Bilaam's Secret Weapon

Bilaam desperately wanted to destroy the nation of Israel. The midrash quoted by Rashi teaches that he hated Israel even more than Balak, the king who hired him. Balak only wished to chase the Jews from his area (ואגרשנו מן הארץ), while Bilaam planned to wipe them off the globe.

And so, Bilaam set out, and with the help of Balak, tried time and again to curse the Jews. However, each attempt was thwarted by God, who withheld his mystical moment of anger each day (See Brachoth 7a), and forced a blessing out of the mouth of the evil prophet. In one instance, Bilaam was inspired by the privacy each Jewish home provided its neighbors, by having windows that specifically faced away from other homes windows. In another, the prophet described the Jews as a nation that dwells unto itself.

Balak saw Israel's strength precisely in their ability to draw distinctions and boundaries between things that need to be separate. This is, in fact, one explanation of the symbolism behind שעטנז and the dietary laws, according to Rabbi Hirsch. The Beit Halevi says that man's ability to preserve physical distinctions like keeping meat and milk separate is a reason that the Torah was given to us, and not to angels. The maintenance of boundaries that God sets, both in the natural law (ex. כלאיים) and in the moral Law He delivered at Sinai (ex. שעטנז and בשר בחלב), is a major task given to Israel. By doing so, we bow to His greater wisdom, and keep order in this world. Keeping this in mind, Israel has the capacity to become a shining city atop a hill, and lead the world towards God by example of a perfect society. A light unto the nations must dwell apart from them, to provide a goal and structure.

Indeed, the order that God placed in nature is a model for the order that exists in morals and ethics. Just as it is naturally wrong to place an ox and a ram in a yoke together, causing them both stress and pain because of their different gaits, so it is morally wrong to blur the line between what is mine and what is my fellow man's.

The Jewish nation was able to maintain their aloof nobility in the face of Bilaam's attempts to curse them. In fact, throughout history, our nation demonstrates the ability to keep its distance when threatened with hate and rage from the nations. However, Bilaam realized after three attempts, that his very blessings to the Jews were their Achilles' heel.

And so, Bilaam decides to change tactics. Instead of threatening the Jews openly, he decides to help them blur the line between Jew and Midianite, between morality and sin. He sends girls to seduce the Jews. Acceptance and toleration are experiences that cause Jews to lose the demarcations that God's law demands. Sin ensues, and the spiritual walls of protection have been breached.

Throughout the generations, Bilaam's blessings and scheming serve to remind us of the two sides of the same coin. Boundaries, natural and moral, allow Israel to fulfill its national calling, bringing spirituality and שכינה into this world. The blurring of these boundaries ultimately leads Mankind astray, and disaster follows closely in the wake.

When Israel recognizes its uniqueness and destiny in the scheme of history, it will proudly march before the nations, bringing them to an awe-filled appreciation for Godliness. As the Talmud states (Yoma 86a), "ראו כמה נאים דרכיו כמה מתוקנים מעשיו עליו הכתוב אומר (ישעיהו מט) ויאמר לי עבדי אתה ישראל אשר בך אתפאר." May we all work to bring this realization to our whole nation, and bring about the fulfillment of our purpose as an אור לגוים.

Olmert Reveals The Truth

Ynet reports:

רה"מ: לא ניתן לספק בטווח הקצר את כל הביטחון לעוטף עזה
ראש הממשלה, אהוד אולמרט, התייחס בכנס קיסריה בחיפה למצב התושבים בשדרות וביישובי עוטף עזה ואמר: "איננו יכולים לספק בטווח הקצר את כל הביטחון שהיינו רוצים לספק לכם.
"מי שרוצה לחיות בישראל צריך לקחת סיכון מסוים. סיכון זה הוא עדיין פחות ביחס לזה שיש בקיום חיים יהודיים במקומות אחרים", הוסיף אולמרט

Olmert admits that he does not have the ability (desire, really) to protect those Jews living surrounding the Gaza Strip. He says that living in Israel comprises certain dangers, which are still less than living outside of Israel as a Jew.

What an incompetent, evil man. The first purpose of a government is to defend its citizens! If he can't do it, then he has lost his right to the premiership. Let someone govern who respects his duties.

Chukas: The Staff and the Word

In one of the most famous parts of the Torah, the Jews, yet again, complain to Moshe about their lack of water. Thirty eight years ago, in a similar situation, God commanded the leader of the nation to strike a rock with his staff. Doing so freed a spring of water that accompanied the people miraculously through the desert. However, this time, God instructs Moshe to speak to the rock. Midrashim explain why, but the fact is that Moshe disobeys God's express word, and strikes the rock.

This seemingly small mistake is cause for great rebuke. Because Moshe and Aharon 'lost faith in God, and did not sanctify His name in the eyes of the nation', Moses loses his right to enter the Land of Israel. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 90b) tells us that God punishes and rewards us measure for measure. Why did Moshe's mistake warrant this strict punishment?

Rabbi Hirsch discusses the symbolism of the staff that accompanied Moshe on his mission to redeem Israel from Egypt and beyond. Moshe, the reluctant leader, was chosen by God, and plucked from a comfortable life as heir to the Midianite priesthood, to change the course of nature and history. The staff represents God's direct intervention in the mundane matters of Man and the physical laws of nature. It is the staff of miracles.

When the nation came to Sinai, God gave them a written and oral law, words which instructed them how to lead their personal and national lives. Life is not meant to constantly be lived in direct contact with the miraculous suspension of the laws of nature. The Torah teaches us how to live within the laws of nature, and without direct Godly intervention in the course of history.

Immediately following the exodus from Egypt, the nation was completely governed by the miraculous divine intervention in every aspect of its life. It was not prepared for a natural mode of existence, where action is governed by the law of God. And so, God told Moshe to strike the rock with his staff. However, thirty eight years later, the people were on the brink of entering Canaan. They needed to learn that the miraculous mode of guidance was about to end, and they must turn to the word of God instead of the staff, for counsel.

When Moshe struck the rock instead of speaking to it, he reinforced the wrong message to the people. To correct this, Moshe now must teach the lesson of the word over the staff with his very life. Moshe transfers his power to Joshua. He is the first link in rabbinic tradition. His reception of the Torah is as a tradition from his master, and not from God Himself. Thus, the one who takes the people across the Jordan is one who is totally grounded in the word of God as a tradition from his teachers, the beginnings of rabbinic authority. It is this persona that will sustain Israel throughout history, beginning with their entrance to Israel. By leaving the people at the border of Israel, and transferring power to the rabbinic tradition, Moshe teaches the people the lesson they missed in the striking of the rock.

Baruch Shekivanti?

In the beit midrash, it is considered an exciting delight to find that one's original thought was actually innovated by an earlier source, unbeknownst to the current thinker. This is usually taken to be a vindication of the thought patterns of the learner, and an exoneration of his logic. The happy student may exclaim, 'baruch shekivanti!', which ostensibly means 'blessed is He who directed me [to the same conclusion as source x]'. This phrase has become of modern parlance in orthodox circles, and is used in situations removed from torah learning, as well.

However, it is interesting to note that the Hebrew phrase does not mean what we hope it to mean; it is grammatically incoherent. 'Kiven' means 'directed'. It is the פיעל form of .כ.ו.נ. The 'ti' at the end simply appends the subject, I. Taken together, 'kivanti' means 'I directed'. 'Baruch' is a word that connotes blessing or thanks to the subject. So, 'baruch shekivanti' means 'blessed is it that I have directed'.

Obviously, this is not what users of the phrase mean to say. The speaker means the blessing or thanks to be directed towards God, who has directed him to the thought at hand.

To be as forgiving as possible, one might suggest that the pharse simply means to bless the very fact that the thinker has been directed to this thought. However, this also falls apart, because the subject of the Hebrew formulation is the thinker himself! It is improbable indeed that a student would be so full of hubris as to bless the fact that he himself directed the thought into his own mind. In any case, that would not require a blessing.

Rather, it seems that the proper formulation in Hebrew should be, 'Baruch Shekivnani'. 'Kiven' still means 'directed', but the suffix 'ani' makes the speaker the object, not the subject. Thus the subject is God (who is commonly taken as an implied subject in phrases of blessing*), and the thinker is the object of the directing that God has done. Thus, 'Blessed or thanks to He who directed me'.

*For example, ברוך דיין אמת, or ברוך שפטרני מענשו של זה, which are shortenings of the standard blessing formulation, and imply God as the subject.

The Red Heifer and Purity of Will

When impurity is contracted by contact with a dead body, seven days of waiting are mandated. On the third and seventh day, the subject must be sprinkled with a special preparation of water and heifer-ash. After this, he may immerse in מים חיים, and is considered pure. Rashi quotes the midrash and states that this is one of those laws whose understanding is beyond human ken, and therefore is a חק. However, Nachmanidies attempts an explanation, and the Talmud itself (Menachot 19a) does not see the word חק as an exhortation against attempts at divining ratio dei, rather as a description of how fundamental each aspect of this law is to its fulfillment.

Rabbi Hirsch's general view of ritual purity and impurity has been discussed before. Freedom of will in spiritual and moral matters are the sine qua non of our ability to see the commands of the Torah as binding. Only if we truly have the ability to hallow our lives can we strive for purity of action in the way of God's law. This moral freedom is questioned when Man comes into contact with death. A human corpse seems to tell our physical senses that all is predestined, and that our moral choices end with the whole of man dead, as any other living thing. This would leave no room for an immortal world which finds transcendent meaning in the moral decisions of humanity while it lives.

The preparation of the red heifer solution is a public negation of this notion. Outside of the היכל, the whole nation witnesses as the Kohen prepares the solution which symbolizes Man's ability to ultimately triumph over death. Demonstrated is the fact that Man is not made up solely of the physical; the important part of Humanity, the spirit, lives on and is immortalized by moral and Godly action.

The sprinklings also contribute to this meaning. The third day of creation was when animals were created, submitting themselves to the natural law of God's creation. The seventh day symbolizes the infusion of Godliness into the world. No longer is creation seen as a physically complete unit. Instead, the Law is introduced, and Man is tasked with obeying God, not out of nature, but out of will.

When an impure person is sprinkled on the third day, he hallows his physical being for service of God. On the seventh day, the spiritual component is re-dedicated, and Man's return to moral free-will is complete. The dedication of the spirit cannot be complete without the dedication of the physical. Only a complete organic creature can be imbued with the holiness of free-willed service of God.

Thus, the moral turpitude of pre-destined action is replaced with the liberating of Man's will to serve God. This is accomplished fully when the whole of Man, in all his dualities, spiritual and physical, transient and immortal, are dedicated to the free-willed service of God.

Gaza Today

This article from Maariv really shows the blood-thirsty Arab treatment of their political opponents. I would not suggest the faint-hearted to watch the clip.

For all you peace demanders out there, this is how they treat each other. Do you really think they will treat the Jews of Israel any differently if we do not staunchly defend ourselves against them?

Never forget who your enemy is, and more importantly, that you are your enemy's enemy. He will treat you like this if he has the chance.

Revisionist History

The way Israel is portrayed today, looking back at the Six Day War, is an example of hostorical revisionism in action. Just look at how Time Magazine saw the war back then. Thanks to Jameel at the Muqata for the article.

Rambam's Argument from Contingency

1) Existence comes in two flavors. An object exists necessarily or contingently.

2) Contingent existence means that it is theoretically possible for it to not exist.

3) Necessary existence is when it is not possible for the object to not exist.

4) When we look at the universe, we see many things (including the universe itself) that exist.

5) Why do they exist?

6) Well, something exists either because a) it must exist (necessarily exists) or b) it was brought into existence by something whose existence we can already explain.

7) As stated in 4, we know things exist.

8) This can only be explained by something that exists necessarily, however far you have to go back.

9) We therefore conclude that Something exists necessarily.

This argument is similar to the first cause argument, but it deals not with temporal contingency, but logical contingency. (This leaves open the door for an eternal universe.)

PS. XGH claims that infinite regress is just as logical to posit as a first cause. However, in fact, if one denies the impossibility of logical infinite regress then one is really denying logic as a formal system. Our whole concept of logic is based on the premise that the world we see around us is founded on cause and effect. This is what gives us permission, given a premise, to infer a conclusion. One who denies this has entered the realm of mysticism and if one has entered mysticism, she is in a very weak position to criticize any form of Emuna whatsoever.

12 for 12

In contribution to Nefesh B'Nefesh's new project, here are my 12 reasons for loving Israel:

1) The state that does, bar none, the most of any country in the world to further the study and dissemination of Torah. Israel supports countless בני תורה who learn full-time, and provides structure for others who want to incorporate torah learning into their lives otherwise.

2) A country that experienced open miracles and demonstrated God's existence and continued concern with our Nation's wellfare. The Six Day War is the most obvious example of this.

3) The land where all 613 mitzvot can be kept, even theoretically. More than half the commandments in the torah are dependent upon the land (תלויות בארץ).

4) A place every Jew, no matter who, is welcome and given immediate citizenship and a bundle of rights and benefits. In the history of the world, there is only one country that sees its mission as the protection and flourishing of every Jew.

5) A place about which the Chazon Ish said, "there is no greater mitzvah than the working of her land." (Censored out of all but the first edition of his writings.)

6) A place that the very act of breathing and living is a mitzvah.

7) A place where people really act like extended family to one another. Don't believe me? Go to any makolet and tell the owner that you don't have money, can you take milk and eggs, and pay tomorrow.

8) A place where the act of working and producing is not a self-centered activity, but one that contributes to our national economy and vitality.

9) The place where, when shopping at a mall, you can catch a mincha minyan at the mall's beit knesset.

10) A place where you automatically feel at home.

11) A place that fulfills prophecies, Like Amos's (9:13-15). " הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים, נְאֻם-יְהוָה, וְנִגַּשׁ חוֹרֵשׁ בַּקֹּצֵר, וְדֹרֵךְ עֲנָבִים בְּמֹשֵׁךְ הַזָּרַע; וְהִטִּיפוּ הֶהָרִים עָסִיס, וְכָל-הַגְּבָעוֹת תִּתְמוֹגַגְנָה. וְשַׁבְתִּי, אֶת-שְׁבוּת עַמִּי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּבָנוּ עָרִים נְשַׁמּוֹת וְיָשָׁבוּ, וְנָטְעוּ כְרָמִים וְשָׁתוּ אֶת-יֵינָם; וְעָשׂוּ גַנּוֹת, וְאָכְלוּ אֶת-פְּרִיהֶם. וּנְטַעְתִּים, עַל-אַדְמָתָם; וְלֹא יִנָּתְשׁוּ עוֹד, מֵעַל אַדְמָתָם אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לָהֶם--אָמַר, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ".

12) A place that doesn't suffer you, but needs you!

Living in Israel and the Feast of First Fruits

Each of the שלש רגלים has a מגילה associated with it. On פסח, we read שיר השירים, and on סוכות, we read קהלת. Today, we read מגילת רות. רות begins with a famine in the land of Israel. Elimelech, one of the great men of the generation, takes his wife and two sons to the land of Moav, outside of Eretz Yisrael. There Elimelech dies, and eventually, so do his two children, Machlon and Kilyon. The stage is then set for Naomi to return to Israel with רות and eventually create the Davidic dynasty. Why is רות chosen to be read on שבועות? After an exploration of the holiday, perhaps we can come up with a deeper understanding.
The torah reading for the holidays is taken from פרשת המועדים, found in פרשת פנחס. Yesterday, we read "וביום הביכורים", the description of the offerings for שבועות. Interestingly, the holiday is not called חג השבועות, but יום הביכורים. The holiday is called so because the unique קרבן brought on it is the שתי הלחם, the first of the new wheat crop which could be brought to the בית המקדש. The holiday of ביכורים was also the time that most crops ripened, and was therefore the prime time to do the מצווה of ביכורים. We call it שבועות, named by the 7 week period of עומר leading from יציאת מצריים to מעמד הר סיני and the giving of the torah to the Jewish people.

Let us first discuss the special קרבן of the holiday, שתי הלחם. The torah says in ויקרא כג:טו, in פרשת אמור: "וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת מיום הביאכם את עומר התנופה שבע שבתות תמימות תחיינה...והקרבתם מנחה חדשה לה'...ממושבותיכם תביאו לחם תנופה שתים שני עשרונים...ביכורים לה'" At the end of the 7 weeks, we are commanded to bring the offering, which is two measures of wheat flour baked into two loaves that are waved in the בית המקדש. The obvious question is, why two loaves? Usually, a קרבן consists of one bull, ram or goat. Why suddenly the number two? Also, the meal offering of פסח was barley. Why is the שבועות one of wheat?
In שמות ו:ט, it states that when Moshe began trying to convince Pharaoh to free the Jews, even the Jews would not listen to Moshe, "מקוצר רוח ומעבודה קשה", because of the tremendous strain and burden of the slavery. חז"ל on this פסוק explain interpret that the Jews did not listen to Moshe to abandon their idolatrous ways. This is difficult. Why do חז"ל invent a new reason that the Jews did not listen to Moshe? The torah already provided one, that the Jews were weary and strained from the hard labor! ספר גלילי זהב offers an explanation: Many animals live alone, without belonging to a herd or group. They live, hunt, kill and eat for one reason: to serve themselves. Other animals live in a herd and are sometimes even willing to lay down their lives to protect the herd. We as Jews are meant not to only to live a personal, individual life, but to sublimate that personal life to the כלל, to כלל ישראל. We are to see our individual selves as citizens of a nation, and we are to see the national goals of עם ישראל as goals that are more important than individual goals. In short, we are meant to be not self-centered, but nation-centered, כלל ישראל-centered. חז"ל say that this is a fundamental difference between the Jews and non-Jews. Regarding עשו, the torah says נפשות, souls, and regarding יעקב it says נפש, soul. Jews, since they serve one G-d, are one unbreakable unit, while non-Jews, who serve many gods, are each an individual unit. True, non-Jews come together to form alliances and nations, but they only do so for external financial, military or social concerns. Jews, on the other hand, are fundamentally an indivisible unit because we all serve one G-d.
When a Jew loses this sensitivity to the nation and becomes an individual who only looks out for himself, that Jew is no longer serving G-d, rather himself. This is עבודה זרה, idolatry.
It is this idolatry that חז"ל were concerned with in מצריים. The burden of slavery caused the Jews to think as individuals, and lose their national identity. And so, on פסח, the meal offering is made of barley, the traditional food of animals. However, on שבועות, Jews are to rise above their animalistic, individualistic ways and become Human, identifying themselves as Jews on a national level. Therefore, the meal offering of שבועות is wheat, the grain of human food. Also, I think that the two loaves is also symbolic of the fact that the Jewish way is to care for others. The two loaves represent a Jew caring not only for himself, but for s neighbor, as well.
The רמב"ם in his פרוש המשניות on בכורות ד:ג states, "בני ארץ ישראל הם הנקראים קהל". The Jews of the Land of Israel are the ones who are considered the plurality, the nation of Israel. The חתם סופר drives home this point by saying that, "אילו חס ושלום לא ישאר שום ישראל בארץ ישראל, אפילו יהיו יושבים ישראל בחוץ לארץ, מקרי כליון האומה, חס ושלום" “If, Heaven forbid, no Jews lived in Israel, even if they lived outside of Israel, it would still be considered the destruction of the nation.” The חתם סופר is clear: although Jews would still live, the nation of the Jews would be destroyed. The רמב"ם and חתם סופר are based on the גמרא in כתובות קי, which states that, “ a person should live in Israel even in a city that is full of non-Jews, rather than a city outside Israel that is full of Jews. This teaches one who dwells outside Israel is as if he worships idols”. One who lives outside Israel is as if he is an idolater in the sense of idolatry of the Jews in Egypt, the idolatry of self-centeredness. One who lives outside of Israel is weaker in their national bonds of כלל ישראל, and thus, if there were no Jews in Israel, the national brotherhood and connection of Jews, the אומה, the nation, would be lost.
To summarize, the idea of the שבועות offering of שתי הלחם is an admonition to be concerned with the concerns of the nation, not only our own individual concerns. When we are concerned only with ourselves, our efforts die with us. But when we connect our lives with the concerns of the כלל, our lives become eternal, for כלל ישראל is eternal. This eternity is only in full force in ארץ ישראל.

But why is this eternity only in the land of Israel? To understand this, let us examine the ביכורים, which is the torah’s name for שבועות.
In מסכת ביכורים פרק ג', the משניות describe the ceremony of ביכורים: “How were the ביכורים taken up [to ירושלים]? All the cities of district would assemble in the [central] city of the district, and spend the night in the open space without entering any of the houses. Early in the morning the officer would say, "Arise, let us ascend to Zion, to the house of ה' our G-d!" ... An ox [with horns] bedecked with gold and with an olive-crown on its head led the way ..."
Rabbi Kook, in his commentary on the משנה, explains the symbolism of the ox in depth. The Jewish nation is meant to be an "עם לבדד ישכון", a nation apart from the others. We were given a land which can produce all that the nation needs. And so, a large part of the nation lived an agricultural life. The ביכורים are a symbol that demonstrates how we are to look at the agricultural process. The ox represents honest labor. Only through hard work and השתדלות can the ברכה of ה' devolve upon our fruits. When we learn the lesson of the ox, then will we merit to the gold on its horns. The gold symbolizes prosperity. This gold is placed on the ox’s horns. The horns of an animal are external tools given to the animal. The horns symbolize the fact that the gold is a tool, a means to an end, and not an end in itself. Gold, or prosperity, is only a means to the ultimate goal, and that is what sits on the ox’s head: olives. Olive oil is a symbol for light, specifically, the light of the מנורה. The מנורה was a symbol of חכמה, torah knowledge. Thus, we work to become prosperous, but the purpose of that prosperity is to allow us time and energy for the ultimate goal, which is the learning and keeping of the torah.
The symbol of the ceremony of ביכורים now becomes taking the secular and making it holy. We take physical labor, and elevate it to holiness. The purpose of עם ישראל is not to dabble in holiness. We are not to live a life in which we have many points of holiness. No! We are to take our whole lives, even the most spiritually empty parts of it, even the חול in our lives, and elevate it to קודש, to holiness! Our lives must be an infusion of holiness into the profane. This is the lesson of the ביכורים.
But it is only in the land of Israel that we engage in the bringing of ביכורים. ביכורים are only brought from the fruits of the land of Israel. The lesson of ביכורים can only be fully understood and put into practice in the land of Israel. Why is this?
In next week’s פרשה, שלח, ten leaders of Israel tour Israel and incite the nation to rebel against entering Israel. These men were great צדיקים and גדולים of the generation. How could they sin so grievously? Rav Greenburg, ראש ישיבה at כרם ביבנה explains that the מרגלים were seduced by the benefits of life in the desert. In the desert, G-d miraculously cared for the Jewish nation’s every physical need. Our clothing grew along with us, and did not wear out. We had the מן outside our tents every morning. We had the well of מרים to quench our thirst. All we had to do was learn torah from משה רבינו. The מרגלים decided, why leave this paradise and go into Israel where we will have to work the land, fight wars and set up government? Why not stay in the מדבר where we do not have to really come in contact with the profane?
The מרגלים misunderstood the basic lesson of the torah that is taught by the ביכורים. True spirituality is only gained by infusing חול with קדושה. Only by entering the land of Israel and engaging in the profane and elevating it to קדוש do we really fulfill our calling as Jews.
And only in Israel do we truly fulfill this calling. Only in Israel, a land where even the physical labor is a service of G-d, where working the land is a mitzvah in and of itself. The גמרא in כתובות states that walking ד' אמות in Israel changes a bad decree from Heaven. Israel is different from other lands. In Israel, even the physical act of walking has spiritual repercussions. The גמרא elsewhere states that, "אוירא דארץ ישראל מחכים", the air of Israel endows us with wisdom. Only Israel has this special קדושה which allows even its physical characteristics to be laden with spiritual meaning and power.
The מרגלים did not understand the meaning of ארץ ישראל. The lesson of ביכורים was lost on them.
To summarize what we have learned so far: Israel is a special land where the physical is imbued with spiritual meaning. It is the only land where the Jewish task of infusing the profane with holiness can be fully realized. The מרגלים did not realize the importance of taking the physical and making it spiritual.
We can now better understand why the Jews of Israel are considered כלל ישראל, and outside Israel, Jews are less connected to the national aspect of עם ישראל. It is because our sacred task, the infusion of spirit into physical, can only truly be accomplished in Israel. Outside the land, we are, as it were, mired in the idolatry of self-centeredness, by not focusing on the כלל.

This brings back to מעמד הר סיני and שבועות. In ילקוט שמעוני on פרשת יתרו, the מדרש tells us that G-d gave the torah under the מזל of תאומים, the star sign of Gemini, twins. If עשו had chosen to convert and rejoin the nation of Israel, he would have been welcome. Why did עשו not choose so? The גרי"ז explains that when ה' promised the land to אברהם and his descendants, he said that first, those descendants would go through a torturous exile, and only after this, would then come to take over the land. רש"י comments that when עשו left יעקב, he left from fear of this exile. עשו said, "אין לי חלק לא במתנה שנתנה לו הארץ ולא בפרעון השטר." עשו decided that he abdicates his right to the land, and will not go down to exile for it. יעקב is left as the only descendant who goes down to Egypt, and is given as a reward the rights to the land and the Torah. This is why עשו did not merit מתן תורה. Originally, עשו and יעקב were to be the fathers of the Jewish nation. עשו would deal with the physical, and יעקב would deal with the spiritual, like a יששכר זבולון relationship. This is what the חז"ל mean when they say that עשו could have had a part in מתן תורה. However, when עשו gave up on the exile and on the land, he gave up on torah, as well.

So, back to our original thought. Why is מגילת רות chosen as the מגילה of שבועות? In בבא בתרא דף פא, רבי שמעון בר יוחאי states that the reason that Elimelech and his sons died was that they left the land of Israel. The גמרא in מגילה states that one who dies outside the land of Israel is lamented that he died before his time. The מהרש"א explains that he who dies outside of Israel must have died early because of the sin of living outside ארץ ישראל. If I may, I would like to present a חידוש. Perhaps the early death that the גמרא speaks of is not necessarily dying before one’s time, but something more subtle. Perhaps the גמרא is telling us that one who lives outside ארץ ישראל, even when they live a full life in years, they are not living a full life in meaning. A life outside ארץ ישראל is one that cannot contain the full weight of the ideas of כלל ישראל, being part of the nation of Israel, and cannot fully infuse the קדושה of ה' into the physicality of the world. Perhaps this is the part of life we mourn for one who dies outside Israel.

And so, מגילת רות becomes an admonition to us to connect to the concepts of שבועות.מגילת רות tells us to pay close attention to the lessons of the שתי הלחם, the ביכורים, and מתן תורה. שתי הלחם teaches us that life is only fully meaningful when we become part of the eternal, to כלל ישראל. The ביכורים teach us that the task of כלל ישראל, to infuse the secular with קדושה is only truly fulfilled in the land of Israel. And if we learn these lessons, and impress in our hearts the special, unique קדושה of ארץ ישראל, the only place we can truly marry the profane and holy, then we will be closer to the coming of the משיח, במהרה בימינו.

Blood Torah?

Wow.

Is this really what Hashem wants?

Torah and the Spies

A month or two ago, someone (I forget who) asked me for a source for the idea that the sin of the spies was a desire to live outside of Eretz Yisrael, where they could learn Torah and deal only in spiritual matters, instead of entering the Land, where they would have to deal with the pragmatics of life as a sovereign state, running an army, government, and the like.

I mentioned I thought it was in the Ramban. I now found that the source is the Shlah Hakadosh, from kabbalistic precedents. It is also mentioned, I believe, in Michtav Me'eliyahu. The Lubavitcher Rebbe goes into this in his Sicha on Parashas Shelach, 5747.

If anyone remembers who I was discussing this with, please lead them to this post. I appreciate it.

Good Shabbos! UPDATE 19/6/13: The source for this is the S'fat Emet on the sin of the spies. - Found in נגיעות בשפת הלב by R Yair Dreyfus.

Philosophy of Prayer

Prayer is a mainstay of Judaism, and of religions in general. It is a periodic return to communion with God. However, if considered, the concept of prayer raises a number of theological questions. Since God is truly omniscient, why would He need our prayer to know what is best for us? And since he knows what is in our heart, why does expressing it verbally mean so much? Since he is unified and perfect, how can he 'need' our prayer, or anything else, for that matter? On the other hand, the Talmud (Sotah 12a) is not the first to mention the concept that, 'a righteous man decrees, and God fulfills it.' What are we to make of this bundle of theological contradictions?

There are two major schools of thought regarding the purpose of prayer that I would like to summarize. I will then bring a basic description of Rabbi Soloveichik's philosophy of prayer. Perhaps after this we can have a better understanding of why it is that we pray.

The first theory is theurgical. This view posits that God acts as father and judge, and allows Himself to be swayed by His children's appeals. This view is strongly advocated in Kabbalah, and Kabbalistic theory is employed to explain how a perfect God can be swayed in this way. This view, while uncomfortable for some, is probably the most common way that prayer is perceived by people. We hope that God attentively listens to our prayer, and cares about our small desires and needs. We trust that His infinity is not too large a chasm for Him to bridge, and 'if we open a door the size of a needle's eye, God will enlarge the opening' the rest of the way (Brachot 55a).

The second major theory of prayer is anthropocentric, focusing on the human who prays. God is not affected by prayer; the petitioner is. A person who stands in prayer, almost by definition, purifies himself with thoughts of repentance and hopes to become a more deserving creation. The praise of God leads to an upwelling of sentiment to be deserving of God's blessing. The petitional parts of prayer show a person how much he depends on God, and the thanksgiving in prayer reminds a person of the love and compassion God continually showers upon him. Through prayer, a petitioner is destined to better himself, and raise himself to greater heights. After prayer, he is in a new position as a subject of God, with new merits, and erased demerits. He is now deserving of a new judgment from God. And so, prayer affects God, as it were, indirectly, by changing the essence and thus the appropriate judgment of the person who prays¹.

Rabbi Soloveichik takes a different approach. My teacher, Rabbi Carmy, calls it the volitional/dialogical theory of prayer. He posits that prayer is not Man's attempt to influence God, but it is a fundamental way that Mankind interacts with God. Prayer is a medium through which we encounter God. Prayer is not focused on God, but on Man. However, it is not only anthropocentric, because it is a dialogue between Man and God. By creating that emotional connection that prayer instantiates, Man brings himself into communion with God. By realizing that life in the absence of God is empty and cold, a person brings himself to prayer, in order to draw God back into his realm of existence, so to speak.

We are commanded to find God through prayer. As a mitzvah, prayer demands of us to take notice of the chilling emptiness possible in a rational, natural world. We are enjoined to feel the loneliness of a universe that does not pay us heed. This loneliness reaches a crisis, and we call out to God, seeking a warm, intimate relationship with him. Thus, the very act of prayer is a form of interaction, דביקות, with the Divine. Furthermore, the fact that prayer is codified as a commandment means that the warmth of emotional connection to God is something that every human can experience.

Each of the above three approaches has benefits. The theurgical maintains the intimate bond between Man and God which is part of the general understanding of spirituality. The anthropomorphic allows us to understand prayer as a means to change ourselves, and thus be worthy of Divine grace. It makes religious petition active as opposed to passive. And finally, Rabbi Soloveichik's dialogical theory centralizes the communion aspect of prayer, and presents it as a way to interface with Divinity. Perhaps a synthesis of these three views is necessary to have a full picture of the power and importance of prayer.

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¹ This difference of viewpoints calls to mind Rabbi Jonathan Saks' beautiful explanation of the controversy between Maimonides and Nachmanides. Rambam views prayer as a מצוה דאוריתא, based on Deut 11:13, while Ramban sees it as a rabbinic enactment. Rabbi Sacks cites the Talmud (Brachot 26b) where Rabi Yose views prayer as based upon the example of the patriarchs, while Rabi Yehoshua sees it as a replacement for the sacrificial rite. It seems natural to understand Rabi Yose as allowing for a biblically-ordained commandment to pray, while Rabi Yehoshua seems to organically subscribe to the rabbinic approach.

This dispute reminds us, says Rabbi Sacks, of the two modalities of our holy Torah: the prophetic, and the priestly. While the priestly laws are strict and formulaic (when the sons of Aharon stepped out of the proscribed method of sacrifice, they paid the ultimate price), the prophetic experience is one of intuition, spontaneous emotion, and intimate uniqueness. The priestly type of service of God is set - permanent and unchanging, while the prophetic eschews such formalism and embraces the unique and individual. Both modalities have a place in our traditions, as we can now see. When Rabi Eliezer states that one should not make his prayer קבע, the talmudic rabbis disagree over what he meant. Some understand him to be simply rejecting the tendency for prayer to become rote. On the other hand, some see him as rejecting formalized prayer completely, and saying that each day's new experience and reality should engender a different formulation of prayer within the soul. Thus, the אמוראים seem to each be taking a side in the question of prophetic vs priestly prayer.

It seems that this tanaitic, amoraic disagreement culminates in the argument between Rabmam and Ramban. According to Rambam, prayer is divinely commanded - it is based upon the prayers of the forefathers. On the other hand, the Ramban sees it as rabbinically enacted as a replacement for the sacrifices. Since it is so, it must apply to the formula.

This argument fits in nicely with the view expressed above: Rambam, the rationalist par excellence, holds that prayer is human-centered, for Man cannot change God. Thus, God commands Man to pray, to better himself. However, Ramban, the mystic between the two, holds that prayer may, mystically, affect God - and so, it is a rabbinically mandated replacement for the sacrifices - and therefore, was not commanded biblically, for the task was accomplished in biblical times by offerings.

Jewish tradition beautifully meshes these two in that each day we repeat our prayers twice, first individually, and then as a community in חזרת הש"צ. We have survived for 2,000 years as a community, Rabbi Sacks points out, because we have both the priestly and prophetic modalities: without the former, we have no tradition, but without the latter, no sponteneity. (See the footnote in here.)

Who Wrote Devarim?

A decade ago, Rabbi Ya'akov Charlop wrote an article discussing the authorship of the book of Devarim. Recently, while teaching tractate Megillah, I had reason to bring up his major points, that I realized afterwards was perhaps a bigger step than most attendees were ready to take at face value.

It is clear that Devarim is written in a different voice than the rest of the Five Books of Moses. Much of it is written in the first person, from Moshe's perspective, and God is spoken of in the third. This is in contrast to the rest of the Torah, in which Moshe is spoken of in third person. On the other hand, the Talmud treats the many commandments that appear exclusively in Devarim as completely Biblical commandments. The tension is clear. Who actually wrote the book of Devarim?

There is an argument in the Talmud as to the author of the book, which is carried through to the Rishonim.

In Sanhedrin (99a), the Talmud states clearly that the claim that there is even one sentence in the Five Books that were not written literally word for word by Moses from the mouth of God is heresy, and a fulfillment of the verse, 'כי דבר ה' בזה.' The Ramban (in his preface) and the Maimonides (Laws of Prayer, 13:6) agree to this view, and hold that the change in voice and motive in the book is a purely stylistic one, and does not represent a change in authorship.

On the other hand, the Talmud in Megillah (31b) states that the curses of Devarim are not as strict as the curses of Vayikra, and therefore, the curses of Devarim may be broken into different עליות, while those of Vayikra must be read without pause. The reason given is that the Vayikra curses are recorded by Moshe directly from the mouth of God, while the Devarim curses represent Moshe's own re-iteration of them. Rashi explains that "[in Vayikra] Moshe was made a messenger to say, 'thus said God,' for behold, they [the curses] are written in the language of [first person] , ex. ונתתי, while in Devarim, it states 'יככה ה,' Moshe spoke these on his own, [as if to say] if you break His commandments, He will repay you..."

The Ra'avan holds in accordance with this view, and cites the fact that the amora'im treated the verses in Devarim differently with regards to certain kinds of exegesis (most notably, סמוכים). Also, the אור החיים holds this way, and says that the first verse of the book serves to clarify that only this book was written by Moshe, but the rest of the Torah was dictated by God.

The Vilna Gaon (whose view I unknowingly expressed the week before at my shiur), explains that the first four books were literal transmissions from God to the Jewish people, with Moshe as the medium. None of his personality was present in the message. This is the אספקלריה המאירה, the perfectly translucent prophecy that was unique to Moshe. However, the book of Devarim was given to Moshe closer to the manner of the prophecies of other prophets. God would implant a vision, and it was up to the prophet to translate that into a message to the People. Thus, the message was colored by the individual prophet's persona. Thus, the book of Devarim was conceptually the word of God, but it was Moshe who wrote it.

According to this, we can understand why the commandments in Devarim are treated completely as commandments in any other book, while the actual writing and the textual scrutiny that the Sages applied may be different than the other books. The book of Devarim is a sort of bridge between the writings of God and the writings of the prophets.

Response to Jewish Atheist

Jewish Atheist has a post about capital punishment in the Torah and in present day Iraq. Here is my response to him:

I thought I should comment a few differences between the formal Jewish death sentence of stoning and what you witnessed on that horrible video. You cannot compare them, and here is why:

1) In Jewish courts, the condemned was drugged before the death, so that they would not feel the same pain or fear as if they were awake. This is akin to the drugs used in today's lethal injections which place the condemned in a relaxed, sleeping state before death.

2) They were thrown off a cliff first before rocks were thrown
so that the person would die immediately. The stones were ceremonial, not the cause of death.

3) To be liable for one of the 4 formal deaths (stoning is one of them) the person had to be warned, and had to agree they know they will be punished, but want to sin anyway. In other words, the only way to get these capital punishments is to want to rebel against God, with foreknowledge of the consequences. This is clear from Maimonides quoting the Talmud (source to come).

4) The Jewish concept of these capital punishments was 'וכל ישראל ישמעו ויראו', ie. to provide deterrence for others so that they not sin. This is actually one of the main reasons the US has capital punishment today.

5) Jewish capital punishment was carried out after a court case and verdict. More than a majority of a large court of learned judges was required to condemn a person, and the execution was delayed to allow for any evidence to come forth and exonerate or allow a loophole.

You cannot separate the Oral Law from the Written. We who believe the Written Word as the word of God believe it to be provisoed by His Oral Law, and that lays down the five points I just mentioned. In other words, the same God who wrote those verses, gave over the Oral Law that modifies them. See Rabbi Hirsch on the fact that the Written Law is like lecture notes that leave out important details, and the Oral Law was the lecture.

Thus your problem is really only with someone who does accept the written law, but not the oral law that modulates it. In other words, your problem with stoning is not with Orthodox Jewish thought, much less practice.

What do you think?

How Police Brutality should be Met

In Los Angeles, at an (illegal) immigration rally, Police were met with violence. Their response was to fire 240 rounds of rubber bullets, and to strike demonstrators and journalists who were obeying the orders to disperse. Sounds kind of like Amona, right?

Well, not quite. First of all, while the police in LA were certainly brutal, there were not 300 cases of head trauma that arrived at ER's throughout southern California. The scale of this offense was much smaller than anything witnessed at Amona, or the student protests in Israel of late.

However, the more important difference, and this one is the clincher, is the top brass response to the violence. Police Chief William J. Bratton said that the public has "an absolute and unqualified right to expect and demand an aggressive review" of what occured (link).

Police officials immediately denounced the thuggish tactics displayed by the officers. The public was told that with the amount of training the officers receive, this response was unacceptable. Three investigations are ongoing, and you can be sure that heads will roll.

There will always be brutal cops. Law enforcement tends to bring that out in a person. However, the sign of a compassionate, just government is immediate denunciation of this behavior, and a professional atmosphere where this activity will not be tolerated. Israel has a lot to learn from Los Angeles in regards to this issue.

Mutual Responsibility

When Israeli Police beat religious kids in the town of Amona, it was only another example of the extreme brutality that these forces display. When they badly beat orthodox demonstrators against the construction of highway 6, it was again displayed. There are many cases that should result in jail sentences, but instead result in promotions.

The latest occured today, when police set loose like a pack of dogs attacked a group of university students protesting a tuition increase. One student said, "My pants are soaked with the blood of a friend whose head was split open" by Israeli policemen.

As Jews, we are known as merciful people whose heritage is compassion. How is it, then, that when law enforcement, in our own country, takes up batons and fists and steel-toed boots against our own people, we do not rise in public outcries of abhorrence, demanding the heads of these police-thugs? Where is our defense of the downtrodden?

When a Jew was pounced during anti-expulsion demonstrations, his nose ripped away from his face by an Israeli officer of the law, where were the students? When Rabbi Meir Kahane was hounded by the security forces and branded an extremist, where were the Religious Zionist leaders? When religious kids are beaten, or charedi men trounced, where are the secular humanists of the land? It seems that when we do not protest injustice, we may be the next victim. And he who came before us, he whom we did not defend, will not be around to defend us.

It may be that some people need to experience first-hand the agony of a ripped face, or a billy club to the belly, in order to protest police brutality. But enough is enough. We must rise in one voice, and demand that civil rights be upheld in Israel! These cops must pay for their crimes. When we return to the values of our Torah, we will deserve a police force that knows its limits, not the police force of some third world country.

No more Israeli police brutality.

Acharei Mos: The Yom Kippur Goats

When one sins, he brings a goat as a chatas, or sin offering. Rabbi Hirsch explains the symbolism of this offering. The goat represents the individual sinner's obstinacy, his egotistical desire to do his own bidding, and obey no one external. A naturally stubborn animal, the goat is full of its own vigor and will. It symbolizes the fact that when one sins, he has cast off the yoke of Heaven for that time, and acted without subjugating himself to God's rule. This symbolic goat is brought to the Temple, where submits itself to slaughter. This represents man's ideal, which is submission to God's will. This is an ideal which the sinner has lost, and he brings the offering as a lofty reminder of what his relationship with God must rest on.

The goat is then brought to the fires of the altar, and its blood sprinkled on the sides. When this happens, the sinner learns the lesson that by submitting to the yoke of God, we take our temporal, transitive existence in this world, and convert it into immortality. By keeping our actions in tune with the desires of Hashem, we sublimate our lives, and they become part of the eternal. The altar represents the processing of God's will on earth. Our actions, indeed our very bodies, are to be "לחם אשה ריח ניחוח לה." They are to serve as fuel for the flame of God.

On Yom Kippur, however, a double goat offering is brought. The two goats are to be as identical as possible; they should be bought together, and of the same height and appearance. They represent not only one man, but mankind in general. A lottery decides which one will be for Hashem, and which will go לעזעזל. In other words, no outward properties decide if a particular human will do good or evil. It is truly up to each individual. This is the foundation of free will, that we each choose to do good or evil. Our actions are not predestined or determined by genetics.

The goat that is chosen to be for God immediately submits to slaughter and becomes fuel for God's fire. Meanwhile, the one destined for azazel stands in its own vigor and power. It continues to live. However, it comes to the door of the Temple, but no further. It represents people who choose to turn their backs on God's teachings. He heads out to the desert. One who chooses to live outside the bounds of free-willed subservience to God really has no place in the ideal human society. This person has decided to make his life a hedonistic celebration of his own ego. While he may have a pleasant life (symbolized by his staying alive longer than the goat that was sacrificed), he ultimately is thrown off a cliff in a barren land. His existence and his life's meaning ends with his death. He has chosen not to be fuel for God's glory on earth, and so, has missed his chance at immortality.

The everyday sin offering is enough for us generally. It is enough to teach us how to act with positive reinforcement. However, once a year, the nation gets a symbolic lesson demonstrating the spiritual excision of one who chooses not to live the life delineated by God, with negative reinforcement.

Perhaps this can be a lesson to educators. Negative reinforcement has its place, but positive reinforcement must be the way that discipline is mostly accomplished. Incentives and positive messages awaken the nobility in a child's soul, instead of engendering fear and malice.

Great Demographic News (II)

Another report that talks about the Israeli demographic issue in optimistic tones can be read here.

It seems that the Jewish orthodox birthrates guarantee the Jewish majority and will in fact increase it. It will also, by great coincidence, make the Torah more visible in government, as the future, more numerically religious generation votes orthodox people into government.

This reminds me of the Vilna Gaon's statement about the return to Zion. He writes that it may well start with secular Jews. In fact, he held, it will start that way, just as the Second Temple period was ushered in by Darius.

He further writes that this must be, for the redemption to take place. Satan will do his utmost to uproot the seeds of redemption before they have a chance to grasp the land of their fathers firmly. If the movement back to Israel is one with loud overtones of religion, Satan will immediately know to sabatoge those plans. Therefore, the beginning of the settlement will be initiated and controlled by unorthodox, even anti-orthodox, Jews. Satan will say, 'these surely cannot be part of God's great plan of redemption!' He will then leave the fledgeling state alone, focusing his powers on other things. Only when it is too late, and the process of redemption is no longer derailable, will it become clear that those first frontiermen were a cover for the redemption!

May God allow us to see the day when his plan is revealed to the world in all its glory.

Threatening Truth and the Free World

As reported by the Daily Mail, educators are beginning to leave the Holocaust out of their curricula, in fear of anti-Semitic reactions from Muslim students. The Islamic threat that only 30 years ago endangered Israeli society, is now spreading, by virtue of its high birth rate and scathingly fundamentalist voice, and threatens much of the Free World. What is going on?

The Free World has become so egalitarian that it is able to morally equate the terrorist's actions with those of defensive victims. It is able to compare the calculated murder of innocent children with the tragic, accidental deaths of military reactions to those murders. In short, we have lost our ability to distinguish between morally complex situations. And so, it should be no surprise that the world begins to cave in to the squeakiest global wheel, giving in again and again to evil, in an attempt to gain short term peace. However, the blurring of moral distinctions is never cost-free; eventually, evil catches up, and the debatable short-term peace becomes the catalyst for long-term disaster. Evil slowly peels away society's willingness to stand up for truth and justice, and ultimately, the World stands naked, unarmored, at the brink of a battle that is finally too important before which to bow.

As a world, we have allowed the Muslim fundamentalists too much slack. First, we gave their denial of Israel's right to exist credibility, since it is easier to allow terrorists a pulpit than to destroy their ability to make terror. Then, we allowed them to use our media to paint themselves as victims in a global conflict that is their own creation entirely. We have bought their lie that the West is the root of the world's problems. Why? Because it is easier to accept what they say and rail against moderate democratic governments and elected officials, than to go to their countries and demonstrate against their despots, and be tortured to death in a prison by their police. In short, it is easier in the short-term to tip-toe around brutality than to destroy it head on.

Finally, we are willing to remove the Holocaust from our schools rather than engage the inevitable anti-Semitic vitriol from Muslim students. No teacher would be able to effectively discredit or discipline a screaming Muslim child, and so we rather side-step the whole issue. And by doing so, do we pay notice to the fact that it is the very activity of the Holocaust that these Islamists gather their strength to carry out? No! Because, ultimately, the Jews are easier to reason with. They understand the need for classroom decorum. They will nod their heads with age-old patience and shuffle quietly to the crematoria yet again. The Arabs, however, will cause a ruckus. They will verbalize the unspoken truth that we all know is their dream and prayer: that Islam will wipe out all us heretics by the sword in due time. A Free World teacher does not have the tools to deal with this in the classroom. We simply cannot teach these issues if they raise such a furor in school.

I do not fear for the Jewish people. God saw how much the world does when Jews are butchered in 1939. He and we will never forget the atrocities allowed by an apathetic world and a seething, hateful enemy. And so, he gave us Israel, and an army, and bravery, and commanded us to trust no one but Him and ourselves. And although Israel presently does not put its faith in God only, I know it will. We hope that by choice, and yet, if not, by necessity, Jews will return to their Father in Heaven. He has a teleological goal in store for them, and they will rise to the occasion and their legendary glory eventually.

I do, however, fear for the Western World. It fails to see that by giving in to these fundamentalists, it simply pushes the ultimate battle up one more notch. By removing the Holocaust from their textbooks, teachers lead society down a dangerous road, the road of forgetting history, and being bound to repeat it. The new enemy, with its hateful screams and suicide attacks, will destroy a world that has forgotten what it is to fight for justice, morality, and its own right to exist.

The world must wake up before it is too late. It must root out this Muslim threat while it is still at the stage of its teen-hood, full of fury, but controllable. The world must develop a way to act in a way that befits the merciless masses of hate-filled Arabs bent on destruction, and avert catastrophe. May God give us the resolve and courage necessary, for this is already a hard and morally confusing battle, and it will only grow more so.

Creativity and the Ark

The Holy Ark had an interesting method of construction. It was a wooden box that was encased in gold, from within and without (Ex. 37:2). It is understandable to cover it in gold on the outside. However, the gold on the inside would never be visible to anyone. Why encase it from within?

Rabbi Hirsch takes the aron as a symbol for the Jewish nation's relationship to personal and individual expression. The center of the ark is wooden. Wood is a material which, in its natural state, changes and grows over time. It is constantly developing, branching out in new and different directions, covering new ground, and sprouting new leaves and fruit. It is a symbol for the creative element in each person. Throughout our lives, we change, as wood does. We grow physically, emotionally and spiritually. We continually conceive of new ideas, and give birth to concepts and novellae. We are creative beings by nature.

The coating of the wood, on the other hand, is gold. Gold, the quintessential metal, is rigid and strong. It can withstand pressure and is not flexible. It symbolizes the restrictive, definitive rigor of the halacha.

Thus, the ark symbolizes a person's creative domain and its limits. We are contained by the strictures of the essential law. However, within its bounds, we are free to grow and invent with the full creative capacity that God endowed within us.

Rav Kook takes the creative enterprise and sees it as an ethical and religious imperative. In ארות הקודש, he develops the idea that human creativity is a vestige of prophecy. The strictures of societal pressure choke the lofty creative spirit. Within the golden bounds of the halacha, "we are charged by the Divine to produce with truth and honesty, that which our souls show us, and to bring our celestial insight from the abstract to the concrete..."

"The culling of sparks of glorious truth from the creative stores of all brightens the world, and bring about the revelation ultimate, complete truth of God." Rav Kook sees the innovative expression latent in us all as a pre-requisite for the glory of God to be clearly visible in our world.

In אורות התורה (ch. 13), he goes on to explain that the true elements of innovation and pure creativity are only to be experienced in the land of Israel. This is because the true unity of subject across the vast contents of the torah can only be truly appreciated in the Holy Land. Unity of thought is a necessary element for creative activity. The difference between the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem one is indicative of this: the Babylonian must divide, categorize and feel about in the dark for the contours of God's law, while, in the Jerusalem Talmud, the diverse and disparate elements of halacha and hashkafa are effortlessly seen as part of an organic whole. There, the search for truth is as easy as bringing a candle to illuminate the dark. Perhaps this is the meaning of the statement, 'אוירא דארץ ישראל מחכים.' The very atmosphere in the Holy Land enlightens the mind and spirit (B. Bath. 258b).

Literary Devices in Ki Tisa

To paraphrase one of my teachers, the Torah is much more than excellent literature, but it is at least that. By examining the words of the Torah through a literary scope, one can gain a much deeper appreciation for the beauty and inspiring technical design that went into it. For example, in Gen. 2:25-3:1, we find the word ערום twice, one after the other. The first means 'naked', and refers to the naive pair of humans, while the second means 'wily', and refers to the scheming snake. The juxtaposition of the innocent, guileless man and wife and the crafty snake, is powerful. It is enhanced by the use of precisely the same word to describe each, with each usage highlighting a different variant meaning for that word. It is as if the text itself becomes wily and crafty, foreshadowing the snake's malicious and devious strategy. This kind of verbal irony mingled with alliteration is very successful at immediately changing a light, care-free mood into a grim and portentous tone.

In this week's portion, we again find this literary device. In 32:17, Yehoshua meets Moshe as he descends the mountain, and says, 'the sounds of war are in the camp.' In the next verse, Moshe responds: "אֵין קוֹל עֲנוֹת גְּבוּרָה, וְאֵין קוֹל, עֲנוֹת חֲלוּשָׁה; קוֹל עַנּוֹת, אָנֹכִי שֹׁמֵעַ." 'Those are no sounds of victorious battle cries, nor sounds of defeated cries for retreat; I hear the cries of strife.' The word ענות in the context of this verse is used three times, but means two different things. In the first two instances, it is a nominalized verb whose root is the qal form of .ע.נ.ה, meaning 'answer'. This is translated hear as meaning 'battle cry'. Units of armies would sometimes find out the status of their fellow units by listening to hear if the battle cries were victorious ones, or ones of retreat. In this case, the infinitive would be of the form לִלְמׂד, or לְמׂד. However, since the פ of the root is an ע, the shwa becomes a chataf-patach. There is no dagesh in the נ because the word is essentially in qal.

However, the third instance of the word is not the same. There is a dagesh in the נ, which is a marker for piel. The ע is pointed with a patach which further shows that this is a nominalization of a piel verb. The meaning is thus the piel of .ע.נ.ה, which is 'torture or cause pain or strife.'

The use of this literary strategy hearkens to the usage mentioned in Gen 2:25, and provides an undercurrent of movement beneath the surface of the text of the story. The tone and mood of the story-line is changed by literary usages while the story plays iteself out. The result is a text which is subtle and nuanced. Much of the beauty and artistic creativity of the Torah is best recognized when taking a moment to re-connect to the Torah as a Divine literary creation.

J.G. Herder (quoted in Phillip Birnbaum's translation HaSiddur HaShalem) once commented, "It is worth studying the Hebrew language for ten years in order to read Psalm 104 in the original." He was referring to the poetry and native lyric that can only be appreciated in Hebrew. Translations of the Bible, even when they comprise dramatic literary accomplishments in their own rights, are only dim shadows of the drama and breathless beauty that the native Hebrew Bible contains. The original uncovers some of the immortal perfection that is usually hidden in our natural world.

Which Achashverosh? That Achashverosh!

My teacher, Dr. Richard Steiner, sent me an electronic off-print of one of his new articles. In it, he discusses the Aramaic of the Elaphantine papyri and Ezra (5:15-17). There, an official named Sheshbazzar is mentioned. First, when introduced, it is said, "ששבצר שמה", 'whose name was Sheshbazzar', and afterwards, it continues, "ששבצר דך", 'the aforementioned Sheshbazzar'. Dr. Steiner develops this peculiar syntax.

First, a previously unknown (to the reader) subject is mentioned and named in a 'de-definitizing' way. It is analogous to the english sentence, 'A man named John said this.' In this case, the subject 'John' is not a true definite article, and is like saying 'A John said this.' Only after the de-definitizing of the name, is the name re-definitized, by the second clause. "The aforementioned Sheshbazzar" is analogous to "That John is the one who picked up the ball." It takes an indefinite article that is named, and makes it definite by describing which John picked up the ball. Not 'a John,' but 'this John.'

Dr. Steiner (quoting Meyer) points out that this syntactical format is found in Old Persian writings.

Immediately, the first verse of Esther came to my mind: "ויהי בימי אחשורש הוא אחשורש המולך..." The same syntactical style is clear! 'In the days of a king called Achashverosh, that same Achashverosh who ruled over...'

There are certainly people out there who know better than me, but I am betting that the book of Esther was first written in Persian, and certainly employed the diction and style of that language. Could the style of the first verse of the Hebrew Megillat Esther be a subtle hint and acknowledgement of this?

The Wisdom of (John) Wisdom

The question of religious belief and its rationality is one that will certainly continue for a long time. It is my belief that Religion deals with questions of 'why', that are, by definition, out of the reach of empirical tests, the domain of Science. The difference is aptly described by John Wisdom (Proceedings of an Aristotelian Society, LXV):

Two people return to their long neglected garden and find among the weeds a few of the old plants surprisingly vigorous. One says to the other "It must be that a gardener has been coming and doing something about these plants." Upon inquiry they find that no neighbor has ever seen anyone at work in their garden. The first man says to the other "He must have worked while people slept." The other says "No, someone would have heard him and besides, anybody who cared about the plants would have kept down these weeds." The first man says "Look at the way these are arranged. There is purpose and a feeling for beauty here. I believe that someone comes, someone invisible to mortal eyes. I believe that the more carefully we look the more we shall find confirmation of this."

They examine the garden ever so carefully and sometimes they come on new things suggesting the contrary and even that a malicious person has been at work. Besides examining the garden carefully they also study what happens to gardens left without attention. Each learns all the other learns about this and about the garden. Consequently, when after all this, one says "I still believe a gardener comes" while the other says "I don't".

Their different words now reflect no difference as to what they have found in the garden, no difference as to what they would find in the garden if they looked further, and no difference about how fast untended gardens fall into disorder. At this stage, in this context, the gardener hypothesis has ceased to be experimental; the difference between one who accepts and one who rejects it is now not a matter of the one expecting something the other does not expect.

What is the difference between them? The one says "A gardener comes unseen and unheard. He is manifested only in his works with shich we are all familiar." The other says "There is no gardener." And with this difference in what the say about the gardener goes a difference in how they feel toward the garden, in spite of the fact that neither expects anything of it which the other does not expect.

It all comes down ultimately to will. I cannot 'prove' spiritual matters for proof does not operate in the realm of "why or what" but in the realm of "how" (the realm of Science). Therefore ultimately one cannot solely use facts or data to decide whether or not to live a life believing in God. He must rely on his experience. If so, it all comes down to willing oneself to allow experience to help one see God and not brush those experiences off as chance or something irrelevant. This is the idea of "Free Will" in its muted yet most glorious lyric: truly giving Man the opportunity to will himself to do right.

Marriage, Sinai and Responsibility

A friend of my wife is getting married this coming week. While reflecting on the idea of marriage, I was struck by an odd yet compelling question. The midrash states that Adam and Chava were created as two sides to the same body. They were both present, and shared one soul. Hashem then decided to split the body and soul into two, so that man and woman each became, effectively, one half of a whole. When they are unified in marriage, the primordial harmony is once again established. In essence, marriage is the reunification of what God separated at the dawn of time. While considering this, I asked, "Why did Hashem separate the original human creation? Why tear a soul in two, and then leave the two halves to find each other in a chaotic world? What purpose is served in this search?"

In Shir HaShirim (3:11), the author exhorts the daughters of Zion to celebrate with King Shlomo, "on his wedding day, the day of his heartfelt happiness." The Talmud (Ta'anith 26b) allegorizes this verse. The wedding day refers to the day of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, while the day of his supreme happiness refers to the building of the Temple. What does this allegory mean?

While in Egypt, the Jewish people were not rightly a nation. They were a collection of related individuals, whose common suffering gave them a bond. God's miraculous intervention in the affairs of Man had as a stated purpose, "ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם". By taking the Jews out of Egypt, Hashem would make them into a nation that would serve Him (Exodus 6:6). The goal of this physical creation of the nation of Israel was the immediate spiritual creation of a national purpose, at Sinai, in the giving of the Torah. The Torah codifies how the Jews are to interact as a national unit. But more importantly, it guarantees that each Jew be responsible for, and only be complete, in that national unit. This is the significance of the phrase "נעשה ונשמע", the national resolve that "we will do". No Jew can keep all 613 commandments, as some only apply to one group, while others only apply to another. It is only as a nation, by sublimating ourselves to the כלל, that we truly can uphold the whole of the Torah.

It is easy to imagine the connection between Har Sinai and the marriage canopy. Up until marriage, we are essentially individuals, fulfilling our own individual needs. However, under the chuppah, a man and woman accept the responsibility of acting and thinking as a unit. There is no more you and I, there is only we. I am reminded of the story in which the saintly Rabbi Aryeh Levine brought his hurt wife to the doctor, saying, "Doctor, our leg hurts." This man had internalized the idea of a couple as a unit, and not just a collection of two individuals, that he felt her pain as his own!

And so, our observance of the Torah and our consideration of our marriage inspire each other to greater thinking in terms of the group, and less of ourselves individually.

Next, the day of Shlomo's supreme happiness is compared to the building of the Temple. Rabbi Hirsch (Vayetzeh p. 457) explains that a Jewish home is supposed to be a miniature Temple. The atmosphere is meant to be one in which the loving and joyous service of God is carried out with understanding and emotion. When two people marry and begin a home, they lay the foundation of a family life that lives for the purpose of Heaven. Just as the Beth Hamikdash was the exemplary expression of a whole nation harmoniously serving God, so are our individual homes a microcosmic expression of the same ideal.

We can now understand why God chose to split Adam and Chava up. As one unit, the first human had no need to replace its ego with a larger picture. Everything it needed was in it. By splitting it into two, Hashem gave man and woman a need to transcend the personal ego, and sublimate it into a harmonious society serving God. This effort is then meant to be applied to the nation as a whole. Each family unit is a building block in a national unit. We see our fulfillment and success not only through individual achievements, but in the actions of the nation.

Commonly, we assume that the breaking of the glass under the marriage canopy is a reminder to mourn for the destruction of Jerusalem. While it is true that we must never leave that pain out of our celebrations, the Talmud (Brachos 30b) states that the custom arose when rabbis saw too much hilarity at weddings. They felt that with all the happiness, the bride and groom must not forget that they are just now embarking on a tremendously arduous journey, one in which they will learn to think as one, and through this, produce a home worthy of the שכינה. The glass breaking is a somber reminder that there is much work to be done.

Finally, I will add a very important lesson from מתן תורה. In Yitro, it says, "ביום הזה באו מדבר סיני", on this day, they came to the Sinai desert. Should it not say, on that day? Rashi quotes the midrash and learns from this that every day, we must feel as if we have been given the Torah anew. We must not let the apathy that so often is the effect of time to allow our zeal and excitement for Torah to rust. In the same way, marriage is something that requires constant renewal. We can never let ourselves feel stagnant and unproductive. Constantly learning about one another, seeing the glory of God emanating from our spouse, allows us to keep our marriages alive and fresh.

BlueTruth Message

I just saw this new blog, and I think its aims are noble. I hope to read it regularly.

http://www.blue-truth.blogspot.com/

Jimmy Carter vs Simon Wiesenthal

I was pointed to this exchange between Rabbi Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, and Jimmy Carter.

Beshalach: Awakening from Below

After triumphantly marching out of the ruins of a shattered Egypt, the Jewish People find themselves at the sea's edge. There seems to be no way forward, and the way back is blocked by the remnants of the Egyptian army, intent on reclaiming their escaping slaves. A frightened, hapless nation begins to question the whole enterprise. Moshe tells the people not to worry. This time, God will fight for them, and they may be silent (Ex. 14:14). Rashi and the Ramban quote a mechilta, and interject here that Moshe began to pray to God for salvation. The next verse (15) has God chastising the Jewish leader, "why do you cry out to me? Tell the children of Israel to proceed!"

Why does God speak tersely to Moshe at this time? What else should Moshe do but pray? Further, the second part of v. 15 is clearly a response to the prayer, implying that God accepted Moshe's intercession and now delivers his response! So, why does Hashem level such harsh criticism at Moshe?

The Or HaChayim answers in a greatly relevant way. Times of salvation are also times of judgment. Even when God's desires (if one may speak of God in such mortal terms) to act compassionately and miraculously, the element of judgment questions the merit of the Nation. After all, the Jews were not particularly deserving of redemption, and had to clinch the deal with the blood of circumcision and the blood of the paschal offering (Pesachim 96a). And so, Hashem, in his mercy, gives Moshe advice on how to lead a national assault on the prosecution in heavenly court: Act! Convince the Jews to act with faith, act with all their heart, and push forward into the sea before it splits! When Man acts with complete faith in God, we awaken the powers of redemption from below. This is necessary in order for the heavenly powers of salvation to be awakened on high. As the Vilna Gaon quotes the Zohar in Kol HaTor, it'aruta dil'tata (lower awakening) is first, and after that flows the it'aruta dil'eila (heavenly awakening).

The paradigm that the miracle of the Reed Sea teaches the Nation is that when salvation is near, words and prayers are not enough. Actions, specifically actions that highlight Israel's sole reliance on God, are necessary to bridge the gap between a hesitating dawn and a glorious sunrise across the horizon of geulah.

I venture to add my own insight. As we said, the mechilta adds the fact that Moshe began to pray to Hashem between v. 14 and 15. It is not implied by the Torah. The plain sense of these two verses is that Moshe calmed the People by telling them that they may settle down, for God will fight this battle. To that, Hashem responds, "Moshe, you are making a mistake. By telling the people to be passive and let Me act for them, you are effectively crying out to Me, putting the burden of salvation completely on Me. However, in order for Israel to be saved, they must act, as well. Only when they act with steadfast faith in Me, will I take over and split the sea."

May we internalize this message, in our momentous times of redemption, and avert the crisis of a geulah be'itah, a redemption coming because there is no time left, with pain and suffering, Heaven forbid. Let us catalyze a geulah of achishena, one that is hastened and glorious.

Our House in Israel II

(Click here to see Part I.)

Well, our house is about about 5 months away from completion, and things are really starting to come together. Air conditioning is in, and flooring, as well as some bathtubs! Exciting! Stairs and banister are not in yet, and much is still left to be done.

Here you can see most of our kitchen. The strip in the middle is bare because most people will be putting tile in as a backsplash. Part of our backsplash will be granite, but most will be egshell paint. Counters will run along the wall, and the corner to the left in the picture is the starting point of a peninsula.

Here you can see the bottom of our staircase. We have a tri-level stairwell, which should look quite nice when the house is done. Obviously, the marble stairs are still not installed, nor the banisters. Our staircase has a window, so we hope it will be airy and light.


Here you can see one of the children's bathrooms. The tiling is almost done, but the side tiles for the tub are not in yet. We chose to tile only the area in the bathrooms that surround tubs or showers. The rest of the bathroom will be finished with egshell paint.


And finally (for now), here is the view from the kitchen out to the front entrance. The support poles you see are going to be removed soon. I chose this view so that you can see the tile we chose for the flooring. It is shiny and faintly remenicsient of marble, which is the look we were going for.

I hope to keep this blog up to date regarding the house as it nears completion...please let me know if you find this of interest!

Demons of Maimonides

In his Guide to the Perplexed, the Rambam categorically denies the colloquial understanding of the existance of demons. His understanding of talmudic passages such as Berachot 6a work around this fact, but I find his explanation of a different midrash much more interesting.

The Torah (Gen. 5:3) states that Adam gave birth to many children besides Kayin, Hevel and Shes. Midrash Rabbah (Gen. 24:6) explains that these were children of a fractured relationship between Adam and Eve, and they were demons. What does Maimonides do with this midrash?

In the Guide (1:7), the Rambam explains this phenomenon. Demons, he says, are human beings that are born with all the normal faculties of Man, but their minds are not fully perfected. These souless beings are essentially animals in human form. Because of their vastly superior intellect to other animals, however, they are capable of much more complex thought and action. The fact that they lack a truly human soul gives them sociopathic tendencies. Hence, Maimonides explains, they have a propensity to damage and contributee to the development of evil in this world.

And so, to the Rambam, demons are not figaments of our imagination or products of our nightmares. They are humans that have no conscience. Absent is that part of the human soul that ennobles it, elevating it beyond the realm of mere beast. Their superior intellect allows them to ensnare others into tremendous pain and suffering, bringing evil into our world.

Reading this passage, my thoughts immediately turned to the sadistic smiles on the faces of the German (and other) guards during the Holocaust (image). The title of demon befits these brutes well.

UPDATE 3 Nov 2009: In Shapiro's Studies in Maimonides and His Interpreters, Rambam's view is stated as I have presented it here. Furthermore, Professor Shapiro quotes R Shlomo Duran in Milchemet Mitzvah as holding the same view: "לא שיהיו שידין ממש אלא בני אדם הדומין לשידין במעשיהם כלשון בני אדם שאומרים על אדם רע זה שד הוא וכל אדם שמשחית במעשיו ג"כ נקרא שטן" (p 111 f 75).

He also points out the fact that the Meiri similarly reinterperts many talmudic passages that deal with demonology, turning them into rationalistic rules. For example, while the talmud (B'rachot 4-5) states that the reason for the recitation of שמע at bed-time is to afford protection from demons, Meiri states, "להבריח את המזיקים, וביאורו אצלי המזיקים הידועים והם הדעות הכוזבים, והזקיקוהו בעתות הפנאי ליחד את השם שלא יטעה באמונות השניות וכשיקרא על הכונה הראויה תהא מטתו בטוחה מהם".

Appeasement isn't Working

While the complexities of Israeli politics and security may be hard for most of us to fathom, we can be assured that the Appeasement Process is not achieving desired results when diary entries like the following appear:

January 15th, 2007: Israel states that it may give up territory in the Golan Heights, as well as most of Judea and Samaria.

January 29th, 2007: One of many attempts, a suicide bomber evades Israeli authorities and detonates himself in a bakery in Eilat. The government of Gaza, the Hamas, state that 'as long as there is an occupation*, resistance is legitimate..."

(This type of result-oriented evaluation of policies also works for the Lebanon war, which had as one of its stated goals, 'the return of the two soldiers kidnapped on the border', and ended with no such success. Meanwhile, Olmert has decided that enough time has gone by for Israelis to forget his promise, and claimed on January 26th that 'the Lebanon war was a great success.')

UPDATE (1.30.2007): According to this poll, Kadima is going the way of Shinui. Israel seems to know that Olmert and his bunch of goons are worthless. Again, an oppritunity for a popular political revolution. May we act towards new leadership, and may Hashem help us succeed where past governments have failed.

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* While Israelis like to believe that only the territories post 1967 are considered 'occupied' by the Arabs, the Arab schoolbooks so consider Eilat, Tel Aviv and Haifa, as well.

Bo: Renewal of Spirit and Morals

In a week marred by the Katzav affair, the portion details the first commandment with which the Jewish nation is charged. Each month's beginning is a holiday on the Jewish calendar, and its announcement is ritualized in halacha. Witnesses look out for the night when the moon is begins its waxing period, and they make haste to Jerusalem, to announce their sighting to the court. What is certain is that this is not simply the effort of a crude, unenlightened people to set a calendar. The court in Jerusalem knew the astronomical intricacies very well, and even had the power to override the testimony of witnesses in order to plan the calendar pragmatically for the nation.

So, what is the purpose of the New Moon ceremony? Rabbi Hirsch points out immediately that the moon produces no light of its own. Its surface simply reflects the rays of the obscured sun. Immediately, this conjures up the natural symbol of the moon for the Nation of Israel. As the moon reflects the light of the sun to the inhabitants of Earth, so are we supposed to reflect the spiritual warmth of God to the rest of the world. The moon is beautiful because of the light it reflects; in the same vein, we are a model to the world because of our relationship to God.

When a Jew gazes at the moon, he lifts his mind from the physical, material world, and shifts his sights higher. The wax and wane of the moon represent the constant struggle of humanity to remain true to God's spiritual and ethical commands. The gravity of materialism slowly draws mankind away from lofty goals, and mires it in the drudgery of pragmatism. Eventually, however, the soul re-exerts itself, and lifts humanity back to the realm of ethical growth. This constant state of flux creates tension and a recurring yearning for growth. Without falling, we would have less drive to rise higher. And so, the national focus on the moon each month beckons Israel back to its goal of reflecting Hashem's light. It is an invitation to interact with God in a closer way, to commune with Him on a deeper level.

Thus we can understand the offering of Rosh Chodesh. On this day, a goat is brought, a sin offering, to atone for sins that are unconsciously committed (Shavuoth 9a). The nation atones for its waning spiritual and moral consciousness, and resolves to strengthen these in the future. The tradition of יום כיפור קטן, the miniature day of atonement, which occurs the day before Rosh Chodesh, is also a reflection of this concept. Before the holiday, we turn our thoughts towards penance, and work our ways closer to Godliness.

This day of communion with God, this renewal of national and individual spirit, is not one-sided. God does not want to command His nation to re-inspire themselves. And so, He places us in control of the commemoration. The nation is responsible to set the date, not just through their sanhedrin proxy, but through popular moon-watching and testimony. Each Jew watches the sky, searching for astronomical renewal, and is symbolically invited to spiritual renewal. The nation communes with God as co-participants, not simply as servants fulfilling the will of their master. Jews renew themselves, weaving a new reality, and join Hashem in creation.

The time of the reawakening is, paradoxically, the time immediately following the darkest point in the cycle of the moon. Historically, Jews spring to new heights directly from the shadows of their lowest falls. And so, בדמיך חיי, from our bloodiest point, from our lowest spiritual and moral stances, we are enjoined to live! -- To grasp life and reach higher, re-dedicating every step to God.

May our national shame this week be a springboard for rapid spiritual accomplishment, culminating in redemption.

The Shame of a Nation

The allegations against the president of Israel, Moshe Katzav, are now international news. Headlines around the world blare the rape and corruption charges against the figurehead of the Jewish State. It is not hard to hear the relish in some news outlets. The undercurrent of schadenfreude inevitably stems from the perception that those who consider themselves the most 'moral nation on earth' have been proven hypocrites. Katzav seems to demonstrate that Jews are no more moral than anyone else, and it would seem that they may even be a cut below in the area of government officials.

Indeed, members of the Knesset have complained of the shame that the Katzav debacle is causing Israel in the international community. They end up sounding like calculating politicians, who care only about opinion polls and public perception, instead of truth, justice and morality.

During the formation of our Nation, Moshe made sure not to use his position to take anything from the people. He used his own donkey for transportation, and never made personal demands on the Jews, even the kind that we might consider appropriate. How our leadership has changed from those times. Where has the honor of Israel gone?

The governing class in Israel has, for the most part, rejected the practical aspects of the Torah. Israel is, as much as they can influence it, a secular state, one where religion, God and Torah have little to do with the governance of the land. In fact, the founders and visionaries of our State made it clear that they wanted a state just like any other state. I recall reading that when the newly minted Israel caught and convicted its first thief, the feeling was palpable that now we are really a country; we have Jewish scientists, Jewish policemen, Jewish doctors, and now, Jewish robbers!

What a far cry this is from the ethical standard that the Torah requires! We are meant to be a 'kingdom of priests, a holy nation'! Our social and judicial rules gleaned from the Torah would set our status as a beacon of light, standard-setters for the rest of the world. When Israel sits in its land and follows the Torah, the nations of the world will see utopia! And yet, when we fall from grace, when we abandon the ways of God, we become lower than any other. Our substantial national soul has the ability to fall far below, just as it can soar high above. And so, without God squarely before our consciousness constantly, we flounder, and eventually sink. And the results are the Katzavs, Olmerts, Halutzes and a hundred others, who only represent the tip of the depraved iceberg we allow ourselves to become.

Israel is a gift from God. It is our chance to enable the redemption in a quick, painless way. If we abuse it, it can be a source of suffering, until God redeems us despite our actions. However, if we utilize it correctly, it will continue to flower and bear fruit, unfolding the messianic era before our eyes, and the eyes of the whole world. This can only be accomplished by applying the Torah to the State.

When a child is created, he is born incomplete. It is up to his father to circumcise him, thus perfecting what God has given him. Part of the lesson to the father is that the boy must be educated and perfected spiritually, as he was completed physically. In this world, everything God gives us must be perfected by our own actions. We take part in creation with God, and become like Him in this way. When God presented us with the gift of Israel, it was imperfect. It is up to us to complete it with God, and have a hand in our own redemption.

We must return to God, not only on a personal level, but on a national level. We must take this unfinished gift that God gives us, and complete it by his instruction. May God guide us, and help us replace corruption and hedonism with justice and morality. May swift, merciless justice be done to the Katzavs and the Olmerts, and thus Israel's national glory be restored.

Vayechi: The Diversity of Israel

The time has come for Ya'akov to die. He gathers his sons, each of which is an integral foundation stone in the new nation of Israel. In his philosophic will to his descendants, the patriarch recognizes each son's nature. He describes how each son's innate attributes should be used properly for the service of God. In doing so, Ya'akov learns from the mistake of his father with Esav.

The Midrash Tanchuma points out an interesting oddity. Ya'akov follows birth order in his blessing of his sons, with one exception. Yissachar was older than Zevulun, and yet, the younger is mentioned before the older. The fact is that the two brothers' blessings were intertwined. Zevulun was to provide for the physical maintanance of his brother Yissachar, while the latter provided spiritual sustanence for himself and his supporter. The midrash points out that it was not Yissachar who is mentioned first, but Zevulun, driving home the point that those who provide the physical wherewithal for the study of Torah are the ones who stand first in line to receive the credit.

The diversification of each important set of traits into individual sons of Ya'akov, together making up the whole nation, speaks of the unity of purpose that was expected of the children of Israel, and their idealized desire to bring the kingdom of Heaven here, to Earth. Perhaps, however, we may see the diversification in reverse, as well. While each member of the nation of Israel must see himself as, first and foremost, part of the tapestry of the People, he must also remember that he is an individual. The Israelite (Hirsch's Mensch-Jisroel) must realize the microcosm of the nation, indeed, of the world, in his own life, to the best of his ability. This would require him to do the opposite of Ya'akov's diversifying blessings. He must take each trait and quality that is necessary in life, and integrate it into his personality, becoming as close to perfection as possible. By harmonizing the Yehuda, the Yissachar, the Zevulun, the Yosef, and all the others, in her own life, the individual Jew ensures that not only does she use her natural talents for Godly purposes, but she also adopts traits foreign to her, and uses them to further God's purpose in this world.

Tanchuma states that the blessings Ya'akov gave his children would not become effective until the Nation accepts the Torah. Only with a plan for enacting God's will on earth, can we truly act accordingly. It is only with the Torah as our guide, and our overarching authority, that we can truly engage the world as sons and daughters of Ya'akov, and reap the benefits of success.

What's New Here

Welcome to the newer and better mevaseretzion blog!

By converting my blog to the new blogger, I was able to retain the same look, while adding the link tree of all posts. I am sure there are many new features that I will try to implement in the future, but this was the most important change I wanted to make.

In other news, I know I have not been posting much lately, what with my child getting sick and my changing jobs very soon. However, I do plan to get invest more time in my blog very soon, commenting and posting more frequently, about halacha, hashkafa, politics, and the rest of it.

I hope people out there are reading what is already here, and looking forward to more!