians). The Torah tells us that in the end they all put their differences aside and came together... maybe we will see a parallel some time soon.
Monday, November 17, 2003
The Akedah
Last weeks Torah portion ended with the story of the Akedah – the binding of Isaac. This is one of the most famous stories of the Torah, and one which is often misunderstood.
Rabbi Motty Berger tells a story of a conversation he had with a man a few years ago. The man told the “Rabbi that he doesn’t understand how he expects to be able to “sell” this religion. Your religion tells the story of Abraham, the founder of your religion, who was told by G-d to kill his son, and you take it as an example of what a great man he was that he was willing to do it. You expect to be able to sell a religion like that?”
The Rabbi replies, “OK, so you think Abraham was wrong. So tell me, what would you kill your son for? Picture this, let’s say you’re a good father, and you have a son just turning 18. He comes to you and says ‘Dad, I really respect you, and I need to make some decisions on how to live my life. So tell me, what’s it worth dieing for? And I want you to know, that what ever you tell me, that’s how I’ll live my life.’” The Rabbi continues, “You don’t like Abrahams choice, so what’s yours.”
The man knew he was trapped, whatever he says, the Rabbi would counter, you made your choice, and Abraham made his, what’s the difference? So the man replies “I’d tell my son it’s not worth dieing for anything, you just stay alive.”
The Rabbi answers, “What happens if your son says, ‘Dad, I don’t understand, if there is nothing in this world worth dieing for, that what did you bring me into this world to die for? When you chose to have me, you didn’t know anything about what my life would be like. You didn’t know if I’d be rich or poor, happy or miserable, full of joy or suffering. The only thing you knew when you brought me into this world is that one day I would die. I thought that meant that there was something you can get out of life that’s worth dieing for.’ What Abraham taught Isaac was that there one this in this world worth dieing for – your connection with G-d. Don’t sell you life (or your children’s life) short.”
Once that lesson was made clear to Abraham and Isaac, G-d tells Abraham not to kill Isaac, but instead raise him with that understanding.
This was Abraham’s basic philosophy – “I choose to live, and if necessary to die, for the reality of one G-d”.
Let’s all let this story put our lives in perspective and help us make more informed decisions.
Rabbi Motty Berger tells a story of a conversation he had with a man a few years ago. The man told the “Rabbi that he doesn’t understand how he expects to be able to “sell” this religion. Your religion tells the story of Abraham, the founder of your religion, who was told by G-d to kill his son, and you take it as an example of what a great man he was that he was willing to do it. You expect to be able to sell a religion like that?”
The Rabbi replies, “OK, so you think Abraham was wrong. So tell me, what would you kill your son for? Picture this, let’s say you’re a good father, and you have a son just turning 18. He comes to you and says ‘Dad, I really respect you, and I need to make some decisions on how to live my life. So tell me, what’s it worth dieing for? And I want you to know, that what ever you tell me, that’s how I’ll live my life.’” The Rabbi continues, “You don’t like Abrahams choice, so what’s yours.”
The man knew he was trapped, whatever he says, the Rabbi would counter, you made your choice, and Abraham made his, what’s the difference? So the man replies “I’d tell my son it’s not worth dieing for anything, you just stay alive.”
The Rabbi answers, “What happens if your son says, ‘Dad, I don’t understand, if there is nothing in this world worth dieing for, that what did you bring me into this world to die for? When you chose to have me, you didn’t know anything about what my life would be like. You didn’t know if I’d be rich or poor, happy or miserable, full of joy or suffering. The only thing you knew when you brought me into this world is that one day I would die. I thought that meant that there was something you can get out of life that’s worth dieing for.’ What Abraham taught Isaac was that there one this in this world worth dieing for – your connection with G-d. Don’t sell you life (or your children’s life) short.”
Once that lesson was made clear to Abraham and Isaac, G-d tells Abraham not to kill Isaac, but instead raise him with that understanding.
This was Abraham’s basic philosophy – “I choose to live, and if necessary to die, for the reality of one G-d”.
Let’s all let this story put our lives in perspective and help us make more informed decisions.
Thursday, November 13, 2003
Parashat Vayeira
This weeks Torah portion is filled with one dilemma after another, and culminates with one of the most famous dilemmas in the Torah. We start with Abraham, then go to Lot, then Sodom and Gomorrah, then Abimelech and finally it all culminates with the Akedah.
The Torah views all these events as being somehow related. The Akedah story is led into with the phrase “And it happened after all these things”. If this parashat was simply a chronology of events, then it would be clear that the Akedah happened after all these things The fact that the text makes that explicit, suggests that there is not only a temporal relation, but a deeper one.
Each of these events contain a moral dilemma which Abraham has to address (in the case of Lot, Abraham is only indirectly involved). It is his response to each one that leads to his ultimate test – the Akedah.
In the second of last dilemmas, Abraham tells Abimelech that Sarah is his sister. Consequently, Abimelech takes Sarah. G-d tells Abimelech that he is a dead man for taking Abrahams wife. Abimelech confronts Abraham and asks why he did not tell him Sarah was his wife. Abraham’s response was “I saw there was no fear on G-d in this land, and I knew you would kill me for my wife.” Apparently, Abimelech’s kingdom would not commit adultery, but would not think twice about kill the husband so that the wife becomes fair game (compare that to our society where we would not kill someone, but adultery is OK).
It was this response that made the Akedah necessary. Basically Abraham was saying that morality was whatever G-d says. So G-d’s response was “OK, if morality is whatever I say, then go kill your son.” Now Abraham is in a bind (no pun intended), he just rebuked Abimelech for not following G-d’s will, so how can Abraham not do what G-d asks of him – even if it means killing his own son.
Of course we all know how it ends up (if you don’t read your Torah). I’ll tell you a story about the consequence of the Akedah next time.
The Torah views all these events as being somehow related. The Akedah story is led into with the phrase “And it happened after all these things”. If this parashat was simply a chronology of events, then it would be clear that the Akedah happened after all these things The fact that the text makes that explicit, suggests that there is not only a temporal relation, but a deeper one.
Each of these events contain a moral dilemma which Abraham has to address (in the case of Lot, Abraham is only indirectly involved). It is his response to each one that leads to his ultimate test – the Akedah.
In the second of last dilemmas, Abraham tells Abimelech that Sarah is his sister. Consequently, Abimelech takes Sarah. G-d tells Abimelech that he is a dead man for taking Abrahams wife. Abimelech confronts Abraham and asks why he did not tell him Sarah was his wife. Abraham’s response was “I saw there was no fear on G-d in this land, and I knew you would kill me for my wife.” Apparently, Abimelech’s kingdom would not commit adultery, but would not think twice about kill the husband so that the wife becomes fair game (compare that to our society where we would not kill someone, but adultery is OK).
It was this response that made the Akedah necessary. Basically Abraham was saying that morality was whatever G-d says. So G-d’s response was “OK, if morality is whatever I say, then go kill your son.” Now Abraham is in a bind (no pun intended), he just rebuked Abimelech for not following G-d’s will, so how can Abraham not do what G-d asks of him – even if it means killing his own son.
Of course we all know how it ends up (if you don’t read your Torah). I’ll tell you a story about the consequence of the Akedah next time.
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
G-d vs Man
This week’s Torah portions (Vayeria) starts with an interesting few phrases. Basically it says that G-d appeared to Abraham as he sat outside his tent; then Abraham saw three travelers and went out to greet them.
Two questions should arise from this.
First, G-d appearing to someone (even Abraham) is a big deal. Why does the Torah not record the content of this encounter? Rashi and Rambam give two different accounts.
Rashi says to look back to then end of last weeks portion. Abraham had just circumcised himself. G-d was visiting the sick. That’s why the content of the meeting was not recorded, because when you visit the sick, what you talk about doesn’t matter, it’s your being there that makes the difference.
Rambam takes a different approach. He says to look to the next verse. The three travelers Abraham saw were a vision. This vision was the context of the revelation.
The seconds question is as follows. The text basically describes the scene as follows. Abraham is chatting with G-d, then Abraham sees some visitors. Abraham tells G-d to hang out in his tent for a while so he can go greet his guests. Talking to G-d is a significant event, how can you tell G-d to wait while you greet guests?
If you take Rambam’s explanation (above), there is no problem. The guests were just a vision. But if you take Rashi’s then there could be an issue here. This issue is one of the great ones facing the Jewish world today. What comes first, G-d or Man?
Abraham did not view this as a dilemma. He viewed dealing properly with your fellow man as a way of showing honour to G-d. That is the accepted Jewish view, but too many people seem to loose sight of that and honour G-d instead of man, rather than honoring G-d through man.
Lets all try to keep that in mind when conducting our interpersonal relationships.
Two questions should arise from this.
First, G-d appearing to someone (even Abraham) is a big deal. Why does the Torah not record the content of this encounter? Rashi and Rambam give two different accounts.
Rashi says to look back to then end of last weeks portion. Abraham had just circumcised himself. G-d was visiting the sick. That’s why the content of the meeting was not recorded, because when you visit the sick, what you talk about doesn’t matter, it’s your being there that makes the difference.
Rambam takes a different approach. He says to look to the next verse. The three travelers Abraham saw were a vision. This vision was the context of the revelation.
The seconds question is as follows. The text basically describes the scene as follows. Abraham is chatting with G-d, then Abraham sees some visitors. Abraham tells G-d to hang out in his tent for a while so he can go greet his guests. Talking to G-d is a significant event, how can you tell G-d to wait while you greet guests?
If you take Rambam’s explanation (above), there is no problem. The guests were just a vision. But if you take Rashi’s then there could be an issue here. This issue is one of the great ones facing the Jewish world today. What comes first, G-d or Man?
Abraham did not view this as a dilemma. He viewed dealing properly with your fellow man as a way of showing honour to G-d. That is the accepted Jewish view, but too many people seem to loose sight of that and honour G-d instead of man, rather than honoring G-d through man.
Lets all try to keep that in mind when conducting our interpersonal relationships.
Friday, November 07, 2003
Parashat Lech Lecha – Part 2
"Sarai said to Abram, G-d has kept me from having children." (16:2)
Sarai and Abram are the first recorded case of infertility in human history. This hits especially close to home given the two miscarriages my wide and I had in the span of 6 months while trying to start a family.
Up to this point in the Torah, no less than 25% of the narrative deals with who gave birth to whom. Clearly, children were central to ones identity. This is still the case today, but (perhaps unfortunately) to a lesser extent. It is clear from the narrative that Sarai and Abram loved each other very much. In a truly unselfish act, Sarai offers her concubine to Abram as a second wife, knowing full well the bond that could develop between Abram and Hagar, at her expense. Sarai wanted so much for her husband to have children that she was willing to take that risk.
Abram was torn between the desire to have children, and the love for his wife. Though clearly yearning for a child, Abram, as the first Jew, would not consider taking another wife. The Torah does not tell us that Abram married Hagar; instead it says that Sarai took Hagar and gave her to Abram. While Abram surely treated Hagar with honour and respect, the Torah records no conversations between the two.
This seems to be a case of infertility treatment. The couple wanted to have children naturally, but when the wife saw she couldn’t, she did everything in her power to give her husband a child. In those days, the only infertility treatment available was taking a surrogate, today there are many more options. This passage is where Judaism derives its ruling on the permissibility of fertility treatments.
Rabbi Jay Kellman writes “And Abram came to her, and she conceived” (16:4). The birth of Yishmael no doubt evoked mixed emotions. Surely Abram and Sarai where happy that Abram was no longer childless, but no doubt Abram, perhaps even more so that Sarai, felt sadness that his child could not be her child.”
It was the selflessness of Sarai’s act that is why she merited a son of her own. And it is this amazing marriage that should be a model to us all.
Sarai and Abram are the first recorded case of infertility in human history. This hits especially close to home given the two miscarriages my wide and I had in the span of 6 months while trying to start a family.
Up to this point in the Torah, no less than 25% of the narrative deals with who gave birth to whom. Clearly, children were central to ones identity. This is still the case today, but (perhaps unfortunately) to a lesser extent. It is clear from the narrative that Sarai and Abram loved each other very much. In a truly unselfish act, Sarai offers her concubine to Abram as a second wife, knowing full well the bond that could develop between Abram and Hagar, at her expense. Sarai wanted so much for her husband to have children that she was willing to take that risk.
Abram was torn between the desire to have children, and the love for his wife. Though clearly yearning for a child, Abram, as the first Jew, would not consider taking another wife. The Torah does not tell us that Abram married Hagar; instead it says that Sarai took Hagar and gave her to Abram. While Abram surely treated Hagar with honour and respect, the Torah records no conversations between the two.
This seems to be a case of infertility treatment. The couple wanted to have children naturally, but when the wife saw she couldn’t, she did everything in her power to give her husband a child. In those days, the only infertility treatment available was taking a surrogate, today there are many more options. This passage is where Judaism derives its ruling on the permissibility of fertility treatments.
Rabbi Jay Kellman writes “And Abram came to her, and she conceived” (16:4). The birth of Yishmael no doubt evoked mixed emotions. Surely Abram and Sarai where happy that Abram was no longer childless, but no doubt Abram, perhaps even more so that Sarai, felt sadness that his child could not be her child.”
It was the selflessness of Sarai’s act that is why she merited a son of her own. And it is this amazing marriage that should be a model to us all.
Parasha Lech Lecha – Part 1
As with many of the early parahas in the Torah, Lech Lecha is so full of meaning that I could spend an entire year learning about it.
There are two thoughts that stand out for me, so I’ll talk about hose briefly.
First, this parasha contains one of my favourate lines. It’s one that really opened my eyes to the prophetic truth of the Torah. When talking about the book of Genesis, Nachmanides (and may others) use the phrase “The actions of the fathers are assigned to the children.” We could understand this on two levels. On a microcosmic level, we see that what happens to the characters in these early stories will be repeated by their children. But on the macrocosmic level, these stories set up the guidelines for the basic interactions between Jews and non Jews for all of history.
G-d starts the parsha by telling Abraham to "Go from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you. (Genesis 12:1) I could talk about that line for pages, but instead I want to talk about what G-d says a few lines later. I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you, and through you, will be blessed all the families of the earth." (Genesis 12:3) G-d tells Abraham that he and his descendents (the Jews) will be under G-d’s protection. Nations that are good to the Jews will prosper, those who treat them poorly fill falter, and the whole world is going to be changed by the Jews.
Poland was a nothing country. They passed a set of laws that were amazingly good to the Jews. The Jews flocked there and Poland became a major power. Poland then turned on the Jews and look at them now. Same thing with Spain, Germany, Turkey and countless others; you can literally chart the rise and fall of most of histories empires based on how they treated the Jews.
Rabbi Ken Spiro explains: “Part of it, by the way, is not so supernatural, because if you have a group of people living within your country -- an educated, driven, dedicated, loyal, creative, well-connected people -- and you're nice to them and you allow them to participate and contribute in a meaningful way, your country is going to benefit. If you crush those people and expel them, you're going to suffer, because of the economic fallout. But, of course, there's much more going on than just that.”
Next, I want to talk about the personal connection with this parasha.
There are two thoughts that stand out for me, so I’ll talk about hose briefly.
First, this parasha contains one of my favourate lines. It’s one that really opened my eyes to the prophetic truth of the Torah. When talking about the book of Genesis, Nachmanides (and may others) use the phrase “The actions of the fathers are assigned to the children.” We could understand this on two levels. On a microcosmic level, we see that what happens to the characters in these early stories will be repeated by their children. But on the macrocosmic level, these stories set up the guidelines for the basic interactions between Jews and non Jews for all of history.
G-d starts the parsha by telling Abraham to "Go from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you. (Genesis 12:1) I could talk about that line for pages, but instead I want to talk about what G-d says a few lines later. I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you, and through you, will be blessed all the families of the earth." (Genesis 12:3) G-d tells Abraham that he and his descendents (the Jews) will be under G-d’s protection. Nations that are good to the Jews will prosper, those who treat them poorly fill falter, and the whole world is going to be changed by the Jews.
Poland was a nothing country. They passed a set of laws that were amazingly good to the Jews. The Jews flocked there and Poland became a major power. Poland then turned on the Jews and look at them now. Same thing with Spain, Germany, Turkey and countless others; you can literally chart the rise and fall of most of histories empires based on how they treated the Jews.
Rabbi Ken Spiro explains: “Part of it, by the way, is not so supernatural, because if you have a group of people living within your country -- an educated, driven, dedicated, loyal, creative, well-connected people -- and you're nice to them and you allow them to participate and contribute in a meaningful way, your country is going to benefit. If you crush those people and expel them, you're going to suffer, because of the economic fallout. But, of course, there's much more going on than just that.”
Next, I want to talk about the personal connection with this parasha.
Thursday, November 06, 2003
Jewish Education – Story Number 2
I recently saw an interview with the Principal of one of the largest Jewish day schools in America. He was asked what the greatest challenge was that the Jewish school system faces today. This was his reply:
“Parents spend thousands of dollars a year in tuition to send their children to our school where, along with calculus and chemistry, we are expected to teach some semblance of ethics. Then, on Sunday, the parents take their child to an amusement park and lie about his age in order to save five dollars on the admission fee. To save five bucks they destroy a $15,000 education.”
This answer really had an effect on me. G-d willing, I’ll have the opportunity to raise (many) Jewish children. I intend to raise them in a manner consistent with the teachings of Torah. If I’m going to do that, I need to live in a manner consistent with Torah.
We’re always taught that lying is wrong, yet we see our parents do it all the time; lying about children’s age to save money; lying at customs about the value of good you bring into the country to save some duty feel… Telling the truth is easy when it doesn’t hurt you, but when there is a cost associated with it (especially a monetary one) it is not as easy. I’m trying especially hard to be truthful in those situations. Hopefully by the time I have children to raise (in the, G-d willing, not to distant future) the way I lead my day to day life will be consistent with the way I’d like to teach my children to live theirs.
If we’d all make that same commitment, the next generation will be a great one to be part of.
“Parents spend thousands of dollars a year in tuition to send their children to our school where, along with calculus and chemistry, we are expected to teach some semblance of ethics. Then, on Sunday, the parents take their child to an amusement park and lie about his age in order to save five dollars on the admission fee. To save five bucks they destroy a $15,000 education.”
This answer really had an effect on me. G-d willing, I’ll have the opportunity to raise (many) Jewish children. I intend to raise them in a manner consistent with the teachings of Torah. If I’m going to do that, I need to live in a manner consistent with Torah.
We’re always taught that lying is wrong, yet we see our parents do it all the time; lying about children’s age to save money; lying at customs about the value of good you bring into the country to save some duty feel… Telling the truth is easy when it doesn’t hurt you, but when there is a cost associated with it (especially a monetary one) it is not as easy. I’m trying especially hard to be truthful in those situations. Hopefully by the time I have children to raise (in the, G-d willing, not to distant future) the way I lead my day to day life will be consistent with the way I’d like to teach my children to live theirs.
If we’d all make that same commitment, the next generation will be a great one to be part of.
Jewish Education – Story Number 1
My mother is a teacher at a Jewish day school. The following story was told to her by the new Director of Education at her school.
This new Director, lets call him David, used to be a student at the same school he is now Director of. One day in science class, his teacher calls on another student to do a problem. The student can not do it and the teacher keeps on him and thoroughly embarrasses him for not being able to solve the problem. David is appalled by this speaks out to the teacher, telling him that it’s not proper to publicly embarrass a student like that. Of course, the teacher did not like this and sends David to the principal’s office.
I need to give some context about David here before I go on. His father is from a Hasidic family and was a survivour. David’s father felt that part of the reason for the passivity of many Jews (especially the Hasidic) was that they had always been taught to respect and obey authority figures, so they could not speak out against the Nazi’s. Because of this, his father made an “about face and became Modern Orthodox”. He wanted to make sure his children were able to stand up for what they believed in. David was sent to a more “public” Jewish day school, rather than the more religious one, because his father felt that school would teach his son these principles.
Back to our story. David was scolded by the principle. When he went home and his father found out what happened, his father scolded him. David was lectured on the importance of respecting your teachers and that his actions were inappropriate.
When David was getting ready for bed that night, his father came into his room and said “one more thing… I’m very proud of you for standing up for what you believe.”
My mother has not been happy with the way her school has been run lately. But after meeting the new Director and having him tell this story (with tears running down his face) she decided, you know what, with a man like this running things, maybe this won’t be such a bad place to work until retirement.
This new Director, lets call him David, used to be a student at the same school he is now Director of. One day in science class, his teacher calls on another student to do a problem. The student can not do it and the teacher keeps on him and thoroughly embarrasses him for not being able to solve the problem. David is appalled by this speaks out to the teacher, telling him that it’s not proper to publicly embarrass a student like that. Of course, the teacher did not like this and sends David to the principal’s office.
I need to give some context about David here before I go on. His father is from a Hasidic family and was a survivour. David’s father felt that part of the reason for the passivity of many Jews (especially the Hasidic) was that they had always been taught to respect and obey authority figures, so they could not speak out against the Nazi’s. Because of this, his father made an “about face and became Modern Orthodox”. He wanted to make sure his children were able to stand up for what they believed in. David was sent to a more “public” Jewish day school, rather than the more religious one, because his father felt that school would teach his son these principles.
Back to our story. David was scolded by the principle. When he went home and his father found out what happened, his father scolded him. David was lectured on the importance of respecting your teachers and that his actions were inappropriate.
When David was getting ready for bed that night, his father came into his room and said “one more thing… I’m very proud of you for standing up for what you believe.”
My mother has not been happy with the way her school has been run lately. But after meeting the new Director and having him tell this story (with tears running down his face) she decided, you know what, with a man like this running things, maybe this won’t be such a bad place to work until retirement.
Monday, November 03, 2003
Cause vs. Reason
The first session I attended at the “Renew Your Spirit” conference was about “The Jewish Pleasure Principle”. There were several very interesting points made. The most interesting being the distinction between cause and reason.
The following example was used. A team of researchers figured out how to send an electrical impulse to a mouse’s brain to provoke the sensation of being “full” (i.e. having eaten a full meal). They rigged up a leaver in the cage that when the mouse pushed it, rather than a food pellet being dispensed, the impulse was administered, so the mouse thinks it has eaten and is full. This worked very well; the mouse was never hungry and never needed to eat. Of course the mouse died from starvation in a matter of days. The mouse had cause to be full, but no reason.
Now, how does this apply to Judaism? The issue is having cause for feeling pleasure vs. having reason for feeling pleasure. The theme of weddings was used often in the talk. The speaker compared secular weddings, where it is the host’s job to make sure the guests have a good time, to Jewish weddings where it is the guest’s job to make sure the couple has a good time. (As an aside, the speaker branched off to talk about the difference between mixed and separate dancing at weddings. With separate dancing, each couple is there to have a good time with the spouse, and tend to ignore the bride and groom. With separate dancing, everyone takes it upon themselves to dance around the bride/groom to make sure they have a good time.)
The story was told of a Jewish wedding where all the guests had much to drink and were all having a great time. The drink gave them all ample cause to feel pleasure. However, the Rabbi was not pleased; he took a crystal bowl and smashed it to sober everyone up. The Rabbi admonished the guests since the guests had cause to be happy (the wine) but no reason (they were not making the bride/groom happy).
I thought this principle of cause/reason could be applied to many aspects of Jewish life (and life in general). Before we do anything, positive or negative, we need to make sure we have reason and not just cause for doing it.
The following example was used. A team of researchers figured out how to send an electrical impulse to a mouse’s brain to provoke the sensation of being “full” (i.e. having eaten a full meal). They rigged up a leaver in the cage that when the mouse pushed it, rather than a food pellet being dispensed, the impulse was administered, so the mouse thinks it has eaten and is full. This worked very well; the mouse was never hungry and never needed to eat. Of course the mouse died from starvation in a matter of days. The mouse had cause to be full, but no reason.
Now, how does this apply to Judaism? The issue is having cause for feeling pleasure vs. having reason for feeling pleasure. The theme of weddings was used often in the talk. The speaker compared secular weddings, where it is the host’s job to make sure the guests have a good time, to Jewish weddings where it is the guest’s job to make sure the couple has a good time. (As an aside, the speaker branched off to talk about the difference between mixed and separate dancing at weddings. With separate dancing, each couple is there to have a good time with the spouse, and tend to ignore the bride and groom. With separate dancing, everyone takes it upon themselves to dance around the bride/groom to make sure they have a good time.)
The story was told of a Jewish wedding where all the guests had much to drink and were all having a great time. The drink gave them all ample cause to feel pleasure. However, the Rabbi was not pleased; he took a crystal bowl and smashed it to sober everyone up. The Rabbi admonished the guests since the guests had cause to be happy (the wine) but no reason (they were not making the bride/groom happy).
I thought this principle of cause/reason could be applied to many aspects of Jewish life (and life in general). Before we do anything, positive or negative, we need to make sure we have reason and not just cause for doing it.
Renew Your Spirit
This past Sunday my wife and I attended a conference called “Renew Your Spirit” hosted by “Torah in Motion”. The conference had 6 sessions, at each session you could choose between two or three different speakers.
I attended the following sessions:
They were all excellent sessions. Over the next few days/weeks, I’ll try to talk about some of the more interesting ideas.
We also went house hunting this weekend – which involved more Jewish thought than I would have expected. The big issue is living in a Jewish area vs. being within walking distance of our current Shul.
You might not expect there to be an issue here, since the Shul area should be Jewish. However, since the Conservative movement permits driving to Shul on Shabbos, the area around our Shul has become less and less Jewish over the past years. We both really like the Shul and would like to remain members, but we also want to raise out children (when, G-d willing, we have them)in a Jewish area. I’ll kepp you posted on this issue also.
I attended the following sessions:
- Learning to Enjoy our Lives: The Jewish Pleasure Principle - Rabbi Dr. Reuven Bulka
- How We Should Study the Bible and Why it Matters - Rabbi Menachem Leibtag
- Breaking Down the Wall of Stigma and Silence: Mental Health in the Orthodox Community - Leah Malamet & Rabbi Nati Helfgot
- Making Our Relationships Work: Judaism on Love and Marriage - Dr. Rivkah Blau
- Astrology, Science and the Supernatural in Jewish Thought and Law - Dr. David Schatz
- Am I My Brother's Keeper?: Relationships between Orthodox and Non-Orthodox Jews and Movements - Rabbi Nati Helfgot
They were all excellent sessions. Over the next few days/weeks, I’ll try to talk about some of the more interesting ideas.
We also went house hunting this weekend – which involved more Jewish thought than I would have expected. The big issue is living in a Jewish area vs. being within walking distance of our current Shul.
You might not expect there to be an issue here, since the Shul area should be Jewish. However, since the Conservative movement permits driving to Shul on Shabbos, the area around our Shul has become less and less Jewish over the past years. We both really like the Shul and would like to remain members, but we also want to raise out children (when, G-d willing, we have them)in a Jewish area. I’ll kepp you posted on this issue also.
Thursday, October 30, 2003
Parasha Noach
"G-d said: I will obliterate humanity that I have created from the face of the earth; man, livestock, land animals and birds of the sky. I regret that I created them. But Noach found favour in G-d's eyes. Noach was a righteous man, faultless in his generation. Noah walked with G-d." (Genesis 6: 7-9).
When you think about this line, you realize how amazing it is. In the midst of a world so corrupt that G-d planned to kill everything init, Noach managed to not only stay righteous, but be righteous enough to cause G-d to rethink his plan to wipe out humanity.
In fact, no where else in the Torah, do we find G-d describing a man in such glowing terms. Why is it then that we only talk about Noach once a year, but we talk about our founding fathers and Moshe constantly? Some of our Talmudic Sages teach that Noach was only righteous compared to his generation, but compared to Abraham Avinu he was nothing. We get a hint of that from the phrase “Noach walked with G-d”. Noach needed G-d’s help to be so righteous, where as Abraham Avinu was righteous on his own.
Still, to be righteous in a world as corrupt as his is a great thing. So why did he not merit to be the first Jew? We get a hint from the end of Parash B’Reshit. The Torah bring down a list of the generations of Adam. Everyone has there first child between age 65 and 187, and fathers many more children. Noach had (only) three children, and not until age 500. Noach did not want to bring children into such a corrupt world. Even though he was a great person, he did not believe he could instill that in his children.
Rabbi Jay Kelman writes: “While understandable, this is not and can not be a Jewish attitude. It is not up to us to be derelict in our own duties due to possible fears about the future. Furthermore our job is to change that corrupt and morally depraved world by having children who will serve as a living example of righteousness and purity. While we must protect and prepare ourselves from the corrupting influences of the world at large, we must never give up hope of changing the world for the better. In times of despair we need to have additional, not less children. It is our children who are the hope for the future. And Judaism, regardless of the present, teaches that the future can and must be a better one. Without this mindset we could not have survived all these years under extremely trying circumstances.”
The honour of being the first Jew had to wait for someone who despite the corruption and around him, prayed desperately for a child. Abraham never gave up on the world around him. He was committed to bringing the world to a realization of one G-d. Being descendants from Abraham, we must carry his positive attitude and constant striving to improve the moral climate.
When you think about this line, you realize how amazing it is. In the midst of a world so corrupt that G-d planned to kill everything init, Noach managed to not only stay righteous, but be righteous enough to cause G-d to rethink his plan to wipe out humanity.
In fact, no where else in the Torah, do we find G-d describing a man in such glowing terms. Why is it then that we only talk about Noach once a year, but we talk about our founding fathers and Moshe constantly? Some of our Talmudic Sages teach that Noach was only righteous compared to his generation, but compared to Abraham Avinu he was nothing. We get a hint of that from the phrase “Noach walked with G-d”. Noach needed G-d’s help to be so righteous, where as Abraham Avinu was righteous on his own.
Still, to be righteous in a world as corrupt as his is a great thing. So why did he not merit to be the first Jew? We get a hint from the end of Parash B’Reshit. The Torah bring down a list of the generations of Adam. Everyone has there first child between age 65 and 187, and fathers many more children. Noach had (only) three children, and not until age 500. Noach did not want to bring children into such a corrupt world. Even though he was a great person, he did not believe he could instill that in his children.
Rabbi Jay Kelman writes: “While understandable, this is not and can not be a Jewish attitude. It is not up to us to be derelict in our own duties due to possible fears about the future. Furthermore our job is to change that corrupt and morally depraved world by having children who will serve as a living example of righteousness and purity. While we must protect and prepare ourselves from the corrupting influences of the world at large, we must never give up hope of changing the world for the better. In times of despair we need to have additional, not less children. It is our children who are the hope for the future. And Judaism, regardless of the present, teaches that the future can and must be a better one. Without this mindset we could not have survived all these years under extremely trying circumstances.”
The honour of being the first Jew had to wait for someone who despite the corruption and around him, prayed desperately for a child. Abraham never gave up on the world around him. He was committed to bringing the world to a realization of one G-d. Being descendants from Abraham, we must carry his positive attitude and constant striving to improve the moral climate.
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
Discovery Seminar
Last night I went to “Discovery”, which was a seminar hosted by Aish Toronto.
Discovery started as a week long program in Israel, then was adapted to a weekend long program in America, then into a day long program, and now into a 3 hour seminar. They said they did the condensing by speaking very quickly.
The seminar basically attempts to present us with enough information to answer for ourselves the following question “Is the Torah written by man (or men) or G-d?”
The seminar started by talking about how the Mossad verifies messages from its operatives. They look for 5 things:
The Mossad will (according to the host) go ahead with a mission if three of these are present, all five being present would mean they are more sure of the authenticity of this message than “you’re sure that your mother is your mother”.
The seminar then goes on to address each of these five criteria and show how it relates to the Torah.
Some sections were more well done than others, but over all I don’t see how a “non believer” cold leave the event without at least questioning their beliefs. Of course looking at the audience, I don’t think there were too many “non-believers” there.
My favourite part were the many claims the Torah makes that no human at the time could have possibly known. For example, that there is only one animal that has split hooves but does not chew its cud (the pig). Or that fish with scales also have fins.
All in all, $10 well spent.
I’ll talk about some of the specifics as I learn more about them in coming weeks.
Discovery started as a week long program in Israel, then was adapted to a weekend long program in America, then into a day long program, and now into a 3 hour seminar. They said they did the condensing by speaking very quickly.
The seminar basically attempts to present us with enough information to answer for ourselves the following question “Is the Torah written by man (or men) or G-d?”
The seminar started by talking about how the Mossad verifies messages from its operatives. They look for 5 things:
- Identifying Information
- Outside Verification
- Codes
- Transmission
- Control
The Mossad will (according to the host) go ahead with a mission if three of these are present, all five being present would mean they are more sure of the authenticity of this message than “you’re sure that your mother is your mother”.
The seminar then goes on to address each of these five criteria and show how it relates to the Torah.
Some sections were more well done than others, but over all I don’t see how a “non believer” cold leave the event without at least questioning their beliefs. Of course looking at the audience, I don’t think there were too many “non-believers” there.
My favourite part were the many claims the Torah makes that no human at the time could have possibly known. For example, that there is only one animal that has split hooves but does not chew its cud (the pig). Or that fish with scales also have fins.
All in all, $10 well spent.
I’ll talk about some of the specifics as I learn more about them in coming weeks.
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Parasha B'Reshit - Part 2
B'Reshit is one of my favourite parahas of the Torah. All of creation is described in 31 verses; it takes science hundreds of thousands of books to describe it. The text is so rich and full of deep levels of meaning that you can spend a lifetime studying it and never fully comprehend all its intricacies. King David wrote "A word well spoken is like a dish of silver filled with apples of gold." King David could have been talking about parasha B'Reshit when he wrote that.
What did King David mean? Take a silver dish and fill it with gold apples. From a distance all you see is the silver dish - as beautiful and valuable as it is. It's not until you get in close for a full inspection do you discover the even more valuable apples of gold inside. So is the case with "a word well spoken". A superficial reading of the text reveals much value, but closer inspection is where you find the "apples of gold".
But enough about creation for now... I'm sure I'll write more about that some other day (since I'm learning about it all the time). The other major part of B'Reshit is the story of Adam and Eve, and their expulsion from Gan Edan (the Garden of Eden). There is, of course, just as much insight tat can be taken from that text, I'll relate my favourite bit here.
Their problems all started when then ate from the "Tree of Knowledge". Of course, that's not quite right. They had knowledge all along, the tree was called the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad". But surely they had this knowledge before they ate the fruit? After all, they knew that they were not suppose to eat from the tree. The classic philosophical question to ask is "What was the difference between Adam and Eve before they ate from the tree and after?" Here's the best answer I've heard.
Before eating from the tree everything was judged as "True or False", not "Good or Bad". "True and False" are objective. One plus one equals two is true. One plus one equals three is false. No one can argue with these. "Good and "Bad" are subjective. Anything which one person says is good, another person can argue that it's really bad.
That's why good and bad are not used to describe scientific truths. It does not matter if one plus one equals two is good or bad, it's just true. Only in the world of ethical issues is good and bad relevant.
Before eating from the tree, Adam and Eve were free from subjectivity. They could just as easily address ethical issues as they could scientific ones. Kindness is not good, it's true. Killing is not bad, it's false. That's why G-d didn't want his children to eat from the tree. Doing so would alter their perception from moral certitude to relativism. Eating from the tree introduced moral relativism into the world.
Now many people would say that's not a bad thing. After all how can we pass judgement until we walked a mile in that persons shoes. That's the very reason why 2/3 of university philosophy students refused to classify the 9/11 terrorists as being bad. Eating from the tree is why people today consider being anti-gay to be bad but being anti-America to be good. Before eating from the tree, both of these would have been false.
Much of the mess that the world is in today stems directly from this sin. How do we recover from this sin? As Rabbi Benjamin Belch wrote "We must be willing to differentiate between the acceptable and the abhorrent. In an age that has for far too long glorified relativism, we've got to learn to get rid of our excessive neutrality and nonjudgmental behavior. Some things are simply evil -- and no amount of rationalization can alter that truth."
...
Tonight I go to the Discovery Seminar. I'll give you the run down next time.
What did King David mean? Take a silver dish and fill it with gold apples. From a distance all you see is the silver dish - as beautiful and valuable as it is. It's not until you get in close for a full inspection do you discover the even more valuable apples of gold inside. So is the case with "a word well spoken". A superficial reading of the text reveals much value, but closer inspection is where you find the "apples of gold".
But enough about creation for now... I'm sure I'll write more about that some other day (since I'm learning about it all the time). The other major part of B'Reshit is the story of Adam and Eve, and their expulsion from Gan Edan (the Garden of Eden). There is, of course, just as much insight tat can be taken from that text, I'll relate my favourite bit here.
Their problems all started when then ate from the "Tree of Knowledge". Of course, that's not quite right. They had knowledge all along, the tree was called the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad". But surely they had this knowledge before they ate the fruit? After all, they knew that they were not suppose to eat from the tree. The classic philosophical question to ask is "What was the difference between Adam and Eve before they ate from the tree and after?" Here's the best answer I've heard.
Before eating from the tree everything was judged as "True or False", not "Good or Bad". "True and False" are objective. One plus one equals two is true. One plus one equals three is false. No one can argue with these. "Good and "Bad" are subjective. Anything which one person says is good, another person can argue that it's really bad.
That's why good and bad are not used to describe scientific truths. It does not matter if one plus one equals two is good or bad, it's just true. Only in the world of ethical issues is good and bad relevant.
Before eating from the tree, Adam and Eve were free from subjectivity. They could just as easily address ethical issues as they could scientific ones. Kindness is not good, it's true. Killing is not bad, it's false. That's why G-d didn't want his children to eat from the tree. Doing so would alter their perception from moral certitude to relativism. Eating from the tree introduced moral relativism into the world.
Now many people would say that's not a bad thing. After all how can we pass judgement until we walked a mile in that persons shoes. That's the very reason why 2/3 of university philosophy students refused to classify the 9/11 terrorists as being bad. Eating from the tree is why people today consider being anti-gay to be bad but being anti-America to be good. Before eating from the tree, both of these would have been false.
Much of the mess that the world is in today stems directly from this sin. How do we recover from this sin? As Rabbi Benjamin Belch wrote "We must be willing to differentiate between the acceptable and the abhorrent. In an age that has for far too long glorified relativism, we've got to learn to get rid of our excessive neutrality and nonjudgmental behavior. Some things are simply evil -- and no amount of rationalization can alter that truth."
...
Tonight I go to the Discovery Seminar. I'll give you the run down next time.
Friday, October 24, 2003
Parasha B'reshit - Part 1
My formal training is as a scientist. The scientific portion of my mind has always had a problem with the Torah's account of creation. Creation vs Evolution. 6 Days vs. 16 Billion years...
I always wanted to believe in the Torah's account, but things just didn't sit well. I never bought the traditional ways of explaining away the problem. "If G-d can create the universe, he can make it look as old as he wants." To me, that just sounds like a cop-out. "The account of creation is poetic, a day is really an epoch." That one just goes against basic torah learning principles - the Torah is carefully worded, if the term "day" is used, it means day.
My dilemma was resolved a few years ago when I read a great book, "The Science of G-d" by Dr. Schroeder. He is both a torah scholar and a PhD in science. He uses relativity theory to resolve the issue.
First, we need to see that time in the first 6 days is different than time after that. Then we look at what time means in the first 6 days.
There are two ways of keeping time in the Torah. The first 6 days are a literal time keeping. "This happens, day one. This happens, a second day". After Adam, time is kept generational. "Person 1 lived for x years and fathered person 2, then lived y more years..." Different ways of keeping time implies time is somehow different.
So what does time mean in the first 6 days? Well, the term "day" is used, so that means a day as we know it. How do we define a day? A revolution of the earth on it's axis, 1/365 of the time around the sun... Problem is the sun wasn't around until day 3, so how can we define a day this way. We could define a day as 24 hours (hour being defined scientifically). But man isn't around yet, so it can't be mans hours. The only thing existing at this point is G-d, so it must be G-d time - i.e. 24 of our hours, experienced by G-d. Before you're "cop-out" alarm goes off, lets apply some scientific rigger to see what G-d time could mean.
G-d created the universe, so G-d must exist outside of it. The universe is expanding. This seems like a prime spot for some relativity theory. If we gave one of our watches to G-d, how would 24 hours from a position outside of the universe look to someone on earth?
The book works out the math (I'll spare you) and relativity theory says that 6 x 24 hours outside of the universe, would look like 16 billion years to someone sitting on earth. 16 billion years is fairly close to sciences best guess of the age of the universe.
But the book goes one step further. The author figures out what time period would be represented by each of the 6 days. The lists what the Torah claims happened on that day (in order), and compared it to what science claims happened in each of those periods. When the sun was formed, when plant life appeared, when fish appear... The two time-lines match exactly.
For me that was a very convincing argument.
That solves the age of the universe "problem". Now lets tackle the evolution "problem".
The Church always argued against evolution, since the bible says that G-d had a separate creation for every species. The only problem is that if you actually read the account of creation in the Torah (which was a no-no for the Church), it claims nothing of the sort.
The word for create is Barah, which is used exactly 3 times in the creation story:
1) the heavens and the earth
2) soul of animal
3) soul of man
Everything else, was "brought forth" or "sprung forth". So there is no problem there.
In fact if you look at the order of creation in the Torah, it goes from simple to complex. Plant life to fish, to mammal, to man. In fact the Torah agrees completely with the theory of evolution, with one exception. Evolutions believes all this was random, the Torah says it is guided. I'll leave it up to you to decide which one is more believable.
My next post will be about what I've learned about Adam and Eve.
That's enough for now, some other time I'll write more about Science vs. Religion - my favourate subject.
Shabbat Shalom.
I always wanted to believe in the Torah's account, but things just didn't sit well. I never bought the traditional ways of explaining away the problem. "If G-d can create the universe, he can make it look as old as he wants." To me, that just sounds like a cop-out. "The account of creation is poetic, a day is really an epoch." That one just goes against basic torah learning principles - the Torah is carefully worded, if the term "day" is used, it means day.
My dilemma was resolved a few years ago when I read a great book, "The Science of G-d" by Dr. Schroeder. He is both a torah scholar and a PhD in science. He uses relativity theory to resolve the issue.
First, we need to see that time in the first 6 days is different than time after that. Then we look at what time means in the first 6 days.
There are two ways of keeping time in the Torah. The first 6 days are a literal time keeping. "This happens, day one. This happens, a second day". After Adam, time is kept generational. "Person 1 lived for x years and fathered person 2, then lived y more years..." Different ways of keeping time implies time is somehow different.
So what does time mean in the first 6 days? Well, the term "day" is used, so that means a day as we know it. How do we define a day? A revolution of the earth on it's axis, 1/365 of the time around the sun... Problem is the sun wasn't around until day 3, so how can we define a day this way. We could define a day as 24 hours (hour being defined scientifically). But man isn't around yet, so it can't be mans hours. The only thing existing at this point is G-d, so it must be G-d time - i.e. 24 of our hours, experienced by G-d. Before you're "cop-out" alarm goes off, lets apply some scientific rigger to see what G-d time could mean.
G-d created the universe, so G-d must exist outside of it. The universe is expanding. This seems like a prime spot for some relativity theory. If we gave one of our watches to G-d, how would 24 hours from a position outside of the universe look to someone on earth?
The book works out the math (I'll spare you) and relativity theory says that 6 x 24 hours outside of the universe, would look like 16 billion years to someone sitting on earth. 16 billion years is fairly close to sciences best guess of the age of the universe.
But the book goes one step further. The author figures out what time period would be represented by each of the 6 days. The lists what the Torah claims happened on that day (in order), and compared it to what science claims happened in each of those periods. When the sun was formed, when plant life appeared, when fish appear... The two time-lines match exactly.
For me that was a very convincing argument.
That solves the age of the universe "problem". Now lets tackle the evolution "problem".
The Church always argued against evolution, since the bible says that G-d had a separate creation for every species. The only problem is that if you actually read the account of creation in the Torah (which was a no-no for the Church), it claims nothing of the sort.
The word for create is Barah, which is used exactly 3 times in the creation story:
1) the heavens and the earth
2) soul of animal
3) soul of man
Everything else, was "brought forth" or "sprung forth". So there is no problem there.
In fact if you look at the order of creation in the Torah, it goes from simple to complex. Plant life to fish, to mammal, to man. In fact the Torah agrees completely with the theory of evolution, with one exception. Evolutions believes all this was random, the Torah says it is guided. I'll leave it up to you to decide which one is more believable.
My next post will be about what I've learned about Adam and Eve.
That's enough for now, some other time I'll write more about Science vs. Religion - my favourate subject.
Shabbat Shalom.
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Davening Shacharit
For close to 6 months now, I've been leading Psukei D'Zimrah at my Shul's morning minyon. Last June, on my Grandmothers first Yahrzeit, I led the full Shacharit for the first time.
Since then I have not led the weekday Shacharit (although I have done Shabbat Shacharit a few times at our Haskama Minyon). This morning I got a surprise... I was asked to "start us off", which means do Psukei D'Zimrah, and have someone else take over for Shacharit. When we got to the normal take over spot, no one was coming up, and the Cantor asked if I wanted to keep on going. How can I turn that down?
So I kept going and did a fairly good job (much better than the first time). Still stumbled at a few places, but overall got through it with little problem.
I don't usually like to do Shacharit, since there are several places where there is a Kaddish that only the leader says. Since I'm not actually saying Kaddish (and G-d willing I won't have to for many years), I don't like to take that opportunity away for someone who is. I don't mind doing Psukei D'Zimrah, since there is no reader only Kaddish.
However, today I was glad to be asked. My brother is going for an MRI today to see how the mass on his brain is doing (an infection that seems to be responding to antibiotics - the mass was one of the factors that lead to my becoming more religious). My prayer this morning was dedicated to him in hopes of a positive result. One day I'll fill readers of this blog (if there are any) in on the details of "The Monster on Ian's Brain".
Since then I have not led the weekday Shacharit (although I have done Shabbat Shacharit a few times at our Haskama Minyon). This morning I got a surprise... I was asked to "start us off", which means do Psukei D'Zimrah, and have someone else take over for Shacharit. When we got to the normal take over spot, no one was coming up, and the Cantor asked if I wanted to keep on going. How can I turn that down?
So I kept going and did a fairly good job (much better than the first time). Still stumbled at a few places, but overall got through it with little problem.
I don't usually like to do Shacharit, since there are several places where there is a Kaddish that only the leader says. Since I'm not actually saying Kaddish (and G-d willing I won't have to for many years), I don't like to take that opportunity away for someone who is. I don't mind doing Psukei D'Zimrah, since there is no reader only Kaddish.
However, today I was glad to be asked. My brother is going for an MRI today to see how the mass on his brain is doing (an infection that seems to be responding to antibiotics - the mass was one of the factors that lead to my becoming more religious). My prayer this morning was dedicated to him in hopes of a positive result. One day I'll fill readers of this blog (if there are any) in on the details of "The Monster on Ian's Brain".
Monday, October 20, 2003
Two great learning opportunities in Toronto
My learning schedule is still rolling along after a few weeks. I figure I need to keep it up for 8 weeks before it becomes routine.
On Sunday, I ran the Toronto 1/2 Marathon. This was the second 1/2 marathon I've done (I did this one 5 minutes faster than last time). There were close to 3500 people running, but I bet I was the only one doing Torah Learning while running.
I used my MP3 player (that I got from Aish Audio) to listen to some MP3 torah learning files. I learned about "How to Respond to a Missionizer", and about Simchat Torah. Made the run go by quite quickly. I plan to continue to use the MP3 player on my runs, great time to fit in some extra learning.
There are 2 great Jewish learning opportunities in Toronto in the next few weeks that I plan to take part in.
First is the Discovery Seminar by Aish Ha'Torah. This is a traveling seminar that close to 10,000 people see every year. I've heard good things about it for quite some time now, and was excited to hear it's being held in Toronto on Oct 28th. See the above link for details.
The second is an all day conference by Torah In Motion, which is an organization very similar to Aish Ha'Torah. They are holding a conference on November 2nd called "Renewing Our Spirit". Looks like it will be a very interesting day.
I'll report back on each of these after the events.
On Sunday, I ran the Toronto 1/2 Marathon. This was the second 1/2 marathon I've done (I did this one 5 minutes faster than last time). There were close to 3500 people running, but I bet I was the only one doing Torah Learning while running.
I used my MP3 player (that I got from Aish Audio) to listen to some MP3 torah learning files. I learned about "How to Respond to a Missionizer", and about Simchat Torah. Made the run go by quite quickly. I plan to continue to use the MP3 player on my runs, great time to fit in some extra learning.
There are 2 great Jewish learning opportunities in Toronto in the next few weeks that I plan to take part in.
First is the Discovery Seminar by Aish Ha'Torah. This is a traveling seminar that close to 10,000 people see every year. I've heard good things about it for quite some time now, and was excited to hear it's being held in Toronto on Oct 28th. See the above link for details.
The second is an all day conference by Torah In Motion, which is an organization very similar to Aish Ha'Torah. They are holding a conference on November 2nd called "Renewing Our Spirit". Looks like it will be a very interesting day.
I'll report back on each of these after the events.
Thursday, October 16, 2003
Explanation of the Bris Milah
As I mentioned a few days ago, and friend of our gave birth to their second boy, and the Bris was this morning. Which meant I needed to find a minyon that finishes earlier than mine.
I found an Orthodox Shul, 5 minutes from where the Bris was being held (my usual Shul is traditional Conservative) with a 6:10 service - plenty of time to make a 7:45 Bris. What I didn't consider, was that this early minyon was for "power daveners" - it only took 50 minutes for the entire Sukkot service (my Shul takes 1:15). So I had a bit of a tough time keeping up with them, but managed to do a fair job. Only problem was that I was just reading, not really praying. I don't know how you can concentrate on the prayers at that speed - but maybe when you can say the words automatically, you can let your mouth do that while your heart and mind and thinking about the prayers. G-d willing, I'll be able to answer that question some day.
I have davened at "foreign" Shuls a few times, and as usually, I found the "regulars" very welcoming. May of them greeted me and asked my name, where I'm from, why I was there. I did feel a little uncomfortable because I didn't have an Lulav and Etrog (I usually use one of the ones my Shul provides), but I got over that. All in all it was a very nice service, but I'd want to do one that goes a little slower next time.
Now on to the Bris. The Moel started by saying that the Bris is a very strange Mitzvoh. Why would such a gentle people be commanded by G-d to do an act that involves inflicting pain. He explained with a story about King David. It goes something like this.
King David was preparing to enter the Mikvah, of course this requires you to be naked. So as he takes off his tzitzis, his tefilin, his kippah - which are all physical signs of our relationship with G-d. - he became very depressed, since he felt he was loosing his connection with G-d. But then he looked down and saw his circumcision, the one physical sign of our relationship with G-d that is always with us, and he became overwhelmed with joy.
I thought that was quite a beautiful explanation.
The Bris went off perfectly (the Moel commented on what a beautiful penis it was) and bagels with egg were had by all.
My wife and I bought a Mezuzah necklace as a gift for the baby. G-d willing, once Jacob is a little older, he will wear the Mezuzah proudly and it will server as another physical reminder of his relationship with G-d.
A blessing to Jacob for a speedy recovery, and one to his parents - May Jacob forever be a blessing in your lives. May you be blessed with the strength and wisdom to raise him in the ways of Torah, and may you be privileged to see him become Bar Mitzvah and accompany him to the wedding canopy.
I found an Orthodox Shul, 5 minutes from where the Bris was being held (my usual Shul is traditional Conservative) with a 6:10 service - plenty of time to make a 7:45 Bris. What I didn't consider, was that this early minyon was for "power daveners" - it only took 50 minutes for the entire Sukkot service (my Shul takes 1:15). So I had a bit of a tough time keeping up with them, but managed to do a fair job. Only problem was that I was just reading, not really praying. I don't know how you can concentrate on the prayers at that speed - but maybe when you can say the words automatically, you can let your mouth do that while your heart and mind and thinking about the prayers. G-d willing, I'll be able to answer that question some day.
I have davened at "foreign" Shuls a few times, and as usually, I found the "regulars" very welcoming. May of them greeted me and asked my name, where I'm from, why I was there. I did feel a little uncomfortable because I didn't have an Lulav and Etrog (I usually use one of the ones my Shul provides), but I got over that. All in all it was a very nice service, but I'd want to do one that goes a little slower next time.
Now on to the Bris. The Moel started by saying that the Bris is a very strange Mitzvoh. Why would such a gentle people be commanded by G-d to do an act that involves inflicting pain. He explained with a story about King David. It goes something like this.
King David was preparing to enter the Mikvah, of course this requires you to be naked. So as he takes off his tzitzis, his tefilin, his kippah - which are all physical signs of our relationship with G-d. - he became very depressed, since he felt he was loosing his connection with G-d. But then he looked down and saw his circumcision, the one physical sign of our relationship with G-d that is always with us, and he became overwhelmed with joy.
I thought that was quite a beautiful explanation.
The Bris went off perfectly (the Moel commented on what a beautiful penis it was) and bagels with egg were had by all.
My wife and I bought a Mezuzah necklace as a gift for the baby. G-d willing, once Jacob is a little older, he will wear the Mezuzah proudly and it will server as another physical reminder of his relationship with G-d.
A blessing to Jacob for a speedy recovery, and one to his parents - May Jacob forever be a blessing in your lives. May you be blessed with the strength and wisdom to raise him in the ways of Torah, and may you be privileged to see him become Bar Mitzvah and accompany him to the wedding canopy.
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
How to not be overwhelmed by 613 mitzvot
Judaism places a lot of demands on you. 613 mitzvot can seem overwhelming, especially considering that they affect every aspect of your life, cut into your free time, are often costly, and sometimes seem pointless.
In learning about Sukkot (talking about how many of the mitzvot around Sukkot seem strange), I learned why this is not the case.
Imagine that I give you $24,000. Not a loan, I just give it to you out of the goodness of my heart. Now imagine that I come to you a week later and say "look, I hope the $24,000 was helpful to you, but something has come up and I'd like to borrow $1000 of that back." You would, of course, give it to me (maybe even not as a loan). After all, not doing so would be no way to show your gratitude for my kindness.
G-d gives you 24 hours of life every day. If he asks for 1 hour in return (in the form of prayer, study, good deeds), how can you refuse. Giving the 1 hour back to him is just showing your gratitude for the 24 hours he gives you every day.
After all, G-d never asked anyone without a house to hang a mezuzah. G-d never asked anyone without clothes to wear tzitzis. G-d never asked anyone without an arm or a head to lay teffilin.
G-d gives you a house and asks you to hang a mezuzah, clothes the naked and asks that you wear tzitzis, gives you a baby boy and asks that you perform a Bris. A small sign of gratitude for such a huge gift.
Suddenly saying a 5 second prayer before eating my lunch does not seem so daunting.
In learning about Sukkot (talking about how many of the mitzvot around Sukkot seem strange), I learned why this is not the case.
Imagine that I give you $24,000. Not a loan, I just give it to you out of the goodness of my heart. Now imagine that I come to you a week later and say "look, I hope the $24,000 was helpful to you, but something has come up and I'd like to borrow $1000 of that back." You would, of course, give it to me (maybe even not as a loan). After all, not doing so would be no way to show your gratitude for my kindness.
G-d gives you 24 hours of life every day. If he asks for 1 hour in return (in the form of prayer, study, good deeds), how can you refuse. Giving the 1 hour back to him is just showing your gratitude for the 24 hours he gives you every day.
After all, G-d never asked anyone without a house to hang a mezuzah. G-d never asked anyone without clothes to wear tzitzis. G-d never asked anyone without an arm or a head to lay teffilin.
G-d gives you a house and asks you to hang a mezuzah, clothes the naked and asks that you wear tzitzis, gives you a baby boy and asks that you perform a Bris. A small sign of gratitude for such a huge gift.
Suddenly saying a 5 second prayer before eating my lunch does not seem so daunting.
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
A new Mitzvah
I went to Shul this morning - having to leave bright and early (5:40) to get there on time for the early start. I wasn't able to make it to Shul Sunday or Monday, so this was my first time at Shul this Sukkot. Even though I didn't buy my own Lulav and Etrog, the Shul has a few extras, so I was able to say the blessing over the lulav and etrog and shake them in the six directions at the appropriate points in the service. This was the first time I have ever performed the mitzvah of lulav and etrog - I said a special She'Hecianu.
Sukkot, the festival of joy, will be filled with a little more joy for one of our close friends this year. She just gave birth to a baby boy (she was due on Rosh Hashana - they were worried they might have to make a Bris on Yom Kippur). The name is Jacob Nathan, and the Bris is on Thursday at 7:45. Which means that I need to find an early minyon that day (my Shul doesn't get out until 8:00). I asked a few friends of mine, and there seem to be 2 Shuls in the area of the Bris that have 6:15 services, that should be perfect. www.godaven.com is a great place for finding minyons.
Sukkot, the festival of joy, will be filled with a little more joy for one of our close friends this year. She just gave birth to a baby boy (she was due on Rosh Hashana - they were worried they might have to make a Bris on Yom Kippur). The name is Jacob Nathan, and the Bris is on Thursday at 7:45. Which means that I need to find an early minyon that day (my Shul doesn't get out until 8:00). I asked a few friends of mine, and there seem to be 2 Shuls in the area of the Bris that have 6:15 services, that should be perfect. www.godaven.com is a great place for finding minyons.
Monday, October 13, 2003
Chag Same'ach - thoughts on Sukkot
We're now well into the Festival of Sukkot. I'd like to write a bit about what I'm doing this Sukkot, then a little about some of he interesting learning I've been doing.
First of, I (not my family) have never built a Sukkah (I would like to build one next year). However one of our family friends build one every year and invite us over. This year was no different. My wife and I, y parents, my brother and his fiance, and my sister-in-law and her husband all went over to join our friends in the Sukkah on the first night (Shabbas no less). After a week of cold and wet weather, the days leading up to Sukkot were warm and sunny. Our night in the Sukkah, we were blessed with weather just about as perfect as you could ask for in October.
Earlier that day, I received in the mail my MP3 player from Aish Audio, a service of Aish Ha'Torah where they offer many of their seminar series as downloadable MP3 files. The "listen Online" service is free, which gives you access to streamed audio. Or for $10 per month you get to download 10 MP3 seminars for listening offline. They also had a bundle where you pay about $175 and get a year's membership, 2 CD's full of MP3's and an MP3 player. I did that one.
So after spending far too much time that day playing with the MP3 payer and filling it with some learning material, my wife and I listened to some seminars about Sukkot on the way to our friends Sukkah. Here's one of the highlights I found interesting (more to follow).
The symbolism of the walls of the Sukkah were explained as follows. For the month of Elul, we sound the shofar. We know that the shofar has the power to bring down walls (i.e. in Jericho). Throughout the year, we build a wall between us and G-d through all the mistakes we make. The shofar we hear at the end of Yom Kippur brings these walls crashing down, leaving no barrier between us and G-d. Then, before we have a chance to build the separating wall back up we build a Sukkah, which are walls around us and G-d, to keep G-d in our lives. We pray that seven days of living with God (in the Sukkah) will prevent us from building the dividing walls back up in the coming year.
First of, I (not my family) have never built a Sukkah (I would like to build one next year). However one of our family friends build one every year and invite us over. This year was no different. My wife and I, y parents, my brother and his fiance, and my sister-in-law and her husband all went over to join our friends in the Sukkah on the first night (Shabbas no less). After a week of cold and wet weather, the days leading up to Sukkot were warm and sunny. Our night in the Sukkah, we were blessed with weather just about as perfect as you could ask for in October.
Earlier that day, I received in the mail my MP3 player from Aish Audio, a service of Aish Ha'Torah where they offer many of their seminar series as downloadable MP3 files. The "listen Online" service is free, which gives you access to streamed audio. Or for $10 per month you get to download 10 MP3 seminars for listening offline. They also had a bundle where you pay about $175 and get a year's membership, 2 CD's full of MP3's and an MP3 player. I did that one.
So after spending far too much time that day playing with the MP3 payer and filling it with some learning material, my wife and I listened to some seminars about Sukkot on the way to our friends Sukkah. Here's one of the highlights I found interesting (more to follow).
The symbolism of the walls of the Sukkah were explained as follows. For the month of Elul, we sound the shofar. We know that the shofar has the power to bring down walls (i.e. in Jericho). Throughout the year, we build a wall between us and G-d through all the mistakes we make. The shofar we hear at the end of Yom Kippur brings these walls crashing down, leaving no barrier between us and G-d. Then, before we have a chance to build the separating wall back up we build a Sukkah, which are walls around us and G-d, to keep G-d in our lives. We pray that seven days of living with God (in the Sukkah) will prevent us from building the dividing walls back up in the coming year.
Thursday, October 09, 2003
Tseduka - My New Year's Resolution
New year's resolutions are more of a secular thing than a Jewish thing.
Halacha is such that resolving to do something (before witnesses) makes that something legally binding. So by not doing it (as tends to happen with new year's resolutions), you have an unfulfilled oath which needs to be dealt with. Instead, I propose a theme for the new year... something that I want to think about, do, and do well.
Last year the theme seemed to be tefilah (prayer). Not that it was fully planed, it just seemed to work out that way. This year it's tseduka (charity). (Maybe next year it will be teshuva - acts of loving kindness, to round out the "B'Rosh Ha'Shana" prayer.)
Not only do I want to try to give more charity (both money and my time), but I want to give it better.
By better I don't mean picking better charities to donate to. I want to try to make my charity to impact peoples lives.
One example... I never used to give change to the "beggars" down town. A few years ago I changed that practice and now I give whenever I have what to give. However, I have often caught myself dropping money in their cup/hat/bin and walking by without even looking at them. They deserve better than a few coins, they deserve the same respect I would afford to everyone else. This year when I drop the change in the bin I want to look at them, smile, say hello, talk to them... As human beings they deserve at least that much.
A few months ago I had the opportunity to perform one of the best forms of charity and passed it up - I don't want to pass it up if I get the chance again. I was walking downtown (on my way to watch a Blue Jays game) and someone asked for some change, I happily gave them some. They then asked if I wanted to buy some of their art ($5 for a picture) and I turned them down. Charity through handouts is one thing, but charity through business dealings is another. By giving her some coins she is dependent on me, by buying her art she would have felt like she earned the $5 money. The self respect that would have come along with that transaction would have meant more to her then the $0.75 I gave her.
Another time I'll tell you about my first charitable donation of the year - and why it means much more than that.
The year 5764 will be the year of tseduka.
Halacha is such that resolving to do something (before witnesses) makes that something legally binding. So by not doing it (as tends to happen with new year's resolutions), you have an unfulfilled oath which needs to be dealt with. Instead, I propose a theme for the new year... something that I want to think about, do, and do well.
Last year the theme seemed to be tefilah (prayer). Not that it was fully planed, it just seemed to work out that way. This year it's tseduka (charity). (Maybe next year it will be teshuva - acts of loving kindness, to round out the "B'Rosh Ha'Shana" prayer.)
Not only do I want to try to give more charity (both money and my time), but I want to give it better.
By better I don't mean picking better charities to donate to. I want to try to make my charity to impact peoples lives.
One example... I never used to give change to the "beggars" down town. A few years ago I changed that practice and now I give whenever I have what to give. However, I have often caught myself dropping money in their cup/hat/bin and walking by without even looking at them. They deserve better than a few coins, they deserve the same respect I would afford to everyone else. This year when I drop the change in the bin I want to look at them, smile, say hello, talk to them... As human beings they deserve at least that much.
A few months ago I had the opportunity to perform one of the best forms of charity and passed it up - I don't want to pass it up if I get the chance again. I was walking downtown (on my way to watch a Blue Jays game) and someone asked for some change, I happily gave them some. They then asked if I wanted to buy some of their art ($5 for a picture) and I turned them down. Charity through handouts is one thing, but charity through business dealings is another. By giving her some coins she is dependent on me, by buying her art she would have felt like she earned the $5 money. The self respect that would have come along with that transaction would have meant more to her then the $0.75 I gave her.
Another time I'll tell you about my first charitable donation of the year - and why it means much more than that.
The year 5764 will be the year of tseduka.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
My mind set for Rosh Ha'Shana
My favourate web site for the past several years has been Aish.com, the web site for Aish Ha'Torah, what I would call a Jewish "in-reach" organization.
Doing some pre-Rosh Ha'Shana reading there before the new year, I came across a quote from Rabbi Avigdor Nebanzahl. He says "if the Jewish people would cry tears of repentance on Rosh Hashana, when all the occurrences of the subsequent year are determined, we would not have to cry tears of grief throughout the year."
The past 2 years have been filled with many tears of grief for me and my family. The big ones being the passing of my grandmother, a cancer scare with my brother and my wife and I having 2 miscarriages. My faith and my Jewish community has been a huge support for me, but despite my best efforts I still find myself asking "why". This line from Rabbi Nebanzahl really hit home for me.
I went into the High Holidays this year with this as my mindset and the holidays were the most spiritual and moving I have ever experienced (not to mention the fast was the easiest it has ever been - I was so deeply engrossed in my spiritual side that I forgot my physical side was hungry). For the first time the notion of Teshuva was real to me, not just a motion we're suppose to go through at this time of year.
During the "Al Chet" I found myself not just mouthing the words, but actually asking myself what have I done this past year which would be a sin of hardening of the heart, or through though or speech or bribery... For the first time I was actually repenting for specific mistakes, not just generalities.
I know this process made me a better person, and G-d willing it will save some tears of grief for the upcoming year.
Doing some pre-Rosh Ha'Shana reading there before the new year, I came across a quote from Rabbi Avigdor Nebanzahl. He says "if the Jewish people would cry tears of repentance on Rosh Hashana, when all the occurrences of the subsequent year are determined, we would not have to cry tears of grief throughout the year."
The past 2 years have been filled with many tears of grief for me and my family. The big ones being the passing of my grandmother, a cancer scare with my brother and my wife and I having 2 miscarriages. My faith and my Jewish community has been a huge support for me, but despite my best efforts I still find myself asking "why". This line from Rabbi Nebanzahl really hit home for me.
I went into the High Holidays this year with this as my mindset and the holidays were the most spiritual and moving I have ever experienced (not to mention the fast was the easiest it has ever been - I was so deeply engrossed in my spiritual side that I forgot my physical side was hungry). For the first time the notion of Teshuva was real to me, not just a motion we're suppose to go through at this time of year.
During the "Al Chet" I found myself not just mouthing the words, but actually asking myself what have I done this past year which would be a sin of hardening of the heart, or through though or speech or bribery... For the first time I was actually repenting for specific mistakes, not just generalities.
I know this process made me a better person, and G-d willing it will save some tears of grief for the upcoming year.
Tuesday, October 07, 2003
Shana Tova
The name of this blog is "Pintle Yid" which is a Yiddish phrase meaning "Jewish Spark".
The idea of this blog is to provide a place for me to record (for myself and anyone else) some of the Jewish insights that I learned, came across, read, heard or was otherwise revealed to me on any given day.
I have always been "fairly Jewish". I had a good Jewish education and was raised in a moderately observant Jewish home. I always had strong Jewish feelings, but in the last few years (especially the last one year) I have been drawn to Traditional Judaism.
For most of the past year I have wrapped tefillin and daven Shacharit daily (with a minyon at Shaar Shalom in Thornhill, Ontario the days I work from the office, and at home when I work from there). My wife, Mandy, and I just about keep a kosher home (kosher food and separate dishes, but we wash everything together in the dishwasher, and out separation of pots and pans in not very good). We observe all the holidays and I've played a little with becoming shommer Shabbas (I'm not quite ready to make that leap but someday...). I started learning regularly, and the more I learn the more I want to learn. Hence this blog.
I often come across teachings, quotes or ideas that are life altering for me - they change my way of thinking or looking at the world. I wanted to have a place to record these and share them with the world. That's what you'll find here.
I'll also use this blog to record updates on my personal practices and observances as well as the occasional comment on world events of interest to the Jewish world.
Use of the comment facility is encouraged and greatly appreciated. I'd love to hear peoples reactions and see if the words on these pages affect you as much as they affect me. I'm also interested to see if people actually read this blog.
So without further adieu, I present "Pintle Yid - The Blog".
The idea of this blog is to provide a place for me to record (for myself and anyone else) some of the Jewish insights that I learned, came across, read, heard or was otherwise revealed to me on any given day.
I have always been "fairly Jewish". I had a good Jewish education and was raised in a moderately observant Jewish home. I always had strong Jewish feelings, but in the last few years (especially the last one year) I have been drawn to Traditional Judaism.
For most of the past year I have wrapped tefillin and daven Shacharit daily (with a minyon at Shaar Shalom in Thornhill, Ontario the days I work from the office, and at home when I work from there). My wife, Mandy, and I just about keep a kosher home (kosher food and separate dishes, but we wash everything together in the dishwasher, and out separation of pots and pans in not very good). We observe all the holidays and I've played a little with becoming shommer Shabbas (I'm not quite ready to make that leap but someday...). I started learning regularly, and the more I learn the more I want to learn. Hence this blog.
I often come across teachings, quotes or ideas that are life altering for me - they change my way of thinking or looking at the world. I wanted to have a place to record these and share them with the world. That's what you'll find here.
I'll also use this blog to record updates on my personal practices and observances as well as the occasional comment on world events of interest to the Jewish world.
Use of the comment facility is encouraged and greatly appreciated. I'd love to hear peoples reactions and see if the words on these pages affect you as much as they affect me. I'm also interested to see if people actually read this blog.
So without further adieu, I present "Pintle Yid - The Blog".
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