NOACH
In this section, I write about messages we learn from within the weekly Torah portion and how this affects us from a moral viewpoint.
In this week’s Sedra there is a lot to be learnt about morals, seeing as most of the weekly Torah deals with the destruction of a corrupt world for being immoral!!
There are 3 points I would like to focus on:
1) The verse states that the “world was filled with corruption” – The word used for corruption here is חמס, “Chamas”. (note the similarity between a certain organisation that ironically uses that name today). What does this actually mean? In the Talmud, the word “Chamas” refers to someone who forces someone to sell something to him. Whilst this doesn’t seem as bad as stealing something, as in this case the person gets a fair value for the item, this means of attaining something by use of brute force indicates a breakdown in moral values. This breakdown is what caused the flood; a twisted distortion on what is right and wrong. We also know that they stole trivial amounts, which were less than a “perutah”, a Talmudic coin, (equivalent to about £0.02 or $0.03 !!!) which doesn’t actually merit a punishment for stealing as the amount is so trivial. They simply did this to indicate a corruption where things that couldn’t be punished for led to a breakdown in the judicial system, which distorted the whole system of legal reward and punishment.
2) God tells Noach to “go out of the ark”. This may seem puzzling. Surely after being holed up in a boat, Noach would be bursting to leave and go onto dry land. This however teaches us an important lesson and may even be speaking to us. God tells Noach to get out of the ark, this is telling us that even when we may want to lock ourselves up in an ‘ark’, whether it be at home, not wanting to go to work or school, whether it is in a certain place, where we are unwilling to move to a certain place even though we are supposed to move there; it is tempting to lock oneself in. However we are told to go out; to take responsibility for the world around us. To do out bit in improving and correction the world: to quote Apollo 11 – “One small step for mankind, one giant leap for humanity.”
3) In one seemingly out of place episode in this week’s Torah portion, Noach plants a vineyard and gets drunk from the wine this vineyard produces. He is then seen in a state of nakedness by his son חם, or “Ham”, who “looked at his father’s nakedness”. We see that when one sees another stumble or “mess-up-big-time”, there are two reactions one can provide: a) to be disgusted by the act and reprimand the person, b) to do one’s best to rectify the matter at hand.
Ham takes the first approach, and looks at his father’s nakedness, the negative aspect of his father’s misdeed. However we know that Noach’s two other sons, Shem and Jafeth שם , יפת, “did not see their father’s nakedness”. Instead, their backs turned, they walk towards their father and clothe him, without shaming him. This is the correct matter. When one sees another person in a negative state; do the positive thing.
The great Chasidic master and founder of the Chasidic movement, the Baal Shem Tov comments on this. How did these brothers act in profoundly different ways?
The answer is simple. When one is himself repulsive; one sees and is frustrated by the repulsiveness of others. (This is related to today’s Short Thought for the Day that quotes a Mishnah that states that “One can determine all blemishes except for his own). However, one who is pure does not see the repulsiveness in his fellow human being. Instead, his only reaction is to think on how he can help the person and how his actions can benefit mankind as a whole.
This is the correct path to take.
May we all succeed in seeing only the good in others, and doing our best to contribute to a moral and peaceful society.
This week’s “Ethics from the Weekly Torah Portion” is dedicated in honour and recognition of Rav Chaim Drukman,שליט"א , who miraculously escaped the Holocaust, missing the first ship he was supposed to be on which was sunk by a German submarine with no survivors; and making his way to Israel, whereby in thanks to God for saving his life he devoted it to helping others, in his past roles as Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs and a Member of the Israeli Parliament, to his current roles as leaders of educational institutions across the country that help develop the youth of today into the leaders of tomorrow.
Friday, 28 October 2011
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Sukkot: Netivot Shalom on the 4 Species
Taking the Lulav on Shabbat (Advanced)
Based on writings by the Rebbe of Slonim Z"l
Unity themes abound regarding the Four species. Different midrashim emphasize different angles, but the common denominator is that they see unity growing out of plurality. Each of the four species is different, distinct. They may represent different parts of the body, or different kinds of Jews, but the bottom line is the same. The many are bidden to come together and form a unified collective.
This approach is a favorite source of discussion on Sukkot, but its logic is not immediately compelling. What does unity have to do with Sukkot, more than other times of the year? Additionally, the Torah specifies how the Four Species are supposed to affect us. We are told to rejoice with them when we take them. How does the unity theme give make us want to jump for joy?
If we understand Sukkot to be the other side of the coin of the Yamim Noraim, the pieces all fall into place. We have already established that the point of Rosh Hashanah is to coronate the King, to fully realize and accept the authority of God in our lives. During the first part of the month of Tishrei we work on this through the modality of yirah, or approaching God through a sense of reverence. On Sukkot, we do the same, this time using the tools of ahavah, of love of God.
More specifically, Sukkot is the time when we can turn the Kingship of God from an abstraction to a reality vested in every part of our being. This is the significance of the Four Species as representations of the different parts of the body. On Sukkot, as at no other time of the year, we can internalize His Kingship in all parts of ourselves. Cleansed of our shortcomings on Yom Kippur, we put our newly-won taharah to good use, applying it through love of God to accomplish what yirah alone did not do. (The Torah provides a strong allusion to the role of ahavah, in the pasuk that commands us in the mitzvah of the Four Species: "And you shall take on the first day.and rejoice."The first day of Sukkot is linked to Avraham, the first of the Seven Shepherds, whose middot, traits, are chesed and ahavah. While we may fail in attempts to achieve this clarity at other times of the year, Sukkot - with its gift of simchah and ahavah - can get us there.
A different medrash provides a variation on the unity theme. Each of the four species, it notes, has a different complement of qualities. When taken together, one compensates for what the next lacks. We can view this as a guide to life's challenges. Maharal teaches[3] that wholeness and perfection comes in three varieties. True perfection comes only if we are perfect in our relationship to God, to others, and to ourselves. Like the Four Species, life provides situations that have taam v'rei'ach - taste and aroma, while others have one or the other. Some situations have neither.
This holds true for each of the areas of perfection. At times, God makes His presence and closeness felt, and we sense the richness in serving Him. At other times, He withholds part of the experience, as if we could detect the taam but not the rei'ach, or the opposite. There are also times when we feel nothing, making it much harder on us. Our job, however, is to serve Him as the absolute King, regardless of how He presents Himself to us. Like the eved Ivri - the indentured servant of Shemot 21 - we are to work day and night, i.e. whether He illuminates our lives, or leaves us in the dark.
Our relationships with others are governed by the same diversity. Some people appeal to us in all aspects, while others offer at least some likeable characteristics. Still others do not excite us in any way at all. Nonetheless, we are instructed by the Torah to practice ahavas Yisrael to all Jews, regardless of how they strike us.
Similarly, we face mood changes that threaten the way we relate to ourselves. At the extreme, some people are subject to so many stresses and psychic changes, that peace and tranquility are distant and elusive goals. They become fundamentally dissatisfied with themselves. Here too, accepting the malchutt of God in its fullness demands that we not slip into moroseness and lethargy, but rise above our natural feelings. We must remain satisfied with our selves, confident that everything God sends our way serves His purpose. He made us who we are, where we are, and what we must deal with. This allows us to bear all burdens with joy and love.
The message of the Four Species - the lesson that this mitzvah was designed to impart to our neshamot - is that all four types and situations require the same response from us. Some may be more difficult or more attractive for us than others, but we are required nonetheless to remain steadfast and consistent in our pursuit of perfection in all our relationships, whether to God, to others, or to ourselves. From the diversity of qualities in the four species, we arrive at a point of uniformity.
Uniformity is desirable in other areas as well. Elsewhere, we have spoken about the differences between emunah felt in different parts of ourselves. We recognized a cerebral emunah, as well as one emunah of the heart, and one which takes hold of every fiber of a person's being. The same distinctions apply to deveikut. We can cling to God with our minds alone, or with our feelings and heart, or with everything that is in us. The Four Species beckon us - and help us along the way - to attach ourselves to Him with all the we have, not just with one faculty or aspect of ourselves. On Sukkot we find that we have become a choir of different instruments, all ready to sing His praises. The different parts of ourselves come together in a unity of belief and commitment.
This internal uniformity in our deveikut leads us directly to joy and exultation. Our closeness to Him leads to simchah. Indeed, while simchah is part of the celebration of every Yom Tov, on Sukkot it is the overarching quality of the entire week. We call it zman simchaseinu, the season of our joy. The simchah of uniform deveikut to Hasham, deveikut with all parts of us, is not another element of the holiday, but its very essence.
Some years, we seem to lose out on the experience. Chazal ruled that we do not take the Four Species when the first day of Sukkot, the only day that the mitzvah applies on the Torah level rather than rabbinically. They were concerned that people might, in their zeal for the mitzvah, inadvertently violate the prohibition of transporting in a public domain. If our approach has merit, we can understand why Chazal were so ready to seemingly sacrifice a mitzvah that occurs but once a year because of what seems to us like a remote possibility of Shabbat violation.
They may not have sacrificed anything at all. Shabbat is called yoma d'nishmata - the day of the soul. During its rarified hours, accomplishments move within range like at no other time. Shabbat is characterized by the twin mitzvos of zachor and shamor, or remembering and of guarding. The latter is observed passively, while the former requires only speech, not action. Another way of looking at this is that speech alone can accomplish on Shabbat what requires concrete action the rest of the week.
The mitzvah of the Four Species ordinarily requires a physical activity to help us internalize the malchut of God in every part of our being, or attach ourselves to Him with every dimension of ourselves. On Shabbat, we do the same without the physical lulav and esrog. When Shabbat and the first day of Sukkot coincide, we can find in the tranquility of its hours the same insights without needing to grasp the species in our hands. We do not sacrifice the mitzvah, so much as engage it more internally.
We return to our original discussion. Many people take the different unity themes of the Four Species as a lesson, a celebration of the value of coming together. We have added a few dimensions and variations. Sukkot, through the Four Species,, is a time of joyfully enthroning God in all parts of ourselves, and finding a uniformity in our attachment to Him in all the varied days of our lives.
Based on writings by the Rebbe of Slonim Z"l
Unity themes abound regarding the Four species. Different midrashim emphasize different angles, but the common denominator is that they see unity growing out of plurality. Each of the four species is different, distinct. They may represent different parts of the body, or different kinds of Jews, but the bottom line is the same. The many are bidden to come together and form a unified collective.
This approach is a favorite source of discussion on Sukkot, but its logic is not immediately compelling. What does unity have to do with Sukkot, more than other times of the year? Additionally, the Torah specifies how the Four Species are supposed to affect us. We are told to rejoice with them when we take them. How does the unity theme give make us want to jump for joy?
If we understand Sukkot to be the other side of the coin of the Yamim Noraim, the pieces all fall into place. We have already established that the point of Rosh Hashanah is to coronate the King, to fully realize and accept the authority of God in our lives. During the first part of the month of Tishrei we work on this through the modality of yirah, or approaching God through a sense of reverence. On Sukkot, we do the same, this time using the tools of ahavah, of love of God.
More specifically, Sukkot is the time when we can turn the Kingship of God from an abstraction to a reality vested in every part of our being. This is the significance of the Four Species as representations of the different parts of the body. On Sukkot, as at no other time of the year, we can internalize His Kingship in all parts of ourselves. Cleansed of our shortcomings on Yom Kippur, we put our newly-won taharah to good use, applying it through love of God to accomplish what yirah alone did not do. (The Torah provides a strong allusion to the role of ahavah, in the pasuk that commands us in the mitzvah of the Four Species: "And you shall take on the first day.and rejoice."The first day of Sukkot is linked to Avraham, the first of the Seven Shepherds, whose middot, traits, are chesed and ahavah. While we may fail in attempts to achieve this clarity at other times of the year, Sukkot - with its gift of simchah and ahavah - can get us there.
A different medrash provides a variation on the unity theme. Each of the four species, it notes, has a different complement of qualities. When taken together, one compensates for what the next lacks. We can view this as a guide to life's challenges. Maharal teaches[3] that wholeness and perfection comes in three varieties. True perfection comes only if we are perfect in our relationship to God, to others, and to ourselves. Like the Four Species, life provides situations that have taam v'rei'ach - taste and aroma, while others have one or the other. Some situations have neither.
This holds true for each of the areas of perfection. At times, God makes His presence and closeness felt, and we sense the richness in serving Him. At other times, He withholds part of the experience, as if we could detect the taam but not the rei'ach, or the opposite. There are also times when we feel nothing, making it much harder on us. Our job, however, is to serve Him as the absolute King, regardless of how He presents Himself to us. Like the eved Ivri - the indentured servant of Shemot 21 - we are to work day and night, i.e. whether He illuminates our lives, or leaves us in the dark.
Our relationships with others are governed by the same diversity. Some people appeal to us in all aspects, while others offer at least some likeable characteristics. Still others do not excite us in any way at all. Nonetheless, we are instructed by the Torah to practice ahavas Yisrael to all Jews, regardless of how they strike us.
Similarly, we face mood changes that threaten the way we relate to ourselves. At the extreme, some people are subject to so many stresses and psychic changes, that peace and tranquility are distant and elusive goals. They become fundamentally dissatisfied with themselves. Here too, accepting the malchutt of God in its fullness demands that we not slip into moroseness and lethargy, but rise above our natural feelings. We must remain satisfied with our selves, confident that everything God sends our way serves His purpose. He made us who we are, where we are, and what we must deal with. This allows us to bear all burdens with joy and love.
The message of the Four Species - the lesson that this mitzvah was designed to impart to our neshamot - is that all four types and situations require the same response from us. Some may be more difficult or more attractive for us than others, but we are required nonetheless to remain steadfast and consistent in our pursuit of perfection in all our relationships, whether to God, to others, or to ourselves. From the diversity of qualities in the four species, we arrive at a point of uniformity.
Uniformity is desirable in other areas as well. Elsewhere, we have spoken about the differences between emunah felt in different parts of ourselves. We recognized a cerebral emunah, as well as one emunah of the heart, and one which takes hold of every fiber of a person's being. The same distinctions apply to deveikut. We can cling to God with our minds alone, or with our feelings and heart, or with everything that is in us. The Four Species beckon us - and help us along the way - to attach ourselves to Him with all the we have, not just with one faculty or aspect of ourselves. On Sukkot we find that we have become a choir of different instruments, all ready to sing His praises. The different parts of ourselves come together in a unity of belief and commitment.
This internal uniformity in our deveikut leads us directly to joy and exultation. Our closeness to Him leads to simchah. Indeed, while simchah is part of the celebration of every Yom Tov, on Sukkot it is the overarching quality of the entire week. We call it zman simchaseinu, the season of our joy. The simchah of uniform deveikut to Hasham, deveikut with all parts of us, is not another element of the holiday, but its very essence.
Some years, we seem to lose out on the experience. Chazal ruled that we do not take the Four Species when the first day of Sukkot, the only day that the mitzvah applies on the Torah level rather than rabbinically. They were concerned that people might, in their zeal for the mitzvah, inadvertently violate the prohibition of transporting in a public domain. If our approach has merit, we can understand why Chazal were so ready to seemingly sacrifice a mitzvah that occurs but once a year because of what seems to us like a remote possibility of Shabbat violation.
They may not have sacrificed anything at all. Shabbat is called yoma d'nishmata - the day of the soul. During its rarified hours, accomplishments move within range like at no other time. Shabbat is characterized by the twin mitzvos of zachor and shamor, or remembering and of guarding. The latter is observed passively, while the former requires only speech, not action. Another way of looking at this is that speech alone can accomplish on Shabbat what requires concrete action the rest of the week.
The mitzvah of the Four Species ordinarily requires a physical activity to help us internalize the malchut of God in every part of our being, or attach ourselves to Him with every dimension of ourselves. On Shabbat, we do the same without the physical lulav and esrog. When Shabbat and the first day of Sukkot coincide, we can find in the tranquility of its hours the same insights without needing to grasp the species in our hands. We do not sacrifice the mitzvah, so much as engage it more internally.
We return to our original discussion. Many people take the different unity themes of the Four Species as a lesson, a celebration of the value of coming together. We have added a few dimensions and variations. Sukkot, through the Four Species,, is a time of joyfully enthroning God in all parts of ourselves, and finding a uniformity in our attachment to Him in all the varied days of our lives.
Friday, 23 September 2011
Mussar from the weekly Torah portion
Near the end of his life, Moshe Rabbeinu commanded the people, "Now write for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites" (Devarim . 31:19). This verse is the source-text for the obligation of each Jew to write a Torah scroll. (According to most authorities, this mitzvah is fulfilled nowadays by purchasing books on Torah.) But why did Moshe refer to the Torah as a 'song'? In what way should we relate to the Torah as song?
Why study Mussar?
Once, a young scholar wrote Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook Zt"l a letter probing certain philosophical issues, raising questions that had eluded him. Rav Kook was delighted to see the scholar immerse his talents analyzing the philosophical aspects of Torah, unlike most Torah scholars who dedicate themselves solely to Talmudic and practical Halachic studies. Exploring abstract philosophical issues, Rav Kook stressed, is especially important in our times.
Nonetheless, Rav Kook urged the young scholar to approach this field only after a prerequisite study of mussar texts.
"You should first acquire expertise in all moralistic tracts that you come across, starting with the easier texts. Great scholars, wise-hearted and exceptionally pious, wrote this literature from the heart. Many subjects of inquiry cannot be fully grasped until one's emotions have been properly prepared."
In other words, it is important to precede academic inquiry into Torah philosophy with the study of simpler texts that elucidate the unique holiness of Torah. What is the function of this preparatory study? By studying mussar, we gain a proper appreciation and reverence for the subject at hand. Only after this emotional preparation are we ready to delve into an intellectual analysis of Torah.
Engaging the Emotions
It is for this reason, Rav Kook explained, the Torah is called a 'song.' Just as the beauty of song stirs our hearts, so too, the special power of mussar literature lies in its ability to awaken our inner sensitivity to the divine nature of Torah. This emotive preparation is essential, as the study of Torah philosophy only becomes clarified to those who are pure of heart.
While ethical works do not engage the intellect to a high degree, they nonetheless enable the soul to recognize its inner foundations. Of course, one should not be content reading moralistic literature, but should continue with in-depth, analytical study of the Torah and its worldview.
Hence the value of learning Mussar, and the relevance of Mussar nowadays.
This is also elucidated by the opening line of Iggeret HaRamban which quotes the verse from Mishlei:
שמע בני מוסר אביך ואל תיטוש תורת אמך
"Listen my son to the Mussar (instructions) of your father and do not abandon the Torah of your mother."
Mussar is mentioned first, implying a prerequisite to learning Torah. However the verse can also be read somewhat differently. It can be interpreted to mean :
"listen to the Mussar of your father so that you won't abandon the Torah of your mother"
By learning Mussar and gearing ourselves by familiarising ourselves with Jewish ethics, can we retain the Torah forever.
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Mesilat Yesharim - Jewish Ethics
Mesilat Yesharim is written by the Ramchal, and unlike his other works, is solely an ethical / mussar work, and not philosophical.
The aim of the book is the perfection of character. Unlike many other musar books, which are ordered the authors' own lists of character traits, Luzzato builds his work on a Beraita (quoted in many places, including (Bablylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah 20b)) in the name of the sage Pinchas ben-Yair, whose list goes in order of accomplishment: "Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair said: Torah leads to watchfulness; Watchfulness leads to alacrity; Alacrity leads to cleanliness; Cleanliness leads to abstention; Abstention leads to purity; Purity leads to piety; Piety leads to humility; Humility leads to fear of sin; Fear of sin leads to holiness; Holiness leads to prophecy; Prophecy leads to the resurrection of the dead".
Within each step, Luzzatto explains the step itself, its elements, how it can be acquired, and what might distract from its acquisition. For example: Watchfulness can be acquired by setting aside time for introspection, and acquiring watchfulness can be impaired by excessive mundane responsibilities, wrong company or a cynical stance in life. The same pattern is used for every single one of the traits mentioned.
Mesilat Yesharim enables one to be a better person; a better Jew; and to help create a better world.
The aim of the book is the perfection of character. Unlike many other musar books, which are ordered the authors' own lists of character traits, Luzzato builds his work on a Beraita (quoted in many places, including (Bablylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah 20b)) in the name of the sage Pinchas ben-Yair, whose list goes in order of accomplishment: "Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair said: Torah leads to watchfulness; Watchfulness leads to alacrity; Alacrity leads to cleanliness; Cleanliness leads to abstention; Abstention leads to purity; Purity leads to piety; Piety leads to humility; Humility leads to fear of sin; Fear of sin leads to holiness; Holiness leads to prophecy; Prophecy leads to the resurrection of the dead".
Within each step, Luzzatto explains the step itself, its elements, how it can be acquired, and what might distract from its acquisition. For example: Watchfulness can be acquired by setting aside time for introspection, and acquiring watchfulness can be impaired by excessive mundane responsibilities, wrong company or a cynical stance in life. The same pattern is used for every single one of the traits mentioned.
Mesilat Yesharim enables one to be a better person; a better Jew; and to help create a better world.
Pirkei Avot - Jewish Ethics
INTRODUCTION -
Pirkei Avot, literally Chapters of Our Fathers, is a section of the Mishna, one of the most fundamental works of the Jewish Oral Law. The Mishna was authored in the third century C.E., and discusses laws and customs of virtually all areas of Judaism, ranging from holidays, dietary laws, Temple service, marriage and divorce, and civil law. It records opinions of scholars from approximately the five centuries preceding the Mishna's writing. Pirkei Avot is the only section, or tractate, of the Mishna which is devoted exclusively to the ethical and moral statements of the Sages. For this reason, it is usually referred to in English as Ethics of Our Fathers.
Pirkei Avot, literally Chapters of Our Fathers, is a section of the Mishna, one of the most fundamental works of the Jewish Oral Law. The Mishna was authored in the third century C.E., and discusses laws and customs of virtually all areas of Judaism, ranging from holidays, dietary laws, Temple service, marriage and divorce, and civil law. It records opinions of scholars from approximately the five centuries preceding the Mishna's writing. Pirkei Avot is the only section, or tractate, of the Mishna which is devoted exclusively to the ethical and moral statements of the Sages. For this reason, it is usually referred to in English as Ethics of Our Fathers.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Introduction to Mussar
The purpose of these articles are to enable us to get familiar with the Mussar movement and to enable us to strive closer to G-d, both in the personal and communal sense.
The Mussar Movement as we know it was founded by Rabbi Yisrael Salanter as a response to the Haskalah / Enlightenment movement, which drew many Jews away from Authentic Orthodox Judaism. This came after Anti-Semitism grew more vicious, and the segregations and pogroms lured many to integrate and assimilate with the Nations of the World.
Mussar comes in many different styles and about many different subjects, including Torah Study, service of G-d, treatment of fellow humans, relationship between the Jewish people and G-d, and Teshuva, repentance.
We will look at the different styles and different messages of many classic and contemporary authors such as:
The Mussar Movement as we know it was founded by Rabbi Yisrael Salanter as a response to the Haskalah / Enlightenment movement, which drew many Jews away from Authentic Orthodox Judaism. This came after Anti-Semitism grew more vicious, and the segregations and pogroms lured many to integrate and assimilate with the Nations of the World.
Mussar comes in many different styles and about many different subjects, including Torah Study, service of G-d, treatment of fellow humans, relationship between the Jewish people and G-d, and Teshuva, repentance.
We will look at the different styles and different messages of many classic and contemporary authors such as:
- Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato (Ramchal)
- Rambam
- Rav Kook
- Chafetz Chaim
- Rabbeinu Yona
- Many more
As is stated in the introduction to the Mesilat Yesharim by the Ramchal, the sefer is designed not to teach us new and novel ideas, but rather to remind us about the areas in which we have neglected and need to perfect ourselves in.
Therefore Mussar is not to tell us off and feel depressed and in low spirits; on the contrary! Mussar is to enable us to be happier, and live a more meaningful life -for our own good.
Therefore Mussar is not to tell us off and feel depressed and in low spirits; on the contrary! Mussar is to enable us to be happier, and live a more meaningful life -for our own good.
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