How to get rid of those pesky nezekim. TB Berachot 6

The Gemara TB Berachot Daf 6a begins with a discussion about the mezekim (sometimes translated as evil angels, demons, or evil forces in the world). When I was a rabbinical student I once entered the dorm room of my friend and colleague Rabbi Martin Cohen now the Rabbi of the Shelter Rock Jewish Center. I noticed that there was a dried up lulav on the top of one of his bookshelves. I asked him why does he still have a lulav when Sukkot had been observed months ago? He told me that it rids his room of the mezekim. I told him that there are no mezekim. He just looked at me and said, “See, it’s working!” Only 2705 more days on his journey to study all of the Talmud.

What's in a Hebrew name? TB Berachot 7

In today’s daf TB Brachot 7b the Gemara teaches that a person’s Hebrew name determines his/her future.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: From the day the Holy One, Blessed be He, created the world, no one thanked the Holy One, Blessed be He, until Leah came and thanked Him, as it is stated: “And she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and she said, ‘This time I will give thanks to God,’ and thus he was called Judah” (Genesis 29:35).

Tangential to the mention of Leah’s son, Judah, and the reason for his name, the Gemara explains the sources for other names, including Reuben. Rabbi Elazar said: Reuben’s name should be considered a prophecy by Leah, as Leah said: See [re’u] the difference between my son [beni] and the son of my father-in-law, Esau, son of Isaac. Even though Esau knowingly sold his birthright to his brother Jacob, as it is written: “And he sold his birthright to Jacob” (Genesis 25:33), nonetheless, behold what is written about him: “And Esau hated Jacob” (Genesis 27:41). Esau was not only angry over Isaac’s blessing, but he was angry about another matter as well, as it is written: “And he said, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me twice? He took my birthright, and behold, now he has taken my blessing’” (Genesis 27:36). Despite having sold his birthright, he refused to relinquish it. While my son, Reuben, even though Joseph took his birthright from him by force, as it is written: “And the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, for he was the firstborn; but, since he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, son of Israel” (I Chronicles 5:1). Nevertheless, he was not jealous of him, as it is written when Joseph’s brothers sought to kill him: “And Reuben heard and he saved him from their hands, saying ‘Let us not take his life’” (Genesis 37:21).
Continuing on the topic of names, the Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the name Ruth? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: That she had the privilege that David, who inundated the Holy One, Blessed be He, with songs and praises, would descend from her. The name Ruth [Rut] is etymologically similar in Hebrew to the word inundate [riva]. (Translation from Sefaria.com)

One of Rabbi Zev Reichman’s daughter’s teacher taught that in the middle of person’s נשמה,soul, the word שֵם, name, can be found. In other words, your name points to your mission in life.

Perhaps I became a Rabbi because I’m named after a great-grandfather Avraham Attenson who was the most observant member of both sides of my family. And like Avraham Avinu I want to bring people closer to God. My middle Hebrew name is named after my other great-grandfather Asher who owned a bar in Philadelphia. There’s an old Yiddish expression that the bartender loves the drunkard, but not for a son-in-law. Maybe I never developed a taste for hard liquor because my great-grandfather Oscar (Asher) Wolf.

I wonder what destiny your Hebrew name points you toward?

What a fortunate man I am TB Berachot 8

Today I studied TB Berachot daf 8. I can answer the question asked in Eretz Yisrael quickly and truthfully.

In Eretz Yisrael, the custom was that when a man married a woman, they would ask him: Matza or motzeh? In other words, they would ask the groom whether the appropriate passage for his wife is the above verse from Proverbs that begins with the word matza, as it is written: “He who finds a wife finds good and obtains favor from the Lord” or whether the more appropriate verse is the one beginning with the word motzeh, as it is written: “And I find [motzeh] the woman more bitter than death” (Ecclesiastes 7:26). (translation from Sefaria.com)

I can answer honestly “Matza!” Marriying Judy was the smartest thing I have ever done. I owe much of my recovery from my bike accident to her care and support. Just yesturday she sent me in the right dirrection. Thursday my massage theripist noticed that my left eye was bloodshot and wondered outloud whether I had pink eye. That thought troubled me because my newest granddaughter Laylah was coming to my house on Sunday and certainly didn’t want her to catch it.

I told Judy I was going to an urgent care to make sure I didn’t have pink eye and if I did prescribe the appropriate medication. Judy instructed in no uncertain terms to see the eye doctor who performed my cateract surgery. I didn’t think I could get a last minute appointment before Shabbat entered. She was RIGHT again. I was able to seeSA my doctor and he told me my problem wasn’t pink eye but too many ingrown eyelashes. He plucked them and I was good to go!

Matza indeed. I hope that I live in the way she could say the same for me.

God will never desert us TB Beracot 9

I’m comforted by my faith. I believe that God never leaves a person’s side in order to help him/her and to strengthen him/her to meet all of live’s challenges. Today’s daf TB Berachot 9 buttresses this faith in God.

The Gemarra explains the meaning of one of God’s names. When God first introduced Himself to Moses at the burning bush, Moses asks God, “When I come to the Israelites...and they ask me ‘What is His name? What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses ‘Ehyeh asher Ehyeh (I will be that I will be)’’ (Exodus 3:13-14)

The Gemara answers the unasked question why is God so-to-speak being redundant? God simply could have said, “Ehyeh (I will be). Why does God say, “Ehyeh asher Ehyeh? Each Ehyeh has to refer to a different situation. “The Holy One, Blessed be He, told Moses to go and tell Israel: I was with you in this enslavement, and in this redemption, and I will be with you in the enslavement of the kingdoms in the future.” (Sefaia.com translation)

The Hebrew word for Egypt is מצרים (Mitzrayim) and in the middle of the Mitzrayim’s name is the word צר (tzar) which means narrow or tight. Egypt was a tight and narrow place for the Israelite slaves. Often we find ourselves in narrow or tight places too. As bad as they are, we can find hope and stregnth in the knowledge that we are never truly alone, God is always with us by our side helping us overcome our own personal Mitzrayim.

My devar Torah in Interfaith service in memory of those murdered at Christchurch, New Zealand at Queensboro Community College

I was invited to represent the Jewish community at a program sponsored by Muslim students at Queensboro Community College. It was held theKuperber Holocaust resource Center and archives. Below is my devar Torah.

Shalom Akeichem.

Once again people of faith have come together to find strength, love, and compassion in the wake of שינת חינם

baseless hatred. We mourn the senseless murder of our Muslim brothers and sisters in a mosque at Christchurch, New Zealand.

Every Sabbath in the synagogue we read the weekly Torah portion. In this week’s Torah reading two of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, died tragically. In the face of these deaths, the Torah records that “Aaron was silent.” A commentator on this verse writes, “The Torah usually doesn’t call attention to someone not speaking. What, then, is the unusual significance of Aaron’s silence? That he accepted God’s decree without protest? That his anguish was too great for him to put into words? That he was tempted to burst out in anger at the unfairness of what had happened to his family but was able to restrain himself? Perhaps the text is suggesting that there are more possibilities-and more power-in silence than in words.”

I appreciate Aaron’s silence when I heard about this tragedy. I felt all those emotions and more. I know that my mere words can’t convey the depth of my sorrow, pain, and empathy to all those who are grieving the 50 men, women, and children murdered only because they were Muslim. I hope that my very presence here as a representative Jewish people speaks volumes of my love and concern. You are not alone in your grief.

Maybe some of you have seen California’s magnificent Sequoias.  Did you know that these trees, some of which are as tall as a skyscraper, have roots practically at surface level?  A lone sequoia’s roots are so shallow that it can hardly stand up to a strong breeze.  So how do they grow so tall?  They spring up in groves, and their roots intertwine.  In other words, they hold each other up – they give each other the strength necessary to withstand the angriest winds.  And it is the same with us.  Alone we can complain kvetch. . . alone we will know pain.  But when we are together . . . we can stand anything.

My Jewish tradition teaches us never to despair because you are not alone. You have your home community, your school community, and your religious community ready to help you in any way they can. You are not alone. Beyond these communities good people here and abroad are doing more than just standing by your side. For example, this past Sunday I saw the off Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish. At the conclusion of the play the cast announced that they are collecting money to help the survivors at Christchurch. I saw people donate generously as they left the theater. You are not alone.

I would like to conclude with the prayer for peace found in my prayer book:

May we see the day when war and bloodshed cease, when a great piece will embrace the whole world. Then nation will not threaten nation and humankind will not again know war. For all who live on earth shall realize we have not come into being to hate or to destroy. We have come into being to praise, to labor, and to love.

Compassionate God bless all of humanity with the power of compassion. Fulfill the promise conveyed in Scripture: I will bring peace to the land, and you shall lie down and no one shall terrify you. I will rid the land of vicious beasts and it shall not be ravaged by war. Let love and justice flow like a mighty stream. Let peace fill the earth as waters fill the sea. And let us say: amen.

Fear is a mind killer

I remembered today what Frank Herbert wrote in his famous book Dune.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” Let me explain.

At my annual physical my primary care physician took an EKG. He was a little concerned that there was an extra beat or some other anomaly and wanted to send me to a cardiologist. In the middle of January I saw my new cardiologist and he did a battery of tests. One of the tests showed perhaps some kind type of blockage. He wanted me to come back for a stress test to see whether I need cholesterol lowering pills. Great one more pill I would had to take.

I was really nervous after that appointment for a couple of reasons. First of all, there is cardiac disease in my family. I believe my grandfather George Greene died of heart attack when I was about two years old. My father had two open heart surgeries because of blocked arteries. The first was when he was only 48 years old. He needed a third open heart surgery because the vein they had transplanted became blocked too. There was just no more room around the heart for another vein transplant. He needed to take blood thinners and went on complete disability in his 50s. I’m already 66 years old and despite my exercise and diet routine was genetics catching up with me? Secondly, I had to take a nuclear stress test because I couldn’t get on to the treadmill because of my physical limitations due to my bicycle accident. I didn’t know what to expect. My OT didn’t help when they speed up my heart he said is like having a heart attack. Fear is a mind killer.

The test turned out to be quite easy. Actually the drug doesn’t speed up the heart, but rather dilates the arteries. The only thing I felt was a slight flush in my face. It was almost over before it began. After looking at the pictures of my heart my cardiologist said whatever was on the EKG was a glitch because I was just growing older. All my numbers are great and I’m in good shape. In other words, I had absolutely nothing to fear or worry about.

All those hours wasted with the anxiety. Fear plagued my mind day and night. Fear is a mind killer. I should have remembered the beginning and ending of Psalm 27, “the Lord is my light and my salvation-whom (or what) shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom (or what) shall I be afraid?... Had I not the assurance that I would enjoy the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living ...Hope in the Lord. Be strong and of good courage! O' look to the Lord!”

How I spent Israel Independence Day 5778

I guess my love affair of Jewish books began when I was a freshman at the Teachers Institute AKA today List College.

I saved up all my grushim to buy books in Israel during Shevuat Hasefer when I was a junior studying at Hebrew (5732) University and when I was a third-year student in  rabbinical School (5734). I bought a lot classical Hebrew books hoping one day I would actually read them.

That happened today on Israel Independence Day of all days. After participating in Dr. David Golinkin's webshiur on the subject if "the love of the land of Israel" in Ketubot 110b-111a,  I wanted to look up some of the sources he gave us. I went to the book shelf and removed Epstein's Mavo Lenusach Hamishnah, volume two. I flipped through the pages for the very first time only to discover that the exact pages David sited were missing. The book goes from page 958 to page 969. I certainly don't remember when I bought this book and I probably did buy it at the Akademon at Hebrew University.

If you want to find out how I solved my problem and learn all about whether it is a mitzvah to make aliyah come to my Tikkun l'al Shavuot on Saturday, May 19, 2018 at Marathon Jewish Community Center. The Tikkun will begin at 7 PM and we shall be serving coffee, tea, and cheesecake.