TB Bekhorot 26b Definition please

The first part of the Mishnah on daf TB Bekhorot 26b discusses the laws of bekhorot, firstborn cattle and sheep outside the land of Israel and the Temple no longer stands. In this situation the laws of the bekhorot are no longer consider Torah laws, but only rabbinic prohibitions. “Until when must an Israelite tend to and raise a firstborn animal before giving it to the priest? With regard to a small animal, e.g., a sheep or goat, it is thirty days, and with regard to a large animal, e.g., cattle, it is fifty days. Rabbi Yosei says: With regard to a small animal, it is three months.” (Sefaria.org translation) When the Temple stood in the land of Israel, the unblemished firstborn may be offered up as a sacrifice on the altar any time after eight days. A blemished animal may be eaten by the kohen any time he wishes after the same eight day waiting period.

The Gemara wants to know where the numbers 30 and 50 come from. Rav Kahana derives these numbers based on an interpretation of two verse by connecting the redemption of the firstborn with sheep and the 50 days of the omer between Passover and Shavuot with oxen.

“Rav Kahana said: They are derived from a verse, as the verse states: “You shall not delay to offer of the fullness of your harvest, and of the outflow of your presses; you shall give to Me your firstborn sons. So you shall do with your oxen, and with your sheep; seven days it shall be with its mother, on the eighth day you shall give it to Me” (Exodus 22:28–29). The second part of verse 28 is juxtaposed to the second animal mentioned in verse 29. This juxtaposition teaches that just as a firstborn son is redeemed when he is thirty days old (Numbers 18:16), so too a sheep is given to the priest only when it is thirty days old.

“The verses also state: “You shall not delay the fullness of your harvest, and of the outflow of your presses…So you shall do with your oxen” (Exodus 22:28–29). Just as the first fruits are brought on the festival of Shavuot, fifty days after Passover, so too the firstborn oxen are given to a priest when they are fifty days old. Here, the first part of verse 28 is juxtaposed with the first animal mentioned in verse 29.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Gemara challenges these numbers and ask why not 60 days, the first 30 days plus another 30 days? “The Gemara answers: The interpretation of the verse with regard to the exact amount of time was given only to the Sages (לֹא מְסָרְךָ הַכָּתוּב אֶלָּא לַחֲכָמִים.), and they determined that the owner must take care of his ox for fifty days.” (Sefaria.org translation) “Since the Torah itself did not reveal the length of this additional waiting period, we can conclude with certainty that it gave you over to the Sage’s, who will explain to you the reason {for waiting precisely 50 days}, and you should comply with their teaching(Rashi)” (Art Scroll edition, page 26b4, note 28)  The Gemara is teaching us that the rabbis are not legislating law. They are just defining what the verse means.

Another example of this definitional role of the rabbis is the intermediate days of a holiday, Khol Hamoed-חוֹל הַמּוֹעֵד). These days are not holy days, moed, nor are they regular weekdays, khol. Some work is prohibited and some work is permitted. The rabbis are not legislating only defining what work is prohibited and what work is permitted.

Making each step count #Noakh#Noach#devartorah#parashathashavua

People who want to feel better, reduce stress, and shed unwanted pounds are discovering that walking may be the best exercise of all. A fitness philosophy of 10,000 steps a day, which first took hold in Japan, has gained popularity in other countries. Experts advise starting slowly and working toward a higher goal, realizing each day that every step counts.

It’s even more important to stay spiritually fit by “walking with God,” which the Bible describes as an intimate, growing relationship with the Lord. “Enoch walked with God for three hundred years” (Genesis 5:22). “Noah was a just man, righteous in his generations. Noah walked with God” (6:9).

We can walk with God. We talk with Hashem as we daven and at other times of the day, observe His commandments, and enjoy His presence. We trust His guidance when we cannot see what lies ahead. It is not just the destination that’s important, but the journey we take together.

There’s no better time than now to begin walking with God, because each day every step counts.

 

TB Bekhorot 18 The difference between teffilin and lulav when comes to borrowing the

Daf TB Bekhorot 18b discusses who is obligated of the giving the bekhor, the firstborn of a sheep or cattle, to the kohen when somebody gives another person a sheep to guard. That sheep is kept together with the homeowner’s sheep. Only one of the sheep is a firstborn. One of the sheep dies, but nobody knows which one was the firstborn. Rabbi Akiva holds the onus of proof that the living sheep is the firstborn lies upon the  kohen. “Rabbi Tarfon holds: The homeowner transfers to the priest a portion of his courtyard so that the priest should acquire the firstborn offspring located there, because it is suitable for him that the mitzva of giving the firstborn to a priest should be performed.” (sefaria.org translation)

The desire to observe a mitzvah is underlying principle Rabbi Tarfon’s approach. The owner of the courtyard wants to observe the law of the firstborn; consequently, he transfers a portion of his courtyard to be kohen so that the firstborn automatically goes to the kohen.

Rabbi Tarfon’s approach has a practical halakhic ramification. A person goes to shul and doesn’t have a pair of tefillin. He sees the teffilin laying on the bench. May he use them without asking permission? The Shulkhan Arukh Orakh Hayim, Siman 25, Seif 12 rules yes. The presumption is the owner of the tefillin is happy and please when a mitzvah is performed using his property.

Nevertheless, there are key conditions and limits.

·        Location: You may only use the tefillin in the exact area or room where the owner left them. You cannot take them home or to a different building.

·        Occasional Use Only: It must be an occasional or one-time use; you cannot borrow them regularly or systematically without asking.

·        No Objections: If you know or suspect the owner is particular (or if there is a note/sign forbidding use), you may not use them.

·        Cleanliness and Condition: The borrower must be clean and unkempt/sweat-free. If the owner is present, you should always ask rather than assume permission.

·        Restoration: If the straps or tefillin were folded when you found them, you must refold/tidy them back up after use.

Unlike teffilin this presumption that the owner of the  lulav and etrog is happy that a person is using his lulav and etrog without permission is not applicable. We learn that the lulav and etrog must be owned by the person and not borrowed or stolen on the first day of Sukkot. The Torah states, "And you shall take for yourselves on the first day..." (Leviticus 23:40).

The Hebrew word lakhem (לָכֶ֜ם/ "for yourselves") is interpreted by the Sages to mean that the four species must strictly belong to you, rather than being borrowed or stolen. This ownership requirement applies explicitly to the first day of Sukkot (or the first two days outside of Israel, where Yom Tov is observed for two days). From the second (or third) day onward, one may borrow someone else's set.

If someone wants to let another person use their lulav and etrog on the first day, they typically transfer legal ownership as a temporary conditional gift (matanah al t'nat le-hakhyil), after which the recipient can return it.

 

 

 

My response to Mamdani's October 7 tweet

October 8, 2026

Dear Mr. Mayor,

Yesterday should have been a day for New Yorkers to stand with the victims of  October 7^th , their families, and all still living with the trauma of Hamas’ unprovoked barbaric attack. If Hamas had not attacked Israel, Israel would not have entered into a war in Gaza sparing both life and property.

Instead you chose to respond to the grief of Jewish New Yorkers by advancing false and inflammatory attacks against Israel. Shame on you. You chose to be on side the Hamas terrorists, murderers, and rapists whose charter demands the murder of all Jews worldwide. Shame on you. You chose to be on side the Hamas terrorists, murderers, and rapists who cruelly murdered over 1200 innocent civilians Jews, Arabs, and foreign workers and took around 230 hostages back into Gaza and held some of them for nearly 2 years. Shame on you. You chose to be on side the Hamas terrorists, murderers, and rapists who sexually abused some of those hostages.

Shame on you. You chose to be on side the Hamas terrorists, murderers, and rapists who spread the lie about Israeli genocide in Gaza. Shame on you. You chose to be on side the Hamas terrorists, murderers, and rapists who built a tunnel system consisting of command centers, supply depots, and prison cells underneath hospitals, schools, mosques, and private homes. Shame on you. You chose to be on side the Hamas terrorists, murderers, and rapists who use their own civilians as human shields. Hamas prevented their own civilians to leave areas Israel warned that will be targeted. Hamas prevented their own civilians to enter their tunnel system whose length rivals the New York City subway system as bomb shelters. Shame on you. You chose to be on side the Hamas terrorists, murderers, and rapists who stole humanitarian food aid from their fellow Gaza citizens and then sold it to them with a high markup.

Shame on you. You chose to be on side the Hamas terrorists, murderers, and rapists who padded the death toll with people who were part of the terrorist armed forces, who died of natural causes, and innocent civilians who were killed by their own missiles that fell short of the target, and innocent civilians. Taking all those people in account, the ratio of armed combatants to innocent civilians is 1:1, an unheard of low ratio especially in such a congested urban area. You chose to be on side the Hamas terrorists, murderers, and rapists who murder their own people who protested against their rule.

By choosing to be on side the Hamas terrorists, murderers, and rapists, you not only inappropriately shifted the focus away from the victims of Hamas’ cruelty, but also placing Jewish New Yorkers at risk as anti-Semitic hate crimes continue to rise in our city.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Gary Greene

TB Bekhorot 7b If bees are not kosher, why is honey kosher?

The Mishnah on daf TB Bekhorot 5b teaches a very important kashrut law. “that which emerges from the non-kosher animal is non-kosher and that which emerges from the kosher animal is kosher.” (Sefaria.org translation) We can logically deduce that camel’s milk isn’t kosher because a camel isn’t a kosher animal and cow’s milk is because a cow is a kosher animal.

The Gemara asks and then answers despite the fact that a bee isn’t a kosher animal is honey is kosher for our consumption. “For what reason did the Sages say that the honey of bees is permitted? It is because they bring the nectar from the flowers into their body, but they do not excrete it from their body as a bodily excretion.” (daf 7b, Sefaria.org translation)

Rabbi Jack Abramowitz explains:

“…bees don’t make honey the same way that animals make milk or eggs, i.e., it’s not a product of their bodies. Rather, they make honey the way that you or I might make bread or a cake, i.e., by taking the necessary ingredients and processing them. 

“Honey is made from flower nectar, which is kosher. Bees don’t digest the nectar, they just mix it with saliva and store it in their honey sacs. In the hive, the bee regurgitates the honey, where it’s sealed in the honeycombs. Bees don’t secrete honey; you can squeeze bees all day long and you won’t get a drop. (Note: Don’t squeeze bees all day long.)

“There is a second opinion in the gemara that honey is permitted because of an inference from Leviticus 11:20: we may not eat non-kosher winged insects but we may eat the product of a non-kosher winged insect, specifically bee honey. This dissenting position only disagrees as to why honey is kosher; no one disagrees that honey is kosher.

“Royal jelly is different. Royal jelly is a secretion from glands in the bee. Unlike honey, royal jelly is a real product of the bee, and is therefore generally considered to be unkosher. One must also be careful of unfiltered honey that contains bee parts, which are not kosher. Honey could also be sold with non-kosher additives. It is therefore advisable to look for honey with appropriate kosher supervision.” (https://jewinthecity.com/2022/09/why-is-honey-kosher-if-bees-are-not/)

Bee honey is mentioned in the Bible several times, but “never is there an implication that it is a cultivated product. Apiculture developed many centuries later and is referred to in the time it. The ‘Biblical’ bees were wild bees, the honey they produced was considered public property. Anyone finding honey was free to eat his fill:

‘If you find honey, eat only what you need,
Lest, surfeiting yourself, you throw it up.’ Proverbs 25:16

‘Returning the following year to marry her, he (Samson)  turned aside to look at the remains of the lion; and in the lion’s skeleton he found a swarm of bees, and honey. He scooped it into his palms and ate it as he went along. When he rejoined his father and mother, he gave them some and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had scooped the honey out of a lion’s skeleton.’ (Judges 14:8-9)

‘Everybody (Saul’s army) came to a stack of beehives where some honey had spilled on the ground. When the troops came to the beehives and found the flow of honey there, no one put his hand to his mouth, for the troops feared the oath.’ (I Samuel 14:25-26)” (Nogah HarreuveniHareuveni, Nature in Our Biblical Heritage, page 12)

Interesting rabbinic tradition, Rashi, and other commentators identify the honey in the Bible as date honey or what is known as silan today and not bee honey.

Part of the Israelite declaration when handing his firstfruits to the kohen, he says: “Look down from Your holy abode, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the soil You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.” (Deuteronomy 26:15) “This refers to dates” (Jerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 1:3)

“So, when GOD has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which was sworn to your fathers to be given you, a land flowing with milk and honey…” Text (Exodus 13:5) Rashi: “זבת חלב ודבש FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY — milk flows from the goats and honey flows from the dates and from the figs.”

 

 

 

 

Transforming sibling rivalry #Beraisheet#devartorah#parashathashavua

My four sons are about 2 ½ years apart in age. Growing up they were quite “competitive” (translation: they fought). Judy and I understood because we both grew up with brothers. At times my children’s story felt like it fit in the book of Genesis, which might well be subtitled A Brief History of Sibling Rivalry. Cain and Abel (Genesis 4); Isaac and Ishmael (21:8-10); Jacob and Esau (27:41); and Joseph and everyone not named Benjamin (chapter 37).

In this week’s Torah portion, Beraisheet, we learned that both Cain and Abel brought offerings to God. The basic difference was that Cain’s offering was of an inferior quality, while Abel’s offering was of the highest quality. Got accepted Abel’s offering and not Cain’s. Immediately the Torah records: “Cain was much distressed and his face fell. And GOD said to Cain, “Why are you distressed, and why is your face fallen?  Surely, if you do right, There is uplift.” (Genesis 4:5-7)

Rabbi Zelig Pliskin comments: “Cain was eaten up with envy over his brother's success and felt embarrassed and humiliation that his own offering was rejected. The Almighty told him that his reaction was inappropriate. When you can correct your mistakes and omissions it is improper to waste time suffering over the past. What is appropriate is to try to make the necessary corrections in the future. (Sforno)” Growth through Torah, page 24)

Happily for us our tradition points the way out of the morass of sibling rivalry. Our High Holidays teach us that teshuva, repentance over past faults and mistakes, and forgiveness can restore our relationships. Leviticus 19:18, 34 enjoins love for one’s fellow and of the stranger as a mitzvah. Aaron the High Priest serves as a role model for us. “Hillel would say, ‘Be of the followers of Aaron, loving peace, pursuing peace, loving your fellow human beings and bringing them to Torah.’” (Pirke Avot 1:12)

As my sons grew over, they have become close, inviting each other over to the homes to celebrate holidays together. Thank God, our sibling rivalries can transform into brotherly love when we live up to our tradition’s aspirations for us.

 

Now’s a good time to begin #devartorah#Simkhattorah

 Dr. Charles W. Eliot, longtime president of Harvard University, believed that ordinary people who read consistently from the world’s great literature for even a few minutes a day could gain a valuable education. In 1910, he compiled selections from books of history, science, philosophy, and fine art into fifty volumes called The Harvard Classics. Each set of books included Dr. Eliot’s Reading Guide titled “Fifteen Minutes A Day” containing recommended selections of eight to ten pages for each day of the year.

What if we spent fifteen minutes a day reading the Torah? We could say with the psalmist, “Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word” (Ps. 119:36–37).

Now would be a perfect time to begin reading the Torah. On Simkhat Torah, Sunday, October 4^th, we shall finish the last chapter of Deuteronomy and begin the first chapter of Genesis. By reading one aliyah a day you can finish the entire parasha whether or not you come to shul on Shabbat. I would also encourage you to pick up a commentary like our Humash, Etz Hayyim to enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the Torah reading.

Fifteen minutes a day adds up to ninety-one hours a year. But for whatever amount of time we decide to read the Torah each day, consistency is the secret and the key ingredient is not perfection but persistence. If we miss a day or a week, we can start reading again. “Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end” (v. 33).

Shabbat shalom and Chag Samayakh,

Rabbi Greene

 

TB Bekhorot 6 Why milk still needs rabbinic certification

The Mishnah on daf TB Bekhorot 5b teaches a very important kashrut law. “that which emerges from the non-kosher animal is non-kosher and that which emerges from the kosher animal is kosher.” (Sefaria.org translation) We can logically deduce that camel’s milk isn’t kosher because a camel isn’t a kosher animal and cow’s milk is because a cow is a kosher animal.

The Gemara on daf TB Bekhorot 6 makes a strong argument why cow’s milk should also be considered nonkosher if not for God’s intervention. Two different reasons are provided. The first argument is the milk is converted from blood. Of course, we know already that we are forbidden to eat blood. “The milk originates from the blood, which is forbidden for consumption, as the Master said that the reason a nursing woman does not experience menstruation is because the blood is spoiled and becomes milk.” (Sefaria.com translation) Of course, the rabbis didn’t know modern biology.

The second argument stems from the prohibition of eating a limb severed from a live animal, ever min hakhai-עבר מן החי. “since generally speaking there is nothing that comes from a living animal that the Merciful One permits, and yet this milk of a kosher animal is similar to a limb severed from the living and is nevertheless permitted, the permissibility of milk is a novelty of the Torah” (Sefaria.org translation) The milk comes out of the cow’s udder and could be considered severed from the limb.

Although there is no scriptural proof that cow’s milk is indeed kosher, the Gemara provides three proofs that it is. They are:

“Rather, proof may be brought that milk is permitted from the fact that it is written: “And there will be goats’ milk enough for your food, for the food of your household, and maintenance for your maidens” (Proverbs 27:27). According to the verse, goats’ milk serves as food, and therefore must be kosher.

“The Gemara rejects the proof: But perhaps the verse is referring to selling the milk as merchandise and using the money to buy food, and not to consuming the milk itself. Rather, proof may be brought from the fact that it is written with regard to Jesse’s instructions to his son David upon sending him with provisions for his brothers, who were at war against the Philistines: “And these ten cheeses you shall bring to the captain of their thousand” (I Samuel 17:18), which indicates they ate dairy products.

“The Gemara rejects this proof as well: But perhaps this verse too means the captain can sell the cheese as merchandise. The Gemara responds: Is that to say that it is the norm during war to engage in commerce? Clearly the cheese was meant for consumption, which proves it is permitted to eat dairy products.

“And if you wish, say instead that proof may be brought from here: The Torah praises Eretz Yisrael as: “A land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:17), and if milk was not permitted, would the verse praise the land to us with an item that is not suitable for consumption? And if you wish, say instead a proof from here: “Come, buy, and eat; and come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1).” (Sefaria.org translation)

Although cow’s milk is kosher, it still needs rabbinic supervision. I learned before modern farm milking procedures, when the farmer’s milk production didn’t meet the required quota, the farmer would add other animal’s milk to the container. Sometimes he would use pig’s milk. Once the pig’s milk was added to the barrel all the contents became trief.

Nowadays when no human hands touch the milk as it goes from the cow to a metal container, I once thought that milk really didn’t need rabbinic supervision anymore. I was wrong. When I was a rabbi in Springfield, MA, one of the local milk producers lost their rabbinic certification. I inquired why. I learned the milk was kosher; however, to fortify it with some vitamin which I don’t remember they used an extract from sharks. Of course, sharks are not kosher and that extract made the entire run of milk trief. The consumer has to be careful for the milk may be kosher but not what is added to fortify it. That is why even today milk needs rabbinic certification.

A Sukkah is like a good filter #Sukkot#devartorah

Filters play such an important role in our lives.  I never realized how many different kinds of filters there are until I looked them up on Wikipedia. Filters are critical components of both freshwater and marine aquaria.  Filter paper is a semi permeable paper barrier placed perpendicular to a liquid or airflow.  It is used to separate fine solids from liquids or air.  Air filters remove pollen, mold, and bacteria from the air.  And of course there are oil and water filters which remove contaminants from our car engines and from our water supply.  On my computer I even have a spam filter.  Filters are so helpful in making our lives better!

Rabbi David Wolf-Blank taught: “A Sukkah is like a filter.”

In                    the rain and the sun and the shadow,

Out                 those whom you invite who choose not to come,

In                    those who do come to be joyful with you,

Out                 issues of wealth, fancy furniture, décor

In                    pure hospitality and loving connections

When used properly used, filters are good and make our lives better.  Dwelling in a Sukkah is no different.  We would be better human beings if we filter out issues of wealth, fancy furniture, and décor while filtering in pure hospitality and loving connections in our lives

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Samayach,

Rabbi Greene

 

 

 

TB Bekhorot Buying and selling futures

This past Monday we began massekhet Bekhorot which discusses the laws concerning firstborn animals and children. The Art Scroll’s introduction to our massekhet reads: “There are three basic criteria that qualify it firstborn for bechor status: It must be a male, it must be the firstborn of his mother, and it must be the offspring that ‘opens his mother’s womb’ {פטר רחם} (Exodus 13:2), i.e. it must emerge naturally rather than by cesarean section. These criteria apply to every animal bechor, whether a donkey or a kosher animal. They also apply to human bechoros, inasmuch as the requirement to redeem a firstborn son pertains only to one who ‘opened the womb’.” (Page 1 of the general introduction)

These rules apply only to animal who was completely owned by a Jew. If a non-Jew owns even an ear of the animal, it is exempt from the laws of the firstborn. The first Mishna discusses what happens when the transaction between the Jew and non-Jew is a fetus.

“MISHNA: With regard to one who purchases the fetus of a donkey that belongs to a gentile, and one who sells the fetus of his donkey to a gentile although he is not permitted to sell a large animal to a gentile, and one who enters into a partnership with a gentile in ownership of a donkey or its fetus, and one who receives a donkey from a gentile in order to care for it in exchange for partnership in its offspring, and one who gives his donkey to a gentile in receivership, in all of these cases the donkeys are exempt from the obligations of firstborn status, i.e., they do not have firstborn status and are not redeemed, as it is stated: “I sanctified to Me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal” (Numbers 3:13), indicating that the mitzva is incumbent upon the Jewish people, but not upon others. If the firstborn belongs even partially to a gentile, it does not have firstborn status.” (Sefaria.org translation)

In American law people are allowed to buy and sell futures; however, selling futures is forbidden by Jewish law. “A person cannot transfer ownership of an object that has not yet come into the world (אֵין אָדָם מַקְנֶה דָּבָר שֶׁלֹּא בָּא לָעוֹלָם!).” If this is the case, how can a person sell or share a fetus that certainly yet hasn’t come into the world?!

Tosefot ד"ה דַיְקָא נָמֵי דְקָתָנֵי is troubled by this problem. Rebbeinu Tam solves this problem by saying that the acquisition, the kinyan-קנין, was on the cow and not on the fetus for the sake of the ear. This is not unprecedented. One may buy the futures of the dates of the tree by making a kinyan on the tree. Since you own the tree, the fruit becomes yours. The same thing happens here in our case. The non-Jew makes a kinyan on the cow and he will get whatever he purchased e.g. the ear of the fetus as the “fruit” of the cow.

Not making a kinyan on his flock as described above, Rebbeinu Tam teaches that this was Rav Mari fatal flaw in the following story. Rav Mari made the kinyan on the fetuses and not the mother animals.

“Rav Mari bar Raḥel had a certain flock of animals. He would transfer ownership of the ears of the firstborn fetuses to a gentile in order to exempt them from the obligations of firstborn status. But nevertheless he prohibited them from being sheared and used for labor, and gave them to the priests, halakhot that apply to a standard firstborn animal. And ultimately, the animals of Rav Mari bar Raḥel died.

“The Gemara asks: But since he prohibited them from being sheared and used for labor and also gave them to the priests, why did he initially transfer ownership of their ears to the gentile, abrogating their firstborn status? The Gemara answers that he did so lest the priests come to experience a mishap with them, improperly shearing them or using them for labor. The Gemara asks: If so, what is the reason that the animals of Rav Mari died as a punishment? The Gemara answers: It was because he abrogated their sanctity by selling their ears.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Khullin 142 Elisha ben Avuya’s apostasy My siyum of massekhet Khullin

I finished massekhet Khullin on Saturday the eighth day of Tishre which was my father Bob Greene’s yahrzeit. I dedicated my siyum of massekhet Khullin on his 22^nd yahrzeit.

To better understand the Gemara, let me provide some background. In the Torah there are two mitzvot which promises the reward of a long life when observed. The first is sheluakh haken, sending away the mother bird before collecting the eggs or the young chicks as is written “Let the mother go, and take only the young, in order that you may fare well and have a long life.” (Dt. 22:7) The second mitzvah is honoring one’s parents as is written “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may have a long life …” (Dt 5:16)

Unfortunately we know that the world doesn’t really work like that. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. The Gemara tells of a story where a young boy observed the two above commandments at the same time, but died as a consequence of his observance. Theodicy is a vindication of the divine attributes, particularly holiness and justice, in establishing or allowing the existence of physical and moral evil. Rabbi Ya’akov provides such an answer how we can still understand the verse as true even in the face of this tragedy. At the siyum I left out other explanations the Gemara offered how such a tragedy could occur, but you may go to daf 142 to read them.

Next you have to know a little bit of Akher (Elisha ben Avuya)’s biography. Elisha ben Avuya was a great Sage and Rabbi Mier’s teacher. Four sages entered the pardes (the mystical orchard or divine realm) according to the Talmud (Chagigah 14b). Pardes (פרדס) is an acronym for the 4 ways of studying Torah. P(פ) stands for peshat, the simple meaning of the verse. D (ד) stands for darash, the exegetical meaning of the verse. R (ר) stands for remez, the allegorical understanding of the verse. S (ס) stands for sode, the mystical understanding of the verse. The four rabbis were Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Akher (Elisha ben Avuya), and Rabbi Akiva.

Here is what happened to each of them during their spiritual journey:

·        Ben Azzai looked upon the Divine Presence and died.

·        Ben Zoma looked and was harmed, losing his sanity.

·        Akher (Elisha ben Avuya) "cut down the plantings," meaning he turned to heresy.

·        Rabbi Akiva entered in peace and departed in peace

The Gemara shares the straw that broke the camels’ back why Akher became an apostate.

MISHNA: … And if with regard to the sending away of the mother bird, which is a mitzva whose performance is simple, as it entails a loss of no more than an issar, i.e., the value of the mother bird, the Torah says: “That it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days” (Deuteronomy 22:7), it may be derived by a fortiori inference that the reward is no less for the fulfillment of the mitzvot in the Torah whose performance is demanding.

GEMARA: The school of Rabbi Ya’akov taught that Rabbi Ya’akov says: There is not a single mitzva written in the Torah whose reward is stated alongside it, which is not dependent on a belief in the resurrection of the dead, i.e., the reward is actually bestowed in the World-to-Come, after the resurrection of the dead. How so? With regard to honoring one’s father and mother, it is written: “That your days may be long, and that it may go well with you” (Deuteronomy 5:16). With regard to the sending away of the mother bird from the nest, it is written: “That it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days” (Deuteronomy 22:7).

Despite this, it occurred that there was one whose father said to him: Climb to the top of the building and bring me fledglings; and he climbed to the top of the building and sent away the mother bird and took the offspring, thereby simultaneously fulfilling the mitzva to send away the mother bird from the nest and the mitzva to honor one’s parents, but as he returned he fell and died. Where is the length of days of this one? And where is the goodness of the days of this one? Rather, the verse “that your days may be long” is referring to the world that is entirely long, and “that it may be well with you” means in the world where all is well…

Rav Yosef said: Had Aḥer, literally Other, the appellation of the former Sage Elisha ben Avuya, interpreted homiletically this aforementioned verse: “That it may go well with you” (Deuteronomy 5:16), as referring to the World-to-Come, as did Rabbi Ya’akov, the son of his daughter, he would not have sinned. The Gemara asks: What did Aḥer see that led him to heresy? Some say that he saw an incident like this one witnessed by Rabbi Ya’akov, and some say that he saw the tongue of Rabbi Ḥutzpit the disseminator, which was cast in a garbage dump after he was executed by the government. Aḥer said: Will a mouth that produced pearls of wisdom lick the dust? But he did not know that the phrase “that it may be well with you” means in the world where all is well, and that the phrase “that your days may be long” is referring to the world that is entirely long.  (Sefaria.org translation)

For most of us moderns we don’t accept Rabbi Ya’akov’s theodicy. In every generation Jewish philosophers and theologians have tried to answer the question why bad things happen to good people. I like to suggest two books for further study. The first book is A Jewish Theology by Louis Jacobs. The second book is When Bad Things Happen To Good People by Harold Kushner.

Yochi Brandes’ The Orchard is a novel about Rabbi Akiva’s life and the story of the four rabbis entering the orchard plays a dominant role. I read it in the original Hebrew and I highly recommend this book.

 

Findind happiness during these difficult times My Yom Kippur sermon

Nowadays we have a lot of worries, some economic, some physical, and some spiritual. On top of that we worry about Israel, and the threat of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in our midst.

I believe despite all our worries we can still find happiness. I read somewhere we should try to make someone happy each day of our lives, even if it means leaving him alone.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is quoted as saying: “I read where a wife plans to divorce her husband as soon as she can find a way to do so without making him happy.”

Is there anybody in this world during these difficult times who is truly happy?

There was a Peanuts cartoon years ago in which Lucy asked Charlie Brown if he had ever known anybody was really happy. Before she could finish her sentence; however, Snoopy came dancing on tiptoe into the frame, his nose high in the air. He danced and bounced his way across two frames of the cartoon strip.

Finally the last frame, Lucy finished her sentence, “Have you ever known anybody who was really happy and still in his right mind?”

Do you know anybody who is truly happy?

We certainly know many unhappy people. In the United States 133 people commit suicide every day and another 6000 attempt it. That means about 2.2 million people every year are unhappy enough to put an end to the very existence. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young and young adults ages 15-34. Adults aged 75 and older face (thank God I’m only 74 ½ years old) some of the highest suicide rates of any age group in the United States.

Why is happiness so elusive?

Our Bible has plenty to teach us on the subject of happiness. We shall read from the book of Kohelet on Shemini Atzeret this year. According to our tradition King Solomon who wrote it learned a valuable lesson while seeking happiness.

At first, he sought happiness in material possessions as he states: “I multiplied my possessions, I built myself houses and vineyards. I laid out gardens and groves, in which I planted every kind of fruit trees.”

Nevertheless, he ended up no happier than before. He realized that all this was “הַכֹּ֥ל הֶ֙בֶל֙ וּרְע֣וּת ר֔וּחַ וְאֵ֥ין יִתְר֖וֹן תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ: -futile under the sun and the pursuit of the wind; there was no real value under the sun.” (2:11) Kohelet learned that happiness doesn’t consist in the pursuit of material things.

Happiness doesn’t depend on who you are or what you own. Money in the bank doesn’t guarantee happiness. If it did, all the characters in soap operas should be the happiest people in the world.

A noted theologian says the reason why so many people never find happiness is because they don’t know where to look for it. Too many people make the mistake of seeking one more material thing, one more pay raise, one more promotion, one more problem solved, one more handicap overcome. “If I had only that,” they would say “I would be happy. Too late they learned that happiness doesn’t come from the outside but from within.

We should also know that happiness isn't synonymous with the avoidance of pain.

Most of us do everything in our power to go through life avoiding any situation that’s potentially uncomfortable or unpleasant. Many wives won’t stand up to an overbearing and even abusive husband because they don’t want to rock the boat. Many people fail in business because they can’t pick up the phone and straighten out a bad situation. Many people don’t come to shul for fear of appearing foolish or incompetent.

Yet, we’re still not happy for happiness is neither found in the pursuit of pleasure nor in the avoidance of pain.

Nu, so where is happiness found? First of all happiness is found in purposeful living.

George Burns expounded this aspect of happiness in his book Dr. George Burns Rx for Happiness. “If you were to go around asking people what will make them happier, you’d get answers like a new car, a bigger house, a raise in pay, winning the lottery, a face lift, more kids, less kids, a new restaurant to go to-probably not one in 100 was a chance to help people. And yet that may bring the most happiness of all.

“I don’t know Dr. Jonas Salk, but after what he’s done for us with his polio vaccine, if he isn’t happy he should have that brilliant head of his examined. Of course, not everybody can do what he did.

“But the point is, it doesn’t have to be anything that extraordinary. It can be working for a worthy cause, performing some needed service, or just doing something that helps another person.”

“The sense of uselessness,” said Thomas Huxley, “is the severest shock which our system can sustain.” Conversely, when we have a great purpose to live for, a purpose that is high and noble, our whole being is enhanced. Success can corrupt, usefulness can only exult. Happiness is given ourselves to a higher and noble purpose.

Secondly, George Burns also teaches us to find happiness by being people oriented. You won’t find happiness sitting alone in your house. Move out of your comfort zone and join our community by coming to shul for our services, learning opportunities, or social opportunities. Or volunteer at a hospital or any other great tzedakah opportunity. Or join any social group like a bridge club.

In the last place, happiness is to be found in a right relationship with God. In his later years, King Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs, “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord.”

Many years ago a little boy was given a priceless procession, his zayde’s gold pocket watch. How he treasured it. But one day while playing at his father’s ice plant, he lost the watch amid all the ice and sawdust. He searched and searched but no watch. Then suddenly he realized what to do. He stopped scurrying around and became very still. In the silence, he heard the watch ticking.

Just like that zedyde, God has given each one of us a priceless gift of joy by observing the mitzvot found in our Torah. We easily lose our joy in the scurrying around in our lives. Yet we can always find it when we pause and pay attention as the Torah says in last week’s Torah portion, “כִּֽי־קָר֥וֹב אֵלֶ֛יךָ הַדָּבָ֖ר מְאֹ֑ד בְּפִ֥יךָ וּבִֽלְבָבְךָ֖ לַעֲשֹׂתֽוֹ-but the word of God is very close unto you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may observe it.” (Dt. 30:14) 

We who are in the synagogue on this Yom Kippur have much to be happy for.

Menachem Mendel the Vitebsker taught:

1.  Rejoice that you have an opportunity to sing unto God.

2.  Rejoice that you are a Jew.

3.  Rejoice that you’re able to pray, to study, and to perform God’s will.

4.  Rejoice before the endlessness of God, the highest saint and the lowest commoner are equal.

5.  Be content with your achievements in affairs of the spirit as well as your early status.

6.  Don’t doubt yourself, but enjoy the light of God.This year 5787 you’ll be able to find happiness by giving yourself over to a high and noble purpose, by being people oriented, and having a right relationship with the Holy One Blessed be He.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Protecting the landscape of your life #Yomkippur#devartorah

The British have had trouble with foxes. According to The Wall Street Journal, the sly little fellows had moved into London and are making a general nuisance of themselves. They knocked over rubbish cans, swiped shoes left out to dry, destroyed gardens, and leaved a foul odor. With the city borders being pushed farther into the countryside, the little troublemakers are adapting rather than moving—and many Londoners are frustrated and upset.

When you stop to think about it, little “foxes” can become great aggravations for us as well as Jews. What we may consider “little” or “harmless” sins can be our downfall. “Stretching the truth,” for example, is actually lying. And gossip is nothing less than character assassination. The trouble is that those little sins will inevitably grow larger. Before we know it, we’ll need to do some serious repenting and confessing.

If some little foxes have crept into the backyards and gardens of your spiritual life, Yom Kippur is the time to deal with them. The Machzor, the High Holiday prayer book, helps us identify them when we daven the confessional. Al Chet. Admit your guilt, confess these pesky little practices to God, make amends to those you’ve wrong, and get rid of them before they ruin the entire landscape of your life. 

Time is a spiritual commodity My Rosh Hashana Sermon 5787

Unlike God who remembers even our most forgotten deeds, I have to write everything down I want to remember. That way, instead of spending a lot of time trying to remember what I wrote down, I spend my time looking for the paper I wrote it on. Judy says that I should have become a college professor because I already have the absentmindedness part down perfectly.

The passage of time confronts us during these High Holidays. The seasons have gone through another complete cycle. We’re all one more year older and some of our most beloved family and friends have gone to their eternal home. No wonder we think about the meaning of time and his purpose in our lives.

Time is a spiritual commodity. Unlike the old Rolling Stone song “Time is on my side,” we don’t have an inexhaustible supply of time.

How we invest our time matters as someone once put it:

To realize the value of one year: ask a student failed his final exam.

To realize the value of 1 month: ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of 1 minute: ask a person who missed the train, bus, or plane.

To realize the value of 1 second: ask a person who survived an accident.

To realize the value of 1 millisecond: ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

The use of time is just as much a measure of our spiritual concern as the use of our money. Don’t we often say: “Time is money.” That’s true more that many of us realize.

A man dreamed he walked into an impressive building that was somewhat like a bank yet not a bank, because the brass marker said: “Time for Sale.” He saw a man breathless and pale, painfully pulling himself up the stairs like the victim of some dreaded disease. “The doctor told me that I was five years too late in going to see him” the man told the teller. “I’ll buy those five years now and then the doctor can save my life.”

Then came a woman, older in years, who said to the clerk: “When it was too late, I discovered that God had given me great capacities and endowments, and I failed to develop them. Sell me 10 years so that I can become the woman I should have been.”

Then came a younger person who declared: “The company has told me that starting next month I can have a big job, if I’m prepared to take it. But I’m not prepared. Give me two years of time so that I’ll be ready to take the job next month.

And so they came in a steady procession-the ill, hopeless, despondent, worried, unhappy-and left smiling, each person with a look of unutterable pleasure on his face, for he had what he so desperately needed and wanted-time.

Charles Spezzano put it like this: “You don’t really pay for things with money. You pay for them with time. ‘In 5 years,’ we say, ‘I’ll have put enough away to buy their vacation house we want. Then I’ll slow down.’”

That means the house will cost you 5 ½  years of your adult life. Translate the dollar value of the house, car, or anything else into time and then you see if it’s still worth it. The phrase spending your time isn’t a metaphor. It is how life works.” Our time is as valuable as the material treasures.

Are we good stewards of our time when comes to ourselves? As we ponder the passage of time and its meaning, we need to answer that question. It’s amazing how much we might accomplish if we put our time to better use

Think about how much time you spend watching TV or surfing the Internet and afterwards thinking what a waste of time it was. I could have been reading a good book. I could have taken a walk in the park. Almost anything else would have been a better use of my time.

Nobody would ever think of throwing away money or material goods even though they can be replaced. But why are people heedless of time, an irreplaceable commodity? When we use time to maximize our human potential, we discover the spiritual meaning we crave.

Are we good stewards of our time when comes to our family and friends?

There’s a story about two steamships that left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side-by-side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail pace of the other. Words were exchanged and soon they were in a race. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the deep South.

One boat was falling behind due to lack of fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. When the ship ran out of coal, the sailors fueled their boat with the cargo that they been signed to transport. They ended up winning the race, but burned her cargo.

God has entrusted cargo to us too: children, grandchildren, spouses, and friends. I hope we tend to our significant others better than this husband. A husband tells his friend that his wife complained that he ruined her birthday. He tells his friend that’s impossible because “I didn’t even know it was her birthday.”

Our job is to do our part in seeing that this cargo reaches its destination. Yet when the program takes priority over people, people often suffer. How much cargo do we sacrifice in order to achieve the number one slot?

As usual my sermons are really directed to me. My granddaughter Layla at the age of 6 ½ knows how to guilt schlep. She complained to Judy that I never play with her because I’m always at shul working.

Understanding that she is correct, Judy and I spent a whole Sunday with Layla at Coney Island. I joined her on rides at Luna Park and then swimming in the ocean. We also spent a week with our Boston grandchildren Eli and Addie. We took Eli to the MIT Museum and aboard the USS Constitution as well as seeing Addie star in her JCC play Shrek Junior.

Certainly you’re familiar with the story of the Iliad and the Odyssey or at least seen the new movie the Odyssey staring Matt Damon as Odysseus.

Odysseus leads his army in the rescue of Helen of Troy. During the 10 year battle, he discovers a taste for challenge and adventure. While his wife and sons wait faithfully for him to come home, he and his men spend 10 more years on the high seas, seeking out enemies to fight and heroics to perform.

Odysseus wanderlust prevents him from going home to those who love him. This is until he learns a very important lesson.

Odysseus sails so far that he sails right to the edge of the world, to the land of shadows, that the Greeks called Hades. In Greek culture, the afterlife was represented by a shadow world, void of any love, joy, hope, or peace.

There in Hades dwelled all of Odysseus’s heroes whom he was emulating, but they have no glory now. Instead, they are desperate for news from the land of the living. What has become of the family and friends? What has become of the people who love them? Suddenly, Odysseus realizes only love that will last beyond the land of the shadows. Only love that will last beyond them grave.

How are you doing with the stewardship of your time? Are you investing in that which will never die? Are you giving time to those who love you the most?

Finally, are you giving enough of your time to God? One of the most unfortunate byproducts of the frantic schedule that many of us live, is we’re neglecting time developing a personal relationship with the הקב"ה.

Too few of us are training our children or grandchildren to include God in their busy lives. How many of us spent time with our children or grandchildren studying Torah together? How many of us come to the synagogue as a family? One of my colleagues wanted to put a sign outside his synagogue school wing that read: “At least slow down, before dropping your children off.”

How many of us use Shabbat as a vehicle to add a spiritual dimension to our families’ lives? Will our children and grandchildren be able to build their spiritual future upon the foundations we lay for them today?

Time is the spiritual commodity that can reach every moment of our lives. The great band Chicago wrote a song about time too just like the Rolling Stones. But they ask a very poignant question for us Jews during this High Holiday season. They sing: “Does Anybody Know What Time It Really Is?

Rabbi Tarphon taught in Pirkei Avot: “הַיּוֹם קָצָר וְהַמְּלָאכָה מְרֻבָּה, וְהַפּוֹעֲלִים עֲצֵלִים, וְהַשָּׂכָר הַרְבֵּה, וּבַעַל הַבַּיִת דּוֹחֵק:-The day is short, the task is great, the workers indolent, the reward is bountiful, and the Master insistent.” (2:20)

All we need is some Jewish time management penciled in our busy lives, time for her own personal spiritual growth, time for family, and time for relationship with God this year 5787.

No wonder we pray to God during these High Holidays to help us number days so that we may get a heart of wisdom.