This weeks Torah portion is one of the longest ones of the year. Many items are covered, but the one I wanted to talk about was the instructions for the ‘Priestly Blessing”.
To this day, the Kohanim (who are the descendants of Aaron) say a special blessing over the people. The origins of this blessing are found in this Parashat.
We read that G-d tells Moses to tell Aaron to bless the people. The blessing that Aaron is to give the people is essentially “May G-d overlook your mistakes and be merciful.” This raises a basic question; if G-d wants to be merciful, why does he need to tell Aaron to bless the people, why can’t G-d just be merciful?
Now, I could write an entire thesis on this one question, but I’ll try to keep it short.
The basic issue is the relationship between our actions and G-d’s response. Kabbalah tells us of the strings between man and the fingers of G-d. The picture we get is of G-d controlling us like marionettes. But that pictures doesn’t mesh with the notion that we have free will. Kabbalah explains that the relationship is the other way, it’s our actions that control the hand of G-d. In other words how G-d treats us is directly related to how we act.
There is a passage in the Talmud, which states that if a man eats an apple without saying a blessing, it is as if he has stolen from G-d and the entire Jewish people. The Talmud then goes on to ask, what is it that you would be stealing? The obvious answer is that you would be stealing an apple, since we are not allowed to eat an apple without first thanking G-d. But the Talmud says that what we are stealing is the blessing. One lost apple will hardly affect G-d’s accounting; but by not making the blessing, we are limiting the amount of spirituality in the world, and that is something that can never e replaced.
Now let’s relate this back to our original issue. G-d wants to be merciful and show his love for us, but if limit the amount of spirituality in the world, it’s as if we are holding back G-d from showing us his love. G-d treats us in the same way we treat each other. If we all live spiritual lives, showing mercy to our fellow man, then G-d will have ample opportunity to show his mercy. If we instead treat each other by the strict letter of the law, then G-d will do the same to us.
So what the Priestly Blessing is really saying is “May you all live your lives in such a way that will allow god to overlook your mistakes and show mercy on you.”
So next time a friend or loved one makes a mistake, before you decide how to react think about how you would want G-d to react, according to the letter of the law, or with mercy.
Shabbat Shalom
Friday, May 28, 2004
Accepting the Torah
Last post I talked about the Kabalistic story of how the soul of Torah was created 974 generations before Adam, and was finally given a body at Mount Sinai. There is a very interesting story in the Misha about the giving of the Torah.
The story goes that G-d told the Torah to go to Adam, but the Torah refused because Adam was a sinner. Then G-d told the Torah to go to Noah, but the Torah refused because Noah was a drunk. Then G-d told the Torah to go to Abraham, but the Torah refused because Abraham questioned G-d. This continued through the generations until G-d told the Torah to go to Moses, and the Torah did.
On Shavout we are supposed to personally accept the Torah, just like we did 3300 years ago at the foot of Mount Sinai. However, us accepting the Torah is not enough. The Torah needs to accept us.
That’s what the Omer is for. It gives us seven weeks to prepare ourselves so that the Torah will accept us.
The story goes that G-d told the Torah to go to Adam, but the Torah refused because Adam was a sinner. Then G-d told the Torah to go to Noah, but the Torah refused because Noah was a drunk. Then G-d told the Torah to go to Abraham, but the Torah refused because Abraham questioned G-d. This continued through the generations until G-d told the Torah to go to Moses, and the Torah did.
On Shavout we are supposed to personally accept the Torah, just like we did 3300 years ago at the foot of Mount Sinai. However, us accepting the Torah is not enough. The Torah needs to accept us.
That’s what the Omer is for. It gives us seven weeks to prepare ourselves so that the Torah will accept us.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
The Soul of Torah
Shavout commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. But exactly what was it that was given to Moses at Mount Sinai?
On one level, this has been the major division point amount the various movements in Judaism. The Orthodox view is that G-d gave Moses the613 commandments and the principles of how to apply them – the Oral Torah. The written Torah (the 5 books of Moses) was given to Moses over the next 40 years. The Reform view is that G-d told Moses the contents of the 5 books, which Moses wrote down (to the best of his recollection) over the next 40 years. The Conservative view(s) fall somewhere in between (There are actually 4 distinct positions in the Conservative movement… I’ll talk about those some other time).
However, that’s only part of the question. The Mishna tells us that Abraham (and Isaac and Jacob) kept the entire Torah. How could they have done that if it wasn’t given until the time of Moses?
There is a Kabalistic story that explains this. It says that the Torah was created by G-d 974 generations before Adam. What was created was the “soul” of Torah; the underlying truths and messages of the Torah. Abraham understood the Soul of Torah and was able to keep it. Were his actions identical to ours? Probably not. He probably didn’t wear Teffilin or keep Kosher in the same way we do. But the essence of the laws were kept.
At Mount Sinai, the soul was given a body. That body is what we know today as Torah. The underlying truths and messages contained in the soul of Torah, were rapped in worldly actions. Since that body was also given by G-d, from that time on, it was no longer sufficient to just keep the soul of the Torah, we needed to also observe the body.
The converse is also true. In today’s world it is not sufficient to just keep the body of the Torah; we also need to honour the soul. Strict adherence to the letter of the law, without any attention being paid to the soul, is an empty observance.
This Shavout, lets all try to accept the body and soul of the Torah into our lives.
Chag Sameach.
On one level, this has been the major division point amount the various movements in Judaism. The Orthodox view is that G-d gave Moses the613 commandments and the principles of how to apply them – the Oral Torah. The written Torah (the 5 books of Moses) was given to Moses over the next 40 years. The Reform view is that G-d told Moses the contents of the 5 books, which Moses wrote down (to the best of his recollection) over the next 40 years. The Conservative view(s) fall somewhere in between (There are actually 4 distinct positions in the Conservative movement… I’ll talk about those some other time).
However, that’s only part of the question. The Mishna tells us that Abraham (and Isaac and Jacob) kept the entire Torah. How could they have done that if it wasn’t given until the time of Moses?
There is a Kabalistic story that explains this. It says that the Torah was created by G-d 974 generations before Adam. What was created was the “soul” of Torah; the underlying truths and messages of the Torah. Abraham understood the Soul of Torah and was able to keep it. Were his actions identical to ours? Probably not. He probably didn’t wear Teffilin or keep Kosher in the same way we do. But the essence of the laws were kept.
At Mount Sinai, the soul was given a body. That body is what we know today as Torah. The underlying truths and messages contained in the soul of Torah, were rapped in worldly actions. Since that body was also given by G-d, from that time on, it was no longer sufficient to just keep the soul of the Torah, we needed to also observe the body.
The converse is also true. In today’s world it is not sufficient to just keep the body of the Torah; we also need to honour the soul. Strict adherence to the letter of the law, without any attention being paid to the soul, is an empty observance.
This Shavout, lets all try to accept the body and soul of the Torah into our lives.
Chag Sameach.
Monday, May 24, 2004
Eating dairy on Shavuot
There is a universal customs among Jews to eat a dairy meal on the night of Shavuot. There are a variety of explanations of where this came from. For me, the most convincing is the following; because that’s what the Jews ate the night they got the Torah.
Until the Torah was given, Jews were not obliged to keep kosher. But once it was reveled on Mount Sinai, the Jews had to keep kosher. So, of course, the Jews would have had no kosher meat prepared to be eaten that night (since it takes time to prepare meat in a kosher way). So the Jews could not have eaten meat that night. Hence the dairy meal.
Until the Torah was given, Jews were not obliged to keep kosher. But once it was reveled on Mount Sinai, the Jews had to keep kosher. So, of course, the Jews would have had no kosher meat prepared to be eaten that night (since it takes time to prepare meat in a kosher way). So the Jews could not have eaten meat that night. Hence the dairy meal.
Sunday, May 23, 2004
The least known of the major holidays
It’s ironic that Shavuot is such a little known holiday; because in fact, Shavuot commemorates the single most important event in Jewish history – the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Not only is this the central event in Jewish history, but it’s probably one of the most amazing events in human history. On this day, some 3300 years ago, G-d spoke to the entire Jewish people. Not to one person in a cave, or a small group of people by a lake, but to millions of people camped around Mount Sinai.
The giving of the Torah was an event of awesome proportions that indelibly stamped the Jewish nation with a unique character, faith and destiny. And in the 3,300 years since this event, Torah ideals - monotheism, justice, responsibility -- have become the moral basis for Western civilization.
Perhaps the reason for the relative obscurity of Shavuot is because this holiday has no obvious "symbols" of the day -- i.e. no Shofar, no Sukkah, no Chanukah Menorah.
On Shavuot, there are no symbols to distract us from the central focus of Jewish life: the Torah. This is why it has become a widespread custom to stay up the entire night learning Torah.
While I don’t know if I’ll be able to make the whole night, I certainly plan to spend much of the night (and early morning) in study.
Not only is this the central event in Jewish history, but it’s probably one of the most amazing events in human history. On this day, some 3300 years ago, G-d spoke to the entire Jewish people. Not to one person in a cave, or a small group of people by a lake, but to millions of people camped around Mount Sinai.
The giving of the Torah was an event of awesome proportions that indelibly stamped the Jewish nation with a unique character, faith and destiny. And in the 3,300 years since this event, Torah ideals - monotheism, justice, responsibility -- have become the moral basis for Western civilization.
Perhaps the reason for the relative obscurity of Shavuot is because this holiday has no obvious "symbols" of the day -- i.e. no Shofar, no Sukkah, no Chanukah Menorah.
On Shavuot, there are no symbols to distract us from the central focus of Jewish life: the Torah. This is why it has become a widespread custom to stay up the entire night learning Torah.
While I don’t know if I’ll be able to make the whole night, I certainly plan to spend much of the night (and early morning) in study.
Friday, May 21, 2004
Parashat Bamidbar
This week we start the fourth book of the Torah – Bamidbar (or Numbers, as it’s called in English). We clearly see when the English name comes from; the book starts with the counting of the Jewish people. This was not the first census since leaving Egypt nor would it be the last. As Rashi points out this constant counting reflects the Divine love that G-d has for each and every one of us.
We should all be able to relate to that. We’re all very good at counting the things that are important to us. Unfortunately, the things we tend to count are the dollars in our bank account, the square footage of our houses, or the horse power of our cars.
There were two separate countings; one for the 12 tribes, and then a special one for the tribe of Levi. The Leviim who represented the spiritual side of the Jewish people, teaching Torah and attending to the running of the Beit HaMikdash apparently could not be counted along with the rest of the people. The entire nation was counted materially, then the Leviim were counted spiritually.
The Leviim were also counted differently; all Levi’s males were counted from age 30 days, while for the rest of Israel, only males from 20 years old were counted.
There is an important message here for us and how we relate to our life's goals. While one should only worry about material concerns when one reaches adulthood spiritual training must begin immediately upon birth (in Jewish law it was only upon reaching thirty days that there was a solid presumption that the child would actually survive). If one wants to produce a spiritual person one must begin immediately upon birth. We now know that children do begin learning even before the age of thirty days.
Today Jewish communities are much concerned about continuity, worrying about the declining number of Jews (at least in the Diaspora). Throughout our history when we numbered mush less continuity was not a concern. Our spiritual devotion and strength guaranteed our continuity. It is only if we leave our spiritual roots, our Torah that we are in danger of being swallowed by the world at large. As long as we inculcate our youth with a yearning for spiritual growth we will be able to count many accomplishments of our people.
Shabbat Shalom.
We should all be able to relate to that. We’re all very good at counting the things that are important to us. Unfortunately, the things we tend to count are the dollars in our bank account, the square footage of our houses, or the horse power of our cars.
There were two separate countings; one for the 12 tribes, and then a special one for the tribe of Levi. The Leviim who represented the spiritual side of the Jewish people, teaching Torah and attending to the running of the Beit HaMikdash apparently could not be counted along with the rest of the people. The entire nation was counted materially, then the Leviim were counted spiritually.
The Leviim were also counted differently; all Levi’s males were counted from age 30 days, while for the rest of Israel, only males from 20 years old were counted.
There is an important message here for us and how we relate to our life's goals. While one should only worry about material concerns when one reaches adulthood spiritual training must begin immediately upon birth (in Jewish law it was only upon reaching thirty days that there was a solid presumption that the child would actually survive). If one wants to produce a spiritual person one must begin immediately upon birth. We now know that children do begin learning even before the age of thirty days.
Today Jewish communities are much concerned about continuity, worrying about the declining number of Jews (at least in the Diaspora). Throughout our history when we numbered mush less continuity was not a concern. Our spiritual devotion and strength guaranteed our continuity. It is only if we leave our spiritual roots, our Torah that we are in danger of being swallowed by the world at large. As long as we inculcate our youth with a yearning for spiritual growth we will be able to count many accomplishments of our people.
Shabbat Shalom.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Days and Months
The Friday night Kiddush ends with the blessing “Blessed are you, O’ Lord, who sanctifies the Sabbath.” For holidays, we get a slightly different formula for the blessing; “Blessed are you, O’ Lord, who sanctifies Israel and the Holidays.”
Why the difference?
The issue revolves around how the Jewish calendar works. G-d controls the heavens and the earth. The sun rises and sets because G-d wills it to happen. Since the Sabbath falls every 7th day, it is completely under G-d control. He makes the sun set 7 times, and we have Sabbath.
The holidays are different. G-d specifies the dates of the various holidays, the 10th of this month, the 15th of that month. But man has control over when the holidays fall, because man decides when the new month begins.
The way the calendar works is that the Jewish court would declare a new month when they heard testimony from a witness who saw the new moon. Sometimes due to conflicting testimony (or cloud cover), the new month would be declared a day late. (We no longer use this court system, the calendar was set 2000 years ago based on the rulings of various courts) So, even though Passover always falls on the 15th of Nisan, by declaring the new month a day later, the holiday would be celebrated a day later.
So G-d controls the days, buy Man controls the months and thus the Holidays.
Why the difference?
The issue revolves around how the Jewish calendar works. G-d controls the heavens and the earth. The sun rises and sets because G-d wills it to happen. Since the Sabbath falls every 7th day, it is completely under G-d control. He makes the sun set 7 times, and we have Sabbath.
The holidays are different. G-d specifies the dates of the various holidays, the 10th of this month, the 15th of that month. But man has control over when the holidays fall, because man decides when the new month begins.
The way the calendar works is that the Jewish court would declare a new month when they heard testimony from a witness who saw the new moon. Sometimes due to conflicting testimony (or cloud cover), the new month would be declared a day late. (We no longer use this court system, the calendar was set 2000 years ago based on the rulings of various courts) So, even though Passover always falls on the 15th of Nisan, by declaring the new month a day later, the holiday would be celebrated a day later.
So G-d controls the days, buy Man controls the months and thus the Holidays.
Friday, May 14, 2004
Parashat Behar-Bechukotai
Once again, we have a double portion this week. We read about the laws of the Sabbatical cycles (leaving the fields to rest every seventh year) and the Jubilee year (every 50th year all land reverts back to it’s original owner, slaves are freed, debts forgiven…). We then conclude the book of Vayikra (Leviticus).
The first two books of the Torah have very clear themes. This is not the case with books 3-5. While there are clear themes in the book, it’s hard to pinpoint the underlying theme of the book; why does it start and end exactly where it does.
Even those who deny the divine authorship of the Torah would have to agree that it’s, at the very least, good literature. And in all good literature, the final chapters of the book relate back to the core themes expressed in the opening chapters.
The book begins with “And G-d called out to Moses”. The final parahsat of the book starts with “If you follow My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them, I will give your rains in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will give forth its fruit. … and you will live in security in your land. And I will grant peace in the Land, and you will lie down with no one to frighten you;” [26:3-6]
That’s what the book is about. G-d is telling the nation of Israel (through Moses) that there is a land set aside for his chosen people. And in order to live in this land chosen by G-d, we must live in the way becoming of G-d chosen people. The book then sets out what this way of living is. It talks about what to eat, how to plant, how to worship, how to treat your neighbour, how to treat strangers… It teaches Israel how to bring G-d into every aspect of their lives. In short, it teaches each of us how to live our lives in the image of G-d.
G-d tells us of all the good that will come if we follow in his ways, and all the tragedy that will befall us if we don’t. Let us all hear the calling of G-d, "Vayikra" so that we can `walk together' in order that the blessings of the Torah will be fulfilled speedily in our days.
Shabbat Shalom!
The first two books of the Torah have very clear themes. This is not the case with books 3-5. While there are clear themes in the book, it’s hard to pinpoint the underlying theme of the book; why does it start and end exactly where it does.
Even those who deny the divine authorship of the Torah would have to agree that it’s, at the very least, good literature. And in all good literature, the final chapters of the book relate back to the core themes expressed in the opening chapters.
The book begins with “And G-d called out to Moses”. The final parahsat of the book starts with “If you follow My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them, I will give your rains in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will give forth its fruit. … and you will live in security in your land. And I will grant peace in the Land, and you will lie down with no one to frighten you;” [26:3-6]
That’s what the book is about. G-d is telling the nation of Israel (through Moses) that there is a land set aside for his chosen people. And in order to live in this land chosen by G-d, we must live in the way becoming of G-d chosen people. The book then sets out what this way of living is. It talks about what to eat, how to plant, how to worship, how to treat your neighbour, how to treat strangers… It teaches Israel how to bring G-d into every aspect of their lives. In short, it teaches each of us how to live our lives in the image of G-d.
G-d tells us of all the good that will come if we follow in his ways, and all the tragedy that will befall us if we don’t. Let us all hear the calling of G-d, "Vayikra" so that we can `walk together' in order that the blessings of the Torah will be fulfilled speedily in our days.
Shabbat Shalom!
Monday, May 10, 2004
Rabbi Shimon and the Cave
Yesterday I talked about the story of Rabbi Shimon and the cave. I wanted to talk about that a little.
When he first came out of the cave and he saw some Jews hard at work in the field, and they were so shocked that someone could waste their life on anything other than Torah study. "How could anyone forsake eternal life by indulging in mundane, worldly pursuits?" he said. Rabbi Shimon then cast his gaze upon the farmers -- and they were immediately vaporized, due to the power of Rabbi Shimon's spiritual stature.
At that point, a voice from heaven proclaimed: "My world is not to be destroyed! Return to your cave!"
The question is why did G-d send him back into the cave? Rabbi Shimon’s problem seemed to be that he had studied so much that he was on to high a spiritual level. So why send him back to study more? It would seem that the better solution would have been to send him down to Eilat to “chill” on the beach for a while.
To understand this, let’s look at an unrelated story in the Talmud. The story is told of Rabbi Hillel who had 80 students. The lowest of which was Yochanan ben Zachi (who we know became the leading Rabbi of his time) who was said to have known the entire Torah, Mishna and every bit of Jewish thinking ever taught. The greatest of the students was said to have known all of that, and when he studied, he did it with such intensity that if a bird would fly overhead, it would be consumed by fire.
About 150 years ago, a Chasidic story is told of a student asking his master about this passage about Rabbi Hillel’s students. The student asked his master a simple question. If the student studied with such intensity that a bird would be consumed by fire, how great was Rabbi Hillel?
The answer was that Rabbi Hillel was so great that if a bird would fly overhead while he was studying, absolutely nothing would happen. (I could say that I’m on that level, but that would be missing the point). The lesson here is simple. To be good, you need to know the information, to be great you need intensity, to me a master you need to be able to control that intensity.
So that’s why Rabbi Shimon was send back into the cave, to learn to master his intensity.
When he first came out of the cave and he saw some Jews hard at work in the field, and they were so shocked that someone could waste their life on anything other than Torah study. "How could anyone forsake eternal life by indulging in mundane, worldly pursuits?" he said. Rabbi Shimon then cast his gaze upon the farmers -- and they were immediately vaporized, due to the power of Rabbi Shimon's spiritual stature.
At that point, a voice from heaven proclaimed: "My world is not to be destroyed! Return to your cave!"
The question is why did G-d send him back into the cave? Rabbi Shimon’s problem seemed to be that he had studied so much that he was on to high a spiritual level. So why send him back to study more? It would seem that the better solution would have been to send him down to Eilat to “chill” on the beach for a while.
To understand this, let’s look at an unrelated story in the Talmud. The story is told of Rabbi Hillel who had 80 students. The lowest of which was Yochanan ben Zachi (who we know became the leading Rabbi of his time) who was said to have known the entire Torah, Mishna and every bit of Jewish thinking ever taught. The greatest of the students was said to have known all of that, and when he studied, he did it with such intensity that if a bird would fly overhead, it would be consumed by fire.
About 150 years ago, a Chasidic story is told of a student asking his master about this passage about Rabbi Hillel’s students. The student asked his master a simple question. If the student studied with such intensity that a bird would be consumed by fire, how great was Rabbi Hillel?
The answer was that Rabbi Hillel was so great that if a bird would fly overhead while he was studying, absolutely nothing would happen. (I could say that I’m on that level, but that would be missing the point). The lesson here is simple. To be good, you need to know the information, to be great you need intensity, to me a master you need to be able to control that intensity.
So that’s why Rabbi Shimon was send back into the cave, to learn to master his intensity.
Sunday, May 09, 2004
Lag B’Omer – Kabalistic Meaning
For the Kabalah movement, Lag B’Omer is a very important holiday. It’s the day that the secrets of the Zohar (the major book of Kabbalah) were revieled.
This story centers around Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. He was sentenced to death for speaking badly about the Romans. So he went into hiding with his son.
The two of them hid in a cave for 12 years, spending the entire time learning Torah. After 12 years, they heard that the decree for their death had been lifted, so the came out of the cave. The saw some Jews hard at work in the field, and they were so shocked that someone could waste their life on anything other than Torah study. "How could anyone forsake eternal life by indulging in mundane, worldly pursuits?" he said. Rabbi Shimon then cast his gaze upon the farmers -- and they were immediately vaporized, due to the power of Rabbi Shimon's spiritual stature.
At that point, a voice from heaven proclaimed: "My world is not to be destroyed! Return to your cave!"
Rabbi Shimon and his son returned to the cave, in order to learn better how to control their spiritual powers. At the end of one year, a voice from heaven announced: "Emerge from your cave!"
The date that Rabbi Shimon emerged from the cave (both times) was Lag B’Omer.
Rabbi Shimon went on to become the greatest Torah teacher of his generation. When he reached the final day of his life, he called together his students and told them to pay close attention.
The Zohar (3:291b) describes the scene:
Rabbi Shimon spent the entire day in a prophetic stream of consciousness, revealing the deepest mystical secrets of Torah. He told his students: "Until now, I have held the secrets close to my heart. But now, before I die, I wish to reveal all."
These teachings formed the basis of the Zhoar. The date of Rabbi Shimon’s death, was Lag B’Omer.
This story centers around Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. He was sentenced to death for speaking badly about the Romans. So he went into hiding with his son.
The two of them hid in a cave for 12 years, spending the entire time learning Torah. After 12 years, they heard that the decree for their death had been lifted, so the came out of the cave. The saw some Jews hard at work in the field, and they were so shocked that someone could waste their life on anything other than Torah study. "How could anyone forsake eternal life by indulging in mundane, worldly pursuits?" he said. Rabbi Shimon then cast his gaze upon the farmers -- and they were immediately vaporized, due to the power of Rabbi Shimon's spiritual stature.
At that point, a voice from heaven proclaimed: "My world is not to be destroyed! Return to your cave!"
Rabbi Shimon and his son returned to the cave, in order to learn better how to control their spiritual powers. At the end of one year, a voice from heaven announced: "Emerge from your cave!"
The date that Rabbi Shimon emerged from the cave (both times) was Lag B’Omer.
Rabbi Shimon went on to become the greatest Torah teacher of his generation. When he reached the final day of his life, he called together his students and told them to pay close attention.
The Zohar (3:291b) describes the scene:
Rabbi Shimon spent the entire day in a prophetic stream of consciousness, revealing the deepest mystical secrets of Torah. He told his students: "Until now, I have held the secrets close to my heart. But now, before I die, I wish to reveal all."
These teachings formed the basis of the Zhoar. The date of Rabbi Shimon’s death, was Lag B’Omer.
Lag B’Omer
Today is Lag B’Omer, which literally means the 33rd day of the Omer. The Omer are the 50 days that we count between Passover and Shavout.
There are two interpretations of the holiday; I’ll briefly discuss them both.
First, there is the traditional meaning of the holiday. Back in the 2nd century CD (around the time of the Bar Kochba revolt), the major Rabbi was Rabbi Avikah. He was such a prolific teacher, that he has 24,000 students.
We’re told that between Passover and Lag B’Omer, these students started dieing of an unknown plague. Sources tell us that this was a spiritual plague brought about because the students did not treat each other with respect. The Plague stopped on Lag B’Omer, so we celebrate it as a holiday.
It’s because of this same story that we observe the first 32 days of the Omer as days of mourning.
The question is why do we have a special holiday for these students? There have been many cases in Jewish history where many people died – even many Torah scholars? Why is this one special?
The answer is that these 24,000 students made up the bulk of the Torah scholars in the world at that time. Had they all died of the plague, Torah would have been lost forever.
There are two interpretations of the holiday; I’ll briefly discuss them both.
First, there is the traditional meaning of the holiday. Back in the 2nd century CD (around the time of the Bar Kochba revolt), the major Rabbi was Rabbi Avikah. He was such a prolific teacher, that he has 24,000 students.
We’re told that between Passover and Lag B’Omer, these students started dieing of an unknown plague. Sources tell us that this was a spiritual plague brought about because the students did not treat each other with respect. The Plague stopped on Lag B’Omer, so we celebrate it as a holiday.
It’s because of this same story that we observe the first 32 days of the Omer as days of mourning.
The question is why do we have a special holiday for these students? There have been many cases in Jewish history where many people died – even many Torah scholars? Why is this one special?
The answer is that these 24,000 students made up the bulk of the Torah scholars in the world at that time. Had they all died of the plague, Torah would have been lost forever.
Friday, May 07, 2004
Parahsat Emor – Of Man and Beast
This weeks Torah portion starts with various laws relating to the Kohenim (the Priests). Laws about them not touching dead bodies, expect those of close relatives. Laws about whom they can marry, who can eat from the food allotted for the priests… Then we get a listing of all the Holidays of the Jewish year. We close with a curious story about a man who blasphemed G-d’s name with a curse and a discussion of what the punishment should be. It is in this story that we get the famous verse “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”.
“An Eye for an Eye” obviously doesn’t mean that you should be punished in the same manner of your crime. If you break a man’s arm, the punishment is not to have your arm broken. The principle is ‘proportional punishment” In the ancient world it was common for rules to execute people for trivial crimes. G-d makes it clear that practice is unacceptable. The punishment must fit the crime.
What I wanted to talk about is one line in this discussion about proportional punishment. We read “And one who injures an animal shall pay for it. And one who strikes a person shall be put to death.”[Leviticus 24:21]. Judaism is well known for its laws about kindness to animals. We are not to muzzle a work animal in the field; it should be able to eat from your crops as it harvests them. We can’t use animals of equal strength to pull the same cart, since it makes the weaker animal work too hard. We have to unload all our animals before we load other ones. The well being of animals is very important in Judaism. But it is important to note, that while animals are important and to be treated kindly, they are not human. That’s why we see a less severe punishment for striking an animal compared to striking a human.
The Torah is very clear, while animals are creations of G-d, they are on an lower level than Humans. Animal rights groups (like PETA) try to tell us that animals are humans are on the same level, and anything we would not do to a fellow human being, we should not do to animals. This is ridiculous. Animals and humans are not on the same level, and there is no way to raise an animal to the level of humans (since animals do not have a Neshama – human soul). The only way for PETA to achieve its goal of having humans and animals on the same level, is lo lower ourselves to the level of animals. That is just what they do.
By displaying billboards equating chickens in pens to Jews in Nazi concentration camps, PETA does not humanize chickens; they dehumanize humans (more specifically Jews). While I think PETA desire to improve the treatment of animals is noble, and I support it fully, they need to take a closer look at their methods to make sure that people are getting the right message.
Shabbat Shalom
“An Eye for an Eye” obviously doesn’t mean that you should be punished in the same manner of your crime. If you break a man’s arm, the punishment is not to have your arm broken. The principle is ‘proportional punishment” In the ancient world it was common for rules to execute people for trivial crimes. G-d makes it clear that practice is unacceptable. The punishment must fit the crime.
What I wanted to talk about is one line in this discussion about proportional punishment. We read “And one who injures an animal shall pay for it. And one who strikes a person shall be put to death.”[Leviticus 24:21]. Judaism is well known for its laws about kindness to animals. We are not to muzzle a work animal in the field; it should be able to eat from your crops as it harvests them. We can’t use animals of equal strength to pull the same cart, since it makes the weaker animal work too hard. We have to unload all our animals before we load other ones. The well being of animals is very important in Judaism. But it is important to note, that while animals are important and to be treated kindly, they are not human. That’s why we see a less severe punishment for striking an animal compared to striking a human.
The Torah is very clear, while animals are creations of G-d, they are on an lower level than Humans. Animal rights groups (like PETA) try to tell us that animals are humans are on the same level, and anything we would not do to a fellow human being, we should not do to animals. This is ridiculous. Animals and humans are not on the same level, and there is no way to raise an animal to the level of humans (since animals do not have a Neshama – human soul). The only way for PETA to achieve its goal of having humans and animals on the same level, is lo lower ourselves to the level of animals. That is just what they do.
By displaying billboards equating chickens in pens to Jews in Nazi concentration camps, PETA does not humanize chickens; they dehumanize humans (more specifically Jews). While I think PETA desire to improve the treatment of animals is noble, and I support it fully, they need to take a closer look at their methods to make sure that people are getting the right message.
Shabbat Shalom
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Would you like fries with that…
Kabalah teaches that; “Food is to the body as wisdom is to the soul.” On the surface, this sounds like a nice catch phrase, but when you think it through, it provides some important rules for life.
Everybody wants wisdom, but obtaining it is not easy. It requires time and hard work. Very often we hear students (who supposedly are trying to seek wisdom) say “I studied all day yesterday, I don’t have to learn today.” But if we apply that to the food analogy, we see how ridiculous a statement it is. Have you ever heard anyone say, “I ate yesterday, I don’t have to eat today.” Just like the body needs to constantly ingest food to stay healthy, the soul needs to constant ingest wisdom to remain vibrant.
The Kabalah takes this further – there is a counterpart in wisdom to every type of food. It says that bread is the most basic of food; it’s the rules for living – Halacha. Meat is the questions and answers. It’s digesting wisdom. Then after you’ve finished eating, comes the wine, which represents mysticism. It’s the appreciation and meaning of the wisdom.
Just like the order for eating is bread, then meat, then wine. The order of learning is Mishna (which is a description of the laws), then Talmud (debating the laws to get to the core), then Zohar (mysticism). And just like you don’t drink wine on an empty stomach, one shouldn’t jump into the Zohar without first obtaining a firm basis in Mishna and Talmud. In fact, one is not suppose to start learning Kabalah until they are 40 years old and have mastered the more basic levels of Jewish thought.
If you don’t understand the basics of how to love your fellow man, what’s driving you, what is greatness, what is free will, how to make decisions, and how do you know what you know; all the things that one would learn by studying Mishna and Talmud; then when you get into mysticism your soul will respond to the wisom as your body would respond to wine on an empty stomach.
Everybody wants wisdom, but obtaining it is not easy. It requires time and hard work. Very often we hear students (who supposedly are trying to seek wisdom) say “I studied all day yesterday, I don’t have to learn today.” But if we apply that to the food analogy, we see how ridiculous a statement it is. Have you ever heard anyone say, “I ate yesterday, I don’t have to eat today.” Just like the body needs to constantly ingest food to stay healthy, the soul needs to constant ingest wisdom to remain vibrant.
The Kabalah takes this further – there is a counterpart in wisdom to every type of food. It says that bread is the most basic of food; it’s the rules for living – Halacha. Meat is the questions and answers. It’s digesting wisdom. Then after you’ve finished eating, comes the wine, which represents mysticism. It’s the appreciation and meaning of the wisdom.
Just like the order for eating is bread, then meat, then wine. The order of learning is Mishna (which is a description of the laws), then Talmud (debating the laws to get to the core), then Zohar (mysticism). And just like you don’t drink wine on an empty stomach, one shouldn’t jump into the Zohar without first obtaining a firm basis in Mishna and Talmud. In fact, one is not suppose to start learning Kabalah until they are 40 years old and have mastered the more basic levels of Jewish thought.
If you don’t understand the basics of how to love your fellow man, what’s driving you, what is greatness, what is free will, how to make decisions, and how do you know what you know; all the things that one would learn by studying Mishna and Talmud; then when you get into mysticism your soul will respond to the wisom as your body would respond to wine on an empty stomach.
Monday, May 03, 2004
Zionism
The founders of Zionism stated their goal as the desire to have a state where “Jewish criminals are arrested by Jewish police officers, tried before Jewish judges and incarcerated in a Jewish prison.” Basically, they wanted to have a nation like any other nation.
It has occurred to me that this goal is off the mark. The desire should be to have a state where there are no Jewish criminals, no need for Jewish police offices or Judges or prisons. We should be setting our sights higher than being a nation like any other nation – our goal should be to be “A light onto the nations”. Many years ago, the Jews brought to the world many important concepts.
“Certainly, the world without the Jews would have been a radically different place. Humanity might have eventually stumbled upon all the Jewish insights. But we cannot be sure. All the great conceptual discoveries of the human intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they had been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift. To them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and so a personal redemption; of collective conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice, and many other items which constitute the basic moral furniture of the human mind. Without Jews it might have been a much emptier place." (Paul Johnson, Christian historian, author of A History of the Jews and A History of Christianity)
Our goal for the modern State of Israel should be no less lofty.
It has occurred to me that this goal is off the mark. The desire should be to have a state where there are no Jewish criminals, no need for Jewish police offices or Judges or prisons. We should be setting our sights higher than being a nation like any other nation – our goal should be to be “A light onto the nations”. Many years ago, the Jews brought to the world many important concepts.
“Certainly, the world without the Jews would have been a radically different place. Humanity might have eventually stumbled upon all the Jewish insights. But we cannot be sure. All the great conceptual discoveries of the human intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they had been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift. To them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and so a personal redemption; of collective conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice, and many other items which constitute the basic moral furniture of the human mind. Without Jews it might have been a much emptier place." (Paul Johnson, Christian historian, author of A History of the Jews and A History of Christianity)
Our goal for the modern State of Israel should be no less lofty.
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