This week we will read about Tzaraas. Tzaraas is an affliction that discolors the skin, clothing or even walls. The parsha describes how to identify Tzaraas and how to treat it. If the Cohen identifies the Tzaraas the afflicted party is isolated outside the community for a week and maybe even two weeks during which he may not shave. Anyone who witnesses him must call out "impure! impure!"
Why is one afflicted with Tzaraas? The talmud tells us it may be the result of a variety of sins with loshon hora or evil speech being a primary culprit.
Can you imagine what a world with tzaraas is like. A person sins and is afflicted. Now everyone knows . What embarrassment , what disgrace. Earlier this week I was in NY. A man there told me about a great Chassidic Rebbe from Tosh. A follower came to see him and the rebbe refused to look at him until the man immersed in the mikva to cleanse himself from acts of impurity he had committed. Years ago in Israel i remember a certain kabbalist who the yeshiva students who visited him would wear their had brims pulled low over their brow. It seems that the kabbalist could read your recent activities on your forehead. What a terrifying world tolive in when one may be struck by tzaraas at any moment. Yet Ramban Nachmanedes in his comment on the parsha (13-47) says tzaraas was not a terror at all it was a blessing . The Torah states when you will enter the land I will send an affliction in your houses. Not if I send but I will send . Ramban explains that in ancient times the holiness of G-ds' presence was visible upon those that he dwelled among. As will happen in the course of life a person may do something that distances G-d from him. Tzaraas is the stain that is left behind when G-d removes his presence from a person or his possessions. The absence of the glow of the presence of G-d appears as a disfigurement. Tzaraas afflicted only those who enjoyed G-ds presence. This is why tzaraas only appeared in Israel. And this is why the afflicted are given the option of recognizing tzaraas or not. The Torah says if one is afflicted and brings it to the Cohen. If one chooses to ignore the tzaraas one may. Those who enjoyHashems presence are informed of his departure. This is done to give them the option of repairing the relationship before they drift apart and the relationship is irreparably destroyed.
The appearance of Hashem in our lives and even the evidence of His departure is precious because it shows us G-d cares about us and wants us close to him.
Now that we have lost the close proximity of Hashem as we live in this long exile we never experience tzaraas and hardly ever see evidence of G-d in our lives. Yet there are times when special people merit special signs. They are not always pleasant because tzaraas is not pretty but they are always precious.
Today we have Daniel Lor before us. he has read his Torah portion and last night led us in the services. He delivered a great dvar Torah which he prepared in conjunction with his father. Daniel is a good student at GHA. This is how one of his teachers Rabbi Karp characterised him
"It is a delight to have Daniel in out Kesher Group. He participates in all of our CPR (Circle of Power and Respect) activities and is never afraid to lead an activity or break the ice on an activity. He communicates with others in a respectful manner, and is an example of a true "Mensch"!" Daniel is a lights out pitcher at the JCC baseball games and it has been a delight to get to know him better these past few months. Daniel also shows us G-ds presence in our lives and that of his family. Some five years ago when the community had assembled for a pre pesach shabbos hagadol meal in shul Daniel had an accident. He sustained a small cut. The cut however was in the main artery in his leg. Contrary to what his parents were told within a few short moments Daniel lost almost all of his blood and started to go into shock. Mordechai Daneman, Drs. Dan Cohen and Eric Solomon hung onto Daniel and kept him alive. The ambulance arrived IVs were started. Daniel had surgery. When i saw him on Saturday night he looked not to much worse for the wear and in a few weeks he was pitching at the JCC . What happened? had we drifted apart from G-d? If so in what way? And why Daniel Lor? I would like to speculate that G-d sent His message through Daniel and chose him to be the representative of G-ds' hand in our midst because Daniels parents pray with devotion and feel Hashems presence. He cherishes their communication. And as much as they prayed before this event how much more did they pray after it. So thank you Daniel for reminding us always that Hahsem is in our midst. Thank you Marc and Rita for bringing the presence of Hashem to our community. Mazel Tov to the Saba and Savta Lor from New Orleans and of course to our dear Bubbie Kris Salutsky. To all the Aunts Uncles and cousins and friends let us always remember that the appearance of Hashems is a blessing and Daniel reminds us of that.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Shabbos Chol Hamoed Pesach
As is the custom of Ashkenazi Synagogues we read Song of Songs. This book presents difficulties to the sincere reader looking for meaning. The sensual nature of the text seems out of charachter with what we normally find in synagogue. If we understand it as an allegory what is it really trying to tell us? In an attempt to deal with these questions i drew upon the comments of Rabbi Mordechai Gifter zt"l whose introduction to Song of Songs appears in Hebrew in the beginning of the Song of Songs by Mesorah Artscroll. What appears below is my free flowing translation of the parts of the introduction that I drew upon for my drasha.
All the songs are holy but the Song of Songs is Holy of Holies
1. The purpose of creation is in the creator doing good to others. he bestows upon His creatures a goodness that is found nowhere else but in Him. The only way to achieve this goodness is to cling to Him.
2. Love is defines by the clinging of the lover to the beloved not for any personal gain but purely because of love. For this reason are we instructed to serve G-d not to receive reward but simply because we love him.
3. In Parshas Mishpatim it says that at the giving of the Torah the children of Israel looked at G-d and they ate and they drank. The gemara in Tractate Brachos 17a says 'in the next world there is no eating or drinking ...just basking in the glow of G-d as it says "they looked at G-d and they ate and they drank". Rashi explains that they were satiated by the glow of G-d as thought they had eaten and drunk. Onklos comments that from here we see that enjoying G-d is charactarised by the terminology of eating and drinking. The spiritual experience of the next world is parrallled by the phisycal experience in this world. ed.
4. Total love of G-d means negating ones existance to G-ds oneness. in order to acheive this one must experience love with the senses. The story of creation concludes with the words "therefore will a man leave his mother and father and cling to his wife and they shall be as one flesh. That is the clinging of the lover to the beloved. When a man clings to his wife they experience becoming one with another and then they can experience becoming one with G-d. This is why G-d created woman and why he said it is not good for man to be alone. Rabbi Yitzchak of Acco commented that any man who has not experienced the love of a woman is as far from experiencing the divine as is a donkey.
5. This would explain why Yaacov recited Shema upon his reuniting with Joseph.
6. Now we understand that the woman who has lost her lover is bereft of her purpose in life and her longing to regain him is great. This longing is one and the same as the longing of Israel for G-d.
7. The shining of G-ds light upon those who cling to Him is called Holyness. Song of Songs which is devoted entirely to the yearing of the lover to experience the shine of the beloved is called Holy of Holies.
8. To us from our limited perspective the words of Song of Songs appear to be an analogy. Were we to achieve a higher level of understand we would see how they accurately the words describe the relationship.
9. Since Song of Songs describes the ultimate relationship included in it are all of the major themes of Jewsih philosophy/ theology. Exile, redemption, reward , punishment, revelation and hiddenness.
10. All of the above may be viewed as a short explanation of the words of Maimonedes in the Laws of Repentence chapter 10 law 3 "What is love of the divine? it is a very great and powerful love to the point that ones soul is bound up with G-d to the point that one can think of nothing else. When eating or drinking sitting or standing one is consumed by thoughts of G-d exactly as one is lovesick for their beloved. This is what King Solomon meant when he said 'for I am lovesick'. The Song of Songs describes this relationship"
All the songs are holy but the Song of Songs is Holy of Holies
1. The purpose of creation is in the creator doing good to others. he bestows upon His creatures a goodness that is found nowhere else but in Him. The only way to achieve this goodness is to cling to Him.
2. Love is defines by the clinging of the lover to the beloved not for any personal gain but purely because of love. For this reason are we instructed to serve G-d not to receive reward but simply because we love him.
3. In Parshas Mishpatim it says that at the giving of the Torah the children of Israel looked at G-d and they ate and they drank. The gemara in Tractate Brachos 17a says 'in the next world there is no eating or drinking ...just basking in the glow of G-d as it says "they looked at G-d and they ate and they drank". Rashi explains that they were satiated by the glow of G-d as thought they had eaten and drunk. Onklos comments that from here we see that enjoying G-d is charactarised by the terminology of eating and drinking. The spiritual experience of the next world is parrallled by the phisycal experience in this world. ed.
4. Total love of G-d means negating ones existance to G-ds oneness. in order to acheive this one must experience love with the senses. The story of creation concludes with the words "therefore will a man leave his mother and father and cling to his wife and they shall be as one flesh. That is the clinging of the lover to the beloved. When a man clings to his wife they experience becoming one with another and then they can experience becoming one with G-d. This is why G-d created woman and why he said it is not good for man to be alone. Rabbi Yitzchak of Acco commented that any man who has not experienced the love of a woman is as far from experiencing the divine as is a donkey.
5. This would explain why Yaacov recited Shema upon his reuniting with Joseph.
6. Now we understand that the woman who has lost her lover is bereft of her purpose in life and her longing to regain him is great. This longing is one and the same as the longing of Israel for G-d.
7. The shining of G-ds light upon those who cling to Him is called Holyness. Song of Songs which is devoted entirely to the yearing of the lover to experience the shine of the beloved is called Holy of Holies.
8. To us from our limited perspective the words of Song of Songs appear to be an analogy. Were we to achieve a higher level of understand we would see how they accurately the words describe the relationship.
9. Since Song of Songs describes the ultimate relationship included in it are all of the major themes of Jewsih philosophy/ theology. Exile, redemption, reward , punishment, revelation and hiddenness.
10. All of the above may be viewed as a short explanation of the words of Maimonedes in the Laws of Repentence chapter 10 law 3 "What is love of the divine? it is a very great and powerful love to the point that ones soul is bound up with G-d to the point that one can think of nothing else. When eating or drinking sitting or standing one is consumed by thoughts of G-d exactly as one is lovesick for their beloved. This is what King Solomon meant when he said 'for I am lovesick'. The Song of Songs describes this relationship"
Last Day of Pesach
In this mornings drasha I quoted the Talmud Tractate Chullin 7a. This Gemara tells the famous story of Rabbi Pinchus ben Yair. I focused on the first part of the story. Rabbi P.b.Y was on his way to redeem a captive when he was blocked by the Ginai river. He demanded that the river split for him. The river said "you may fulfill Hashems will, I certainly will fulfill Hashems will" Meaning, man may or may not be sucessful in his efforts to do the will of G-d. The natural world always fulfills G-ds' will. R' PbY would have none of that, he responded "if you don't split I will decree that no water ever pass through you again" The river split. R' PbY said "and split for my fellow traveler who is going to grind flour for Pesach" the river split. R' PbY said "and split for the Arab merchant that is traveling with us so that people don't say we don't care about our fellow travelers" the river split for him also.
The three points I derived from this passage were
1.The natural world exists only to serve the righteous. If the river isn't going to split when R' PbY needs it too there is no reason for its continued existence. This is a central theme of the holiday of Pesach with its ten plagues and famous splitting of the Red Sea. The miraculous events were in essence not unusual. They Sea was created to split. Only when the children of Israel came did it have the opportunity to actualize itself.
2. Although this is true vis a vis the very righteous the sea also split for the Jew who was on his way to make shmurah matzah which is watched from the time the flour is ground. Why off all mitzvos did this happen to be the mitzva the fellow traveller was going to preform. I offered that tzaddikim live with the understanding of the true reality of nature all year long. Those who observe Pesach rise to that level through their observance of the holiday especially the man in the story who was traveling to make shmurah matzah. He like many of us began his Pesach preparation weeks in advance. He understood the importance of the most central of all holidays and the essential lessons it teaches us ubout man, Hashem and nature. Thats why he was preparing in advance. Thats why the river split for him.
3. The third was a simple Arab merchant who happened to be traveling with the other two. R' PbY would not think of leaving him behind. This speaks to me of the role of the Jew in elevating the world around him through his service of Hashem. When the Jew properly serves Hashem, nature falls in line to serve the Jew. All of mankind benefits. This also indicated the ultimate method of managing our enviornment. We dedicate ourselves to Hahsem and he dedicates the would to our service. Then the climate will be as we need it. The resources will be available to us as we need them and the entire world will live in a healthy and productive fashion.
The three points I derived from this passage were
1.The natural world exists only to serve the righteous. If the river isn't going to split when R' PbY needs it too there is no reason for its continued existence. This is a central theme of the holiday of Pesach with its ten plagues and famous splitting of the Red Sea. The miraculous events were in essence not unusual. They Sea was created to split. Only when the children of Israel came did it have the opportunity to actualize itself.
2. Although this is true vis a vis the very righteous the sea also split for the Jew who was on his way to make shmurah matzah which is watched from the time the flour is ground. Why off all mitzvos did this happen to be the mitzva the fellow traveller was going to preform. I offered that tzaddikim live with the understanding of the true reality of nature all year long. Those who observe Pesach rise to that level through their observance of the holiday especially the man in the story who was traveling to make shmurah matzah. He like many of us began his Pesach preparation weeks in advance. He understood the importance of the most central of all holidays and the essential lessons it teaches us ubout man, Hashem and nature. Thats why he was preparing in advance. Thats why the river split for him.
3. The third was a simple Arab merchant who happened to be traveling with the other two. R' PbY would not think of leaving him behind. This speaks to me of the role of the Jew in elevating the world around him through his service of Hashem. When the Jew properly serves Hashem, nature falls in line to serve the Jew. All of mankind benefits. This also indicated the ultimate method of managing our enviornment. We dedicate ourselves to Hahsem and he dedicates the would to our service. Then the climate will be as we need it. The resources will be available to us as we need them and the entire world will live in a healthy and productive fashion.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Parshas Tzav -A day of blessings
On the eve of passover we had the opportunity to engage in a string of mitzvos that I believe was unprecedented in history. On the morning of Shabbos Hagadol I used the derasha to review these mitzvos and their blessings.
1. It began on Tuesday night with the one night a year search for chometz. Artscroll siddur pg.654
2. Wednesday morning we participated in a siyum or completion of a tractate celebration. Although a siyum may be celebrated anytime this is done annually on the eve of passover so that the first born in our midst may partake of the feast. If they didn't they would have to fast in commemoration of their salvation when Hashem slayed the firstborn of the Egyptians but passed over the houses of the children of Israel.
3. We then crossed the street to ball field three at the JCC to recite a blessing that presents itself only once every 28 years. The blessing of the sun and the earth being in the same relationship as they were on the fourth day of creation when the sun and planets were created. See Artscroll siddur pg. 228
4. Next was the annual burning of the chometz and the declaration of nullification of chometz. The Torah tells us to remove the chometz from our possesion which we fulfill by burning it. Then we ensure that we don't own any chometz by nullifying any chometz that we know of or don't know of. See Artscroll siddur pg. 654
5. In the afternoon the eruv tavshillin was placed. Although we are allowed to cook on the holiday we may only cook for the holiday but not for any other day even shabbos. How then are we to have fresh food for shabbos when the holiday occurs on Friday? It truth most of the problem is solved because we can cook on Friday for Friday and since if guests were to come unexpectedly we would serve them the food we just cooked on Friday we can cook and use that food for shabbos. So when every few years Yom Tov falls on friday our sages had us begin the cooking for shabbos on Wednesday the eve of the holiday this year. In that way when cooking on friday we would merely be adding to that which we had begun on Wednesday thereby not degrading the holiday that much. This beginning of the cooking of the meal is called an eruv (mixing ) tavshilllin (of cooked foods). We customarily take an egg and a matzoh and pronounce the blessing over the fulfillment of this rabbinical enactment. See Artscroll Siddur Pg. 654
6. Of course then it is on to seder preparations and the seder night full of once a year mitzvos.
1. It began on Tuesday night with the one night a year search for chometz. Artscroll siddur pg.654
2. Wednesday morning we participated in a siyum or completion of a tractate celebration. Although a siyum may be celebrated anytime this is done annually on the eve of passover so that the first born in our midst may partake of the feast. If they didn't they would have to fast in commemoration of their salvation when Hashem slayed the firstborn of the Egyptians but passed over the houses of the children of Israel.
3. We then crossed the street to ball field three at the JCC to recite a blessing that presents itself only once every 28 years. The blessing of the sun and the earth being in the same relationship as they were on the fourth day of creation when the sun and planets were created. See Artscroll siddur pg. 228
4. Next was the annual burning of the chometz and the declaration of nullification of chometz. The Torah tells us to remove the chometz from our possesion which we fulfill by burning it. Then we ensure that we don't own any chometz by nullifying any chometz that we know of or don't know of. See Artscroll siddur pg. 654
5. In the afternoon the eruv tavshillin was placed. Although we are allowed to cook on the holiday we may only cook for the holiday but not for any other day even shabbos. How then are we to have fresh food for shabbos when the holiday occurs on Friday? It truth most of the problem is solved because we can cook on Friday for Friday and since if guests were to come unexpectedly we would serve them the food we just cooked on Friday we can cook and use that food for shabbos. So when every few years Yom Tov falls on friday our sages had us begin the cooking for shabbos on Wednesday the eve of the holiday this year. In that way when cooking on friday we would merely be adding to that which we had begun on Wednesday thereby not degrading the holiday that much. This beginning of the cooking of the meal is called an eruv (mixing ) tavshilllin (of cooked foods). We customarily take an egg and a matzoh and pronounce the blessing over the fulfillment of this rabbinical enactment. See Artscroll Siddur Pg. 654
6. Of course then it is on to seder preparations and the seder night full of once a year mitzvos.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
