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etz-ashashiyot · 18 days

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So what’s the modern interpretation of the laws about keeping slaves? I’ve heard that said laws where a lot more kind to slaves then the surrounding nations but, like, it’s still slavery?

Hi anon,

With Pesach coming up, I'm sure that this question is on a lot of people's minds. It's a good question and many rabbanim throughout history have attempted to tackle it. Especially today, with slavery being seen as a moral anathema in most societies (obviously this despite the fact that unfortunately slavery is still a very real human rights crisis all over the world), addressing the parts of the Torah that on the surface seem to condone it becomes a moral imperative.

It's worth noting that the Jewish world overall condemns slavery. In my research for this question, I came across zero modern sources arguing that slavery is totally fine. I'm sure that if you dug deep enough there's some fringe wacko somewhere arguing this, but every group has its batshit fringe.

Here are some sources across the political and religious observance spectrum that explain it better than I could:

Chabad (this article is written by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a wonderful rabbi whose words I have learned deeply over the years. He is one of my favorite rabbis despite not seeing eye to eye with a lot of the Chabad movement)

Conservative (to be clear: this is my movement; it's not actually politically conservative in most shuls, just poorly named. We desperately need to bully them into calling themselves Masorti Olami like the rest of the world. It's [essentially] a liberal traditional egalitarian movement.)

Conservative pt. 2 (different rabbi's take)

Reform (note that this is from the Haberman Institute, which was founded by a Reform rabbi. Link is to a YouTube recording of a recent lecture on the topic.)

Chareidi (this rabbi is an official rabbi of the Western Wall in Israel, so in a word, very frum)

Modern Orthodox

I want to highlight this last one, because it is written by the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Chovevei, which is a progressive Modern Orthodox rabbinical school. They work very hard to read Torah through an authentically Orthodox lens while also maintaining deeply humanist values. As someone who walks a similar (if not identical) balancing act, this particular drash (sermon) spoke very deeply to me, and so I'm reposting it in its entirety**

[Edit: tumblr.hell seems real intent on not letting me do this in my original answer, so I will repost it in the reblogs. Please reblog that version if you're going to. Thanks!]

Something you will probably notice as you work your way through these sources, you'll note that there are substantially more traditional leaning responses. This is because of a major divide in how the different movements view Torah, especially as it pertains to changing ethics over time and modernity. I'm oversimplifying for space, but the differences are as follows:

The liberal movements (Reform, Renewal, Reconstructionist, etc.) view halacha as non-binding and the Torah as a human document that is, nevertheless, a sacred document. I've seen it described as the spiritual diary of our people throughout history. Others view it as divinely inspired, but still essentially and indelibly human.

The Orthodox and other traditional movements view halacha as binding and Torah as the direct word of G-d given to the Jewish people through Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses) on Mt. Sinai. (Or, at a minimum, as a divinely inspired text written and compiled by people that still represents the word of G-d. This latter view is mostly limited to the Conservative and Modern Orthodox movements.)

Because of these differences, the liberal movements are able to address most of these problematic passages by situating them in their proper historical context. It is only the Orthodox and traditional movements that must fully reckon with the texts as they are, and seek to understand how they speak to us in a contemporary context.

As for me? I'm part of a narrow band of traditional egalitarian progressive Jews that really ride that line between viewing halacha as binding and the Torah as divinely given, despite recognizing the human component of its authorship - more a partnership in its creation than either fully human invention or divine fiat. That said, I am personally less interested in who wrote it literally speaking and much more interested in the question of: How can we read Torah using the divinely given process of traditional Torah scholarship while applying deeply humanist values?

Yeshivat Chovevei does a really excellent job of approaching Torah scholarship this way, as does Hadar. Therefore, I'm not surprised that this article captures something I have struggled to articulate: an authentically orthodox argument for change.

#jumblr #Judaism #Torah #Jewish ethics #Jewish values #Jewish views on slavery

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jewishconvertthings · 4 years

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Something I’ve noticed come up again and again in conversion-focused/prospective convert spaces is a fascination with orthodoxy. I think a lot of what drives this is the desire for universal recognition and to do things the “right” way. And, since Jews both inside and outside of orthodoxy tend to hold up orthodoxy as the gold standard for halacha and for conversion in particular, people who would never otherwise consider converting orthodox still end up seriously investigating the possibility and/or even attempting it. This becomes especially painful to watch when, for one reason or another (or several) the individual in question simply cannot convert orthodox without making life changes that are, frankly, not worth it or even impossible.

I say this as someone who absolutely, 100% went on this ride.

(This is a Very Long Post, so I’ve put it under a cut)

I am a queer non-binary person in a relationship with another queer non-binary person who is not Jewish and has no plans on converting. Now, at this point in my life, I present in a traditionally feminine way 98% of the time (and was assigned female at birth), the aspects of physical transition that I have accessed are not visible or are easily able to be masked, and for a number of extremely personal reasons I won’t get into here, I have also reached a point in my life where my ability to be attracted to cis men is not something that I automatically reject.

So on a pragmatic level, if I wanted to be orthodox I had two choices: (1) Stay with my partner who I love and have built a life and a home with, who supports my Jewish journey and observance 100%, who loves me no matter how I present myself gender-wise, and whose life experiences as a fellow queer non-binary person allow us to have a profound understanding of each other; or, (2) Leave my partner, and also most likely also make an effort to stamp out or at least conceal the queer and non-binary facets of myself.

I think it’s pretty clear that I opted to not take path #2, which left me with the decision to either pursue a Conservative conversion or accept being a Noachide. Fortunately, I happened to already have a Conservative community that I really loved and three Conservative rabbis for my beit din, each of whom I tremendously respect. Therefore moving forward with a Conservative conversion did not cause me all that much cognitive dissonance. To be perfectly honest, all told, I think my theological framework fits better within Conservative halacha anyway and there is plenty of space for me to exist and be respected as a queer non-binary person with a non-Jewish spouse.

But despite what I feel is an overall very good outcome to this problem, I still went through a whole grieving process for letting go of the idea of ever converting orthodox, and looking back I felt it was really important to interrogate why. I could of course take the easy way out and say that it was because I was sad to lose this particular shul as my primary community, but that’s not completely true. I still go there sometimes and enjoy it when I do, and also by the time it became clear to me that this was not a community I could convert through, it was no longer my primary shul. I’d already switched.

I could also say that it was because I deeply desired living and sharing community with a congregation where the majority of members took halacha very seriously and lived by those convictions. While I have deep love and appreciation for my Conservative community, the reality is that I am in the minority as someone who keeps a strictly kosher kitchen and one of a handful of people who make much of an effort to be shomer Shabbos. At the same time, I have found and built friendships with those who do take a more traditional approach to observance who also share other values of mine as well. So I have ultimately ended up in the exact kind of community I desired, even if it isn’t the numeric majority of the congregation as a whole.

There was also a very real period where I needed to sort out my understanding of what I believed about what Torah even is, and how I wanted to build my Jewish observance from that understanding. (Namely, that even though I can never say that I believed with perfect faith that the Torah was given directly to Moshe by G-d on Mt. Sinai in its entirety and in fact believe that most of the evidence points away from that understanding, I also felt it was important to essentially accept it as an underlying assumption for interpretive and halachic purposes. I have . . . evolved a bit since then, but honestly haven’t moved too far from that position.)

The point is that there were actual, real reasons other than just for the validity.

But if I’m being extremely honest with myself, while it was far from being the only reason or the “real” reason, it was nevertheless a not-insignificant reason for why I was disappointed and felt a loss. I understand the other pieces pretty well at this point, and so with the benefit of time and some emotional distance, I decided to examine this a bit more deeply.

I think the problem is two-fold. First, I think that the same intense beliefs and emotions that drive someone to do something as drastic as converting to Judaism to begin with also create a desire to do so in the most intensive way possible. Amongst myself and the many other conversion students and converts I’ve met, irrespective of our many differences, our passion for Judaism and our enthusiasm in Jewish engagement are near-universals. For better or worse, that tends to manifest as a desire for a high level of observance and for a community that shares that commitment.

Second, I think that converts of whatever background, but especially those of us who are marginalized in other ways, tend to be under a great deal of scrutiny from the rest of the Jewish community as to our motives and our processes for becoming Jewish. While I don’t doubt that this is painful for anyone, this can hit especially hard if you have experienced some other kind of serious invalidation, erasure, and/or rejection in other areas of your life.

So I think, after having sat with this a bit, part of that feeling of hurt and loss comes as a sort of echo trauma from having been erased and rejected as a queer non-binary person. The invalidation I’ve received both outside and inside the queer/trans community has been significant enough that the idea of stomaching more rejection, more invalidation, and more treatment as an interloper was a tough pill to swallow. Combine that with my genuine passion for Judaism and desire for an observant Jewish life and community, and you had a perfect storm of me reaching for a community that was, all told, not a good fit.

I eventually moved past that stage, and ended up quite happy in my Conservative community. So what’s the problem? Why am I bringing up such a painful topic if it turned out fine?

Here’s the thing: I’d seen other people ride this emotional rodeo before and so while I anticipated these feelings of rejection, I was afraid of experiencing them and tried to avoid doing so by being hyper-aware of the possibility. It didn’t work. Unfortunately, this was just something I had to figure out on my own. However, there was another effect I’d seen as well, namely that once people had processed the immediate sadness, there was usually a bit of backlash afterwards. I saw this especially with a particular friend who regularly expressed not just legitimate criticisms of orthodoxy, but lashed out angrily towards anyone who expressed an interest in orthodoxy or who happened to be orthodox and talk positively about their experiences. This was serious enough that it almost ruined our friendship.

I did manage to mostly avoid this latter effect because I actively built relationships within my orthodox community and maintained them even afterwards, and because I refused to make that rejection a personal thing. I also gave myself ample space from that community and have only engaged to the extent that I can do so in a healthy, comfortable way. But it’s worth noting that despite controlling my outer reaction, I definitely had to process and work my way through that same anger internally.

I raise all of this for the following reason:

I haven’t seen anyone talking about this much, and what I have seen has not been constructive or compassionate. While I don’t think reading about my seemingly typical (even cliché) experiences as someone who was not a good fit for orthodoxy trying to shoehorn myself into it for understandable (but ultimately futile) reasons will spare anyone the emotional ride of having that experience, nor do I think it will likely help anyone avoid having to experience it themselves to be sure, I do think that it may help with a couple issues. First, I think it may help outsiders who have observed this trope have a bit more compassion for those going through it and be able to offer some better responses than derision or telling folks to just get over it. Basically, realize that these are growing pains, and try to be kind and mature about it.

Second, I think it may help people who are on the verge of going through that experience and/or who are in the middle of it to understand that it is A Thing, that it is not an inherently bad thing, that they are not bad people for having to go on this emotional journey, that it is reasonable for them to have hard feelings about it, and that the only thing they really do need to be careful of is how they treat the people in their communities and not take this out on them. Ultimately, if you are unable to convert orthodox for reasons outside your control (or even just realize that you inherently don’t have the right worldview for orthodoxy/have an actual desire to live an orthodox lifestyle) there are usually other ways of meeting your community and observance-related needs and it is best to start exploring them sooner rather than later.

Collectively, I think I would challenge conversion students and liberal converts who are considering an orthodox conversion to seriously consider if there are other ways to meet your spiritual and community needs. If so, why pursue orthodoxy? You really do need an honest answer to that question, even if it takes a bit of soul-searching to get there. If it’s about universal recognition, you need to stop immediately and reconsider. (Understand that there basically is no such thing. Then understand that this means that you will have to build an internal Jewish identity that is unrelated to how random people without community decision-making power view you.) Finally, I’d ask that you try really hard to separate the larger trends and systems within orthodoxy from individual Orthodox Jews you happen to encounter.

And of course, I would challenge folks to leave passing judgment on any given conversion student’s process and motivations up to their sponsoring rabbi.

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thebeautyoftorah · 4 years

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BEMIDBAR

bs'd

Shalom.

Help yourselves and your families with the tremendous challenge to be stuck at home. Read my book 'Healing Anger' with practical and spiritual advice on how we can overcome anger and stressful situations at home because of the Corona virus.

The thought this week of my book is:

"We become angered more easily at home. We lose control and hurt others. We become the root of suffering instead of the source of happiness. This is especially common at home because there are no inhibitions; our defenses are down, and our self-control is relaxed. At home, we get hungry and tired. At home, we don’t have a public image to maintain. At home, we reveal ourselves as who we really are."

Buy my book at http://www.feldheim.com/healing-anger.html

If you want to buy it from me in Israel let me know.

As part of my commitment to helping during this troublesome time, I will try to give over a series of weekly videos and zoom classes to support you emotionally with practical advice.

Have a healthy Shabbat Shalom.

Bemidbar-"l Have to Change Myself"

In this week’s parsha the Midrash gives us a parable: A King wanted to build a palace and scouted around for a suitable site. He went from one city into another and in each city the people ran away from him, indicating they did not want the palace in their town. Finally he came to a deserted ghost town and the few people there graciously and gratefully accepted the King’s offer to build his palace there. The King said, “This is the town where I will build my palace.”

The explanation for this parable is as follows: When Hashem wanted to give the Torah, he went to the sea and it ran away, as it is written “The sea saw and fled” [1]. G-d then went to the mountains and they ran away, as it is written “The mountains skipped like rams” [2]. Hashem then came to a desolate desert (Sinai), which accepted Him with open arms and G-d gave the Torah in a desert.

Chazal ask, how do we understand this parable? Why didn’t those cities want the King’s palace? Because they knew that building the palace in their cities would impact on their lifestyle. They had certain ways of doing things and customs. They knew that building a palace in their city would mean changes for them. The ghost town knew that it had nothing. They were saying, as it were, “Remake us. We have nothing anyway. We want to embrace you. We will take with your palace all the changes that accompany it.”

If we really want to accept Torah, we must be like a desert; ready and open with no baggage. Torah only takes root in a person who says, “Change me.”

Many of us have had the experience of dealing with apparently “religious” Jews and have sometimes come away disappointed. Our reaction invariably is “This is Torah? This is all that Torah can do for a person? I thought Torah was supposed to change a person! Here is this guy with ‘long beard and peot’ and he is ripping me off!”

There is a saying that stresses this very important point: “Never judge Judaism by Jews.” Judaism and the Torah are bigger than most any Jew that one will find. If one wants to judge Judaism by a particular Jew, he must look at the Chafetz Chaim or Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski or Rav Moshe Feinstein. Why? Because they made themselves a desert and said, as it were, to G-d, “I want to change, help me.” They let themselves become desolate and open for the Torah to permeate them.

The rest of us are like those cities. We are not really ready to fully change. If we accept it, we want to accept it on our terms. Therefore the Torah cannot change us, because we are not willing to be changed.

This is what our Sages are hinting at when they tell us that Torah was given in a desert. Torah can only really change someone who is willing to be changed. When a person makes himself like a desert in his acceptance of Torah, that is when he can be changed to the extent that G-d can say, “You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I can be glorified.” [3] A beautiful example to illustrate this point comes from Moshe Rabbenu[4]. A king at the time the Jews left Egypt who was intrigued by the countless wonders that were done through Moshe wanted to know about his natural tendencies and personal characteristics. The king sent an expert artist to draw Moshe’s face and conscripted professionals to interpret his features, which would reveal the personal tendencies of the aged leader. When the artist returned from painting Moshe’s face, the professional interpreters said that this was a person of evil deeds; haughty, a money-lover, an unreasonable individual and someone who suffers from every other deficiency of character imaginable. Surprised, the king could not understand this information because it contradicted everything he had heard about this great man. He understood that there must have been a mistake, either by the artist, who did not properly portray the leader of the Jewish people or by the interpreters. The king traveled to the camp of the Jews to clarify the matter himself. Seeing Moshe Rabbenu in a distance, he realized that the painting was excellent and decided to come to his tent. He told Moshe what had happened and that his expert interpreters had betrayed him. Then Moshe replied, “Actually both are correct. The drawing shows my face, and I’m not sad to say that all the deficiencies they told you — and even more — are really my nature. But with all my heart and with the help of the Torah, I have fought to overcome my natural tendencies to acquire a different nature.”

I'd like to quote the ending paragraph of my book 'Healing Anger': "A person who succeeds in the goal of changing himself will not only transform his own life, but will also affect his family, friends and community". With the guidance of the Torah we can do it, but unfortunately, if we are not willing to make themselves into a desert, the Torah can not make us over. The result is that sometimes we find ourselves to be less than we would expect. _______________________________________ [1] Tehillim 114:3 [2] Idem 114:4 [3] Yeshaya 49:3 [4] Tiferet Yisrael on the last Mishnah in Kiddushin.

Le Iluy nishmat Eliahu ben Simcha, Mordechai ben Shlomo, Perla bat Simcha, Abraham Meir ben Leah, Moshe ben Gila,Yaakov ben Gila, Sara bat Gila, Yitzchak ben Perla, Leah bat Chavah, Abraham Meir ben Leah,Itamar Ben Reb Yehuda, Yehuda Ben Shmuel Tzvi, Tova Chaya bat Dovid. Refua Shelema to all the people sick with the Corona virus, Akiva Shushan Ben Natalie Penina, Mazal Tov bat Freja, Hadassa bat Sara, Elisheva bat Miriam, Chana bat Ester Beyla, Mattitiahu Yered ben Miriam, Yaacov ben Miriam, Yehuda ben Simcha, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Nechemia Efraim ben Beyla Mina, Dvir ben Leah, Sender ben Sara, Eliezer Chaim ben Chaya Batya, Shlomo Yoel ben Chaya Leah, Dovid Yehoshua ben Leba, Shmuel ben Mazal Tov, Yosef Yitzchak ben Bracha.

Atzlacha and parnasa tova to Daniel ben Mazal Tov, Debora Leah Bat Henshe Rachel, Shmuel ben Mazal tov, Yitzchak ben Mazal Tov, Yehuda ben Mazal Sara and Zivug agun to Gila bat Mazal Tov, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Elisheva bat Malka. Besorot Tovot for Shmuel Dovid Ben Raizel.

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thebeautyoftorah · 4 years

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VAYIKRA

bs'd

Shalom. The thought of this week of my book Healing Anger is “Be prepared; don’t let unnerving situations catch you by surprise. Before a crisis hits, we should mentally picture how we would like to respond to trying situations, and resolve to make every possible effort not to surrender to anger or panic." Buy my book at http://www.feldheim.com/healing-anger.html If you want to buy it from me in Israel let me know. You have the opportunity to share in the mitzvah to honor a loved one by sponsoring my weekly review, or refua shelema (healing), shiduch, Atzlacha (success). To join the over 4,000 recipients in English and Spanish and receive these insights free on a weekly email, feedback, comments, which has been all around the world, or if you know any other Jew who is interested in receiving these insights weekly, contact me. Shabbat Shalom. VAYIKRA-Yitzchak Avinu's Birthday and theThe Mishkan The first day of Nisan is a very important date in Jewish history because the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was first set up. Moshe Rabbenu came down from Har Sinai on Yom Kippur and announced that Hashem had forgiven the people for the sin of the Golden Calf. On the day after Yom Kippur, 11 of Tishre, Moshe gave Klal Yisrael the mitzvah to build the Mishkan.[1] The construction began on the month of Tishre, throughout Marcheshvan and completed on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev.

The component parts of the Mishkan sat unassembled during the end of Kislev, throughout Tevet, Shvat, and Adar until Rosh Chodesh Nisan. The Midrash Tanchuma comments on this delay in setting up the Mishkan: Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachman says that the Mishkan was completed in less than 3 months, but sat unassembled for another three months. Why? Because G-d wanted to mix the simcha (rejoicing) of the day in which the Mishkan would first be set up with the simcha of Yitzchak Avinu's birthday, who was born on Rosh Chodesh Nisan.

The scoffers of the generation were mocking and saying “Why the delay? Why isn’t the Mishkan being set up right away when it was completed?” The Midrash states about these scoffers “But they didn’t know that the Almighty had a Master Plan”. Concerning this plan King David said “For you have gladdened me, Hashem, with Your deeds; at the works of Your hands I sing glad song. How great are Your deeds, Hashem, exceedingly profound are Your thoughts.” [2].

The Midrash interprets “For you have gladdened me, Hashem, with Your deeds” refers to the Tent of Meeting (Ohel Moed); “at the works of Your hands I sing” refers to the Beit HaMikdash; “How great are Your deeds, Hashem, exceedingly profound are Your thoughts” refers to the fact G-d planned to mix one joy with that of another (setting up of the Tabernacle with the Yitzchak's birthday). The next verse goes on to say: “A boor cannot know, nor can a fool understand this”. The clueless did not get the great significance of the convergence of these two joyful dates. The scoffers who wanted to know why the Mishkan was not set up when it was first completed did not understand the Divine Thought Process which waited until Nisan 1 to first set it up. G-d had a plan; to set up the Mishkan on the very day that the Patriarch Yitzchak was born.

There are two difficulties with this Midrash:

1) What does the birth of Yitzchak have to do with putting up the Mishkan? 2) The rule is that normally we do not mix one joyous event with another (ein mearvin simcha besimcha).

Yitzchak Avinu represents Divine Service, the “pillar of Avodah“. Yitzchak himself was a “korban”; he was about to be sacrificed in the Akeda, and it was not against his will. He was 37 years old and did it willingly and joyfully (besimcha). He set the tone of Divine Service performed with joy. Chazal tell us that he wanted to make sure that he would not be accidentally invalidated and asked his father to bind him tightly to make sure he did not move and make the sacrifice pasul (invalid).

Hashem wanted the influence of Yitzchak Avinu and his joyful approach to Divine Service, to be present as a segulah (fortuitous omen) for the initial erection of the Tabernacle.

In Judaism, dates on the calendar are not merely commemorative. What happened on a particular day in history has impact on all future generations. The Yom Tov of Pesach is the Time of Freedom and every single year on Pesach there are emanations of holiness and redemption that we can also take part in. When the Torah was given on Shavuot emanations of Torah learning potential are forever more present on that date which is the reason we make extra efforts to learn on Shavuot, to seize those Heavenly emanations. Likewise, the fact that Yitzchak was born on Rosh Chodesh Nisan and besimcha went to do the Avodah (Divine Service of Sacrifice) made an effect on the first day of Nisan for all future generations. Therefore when G-d established a Mishkan, he wanted that effect, the Yitzchak effect, to lend character to the Service that would take place in this Mishkan during all future generations.

Therefore, even though that normally the rule is that “ein mearvin simcha besimcha”, here it is not difficult to understand why G-d decided to set aside this rule. We do not take two disparate reasons for rejoicing (rejoicing on a holiday and rejoicing over taking a new bride) and mix them, for example, getting married during Succot. But here we are talking about the same “simcha”; the “simcha of Avodah” (joy of Divine Service). Here there is no conflict. Hashem wanted to take this Divine Influence which existed within creation (by virtue of Yitzchak’s birth on Nisan 1) and place it within the Mishkan, so therefore the Mishkan was first erected on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, to mix one joy with another, the joy of the new Tabernacle with the joy of the day in which Yitzchak was born. May we take this crisis to bring out the best of ourselves and others to reach new heights spiritually. We should see many joyful dates in good health and with simcha. _______________________________________ [1] The building of the Mishkan was the topic of the last five Parshiyot of Sefer Shemot — Terumah, Tezaveh, Ki Tisa, Vayakhel and Pekude. [2] Tehillim 92:5-6

Refua Shelema of Mazal Tov bat Freja, Hadassa bat Sara, Elisheva bat Miriam, Chana bat Ester Beyla, Mattitiahu Yered ben Miriam, Yaacov ben Miriam, Yehuda ben Simcha, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Nechemia Efraim ben Beyla Mina, Dvir ben Leah, Sender ben Sara, Eliezer Chaim ben Chaya Batya, Shlomo Yoel ben Chaya Leah, Dovid Yehoshua ben Leba, Shmuel ben Mazal Tov, Yosef Yitzchak ben Bracha. Atzlacha and parnasa tova to Daniel ben Mazal Tov, Debora Leah Bat Henshe Rachel, Shmuel ben Mazal tov, Yitzchak ben Mazal Tov, Yehuda ben Mazal Sara and Zivug agun to Gila bat Mazal Tov, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Elisheva bat Malka. Besorot Tovot for Shmuel Dovid Ben Raizel.

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thebeautyoftorah · 6 years

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Yitro

Shalom. My second book 'Healing Anger' just came out. It's a practical guide completely based on Torah sources to overcome anger and acquire real peace of mind. This the link to Feldheim Publishers http://www.feldheim.com/healing-anger.html If you want to buy it from me (hard copy) in Israel let me know. This article is based on the teachings of R’ Avigdor Bonchek. Feel free to forward these words of Torah to any other fellow Jew. Enjoy it and Shabat Shalom.

Yitro-Can We See the Sound?

In this week's parasha, after the Torah relates Hashem's giving the Ten Commandments at Har Sinai, (Shemot 20:1-14) it goes on to describe some aspects of that monumental event as it was experienced by all the Jewish people.

'And all the people saw the sounds and the flames, the sound of the Shofar and the mountain smoking; and the people saw and shuddered and stood at a distance'.

Rashi [1] explains what is the meaning of 'the people saw the sounds'; They saw that which is [ordinarily] heard; that which is impossible to see otherwise.

What Rashi is telling us is to take the word see (in Hebrew 'roim') literally. This means that the Jewish People actually was able to see the sound waves of the voice of G-d as He spoke. In psychology, this is called Synesthesia, which is an anomalous blending of the senses in which the stimulation of one sensory simultaneously produces a sensation in a different sensory. The Ibn Ezra takes the scientific approach to this occurrence as a given fact, and he considers seeing sounds as a conceivable possibility [2]. On the other side, as we explain before, Rashi considers it as a miracle. The Hebrew word roim does not only mean seeing, it can also mean to perceive, which is to receive information through one of the five senses. And this is exactly what Rashi is stressing: 'Roim' does not mean to perceive as in to hear the sounds, which would be quite a normal experience; instead, it means a miraculous event of seeing the sounds.

The question here is why Rashi rejects the more natural interpretation here, as the Ibn Ezra said, which would seem to be closer to Pshat, and opt for the miraculous interpretation? On a regular basis, Rashi certainly strives for Pshat interpretations, as he was a mefaresh (he explains things in the simplest way possible) when they are appropriate.

Why did he choose seeing sounds over hearing sounds in this verse?

The answer is that while hearing sounds is certainly more normal, Rashi deliberately chose a supernatural explanation because we are talking about the most supernatural event that ever occurred in human history – the Divine Revelation at Har Sinai. Rashi is following a principle of Torah interpretation which is central to a fuller understanding of the Torah. That principle is to see a verse within its larger context. Once our verse is seen as part of the story of the Sinai revelation, then hearing sounds is but a minor miracle in relation to the larger event which took place at that time.

Let us see a different approach with wonderful implications.The Lubavicher Rebbe explains an insightful interpretation of Rashi's comment:

Our two senses of seeing and hearing have different characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. Seeing affords us a very clear and certain perception of the world. None of our other senses can give us the kind of knowledge about something in this world that seeing can [in Hebrew the same word is used for a proof or evidence and seeing רְאָיָה; seeing is believing].

On the other hand, hearing gives us a different benefit, that it enables us to learn about concepts and abstract ideas. These cannot be seen but can be understood through hearing. In summary, seeing has an advantage for things in our material world. Hearing has an advantage for things in the spiritual, abstract world.

At Har Sinai, the Jewish People saw the sounds of G-d's voice. For the Jew present at Sinai, Hashem's ideas, His Mitzvot, had the same clarity and certitude about that which he heard as if he had actually seen them. Seeing is believing and we saw the Divine mystery at Har Sinai. ______________________

[1] Shemot 20:15.

[2] Similarly, we know this because we can feel sounds from a stereo, we can see vibrations in the water, etc.

Le Iluy nishmat Eliahu ben Simcha, Mordechai ben Shlomo, Perla bat Simcha, Abraham Meir ben Leah,Moshe ben Gila,Yaakov ben Gila, Sara bat Gila, Yitzchak ben Perla, Leah bat Chavah, Abraham Meir ben Leah,Itamar Ben Reb Yehuda, Yehuda Ben Shmuel Tzvi, Tova Chaya bat Dovid. Refua Shelema of Yaacov ben Miriam, Yehuda ben Simcha, Menachem Chaim ben Malka, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Gila bat Tzipora, Tzipora bat Gila, Dvir ben Leah, Elimelech Dovid ben Chaya Baila, Eliezer Chaim ben Chaya Batya, Noa bat Batsheva Devorah,Shlomo Yoel ben Chaya Leah and Dovid Yehoshua ben Leba Malka.

Atzlacha to Shmuel ben Mazal tov and Zivug agun to Marielle Gabriela bat Gila, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Yehudit bat Malka, Elisheva bat Malka.

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thebeautyoftorah · 7 years

Text

Shemot

bs'd

Shalom, I hope you are well.

My second book "Healing Anger" is about to be published. If you want a dedication for a relative or sponsor the book please send me a message.

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Feel free to forward these words of Torah to any other fellow Jew.

Enjoy it and Shabbat Shalom.

Shemot-Moshe: The Beginning

Moshe Rabbenu was eighty years old when Hashem first appeared to him at the Burning Bush and commanded him to tell Pharaoh “Send out my people!” (see Shemot 3:10 and 4:23 Rashi).

Did you ever wonder what “the greatest Jew who ever lived” was doing for the first years of his life? The Torah doesn’t tell us much, just his birth and being rescued by Pharaoh's daughter, that he noticed the suffering of his brethren, killed an Egyptian at a young age, and ran away to Midian where he met his wife, Tzippora.

The Torah says [1] that Moshe’s mother Yocheved could no longer conceal him from the Egyptians who wanted to drown all Jewish boys, so she placed Moshe in a reed basket in the Nile river, while his older sister Miriam watched from a distance to see what would happen to him. Pharaoh's daughter, Batya, took the basket from the river and brought the baby to the Egyptian palace where she raised him as her own son.

The Oral Tradition that was handed over to Moshe at Har Sinai together with the Written Torah gives us a detailed description of the “early years” of our great teacher who had a stuttering problem (see Shemot 4:10).

The Midrash [2] tells us the fascinating story behind Moshe's speech defect:

When he was three years old growing up in Pharaoh's palace, Moshe once took the royal crown and put it on his head. Pharaoh grew angry with Moshe and decided to kill him. One of his advisors (some say this was Moshe's future father-in-law Yitro!) suggested to Pharaoh that before killing the child, they should test his intellectual ability to see how smart he really was. So they brought in front of Moshe a diamond and a glowing coal. The smart little boy was about to go for the jewel, but G-d performed a miracle and sent the angel Gabriel to push his hand over to the hot coal instead. Moshe put it in his mouth, causing the speech defect.

The Ramban explains that Hashem didn't want to heal Moshe's speech problem, even though it greatly reduced his effectiveness in communicating, because He wanted Moshe to have a constant reminder of the great miracle that he experienced that saved his life. This handicap of Moshe was a “gift from G-d” ensuring that he would be eternally grateful, never for a moment taking his life for granted (probably for the same reason Moshe never prayed to Hashem to heal him from this impediment).

Rabbi Nissim ben Reuben (known as the Ra”n) offers a different explanation as to why G-d didn’t heal Moshe’s speech impediment before sending him to speak with Pharaoh. He says that had Moshe been an eloquent and gifted speaker, there would always be room for skeptics to claim that the Jewish people accepted the Torah, its truths and its mandates, only as a result of Moshe’s charisma. After all, a captivating speaker can convince people of just about anything. Now that it was actually a challenge to listen to Moshe, it became eminently clear that we did not accept the Torah because we were wowed by Moshe’s words; we accepted the Torah because we clearly heard G d’s words.

The Midrash [3] also tells us that during his time spent in the king's palace, Moshe often went to his brethren, the slaves of Pharaoh, sharing their sad lot. He helped anyone who bore too heavy a burden or was too weak for his work. Since Moshe was in charge of the royal household he advised Pharaoh that a day of rest would increase the efficiency of the slaves. Pharaoh did so and Moshe instituted the Sabbath, as a day of rest for the Jews.

According to Yalkut Shimoni [4] Moshe was eighteen years old when he ran away from Pharaoh’s palace and ended up in the land of Kush (Ethiopia?). After spending ten years there in the army and successfully helping the Kushites conquer the capital, a fortified city, they proclaimed him the official king of Kush, and he was given the wife of the former king as his queen. But Moshe who feared Hashem would not approach her, because he remembered Abraham made his servant Eliezer swear, saying: ‘Do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of Canaan’.

Moshe ruled over Kush for forty years, after which time his 'wife' complained to the ministers and the people: "This one has ruled over Kush forty years, but he has never shared your way of life and he has never worshiped our idols!" She advised them to instead make her son the king, and they agreed to this and dismissed him with great honor and gifts.

At this time Moshe was 67 years old. He still could not return to Egypt out of fear of being killed by Pharaoh, so he traveled to Midian where he met up with Yitro (who would later become his father-in-law). When Yitro knew that Moshe was a refugee from the Egyptian court, Yitro decided to put him in prison ten years for fear of Pharaoh [5]. Subsequently, Moshe married Yitro’s daughter Tzippora who saved his life (see Shemot 4:24-26 Rashi), and she bore him two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Moshe was now 80 years old and G-d appeared to him at the Burning Bush, and the rest is history.

There is a fascinating Midrash quoted by the Tiferet Israel [6] which reveals to us the true greatness of Moshe Rabbenu:

A king at the time the Jews left Egypt who was intrigued by the countless wonders that were done through Moshe wanted to know about his natural tendencies and personal characteristics. The king sent an expert artist to draw Moshe’s face, and conscripted professionals to interpret his features, which would reveal his personal characteristics. When the artist returned from painting Moshe’s face, the professional interpreters said that this was a person of evil deeds — haughty, a money-lover, an unreasonable individual, and someone who suffers from every other deficiency of character imaginable.

Surprised, the king could not understand this information because it contradicted everything he had heard about this great man. He understood that there must have been a mistake, either by the artist, who did not properly portray the leader of the Jewish people, or by the interpreters. The king traveled to the camp of the Jews to clarify the matter himself.

Seeing Moshe Rabbenu in a distance, he realized that the painting was excellent, and decided to come to his tent. He told Moshe what had happened and that his expert interpreters had betrayed him. Then Moshe replied, “Actually both are correct. The drawing shows my face, and I'm not sad to say that all the deficiencies they told you — and even more — are really my nature. But with all my heart I have fought to overcome my natural tendencies to acquire a different nature.”

From this Midrash about Moshe and how he overcame all his negative character traits, we learn a powerful lesson that we can apply in our own lives. We all have bad traits like anger, arrogance, selfishness, greed, etc. We see that even the greatest Jew who ever lived had them! But what makes a person truly great is his will to work on changing or channeling those traits into something positive and becoming a kind and sensitive person, a true servant of Hashem. If Moshe [7] did it, we can do it too! ____________________________________________ [1] See Shemot 2:1-4. [2] Shemot Rabbah 1:32. [3] Ibid. [4] Shemot #168. [5] Yalkut Shimoni, Chelek A, 117. [6] Kiddushin 4:14, paragraph 77. [7] Hashem called Moshe 'My servant' (see Devarim 12:3).

Le Iluy nishmat Eliahu ben Simcha, Mordechai ben Shlomo, Perla bat Simcha, Moshe ben Gila,Yaakov ben Gila, Sara bat Gila, Yitzchak ben Perla, Leah bat Chavah.

Refua Shelema of Yaacov ben Miriam, Gila bat Tzipora, Tzipora bat Gila, Dvir ben Leah, Abraham Meir ben Leah, Elimelech Dovid ben Chaya Baila, Noa bat Batsheva Devorah

and Dovid Yehoshua ben Leba Malka for whom you can donate to a life saving cause

http://www.causematch.com/en/projects/love-your-neighbor-challenge/

Atzlacha to Shmuel ben Mazal tov and Zivug agun to Marielle Gabriela bat Gila.

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