for Wednesday, Sivan 2, 5776 · June 8, 2016
Editor's Note:
Dear Friend,
Among the most enjoyable parts of working for Chabad.org’s “Ask the Rabbi” team is the opportunity to be in touch with people from all over the world—a businessman from Switzerland, a graduate student in the United Kingdom, a mom in South Dakota, a tech entrepreneur in India.
They come for various reasons, but ultimately, it comes down to the same thing: communication. Whether it’s a question about the intricacies of halachah, the meaning of a Torah verse or even a life decision, they’ve all turned to a channel of communication, and we’re more than happy to respond in kind.
We are approaching the holiday of Shavuot, when the Jewish people heard the Ten Commandments from G‑d. G‑d “spoke” to our ancestors, beginning a relationship that enables Jews for all future generations to interact with Him. Until that point, the spiritual and material were separate, but that changed with G‑d descending on Mount Sinai to “speak” to us.
We relive (and recommit ourselves to) this super-deep experience every year, when we attend the reading of the Ten Commandments in synagogue. Every Jew is encouraged to participate, especially young children, for they are the Jewish future.
Be there, and you may even get some ice-cream and a slice of cheesecake. Not a bad deal.
Rabbi Eliezer Zalmanov
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
The Autograph
When He had finished His world, complete and whole, each thing in its place, the earth below and the heavens beyond,
. . . it was then that the Artist signed His holy name, with a vacuum in time, a motionless vortex to the constant change, a hollow through which the Infinite Light could enter within and kiss the finite world. And He called it Shabbat.
In each thing there is a Shabbat, an opening that allows life to enter, a desire to receive from Beyond. In each being there is a sense of wonder, of knowing that there is something greater. A something it will never know.
And through that opening it receives life. With that wonder, it opens itself to the Infinite.
This Week's Features
Printable Magazine
Can We Add to the Torah?
Unfolding the Voice From Sinai by Tzvi Freeman
Some people imagine the event at Sinai as a transmission from heaven, recorded on two tablets and in five books, frozen in time, never to occur again.
Others see Sinai as an opening of a portal through which the divine could now begin to pour into our world, into the minds of students of many generations, for each generation according to the needs of its time.
Neither is correct; both are true. At Sinai, a voice beyond time began to flow into the world,At Sinai, a voice beyond time began to flow into the world. to unfold and to be revealed through those who receive it, toil with it, shed tears over it and give their life for it. Because of them, nothing changes, and yet it is new every moment.
“There was a great voice v’lo yasaf.”1
The words v’lo yasaf means this great voice never occurred again. It also means that the great voice never stopped sounding. The Midrash explains:
Whatever the prophets were destined to prophesy in each generation, they received from Mount Sinai . . . and not only the prophets, but also all the sages that arose in every generation, each one received that which was theirs from Sinai. So is it said, “All these things G‑d spoke to all your congregation, a great voicev’lo yasaf.”2
And so, in every generation, in every place where Torah is studied, Sinai occurs again, and again, and again, with each new discovery, each flash of wisdom and insight that was never known before. Each is an unfolding of that same voice, each as needed for that time and place.3
Creative Souls
There is an ancient saying, oft repeated, “Scriptures, Mishnah, Talmud,Aggadah . . . any innovation of any salted student of Torah—all was given toMoses at Sinai.”4
If it was given at Sinai, why do we call it an innovation of this student? As the Midrash above tells, all he did was to recite that which his soul had heard at Sinai.
But this student, through toil and tears, exhausting every tool and tradition his teachers had given him, drilling into the innermost powers of his soul, unraveled yet another fold in the voice heard at Sinai. And with that unfolding, a spark of wisdom that was utterly concealed, A spark of wisdom that was utterly concealed now entered openly into the world.utterly unknowable and beyond the grasp of any mind, now entered openly into the world.
It is not simple. The Zohar warns that one who says something is Torah when it is not true Torah has created an idol—for Torah is one with the One who gave it.5 Who, then, are those that dare to unfold this great voice? Who can reveal the hidden wisdom of the divine?
Each one of us can—if we only would put in the effort.6 Each soul holds a fractal of the whole, something of that voice that it alone heard at Sinai. And each soul comes to this world at the time it is needed to reveal its piece of the puzzle.7
But how does a person find that authentic treasure and reveal it?
As Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus did:
The Story of Eliezer ben Hyrcanus
This is the story of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, whose father had workers plowing the soft soil while he was put to plow the rocky soil.
Eliezer sat down and cried to himself. His father said, “Why are you crying? Perhaps you’re upset because I put you to plow the rocky soil? Now I will put you to plow the soft soil.”
Eliezer sat on the soft soil and cried to himself. His father said, “Why are you crying? Are you upset that I put you to plow on the furrowed soil?”
“No,” he answered.
“So why are you crying?” his father asked.
Eliezer answered, “Because I want to learn Torah.”
His father said to him, “But you are twenty-eight years old, and now you want to learn Torah? Rather, marry a woman and she will bear you children, and you will send them to school to learn Torah.”
Eliezer went for two weeks without tasting a thing, until Elijah, Eliezer went for two weeks without tasting a thing, until Elijah appeared to him.may he be remembered for good, appeared to him.
Elijah said to him, “Son of Hyrcanus, why are you crying?”
Eliezer answered, “Because I want to learn Torah.”
Elijah said to him, “If you want to learn Torah, go up to Jerusalem, to RabbanYochanan ben Zakkai.”
Eliezer stood up and went to Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai. He sat there and cried to himself.
Rabban Yochanan said to him, “Why are you crying?”
He answered, “Because I want to learn Torah.”
Rabban Yochanan asked him, “Whose son are you?” But he did not tell him.
Rabban Yochanan asked him, “In all your days, you never learned to say theShema? To pray? To say the blessings after a meal?”
“Never,” Eliezer answered him.
Rabban Yochanan said to him, “Stand up, and I will teach you all three of them.”
He stood up, and Rabban Yochanan taught these three to him.
And then Eliezer again sat and he cried.
Rabban Yochanan asked him, “My son, why are you crying?”
“Because I want to learn Torah,” he answered.
So Rabban Yochanan would teach him two halachot each day of the week, and he would review them and treasure them.
Eliezer went for eight days and he did not taste a thing, to the point that the bad smell of his breath became apparent to Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, and he moved him away.
Eliezer sat and he cried.
Rabban Yochanan asked him, “Why are you crying?”
He answered, “Because you have pushed me away from you as one pushes aside a leper.”
Rabban Yochanan replied, “My son, just as the odor of your mouth has risen before me, so will the aroma of the laws of Torah rise from your mouth to the heavens!”
Then Rabban Yochanan asked once again, “Whose son are you?”
Eliezer answered, “I am the son of Hyrcanus.”
Rabban Yochanan replied, “So you are a child of great people in the world, and you didn’t tell me! By your life, you will have supper with me.”
He said, “I have already eaten by the host where I board.”
“And who is your host?” Rabban Yochanan asked.
“Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya and Rabbi Yossi HaKohen,” he answered.
Rabban Yochanan sent a message for the two hosts, asking them, “Did Eliezer eat at your place today?”
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya and Rabbi Yossi HaKohen had understood that Eliezer ate with his teacher. Now they came to Rabban Yochanan and they said, “It has been eight days that he has not tasted a thing!”
Rabban Yochanan exclaimed, “Between us, we almost lost Eliezer!”
And he compelled Eliezer to eat and to drink that day and the next.
More Than Was Said at Sinai
The sons of Hyrcanus said to their father, “Go up to Jerusalem and disinherit your son Eliezer from your wealth!”
He went up to Jerusalem to disinherit his son. There he found RabbanYochanan ben Zakai making a special celebration. The great people of the land were there: Ben Tzitzit Hakesset, Nakdimon ben Gurion, and Ben Kalba Savua.
These people told Rabban Yochanan, “Look, the father of Rabbi Eliezer is here!”
He said, “Make a place for him.” And they made a place for him, and sat him next to Rabban Yochanan.
Rabban Yochanan put his eyes upon Rabbi Eliezer. He said to him, “Tell us one thing from the Torah.”
Rabbi Eliezer replied, “My teacher, let me provide you an analogy of a cistern, from which you cannot draw more than has been poured into it. So too, I cannot say any more words of Torah than I have received from you.”
Rabban Yochanan replied to him, “I will provide you another analogy, of a wellspring that bubblesAs a wellspring bubbles and provides more water than that which entered into it, so too you are able to say more Torah than was received at Sinai. and provides water, and is able to provide more water than that which entered into it. So too you are able to say more Torah than was received at Sinai.”
Eliezer remained quiet.
Then Rabban Yochanan said, “Perhaps you are embarrassed to speak in my presence. If so, I will get up and leave.”
Rabban Yochanan went outside, and Rabbi Eliezer sat and expounded on Torah, his face shining like the light of the sun, rays of light shining from his face like the aura of Moses, until those present could not tell if it was day or night.
Rabban Yochanan came from behind him and kissed him on his head. He said to him, “Fortunate are you, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that this is your progeny!”
Hyrcanus asked those next to him, “To whom did he say that?”
They told him, “To Eliezer, your son.”
He said to them, “That is not what he should have said. He should have said, ‘Fortunate is Hyrcanus, that this is his progeny!’”
Rabbi Eliezer remained sitting and expounding on Torah and his father stood up. When he saw that his father was standing, he was embarrassed. He said, “Father, please sit! I cannot remain seated and say words of Torah so long as you stand!”
Hyrcanus said, “My son, this is not why I came here. I came here to disinherit you. But now that I see you and I see all this praise that you are given, now your brothers are to be disinherited, and you will take their portions.”
Rabbi Eliezer replied, “I am not worth more than any one of my brothers.
“If it were property that I desired from the Holy One, may He be blessed, He has the ability to provide me with such, as it says, ‘The earth and all that is within it belongs to G‑d!’
“If it were silver and gold that I desired, He would provide it to me, as it says, “Silver is Mine, gold is Mine, says the L‑rd of Hosts.’
“But rather, all I asked from the Holy One, may He be blessed, is Torah alone, as it says, ‘Because I treasured all precepts of all things upright, and every false way I hated.’”8
G‑d Quotes Man
Rabbi Eliezer went on to become one of the five great students of Rabban Yochanan, those who saved Torah and the Jewish people from oblivion after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. There were others with the name Rabbi Eliezer, so he was called “Rabbi Eliezer the Great.”
How great?
Rabbi Acha said in the name of Rabbi Yossi bar Chanina:
When Moses ascended on high, he heard the voice of the Holy One, blessed be He. G‑d was sitting and occupied in the subject of the red heifer. He was saying, “Eliezer, my son, says it may be a cow in its second year . . .”
Moses exclaimed before G‑d, “Master of the Universe! The higher beings and the lower beings are under Your authority—and You sit and say halachah in the name of flesh and blood!”
G‑d replied, “Moses, in the future a certain tzaddik will arise in My world. And he is destined to have the first word on the subject of the red heifer. Before citing the opinion of his colleagues, they will say in the Mishnah, ‘Rabbi Eliezer says, “A cow in its second year . . .”’”
Moses said, “Master of the Universe, may it be Your will that he should be from my descendants.”
G‑d replied, “By your life, he shall be of your descendants.”
This is what is written, “And the name of one of them was Eliezer.” Meaning, the name of that special one was Eliezer.9
Rabbi Shalom DovBer of Lubavitch explained: Rabbi Eliezer, with his tears and struggle, reached into the innermost recesses of the Divine will.Rabbi Eliezer, with his tears and struggle, reached into the innermost recesses of the Divine will. From there, he brought this teaching from a state of utter concealment out openly into the world. And so, G‑d Himself cited this teaching in his name. For without him it would never have become knowable. Not even in Divine knowledge. It was hidden beyond knowing.10
The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory, explained that the Torah of Rabbi Eliezer, or of any similar sages, was truly given through them when they spoke it. The same with all the enactments of the sages and all that has arisen through the struggle of our souls with Torah over 3300 years. And yet all this was included in the voice at Sinai. Since G‑d knows the future as He does the past, the voice of Sinai included within it all that would be given in the future.11
That is the power of toil and tears, of yearning for truth and cleaving to its teachers: To strike sparks out of hard rock. To turn dross into fine gold, night into day. To surprise even your Creator.
FOOTNOTES
1.Deuteronomy 5:19.
2.Shemot Rabbah 28:6. Here is the complete text in translation:
Said Rabbi Yitzchak:
Whatever the prophets were destined to prophesy in each generation they received from Mount Sinai. For that is what Moses said to Israel, “For those who are here standing with us today . . . and those who are not here with us today.”
He didn’t say, “Those who are not standing with us here today,” but just “those who are not with us today.” That is because he was speaking of the souls that were destined to be created, but were as of yet without substance. Of these, it could not be said that they were standing. They too, each one, received that which belonged to them.
So it also is said, “The burden of the word of G‑d in the hand of Malachi.” Not “in the days of Malachi,” but “in the hand of Malachi.” For the prophecy was already in his hand from the event of Mount Sinai. It was only that until that time he was not permitted to prophesy.
The same is said about Isaiah: “From the day and from the time that it was, there was I . . .”
Isaiah was saying that from the day the Torah was given at Sinai, there I was, and there I received this prophecy. It is only that “and now, Hashem, G‑d, has sent me and His spirit.” Meaning, until now I was not granted permission to prophesy.
It was not only the prophets who received their prophecy from Sinai, but also all the sages that arose in every generation, each one received that which is his from Sinai.
So too is it said, “All these things G‑d spoke to all your congregation, a great voice that never ends.”
3.Shnei Luchot HaBrit, Toldot Adam, Beit Chochmah Telita’i.
4.See Talmud, Megillah 19b; Jerusalem Talmud, Pe’ah 2:4; Shemot Rabbah 47; Vayikra Rabbah 22.
None of the standard versions of these sources use the term “innovation” (חידוש), other than tractate Megillah—and there the reference is specifically to Megillat Esther. Neverthless, it is cited in many sources using that term. Among them: Responsa of R. David HaKohen, Responsa of R. David ben Zimra, Torat Ha’Olah, preface to the commentary Siftei Kohen on the Torah, many of the writings of the Arizal, Ohr Torah of the Maggid of Mezeritch,Tanya, and others.
Note also that in the Jerusalem Talmud the prooftext is “See, this is new . . . ,” and in the Margoliot printing of Midrash Rabbah, an alternate version using the term חידוש is cited. In Matteh Moshe this version is also cited, and Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna (“the Vilna Gaon”) held that this was the correct version in the Jerusalem Talmud as well.
5.Zohar II:89a. See also R. Meir ibn Gabbai, Avodat Hakodesh, Chapter 2 of Chelek Hatachlit. Also, R. Moshe Cordovero, Pardes Rimonim, portal 1, chapter 6: “ . . . When you originate and analyze with your intellect so that you may understand, you must take care to conceive the idea and explain it within the framework of the tradition of the rabbis and their terse words. The original ideas must be included in that which you have gained, whether much or little.”
For the classic explanation of what Moses received and how the sages over the generations expanded upon that, see Maimonides, introduction to his Commentary on the Mishnah.
6.See Talmud, Chagigah 3a: It happened that Rabbi Yochanan ben Beroka and Rabbi Elazar ben Chisma went to greet their teacher Rabbi Yehoshua in Peki’in.
He said to them, “What chiddush is there in the study hall?
His students replied, “We are your students, and from your waters we drink!”
He said back to them, “Nevertheless, a hall of Torah study without chiddush is impossible.”
7.See Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi,Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:1; ibid., 2:2. “Every student of Torah must strive to a degree of knowledge at which he can make his own chiddushim.” In Tanya, Iggeret HaKodesh 26 (145b), the same author writes, “Supernal beings come to hear the chiddushim of Torah from those who dwell in this lower world . . . and every Jewish person is capable of revealing hidden wisdom and to introduce new ideas . . . and he is obligated to do so, in order to fulfill the mission of his soul . . .”
See also Turei Zahav, Orach Chaim 545:13, who balks at the idea that a person should avoid discoveringchiddushei Torah on Chol Hamoed since he will have to write them down. The clear implication is that learning Torah is intrinsically tied to innovation.
8.Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, chapters 1–2, with some inserts from Avot d’Rabbi Natan, chapter 23.
9.Yalkut Shimoni, Yitro 268.
10.Yom Tov Shel Rosh Hashanah 5666, “Amar Rabbi Akiva” (Noach) 5667 & the following maamar. See also Likkutei Sichot, vol. 19, p. 250 (Chai Elul).
11.Sefer Hasichot 5752, vol. 2, “Hadran al Mesechtot Brachot & Moed Katan,” esp. secs. 8–9.
-------
PRACTICAL SHAVUOT
The Shavuot Site
Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. The Ten Commandments are read in synagogues, just as they were in the desert on Mt. Sinai over 3,300 years ago.Shavuot (a two-day holiday, celebrated on June 11-13, 2016) coincides with the date that G‑d gave the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai more than 3,300 years ago. It comes after 49 days of eager counting, as we prepared ourselves for this special day.
It is celebrated by lighting candles, staying up all night to learn Torah, hearing the reading of the Ten Commandments in synagogue, feasting on dairy foods and more.
Find a reading of the Ten Commandments near you. >>
Practical Shavuot
Shavuot Synagogue Search
Laws & Customs
Shavuot Calendar 2016
Shavuot Recipes
About Shavuot
Shavuot 101
What Is the Torah?
The Story
Shavuot Personalities
Shavuot Insights
Holiday Thoughts
The Gift
The Ten Commandments Anthology
In The Clouds
View All 11
Shavuot Audio and Video
Shavuot Videos
Audio Classes
Shavuot Songs
Shavuot Kids Site
Guide
Videos
Shavuot Recipes
Stories
View All 7
Shavuot Recipes
Challah
Blintzes
Appetizers
Salads
View All 10
FEATURE
Shavuot Synagogue Search-------
Shavuot Commandment: Thou Shalt Bring the KidsChabad centers prep for an influx of children at Ten Commandments readings
Chabad centers around the world are prepping for an influx of children coming to synagogue for the reading of the Ten Commandments on the festival of Shavuot. by Menachem Posner
Can We Add to the Torah?
Unfolding the Voice From Sinai by Tzvi Freeman
Some people imagine the event at Sinai as a transmission from heaven, recorded on two tablets and in five books, frozen in time, never to occur again.Others see Sinai as an opening of a portal through which the divine could now begin to pour into our world, into the minds of students of many generations, for each generation according to the needs of its time.
Neither is correct; both are true. At Sinai, a voice beyond time began to flow into the world,At Sinai, a voice beyond time began to flow into the world. to unfold and to be revealed through those who receive it, toil with it, shed tears over it and give their life for it. Because of them, nothing changes, and yet it is new every moment.
“There was a great voice v’lo yasaf.”1
The words v’lo yasaf means this great voice never occurred again. It also means that the great voice never stopped sounding. The Midrash explains:
Whatever the prophets were destined to prophesy in each generation, they received from Mount Sinai . . . and not only the prophets, but also all the sages that arose in every generation, each one received that which was theirs from Sinai. So is it said, “All these things G‑d spoke to all your congregation, a great voicev’lo yasaf.”2
And so, in every generation, in every place where Torah is studied, Sinai occurs again, and again, and again, with each new discovery, each flash of wisdom and insight that was never known before. Each is an unfolding of that same voice, each as needed for that time and place.3
Creative Souls
There is an ancient saying, oft repeated, “Scriptures, Mishnah, Talmud,Aggadah . . . any innovation of any salted student of Torah—all was given toMoses at Sinai.”4
If it was given at Sinai, why do we call it an innovation of this student? As the Midrash above tells, all he did was to recite that which his soul had heard at Sinai.
But this student, through toil and tears, exhausting every tool and tradition his teachers had given him, drilling into the innermost powers of his soul, unraveled yet another fold in the voice heard at Sinai. And with that unfolding, a spark of wisdom that was utterly concealed, A spark of wisdom that was utterly concealed now entered openly into the world.utterly unknowable and beyond the grasp of any mind, now entered openly into the world.
It is not simple. The Zohar warns that one who says something is Torah when it is not true Torah has created an idol—for Torah is one with the One who gave it.5 Who, then, are those that dare to unfold this great voice? Who can reveal the hidden wisdom of the divine?
Each one of us can—if we only would put in the effort.6 Each soul holds a fractal of the whole, something of that voice that it alone heard at Sinai. And each soul comes to this world at the time it is needed to reveal its piece of the puzzle.7
But how does a person find that authentic treasure and reveal it?
As Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus did:
The Story of Eliezer ben Hyrcanus
This is the story of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, whose father had workers plowing the soft soil while he was put to plow the rocky soil.
Eliezer sat down and cried to himself. His father said, “Why are you crying? Perhaps you’re upset because I put you to plow the rocky soil? Now I will put you to plow the soft soil.”
Eliezer sat on the soft soil and cried to himself. His father said, “Why are you crying? Are you upset that I put you to plow on the furrowed soil?”
“No,” he answered.
“So why are you crying?” his father asked.
Eliezer answered, “Because I want to learn Torah.”
His father said to him, “But you are twenty-eight years old, and now you want to learn Torah? Rather, marry a woman and she will bear you children, and you will send them to school to learn Torah.”
Eliezer went for two weeks without tasting a thing, until Elijah, Eliezer went for two weeks without tasting a thing, until Elijah appeared to him.may he be remembered for good, appeared to him.
Elijah said to him, “Son of Hyrcanus, why are you crying?”
Eliezer answered, “Because I want to learn Torah.”
Elijah said to him, “If you want to learn Torah, go up to Jerusalem, to RabbanYochanan ben Zakkai.”
Eliezer stood up and went to Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai. He sat there and cried to himself.
Rabban Yochanan said to him, “Why are you crying?”
He answered, “Because I want to learn Torah.”
Rabban Yochanan asked him, “Whose son are you?” But he did not tell him.
Rabban Yochanan asked him, “In all your days, you never learned to say theShema? To pray? To say the blessings after a meal?”
“Never,” Eliezer answered him.
Rabban Yochanan said to him, “Stand up, and I will teach you all three of them.”
He stood up, and Rabban Yochanan taught these three to him.
And then Eliezer again sat and he cried.
Rabban Yochanan asked him, “My son, why are you crying?”
“Because I want to learn Torah,” he answered.
So Rabban Yochanan would teach him two halachot each day of the week, and he would review them and treasure them.
Eliezer went for eight days and he did not taste a thing, to the point that the bad smell of his breath became apparent to Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, and he moved him away.
Eliezer sat and he cried.
Rabban Yochanan asked him, “Why are you crying?”
He answered, “Because you have pushed me away from you as one pushes aside a leper.”
Rabban Yochanan replied, “My son, just as the odor of your mouth has risen before me, so will the aroma of the laws of Torah rise from your mouth to the heavens!”
Then Rabban Yochanan asked once again, “Whose son are you?”
Eliezer answered, “I am the son of Hyrcanus.”
Rabban Yochanan replied, “So you are a child of great people in the world, and you didn’t tell me! By your life, you will have supper with me.”
He said, “I have already eaten by the host where I board.”
“And who is your host?” Rabban Yochanan asked.
“Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya and Rabbi Yossi HaKohen,” he answered.
Rabban Yochanan sent a message for the two hosts, asking them, “Did Eliezer eat at your place today?”
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya and Rabbi Yossi HaKohen had understood that Eliezer ate with his teacher. Now they came to Rabban Yochanan and they said, “It has been eight days that he has not tasted a thing!”
Rabban Yochanan exclaimed, “Between us, we almost lost Eliezer!”
And he compelled Eliezer to eat and to drink that day and the next.
More Than Was Said at Sinai
The sons of Hyrcanus said to their father, “Go up to Jerusalem and disinherit your son Eliezer from your wealth!”
He went up to Jerusalem to disinherit his son. There he found RabbanYochanan ben Zakai making a special celebration. The great people of the land were there: Ben Tzitzit Hakesset, Nakdimon ben Gurion, and Ben Kalba Savua.
These people told Rabban Yochanan, “Look, the father of Rabbi Eliezer is here!”
He said, “Make a place for him.” And they made a place for him, and sat him next to Rabban Yochanan.
Rabban Yochanan put his eyes upon Rabbi Eliezer. He said to him, “Tell us one thing from the Torah.”
Rabbi Eliezer replied, “My teacher, let me provide you an analogy of a cistern, from which you cannot draw more than has been poured into it. So too, I cannot say any more words of Torah than I have received from you.”
Rabban Yochanan replied to him, “I will provide you another analogy, of a wellspring that bubblesAs a wellspring bubbles and provides more water than that which entered into it, so too you are able to say more Torah than was received at Sinai. and provides water, and is able to provide more water than that which entered into it. So too you are able to say more Torah than was received at Sinai.”
Eliezer remained quiet.
Then Rabban Yochanan said, “Perhaps you are embarrassed to speak in my presence. If so, I will get up and leave.”
Rabban Yochanan went outside, and Rabbi Eliezer sat and expounded on Torah, his face shining like the light of the sun, rays of light shining from his face like the aura of Moses, until those present could not tell if it was day or night.
Rabban Yochanan came from behind him and kissed him on his head. He said to him, “Fortunate are you, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that this is your progeny!”
Hyrcanus asked those next to him, “To whom did he say that?”
They told him, “To Eliezer, your son.”
He said to them, “That is not what he should have said. He should have said, ‘Fortunate is Hyrcanus, that this is his progeny!’”
Rabbi Eliezer remained sitting and expounding on Torah and his father stood up. When he saw that his father was standing, he was embarrassed. He said, “Father, please sit! I cannot remain seated and say words of Torah so long as you stand!”
Hyrcanus said, “My son, this is not why I came here. I came here to disinherit you. But now that I see you and I see all this praise that you are given, now your brothers are to be disinherited, and you will take their portions.”
Rabbi Eliezer replied, “I am not worth more than any one of my brothers.
“If it were property that I desired from the Holy One, may He be blessed, He has the ability to provide me with such, as it says, ‘The earth and all that is within it belongs to G‑d!’
“If it were silver and gold that I desired, He would provide it to me, as it says, “Silver is Mine, gold is Mine, says the L‑rd of Hosts.’
“But rather, all I asked from the Holy One, may He be blessed, is Torah alone, as it says, ‘Because I treasured all precepts of all things upright, and every false way I hated.’”8
G‑d Quotes Man
Rabbi Eliezer went on to become one of the five great students of Rabban Yochanan, those who saved Torah and the Jewish people from oblivion after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. There were others with the name Rabbi Eliezer, so he was called “Rabbi Eliezer the Great.”
How great?
Rabbi Acha said in the name of Rabbi Yossi bar Chanina:
When Moses ascended on high, he heard the voice of the Holy One, blessed be He. G‑d was sitting and occupied in the subject of the red heifer. He was saying, “Eliezer, my son, says it may be a cow in its second year . . .”
Moses exclaimed before G‑d, “Master of the Universe! The higher beings and the lower beings are under Your authority—and You sit and say halachah in the name of flesh and blood!”
G‑d replied, “Moses, in the future a certain tzaddik will arise in My world. And he is destined to have the first word on the subject of the red heifer. Before citing the opinion of his colleagues, they will say in the Mishnah, ‘Rabbi Eliezer says, “A cow in its second year . . .”’”
Moses said, “Master of the Universe, may it be Your will that he should be from my descendants.”
G‑d replied, “By your life, he shall be of your descendants.”
This is what is written, “And the name of one of them was Eliezer.” Meaning, the name of that special one was Eliezer.9
Rabbi Shalom DovBer of Lubavitch explained: Rabbi Eliezer, with his tears and struggle, reached into the innermost recesses of the Divine will.Rabbi Eliezer, with his tears and struggle, reached into the innermost recesses of the Divine will. From there, he brought this teaching from a state of utter concealment out openly into the world. And so, G‑d Himself cited this teaching in his name. For without him it would never have become knowable. Not even in Divine knowledge. It was hidden beyond knowing.10
The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory, explained that the Torah of Rabbi Eliezer, or of any similar sages, was truly given through them when they spoke it. The same with all the enactments of the sages and all that has arisen through the struggle of our souls with Torah over 3300 years. And yet all this was included in the voice at Sinai. Since G‑d knows the future as He does the past, the voice of Sinai included within it all that would be given in the future.11
That is the power of toil and tears, of yearning for truth and cleaving to its teachers: To strike sparks out of hard rock. To turn dross into fine gold, night into day. To surprise even your Creator.
FOOTNOTES
1.Deuteronomy 5:19.
2.Shemot Rabbah 28:6. Here is the complete text in translation:
Said Rabbi Yitzchak:
Whatever the prophets were destined to prophesy in each generation they received from Mount Sinai. For that is what Moses said to Israel, “For those who are here standing with us today . . . and those who are not here with us today.”
He didn’t say, “Those who are not standing with us here today,” but just “those who are not with us today.” That is because he was speaking of the souls that were destined to be created, but were as of yet without substance. Of these, it could not be said that they were standing. They too, each one, received that which belonged to them.
So it also is said, “The burden of the word of G‑d in the hand of Malachi.” Not “in the days of Malachi,” but “in the hand of Malachi.” For the prophecy was already in his hand from the event of Mount Sinai. It was only that until that time he was not permitted to prophesy.
The same is said about Isaiah: “From the day and from the time that it was, there was I . . .”
Isaiah was saying that from the day the Torah was given at Sinai, there I was, and there I received this prophecy. It is only that “and now, Hashem, G‑d, has sent me and His spirit.” Meaning, until now I was not granted permission to prophesy.
It was not only the prophets who received their prophecy from Sinai, but also all the sages that arose in every generation, each one received that which is his from Sinai.
So too is it said, “All these things G‑d spoke to all your congregation, a great voice that never ends.”
3.Shnei Luchot HaBrit, Toldot Adam, Beit Chochmah Telita’i.
4.See Talmud, Megillah 19b; Jerusalem Talmud, Pe’ah 2:4; Shemot Rabbah 47; Vayikra Rabbah 22.
None of the standard versions of these sources use the term “innovation” (חידוש), other than tractate Megillah—and there the reference is specifically to Megillat Esther. Neverthless, it is cited in many sources using that term. Among them: Responsa of R. David HaKohen, Responsa of R. David ben Zimra, Torat Ha’Olah, preface to the commentary Siftei Kohen on the Torah, many of the writings of the Arizal, Ohr Torah of the Maggid of Mezeritch,Tanya, and others.
Note also that in the Jerusalem Talmud the prooftext is “See, this is new . . . ,” and in the Margoliot printing of Midrash Rabbah, an alternate version using the term חידוש is cited. In Matteh Moshe this version is also cited, and Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna (“the Vilna Gaon”) held that this was the correct version in the Jerusalem Talmud as well.
5.Zohar II:89a. See also R. Meir ibn Gabbai, Avodat Hakodesh, Chapter 2 of Chelek Hatachlit. Also, R. Moshe Cordovero, Pardes Rimonim, portal 1, chapter 6: “ . . . When you originate and analyze with your intellect so that you may understand, you must take care to conceive the idea and explain it within the framework of the tradition of the rabbis and their terse words. The original ideas must be included in that which you have gained, whether much or little.”
For the classic explanation of what Moses received and how the sages over the generations expanded upon that, see Maimonides, introduction to his Commentary on the Mishnah.
6.See Talmud, Chagigah 3a: It happened that Rabbi Yochanan ben Beroka and Rabbi Elazar ben Chisma went to greet their teacher Rabbi Yehoshua in Peki’in.
He said to them, “What chiddush is there in the study hall?
His students replied, “We are your students, and from your waters we drink!”
He said back to them, “Nevertheless, a hall of Torah study without chiddush is impossible.”
7.See Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi,Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:1; ibid., 2:2. “Every student of Torah must strive to a degree of knowledge at which he can make his own chiddushim.” In Tanya, Iggeret HaKodesh 26 (145b), the same author writes, “Supernal beings come to hear the chiddushim of Torah from those who dwell in this lower world . . . and every Jewish person is capable of revealing hidden wisdom and to introduce new ideas . . . and he is obligated to do so, in order to fulfill the mission of his soul . . .”
See also Turei Zahav, Orach Chaim 545:13, who balks at the idea that a person should avoid discoveringchiddushei Torah on Chol Hamoed since he will have to write them down. The clear implication is that learning Torah is intrinsically tied to innovation.
8.Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, chapters 1–2, with some inserts from Avot d’Rabbi Natan, chapter 23.
9.Yalkut Shimoni, Yitro 268.
10.Yom Tov Shel Rosh Hashanah 5666, “Amar Rabbi Akiva” (Noach) 5667 & the following maamar. See also Likkutei Sichot, vol. 19, p. 250 (Chai Elul).
11.Sefer Hasichot 5752, vol. 2, “Hadran al Mesechtot Brachot & Moed Katan,” esp. secs. 8–9.
-------
PRACTICAL SHAVUOT
The Shavuot Site
Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. The Ten Commandments are read in synagogues, just as they were in the desert on Mt. Sinai over 3,300 years ago.Shavuot (a two-day holiday, celebrated on June 11-13, 2016) coincides with the date that G‑d gave the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai more than 3,300 years ago. It comes after 49 days of eager counting, as we prepared ourselves for this special day.
It is celebrated by lighting candles, staying up all night to learn Torah, hearing the reading of the Ten Commandments in synagogue, feasting on dairy foods and more.
Find a reading of the Ten Commandments near you. >>
Practical Shavuot
Shavuot Synagogue Search
Laws & Customs
Shavuot Calendar 2016
Shavuot Recipes
About Shavuot
Shavuot 101
What Is the Torah?
The Story
Shavuot Personalities
Shavuot Insights
Holiday Thoughts
The Gift
The Ten Commandments Anthology
In The Clouds
View All 11
Shavuot Audio and Video
Shavuot Videos
Audio Classes
Shavuot Songs
Shavuot Kids Site
Guide
Videos
Shavuot Recipes
Stories
View All 7
Shavuot Recipes
Challah
Blintzes
Appetizers
Salads
View All 10
FEATURE
Shavuot Synagogue Search-------
Shavuot Commandment: Thou Shalt Bring the KidsChabad centers prep for an influx of children at Ten Commandments readings
Chabad centers around the world are prepping for an influx of children coming to synagogue for the reading of the Ten Commandments on the festival of Shavuot. by Menachem Posner
At Chabad centers all over the world, children are busy learning, crafting and singing in anticipation of Shavuot, where they will be present in the sanctuary to hear the reading of the Ten Commandments.
Synagogue seating typically includes pews, stacking chairs or even folding chairs. But come Sunday morning, part of the sanctuary of the Chabad of Cary Learning Center in North Carolina will be strewn will pillows and blankets, creating a comfy “kids’ zone” from which the youngest set can listen to the reading of the Ten Commandments.
“That’s one of the things that we find so refreshing about Chabad,” says Jeff Levine, who attends Chabad events together with his wife, Felicia, and their two children. “Typical synagogues tend to either shush the kids or keep them busy far away from the action. Chabad makes an effort to make sure that the kids are engaged and learning on their level, absorbing the significance of each celebration and holiday.”
Shavuot (“weeks” in Hebrew) starts this year on the evening of Saturday, June 11, and lasts through the evening of Monday, June 13. Including children is especially appropriate on Shavuot, the holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah at Sinai shortly after the Exodus from Egypt. At that time, theMidrash relates, G‑d agreed to give the Torah to the Jewish people only after the children were offered as “guarantors,” ensuring that the Torah would be learned, cherished and observed for generations to come.
In modern times, the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—called upon every Jewish man woman and child to be present in the synagogue on the morning of the first day of Shavuot, when the Ten Commandments are read as part of the prayer service.
Such unity is fostered even more in theHakhel year, when men, women and children gather in groups large and small for Torah study and camaraderie.
Rabbi Yisroel Cotlar, who co-directs Chabad of Cary with his wife, Chanale, says that they work hard to make sure that there is a meaningful and entertaining experience for children.
First, they gather around a tent, which is decorated to look like Mount Sinai. There each child gets a bag with another gift item inside, which then leads to a discussion about presents and how much fun it is to receive them. Chanale Cotlar, who leads the group, explains to the children—many of whom also attend Chabad’s Hebrew school—that the greatest gift of all is the Torah, which was given to the Jewish people on Shavuot.
The concept is further reinforced through an interactive book reading and a food-decorating project.
When the time comes, the children are ushered into the synagogue, where they make themselves comfortable in their special section for the actual reading of the Ten Commandments. After services, they join their parents for a dairy reception, which includes cheesecake and ice-cream.
‘Our Kids Ask to Come’
Over in Naperville, Ill., Rabbi Mendy and Alta Goldstein report that involving children is an integral element of all of their programs and services. “The feeling in the community is that children are not just OK at Chabad; they are welcomed with open arms,” says the rabbi.
“The kids love it,” reports local resident David Fish, who attends with his wife and three children, ages 9 to 13. “When I was young, I put up a fuss when my parents made me go to services. Our kids ask us to come to Chabad and even ‘argue’ when we cannot attend for whatever reason.”
According to Fish, the family’s involvement has also given them a sense of Jewish community. Located west of Chicago—a solid hour’s drive from the heavily Jewish northern suburbs—they welcome the opportunity to socialize with fellow “members of the tribe.”
Zeesy Posner, who runs the preschool and other children’s activities at Lubavitch Chabad of Skokie, Ill., teaches about the Jews receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai during a lesson on Shavuot. (Photo: Chaya Mishulovin)
Many of the friendships formed at Chabad have extended outside as well. “The kids call themselves the ‘Jew crew,’ and they hang out at the movies together or in the mall,” says Fish, about his junior-high-schoolers and their friends. “It’s just something that sprouted organically from so many years of having fun together at Hebrew school and other Chabad events.”
While the Fishes and the Levines both attended synagogue (albeit somewhat unwillingly) as children, Galina Dynkin of Kirkland, a suburb of Montreal, did not. “We had recently come from Russia,” she explains, “and my parents did not go to synagogue on a regular basis in those days.”
After meeting Rabbi Shmuel and Chana Cohen of Chabad of Kirkland, who had come knocking on her door nearly a decade ago, she began attending services at their fledgling Chabad center and brought her two boys along.
She says the rabbi goes out of his way to make her sons (now ages 10 and 12) feel comfortable through praising their Hebrew skills and complimenting them on the questions they ask at the children’s service.
“Working with kids is a key to our work,” reflects Chana Cohen. “Having them at shul is not just a necessary component of Jewish life—it is Jewish life.”
The Cotlar family of the Chabad of Cary Learning Center in North Carolina
-------
Classic Cheesecake with Fresh Fruit by Miriam Szokovski
It’s that time of year again, when cheesecakes galore are popping up all over the place. To be honest, I am not cheesecake’s biggest fan, but this recipe is one even I enjoy. The actual cheesecake is lighter, with a slight lemony undertone, and the fresh fruit helps temper the richness.
You can use this cheesecake as a base and add the topping of your choice. Some suggestions: caramel, chocolate ganache, fresh berries, pie filling, lemon curd, roasted rhubarb, etc. I went very simple with oranges, kiwis and strawberries.
Why are we talking about cheesecake? The holiday of Shavuot is almost upon us, when we celebrate the giving of the Torah by hearing the Ten Commandments being read in the synagogue. Some of the customs specific to this holiday include decorating our homes with greenery and eating dairy foods.
This recipe is closely based on Matt Preston’s cheesecake recipe. I’ve made one or two very small adjustments.
Prepare the pan:
You will need a 9-inch springform pan for this recipe. If you don’t have a springform pan, you can use a regular pan, but the cake will be difficult to remove. You may need to cut it while it’s still in the pan.
This cheesecake cooks best in a water bath, so you’ll need a larger pan that the springform pan can sit in.
Wrap the outside of the springform pan in 2–3 layers of foil. This helps keep the water from seeping through the crack around the base.
Crust Ingredients:
4 oz. / 120 grams tea biscuits, crushed
⅓ cup sugar
8 tbsp. butter, melted
Pinch of salt
Crust Directions:
Crush the tea biscuits to a fine crumb, and mix with the sugar, salt and melted butter.
Press the mixture down firmly into the base of the springform pan. Use the back of a spoon to help compress the mixture.
Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
Cheesecake Ingredients:
24 oz. cream cheese (3 cups)
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2½ tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. salt
1¼ cup heavy cream
Cheesecake Directions:
Let the cream cheese come to room temperature.
Using an electric mixer (stand or handheld), beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, and mix until fully incorporated.
Add the eggs one a time. Wait until each one is fully incorporated before adding the next.
Pour in the lemon juice, vanilla and salt, and mix. Slowly pour in the heavy cream, and mix until smooth.
Pour the cheese mixture over the base.
Place the springform pan into the larger pan, and add 1 inch of water to the larger pan.
Bake at 350° F for approximately 60–75 minutes. In order not to overcook the cake, turn off the oven when the center is still jiggly (but not completely wet). Leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven for an hour. Then remove and let it cool completely.
Refrigerate cake until cold. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, then gently release the springform.
Top with fresh fruit. I used orange, kiwi and strawberries.
Classic Cheesecake with Fresh Fruit by Miriam Szokovski
It’s that time of year again, when cheesecakes galore are popping up all over the place. To be honest, I am not cheesecake’s biggest fan, but this recipe is one even I enjoy. The actual cheesecake is lighter, with a slight lemony undertone, and the fresh fruit helps temper the richness.You can use this cheesecake as a base and add the topping of your choice. Some suggestions: caramel, chocolate ganache, fresh berries, pie filling, lemon curd, roasted rhubarb, etc. I went very simple with oranges, kiwis and strawberries.
Why are we talking about cheesecake? The holiday of Shavuot is almost upon us, when we celebrate the giving of the Torah by hearing the Ten Commandments being read in the synagogue. Some of the customs specific to this holiday include decorating our homes with greenery and eating dairy foods.
This recipe is closely based on Matt Preston’s cheesecake recipe. I’ve made one or two very small adjustments.
Prepare the pan:
You will need a 9-inch springform pan for this recipe. If you don’t have a springform pan, you can use a regular pan, but the cake will be difficult to remove. You may need to cut it while it’s still in the pan.
This cheesecake cooks best in a water bath, so you’ll need a larger pan that the springform pan can sit in.
Wrap the outside of the springform pan in 2–3 layers of foil. This helps keep the water from seeping through the crack around the base.
Crust Ingredients:
4 oz. / 120 grams tea biscuits, crushed
⅓ cup sugar
8 tbsp. butter, melted
Pinch of salt
Crust Directions:
Crush the tea biscuits to a fine crumb, and mix with the sugar, salt and melted butter.
Press the mixture down firmly into the base of the springform pan. Use the back of a spoon to help compress the mixture.
Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
Cheesecake Ingredients:
24 oz. cream cheese (3 cups)
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2½ tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. salt
1¼ cup heavy cream
Cheesecake Directions:
Let the cream cheese come to room temperature.
Using an electric mixer (stand or handheld), beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, and mix until fully incorporated.
Add the eggs one a time. Wait until each one is fully incorporated before adding the next.
Pour in the lemon juice, vanilla and salt, and mix. Slowly pour in the heavy cream, and mix until smooth.
Pour the cheese mixture over the base.
Place the springform pan into the larger pan, and add 1 inch of water to the larger pan.
Bake at 350° F for approximately 60–75 minutes. In order not to overcook the cake, turn off the oven when the center is still jiggly (but not completely wet). Leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven for an hour. Then remove and let it cool completely.
Refrigerate cake until cold. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, then gently release the springform.
Top with fresh fruit. I used orange, kiwi and strawberries.
-------
SHAVUOT ESSAYS
The Untold Story of the Mishnah and Talmud
How and why was the Oral Torah written? by Yehuda Shurpin
As anyone who has learned the Bible can attest, there are certain verses where there is no way of knowing what it refers to by just looking at the verse. Examples include the commandment to circumcise oneself, or to put tefillin on the arm and head, or to take the four species on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.The Untold Story of the Mishnah and Talmud
How and why was the Oral Torah written? by Yehuda Shurpin
There is no way of knowing from the verses alone what exactly are we supposed to cut when we make a circumcision, or how to put on tefillin, or even what it is. The same holds true for almost all other commandments. More details are given in the Written Torah for some commandments than for others, but at the end of the day, there is a glaring lack of detail and information.
This is where the Oral Torah comes in. It is an “owner’s manual” and “companion guide” (so to speak) for the Torah. With it we can understand what the Torah means, and determine the details of the various commandments. Furthermore, we have rules of exegesis so that we can determine the Torah’s view on various issues that are not directly addressed. The Oral Torah comprises traditions and extrapolations based on the inscribed Torah, the Bible.
Just before the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, G‑d tells Moses that He will give him “the stone tablets, the Torah and the commandments."1 By adding the word “commandments” in addition to the Torah, G‑d implies that there commandments that are not included in the “Torah.” This, among others, is a clear implication of the existence of the Oral Torah.
The Torah itself commands us to keep the Oral Torah:
You shall do according to the word they tell you, from the place the L‑rd will choose, and you shall observe to do according to all they instruct you. According to the law they instruct you and according to the judgment they say to you, you shall do; you shall not diverge from the word they tell you, either right or left.2
The traditions of the Oral Torah were passed down from generation to generation, from Moses to Joshua, and from there down to the leaders and sages of each generation,3 until eventually, after the destruction of the SecondTemple, they were written down in what is known as the Mishnah, TalmudBavli (Babylonian Talmud) and Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud).
The above leads us to the obvious question. If the Oral Torah is so essential to understanding the written Torah, why wasn’t the Oral Torah written down to begin with?
The prohibition of writing down the Oral Torah
Before Moses received the second set of tablets, “The L‑rd said to Moses: ‘Write down these words for yourself, since it is through these words [lit., by word of mouth] that I have formed a covenant with you and with Israel.’”4
The Talmud explains that this verse implies that there is a prohibition of saying the written word by heart, and of writing down the Oral Torah:
Rabbi Yehudah bar Nachmani, the public orator of Rabbi Shimonben Lakish, taught as follows: It is written, “Write down these words for yourself”—implying that the Torah is to be put into writing; and it is also written, “since it is through these words” (lit., “by word of mouth”)—implying that it is not to be written down. What are we to make of this? It means: Regarding the written words, you are not at liberty to say them by heart; and the words transmitted orally, you are not at liberty to recite from a written text.
A tanna of the school of Rabbi Ishmael taught: It is written, “Write down these words”—these you may write (i.e., the Written Torah), but you may not write halachah (i.e., the Oral Torah).5
There are many different reasons given for the prohibition of writing down the Oral Torah. Among them:
● Practically, if the Oral Torah was to be written, including all the laws that govern every possible case that could arise, there would be no end to the amount of books that would need to be written. Therefore, only the parts of the Torah that can be limited—i.e., the twenty-four books of scripture—were to be written down; the rest is supposed to be transmitted orally.6
● Any written text is subject to ambiguities, multiple interpretations, dissensions among the people, and confusion with regards to what actions to take based on the law. Therefore, G‑d also gave a tradition that would be taught orally from teacher to student, so that the teacher could clarify any ambiguities. Had this oral tradition also been put to writing, it would then have required another work of explanation and elucidation to explain that work, ad infinitum. Indeed, this concern was borne out when the Oral Torah was eventually written down.7
● The oral tradition is the explanation of the Written Torah. When it has to be learnt orally, the student will understand it only from a teacher who teaches the material well; had it been written down, one might be tempted to be satisfied with what is written, even without really understanding it.8
● Keeping part of the Torah oral ensures that that the Torah remains the private treasure of the covenantal community. Had the entire Torah been written down, any nation could have copied it and claimed it as their own; now that it was only partially written down, any copying done without access to the Oral Torah would be immediately discernible as foreign to the Torah.9
The writing down of the Oral Torah
For over a thousand years, from the days of Moses until the days of RabbiYehudah the Prince (late 2nd century CE), no one had composed a written text for the purpose of teaching the Oral Law in public. Instead, in each generation, the head of the court or the prophet of that generation would take notes of the teachings which he received from his masters for himself, and teach them orally in public. Similarly, individuals would write notes for themselves of what they had heard regarding the explanation of the Torah, its laws, and the new concepts that were deduced in each generation concerning laws that were not communicated by the oral tradition, but rather derived using one of the thirteen principles of biblical exegesis and accepted by the high court.10 For while there was a prohibition against writing the Oral Torah, it applied only to actually transmitting it through writing; however, one was permitted to write it down for personal use.11
With the rise of the Greek and Roman empires and their persecution of the Jews during the Second Temple era, it became increasingly harder to learn and transmit Torah teachings from teacher to student. Additionally, during this era there were disputes in Jewish law that, due to the increase in decrees against Torah learning, remained unsettled, since doing so would require peace and calm.
By the time the schools of Hillel and Shammai became well established in the century before the destruction of the Temple, disputes on the law had become so widespread that there was fear that it would eventually seem like there was really “two Torahs.” The unsettled conditions prevented the sages of those times from resolving these disputes, or even at least organizing and categorizing them.12
It was not until the days of Rabbi Yehudah the Prince, who enjoyed a strong bond of friendship with the Roman emperor Antoninus, that there was some respite from the Roman persecutions. (See here for the story of how their friendship began.)
Rabbi Yehudah and his colleagues, foreseeing future turmoil and the increasing dispersal of the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora, which would then lead to further uncertainties about the Oral Law, used this period of peace to set about collecting all the teachings, laws and commentaries that had been heard from Moses and which were taught by the courts in each generation concerning the entire Torah. After analyzing these teachings, Rabbi Yehudah composed a single authoritative text that would be available to everyone.
As a basis for his text, Rabbi Yehudah used the teachings of Rabbi Akiva and his disciple Rabbi Meir, due to their great capacity to retain what they learned, and the superb and extremely concise and precise way in which they had arranged their own teachings and what they had heard from previous generations. He also added other teachings, leaving some of their original wording, but also at times changing it.13
Since there were rabbis who might have heard from other sages minority opinions that were not accepted as halachah, Rabbi Yehudah also included these minority opinions in the Mishnah. This way, should a person claim, “I have heard a different tradition from my teachers,” we would be able to point to the Mishnah and say, “Perhaps what you have heard was the opinion of so-and-so.”14
He categorized and divided the laws by subject and into different tractates, and then each tractate was further divided into chapters and laws.15 Each law is called a mishnah, either from the root shanah, meaning “teaching” and “instruction,” or from the root sheni, meaning “second,” as in the second part of the Torah. Thus the entire work in general is called the Mishnah or Mishnayot.16
The Mishnah is divided into six general sections, called sedarim (“orders”):
Zera’im (“Seeds”), dealing primarily with the agricultural laws, but also the laws of blessings and prayers (contains 11 tractates).
Mo’ed (“Festival”), dealing with the laws of the Shabbat and the holidays (contains 12 tractates).
Nashim (“Women”), dealing with marriage and divorce (contains 7 tractates).
Nezikin (“Damages”), dealing with civil and criminal law, as well as ethics (contains 10 tractates).
Kodashim (“Holy [things]”), dealing with laws about the sacrifices, the Holy Temple, and the dietary laws (contains 11 tractates).
Taharot (“Purities”), dealing with the laws of ritual purity (contains 12 tractates).
While all classic sources agree that Rabbi Yehudah redacted the entire Mishnah that we have today,17 there are differences of opinion as to whether he actually wrote it down or continued to teach it orally. Rabbi Sherira Gaonand Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi) are of the opinion that Rabbi Yehudah merely formulated the entire Mishnah orally, but that it was written down only many years later.18 Maimonides, on the other hand, writes explicitly that Rabbi Yehudah himself actually wrote down the entire Mishnah.19 In an attempt to reconcile the two views, some explain that while Rabbi Yehudah did in fact write a personal copy of the Mishnah, in general it was originally taught orally, and it was only later that the written version was used.20
Not all of the extant material was included in the Mishnah. For had Rabbi Yehudah attempted to collect it all, it would have been too lengthy and would have been forgotten, thus defeating the very purpose of the Mishnah. Instead, Rabbi Yehudah, with the help of his colleague Rabbi Natan, formulated the essential topics and general rules in an abbreviated and precise language. They were divinely aided in composing the Mishnah in such a way that a single word can be the source for a number of fundamental principles of Jewish law as well as homiletics.21
For reasons of brevity, too, the Mishnah does not include many of the laws that were common knowledge, such as the details of tefillin, tzitzit, mezuzah, etc. As an example, the very first mishnah, which deals with the laws of the recital of Shema, does not begin by informing us that it must be recited in the morning and evening, but by asking, “What is the right time for saying the Shema?” taking it for granted that one already knows the actual obligation of the daily recital of the Shema.22
These features of the Mishnah won it general acceptance as the definitive summation of Jewish law; indeed, its compilation (c. 3949 / 189 CE) marks the end of an era, with the Mishnaic sages being known in Jewish history as the tanna’im (“instructors,” from an Aramaic root cognate with shanah) and the subsequent sages being called amora’im (“explainers”). The Mishnah supplanted all previous collections and formulations of Tannaitic teachings, which then came to be known as baraitot (sing. baraita), meaning “[teachings] outside [the Mishnah].” The most prominent collection of baraitot is that of Rabbi Chiya (a student of Rabbi Yehudah) and Rabbi Oshaya, known as theTosefta. It follows the order of the Mishnah and supplements it, elaborating somewhat more on the laws.23
In a broader sense, the term baraita includes other collections of material containing teachings by the tanna’im, such as Megillat Taanit, Mechilta, Sifra,Sifri, Seder Olam Rabbah and Zohar.24
Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds
The sages of the Talmudic period, known as amora’im, continued to learn, expound, clarify and elucidate the Mishnah, as well as developing their own new insights based upon the rules of extrapolation.
Shortly after Rabbi Yehudah’s death, attacks and persecutions against the Jews living in Israel intensified and the migration of Jews to Babylonia increased. This migration included many of the leading sages of the time, including Rabbi Abba Aricha (better known as Rav), one of Rabbi Yehudah’s leading disciples. Other sages and students of Rabbi Yehudah, such as Rabbi Chiya and later Rabbi Yochanan bar Nafcha (who as a young boy attended Rabbi Yehudah’s lectures), remained in Israel. Thus for a while there were major centers of learning, yeshivot, in both Babylonia and Israel, and someamora’im regularly traveled back and forth between them, bringing the teachings of each center of learning to the other center.
Rabbi Yochanan (d. approx. 4050 / 290 CE) became the leading Talmudic authority in the Land of Israel. He began gathering the teachings and explanations of the post-Mishnaic sages, and this became the basis of what later became known as the Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud). Subsequent generations of amora’im in Israel continued to add various teachings, especially aggadic (homiletic and non-legal) ones. However, work on the Jerusalem Talmud was halted somewhat abruptly when the Roman ruler Gallus, in the year 4111 / 351 CE, attacked and devastated the Land of Israel, instituting harsh decrees against the Jews. Most of the remaining sages fled to Babylonia, and the Jerusalem Talmud remained in its rudimentary form.
Meanwhile the centers of learning in Babylonia continued to flourish, and it was not until around the year 4152 / 392 CE that Rav Ashi, together with his colleague Ravina I, undertook the editing of what was to become the Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud). They gathered the teachings of the earlier sages, organized and clarified their statements about the Mishnah and the discussions of the amora’im on these, and presented these in a logical and comprehensible way.25
Both Talmuds contain many of the same teachings, and each one quotes sages from the other center. However, because the Jerusalem Talmud was never fully redacted while the Babylonian Talmud was, and furthermore because the latter was completed some 150 years later, the Babylonian Talmud is much more widely learned and considered more authoritative. In fact, any unspecified reference to the Talmud almost always refers to the Babylonian recension.
(There are also differences in style—the Jerusalem Talmud is written with less back-and-forth than the Babylonian Talmud—and in language: the amoraic discussions in the Jerusalem Talmud are written in Western Aramaic (Syriac), while in the Babylonian Talmud they are in the Eastern Aramaic dialect. See Why is The Talmud in Aramaic?)
After Rav Ashi and Ravina I died, their colleagues and students who had helped redact the Talmud completed their monumental task. The death ofRavina II (son of Rav Huna and nephew of Ravina I) on the 13th of Kislev in the year 4236 / 475 CE (or, according to some, 4260 / 499 CE) is considered the end of the Talmudic era.26
After the death of Ravina II and the completion of the Talmud, no further additions to the Talmud were made, and the Talmud was not to be disputed. The sages of the succeeding era (known as the Rabbanan Savorai), however, added some slight editorial touches, such as subheadings from the Mishnah in places where the Talmud begins a new subject.27
The sages who taught the teachings, ordinances and decrees which make up the Talmud represented the totality of the sages of Israel, or at least the majority of them. Because of this, and because the Talmud was accepted as binding by almost the entire Jewish people at the time, its laws are considered binding on all Jews no matter when or where they live.28 And it is precisely this binding that has kept our Jewish identity strong for thousands of years throughout this long and bitter exile. May we merit the ultimate redemption speedily in our days!
FOOTNOTES
1.Exodus 24:12.
2.Deuteronomy 17:10–11.
3.See “A Timeline of the Transmission of the Oral Law” for the chronology of the transmission of the Oral Torah from Moses until Talmudic times.
4.Exodus 34:27.
5.Talmud, Gittin 60b.
6.Ibid., Eruvin 21b. See Rabbi Yehudah Loewe, Gur Aryeh, Exodus 34:27; Rabbi Yosef Albo, Sefer ha-Ikkarim3:23.
7.Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed1:71; Sefer ha-Ikkarim loc. cit.
8.Rabbeinu Nissim, commentary to the code of Rabbi Yitzchak Alfasi, Megillah 14a.
9.Tosafot on Talmud, Gittin 60b, based on Shemot Rabbah 47:1 and Bamidbar Rabbah 14:9.
10.Maimonides, introduction to Mishneh Torah.
11.See commentary of Rashi to Talmud, Shabbat 6b.
12.Commentary of Rashi to Talmud, Bava Metzia 33b.
13.See Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon.
14.Mishnah, Eduyot 1:6.
15.Maimonides, introduction to Mishneh Torah. However, see Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon, which states that many of the tractates already existed before Rabbi Yehudah redacted the Mishnah.
16.Kitzur Kelalei HaMishnah 1.
17.An exception is the opinion of Rabbi Yaakov Chagiz in Sefer Halachot Ketanot 2:71–78. He states that it was actually Rabbi Yehudah’s father, Rabbi Shimon, who redacted the Mishnah, but that it is credited to his son Rabbi Yehudah, since the period of tranquility that enabled him to do so was in the merit of the incident that occurred at Rabbi Yehudah’s circumcision (see the story of Rabbi Yehudah and Antoninus referenced above).
18.Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon; commentary of Rashi to Talmud, Eruvin 62b; Kovetz Teshuvot Chatam Sofer(Jerusalem: Machon Chatam Sofer, 1982), responsum 45.
19.Maimonides, introduction to Mishneh Torah; Rabbi David ben Zimra (Radbaz), responsum 1303; commentary of Rabeinu Bechayei toExodus 34:27.
20.See Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Chajes, Mevo ha-Talmud, ch. 33. Based on this, he explains why sometimes Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon implies that Rabbi Yehudah actually wrote it down, and other times he says that he merely formulated it orally.
21.Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon.
22.Maimonides, commentary to the Mishnah, Menachot 4:1; his son, Rabbi Avraham, “Essay on Aggadah” (printed as an introduction to Ein Yaakov). Some suggest this as a reason why there is no tractate Chanukah (seeChatam Sofer, Gittin 78a). For more on this, see “What Happened to Tractate Chanukah?”
23.Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon states that in general, whenever the Talmud prefaces a teaching with the phrasetanu rabbanan (“the rabbis taught”), it is citing a baraita formulated by Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Oshaya. (See, however, Rabbi N.D. Rabinowich,Talmudic Terminology (Jerusalem, 1988), p. 36, for a discussion of some apparent exceptions to this rule.)
24.For an expanded list, see the beginning of Sarei ha-Elef by Rabbi Menachem Kasher.
25.See Dorot HaRishonim, vol. 5, chs. 64ff. See also Codex Judaica, entry for the year 4152 (392 CE) and citations there.
26.Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon.
27.Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon; Dorot HaRishonim, vol. 6, chs. 9–11.
28.Maimonides, introduction to Mishneh Torah.
It's Easy for You Rabbi, You Were Born Religious
It’s an argument I hear all the time. People will approach me and attempt to explain to me exactly why they can’t accept more Judaism into their lives: because they just weren’t born into it. by Elisha Greenbaum
It’s an argument I hear all the time. People will approach me at weddings and after funerals, they’ll stop me on the street and corner me in the supermarket, and attempt to explain to me exactly why they can’t accept more Judaism into their lives: because they just weren’t born into it.
Their parents didn’t practice, they didn’t attend It’s an argument I hear all the timea Jewish school or weren’t paying attention during religious classes. They can’t read Hebrew fluently, they’ve never felt comfortable in shul, and they’re sorry, but it’s definitely too late to start now.
Is that true?
There have been tens of thousands of ba’alei teshuvah over the last few decades—men and women who weren’t born into religious families but who have chosen to become Torah-observant. We all have the free choice to change and the ability to succeed. Admittedly, it might be harder to pick up a new language and to adopt new rituals at a relatively advanced age, but it definitely can be done, if one wants it enough.
Perhaps even more extraordinary than ba’alei teshuvah are geirim, converts, who weren’t born Jewish and yet have taken the audacious step of transforming their lives and casting their lot in with ours. We welcome them aboard, and we admire their courage.
If you think about it, Shavuot is the festival where we celebrate this capacity to adopt Judaism and commit oneself to G‑d. The men and women clustered around Mt. Sinai didn’t really know what they were getting into, but they were willing to find out. Right then and there, they chose G‑d and promised to spend the rest of their lives changing, learning and practicing until they got it right. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
On Shavuot, we all become ba’alei teshuvah and we all promise to convert. It makes no difference where we’ve come from; the real question is, where are we heading?
When Moses climbed the mountain to receive G‑d’s commands to His new nation, G‑d instructed him to “say to the House of Jacob and tell the Children of Israel.” Biblical commentators point out that the variant expressions “the House of Jacob” and “the Children of Israel” are a reflection of the different types of people whom Moses was addressing.
Jacob and Israel are both names of our forefather Jacob. Jacob was the name that he was given at birth, and reflects his identity as an innately holy Jew, born to spiritually pure parents. Israel is the name that he received when, as an adult, he demonstrated the courage and maturity to struggle against adversity and independently chose to transform himself.
The “House of Jacob” is a reference to our birthplace. We don’t get to pick our parents, and we have done nothing to deserve the treasures into which we’re born. The“Children of Israel,” by contrast, describes us as the adults we have become, who choose our own paths in life and deserve the rewards that we have personally earned. G‑d was instructing Moses to speak on both levels and tailor his message to every stage in the journey through life.
G‑d is speaking to all of us, all the time. No We were all born holymatter what we’ve been doing till now, we can and must do better in the future. The training we’ve received to date and the legacy we inherited from our parents and teachers are useful only if we utilize them to better ourselves in the future. We were all born holy and, at the same time, we must all improve further.
When we gather in the synagogue on Shavuot to hear the Ten Commandments and receive the Torah anew, let us be truly grateful for the gifts we’ve received in the past, and let us promise to transform ourselves into the people that G‑d wishes us to become—and thus earn the reward that He is confident we deserve.
Is it wrong to regift? My uncle just came back from Hong Kong and brought me a very expensive green tie with red zigzags. I would not be caught dead wearing it. But I have a friend with the same taste as my uncle who would love it, and it’s his birthday next week. Is there any issue with me passing it on, rather than letting it gather dust in my closet?
Answer:
You need to think this through.
A gift is given to be yours. That means you can do with it whatever you wish. If you want to use the tie as a dishrag, sell it on eBay or make it your dog’s scarf, no one can stop you.
But a gift is not just a gift; it is a sentiment, a thought, a feeling. Your uncle may have personally picked this tie out for you, thinking you would appreciate it. If he then sees it on your dog or on your friend or on eBay, he may be hurt. It is not the tie you have rejected, it is his thoughtfulness.
Then again, maybe he wouldn’t care, or would never find out. Even so, there is an additional concern when you pass on a gift to a friend. You are fooling your friend. When he receives this expensive tie from you, he will feel indebted to you for your generosity. He will feel he must reciprocate when it is your birthday, and buy you something of real value. And unless he has an uncle who shares your fine taste, that may cost him.
By regifting the tie to your friend, you are scoring unfair points. He thinks you are being gracious by giving him such a valuable gift, when in actual fact you are dumping your unwanted merchandise on him. The Talmud calls this “stealing someone’s goodwill.”
So regifting may be perfectly kosher, but before you regift, ask yourself the following questions: Will anyone be hurt by my actions? Was this gift bought with me in mind, or could it have gone to anyone? Will anyone be misled?
You may have good taste in ties, but you don’t want to leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth.
Moses and the Non-prophetsScroll Down - Part 2
Given the incomparable significance of the Torah, what is the function of prophecy and of the prophetic books, the Neviim (”Prophets”) and Ketuvim (”Hagiographa”), composed after the Torah was given at Sinai? And why did the era of prophecy end?
By Michael Chighel
Watch (14:15)
-------
PARSHAH
The 603,550th Jew
Why so many numbers in the Book of Numbers?
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
In Hebrew, it’s called Bamidbar (“In the Desert”) and also Sefer HaPekudim(“The Book of the Countings”); in the English-speaking world, this is the biblical section known as “Numbers.” And yes, there are many, many numbers in the fourth of the Torah’s five books.
In its opening chapters we learn that one year after the Exodus, there were 603,550 adult Israelite males between the ages of 20 and 60, of whom 22,273 were firstborn; a separate census counted 22,300 Levites aged one month and older (7,500 Gershonites, 8,600 Kohathites, and 6,200 in the Merari clan). We are also given the figure for each of the twelve tribes, from Judah’s 74,600 to Manasseh’s 32,200. Then the Torah tallies the number in each of the four “camps” into which the twelve tribes were divided: Judah’s camp, which also included the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun, totaled 186,400; the three tribes in Reuben’s camp totaled 151,450; Ephraim’s camp included 108,100; and 157,600 pitched their tents in the camp of Dan.
Twenty-six chapters and 39 years later, we’re still in the Book of Numbers, and in the midst of another census. Again, we get the total figure (now 601,730) and the numbers for each tribe. We notice that Simeon has been tragically decimated (22,200, down from 59,300), while Manasseh’s ranks have swelled to 52,700 (a gain of 20,500). But most of all we notice how G‑d’s passion for counting His people has not waned.
For, as G‑d says to Moses, we’re not just counting people. We’re “raising their heads.”
When a census is taken, the count will include scholars and boors, professionals and vagabonds, philanthropists and misers, saints and criminals. Yet each counts for no more and no less than one in the total number. The count reflects only the one quality they all share equally: the fact that each is an individual human being.
So, is a headcount an expression of the lowest common denominator in a collection of individuals? The answer depends on how one views the essence of humanity. If man is basically neutral or worse—if we all begin with zero, and make of ourselves what we are—than what unites us as individuals is indeed the least of our qualities. G‑d, however, has a different perspective on the “huddled masses” of man.
As G‑d sees it, the soul of man is a spark of His own fire—a spark with the potential to reflect the infinite goodness and perfection of its source. Human life is the endeavor to realize what is implicit in this spark. Indeed, a person may lead a full, accomplished and righteous life, and barely scratch the surface of the infinitude of his or her soul. Another person may blunder for a lifetime in darkness and iniquity, and then, in a moment of self-discovery, fan their divine spark into roaring flame.
So when G‑d instructs that we be counted, it is an expression of our highestcommon denominator. On the divine census sheet, our differences are transcended to reveal the simple fact of our being—a fact which expresses what is best in us, and from which stems all that is good in us.
G‑d counts us not to know our number (which He obviously knows), or even to get in touch with the quintessence of our souls (which He obviously is). He counts us to accentuate our soul of souls, to give expression to its essence and to make it more accessible to our material-bound lives.
Therein lies the deeper significance of the idiom “raise the heads” in G‑d’s instruction to Moses to count the people of Israel. When G‑d counts us, He is stimulating the highest and loftiest part of our being, the spark of divinity which lies at the core of our soul.
The Sound of Silence
Silence in Tanakh often has a negative connotation. But not all silence is sad. by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Bamidbar is usually read on the Shabbat before Shavuot. So the sages connected the two. Shavuot is the time of the giving of the Torah. Bamidbar means “in the desert.” What then is the connection between the desert and the Torah, the wilderness and G‑d’s word?
The sages gave several interpretations. According to the Mechilta, the Torah was given publicly, openly and in a place no one owns because had it been given in the land of Israel,What is the connection between the desert and the Torah? Jews would have said to the nations of the world, “You have no share in it.” Instead, whoever wants to come and accept it, let them come and accept it.1
Another explanation: had the Torah been given in Israel, the nations of the world would have had an excuse for not accepting it. This follows the rabbinic tradition that before G‑d gave the Torah to the Israelites, He offered it to all the other nations, and each found a reason to decline.2
Yet another: just as the wilderness is free—it costs nothing to enter—the Torah is free. It is G‑d’s gift to us.3
But there is another, more spiritual reason. The desert is a place of silence. There is nothing visually to distract you, and there is no ambient noise to muffle sound. To be sure, when the Israelites received the Torah, there was thunder and lightning and the sound of a shofar. The earth felt as if it were shaking at its foundations. But in a later age, when the prophet Elijah stood at the same mountain after his confrontation with the prophets of Baal, he encountered G‑d not in the whirlwind or the fire or the earthquake but in thekol demamah dakah, the still, small voice, literally “the sound of a slender silence.”4 I define this as the sound you can hear only if you are listening. In the silence of the midbar, the desert, you can hear the Medaber, the Speaker, and the medubar, that which is spoken. To hear the voice of G‑d, you need a listening silence in the soul.
Many years ago British television produced a documentary series, The Long Search, on the world’s great religions.5 When it came to Judaism, the presenter Ronald Eyre seemed surprised by its blooming, buzzing confusion, especially the loud, argumentative voices in the Beit Midrash, the house of study. Remarking on this to Elie Wiesel, he asked, “Is there such a thing as asilence in Judaism?”
Wiesel replied: “Judaism is full of silences . . . but we don’t talk about them.”
Judaism is a very verbal culture, a religion of holy words. Through words, G‑d created the universe: “And G‑d said, Let there be . . . and there was.” According to the Targum, it is our ability to speak that makes us human. It translates the phrase “and man became a living soul”6 as “and man became aspeaking soul.” Words create. Words communicate. Our relationships are shaped, for good or bad, by language. Much of Judaism is about the power of words to make or break worlds.
So silence in Tanach often has a negative connotation. “Aaron was silent,” says the Torah, after the death of his two sons Nadav and Avihu.7 “The dead do not praise You,” says Psalm 115, “nor do those who go down to the silence [of the grave].” When Job’s friends came to comfort him after the loss of his children and other afflictions, “Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.”8
But not all silence is sad. Psalms tells us that “to You, silence is praise.”9 If we are truly in awe at the greatness of G‑d, the vastness of the universe and the almost infinite extent of time, our deepest emotions will indeed lie too deep for words. We will experience silent communion.
The sages valued silence. They called it “a fence to wisdom.”10 If words are worth a coin, silence is worth two.11 R. Shimon ben Gamliel said, “All my days I have grown up among the wise, and I have found nothing better than silence.”12
The service of the priests in the Temple was accompanied by silence. TheLevites sang in the courtyard, but the priests—unlike their counterparts in other ancient religions—neither sang nor spoke while offering the sacrifices. One scholar13 has accordingly spoken of The sages valued silence“the silence of the sanctuary.” TheZohar (2a) speaks of silence as the medium in which both the Sanctuary above and the Sanctuary below are made.
There were Jews who cultivated silence as a spiritual discipline. Breslov chassidim meditate in the fields. There are Jews who practise taanit dibbur, a “fast of words.” Our most profound prayer, the private saying of the Amidah, is called tefillah be-lachash, the “silent prayer.” It is based on the precedent ofHannah, praying for a child. “She spoke in her heart. Her lips moved but her voice was not heard.”14
G‑d hears our silent cry. In the agonizing tale of how Sarah told Abraham to send Hagar and her son away, the Torah tells us that when their water ran out and the young Ishmael was at the point of dying, Hagar cried, yet G‑d heard “the voice of the child.”15 Earlier, when the angels came to visit Abraham and told him that Sarah would have a child, Sarah laughed inwardly—that is, silently—yet she was heard by G‑d.16 G‑d hears our thoughts even when they are not expressed in speech.
The silence that counts, in Judaism, is thus a listening silence—and listening is the supreme religious art. Listening means making space for others to speak and be heard. As I point out in my commentary to the Siddur, there is no English word that remotely equals the Hebrew verb sh‑m‑a in its wide range of senses: to listen, to hear, to pay attention, to understand, to internalize and to respond in deed.
This was one of the key elements in the Sinai covenant, when the Israelites, having already said twice, “All that G‑d says, we will do,” then said, “All that G‑d says, we will do and we will hear [ve-nishma].”17 It is the nishma—listening, hearing, heeding, responding—that is the key religious act.
Thus Judaism is not only a religion of doing-and-speaking; it is also a religion of listening. Faith is the ability to hear the music beneath the noise. There is the silent music of the spheres, about which Psalm 19 speaks:
The heavens declare the glory of G‑d
The skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day to day they pour forth speech,
Night to night they communicate knowledge.
There is no speech, there are no words,
Their voice is not heard.
Yet their music carries throughout the earth.
There is the voice of history that was heard by the prophets. And there is the commanding voice of Sinai, that continues to speak to us across the abyss of time. I sometimes think that people in the modern age have found the concept of “Torah from heaven” problematic, not because of some new archaeological discovery but because we have lost the habit of listening to the sound of transcendence, a voice beyond the merely human.
It is fascinating that despite his often fractured relationship with Judaism, Sigmund Freud created in psychoanalysis a deeply Jewish form of healing. He himself called it the “speaking cure,” but it is in fact a listening cure. Almost all effective forms of psychotherapy involve deep listening.
Is there enough listening in the Jewish world today? Do we, in Is there enough listening in the Jewish world today?marriage, really listen to our spouses? Do we as parents truly listen to our children? Do we, as leaders, hear the unspoken fears of those we seek to lead? Do we internalize the sense of hurt of the people who feel excluded from the community? Can we really claim to be listening to the voice of G‑d if we fail to listen to the voices of our fellow humans?
In his poem “In memory of W. B. Yeats,” W. H. Auden wrote:
In the deserts of the heart
Let the healing fountain start.
From time to time we need to step back from the noise and hubbub of the social world and create in our hearts the stillness of the desert where, within the silence, we can hear the kol demamah dakah, the still, small voice of G‑d, telling us we are loved, we are heard, we are embraced by G‑d’s everlasting arms, we are not alone.
FOOTNOTES
1.Mechilta, Yitro, Bachodesh 1.
2.Ibid., 5.
3.Ibid.
4.1 Kings 19:9–12.
5.BBC Television, first shown 1977.
6.Genesis 2:7.
7.Leviticus 10:3.
8.Job 2:13.
9.Psalms 65:2.
10.Avot 3:13.
11.Talmud, Megillah 18a.
12.Avot 1:17.
13.Israel Knohl.
14.I Samuel 1:13.
15.Genesis 21:16–17.
16.Genesis 18:12–13.
17.Exodus 24:7.
-------
Bamidbar In Depth
A condensation of the weekly Torah portion alongside select commentaries culled from the Midrash, Talmud, Chassidic masters, and the broad corpus of Jewish scholarship.
The Torah was given to the people of Israel in the ownerless desert. For if it were given in the Land of Israel, the residents of the Land of Israel would say, “It is ours”; and if it were given in some other place, the residents of that place would say, “It is ours.” Therefore it was given in the wilderness, so that anyone who wishes to acquire it may acquire it.
Why was the Torah given in the desert? To teach us that if a person does not surrender himself to it like the desert, he cannot merit the words of Torah. And to teach us that just as the desert is endless, so is the Torah without end.
By three things was the Torah given: by fire, water and desert. By fire, as it is written (Exodus 19:18): “Now Mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because G‑d descended upon it in fire.” By water, as it is written (Judges 4:4): “The heavens also dripped, yea, the clouds dripped water.” And by desert, as it is written (Numbers 1:1): “G‑d spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai.”
The first Jew, Abraham, was cast into a fiery furnace for his loyalty to the way of G‑d. And lest one say that this was an extraordinary act by an extraordinary individual, at the shores of the Red Sea an entire people plunged into the sea’s waters when the divine command to “move forward!” issued forth. And lest one say that this was a spur-of-the-moment heroism, for forty years the people of Israel followed G‑d through the barren, hostile desert, trusting in Him to provide for them and protect them. As the prophet Jeremiah declaims, “I remember the kindness of your youth, your bridal love, your following after Me in the desert, in an unsown land.”
On ten occasions were Israel counted. Once when they went down to Egypt (Genesis 46). A second time when they came out (Exodus 12:37). A third time after the incident of the golden calf (ibid., 30:12). Twice in the Book of Numbers: once in the formation of the camps (Numbers 1) and once in connection with the division of the Land (ibid. 26). Twice in the days of Saul (I Samuel 11:8 and 15:4). The eighth time in the days of David (II Samuel 24:9). The ninth time they were numbered was in the days of Ezra (Ezra 2:64; Nehemiah 7:66). The tenth time will be in the future era of Moshiach, when “the flocks shall again pass under the hands of Him that counts them” (Jeremiah 33:13).
The fifth chapter of Ethics of the Fathers includes an outline of the phases of a person’s education and life: “At five years of age, the study of Scripture; at ten, the study of Mishnah; at thirteen, the obligation to observe the mitzvot; at fifteen, the study of Talmud; at eighteen, marriage; at twenty begins the pursuit [of a livelihood]; at thirty, one attains strength; at forty, understanding; at fifty, one can give counsel . . .”
In other words, the first twenty years of a person’s life represent those periods and areas of his life in which he focuses almost exclusively on his individual growth: the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom, and his moral and spiritual development. “Twenty” represents the point at which he ventures out to the world and begins to concern himself with the material involvements of life.
Therein lies the deeper significance of G‑d’s instruction to Moses that only “from the age of twenty and upwards” shall a person be counted as one “fit to serve in the army of Israel.”
A period of intense self-development and spiritual self-enrichment is a necessary preparation to life, but it must not be seen as an end in itself. The purpose of the “pre-twenty” times and aspects of a person’s life is for the sake of the “pursuit” which must follow: that he or she go out into the world and apply his personal attainments to the development and sanctification of the material reality. One who does not graduate to the “post-twenty” phase of life cannot count himself as a member of the “army of Israel.”
Each tribe had its own prince, and its flag, whose color corresponded to the color of its stone [in Aaron’s breastplate—see Exodus 28:15–21]. It was from the tribes of Israel that kingdoms learned to provide themselves with flags of various colors.
Reuben’s stone was a ruby; the color of his flag was red, and embroidered thereon were mandrakes [cf. Genesis 30:14].
Simeon’s stone was a topaz; his flag was of a green color, and the town of Shechem was embroidered thereon [cf. Genesis 34:25].
Levi’s stone was a smaragd; the color of his flag was one-third white, one third black and one third red, and embroidered thereon was [Aaron’s breastplate with] the Urim and Tummim.
Judah’s stone was a carbuncle; the color of his flag was like the color of the heavens, and embroidered on it was a lion [cf. Genesis 49:9].
Issachar’s stone was a sapphire; the color of his flag was black like stibnite, and embroidered thereon were the sun and moon, in allusion to the verse “Of the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times” (I Chronicles 12:33).
Zebulun’s stone was an emerald; the color of his flag was white, with a ship embroidered thereon, in allusion to the verse “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea” (Genesis 49:13).
Dan’s stone was a jacinth; the color of his flag was similar to sapphire, and embroidered on it was a serpent, in allusion to the verse “Dan shall be a serpent in the way” (ibid. v. 17).
Gad’s stone was an agate; the color of his flag was neither white nor black but a blend of black and white, and on it was embroidered a military camp, in allusion to the verse “Gad, a troop shall troop upon him” (ibid. v. 19).
Naphtali’s stone was an amethyst; the color of his flag was like clarified wine of a light red, and on it was embroidered a deer, in allusion to the verse “Naphtali is a deer let loose” (ibid. v. 21).
Asher’s stone was a beryl; the color of his flag was like the precious stone with which women adorn themselves, and embroidered thereon was an olive tree, in allusion to the verse “As for Asher, his bread shall be fat with oil” (ibid. v. 20).
Joseph’s stone was an onyx, and the color of his flags was jet black; the embroidered design thereon for the two tribes descending from Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, was Egypt, because they were born in Egypt. On the flag of Ephraim was embroidered a bullock, in allusion to the verse “His firstling bullock” (Deuteronomy 33:17), which refers to Joshua, who came from the tribe of Ephraim. On the flag of the tribe of Manasseh was embroidered a unicorn, in allusion to the verse “And his horns are the horns of the re’em” (ibid.), which alludes to Gideon son of Joash, who came from the tribe of Menasseh.
Benjamin’s stone was jasper, and the color of his flag was a combination of all the twelve colors; embroidered thereon was a wolf, in allusion to the verse “Benjamin is a wolf that preys” (Genesis 49:27).
When G‑d told Moses to organize the Israelite camp, Moses began to feel distressed. He thought, “Now strife will arise among the tribes; for if I tell the tribe of Judah to camp on the east side of the Tabernacle, and he says, ‘I will accept only the south,’ and the same applies to Reuben and the same to Ephraim and to each of the other tribes, what am I to do?”
Said G‑d to him: “Moses, why should that trouble you? They have no need of you. They know their places full well themselves. They are in possession of a testament left them by Jacob their father, which tells them how to camp under their standards. In the same way that they disposed themselves round his bier when they carried him, so shall they dispose themselves round the Tabernacle. I am not going to make any changes.”
For Rav Chama, son of Rabbi Chanina, said: When our father Jacob was about to depart from the world, he summoned his sons and he blessed them and commanded them concerning the ways of G‑d, and they acknowledged the divine sovereignty. Having concluded his address, he said to them: “My children, when my bier is being carried, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun shall be on the east side; Reuben, Simeon and Gad shall be on the south side; Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin shall be on the west side; Dan, Asher and Naphtali shall be on the north side; Joseph shall not carry at all, for he is a king and must be shown due honor; neither shall Levi carry, because he will carry the Ark, and he that is to carry the Ark of Him who is the life of all worlds must not carry the coffin of the dead. If you will comply with these orders and carry my bier as I have commanded you, G‑d will in the future cause you to camp beneath standards.”
He who teaches the son of his fellow the Torah, Scripture ascribes it to him as if he had begotten him, as it says: “These are the generations of Aaron and Moses”—and only the sons of Aaron are listed. Aaron begot them and Moses taught them, and they are called by Moses’ name.
Why did Moses’ sons not merit [to be in the leadership of Israel]? Because they did not experience the exodus from Egypt and did not traverse the sea with the people of Israel, as they were [in Midian] with Jethro (Moses’ father-in-law—see Exodus 18:1–6).
Usually Moses appears before Aaron, but in certain places Aaron is mentioned first. This is to teach us that they were both of equal importance.
The tribe of Levi was different from all the others: even counting all members from the age of one month, there were only 22,000; when those thirty years or older were counted, they totaled 8,000 (see Numbers 4:48). Hence, if we were to estimate their members from age twenty, they would not be half the number of the least populous of the other tribes!
It seems to me that this verifies that which our sages said, that the tribe of Levi was not subjected to slave labor in Egypt. G‑d greatly increased the numbers of the Israelites whose lives were made bitter by the Egyptians with hard labor in order to decimate them, in order to counteract the Egyptians’ decrees, as it is written (Exodus 1:12): “As they afflicted them, so did they increase, and so did they grow strong.” The tribe of Levi, however, increased only at the natural rate . . .
What did Moses do? He brought twenty-two thousand slips and wrote on each “Levite,” and on another two hundred and seventy-three he wrote “five shekels.” Then he mixed them up, put them into an urn and said to the people, “Draw your slips.” To each who drew a slip bearing the word “Levite,” he said, “A Levite has redeemed you.” To each who drew a ticket with “five shekels” on it, he said, “Pay your redemption and go.”
As long as the Ark stood in its place in the Holy of Holies, it had no need for coverings. But when the time came for it to journey on, G‑d commanded that it be “swallowed up” by its threefold vestment. The same applies to the soul. A “spark of G‑dliness,” the soul is perfect and complete unto itself. But to journey on—to advance further in the infinite journey toward union with its Infinite Source—it must undergo on a “descent for the sake of ascent.” It must be subjected to the threefold concealment of human nature, physicality and worldliness, to discover in the lowliest reaches of creation the key for even greater connection with G‑d.
-------
WOMEN
What My 8-Year-Old Taught Me About Happiness
As children, we sometimes make the mistake of thinking that we have to be our parents. by Elana Mizrahi
My daughter and I were having a cup of tea together one evening. When we finished, I glanced up at the clock and told her, “Off to bed.” She got up to brush her teeth and handed me her water bottle to fill up, but I suspected that she was just trying to stay up a little longer. “It’s late already; she has to go to sleep,” I thought to myself, but that’s not what I said. I don’t know why, but instead I said, “You don’t need any more water. I don’t drink water all night, Papi doesn’t drink water all night.”
“But I’m not you, and I’m not Papi,” my incredibly wise 8-year-old daughter answered me. I marveled at her and her wonderful, healthy sense of self. You see, as parents we sometimes make the mistake of thinking that our children’s wants must be our wants, their likes our likes. A mother might take her daughter shopping and insist on buying a certain outfit, even if the daughter doesn’t like it. She imposes her tastes on her daughter. Then, when the daughter doesn’t want to wear the outfit, the mother becomes offended and makes the daughter feel ungrateful for not wearing or liking the very outfit that she didn’t want to get. The daughter feels bad about herself and unhappy.
And as children, we sometimes make the mistake of thinking that we have to be our parents. I recently had a young mother come for a reflexology treatment for stress. One thing that she shared with me was how incompetent she felt. When I asked why, her response was, “Because my mother can do so much more. She works full-time and keeps her house perfectly clean, and I can’t even keep my house clean working part-time!”
I told her how each person is created with different strengths and different weaknesses. You can’t compare yourself to what you are not—so you can never compare yourself to anyone but yourself! Comparing people, or expecting one to do what another one does, is like trying to make orange juice out of apples. I also pointed out to her that she sees her mother now, as a woman with more than 20 years of experience at keeping a home. She doesn’t know what her mother was like when she was newly married.
Back to me and my daughter . . .
“You’re right! You are not me, and you’re not Papi. But it’s time to go to bed!” I said this time with clarity—knowing that the “no” was because I didn’t want to give it to her, not because she has to be like me or her father.
Last Shabbat, I told this little story to our guests. A woman in her mid-70s started to tear up and get emotional upon hearing it. “I was never allowed to just be me! I was never liked for just being me!” Stories from her childhood—stories from more than 60 years ago—came up, and she spoke with anger and sadness. At that moment I understood the words of our sages, “Who is rich? One who is happy with his portion”1 in a different light. I always understood this to mean that you’re considered rich if you’re happy with what you have—if you’re given a silver bracelet, you don’t desire the gold one. The person who always wants something different, or more, will never be happy. While this is true, and this is how the commentators understand this teaching, I think that it can be understood in another way.
A person who is wealthy, who is happy, understands that she has a portion! We are all doled out certain characteristics and circumstances in order to fulfill our purpose in life. Just knowing that you are special, that you have a certain portion, that your very existence is worth something valuable in and of itself can bring you to happiness. I find that many of my clients who are sad and depressed either don’t see their their worth, don’t feel like they are fulfilling a purpose, or are always comparing themselves to someone else. However, when they begin to internalize the fact that they were created with uniqueness, with a certain mission, I have seen time and time again that they lift themselves up. Happiness is a state of mind that we achieve when we feel we are doing what we are here to do.
As the sages teach: “All Israel has a portion in the world to come, as it is said: ‘Your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever; a branch of My plantings, My handiwork, in which to take pride.’”2 think that if each Jew could internalize this message, that we all have a unique mission and portion, then he or she would be happy. I know that understanding my inherent value at just being me—the beautiful soul that G‑d created—certainly makes me happy. I don’t want to be sitting at a table in 30 or 40 years, crying because I didn’t feel appreciated or loved for being me. And I would hate to think of my daughter feeling that way. To prevent this, I need to start now by loving and connecting to that holy spark that is inside of me and inside of her.
When G‑d gave over the Ten Commandments, He did so in the singular, not in the plural, as though speaking to an individual, not to a group: “I am G‑d, your(singular) L‑rd, who took you (singular) out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves . . .” The reason for this is twofold. Just being part of Israel gives you an identity and a mission that is important. And you, as an individual, have a distinct portion and a unique role that contributes to the collective. You, as part of the group, and as an individual, have a special relationship and bond with G‑d. He is your G‑d, and He took you out of Egypt. Each one of us has a portion, and when we internalize this and remind ourselves of it, we can see our wealth and be happy.
FOOTNOTES
1.Ethics of Our Fathers 4:1.
2.Isaiah 60:21.
-------
Filling the Emptiness From the Inside Out
All of my life I have walked around trying to patch it up temporarily by getting validation from the outside. But nothing and nobody could ever fill it for more than a little while. by Liat Levy
Tears sit perched behind my stinging eyes, and I feel myself falling into the bottomless hole that has found a home in my aching chest.
I shut my eyes tight andI shut my eyes and see a little girl see a little girl. There she is, peering out from behind the curtains, watching as her brothers go away with her dad for the weekend to get spoiled yet again, while she remains behind. She feels longing and sadness, as well as somehow tainted, different and unworthy.
That hole is still inside of me, and I now realize that only I can fill it. All of my life I have walked around trying to patch it up temporarily by getting validation from the outside. But nothing and nobody could ever fill it for more than a little while. Yes, I glowed during the temporary high of someone falling for me or with the exhilarating rush of success, but soon enough I was left feeling empty and alone. I tried to fill up the hole with food, or attempts at perfection in various areas of my life, but it never worked, and I was always left feeling not good enough. This theme played itself out in every area of my life.
Recently, grappling with a relationship where I felt claustrophobic, judged and unappreciated, I got the strong sense that nothing I could possibly do would ever be enough. I felt myself gasping for breath as I stumbled about trying to prove myself, pushing myself beyond what I was able to do. I foresaw that I would never experience peace just doing my best, that all the doing in the world would be futile.
But a friend reminded me that what this other person thinks is actually unknown and irrelevant. What is important are the feelings swirling inside of me. So I let myself feel and was taken back to the scene of the left-behind little girl.
Though the adult me is certain that I was excluded due to practical and messy divorce issues—and due to the limitations of the people concerned—the little girl inside of me lives with this hole. Only I can fill it and choose to love her (myself) unconditionally and genuinely, with my entire heart.
It’s really quite amazing,How freeing and empowering to know that we complete ourselves an example of how we live our lives as if in prison, yet we possess the keys to get out. So often, we long for others to love, treasure and appreciate us. But we need to do that for ourselves.
So I tried this exercise: Writing out all the things I want X to think of me and to do for me. “I want X to love me.” “I want X to see the best in me.” “I want X to truly be my fan.” “I wantX to make me feel safe.”
And I changed X to me: “I want me to love me.” “I want me to see the best in me.” “I want me to truly be my fan.” “I want me to make me feel safe.”
And then, taking the exercise a step further, I turned these statements into affirmations: “I love myself.” “I see the best in me.” “I am truly my fan.” “I make me feel safe.”
What a relief to hear these revised statements. How freeing and empowering to know that we complete ourselves. How important, too, for how can we possibly love and be compassionate to another if we cannot love and care for ourselves first? If we can learn to treat our own needs and limits with kindness, love and respect, there is a far greater chance that will we do the same for others.
The Torah commands us to “love your fellow as yourself,”1 and the great sageRabbi Akiva referred to this as the greatest principle in the Torah—the commandment that encompasses all of the commandments. And so we know that if we love ourselves enough to truly love another, we will not transgress the principles that govern the interactions between people. But what about the interactions between a person and G‑d?
The Maggid of Mezeritch, the successor of the Baal Shem Tov, related that "the Rebbe [Baal Shem Tov] would frequently remark that to love a fellow Jew is to love G‑d.” Not only are these loves—for others and for G‑d—not exclusive, one is embedded in the other.
And so,We all have some kind of hole in our beings there is a lot at stake as Operation “Fix My Hole” progresses. The little girl is still wary of that deriding voice that insists she is not good enough, wondering if it is in fact the voice of truth. But more and more, the compassionate part of me holds the reins—listening, hearing, empathizing, reassuring and loving the little girl, and helping to make it all better.
I think that we all have some kind of hole in our beings, some kind of pain, that only we can heal. My prayer is that we do so, and that through healing our individual holes, we help heal the whole world.
FOOTNOTES
1.Leviticus 19:18.
-------
STORY
Pockets Full of Faith
"We have many stories showing us the Baal Shem Tov's power to perform miracles," Rabbi DovBer pronounced. "For that, we don't need this story..." by Shaul Wertheimer
Visionary helped spur Chabad-Lubavitch growth, was the Rebbe’s ‘four-star general’ by Menachem Posner
David Chase, right, in one of many encounters with the Lubavitch Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory
David Chase, a Holocaust survivor, businessman and philanthropist who led many important charitable efforts for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, and who served at times as a personal representative of the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—passed away on June 1. He was 88 years old.
Chase’s relationship with the Rebbe was a close one, typified by an emotional encounter on the day of the groundbreaking for a major expansion of the Rebbe’s synagogue and headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. On that late summer’s day in 1988, Chase, who helped spearhead the project, approached the Rebbe following the afternoon minchah prayer to invite him to the groundbreaking.
“A Jew is always making a deal,” the Rebbe responded. He would attend if Chase agreed to publically “say a few words ... in Yiddish, in your mamme lashon [‘mother tongue’].”
That afternoon, with throngs of people looking on, Chase spoke into the microphone.
“Rabbi, I don’t know what to tell you, except that I promised you that I’m going to say a few words in mamme lashon—the mother tongue,” he said, as the Rebbe looked on with a beaming smile. “All I can tell you is:Ich liebe dir, zeir zeir asach—‘I love you Rebbe, very, very much.’ ”
David Tuvia Ciesla was born in Sosnowiec, Poland, where he attended cheder and lived a rich Jewish life. During World War II, he and his family were shipped to Auschwitz, where his mother and younger sister perished. His older sister managed to escape by hiding during the war, pretending to be a Christian. After the war, she married an American soldier and brought her brother to the United States, where he was educated and went on to build a successful career.
Starting as an itinerant salesman, Chase became a millionaire before he turned 30 by investing in the discount retail business. He then turned his attention to real estate and communications, where he increased his fortune. By the 1980s, his wealth was estimated at $2 billion.
Yet he viewed his newfound fiscal situation as a means through which he could help make the world a better place. Through his connection to the Rebbe and the Rebbe’s emissaries, he facilitated Jewish growth around the world and encouraged others to do the same.
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=323914&width=auto&height=auto"></script><span style="clear:both;" class="lb" id="lbdiv">Visit <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish.TV</a> for more <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish videos</a>.</span>
As his business interests expanded, he became involved in an enterprise in New Jersey, where he first met Rabbi Moshe Herson.
“He became my good buddy, like my brother,” recalled Chase in a 2008 interview with JEM. “Rabbi Herson was running a Chabad school in a poor area of Newark, and he was in desperate need of financial help. I checked him out and found that he was a very special person, with a level of selflessness and dedication to Yiddishkeit that I had never encountered before. I decided to help him with fundraising, and before I knew it, I was on the board of directors of his school—the Rabbinical College of America, which we moved to Morristown—and up to my neck, gratefully, involved with Chabad-Lubavitch.
“In 1968, I met the Rebbe, of blessed memory, and it was love at first sight. When I encountered this great human being, this great educator, this wonderful, humble tzadik, I was changed forever. And I became totally devoted to him.”
Chase receives a dollar and a blessing from the Rebbe. In between them is Rabbi Moshe Herson, today head shaliach of New Jersey. (JEM Photo)
Influenced Those Around Him
Through the Rebbe’s encouragement, Chase incorporated many Jewish observances into his daily life, including putting on tefillin, which the Rebbe requested that he do as a “gift” for the Rebbe’s 79th birthday in 1981.
Chase maintained the practice of praying in tallit and tefillin daily—even aboard airplanes and his personal yacht. In following the Talmudic dictum to face towards Jerusalem while praying, Chase regularly asked his captain, a non-Jew named Nick Winters, of the ship’s position and projected route. One Sunday, while docked at Block Island, Winters asked Chase if he could leave the ship to attend church. “You pray to your G‑d every morning,” he said,” and you’re making me feel guilty that I don’t follow my faith.”
Chase shared the incident with the Rebbe. At a subsequent public talk, the Rebbe told the story, demonstrating how a Jew who is proud and comfortable in his observance can influence all those around him—Jews and non-Jews alike.
The Rebbe and Chase (JEM Photo)
As chairman of Machne Yisrael Development Fund—a position the Rebbe insisted that he take—Chase was instrumental in raising millions of dollars for new and expanding Chabad centers all over the globe. Closer to home, he was a major backer of the Chabad presence in Connecticut and New Jersey.
“The Rebbe placed a tremendous measure of trust in Mr. Chase,” notes Herson. “I do not know if there was another lay leader who had that kind of connection with the Rebbe. Once, the Rebbe gave Chase $4, noting that he was his ‘four-star general.’ He then gave him a fifth dollar for when he would become a five-star general.”
At a subsequent meeting, Chase told the Rebbe that he wished he could even become a private in the Rebbe’s army. The Rebbe replied: “You may think I am joking, but I am serious.”
Chase speaks at the Chabad House of Hartford, which he helped build. (Photo: Courtesy of Chabad of Hartford)
A longtime resident of West Hartford, Conn., Chase first met Rabbi YosefGopin as the shaliach was preparing to move there to establish the city’s first Chabad House.
“He was involved with Chabad here in Hartford from day one,” says Gopin. “He got other local businessmen and philanthropists involved with our projects, and he was always willing to help in any way possible.”
Later, when Chabad of Hartford embarked on an ambitious new building project in the late 1980s, it was Chase who became the project’s main cheerleader, and it was he who sent a letter to the Rebbe informing him of the building’s completion.
“The Chabad Houses are ‘lamplighters’ kindling the flame that is inherent in every Jewish heart and soul, since ‘the soul of a Jew is lamp of Hashem,’ ” the Rebbe wrote back to Chase. “ ... May Hashem grant that this be so, in the fullest measure with the new Chabad House in Hartford.”
“Every one of our board meetings would become a farbrengen,” recalls Gopin. “When the Rebbe’s name would come up in conversation, David would begin talking about him, and that was the end of the meeting.”
In addition to the Chabad House in West Hartford, Chase was involved with the construction of three others in the vicinity.
“He would get very excited when he heard about a new Chabad House opening,” attests Gopin. “He felt the Rebbe gave him a mandate to build new Chabad Houses, so each new one was for him very exciting.”
A Sign of Blessing and Success
Acting as the Rebbe’s agent, Chase, who had returned to post-Communist Poland for business purposes, struck up a personal connection with labor activist Lech Walesa in 1990, just before Walesa was elected president of Poland.
Visiting Poland at the behest of the Rebbe, the American tycoon met up with the union leader and gave him a dollar bill that the Rebbe had directed be given to a non-Jew.
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=878368&width=auto&height=auto"></script><span style="clear:both;" class="lb" id="lbdiv">Visit <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish.TV</a> for more <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish videos</a>.</span>
“Here is a dollar that you should hold on to,” Chase told Walesa, according to a written account of the encounter by Chase. “When you become president, I’ll tell you who gave me this dollar to give to you. Do not ask me before then. When you become president—and I am sure you will become president—you will find out who gave you this dollar.”
After finding out that the dollar came from the Rebbe, the president kept it with him always, saying he saw the bill as a sign of blessing and success.
Some time later, when Walesa visited the Diaspora Museum in Israel, he saw a portrait of the Rebbe on the wall. “Is this my Rebbe?” he asked, bowing his head in reverence.
After succumbing to a battle with Parkinson’s disease, Chase passed away on June 1, leaving behind his wife, Rhoda Chase; his children, Cheryl Chase and Arnold L. Chase; and his grandchildren.
At the first International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Shluchim in New York City, 1987 (JEM Photo)
Daily Torah-Study Program Unites Eastern and Western European Jews
From Frankfurt to Donetsk, a burst of open books, prayer and learning. by Dovid Margolin
A Kolel Torah study session in Donetsk, Ukraine. The city has been in seperatist territory since mid-2014; the kolel has strengthened the community, materially and spiritually.
There hasn’t been a daily minyan in Potsdam, Germany, in at least 150 years. Prior to the Holocaust, the city had only a small Jewish population; their synagogue was gutted on Kristallnacht in November of 1938, and by October 1942, the last remaining Jews were deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp.
Finding itself in the wrong sector of Germany, the post-war years saw Potsdam slip behind the Iron Curtain, where it remained until 1989.
But each day since last November, 12 men gather at Chabad-Lubavitch of Brandenburg in Potsdam, where they pray together and study Torah as part of the Kolel Torah-study program. Rabbi Nachum Presman, director of Chabad-Lubawitsch Brandenburg, says its existence has added a new vitality to this suburb of Berlin.
“The Kolel Torah program has had an amazing impact on our community,” says Presman, who first arrived in Potsdam in 1996. “I never thought we’d have a weekdayminyan; there was a hope to get one once a month on Rosh Chodesh, but now we have one every single day. It really has caused a revolution.”
Kolel Torah was first piloted in 2014 in 10 communities, mostly in Russia and Ukraine. Featuring a specially designed curriculum studied daily by participants, the program was to draw Jewish professionals between the ages of 21 to 70 (a wide range, to be sure) for an hour of rigorous Torah study. As in the traditional kolel system, a monthly stipend was provided to attendees.
Last year, the program took place in 35 cities; today, it has expanded to nearly 90 in 19 different countries, drawing more than 1,500 men. This year also saw a weekly women’s kolel open, which now attracts 960 women in 60 cities.
The program is geared at working people between the ages of 21 to 70.
“I don’t think anyone believed that the Kolel would be this successful,” says Rabbi Bentzi Lipsker, a Chabad emissary in St. Petersburg, Russia, who directs the project. “We have seen this bring life into cities throughout Europe.”
With this year’s expansion into Germany, Austria, Italy, Serbia and Poland, in addition to communities in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic states and the Caucuses, Kolel Torah’s program means Torah study and prayer is once again taking place on a daily basis in many places for the first time since before World War II.
“For many in my community, this is their first exposure to serious Torah study,” notes Presman. “We are now studying an in-depth Chassidic discourse. That’s unbelievable!”
‘Support People Spiritually’
While the recent growth and expansion has meant that cities in the heart of the European Union are joining, that doesn’t mean those as far from the West as possible have been left behind. A case in point is Donetsk, Ukraine—a city once home to more than 10,000 Jews and a burgeoning Jewish community. Now, it’s a war-torn shell of its former self. Yet even there, in a patch of Europe governed by a self-declared rebel government, Kolel Torah has opened its doors.
Kolel Torah began offering a separate program for women last year, like here in Donetsk. Today, it draws 960 women in 60 cities.
“It is very important to support people spiritually,” says the Donetsk Chief Rabbi and head Chabad emissary Pinchas Vishedski, “but even more important to support them materially. Kolel Torah has had the ability to do both, and we are able to help them financially while they come and study Torah.”
Each late afternoon, 25 men arrive at the Donetsk synagogue to study with Rabbi Aryeh Shvartz, Vishedski’s assistant, who has worked to hold up the fort in the decimated city. The men come to the synagogue at the end of the work day, where they pull out their books and study the same text studied by Jews in Moscow, Russia; Riga, Latvia; or Frankfurt, Germany. Once a week, 15 women come to study at the city’s women’s kolel.
Since its inception, Kolel Torah has been funded by the Meromim Foundation, a Russia-based Jewish charity run by Lipsker. Last year, it was able to fund a portion of its vast budget via an online matching campaign that saw 3,000 donors donate to the cause. Today, Kolel Torah launched its second online fundraising drive with the ultimate goal of raising $2.8 million.
A group photo of Kolel Torah participants at the synagogue in Donetsk.
Vishedski, who leads a community split between those who have fled to safer parts of Ukraine and those left behind in the separatist east, says that every penny raised helps keep Judaism alive in many places where it’s needed most.
“Those who have remained in Donetsk for various reasons, they don’t have access to the level of Jewish life they once had. That’s all gone,” says the rabbi. “Now the synagogue isn’t empty during the week anymore. If you walk in today you will hear the sound of grown men learning Torah, and that’s amazing.”
www.charidy.com/centralkt.
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=3350949&width=auto&height=auto"></script><span style="clear:both;" class="lb" id="lbdiv">Visit <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish.TV</a> for more <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish videos</a>.</span>
---------------------
13.See Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon.
14.Mishnah, Eduyot 1:6.
15.Maimonides, introduction to Mishneh Torah. However, see Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon, which states that many of the tractates already existed before Rabbi Yehudah redacted the Mishnah.
16.Kitzur Kelalei HaMishnah 1.
17.An exception is the opinion of Rabbi Yaakov Chagiz in Sefer Halachot Ketanot 2:71–78. He states that it was actually Rabbi Yehudah’s father, Rabbi Shimon, who redacted the Mishnah, but that it is credited to his son Rabbi Yehudah, since the period of tranquility that enabled him to do so was in the merit of the incident that occurred at Rabbi Yehudah’s circumcision (see the story of Rabbi Yehudah and Antoninus referenced above).
18.Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon; commentary of Rashi to Talmud, Eruvin 62b; Kovetz Teshuvot Chatam Sofer(Jerusalem: Machon Chatam Sofer, 1982), responsum 45.
19.Maimonides, introduction to Mishneh Torah; Rabbi David ben Zimra (Radbaz), responsum 1303; commentary of Rabeinu Bechayei toExodus 34:27.
20.See Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Chajes, Mevo ha-Talmud, ch. 33. Based on this, he explains why sometimes Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon implies that Rabbi Yehudah actually wrote it down, and other times he says that he merely formulated it orally.
21.Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon.
22.Maimonides, commentary to the Mishnah, Menachot 4:1; his son, Rabbi Avraham, “Essay on Aggadah” (printed as an introduction to Ein Yaakov). Some suggest this as a reason why there is no tractate Chanukah (seeChatam Sofer, Gittin 78a). For more on this, see “What Happened to Tractate Chanukah?”
23.Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon states that in general, whenever the Talmud prefaces a teaching with the phrasetanu rabbanan (“the rabbis taught”), it is citing a baraita formulated by Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Oshaya. (See, however, Rabbi N.D. Rabinowich,Talmudic Terminology (Jerusalem, 1988), p. 36, for a discussion of some apparent exceptions to this rule.)
24.For an expanded list, see the beginning of Sarei ha-Elef by Rabbi Menachem Kasher.
25.See Dorot HaRishonim, vol. 5, chs. 64ff. See also Codex Judaica, entry for the year 4152 (392 CE) and citations there.
26.Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon.
27.Iggeret Rabbi Sherira Gaon; Dorot HaRishonim, vol. 6, chs. 9–11.
28.Maimonides, introduction to Mishneh Torah.
-------
It's Easy for You Rabbi, You Were Born Religious
It’s an argument I hear all the time. People will approach me and attempt to explain to me exactly why they can’t accept more Judaism into their lives: because they just weren’t born into it. by Elisha Greenbaum
Their parents didn’t practice, they didn’t attend It’s an argument I hear all the timea Jewish school or weren’t paying attention during religious classes. They can’t read Hebrew fluently, they’ve never felt comfortable in shul, and they’re sorry, but it’s definitely too late to start now.
Is that true?
There have been tens of thousands of ba’alei teshuvah over the last few decades—men and women who weren’t born into religious families but who have chosen to become Torah-observant. We all have the free choice to change and the ability to succeed. Admittedly, it might be harder to pick up a new language and to adopt new rituals at a relatively advanced age, but it definitely can be done, if one wants it enough.
Perhaps even more extraordinary than ba’alei teshuvah are geirim, converts, who weren’t born Jewish and yet have taken the audacious step of transforming their lives and casting their lot in with ours. We welcome them aboard, and we admire their courage.
If you think about it, Shavuot is the festival where we celebrate this capacity to adopt Judaism and commit oneself to G‑d. The men and women clustered around Mt. Sinai didn’t really know what they were getting into, but they were willing to find out. Right then and there, they chose G‑d and promised to spend the rest of their lives changing, learning and practicing until they got it right. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
On Shavuot, we all become ba’alei teshuvah and we all promise to convert. It makes no difference where we’ve come from; the real question is, where are we heading?
When Moses climbed the mountain to receive G‑d’s commands to His new nation, G‑d instructed him to “say to the House of Jacob and tell the Children of Israel.” Biblical commentators point out that the variant expressions “the House of Jacob” and “the Children of Israel” are a reflection of the different types of people whom Moses was addressing.
Jacob and Israel are both names of our forefather Jacob. Jacob was the name that he was given at birth, and reflects his identity as an innately holy Jew, born to spiritually pure parents. Israel is the name that he received when, as an adult, he demonstrated the courage and maturity to struggle against adversity and independently chose to transform himself.
The “House of Jacob” is a reference to our birthplace. We don’t get to pick our parents, and we have done nothing to deserve the treasures into which we’re born. The“Children of Israel,” by contrast, describes us as the adults we have become, who choose our own paths in life and deserve the rewards that we have personally earned. G‑d was instructing Moses to speak on both levels and tailor his message to every stage in the journey through life.
G‑d is speaking to all of us, all the time. No We were all born holymatter what we’ve been doing till now, we can and must do better in the future. The training we’ve received to date and the legacy we inherited from our parents and teachers are useful only if we utilize them to better ourselves in the future. We were all born holy and, at the same time, we must all improve further.
When we gather in the synagogue on Shavuot to hear the Ten Commandments and receive the Torah anew, let us be truly grateful for the gifts we’ve received in the past, and let us promise to transform ourselves into the people that G‑d wishes us to become—and thus earn the reward that He is confident we deserve.
-------
YOUR QUESTIONS
Is It Ethical to Regift?
Is it wrong to regift? My uncle just came back from Hong Kong and brought me a very expensive green tie with red zigzags. I would not be caught dead wearing it. But I have a friend with the same taste as my uncle who would love it, and it's his birthday next week. Is there any issue with me passing it on, rather than letting it gather dust in my closet? by Aron Moss
Question:YOUR QUESTIONS
Is It Ethical to Regift?
Is it wrong to regift? My uncle just came back from Hong Kong and brought me a very expensive green tie with red zigzags. I would not be caught dead wearing it. But I have a friend with the same taste as my uncle who would love it, and it's his birthday next week. Is there any issue with me passing it on, rather than letting it gather dust in my closet? by Aron Moss
Is it wrong to regift? My uncle just came back from Hong Kong and brought me a very expensive green tie with red zigzags. I would not be caught dead wearing it. But I have a friend with the same taste as my uncle who would love it, and it’s his birthday next week. Is there any issue with me passing it on, rather than letting it gather dust in my closet?
Answer:
You need to think this through.
A gift is given to be yours. That means you can do with it whatever you wish. If you want to use the tie as a dishrag, sell it on eBay or make it your dog’s scarf, no one can stop you.
But a gift is not just a gift; it is a sentiment, a thought, a feeling. Your uncle may have personally picked this tie out for you, thinking you would appreciate it. If he then sees it on your dog or on your friend or on eBay, he may be hurt. It is not the tie you have rejected, it is his thoughtfulness.
Then again, maybe he wouldn’t care, or would never find out. Even so, there is an additional concern when you pass on a gift to a friend. You are fooling your friend. When he receives this expensive tie from you, he will feel indebted to you for your generosity. He will feel he must reciprocate when it is your birthday, and buy you something of real value. And unless he has an uncle who shares your fine taste, that may cost him.
By regifting the tie to your friend, you are scoring unfair points. He thinks you are being gracious by giving him such a valuable gift, when in actual fact you are dumping your unwanted merchandise on him. The Talmud calls this “stealing someone’s goodwill.”
So regifting may be perfectly kosher, but before you regift, ask yourself the following questions: Will anyone be hurt by my actions? Was this gift bought with me in mind, or could it have gone to anyone? Will anyone be misled?
You may have good taste in ties, but you don’t want to leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth.
-------
VIDEO
Was Aaron a Levite?
Letters and Numbers of Torah - Bamidbar
Aaron L. Raskin
Watch (20:00)
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=1856009&width=auto&height=auto"></script><span style="clear:both;" class="lb" id="lbdiv">Visit <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish.TV</a> for more <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish videos</a>.</span>
VIDEO
Was Aaron a Levite?
Letters and Numbers of Torah - Bamidbar
Aaron L. Raskin
Watch (20:00)<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=1856009&width=auto&height=auto"></script><span style="clear:both;" class="lb" id="lbdiv">Visit <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish.TV</a> for more <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish videos</a>.</span>
-------
Moses and the Non-prophetsScroll Down - Part 2
Given the incomparable significance of the Torah, what is the function of prophecy and of the prophetic books, the Neviim (”Prophets”) and Ketuvim (”Hagiographa”), composed after the Torah was given at Sinai? And why did the era of prophecy end?
By Michael Chighel
Watch (14:15)
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=3211480&width=auto&height=auto"></script><span style="clear:both;" class="lb" id="lbdiv">Visit <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish.TV</a> for more <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish videos</a>.</span>
-------
The Day the Heavens Opened
The Jewish people studied Torah and observed its precepts long before they actually became obligated in them at Sinai. Moreover, the Ten Commandments were composed largely of laws already commanded to the non-Jewish world. What, then, was so important about the giving of the Torah at Sinai?
Watch
The Day the Heavens Opened
The Jewish people studied Torah and observed its precepts long before they actually became obligated in them at Sinai. Moreover, the Ten Commandments were composed largely of laws already commanded to the non-Jewish world. What, then, was so important about the giving of the Torah at Sinai?
Watch
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=1869054&width=auto&height=auto"></script><span style="clear:both;" class="lb" id="lbdiv">Visit <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish.TV</a> for more <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish videos</a>.</span>
-------
PARSHAH
The 603,550th Jew
Why so many numbers in the Book of Numbers?
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
In its opening chapters we learn that one year after the Exodus, there were 603,550 adult Israelite males between the ages of 20 and 60, of whom 22,273 were firstborn; a separate census counted 22,300 Levites aged one month and older (7,500 Gershonites, 8,600 Kohathites, and 6,200 in the Merari clan). We are also given the figure for each of the twelve tribes, from Judah’s 74,600 to Manasseh’s 32,200. Then the Torah tallies the number in each of the four “camps” into which the twelve tribes were divided: Judah’s camp, which also included the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun, totaled 186,400; the three tribes in Reuben’s camp totaled 151,450; Ephraim’s camp included 108,100; and 157,600 pitched their tents in the camp of Dan.
Twenty-six chapters and 39 years later, we’re still in the Book of Numbers, and in the midst of another census. Again, we get the total figure (now 601,730) and the numbers for each tribe. We notice that Simeon has been tragically decimated (22,200, down from 59,300), while Manasseh’s ranks have swelled to 52,700 (a gain of 20,500). But most of all we notice how G‑d’s passion for counting His people has not waned.
For, as G‑d says to Moses, we’re not just counting people. We’re “raising their heads.”
When a census is taken, the count will include scholars and boors, professionals and vagabonds, philanthropists and misers, saints and criminals. Yet each counts for no more and no less than one in the total number. The count reflects only the one quality they all share equally: the fact that each is an individual human being.
So, is a headcount an expression of the lowest common denominator in a collection of individuals? The answer depends on how one views the essence of humanity. If man is basically neutral or worse—if we all begin with zero, and make of ourselves what we are—than what unites us as individuals is indeed the least of our qualities. G‑d, however, has a different perspective on the “huddled masses” of man.
As G‑d sees it, the soul of man is a spark of His own fire—a spark with the potential to reflect the infinite goodness and perfection of its source. Human life is the endeavor to realize what is implicit in this spark. Indeed, a person may lead a full, accomplished and righteous life, and barely scratch the surface of the infinitude of his or her soul. Another person may blunder for a lifetime in darkness and iniquity, and then, in a moment of self-discovery, fan their divine spark into roaring flame.
So when G‑d instructs that we be counted, it is an expression of our highestcommon denominator. On the divine census sheet, our differences are transcended to reveal the simple fact of our being—a fact which expresses what is best in us, and from which stems all that is good in us.
G‑d counts us not to know our number (which He obviously knows), or even to get in touch with the quintessence of our souls (which He obviously is). He counts us to accentuate our soul of souls, to give expression to its essence and to make it more accessible to our material-bound lives.
Therein lies the deeper significance of the idiom “raise the heads” in G‑d’s instruction to Moses to count the people of Israel. When G‑d counts us, He is stimulating the highest and loftiest part of our being, the spark of divinity which lies at the core of our soul.
-------
The Sound of Silence
Silence in Tanakh often has a negative connotation. But not all silence is sad. by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Bamidbar is usually read on the Shabbat before Shavuot. So the sages connected the two. Shavuot is the time of the giving of the Torah. Bamidbar means “in the desert.” What then is the connection between the desert and the Torah, the wilderness and G‑d’s word?The sages gave several interpretations. According to the Mechilta, the Torah was given publicly, openly and in a place no one owns because had it been given in the land of Israel,What is the connection between the desert and the Torah? Jews would have said to the nations of the world, “You have no share in it.” Instead, whoever wants to come and accept it, let them come and accept it.1
Another explanation: had the Torah been given in Israel, the nations of the world would have had an excuse for not accepting it. This follows the rabbinic tradition that before G‑d gave the Torah to the Israelites, He offered it to all the other nations, and each found a reason to decline.2
Yet another: just as the wilderness is free—it costs nothing to enter—the Torah is free. It is G‑d’s gift to us.3
But there is another, more spiritual reason. The desert is a place of silence. There is nothing visually to distract you, and there is no ambient noise to muffle sound. To be sure, when the Israelites received the Torah, there was thunder and lightning and the sound of a shofar. The earth felt as if it were shaking at its foundations. But in a later age, when the prophet Elijah stood at the same mountain after his confrontation with the prophets of Baal, he encountered G‑d not in the whirlwind or the fire or the earthquake but in thekol demamah dakah, the still, small voice, literally “the sound of a slender silence.”4 I define this as the sound you can hear only if you are listening. In the silence of the midbar, the desert, you can hear the Medaber, the Speaker, and the medubar, that which is spoken. To hear the voice of G‑d, you need a listening silence in the soul.
Many years ago British television produced a documentary series, The Long Search, on the world’s great religions.5 When it came to Judaism, the presenter Ronald Eyre seemed surprised by its blooming, buzzing confusion, especially the loud, argumentative voices in the Beit Midrash, the house of study. Remarking on this to Elie Wiesel, he asked, “Is there such a thing as asilence in Judaism?”
Wiesel replied: “Judaism is full of silences . . . but we don’t talk about them.”
Judaism is a very verbal culture, a religion of holy words. Through words, G‑d created the universe: “And G‑d said, Let there be . . . and there was.” According to the Targum, it is our ability to speak that makes us human. It translates the phrase “and man became a living soul”6 as “and man became aspeaking soul.” Words create. Words communicate. Our relationships are shaped, for good or bad, by language. Much of Judaism is about the power of words to make or break worlds.
So silence in Tanach often has a negative connotation. “Aaron was silent,” says the Torah, after the death of his two sons Nadav and Avihu.7 “The dead do not praise You,” says Psalm 115, “nor do those who go down to the silence [of the grave].” When Job’s friends came to comfort him after the loss of his children and other afflictions, “Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.”8
But not all silence is sad. Psalms tells us that “to You, silence is praise.”9 If we are truly in awe at the greatness of G‑d, the vastness of the universe and the almost infinite extent of time, our deepest emotions will indeed lie too deep for words. We will experience silent communion.
The sages valued silence. They called it “a fence to wisdom.”10 If words are worth a coin, silence is worth two.11 R. Shimon ben Gamliel said, “All my days I have grown up among the wise, and I have found nothing better than silence.”12
The service of the priests in the Temple was accompanied by silence. TheLevites sang in the courtyard, but the priests—unlike their counterparts in other ancient religions—neither sang nor spoke while offering the sacrifices. One scholar13 has accordingly spoken of The sages valued silence“the silence of the sanctuary.” TheZohar (2a) speaks of silence as the medium in which both the Sanctuary above and the Sanctuary below are made.
There were Jews who cultivated silence as a spiritual discipline. Breslov chassidim meditate in the fields. There are Jews who practise taanit dibbur, a “fast of words.” Our most profound prayer, the private saying of the Amidah, is called tefillah be-lachash, the “silent prayer.” It is based on the precedent ofHannah, praying for a child. “She spoke in her heart. Her lips moved but her voice was not heard.”14
G‑d hears our silent cry. In the agonizing tale of how Sarah told Abraham to send Hagar and her son away, the Torah tells us that when their water ran out and the young Ishmael was at the point of dying, Hagar cried, yet G‑d heard “the voice of the child.”15 Earlier, when the angels came to visit Abraham and told him that Sarah would have a child, Sarah laughed inwardly—that is, silently—yet she was heard by G‑d.16 G‑d hears our thoughts even when they are not expressed in speech.
The silence that counts, in Judaism, is thus a listening silence—and listening is the supreme religious art. Listening means making space for others to speak and be heard. As I point out in my commentary to the Siddur, there is no English word that remotely equals the Hebrew verb sh‑m‑a in its wide range of senses: to listen, to hear, to pay attention, to understand, to internalize and to respond in deed.
This was one of the key elements in the Sinai covenant, when the Israelites, having already said twice, “All that G‑d says, we will do,” then said, “All that G‑d says, we will do and we will hear [ve-nishma].”17 It is the nishma—listening, hearing, heeding, responding—that is the key religious act.
Thus Judaism is not only a religion of doing-and-speaking; it is also a religion of listening. Faith is the ability to hear the music beneath the noise. There is the silent music of the spheres, about which Psalm 19 speaks:
The heavens declare the glory of G‑d
The skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day to day they pour forth speech,
Night to night they communicate knowledge.
There is no speech, there are no words,
Their voice is not heard.
Yet their music carries throughout the earth.
There is the voice of history that was heard by the prophets. And there is the commanding voice of Sinai, that continues to speak to us across the abyss of time. I sometimes think that people in the modern age have found the concept of “Torah from heaven” problematic, not because of some new archaeological discovery but because we have lost the habit of listening to the sound of transcendence, a voice beyond the merely human.
It is fascinating that despite his often fractured relationship with Judaism, Sigmund Freud created in psychoanalysis a deeply Jewish form of healing. He himself called it the “speaking cure,” but it is in fact a listening cure. Almost all effective forms of psychotherapy involve deep listening.
Is there enough listening in the Jewish world today? Do we, in Is there enough listening in the Jewish world today?marriage, really listen to our spouses? Do we as parents truly listen to our children? Do we, as leaders, hear the unspoken fears of those we seek to lead? Do we internalize the sense of hurt of the people who feel excluded from the community? Can we really claim to be listening to the voice of G‑d if we fail to listen to the voices of our fellow humans?
In his poem “In memory of W. B. Yeats,” W. H. Auden wrote:
In the deserts of the heart
Let the healing fountain start.
From time to time we need to step back from the noise and hubbub of the social world and create in our hearts the stillness of the desert where, within the silence, we can hear the kol demamah dakah, the still, small voice of G‑d, telling us we are loved, we are heard, we are embraced by G‑d’s everlasting arms, we are not alone.
FOOTNOTES
1.Mechilta, Yitro, Bachodesh 1.
2.Ibid., 5.
3.Ibid.
4.1 Kings 19:9–12.
5.BBC Television, first shown 1977.
6.Genesis 2:7.
7.Leviticus 10:3.
8.Job 2:13.
9.Psalms 65:2.
10.Avot 3:13.
11.Talmud, Megillah 18a.
12.Avot 1:17.
13.Israel Knohl.
14.I Samuel 1:13.
15.Genesis 21:16–17.
16.Genesis 18:12–13.
17.Exodus 24:7.
-------
Bamidbar In Depth
A condensation of the weekly Torah portion alongside select commentaries culled from the Midrash, Talmud, Chassidic masters, and the broad corpus of Jewish scholarship.
Parshat Bamidbar In-Depth
Numbers 1:1-4:20
Parshah Summary
In the desert (“bamidbar”) of Sinai, on the first of the month of Iyar, one year and two weeks after the exodus from Egypt, G‑d speaks to Moses. The leader of Israel is instructed to conduct a census of his people:
The tribe of Reuben—46,500; Simeon—59,300; Gad—45,650; Judah—74,600; Issachar—54,400; Zebulun—57,400; Ephraim—40,500; Manasseh—32,200; Benjamin—35,400; Dan—62,700; Asher—41,500; Naphtali—53,400.
The tribe of Levi, however, was not included in this count, for they are to be “set aside,” consecrated to serve in the Sanctuary. As G‑d instructs Moses:
“Every man by his flag shall the children of Israel camp.” Each of the twelve tribes had its nassi(“prince”), a flag representing its color and emblem, and its own section in the Israelite camp.
The Sanctuary stood in the center of the camp, surrounded by the tents of the Levites. Beyond the Levite camp were the camps of the twelve tribes. To the east were the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, together comprising the greater “Camp of Judah.” To the south was the “Camp of Reuben,” encompassing the camps of Reuben, Simeon and Gad. To the west, Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin made up the “Camp of Ephraim.” To the north was the “Camp of Dan” with Dan, Asher and Naphtali.
This formation was preserved as the people journeyed through the desert, with the Camp of Judah at the head of the procession and the Camp of Dan bringing up the rear.
Again the Torah lists the adult male population for each tribe, also tallying the total for each camp: 186,400 for the Camp of Judah, 151,450 for the Camp of Reuben, 108,100 in the Camp of Ephraim, and 157,600 for the three tribes comprising the Camp of Dan. Total: 603,550.
“The Levites were not counted together with the children of Israel, as G‑d had commanded to Moses.”
Originally, the service in the Sanctuary was to have been performed by the firstborn, since “on the day that I smote all firstborn in Egypt, I have consecrated to Me all firstborn in Israel.” But this privilege was taken from them when the firstborn joined in the making of the golden calf, and only the tribe of Levi remained loyal to G‑d (cf. Exodus 32:26).
G‑d now commands Moses to count the Levites, in order to appoint them to their specific tasks in the service of the Sanctuary. It was also necessary to know their exact number, so that a transfer of the “consecration” could be made from each of the firstborn to the individual Levite who would replace him. Unlike the other tribes, the census of the Levites included children as well, beginning from the age of one month.
First to be enumerated is Aaron’s family, who constituted a distinct class within the Levite tribe: they were the kohanim (“priests”), who conducted the service in the Sanctuary.
The Gershonites numbered 7,500, and camped on the west side of the Sanctuary. When the Sanctuary was transported, the families of Gershon were in charge of “the Tabernacle roof-covering, and the tent roof-covering, the upper roof-covering, and the screen for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting; the hangings of the courtyard, the screen at the entrance to the courtyard . . . its ropes, as well as all the work involved.”
The families of Kohath, numbering 8,600 and pitching their tents to the Sanctuary’s south, carried the Sanctuary’s “vessels”: “The ark, the table, the menorah, the altars and the holy vessels with which the service is performed; and the [inner] screen and all its implements.”
The Merari families totaled 6,200, and camped to the Sanctuary’s north. “Under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the wall-panels of the Tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its foundation sockets, and all their implements and all that belongs to them, and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, pegs and cords.”
There were 22,273 firstborns, but only 22,000 Levitesto replace them. The remaining 273 each contributed a sum of five shekels to Aaron and his sons as a “ransom.” (All subsequently firstborn Israelite males are likewise redeemed.)
When the Levites transported the Sanctuary, the most prestigious task fell to the Kohathites: on their shoulders they carried the Sanctuary’s holy vessels. But first the vessels had to be covered by the priests with special wool and leather coverings made for this purpose.
Similar coverings were made for the table, the menorah and the two altars, to “swallow the holy” and conceal them from non-priestly eyes.
Raise the head of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by families following their fathers’ houses; a headcount of every male according to the number of their names.
From twenty years old and upwards, all that are fit to go out to the army in Israel, you shall count them by their legions, you and Aaron.
Assisting Moses and Aaron are the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel. The people assemble and “declare their pedigrees after their families, after the house of their fathers.” The results of the census are:From twenty years old and upwards, all that are fit to go out to the army in Israel, you shall count them by their legions, you and Aaron.
The tribe of Reuben—46,500; Simeon—59,300; Gad—45,650; Judah—74,600; Issachar—54,400; Zebulun—57,400; Ephraim—40,500; Manasseh—32,200; Benjamin—35,400; Dan—62,700; Asher—41,500; Naphtali—53,400.
All those who were counted of the children of Israel . . . six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty.
The Levites
Only you shall not count the tribe of Levi, nor take the sum of them among the children of Israel.
Appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of Testimony, and over all its vessels, and over all things that belong to it. They shall carry the Tabernacle and all its vessels, they shall minister to it, and round about the Tabernacle shall they camp.
And when the Tabernacle journeys forward, the Levites shall take it down, and when the Tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up.
The Camp
The Sanctuary stood in the center of the camp, surrounded by the tents of the Levites. Beyond the Levite camp were the camps of the twelve tribes. To the east were the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, together comprising the greater “Camp of Judah.” To the south was the “Camp of Reuben,” encompassing the camps of Reuben, Simeon and Gad. To the west, Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin made up the “Camp of Ephraim.” To the north was the “Camp of Dan” with Dan, Asher and Naphtali.
This formation was preserved as the people journeyed through the desert, with the Camp of Judah at the head of the procession and the Camp of Dan bringing up the rear.
Again the Torah lists the adult male population for each tribe, also tallying the total for each camp: 186,400 for the Camp of Judah, 151,450 for the Camp of Reuben, 108,100 in the Camp of Ephraim, and 157,600 for the three tribes comprising the Camp of Dan. Total: 603,550.
“The Levites were not counted together with the children of Israel, as G‑d had commanded to Moses.”
The Levite Census
G‑d now commands Moses to count the Levites, in order to appoint them to their specific tasks in the service of the Sanctuary. It was also necessary to know their exact number, so that a transfer of the “consecration” could be made from each of the firstborn to the individual Levite who would replace him. Unlike the other tribes, the census of the Levites included children as well, beginning from the age of one month.
First to be enumerated is Aaron’s family, who constituted a distinct class within the Levite tribe: they were the kohanim (“priests”), who conducted the service in the Sanctuary.
These are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that G‑d spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: the firstborn Nadav, Avihu, Elazar and Itamar . . .
The rest of the tribe of Levi served as assistants to thekohanim and as caretakers of the Sanctuary, and were divided into three clans, descendants of Levi’s three sons: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
Nadav and Avihu died before G‑d, when they offered strange fire before G‑d in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children; and Elazar and Itamar ministered in the priest’s office in the sight of Aaron their father.
The Gershonites numbered 7,500, and camped on the west side of the Sanctuary. When the Sanctuary was transported, the families of Gershon were in charge of “the Tabernacle roof-covering, and the tent roof-covering, the upper roof-covering, and the screen for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting; the hangings of the courtyard, the screen at the entrance to the courtyard . . . its ropes, as well as all the work involved.”
The families of Kohath, numbering 8,600 and pitching their tents to the Sanctuary’s south, carried the Sanctuary’s “vessels”: “The ark, the table, the menorah, the altars and the holy vessels with which the service is performed; and the [inner] screen and all its implements.”
The Merari families totaled 6,200, and camped to the Sanctuary’s north. “Under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the wall-panels of the Tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its foundation sockets, and all their implements and all that belongs to them, and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, pegs and cords.”
Camping before the Tabernacle toward the east, before the Tent of Meeting eastward, shall beMoses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel.
G‑d now commands Moses to count all male firstborn in Israel from the age of one month and older, and “take the Levites to Me—I am G‑d—in the place of all the firstborn of Israel.”There were 22,273 firstborns, but only 22,000 Levitesto replace them. The remaining 273 each contributed a sum of five shekels to Aaron and his sons as a “ransom.” (All subsequently firstborn Israelite males are likewise redeemed.)
Covering the Vessels
When the camp is about to travel, Aaron and his sons shall come and take down the dividing screen; with it, they shall cover the Ark of Testimony. They shall place upon it a covering oftachash skin, and on top of that they shall spread a cloth of pure blue wool. Then they shall put its poles in place.
From Our Sages
G‑d spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai (Numbers 1:1)The Torah was given to the people of Israel in the ownerless desert. For if it were given in the Land of Israel, the residents of the Land of Israel would say, “It is ours”; and if it were given in some other place, the residents of that place would say, “It is ours.” Therefore it was given in the wilderness, so that anyone who wishes to acquire it may acquire it.
(Mechilta d’Rashbi)
(Pesikta d’Rav Kahana)
It is customary that on the Shabbat before a wedding, the bridegroom is called to the Torah. Shavuot, the festival which coincides with the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, represents the marriage of G‑d and Israel; this is why the Torah portion of Bamidbar (“in the desert”) is usually read on the Shabbat before Shavuot.
(Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch)
By three things was the Torah given: by fire, water and desert. By fire, as it is written (Exodus 19:18): “Now Mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because G‑d descended upon it in fire.” By water, as it is written (Judges 4:4): “The heavens also dripped, yea, the clouds dripped water.” And by desert, as it is written (Numbers 1:1): “G‑d spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai.”
(Midrash Rabbah)
Fire, water and desert—by these we established our commitment to the Torah.The first Jew, Abraham, was cast into a fiery furnace for his loyalty to the way of G‑d. And lest one say that this was an extraordinary act by an extraordinary individual, at the shores of the Red Sea an entire people plunged into the sea’s waters when the divine command to “move forward!” issued forth. And lest one say that this was a spur-of-the-moment heroism, for forty years the people of Israel followed G‑d through the barren, hostile desert, trusting in Him to provide for them and protect them. As the prophet Jeremiah declaims, “I remember the kindness of your youth, your bridal love, your following after Me in the desert, in an unsown land.”
(Rabbi Meir Shapira of Lublin)
On ten occasions were Israel counted. Once when they went down to Egypt (Genesis 46). A second time when they came out (Exodus 12:37). A third time after the incident of the golden calf (ibid., 30:12). Twice in the Book of Numbers: once in the formation of the camps (Numbers 1) and once in connection with the division of the Land (ibid. 26). Twice in the days of Saul (I Samuel 11:8 and 15:4). The eighth time in the days of David (II Samuel 24:9). The ninth time they were numbered was in the days of Ezra (Ezra 2:64; Nehemiah 7:66). The tenth time will be in the future era of Moshiach, when “the flocks shall again pass under the hands of Him that counts them” (Jeremiah 33:13).
(Midrash Rabbah)
Because of G‑d’s great love for His people, He counts them all the time. He counted them when they left Egypt. He counted them after they fell in the wake of the sin of the golden calf, to know the number of the survivors. And He counted them when He came to manifest His presence within them: on the first of Nissan the Sanctuary was erected, and [one month later] on the first of Iyar He counted them.
(Rashi)
This is reflected in the Hebrew word for “count,”pakod, which also means to “remember” and “be concerned with.”
(Nachmanides)
A census expresses two paradoxical truths. On the one hand, it implies that each individual is significant. On the other hand, a headcount is the ultimate equalizer: each member of the community, from the greatest to the lowliest, counts for no less and no more than “one.” G‑d repeatedly commands Moses to count the Jewish people to emphasize both their individual worth—the fact that no single person’s contribution is dispensable—as well as their inherent equality.
From the age of twenty and upward, all who are fit to serve in the army of Israel, you shall count them (1:3)
Moses’ census of the Jewish people, defined as a count of “all who are fit to serve in the army of Israel,” included only those who were “from the age of twenty and upwards.” What is the significance of this requirement?The fifth chapter of Ethics of the Fathers includes an outline of the phases of a person’s education and life: “At five years of age, the study of Scripture; at ten, the study of Mishnah; at thirteen, the obligation to observe the mitzvot; at fifteen, the study of Talmud; at eighteen, marriage; at twenty begins the pursuit [of a livelihood]; at thirty, one attains strength; at forty, understanding; at fifty, one can give counsel . . .”
In other words, the first twenty years of a person’s life represent those periods and areas of his life in which he focuses almost exclusively on his individual growth: the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom, and his moral and spiritual development. “Twenty” represents the point at which he ventures out to the world and begins to concern himself with the material involvements of life.
Therein lies the deeper significance of G‑d’s instruction to Moses that only “from the age of twenty and upwards” shall a person be counted as one “fit to serve in the army of Israel.”
A period of intense self-development and spiritual self-enrichment is a necessary preparation to life, but it must not be seen as an end in itself. The purpose of the “pre-twenty” times and aspects of a person’s life is for the sake of the “pursuit” which must follow: that he or she go out into the world and apply his personal attainments to the development and sanctification of the material reality. One who does not graduate to the “post-twenty” phase of life cannot count himself as a member of the “army of Israel.”
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
Each tribe had its own prince, and its flag, whose color corresponded to the color of its stone [in Aaron’s breastplate—see Exodus 28:15–21]. It was from the tribes of Israel that kingdoms learned to provide themselves with flags of various colors.
Reuben’s stone was a ruby; the color of his flag was red, and embroidered thereon were mandrakes [cf. Genesis 30:14].
Simeon’s stone was a topaz; his flag was of a green color, and the town of Shechem was embroidered thereon [cf. Genesis 34:25].
Levi’s stone was a smaragd; the color of his flag was one-third white, one third black and one third red, and embroidered thereon was [Aaron’s breastplate with] the Urim and Tummim.
Judah’s stone was a carbuncle; the color of his flag was like the color of the heavens, and embroidered on it was a lion [cf. Genesis 49:9].
Issachar’s stone was a sapphire; the color of his flag was black like stibnite, and embroidered thereon were the sun and moon, in allusion to the verse “Of the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times” (I Chronicles 12:33).
Zebulun’s stone was an emerald; the color of his flag was white, with a ship embroidered thereon, in allusion to the verse “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea” (Genesis 49:13).
Dan’s stone was a jacinth; the color of his flag was similar to sapphire, and embroidered on it was a serpent, in allusion to the verse “Dan shall be a serpent in the way” (ibid. v. 17).
Gad’s stone was an agate; the color of his flag was neither white nor black but a blend of black and white, and on it was embroidered a military camp, in allusion to the verse “Gad, a troop shall troop upon him” (ibid. v. 19).
Naphtali’s stone was an amethyst; the color of his flag was like clarified wine of a light red, and on it was embroidered a deer, in allusion to the verse “Naphtali is a deer let loose” (ibid. v. 21).
Asher’s stone was a beryl; the color of his flag was like the precious stone with which women adorn themselves, and embroidered thereon was an olive tree, in allusion to the verse “As for Asher, his bread shall be fat with oil” (ibid. v. 20).
Joseph’s stone was an onyx, and the color of his flags was jet black; the embroidered design thereon for the two tribes descending from Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, was Egypt, because they were born in Egypt. On the flag of Ephraim was embroidered a bullock, in allusion to the verse “His firstling bullock” (Deuteronomy 33:17), which refers to Joshua, who came from the tribe of Ephraim. On the flag of the tribe of Manasseh was embroidered a unicorn, in allusion to the verse “And his horns are the horns of the re’em” (ibid.), which alludes to Gideon son of Joash, who came from the tribe of Menasseh.
Benjamin’s stone was jasper, and the color of his flag was a combination of all the twelve colors; embroidered thereon was a wolf, in allusion to the verse “Benjamin is a wolf that preys” (Genesis 49:27).
(Midrash Rabbah)
The children of Israel shall encamp each man by his division, by the ensigns of their fathers’ house (2:2)
What is the meaning of “by the ensigns of their father’s house”?When G‑d told Moses to organize the Israelite camp, Moses began to feel distressed. He thought, “Now strife will arise among the tribes; for if I tell the tribe of Judah to camp on the east side of the Tabernacle, and he says, ‘I will accept only the south,’ and the same applies to Reuben and the same to Ephraim and to each of the other tribes, what am I to do?”
Said G‑d to him: “Moses, why should that trouble you? They have no need of you. They know their places full well themselves. They are in possession of a testament left them by Jacob their father, which tells them how to camp under their standards. In the same way that they disposed themselves round his bier when they carried him, so shall they dispose themselves round the Tabernacle. I am not going to make any changes.”
For Rav Chama, son of Rabbi Chanina, said: When our father Jacob was about to depart from the world, he summoned his sons and he blessed them and commanded them concerning the ways of G‑d, and they acknowledged the divine sovereignty. Having concluded his address, he said to them: “My children, when my bier is being carried, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun shall be on the east side; Reuben, Simeon and Gad shall be on the south side; Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin shall be on the west side; Dan, Asher and Naphtali shall be on the north side; Joseph shall not carry at all, for he is a king and must be shown due honor; neither shall Levi carry, because he will carry the Ark, and he that is to carry the Ark of Him who is the life of all worlds must not carry the coffin of the dead. If you will comply with these orders and carry my bier as I have commanded you, G‑d will in the future cause you to camp beneath standards.”
(Midrash Rabbah)
He who teaches the son of his fellow the Torah, Scripture ascribes it to him as if he had begotten him, as it says: “These are the generations of Aaron and Moses”—and only the sons of Aaron are listed. Aaron begot them and Moses taught them, and they are called by Moses’ name.
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 19b)
Why did Moses’ sons not merit [to be in the leadership of Israel]? Because they did not experience the exodus from Egypt and did not traverse the sea with the people of Israel, as they were [in Midian] with Jethro (Moses’ father-in-law—see Exodus 18:1–6).
(Midrash HaChefetz)
Usually Moses appears before Aaron, but in certain places Aaron is mentioned first. This is to teach us that they were both of equal importance.
(Midrash)
Behold, I have taken the Levites from amongst the children of Israel . . . and the Levites shall be Mine (3:12)
Not only the tribe of Levi, but any man of all the inhabitants of the earth whose spirit has moved him and whose mind has given him to understand to set himself aside to stand before G‑d to serve Him, to worship Him, to know G‑d and walk justly as G‑d has created him [justly], and he cast from his neck the yoke of the many calculations that men seek—this man has become sanctified, a holy of holies, and G‑d shall be his portion and his lot forever, and shall merit him his needs in this world, as He has merited the kohanim and the Levites.
(Maimonides)
The tribe of Levi was different from all the others: even counting all members from the age of one month, there were only 22,000; when those thirty years or older were counted, they totaled 8,000 (see Numbers 4:48). Hence, if we were to estimate their members from age twenty, they would not be half the number of the least populous of the other tribes!
It seems to me that this verifies that which our sages said, that the tribe of Levi was not subjected to slave labor in Egypt. G‑d greatly increased the numbers of the Israelites whose lives were made bitter by the Egyptians with hard labor in order to decimate them, in order to counteract the Egyptians’ decrees, as it is written (Exodus 1:12): “As they afflicted them, so did they increase, and so did they grow strong.” The tribe of Levi, however, increased only at the natural rate . . .
(Nachmanides)
For the redemption of those 273 of the firstborn of the children of Israel who are more than the Levites, you shall take five shekels for every man (3:46–47)
In fact, [if we add up the counts of each of the clans, we can see that] there were 22,300 Levites: 7,500 Gershonites, 8,600 Kohathites and 6,200 Merarites—total 22,300, [300 more than listed in the total given for all the Levites.] So why were these not included with the rest in the redemption of the firstborn, so that the extra 273 should not require redemption? Our sages explained that these 300 were themselves firstborn, and had to “redeem” themselves.
(Rashi; Talmud)
Said Moses: How shall I act toward Israel? If I say to a man, “Give me [the shekels for] your redemption,” he will say: “A Levite has already redeemed me.”What did Moses do? He brought twenty-two thousand slips and wrote on each “Levite,” and on another two hundred and seventy-three he wrote “five shekels.” Then he mixed them up, put them into an urn and said to the people, “Draw your slips.” To each who drew a slip bearing the word “Levite,” he said, “A Levite has redeemed you.” To each who drew a ticket with “five shekels” on it, he said, “Pay your redemption and go.”
(Talmud, Sanhedrin 17a)
When the camp journeys on, Aaron and his sons shall come and take down the dividing curtain [of the Sanctuary] and cover the Ark of Testimony with it. They shall place upon it a covering of tachashhide, and spread over it a garment wholly of blue wool (4:5–6)
Like the Ark, the soul of man is encased within three coverings: 1) it is overlaid with a selfish and materialistic character (what Chassidism calls “the animal soul”); 2) it is embedded within a physical body; 3) it is placed in a physical world which obscures and distorts the divine reality.As long as the Ark stood in its place in the Holy of Holies, it had no need for coverings. But when the time came for it to journey on, G‑d commanded that it be “swallowed up” by its threefold vestment. The same applies to the soul. A “spark of G‑dliness,” the soul is perfect and complete unto itself. But to journey on—to advance further in the infinite journey toward union with its Infinite Source—it must undergo on a “descent for the sake of ascent.” It must be subjected to the threefold concealment of human nature, physicality and worldliness, to discover in the lowliest reaches of creation the key for even greater connection with G‑d.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
-------
WOMEN
What My 8-Year-Old Taught Me About Happiness
As children, we sometimes make the mistake of thinking that we have to be our parents. by Elana Mizrahi
My daughter and I were having a cup of tea together one evening. When we finished, I glanced up at the clock and told her, “Off to bed.” She got up to brush her teeth and handed me her water bottle to fill up, but I suspected that she was just trying to stay up a little longer. “It’s late already; she has to go to sleep,” I thought to myself, but that’s not what I said. I don’t know why, but instead I said, “You don’t need any more water. I don’t drink water all night, Papi doesn’t drink water all night.”“But I’m not you, and I’m not Papi,” my incredibly wise 8-year-old daughter answered me. I marveled at her and her wonderful, healthy sense of self. You see, as parents we sometimes make the mistake of thinking that our children’s wants must be our wants, their likes our likes. A mother might take her daughter shopping and insist on buying a certain outfit, even if the daughter doesn’t like it. She imposes her tastes on her daughter. Then, when the daughter doesn’t want to wear the outfit, the mother becomes offended and makes the daughter feel ungrateful for not wearing or liking the very outfit that she didn’t want to get. The daughter feels bad about herself and unhappy.
And as children, we sometimes make the mistake of thinking that we have to be our parents. I recently had a young mother come for a reflexology treatment for stress. One thing that she shared with me was how incompetent she felt. When I asked why, her response was, “Because my mother can do so much more. She works full-time and keeps her house perfectly clean, and I can’t even keep my house clean working part-time!”
I told her how each person is created with different strengths and different weaknesses. You can’t compare yourself to what you are not—so you can never compare yourself to anyone but yourself! Comparing people, or expecting one to do what another one does, is like trying to make orange juice out of apples. I also pointed out to her that she sees her mother now, as a woman with more than 20 years of experience at keeping a home. She doesn’t know what her mother was like when she was newly married.
Back to me and my daughter . . .
“You’re right! You are not me, and you’re not Papi. But it’s time to go to bed!” I said this time with clarity—knowing that the “no” was because I didn’t want to give it to her, not because she has to be like me or her father.
Last Shabbat, I told this little story to our guests. A woman in her mid-70s started to tear up and get emotional upon hearing it. “I was never allowed to just be me! I was never liked for just being me!” Stories from her childhood—stories from more than 60 years ago—came up, and she spoke with anger and sadness. At that moment I understood the words of our sages, “Who is rich? One who is happy with his portion”1 in a different light. I always understood this to mean that you’re considered rich if you’re happy with what you have—if you’re given a silver bracelet, you don’t desire the gold one. The person who always wants something different, or more, will never be happy. While this is true, and this is how the commentators understand this teaching, I think that it can be understood in another way.
A person who is wealthy, who is happy, understands that she has a portion! We are all doled out certain characteristics and circumstances in order to fulfill our purpose in life. Just knowing that you are special, that you have a certain portion, that your very existence is worth something valuable in and of itself can bring you to happiness. I find that many of my clients who are sad and depressed either don’t see their their worth, don’t feel like they are fulfilling a purpose, or are always comparing themselves to someone else. However, when they begin to internalize the fact that they were created with uniqueness, with a certain mission, I have seen time and time again that they lift themselves up. Happiness is a state of mind that we achieve when we feel we are doing what we are here to do.
As the sages teach: “All Israel has a portion in the world to come, as it is said: ‘Your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever; a branch of My plantings, My handiwork, in which to take pride.’”2 think that if each Jew could internalize this message, that we all have a unique mission and portion, then he or she would be happy. I know that understanding my inherent value at just being me—the beautiful soul that G‑d created—certainly makes me happy. I don’t want to be sitting at a table in 30 or 40 years, crying because I didn’t feel appreciated or loved for being me. And I would hate to think of my daughter feeling that way. To prevent this, I need to start now by loving and connecting to that holy spark that is inside of me and inside of her.
When G‑d gave over the Ten Commandments, He did so in the singular, not in the plural, as though speaking to an individual, not to a group: “I am G‑d, your(singular) L‑rd, who took you (singular) out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves . . .” The reason for this is twofold. Just being part of Israel gives you an identity and a mission that is important. And you, as an individual, have a distinct portion and a unique role that contributes to the collective. You, as part of the group, and as an individual, have a special relationship and bond with G‑d. He is your G‑d, and He took you out of Egypt. Each one of us has a portion, and when we internalize this and remind ourselves of it, we can see our wealth and be happy.
FOOTNOTES
1.Ethics of Our Fathers 4:1.
2.Isaiah 60:21.
-------
Filling the Emptiness From the Inside Out
All of my life I have walked around trying to patch it up temporarily by getting validation from the outside. But nothing and nobody could ever fill it for more than a little while. by Liat Levy
Tears sit perched behind my stinging eyes, and I feel myself falling into the bottomless hole that has found a home in my aching chest.I shut my eyes tight andI shut my eyes and see a little girl see a little girl. There she is, peering out from behind the curtains, watching as her brothers go away with her dad for the weekend to get spoiled yet again, while she remains behind. She feels longing and sadness, as well as somehow tainted, different and unworthy.
That hole is still inside of me, and I now realize that only I can fill it. All of my life I have walked around trying to patch it up temporarily by getting validation from the outside. But nothing and nobody could ever fill it for more than a little while. Yes, I glowed during the temporary high of someone falling for me or with the exhilarating rush of success, but soon enough I was left feeling empty and alone. I tried to fill up the hole with food, or attempts at perfection in various areas of my life, but it never worked, and I was always left feeling not good enough. This theme played itself out in every area of my life.
Recently, grappling with a relationship where I felt claustrophobic, judged and unappreciated, I got the strong sense that nothing I could possibly do would ever be enough. I felt myself gasping for breath as I stumbled about trying to prove myself, pushing myself beyond what I was able to do. I foresaw that I would never experience peace just doing my best, that all the doing in the world would be futile.
But a friend reminded me that what this other person thinks is actually unknown and irrelevant. What is important are the feelings swirling inside of me. So I let myself feel and was taken back to the scene of the left-behind little girl.
Though the adult me is certain that I was excluded due to practical and messy divorce issues—and due to the limitations of the people concerned—the little girl inside of me lives with this hole. Only I can fill it and choose to love her (myself) unconditionally and genuinely, with my entire heart.
It’s really quite amazing,How freeing and empowering to know that we complete ourselves an example of how we live our lives as if in prison, yet we possess the keys to get out. So often, we long for others to love, treasure and appreciate us. But we need to do that for ourselves.
So I tried this exercise: Writing out all the things I want X to think of me and to do for me. “I want X to love me.” “I want X to see the best in me.” “I want X to truly be my fan.” “I wantX to make me feel safe.”
And I changed X to me: “I want me to love me.” “I want me to see the best in me.” “I want me to truly be my fan.” “I want me to make me feel safe.”
And then, taking the exercise a step further, I turned these statements into affirmations: “I love myself.” “I see the best in me.” “I am truly my fan.” “I make me feel safe.”
What a relief to hear these revised statements. How freeing and empowering to know that we complete ourselves. How important, too, for how can we possibly love and be compassionate to another if we cannot love and care for ourselves first? If we can learn to treat our own needs and limits with kindness, love and respect, there is a far greater chance that will we do the same for others.
The Torah commands us to “love your fellow as yourself,”1 and the great sageRabbi Akiva referred to this as the greatest principle in the Torah—the commandment that encompasses all of the commandments. And so we know that if we love ourselves enough to truly love another, we will not transgress the principles that govern the interactions between people. But what about the interactions between a person and G‑d?
The Maggid of Mezeritch, the successor of the Baal Shem Tov, related that "the Rebbe [Baal Shem Tov] would frequently remark that to love a fellow Jew is to love G‑d.” Not only are these loves—for others and for G‑d—not exclusive, one is embedded in the other.
And so,We all have some kind of hole in our beings there is a lot at stake as Operation “Fix My Hole” progresses. The little girl is still wary of that deriding voice that insists she is not good enough, wondering if it is in fact the voice of truth. But more and more, the compassionate part of me holds the reins—listening, hearing, empathizing, reassuring and loving the little girl, and helping to make it all better.
I think that we all have some kind of hole in our beings, some kind of pain, that only we can heal. My prayer is that we do so, and that through healing our individual holes, we help heal the whole world.
FOOTNOTES
1.Leviticus 19:18.
-------
STORY
Pockets Full of Faith
"We have many stories showing us the Baal Shem Tov's power to perform miracles," Rabbi DovBer pronounced. "For that, we don't need this story..." by Shaul Wertheimer
The chassidim were gathered around the table of the Maggid of Mezeritch,Reb DovBer, as he told a story of his rebbe, the holy Baal Shem Tov.
“It was an uneventful Shabbat by the Baal Shem Tov,” began the Maggid, “until the conclusion.”
The Maggid continued: Immediately after the conclusion of the evening prayers—still before havdalah—a woman rushed in to the room where the Baal Shem Tov and his chassidim had concluded their prayers.
“You’ve got to help me, Rebbe!” she cried out. “I am in desperate need of funds to marry off my daughter, and I have nowhere left to turn!”
The Baal Shem Tov heard her out, and then directed his chassidim to reach their hands in to their pockets and give whatever money they found there for this worthy cause. Amazingly, the funds they came up with were the exact amount that the woman said she needed.
“Tell me,” the Maggid concluded the story, “what is the lesson to be gleaned from this story of our master the Baal Shem Tov?”
One chassid offered his thought: “This story shows the miraculous powers of the Baal Shem Tov. Even though it was impossible that anyone would have money in their pockets—for Shabbat had ended just moments earlier—the Baal Shem Tov performed this miracle to help this poor woman.”
“To show us the Baal Shem Tov’s power to perform miracles,” the Maggid pronounced, “we have many stories. We do not need this specific story.”
Another chassid spoke up: “But this was a double miracle: not only did the Baal Shem Tov make the money appear miraculously, but it was the exact amount—to the kopek.”
Again the Maggid said that there are no lack of stories demonstrating amazing and doubly amazing miracles performed by the Baal Shem Tov.
A third chassid suggested: “That the Baal Shem Tov can make wondrous miracles occur—that is obvious. However, the Baal Shem Tov could have made all the money appear in his pocket, thus performing this importantmitzvah by himself. Yet because of his tremendous love of his fellow, he wanted to share the mitzvah, and thus made money appear in the pockets of all those present. That, I think, is the message of the story.”
“May I suggest,” the Maggid said, “that this story is not about the Baal Shem Tov at all. I think that the story is truly about the greatness of his disciples. Even though Shabbat had just ended and none of them had any money with them, they nevertheless inserted their hands in their pockets, following the directive of their rebbe with complete faith and trust . . .”
-------
“It was an uneventful Shabbat by the Baal Shem Tov,” began the Maggid, “until the conclusion.”
The Maggid continued: Immediately after the conclusion of the evening prayers—still before havdalah—a woman rushed in to the room where the Baal Shem Tov and his chassidim had concluded their prayers.
“You’ve got to help me, Rebbe!” she cried out. “I am in desperate need of funds to marry off my daughter, and I have nowhere left to turn!”
The Baal Shem Tov heard her out, and then directed his chassidim to reach their hands in to their pockets and give whatever money they found there for this worthy cause. Amazingly, the funds they came up with were the exact amount that the woman said she needed.
“Tell me,” the Maggid concluded the story, “what is the lesson to be gleaned from this story of our master the Baal Shem Tov?”
One chassid offered his thought: “This story shows the miraculous powers of the Baal Shem Tov. Even though it was impossible that anyone would have money in their pockets—for Shabbat had ended just moments earlier—the Baal Shem Tov performed this miracle to help this poor woman.”
“To show us the Baal Shem Tov’s power to perform miracles,” the Maggid pronounced, “we have many stories. We do not need this specific story.”
Another chassid spoke up: “But this was a double miracle: not only did the Baal Shem Tov make the money appear miraculously, but it was the exact amount—to the kopek.”
Again the Maggid said that there are no lack of stories demonstrating amazing and doubly amazing miracles performed by the Baal Shem Tov.
A third chassid suggested: “That the Baal Shem Tov can make wondrous miracles occur—that is obvious. However, the Baal Shem Tov could have made all the money appear in his pocket, thus performing this importantmitzvah by himself. Yet because of his tremendous love of his fellow, he wanted to share the mitzvah, and thus made money appear in the pockets of all those present. That, I think, is the message of the story.”
“May I suggest,” the Maggid said, “that this story is not about the Baal Shem Tov at all. I think that the story is truly about the greatness of his disciples. Even though Shabbat had just ended and none of them had any money with them, they nevertheless inserted their hands in their pockets, following the directive of their rebbe with complete faith and trust . . .”
-------
JEWISH NEWS
David Chase, 88, Philanthropist and Businessman, Built Jewish Life WorldwideVisionary helped spur Chabad-Lubavitch growth, was the Rebbe’s ‘four-star general’ by Menachem Posner
David Chase, right, in one of many encounters with the Lubavitch Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory
David Chase, a Holocaust survivor, businessman and philanthropist who led many important charitable efforts for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, and who served at times as a personal representative of the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—passed away on June 1. He was 88 years old.
Chase’s relationship with the Rebbe was a close one, typified by an emotional encounter on the day of the groundbreaking for a major expansion of the Rebbe’s synagogue and headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. On that late summer’s day in 1988, Chase, who helped spearhead the project, approached the Rebbe following the afternoon minchah prayer to invite him to the groundbreaking.
“A Jew is always making a deal,” the Rebbe responded. He would attend if Chase agreed to publically “say a few words ... in Yiddish, in your mamme lashon [‘mother tongue’].”
That afternoon, with throngs of people looking on, Chase spoke into the microphone.
“Rabbi, I don’t know what to tell you, except that I promised you that I’m going to say a few words in mamme lashon—the mother tongue,” he said, as the Rebbe looked on with a beaming smile. “All I can tell you is:Ich liebe dir, zeir zeir asach—‘I love you Rebbe, very, very much.’ ”
David Tuvia Ciesla was born in Sosnowiec, Poland, where he attended cheder and lived a rich Jewish life. During World War II, he and his family were shipped to Auschwitz, where his mother and younger sister perished. His older sister managed to escape by hiding during the war, pretending to be a Christian. After the war, she married an American soldier and brought her brother to the United States, where he was educated and went on to build a successful career.
Starting as an itinerant salesman, Chase became a millionaire before he turned 30 by investing in the discount retail business. He then turned his attention to real estate and communications, where he increased his fortune. By the 1980s, his wealth was estimated at $2 billion.
Yet he viewed his newfound fiscal situation as a means through which he could help make the world a better place. Through his connection to the Rebbe and the Rebbe’s emissaries, he facilitated Jewish growth around the world and encouraged others to do the same.
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=323914&width=auto&height=auto"></script><span style="clear:both;" class="lb" id="lbdiv">Visit <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish.TV</a> for more <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish videos</a>.</span>
As his business interests expanded, he became involved in an enterprise in New Jersey, where he first met Rabbi Moshe Herson.
“He became my good buddy, like my brother,” recalled Chase in a 2008 interview with JEM. “Rabbi Herson was running a Chabad school in a poor area of Newark, and he was in desperate need of financial help. I checked him out and found that he was a very special person, with a level of selflessness and dedication to Yiddishkeit that I had never encountered before. I decided to help him with fundraising, and before I knew it, I was on the board of directors of his school—the Rabbinical College of America, which we moved to Morristown—and up to my neck, gratefully, involved with Chabad-Lubavitch.
“In 1968, I met the Rebbe, of blessed memory, and it was love at first sight. When I encountered this great human being, this great educator, this wonderful, humble tzadik, I was changed forever. And I became totally devoted to him.”
Chase receives a dollar and a blessing from the Rebbe. In between them is Rabbi Moshe Herson, today head shaliach of New Jersey. (JEM Photo)
Influenced Those Around Him
Through the Rebbe’s encouragement, Chase incorporated many Jewish observances into his daily life, including putting on tefillin, which the Rebbe requested that he do as a “gift” for the Rebbe’s 79th birthday in 1981.
Chase maintained the practice of praying in tallit and tefillin daily—even aboard airplanes and his personal yacht. In following the Talmudic dictum to face towards Jerusalem while praying, Chase regularly asked his captain, a non-Jew named Nick Winters, of the ship’s position and projected route. One Sunday, while docked at Block Island, Winters asked Chase if he could leave the ship to attend church. “You pray to your G‑d every morning,” he said,” and you’re making me feel guilty that I don’t follow my faith.”
Chase shared the incident with the Rebbe. At a subsequent public talk, the Rebbe told the story, demonstrating how a Jew who is proud and comfortable in his observance can influence all those around him—Jews and non-Jews alike.
The Rebbe and Chase (JEM Photo)
As chairman of Machne Yisrael Development Fund—a position the Rebbe insisted that he take—Chase was instrumental in raising millions of dollars for new and expanding Chabad centers all over the globe. Closer to home, he was a major backer of the Chabad presence in Connecticut and New Jersey.
“The Rebbe placed a tremendous measure of trust in Mr. Chase,” notes Herson. “I do not know if there was another lay leader who had that kind of connection with the Rebbe. Once, the Rebbe gave Chase $4, noting that he was his ‘four-star general.’ He then gave him a fifth dollar for when he would become a five-star general.”
At a subsequent meeting, Chase told the Rebbe that he wished he could even become a private in the Rebbe’s army. The Rebbe replied: “You may think I am joking, but I am serious.”
Chase speaks at the Chabad House of Hartford, which he helped build. (Photo: Courtesy of Chabad of Hartford)
A longtime resident of West Hartford, Conn., Chase first met Rabbi YosefGopin as the shaliach was preparing to move there to establish the city’s first Chabad House.
“He was involved with Chabad here in Hartford from day one,” says Gopin. “He got other local businessmen and philanthropists involved with our projects, and he was always willing to help in any way possible.”
Later, when Chabad of Hartford embarked on an ambitious new building project in the late 1980s, it was Chase who became the project’s main cheerleader, and it was he who sent a letter to the Rebbe informing him of the building’s completion.
“The Chabad Houses are ‘lamplighters’ kindling the flame that is inherent in every Jewish heart and soul, since ‘the soul of a Jew is lamp of Hashem,’ ” the Rebbe wrote back to Chase. “ ... May Hashem grant that this be so, in the fullest measure with the new Chabad House in Hartford.”
“Every one of our board meetings would become a farbrengen,” recalls Gopin. “When the Rebbe’s name would come up in conversation, David would begin talking about him, and that was the end of the meeting.”
In addition to the Chabad House in West Hartford, Chase was involved with the construction of three others in the vicinity.
“He would get very excited when he heard about a new Chabad House opening,” attests Gopin. “He felt the Rebbe gave him a mandate to build new Chabad Houses, so each new one was for him very exciting.”
A Sign of Blessing and Success
Acting as the Rebbe’s agent, Chase, who had returned to post-Communist Poland for business purposes, struck up a personal connection with labor activist Lech Walesa in 1990, just before Walesa was elected president of Poland.
Visiting Poland at the behest of the Rebbe, the American tycoon met up with the union leader and gave him a dollar bill that the Rebbe had directed be given to a non-Jew.
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=878368&width=auto&height=auto"></script><span style="clear:both;" class="lb" id="lbdiv">Visit <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish.TV</a> for more <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish videos</a>.</span>
“Here is a dollar that you should hold on to,” Chase told Walesa, according to a written account of the encounter by Chase. “When you become president, I’ll tell you who gave me this dollar to give to you. Do not ask me before then. When you become president—and I am sure you will become president—you will find out who gave you this dollar.”
After finding out that the dollar came from the Rebbe, the president kept it with him always, saying he saw the bill as a sign of blessing and success.
Some time later, when Walesa visited the Diaspora Museum in Israel, he saw a portrait of the Rebbe on the wall. “Is this my Rebbe?” he asked, bowing his head in reverence.
After succumbing to a battle with Parkinson’s disease, Chase passed away on June 1, leaving behind his wife, Rhoda Chase; his children, Cheryl Chase and Arnold L. Chase; and his grandchildren.
At the first International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Shluchim in New York City, 1987 (JEM Photo)
-------
Daily Torah-Study Program Unites Eastern and Western European Jews
From Frankfurt to Donetsk, a burst of open books, prayer and learning. by Dovid Margolin
A Kolel Torah study session in Donetsk, Ukraine. The city has been in seperatist territory since mid-2014; the kolel has strengthened the community, materially and spiritually.
There hasn’t been a daily minyan in Potsdam, Germany, in at least 150 years. Prior to the Holocaust, the city had only a small Jewish population; their synagogue was gutted on Kristallnacht in November of 1938, and by October 1942, the last remaining Jews were deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp.
Finding itself in the wrong sector of Germany, the post-war years saw Potsdam slip behind the Iron Curtain, where it remained until 1989.
But each day since last November, 12 men gather at Chabad-Lubavitch of Brandenburg in Potsdam, where they pray together and study Torah as part of the Kolel Torah-study program. Rabbi Nachum Presman, director of Chabad-Lubawitsch Brandenburg, says its existence has added a new vitality to this suburb of Berlin.
“The Kolel Torah program has had an amazing impact on our community,” says Presman, who first arrived in Potsdam in 1996. “I never thought we’d have a weekdayminyan; there was a hope to get one once a month on Rosh Chodesh, but now we have one every single day. It really has caused a revolution.”
Kolel Torah was first piloted in 2014 in 10 communities, mostly in Russia and Ukraine. Featuring a specially designed curriculum studied daily by participants, the program was to draw Jewish professionals between the ages of 21 to 70 (a wide range, to be sure) for an hour of rigorous Torah study. As in the traditional kolel system, a monthly stipend was provided to attendees.
Last year, the program took place in 35 cities; today, it has expanded to nearly 90 in 19 different countries, drawing more than 1,500 men. This year also saw a weekly women’s kolel open, which now attracts 960 women in 60 cities.
The program is geared at working people between the ages of 21 to 70.
“I don’t think anyone believed that the Kolel would be this successful,” says Rabbi Bentzi Lipsker, a Chabad emissary in St. Petersburg, Russia, who directs the project. “We have seen this bring life into cities throughout Europe.”
With this year’s expansion into Germany, Austria, Italy, Serbia and Poland, in addition to communities in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic states and the Caucuses, Kolel Torah’s program means Torah study and prayer is once again taking place on a daily basis in many places for the first time since before World War II.
“For many in my community, this is their first exposure to serious Torah study,” notes Presman. “We are now studying an in-depth Chassidic discourse. That’s unbelievable!”
‘Support People Spiritually’
While the recent growth and expansion has meant that cities in the heart of the European Union are joining, that doesn’t mean those as far from the West as possible have been left behind. A case in point is Donetsk, Ukraine—a city once home to more than 10,000 Jews and a burgeoning Jewish community. Now, it’s a war-torn shell of its former self. Yet even there, in a patch of Europe governed by a self-declared rebel government, Kolel Torah has opened its doors.
Kolel Torah began offering a separate program for women last year, like here in Donetsk. Today, it draws 960 women in 60 cities.
“It is very important to support people spiritually,” says the Donetsk Chief Rabbi and head Chabad emissary Pinchas Vishedski, “but even more important to support them materially. Kolel Torah has had the ability to do both, and we are able to help them financially while they come and study Torah.”
Each late afternoon, 25 men arrive at the Donetsk synagogue to study with Rabbi Aryeh Shvartz, Vishedski’s assistant, who has worked to hold up the fort in the decimated city. The men come to the synagogue at the end of the work day, where they pull out their books and study the same text studied by Jews in Moscow, Russia; Riga, Latvia; or Frankfurt, Germany. Once a week, 15 women come to study at the city’s women’s kolel.
Since its inception, Kolel Torah has been funded by the Meromim Foundation, a Russia-based Jewish charity run by Lipsker. Last year, it was able to fund a portion of its vast budget via an online matching campaign that saw 3,000 donors donate to the cause. Today, Kolel Torah launched its second online fundraising drive with the ultimate goal of raising $2.8 million.
A group photo of Kolel Torah participants at the synagogue in Donetsk.
Vishedski, who leads a community split between those who have fled to safer parts of Ukraine and those left behind in the separatist east, says that every penny raised helps keep Judaism alive in many places where it’s needed most.
“Those who have remained in Donetsk for various reasons, they don’t have access to the level of Jewish life they once had. That’s all gone,” says the rabbi. “Now the synagogue isn’t empty during the week anymore. If you walk in today you will hear the sound of grown men learning Torah, and that’s amazing.”
www.charidy.com/centralkt.
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=3350949&width=auto&height=auto"></script><span style="clear:both;" class="lb" id="lbdiv">Visit <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish.TV</a> for more <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish videos</a>.</span>
---------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment