Torah reading traditions on Hol Hamoed TB Sukkah 55

Today’s daf TB Sukkah 55 and the preceding couple dappim have been spending a lot of time concerning the Temple service in Jerusalem on the holiday of Sukkot. Sukkot is a seven day holiday as it is written in the Torah “Say to the Israelite people: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month there shall be the Feast of Booths to the LORD, [to last] seven days. The first day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations; seven days you shall bring offerings by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall observe a sacred occasion and bring an offering by fire to the LORD; it is a solemn gathering: you shall not work at your occupations.” (Leviticus 23:34-37)

Because of historical circumstances which I have explained earlier, the Jews in the Diaspora weren’t sure when exactly the first day of Sukkot was. Because of this doubt (ספיקא דיומא), the Diaspora Jewish community added a second day of Yom Tov. If the first day of the holiday was in fact the holiday, they celebrated it on time and didn’t lose anything by celebrating it again on the next day. The reverse was true. If the second day of Yom Tov was in fact the holiday, they celebrated on time and didn’t lose anything by celebrating it on the previous day. Today Jews living in Israel only celebrate one day of Yom Tov and Orthodox and traditional Conservative Jews celebrate two days of Yom Tov. Even though the calendar was fixed in Rava’s and Abaye’s generation, the Diaspora custom of celebrating two days remained entrenched, until the liberal streams of Judaism started making changes.

 A technical problem arises for us Jews who live in the Diaspora. If we have a different Torah reading each day of Hol Hamoed, the second day of Yom Tov throws a monkeywrench into the works. Our first day of Hol Hamoed could be the third day of Sukkot. What should the correct Torah reading be for each day of Hol Hamoed? The Gemara provides three possible solutions.

“Apropos the psalms recited during the Festival, the Gemara asks: And we, outside Eretz Yisrael, who have two days of Festival due to the uncertainty, as well as uncertainty with regard to each of the intermediate days, how do we conduct ourselves with regard to the mention of the additional offerings in the additional prayer of the Festival during the intermediate days, and with regard to Torah reading on those days? Abaye said: Mention of the second day will be superseded. Since the first of the intermediate days outside Eretz Yisrael is the third day of the Festival in Eretz Yisrael, the additional offering for the third day alone is mentioned, and the offerings for the fourth day on the fourth day, etc. No mention is made of the second day outside Eretz Yisrael.

“Rava said: Mention of the seventh day will be superseded. On the first of the intermediate days outside Eretz Yisrael, the third day of the Festival, the passage beginning “And on the second day” (Numbers 29:17) is mentioned in the additional Amida prayer and read in the Torah, and on each succeeding day the succeeding passage is mentioned and read. There is no mention of the seventh day on the eighth day, as that is no longer Sukkot but rather the Eighth Day of Assembly. The Gemara notes: A baraita was taught in accordance with the opinion of Rava: And if Shabbat occurs on any of the intermediate days of the Festival, the song of the seventh day of Sukkot: “All the foundations of the earth are moved,” is superseded.

“The Gemara cites a third opinion: Ameimar instituted in his city of Neharde’a that during the intermediate days, one repeats the second of the additional offerings that he mentioned the day before and adds the additional offerings of the subsequent day. On the first of the intermediate days in the Diaspora, one mentions the additional offerings of both the second and third days of Sukkot. On the second of the intermediate days, one repeats the verses of the third day of Sukkot and adds the verses of the fourth day.” (Sefaria.org translation)

We Ashkanazi Jews follow what Ameimar instituted in his city of Neharde’a as codified by the Rem”a. Joseph Karo, the author of the Shulkhan Arukh represents the Sephardic tradition and the  Rem”a, Rabbi Moses Issereles, adds the Ashkenazi tradition. “On Hol Hamoed, we take out a Torah scroll and read four sections about the sacrifices of the holiday from Pinchas (Numbers 29:17-34-gg). On the first day of Hol Hamoed, the first reading is "On the second day," the second reading is "On the third day," the third reading is "On the third day" again, and the fourth reading, reflecting the doubtfulness of the day, is "On the second day...And on the third day." We read this way all the other days. Rem"a: There are those who say that the first two read the doubtful day portions, the third reads tomorrow's section, and the fourth goes back and reads both doubtful day portions that were read by the first two readers, and this is our practice. On the seventh day, the first reading is "On the fifth day," the second is "On the sixth day," The third is "On the "On the seventh day," and the fourth is "On the sixth day...and on the seventh day." This is our practice (Rash"i in the name of his teachers, Mahari"v, Minhagim). In Israel, where there is no doubt about the day, they only read the sacrifice of the day. On the second day, which is the first day of Hol Hamoed, the first reading is "On the second day" and the three next readers read the same section. This is done for the rest of the days.” (Sulkhan Arukh, Orekh Hayim, 663:1, Sefaria.org translation)

 

How the Mishnah was published TB Sukkah 54

Starting on daf TB Sukkah 53b and continuing on today’s daf TB Sukkah 54 is an extended discussion on what was the minimum number of shofar blasts, twenty-one according to the rabbis and seven according to Rabbi Yehuda, and what was the maximum number of shofar blasts, forty-eight according to the rabbis and sixteen according to Rabbi Yehuda, that were blown in the Temple. There’s really not a significant difference between the rabbis counting and Rabbi Yehuda’s counting. The rabbis counted each triplet, a teki’a, a tru’ah, a teki’a, as three blasts and Rabbi Yehuda counted each triplet as only one blast. Rabbi Yehuda insisted though that the three blasts need to be blown wiith only one breath.

The Gemara then brings the story which will illuminate how the Mishnah was published. “When Rabbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina came from the south of Eretz Yisrael, from Judea, he brought a baraita with him that he received from the Sages there…The Gemara notes: Rabbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina teaches the baraita, and he said its explanation: The verse comes to say that one sounds trumpet blasts for each and every additional offering in and of itself.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Dr. Saul Lieberman, the greatest Talmudic scholar of the 20^th century, who taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary, writes in his book Hellenism in Jewish Palestine:

“Since in the entire Talmudic literature we do not find that a book of the Mishnah was ever consulted in case of controversies or doubt concerning a particular reading we may safely conclude that the compilation was not published in writing, that a written edition of the Mishnah did not exist….

“A regular oral edition of the Mishnah was in existence, a fixed text recited by the Tannaim[1] of the college. The Tanna (‘repeater’, reciter) committed to memory the text of certain portions of the Mishnah which he subsequently recited in the college in the presence of the great masters of the Law. Those Tannaim were pupils chosen for their extraordinary memory, although they were not always endowed with due intelligence. The rabbis characterize these reciters as follows: ‘the magian mumbles and understands not what he says. [Similarly] the Tanna recites and he understands not what he says.” Indeed the stupider the Tanna, the more reliable his text; who is not suspected of ‘doctoring’ it.” (A more knowledgeable Tanna reciting a difficult text might be inclined to emend it so that the text would be clearer to him. But his understanding would be faulty and his correction would be wrong.-gg)

“When the Mishna was committed to memory and the Tannaim recited it in the college it was thereby published and processed all the traits and features of a written edition.” (Pages 87-88)

In note 39 Dr. Lieberman writes “There were, of course, notable exceptions of great scholars who fulfilled the function of college-Tanna.” Rabbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina must have been one of the scholars who could fulfill both roles.

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[1] I want to make a clear distinction between these Tannaim who were essentially human tape recorders memorizing mishnayot and the rabbis in the Mishnah who are also called Tannaim and lived between 10-220.

Was there a women’s section in the ancient synagogue? TB Sukkah 51b

One of the most significant architectural differences between an Orthodox synagogue and synagogues from the liberal streams of Judaism is the mekhitza (מחיצה) separating the men from the women. The size and shape of the mekhitza is varied from synagogue to synagogue. I once visited a Yemenite synagogue in the vicinity of Meah She’arim, Jerusalem where the women sat in a separate room in the back of the synagogue with only a window opening of no larger than 1 ft.² I davened (prayed) in several synagogues where the women sat upstairs in the balcony looking down upon the men. I’ve even davened in a synagogue where the men and women sat facing each other in a semi-circle with a very small wooden railing that constitute the mekhitza.

When I was back in college I read the book The Sanctity of the Synagogue: the Case for the Mechitzah, Separation Between Men and Women by Baruch Litvin. The only Talmudic source the author could muster for his case was the Gemara TB Sukkah 51b. Apparently the festivities in the Temple during Simkhat Beit Hashoava became so wild that the rabbis felt the necessity to separate the sexes.

“The mishna continues: At the conclusion of the first Festival day, etc., the priests and the Levites descended from the Israelites’ courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard, where they would introduce a significant repair. The Gemara asks: What is this significant repair? Rabbi Elazar said that it is like that which we learned: The walls of the Women’s Courtyard were smooth, without protrusions, initially. Subsequently, they affixed protrusions to the wall surrounding the Women’s Courtyard. Each year thereafter, for the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water, they placed wooden planks on these projections and surrounded the courtyard with a balcony [gezuztra]. And they instituted that the women should sit above and the men below.

“The Sages taught in the Tosefta: Initially, women would stand on the inside of the Women’s Courtyard, closer to the Sanctuary to the west, and the men were on the outside in the courtyard and on the rampart. And they would come to conduct themselves with inappropriate levity in each other’s company, as the men needed to enter closer to the altar when the offerings were being sacrificed and as a result they would mingle with the women. Therefore, the Sages instituted that the women should sit on the outside and the men on the inside, and still they would come to conduct themselves with inappropriate levity. Therefore, they instituted in the interest of complete separation that the women would sit above and the men below.” (Sefaria.org translation)

This is a very weak proof for the mekhitza in a synagogue. First of all, the separation took place at a party and not during a prayer service. Secondly, the separation took place only once a year in the Temple. To extrapolate the halakhic obligation of a mekhitza from our text is very unsatisfactory. Beyond our Gemara, archaeological proof of a mekhitza in synagogues is nonexistent. My teacher Prof. Lee I. Levine in his book Judaism & Hellenism in Antiquity: Conflict a Confluence? writes:

“The Byzantine churches seemingly strict division among various populations within the congregation, i.e. clergy, laymen, women, catechumens, and penitents, was unknown in the ancient synagogue. Other than seats of honor for its leaders or specially designated individuals, a relatively status free ambience seems to have prevailed in the latter.

“The statement is true with regard to the seating the women in the ancient synagogue. In contrast to the contemporary church, we have every reason to believe that the sexes were not separated here. That women came to the synagogue regularly is well tested, and both archaeological and literary sources indicate that men and women sat together. Archaeological discoveries have not revealed any traces of separate area that might even remotely be labeled a women’s section; nor has any inscription taken note of the special accommodation for women come to light. In the vast majority of synagogue buildings, only a single room or hall in which the congregation gathered was found, and there was no trace of a balcony. Even when there is evidence for a balcony, such as a stairway or columns of different size than those on the first story, we have no reason to assume that this balcony served as a woman’s gallery. Rabbinic sources contain numerous references to non-liturgical activities in the synagogue, some of which are at times associated with a balcony. Finally, rabbinic literature, in the 400 or so pericopae that relate to the synagogue never mentions a women’s section.” (Pages 175-176)\

Even that magnificent synagogue in Alexandria, Egypt had separate seating only where “…the members of the various crafts would not sit mingled. Rather, the goldsmiths would sit among themselves, and the silversmiths among themselves, and the blacksmiths among themselves, and the coppersmiths among themselves, and the weavers among themselves. And when a poor stranger entered there, he would recognize people who plied his craft, and he would turn to join them there. And from there he would secure his livelihood as well as the livelihood of the members of his household, as his colleagues would find him work in that craft.” (TB Sukkah 51b, Sefaria.org translation)

Because I am a Conservative Rabbi, none of the synagogues I have served in have ever had separate seating for men and women. We can paraphrase what the Supreme Court decided back in 1954 case Brown versus the Board of Education “separate, but equal seating, is inherently unequal.”

How did people actually celebrate Simkhat Beit Hashoava? TB Sukkah 53

The Mishnah on daf TB Sukkah 51a-b teaches us the general outline what happened at the celebration of Simhkat Beit Hashoava.

“MISHNA: One who did not see the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water (Simhkat Beit Hashoava) never saw celebration in his days. This was the sequence of events: At the conclusion of the first Festival day the priests and the Levites descended from the Israelites’ courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard, where they would introduce a significant repair, as the Gemara will explain. There were golden candelabra atop poles there in the courtyard. And there were four basins made of gold at the top of each candelabrum. And there were four ladders for each and every pole and there were four children from the priesthood trainees, and in their hands were pitchers with a capacity of 120 log of oil that they would pour into each and every basin. From the worn trousers of the priests and their belts they would loosen and tear strips to use as wicks, and with them they would light the candelabra. And the light from the candelabra was so bright that there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not illuminated from the light of the Place of the Drawing of the Water.

“The pious and the men of action would dance before the people who attended the celebration, with flaming torches that they would juggle in their hands, and they would say before them passages of song and praise to God. And the Levites would play on lyres, harps, cymbals, and trumpets, and countless other musical instruments. The musicians would stand on the fifteen stairs that descend from the Israelites’ courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard, corresponding to the fifteen Songs of the Ascents in Psalms, i.e., chapters 120–134, and upon which the Levites stand with musical instruments and recite their song.

“And this was the ceremony of the Water Libation: Two priests stood at the Upper Gate that descends from the Israelites’ courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard, with two trumpets in their hands. When the rooster crowed at dawn, they sounded a tekia, and sounded a terua, and sounded a tekia. When they who would draw the water reached the tenth stair the trumpeters sounded a tekia, and sounded a terua, and sounded a tekia, to indicate that the time to draw water from the Siloam pool had arrived. When they reached the Women’s Courtyard with the basins of water in their hands, the trumpeters sounded a tekia, and sounded a terua, and sounded a tekia.

“When they reached the ground of the Women’s Courtyard, the trumpeters sounded a tekia, and sounded a terua, and sounded a tekia. They continued sounding the trumpets until they reached the gate through which one exits to the east, from the Women’s Courtyard to the eastern slope of the Temple Mount. When they reached the gate through which one exits to the east, they turned from facing east to facing west, toward the Holy of Holies, and said: Our ancestors who were in this place during the First Temple period who did not conduct themselves appropriately, stood “with their backs toward the Sanctuary of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east” (Ezekiel 8:16), and we, our eyes are to God. Rabbi Yehuda says that they would repeat and say: We are to God, and our eyes are to God.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Today’s daf TB sukkah 53 provides some of the details how the celebration went that I found interesting. The light of the candelabra was so bright in the courtyard of Jerusalem that the Gemara says “One of the Sages taught: It was so bright that a woman would be able to sort wheat (the good kernels from the back kernels –gg) by the light of the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water.” (Sefaria.org translation) This illumination was even better than our own LED light bulbs.

“It is taught in a baraita: They said about Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel that when he would rejoice at the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water, he would take eight flaming torches and toss one and catch another, juggling them, and, though all were in the air at the same time, they would not touch each other... Apropos the rejoicing of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel at the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water, the Gemara recounts: Levi would walk before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi juggling with eight knives. Shmuel would juggle before King Shapur with eight glasses of wine without spilling. Abaye would juggle before Rabba with eight eggs. Some say he did so with four eggs.” (Sefaria.org translation) I don’t know of any modern rabbinical school that has juggling as part of the curriculum, but maybe it should if we want to increase joy in our synagogues and schools. My son, the rabbi, Hillel taught himself how to juggle when he was in high school. I wonder whether he uses the skill today as the teacher in the Gann Academy, the New Jewish High School. I’ll have to ask him.

Simkhat Beit Hashoava was a six or five day and night party depending how Yom Tov and Shabbat fell during the seven days of Sukkot. “It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said: When we would rejoice in the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water, we did not see sleep in our eyes the entire Festival. How so? In the first hour of the day, the daily morning offering was sacrificed and everyone came to watch. From there they proceeded to engage in prayer in the synagogue; from there, to watch the sacrifice of the additional offerings; from there, to the synagogue to recite the additional prayer. From there they would proceed to the study hall to study Torah; from there to the eating and drinking in the sukka; from there to the afternoon prayer. From there they would proceed to the daily afternoon offering in the Temple. From this point forward, they proceeded to the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water.

“The Gemara wonders: Is that so? But didn’t Rabbi Yoḥanan say: One who took an oath that I will not sleep three days, one flogs him immediately for taking an oath in vain, and he may sleep immediately because it is impossible to stay awake for three days uninterrupted. Rather, this is what Rabbi Yehoshua is saying: We did not experience the sense of actual sleep, because they would merely doze on each other’s shoulders. In any case, they were not actually awake for the entire week.” (Sefaria.org translation)

By all descriptions Simkhat Beit Hashoava must have been such a joyous time that the Gemara back on daf TB Sukkah 51b taught that the rabbis felt compelled to put on the brakes on the celebration so that the people would not sin. “The Sages taught in the Tosefta: Initially, women would stand on the inside of the Women’s Courtyard, closer to the Sanctuary to the west, and the men were on the outside in the courtyard and on the rampart. And they would come to conduct themselves with inappropriate levity in each other’s company, as the men needed to enter closer to the altar when the offerings were being sacrificed and as a result they would mingle with the women. Therefore, the Sages instituted that the women should sit on the outside and the men on the inside, and still they would come to conduct themselves with inappropriate levity. Therefore, they instituted in the interest of complete separation that the women would sit above and the men below.” (Sefaria.org translation)

More about the separation between men and women when I have time later to write about it. Stay tuned.

 

The yetzer hara and the me too era TB Sukkah 52

Daf TB Sukkah 52 answered a question that has been bothering me the longest time. Over 201 powerful or famous men have lost their jobs or major roles because of inappropriate sexual behavior[1]. They include Senators, House of Representatives, state senators and representatives, actors, and TV personalities. We even had a presidential candidate paying hush money to a porn star with whom he had relations while his wife was recovering the birth of their son! What’s the matter with them? They are intelligent men who should know better. How could they behave in such an abominable way?!

The Gemara explains in his own way how people can rationalize bad behavior over a period of time. “Rav Asi said: Initially, when it begins to entice someone, the evil inclination (yetzer hara) is like a strand of a spider’s web [bukhya]; and ultimately it is like the thick ropes of a wagon, as it is stated: “Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as if it were with a wagon rope” (Isaiah 5:18). Initially, the enticement is almost imperceptible, like a thin strand; however, after one sins, it is like wagon ropes tied tightly around him.” (Sefarai.org translation) Anybody can rationalize anything away.

 The Gemara explains why people who have power like the 201 men mentioned above can be ensnared more easily than anybody else. “Abaye said: And it the (yetzer hara-gg) provokes Torah scholars more than it provokes everyone else. The Gemara illustrates that point. It is like this incident, as Abaye once heard a certain man say to a certain woman: Let us rise early and go on the road. Upon hearing this, Abaye said to himself: I will go and accompany them and prevent them from violating the prohibition that they certainly intend to violate. He went after them for a distance of three parasangs in a marsh among the reeds, while they walked on the road, and they did not engage in any wrongful activity. When they were taking leave of each other, he heard that they were saying: We traveled a long distance together, and the company was pleasant company.

“Abaye said: In that situation, if instead of that man it had been one whom I hate, a euphemism for himself, he would not have been able to restrain himself from sinning. After becoming aware of so great a shortcoming he went and leaned against the doorpost, thinking and feeling regret. A certain Elder came and taught him: Anyone who is greater than another, his evil inclination is greater than his. Therefore, Abaye should not feel regret, as his realization is a consequence of his greatness.” (Sefarai.org translation) I think that the powerful person has a large and unrestrained ego. He thinks he can get away with anything because of who is.

 “The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: If this scoundrel, the evil inclination, accosted you, seeking to tempt you to sin, drag it to the study hall and study Torah. If it is like a stone, it will be dissolved by the Torah. If it is like iron, it will be shattered. The Gemara elaborates: If it is like stone, it will be dissolved, as it is written: “Ho, everyone who is thirsty, come you for the water” (Isaiah 55:1), water in this context meaning Torah; and it is written: “Stones were worn by water” (Job 14:19). If it is like iron, it will be shattered, as it is written: “Is not My word like fire, says the Lord; and like a hammer that shatters rock” (Jeremiah 23:29).” (Sefarai.org translation)

I would like to believe that studying Torah would be antidote for this type of bad behavior; however, I know that is not true. Rabbis and other Jewish leaders from all the streams from the ultra-Orthodox to the most liberal have been removed from their positions, and/or convicted of crimes of inappropriate sexual behavior. Rabbis and other Jewish leaders are just like every other person in a position of power whose ego seduces him to act in such a vile way. Everybody needs to keep his ego in check before it leads him down a destructive path.

 

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[1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/23/us/metoo-replacements.html 

One magnificent Temple and one magnificent synagogue TB Sukkah 51

The whole purpose of adding musical instruments to the song during Simkhat Beit Hashoava according to today’s daf TB sukkah 51 was to ramp up the celebration with extra rejoicing (שִׂמְחָה יְתֵירָה). The Mishnah describes what a celebration it was by saying “One who did not see the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water never saw celebration in his days.” (Sefaria.org translation) On the following dappim the Gemara will expound upon the sequence of events surrounding Simkhat Beit Hashoava. Today’s daf describes two magnificent buildings, the Temple in Jerusalem and a synagogue in Alexandria, Egypt.

Jumping off the phrase “One who did not see…” We learn “The Sages taught: One who did not see the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water, never saw celebration in his life. One who did not see Jerusalem in its glory, never saw a beautiful city. One who did not see the Temple in its constructed state, never saw a magnificent structure. The Gemara asks: What is the Temple building to which the Sages refer? Abaye said, and some say that it was Rav Ḥisda who said: This is referring to the magnificent building of Herod, who renovated the Second Temple.

With what materials did he construct it? Rava said: It was with stones of green-gray marble and white marble [marmara]. Some say: It was with stones of blue marble and white marble. The rows of stones were set with one row slightly protruded and one row slightly indented, so that the plaster would take better. He thought to plate the Temple with gold, but the Sages said to him: Leave it as is, and do not plate it, as it is better this way, as with the different colors and the staggered arrangement of the rows of stones, it has the appearance of waves of the sea.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Second Temple was built by the returnees of the Babylonian exile under the leadership of the Nehemiah and Ezra. You can imagine how modest this Temple was due to the situation of the Jews. Life was hard to reestablish themselves and make the land that had been ravaged 70 years earlier flourish. If I remember correctly, the Jews who remembered King Solomon’s Temple wept at how modest this replacement was. King Herod (born around 72 BCE, his reign from 37-4 BCE) completely rebuilt the second Temple restoring its magnificence described in the Mishna.

Herod was an astute politician. He knew that the rabbis really didn’t like or trust him because his family were converts from in Idumea, south of Judea and not from the Davidic line. He try to curry their favor by respecting the rabbis’ religious sensibilities. All of the coins he minted were aniconic, meaning no human likenesses were used as a design. He enlarge the Temple Mount, rebuilt the Temple, and spared no expense making it one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Many of the archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem and around Israel date back to his reign. Creating employment for all the craftsmen probably didn’t hurt his popularity. By the way, he sought to find favor in the eyes of the pagans as well by building pagan temples and building whole port city Caesarea in honor of Caesar to maintain their support.

Alexandria, Egypt was a major Diaspora center of Jewish life. Philo an important Jewish phosphor lived in Alexandria and worked on behalf of its Jewish citizens.

“It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda says: One who did not see the great synagogue [deyofloston] of Alexandria of Egypt never saw the glory of Israel. They said that its structure was like a large basilica [basileki], with a colonnade within a colonnade. At times there were six hundred thousand men and another six hundred thousand men in it, twice the number of those who left Egypt. In it there were seventy-one golden chairs [katedraot], corresponding to the seventy-one members of the Great Sanhedrin, each of which consisted of no less than twenty-one thousand talents of gold. And there was a wooden platform at the center. The sexton of the synagogue would stand on it, with the scarves in his hand. And because the synagogue was so large and the people could not hear the communal prayer, when the prayer leader reached the conclusion of a blessing requiring the people to answer amen, the sexton waved the scarf and all the people would answer amen.

“And the members of the various crafts would not sit mingled. Rather, the goldsmiths would sit among themselves, and the silversmiths among themselves, and the blacksmiths among themselves, and the coppersmiths among themselves, and the weavers among themselves. And when a poor stranger entered there, he would recognize people who plied his craft, and he would turn to join them there. And from there he would secure his livelihood as well as the livelihood of the members of his household, as his colleagues would find him work in that craft.

“After depicting the glory of the synagogue, the Gemara relates that Abaye said: All of the people who congregated in that synagogue were killed by Alexander the Great of Macedonia. The Gemara asks: What is the reason that they were punished and killed? It is due to the fact that they violated the prohibition with regard to Egypt in this verse: “You shall henceforth return no more that way” (Deuteronomy 17:16), and they returned. Since they established their permanent place of residence in Egypt, they were punished.

“When Alexander arrived, he found them, and saw that they were reading the verse in the Torah scroll: “The Lord will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the vulture swoops down; a nation whose tongue you shall not understand” (Deuteronomy 28:49). He said, referring to himself: Now, since that man sought to come by ship in ten days, and a wind carried it and the ship arrived in only five days, apparently the verse referring a vulture swooping down is referring to me and heavenly forces are assisting me. Immediately, he set upon them and slaughtered them.” (Sefaria.org translation)

First of all we have to emend the text by removing Alexander the Great as the perpetrator murdering all the Jews in Alexandria. Alexander the Great lived hundreds of years before this incident. What caused this murderous event? Let me suggest the following from one of my teachers Shaye J.D. Cohen.

“The Romans realized that Judaism was unlike the numerous other native religions of the Empire; the Jews refused to worship any god but their own, refused to acknowledge the Emperor’s right to divine honors, refused to tolerate images in public places and buildings, and refused to perform any sort of work every seventh day. Aware of these peculiarities, the Romans, followed the practice of the Seleucids, permitted Jewish citizens to refrain from participation in pagan ceremonies… and exempted the Jews from military service, ensured they would not be called to court on the Sabbath, or lose any official benefits as a result of their Sabbath observances. In many of the cities of the East, the Romans authorize the Jews to create polituemata (singular, politeuma) autonomous ethnic communities that allowed the Jews to govern their own communal affairs.

“The mad Emperor Caligula and his legate in Egypt withdrew, or attempted to withdraw, these rights and privileges. Riots erupted first in Alexandria-the “Greeks” (that is, the Greek speaking population of the city, most of whom were not “Greek” at all) against the Jews. Exactly who or what started the riots is not clear. The root cause of the conflict, however, was the ambiguous status of the city’s Jews. On the one hand, the Alexandrian’s resented the Jewish politeuma and regarded it as a diminution of the prestige and authority of their own city. On the other hand, the Jews thought that membership in their own politeuma should confer on them the same rights and privileges the citizens of the city had. The result of these conflicting claims was bloodshed and destruction. Aided by the Roman governor of Egypt, the Greeks attacked the Jews, pillaged Jewish property, desecrated or destroyed Jewish synagogues and herded the Jews into a “ghetto.” The Jews were hardly passive during these events, and resisted both militarily and diplomatically. The most distinguished Jew in the city, the phosphor Philo, led a delegation to the Emperor to argue the Jewish cause.” (Roman Denomination: the Jewish revolt and the Destruction of the Second Temple by Shaye J.D. Cohen, revised by Michael Satlow, in Ancient Israel: from Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple, edited by Hershel Shanks, page 275)

 

 

 

The basis to permit or forbid playing musical instruments on Shabbat TB Sukkah 50

Today we finished the fourth chapter of our massekhet and began the fifth and last chapter. The fifth chapter deals almost exclusively with the joy connected with the ceremony of the Place of the Drawing of water (Simkhat Beit Hashoavah- שִׂמחַת בֵּית הַשּׁוֹאֵבָה). The Mishnah teaches “The flute (along with other instruments –gg) is played on the festival of Sukkot for five or six days. This is the flute of the Place of the Drawing of the Water, whose playing overrides neither Shabbat nor the Festival. Therefore, if the first Festival day occurred on Shabbat, they would play the flute for six days that year. However, if Shabbat coincided with one of the intermediate days of the Festival, they would play the flute for only five days.” (Sefaria.org translation) Today’s daf TB Sukkah 50 and tomorrow’s daf debate whether the essence of the mitzvah of the song is with instrumentation or a cappella and how it applies to Simkhat Beit Hashoavah.

We know from our study of massekhet Shabbat that the 39 different categories of work and the rabbinic laws of shvut[1] do not apply inside the Temple precincts. For example, only inside the Temple precincts one is allowed to light a fire in order to offer up the Shabbat sacrifices. Anything that is connected to offering up the sacrifices is also permitted. This ceremony of Simkhat Beit Hashoavah took place within the Temple precincts and yet instruments were forbidden.

Tosefot שֶׁאֵינוֹ דּוֹחֶה provides an answer to the question why instruments were forbidden for Simkhat Beit Hashoavah when it fell on Shabbat since the playing of instruments is a shvut. The rabbis forbid the playing of musical instruments outside of the Temple precincts on Shabbat lest the instrument break and a person would repair it which would be a violation of Shabbat. (See TB Beitzah 36b where this shvut would be derived from) The playing of instruments was an integral part of the required song that accompanied the sacrifices and therefore permitted. Tosefot argues that Simkhat Beit Hashoavah is different. It is not part of the sacrificial offering service and therefore its joy doesn’t override Shabbat or the Festival.

Whether musical instruments are played in the modern synagogue on Shabbat depends on how the shul understands and applies the rabbinic prohibition “lest a person repair.”

 

 

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[1] Shvut--Literally, "resting". It covers a whole area of activities which are not strictly work but are to be avoided because they are not in the spirit of the Sabbath or because doing them may lead to acts that constitute a major desecration of the Shabbat. In Halachic terms, Shvut is a rabbinic prohibition. Rabbinic prohibitions are less severe than Torah prohibitions. The sages enacted Shvut laws to protect Torah laws.(Sefaria.org)

Tzedakah, a foundation of a spiritual life TB Sukkah 49

Today’s daf TB 49 teaches that tzedakah is one of the foundations of a spiritual life. Sefaria translates the Hebrew word tzedakah as charity [1]. This translation doesn’t adequately plumbs the meaning of this value concept. Danny Siegel has been a friend and my Tzedakah rebbe for over 40 years. He clearly explains the difference between charity, philanthropy, and tzedakah.

“Charity” is derived from the Latin root caritas, meaning love, dearness, fondness.

“Philanthropy” comes from a combination of two Greek roots, philia, meaning love, and anthropos, meaning man.

“Tzedakah-צדקה is derived from the Hebrew root צדק tzedek  meaning justice, that which is right, as related to the word, צדיק Tzadik a person who lives according to tzedakah and -and upright, giving life.

“Let us compare the implications of these terms. Charity and philanthropy, though they have been stripped to a bare meaning of the giving of money, originally indicated acts of love, actions motivated by an inner caring for others. Tzedakah includes this feeling, of course, but goes further, superseding the immediate moods of the individual and demanding that-even if you’re not in a particular loving mood-the obligation, the Mitzvah, still requires us to give.”[2]

Rabbi Elazar and the sages teach us the importance of tzedakah. In God’s eyes living a tzedakah lifestyle is preferable than offering up the sacrifices. This is an amazing statement considering how much time we have already spent learning about the Passover and Yom Kippur sacrifices which have not been offered since the destruction of the second Temple. Even most of the tannaim and all of the amoraim who discuss every aspect of the sacrifices never experienced it in real life.

“Rabbi Elazar said: One who performs acts of tzedakah[3] is greater than one who sacrifices all types of offerings, as it is stated: “To perform tzedakah and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than an offering” (Proverbs 21:3), including all types of offerings. And Rabbi Elazar said: Acts of kindness, assisting someone in need, are greater than tzedakah, as it is stated: “Sow to yourselves according to tzedakah, and reap according to kindness (hesed-חֶסֶד)” (Hosea 10:12). This means: If a person sows, it is uncertain whether he will eat or whether he will not eat, since much can go wrong before the seed becomes food. However, if a person reaps, he certainly eats. In this verse, tzedakah is likened to sowing, while acts of kindness are likened to reaping.

“And Rabbi Elazar said: The reward for tzedakah is paid from Heaven only in accordance with the kindness and generosity included therein and in accordance with the effort and the consideration that went into the giving. It is not merely in accordance with the sum of money, as it is stated: “Sow to yourselves according to tzedakah, and reap according to kindness.”

“The Sages taught that acts of kindness (גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים) are superior to tzedakah in three respects: Tzedakah can be performed only with one’s money, while acts of kindness can be performed both with his person (for example, volunteer work-gg) and with his money. Tzedakah is given to the poor, while acts of kindness are performed both for the poor and for the rich (for example, you could comfort the mourner who happens to be rich-gg). Tzedakah is given to the living, while acts of kindness are performed both for the living and for the dead (burying the dead whether the deceased was rich or poor doesn’t matter and is an act of hesed-gg).

“And Rabbi Elazar said: Anyone who performs tzedakah and justice is considered as though he filled the whole world in its entirety with kindness, as it is stated: “He loves tzedakah and justice; the earth is full of the kindness of the Lord” (Psalms 33:5). Lest you say that anyone who comes to leap and perform an act of kindness may simply leap and do so without scrutiny, the verse states: “How precious is your kindness, O God” (Psalms 36:8). It is a precious and rare occurrence to perform an act of kindness properly. One might have thought that even a God-fearing individual does not always encounter the opportunity to perform acts of kindness. Therefore, the verse states: “But the kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him” (Psalms 103:17)”

If you really want to live a spiritual life be on the lookout for opportunities of tzedakkah and hesed and then give of yourself without hesitation.

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[1] I have changed the word charity in our text back to the original Hebrew tzedakah.

[2] Danny Siegel, “A study guide to tzedakkah”, Gym Shoes and Irises, page 119

 

When the etrog was thrown TB Sukkah 48

 A wine libation (נִיסּוּךְ הַיַיִן) accompanied every sacrifice. Depending upon the size of the sacrifice three, four, or six loggim of wine was poured on the southwest corner of the altar. Each day of Sukkot a water libation (נִיסּוּךְ הַמַּיִם) was also poured on the southwest corner of the altar. According to the rabbis, this water libation was a mandatory mitzvah based on their interpretation of some verses. You’ll see later on in the Mishna why this fact is important.

The second Mishna in massekhet Rosh Hashanah gives a reason why during Sukkot there is a water libation. I’ll quote the entire Mishna because one of the four times the world is judged is on Rosh Hashanah which is less than two weeks away. “At four times of the year the world is judged: On Passover judgment is passed concerning grain; on Shavuot concerning fruits that grow on a tree on Rosh HaShana, all creatures pass before Him like sheep [benei maron], as it is stated: “He Who fashions their hearts alike, Who considers all their deeds” (Psalms 33:15); and on the festival of Sukkot they are judged concerning water, i.e., the rainfall of the coming year.” (Sefaria.org. translation) Unlike Egypt which relies on the Nile River for irrigation and Babylonia which relies on the Euphrates River for irrigation, having no major river to irrigate the land, Israel depends upon the rainfall for a successful harvest. On Sukkot we pray for the proper rain to fall because God judges how much rainfall will fall in Sukkot. The ritual of water libation highlights the importance and the urgency that rain should fall lest a drought occurs.

The Mishnah on daf TB Sukkah 48 details this once a year mitzvah which hasn’t been observed since the destruction of the “Temple by the Romans in the year 70 CE.

“MISHNA: With regard to the rite of water libation performed in the Temple during the Festival, how was it performed? One would fill a golden jug with a capacity of three log with water from the Siloam pool. When those who went to bring the water reached the Gate of the Water, so called because the water for the libation was brought through this gate leading to the Temple courtyard, they sounded a tekia, sounded a terua, and sounded another tekia as an expression of joy. The priest ascended the ramp of the altar and turned to his left. There were two silver basins there into which he poured the water. Rabbi Yehuda said: They were limestone basins, but they would blacken due to the wine and therefore looked like silver. The two basins were perforated at the bottom with two thin perforated nose-like protrusions. One of the basins, used for the wine libation, had a perforation that was broad, and one, used for the water libation, had a perforation that was thin, so that the flow of both the water and the wine, which do not have the same viscosity, would conclude simultaneously. The basin to the west of the altar was for water, and the basin to the east of the altar was for wine. However, if one poured the contents of the basin of water into the basin of wine, or the contents of the basin of wine into the basin of water, he fulfilled his obligation, as failure to pour the libation from the prescribed location does not disqualify the libation after the fact.

“Rabbi Yehuda says: The basin for the water libation was not that large; rather, one would pour the water with a vessel that had a capacity of one log on all eight days of the Festival and not only seven. And the appointee says to the one pouring the water into the silver basin: Raise your hand, so that his actions would be visible, as one time a Sadducee priest intentionally poured the water on his feet, as the Sadducees did not accept the oral tradition requiring water libation, and in their rage all the people pelted him with their etrogim.” (Sefaria.org. translation)

The Mishnah continues, but I just want to point out once again the rivalry between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Sadducees for the most part consisted of the priests and the nobility. Many of the early Hasmonean (another name for the Maccabees) Kings were or at least sided with the Sadducees. As the Mishnah notes in the regular font that the Sadducees rejected the oral Torah. Because the water libation is nowhere to be found in the written Torah, they denied that the water libation was a mitzvah at all. The Mishnah records a very famous story when a Sadduceean priest mocked the ritual of the water libation by pouring it on his feet instead of on the altar. The Jews in the courtyard being of pharisaic persuasion were naturally unhappy and expressed their unhappiness by pelting that Sadduceean priest with their etrogim. As you can see there is great animosity between the two sects. Don’t worry, the Sadducees gave as good as they got. Only after the Temple was destroyed and the power base lost, the Sadducees disappeared for good.

 

A timely teaching by Rabbi Zeira TB Sukkah 46b

 A Jewish child's education begins at his/her birth and his parents remain his/her primary teachers throughout his/her life. Daf TB Sukkah 46b warns us what we do (the hidden curriculum) is just as important if not more so than what we say.

"And Rabbi Zeira said: A person should not say to a child: I will give you something, and then not give it to him, because he thereby comes to teach him about lying, as it is stated: “They have taught their tongues to speak lies” (Jeremiah 9:4). One must not accustom a child to fail to honor commitments." (Sefaria.org translation)

We have very smart children and they pay attention to everything we say and do. Beyond just keeping our promises, do we lie about our ages or our children's ages to get a discount? Do they overhear us when we gloat when we cheat on our taxes or with a business acquaintance? Do we lie to get out of trouble when our child knows the truth? If we do we should not be surprised when our children follow our example.

Rosh Hashanah is only two weeks away. There's no better time to correct our behavior so that we will be a positive influence on her children and grandchildren.