Breishit - Big Thoughts On The Moon

I thought of something during the leining of Breishit.  It says that there were two big luminaries. Then it says there was a big one and a small one. Rashi famously says that the moon couldn't handle sharing the crown with the sun, saying, two kings can't share a crown.  So G-d made the moon smaller. It dawned on me that there's a straightforward explanation that avoids the question of why it says two were big and then one was big and one was small. Maybe they were both big but one was bigger than the other.  Rashi is, perhaps, hinting to a certain kind of psychology.  The moon felt smaller than the sun because in size it looked smaller.  But in terms of importance they were each great.  The result of feeling small was to be small. If we could learn to realize that whatever size we appear to be we are all big in terms of our significance, we will never have to feel small.

Vayeitzei In September

I was reminded today of the  Masei - destinations/travels vort and my dear friend Pinny Bulman's son's bris where I was introduced to the idea. My friend Yitz Pinkus spoke today (i guess because it was a retreat and he felt strongly about this idea and we won't all be together for Parshat VaYeitzei he said it now) about Leah's names for her first three sons were all all about how her husband didn't love her and she wished he would. Her fourth son was named for gratitude; rather than just looking to the future she stopped this time to appreciate where she was and what she'd just received. We're not told about her situation or mindset after that. My friend, the speaker, said that he likes to believe that as Leah came to appreciate what she had, Yaakov did come to love her in a way that made her feel content in that area as well.  My friend spoke about personal/universal things- how our lives are real and happening and we shouldn't mistakenly think that we are  ever  just waiting for our lives to begin and in doing so miss the life we are living. It was a beautiful talk from someone who learned to speak in an articulate and organized manner not from a course of any kind but from simply opening his heart (a lesson for me as a public speaking teacher of many years).

it reminds me a bit (somewhat of a stretch but i feel like sharing this) of what a non religious (formerly frum) exterminator told me on hoshana rabbah as he attacked my roach problem (I love that he told me that it's not me or my apartment, that it's all pretty nice and pretty well kept), I told him that my person who cleans for me would be coming on Thursday and then i told him I'd be away for Yom Tov. He questioned how she was coming and i said she has the key, comes, I trust her - maybe i trust people too much. He then told me (did i mention that he happily and joyfully took up my offer to bentch my lulav and esrog?) that based on Rav Nachman MiBreslov he thinks that what we believe becomes reality.  Rav Nachman says it's about faith and happiness. He applied it to my trust- that because i trust people fully those people become trustworthy.

Hi

I often wonder what to write, what to share, and where.  For now, here, I want to say that I am grateful that G-d is there.  Also, I am grateful for friends, family, students, teachers, guides, connections.  There is so little that I am ready to say here now.  And yet.  I am grateful to anyone who visits here and connects with my words.

A thought: The Talmud says that this world is compared to darkness.  The Mishnah says that this world is like a banquet hall. Which is true? Both. This world is gorgeous, every spec and every second of it.  But the beauty has to be revealed.  Through leading spiritual lives we continuously uncover the grandeur of this world.

Nassa - The Word Is Love - The Jewish Week Edition

Like many people, one of the fondest memories of my childhood is being held in my father’s embrace while I stood under his tallis in shul as the kohanim blessed us. It is befitting that this blessing evokes such warmth as the essence of the blessing is love.

In the rabbinic blessing that the kohanim recite to God before blessing us (it is the only blessing on which a blessing is recited) they state that God commanded them to bless the people with love. Where did God command that? Rabbi Yehudah Nachshoni suggests that love is a euphemism for God’s name, as it represents His essence, which is evoked in blessing the people.

Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah Kook explains that a blessing is only successful if it is offered with love. This is borne out by the roots of this blessing: On the inaugural day of the Mishkan’s use, Aaron was filled with love and joy when he saw that the sacrifices he offered were accepted. His feelings overflowed and he blessed people. God said, in the merit of this initial and spontaneous blessing, Aaron’s descendants earned the merit of blessing the people throughout the generations. It is not a coincidence that Aaron and those who followed him and his ways are described as “loving peace, and chasing after peace, loving mankind and bringing them close to Torah.” The foundation of this blessing is love.

Rabbi Moshe Isserlis ruled that the presiding kohanim must be good hearted. The Magen Avraham cites the Zohar saying that if there is not love from the kohen to the people, and from the people to the kohen, then he should not bless them.

According to Maimonides, the kohanim say a prayer before the blessing, that their blessing be whole and free of sin. A possible pitfall could be if they think that it is they who are actually blessing the people, rather than God. The other flaw that can strike at their blessing is if the kohanim do not feel a complete love for the people they are blessing. A connection that is not deeply bound is not a full connection and cannot endure. The kohanim must truly feel as one with the people that they are blessing or the blessing will not flow forth.

The Jewish people are blessed in the singular, as if one person. In order for the blessing to be received, the people must be connected with one another and not just the kohanim who are procuring a blessing from God for them. This is another meaning of the pre-blessing imperative to bless the people with love. Besides having to bless lovingly, the kohanim pray for the community to be filled with a love that leads them to love each other as one so that the blessing can take hold. It is of interest that the numerical value of the Hebrew word for love — ahavah — and the Hebrew word for one — echad — are the same.

Aside from the blessing prior to the blessing, Maimonides also states that the priests ought to say a prayer following their blessing of the people: “We have done what You have decreed for us to do, now do with us as You have promised; look down from your holy dwelling and bless Your people Israel.”

The two key themes at the base of this command seem to be love and connection on the one hand, and on the other hand the recognition that this blessing comes from God and not from the kohanim. The connection between these two ideas may be that true love is rooted in having a small ego and recognizing the greatness of God and the spirit of God that rests in all people, all created in His image. Another link between these ideas is that the blessing will only come from God when He sees a true connection between His people.

May we merit feeling love for one another always, and particularly at the holy and beautiful time when we hold our children near and receive God’s blessing with love. 

Rabbi Neil Fleischmann is director of Torah guidance and teacher at The Frisch School. He lectures on humor and other Jewish topics, performs stand-up, and is the author of “In The Field,” a collection of haiku. His writing can be found at rabbifleischmann.blogspot.com.

Vayeirah - Al Ma Avda HaAretz?

Guest  Post

Scorched Earth Policy

By Rabbi Joshua Hoffman

       In memory of my dear uncle, Dr. Heiner Hoffman, who passed away last week in New York at the age of ninety three. Dr. Hoffman, twin brother of my late father Joseph Hoffman of blessed memory, was a professor of microbiology at New York University for thirty years. He authored a standard textbook on the topic, as well as many important scientific research papers. Research that he did early in his career led to the development of bacterial rennet, the key element in the production of today’s kosher cheeses. May his memory be a blessing.

   In this week’s parsha, we learn of the destruction of Sodom due to the immorality of its inhabitants. Not only did the inhabitants die, but the land itself was scorched through the rain of sulfur and fire from heaven. The Ramban points out that even though there were nations dwelling outside of Eretz Yisroel who were extremely evil, God did not punish them in such a harsh way. However, because of the lofty spiritual status of Eretz Yisroel, which is God’s palace, this severe level of destruction was rendered upon it. I would like to suggest that there is a particular feature of Eretz Yisroel that the people of Sodom lacked that generated its fate.

   The Talmud in Nedorim (81a), cites a verse in Yirmiyahu (chapter 9) in which God says that the land was destroyed because the Jews abandoned the Torah. The Talmud explains this to mean that they did not recite the blessing over the Torah before learning it. Many commentators are troubled by this because the Talmud in Yoma (9b), gives different reasons for the destruction of the Temple. However, Rav Yaakov Emden, in the introduction to his Siddur commentary, points out that the Talmud here explains why the land itself was destroyed and desolate, not why the Temple was destroyed. The critical importance of the blessing over the Torah, in this context, explained Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, zt”l, is the declaration that God chose us from among the nations and gave us his Torah. When one makes this declaration before learning Torah, he is saying that the Torah is the essence of the Jewish nation and that, through studying it he is connecting to the rest of his people and helping to bring out the Torah's essence in life. When one learns without making this declaration first, his learning is done for himself, not for the benefit of the Jewish People. Eretz Yisroel has a special ability to unite the Jewish people. When Torah study becomes something selfish, that unifying factor is lost and the land is destroyed

   The people of Sodom, as well, were famously concerned only with themselves. The Mishna in Avos says that their approach to life was, “What is mine is mine, and what is your's is your's.” As the Ramban notes, the prophet Yechezkel says that the key sin of Sodom was that they did not support the poor people. The rabbis tell us that they went so far as to legislate this approach to life, making it illegal, on penalty of death, to help the poor and needy. This kind of deportment was directly opposed to the unifying factor of Eretz Yisroel. Since it is God’s palace all of his creations need to be honored. Sodom, failing to do so, was destroyed to the point of its land being scorched, and served as a warning for future generations to develop a sense of unity in Eretz Yisroel.

Lech Lecha – Stars and Dust Forever

By Rabbi Neil Fleischmann

The Jewish People are compared to stars and sand (Breishit 22:17.)

Some say that the stars represents us at our height and the sand represent us at our low. We have souls and are created in G-d’s image. On the other hand we are earthy beings with physical desires. The images of the stars and the sand serve to remind us of our duality. Great men have suggested carrying two cards in two pockets: one labeled “KEKOCHVEI HASHAMAYIM” and the other marked "KECHOL AL SFAT HAYAM.” They say that the secret is to know when to look at which piece of paper.

Another approach is that while both stars and sand convey one idea of a great number, there is a basic difference between them. The stars shine and stand alone. And while there may be too many to count, you can point to each star individually. On the other hand, grains of sand blend together. It is impossibly difficult to pick out a grain on its own. These are two aspects of being a Jew; we have a potential as part of a nation, also each of us needs to shine alone, our star.

The Kli Yakar (Shlomo Ephraim z"l of Lenshitz, died 1619) notes that there are not two but three similes used for what G-d will make Avraham’s descendants like: stars, sand (Breishit 22:17), and dust (Breishit 28:14). Each one of these conceptions represents a separate message.

The stars represent us in our prime. In Devarim 1:10 Moshe states that G-d increased us like the stars. Rashi comments that this refers to having made us great.

Although sand is often interpreted to represent us at our lowest, the dust actually better serves to symbolize us at our most dishonorable point. Sand really represents our survival against the nations. We endure like the sand, which breaks the waves when the oceans threaten to destroy the earth. As Dovid HaMelech describes, “all the billows (mishbarechah) and waves have passed over me” (Tehillim 42:8) – persecution threatens to destroy us, but like the tide against the shore, it hits us, breaks, and passes. And this is why when Yaakov meets with Eisav after it all, he chooses to evoke specifically the image of “the sand on the river bank.” That metaphor best fit the moment, representing our ability to break the blow of our oppressors.

(The Malbim, also interprets the sand as representing a protecting boundary against destructive forces. He notes that this image is employed in Yirmiyahu 5:22)

Dust represents us when we hit rock bottom. It is from that state that we rise up, call to G-d and return to super strength. This is what it states in Tehillim 44:26 – that we fall to dust and then cry to G-d. This is also what Yaakov was promised, that his descendants would become like dust but then regain power and spread to all corners of the earth.

We all have highs and lows, when we need to remember the other extreme. And we possess the resilience to break the forces that we sometimes fear will drown us. Wise words from Peter Himmelman put it this way:

These eyes do see
that you're nearly free
And if you hang on a little longer
you're going to see it too

j
Some days seem to drag on forever
you need all your strength
just to keep your head together
Soon you'll see things are going to get better at last

j
This too will pass

May we be blessed to remember our blessing, that we are like the stars and the dust and the sand.

Noach: Why G-d Does Miracles In The Least Miraculous Ways

A lot of ideas that are considered basics of Jewish philosophy come from the Ramban on Chumash. One example of this is in this week’s parsha - the idea that G-d does miracles in a way that is as close to nature as possible. This explains why even though the only way the ark could only hold all the animals in it was it via a miracle, G-d had Noach build a big ark (though He could have done a bigger miracle by fitting all the animals in an even smaller vessel and not bothered Noach to make a big boat).

A strong question can be raised, why is it such a fundamental fact in Judaism that G-d does miracles within nature? An important lesson here is that we remember that even though large miracles do happen we need to stay close to and live in the natural world.  This relates to the Ramban's fundamental assertion, marshaled at the end of Parshat Bo that the point of big miracles that happen rarely is to remind us that seemingly commonplace natural events are miraculous.

Also relevant is the concept of ein somchin al haneis  - one should not rely on a miracle. By doing a miracle in a way that resembles the natural order of things, G-d is reminding us to live and work in the natural world we inhabit and not sit and wait for supernatural miracles. This also relates to the idea of hishtadlus and bitachon. By doing a miracle as close to nature as possible G-d reminds us that we must make efforts that make sense in the natural world and then we can trust that miracles will come from above.

Additionally, this relates to hakarat hatov - the concept often misunderstood to mean saying thank you, but which really means seeing the good. G-d stays close to nature when he does miracles to remind us to pay attention to the daily miracles we dismiss as merely natural.

G-d acts within nature because that’s where we must live.  This is where we strive to lead holy lives. In this physical world we reach toward connecting with G-d.

The mishnah states that the world stands on 3 things - Torah, Avodah, and Gemilut Chasadim. The mishnah includes not only the fact that this saying came from Rabbi Shimon HaTzadik but also that he outlived Anshei Knesset HaGedolah.  Why are we told this random biographical fact about Rabbi Shimon?

This seemingly extraneous information is directly connected to Rabbi Shimons's statement. He outlasted the great era of The Men of the Great Assembly and lived on to see less glorious times. He was saying that even though that golden era was gone what was important was on a day in and day out basis to adhere to Torah, prayer, and kindness. That's what keeps the world going.

On a similar note after the chagim, as we complete a full week of school and begin a stretch of such weeks, as we go through the six months till Pesach we need to focus on the holy potential of daily life. We need to remember that G-d’s miracles are embedded in every miraculous moment of our day to day routines.  May we be blessed to see G-d’s close to nature, big miracles.

Belated Sukkos Thoughts

The Jewish element of Sukkos is obvious, but I think this is a universal holiday as well.  This is why we bring sacrifices for all the nations of the world at this time.  Also, this is why we do it in this season because of what people around us will or won't say regarding the season we choose to go out and sit in huts.  Then there's the story about the nations of the world being offered one mitzvah to keep in the end of days - and they choose Sukkah.

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Rav SR Hirsch writes beautifully how the Sukkah speaks to all economic situations.  If one is poor then they sit in the Sukkah and remember that his or her forefathers were in the desert, and had nothing to their name, G-d cared for them. And if someone is financially rich and things are otherwise going well, one steps out of their ample home and remembers in the end it's just him or her and G-d above.

Breishit - Is Time On Our Side?

By Rabbi Neil Fleischmann

 

In the beginning
G-d must have created time
Thus, “the beginning”

Introduction : Using Time To Increase Space

Once, a man got to ask G-d any question he wanted. The man opened with – “G-d, what’s a million years to you?” And G-d replied, “A million years to me is one second.” The man then asked, “G-d, what’s a million dollars to you?” And G-d replied, “A million dollars to me is one penny.” So the man asked G-d, “G-d, can you spare a penny?” And G-d replied, “Sure I can, in just one second.”

To us, time and money are everything. We run through time trying to get more money and more things worth money. It is important to remember that time and money are figments created for us. For G-d time and space (represented by money, which buys us things that exist within space) do not exist.

Rabbi A.J. Heschel (The Sabbath, Farrar Straus and Giroux, New York 1951) explains that we try to grab and gather things because we feel intimidated by the passing of time. In the end we are left feeling unfulfilled and embarrassed, knowing that the point of time is not merely to accumulate things. He writes: “It is impossible for man to shirk the problem of time. The more we think the more we realize: we can not conquer time through space. We only master time in time.” Shabbos is a day when we no longer treat time as the enemy but recognize time as special in and of itself. The ultimate goal is for the approach of Shabbos to spill over into the week, so that on a daily basis we see time as a thing itself.

Space

What came first the chicken or the egg? According to the Ramban the answer is neither, rather there was something that preceded both. The Ramban writes that before G-d created anything He created a giant mass from which everything else was created – Something From Nothing – Yesh Mei’Ayin. From that original mass, known as Chomer Hiyuli, everything else was created (Peirush Ramban Al HaTorah, Chavel Hebrew edition pg. 12).

The Rabbis state (Breishit Rabah 68:10, Rashi on Shemot 33:21) that G-d is called HaMakom because “He is the place of the world, and the world is not his place.” After Moshe asks G-d, in 33:13, “show me your honor,” G-d shows him a cleft on a mountainside and says, “Behold there is a place by me. Rashi cites the Tanchuma, which explains that G-d does not say that He is in this place, but refers to it with this seemingly awkward phrasing, because of the following idea: Space is a creation of G-d, secondary to G-d. The Ohr HaChayim in his commentary on Bamidbar 1:1, cites this Medrash and applies it to his explanation of the word BaMidbar – in the desert. 

Time

Pardes Yosef points out that while time is clearly something that was created for the sake of people, its creation is not overtly mentioned. He explains that the word “Breishit”, which means “in the beginning of G-d's creations,” implies the creation of time, because without time things could not be called earlier or later.

Dovid HaMelech – King David states that the average life of a man is seventy years (Tehillim 90:10). Chazal break down the years of a person’s life in Pirkei Avot and say what the purpose is for each stage of life. The Maggid of Dubno cites these and other examples in his development of the parallels between time and space. Just like a physical body is comprised of a myriad of intricate pieces that contribute their part towards completion, so too time is a measured entity made of up of specific details. Just as our bodies need to be developed and do not get fit if we don’t maintain them, time is also potential that needs to be worked on and refined. Segments of time do not automatically fill up with their tasks unless a person struggles to make it so. (Sefer HaMidot - Book of Traits Chapter 12, the Maggid of Dubno)


In the time of the Talmud, Ptolemy gathered 72 Torah scholars and sequestered them in separate rooms with the command to translate the Torah into Greek (Megilla 9a). A miracle occurred that they all made the same judgment calls in making changes from literal text to translation in order to avoid insults, misunderstandings, and repercussions. One of the changes they implemented concerned the order of the first three words of the Torah. As Pardes Yosef sees it, they reordered the words to read Elokim Bara Breishit – G-d created in the beginning to convey that G-d created time.

When we take time for granted, we take life for granted. Rabbi Noach Weinberg notes that we would all be shocked if we saw someone sitting on a speeding bus throwing dollar bills out the window into the wind. But when we see people making inadequate use of time this is a tragedy too. 

Once an American man was vacationing on an exotic island. He sees a local man sitting and fishing. He speaks to the fellow and learns that the man happily lives on the island and gets by via fishing and eating the fish he catches. The American explains to him that he could get better equipment and catch more fish. So he does. And he sells the extra fish and makes more money. Then the American advises him to buy a boat. So he does. And he makes more money. In time he buys several giant boats and then opens a store and eventually a franchise. The company goes public and the old fisherman is on the board of trustees of several major banks. Finally he retires. His friend asks him, “What are you going to do with your time now?” The fisherman says that he’s looking forward to sitting on the shore and catching fish.

We often run through time accumulating things that we think we need. In the end what we need is health and happiness and closeness to G-d. It behooves us to think well about what we expend energy acquiring as we journey through our one, only, brief trip on this planet.

May our reading about the creation of time and space remind us to cherish every second of life on this earth with which we are blessed.

Metzora

Did you ever have a bad day? Did you ever have a good day? Did you ever stop and think that these days may be a package deal?

 The Maharal explains that galut – exile, and geulah - redemption (which we just celebrated on Pesach and continue to dwell upon during the Omer period) are one organic process. Though galut seems exclusively bad and geulah seems to be the purely good aftermath, it’s not that simple. 

 The Jewish people descended – according to the Zohar – to the forty-ninth level of tumah -impurity and would have been spiritually lost if they fell any lower. The Zohar explains that we had to be taken out of Mitzrayim quickly (bechipazon) or we could never have gotten out. The question arises: Why didn’t G-d just take the Jews out earlier, before they were on such a low rung? Then there would be no compelling reason to rush the exodus.

The deeper truth beneath why we had to descend to the forty ninth level oftum'ah and then be rushed out is that galut is connected to geulah; the falling down and the rising up are part of the same trajectory. This is similar to the putrification that occurs inside an egg before the chick develops, each is part of the creation process and if the egg was opened either early or late the chic would not be created. This applies to the past exile of Egypt, to the future ultimate redemption, and to our daily struggles with our personal Mitzrayim/meitzarim (straits). The dark and light times connect and the changeover happens at precisely the right moment.

How does this idea relate to this week’s Torah reading?

In Parshat Metzora the laws of how tzara’at affects a house are introduced: “When you come into the land of Canaan, which I will give to you as a possession, and I shall cause a leprous mark to develop on a house of the land of your possession…” (Vayikra 14:33) . Rashi addresses the cryptic connection made in the text between tzora’at in the home and entering the land of Israel. Rashi tells us that when the Jews found tzora'at in their home they had to tear down the walls. Inside the walls were hidden treasures of gold. What's the meaning of this?

Perhaps the idea is that to get to the gold in life you have to break through walls, messy walls. Tzora’at seems like a negative thing and is famously explained as a punishment for lashon harah. Rashi adds another dimension. Tzora’at was a gift on the way to a gift. The first stage of getting to the gold, treating the tzora’atby breaking down the walls of one’s home was clearly an unpleasant experience. Reaching the end, when riches were revealed, was most certainly a time for celebration. The two, however, were part of one whole. The tzora’atwas needed to find the gold.

Bad days precede good ones. Galut precedes Geulah. Tzora'at precedes gold.

May we be blessed to recognize our own exiles and afflictions as part and parcel of our redemptions and our cures. May we reach the end of the process of individual, communal, national, and universal redemption as soon as possible.