Friday, February 28, 2020

Eat This, Not This! TB Berachot 57


After spending another daf and a half on dreams and their interpretations, today’s Gemara, TB Berachot 57, moves on to the topic of food. “The Gemara says: Three food items enter the body yet the body does not benefit from them: Cherries, bad dates, and unripe dates.

“Six matters cure a sick person from his illness, and their cure is an effective cure. They are: Cabbage, beets, dried foley, a medicinal plant, the stomach, the placenta, and the diaphragm of an animal. Some say that small fish also possess these qualities. Furthermore, small fish cause one’s entire body to flourish and become healthy.

“In contrast, there are ten matters that cause a sick person who has recovered to suffer a relapse of his illness, and his illness is even more severe, and they are: Eating ox meat, eating fatty meat in general, eating roasted meat, eating poultry, eating a roasted egg, shaving, eating cress, drinking milk, eating cheese, and bathing in a bathhouse. And some say eating nuts, and some say even eating cucumbers.” (Sefaria.org translation)

I recognize that sometimes folk medicines have real medicinal qualities. Nevertheless, I am skeptical of the benefits and deficits described by the Talmud until proven otherwise by modern science. I do believe that we often don’t choose healthy food over unhealthy choices. Let me share with you a couple examples from the website Eat this, Not that.

Brown Rice
Unhealthy Ingredients: Arsenic
Despite the countless health benefits of brown rice—which include digestion-slowing fiber and metabolism-boosting selenium—there is one reason you might consider the white grain over brown: arsenic levels. Recent analyses conducted by the Food and Drug Administration have found that arsenic is showing up at alarming rates in our beloved brown rice. Not only is arsenic known to be a carcinogen, but long-term exposure to high levels of arsenic is also associated with higher rates of skin, bladder, and lung cancers, as well as heart disease, according to the FDA. Because arsenic seeps into the outermost layers of the grain, it remains in fiber-rich brown rice but not in polished white rice.


Eat This! Instead: Isabel Smith, MS, RD, CDN, registered dietitian and founder of Isabel Smith Nutrition, agrees that the levels of arsenic in rice are concerning, but assures the risks can easily be reduced by varying all grains and starches we consume.


Deli Meats
Unhealthy Ingredients: Excess sodium
The deli meats you use to make your lunch may be putting your life at risk. How? Consider this: just 2 of those thinly-sliced pieces of meat can contain more sodium than a bag of pretzels, and upwards of 680 milligrams! (And who only uses 2 slices…?) A diet high in sodium puts many at risk for high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart disease, and with the average American consuming 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day, according to the American Heart Association, you should try to choose lower-sodium options whenever they are available.


Eat This! Instead: Unfortunately, all-natural, "uncured" meats still contain nitrates from natural additives like celery powder, so you won't really be reducing any negative health risks by purchasing these. Rather, the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) recommends focusing on reducing your intake of processed meats to 18 ounces (or six 3-ounce servings of meat) a week. https://www.eatthis.com/unhealthiest-foods-on-the-planet/


To help us make better choices, I refer you to these two webpages


You get what you pay for. TB Berachot 56


 “Famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud described dreams as the royal road to the unconscious and suggested that by studying the obvious content of dreams, we could then bring to light the hidden and unconscious desires that lead to neurosis.

“Analyzing dream symbols and ascribing meaning has become a popular source of both entertainment and self-reflection in popular culture. Do dreams really have hidden meanings? Can you learn your unconscious wishes and desires by interpreting your dreams?

“While most modern theories of dreams would suggest that the answer is no, this hasn't stopped interpreters and analysts from publishing a whole host of dream dictionaries that purport to identify what these common dream themes and symbols really mean.” (https://www.verywellmind.com/understanding-your-dreams-2795935)

Rabbis in the Talmud did not hesitate to interpret dreams either. Today’s entire daf TB Berachot 56 discusses dream interpretation. Rabbi Chanan teaches that a river, a bird, and a pot are symbols of peace in a dream. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi teaches that after you wake up you should accentuate the positive aspect of the symbol over the negative by thinking of the appropriate positive verse and not a negative verse. (See 56b)

13 times Abaye and Rava had the identical dream and Bar Haddaya interpreted Abaye’s dream in a positive light and Rava’s dream in a negative for a very simple reason. Abaye paid the interpreter’s fee while Rava didn’t. I’ll just give you a three examples from the Gemara.

“The Gemara relates: Bar Haddaya was an interpreter of dreams. For one who gave him a fee, he would interpret the dream favorably, and for one who did not give him a fee, he would interpret the dream unfavorably. The Gemara relates: There was an incident in which both Abaye and Rava saw an identical dream and they asked bar Haddaya to interpret it. Abaye gave him money and paid his fee, while Rava did not give him money. They said to him: The verse: “Your ox shall be slain before your eyes and you shall not eat thereof” (Deuteronomy 28:31) was read to us in our dream. He interpreted their dream and to Rava he said: Your business will be lost and you will derive no pleasure from eating because of the extreme sadness of your heart. To Abaye he said: Your business will profit and you will be unable to eat due to the joy in your heart.

“They said to him: The verse: “Go your way, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart” (Ecclesiastes 9:7) was read to us in our dream. To Abaye he said: Your business will profit and you will eat and drink and read the verse out of the joy of your heart. To Rava he said: Your business will be lost, you will slaughter but not eat, you will drink wine and read passages from the Bible in order to allay your fears.

“Abaye and Rava said to him: We saw lettuce on the mouth of the barrels. To Abaye he said: Your business will double like lettuce whose leaves are wide and wrinkled. To Rava he said: Your work will be bitter like a lettuce stalk.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Finally Rava started paying bar Haddaya’s plea and wouldn’t you know it, he interpreted Rava’s dreams in a positive light. “Ultimately, Rava came and gave him, bar Haddaya, a fee. And then Rava, said to him: I saw my wall fall. Bar Haddaya said to him: You will acquire property without limits. Rava said to him: I saw Abaye’s house [appadna] fall and its dust covered me. Bar Haddaya said to him: Abaye will die and his yeshiva will come to you. Rava said to him: I saw my house fall, and everyone came and took the bricks. He said to him: Your teachings will be disseminated throughout the world. Rava said to him: I saw that my head split and my brain fell out. He said to him: A feather will fall out of the pillow near your head. Rava said to him: The Egyptian hallel, the hallel that celebrates the Exodus, was read to me in a dream. He said to him: Miracles will be performed for you.” (Sefaria.org translation)

These stories teach me that you get what you pay for!



Thursday, February 27, 2020

How your table is like the altar and the Temple? TB Berachot 55


Who doesn’t want to prolong his/her life?! At the very bottom of TB Berachot 54b Rabbi Yehuda teaches that there are three things a person can do to lengthen his days. “Rav Yehuda said: There are three matters which, when one who prolongs their duration, they extend a person’s days and years. They are: One who prolongs his prayer, one who prolongs his mealtime at the table, and one who prolongs his time in the bathroom.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Gemara on today’s daf TB Berachot 55 asks how one who prolongs his mealtime at the table can possibly extends a person’s life. In the United States we have an obesity problem which we know shortens a person’s life. So the Gemara’s question is even more meaningful today than ever before. The answer is embedded in a wonderful midrashic explanation of a verse.

As for the virtue of prolonging one’s mealtime at the table, which Rav Yehuda mentioned, the Gemara explains: Perhaps a poor person will come during the meal and the host will be in a position to give him food immediately, without forcing the poor person to wait. The Sages elsewhere praised a person who acts appropriately at a meal, as it is written: “The altar, three cubits high and the length thereof, two cubits, was of wood, and so the corners thereof; the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were also of wood” (Ezekiel 41:22), and it is written in the continuation of that verse: “And he said unto me: This is the table that is before the Lord.” The language of this verse is difficult, as it begins with the altar and concludes with the table. Rather, Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Elazar both say: As long as the Temple stood, the altar atoned for Israel’s transgressions. Now that it is destroyed, a person’s table atones for his transgressions. (Sefaria.org translation)

Here are some disturbing food facts. “Even in the world’s greatest food-producing nation, children and adults face poverty and hunger in every county across America.
*More than 38 million people are living in poverty in America. In 2019, most families living in poverty earn less than $25,750 per year.
*More than 37 million people struggle with hunger in the United States, including more than 11 million children.
* A household that is food insecure has limited or uncertain access to enough food to support a healthy life.
*Children are more likely to face food insecurity than any other group in the United States. 
*More than half (56%) of food-insecure households participated in at least one of the major federal food assistance program — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps); the National School Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (often called WIC)” (https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/facts)

Since we don’t invite unknown hungry strangers into our home for obvious reasons, let me suggest another method that your table can lengthen your days. When I was sixth grade Hebrew school teacher the following is a Tzedakkah project I learned from my friend Danny Siegel that I incorporated into my class. He called this project “The Tzedakkah Habit”

“Rabbi Tanhum, though he needed only one portion of me for himself, would buy two; one bunch of vegetables, he would buy two-one for the poor and one for himself.” Midrash Kohelet

1. The purpose of this project is to buy an extra item when you grocery shop, collect the items over a period of time and then bring your collection to any food pantry you wish. Many synagogues and churches have barrels set aside for such donations.

2. Please use the following categories as a guide for your shopping. (So not to buy anything that requires refrigeration or can go stale or spoiled.) It may be helpful to buy one item from each category and a rotating basis in order to collect an assortment.

a.       Staples (such as noodles, rice, cereal, etc.)
b.      Canned goods (fruits, vegetables, tuna fish, etc.)
c.       Beverages (coffee, tea, juices etc.)
d.      Personal sundries (shampoo, toothpaste, bar soap, tampons, etc.)
e.      Paper goods (toilet paper, tissues, napkins, etc.)
f.        Household cleaning items (From Gym Shoes and Irises: Book Two, page 115)

Usually I only comment on one idea per daf, but today’s daf has something so relevant I can’t pass it up. Since we are in the midst of the primaries for the presidency of the United States I would like to share with you something else Rabbi Yehudah taught.

“Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Three matters require a plea for mercy to bring them about: A good king, a good year, and a good dream. These three, kings, years, and dreams, are all bestowed by God and one must pray that they should be positive and constructive. The Gemara enumerates the sources for these cases: A good king, as it is written: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord as the watercourses: He turns it whithersoever He will” (Proverbs 21:1)” (Sefaria.org translation)

Go out and vote and pray that we elect a good president in November 2020!


Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Our cure for sleep walking TB Berachot 54


There are three different categories of blessings. The first category are blessings we say before we observe a mitzvah. For example, before we light the Hanukkah candles we recite, “Praised are You Lord our God, King of the universe was made us holy through His commandments, and has commanded us to light the Hanukkah candles.” The second category are blessings on pleasures, ברכות נהנין. These are the blessings that we recite before and after we eat food or smell fragrant spices or flowers.


Today’s daf TB Berachot 54 introduces the third category of blessings. They are blessings of praise and thanksgiving.


“MISHNA: One who sees a place where miracles occurred on Israel’s behalf recites: Blessed…Who performed miracles for our forefathers in this place. One who sees a place from which idolatry was eradicated recites: Blessed…Who eradicated idolatry from our land. One who sees conspicuous natural occurrences recites a blessing. For zikin (comets) and zeva’ot (earthquakes), for thunder, gale force winds, and lightning, manifestations of the power of the Creator, one recites: Blessed…Whose strength and power fill the world. For extraordinary (Rambam) mountains, hills, seas, rivers, and deserts, one recites: Blessed…Author of creation. Consistent with his opinion that a separate blessing should be instituted for each individual species, Rabbi Yehuda says: One who sees the great sea recites a special blessing: Blessed…Who made the great sea. As with all blessings of this type, one only recites it when he sees the sea intermittently, not on a regular basis. For rain and other good tidings, one recites the special blessing: Blessed…Who is good and Who does good. Even for bad tidings, one recites a special blessing: Blessed…the true Judge. Similarly, when one built a new house or purchased new vessels, he recites: Blessed…Who has given us life, sustained us, and brought us to this time. The mishna articulates a general principle: One recites a blessing for the bad that befalls him just as he does for the good. In other words, one recites the appropriate blessing for the trouble that he is experiencing at present despite the fact that it may conceal some positive element in the future. Similarly, one must recite a blessing for the good that befalls him just as for the bad.” (Sefaia.org translation)

The Gamara adds to the list an example of those people who need to thank God with birkat Gomel after escaping a dangerous situation with their lives. “Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Four must offer thanks to God with a thanks-offering and a special blessing. They are: Seafarers, those who walk in the desert, and one who was ill and recovered, and one who was incarcerated in prison and went out. All of these appear in the verses of a psalm (Psalms 107). The Gemara asks: What blessing does he recite? Rav Yehuda said: Blessed is…Who bestows acts of loving-kindness.” (Sefaia.org translation)

Far too often we sleep walk through our lives never paying attention to the beauty of our world and its daily miracles. Too many of us take everything in life for granted. All these blessings are meant to open up our eyes so that we may respond in gratitude to God for the world that He has given us for our benefit. As I have said and written so many times before, I believe that a gratitude attitude is the very foundation of a religious and spiritual life. No wonder our tradition asks us to recite 100 blessings a day in order that we remain awake to all of God’s glory and beauty in this world.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

I nailed it! TB Berachot 53


Today’s daf TB Berachot 53 is dedicated to my granddaughter Summer, one of the lights of my life, who is celebrating her first birthday today. We also finish the eighth chapter of massechet Berachot.

Rabbi Yehudah and Rava disagree what is the meaning of the benefiting from the light of the Havdalah candle. “We learned in the mishna: And one does not recite the blessing over the candle until he derives benefit from its light.” (Sefaria.com translation)

“Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Benefit does not mean that the one reciting the blessing must have actually benefited from the light of the candle. Rather, as long as one could stand close to the candle and utilize its light, anyone who sees it may recite a blessing over it, even if he is standing at a distance. And with regard to the question whether or not one must actually benefit from the flame’s light in order to recite a blessing, Rava said: When the mishna said benefit, it meant that he must actually derive benefit from the light.” (Sefaria.com translation)

Rabbi Yehudah believes we can say the blessing over a light as long as we can derive potential benefit from it and Rava holds the position that we need to have actual benefit from the light. The Shulchan Aruch O.H. 298:4 decides in favor of Rava’s position: “(Even though one can see the light), he should not recite a blessing over it unless he is close enough to it so that he can derive benefit from it to the degree that he could use its light to differentiate between coins of one country and coins of another country.”  {Being able to differentiate between coins of two different places comes directly from our daf TB Berachot 53b. GG} (Sefaria.com translation)


Interestingly enough, The Shulchan Aruch O.H. 298:3 talks about the custom of holding up your fingers to the light of the Havdalah candle. “It is our custom to look at the palm of one's hands and one's nails. RAMA: There are those who look at the nails of the right hand and grasp the cup in the left hand. One should bend the fingers into the hand so as to see the nails with the palms at the same time. And one will not see the inside of his fingers (Zohar, Bresheet and Va'Yakhel).” (Sefaria.com translation)

I looked online for the reason of looking at one’s nails and found this explanation by Yehudah Shurpin:

“The basic reason for this custom is that one should not recite a blessing over the fire unless he is close enough to its light to benefit from it and differentiate between the coins of one country and the coins of another.1 Therefore, people examine their nails in the candlelight, since it takes a similar amount of light to differentiate between the nails and the skin2 (remember, before havdalah one shouldn’t have any coins on him).

“In addition to the fingernails, it is also customary to look at the palms, because there is a sign that leads to blessing in the creases on one’s palms.8 Therefore, the custom is to clench the four fingers over the thumb so that the nails and palm can be viewed at once.9

“There are different customs as to whether one should gaze at his fingernails before or after the blessing is said.

“The debate is dependent upon the reason for the blessing. If it is primarily a blessing of praise (birkat hashevach) for the natural phenomenon of fire, then the blessing should follow the experience, just like the blessings after lightening and thunder.

“If, however, the reason for the blessing is similar to a blessing of benefit (birkat hanehenin) like the blessing over food, then we should first make the blessing and then enjoy the fire. The more common practice (and the standard Chabad custom) is to gaze at the fingernails only after the blessing of the fire is made.12"

FOOTNOTES
1.Talmud, Berachot 51b and 53b.

2.See Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 20; Siddur Rav Amram Gaon; Rosh, Talmud, Berachot 8:3;Tur, Orach Chaim 298; Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Orach Chaim 298:6.

8.Rav Hai Gaon, quoted in Tur, Orach Chaim 298

9. This follows the teaching of the Zohar that you look only at the outer side of the fingers where the nails are, but not the inner side of the fingers. See Zohar 1:20b; Rema, Orach Chaim 298:3. Additionally, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi writes in his Siddur that one’s fingers should cover his thumb. See Piskei Siddur Admur HaZaken.

12.See Siddur HaTanya; Siddur Yaavetz; Siddur HaGra; Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 96:9; Igrot Moshe, Orach Chaim 5:9:9. See, however, Mishnah Berurah 296:31, who holds that one should make the blessing only after gazing at his fingernails. Some point out that even if the blessing is birkat hashevach for the creation of fire, it would be enough to simply see the fire before the blessing, whereas using the fire to distinguish nails from flesh, thus “using the flame" is best done afterwards since that way you would also be to satisfying the opinions that hold it's brikat hanenenin. In other words, by doing it afterward you can, according to many, satisfy both opinions. Conversely looking at your nails before the blessing does not satisfy those who hold it's birkat hanehenin.

Personally, I don’t look at my fingernails when I say the blessing over the Havdalah candle because I don’t consider that a real benefit. When I say the blessing over the candle, I generally choose to look at the bencher, Grace after meals booklet where the prayer for Havdalah is found, at this time to make sure I’m reciting it correctly. I believe that I am following Rava’s position more accurately because I’m actually driving benefit from the light.


Monday, February 24, 2020

Dayo, which blessing comes first? TB Berachot 52


The eighth chapter of massecht Barachot explicates the eight disagreements between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai found in the Mishnah. Today’s daf TB Berachot 52 sees an inconsistency in Beit Shammai’s position concerning Kiddush and Havdalah. When it comes to Kiddush Beit Shammai says we recite the paragraph that sanctifies Shabbat or the holiday first and then make the blessing over the wine. The Gemarra on TB Berachot 51 supplies us with his reasoning. “Beit Shammai say: When one recites kiddush over wine, one recites a blessing over the sanctification of the day and recites a blessing over the wine thereafter as the day causes the wine to come before the meal.” (Sefaria.org translation) The Gemara learns from a baraita (a tannaitic statement) when it comes to Havdalah Beit Shammai says we first say the blessing over wine and then the blessing that separates Shabbat from the weekday. Shouldn’t the same logic apply that the new weekday day i.e. Saturday night comes first and that causes the wine to come?

The Gemara explains to us that Beit Shammai is teaching us something important about Shabbat.  “And, nevertheless, after the Gemara has proven that the baraita corresponds to the opinion of Beit Shammai as interpreted by Rabbi Yehuda, the contradiction Beitween Beit Shammai’s statement in the baraita and their statement in the Tosefta is difficult. The Gemara responds: Beit Shammai hold that the arrival of the day of Shabbat or a Festival is different from the departure of the day. As with regard to the arrival of the day, the more that we can advance it, the Beitter; with regard to the departure of the day, the more we postpone it, the Beitter, so that Shabbat should not be like a burden to us. Consequently, although Beit Shammai situate kiddush before the blessing over the wine, they agree that one should recite havdala after the blessing over the wine.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Too many people only look at what is prohibited on Shabbat. One can’t do this and one can’t do that. At first glance Shabbat can seem like a terrible burden. Those of us who observe the Sabbath focus on all the things we can do when all the distractions are removed. There’s time to have a meal where the entire family sits down together. There’s time to slow down and smell the roses. This time to read and study things we couldn’t during the week. Consequently, Shabbat isn’t a burden at all, but a taste of the World to Come. That’s why Beit Shammai wants to hold on Shabbat for as long as possible even if it’s only for a few seconds it takes a person to recite the blessing over the day before the blessing over the wine.

As soon as we finish massechet Berachot we immediately began massechet Shabbat. During the course of study we shall learn why Shabbat is a blessing and not a burden.

Sunday, February 23, 2020

I know where the Malach Hamaves, the Angel of death lives TB Berachot 51

Today's daf is dedicated to my father-in-law Max Diamond on his yahrzeit.

 We finish the seventh chapter and begin the eighth chapter of Berachot with today’s daf TB Berachot 51. I guess Rabbi Yehoshu ben Levi shares good advice he received from the Malach Hamaves, The Angel of Death.

“Similarly, the Gemara relates that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The Angel of Death told me three things: Do not take your cloak in the morning from the hand of your servant and wear it; do not ritually wash your hands from one who has not ritually washed his own hands; and do not stand before the women when they return from the burial of the deceased, because I dance and come before them and my sword is in hand, and I have license to destroy..” (Sefaria.org translation)

When I was a rabbinical student, my friend Avram Reisner found something interesting. I don’t know why he was reading the Manhatten phone book, but he was. He found a listing “Hamaves, Malach who lived on West End Ave.” We thought perhaps that person wanted an unlisted phone number and didn’t want to pay extra for it. But what if it was the Malach Hamaves?! We were too scared to call that number and the Malach Hamaves would answered and say, “I’ve been expecting your call.”

Well if your path accidently cross the Malach Hamaves, the Gemara tells you how to escape his clutches.

“The Gemara asks: And if one encounters women returning from a funeral, what is his remedy? The Gemara answers: Let him jump four cubits from where he stands; if there is a river, let him cross it; if there is another path, let him go down it; if there is a wall, let him stand behind it; and if not, he should turn his face around and recite the verse: “And the Lord said to the Satan: The Lord rebukes you, Satan, the Lord that has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you; is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?” (Zechariah 3:2), until they pass him.” (Sefaria.com translation)

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Don't throw your food because children are starving TB Berachot 50


Remember the movie Animal House? In the cafetaria scene John Belushi stands up and yells, “Food fight!” and food goes flying in all directions. Obviously these characters never studied today’s daf TB Berachot 50 in school. The Gemara teaches table etiquette. One should never debase good food because children some where are going hungry. Just ask your grandmother in which country they are starving now.

The Gemara continues to discuss the topic of using food. The Sages taught: Four things were said with regard to bread: One may not place raw meat on bread so the blood will not drip onto the bread and render it inedible; and one may not pass a full cup of wine over bread lest the wine drip on it and ruin the bread; and one may not throw bread; and one may not prop up a dish with a piece of bread. The basis for these laws is the need to treat bread with respect.

The Gemara recounts: Ameimar, Mar Zutra and Rav Ashi ate bread together when they brought dates and pomegranates before them. Mar Zutra took fruit and threw a portion before Rav Ashi. Rav Ashi was astounded and said to him: Does the Master not hold with that which was taught in a baraita: One may not throw food? He responded: That was taught with regard to bread, not other foods. Rav Ashi challenged him again: Wasn’t it taught in a baraita: Just as one may not throw bread, so too one may not throw other foods? Mar Zutra said to him: Wasn’t the opposite taught in another baraita: Although one may not throw bread, he may throw other foods?

Rather, that is not difficult, as the two baraitot address two different cases. This baraita, in which it is taught that one may not throw other foods, refers to a food item that becomes disgusting when thrown, whereas that baraita, in which it is taught that one may throw other foods, refers to a food item that does not become disgusting when thrown.

Similarly, the Sages taught: One may draw wine through pipes before a bride and groom as a blessed omen, and one may throw roasted grain and nuts before them in the summer, but not in the rainy season, as in the summer they can be retrieved and eaten, which is not the case in the rainy season. But one may not throw cakes, neither in the summer nor in the rainy season. “ (Sefaria.org translation)

My advice? Play it safe and polite and don’t throw your food at any time.

Friday, February 21, 2020

The bare necessities TB Berachot 49


Back during the days of the Talmud, the text of birkat hamzon, Grace after meals, was fluid. Today’s daf TB Berachot 49 discusses what are the bare necessities one needs to say in order to fulfill his or hers obligation of birkat hamzon. The actual discussion begins at the very bottom of the preceding page TB Berachot 48b.

With regard to the formula of Grace after Meals, the Gemara continues: It was taught in a baraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: Anyone who did not say: A desirable, good, and spacious land in the blessing of the land, and who did not mention the royal house of David in the blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, did not fulfill his obligation. Naḥum the Elder says: One must mention the covenant of circumcision in the blessing of the land. Rabbi Yosei says: One must mention the Torah in the blessing of the land. Pelimu, one of the last tanna’im (tanna’m are rabbis who are in the Mishna, terminus end date 200 C.E. and amora’im are rabbis who are in the Gemara, terminus end date 500 C.E. gg), says: He must make mention of the covenant of circumcision preceding mention of the Torah, as this, the Torah, was given to the Jewish people with three covenants, and that, the covenant of circumcision, was given with thirteen covenants, as the word brit, covenant, appears thirteen times in the portion dealing with the circumcision of Abraham (Genesis 17:1–14).

Rabbi Abba says: One must mention thanks in the blessing of thanksgiving in Grace after Meals at the beginning and the end of the blessing. And one who decreases the number of expressions of thanksgiving may not decrease their number to fewer than one, and if anyone decreases their number to fewer than one, it is reprehensible.

The Gemara added that the conclusions of the blessing of the land and the blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, may also not be changed. Anyone who concludes the blessing of the land: Who bequeaths lands and concludes the blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, with the formula: Who redeems Israel, is an ignoramus, as he thereby corrupts the intention of the blessing. And anyone who does not mention covenant and Torah in the blessing of the land and the royal house of David in the blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, did not fulfill his obligation.

The Gemara notes: This baraita supports the opinion of Rabbi Il’a, as Rabbi Il’a said that Rabbi Ya’akov bar Aḥa said in the name of Rabbeinu, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: Anyone who did not mention covenant and Torah in the blessing of the land and the royal house of David in the blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, did not fulfill his obligation. (Sefaria.org translation)

Different branches of the Conservative Movement have formulated different abridged versions of birkat hamazon keeping in mind the halachot found on today’s daf. I personally like the one found in the Israeli siddur Ani Tefilati published by the Mesorati movement.

The text for the second blessing of birkat hamazon reads: “We thank you Adonai our God, because you have given us a good and spacious land, brit (covenant), Torah, life, and sustenance.” The third blessing is: “Have mercy, Adonai our God, for Israel your people, for Jerusalem your city, for Zion the dwelling place of Your glory, for the great and holy Temple where your name was called upon, and return the kingdom of the house of David to its rightful place in our day…” (My translation)

Since the destruction of our Second Temple in the year 70 CE by the Romans, our classical liturgy describes Jerusalem as destroyed, forlorn, and bereft of its Jewish inhabitants. Almost nothing else could be farther than the truth in 2020. Jerusalem is a big, bustling and growing city. I often joke that the official bird of Jerusalem is the “building crane.” Since God’s seal is truth, I believe that we are forbidden to lie when we pray. Consequently, this new addition to birkat hamazon is the reason I like Ani Tefilati’s abridged version the best. “Complete the building of Jerusalem the City of Holiness soon. Praised are You Adonai, who builds Jerusalem…” (My translation)

To that let us all say, “Amen!”

Thursday, February 20, 2020

What is a congregant going to do? TB Berachot 48


Today’s daf TB Berachot 48 is worth reading in the English (follow this link: https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.48a?lang=bi). You will study the source of many different halachot which you may or may not be familiar with. Here are several examples. Anybody may join in in a zimmun if he or she has eaten any kind of food. However, only one who has eaten an olive size of bread (approximately 40 g) may lead the zimmun. There is a debate and how many people need to eat bread to qualify for a minyan and add God’s name in the invitation. Is the minimum six people or seven people? How old do you have to be to be eligible to join the zimmun? A minor who knows enough to Whom one recites a blessing is included in a zimmun.

The Gemara goes on to teach us who instituted the first four blessings of birkat hamazon, Grace after meals.

With regard to the origins of the four blessings of Grace after Meals, Rav Naḥman said:
Moses instituted for Israel the first blessing of: Who feeds all, when the manna descended for them and they needed to thank God.
Joshua instituted the blessing of the land when they entered Eretz Yisrael.
David and Solomon instituted the third blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, in the following manner:
David instituted “…on Israel Your people and on Jerusalem Your city…” as he conquered the city,
and Solomon instituted “…on the great and Holy Temple…” as he was the one who built the Temple.
They instituted the blessing: Who is good and does good, at Yavne in reference to the slain Jews of the city of Beitar at the culmination of the bar Kokheva rebellion. They were ultimately brought to burial after a period during which Hadrian refused to permit their burial. As Rav Mattana said: On the same day that the slain of Beitar were brought to burial, they instituted the blessing: Who is good and does good, at Yavne. Who is good, thanking God that the corpses did not decompose while awaiting burial, and does good, thanking God that they were ultimately brought to burial. (Sefaria.org translation)

But that’s not what I really want to share with you today. On daf 48a Tosefot describes what they call a minhag shtut, a dumb or ludicrous custom. Perhaps you have heard of it or even seen it in action. If you have nine people and a minor and the minor is holding a Humash, the minor completes the minyan for the purposes of prayer. It all begins on the preceding page TB Berachot 47b.  Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi makes an astounding statement. “Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Although a minor lying in a cradle is not included in a zimmun, one may make him an adjunct to complete an assembly of ten people, enabling them to invoke God’s name in a zimmun.” (Sefaria.org translation)

As I wrote yesterday Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s opinion was rejected as halacha to be followed. Since in the Gemara the topic of a minyan for Grace after meals and for prayer services were intermixed and sometimes gathering a minyan for services was difficult, Tosefot writes on daf 48a that “there are those who incorporate a minor for prayer if he will be holding a Humash, a printed Torah, in his hand. Rebbenu Tam decrees that this is a minhag shtut for if an Ark with Torah scrolls isn’t a human being, how can a Humash be a human being?!” (My translation)

Rabbi Moses Isserlis, who adapted Joseph Karo’s Shulchan Aruch for the Ashkenazi diaspora begrudgingly admits that this custom still existed in his time, writing in Orech Chayim 55:4: “and even if he has a Humash in his hand he is not joined (to the 9 to make a minyan), although there those who follow this practice to be lenient in a time of need. (The Rosh and Mordechai and Hagahot Maimini chapter 9 of the Laws of Prayer” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Beair Hatav comments that “even in a time of need the minor doesn’t have to be holding the Humash. But davka only one minor and not two. The Lavush didn’t see this practice to join a minor even in a time of need. In our day we do have the custom joining a minor with a Humash in his hand (for the sake of a minyan). This only applies to hearing the barachu and the kaddish which are obligatory; however, the kaddish after aleinu is not said even in a time of need. The Bach writes those that the minor davka has to be holding a scroll like a Sefer Torah not like our printed Humashim (plural for Humash) to join the other 9 to make a minyan. Because of this, Zikeinu the Gaon of blessed memory wrote that the halachic practice is not to permit a minor to join to make a minyan. (My translation)

So there are those who permit a minor to make a minyan even if he isn’t holding a Humash. There those places that he must hold a Humash to be counted in a minyan. And there those who forbid this all the time and even call it a minhag shut. So what’s a congregant going to do? Simple. Ask your Rabbi.


Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Some things never change TB Berachot 47


Today’s daf TB Berachot 47 reaffirms the old saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Jews throughout the ages all have had the same problems.

In many synagogues including mine, don’t have a minyan at the start of services. Sometimes I have to wait for our 10th person to say the barachu, the call to worship. Sometimes I even have to wait until we reach the Torah service. I kiddingly say that my members come to shul just like the Israelites when they crossed through the Sea of Reeds, “yiddle by yiddle.” Perhaps Jews in Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi also arrived based on Jewish time because he encourages people to the synagogue on time.

“In praise of a quorum of ten, the Gemara states that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One should always rise early to go to the synagogue in order to have the privilege and be counted among the first ten to complete the quorum, as even if one hundred people arrive after him, he receives the reward of them all, as they are all joining that initial quorum. The Gemara is perplexed: Does it enter your mind that he receives the reward of them all? Why should he take away their reward? Rather, emend the statement and say: He receives a reward equivalent to the reward of them all.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Sometimes just getting 10 people has been impossible. I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked, “Rabbi, can’t we open up the ark and count the Torah for the 10th.” They probably didn’t know the source of this idea. Now you do because it can be found in today’s daf.

“With regard to the laws of joining a quorum, Rav Huna said: Nine plus an ark in which the Torah scrolls are stored join to form a quorum of ten. Rav Naḥman said to him: Is an ark a man, that it may be counted in the quorum of ten? Rather, Rav Huna said: Nine who appear like ten may join together. There was disagreement over this: Some said this halakha as follows: Nine appear like ten when they are gathered. And some said this halakha as follows: Nine appear like ten when they are scattered, the disagreement being which formation creates the impression of a greater number of individuals. (Sefaria.org translation)”

After listing several other leniencies concerning the lack of the required number of people to make a zimmun, “The Gemara concludes: The halakha is not in accordance with all of these lien leniencies. Rather, the halakha is in accordance with this statement that Rav Naḥman said: A minor who knows to Whom one recites a blessing is included in a zimmun.” (Sefaria.org translation) Sorry, and ark full of Torah scrolls just doesn’t add up to one human being.

Make your rabbi happy by coming to shul to make a minyan for services. Coming on time would be an added bonus.






Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Who's up first and who's batting cleanup?


Where’s Emily Post when we need her? Today’s daf TB Berachot 46 teaches different aspects of meal etiquette. We all know that there is a blessing before we eat, hamotzi, and Grace after meals, birkat hamazon, when we have finished eating. With guests and family sitting around the Shabbat or Yom Tov table, who is honored with the motzi and who is honored with birkat hamazon? The Gemara tells the story that answers our etiquette question.

The Gemara recounts: Rabbi Zeira took ill. Rabbi Abbahu went to visit him and resolved: If the little man with the scorched legs, a nickname for Rabbi Zeira, is cured, I will make a festival, a feast, for the Sages. Rabbi Zeira was cured and Rabbi Abbahu made a feast for all the Sages. When it came time to break bread, Rabbi Abbahu said to Rabbi Zeira: Master, please break bread for us. Rabbi Zeira said to him: Doesn’t the Master hold in accordance with that halakha of Rabbi Yoḥanan, who said: The host breaks bread? Rabbi Abbahu broke bread for them. When the time came to recite the blessing, Rabbi Abbahu said to Rabbi Zeira: Master, recite Grace after Meals on our behalf. Rabbi Zeira said to him: Doesn’t the Master hold in accordance with that halakha of Rabbi Huna of Babylonia, who said: He who breaks bread recites Grace after Meals?

The Gemara asks: And in accordance with whose opinion does Rabbi Abbahu hold that he asked Rabbi Zeira to recite Grace after Meals? The Gemara answers: Rabbi Abbahu holds in accordance with that halakha that Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: The host breaks bread and a guest recites Grace after Meals. The host breaks bread so that he will break bread generously, whereas a guest might be embarrassed to break a large piece for himself and other guests; and the guest recites Grace after Meals so that he may bless the host in the course of reciting Grace after Meals, as the Gemara proceeds to explain. (Sefaria.org translation)

That’s the answer to our question. A good host should give generous portions and a guest should bless the host for opening up his home to him. The Gemara goes on to suggest the wording of this blessing.

What is the formula of the blessing with which the guest blesses his host?
May it be Your will that the master of the house shall not suffer shame in this world, nor humiliation in the World-to-Come. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi added to it elements pertaining to material success:
And may he be very successful with all his possessions,
and may his possessions and our possessions be successful and near the city,
and may Satan control neither his deeds nor our deeds,
and may no thought of sin, iniquity, or transgression stand before him or before us
from now and for evermore. (Sefaria.org translation)

For reasons unknown to me, this blessing formulation never entered the birkat hamazon liturgy. I think a blessing like this is certainly appropriate for us today. How would you bless your host thanking him/her for his/her hospitality and generosity?

Monday, February 17, 2020

Can I hear an amen to that! TB Berachot 45


Today TB Berachot 45 begins the seventh chapter of Messechet Berachot. This chapter deals with the intricacies surrounding around birkat hamazon, Grace after Meals. The opening Mishnah teaches “the essential halakhot pertaining to the invitation to recite Grace after Meals after a joint meal [zimmun]: Three people who ate as one are required to form a zimmun and recite Grace after Meals.” (Sefaria.org translation) The Gemara provides the verses that suggest a zimmun needs a minimum of three people. With regard to the basic mitzva of zimmun, the Gemara asks:” From where are these matters derived, that after a meal in which three diners participated, a zimmun must be recited? Rav Asi said: As the verse states: “Praise God with me, and we will exalt His name together” (Psalms 34:4), i.e., the one reciting the blessing turns to at least two others to praise God together. Rabbi Abbahu said: The source of the mitzva of zimmun is derived from the verse here: “When I call the Name of the Lord, give [plural] praise to our God” (Deuteronomy 32:3). “(Sefaria.org translation)

One should still recite birkat hamazon even if there isn’t a zimmun!  We should always show our gratitude for the food we eat by thanking God for it.

Two different times on this daf do we learn something about saying “amen” after a blessing. First of all, one must modulate his response of “amen” with the prayer leader blessing so that they will be in sync. “Rav Ḥanan bar Abba said: From where is it derived that one who answers amen should not raise his voice louder than the one reciting the blessing? As it is stated: “Praise God with me, and we will exalt His Name together”; together and not with the respondent raising his voice louder than the one reciting the blessing.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Secondly, the Gemara discusses whether a person should answer “amen” to his own bracha. I have taught that saying amen to a blessing is tantamount to saying I agree with the person saying the blessing. Obviously, the person saying the blessing agrees to the content of the bracha and should not say “amen” to his own blessing. That would be redundant. TB Berachot 45b teaches us that this is not so simple.

One baraita taught: One who answers amen after his own blessings, it is praiseworthy. Another baraita taught: It is reprehensible. The Gemara resolves this apparent contradiction: This is not difficult. This, where the first baraita says that it is praiseworthy to answer amen after his own blessing, is in the blessing: Who builds Jerusalem; this, where the second baraita deems it offensive, is in other blessings.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Everybody agrees that everyone says amen after reciting the blessing “Who builds Jerusalem-וּבְנֵה יְרוּשָׁלַֽיִם עִיר הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ בִּמְהֵרָה בְיָמֵֽינוּ. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה , בּוֹנֵה בְרַחֲמָיו יְרוּשָׁלָֽיִם. אָמֵן.“. Rashi explains the reason why we recite amen after this blessing. He teaches that it is appropriate to say amen after the last beracha of a whole series of blessings. In fact that is the Sephardic custom to do so. After referencing Rabbeinu Haniel and the Halachot Gedolot who decide Jewish law according to the Sephardic custom, Tosefot writes “nevertheless we went out to see what Jews (on the streets) were actually doing (in the Ashkenazi diaspora) and saw that they did not answer amen except after ‘Who builds Jerusalem’ in Grace after meals.”

That’s our tradition thanks to the power of the people!

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Mixed up values TB Berachot 44


Today we finished the sixth chapter of massechet (tractate) Berachot. Our daf TB Berachot 44 opens with a Mishna that teaches a very important life principle.

MISHNA: If they brought salted food before him to eat first and bread with it, he recites a blessing over the salted food and thereby exempts the bread, because the salted food is primary while the bread is secondary to it. This is the principle: Any food that is primary and a secondary food is with it, one recites a blessing over the primary and, in so doing, exempts the secondary from its own blessing. (Sefaria.org translation)

In this case a person is only eating bread to chase down very salty food that otherwise would be hard to swallow. The salty food is primary and the bread is secondary. The principle is clear. One recites the blessing over what’s primary and in doing so does not need to bless the secondary food.

What’s primary and what secondary in life is not always so clear to people as the Mishnah’s example. The Torah (Numbers 32 1:42) gives us an example that resonates for us moderns. After the Israelites defeated Sichon and Og, two Kings, the tribes of Reuvan and Gad saw the land they had just conquered was suitable for cattle and they owned cattle in very great number. They requested to remain on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Moses was angry at them thinking once again some Israelites did not want to cross over into the Promised Land and thus disobey God’s command to conquer it. A very interesting conversation between Moses and these tribes ensued.

“Then they stepped up to him and said, ‘We will build here sheep-folds for flocks and towns for our children. And we will hasten as shock troops in the van of the Israelites until we have established them in their homes, while our children stay in the fortified towns because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every one of the Israelites is in possession of his portion. But we will not have a share with them the territory beyond the Jordan, for we have received our share on the east side of the Jordan.”

“Moses said to them, ‘If you do this, if you go to battle as shock troops, at the insistence of the Lord, and every shock fighter among you crosses the Jordan, at the insistence of the Lord, until He has displaced His enemies before Him, and the land has been subdued, at the instance of the Lord, and then you return-you shall be clear before the Lord and before Israel; and this land shall be your holding under the Lord. But if you do not do so, you will have sinned against the Lord; and know that your sin will overtake you. Build towns for your children and sheep-folds for your flocks, but do what you have promised.” (Numbers 32:16-24)

The Midrash Bemidbar Rabbah 22:9 reading Moses’ response very closely and carefully makes a point about what’s truly important and what is only secondary. Explicating the verse “a wise man’s mind tends toward the right hand, and a fool’s toward the left.” (Ecclesiastes 10:2) “A wise man is Moses and the fools are Reuvan and Gad for they made the primary secondary and the secondary primary. They loved their money more than their families for they said to Moses, ‘We will build here sheep-folds for flocks and towns for our children.’ Moses said to them that they should make the primary value first and secondary value second saying, Build towns for your children and then sheep-folds for your flocks” (My translation and emphasis)

Notice that Moses reverses the order telling them to take care of their families first and then worry about their livelihood. That’s good advice for many of us today. A lot of us become so involved in our work that we neglect our families by never being home. Work becomes its own end and not a means to benefit our family. I have to admit that I am just as guilty at times as anybody else. Our spouses and significant others needs us to be with them now. Our children and grandchildren grow up so quickly that if we lose the opportunity to spend quality time with them now because of work, we will never get that time back to see them take the first step or play ball on their Little League team or accomplish any other wonderful feat in the lives.

The Mishnah is correct when teaches us to look at what’s primary and what secondary in our lives.


Saturday, February 15, 2020

The Daffodil Project TB Berachot 43

Today’s daf is dedicated and honor of my great-niece Sophie Diamond on her bat mitzvah.

Today’s daf TB Berachot 43 discusses what blessing should be recited over fragrant flowers, bushes, and trees.

Rav Mesharshiya said: Over this garden daffodil one recites: Who creates fragrant trees (בּוֹרֵא עֲצֵי בְשָׂמִים), while over a wild daffodil that grows in the field, one recites: Who creates fragrant plants (בּוֹרֵא עִשְׂבֵי בְשָׂמִים). Rav Sheshet said: Over fragrant violets one recites: Who creates fragrant plants. Mar Zutra said: One who smells a citron [etrog] or a quince recites: Blessed…who gave pleasant fragrance in fruits. (Sefaria.orgtranslation)

My synagogue Marathon Jewish Community Center along with Congregation L’Dor V’Dor, and Temple Torah have been planting daffodil gardens in front of our respective synagogues and throughout our community as part of The Daffodil Project. The Daffodil Project aspires to build a worldwide Living Holocaust Memorial by planting 1.5 million Daffodils in memory of the children who perished in the Holocaust and in support for children suffering in humanitarian crises in the world today. We plant these daffodils around Kristallnacht knowing that they should bloom around Yom Hashoa. These yellow flowers reminds us of the yellow Star of David the Nazis made Jews wear.

As I walk to my synagogue entrance by our daffodil garden, I notice that some of the green stalks of the daffodils had poked through the dirt. I’m not surprised because in January we enjoyed six days with the temperatures between 50° and 60°F and 18 days with temperatures between 40° and 49°F! Already during the first half of February we experienced more days in the 40°s and 50°s! In the middle of winter our daffodil garden is proving that there is climate change despite all the naysayers in government today.

I am haunted by the Midrash found in Hammer on the rock: a Midrash Reader edited by Nahum Glatzer: “In the hour when the holy one, blessed be he, create the first man, he took him and let him pass before all the trees of the garden of Eden, and said to him: see my works, how find an excellent they are! Now all that I have created for you have I created. Think upon this and do not corrupt and desolate my world; for if you corrupted, there’s no one to say right after you.” (Page 13)

Climate change is real and unless we want to make earth uninhabitable for humankind, we must make changes now and reduce greenhouse gases.

Friday, February 14, 2020

Let the shefa flow into your home. TB Berachot 42

Books as we know them in ancient times were very rare. In the Babylonian yeshivot, people were trained to memorize the discussions for posterity. Consequently, the Talmud many times uses associative logic in order to facilitate memorization. Today’s daf TB Berachot 42 is a prime example of that process which I would like to comment upon.

The Gemara discusses when the meal ends and any food brought afterwards needs a separate blessing because presumably grace after meals will have been said. There are three different suggestions. The first suggestion is when people are finished eating. The second suggestion is when the table is removed. Back then each person had what I like to call a TV tray with the food in front of them. When the TV tray was removed, the meal was finished. The third suggestion is when people would apply fragrant oil on their hands.

The Gemara decides that the halacha follows none of these suggestions. “And the halakha is not in accordance with all of these statements and the end of the meal is not determined by those factors. Rather, it is determined by that which Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Ashi said that Rav said: There are three pairs that immediately follow each other: Immediately following placing hands on the head of a sacrifice, is its slaughter; immediately following the blessing of redemption recited after Shema, is the Amida prayer; and immediately following the ritual washing of the hands after a meal (known as mayyim achronim), is the blessing of Grace after Meals.” (Sefaria.orgtranslation)

As long as the Gemara is discussing something that immediately follows they bring what “Abaye said that on a similar note, we too will say: immediately following the entrance of Torah scholars into a house, a blessing (brakha) rests upon that house, as it is stated with regard to Laban and Jacob: “The Lord has blessed me because of you” (Genesis 30:27). If you wish, say instead, that the proof is from here, as it is stated: “And it was from when he placed him in charge of his house and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian on account of Joseph” (Genesis 39:5). (Sefaria.com translation)

Rabbi Marcia Prager writes:
“Just as every seventh day we separate out Shobbos, a sabbath, in order to remove ourselves from the physical work of the world, dedicating time to the work of the soul, so making a brakha we separate out time before we consume, use, or enjoy something of the world in order to create a space where something other than thoughtless appropriation can unfold. As we grow in the path of blessing, we opened to a more expansive way of being. Through blessing, when covered the infinitely abundant Presence of God and even the smallest action.

“Jewish tradition teaches that the simple action of a brakha has a cosmetic effect, for a brakha causes shefa, ‘the abundant flow’ of God’s love and goodness, to pour into the world. Like a hand on a faucet, each brakha turns on the tap.
“How delicious it is to live in God’s goodness. Too often we walk uncaring and unconscious through our jobs and lives, oblivious to the love that surrounds us and is us. When, however, we live in the abundant flow, we know ourselves to be loved and supported unconditionally. Only then do we become free to receive and to give fully.” (The Path of Blessing: Experiencing the Energy and the Abundance of the Divine, page 13)

What is the real blessing following a Torah scholar entrance into a home? By his or her example and teaching, a real Torah scholar brings into any home the awareness of the divine and God’s shefa. That awareness is the spiritual blessing he or she engenders. We are lucky today that Torah is more accessible than ever before. Classic works of Jewish tradition are readily available in English. Jewish books on any related topic are easily purchased. Rabbi “Google” can quickly answer any of your questions. Every one of us can turn into a Torah scholar be a brakha and God’s shefa to flow.



Shabbat shalom