https://www. jns. org/opinion/schadenfreude-and- the-unrwa-scandal/
Wednesday, 31 July 2019
Tuesday, 30 July 2019
Monday, 29 July 2019
Kashrut Agencies and Their Symbols
From RRW
Symbols:Agencies:For a complete list of Kashrus agencies (which includes both cRc recommended and non-recommended agencies) visit Kashrus Magazine Online (or call 1-718-336-8544). Special thanks to Rabbi Yosef Wikler, editor of Kashrus Magazine.
Sunday, 28 July 2019
Friday, 26 July 2019
Parshas Pinchas - The Sons of Korach...Contemplating Teshuvah
From RRW
Rabbi Eliyahu Safran on the parsha -- hope you enjoy
Rabbi Eliyahu Safran on the parsha -- hope you enjoy
Baltimore Jewish Life | Parshas Pinchas - The Sons of Korach...Contemplating Teshuvah
Thursday, 25 July 2019
Israel’s economic surge
From RRW
https://theettingerreport. com/israels-economic-surge/
TY Rav Dov Fischer
Words with the Same Root Letters- Must They Be Related?
From RRW
Guest Blogger: Mitchell First
Guest Blogger: Mitchell First
Words with the Same Root Letters: Must They Be Related?
When words have the same three root letters, our initial assumption should be that the words are related and our task should be discover the relationship. A straightforward example is Shin-Caf-Mem. This word means “shoulder” (e.g., Gen. 9:23).These three letters are also the root of the word “va-yashkem.” “Va-yashkem” means something like: “he got up early in the morning.” The context is usually someone going on a journey. But where did this word come from? Can we relate it to Sh-C-M/shoulder? This is an easy one. When a person gets up early in the morning to go on a journey, the first thing he does is put the items he is traveling with in a sack on his own shoulder, or on the shoulder of his animal. So the word which originally meant he shouldered himself or shouldered his animal evolved into having the meaning: “he got up early.” I am sure that those who attend “hashkamah” minyan have not been thinking of the “shoulder” meaning of the word!In this column, I am going to give some examples of words that have the same three root letters which are very hard to relate to one another. All these words and their different meanings are coming from Tanach.1. Chet-Resh-Shin: This root means “plough.” But it also means “silent” and “deaf.”2. Ayin-Resh-Mem: This root means “cunning.” But it also means “pile.”3. Tzade-Lamed-Chet: This root means “succeed.” But it also means “plate.” Also, one time it has a third meaning: “break through.” (II Sam. 19:18.)4. Ayin-Tzde-Bet: This root means “grieve, pain.” But it also means “shape, form.”5. Shin-Chet-Resh: This root has three meanings: “black,” “dawn” and “seek.” (Perhaps the “seek” meaning derived from the “dawn” meaning and the original meaning was “to go at dawn and seek.”)6. Ayin-Resh-Peh: This root means “neck.” But it also means “flow” (see Deut. 32:2 and 33:28.)7. Tzade-Resh-Resh: This root means “bind” but it also means “show hostility to.” (There also may be a verb with the meaning: “be sharp.” See, e.g. Ex. 4:25, Josh 5:2-3 and Ernest Klein, A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language, p. 558.)8. Chet-Resh-Peh: This root means “reproach.” But it also means “winter.”9. Chet-Mem-Shin: This root means “five.” But it also means “abdomen.” (It also means “equipped/armed.” This last meaning probably came from the “abdomen” meaning. The weapons were worn in the area of the abdomen. Look at that English word “armed.” Where do you think that word comes from!)10. Sin-Resh-Dalet: This root means “remnant.” But in the book of Exodus, three times we have “bigdei serad” or “bigdei ha-serad;” the word is describing a kind of clothing.11. Nun-Tav-Resh: This root means “spring up.” But it also means “free, loose.” (As to the latter, we recite this word thrice daily in the Amidah: “matir,” which really derives from “mantir.” The initial nun drops. “Matir Asurim” means “he frees the tied ones.”)12. Bet-Sin-Resh: This root means “meat” but it also means “announce.”13. Nun-Shin-Heh: This root means “to be a creditor” but it also means “to forget.” (There is also the “gid ha-nasheh” at Gen. 32:33. This likely has a separate meaning.)Of course, people can always come up with suggestions for a relationship. For example, regarding number 2, a cunning person has a detailed plan which is the equivalent of a pile of steps. Regarding number 3, a successful husband “brings home the bacon.” But obviously these suggestions are farfetched.There is one factor that explains why Hebrew often has words with the same three letter roots that are not related. I admit that I did not know this until a few years ago. It turns out that some of our Hebrew letters are actually the result of a merger of two different earlier letters. For example, in an earlier stage, there were two different letters for chet, ayin, zayin, and tzade. Arabic has these extra letters, but they did not survive in Hebrew. But the basic assumption of scholars today is that Proto-Semitic, the language that was the basis for Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic and the other Semitic languages, had these additional letters. So we are often spinning our wheels needlessly when we attempt to equate words that include the letters chet, ayin, zayin, and tzade. (I admit that the idea that some of our Hebrew letters are mergers of two different earlier letters is something that requires time to digest!)Of course, if you look at items 10-13 above, you will see that Hebrew has this same problem even in words that do not include the letters chet, ayin, zayin, and tzade. Unfortunately, we are just going to have to live with this.In any event, most of the time, when the three letter roots are the same, there is a relationship and we are acting properly in making an effort to discern it!---------------------------Mitchell First is a personal injury attorney and Jewish history scholar. He spends much of his time trying to relate three letter roots and deciding which attempted relationships are futile. When not doing that, he can be reached at MFirstAtty@aol.com.
Wednesday, 24 July 2019
If the Torah is our Constitution, Then What is its Preamble?
From RRW
Many Americans have memorized the ideals put forth in the Preamble to the US Constitution: ” We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Is there a corresponding preamble to the Torah? If yes, what is it? What implications does it have for us?
Nothing in our written Torah connects Shavuot with mattan Torah, the giving of the Torah. Yet emphatically our liturgy declares that Shavuot is “Z’man mattan torateinu“. In addition, the reading for the first day of Shavuot is clearly about mattan Torah.
I would suggest consulting a good humash or machzor and reading the passage that we read on Shavuot with focus upon that which precedes mattan Torah (Exodus, chapter 19, which is part of Parashat Yitro).
There is a lot ritual there, no doubt! But what did God expect from us? In accepting this brit, this covenant, what were we to become to God?
The answer lies in Exodus 19:5-6: “If you obey Me and observe My covenant, you shall be a segulah from amongst all nations, because the world is Mine. And you shall be a mamlechet kohanim v’goy kaddosh…”
Our charge is to obey God, to guard/observe the compact, to become a priestly government and a holy nation.
This compact is not with individuals. It is with the Nation of Israel at large.
Let us compare the passages of Parashat Yitro that are not included in the Shavuot reading with the conversion declaration of Ruth. Yitro, Moses’s father-in-law, declares God’s greatness, but he abandons Israel. His acceptance of the one true God is not a call to follow Torah, just some kind of ethical monotheism.
On the other hand, Ruth declares: “Ameich ami veilokayich elokai” – Your nation is my nation your God is my God. Note the sequence! Thus Ruth is a true convert because she joins our nation and accepts the one true God. This is critical.
Any convert can discover the Noahide covenant by emulating Avraham’s discovery of ethical monotheism. However, the leap into Judaism is when one binds with the People of Israel, the society of Believers and Servers.
Of course, you don’t need to be Jewish to relate to God. But if you want to become part of a holy nation and an ethical society, then you must seek Judaism. There are Gentile priests in this world but there is no other Priestly Nation! This is unique.
This is our preamble: to produce a holy and ethical society.
Tuesday, 23 July 2019
JVO Blog -- Is Judaism a Religion?
Jewish Values Online (jewishvaluesonline.org)
is a website that asks the Jewish view on a variety of
issues, some specifically Jewish and some from the world
around us -- and then presents answers from each of the
denominations of Judaism. Nishmablog's Blogmaster Rabbi
Wolpoe and Nishma's Founding Director, Rabbi Hecht, both serve
as Orthodox members of their Panel of Scholars. Nishmablog, over the years, has also featured the responses on JVO by one of our two Nishma Scholars who are
on this panel.
The Jewish Values Online website also offers a blog which presents comments on various topics within Judaism and the Jewish world. See http://www.jewishvaluesonline.org/jvoblog/index?aid=0. Rabbi Hecht is also a blogger on this blog.
His latest post
Is Judaism a Religion?
is now available http://jewishvaluescenter.org/jvoblog/JudaismAReligion
A link is also up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JewishValuesOnline/
While comments are most welcome at both these sites, as we also would like to develop a discussion on this topic here at Nishmablog, we also present the article below
* * * * *
The Jewish Values Online website also offers a blog which presents comments on various topics within Judaism and the Jewish world. See http://www.jewishvaluesonline.org/jvoblog/index?aid=0. Rabbi Hecht is also a blogger on this blog.
His latest post
Is Judaism a Religion?
is now available http://jewishvaluescenter.org/jvoblog/JudaismAReligion
A link is also up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JewishValuesOnline/
While comments are most welcome at both these sites, as we also would like to develop a discussion on this topic here at Nishmablog, we also present the article below
* * * * *
For those who regularly read my work, the
question framed in this title would, no doubt, be seen as a loaded one.
They would clearly surmise that something is up for I almost always
inherently critique the use of the term ‘Judaism’ used generically -- by
itself, without the use of an accompanying adjective reflecting the
specific branch of Judaism that is under discussion. They know that I
maintain that the generic use of this term is problematic for it does
not reflect the significant theological distinctions between the
different branches and the variant streams of Jewish expression. They
further know that it is my belief that the lack of this knowledge is one
of the main reasons for many of the troubles within the modern Jewish
world, including the inability to dialogue as necessary. (This is a
reason for my involvement in Jewish Values Online. One of its
goals is to clarify these theological distinctions.) Still, I used the
term generically here – so some must be wondering: What’s up?
Rabbi Benjamin Hecht
The answer may be found in the other problematic
word that I used in this title – and that is the term ‘religion’. If I
simply asked what that word means, I would expect the general response
to be that this term basically refers to a system that accepts the
existence of a Deity (or deities, not to exclude the polytheistic
religions). Yet, would one then refer to Platonic or Aristotelian
philosophy as religions? Both are systems of thought that accept a
Deity. I would venture to say, though, that we would be hard-pressed to
refer to these two philosophical systems as religions (albeit that some
of their ideas may be incorporated within a religion). The issue is not
really what is technically meant by the use of this word but what do we
truly mean when we use this term?
What are we really thinking when we define someone as
religious? This is where we begin to see the essential issue within our
question. When we think of someone being religious in general, we think
of spirituality, an otherworldliness -- a certain mindset. But is this
what we are thinking when we generally describe another Jew as being
religious? We think of this person as keeping Shabbat, kosher,
etc. -- but otherwise, actually, we think of this person very much like
any other Jew. True, there may be some Jewish religious people who are
spiritual but we also know many religious Jews who are not so spiritual.
In the Jewish world, we actually define religious in terms of
behaviour, not, necessarily, mindset. We would even go so far as to use
the word religious in describing an individual who keeps Shabbat and kosher but may not even believe in God. What does this say about Jewishness?
We all know of many synagogues, across all the branches, which
actually don’t seem to be very spiritual. How many times have we heard
of Jews who explored other realms of spirituality, not because they
didn’t like Jewish spirituality, but because their Jewish world did not
seem to even have any spirituality? I, in fact, have heard of many
non-Jews who have asked and/or are asking the very question I used as
the title of this piece: Is Judaism a Religion? This is because, in
their connection with Jews and the Jewish world, they do not see the
spirituality which they expect to find in the realm of religion.
One of the greatest indications of this focus on behaviour within
the Jewish world is actually the ‘ceremony’ that was employed for many
years to mark a boy’s coming of age. Of course, I am referring to the Bar Mitzvah.
What was that actually all about? A boy marked his becoming a man by,
effectively, chanting to some tune a bunch of syllables which reflected
words in a different language that the boy generally did not understand.
It really was all about a behaviour, a behaviour which, especially to
the boy, had no reason. Was the mindset of the boy even addressed?
Jewishness just became doing Jewish things which, generally, were absent
any reason (except that this is just what Jews do). Or, if explanations
were given, they were very simplistic and did not really show anything
unique about the Jewish mindset. Across the board – and this is the
reason for the generic use of the term – for the vast majority of Jews,
Judaism was their religion without a mindset and, clearly, as such,
without spirituality.
With the advancement of assimilation, it became obvious to many
that this was a problem. The Jewish community turned to many possible
answers. One was to argue that Jewishness actually contains spirituality
– which it, in fact, does. That response, however, did not really work
to the extent that its proponents would have wanted because Jews,
through their Jewish experiences, already didn’t think so highly of
spirituality in any event. The fact is that there was also a very
significant reason for why Judaism developed into this ‘religion’ of
behaviour unlike generic religions which focused on faith and
spirituality. This is because it always focused on behaviour because,
unlike religions in general, its focus was this world. While
otherworldliness is an important part of Torah, it is not its essence.
The classical Divine directive of Torah is to develop this world.
Adam was told to conquer this world. What this means is that he and
his descendants should develop a good and proper human civilization
which would be beneficial for all Creation. (The different theological
constructs of the branches of Judaism actually yield different
definitions of what is a proper civilization. This recognition is one of
the reasons for why these constructs are important to know.)
Civilization is about this world and ties implicitly into behaviour –
actually all human behaviour. Jewishness is really not about otherworld
spirituality, although there is an important place for that within its
realm. Within Judaism, however, there is no ‘Give onto Caesar what is
Caesar’s and onto God what is God’s’ because it is all Godly. The
accountant’s role in creating a good society is a Divine task. Jewish
law touches upon what most people would see as secular issues. The
Jewish world simply never saw the distinction. All of life was part of
Judaism.
The problem that then developed in the Jewish world was that to
impart such a concept on a future generation you need an intensive
educational system. With the limitations that then developed in this
regard, choices had to be made. The behavioural side of Jewishness took
over because that’s the way Jews think. Our focus is the practical in
this world. We didn’t, though, explain or teach why Jews, specifically,
think like this. It is an essential part of our teaching from God. Thus,
without the proper transmission of this education, we have the ensuing
problems which we now continue to face.
Is Judaism a religion? Well, if it is, it sure isn’t like any
other! This teaching must be a prime element in any form of present
Jewish education.
Monday, 22 July 2019
ACTION ALERT: Support Anti-BDS Legislation
From RRW
ACTION ALERT
URGE YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO SUPPORT BIPARTISAN ANTI-BDS RESOLUTION
BACKGROUND:
Israel continues to face threats from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. An important bipartisan resolution, H. Res. 246, introduced by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL), Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Ann Wagner (R-MO), now with 346 cosponsors, is aimed at combating boycotts of Israel, and opposes the global BDS movement and its efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel. It also reiterates congressional support for direct negotiations and efforts to enhance U.S.-Israel scientific and technological cooperation.
TAKE ACTION
The House of Representatives could be voting on this measure TOMORROW. Please urge your member of Congress to vote in favor of this resolution and to be on record opposing the anti-Israel BDS movement. Click here (https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative) to find out who is your representative. You can also call the congressional switchboard at 202-225-3121 to be connected.
TALKING POINTS
At its core, the BDS movement does not aim to effect political change, but to delegitimize Israel and undermine its right to exist.
The BDS movement attempts to undercut the prospect of peace, diminishes the incentives for the parties to negotiate, and undermines a critical US ally in the region.
BDS does not seek a final status agreement or peace deal, and numerous leaders of the BDS movement are on record calling for the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state, including its founder, Omar Barghouti.
The BDS movement has been designated as anti-Semitic by the German Bundestag and called anti-Semitic by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The new resolution opposes the global efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel, reiterates congressional support for direct negotiation between the parties, and supports US-Israel scientific and technological cooperation.
Wednesday, 17 July 2019
Arab paramedic at Jewish wedding describes how he saved bride’s life
This is just something I felt had to be shared - RBH
So many reasons why
So many reasons why
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-arab-paramedic-at-jewish-wedding-describes-how-he-saved-brides-life/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=UK+Labour%27s+Anti-Semitism+Out+of+Control%3B+Arab+Describes+Saving+Bride%E2%80%99s+Life+at+Jewish+Wedding%3B+Hamas+Reveals+Genocidal+Jew-Hatred&utm_campaign=20190714_m152690405_UK+Labour%27s+Anti-Semitism+Out+of+Control%3B+Arab+Describes+Saving+Bride%E2%80%99s+Life+at+Jewish+Wedding%3B+Hamas+Reveals+Genocidal+Jew-Hatred&utm_term=watch_btn_light_png
Sunday, 14 July 2019
Our Recital of a Verse Backwards in Kiddush Levanah
From RRW
Guest Blogger: Mitchell First
Guest Blogger: Mitchell First
Our Recital of a Verse Backwards in Kiddush Levanah
We do something very unusual in Kiddush Levanah. After reciting the first half of Exodus 15:16 three times, “tipol aleihem eimatah va-vachad, bigdol zeroakha yidmu ka-aven,” we recite these same words backwards, three times: “ka-aven yidmu…aleihem tipol.” We are never else instructed to recite a verse or section of a verse backwards in our prayers. What is going on here? An article by David Farkas published several years ago in the Journal Ḥakirah (vol. 7) explores this custom and I would like to share it.A basic text of Kiddush Levanah is found in the Talmud at Sanhedrin 42a. But over the centuries many additional customs were added to what is found in the Talmud. That is what we are dealing with here.Aside from the backward recitation, our recital of Exodus 15:16 is also unusual because we are reciting only a part of the verse. The balance of the verse is “ad yaavor amkha YHVH, ad yaavor am zu kanita.” There is a statement in the Talmud (Megillah 22a) that implies that we should recite only full verses.Farkas observes that our present practice (first half of the verse, forwards three times, then backwards three times) has its origin in the Tur (d. 1340), sec. 426, and is then codified in the Rama. But earlier than the Tur, he can only find a reference to the practice in the Sefer Ha-Rokeach of R. Eleazar of Worms (d. 1238), sec. 229.Interestingly, R. Eleazar of Worms instructs the recital of the entire verse, forwards and backwards, three times. (That the entire verse should be recited is also the view of Magen Avraham, who cites R. Eleazar.)But going back to our fundamental question, where did R. Eleazar of Worms get the idea that any part of Ex. 15:16 should be recited forwards and backwards? Farkas directs our attention to Masekhet Soferim. (According to the most recent scholarship, this work was completed in the ninth or tenth century.) The relevant passage in Masekhet Soferim has several instructions regarding Kiddush Levanah that are not found in the Talmud but that became part of our ritual. It includes the following instruction: “ve-omer shelosh pe’amim: 1) ke-shem she-ani roked….2) tipol aleihem eimatah va-fachad, u-le-mafrea, amen amen amen selah halleluyah.” (This passage is in the 19th chapter of M. Higger’s scholarly edition of this work, but is in the 20th chapter of the standard printed edition.)Farkas suggests that the Tur was just passing down a tradition that originated with R. Eleazar of Worms, and that R. Eleazar of Worms misinterpreted the meaning of “u-le-mafrea” in Masekhet Soferim.Farkas writes: “It seems strange that Maseches Soferim itself would suggest reading a verse backwards…What might not be out of place in a kabbalistic or chassidic text, seems decidedly out of place in Maseches Soferim. This work…is generally a sober halachik text governing the laws of scribes, Torah reading and liturgy. Although some aggadic passages are included in the work, nowhere else in Maseches Soferim do we find anything remotely resembling a suggestion to read a verse out of order.”Farkas points out that R. Eleazar of Worms was a figure within Chasidei Ashkenaz in Germany, a group that often gave mystical interpretations. Here it seems that R. Eleazar gave an unnecessarily mystical interpretation to the word “u-le-mafrea.” .Farkas admits that the hardest part of his task, after rejecting the interpretation of R. Eleazar of Worms, was to determine the correct interpretation of “u-le-mafrea” here. He observes that when the other Rishonim discuss Kiddush Levanah, they either quote the relevant passage from Masekhet Soferim without explaining how they understood the word “u-le-mafrea,” or they omit the relevant passage altogether.Farkas offers a few solutions. First he cites the English translation of the passage in the Soncino edition of Masekhet Soferim: “Let terror and dread fall upon them and may this be retrospective.” He suggests that the translator was expressing the idea that the punishment on the enemies of Israel, according to this passage, should also include retribution for prior attacks. (He also suggests creatively that, since Kiddush Levanah can be recited up to approximately the middle of the month, we might be asking for retrospective application of the punishment to date back to the first of the month!)Then he suggests a more likely and entirely different approach. “U-lemafrea” really belongs to the subsequent phrase. The import of “u-le-mafrea” is merely: “as to what has previously been recited,” add “amen, amen, amen, selah, halleluyah.” Why was the word “u-le-mafrea”needed here at all? Without it, we might have misunderstood and thought that the phrase “amen, amen, amen, selah, halleluyah” should also be recited three times. Or the “u-le-mafrea” clarifies that that these “amens” can be said “retrospectively” on the main earlier blessing of Kiddush Levanah that was interrupted with the various three-time statements.Of course, ordinarily we do not want people today to be reinterpreting texts and possibly changing practices. But this unusual custom cried out for re-analysis! (Farkas is an attorney who received rabbinical ordination from Ner Israel Rabbinical College in 1999.)Additional notes:1. The author mentioned that there were no other examples of reading verses backwards in our prayers. But he does point out that in the bedtime Kriyat Shema, there is a three-word verse from Gen. 49:18, “liyshuatkha kiviti Hashem,” that is supposed to be read in various permutations. But this is a slightly different concept. (It surely has its origin in some mystical source later than Masekhet Soferim.)2. One issue I did not clarify above is precisely how the recital is done three times. The Complete ArtScroll Siddur (p. 614) instructs us to say the tipol” statement three times, and then the “ka-even” statement three times. But the Tur had implied that we first recite both the forward and backward verses, and then repeat this three times. (Similar was R. Eleazar of Worms.) This is what is done in nusach ha-Gra today.3. The next article in the same issue of Ḥakirah takes on a different issue involving Kiddush Levanah: the recital of “shalom aleikhem” to three different individuals. Masekhet Soferim had instructed: “ve-omer le-chaveiro shalosh pe’amim ‘shalom.’ ” How did one friend become three friends, and how did what we say evolve into “shalom aleikhem,” a greeting to each friend in the plural? I refer you to this article by Zvi Ron. (Articles in Ḥakirah are available on line at hakirah.org. Briefly, Ron suggests that it was the influence of foreign languages, where the plural is often used as a sign of respect, that led to the shift to the plural “aleikhem” from the earlier practices of “shalom” and “shalom alekha.”)Why is there any kind of greeting to a friend or friends at all in Kiddush Levanah? Masekhet Soferim had not provided any explanation. I will mention two suggestions. Maharil (14th cent.) writes that since Kiddush Levanah “is such a great mitzvah, and is considered like greeting the Shekhinah, it is appropriate to greet one another out of joy and good feeling.” Another explanation (brought down in Mateh Moshe, 16th century, but found earlier as well) is that after wishing downfall on our enemies, it is appropriate to turn to our friend and say “Not on you. To you, only peace and peace.”---------------------------Mitchell First is a personal injury attorney and Jewish history scholar. He can be reached at MFirstAtty@aol.com. He can relate to the concept of le-mafrea/backwardness since his last name is “First.”
Saturday, 13 July 2019
Mussar: G-d takes Pride and Joy in each and every Jew
originally posted May 5, 2012
Reb Nosson wrote: "Accept that everything that is said in Rebbe Nachman's holy books about the great pride and joy that G-d takes in each and every Jew, no matter his level, applies also to you!"
(Healing Leaves, p. 58)
----
What does this mean to me?
The prophet Isaiah said in G-d's Name: "Yisrael, in whom I am glorified." The great pride and joy that G-d takes in each and every Jew is founded on our potential to reveal G-d's presence in the humble world of action, through the unique pathways of the mitzvos themselves. G-d created the universe so that He would have a dwelling place in the lower worlds. He wanted to have partners here—us—who willingly act to demonstrate that His Kingship extends all the way down to the place where His presence is concealed. This is what makes us His pride and joy; may G-d help us to fulfill our potential.
----
A prayer:
Help me always to recognize Your great love, O G-d.
Your love is beyond measure or limit; nevertheless You "constricted" Your G-dliness
and clothed Your love in the holy Torah and its precepts…
Each of Your precepts. is a holy channel through which
You may be perceived.
(The Flame of the Heart , p. 92)
Shalom and Regards,
RRW
Reb Nosson wrote: "Accept that everything that is said in Rebbe Nachman's holy books about the great pride and joy that G-d takes in each and every Jew, no matter his level, applies also to you!"
(Healing Leaves, p. 58)
----
What does this mean to me?
The prophet Isaiah said in G-d's Name: "Yisrael, in whom I am glorified." The great pride and joy that G-d takes in each and every Jew is founded on our potential to reveal G-d's presence in the humble world of action, through the unique pathways of the mitzvos themselves. G-d created the universe so that He would have a dwelling place in the lower worlds. He wanted to have partners here—us—who willingly act to demonstrate that His Kingship extends all the way down to the place where His presence is concealed. This is what makes us His pride and joy; may G-d help us to fulfill our potential.
----
A prayer:
Help me always to recognize Your great love, O G-d.
Your love is beyond measure or limit; nevertheless You "constricted" Your G-dliness
and clothed Your love in the holy Torah and its precepts…
Each of Your precepts. is a holy channel through which
You may be perceived.
(The Flame of the Heart , p. 92)
Shalom and Regards,
RRW
Friday, 12 July 2019
Parshas Chukat - Our Independence. Our Community. Our Song
From RRW
Rabbi Eliyahu Safran on the parsha -- hope you enjoy
Rabbi Eliyahu Safran on the parsha -- hope you enjoy
Baltimore Jewish Life | Parshas Chukat - Our Independence. Our Community. Our Song
Wednesday, 10 July 2019
Tefillot for R. Reuven Bauman
From RRW
Please daven for
Reuven Tzvi ben Esther Baila,
Rabbi Reuven Bauman,
son of Rabbi & Mrs. Mark Bauman,
missing at sea.
Monday, 8 July 2019
Golda Meir: The Early Years- Part II
From RRW
Guest Blogger: Mitchell First
Guest Blogger: Mitchell First
Golda Meir: The Early Years- Part II
Just to review, Golda was born in Kiev in 1898. She came to the U.S. with her mother and two sisters in 1906. They came to Milwaukee where her father had settled a few years earlier.Last week, I ended with how Golda enjoyed her elementary school in Milwaukee and graduated as the class valedictorian.Around this time, her older sister Sheyna developed tuberculosis and had to go to the “Jewish Hospital for Consumptives” in Denver. Shamai, her boyfriend from Russia, came to America and made his way to Denver, and the two ended up getting married. Sheyna was nine years older than Golda. (As to Golda’s younger sister Zipporah, she was renamed “Clara” by her school principal.)After Golda graduated from elementary school, she planned to go to high school and become a teacher. But her mother felt that she should now begin working in the store full time and start thinking about getting married. Her mother also reminded Golda that getting married was forbidden to women teachers by Wisconsin state law. (I believe this was the law in many other states as well!)Golda began her first term in high school in Milwaukee in the autumn of 1912. But the fighting with her parents about this choice continued. Also, her mother was attempting to marry her to someone who was twice her age. Golda wrote all of her difficulties to Sheyna, and Sheyna and her husband suddenly invited Golda to come to Denver to live with them and continue school there.This sounded good, but how was 15 year old Golda going to leave Milwaukee? She realized that the only solution was not to tell her parents anything and simply leave. She did write them a brief note that they would read the next day. Before she went to sleep, she went over to Clara’s bed. She felt very guilty about leaving her without even saying goodbye. She stroked her face and kissed her, but Clara slept through the farewell. Golda knew that she had deeply wounded her parents but leaving was essential for her growth. In the two years she spent in Denver, her father, unforgiving, wrote to her only once. But her mother did exchange letters with her. When she eventually returned from Denver, she no longer had to battle for the right to do as she wanted.Sheyna and Shamai’s home in Denver was a place where many Jewish intellectuals passed through. Golda learned much from the discussions that took place there, all influencing her more firmly to be a Socialist Zionist. Also, one of the people she met there was Morris Meyerson. He was not Zionistic like Golda. He loved poetry, art and music. They began to date and slowly fell in love.She then got a letter from her father saying that if she valued her mother’s life, she should return home. She agreed with Morris to temporarily separate, and she went back home. This time it was understood that she would finish high school. She did and then in Oct. 1916 she registered at a teacher’s training college. While she was away in Denver, her parents had changed and became more active in the Jewish community in Milwaukee. Many important Jewish and Zionist leaders now passed through their home. More and more, Zionism was beginning to fill her mind and her life.Morris dreamed of a world in which everyone would live in peace. National self-determination held little attraction for him. But Morris was willing to agree to marry Golda and move to Palestine. His decision was influenced by the Balfour Declaration of Nov. 1917.Golda writes that “although in years to come the ambiguous way in which it was worded was to be responsible for virtually endless bloodshed in the Middle East, in those days it was greeted by the Zionists as laying the foundation at last for a Jewish commonwealth in Palestine. It goes without saying that the announcement filled me with elation. The exile of the Jews had ended. Now the ingathering would really begin and Morris and I together would be among the millions of Jews who would surely stream to Palestine. It was against the background of this historic event that we were married on Dec. 24 1917.”America’s involvement in WWI delayed their Aliyah for a few years, since all transatlantic passenger service was cancelled. But eventually in 1921, they were able to make their voyage to Palestine.The story of their voyage to Palestine in 1921, their time in kibbutz Merchavyah, how Golda was initially viewed as a “spoiled American” there, their leaving the kibbutz due to Morris’ health difficulties, the difficulties Golda had with trying to be a mother to their children, a spouse to Morris, and an active member of the Zionist movement, all of this you will have to read about yourself. Again, the book I am basing this on is her autobiography, My Life. Another interesting book about her early years is Golda: The Romantic Years, by Ralph G. Martin, 1988.P.S. Sheyna moved to Palestine shortly after Golda and Morris, and Golda’s parents moved in 1926. But what about the younger more Americanized sister, Clara? She became a sociologist and married another sociologist. They lived first in Ohio and then in Connecticut. When Golda met Clara’s husband for the first time, he made it clear to her that he disapproved of all nationalism and regarded Zionism as an “extremely reactionary movement”! (Nevertheless, Clara did visit Golda in Israel many times over the years.)P.P.S. My favorite story: When Golda was around 20, she wanted to give speeches in Milwaukee about Labor Zionism. But women were not allowed to speak in shul. She decided that the best way for her to reach the Jewish community was to set up a box outside of shul and speak there. When her father heard her plan, he was outraged. He declared: “Moshe Mabovitch’s daughter was not going to stand on a box on the street and make a spectacle of herself!” He threatened that he would publicly pull her home by her braid. Golda was stubborn and made her speech anyway. Yet her similarly stubborn father never dragged her away! It turns out that he was so carried away listening to her that he forgot his threat! Golda wrote that she considers that speech the best one she ever made!----------------------Mitchell First can be reached at MFirstAtty@aol.com. What do Bill Clinton, Golda Meir, and former NY Knicks star John Starks have in common? They all wrote biographies entitled “My Life.”
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