Another double portion this week. The portion read as a law text; basically it listing off law after law. It starts off with a description of the duties of the High Priest on Yom Kippur, then the prohibition of offering a sacrifice outside of the Temple. Israel is then warned against imitating the ways of the nations, including religious and sexual immorality. It gives of long list of whose “nakedness” you cannot uncover. Then comes the famous, “You shall not lie down with a male, as with a woman: this is an abomination” [Lev 18:22]. Finally there are a series of laws about how to make a Holy society.
There is certainly a lot of laws I could talk about in this portion. But instead, I wanted to talk about the order of the laws. After the first section, we read law after law about sexual practices, sacrifices, keeping kosher, gossip, stealing, lying… But before all that we read about the duties of the High Priest on Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur is a day when we can obtain atonement for our sins. Before G-d tells us the details of all these laws, he wants us to know regardless of your sin, atonement is possible. Had the order been reversed, we would have seem something like this: G-d gives the people the laws, and they complain “G-d, there is no way that we can do all of this.’ G-d then responds “OK, fine I’ll give you a method to atone when you sin.” That is a very different story that the one we get here. G-d is telling us up front, “Look, I know there is no way that you can be perfect and keep all of these laws. But the point is that you should strive for it. When you sin, you can atone and continue striving for perfection.”
It’s instructive to note, that the Hebrew word that is generally translated as sin, actually means “mistake” or “missing the target”. So in Jewish consciousness, a sin is not the terrible thing that the Christians would have you believe, it simply means you made a mistake, you wee aiming for perfection and missed the mark. In this context, Yom Kippur is a way to realign your sights, and get you back on the right path.
Shabbat Shalom
Friday, April 30, 2004
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Happy Birthday Israel
Today is Yom Ha’Atzmaut – Israel’s Independence Day.
In the aftermath of the Shoa (the Holocaust), the UN voted to partition the piece of land then known as Palestine (the name was given to the land by the Romans when they expelled the Jews in the 2nd century); one part for a Jewish State and one part for an Arab state. The official date given by the United Nations in their partition vote for the creation of the two new entities was May 15th, 1948.
Thus, May 14th was to be the last day of the British Mandate. At 4 p.m., the British lowered their flag and immediately the Jews raised their own.
It was a flag designed in 1897 by the First Zionist Congress. It was white (the color of newness and purity), and it had two blue stripes (the color of heaven) like the stripes of a tallit, the prayer shawl, which symbolized the transmission of Jewish tradition. In its center was the Star of David.
Thus on May 14, 1948 at 4:00 p.m., Hay Iyar, the 5th of Iyar, Israel declared itself a state.
After 2,000 years, the land of Israel was once more in the hands of the Jews.
David Ben Gurion read the Declaration of Independence over the radio:
Everyone was dancing in the streets. But not for long.
Almost immediately five Arab countries declared war and Egypt bombed Tel Aviv.
Little Israel, which had virtually no heavy artillery, no tanks, no airplanes, had to defend itself against Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq! That's 600,000 Jews against 45 million Arabs, while the United Nations did nothing. Despite a cease fire the next year, the war of independence never really ended, since the Arab world has constantly sought to “drive the Zionist entity into the sea”.
This 56-year war has had had times of hope and times of distress. Currently, we are in a time of great distress. We are fighting for our very existence against an enemy who wants to kill every one of us. In these difficult times, Jews around the world wonder how to respond. The Chief Rabbi of Great Britain gives this advice.
At the very heart of Judaism is the word emunah. Emunah is often translated as faith, but that is not what it means. It means faithfulness, loyalty, being there for someone else when they need you and not walking away when times are hard. That is what Israel needs of us, the Jews of the Diaspora, at this time. It does not ask us to support this government, that Prime Minister, this party, that policy. About these things we are entitled to disagree. What Israel needs of us right now is loyalty. Yes, there are times when we can be critics. But not when Israel is in distress. Then we must show support. "As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you and in Jerusalem you will find comfort."
There are many ways to bring comfort: by defending Israel's case, by writing to the press or to the local MP, by phoning friends and relatives in Israel to let them know we are with them, or simply by prayer, our oldest and greatest source of strength. Let us show the people of Israel that they are not alone; that we are with them. And let us remember Isaiah's faith that God, who brought His people home, would one day give them peace. No people need it more. No people have earned it more.
Hashem oz le-amo yiten - May God give strength to His people in this hour of trial.
Hashem yevarech et amo vashalom - And may He give them the one blessing they cherished more than any other. Peace, speedily in our days, Amen.
In the aftermath of the Shoa (the Holocaust), the UN voted to partition the piece of land then known as Palestine (the name was given to the land by the Romans when they expelled the Jews in the 2nd century); one part for a Jewish State and one part for an Arab state. The official date given by the United Nations in their partition vote for the creation of the two new entities was May 15th, 1948.
Thus, May 14th was to be the last day of the British Mandate. At 4 p.m., the British lowered their flag and immediately the Jews raised their own.
It was a flag designed in 1897 by the First Zionist Congress. It was white (the color of newness and purity), and it had two blue stripes (the color of heaven) like the stripes of a tallit, the prayer shawl, which symbolized the transmission of Jewish tradition. In its center was the Star of David.
Thus on May 14, 1948 at 4:00 p.m., Hay Iyar, the 5th of Iyar, Israel declared itself a state.
After 2,000 years, the land of Israel was once more in the hands of the Jews.
David Ben Gurion read the Declaration of Independence over the radio:
"The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here the spiritual, religious and national identity was formed. Here they achieved independence and created a culture of national and universal significance. Here they wrote and gave the Bible to the world...
"Exiled from Palestine, the Jewish people remained faithful to it in all the countries of the dispersion, never ceasing to pray and hope for their return and restoration of their national freedom.
"Accordingly we, the members of the National Council met together in solemn assembly today and by virtue of the natural and historic right of the Jewish people and with the support of the resolution of the General of the United Nations, hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine to be called Israel...
"We offer peace and amity to all neighboring states and their peoples and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all...
"With trust in the Rock of Israel, we set our hands to this declaration at this session of the Provisional State Council in the city of Tel Aviv on Sabbath Eve, 5th Iyar 5708, 14th day of May 1948."
Everyone was dancing in the streets. But not for long.
Almost immediately five Arab countries declared war and Egypt bombed Tel Aviv.
Little Israel, which had virtually no heavy artillery, no tanks, no airplanes, had to defend itself against Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq! That's 600,000 Jews against 45 million Arabs, while the United Nations did nothing. Despite a cease fire the next year, the war of independence never really ended, since the Arab world has constantly sought to “drive the Zionist entity into the sea”.
This 56-year war has had had times of hope and times of distress. Currently, we are in a time of great distress. We are fighting for our very existence against an enemy who wants to kill every one of us. In these difficult times, Jews around the world wonder how to respond. The Chief Rabbi of Great Britain gives this advice.
At the very heart of Judaism is the word emunah. Emunah is often translated as faith, but that is not what it means. It means faithfulness, loyalty, being there for someone else when they need you and not walking away when times are hard. That is what Israel needs of us, the Jews of the Diaspora, at this time. It does not ask us to support this government, that Prime Minister, this party, that policy. About these things we are entitled to disagree. What Israel needs of us right now is loyalty. Yes, there are times when we can be critics. But not when Israel is in distress. Then we must show support. "As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you and in Jerusalem you will find comfort."
There are many ways to bring comfort: by defending Israel's case, by writing to the press or to the local MP, by phoning friends and relatives in Israel to let them know we are with them, or simply by prayer, our oldest and greatest source of strength. Let us show the people of Israel that they are not alone; that we are with them. And let us remember Isaiah's faith that God, who brought His people home, would one day give them peace. No people need it more. No people have earned it more.
Hashem oz le-amo yiten - May God give strength to His people in this hour of trial.
Hashem yevarech et amo vashalom - And may He give them the one blessing they cherished more than any other. Peace, speedily in our days, Amen.
Monday, April 26, 2004
In Memory of the Fallen
Today, the day before we celebrate the birth of the State of Israel, is Yom Ha’Zikaron – Israel’s remembrance day for all those civilians, soldiers and security personnel who have been killed defending the State of Israel from her enemies.
20,196 servicemen and women who have fallen in defence of the state since November 1947.
In the past year 184 members of the Israel Police, IDF, Border Police, Prisons Service, General Security Service, and other organizations were killed in the service of the state.
This does not include the 1000’s of innocent civilians who have been killed in the 10’s of thousands of terrorist attacks that Israel has inured since it’s inceptions.
They gave their lives so that the people of Israel could live - "Am Yisrael Chai".
Let us never forget their sacrifice, and let not allow their sacrifice to be in vain.
20,196 servicemen and women who have fallen in defence of the state since November 1947.
In the past year 184 members of the Israel Police, IDF, Border Police, Prisons Service, General Security Service, and other organizations were killed in the service of the state.
This does not include the 1000’s of innocent civilians who have been killed in the 10’s of thousands of terrorist attacks that Israel has inured since it’s inceptions.
They gave their lives so that the people of Israel could live - "Am Yisrael Chai".
Let us never forget their sacrifice, and let not allow their sacrifice to be in vain.
Friday, April 23, 2004
Parashat Tazria
This weeks Torah reading is a double portion of Tazria and Metzora. The reason we sometimes have a double portion is that the entire Torah has 54 portions. Which is the number of weeks in a leap year. So in leap years, we read one a week. During non leap years, we only have 50 weeks, so we need to double up on 4 portions to get it all read in one year. This is one of those doubling up weeks.
This week we read about “tzora”, which is generally translated as leprosy, but all commentators agree that it’s not actually talking about the physical disease of leprosy, but a spiritual disease with symptoms that resemble leprosy.
The commentary tells us that tzora is cased by improper use of speech (called Lashon Hara – or Evil Speak - basically gossip). With this in mind, we can understand why we are told to go to the high priest if we experience the symptoms of tzora, instead of a doctor. The doctor can tell us the the symptoms are consistent with leprosy, but the priest is the one who can tell us is the problem is a physical one or a spiritual one.
Tzroa is really a huge gift. There are many aspects of our spiritual life that we have no idea if we are doing properly. G-d doesn’t send us an evaluation telling us if we pray properly, if we get the most out of Shabbos, but G-d does tell us when we are harming our souls through speech. Why is speech so important? Because it can e so destructive.
The Torah tells us, that when we gossip, we gossip we harm three people, the speaker, the listener, and the one being gossiped about. The story is told of a man who engages in gossip. After doing so, he feels so terrible that he goes to his Rabbi and asks how he can fix what he did. The Rabbi tells him to go and get a feather pillow and bring it to the Rabbi. Once he has that, the Rabbi tells him to rip open the pillow and release all the feathers into the wind. The man does as he is told, and then asks the Rabbi how this will help. The Rabbi answers, now go and collect all the feathers, it is only one you have them that you can truly fix what you did by gossip.
That’s the thing about speech, once the words are out of your mouth, their like the feathers of the pillow, there is no way to get them back.
Next time we’re in a situation that there is gossip; lets try to stop it to save us from having to collect the feathers.
Shabbat Shalom.
This week we read about “tzora”, which is generally translated as leprosy, but all commentators agree that it’s not actually talking about the physical disease of leprosy, but a spiritual disease with symptoms that resemble leprosy.
The commentary tells us that tzora is cased by improper use of speech (called Lashon Hara – or Evil Speak - basically gossip). With this in mind, we can understand why we are told to go to the high priest if we experience the symptoms of tzora, instead of a doctor. The doctor can tell us the the symptoms are consistent with leprosy, but the priest is the one who can tell us is the problem is a physical one or a spiritual one.
Tzroa is really a huge gift. There are many aspects of our spiritual life that we have no idea if we are doing properly. G-d doesn’t send us an evaluation telling us if we pray properly, if we get the most out of Shabbos, but G-d does tell us when we are harming our souls through speech. Why is speech so important? Because it can e so destructive.
The Torah tells us, that when we gossip, we gossip we harm three people, the speaker, the listener, and the one being gossiped about. The story is told of a man who engages in gossip. After doing so, he feels so terrible that he goes to his Rabbi and asks how he can fix what he did. The Rabbi tells him to go and get a feather pillow and bring it to the Rabbi. Once he has that, the Rabbi tells him to rip open the pillow and release all the feathers into the wind. The man does as he is told, and then asks the Rabbi how this will help. The Rabbi answers, now go and collect all the feathers, it is only one you have them that you can truly fix what you did by gossip.
That’s the thing about speech, once the words are out of your mouth, their like the feathers of the pillow, there is no way to get them back.
Next time we’re in a situation that there is gossip; lets try to stop it to save us from having to collect the feathers.
Shabbat Shalom.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Counting the Omer
Starting on the 2nd day of Passover, there is a 50 days period, which brings us to the holiday of Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The date of Shavuot is never mentioned in the Torah, it’s just recorded as 50 days after Passover.
The Torah commands us to “count 50 days”, known as the counting of the Omer. So every night in the evening prayers, we say a special blessing and then “count the days”. “This is day one of the Omer”, “This is day 10, which is 1 week and 2 days of the Omer”.
Counting the days leading up to a big event is not uncommon (and what event could be bigger than encountering G-d, as we did at Mount Sinai). The difference is that we generally count down to a bid day; “5 more days until my birthday”, “6 more days until we get our new car”. But with the Omer, we count up, adding one each day until we reach day 50. What can we learn from this?
The sages teach, that there are 50 levels of holiness. While in Egypt, the Jews slipped all the way down to the 2nd lowest level (had we slipped all the way to the lowest level, we’re told that we would not have been redeemed from Egypt). Being on such a low level, it would have been impossible for us to receive the Torah. We needed to elevate ourselves to the highest level of holiness.
Each day we peel away another layer of gunk revealing the original, pure soul that we each possess. So we’re not counting down the days to the big event; we’re counting how many layers we’ve peeled away, we’re counting how many stairs on the staircase to the heavens we’re climbed.
This is just as applicable to us today, as it was when we left Egypt. We all have spiritual growth that we can do. A major impediment to growth is the feeling of being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. But Judaism is not all-or-nothing. If I cannot have 1,000 gold coins, does that mean I should not strive to have even one?! The key to growth is to know what direction you want to go in, and be sure to stay on the path. The Kabbalists say that spiritual growth is "two steps forward and one step back." We will inevitably have setbacks. What's important is that we're heading in the right direction.
Jewish holiness is about striving to be closer to G-d. So it doesn’t matter which stair you’re on, what matters is which direction you are heading.
Ideally, at the end of the Omer process, we will have experienced a journey of self-improvement and be ready to receive the Torah. The holiday we're working toward is called "Shavuot," which means "weeks." The name itself tells us that without the weeks of preparation beforehand, there is no Shavuot. So don't just count the Omer -- make the Omer count.
The Torah commands us to “count 50 days”, known as the counting of the Omer. So every night in the evening prayers, we say a special blessing and then “count the days”. “This is day one of the Omer”, “This is day 10, which is 1 week and 2 days of the Omer”.
Counting the days leading up to a big event is not uncommon (and what event could be bigger than encountering G-d, as we did at Mount Sinai). The difference is that we generally count down to a bid day; “5 more days until my birthday”, “6 more days until we get our new car”. But with the Omer, we count up, adding one each day until we reach day 50. What can we learn from this?
The sages teach, that there are 50 levels of holiness. While in Egypt, the Jews slipped all the way down to the 2nd lowest level (had we slipped all the way to the lowest level, we’re told that we would not have been redeemed from Egypt). Being on such a low level, it would have been impossible for us to receive the Torah. We needed to elevate ourselves to the highest level of holiness.
Each day we peel away another layer of gunk revealing the original, pure soul that we each possess. So we’re not counting down the days to the big event; we’re counting how many layers we’ve peeled away, we’re counting how many stairs on the staircase to the heavens we’re climbed.
This is just as applicable to us today, as it was when we left Egypt. We all have spiritual growth that we can do. A major impediment to growth is the feeling of being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. But Judaism is not all-or-nothing. If I cannot have 1,000 gold coins, does that mean I should not strive to have even one?! The key to growth is to know what direction you want to go in, and be sure to stay on the path. The Kabbalists say that spiritual growth is "two steps forward and one step back." We will inevitably have setbacks. What's important is that we're heading in the right direction.
Jewish holiness is about striving to be closer to G-d. So it doesn’t matter which stair you’re on, what matters is which direction you are heading.
Ideally, at the end of the Omer process, we will have experienced a journey of self-improvement and be ready to receive the Torah. The holiday we're working toward is called "Shavuot," which means "weeks." The name itself tells us that without the weeks of preparation beforehand, there is no Shavuot. So don't just count the Omer -- make the Omer count.
Monday, April 19, 2004
When G-d Knocks
On the intermediate Sabbath of Passover, we read ‘The Song of Songs’, which is a love poem written by King Solomon. In chapter 5 we read:
On this surface, ‘Song of Songs” is a love story between a man and woman. In this section, we read the man knocking at the door after the woman had gone to bed. The woman doesn’t want to get out of bed, so leave the man knocking. Eventually she decides to answer the door, but it’s too late. The man had left.
All commentaries agree, that “Song of Songs” is not a love story between man and woman; it’s between G-d and his people. So in this context, the above excerpt is about man not answering G-d when he calls.
Most of us would agree, that if G-d came knocking at your door, you would run to greet him. But how many of us really do? We hear a knock at our spiritual door, and we’re too tired to go answer it. We hear something that peaks our interest, but we’re too tired to study it. We experience something that could be considered miraculous, but we’re content to call it coincidence, so that we don’t have to question our beliefs.
My process of teshuva (return) was started when I decided to go see who was knocking at my door during a very difficult time in my life. Most of the past 2 years has been spent answering the door. The question is, how am I going to react when I see who is on the other side?
"I was asleep but my heart was awake.
A voice! My beloved was knocking:
'Open to me, my sister, my darling,
My dove, my perfect one!
For my head is drenched with dew,
My locks with the damp of the night.'
"I have taken off my dress,
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet,
How can I dirty them again?
"I arose to open to my beloved;
But my beloved had turned away and had gone!
I searched for him but I did not find him;
I called him but he did not answer me.
On this surface, ‘Song of Songs” is a love story between a man and woman. In this section, we read the man knocking at the door after the woman had gone to bed. The woman doesn’t want to get out of bed, so leave the man knocking. Eventually she decides to answer the door, but it’s too late. The man had left.
All commentaries agree, that “Song of Songs” is not a love story between man and woman; it’s between G-d and his people. So in this context, the above excerpt is about man not answering G-d when he calls.
Most of us would agree, that if G-d came knocking at your door, you would run to greet him. But how many of us really do? We hear a knock at our spiritual door, and we’re too tired to go answer it. We hear something that peaks our interest, but we’re too tired to study it. We experience something that could be considered miraculous, but we’re content to call it coincidence, so that we don’t have to question our beliefs.
My process of teshuva (return) was started when I decided to go see who was knocking at my door during a very difficult time in my life. Most of the past 2 years has been spent answering the door. The question is, how am I going to react when I see who is on the other side?
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Parashat – Smini
Last week, the Torah portion leaves the regular cycle to read a special passage for Passover. This week we’re back to the narrative. We pick up the story with the dedication ceremony for the Mishkan. And then go on to some of the laws of kashrus.
On the eighth (and final) day of the dedication, after Aaron brought the prescribed korbonot, tragedy strikes. Aarons two sons are suddenly killed when they try to bring their own offering. This has caused many Rabbis to ask two questions, “what did they do wrong” and ‘why did that warrant such a harsh penalty?” I’ll offer a few of the traditional explanations, and then I’ll try to add something of my own.
This story happens right after we’re told about the laws against a priest performing a service while drunk. So some commentaries suggest that Aaron’s sons brought their offering while drunk. Others suggest that the problem was their offering wasn’t asked for. But what’s wrong with that? Here’s my understanding.
This issue is related to one I discussed a few weeks ago, when I asked why making the golden calf was so terrible, while building the golden cherubs (as part of the cover for the arc) was good. The answer is based on the concept of “avodah zarah” – strange worship. Bringing an offering that G-d did not ask for is worshiping him in ways G-d didn’t set out. In today’s thinking, this is often viewed as a good thing, we hear statements like “we should all relate to G-d in a way that is meaningful to us.” But that notion is not in line with traditional jewish thinking (although we do hear it from Jewish sources).
Man deciding how he’s going to worship G-d, puts man at the centre of the G-d / Man relationship. Jewish thinking says that G-d should be at the centre. G-d took the time to specify how we are to worship him. G-d knows the human condition far better than we do. It’s presumptuous of us to think we can improve on G-d instructions. That’s what Aaron’s sons did wrong. They thought to improve on G-d’s laws.
But then there’s the other side of the question, why was this a capital offence? The answer is one that we need to keep in mind when we look at the mistakes of any Biblical leader. “According to your level of knowledge is your level of responsibility. According to your level of responsibility is your level of accountability.” Aaron’s sons were priests, they should have known better. The greater you are, the bigger the impact of your decisions, therefore you must be held to an extremely high standard. As we see time and time again in the Bible, the mistakes of people in positions of power have huge consequences. Indeed, we read Moses explaining this very idea to Aaron a few verses later. The irony is that Moses ends up paying a huge price (arguably higher than the death penalty) for a seemingly minor mistake (as we’ll see in coming weeks).
Shabbat Shalom
On the eighth (and final) day of the dedication, after Aaron brought the prescribed korbonot, tragedy strikes. Aarons two sons are suddenly killed when they try to bring their own offering. This has caused many Rabbis to ask two questions, “what did they do wrong” and ‘why did that warrant such a harsh penalty?” I’ll offer a few of the traditional explanations, and then I’ll try to add something of my own.
This story happens right after we’re told about the laws against a priest performing a service while drunk. So some commentaries suggest that Aaron’s sons brought their offering while drunk. Others suggest that the problem was their offering wasn’t asked for. But what’s wrong with that? Here’s my understanding.
This issue is related to one I discussed a few weeks ago, when I asked why making the golden calf was so terrible, while building the golden cherubs (as part of the cover for the arc) was good. The answer is based on the concept of “avodah zarah” – strange worship. Bringing an offering that G-d did not ask for is worshiping him in ways G-d didn’t set out. In today’s thinking, this is often viewed as a good thing, we hear statements like “we should all relate to G-d in a way that is meaningful to us.” But that notion is not in line with traditional jewish thinking (although we do hear it from Jewish sources).
Man deciding how he’s going to worship G-d, puts man at the centre of the G-d / Man relationship. Jewish thinking says that G-d should be at the centre. G-d took the time to specify how we are to worship him. G-d knows the human condition far better than we do. It’s presumptuous of us to think we can improve on G-d instructions. That’s what Aaron’s sons did wrong. They thought to improve on G-d’s laws.
But then there’s the other side of the question, why was this a capital offence? The answer is one that we need to keep in mind when we look at the mistakes of any Biblical leader. “According to your level of knowledge is your level of responsibility. According to your level of responsibility is your level of accountability.” Aaron’s sons were priests, they should have known better. The greater you are, the bigger the impact of your decisions, therefore you must be held to an extremely high standard. As we see time and time again in the Bible, the mistakes of people in positions of power have huge consequences. Indeed, we read Moses explaining this very idea to Aaron a few verses later. The irony is that Moses ends up paying a huge price (arguably higher than the death penalty) for a seemingly minor mistake (as we’ll see in coming weeks).
Shabbat Shalom
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Passover Recap
With Passover having ended last night, I wanted to comment on how easy I found the Passover diet this year. Part of that can be explained by the fact that the only part about Passover eating I tend to find difficult is packing lunches, and this year I only had to pack a lunch 2 times (thanks to the Yom Tov’s, weekends, and the secular holiday).
But the other part is more spiritual, much in the same vein as why I found the fast on Yom Kippur to be so easy this past year. In past years I was focused on the limitations of Passover. What I can’t eat. This year, I looked at it differently. I was focused on “why” rather than the ‘how”. I asked myself the question, “why do I have to be careful what I eat?” The answer that I gave myself was that if it wasn’t for G-d acting to bring me out of Egypt, I would not be here writing this blog, I’d be building store cities for whatever Pharaoh was in power today (I’ll assume that with millions of Jewish slaves, Egypt would never have been concurred). So I owe everything to what G-d did at this time of year, 3500 years ago. As an act of gratitude and remembrance, G-d asks us to alter our diet for a week. In that light is seems quite selfish to spend the week complaining.
The key part to the answer, is the word “me’. We have to understand the phrase in the Haggadah that in each generation we have to look at ourselves as if we came out of Egypt. Once you are able to really relate to that sentence (which I was able to do with much learning), giving up bread for a week is a piece of cake (sorry, I had to get that pun in somewhere)
But the other part is more spiritual, much in the same vein as why I found the fast on Yom Kippur to be so easy this past year. In past years I was focused on the limitations of Passover. What I can’t eat. This year, I looked at it differently. I was focused on “why” rather than the ‘how”. I asked myself the question, “why do I have to be careful what I eat?” The answer that I gave myself was that if it wasn’t for G-d acting to bring me out of Egypt, I would not be here writing this blog, I’d be building store cities for whatever Pharaoh was in power today (I’ll assume that with millions of Jewish slaves, Egypt would never have been concurred). So I owe everything to what G-d did at this time of year, 3500 years ago. As an act of gratitude and remembrance, G-d asks us to alter our diet for a week. In that light is seems quite selfish to spend the week complaining.
The key part to the answer, is the word “me’. We have to understand the phrase in the Haggadah that in each generation we have to look at ourselves as if we came out of Egypt. Once you are able to really relate to that sentence (which I was able to do with much learning), giving up bread for a week is a piece of cake (sorry, I had to get that pun in somewhere)
Friday, April 09, 2004
The world of the Messiah
Nachmanides (the RamBan), in a commentary about the Messiah, states that the coming of the Messiah is not just a political thing. Living in a world free of war, where the lamb lies with the lion, does not mean the Messiah is here.
He explains that when good things happen we say a blessing “Blessed is G-d, who is good and does good.” When bad things happen we say “Blessed is G-d, the true Judge.” We know the good and bad all come from G-d, and even if we don’t really believe it at the time that a bad thing happens, we know that G-d is the true Judge, and there is a reason for this bad thing.
RamBan says that when the Messiah comes, we’ll be able to look back on all these ‘bad’ things and say, “Blessed is G-d, who is good and does good.”. We will be able to look at all these “bad” things and see why they are really “good” things.
If we look back on the destruction of the Temple, and the Holocaust and say “I see why these things needed to happen”, then the Messiah has not come yet. When we are able to look back on them and say “Blessed is G-d, who is good and does good”, then we are living in the Messianic age.
Shabbat Shalom.
He explains that when good things happen we say a blessing “Blessed is G-d, who is good and does good.” When bad things happen we say “Blessed is G-d, the true Judge.” We know the good and bad all come from G-d, and even if we don’t really believe it at the time that a bad thing happens, we know that G-d is the true Judge, and there is a reason for this bad thing.
RamBan says that when the Messiah comes, we’ll be able to look back on all these ‘bad’ things and say, “Blessed is G-d, who is good and does good.”. We will be able to look at all these “bad” things and see why they are really “good” things.
If we look back on the destruction of the Temple, and the Holocaust and say “I see why these things needed to happen”, then the Messiah has not come yet. When we are able to look back on them and say “Blessed is G-d, who is good and does good”, then we are living in the Messianic age.
Shabbat Shalom.
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Pasach, Matzoh, Marror…
In the Haggadah, we read that we are obliged to talk about three things; Pasach (the Passover sacrifice), matzoh (unleavened bread), and marror (bitter herbs). We read that that the reason we eat these is to remind us of slavery, and that when we left Egypt, we didn’t have time to let our bread rise. The end of chapter 12 of Exodus is given as the sorce.
The problem is that the beginning of chapter 12 of Exodus has a different story. It says that on the 1st of Nissan, G-d told Moses (to tell the people) that on the 14th of the month “they shall eat the flesh, roasted over the fire, and unleavened cakes; with bitter herbs they shall eat it.” [Exodus [12:8] So 2 weeks before the “first Sedar” G-d told the people to eat pesach, matzoh and marror. So obviously it had nothing to do with not having time for the bread to rise… they had 2 weeks to make it!
The explanation is quite profound. Remember that this happens the night before the exodus. Just as we eat these things to remind us of slavery, so to, did they eat them to remind them of slavery. But why do they need to be reminded? They were still slaves.
Even though they were physically still slaves (they would not leave Egypt until the next day), they had complete faith in G-d and they knew that they would be leaving the next day. So spiritually, they were already free, and needed to be reminded of what it was like to be a slave.
The problem is that the beginning of chapter 12 of Exodus has a different story. It says that on the 1st of Nissan, G-d told Moses (to tell the people) that on the 14th of the month “they shall eat the flesh, roasted over the fire, and unleavened cakes; with bitter herbs they shall eat it.” [Exodus [12:8] So 2 weeks before the “first Sedar” G-d told the people to eat pesach, matzoh and marror. So obviously it had nothing to do with not having time for the bread to rise… they had 2 weeks to make it!
The explanation is quite profound. Remember that this happens the night before the exodus. Just as we eat these things to remind us of slavery, so to, did they eat them to remind them of slavery. But why do they need to be reminded? They were still slaves.
Even though they were physically still slaves (they would not leave Egypt until the next day), they had complete faith in G-d and they knew that they would be leaving the next day. So spiritually, they were already free, and needed to be reminded of what it was like to be a slave.
Monday, April 05, 2004
A thought for your Sedar…
We generally ask on Passover, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” Before we answer that question with the reading of the Haggadah, I’d like to ask a different question. “Why should this Passover be different from all other Passovers”?
The answer, is because no holiday should leave us the same as we were when it began. Jewish holidays are not parties or mere celebrations; they are opportunities for growth. And that takes preparation. But on Passover, we are so busy physically preparing for the holiday, with all the cleaning, shopping and cooking, that we tend to not take the time to prepare ourselves for growth.
So lets prepare.
On Passover, every Jew is obligated to see himself as if he personally had gone out of Egypt. This strains the imaginative powers of even the most imaginative of us. Back-breaking labor, massive bricks, the crack of the whip of the Egyptian taskmaster, the humiliations and torture of slavery are all so remote from our experience that, try as we may, the empirical sense of being enslaved eludes us. How, then, can each of us personally experience liberation from slavery?
I propose, that seeing yourself as if you had personally gone out of Egypt, is not about liberation, it’s about freedom. But what is freedom?
In the western world, freedom is generally defined as “the ability to do what ever you want.” But Israel did not obtain liberation in order to go party in the desert. The purpose of the exodus was to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai. Equating Torah with freedom is surprising. The 613 commandments of the Torah are often regarded as 613 restrictions. How can they be synonymous with freedom?
The answer can be seen by observing the elections held in countries ruled by dictators. All the accoutrements of free elections are there, such as voting booths and secret ballots. But if only one candidate is running, the election is clearly not "free." Freedom requires choice.
When God gave the Jewish people the Torah, He gave us 613 choices. Observe Shabbat or not. Love your neighbor or not. Gossip or not. Unlike Pharaoh, God, as you might have noticed, brooks a great deal of disobedience. That's why a person who violates a Divine commandment is not struck by lightening. Immediate punishment would limit our freedom of choice. The ability to make moral choices is a Divine gift. It's the only true freedom humans have.
Freedom is not about having no one to tell you what to do; it’s about being able to choose who to listen to. “Blessed is the servant of G-d, who is not the servant of Pharaoh.”
Only in the moral realm do you have free choice. When your inner tape says to give tit for tat, to respond to an insult with an even more lethal barb, you have the power to change the tape. You have the power to ask yourself, "Is this who I really want to be?" The very act of choosing between your knee-jerk response and the Divine imperative to be kind is freedom.
Each of us at every moment is heeding the voice of Pharaoh or the voice of God. The voice of Pharaoh commands us to do what is instinctive, automatic, reflexive. "Doing what comes naturally," is ultimate bondage because we exercise no power of choice.
The voice of God, on the other hand, offers an alternative to instinct. For example, by commanding us not to take revenge [Lev. 19:18], God in effect is saying: "Your instinct is to hurt those who hurt you. By commanding you to act otherwise, I'm offering you the ability to choose a different course."
The exercise of choice is the essence of freedom. Forget the taskmaster's whip and the massive bricks. Each of us is enslaved every time we act on automatic pilot, every time we react according to our instinctual programming.
To experience liberation this Passover, we need only to break the bonds of instinct, to learn to deliberate and decide what we shall do or what we shall say, based on who we want to become -- a slave of Pharaoh or a servant of God.
The answer, is because no holiday should leave us the same as we were when it began. Jewish holidays are not parties or mere celebrations; they are opportunities for growth. And that takes preparation. But on Passover, we are so busy physically preparing for the holiday, with all the cleaning, shopping and cooking, that we tend to not take the time to prepare ourselves for growth.
So lets prepare.
On Passover, every Jew is obligated to see himself as if he personally had gone out of Egypt. This strains the imaginative powers of even the most imaginative of us. Back-breaking labor, massive bricks, the crack of the whip of the Egyptian taskmaster, the humiliations and torture of slavery are all so remote from our experience that, try as we may, the empirical sense of being enslaved eludes us. How, then, can each of us personally experience liberation from slavery?
I propose, that seeing yourself as if you had personally gone out of Egypt, is not about liberation, it’s about freedom. But what is freedom?
In the western world, freedom is generally defined as “the ability to do what ever you want.” But Israel did not obtain liberation in order to go party in the desert. The purpose of the exodus was to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai. Equating Torah with freedom is surprising. The 613 commandments of the Torah are often regarded as 613 restrictions. How can they be synonymous with freedom?
The answer can be seen by observing the elections held in countries ruled by dictators. All the accoutrements of free elections are there, such as voting booths and secret ballots. But if only one candidate is running, the election is clearly not "free." Freedom requires choice.
When God gave the Jewish people the Torah, He gave us 613 choices. Observe Shabbat or not. Love your neighbor or not. Gossip or not. Unlike Pharaoh, God, as you might have noticed, brooks a great deal of disobedience. That's why a person who violates a Divine commandment is not struck by lightening. Immediate punishment would limit our freedom of choice. The ability to make moral choices is a Divine gift. It's the only true freedom humans have.
Freedom is not about having no one to tell you what to do; it’s about being able to choose who to listen to. “Blessed is the servant of G-d, who is not the servant of Pharaoh.”
Only in the moral realm do you have free choice. When your inner tape says to give tit for tat, to respond to an insult with an even more lethal barb, you have the power to change the tape. You have the power to ask yourself, "Is this who I really want to be?" The very act of choosing between your knee-jerk response and the Divine imperative to be kind is freedom.
Each of us at every moment is heeding the voice of Pharaoh or the voice of God. The voice of Pharaoh commands us to do what is instinctive, automatic, reflexive. "Doing what comes naturally," is ultimate bondage because we exercise no power of choice.
The voice of God, on the other hand, offers an alternative to instinct. For example, by commanding us not to take revenge [Lev. 19:18], God in effect is saying: "Your instinct is to hurt those who hurt you. By commanding you to act otherwise, I'm offering you the ability to choose a different course."
The exercise of choice is the essence of freedom. Forget the taskmaster's whip and the massive bricks. Each of us is enslaved every time we act on automatic pilot, every time we react according to our instinctual programming.
To experience liberation this Passover, we need only to break the bonds of instinct, to learn to deliberate and decide what we shall do or what we shall say, based on who we want to become -- a slave of Pharaoh or a servant of God.
Friday, April 02, 2004
Parashat Tzav – Passover Cleaning
Fittingly, just before the festival of Passover, we have a tie in from the weekly Torah portion.
Many people look at the extreme measures that we are suppose to go to in order to kosherize out homes for Passover (boiling metal pots, using blow torches on others, not being able to kosherize earth ware…), and think that some Rabbi made up these rules. But in fact they have basis in the Torah, as we read this week.
The passage is talking about the meat from a sacrifice. If it isn’t eaten within a certain time limit, it, and the vessel it’s in, become unclean. The passage details how to purify the vessels again. It talks about a clay pot has to be broken, since you can not purify it, and that a copper pot needs to be either boiled, or immersed in fire until it becomes red hot. The ancient commentaries talk about the reasons for this (food particles getting in the pores of the vessels).
The same rules and reasons apply today when you want to make a pot kosher for Passover, or convert it from milk to meat, or just make a pot kosher.
I’ll need to read this section closely, since I want to kosherize all my kitchen stuff when I move into my new house, so we can have a strictly kosher kitchen.
Many people look at the extreme measures that we are suppose to go to in order to kosherize out homes for Passover (boiling metal pots, using blow torches on others, not being able to kosherize earth ware…), and think that some Rabbi made up these rules. But in fact they have basis in the Torah, as we read this week.
The passage is talking about the meat from a sacrifice. If it isn’t eaten within a certain time limit, it, and the vessel it’s in, become unclean. The passage details how to purify the vessels again. It talks about a clay pot has to be broken, since you can not purify it, and that a copper pot needs to be either boiled, or immersed in fire until it becomes red hot. The ancient commentaries talk about the reasons for this (food particles getting in the pores of the vessels).
The same rules and reasons apply today when you want to make a pot kosher for Passover, or convert it from milk to meat, or just make a pot kosher.
I’ll need to read this section closely, since I want to kosherize all my kitchen stuff when I move into my new house, so we can have a strictly kosher kitchen.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Parashat Tzav – Guilt
Despite the common link between Jewish mothers ad guilt, Judaism, as a religion, specifically tries to avoid guilt and shame. There are laws in Judaism that making a person blush out of shame (or embarrassment) is as if you spilt their blood.
This week, we continue to read about the bringing of korbanot (sacrifices) in the temple. We read about the free will offering, that one can bring at any time, for any reason, and the sin offering, that one brings when they sinned without knowing it, then realized it later (e.g. your forget that it’s Shabbat and you spend money).
For every offering, there is a different spot in the courtyard of the Temple that you were suppose to bring the offering to. The Kohen (priest) would meet you there and take the offering, and sacrifice it on the alter. However, the free will offering and sin offering are both brought to the same spot.
The explanation is that if you had a specific spot to bring a sin offering, then everyone would see you go there and know you sinned. This way, no one (other than you, and the Kohen) knows if you sinned, or are bringing a free will offering.
Even in sin, Judaism is a compassionate religion.
This week, we continue to read about the bringing of korbanot (sacrifices) in the temple. We read about the free will offering, that one can bring at any time, for any reason, and the sin offering, that one brings when they sinned without knowing it, then realized it later (e.g. your forget that it’s Shabbat and you spend money).
For every offering, there is a different spot in the courtyard of the Temple that you were suppose to bring the offering to. The Kohen (priest) would meet you there and take the offering, and sacrifice it on the alter. However, the free will offering and sin offering are both brought to the same spot.
The explanation is that if you had a specific spot to bring a sin offering, then everyone would see you go there and know you sinned. This way, no one (other than you, and the Kohen) knows if you sinned, or are bringing a free will offering.
Even in sin, Judaism is a compassionate religion.
Passover and Freedom
The holiday of Passover is often described as the holiday of Freedom.
In the western world, freedom is often defined as the ability to do whatever you like whenever you like, without some oppressive authority telling you what to do. But that’s not how Judaism defines freedom.
G-d did not take us out of Egypt so that we could party in the desert. We were taken out of Egypt (notice I said we, not our ancient ancestors) in order that we would be able to stand at Mount Sinai and receive the Torah.
The Torah’s definition of freedom is best described by the famous Talmudic verse “Praised be the servant of G-d who is not the servant of Pharaoh.” Some would describe this situation as freedom being a means to and end, I would take a different position.
I would say that liberation from Egypt is a means to an end, but freedom IS receiving the Torah. That is, we were not truly free until we received the Torah.
If we view elections held in countries ruled by dictators, we see all the elements of free elections; voting booths, secret ballots. But if there is only one name on the ballot, the election is not truly free. Most would agree that choice is a requirement for freedom, but I would say that freedom IS choice.
Before the Torah, we were slaves to our instinct; our only real option was to respond to a situation based on instinct. With the giving of the Torah, we were giving another option, instead of choosing instinct; we can choose the moral path given in the Torah. We now have a choice. Respond to an insult with an even more lethal barb, or respond with kindness. Gossip, or don’t. Keep kosher, or don’t.
The 613 mitzvot are not restrictions on our freedom. They provide us with choice, thus they are our freedom.
In the western world, freedom is often defined as the ability to do whatever you like whenever you like, without some oppressive authority telling you what to do. But that’s not how Judaism defines freedom.
G-d did not take us out of Egypt so that we could party in the desert. We were taken out of Egypt (notice I said we, not our ancient ancestors) in order that we would be able to stand at Mount Sinai and receive the Torah.
The Torah’s definition of freedom is best described by the famous Talmudic verse “Praised be the servant of G-d who is not the servant of Pharaoh.” Some would describe this situation as freedom being a means to and end, I would take a different position.
I would say that liberation from Egypt is a means to an end, but freedom IS receiving the Torah. That is, we were not truly free until we received the Torah.
If we view elections held in countries ruled by dictators, we see all the elements of free elections; voting booths, secret ballots. But if there is only one name on the ballot, the election is not truly free. Most would agree that choice is a requirement for freedom, but I would say that freedom IS choice.
Before the Torah, we were slaves to our instinct; our only real option was to respond to a situation based on instinct. With the giving of the Torah, we were giving another option, instead of choosing instinct; we can choose the moral path given in the Torah. We now have a choice. Respond to an insult with an even more lethal barb, or respond with kindness. Gossip, or don’t. Keep kosher, or don’t.
The 613 mitzvot are not restrictions on our freedom. They provide us with choice, thus they are our freedom.
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