This weeks Torah portion presents a lengthy, detailed description of bringing korbanot in the Temple. The Hebrew work ‘korban’ is generally translated as offering or sacrifice. Neither of these is accurate.
“Sacrifice” implies giving up something. It implies that we are saying to G-d, ‘G-d, look how much I love you, instead of selling my finest lamb to pay for my physical needs, I’m giving it to you.”
“Offering” implies giving a gift to G-d. It smacks of paganism and implies that we’re trying to ‘buy off” G-d to get ourselves out of a bind, or to ask for a favour.
Neither of these come close to the meaning of the word “korban’; the word means ‘to come near”, as in to come closer to G-d. When we sin, we move away from G-d, and to move us closer, we bring korbanot Bringing the korban is a way to repair our relationship with G-d.
The korbanot are for our benefit, not G-d’s. The idea that G-d, the creator of the universe, needs, or even wants, us to bring him a nice roast lamb, or a wine or spice offering is blasphemous. G-d is not a physical being G-d doesn’t need to eat or drink. G-d doesn’t need to smell the burning incense. The korbanot are for us; we take the animals and elevate them onto the altar of God. This is a personal declaration of intent to elevate our material resources to a higher level - to direct it toward the service of God.
Today, without a Temple, we cannot bring korbanot. But by understanding the purpose of them (to bring us closer to G-d), we see that there are many ways that we can repair our relationship with G-d after we harm it with sin.
The story is told of Rabbi Yochanan walking on the outskirts of Jerusalem and Rabbi Yehoshua following him. When they saw the ruins of the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple), Rabbi Yehoshua said, "Woe to us. The place that atoned for sins is destroyed."
"My son," said Rabbi Yochanan, "We still have another means of atonement that is equal to the Beit Hamikdash : Chesed (acts of lovingkindness). As it is stated, 'Lovingkindness is what I want, and not sacrifices' (Hoshaia 6:6)." (Avos D'Reb Noson, ch. 4).
Atonement depends upon the individual regretting his actions, making amends, asking for forgiveness and verbally asking the Almighty to accept his plea for forgiveness. Perhaps doing acts of loving kindness aid in focusing an individual upon his larger relationship to the world and to the Almighty, thus placing him in a mode where he is able to examine mistakes and repair them.
Shabbat Shalom.
Friday, March 26, 2004
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Freedom vs. Happiness
In a recent lecture, Rabbi Kahn made an interesting point. He was talking about the difference between the English name of the second book of the Torah, “Exodus”, and the name the Rambam uses ‘Redemption”. I’ve talked about that before. He contends that both have to do with freedom, but Exodus is just a physical freedom from Egypt, while “Redemption” implies that real freedom requires an existential component (which we got at Sinai and through the Mishkan).
He draws an interesting parallel as way of example; he claims that in the history of the world, there has probably never been a time or place when people have had as much freedom as they do in some places today (like America). Does America being so free mean that people are really liberated?
In terms of existential pain, it seems to be a very sad state of affairs. You’ve probably never had a country with as much mental illness as you have today (by mental illness he means people in incredible amounts of psychological pain). People today have experience their Exodus, but not yet their redemption. They have physical freedom, but have no purpose for it. People are too free that they don’t know what they’re living for.
Physically being free without having some sort of a mandate can be a cruel form of torture. That’s why G-d didn’t only take the Jews out of Egypt, but also brought them to Mount Sinai and gave them their mandate, because without that they would not have true freedom.
He draws an interesting parallel as way of example; he claims that in the history of the world, there has probably never been a time or place when people have had as much freedom as they do in some places today (like America). Does America being so free mean that people are really liberated?
In terms of existential pain, it seems to be a very sad state of affairs. You’ve probably never had a country with as much mental illness as you have today (by mental illness he means people in incredible amounts of psychological pain). People today have experience their Exodus, but not yet their redemption. They have physical freedom, but have no purpose for it. People are too free that they don’t know what they’re living for.
Physically being free without having some sort of a mandate can be a cruel form of torture. That’s why G-d didn’t only take the Jews out of Egypt, but also brought them to Mount Sinai and gave them their mandate, because without that they would not have true freedom.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Order of the Books of the Torah
Chronologically, the book of Leviticus seems to be out of place. Exodus ends with the dedication of the Mishkan in the first month of the second year. Skip ahead one book to Numbers, and it picks up in the second month of the second year (and later backtracks to the first month of the second year). In terms of narrating a story, Numbers should come directly after Exodus; but in a thematic sense it’s quite clear that Leviticus follows Exodus. So it seems clear that G-d has chosen theme over chronology.
This tells us something about the purpose of the Torah. Its primary purpose is not as a book of history (although it certainly contains history), it’s primarily a book of law. The narrative is used to bind everything together, but the goal of the Torah is to transmit laws. There are several spots where events are out of order, and when we come across them we need to ask ourselves ‘why did the transmission of the laws in this section require the narrative to be out of order?”
Keeping this in mind will be a great help in understanding the Torah on a deeper level.
This tells us something about the purpose of the Torah. Its primary purpose is not as a book of history (although it certainly contains history), it’s primarily a book of law. The narrative is used to bind everything together, but the goal of the Torah is to transmit laws. There are several spots where events are out of order, and when we come across them we need to ask ourselves ‘why did the transmission of the laws in this section require the narrative to be out of order?”
Keeping this in mind will be a great help in understanding the Torah on a deeper level.
Monday, March 22, 2004
The Book of Vayikra (Leviticus)
This week we start reading the book of Vayikra.
When children are first introduced to the world of Torah, their learning is supposed to start with the book of Vayikra. This seems like a strange choice. The book deals with the laws of korbanot - sacrifices or offerings. These laws do not apply to day (since we no longer have a temple) and their purpose is a matter of much dispute among the most learned of adults, not to mention the fact the teaching children about animal sacrifices could be disturbing. If we, as adults, have trouble relating to this book, why would we teach it to children as an introduction to Torah? Why not start with the relatable stories of Genesis or Exodus?
The midrash addresses this issue and responds “Children are pure and sacrifices are pure. Let the pure occupy themselves with the pure.” (This, by the way, is in stark contrast to the Christian idea of “Original Sin”.) If we think about it, what impression would children get if their first introduction to the Torah would be the book of Genesis? The book starts with Adam and Eve disobeying the one commandment G-d gave them. Then moves on to fratricide (Cane killing Able), and continues to vicious sibling rivalries (Jacob and Essau, Joseph and his brothers.). Exodus is not much better. The book of Bamidbar (Numbers) could be called the book of complaining. Whatever the issue, the Jews were complaining and therefore had to wander aimlessly for forty years until a new generation arose, one free from the slave mentality of their parents. In Devarim (Deuteronomy) Moses exhorts the Jews not to repeat the mistakes of the past, which would further delay their entry into the land of Israel. While these books are all full of great examples of moral strength, an impressionable child might be left with a skewed picture of what Judaism teaches.
Teaching about the korbanot properly can instill in the child some of the most basic messages of Judaism. Rabbi Kelman says:
I would suggest that the most important message of the korbanot - especially as it relates to children - is the importance of sincerity. Time and time again the prophets protested the bringing of sacrifices by the Jewish people. They emphasized that the mere bringing of sacrifices was unacceptable, even hated by G-d (see Isiah 1:11-14). Atonement was not possible unless accompanied by a sincere desire to improve. Otherwise it is just a meaningless unwanted ritual. A true korban made one closer to G-d and had lasting impact on the person. We live in a world full of insincerity. The inculcation of this trait must begin at a tender age so at least our children can lead the way to sincere worship of G-d
When children are first introduced to the world of Torah, their learning is supposed to start with the book of Vayikra. This seems like a strange choice. The book deals with the laws of korbanot - sacrifices or offerings. These laws do not apply to day (since we no longer have a temple) and their purpose is a matter of much dispute among the most learned of adults, not to mention the fact the teaching children about animal sacrifices could be disturbing. If we, as adults, have trouble relating to this book, why would we teach it to children as an introduction to Torah? Why not start with the relatable stories of Genesis or Exodus?
The midrash addresses this issue and responds “Children are pure and sacrifices are pure. Let the pure occupy themselves with the pure.” (This, by the way, is in stark contrast to the Christian idea of “Original Sin”.) If we think about it, what impression would children get if their first introduction to the Torah would be the book of Genesis? The book starts with Adam and Eve disobeying the one commandment G-d gave them. Then moves on to fratricide (Cane killing Able), and continues to vicious sibling rivalries (Jacob and Essau, Joseph and his brothers.). Exodus is not much better. The book of Bamidbar (Numbers) could be called the book of complaining. Whatever the issue, the Jews were complaining and therefore had to wander aimlessly for forty years until a new generation arose, one free from the slave mentality of their parents. In Devarim (Deuteronomy) Moses exhorts the Jews not to repeat the mistakes of the past, which would further delay their entry into the land of Israel. While these books are all full of great examples of moral strength, an impressionable child might be left with a skewed picture of what Judaism teaches.
Teaching about the korbanot properly can instill in the child some of the most basic messages of Judaism. Rabbi Kelman says:
I would suggest that the most important message of the korbanot - especially as it relates to children - is the importance of sincerity. Time and time again the prophets protested the bringing of sacrifices by the Jewish people. They emphasized that the mere bringing of sacrifices was unacceptable, even hated by G-d (see Isiah 1:11-14). Atonement was not possible unless accompanied by a sincere desire to improve. Otherwise it is just a meaningless unwanted ritual. A true korban made one closer to G-d and had lasting impact on the person. We live in a world full of insincerity. The inculcation of this trait must begin at a tender age so at least our children can lead the way to sincere worship of G-d
Friday, March 19, 2004
Parashat Vayakhel – P’Kudei
This week, finish the book of Exodus by reading about the completion of the Mishkan. "In the first month of the second year on the first of the month the tabernacle was erected" [40:2]. Interestingly, it was exactly one year earlier that G-d said to Moses “this month shall be the head month to you. It shall be the first month of the year" [12:1]. So the year Jewish calendar starts with both the physical redemption from Egypt and the spiritual redemption obtained by building the Mishkan both happened on the same day, the first of Nisan, the first day of the Jewish year.
Following the creation of the calendar (which is the first commandment given to the Nation of Israel), we get a series of commandments relating to Passover. In all of these commandments, the timing is very important. The law is not to refrain form eating bread for a week, it to refrain from eating bread on a specific week. Doing it a week early or late is not fulfilling the commandment. It’s not only in the stock market that timing is everything!
Rabbi Kelman says “Each one of us in our personal lives can easily fall prey to doing the right thing at the wrong time. Waiting too long to apologize, spending more time at home just as the kids are starting to move out, taking on religious stringency’s before one is ready, or even davening shacharit before dawn. We must learn to sanctify time by using it appropriately. It is the pathway to redemption.”
Shabbat Shalom!
Following the creation of the calendar (which is the first commandment given to the Nation of Israel), we get a series of commandments relating to Passover. In all of these commandments, the timing is very important. The law is not to refrain form eating bread for a week, it to refrain from eating bread on a specific week. Doing it a week early or late is not fulfilling the commandment. It’s not only in the stock market that timing is everything!
Rabbi Kelman says “Each one of us in our personal lives can easily fall prey to doing the right thing at the wrong time. Waiting too long to apologize, spending more time at home just as the kids are starting to move out, taking on religious stringency’s before one is ready, or even davening shacharit before dawn. We must learn to sanctify time by using it appropriately. It is the pathway to redemption.”
Shabbat Shalom!
Monday, March 15, 2004
What’s in a name?
This week we finish reading the second book of the Torah, the book of Exodus. Maimonides refers to this book as “The Book of the Redemption”. Where as in the modern world titles are often selected to increase sales, Biblically speaking, the titles that our sages give to these books can provide valuable insight into the book itself.
The Christian’s titled the book Exodus, because the exodus from Egypt is the main event of the book. The Jewish title of “Redemption” seems to be referring to the same event (the redemption is being freed from Egypt), but if the main point of the book is the exodus from Egypt, why doesn’t the book end somewhere around chapter 16, when the Jews leave Egypt, or cross the Sea of Reeds, or get the 10 commandments. Why does it go on for 20 more chapters?
The key is that in Jewish consciousness, leaving Egypt wasn’t the goal; it was a means to an end. The end was the building of the Mishkan (the portable temple), and through the Mishkan bringing G-d presence into the world. The redemption wasn’t complete until we read in the closing lines of the book “And the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan.” It’s not until the Mishkan is complete and G-d presence enters the world that the book can come to a close.
So in a few weeks when Jews all over the world gather on Passover to remember the Exodus, let’s think about why we were brought out of Egypt and what freedom really means to the Jewish people (something that’ll talk about as we get closer to Passover).
The Christian’s titled the book Exodus, because the exodus from Egypt is the main event of the book. The Jewish title of “Redemption” seems to be referring to the same event (the redemption is being freed from Egypt), but if the main point of the book is the exodus from Egypt, why doesn’t the book end somewhere around chapter 16, when the Jews leave Egypt, or cross the Sea of Reeds, or get the 10 commandments. Why does it go on for 20 more chapters?
The key is that in Jewish consciousness, leaving Egypt wasn’t the goal; it was a means to an end. The end was the building of the Mishkan (the portable temple), and through the Mishkan bringing G-d presence into the world. The redemption wasn’t complete until we read in the closing lines of the book “And the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan.” It’s not until the Mishkan is complete and G-d presence enters the world that the book can come to a close.
So in a few weeks when Jews all over the world gather on Passover to remember the Exodus, let’s think about why we were brought out of Egypt and what freedom really means to the Jewish people (something that’ll talk about as we get closer to Passover).
Friday, March 12, 2004
Parahat Ki Tasi
I’ve talked a little about the events of this weeks Torah portion already. The key event this week is the incident of the Golden Calf. This event is probably the one that has generated the most commentary in the entire bible. I can’t possibly do it justice, but what I want to do is talk about one issue and one meta issue that this story brings up.
First a brief run down of events, remember that the text of the Torah is not always if chronological order. The Jewish nation left Egypt, crossed the Sea of Reeds and is camped at the foot of Mount Sinai. G-d speaks to the entire Jewish nation and gives them the 10 Commandments. Moses is told to go up the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights so that G-d can give him the entire Torah. Moses does so and G-d gives him all 613 commandments, and the principles of how to apply them – the Oral Law (the written torah is dictated to Moses over the next 40 years in the desert). The Jewish Nation miscounts the 40 days and thinks they are up without Moses returning; they think he has died. The “mixed multitudes’ build an idol. Moses comes down after the 40 days are up and sees what has happened. He smashes the tablets, crushes the golden calf and deals with the problem. Once that is done he goes back up the mountain to plead with G-d to have mercy on the people. G-d has mercy; Moses engraves the new set of tablets and comes back down. The day that Moses comes back down is Yom Kippur. It’s the first time that the entire nation pleaded with G-d for mercy and forgiveness. That’s why we do the same every year.
So the obvious question to ask is how, after just hearing G-d seek directly to you and tell you not to engage in idolatry, how can you go and build an idol? The answer has 2 parts, what did they build, and who build it.
Don’t think for a second that after experiencing what the people just did that they would make an idol to replace G-d. What they were doing is making a replacement for Moses. When the people looked at Moses, they could feel G-d’s presence. Now that they thought Moses was dead, they were afraid they would loose that feeling. They wanted to build something that would show them that G-d was still with them. So they were not worshiping another G-d, but they did make a graven image, which was expectedly forbidden in the 10 Commandments, hence the punishment.
The other part of the answer is who built it? The text tells us that it was the “mixed multitudes’. What does that mean. The Midrash tells us that after the 10 plagues, when the Jews left Egypt, many Egyptians were so impressed by what they saw, that they joined the Jews and went out of Egypt with them. Moses accepted them as ‘converts”. Various sources tell us that there were as many as 600,000 of them. The problem was that they grew up as worshiping idols, and that’s how they knew how to relate to G-d. So when the going got tough, some of them reverted partially back to their old ways.
The midrashim tell us that the number of people who were actively involved in the building and worshiping of the Golden Calf numbered about 3000. Which is 1/10th of 1% of the total group camped at the mountain. Most of the Jews had nothing to do with it. Their sin was that they did nothing to stop it.
That brings us to the meta issue that I wanted to talk about. If it was only 3000 Egyptian converts who were involved, why does the text of the Torah put the blame on all of Israel? The concept is that of collective punishment. The Jewish people are all parts of a whole (that’s why at the start of this week’s portion, Moses takes a census by collecting a half shekel - not a full shekel - from each person). And this whole has a collective mission in this world. This responsibility is to bring the truth of one G-d to the world. Because of this awesome mission, we have to be accountable for our fellow Jews. To borrow fro an earlier Torah portion; “Am I my brother’s keeper”? For the Jews the answer is yes.
This is an idea that we as a people exhibit to this very day. Every time a Jew, anywhere in the world, does anything wrong, we all fell a little bit of sadness. Because we know that we are all parts of one body. This, of course, relates back to my Kippah discussion of a few days ago.
Shabbat Shalom.
First a brief run down of events, remember that the text of the Torah is not always if chronological order. The Jewish nation left Egypt, crossed the Sea of Reeds and is camped at the foot of Mount Sinai. G-d speaks to the entire Jewish nation and gives them the 10 Commandments. Moses is told to go up the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights so that G-d can give him the entire Torah. Moses does so and G-d gives him all 613 commandments, and the principles of how to apply them – the Oral Law (the written torah is dictated to Moses over the next 40 years in the desert). The Jewish Nation miscounts the 40 days and thinks they are up without Moses returning; they think he has died. The “mixed multitudes’ build an idol. Moses comes down after the 40 days are up and sees what has happened. He smashes the tablets, crushes the golden calf and deals with the problem. Once that is done he goes back up the mountain to plead with G-d to have mercy on the people. G-d has mercy; Moses engraves the new set of tablets and comes back down. The day that Moses comes back down is Yom Kippur. It’s the first time that the entire nation pleaded with G-d for mercy and forgiveness. That’s why we do the same every year.
So the obvious question to ask is how, after just hearing G-d seek directly to you and tell you not to engage in idolatry, how can you go and build an idol? The answer has 2 parts, what did they build, and who build it.
Don’t think for a second that after experiencing what the people just did that they would make an idol to replace G-d. What they were doing is making a replacement for Moses. When the people looked at Moses, they could feel G-d’s presence. Now that they thought Moses was dead, they were afraid they would loose that feeling. They wanted to build something that would show them that G-d was still with them. So they were not worshiping another G-d, but they did make a graven image, which was expectedly forbidden in the 10 Commandments, hence the punishment.
The other part of the answer is who built it? The text tells us that it was the “mixed multitudes’. What does that mean. The Midrash tells us that after the 10 plagues, when the Jews left Egypt, many Egyptians were so impressed by what they saw, that they joined the Jews and went out of Egypt with them. Moses accepted them as ‘converts”. Various sources tell us that there were as many as 600,000 of them. The problem was that they grew up as worshiping idols, and that’s how they knew how to relate to G-d. So when the going got tough, some of them reverted partially back to their old ways.
The midrashim tell us that the number of people who were actively involved in the building and worshiping of the Golden Calf numbered about 3000. Which is 1/10th of 1% of the total group camped at the mountain. Most of the Jews had nothing to do with it. Their sin was that they did nothing to stop it.
That brings us to the meta issue that I wanted to talk about. If it was only 3000 Egyptian converts who were involved, why does the text of the Torah put the blame on all of Israel? The concept is that of collective punishment. The Jewish people are all parts of a whole (that’s why at the start of this week’s portion, Moses takes a census by collecting a half shekel - not a full shekel - from each person). And this whole has a collective mission in this world. This responsibility is to bring the truth of one G-d to the world. Because of this awesome mission, we have to be accountable for our fellow Jews. To borrow fro an earlier Torah portion; “Am I my brother’s keeper”? For the Jews the answer is yes.
This is an idea that we as a people exhibit to this very day. Every time a Jew, anywhere in the world, does anything wrong, we all fell a little bit of sadness. Because we know that we are all parts of one body. This, of course, relates back to my Kippah discussion of a few days ago.
Shabbat Shalom.
Thursday, March 11, 2004
The Jewish Theological Seminary
I went to an information session last night from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) to hear about the rabbinical school. I’ve never really said this publicly before, it’s always been an interest of mine to become a Rabbi. I don’t know if I’d want to be a full time pulpit Rabbi, but there are other things that a Rabbi can do; only about half the graduates from JTS go on to take full time pulpit positions.
People are eventually going to realize that this whole computer industry is really just a fad, and I need to plan for the day when people realize that the abacus is really a much better tool. OK, maybe not. But the truth is, as much as I enjoy the computer industry, especially human factors, it just doesn’t engage me the same way that studying a page of Talmud does.
Would I ‘retire’ from the high tech field and work full time as a Rabbi? Would I stay in the tech field and do the Rabbi work part time? I don’t know. But I could see that 10 years from now I might want to think about making a career change to something more fulfilling. That would make me a Rabbi by 45 (it’s a 5 year program), and could work the rest of my career in that field.
The session really rekindled my latent interest in the Rabbinate. This will certainly be something to think about.
People are eventually going to realize that this whole computer industry is really just a fad, and I need to plan for the day when people realize that the abacus is really a much better tool. OK, maybe not. But the truth is, as much as I enjoy the computer industry, especially human factors, it just doesn’t engage me the same way that studying a page of Talmud does.
Would I ‘retire’ from the high tech field and work full time as a Rabbi? Would I stay in the tech field and do the Rabbi work part time? I don’t know. But I could see that 10 years from now I might want to think about making a career change to something more fulfilling. That would make me a Rabbi by 45 (it’s a 5 year program), and could work the rest of my career in that field.
The session really rekindled my latent interest in the Rabbinate. This will certainly be something to think about.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
To Kippah or Not To Kippah
When one starts the process of becoming a Bal Tesuvah (someone who was raised non religious, and decides to return to traditional Judaism), there are two paths one can take. You can outwardly transform yourself overnight and immediately start keeping all the observances, even though they will be meaningless to you at first, and then grow into the meaning. Or you can take it slow, and learn about the observances and start doing them at the same time.
I’m on the second path, mostly because I never really made a conscious decision to do this; it has been a natural consequence of my learning. But I’ve now reached that point where I need to make a decision about the boldest and most visually apparent Jewish observance. Do I start to wear a kippah at all times?
Wearing a kippah makes a bold statement. You’re identifying yourself to the world as an observant Jew. There are responsibilities that come with that. Suddenly you actions will reflect on the entire Jewish people. I know that I’m not quite ready for that yet. I still will go and eat at a non-kosher restaurant (but eat vegetarian), I’m not completely Shommer Shabbas (but getting there). And to see a kippah wearing Jew eating at the Pickle Barrel is not the right message that I want to send.
But on the other side, I’m running into difficulties in my tesuvah because I’m not wearing kippah. Even those who don’t feel there is a religious obligation to cover your head at all times (and in fact the requirement to do so is just a custom, not a commandment) agree that it is a requirement to wear one when performing rituals. I have been trying to perform more of the regular rituals of the day; saying blessings before and after eating, ritually washing before eating bread, saying the afternoon prayers… but you can’t do these without a kippah. So I need to keep a kippah with me at all times, and pop it on and off when needed. I wonder if that had something to do with why wearing it at all times became the custom – it’s just easier.
While I continue to struggle with this issue, I suspect that it’s just a matter of time before I start to proudly wear a kippah at all times. There are certainly social implications that go with all that, so I’m sure I’ll talk about this more when I’m closer to making that decision.
I’m on the second path, mostly because I never really made a conscious decision to do this; it has been a natural consequence of my learning. But I’ve now reached that point where I need to make a decision about the boldest and most visually apparent Jewish observance. Do I start to wear a kippah at all times?
Wearing a kippah makes a bold statement. You’re identifying yourself to the world as an observant Jew. There are responsibilities that come with that. Suddenly you actions will reflect on the entire Jewish people. I know that I’m not quite ready for that yet. I still will go and eat at a non-kosher restaurant (but eat vegetarian), I’m not completely Shommer Shabbas (but getting there). And to see a kippah wearing Jew eating at the Pickle Barrel is not the right message that I want to send.
But on the other side, I’m running into difficulties in my tesuvah because I’m not wearing kippah. Even those who don’t feel there is a religious obligation to cover your head at all times (and in fact the requirement to do so is just a custom, not a commandment) agree that it is a requirement to wear one when performing rituals. I have been trying to perform more of the regular rituals of the day; saying blessings before and after eating, ritually washing before eating bread, saying the afternoon prayers… but you can’t do these without a kippah. So I need to keep a kippah with me at all times, and pop it on and off when needed. I wonder if that had something to do with why wearing it at all times became the custom – it’s just easier.
While I continue to struggle with this issue, I suspect that it’s just a matter of time before I start to proudly wear a kippah at all times. There are certainly social implications that go with all that, so I’m sure I’ll talk about this more when I’m closer to making that decision.
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Why do bad things happen to good people?
(This post is based on an article by Rabbi Benjamin Belch)
This is really the ultimate theological question. It’s one that has troubled all the great Jewish thinkers, including the greatest of all, Moses. In this week’s Torah Portion, Moses asks this question to The One Who Knows The Answer.
At first glance the passage appears cryptic, but even if you don’t understand it, it one of those passages that you know is meaningful.
Here’s the text:
The impression this gives on the surface is that Moses is asking to see G-d’s face, G-d refuses, but lets Moses sneak a peak at his mighty shoulder blades.
This is, of course, absurd.
Moses knew that G-d has no form and therefore can not be seem by human eyes. The Talmud tells us that Moses was not asking to “see” G-d, but to “see” G-d’s “glory”, so that he can understand G-d’s plan. Basically, Moses wanted to know why good things happen to bad people.
To attempt to understand the profound wisdom in G-d’s response, we need to look at it piece by piece.
It doesn’t come across well in English, but in the Hebrew, it’s important to note that, of the many names of G-d, the one that is used here is the ones that represent kindness and compassion. We are told that ALL of G-d’s goodness will be testimony to the merciful qualities of the Almighty. What this is saying is that our perception of pain and suffering will change once we have seen it “all”. Once we can see it all (which we can not do from our perspective in this world), we will see why every strict judgment is really an act of love. It’s like a parent punishing a child. The child sees his suffering, but later looks back on it and sees it was all necessary acts of love.
This is not G-d saying “Leave me alone, I’ll do whatever I want.” What G-d is saying is that “I will be gracious to the one I will be gracious to, not the one you think I should be gracious to.” Maimonides explains that G-d judges a person’s deeds qualitatively, not quantitatively. One terrible deed can wipe out a lifetime of good deeds, and one great act can balance many sins. Only G-d knows the real values of our actions. What G-d is telling Moses (and us) is the he knows who is really righteous, who is really deserving of grace and compassion. Don’t presume to improve on his judgement.
Moses wants to “see” G-d’s way. But G-d is saying that “as long as you’re alive, you won’t be able to ‘see’”. The entire picture is not visible from our limited perspective.
Moses is told that to understand why there is evil in the world; you need to stand as a partner beside G-d, not as a passive observer down below. When G-d created the world, he purposely left it incomplete, so that man can play a part in perfecting the world. God allows for sickness so man can play a role in inventing cures.
In the words of Rabbi Belch, “God allows for droughts so that man can participate in bringing the world closer to its ideal state by inventing new irrigation methods and by building dams and desalinization plants. So the evil in the world only points up the work we still have to do. Evil is a manifestation of a world that is still incomplete, waiting for man to do his part and finish the job.”
This is the key part of the answer. G-d is telling Moses that because man is bound by time (unlike G-d) we are unable to understand events as they happen, it’s only after the fact that it might be possible for us to understand what happened.
As Kierkegaard so powerfully put it, "Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward."
Rabbi Belch sums it up better than I possibly could, so I’ll leave him to do it:
This is really the ultimate theological question. It’s one that has troubled all the great Jewish thinkers, including the greatest of all, Moses. In this week’s Torah Portion, Moses asks this question to The One Who Knows The Answer.
At first glance the passage appears cryptic, but even if you don’t understand it, it one of those passages that you know is meaningful.
Here’s the text:
- Moses then said [to G-d]: "Please grant me a vision of Your Glory." He [G-d] said, "I will cause all My goodness to pass before you and will proclaim the name of the Lord in your presence. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will be compassionate to whom I will be compassionate." And He said, "You cannot see My Presence and live." And the Lord said, "Behold there is a place alongside Me, and you shall set yourself on the rock. When My Glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My Hand until I pass by. Then I will remove My Hand and you will see My Back, but My Face shall not be seen." (Exodus 33: 18-23)
The impression this gives on the surface is that Moses is asking to see G-d’s face, G-d refuses, but lets Moses sneak a peak at his mighty shoulder blades.
This is, of course, absurd.
Moses knew that G-d has no form and therefore can not be seem by human eyes. The Talmud tells us that Moses was not asking to “see” G-d, but to “see” G-d’s “glory”, so that he can understand G-d’s plan. Basically, Moses wanted to know why good things happen to bad people.
To attempt to understand the profound wisdom in G-d’s response, we need to look at it piece by piece.
- "I will cause all My goodness to pass before you and you will proclaim the name of the Lord in your presence."
It doesn’t come across well in English, but in the Hebrew, it’s important to note that, of the many names of G-d, the one that is used here is the ones that represent kindness and compassion. We are told that ALL of G-d’s goodness will be testimony to the merciful qualities of the Almighty. What this is saying is that our perception of pain and suffering will change once we have seen it “all”. Once we can see it all (which we can not do from our perspective in this world), we will see why every strict judgment is really an act of love. It’s like a parent punishing a child. The child sees his suffering, but later looks back on it and sees it was all necessary acts of love.
- "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will be compassionate to whom I will be compassionate."
This is not G-d saying “Leave me alone, I’ll do whatever I want.” What G-d is saying is that “I will be gracious to the one I will be gracious to, not the one you think I should be gracious to.” Maimonides explains that G-d judges a person’s deeds qualitatively, not quantitatively. One terrible deed can wipe out a lifetime of good deeds, and one great act can balance many sins. Only G-d knows the real values of our actions. What G-d is telling Moses (and us) is the he knows who is really righteous, who is really deserving of grace and compassion. Don’t presume to improve on his judgement.
- "And He [God] said, 'You cannot see My Presence and live.'"
Moses wants to “see” G-d’s way. But G-d is saying that “as long as you’re alive, you won’t be able to ‘see’”. The entire picture is not visible from our limited perspective.
- "And the Lord said, 'Behold there is a place alongside Me, and you shall set yourself on the rock."
Moses is told that to understand why there is evil in the world; you need to stand as a partner beside G-d, not as a passive observer down below. When G-d created the world, he purposely left it incomplete, so that man can play a part in perfecting the world. God allows for sickness so man can play a role in inventing cures.
In the words of Rabbi Belch, “God allows for droughts so that man can participate in bringing the world closer to its ideal state by inventing new irrigation methods and by building dams and desalinization plants. So the evil in the world only points up the work we still have to do. Evil is a manifestation of a world that is still incomplete, waiting for man to do his part and finish the job.”
- "When My Glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My Hand until I pass by. Then I will remove My Hand and you will see My Back, but My Face shall not be seen."
This is the key part of the answer. G-d is telling Moses that because man is bound by time (unlike G-d) we are unable to understand events as they happen, it’s only after the fact that it might be possible for us to understand what happened.
As Kierkegaard so powerfully put it, "Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward."
Rabbi Belch sums it up better than I possibly could, so I’ll leave him to do it:
- The Biblical exchange between God and Moses teaches us to beware of assumptions that are incomplete and erroneous, assumptions that lead us to question the goodness of God.
Moses says to God, in effect, "God, I want to honor you totally, but my lack of understanding of Your ways interferes. How can I honor you completely when I see good people who have it bad and bad people who have it good?"
God says, "Hold off, I question two of your premises."
"Which premises?"
"Number one, don't be so quick when you call some people good and others bad, because you don't know for sure. Number two, when you say they have it bad or they have it good, are you sure of your definitions? Are you sure you know what you are talking about? You are not positive. And you can't be positive because you can't see My face. You will only be able to see it in retrospect. In retrospect a terrible thing could be the best thing. Sometimes it will take you years to see. Sometimes you will never see, not in your days on Earth anyway."
….
A wife says to me, "My husband got sick, he remained sick for the rest of his days, and then he died. Where is the good in that? Don't tell me to wait for the end of the story. I have seen the end of the story. He died."
Yet God tells us, "Man cannot see Me and live." We don't have the entire picture even at the time of death. Death is the gateway to the great beyond -- and that very description reminds us that there is more after our earthly passage. What is still not clear during our finite existence, God seems to be saying, will be possible to comprehend once we are blessed with the divine perspective of eternity.
Friday, March 05, 2004
Parashat T'tzave
This weeks Torah portion deals with the construction of the Mishkan (the portable sanctuary, or the Tabernacle). As Jew’s, we’re so used to the idea of “G-d’s house” (The Mishkan, the Temple, a Shul, a Synagogue…) that we don’t really appreciate what a strange idea it is. If G-d is infinite and transcendent, how can his presence be localized in one particular spot?
Even though this portion comes before next week’s episode of the Golden Calf, if we reconstruct the timeline, it seems that the instructions for building the Mishkan are given after the Golden Calf. That raises a key question; is the Mishkan built as a result of the Golden Calf, or in spite of it? In other words, was the Mishan part of the original plan, or did G-d see the Golden Calf and realize that we needed something physical to help us relate to an infinite G-d?
It being a response to the Golden Calf seems to be a logical answer, but that means that it would have been preferable not to have it, but it was given to us because we needed it. Mimonities has a strong opinion in his writings that it must have been part of the original plan. The Temple was the most Holly things in Judaism; he could not believe that it could have been plan B.
That begs the question, why do we need a Temple. Mimonities answers that the point of the Mishkan (and the Temple) is to take the experience of the revelation at Sinai and institutionalize it. Take the “one night stand” (so to speak) if the revelation at Sinai, and turn that into an ongoing relationship between the Jewish people and G-d. We need to make the revelation a part of our daily consciousness. We need to look at Torah every day as if it is new, as if we have just accepted it.
I think that much of the difficulty steams from a misunderstanding of what the Temple is. The term "House of G-d" is not just misleading, it’s almost blasphemous. The idea that G-d can be localized in just one place is inconsistent with the idea that G-d is everywhere, or as I recently heard it said, G-d is anywhere you allow him to be. The Torah says (which was latter copied by another famous book/movie) "If you build it, I will come".
But were will G-d come to. Most people say that the where, is into the Temple. But that steams from a mistranslation of the verse. The verse does not say "Build me a house and I will dwell in it"; it says "Build be a house and I will dwell in you". That's the key. The Temple is not a place for G-d to live, it a means of opening up each of us so we can allow G-d into our lives and into the world.
And that’s the key to understanding the Temple. It’s a constant reminder that the acceptance of Torah is not something that our ancestors did at Sinai; it’s something we each do every day so that we can allow G-d into our lives.
Shabbat Shalom.
Even though this portion comes before next week’s episode of the Golden Calf, if we reconstruct the timeline, it seems that the instructions for building the Mishkan are given after the Golden Calf. That raises a key question; is the Mishkan built as a result of the Golden Calf, or in spite of it? In other words, was the Mishan part of the original plan, or did G-d see the Golden Calf and realize that we needed something physical to help us relate to an infinite G-d?
It being a response to the Golden Calf seems to be a logical answer, but that means that it would have been preferable not to have it, but it was given to us because we needed it. Mimonities has a strong opinion in his writings that it must have been part of the original plan. The Temple was the most Holly things in Judaism; he could not believe that it could have been plan B.
That begs the question, why do we need a Temple. Mimonities answers that the point of the Mishkan (and the Temple) is to take the experience of the revelation at Sinai and institutionalize it. Take the “one night stand” (so to speak) if the revelation at Sinai, and turn that into an ongoing relationship between the Jewish people and G-d. We need to make the revelation a part of our daily consciousness. We need to look at Torah every day as if it is new, as if we have just accepted it.
I think that much of the difficulty steams from a misunderstanding of what the Temple is. The term "House of G-d" is not just misleading, it’s almost blasphemous. The idea that G-d can be localized in just one place is inconsistent with the idea that G-d is everywhere, or as I recently heard it said, G-d is anywhere you allow him to be. The Torah says (which was latter copied by another famous book/movie) "If you build it, I will come".
But were will G-d come to. Most people say that the where, is into the Temple. But that steams from a mistranslation of the verse. The verse does not say "Build me a house and I will dwell in it"; it says "Build be a house and I will dwell in you". That's the key. The Temple is not a place for G-d to live, it a means of opening up each of us so we can allow G-d into our lives and into the world.
And that’s the key to understanding the Temple. It’s a constant reminder that the acceptance of Torah is not something that our ancestors did at Sinai; it’s something we each do every day so that we can allow G-d into our lives.
Shabbat Shalom.
Thursday, March 04, 2004
Purim 2
Today is the Fast of Esther. This day is to mark the three days of fasting all the Jews of Shushan did in preparation for Esther going before the Queen to plead ask for the Jews to be saved from Haman’s evil plan.
As a rule, Jewish holidays have two aspects; a spiritual side (special prayers) and a physical side (eating special foods). There are two exceptions to this rule; Yom Kippur, which is purely spiritual (you eat a big meal the day before to prepare for the fast), and Purim, which is purely physical (you fast the ay before to prepare for the party). The commentaries argue, that this rule still holds – they argue that Yom Kippur and Purim are two halves of the same day.
The commentators also make a very interesting statement; they say that Purim is in fact a holier day than Yom Kippur. After all, the full name for Yom Kippur is Yom Ha’Kippurim, which literally translated is “A day like Purim”. How can Purim, a day of drinking and parting, be holier than Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and praying?
Unlike secular holidays which merely mark an anniversary of an event, Jewish holidays have a theme and are designed so every Jew can spiritually internalize these themes. The theme of Passover is freedom, the theme of Purim is joy, and the theme of Rosh Ha’Shana is renewal. In that way, Jewish holidays are an opportunity for grow closer to G-d. The goal of growing closer to G-d is just as true on Purim as it is on Yom Kippur.
On Yom Kippur you feel the spirituality… the fasting, the prayer… It’s easy to connect to G-d on a day like that. But on Purim, making that connection is not so easy (after all, you are supposed to get partly drunk). Just like G-d’s face was hidden during the events of Purim (and G-d name does not appear in the Book of Esther), it’s not clear how we connect to G-d on Purim. But if you understand how G-d operates in the world, you see G-d face in the events of Purim, and in the Purim celebrations today.
Someone who is able to connect to G-d on Purim has grown much more that if they connect to G-d on Yom Kippur. That’s why the commentators say that Purim is holier than Yom Kippur.
Have an easy fast.
As a rule, Jewish holidays have two aspects; a spiritual side (special prayers) and a physical side (eating special foods). There are two exceptions to this rule; Yom Kippur, which is purely spiritual (you eat a big meal the day before to prepare for the fast), and Purim, which is purely physical (you fast the ay before to prepare for the party). The commentaries argue, that this rule still holds – they argue that Yom Kippur and Purim are two halves of the same day.
The commentators also make a very interesting statement; they say that Purim is in fact a holier day than Yom Kippur. After all, the full name for Yom Kippur is Yom Ha’Kippurim, which literally translated is “A day like Purim”. How can Purim, a day of drinking and parting, be holier than Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and praying?
Unlike secular holidays which merely mark an anniversary of an event, Jewish holidays have a theme and are designed so every Jew can spiritually internalize these themes. The theme of Passover is freedom, the theme of Purim is joy, and the theme of Rosh Ha’Shana is renewal. In that way, Jewish holidays are an opportunity for grow closer to G-d. The goal of growing closer to G-d is just as true on Purim as it is on Yom Kippur.
On Yom Kippur you feel the spirituality… the fasting, the prayer… It’s easy to connect to G-d on a day like that. But on Purim, making that connection is not so easy (after all, you are supposed to get partly drunk). Just like G-d’s face was hidden during the events of Purim (and G-d name does not appear in the Book of Esther), it’s not clear how we connect to G-d on Purim. But if you understand how G-d operates in the world, you see G-d face in the events of Purim, and in the Purim celebrations today.
Someone who is able to connect to G-d on Purim has grown much more that if they connect to G-d on Yom Kippur. That’s why the commentators say that Purim is holier than Yom Kippur.
Have an easy fast.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Purim 1
With Purim coming up this Sunday, I thought I’d spend most of the week talking about Purim.
The book of Esther is unique among all books of the Bible; it is the only one that does not mention the name of G-d. Despite this, many (including myself) argue that it is in the book of Esther that the face of G-d is most clearly seen.
This morning my Rabbi pointed out that not only does the name of G-d not appear; it seems that it was purposely left out. There are several places where you would expect to see some mention of G-d. When Mordechai is telling Esther to speak to the King on the Jew’s behalf, you would expect him to say that “Maybe it was for this reason that G-d put you in this position”, but instead we read “And who knows if it is not for just such a time that you reached this royal position.” When Esther tells Mordechai (and all Jews) to fast for her, she doesn’t ask for them to pray to G-d.
There are many opinions why this is so. One is that Mordechai and Esther compiled the story as letters that were sent to Jews across the Empire. Since they could not be sure that the letters would be treated with the proper respect required for a document containing the name of G-d, they wrote the book without it.
Another explanation is that they were trying to capture in the written story, the idea that G-d presence was hidden, and it wasn’t until after the fact that you can see the hand of G-d. This is really a model for how we relate to G-d today. It’s hard to see G-d in our day to day life; it’s too easy to pass things off as coincidence. But after the fact, once you have some perspective, you see how things came together just right, and you realize that it was all part of G-d’s plan.
The book of Esther is unique among all books of the Bible; it is the only one that does not mention the name of G-d. Despite this, many (including myself) argue that it is in the book of Esther that the face of G-d is most clearly seen.
This morning my Rabbi pointed out that not only does the name of G-d not appear; it seems that it was purposely left out. There are several places where you would expect to see some mention of G-d. When Mordechai is telling Esther to speak to the King on the Jew’s behalf, you would expect him to say that “Maybe it was for this reason that G-d put you in this position”, but instead we read “And who knows if it is not for just such a time that you reached this royal position.” When Esther tells Mordechai (and all Jews) to fast for her, she doesn’t ask for them to pray to G-d.
There are many opinions why this is so. One is that Mordechai and Esther compiled the story as letters that were sent to Jews across the Empire. Since they could not be sure that the letters would be treated with the proper respect required for a document containing the name of G-d, they wrote the book without it.
Another explanation is that they were trying to capture in the written story, the idea that G-d presence was hidden, and it wasn’t until after the fact that you can see the hand of G-d. This is really a model for how we relate to G-d today. It’s hard to see G-d in our day to day life; it’s too easy to pass things off as coincidence. But after the fact, once you have some perspective, you see how things came together just right, and you realize that it was all part of G-d’s plan.
Friday, February 27, 2004
Parashat Truma
This week’s Torah portion talks about the building of the Mishkan (the portable Temple) and some of its vessels. One of the vessels are the two Cherubs that make up the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. The Cherubs are made from gold and are in the form of winged children.
Next week we'll read about the sin of the golden calf. If we were punished for making a golden calf, then why is it ok to make a golden Cherub? Wouldn’t this fall under the category of “Thou shalt not make graven images”?
The answer goes to the very core of our belief system. Are the Ten Commandments G-d’s codification of basic human morality, or are they G-d defining morality? In other words, was it wrong to worship other god’s, and the 10 commandments just write that down. Or is it wrong to worship other god’s BECAUSE G-d said so.
Judaism teaches that morality is defined as the word of G-d. What G-d says is, by definition, morality. Any other system of morality falls apart when you press it.
So if G-d commanded us to make the Cherub, then it can’t be immoral. That’s the difference between the golden calf and the Cherub. One is against the will of G-d and one is according to it.
The lesson here is summed up in the saying “Don’t out tzadek a Tzadek” (or in the Christian world, “Don’t be more Catholic than the Pope”). If G-d says something is OK, don’t forbid yourself from doing it because it seems to contradict a different commandment. G-d is the only one who truly knows the intention of the Torah, so we can not try to out interpret him.
Shabbat Shalom.
Next week we'll read about the sin of the golden calf. If we were punished for making a golden calf, then why is it ok to make a golden Cherub? Wouldn’t this fall under the category of “Thou shalt not make graven images”?
The answer goes to the very core of our belief system. Are the Ten Commandments G-d’s codification of basic human morality, or are they G-d defining morality? In other words, was it wrong to worship other god’s, and the 10 commandments just write that down. Or is it wrong to worship other god’s BECAUSE G-d said so.
Judaism teaches that morality is defined as the word of G-d. What G-d says is, by definition, morality. Any other system of morality falls apart when you press it.
So if G-d commanded us to make the Cherub, then it can’t be immoral. That’s the difference between the golden calf and the Cherub. One is against the will of G-d and one is according to it.
The lesson here is summed up in the saying “Don’t out tzadek a Tzadek” (or in the Christian world, “Don’t be more Catholic than the Pope”). If G-d says something is OK, don’t forbid yourself from doing it because it seems to contradict a different commandment. G-d is the only one who truly knows the intention of the Torah, so we can not try to out interpret him.
Shabbat Shalom.
Friday, February 20, 2004
Parashat Mishpatim and Purim
There is a passage in this weeks Torah portion, where G-d is offering the Torah to the Jewish people at Sinai. The text says that the Jewish people stood under the mountain. The Midrash explains, that G-d lifted up the mountain and held it over the Jewish people and said, “Accept the Torah, or there will be your grave.”
So, first off, this doesn’t sound like the Jews accepted the Torah out of free will – it sounds more like they were forced into it. They felt that G-d would have dropped the mountain on top of them if they didn’t accept it; hence the enthusiastic “We will do and we will listen” (see last posting).
But if you look closely at what G-d said, you see another problem. If G-d is holding the mountain over the Jews and would have dropped it on them if they did not accept Torah, then G-d should have said “Accept the Torah, or here will be your grave.” Why did G-d say ‘there’ instead of ‘here’? Where is the ‘there’ that G-d was refereeing to?
The commentary explains that ‘there’ means in the time of Achashverosh – the King from the Purim story. Of all the times and places to choose from, why did G-d say that their grave would be there if they did not accept Torah?
To answer that, we need to see what is special about that time, and what it means to accept Torah.
In order to accept Torah, you need to know what the Torah means. At first that was easy, you have Moses to explain. After that if you had a Torah question, you would go to a prophet and ask them (there were over 1,000,000 prophets in Jewish history). When did prophesy stop? After the destruction of the First Temple. (I’ll discuss why it stopped then in another posting). Once the Temple was gone, no new person could attain prophesy, but those who attained that level in the time of the Temple, retained it.
The Purim story happens about 60 years after the destruction of the Temple, so any prophets who were around at the time of the destruction of the temple had died out. So that was the first time in Jewish history that there were no prophets to turn to for questions about Torah law.
At that point, the Jewish people had a choice; they could either abandon Torah, or make a commitment to study, so that they can learn what the Torah is telling us. The events of Purim convinced the people to choose to accept Torah. This time they accepted it without a mountain over their head.
What G-d was saying, is that if you don’t accept torah in the time of Achashverosh, then that will be the grave of the Jewish people.
In this light, we can even better understand the phrase from last posting “Na-asai v’Nishma” – “We will do and we will listen”. They were saying that while they had prophets to guide them, they will do the words of the Torah as they were told. But after that they agreed to study and learn torah, so that they can continue their relationship with G-d.
Shabbat Shalom.
So, first off, this doesn’t sound like the Jews accepted the Torah out of free will – it sounds more like they were forced into it. They felt that G-d would have dropped the mountain on top of them if they didn’t accept it; hence the enthusiastic “We will do and we will listen” (see last posting).
But if you look closely at what G-d said, you see another problem. If G-d is holding the mountain over the Jews and would have dropped it on them if they did not accept Torah, then G-d should have said “Accept the Torah, or here will be your grave.” Why did G-d say ‘there’ instead of ‘here’? Where is the ‘there’ that G-d was refereeing to?
The commentary explains that ‘there’ means in the time of Achashverosh – the King from the Purim story. Of all the times and places to choose from, why did G-d say that their grave would be there if they did not accept Torah?
To answer that, we need to see what is special about that time, and what it means to accept Torah.
In order to accept Torah, you need to know what the Torah means. At first that was easy, you have Moses to explain. After that if you had a Torah question, you would go to a prophet and ask them (there were over 1,000,000 prophets in Jewish history). When did prophesy stop? After the destruction of the First Temple. (I’ll discuss why it stopped then in another posting). Once the Temple was gone, no new person could attain prophesy, but those who attained that level in the time of the Temple, retained it.
The Purim story happens about 60 years after the destruction of the Temple, so any prophets who were around at the time of the destruction of the temple had died out. So that was the first time in Jewish history that there were no prophets to turn to for questions about Torah law.
At that point, the Jewish people had a choice; they could either abandon Torah, or make a commitment to study, so that they can learn what the Torah is telling us. The events of Purim convinced the people to choose to accept Torah. This time they accepted it without a mountain over their head.
What G-d was saying, is that if you don’t accept torah in the time of Achashverosh, then that will be the grave of the Jewish people.
In this light, we can even better understand the phrase from last posting “Na-asai v’Nishma” – “We will do and we will listen”. They were saying that while they had prophets to guide them, they will do the words of the Torah as they were told. But after that they agreed to study and learn torah, so that they can continue their relationship with G-d.
Shabbat Shalom.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Parashat Mishpatim – We will do and we will listen
This weeks Torah portion continues with the account of the revelation at Sinai, and contains the famous statement by the Jewish people, “Na-asai v’Nishma” – “We will do and we will listen”.
This phrase is often offered as an indication of how great the way that we accepted the Torah was. We didn’t say that we’ll listen to what G-d has to say, and then decide if we will do it. We said “I unconditionally accept your law. Now tell us what it is.” We had total trust in G-d that he would give us a law that is good.
At least that’s how it’s always been explained to me.
Rabbi Kahn disagrees. He argues that we each know many friends whom, if we would call them up and say we need a favour, they would say “No problem, you name it I’ll do it.” They would agree before you tell that what the favour is. Now these are very special friends and should be recognized, but is it really that amazing a thing that it should be picked out of the text and held up as a sign of out commitment for 3500 years?
The key to understanding this phrase is to look at its tense. Most people think that it’s in the future tense “We will always do, and we will always listen”. But in fact, it’s in the present tense. It’s saying that “We will constantly, and every moment, do that which you command us, and we will constantly, at every moment, learn your Torah.”
That’s what’s so amazing about this phrase. Our forefathers didn’t just accept the law for that day, or year, or for their lifetime. They accepted it upon all future generations. They accepted upon the entire Jewish people, for all time, to do all the mitzvoth and constantly study them.
It’s through that study that we are able to hear G-d’s voice just as clearly as our ancestors heard at Sinai.
This phrase is often offered as an indication of how great the way that we accepted the Torah was. We didn’t say that we’ll listen to what G-d has to say, and then decide if we will do it. We said “I unconditionally accept your law. Now tell us what it is.” We had total trust in G-d that he would give us a law that is good.
At least that’s how it’s always been explained to me.
Rabbi Kahn disagrees. He argues that we each know many friends whom, if we would call them up and say we need a favour, they would say “No problem, you name it I’ll do it.” They would agree before you tell that what the favour is. Now these are very special friends and should be recognized, but is it really that amazing a thing that it should be picked out of the text and held up as a sign of out commitment for 3500 years?
The key to understanding this phrase is to look at its tense. Most people think that it’s in the future tense “We will always do, and we will always listen”. But in fact, it’s in the present tense. It’s saying that “We will constantly, and every moment, do that which you command us, and we will constantly, at every moment, learn your Torah.”
That’s what’s so amazing about this phrase. Our forefathers didn’t just accept the law for that day, or year, or for their lifetime. They accepted it upon all future generations. They accepted upon the entire Jewish people, for all time, to do all the mitzvoth and constantly study them.
It’s through that study that we are able to hear G-d’s voice just as clearly as our ancestors heard at Sinai.
Monday, February 16, 2004
Good vs. Evil
Many religions talk about the internal struggle between good and evil. Rabbi Kahn in his lecture “An introduction to Jewish Mysticism” says that is not entirely accurate.
When you got up this morning, did you think to yourself; “Should I get up and go to work, or should I rape and pillage”? Most of us don’t have to struggle with real evil (that’s not to say there aren’t people who do have to struggle with that). The internal struggle in Judaism is different.
Judaism teaches that each person has a “Yetzer Hora” and “Yetzer Ra” – generally translated and evil inclination and good inclination. These two are always fighting. While “good” and “evil” are accurate translations for the words “Hora” and “Ra”, it does not capture the meaning. Rabbi Kahn explained that in Judaism “good” means meaningfulness and “evil” means meaninglessness.
When you eat an apple, we’re supposed to first say a short blessing thanking G-d for the food. Your Yetzer Ra wants you to say the blessing, and your Yetzer Hora wants you to just eat. But what’s “good” about saying the blessing, and what’s “evil” about not saying it? Saying the blessing gives meaning to the act of eating. You acknowledge that the food you are about to eat was given to you by G-d, and that mindset elevates the act of eating from a physical act to a spiritual one. Not saying the blessing tries to push a potentially meaningful spiritual act into a meaningless physical one.
That’s our struggle; to try to instill meaning into everything that we do. A Jew who is just starting to pray every morning will struggle with the issue of getting up a half hour early every day to say his prayers. His Yetzer Ra wants to start the day with meaningful prayer, and his Yetzer Hora wants to start the day with meaningless sleep. That’s his struggle.
But a Jew, who has been saying his morning prayers every morning for 50 years, has a different struggle. His struggle is does he put the extra effort to concentrate closely on his prayers and make them meaningful, or does he say them mechanically and just do an empty meaningless act?
There is a spectrum of meaningfulness in praying. The left is meaningless and as you move right you get more meaning:
Not saying the prayers Doing it mechanically Concentrating it
In the first example, the person was sitting somewhere between not saying the payers and just doing it mechanically. His struggle was do I move to the left on the above spectrum or to the right. In the second example the person sits between saying it mechanically and concentrating on it. He has the same struggle, do I move to the left or the right.
So when go to sleep at night lets not say to ourselves “Well, didn’t rape and pillage today, so my day was good”. Let’s instead say “I moved my life towards meaningfulness today, so it was a good day.”
When you got up this morning, did you think to yourself; “Should I get up and go to work, or should I rape and pillage”? Most of us don’t have to struggle with real evil (that’s not to say there aren’t people who do have to struggle with that). The internal struggle in Judaism is different.
Judaism teaches that each person has a “Yetzer Hora” and “Yetzer Ra” – generally translated and evil inclination and good inclination. These two are always fighting. While “good” and “evil” are accurate translations for the words “Hora” and “Ra”, it does not capture the meaning. Rabbi Kahn explained that in Judaism “good” means meaningfulness and “evil” means meaninglessness.
When you eat an apple, we’re supposed to first say a short blessing thanking G-d for the food. Your Yetzer Ra wants you to say the blessing, and your Yetzer Hora wants you to just eat. But what’s “good” about saying the blessing, and what’s “evil” about not saying it? Saying the blessing gives meaning to the act of eating. You acknowledge that the food you are about to eat was given to you by G-d, and that mindset elevates the act of eating from a physical act to a spiritual one. Not saying the blessing tries to push a potentially meaningful spiritual act into a meaningless physical one.
That’s our struggle; to try to instill meaning into everything that we do. A Jew who is just starting to pray every morning will struggle with the issue of getting up a half hour early every day to say his prayers. His Yetzer Ra wants to start the day with meaningful prayer, and his Yetzer Hora wants to start the day with meaningless sleep. That’s his struggle.
But a Jew, who has been saying his morning prayers every morning for 50 years, has a different struggle. His struggle is does he put the extra effort to concentrate closely on his prayers and make them meaningful, or does he say them mechanically and just do an empty meaningless act?
There is a spectrum of meaningfulness in praying. The left is meaningless and as you move right you get more meaning:
Not saying the prayers Doing it mechanically Concentrating it
In the first example, the person was sitting somewhere between not saying the payers and just doing it mechanically. His struggle was do I move to the left on the above spectrum or to the right. In the second example the person sits between saying it mechanically and concentrating on it. He has the same struggle, do I move to the left or the right.
So when go to sleep at night lets not say to ourselves “Well, didn’t rape and pillage today, so my day was good”. Let’s instead say “I moved my life towards meaningfulness today, so it was a good day.”
Friday, February 13, 2004
Parashat Yitro – The 10 Commandments
It’s interesting to note that Jews, Protestants and Catholics disagree over what each of the 10 commandments are. A comparison can be found here.
Judaism holds that the first commandment is “I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” The problem is that that’s more of a statement than a commandment? So what’s the commandment associated with it? Most sources hold that the commandment is to know that there is a G-d.
But who is this commandment for? If someone already believes in G-d they don’t need to be told this? If the don’t, then they won’t care what it says in the Torah. And can you really command belief?
The answer is as follows: The Torah does not say "BELIEVE" in God. Nor does it say to wonder, feel, intuit, assume, presume, hope, or aspire that there's a God. Rather, the Torah commands us to "KNOW" there is a God!
Western society typically associates religion with “blind faith”. Judaism rejects that idea. The first commandment tells us to use reason and logic to ascertain the existence of G-d. We are told to question, to explore and to understand… not to simply follow along blindly.
Just how one goes about doing that is more difficult, and will have to be left to a future posting.
Shabbat Shalom.
Judaism holds that the first commandment is “I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” The problem is that that’s more of a statement than a commandment? So what’s the commandment associated with it? Most sources hold that the commandment is to know that there is a G-d.
But who is this commandment for? If someone already believes in G-d they don’t need to be told this? If the don’t, then they won’t care what it says in the Torah. And can you really command belief?
The answer is as follows: The Torah does not say "BELIEVE" in God. Nor does it say to wonder, feel, intuit, assume, presume, hope, or aspire that there's a God. Rather, the Torah commands us to "KNOW" there is a God!
Western society typically associates religion with “blind faith”. Judaism rejects that idea. The first commandment tells us to use reason and logic to ascertain the existence of G-d. We are told to question, to explore and to understand… not to simply follow along blindly.
Just how one goes about doing that is more difficult, and will have to be left to a future posting.
Shabbat Shalom.
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Parashat Yitro - What happened at Saini
This week’s torah portion contains the central event in Jewish history, the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
It’ important to understand what was given and how it was given. Most people’s understandings of this are based on Cecil B. DeMille’s movie; if you liked the movie, try the book… it’s much better.
In the movie, Moses goes up the mountain, gets the two tablets, and goes and gives them to the Israelites. This is very different from the account in the Torah. The Torah version goes basically like this.
The Israelites are camped by the foot of the mountain and are told by Moses (who was told by G-d) to get ready for the revelation. G-d then speaks directly to the entire nations (more 2 million people) and tells them the 10 commandments.
There are a variety of positions about what G-d actually said to the people. Some hold that G-d speaks all 10 directly to the people; this is what the simple reading of the text implies. Others hold that G-d only spoke the first two, and then the people begged G-d to use Moses as an intermediary (because the experience was to powerful for them). This is supported by the fact that the first two commandments are given in the first person (“I am the Lord your G-d”), and the rest are in the second person (“You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain”). Others hold that G-d spoke all 10 simultaneously, and then Moses was used as an intermediary to explain them. Others hold that G-d only spoke the first letter of the first commandment, and the people intuitively understood the rest. This is a very interesting topic that is far to involved for this forum.
After G-d speaks directly to the people, Moses goes up the mountain and is there for 40 days. While there he gets 2 things. Firstly, Moses received the two tablets. (Most people only know about that one, but if that’s all he got why did it take 40 days?) Secondly he was taught all of the 613 mitzvot (commandments) and the principles of how to apply them. In short he was given what Jews refer to as the Oral Law. So if anyone ever tells you that the Oral law is just Rabbi’s interpretation of the written law, you can tell them they have it backwards. The oral law was given first. The written law (the Torah) was dictated to Moses over the next 40 years in the dessert.
The fact that G-d spoke directly to the entire people is a key bit of information that was left out of the movie. It’s the basis of the entire Jewish religion. Why is it so important? Because it is what separates Judaism from all other religions. All other religions are based on one person claiming to have been spoken to by G-d, and then convincing others of that fact. The problem with that claim is that it can never be proved or discredited. The Jewish claim is different; our claim is one that can not be faked.
Imagine the following. You’re sitting at dinner, and someone speaks up and says “Guess what, G-d spoke to me yesterday. He gave me a new set of laws and said that everyone should follow me.” Would you believe this? Maybe, it depends how charismatic the person is. You can not disprove it, but you can never know for sure.
Now try this one. You’re sitting at dinner, and someone speaks up and says “Do you remember 5 minutes ago, when G-d spoke to all of us and gave us some new laws and told you to follow me?” Do you believe that one? This one you can either prove or disprove. If you did experience what he claims you did, then you know he tells the truth. If you didn’t, then you know he’s lying.
Judaism is based on the second claim. All other religions are based on the first. That’s why no other religion disputes the events at Sinai. It can be taken as a historical fact.
I could talk for hours on this subject… but I’d better not.
It’ important to understand what was given and how it was given. Most people’s understandings of this are based on Cecil B. DeMille’s movie; if you liked the movie, try the book… it’s much better.
In the movie, Moses goes up the mountain, gets the two tablets, and goes and gives them to the Israelites. This is very different from the account in the Torah. The Torah version goes basically like this.
The Israelites are camped by the foot of the mountain and are told by Moses (who was told by G-d) to get ready for the revelation. G-d then speaks directly to the entire nations (more 2 million people) and tells them the 10 commandments.
There are a variety of positions about what G-d actually said to the people. Some hold that G-d speaks all 10 directly to the people; this is what the simple reading of the text implies. Others hold that G-d only spoke the first two, and then the people begged G-d to use Moses as an intermediary (because the experience was to powerful for them). This is supported by the fact that the first two commandments are given in the first person (“I am the Lord your G-d”), and the rest are in the second person (“You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain”). Others hold that G-d spoke all 10 simultaneously, and then Moses was used as an intermediary to explain them. Others hold that G-d only spoke the first letter of the first commandment, and the people intuitively understood the rest. This is a very interesting topic that is far to involved for this forum.
After G-d speaks directly to the people, Moses goes up the mountain and is there for 40 days. While there he gets 2 things. Firstly, Moses received the two tablets. (Most people only know about that one, but if that’s all he got why did it take 40 days?) Secondly he was taught all of the 613 mitzvot (commandments) and the principles of how to apply them. In short he was given what Jews refer to as the Oral Law. So if anyone ever tells you that the Oral law is just Rabbi’s interpretation of the written law, you can tell them they have it backwards. The oral law was given first. The written law (the Torah) was dictated to Moses over the next 40 years in the dessert.
The fact that G-d spoke directly to the entire people is a key bit of information that was left out of the movie. It’s the basis of the entire Jewish religion. Why is it so important? Because it is what separates Judaism from all other religions. All other religions are based on one person claiming to have been spoken to by G-d, and then convincing others of that fact. The problem with that claim is that it can never be proved or discredited. The Jewish claim is different; our claim is one that can not be faked.
Imagine the following. You’re sitting at dinner, and someone speaks up and says “Guess what, G-d spoke to me yesterday. He gave me a new set of laws and said that everyone should follow me.” Would you believe this? Maybe, it depends how charismatic the person is. You can not disprove it, but you can never know for sure.
Now try this one. You’re sitting at dinner, and someone speaks up and says “Do you remember 5 minutes ago, when G-d spoke to all of us and gave us some new laws and told you to follow me?” Do you believe that one? This one you can either prove or disprove. If you did experience what he claims you did, then you know he tells the truth. If you didn’t, then you know he’s lying.
Judaism is based on the second claim. All other religions are based on the first. That’s why no other religion disputes the events at Sinai. It can be taken as a historical fact.
I could talk for hours on this subject… but I’d better not.
Monday, February 09, 2004
Doing and Understanding
Over the weekend I was listening to a lecture called “Introduction to Jewish Mysticism” by Rabbi Ari Kahn. I’ll have to listen to it many more times to absorb all the information, but there was one phrase that really resonated with me.
He was talking about how Judaism is not an “all or nothing” religion, and how it is important to proceed carefully when you’re on the path back towards traditional Judaism. The theme of different people reactions along this path came up. His response was that “Some things you have to understand before you can do it, other things you have to do before you can understand it.”
Many of the laws of Judaism, you need to study and understand before you can do it. But some laws, like Shabbas, you need to do before you can understand.
There is much more going on with Shabbas than you can possibly understand from reading about it in the Mishna. The joy of Shabbas is more than the sum of the actions (or inactions), there is a spiritual side than can only be understood by doing it.
An outsider would look at an observant Jew and conclude that Judaism is full of rituals. If one wants to become religious, you need to understand the rituals so that you can perform them.
However, to the observant Jew, what they are doing should not be rituals. It’s only a ritual if it doesn’t have any meaning to you. To the observant Jew, they are participating in a profound act that elevates your soul… that’s hardly ritualistic. But, until you do the ‘ritual’ (many times), you can not possibly understand that aspect of it.
I’m going to have to play this around in my mind for a while before I fully grasp the profoundness of it… maybe if I put it into practice, I’ll understand it better.
He was talking about how Judaism is not an “all or nothing” religion, and how it is important to proceed carefully when you’re on the path back towards traditional Judaism. The theme of different people reactions along this path came up. His response was that “Some things you have to understand before you can do it, other things you have to do before you can understand it.”
Many of the laws of Judaism, you need to study and understand before you can do it. But some laws, like Shabbas, you need to do before you can understand.
There is much more going on with Shabbas than you can possibly understand from reading about it in the Mishna. The joy of Shabbas is more than the sum of the actions (or inactions), there is a spiritual side than can only be understood by doing it.
An outsider would look at an observant Jew and conclude that Judaism is full of rituals. If one wants to become religious, you need to understand the rituals so that you can perform them.
However, to the observant Jew, what they are doing should not be rituals. It’s only a ritual if it doesn’t have any meaning to you. To the observant Jew, they are participating in a profound act that elevates your soul… that’s hardly ritualistic. But, until you do the ‘ritual’ (many times), you can not possibly understand that aspect of it.
I’m going to have to play this around in my mind for a while before I fully grasp the profoundness of it… maybe if I put it into practice, I’ll understand it better.
Friday, February 06, 2004
Parashat B’Shalach
This weeks Torah portion gives us the answer for a common themes of Jewish jokes. The joke usually asks why the Jews wandered in the desert for 40 years (and is usually answered with something like ‘because the men wouldn’t stop to ask for directions).
The portion starts “17. It came to pass when Pharaoh let the people go, that God did not lead them [by] way of the land of the Philistines for it was near, because God said, Lest the people reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt 18. So God led the people around [by] way of the desert [to] the Red Sea…” [Exodus 13:17-18]
G-d knew that when Israel arrived in the land of the Philistines (which is biblical Israel), they would face a war. G-d also knew that that Israel was not ready for war. If Israel would come up against a war so soon after leaving Egypt, they would flee back into the relative safety (albeit slavery) of Egypt.
But what was it that Israel wasn’t ready for? The obvious answer is that they were not physically ready for a war… after all, slavery doesn’t exactly make you fit to be warriors. But if that’s the case, why would taking the route by way of the Red Sea (actually Sea of Reeds) – which is only an extra few weeks travel – make them physically ready?
The answer is that the problem wasn’t physical, it was a spiritual deficiency. Witnessing the 10 plagues wasn’t enough to convince Israel that with G-d in their corner they can win a war against the Philistines. There was more that Israel needed to witness (the more is, of course, the revelation at Sinai and the many miracles in the desert).
So we start with G-d not wanting Israel to face war yet. But the portion ends with Israel fighting a war with Amalek. If G-d took Israel the long way around so they would not have to face war, then why does the portion end with Israel getting into a war?
Israel was not spiritually ready for war at the start of the portion. Through the portion, G-d gets Israel spiritually ready with a series of miracles (water from rocks, manah…) which were designed to show Israel that comes with service of G-d.
Reading the text, the Amalek attack seems to come out of left field… there is no description of them coming; in the middle of a paragraph we get “8. Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim”[Exodus 17:8]. Looking at the line before this, we begin to understand what is happening. After complaining to Moses about lack of water, the text says “… the children of Israel [tested] the Lord, saying, Is the Lord in our midst or not?” [ Exodus 17:7].
Israel looses faith in G-d, and are immediately faced with war. It’s hard to not see a correlation there. This is a theme we see repeated many times in the Torah. From Psalm 81 “If only my people would heed Me, if Israel would walk in My ways. In an instant I would subdue their foes, and against my tormentors turn My hand.” The lesson here is just as applicable today was it was when G-d first taught it to the Jews 3500 years ago.
Shabbat Shalom.
The portion starts “17. It came to pass when Pharaoh let the people go, that God did not lead them [by] way of the land of the Philistines for it was near, because God said, Lest the people reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt 18. So God led the people around [by] way of the desert [to] the Red Sea…” [Exodus 13:17-18]
G-d knew that when Israel arrived in the land of the Philistines (which is biblical Israel), they would face a war. G-d also knew that that Israel was not ready for war. If Israel would come up against a war so soon after leaving Egypt, they would flee back into the relative safety (albeit slavery) of Egypt.
But what was it that Israel wasn’t ready for? The obvious answer is that they were not physically ready for a war… after all, slavery doesn’t exactly make you fit to be warriors. But if that’s the case, why would taking the route by way of the Red Sea (actually Sea of Reeds) – which is only an extra few weeks travel – make them physically ready?
The answer is that the problem wasn’t physical, it was a spiritual deficiency. Witnessing the 10 plagues wasn’t enough to convince Israel that with G-d in their corner they can win a war against the Philistines. There was more that Israel needed to witness (the more is, of course, the revelation at Sinai and the many miracles in the desert).
So we start with G-d not wanting Israel to face war yet. But the portion ends with Israel fighting a war with Amalek. If G-d took Israel the long way around so they would not have to face war, then why does the portion end with Israel getting into a war?
Israel was not spiritually ready for war at the start of the portion. Through the portion, G-d gets Israel spiritually ready with a series of miracles (water from rocks, manah…) which were designed to show Israel that comes with service of G-d.
Reading the text, the Amalek attack seems to come out of left field… there is no description of them coming; in the middle of a paragraph we get “8. Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim”[Exodus 17:8]. Looking at the line before this, we begin to understand what is happening. After complaining to Moses about lack of water, the text says “… the children of Israel [tested] the Lord, saying, Is the Lord in our midst or not?” [ Exodus 17:7].
Israel looses faith in G-d, and are immediately faced with war. It’s hard to not see a correlation there. This is a theme we see repeated many times in the Torah. From Psalm 81 “If only my people would heed Me, if Israel would walk in My ways. In an instant I would subdue their foes, and against my tormentors turn My hand.” The lesson here is just as applicable today was it was when G-d first taught it to the Jews 3500 years ago.
Shabbat Shalom.
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Tu Bi’Shvat
This Saturday is the holiday of Tu Bi’Shvat – literally the 15th day of Shvat. The holiday is the New Year for the trees. The holiday is typically celebrated by eating the seven species of Israel (wheat, barley, olives, grapes, dates, figs, and pomegranates) and planting trees in Israel (or donating to a charity that does the same).
Today, we play up the Zionistic aspect of the holiday, but in fact the holiday is Biblical in origin. There are 4 New Years in Judaism. There is the 1st of Nisan, which is in the New Year for the Kings, the nth year of a Kings rule begins on this day. Then there is the 1st of Elul, which is the New Year for the animals. Every 10th animal born is given to the Priests, this day determines which year a given animal is counted with. Then there is the 1st of Tishrei, which is what we all know as Rosh HaShana. Then there is Tu Bi’Shvat, the New Year for the trees, which has a similar meaning as the New Year for the animals.
We do nothing to mark the New Year for the Kings or Animals, why do we celebrate the New Year of the Trees? It’s because trees are considered Holy… in fact the Torah often compares trees to man. Just as fruit and trees have been instilled with the power to grow physically, man has the power to grow physically.
The Kabbalists tell us of 4 kinds of creations, rocks, plants, animals and man. Rocks (and all inanimate objects) just sort of sit there doing nothing. Plants spend their whole day eating. Animals can think and walk around, but what are they thinking about? They think about getting food. What do they walk around for? They walk around to get food. Animals are basically thinking and walking plants. That’s why their head is on the same level as their body, because their brain is just there to serve the body. A man’s head is on a higher level than its body. Man can reach a higher level than the purely physical aspects of a plant or animal.
So this Tu Bi’Shvat, when you taste the sweet fruits of the land and say the She’Hechianu, be sure to think about the power of growth in the fruits, in the trees, in the Torah and is also within each of us
Today, we play up the Zionistic aspect of the holiday, but in fact the holiday is Biblical in origin. There are 4 New Years in Judaism. There is the 1st of Nisan, which is in the New Year for the Kings, the nth year of a Kings rule begins on this day. Then there is the 1st of Elul, which is the New Year for the animals. Every 10th animal born is given to the Priests, this day determines which year a given animal is counted with. Then there is the 1st of Tishrei, which is what we all know as Rosh HaShana. Then there is Tu Bi’Shvat, the New Year for the trees, which has a similar meaning as the New Year for the animals.
We do nothing to mark the New Year for the Kings or Animals, why do we celebrate the New Year of the Trees? It’s because trees are considered Holy… in fact the Torah often compares trees to man. Just as fruit and trees have been instilled with the power to grow physically, man has the power to grow physically.
The Kabbalists tell us of 4 kinds of creations, rocks, plants, animals and man. Rocks (and all inanimate objects) just sort of sit there doing nothing. Plants spend their whole day eating. Animals can think and walk around, but what are they thinking about? They think about getting food. What do they walk around for? They walk around to get food. Animals are basically thinking and walking plants. That’s why their head is on the same level as their body, because their brain is just there to serve the body. A man’s head is on a higher level than its body. Man can reach a higher level than the purely physical aspects of a plant or animal.
So this Tu Bi’Shvat, when you taste the sweet fruits of the land and say the She’Hechianu, be sure to think about the power of growth in the fruits, in the trees, in the Torah and is also within each of us
Monday, February 02, 2004
Not Yet
The story is told of Franz Rosenswag (who was voted the most influential Jewish philosopher of the first half of the 20th century). He was an assimilated Jew, who had a cousin who converted to Christianity. His cousin wanted Franz to convert also, after all Franz did not believe in Judaism, maybe he could believe in Christianity. Franz eventually agreed, but said he didn’t want to convert from pagan to Christian, he wanted to go from pagan, to Jew, to Christian – just like Jesus and the apostles did. So he decided he would first learn about Judaism, and then convert. So he started on that route, and never stopped learning.
In his old age, he was asked if he wore Teffilin? He did not, but his answer was interesting; he responded “Not yet”. He knew that Teffilin was one step on the ladder, and maybe one day he would get there. Even though he didn’t feel the need to keep that Mitzvah at that time, he knew that it was a possibility that he may in the future.
If people would have asked me if I was Shomer Shabbas, I would have answered “No”. The same answer would have been given for most other Mitzvot. But I think from now on I’m going to change my answer to “Not yet”. I know that I’ll never reach the point in my journey of keeping every Mitzvah, but there are none that I can say I would never do. But answering “Not yet” keeps me on my journey.
In his old age, he was asked if he wore Teffilin? He did not, but his answer was interesting; he responded “Not yet”. He knew that Teffilin was one step on the ladder, and maybe one day he would get there. Even though he didn’t feel the need to keep that Mitzvah at that time, he knew that it was a possibility that he may in the future.
If people would have asked me if I was Shomer Shabbas, I would have answered “No”. The same answer would have been given for most other Mitzvot. But I think from now on I’m going to change my answer to “Not yet”. I know that I’ll never reach the point in my journey of keeping every Mitzvah, but there are none that I can say I would never do. But answering “Not yet” keeps me on my journey.
Friday, January 30, 2004
If you don’t cry, who will?
A little over 2 years ago, when I was starting my Teshuva, I read an article on Aish.com that really affected me. The article, written by Chezi Goldberg, called “If you don’t cry, who will?”. It was written just after a horrible triple bombing in Jerusalem.
The article asked the question, why are all Jews not brought to tears after every attack? How can we expect other to be outraged by what’s happening, if we are not outraged ourselves. The Talmud teaches that for every tear that’s shed, a drop of blood is spared. If we would all cry, think of all the blood that would be saved.
The authour, Chezi Goldberg, was born and raised in Toronto, and moved to Israel 15 years ago to work as a counsellor for Adolescents and Families at Risk. Chezi Goldberg was tragically murdered in the bus bombing on Jan 29th. G-d willing, some blood will be spared because of the tears I shed upon hearing that.
His article closes with “King Solomon said, ‘There is a time for everything.’ Now is the time for crying. May God protect each and every one of us from our enemies so that we will not have to cry in the future.
The article asked the question, why are all Jews not brought to tears after every attack? How can we expect other to be outraged by what’s happening, if we are not outraged ourselves. The Talmud teaches that for every tear that’s shed, a drop of blood is spared. If we would all cry, think of all the blood that would be saved.
The authour, Chezi Goldberg, was born and raised in Toronto, and moved to Israel 15 years ago to work as a counsellor for Adolescents and Families at Risk. Chezi Goldberg was tragically murdered in the bus bombing on Jan 29th. G-d willing, some blood will be spared because of the tears I shed upon hearing that.
His article closes with “King Solomon said, ‘There is a time for everything.’ Now is the time for crying. May God protect each and every one of us from our enemies so that we will not have to cry in the future.
Thursday, January 29, 2004
Parashat Bo
In this weeks Torah portion, we read about the final 3 of the 10 plagues, the laws of Passover, and the commandments to wear Teffilin, consecrate the first-born animal and redeem one's first born son (Pidyon-HA’Ben).
There are so many interesting issues in this parasha, it was hard for me to decide which one to talk about. What I decided, was to talk about the Jewish calendar.
Rosh Ha’Shana, is the Jewish New year, it occurs in the month of Tishrei. However, in this parasha, it says “This month shall be to you the head of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year” [Exodus 12:2]. This exchange takes place during the Exodus, which happens in the month of Nissan.
So which is the first month, Tishrei or Nissan?
Rosh Ha’Shana marks the creation of the humanity, so Tishrei was made the first month. Often people accept G-d as a creator who then sat back and let nature take it course. But the exodus, with all its open miracles, teaches us that G-d’s role as director of history is even greater than his role as creator. And that’s why at the Exodus, the order of the months were changed to mar this new relationship between G-d and man.
This notion helps explain another question. If Shabbat commemorates the six days of creation, why is it only the Jews who are commanded to observe it? The answer is found in the text of the Friday night Kiddish, where we declare that Shabbat is to remember creation and the exodus fro Egypt. Because, while G-d created the entire world, it was through the Jewish exodus that mankind came to appreciate G-d as the guiding hand of history.
Shabbat Shalom.
There are so many interesting issues in this parasha, it was hard for me to decide which one to talk about. What I decided, was to talk about the Jewish calendar.
Rosh Ha’Shana, is the Jewish New year, it occurs in the month of Tishrei. However, in this parasha, it says “This month shall be to you the head of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year” [Exodus 12:2]. This exchange takes place during the Exodus, which happens in the month of Nissan.
So which is the first month, Tishrei or Nissan?
Rosh Ha’Shana marks the creation of the humanity, so Tishrei was made the first month. Often people accept G-d as a creator who then sat back and let nature take it course. But the exodus, with all its open miracles, teaches us that G-d’s role as director of history is even greater than his role as creator. And that’s why at the Exodus, the order of the months were changed to mar this new relationship between G-d and man.
This notion helps explain another question. If Shabbat commemorates the six days of creation, why is it only the Jews who are commanded to observe it? The answer is found in the text of the Friday night Kiddish, where we declare that Shabbat is to remember creation and the exodus fro Egypt. Because, while G-d created the entire world, it was through the Jewish exodus that mankind came to appreciate G-d as the guiding hand of history.
Shabbat Shalom.
Monday, January 26, 2004
More on Answering Prayers
I was listening to a class on “How to be spiritual in an unspiritual world”, the class talked a lot about prayer and it got me thinking on the issue.
I wanted to share a few insights from the class, and a few of my own.
First the class talked about the reason for prayer. If we understand the reason, we have a better chance of understanding the answers we get to our prayers. The example that was given was a farmer who is having a bad season, praying for crops. In this case, the goal of the interaction is better crops, the method of getting the goal, it by praying. Sometimes the prayer succeeds (in the form of better crops), and sometimes it fails. It’s very hard to understand why it works sometimes and not other times.
That’s all from the point of view of the farmer. Let’s look at this same situation from G-d’s point of view. G-d created us for the purpose of having a relationship with him – the ultimate pleasure in life is to connect to G-d. So from G-d’s point of view, the goal of the interaction is prayer and the method is the providing/withholding of crops. Let me say that again, from G-d point of view, the goal of the interaction is to connect to G-d, and the way G-d gets you to seek the connection to him is by providing/withholding something.
This all revolves around the issue of the soul. I’m not going to get into the issue of does the soul exist, the issue is which of these two statements are more connect “I have a soul” or “I am a soul”. There is a profound difference in how you perceive the world, based on which one of these you believe. This is an issue that came up in my exploring Musar, and an issue I plan to further explore and talk about at some later time.
Next the class talked about the two kinds of prayer. It did this by comparing the two parts of the morning service. In Psekei D’Zimrah, we thank G-d for all that he has given us. In the Amidah (which is the bulk of the 2nd part), we ask god for all that we don’t have. The Amidah is considered to be the more significant part of the service. Asking G-d for what we don’t have is deemed more important that thanking him for what we do. I’ll certainly need to think about that one more before I fully understand the message, but it certainly has the ring of a profound observation.
In the next few postings I’ll talk about some insight on prayer that I have had as a result of this class.
I wanted to share a few insights from the class, and a few of my own.
First the class talked about the reason for prayer. If we understand the reason, we have a better chance of understanding the answers we get to our prayers. The example that was given was a farmer who is having a bad season, praying for crops. In this case, the goal of the interaction is better crops, the method of getting the goal, it by praying. Sometimes the prayer succeeds (in the form of better crops), and sometimes it fails. It’s very hard to understand why it works sometimes and not other times.
That’s all from the point of view of the farmer. Let’s look at this same situation from G-d’s point of view. G-d created us for the purpose of having a relationship with him – the ultimate pleasure in life is to connect to G-d. So from G-d’s point of view, the goal of the interaction is prayer and the method is the providing/withholding of crops. Let me say that again, from G-d point of view, the goal of the interaction is to connect to G-d, and the way G-d gets you to seek the connection to him is by providing/withholding something.
This all revolves around the issue of the soul. I’m not going to get into the issue of does the soul exist, the issue is which of these two statements are more connect “I have a soul” or “I am a soul”. There is a profound difference in how you perceive the world, based on which one of these you believe. This is an issue that came up in my exploring Musar, and an issue I plan to further explore and talk about at some later time.
Next the class talked about the two kinds of prayer. It did this by comparing the two parts of the morning service. In Psekei D’Zimrah, we thank G-d for all that he has given us. In the Amidah (which is the bulk of the 2nd part), we ask god for all that we don’t have. The Amidah is considered to be the more significant part of the service. Asking G-d for what we don’t have is deemed more important that thanking him for what we do. I’ll certainly need to think about that one more before I fully understand the message, but it certainly has the ring of a profound observation.
In the next few postings I’ll talk about some insight on prayer that I have had as a result of this class.
Sunday, January 25, 2004
The Answering of Prayers
When Mandy and I were going through our miscarriages, I obviously did a lot of praying. Aside from the obvious prayers for Mandy’s health and for us to have a child soon, I also prayed for the wisdom to understand the message G-d was trying to send us.
I understood that G-d is in compete control of everything, and that even the miscarriages were part of G-d’s plan. Mandy and I had both prayed for a child, and while our prayer was answered, it seemed to be answered with a “No”. I knew that there was a reason for the negative answer to our prayer, G-d was sending us a message, and it’s up to us to decode it. So I prayed for the wisdom to do that.
This past weekend, I think my prayer may have been answered. I think I may understand a tiny part of message.
Before the miscarriages, our greatest fear about having a baby was that Mandy would not be able to get pregnant. It took her parents many years to conceive Mandy and her sister. When we prayed to G-d for a child, G-d’s answer wasn’t “No” it was “Not right now”. But G-d didn’t want us to worry that we would be unable to conceive, so we conceived very easily both times, but then lost the pregnancy. We are now no longer worried that we’ll be unable to conceive. And we now have a pregnancy that, G-d willing, will carry through.
There is still another part of the message that is unclear, why were we not to have a child at that time? I don’t think we’ll be able to answer that one for a long time … until we have enough perspective to look back on these events. Maybe it was because we needed to visit Israel (and we would not have gone if the first pregnancy would have held). Maybe it was because we needed to be brought closer to G-d, or to each other. All three of these things were consequences of the miscarriages.
I don’t know that we’ll ever KNOW what message G-d was sending to us, but I thank G-d for giving me with wisdom to get a glimpse of what the message might be.
I understood that G-d is in compete control of everything, and that even the miscarriages were part of G-d’s plan. Mandy and I had both prayed for a child, and while our prayer was answered, it seemed to be answered with a “No”. I knew that there was a reason for the negative answer to our prayer, G-d was sending us a message, and it’s up to us to decode it. So I prayed for the wisdom to do that.
This past weekend, I think my prayer may have been answered. I think I may understand a tiny part of message.
Before the miscarriages, our greatest fear about having a baby was that Mandy would not be able to get pregnant. It took her parents many years to conceive Mandy and her sister. When we prayed to G-d for a child, G-d’s answer wasn’t “No” it was “Not right now”. But G-d didn’t want us to worry that we would be unable to conceive, so we conceived very easily both times, but then lost the pregnancy. We are now no longer worried that we’ll be unable to conceive. And we now have a pregnancy that, G-d willing, will carry through.
There is still another part of the message that is unclear, why were we not to have a child at that time? I don’t think we’ll be able to answer that one for a long time … until we have enough perspective to look back on these events. Maybe it was because we needed to visit Israel (and we would not have gone if the first pregnancy would have held). Maybe it was because we needed to be brought closer to G-d, or to each other. All three of these things were consequences of the miscarriages.
I don’t know that we’ll ever KNOW what message G-d was sending to us, but I thank G-d for giving me with wisdom to get a glimpse of what the message might be.
Friday, January 23, 2004
Parahat Va-Eria
This weeks Torah portion continues the story of the Exodus from Egypt. We get up to the point of the seventh plague.
The overriding question that needs to be asked about the early part of the book of Exodus is; If G-d wanted to take the Jews out of Egypt, why the long drawn out process. At any point G-d could have snapped his fingers (so to speak) and the Jews would have been out of Egypt and standing at the foot of Mount Sinai waiting to receive the Torah.
The classical explanation goes something like this. To understand why we needed the 10 plagues, we first need to understand the Jewish view of miracles in general. As Rabbi Spiro puts it
But to this rule, the 10 plagues were a notable exception. There is no natural explanation for the 10 plagues; they are a clear example of G-d flipping the laws of nature on their end.
So why did we need them? Egypt was a very spiritual, but very idolatrous society. The essence of Idolatry is that every force of nature has its own god. The Egyptians worshiped the Nile god, the sun god, the cat god the sheep god… The 10 plagues were designed, by G-d, to show the Jews and trhe rest of the world that the idols are false, that he alone controls the entire world and everything in it.
As Rabbi Spiro points out:
Abraham was given a mission; this mission was given to the entire Jewish people at Mount Sinai. That mission is to change the world, to bring the entire world to the realization of one G-d. This process was needed so that the truth of G-d becomes entrenched deep in the Jewish soul.
Looking at it that way, we see that the process of Exodus is not over. That’s why on Passover, we spend the first half of the sedar talking about the past (the story of Exodus) and the second half talking about the future. The Exodus is an ongoing process that will end in the time of the Messiah (may it come speedily in our days).
Shabbat Shalom!
The overriding question that needs to be asked about the early part of the book of Exodus is; If G-d wanted to take the Jews out of Egypt, why the long drawn out process. At any point G-d could have snapped his fingers (so to speak) and the Jews would have been out of Egypt and standing at the foot of Mount Sinai waiting to receive the Torah.
The classical explanation goes something like this. To understand why we needed the 10 plagues, we first need to understand the Jewish view of miracles in general. As Rabbi Spiro puts it
- ‘Judaism holds that nature does not act independently of God, but, at the same time, God created the laws of nature and does not interfere with them. God is certainly capable of doing whatever He likes, but He doesn't play around with the physical world and its workings. Therefore, most miracles are natural phenomena with awesomely good timing.’
But to this rule, the 10 plagues were a notable exception. There is no natural explanation for the 10 plagues; they are a clear example of G-d flipping the laws of nature on their end.
So why did we need them? Egypt was a very spiritual, but very idolatrous society. The essence of Idolatry is that every force of nature has its own god. The Egyptians worshiped the Nile god, the sun god, the cat god the sheep god… The 10 plagues were designed, by G-d, to show the Jews and trhe rest of the world that the idols are false, that he alone controls the entire world and everything in it.
As Rabbi Spiro points out:
- "If we examine the plagues carefully we can readily see that each one was designed to show God's control of all forces in nature: water and earth, fire and ice, insects, reptiles and mammals, light and darkness, and finally, life and death."
Abraham was given a mission; this mission was given to the entire Jewish people at Mount Sinai. That mission is to change the world, to bring the entire world to the realization of one G-d. This process was needed so that the truth of G-d becomes entrenched deep in the Jewish soul.
Looking at it that way, we see that the process of Exodus is not over. That’s why on Passover, we spend the first half of the sedar talking about the past (the story of Exodus) and the second half talking about the future. The Exodus is an ongoing process that will end in the time of the Messiah (may it come speedily in our days).
Shabbat Shalom!
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Some very good news
I didn’t want anyone close to me to find this out by reading my blog… but now that I’ve told people I can post it here.
Mandy is pregnant again! We’re now about 14 weeks, which is well past the 8-10 weeks point that caused us so much trouble the last two times. G-d willing, the baby is due Aug 1st.
That is going to be a busy time for us. We take position of our new house the week before that, and my sister is getting married on Aug 8th. So if the baby is born on the due date, and it’s a boy, the bris will be on the day of Laurie’s wedding… which could work out well, since all out family and friends would be in town.
Needless to say, since finding out the news, there has been a lot of praying , my me, Mandy and our families. I ask anyone reading this (if there is anyone) to pray that Mandy’s pregnancy be carried through to completion in health and safety for the mother and unborn child. And that the child be delivered to the word at appropriate time, complete in all its limbs and senses, so that we may raise it according to G-d’s will.
Mandy is pregnant again! We’re now about 14 weeks, which is well past the 8-10 weeks point that caused us so much trouble the last two times. G-d willing, the baby is due Aug 1st.
That is going to be a busy time for us. We take position of our new house the week before that, and my sister is getting married on Aug 8th. So if the baby is born on the due date, and it’s a boy, the bris will be on the day of Laurie’s wedding… which could work out well, since all out family and friends would be in town.
Needless to say, since finding out the news, there has been a lot of praying , my me, Mandy and our families. I ask anyone reading this (if there is anyone) to pray that Mandy’s pregnancy be carried through to completion in health and safety for the mother and unborn child. And that the child be delivered to the word at appropriate time, complete in all its limbs and senses, so that we may raise it according to G-d’s will.
Monday, January 19, 2004
Davening
I got a very nice complement at Shul the other day.
That morning I got to Daven Psukei D’Zimrah. After service, as I’m packing up my teffilin and tallit, one of the other congregants comes up to me and said “I just wanted to tell you that you’re a very inspiring davener.” I thanked her, and we spoke for a few minutes about how I’ve been moving towards traditional Judaism in the last few years.
While that warm fuzzy feeling you get from a complement is always nice, this was more than that. On any given weekday, our minion consists of the Rabbi, Cantor, Torah reader and usually about 15 congregants. Of those 15, there are 3 (including one woman) of us who are not saying Kaddish. Five or six of us take turns leading service. Of those, I’m the only one who is not saying Kaddish.
I go to Shul for purely selfish reasons. I’m not there to say Kaddish for a loved one (G-d willing I won’t be in a position to need to do that for a long time). I’m not even there to help make the minion. I’m there because the spiritual lift I get from starting my day off with davening is enough to carry me through the rest of the day.
When I pray, I don’t simply mouth the words. I think about what I’m praying, I concentrate on different parts of the prayers, depending on my need that day. When I pray to G-d, I do it with “all my heart, all my soul and all my might”.
It’s nice to see that this feeling comes through.
That morning I got to Daven Psukei D’Zimrah. After service, as I’m packing up my teffilin and tallit, one of the other congregants comes up to me and said “I just wanted to tell you that you’re a very inspiring davener.” I thanked her, and we spoke for a few minutes about how I’ve been moving towards traditional Judaism in the last few years.
While that warm fuzzy feeling you get from a complement is always nice, this was more than that. On any given weekday, our minion consists of the Rabbi, Cantor, Torah reader and usually about 15 congregants. Of those 15, there are 3 (including one woman) of us who are not saying Kaddish. Five or six of us take turns leading service. Of those, I’m the only one who is not saying Kaddish.
I go to Shul for purely selfish reasons. I’m not there to say Kaddish for a loved one (G-d willing I won’t be in a position to need to do that for a long time). I’m not even there to help make the minion. I’m there because the spiritual lift I get from starting my day off with davening is enough to carry me through the rest of the day.
When I pray, I don’t simply mouth the words. I think about what I’m praying, I concentrate on different parts of the prayers, depending on my need that day. When I pray to G-d, I do it with “all my heart, all my soul and all my might”.
It’s nice to see that this feeling comes through.
Friday, January 16, 2004
Parahat Shmot
This week we start the book of Exodus (or Shmot, as it is called in Hebrew). Genesis was about the creation of the family of Israel. Exodus is about the creation of the Nation of Israel.
The portion starts with the enslaving of the people, through to Moses being born, the burning bush and Moses going before Pharoh for the first time (basically the first act of the movie “The Ten Commandments”).
A few interesting notes; the 210 years of slavery (which is a fundamental art of our history) take up less than 10 sentences. Contrary to popular belief, the Jews did not build the pyramids, they build the Store Cities of Pithom and Raamsees. And of interest to me, Moses had a stutter (that’s why he asked G-d to appoint Aaron to be his spokes person).
I think most of us know the story, so I wanted to talk about something more subtle. The book starts with “And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came into Egypt…”. It goes on to list all the sons, then it says “And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were 70 souls…”(1:5). This is not a completely accurate translation. The Hebrew word used for “souls” is “Nefesh’, which means soul, not souls (singular not plural). The plural is Nepeshim, which is used in many other places. So what the text is saying is that “All the people who came into Egypt were 70 soul.” 70 people came, but they were all part of one soul. That is the unique soul of the Jewish people.
I could talk all day about that idea. But instead, I just wanted to point out the lesion this teaches us about Torah study, every word is carefully chosen, so we need to pay careful attention when reading and understand the text as it is written (in the original). This has become unfashionable in modern times, Jewish learning focuses on Talmud, but there is much to be learned for a careful reading of the Torah.
Shabbat Shalom.
The portion starts with the enslaving of the people, through to Moses being born, the burning bush and Moses going before Pharoh for the first time (basically the first act of the movie “The Ten Commandments”).
A few interesting notes; the 210 years of slavery (which is a fundamental art of our history) take up less than 10 sentences. Contrary to popular belief, the Jews did not build the pyramids, they build the Store Cities of Pithom and Raamsees. And of interest to me, Moses had a stutter (that’s why he asked G-d to appoint Aaron to be his spokes person).
I think most of us know the story, so I wanted to talk about something more subtle. The book starts with “And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came into Egypt…”. It goes on to list all the sons, then it says “And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were 70 souls…”(1:5). This is not a completely accurate translation. The Hebrew word used for “souls” is “Nefesh’, which means soul, not souls (singular not plural). The plural is Nepeshim, which is used in many other places. So what the text is saying is that “All the people who came into Egypt were 70 soul.” 70 people came, but they were all part of one soul. That is the unique soul of the Jewish people.
I could talk all day about that idea. But instead, I just wanted to point out the lesion this teaches us about Torah study, every word is carefully chosen, so we need to pay careful attention when reading and understand the text as it is written (in the original). This has become unfashionable in modern times, Jewish learning focuses on Talmud, but there is much to be learned for a careful reading of the Torah.
Shabbat Shalom.
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Parahats while we were gone
The Torah portions while we were away basically were the story of Joseph – the last 3 in the book of Genesis. I wanted to talk, just briefly, about Joseph’s sons – Menasha and Ephraim.
Every Shabbat, a father blesses his children. For daughters he blesses ‘May G-d make you like Sarah, Rebecca Rachel and Leah.” For sons he blesses ‘May G-d make you like Ephraim and Menasha.” The question is why Ephraim and Menasha, why not Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
The explanation holds special relevance in today’s world. Ephraim and Menasha were raised by an Egyptian mother, and the Prime Minister of Egypt, living in an Egyptian palace in a country whose beliefs are antithetical to Judaism. Yet they still were aware of their heritage, and were practicing Jews.
The blessing we give our Sons is that we hope that G-d will guide them to their Jewish heritage, even if we are surrounded by foreign culture. The interesting thing is how well the blessing seems to work. Children who received this blessing each week growing up, are far less likely to intermarry and far more likely to be connected to their heritage.
You’ll probably say that it works the other way around, they’re not connected to Judaism because they received the blessing, they received the blessing become they are connected. The Sages teach that “Even more than the Jews kept the Shabbas, Shabbas kept the Jews.’ I think the same thing may apply here.
G-d willing, I will get to bless my children (and grandchildren) in this way for many years.
Every Shabbat, a father blesses his children. For daughters he blesses ‘May G-d make you like Sarah, Rebecca Rachel and Leah.” For sons he blesses ‘May G-d make you like Ephraim and Menasha.” The question is why Ephraim and Menasha, why not Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
The explanation holds special relevance in today’s world. Ephraim and Menasha were raised by an Egyptian mother, and the Prime Minister of Egypt, living in an Egyptian palace in a country whose beliefs are antithetical to Judaism. Yet they still were aware of their heritage, and were practicing Jews.
The blessing we give our Sons is that we hope that G-d will guide them to their Jewish heritage, even if we are surrounded by foreign culture. The interesting thing is how well the blessing seems to work. Children who received this blessing each week growing up, are far less likely to intermarry and far more likely to be connected to their heritage.
You’ll probably say that it works the other way around, they’re not connected to Judaism because they received the blessing, they received the blessing become they are connected. The Sages teach that “Even more than the Jews kept the Shabbas, Shabbas kept the Jews.’ I think the same thing may apply here.
G-d willing, I will get to bless my children (and grandchildren) in this way for many years.
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Mussar
On the trip I read the book ‘Climbing Jacobs Ladder’ by Alan Morinis. Mussar is the Jewish spiritual tradition. It’s similar to man eastern religions in practice, but not philosophy. Basically it’s a way to perfect the soul.
The tradition is that the soul has many traits (kindness, anger, compassion…). Each person has unique levels of each of these different traits. We are able to modify these levels. Mussar teaches how to recognize these traits, decide which ones need work, and tells you how to work on them.
The interesting aspect about the book, is that the authour was non religious. He wanted to learn (and use) Mussar, without becoming more traditionally observant. He discovered that the two are separatable, and he was able to learn and use Mussar (including spending time in a Yeshiva) without becoming Orthodox.
I’ll write more about this as I learn more, but I encourage any Jews who have been attracted by Eastern Religions to give it a read.
The tradition is that the soul has many traits (kindness, anger, compassion…). Each person has unique levels of each of these different traits. We are able to modify these levels. Mussar teaches how to recognize these traits, decide which ones need work, and tells you how to work on them.
The interesting aspect about the book, is that the authour was non religious. He wanted to learn (and use) Mussar, without becoming more traditionally observant. He discovered that the two are separatable, and he was able to learn and use Mussar (including spending time in a Yeshiva) without becoming Orthodox.
I’ll write more about this as I learn more, but I encourage any Jews who have been attracted by Eastern Religions to give it a read.
Sunday, January 11, 2004
Going to Shul in Israel
Davening in Israel was a special experience. Most of the time I did it in the hotel room. Davening by the window looking out onto Israel was especially moving.
I went to Shul 3 times. We went to the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem for Kabalat Shabbat, then to the Conservative Synagogue in Jerusalem on Shabbat, then at the Hotel Shul in Eilat one day.
The Great Synagogue was magnificent. We only ay the last 20 minutes of the service, but it’s a beautiful building, with an outstanding Choir.
The Conservative movement in Israel is very small, so this was a very small Shul (maybe seats 150 people). The service was almost identical to what you would find here. The former Rabbi from Mandy’s family’s Shul was the Rabbi there until he retired a few months ago. I had just bought a new Tallit, so I got to wear it for the first time for Shabbat Service.
The Minion in the Hotel was Sephardi, Orthodox, and all Hebrew. It was a little hard to follow, but I managed. They needed me for the minion, so I was happy to go, even if I was a little confused.
I went to Shul 3 times. We went to the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem for Kabalat Shabbat, then to the Conservative Synagogue in Jerusalem on Shabbat, then at the Hotel Shul in Eilat one day.
The Great Synagogue was magnificent. We only ay the last 20 minutes of the service, but it’s a beautiful building, with an outstanding Choir.
The Conservative movement in Israel is very small, so this was a very small Shul (maybe seats 150 people). The service was almost identical to what you would find here. The former Rabbi from Mandy’s family’s Shul was the Rabbi there until he retired a few months ago. I had just bought a new Tallit, so I got to wear it for the first time for Shabbat Service.
The Minion in the Hotel was Sephardi, Orthodox, and all Hebrew. It was a little hard to follow, but I managed. They needed me for the minion, so I was happy to go, even if I was a little confused.
Friday, January 09, 2004
We’re Back
We’re back from what can only be described as the “Best Vacation Ever”!
We had a great tour, a nice visit with some cousins, a great time in Jerusalem, and a nice relaxing few days in Eilat. The weather was great for touring (15-18 C, and sunny), but a little too cool in Eilat to swim in the Red Sea (21C).
We both felt perfectly safe there. Other than a security guard at the entrance to every store/hotel/restaurant, things really weren’t much different from last time I was there (12 years ago) You just have to get used to seeing people with M16’s slung over their shouldersJ
It was a little depressing to see how few tourists there were there. Many businesses were closed, markets were empty… but the merchants who were there were all very happy to see us and offer us great deals if we did our business at their store.
We are currently trying to figure out when we’ll be able to go back. Mandy’s cousin has a Bat Mitzvah in 2 years… that might be a good time. I could see us moving there some day (but right now High Tech workers and Family Doctors are not really in demand there).
Israel really has everything, religion, history, nature, culture, shopping, beaches… I encourage everyone to visit. It really is one of the best countries in the world.
We had a great tour, a nice visit with some cousins, a great time in Jerusalem, and a nice relaxing few days in Eilat. The weather was great for touring (15-18 C, and sunny), but a little too cool in Eilat to swim in the Red Sea (21C).
We both felt perfectly safe there. Other than a security guard at the entrance to every store/hotel/restaurant, things really weren’t much different from last time I was there (12 years ago) You just have to get used to seeing people with M16’s slung over their shouldersJ
It was a little depressing to see how few tourists there were there. Many businesses were closed, markets were empty… but the merchants who were there were all very happy to see us and offer us great deals if we did our business at their store.
We are currently trying to figure out when we’ll be able to go back. Mandy’s cousin has a Bat Mitzvah in 2 years… that might be a good time. I could see us moving there some day (but right now High Tech workers and Family Doctors are not really in demand there).
Israel really has everything, religion, history, nature, culture, shopping, beaches… I encourage everyone to visit. It really is one of the best countries in the world.
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Off to Israel
We’re off to Israel later today. All being well, we’ll light the Chanukah candles in our hotel in Tel Aviv.
I Probably won’t have much internet access while I’m gone, so this may be my last post for a few weeks. But I’m sure I’ll much to write about when I get back.
We pray that G-d will watch over us and guide us through a safe and spiritually meaningful trip.
I Probably won’t have much internet access while I’m gone, so this may be my last post for a few weeks. But I’m sure I’ll much to write about when I get back.
We pray that G-d will watch over us and guide us through a safe and spiritually meaningful trip.
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Difference Between Hellenism and Judaism
This one phrase really sums up what the Maccabees were fighting for. “To the Greeks, what is beautiful is holly. To the Jews what is holy is beautiful.”
The Greeks glorified the physical. The Jews appreciate the physical, but not in and of itself. We know that it all comes from G-d, and that is where our worship is directed.
The Greeks glorified the physical. The Jews appreciate the physical, but not in and of itself. We know that it all comes from G-d, and that is where our worship is directed.
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Chanukah Musings
We’re right in the middle of the holiday of Chanukah. I just wanted to make a few brief thoughts about the holiday.
First, Chanukah is one of the most widely celebrated holidays among non-observant Jews. I find that ironic since it is not at all clear which side most of them would have been on had they lived in the time of the Maccabees. Would they have sided with those in favour of abandoning Judaism and assimilating into the wider Hellenist culture, or would they have been willing to give their lives by standing with Matathies, when he called “All those who are for G-d follow me”? Something to think about
Second, I wanted to point out another example of some terrible PR work by Israel. Israel has a knack for picking the worst possible symbols for things. The ministry of Tourism uses the man holding the huge bunch of grapes as their logo. Do you remember where this image comes from? It’s the tragedy of the spies; the event that lead to the establishment of Tisha B’Av, the most tragic day in Jewish History. Throughout history, just about every bad thing that has happened to the Jews happened on that day (the destruction of the first and second temple, the expulsion from England, The expulsion from Spain, The start of WWI – which lead to the Holocaust…).
The story of Chanukah is about the Maccabees fighting against Judaism being overrun by Hellenist culture. They gave their lives for the cause. Today, when we think of the name Maccabees, what do we think of? The most obvious is the “Jewish Olympics”. The Olympics is the most Greek of all things; let’s run around naked, show off our perfect bodies and glorify the physical. To take the most Greek of all events and name it after the Maccabees, who gave their lives to prevent Judaism from being overrun by Greek culture, is just about the biggest slap in the face you can think of. It’s like naming a Shul “Congregation I Eat Pork”.
Being in the high tech field, I do openly welcome modern culture, but I always know where it stands in relation to my Jewish roots. That’s what many of us need to keep in mind. There is no problem with participating in the modern world, but it should come after G-d, not before.
First, Chanukah is one of the most widely celebrated holidays among non-observant Jews. I find that ironic since it is not at all clear which side most of them would have been on had they lived in the time of the Maccabees. Would they have sided with those in favour of abandoning Judaism and assimilating into the wider Hellenist culture, or would they have been willing to give their lives by standing with Matathies, when he called “All those who are for G-d follow me”? Something to think about
Second, I wanted to point out another example of some terrible PR work by Israel. Israel has a knack for picking the worst possible symbols for things. The ministry of Tourism uses the man holding the huge bunch of grapes as their logo. Do you remember where this image comes from? It’s the tragedy of the spies; the event that lead to the establishment of Tisha B’Av, the most tragic day in Jewish History. Throughout history, just about every bad thing that has happened to the Jews happened on that day (the destruction of the first and second temple, the expulsion from England, The expulsion from Spain, The start of WWI – which lead to the Holocaust…).
The story of Chanukah is about the Maccabees fighting against Judaism being overrun by Hellenist culture. They gave their lives for the cause. Today, when we think of the name Maccabees, what do we think of? The most obvious is the “Jewish Olympics”. The Olympics is the most Greek of all things; let’s run around naked, show off our perfect bodies and glorify the physical. To take the most Greek of all events and name it after the Maccabees, who gave their lives to prevent Judaism from being overrun by Greek culture, is just about the biggest slap in the face you can think of. It’s like naming a Shul “Congregation I Eat Pork”.
Being in the high tech field, I do openly welcome modern culture, but I always know where it stands in relation to my Jewish roots. That’s what many of us need to keep in mind. There is no problem with participating in the modern world, but it should come after G-d, not before.
Sunday, December 21, 2003
Parashat Vayeishev
I tried to talk my sister into coming to Shul yesterday by telling her that she would see the first act of “Joseph and the Amazing Techno-Colored Dreamcoat”. After figuring out what I meant, she decided against it.
Yesterday we read the first Parashat about Joseph, the story continues for the rest of the book of Genesis. I think most of us know the story, so I don’t want to talk about that. What I do want to talk about is a tiny section, which seems insignificant, but in reality, all of Jewish History is based on it.
Here’s the story. Josephs brothers head out to plot to kill Joseph. Jacob sends Joseph out to make peace with his brothers. When Joseph gets to where he thought his brothers would be, the following happens
Doesn’t sounds like much. But this man could have saw Joseph wandering in the field and thought to himself, “He’s just some kid playing in the field, not my business’. In fact that’s what most people today probably would have done. But if things had happened that way, Joseph would have never found his brothers, he would never have been sent to Egypt, and the upcoming famine would have wiped the Jews out. In other words, this unidentified man’s act of kindness is what allowed the Jewish nation to be born.
They say that the world stands on three things Torah, Service of G-d, and Acts of Kindness. This is what they are refereeing to.
Yesterday we read the first Parashat about Joseph, the story continues for the rest of the book of Genesis. I think most of us know the story, so I don’t want to talk about that. What I do want to talk about is a tiny section, which seems insignificant, but in reality, all of Jewish History is based on it.
Here’s the story. Josephs brothers head out to plot to kill Joseph. Jacob sends Joseph out to make peace with his brothers. When Joseph gets to where he thought his brothers would be, the following happens
- Then a man found him, and behold, he was straying in the field, and the man asked him, saying, "What are you looking for?" And he said, "I am looking for my brothers. Tell me now, where are they pasturing?" And the man said, "They have traveled away from here, for I overheard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.' " [37:15-17]
Doesn’t sounds like much. But this man could have saw Joseph wandering in the field and thought to himself, “He’s just some kid playing in the field, not my business’. In fact that’s what most people today probably would have done. But if things had happened that way, Joseph would have never found his brothers, he would never have been sent to Egypt, and the upcoming famine would have wiped the Jews out. In other words, this unidentified man’s act of kindness is what allowed the Jewish nation to be born.
They say that the world stands on three things Torah, Service of G-d, and Acts of Kindness. This is what they are refereeing to.
Friday, December 19, 2003
Happy Birthday to Me!
Today is my 29th birthday (both on the English and Hebrew calendars).
I’d like to look back on the past year and then forward to the next.
One year ago, I was taking Hebrew-reading lessons. I had just recently started laying Tefilin and davening every morning. I had just run 10K for the first time. I was getting ready to go on a Caribbean cruise to renew my body. Today I am one of only two people who attend the morning minyon at my Shul (other than the Rabbi ad Cantor) who are not saying Kaddish. I can lead any of the weekday services and Shacharit for Shabbat. I have run 2 ½ marathons, and am getting ready for a trip to Israel to renew my soul.
It has been an amazing year in many ways, and I think that today, I’m much closer to the person I want to be than I was a year ago.
Of course, this has also been the most difficult year of my life. Our two miscarriages alone would be more than enough to take that title, but add everything that has happened with my brother and many other things that I’m not even going to list.
When faced with such a year, some people turn away from their faith. I turned towards G-d. The more that happened, the harder I prayed and the more I learned. I pray that all these things were given to me as a test of my faith, and I hope that I’ve passed the test. If that’s the case, I hope I can look forward to a year filled with joy.
Here is my prayer for the coming year. I pray for a safe and meaningful trip to Israel. I pray that our new home will be one filled with the “Pintele Yid’, and house full of Torah learning and a home that can help kindle the “Pintele Yid’ in our friends and family. I pray that this year will bring Mandy and I a healthy child so that we can share all of this with our new family.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach
I’d like to look back on the past year and then forward to the next.
One year ago, I was taking Hebrew-reading lessons. I had just recently started laying Tefilin and davening every morning. I had just run 10K for the first time. I was getting ready to go on a Caribbean cruise to renew my body. Today I am one of only two people who attend the morning minyon at my Shul (other than the Rabbi ad Cantor) who are not saying Kaddish. I can lead any of the weekday services and Shacharit for Shabbat. I have run 2 ½ marathons, and am getting ready for a trip to Israel to renew my soul.
It has been an amazing year in many ways, and I think that today, I’m much closer to the person I want to be than I was a year ago.
Of course, this has also been the most difficult year of my life. Our two miscarriages alone would be more than enough to take that title, but add everything that has happened with my brother and many other things that I’m not even going to list.
When faced with such a year, some people turn away from their faith. I turned towards G-d. The more that happened, the harder I prayed and the more I learned. I pray that all these things were given to me as a test of my faith, and I hope that I’ve passed the test. If that’s the case, I hope I can look forward to a year filled with joy.
Here is my prayer for the coming year. I pray for a safe and meaningful trip to Israel. I pray that our new home will be one filled with the “Pintele Yid’, and house full of Torah learning and a home that can help kindle the “Pintele Yid’ in our friends and family. I pray that this year will bring Mandy and I a healthy child so that we can share all of this with our new family.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
We Bought a House
This seems to be a week full of news. First Israel, now a house.
I think I’ve written before about my dilemma about where to buy a house. Do we buy within walking distance of our Shul (which is no longer a very Jewish area), or do we buy in a Jewish area (even though that would mean we have to either walk to Shul, or switch to an Orthodox Shul – which we are not willing to do at this time). We decided on the latter.
We bought in a new community in the Bathurst and Highway #7 area of Thornhill. It’s a very Jewish area, with a lot of couples our age buying there. There is a small Orthodox Shul a short walk away (The Country Shul). They offer any educational programs, which I look forward to taking advantage of, and I may even go to Shabbat service there when Mandy is not able to come with. When Mandy comes with to Shul, we’ll have to rely on the Conservative position allowing you to drive to Shul on Shabbat.
They are building a whole Jewish Community Centre complex 10 minutes away (complete with several Jewish day schools) so it should be a very nice area to live in.
I really don’t like the Conservative position about driving to Shul… basically it allowed for the destruction of any cohesive Conservative Jewish Community. There is no longer any need to live around the Shul, so there is no need to have a spatially localized community. Of course, I think the logic behind the ruing is valid; you can make a strong case for limited driving being permitted on Shabbat (I’ll present that case another time) – almost as strong as the case that the Orthodox make to say it’s not permitted. So you would be breaking what is at most a modern Rabbinic prohibition, in order to be able to daven with an minion on Shabbat. Seems like a reasonable trade off.
Of course, right now this is a moot point, since we drive on Shabbat anyway. But if we ever decide to become more observant (which we very well may), it would have been nice to be able to walk to our Shul. I guess we could always move at that point.
I think I’ve written before about my dilemma about where to buy a house. Do we buy within walking distance of our Shul (which is no longer a very Jewish area), or do we buy in a Jewish area (even though that would mean we have to either walk to Shul, or switch to an Orthodox Shul – which we are not willing to do at this time). We decided on the latter.
We bought in a new community in the Bathurst and Highway #7 area of Thornhill. It’s a very Jewish area, with a lot of couples our age buying there. There is a small Orthodox Shul a short walk away (The Country Shul). They offer any educational programs, which I look forward to taking advantage of, and I may even go to Shabbat service there when Mandy is not able to come with. When Mandy comes with to Shul, we’ll have to rely on the Conservative position allowing you to drive to Shul on Shabbat.
They are building a whole Jewish Community Centre complex 10 minutes away (complete with several Jewish day schools) so it should be a very nice area to live in.
I really don’t like the Conservative position about driving to Shul… basically it allowed for the destruction of any cohesive Conservative Jewish Community. There is no longer any need to live around the Shul, so there is no need to have a spatially localized community. Of course, I think the logic behind the ruing is valid; you can make a strong case for limited driving being permitted on Shabbat (I’ll present that case another time) – almost as strong as the case that the Orthodox make to say it’s not permitted. So you would be breaking what is at most a modern Rabbinic prohibition, in order to be able to daven with an minion on Shabbat. Seems like a reasonable trade off.
Of course, right now this is a moot point, since we drive on Shabbat anyway. But if we ever decide to become more observant (which we very well may), it would have been nice to be able to walk to our Shul. I guess we could always move at that point.
Monday, December 15, 2003
We’re Going To Israel
It’s all set. Mandy and I are going to Israel.
We have a two-week trip planned. 8 night tour, 2 extra days on our own in Jerusalem and 3 days in Eilat. Info on our trip can be found at the ISRAM tour site.
We’re both really looking forward to the trip, especially Jerusalem. We’ll be in Jerusalem on one Shabbat and we plan to attend a service at the Wall. Our Hotel in Jerusalem is less than 1KM from the wall, so hopefully I’ll be bale to daven there every day.
Our parents (of course) are a little scared for us. I think my mother is not only worried about our safety, but she’s also worried that we’ll like it so much we’ll want to make Aliya. She may have good reason to worry about that one… but not for a few years at least.
Our flight leaves one night and gets to Israel the next evening. That means that Shacharit would have to be davened on the plane. The question is, with all the time zone changes we go through, when are the proper times to daven?
I haven’t found a good answer, but if I were to have to rule on the issue, here’s what I would say. You start by calculating the number of daylight hours you’ll get on the ride (this could be very short, depending on the speed of the pane and the route). You then daven Shacharit between dawn and 1/3 of daylight hours passing. This could mean that in some cases you would have to daven very quickly. I’ll let you know if I come across any other answers to this problem.
We have a two-week trip planned. 8 night tour, 2 extra days on our own in Jerusalem and 3 days in Eilat. Info on our trip can be found at the ISRAM tour site.
We’re both really looking forward to the trip, especially Jerusalem. We’ll be in Jerusalem on one Shabbat and we plan to attend a service at the Wall. Our Hotel in Jerusalem is less than 1KM from the wall, so hopefully I’ll be bale to daven there every day.
Our parents (of course) are a little scared for us. I think my mother is not only worried about our safety, but she’s also worried that we’ll like it so much we’ll want to make Aliya. She may have good reason to worry about that one… but not for a few years at least.
Our flight leaves one night and gets to Israel the next evening. That means that Shacharit would have to be davened on the plane. The question is, with all the time zone changes we go through, when are the proper times to daven?
I haven’t found a good answer, but if I were to have to rule on the issue, here’s what I would say. You start by calculating the number of daylight hours you’ll get on the ride (this could be very short, depending on the speed of the pane and the route). You then daven Shacharit between dawn and 1/3 of daylight hours passing. This could mean that in some cases you would have to daven very quickly. I’ll let you know if I come across any other answers to this problem.
Friday, December 12, 2003
Parashat Vayishlach
It turns out that this weeks Torah portion is in fact my Bar Mitzvah portion. I just realized that today when reading over the text. My Maftir was about the Chiefs of Esau, and towards the end of the parashat, we start reading about the generations of Esau, it sounded familiar for I looked at the Hebrew of the Maftir, and I can still chant along with it.
The text relates the story of Jacob and his family after leaving Lavan. Jacob is given the name Israel by an angel (and later by G-d). Jacob meets Esau. Jacob’s daughter Dinah is raped y the locals who are then killed y Jacobs children. Jacob returns to his father’s house. We read of the death of Yitzchak. And then conclude with the generations of Esau (including Amalek and the King of Edom – Rome).
It is the story of the meeting of Jacob and Esau that I’ll talk about. When they meet, Jacob offers Esau a present (as a peace offering). Esau refuses saying I have more than I need. Jacob insists saying, I have all that I need, please take it. This language does not seem to be representative of either of them.
Esau is a man who loves physical wealth. You would not expect to hear him say that he has more than he needs, because he always wants to get more. Jacob, on the other hand, was a very rich man, but one who would have been perfectly happy being poor, since his focus was on G-d. Saying that he has all that he needs implies that if he had less, he would not have all that he needs. You would expect to hear Jacob say he has more than he needs, because material wealth is meaningless to him.
So why did Jacob say “I have as much” and Esau ay “I have more”? If you have the right outlook on life, you can never have more than you need. G-d gives each of us exactly what we need to carry out our unique mission. Jacob knew that the reason he had all his wealth is because he needs it to serve G-d in the way that G-d wants Jacob to serve him. If he had said that he has more then he needs, would be to deny this fact.
In fact we say a blessing to this effect every morning. We thank G-d for “providing me with my every need.” We’re saying that everything I have was provided by G-d because I need it. And everything I don’t have, I don’t need.
It takes a person like Esau who looks at possessions as a way to serve his own selfish purposes to say that he has more than he needs.
Of course, Esau ends up taking the gift.
Esau then says to Jacob “My brother, it’s good to have you back. Come with me to Har Sa'ir, where I live and we'll go into business together. With your brains and my brawn we'll dominate the whole Middle East." (not a direct quote) There is no question that if they had teamed up they would have been quite a force in human history. Imagine a people with the physical strength of the Romans and the spiritual and intellectual strength of the Jews.
But Jacob says “You go ahead of me, I’ll catch up later.” We know that Jacob never goes to Har Sa'ir to live with Esau.
Rabbi Spiro explains:
Shabbat Shalom
The text relates the story of Jacob and his family after leaving Lavan. Jacob is given the name Israel by an angel (and later by G-d). Jacob meets Esau. Jacob’s daughter Dinah is raped y the locals who are then killed y Jacobs children. Jacob returns to his father’s house. We read of the death of Yitzchak. And then conclude with the generations of Esau (including Amalek and the King of Edom – Rome).
It is the story of the meeting of Jacob and Esau that I’ll talk about. When they meet, Jacob offers Esau a present (as a peace offering). Esau refuses saying I have more than I need. Jacob insists saying, I have all that I need, please take it. This language does not seem to be representative of either of them.
Esau is a man who loves physical wealth. You would not expect to hear him say that he has more than he needs, because he always wants to get more. Jacob, on the other hand, was a very rich man, but one who would have been perfectly happy being poor, since his focus was on G-d. Saying that he has all that he needs implies that if he had less, he would not have all that he needs. You would expect to hear Jacob say he has more than he needs, because material wealth is meaningless to him.
So why did Jacob say “I have as much” and Esau ay “I have more”? If you have the right outlook on life, you can never have more than you need. G-d gives each of us exactly what we need to carry out our unique mission. Jacob knew that the reason he had all his wealth is because he needs it to serve G-d in the way that G-d wants Jacob to serve him. If he had said that he has more then he needs, would be to deny this fact.
In fact we say a blessing to this effect every morning. We thank G-d for “providing me with my every need.” We’re saying that everything I have was provided by G-d because I need it. And everything I don’t have, I don’t need.
It takes a person like Esau who looks at possessions as a way to serve his own selfish purposes to say that he has more than he needs.
Of course, Esau ends up taking the gift.
Esau then says to Jacob “My brother, it’s good to have you back. Come with me to Har Sa'ir, where I live and we'll go into business together. With your brains and my brawn we'll dominate the whole Middle East." (not a direct quote) There is no question that if they had teamed up they would have been quite a force in human history. Imagine a people with the physical strength of the Romans and the spiritual and intellectual strength of the Jews.
But Jacob says “You go ahead of me, I’ll catch up later.” We know that Jacob never goes to Har Sa'ir to live with Esau.
Rabbi Spiro explains:
The great biblical commentator Rashi explains, quoting the Prophet Ovadiah, that they will meet again -- at the end of days. In effect, Jacob, representing the great intellectual, spiritual force in human history, is saying to Esau, the great physical force: "I give you permission to go on ahead and dominate human history physically. But at the end of days, when the 'lion lies down with the lamb,' then we'll get together. Then the Jews will be on top."
This doesn't mean in the end Jews are going to conquer the world and make a great empire. In the end, the whole world will come to recognize one God and live with one standard of morality in peace and brotherhood. The Jewish mission will be fulfilled then, but in the meantime, Esau is going to be on top.
Ultimately the struggle of history will be between Jewish ideas and the ideas of Esau and the culture that he's going to create in human history. That's the cosmic battle: good versus evil. This is a very powerful idea and the dominating pattern of Jewish history.”
Shabbat Shalom
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
The 4th Aliah of Parashat Vayeitzei
Last week’s Portion contains the birth of most of Jacob’s children, and of how Rachel was barren for many years, until G-d remembered her and she gave birth to Jacob’s favourite son Joseph.
Our Shul is holding a fundraiser to commission a new Torah scroll. Members can sponsor a letter, or word, or sentence. Or an Aliah or even a Parahat. If you do an Aliah or Parashat you get to pick which one to dedicate.
Mandy and I decided to dedicate an Aliah. After much study, we decided on the 4th Aliah of Parashat Vayeitzei (described above). The selection was very carefully made. We wanted one talking about the birth of children. This portion talks about the birth of many children and how, after not being able to have a child, G-d remembers Rachel and she conceives.
Mandy and I have had two miscarriages. This act of Tzedukah and the mitzvah of writing a torah scroll are dedicated to the two souls that never got to enter this world.
Every time I daven, at the end of the silent Amidah, I add a personal prayer, similar to the following. May the merit of these mitzvahs enhance our prayers for Mandy to conceive and carry through to completion, in health and safety for the mother and unborn child, and that the child be delivered into the world at appropriate time, complete in all its limbs and senses, so that we may raise it according to your will as revealed in your Holly Torah.
Our Shul is holding a fundraiser to commission a new Torah scroll. Members can sponsor a letter, or word, or sentence. Or an Aliah or even a Parahat. If you do an Aliah or Parashat you get to pick which one to dedicate.
Mandy and I decided to dedicate an Aliah. After much study, we decided on the 4th Aliah of Parashat Vayeitzei (described above). The selection was very carefully made. We wanted one talking about the birth of children. This portion talks about the birth of many children and how, after not being able to have a child, G-d remembers Rachel and she conceives.
Mandy and I have had two miscarriages. This act of Tzedukah and the mitzvah of writing a torah scroll are dedicated to the two souls that never got to enter this world.
Every time I daven, at the end of the silent Amidah, I add a personal prayer, similar to the following. May the merit of these mitzvahs enhance our prayers for Mandy to conceive and carry through to completion, in health and safety for the mother and unborn child, and that the child be delivered into the world at appropriate time, complete in all its limbs and senses, so that we may raise it according to your will as revealed in your Holly Torah.
Monday, December 08, 2003
Logical vs. Illogical vs. Meta-Logical
You often hear people taking about all the laws of Judaism, and how many of them seem illogical. The prohibition against murder seems perfectly logical, but not being allowed to mix wool and linen seems illogical.
The term “illogical” is really not accurate here. There is nothing illogical about being told not to mix wool and linen (or any of the other laws), it’s just that we don’t understand the logic behind it. Not understanding the logic does not make something illogical; it makes it “meta-logical”.
We abide by the logical laws because we can see the reason for them. But why should be abide by the laws who’s logic escapes us?
Lets look at an example. Lets say you’re on your way home from work and you check your messages on your cell phone. There is a message from your husband/wife asking you to pick up a pizza on the way home. Do you do it? Probably. (The correct answer is “if you know what’s good for you”) Why, because it is a perfectly logical request. You and your family need to eat dinner, pizza is a good dinner so you pick it up.
Now what if the message on your cell phone was to drive 30 minutes out of your way down to the riverbank and fill a bag full of sand and bring that home. Would you carry out this illogical request? Depending on your relationship with your husband/wife, you probably would. The first request you carry out based on logic, the second you do out of love.
The same hold for G-d’s laws. The logical ones we do because we see how it’s good for us. The others we do out of love for G-d. We know that G-d loves us, and he would not tell us do to something if there wasn’t a reason; even if we don’t understand what the reason is.
But in fact, all of G-d’s laws (the seemingly logical and seemingly illogical ones) are meta-logical. Whether or not we think we understand the logic behind a law, how do we know if that’s the real reason?
Lets look back at our two examples. The pizza request seemed perfectly logical. But what if you get home and your wife gives the pizza to the neighbours and feeds you leftovers for dinner? You got the pizza because you though it was a logical request – you were going to have pizza for dinner. But it turns out that there was a different logic behind it. The request was, in fact, meta-logical.
The sand request seemed illogical. But when you get home and give the sand to your wife she gives it to your son who needs it for a science fair experiment. You carried out this seemingly illogical request out of love, but it turned out that there was a perfectly logical reason behind it – you just didn’t know what it was.
Presumably, all of Judaism’s meta-logical laws are in fact perfectly logical; it is just that we may not be able to fully understand the logic while in this world.
The term “illogical” is really not accurate here. There is nothing illogical about being told not to mix wool and linen (or any of the other laws), it’s just that we don’t understand the logic behind it. Not understanding the logic does not make something illogical; it makes it “meta-logical”.
We abide by the logical laws because we can see the reason for them. But why should be abide by the laws who’s logic escapes us?
Lets look at an example. Lets say you’re on your way home from work and you check your messages on your cell phone. There is a message from your husband/wife asking you to pick up a pizza on the way home. Do you do it? Probably. (The correct answer is “if you know what’s good for you”) Why, because it is a perfectly logical request. You and your family need to eat dinner, pizza is a good dinner so you pick it up.
Now what if the message on your cell phone was to drive 30 minutes out of your way down to the riverbank and fill a bag full of sand and bring that home. Would you carry out this illogical request? Depending on your relationship with your husband/wife, you probably would. The first request you carry out based on logic, the second you do out of love.
The same hold for G-d’s laws. The logical ones we do because we see how it’s good for us. The others we do out of love for G-d. We know that G-d loves us, and he would not tell us do to something if there wasn’t a reason; even if we don’t understand what the reason is.
But in fact, all of G-d’s laws (the seemingly logical and seemingly illogical ones) are meta-logical. Whether or not we think we understand the logic behind a law, how do we know if that’s the real reason?
Lets look back at our two examples. The pizza request seemed perfectly logical. But what if you get home and your wife gives the pizza to the neighbours and feeds you leftovers for dinner? You got the pizza because you though it was a logical request – you were going to have pizza for dinner. But it turns out that there was a different logic behind it. The request was, in fact, meta-logical.
The sand request seemed illogical. But when you get home and give the sand to your wife she gives it to your son who needs it for a science fair experiment. You carried out this seemingly illogical request out of love, but it turned out that there was a perfectly logical reason behind it – you just didn’t know what it was.
Presumably, all of Judaism’s meta-logical laws are in fact perfectly logical; it is just that we may not be able to fully understand the logic while in this world.
Friday, December 05, 2003
Lavan vs. Pharaoh
There is a line in the Passover Haggadah that compares Pharaoh to Lavan. It says that Lavan was worse, because Pharaoh only wanted to kill the first-born sons, and Lavan wanted to destroy everything. The only problem is that the Torah never records any instance of Lavan wanting to kill anyone (let alone everyone).
The commentators trace that statement back to this week’s portion. Jacob decides that it’s time to leave Lavan’s house and go back to the land that G-d promised to give him. He tells Lavan about his plans to leave, and Lavan hugs him and tells him he is family and shouldn’t go.
Most explanations of this passage reflect poorly on Lavan. Because of Jacob’s blessings, he is very prosperous while in Lavan’s house, and thus Lavan becomes very prosperous. Lavan knows that it’s all Jacob’s doings, so he doesn’t want him to go. Some commentaries even go so far as to say that the reason Lavan hugged Jacob was so that he could pick his pockets. This might not reflect well on Lavan, but it hardly seems like he was trying to ‘destroy everything�.
But what would have happened if Lavan had been more persuasive and convinced Jacob to stay? As I said last posting, Jacob’s family became a nation when they left Lavan’s house. So if Lavan had convinced them to stay, they would have never become a nation. This is why the Haggadah says Lavan wanted to destroy everything. He wanted to prevent Jacob from becoming a nation so he cold personally benefit from his blessings. He tried to do that by telling Jacob that they are family – that they are all one people. In other words, he tied to assimilate Jacob’s family into his own.
What the Haggadah is telling us, is that the threat of assimilation (Lavan) is greater then the threat of physical violence (Pharaoh). While physical violence can kill individuals (or many individuals), assimilation can wipe out an entire generation, and thus the entire nations.
We are all very conscious of the physical threat we face today in many parts of the world. Lets make sure we pay as much (or more) attention to the even bigger threat of assimilation
Shabbat Shalom.
The commentators trace that statement back to this week’s portion. Jacob decides that it’s time to leave Lavan’s house and go back to the land that G-d promised to give him. He tells Lavan about his plans to leave, and Lavan hugs him and tells him he is family and shouldn’t go.
Most explanations of this passage reflect poorly on Lavan. Because of Jacob’s blessings, he is very prosperous while in Lavan’s house, and thus Lavan becomes very prosperous. Lavan knows that it’s all Jacob’s doings, so he doesn’t want him to go. Some commentaries even go so far as to say that the reason Lavan hugged Jacob was so that he could pick his pockets. This might not reflect well on Lavan, but it hardly seems like he was trying to ‘destroy everything�.
But what would have happened if Lavan had been more persuasive and convinced Jacob to stay? As I said last posting, Jacob’s family became a nation when they left Lavan’s house. So if Lavan had convinced them to stay, they would have never become a nation. This is why the Haggadah says Lavan wanted to destroy everything. He wanted to prevent Jacob from becoming a nation so he cold personally benefit from his blessings. He tried to do that by telling Jacob that they are family – that they are all one people. In other words, he tied to assimilate Jacob’s family into his own.
What the Haggadah is telling us, is that the threat of assimilation (Lavan) is greater then the threat of physical violence (Pharaoh). While physical violence can kill individuals (or many individuals), assimilation can wipe out an entire generation, and thus the entire nations.
We are all very conscious of the physical threat we face today in many parts of the world. Lets make sure we pay as much (or more) attention to the even bigger threat of assimilation
Shabbat Shalom.
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
Parahat Vayeitzei - Becoming a Nation
This week’s Torah reading is about Jacob while living in Lavan’s house. Taking Rachel and Leah as wives, and having most of his children. But what is really happening in this portion is the birth of the Jewish Nation.
The parashat starts with Jacob, after leaving his father’s house, putting a stone under his head and going to sleep by the side of the road. Jacob had just gotten a spiritual and physical blessing from Yitzchak. He has all the potential in the world, but he has nothing. The modern day equivalent would be a person graduating from Harvard Law, but has no job and lies down on a park bench with a news paper under his head and goes to sleep.
This is when he has his famous “Jacob’s Ladder” dream. He wakes up and realizes the place he is on is “the house of G-d’. He takes the rock he used as a pillow, turns it on it’s side, pours oil on it and makes it into a “matzavah”. In Modern Hebrew that means headstone, but in ancient Hebrew it meant “an altar”. This doesn’t sound like such a strange thing for Jacob to have done. However, in Deuteronomy 16:22, we are told not to make a matzavah, because G-d hates it.
Now we like to say that our forefathers kept the entire Torah before it was given. How literally they kept it is open to debate, but you’d think Jacob would be spiritually sensitive enough not to do something that G-d hates.
The commentators explain this by saying that at the time of Moses, G-d hated it, but in the time of Jacob he loved it. So what could have changed to make G-d hate something he once loved?
To understand this, we need to look at the concept of Jewish prayer. In Judaism, prayer is both communal and individual. Look at the Amidah, the central prayer in our liturgy. It is said (ideally) in a group of 10 or more, where each person prays to himself. What are they praying for? “Heal us”, “Forgive us”. They are praying for the entire Jewish people. So we have a group of people, each praying individually for the welfare of the community; the prefect synergy between community and self.
Because of this communal aspect, altars are supposed to be made up of many stones, representing the many members of the Nation of Israel. That explains why G-d hates single stoned alters now, but why would he have loved it in the time of Jacob? The answer is because until Jacob, there was no Nation of Israel. Judaism was a single person, first Abraham, the Yitzchak, now Jacob. So there is no problem with making an altar out of a single stone.
Just when does Israel become a nation? It has clearly happened by the middle of next week’s parashat (the term nation is used to describe Israel for the first time). But I would say that it actually happens this week, specifically when Jacob takes his family and leaves Lavan’s house. You have an independent, identifiable group of people with common beliefs and customs. That certainly sounds like a good definition of nationhood.
The parashat starts with Jacob, after leaving his father’s house, putting a stone under his head and going to sleep by the side of the road. Jacob had just gotten a spiritual and physical blessing from Yitzchak. He has all the potential in the world, but he has nothing. The modern day equivalent would be a person graduating from Harvard Law, but has no job and lies down on a park bench with a news paper under his head and goes to sleep.
This is when he has his famous “Jacob’s Ladder” dream. He wakes up and realizes the place he is on is “the house of G-d’. He takes the rock he used as a pillow, turns it on it’s side, pours oil on it and makes it into a “matzavah”. In Modern Hebrew that means headstone, but in ancient Hebrew it meant “an altar”. This doesn’t sound like such a strange thing for Jacob to have done. However, in Deuteronomy 16:22, we are told not to make a matzavah, because G-d hates it.
Now we like to say that our forefathers kept the entire Torah before it was given. How literally they kept it is open to debate, but you’d think Jacob would be spiritually sensitive enough not to do something that G-d hates.
The commentators explain this by saying that at the time of Moses, G-d hated it, but in the time of Jacob he loved it. So what could have changed to make G-d hate something he once loved?
To understand this, we need to look at the concept of Jewish prayer. In Judaism, prayer is both communal and individual. Look at the Amidah, the central prayer in our liturgy. It is said (ideally) in a group of 10 or more, where each person prays to himself. What are they praying for? “Heal us”, “Forgive us”. They are praying for the entire Jewish people. So we have a group of people, each praying individually for the welfare of the community; the prefect synergy between community and self.
Because of this communal aspect, altars are supposed to be made up of many stones, representing the many members of the Nation of Israel. That explains why G-d hates single stoned alters now, but why would he have loved it in the time of Jacob? The answer is because until Jacob, there was no Nation of Israel. Judaism was a single person, first Abraham, the Yitzchak, now Jacob. So there is no problem with making an altar out of a single stone.
Just when does Israel become a nation? It has clearly happened by the middle of next week’s parashat (the term nation is used to describe Israel for the first time). But I would say that it actually happens this week, specifically when Jacob takes his family and leaves Lavan’s house. You have an independent, identifiable group of people with common beliefs and customs. That certainly sounds like a good definition of nationhood.
Monday, December 01, 2003
The Colour of Blue
I was listening to an MP3 file from Aish Audio, and they were talking about the blue fringes that are supposed to be on the Tzitzis (one of the 8 threads are supposed to be blue, the others white). A description was given as to just what colour of blue it was. The response is very mystical on many levels. What they said was “The blue of the Tzitzis is like the blue of the seas. The blue of the seas is like the blue of the sky. The blue of the sky is like the throne of G-d.”
The simple reading is that G-d has a blue throne… while that sounds like a nice tidbit of trivia, hardly earth shattering news. But we know that G-d takes no form, thus doesn’t really have a throne. So what’s this trying to say? I can see two meanings.
First, by drawing the connection between the Tzitzis and G-d we get a glimpse of the power of the mitzvah of Tzitzis. Wearing the blue fringe (or to a lesser extent the all while fringes we wear today) connects us with the throne of G-d. Simply by glancing down, we are able to be reminded of G-d presence and active role in our lives.
The second meaning draws from the comparison of the blue of the sea and sky to G-d’s throne. The sea and sky are magnificent shades of blue… but have you ever tried to capture that colour? Take a glass of sea, is it still blue? What about a glass full of sky? We know they are both blue, we can see and feel it, but when we try to put our hands on it, it’s no longer there. The same can be said for G-d’s presence. We know it’s there, we can even see it if we look at the big picture. But when we try to capture it, when we try to grasp it, it seems to slip between our fingers. But just like the sea and sky, even though we may not be able to put our hands on it, we never doubt its reality.
The simple reading is that G-d has a blue throne… while that sounds like a nice tidbit of trivia, hardly earth shattering news. But we know that G-d takes no form, thus doesn’t really have a throne. So what’s this trying to say? I can see two meanings.
First, by drawing the connection between the Tzitzis and G-d we get a glimpse of the power of the mitzvah of Tzitzis. Wearing the blue fringe (or to a lesser extent the all while fringes we wear today) connects us with the throne of G-d. Simply by glancing down, we are able to be reminded of G-d presence and active role in our lives.
The second meaning draws from the comparison of the blue of the sea and sky to G-d’s throne. The sea and sky are magnificent shades of blue… but have you ever tried to capture that colour? Take a glass of sea, is it still blue? What about a glass full of sky? We know they are both blue, we can see and feel it, but when we try to put our hands on it, it’s no longer there. The same can be said for G-d’s presence. We know it’s there, we can even see it if we look at the big picture. But when we try to capture it, when we try to grasp it, it seems to slip between our fingers. But just like the sea and sky, even though we may not be able to put our hands on it, we never doubt its reality.
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