Thirsty?#Sukkot#devartorah

 Just below the snowy peak of Mt. Shasta, near the headwaters of the Sacramento River in California, an icy-cold underground spring gushes out of the side of a cliff. People flock there to fill their jugs with the refreshing liquid.

Water quenches our thirst and sustains our life. Sukkot begins this Sunday night with holiday services Saturday and Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM. When the Temple stood in Jerusalem there was a joyous celebration called Simchat Bet Hashoavah. “Every day of the year, after the sacrifice was burned, an offering of wine was poured on the altar. During Sukkot, there was also a water libation (nisukh hamayim). Some have suggested that it was a folk rite, an inducement for rain made by pouring out water at the season’s onset, transformed by the rabbis into a symbolic Temple ritual.

“Each morning of Sukkot, the priests went to the pool of Siloah (Silwan) near Jerusalem to fill a golden flask. Shofar blasts greeted their arrival at the Temple’s Water Gate. They then ascended and poured the water so that it flowed over the altar simultaneously with wine from another bowl. 

“Based on Isaiah’s promise “With joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation” (12:3), rejoicing began at the end of the first day and took place every night except Shabbat. Talmud recorded that “one who had never witnessed the Rejoicing at the Place of the Water Drawing had never seen true joy in his life.” (Although the celebration was for the libation that would be made the next morning it was named for the preparation for the ritual — the water drawing — which the rabbis said showed that getting ready was sometimes of greater merit than the mitzvah, or commandment, itself because of its positive effect on the person doing it.)” (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/simchat-beit-hashoavah-the-water-drawing-festival/)

Although we don’t perform this ritual today, Sukkot culminating with Simchat Torah reminds us that we have continual source of spiritual refreshment. Of course I’m referring to the Torah which has been compared to water because revives those who study it.

Are you thirsty today? This Sukkot make Torah study part and parcel of your week

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Samayakh,

The power of a mitzvah TB Kidushin 39-40

I’m not a big believer in coincidences so I am not surprised that dappim TB Kidushin 39 and 40 discuss reward and punishment right before Yom Kippur. The Gemara discusses whether God rewards and punishes in this world or delays it until the next world without coming to a clear conclusion.

If the scale is completely balanced and one observes the following five mitzvot: honoring one’s father and mother, acts of loving kindness, hospitality toward guests, and bringing peace between one person and another; and Torah study, these five mitzvot tip the scale in our favor. “Rav Shemaya said: The mishna (in massekhet Peah-gg) serves to say that if one’s sins and merits were of equal balance, i.e., he has accrued an equal amount of merit and sin, one of these mitzvot tilts the scale in his favor.” (Sefaria.org translation) Idolatry is the gravest sin and will tip the scale against us even when the scales are equally balanced. “Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: That is written with regard to idol worship, as the Master says: Idol worship is very severe, as anyone who denies it is like one who admits the truth of the entire Torah. Conversely, one who embraces idolatry is considered to have rejected the entire Torah. Due to the severity of idol worship, one is punished even for contemplating this transgression.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Since none of us can make a perfect account of our lives and declare that the scales are equally balanced, daf TB Kidushin 40 gives us good advice how we should view ourselves during these 10 days repentance leading up to Yom Kippur.

“The Sages taught: Always a person should view himself as though he were exactly half-liable and half-meritorious. In other words he should act as though the plates of his scale are balanced, so that if he performs one mitzva he is fortunate, as he tilts his balance to the scale of merit. If he transgresses one prohibition, woe to him, as he tilts his balance to the scale of liability, as it is stated: “But one sin destroys much good” (Ecclesiastes 9:18), which means that due to one sin that a person transgresses he squanders much good.

“Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, says: Since the world is judged by its majority, i.e., depending on whether people have performed a majority of mitzvot or a majority of sins, and an individual is likewise judged by his majority, each person must consider that if he performs one mitzva he is praiseworthy, as he tilts the balance of himself and the entire world to the scale of merit. Conversely, if he transgresses one prohibition, woe to him, as he tilts the balance for himself and the entire world to the scale of liability, as it is stated: “But one sin destroys much good,” i.e., due to one sin that this individual commits, he squanders much goodness from himself and from the entire world.” (Sefaria.org translation)

I can think of no better mitzvah than giving tzedakkah during these 10 days of repentance as an example of the positive impact a mitzvah can have on the balance sheet of our lives and the fate of the world around us.

 

 

God the compassionate judge#Shabbatshuva#devartorah

When a defendant stands before a judge, he or she is at the mercy of the court. If the defendant is innocent, the court should be a haven. But if the defendant is guilty, we expect the court to exact punishment.

In Nahum, we see God as both a refuge and a judge. It says, “The Lord is good (to those who hope in Him), a haven in times of trouble” (1:7). But it also says, “He will make an end of her place (understood as the city of Nineveh); and chases His enemies into darkness” (v.8). Over 100 years earlier, Nineveh had repented after Jonah preached God’s forgiveness, and the land was safe (Jonah 3:10). But during Nahum’s day, Nineveh was plotting “evil against the Lord” (Nah. 1:11). In chapter 3, Nahum details Nineveh’s destruction.

Many people know only one side of God’s dealings with the human race but not the other. They think that He is holy and wants only to punish us, or that He is merciful and wants only to show kindness. In truth, He is both a judge and a haven. On Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur we recite the piyyut, religious poem, L’eyl Oreych Din which proclaims that God “decides righteously on the Day of Judgment but also who bestows mercy on the Day of Judgment.”

The whole truth about God comforts us as we seek atonement on Yom Kippur! He is judge, but because of his love and compassion for us He is also our safe haven when we return to Him. There is no better time to approach God in repentance than Shabbat Shuvah and Yom Kippur.

Shabbat Shalom and have an easy fast,

 

Kiddushin 38 ~ Half Way There

 From Talmudoogy.com

For those studying the Daf-Yomi, one-page-a-day-cycle, today is an important day. A very important day. The present cycle of study began began 1,335 days ago, on January 5th, 2020. And in another 1,355 days, on Monday June 7, 2027, the cycle will be completed. And so today marks the halfway point, page 1,356. There are 1,355 pages completed, and another 1,355 to go. If you have been studying the last 1355 pages, (or even if you joined at some later time,) now is a good opportunity to congratulate yourself, or your favorite daf-yomi teacher.

Mark Twain and Moshe Rabbeinu TB Kidushin 38

Mark Twain’s birth date is November 30, 1835 and he died on April 21, 1910. Although these two dates are not the same, in Twain’s mind they share a commonality. Twain was born shortly after an appearance of Halley’s Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it" as well, dying a day after the comet was at its closest to Earth.

Moses was more exacting when it came to his birth and death dates. Everybody knows that he was born on the Adar 7 and died 120 years later on Adar 7. The source of this tradition is found on today’s daf TB Kidushin 38.

“It is taught in another baraita: Moses died on the seventh of Adar, and he was likewise born on the seventh of Adar. From where is it derived that Moses died on the seventh of Adar? As it is stated: “So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there” (Deuteronomy 34:5), and it is written: “And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days” (Deuteronomy 34:8). And it is written: “Now it came to pass after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord” (Joshua 1:1), and it is written: “Moses, My servant, is dead; now arise, cross this Jordan” (Joshua 1:2).

“The baraita continues: And it is written: “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying: Prepare your victuals, for within three days you are to cross the Jordan” (Joshua 1:11). And it is written: “And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month” (Joshua 4:19). Subtract retroactively from that date, the tenth of Nisan, the last thirty-three days, i.e., the thirty days of mourning for Moses and the three days of preparation before crossing the Jordan, and you learn from here that Moses died on the seventh of Adar.

 

“The baraita continues: And from where is it derived that Moses was born on the seventh of Adar? It is as it is stated: “And he said to them, I am one hundred and twenty years old today; I can no more go out and come in” (Deuteronomy 31:2). As there is no need for the verse to state “today,” since Moses could have said simply: I am one hundred and twenty years old. What is the meaning when the verse states “today”? One can learn from it that Moses was born on that date, i.e., he was exactly one hundred and twenty years old. This teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, sits and completes the years of the righteous from day to day and from month to month, as it is stated: “The number of your days I will fulfill” (Exodus 23:26).” (Sefaria.org translation)

There is a tradition that the Hevra Kaddisha, the group of men and women who ritually prepare the body for burial, have a fundraising meal on Moses’ yahrzeit. It is also an opportunity to educate the community of the importance of their work.

Judy’s fig tree TB Kidushin 37

As everybody knows there are 613 mitzvot in the Torah. Even if we wanted to, we could not observe all 613 commandments. Some just don’t apply to everybody. Because they served in the Temple by offering of sacrifices, kohanim, priests, are obligated to observe more mitzvot than regular Israelites. Today’s daf TB Kidushin 37 delineates those mitzvot which can only be observed in the land of Israel. Consequently, we Jews living in the diaspora have less mitzvot to observe.

“MISHNA: Any mitzva that is dependent on the land [aretz] applies only in Eretz Yisrael, and any mitzva that is not dependent on the land applies both in Eretz Yisrael and outside of Eretz Yisrael. This is apart from the mitzvot of orla and diverse kinds, which apply even outside of Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Eliezer says: This is the halakha even with regard to the prohibition to eat from the new crop before the omer offering has been brought on the sixteenth of Nisan.” (Kidushin 36b-37, Sefaria.org translation)

The Gemara clarifies what does “depended on the land” and “not dependent on the land” meaning. “Rav Yehuda said that this is what the mishna is saying: Any mitzva that is an obligation of the body, i.e., an obligation upon the person, applies both in Eretz Yisrael and outside of Eretz Yisrael. Conversely, an obligation of the land, that is, a mitzva that applies specifically to the earth and its growths, applies only in Eretz Yisrael.” (Sefaria.org translation)

An example of an obligation applies only in the land of Israel even today would be trumah and ma’aserot, all the different tithes. These gifts to priests and levites are removed to allow the rest of the produce to be consumed; however, they are destroyed since the priests and levites cannot eat them in ritual readiness because the Temple is destroyed. An example of an obligation upon the person would be the observance of Shabbat. No matter where we live, we should observe the Sabbath.

Today’s daf has particular significance in my life. The Torah commands us to wait for three years before partaking of any fruit from fruit bearing trees. The forbidden fruit of this period is known as orla. Included in the prohibition of orla is the fruit and all its parts. This would include the seeds, peel, skin and outer protective shell of the fruit. Judy loves figs so two years ago she bought and planted a fig tree. Until today I thought that the laws of orla only apply in the land of Israel, but I was wrong. Rambam rules we should not eat the figs from our fig tree until the fourth year. “With regard to the prohibition against orlah in the Diaspora, it is a halachah transmitted to Moses at Sinai that fruit that is definitely orlah is forbidden. If there is a doubt regarding the matter, it is permitted.” Mishneh Torah, The book of Holiness, The laws of forbidden Food, chapter 10; halakha 10, Sefaria.org translation)

Women’s ritual obligations TB Kidushin 33-36

Dappim Kidushin 33-36 outline women’s ritual obligations and their exemptions as explained in the eighth Mishnah of our massekhet. “With regard to all positive, time-bound mitzvot, i.e., those which must be performed at specific times, men are obligated to perform them and women are exempt. And with regard to all positive mitzvot that are not time bound, both men and women are obligated to perform them. And with regard to all prohibitions, whether they are time-bound or whether they are not time-bound, both men and women are obligated to observe them, except for the prohibitions of: Do not round the corners of your head, and: Do not destroy the corners of your beard, which are derived from the verse: “You shall not round the corners of your head and you shall not destroy the corners of your beard” (Leviticus 19:27), and a prohibition that concerns only priests: Do not contract ritual impurity from a corpse (see Leviticus 21:1). These mitzvot apply only to men, not women, despite the fact that they are prohibitions.”

The inclusions and exclusions seemed arbitrary to me until I read the following section from Judith Hauptman’s book Reading the Rabbis. She explains that the exemptions were based upon women’s lower social status as compared to men. However after the Temple was destroyed and a new reality set in, the rabbis recognize the religious and spiritual needs of women and began to expand those mitzvot they should observe. I highly recommend reading the entire chapter 10 from which the selection was taken

Reading the Rabbis

Why are the rules about women and mitzvot found in this particular place in the Mishnah, right after the rules of acquiring a wife? Their juxtaposition suggests that a woman who is acquired by a man becomes obligated to him primarily. He controls both her time and her money. Once married, she would not have the opportunity to fulfill religious obligations unless her husband allowed her to do so. She thus cannot be independently obligated to perform them. This explanation tallies with the Tosefta’s statement of why a woman is exempt from caring for her parents, which is mentioned in the first half of the same mishnah. That others control her is a fact of married life with far-reaching consequences. It is also true that performance of some of these mitzvot announces to the world that a person is free and independent, in charge of himself. R. Joshua b. Levi says that a slave who dons tefillin is a free man (BT Gittin 40a). Were a woman to don tefillin, she would be proclaiming to all that she is no longer subordinate to her husband. The rabbis could not permit her to take such a step.

The rule of women’s exemption can be understood in yet another, related way. A more literal rendering of the Hebrew phrase mitzvot aseh shehazeman gerama is that these mitzvot are ones that will come your way no matter what, independent of the circumstances of your life. As the seasons, the zemanim, roll around, the time for eating the paschal lamb, hearing the shofar blasts, and sitting in a succah will certainly arrive. The category called mitzvot aseh shelo hazeman gerama, non-time-bound positive mitzvot, in contrast, will not necessarily come your way, ever. If you do not own a home, you will not be obligated to build a railing on the roof; if you do not find someone’s lost object, you will not have an opportunity to return it; if you do not come across a nest with a mother bird and young, you will never have the opportunity to send away the mother and keep the young. A woman is thus exempt from those active mitzvot that a Jew will surely find himself executing in the course of the Jewish day, week, and year, but is obligated to those that may never come her way. Why?

 The Talmud mentions the phrases “positive time-bound” or “non-time-bound” mitzvot only in connection with women. That is, this distinction was created solely for the purpose of distinguishing between women’s ritual obligations and her exemptions. It was not a category that had any other use. For men, who are obligated to perform all positive mitzvot, there is no significance to this distinction. Had there been some other meaning to this categorization of mitzvot, not relating to women, I would have to concede that their exemption could flow from some other reason. If, for the sake of argument, time-bound positive mitzvot required the expenditure of money, then we could explain women’s exemption as flowing from her lack of control of financial assets. But since this distinction was devised only to create a category from which women are exempt, the reason for the exemption has to lie in the meaning of the phrase itself, namely, that these are the key mitzvot of marking Jewish time. It is not that they take time.

Women were exempted from the essential ritual acts of Judaism, those that year in and year out mark Jewish time, in order to restrict their performance to men, to heads of household; only people of the highest social standing, according to the rabbis, does God consider most fit to honor or worship Him in this important way. This hierarchical arrangement is reminiscent of Temple protocol. Only kohanim, the individuals of highest social standing, as evidenced by their more stringent rules for marriage, ritual purity, and physical fitness (Leviticus 21), could serve as Temple functionaries. The point is that those who serve God must themselves be especially worthy. In rabbinic society this meant that only males were fitting candidates for the time-bound positive commandments, the highest form of ritual act. Women are exempt, although not forbidden, because they are individuals of lower social standing, who, therefore, honor God less when serving Him. This status argument, a variation of the previous one that women are controlled by men, is, in my opinion, a reasonable explanation of women’s exemption. The location of the rules of ritual performance in the tractate about betrothals and the meaning of the defining phrases themselves are the clues.

The next mishnah in the chapter, although it concerns Temple sacrifice rather than time-bound mitzvot, will, when read together with its associated Gemara, sharpen our understanding of this one. It is part of the same group of mishnahs.

Laying on of hands [on the head of the sacrificial animal], waving [the minhah sacrifice], bringing it close [to the altar], …, sprinkling the blood, receiving [the blood from the neck of the animal to be sacrificed]—[these acts] are to be carried out by men but not by women [נוהגים באנשים ולא בנשים], except for the minhah [offering] of the sotah and the nezirah [person who vows not to drink wine or cut (his or) her hair for a specified period of time], that the women themselves wave. (M Kiddushin 1:8)

To begin with, this mishnah teaches that laying on of hands on the animal to be offered and waving the minhah sacrifice may be performed by lay Israelite men but not lay Israelite women. The third activity, bringing the animal to the altar, and all those that follow, may be performed only by kohanim, not even lay Israelite men. Since the Torah itself makes clear that men but not women may serve as Temple functionaries, why need the mishnah state that these rituals may be carried out by the sons of Aaron, the kohanim, but not by the daughters of Aaron? On what basis could one have thought that priestly women were allowed to function in the Temple that the mishnah found it necessary to rule it out? Since it is clear that not even Israelite men can perform any of the activities beyond the first two, this mishnah must be addressing only kohanot, women of the priestly clan. Does this passage imply that a question arose in those days about the eligibility of women serving in the Temple and therefore the rabbis issued this set of prohibitions?

I do not think so. The mishnah’s repeated references to women’s absolute exclusion from Temple ritual may lead us to a deeper understanding of M 1:7b (about women’s ritual exemptions): It is only Temple practices that are forbidden to women, none of the other ritual activities. Reading M 1:8 and M 1:7 in reverse order makes their purposes clear. M 1:8 is saying that every single Temple activity is not only not obligatory upon women, but even forbidden to them. M 1:7 goes on to say that the rituals that were able to survive the destruction of the Temple, such as shofar, lulav, and succah, are obligatory upon men, but not women. But it does not forbid women from participation, as it does with respect to the Temple service. It allows them to choose to engage in these activities. The associated Gemara, BT Kiddushin 36a, derives from verses, several times over, that women are forbidden to participate in the offering of sacrifices in the Temple. It is standard practice in Midrash Halakhah to derive or state the same teaching, again and again, in order to emphasize thereby the legitimacy of the derived conclusion. The same is true of M 1:8 here.

This significant difference between the rabbis’ treatment of women’s participation in Temple ritual and post-Temple Jewish ritual strongly suggests an alteration in their basic outlook: Although in post-Temple Judaism women are not obligated to participate in key religious rituals, they are no longer forbidden to do so. Moreover, the many exceptions the rabbis made to these exemptions, as we shall see, give further evidence that the rabbis considered women to be religiously needy. To say it in different words: The rabbis recognized that the practice of Judaism after the destruction of the Temple had to differ significantly from the practice of Judaism during the time of the Temple. So, along with the radical restructuring of Jewish ritual practice that brought the celebration of the Sabbath and holidays from the Temple into the home and from the kohen to the lay Israelite, the rabbis also opened the door to greater participation by women. Rather than compare exemption to obligation, it is more useful to compare exemption (M 1:7) to prohibition (M 1:8). Women could not actively participate in the Temple service, as noted in M 1:8, but they did gain permission (M 1:7) and even acquired obligation to participate in some key rituals in the new configuration of Jewish practice.

A careful look at tannaitic and amoraic statements about women and mitzvot shows that the rabbis made more and more exceptions to the rule of women’s exemption, obligating them, as time passed, to more and more time-bound positive mitzvot….

in the amoraic period, we see marked movement in the direction of greater obligation.

––Said R. Joshua b. Levi: Women are obligated to read the megillah, because they too were part of the miracle [of deliverance]. (BT Megillah 4a)
––Said R. Joshua b. Levi: Women are obligated to drink the four cups [of wine that punctuate the Pesah seder], because they too were part of the miracle [of deliverance]. (BT Pesahim 108b)
––Said R. Joshua b. Levi: Women are obligated to light the Chanukah lamps, because they too were part of the miracle [of deliverance]. (BT Shabbat 23a)
==[The reason that women are obligated to pray is that] prayer is petitions.
––Said R. Ada b. Ahavah: Women are obligated to recite Kiddush [on the Sabbath], as stipulated by the Torah.…
––Said Rava: Anyone who is bound by the Sabbath restrictions is similarly bound by the Sabbath ritual acts. (Berakhot 20b)
––Said R. Elazar: Women are obligated to eat matzah on Pesah, according to the Torah; for anyone who is bound not to eat hametz (leavened products), is similarly bound to eat matzah. (BT Pesahim 43b)

In all these instances, Amoraim are imposing upon women new obligations to perform ritual acts—all positive time-bound mitzvot—that M Kiddushin 1:7 would have exempted them from. In each case, a reason is given. By the end of the amoraic period, women are locked into observance of the key rituals of Pesah, Chanukah, Purim, and, to a large extent, the Sabbath. I think this development is strong evidence that the rabbis recognized the importance of making religious practice more central to the lives of women.

 (https://www.sefaria.org/Rereading_the_Rabbis%3B_A_Woman's_Voice%2C_10_Ritual.23-32?lang=bi)

 N.B.

I first met Judy Hauptman when I was a sophomore at Ieachers Institute now known as List College, the undergraduate program  ofJTS. She was a Talmud doctoral student and my R.A. in the Windermere Hotel, my dorm. When we didn’t understand the Gemara we were studying, study partner Suzanne Levin and I would go up to her room after ma’ariv services for help. Judy never refusedv helping us. We became friends and I was honored to attend her wedding. Today Judy is the E. Billi Ivry Professor Emerita of Talmud and Rabbinic Culture at The Jewish Theological Seminary.

 

Standing is a sign of respect TB Kidushin 33

Because yesterday’s daf TB Kidushin 32 was discussing the honor, kavod-כָּבוֹד, due a parent, it segues into the honor due a scholar and an elderly person with a baraita.

“The Sages taught with regard to the verse: “Before the hoary head you shall stand and you shall revere the face of an elder, and you shall fear your God” (Leviticus 19:32): One might have thought that it is obligatory to stand before a simple [ashmai] elder. Therefore, the verse states: “elder,” and an “elder” means nothing other than a wise man, as it is stated: “Gather unto Me seventy men of the Elders of Israel, whom you know to be the Elders of the people” (Numbers 11:16). Rabbi Yosei HaGelili says: An “elder [zaken]” means nothing other than one who has acquired wisdom. He interprets the word zaken as a contraction of the phrase zeh kanna, meaning: This one has acquired. Elsewhere the word kanna is used in reference to wisdom, as it is stated that wisdom says: “The Lord acquired me [kanani] at the beginning of His way” (Proverbs 8:22)…

“The baraita continues: Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: From where is it derived that an elder should not trouble others to honor him? The verse states: “And you shall revere the face of an elder, and you shall fear your God.” The phrase “an elder, and you shall fear,” read by itself, without the rest of the verse, indicates that an elder is also commanded to fear God, and not purposefully act in a manner to cause others to have to honor him. In conclusion, the baraita cites another opinion. Isi ben Yehuda says that the verse: “Before the hoary head you shall stand,” indicates that even any person of hoary head is included in this mitzva, not only a Sage.”  (Sefaria.org translation)

Today’s daf TB Kidushin 33 analyzes in-depth each of the baraita’s paragraphs. There’s a disagreement who is the elder the verse in Leviticus 19:32. Some hold that the elder in this verse is talking about a scholar/Rabbi. Isi ben Yehuda disagrees and says one should stand for any elderly person and the  halakha follows him. “It was stated previously that Isi ben Yehuda says that as the verse states: “Before the hoary head you shall stand,” it indicates that even anyone of hoary head is included, not only a Torah scholar. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Isi ben Yehuda. The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yoḥanan himself would stand before Aramean, i.e., gentile, elders. He said: How many experiences [harpatkei] have occurred to these individuals. It is appropriate to honor them, due to the wisdom they have garnered from their long lives.” (sefaria.org translation)

Some people have gone to universities while others have gone to the school of hard knocks. Everybody through their life experiences have gained knowledge that we could benefit from. Even though they may not have earned a university degree, they still could be our teachers of compassion, of  tzedakah, of righteousness, and other values like hard work which contribute to society. Wouldn’t it be nice if we would show everybody respect if not by standing, but how we address and treat them!  I love it that buses in Israel remind passengers which seats in the front are reserved for the elderly (and disabled) with the sign above them quoting our verse “Before the hoary head you shall stand.”

When I was in rabbinical school, I studied with Dr. Shaul Lieberman, the greatest Talmud scholar of the 20^th century. When he entered the classroom, all the students would stand up for him. Dr. Moshe Zucker was one of the most influential, teachers I ever had. He taught me how I should study the Gemara. I had the honor in my senior year to walk him home to his apartment after ma’ariv services. He was the only other teacher at JTS I stood for when he entered my 4 amot.

Since we shall be spending a lot of time in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, here’s the source of a practical halakha we all know and observe. “A dilemma was raised before them: What is the halakha as to whether one should stand before a Torah scroll? Rabbi Ḥilkiya and Rabbi Simon and Rabbi Elazar say that this dilemma can be resolved by an a fortiori inference: If one stands before those who study the Torah, is it not all the more so true that one should stand before the Torah itself?” (Sefaria.org translation)

I wish everybody a very happy, healthy, and meaningful New Year, 5784.

 

 

It’s good to be king when comes to honor TB Kidushin 32

The Torah differentiates two different kinds of mitzvot a child is obligated to fulfill towards his /her parent A child is obligated to honor (kibud-כִּיבּוּד) his/her parents as is written “Honor your father and your mother, (Exodus 20:12)….” The child is also obligated to revere (mora-מוֹרָא ) his/her parents as is written “A man shall revere his mother and his father. (Leviticus 19:3)”

At the very bottom of yesterday’s daf, the Gemara provides an inexhaustive list of what these commandments demand of the child to observe. “The Sages taught: What is fear and what is honor? Fear of one’s father includes the following: One may not stand in his father’s fixed place, and may not sit in his place, and may not contradict his statements by expressing an opinion contrary to that of his father, and he may not choose sides when his father argues with someone else. What is considered honor? He gives his father food and drink, dresses and covers him, and brings him in and takes him out for all his household needs.” (Kidushin 31b, Sefaria.org translation)

Rashi and the Ramah (רמ"ה), Meir ben Todros HaLevi Abulafia, a major Sephardic Talmudist and Halachic authority in medieval Spain, disagree what is the correct understanding of not choosing sides means. Rashi gives the example when the father and another person are arguing, the son agrees with the person who was arguing with his father. The Ramah, as cited in the Tur, gives the example when the father and another person are arguing, the son agrees with the father. The son’s agreement may appear that the father needs his backing. Since the father doesn’t need the backing of the son at all, the son should remain quiet.

Everybody agrees that the child should service his/her parents, but whose funds should underwrite the expenditures of food and drink? The very top of today’s Kidushin 32 records a disagreement between Rav Yehuda and Rav Natan ben Oshaya. “Rav Yehuda says: From the money of the son. Rav Natan bar Oshaya said: From the money of the father. The Sages gave this following ruling to Rav Yirmeya, and some say they gave this following ruling to the son of Rav Yirmeya: The halakha is like the one who says it must be paid from the money of the father.” (Sefaria.org translation)

May a person forgo his honor? The Gemara provides a hierarchy of who may and who may not forgo his honor.

“Rav Yitzḥak bar Sheila says that Rav Mattana says that Rav Ḥisda says: With regard to a father who forgoes his honor, his honor is forgone, and his son does not transgress if he does not treat him in the proper manner…And Rav Yosef says: Even with regard to a rabbi who forgoes his honor, his honor is forgone, as it is stated: “And the Lord went before them by day” (Exodus 13:21). God Himself, the Teacher of the Jewish people, had forgone the honor due Him and took the trouble to guide the people... (The Gemara then provides three antidotes of a rabbi serving drinks at a wedding where some of his students fail to differentiate between honor and reverence) A rabbi can forgo the full measure of honor due to him, but even so, others are required to perform some act of reverence, such as preparing to stand before him…Rather, if it was stated, it was stated as follows: Rav Ashi said: Even according to the one who says that if a Nasi (the rabbinic leader of the Jewish people during Mishnaic times-gg) forgoes the honor due him, his honor is forgone, if a king forgoes the honor due him, his honor is not forgone. As it is stated: “You shall set a king over you” (Deuteronomy 17:15), which indicates that his fear should be upon you. The people are commanded to fear a king, and therefore it is not permitted for him to forgo the honor due to him.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Everybody except the king can forgo the honor to him is the bottom line. It’s still good to be the king.

 

 

Looking good is not enough #RoshHashana#devarTorah

Researchers from Virginia Tech University, along with police administrators, determined that distracted drivers put others in more danger than aggressive drivers. Drivers who eat, discipline children in the backseat, or talk on the phone are the most hazardous.  I once read on Facebook: “If you want to talk to God, find a quiet corner and He will always listen to you.  If you want to see God, text while driving.”

When residents in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were asked about the bad habits of drivers that made the highways unsafe, most felt that others caused more problems than they themselves. One woman said that she talked on her cell phone a little, but at least she didn’t dial the phone numbers while on the road. She concluded her comments by stating that others “aren’t following the rules of the road . . . . They put us all at risk.”

It’s our nature to point a finger at others. It all goes back to Adam and Eve.  When God asked Adam, “Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you?” Adam passed the buck to Eve and God replying, “The woman You put at my side-she gave me of the tree and I ate.”  Of course Eve blamed the snake saying, “The snake duped me.” (Gen. 3:11-13)

When we don’t look at our own actions but instead compare ourselves with others, we often come out looking good. But, looking good and being good are two different things.  The goal of our High Holidays is to help us become the people we truly want to be so that we are good through and through.  If we succeed, surely God will inscribe us in His book.

 Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah,

Rabbi Greene

  

The great extent the commandment of honoring parents demands TB Kidushin 31

Yesterday’s daf TB Kidushin 30 introduced the topic of honoring one’s parents kibud av ve-aim (כִּבּוּד אָב וְאֵם). Tomorrow’s daf will actually define what does this mitzvah require. Today’s daf Kidushin 31 examines the extent of this mitzvah.

“Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? He who learns from every man, as it is said: “From all who taught me have I gained understanding” (Psalms 119:99).’ (Pirke Avot 4:1) The first story of a person honoring his father shows us that the rabbis not only talked the talk, but they walked the walk. Three times on our daf, they hold Dama ben Netina, a pagan, as example to follow 

“Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says: They asked Rabbi Eliezer: How far must one go to fulfill the mitzva of honoring one’s father and mother? Rabbi Eliezer said to them: Go and see what one pagan did for his father in Ashkelon, and the name of the son was Dama ben Netina. Once the Sages wished to purchase precious stones from him for the ephod of the High Priest for six hundred thousand gold dinars’ profit, and Rav Kahana taught that it was eight hundred thousand gold dinars’ profit. And the key to the chest holding the jewels was placed under his father’s head, and he would not disturb him.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Dama ben Netina is ever a positive role model for us to follow in other aspects in our lives. We’ll see as the story continues, the following year he had the upper hand in negotiations with the rabbis, but did not exploit it. “The next year the Holy One, Blessed be He, gave Dama ben Netina his reward, as a red heifer was born in his herd, and the Jews needed it. When the Sages of Israel came to him he said to them: I know, concerning you, that if I were to ask for all the money in the world you would give it to me. But I ask only that money that I lost due to the honor of Father.” (Sefaria.org translation)

According to Tosafot ד"ה וּבָאתָה אִמּוֹ וּקְרָעַתּוּ Dama ben Netima’s mother was mentally ill. Even when she exhibited disturbing behavior in public, he honored her by not embarrassing her. “When Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said: Once Dama ben Netina was wearing a fine cloak [sirkon] of gold, and was sitting among the nobles of Rome. And his mother came to him and tore his garment from him and smacked him on the head and spat in his face, and yet he did not embarrass her.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Avimi ben Rabbi Abbuha teaches us our intention matters as much if not more than our actions. “Avimi, son of Rabbi Abbahu, taught: There is a type of son who feeds his father pheasant [pasyonei] and yet this behavior causes him to be removed from the World, i.e., the World-to-Come; and there is one who makes him grind with a millstone, which is difficult work, and this action brings him to the life of the World-to-Come.” (Sefaria.org translation) Tosafot ד"ה וְטוֹרְדוֹ מִן הָעוֹלָם explains that the first child spitefully gave his father pheasant while the second child honor his father with nice and comforting words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Torah to the rescue TB Kidushin 30

Rosh Hashanah is only four days away. Erev Rosh Hashanah begins Friday night. Have you been preparing your heart and soul to become the person you truly want to be this new year? Since today’s daf TB Kidushin 30 discusses the father’s obligation to teach his son Torah, the Gemara segues into some musar, ethical behavior teaching, which will help us in our High Holiday preparations. The Gemara speaks about controlling the yetzer hara (יֵצֶר הָרָע) which is usually translated as the evil inclination. I think a better more modern understanding of the yetzer hara is to identify it with our id. Our lives were run out of control if we did not master our yetzer hara/id. The id is powerful; however, the Gemara teaches us that studying and applying Torah to our lives is the control were searching for.

“The Sages taught: “And you shall place [vesamtem] these words of Mine in your hearts” (Deuteronomy 11:18). Read this as though it stated sam tam, a perfect elixir. The Torah is compared to an elixir of life. There is a parable that illustrates this: A person hit his son with a strong blow and placed a bandage on his wound. And he said to him: My son, as long as this bandage is on your wound and is healing you, eat what you enjoy and drink what you enjoy, and bathe in either hot water or cold water, and you do not need to be afraid, as it will heal your wound. But if you take it off, the wound will become gangrenous.

“So too the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Israel: My children, I created an evil inclination, which is the wound, and I created Torah as its antidote. If you are engaged in Torah study you will not be given over into the hand of the evil inclination, as it is stated: “If you do well, shall it not be lifted up?” (Genesis 4:7). One who engages in Torah study lifts himself above the evil inclination.

“And if you do not engage in Torah study, you are given over to its power, as it is stated: “Sin crouches at the door” (Genesis 4:7). Moreover, all of the evil inclination’s deliberations will be concerning you, as it is stated in the same verse: “And to you is its desire.” And if you wish you shall rule over it, as it is stated in the conclusion of the verse: “But you may rule over it” (Genesis 4:7).

“The Sages taught: So difficult is the evil inclination that even its Creator calls it evil, as it is stated: “For the inclination of a man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). Rav Yitzḥak says: A person’s evil inclination renews itself to him every day, as it is stated: “And that every inclination of the thoughts in his heart was only evil all day [kol hayyom]” (Genesis 6:5). “Kol hayyom” can also be understood as: Every day.

“And Rabbi Shimon ben Levi says: A person’s inclination overpowers him every day, and seeks to kill him, as it is stated: “The wicked watches the righteous and seeks to slay him” (Psalms 37:32). And if not for the fact that the Holy One, Blessed be He, assists each person in battling his evil inclination, he could not overcome it, as it is stated: “The Lord will not leave him in his hand” (Psalms 37:33).

“A Sage from the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: My son, if this wretched one, the evil inclination, encounters you, pull it into the study hall, i.e., go and study Torah. If it is a stone it will melt, and if it is iron it will break, as it is stated with regard to the Torah: “Is not My word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29). Just as a stone shatters a hammer, so too one can overcome his evil inclination, which is as strong as iron, through Torah study. With regard to the second part of the statement: If it is a stone it will melt, this is as it is stated with regard to the Torah: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come for water” (Isaiah 55:1), and it states: “The water wears the stones” (Job 14:19), indicating that water is stronger than stone.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Studying Torah has never been easier than today thanks to the website Sefaria.org and the countless number of English books on every Jewish subject under the sun. If you would like some suggestions, contact me and I shall help you to the best of my ability.

Gigul Shavua, גִלְגוּל שָׁבוּעָה TB Kidushin 27-8

Dappim TB Kidushin 27-8 provides is the source for a reoccurring principle throughout the Talmud. Once a person has to take an oath, another oath may be administered on top of the first. This is called in Hebrew gigul shavua, גִלְגוּל שָׁבוּעָה.

The source in the Torah allowing gilgul shavua is derived from the oath that the sota, a woman who is suspected of adultery, has to make.

“Ulla says: From where is it derived from the Torah that one can impose the extension of an oath, i.e., if one is required to take an oath for one claim, the other party can obligate him to take an oath with regard to other claims which on their own would not lead to the imposition of an oath?

“As it is stated with regard to a sota: “And the woman shall say: Amen, amen” (Numbers 5:22), and we learned in a mishna (Sota 18a): Concerning what does she say the double expression of: Amen, amen? She says amen on the curse, as she accepts the curse upon herself if she is guilty, and amen on the oath, as she declares that she is not defiled. She states: Amen if I committed adultery with this man about whom I was warned, amen if I committed adultery with another man. Amen that I did not stray when I was betrothed nor after I was married, nor as a widow waiting for my yavam to perform levirate marriage, since a woman at that stage is prohibited from engaging in sexual intercourse with any men, nor when married through levirate marriage to the yavam.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The rabbis learn that we can extend this principle to monetary cases as well from a kal vekhmer, a fortiori inference. “The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught that this can be derived through an a fortiori inference: And just as in the case of a sota, where an oath cannot be imposed by one witness, as two witnesses must testify that the wife secluded herself with the man concerning whom she was warned in order for her to be obligated to take the oath of a sota, and yet one can extend her oath, is it not logical that with regard to a claim involving money, where an oath can be imposed by the testimony of one witness, that one can extend the oath?” (Sefaria.org translation)

We can even apply this principle to an uncertain claim. What is an example of an uncertain claim? Two people want to dissolve their partnership and one says to the other, “You take care of all the details.” After all the paperwork, so to speak, is completed, the one who allowed his former partner to take care of all the details wants to make sure that the partnership was divided 50-50. He doesn’t know for sure whether his former partner cheated him or not. Perhaps there is a fear that his partner took more than 50% rationalizing that he did all the work, so he’s entitled to more than 50% of the proceeds. This is an uncertain case because the first partner just doesn’t know whether or not his partner has divided the partnership equally.

“The Gemara asks: We found a source for the extension of an oath in the case of a definite claim, i.e., when the plaintiff is certain of his claim. From where do we derive that this halakha of the extension of an oath applies also to uncertain claims, when the plaintiff is not sure the defendant owes him money but merely suspects this to be the case?

“The Gemara answers: It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: The Torah states an external oath, i.e., an oath administered outside of the Temple, and it states an internal oath, an oath administered inside the Temple courtyard, i.e., the oath of a sota. Just as with regard to an oath stated in the Torah that is taken inside the Temple, the Torah rendered uncertainty like certainty, as in the case of a sota the husband’s claim is based on suspicion and yet he can extend that oath; so too, with regard to an oath stated in the Torah that is taken outside the Temple, the Torah rendered uncertainty to be like certainty, i.e., all oaths can be extended to include even uncertain claims.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Finally the Gemara sets limits what kind of oaths may be limited to. One may not impose a frivolous oath whose sole purpose is to denigrate the person. “…the court ostracizes one who says this to another, as it is taught in a baraita: One who calls another a (Canaanite-gg) slave (when it is well-known that he is a free Jew-gg) shall be ostracized. One who calls another a mamzer (a person born of an incestuous relationship. According to Jewish law a child born out of wedlock isn’t a mamzer.-gg) incurs the punishment of forty lashes. If one calls another a wicked person then the insulted person may harass him in all aspects of his life. In light of this halakha, it is clear that the court will not force the accused to respond to this insult by taking an oath.” (Sefaria.org translation)

 

Some parental obligations TB Kidushin 29

With today’s daf TB Kidushin 29 we leave the world of kinyanim, acquisitions, and begin discussing who is commanded to observe what mitzvot. The Mishnah is very famous because it creates the classic discussions which parent is obligated to observe which mitzvah and which mitzvot men and women are obligated to observe and which mitzvot women are free from the observance. I am not going to defend some of the positions. Obviously, these discussions have to be understood in the context of the time. When appropriate, I’ll show how the status of women has changed in the modern era and how that impacts Jewish law.

The Gemara provides those mitzvot a father is obligated with regard to his son. “According to this interpretation, we learn in this mishna that which the Sages taught in a baraita: A father is obligated with regard to his son to circumcise him, and to redeem him if he is a firstborn son who must be redeemed by payment to a priest, and to teach him Torah, and to marry him to a woman, and to teach him a trade. And some say: A father is also obligated to teach his son to swim. Rabbi Yehuda says: Any father who does not teach his son a trade teaches him banditry [listut]. The Gemara expresses surprise at this statement: Can it enter your mind that he actually teaches him banditry? Rather, the baraita means that it is as though he teaches him banditry. Since the son has no profession with which to support himself, he is likely to turn to theft for a livelihood. This baraita accords with Rav Yehuda’s interpretation of the mishna.” (Sefaria.org translation) A close reading of the list of mitzvot reveals the lifecycle order.

Teaching your child, both boys and girls, to swim is a mitzvah because this knowledge could save his/her life. I would even encourage every young person and adult who is able to take a lifeguarding course. If swimming could save a person’s life, how much more so could a lifeguard. Today there is a shortage of lifeguards and that puts so many people’s lives in danger unnecessarily.

When it comes to preparing children to enter the real world, ultra-Orthodox secular education is scandalous. We’ve been reading about the schisms in Israel between different groups of citizens . In today’s New York Times there is an article entitled “’Wounds Will Need to Be Healed’: Collisions in a Fractured Israel” The article describes how yeshiva study impacts this schism. “A fast-growing minority, the Haredim, as the ultra-Orthodox are known in Hebrew, are perceived to be reshaping Israeli society while doing too little to either protect it, through military service, or pay for it, through taxation. The employment rate of Haredi men is just 56 percent because many of them study religious law instead of working, although many of their wives are in the work force.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/11/world/middleeast/israel-protests-judicial-crisis.html?searchResultPosition=1)

Their educational system impacts their poverty rate.  “The Ultraorthodox community is considered to be “poor by choice” – namely, the men in this community are expected to learn Jewish subjects and not to work. As a result, the Ultraorthodox community is one of the poorest sectors in Israel, with a poverty rate of more than 50% (Kliner-Kasir and Tsachor-Shai, 2017).May 12, 2023” (https://www.google.com/search?q=The+poverty+level+of+the+ultra+Orthodox+in+Israel&sca_esv=564367827&sxsrf=AB5stBjJzaQMJGX6ubQWIR1xA5x3n-e6Pg%3A1694445408867&ei=YC__ZOnENMmYptQPpsisuAg&ved=0ahUKEwjp9L6F7aKBAxVJjIkEHSYkC4cQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=The+poverty+level+of+the+ultra+Orthodox+in+Israel&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAaAhgBIjFUaGUgcG92ZXJ0eSBsZXZlbCBvZiB0aGUgdWx0cmEgT3J0aG9kb3ggaW4gSXNyYWVsMggQIRigARiLAzIIECEYoAEYiwNI_RlQAFiQCnAAeAGQAQCYAYgBoAGIAaoBAzAuMbgBA8gBAPgBAeIDBBgAIEGIBgE&sclient=gws-wiz-serp)

To maintain their community, the ultraorthodox parties demand the coalition to provide financial support without contributing their fair share. Apparently not only do liberal streams of Judaism pick and choose which mitzvot, they observed, so do the ultraorthodox. By not teaching their children so they can earn a living, it is as though they are teaching him banditry.

 

Two types of khazakah TB Kidushin 26

The first chapter of massekhet so far has been dealing with different types of acquisition. Although the same Hebrew word kinyan (קִניָן) has been used, its meaning is nuanced by the context. The chapter began with the acquisition of a woman for the purpose of marriage. Time and time again the Gemara emphasized that the husband does not own the wife. Then we turned our attention to the acquisition of an eved evri. Even though the Hebrew word eved is usually translated as slave, in this context the eved evri is an indentured servant and not chattel. The master does not own him; consequently, the eved evri is emancipated after six years or upon the master’s death and not passed down as inheritance. The next topic was the acquisition of a Canaanite slave who is chattel and is passed down as inheritance to the next generation. Yesterday’s daf introduced the discussion how large or small animals are acquired.

Today’s daf TB Kidushin 26 discusses how in inanimate objects like land and movable objects are acquired. The Mishna states “Property that serves as a guarantee, i.e., land or other items that are fixed in the earth, can be acquired by means of giving money, by means of giving a document, or by means of taking possession of it. Property that does not serve as a guarantee, i.e., movable property, can be acquired only by pulling. Property that does not serve as a guarantee can be acquired along with property that serves as a guarantee by means of giving money, by means of giving a document, or by means of taking possession of them. The movable property is transferred to the buyer’s possession when it is purchased together with the land, by means of an act of acquisition performed on the land.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Hebrew word for taking possession is  khazakah (חֲזָקָה). There are two types of khazakot (plural of khazakah). Our Mishna is describing a single proprietary act to show ownership. This act can transpire in one second. Massekhet Baba Batra describes the case of khazakah when a person squats on the land for three years and nobody protests his living and or working the land. The khazakah is the presumption that the land is his. Unlike in our mishna, a minimum of three years needs to elapse before the presumption is accepted.