Feminism and the Megilla

Nice shiur on the status of women in Megillat Esther.
Might be especially relevent for all those women readers / readings of the Megilla!

Oh! I just found a ton of material on the topic here!

Tehillim and the Dialogue in the Darkness.

Last week I accompanied my students from Emuna VeOmanut on an exceptional day trip. One of our visits was to the Children's Museum in Holon.

We went to visit a participatory exhibit called "Dialogue in the Darkness." The aim of the "experience" is to make a person understand a little what it is like to experience life as a non-seeing person. In short, we entered into a series of rooms that are so, so, black that one cannot see a thing. I have never experienced such absolute darkness. Each room gives a familiar human surrounding which one must now explore anew as one cannot see; hence you have to use other senses such as touch, smell, hearing, movement etc.

It is a place in which one learns a great deal. We have to confront the unknown, our fear of touching, feeling, falling, failing when we cannot see. We learn how much we can "see" when we cannot use our visual sense. I was amazed at how I could recognise many students simply by their voice. And one of the incredible things there are the tour guides who are all visually impaired or blind, and they are our guides! They are so confident, mobile, and reassuring in an environment in which we feel so hesitant, so crippled.

It is a special revealing experience. I advise any reader to get a group together and book a visit.

But I want to add a special insight I had there. At the end of the tour, there is time to have a "dialogue in the darkness" as the guide sits with you in the pitch black and discusses, and probes the experience that we have just undergone. Do you need to see a person to "know" them? Is the visual sense distracting? Falsifying? Or revealing? (Good pre-Purim questions re. our disguises, God's hidden-ness etc.) Our guide was amazing, and she loved our group. At some point in the tour, the students had begun singing. She clearly loved it, because at the end she requested that we sing the song Esah Einai.

I have never understood that perek of Tehillim so deeply, so incredibly.

When you have just been in an environment in which you were afraid even to walk, suddenly the meaning of אל יתן למוט רגלך takes on a fresh meaning! But it is far more than that.
תהלים פרק קכא
(א) שִׁיר לַמַּעֲלוֹת אֶשָּׂא עֵינַי אֶל הֶהָרִים מֵאַיִן יָבֹא עֶזְרִי:

What are the "hills"? Some mepharshim suggest that when a person is in distress he wonders whether maybe some unknown force will emerge from beyond the hills. It may represent one raising ones eyes upwards looking towards God. But the peshat (see Daat Mikra) is that I am going through hilly terrain, steep inclines gape beneath my steps. מאין יבא עזרי: Who will look after me, guide me, keep me safe? How will I not fall? Lose energy? How can I navigate the twisting mountain path?

The answer is God!
(ב) עֶזְרִי מֵעִם יְדֹוָד עֹשֵׂה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ:
(ג) אַל יִתֵּן לַמּוֹט רַגְלֶךָ אַל יָנוּם שֹׁמְרֶךָ:
(ד) הִנֵּה לֹא יָנוּם וְלֹא יִישָׁן שׁוֹמֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל:

God never sleeps, He never stops guarding us. But how does his guardianship, his protection express itself? Listen to this:

(ה) יְדֹוָד שֹׁמְרֶךָ יְדֹוָד צִלְּךָ עַל יַד יְמִינֶךָ:
(ו) יוֹמָם הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ לֹא יַכֶּכָּה וְיָרֵחַ בַּלָּיְלָה:

God's protection manifests itself through the light! The sun, the moon are always theer! I can see! And so I will not fall. God is my SHADOW! Because as the light is dim, he compensates. He always follows me like a shadow. But in fact, I believe that the sun and moon are not simply a metaphor for the constant presence of God. Maybe we are saying that the light ITSELF is essentially the gift that protects us when we need to manouver the hills, the mountains.

(ז) יְדֹוָד יִשְׁמָרְךָ מִכָּל רָע יִשְׁמֹר אֶת נַפְשֶׁךָ:
(ח) יְדֹוָד יִשְׁמָר צֵאתְךָ וּבוֹאֶךָ מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם:

Suddenly after you have been through the museum, you realise that God guarding you when you "go in" and "go out" is not simple at all. Our every faculty of sight is so precious. It is such a gift from God! The very notion of light itself is simply the most unbelievable dimension of God's wonderful protection and care.

Suddenly the simple existence of light in our lives becomes God's greatest miracle, his most benevolent grace.

The Supreme Court "In Action"

On Sunday, I took my students from Michlelet Orot to the Supreme Court (and Knesset.) (-When you are in Israel for the year, the week of Parshat Mishpatim would certainly seem an appropriate occasion to visit and ponder our modern Israeli legislative house and its highest court! By now, some of you might have gathered that I am all for this type of educational integration.)

Our Tour Guide had been telling us about the workings of the court. As an example she detailed the way that the Supreme Court has dealt with the legality of the Separation Fence. And then as we went in to the courtroom to see an actual case, we found out that it was about the Fence near Modiin Illit. The case was not starting for a while, so we approached one of the lawyers to ask him to speak to our group. His English wasn't good, so he quickly explained to me the bare bones of the case, and gave me a massive map (10ft x 4ft) – part of their evidence, so that I could explain it to my students.

So there I am, brandishing this enormous carboard map, as my students sit in the back two rows of the courtroom, and I explained the case to my students in about 3 minutes flat. As I began talking a group began to crowd around; Arabs and Jews. As I finished, a young Israeli lady spoke up: "I am a Human Rights activist. Let me explain you the Arab side." She articulated her argument concisely and clearly - in perfect English. And then, along in rushed the second lawyer for Modiin. Not wanting to be left out, speaking in faltering English, he explained his arguments! We really felt the case "come alive" and I think it was quite an experience for the students. It was like the news that you hear on TV suddenly became real life.

It was quite something! We had an ad hoc "hearing" right there in the back bench of the courtroom, to 30 students, just 15 minutes before the judges were to walk in!

Somehow, I think that this informality, and this degree of access would have been unlikely in the U.S. or British Supreme Court.

I just love it here!

Sacreligious and Dangerous

It is already starting! See this.

People on the right wing, religious right wingers, are watching the Chief of Police go down, the IDF Chief of Staff. They are saying that everyone who took part in the disengagement has a divine curse on his head! Don't you see? Sharon had a stroke, Haim Ramon who thought up the idea, is out; the President is falling etc. etc. And Olmert will fall next. Why? because of the Disengagement!

Now this stuff is nonsense and it is also dangerous nonsense.

First, it takes the responsibility away from the REAL problem. And that problem is corruption. This is a terrible disease that threatens the entire fabric of society here in Israel. It is a virus that must be totally uprooted and banished from the corridors of power. THAT is why the head of police is leaving! That is why Ramon fell. And if Olmert falls, it will be for his own corruption scandal. Who says that the Disengagement is THE cardinal sin of Israeli leadership? I would argue that corruption is far more insidious. It threatens to bring the entire structure of government down.

Second. It is a dangerous view. Yonatan Bassi (who headed the Disengagement office) has been hounded from his Kibbutz. Other people involved in the Disengagement have been attacked and abused. Where is the outcry from Rabbis? Where in the Jewish worldview do we find backing for such abuse that is at the very least אונאת דברים and an Issur DeOraita? These people convince themselves that God shares their political viewpoint, and then justify immoral acts in the name of God. Have we not learned from recent History? How can we presume to know God's mind? So now, they know why Sharon had a stroke, and why Karadi had to resign! We have a perfect reality. All because of the disengagement. How can we justify harmful illegal acts in the name of God? ... maybe the Disengagement was badly executed and even immoral. Maybe. But what makes you so sure that you know God's mind? Maybe God wanted us to leave Gaza? How dare you presume to understand the detailed reward and punishment of the Almighty? (And if they are correct... why did God "act" so late? Why not get rid of them beforehand???)


And I won't even get into the question of whether the Disengagement was possibly a good thing. Maybe I will get the curse!

Letters To/From the Tanach

Ynet have recently opened a new "Judaism" website. I suspect that they want to compete with the very popular Maariv site.

One of their innovations there is just a fabulous idea, and a lovely fusion of contemporary Israel and Tanach. They have various Israeli celebreties/academics etc. corresponding with Biblical personalities. It is called מכתבים מהתנ"ך.

For example:
The biblical Leah "writes" to a psychologist about her emotional crisis in the shadow of her little sister.
The politician Yossi Sarid advises the Navi Eliyahu as to how one may deal with public resentment when you criticise the country's leaders!
And this week, King Uziyahu , stricken with leprosy writes to a (TV celebrity) doctor for some medical advise.

Good triggers for the classroom, and, if not taken too seriously, good Jewish fun.

The Haftara of Parshat Shekalim: Politics, Integrity and Communal Finances

This week we read a Haftara that connects with Parashat Shekalim. However, beyond Parshat Shekalim, I believe that in our current (Israeli) environment filled with financial impropriety and personal scandal, our Haftara touches upon a timely point.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND : KING Y(EH)OASH[1]

Yehoah was a child king, ascending the throne at age 7. The circumstances of his coronation were dramatic and tragic.

His grandmother, Athalia (the daughter of Izevel) was an evil lady who schemed to sieze the throne and rule the country. To achieve this objective she massacred all the male heirs of the Royal Judean family. She also did sever damage to the Beit Hamikdash and promoted Baal worship nationally. Despite the massacre, baby Yoash was saved and raised in secret. At yet, at the tender age of seven Yehoyada the High Priest staged a revolution within the precinct of Beit Mikdash. He presnted Yoash to the gathered throngs and publically crowned him as king of Judea and Athalia was killled. Yoash ascended the throne.

For the next period, as Yoash grew up, it would appea that the Kohanim were the strongest politacal group in the country, backing , protecting and guiding Yoash. Yoash clearly identified with their worldview and was greatly indebted to them. It is then, not a surprise when Yoash turns his attention as an adult to a serious rennovation and rebuilding of the Beit Mikdash.

What may seem suprising however, is the fact that Yoash summoned Yehoyada, the High Priest, and accused the Kohanim of negligence towards the Mikdash. By the account of Sefer Melachim, even some 23 years later the Temple is in a state of disrepair and dilapidation – the effects of Athalia's regime[2] – and apparently, the Kohanim had been remiss in allowing this embarrasing state of neglect to continue.

Part of the problem is that the Koahnim lack the funds. If we may quote a passuk from Divrei Hayamim:

"He assembled the priests and the Levites and charged them as follows; Go out to the towns of Judah and collect money from all Israel for the upkeep of the House of your God. Do it quickly! But the Levites did not act quickly."

Now the King takes the High Priest to task for the neglect:

"Why have you not demanded that the Levites collect the TAX OF MOSES the servant of God, from (the people of ) Yehudah and Yerushalayim…?" (Div Hayamim II 24:6)

In other words, the funds for the renovation of the Mikdash are to come from the ANNUAL HALF SHEKEL TAX that goes back to Moshe Rabbeinu! The King finds a solution that will bypass the Leviim and Kohanim.

The King instructed that they:

"took a box, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one came into the house of the LORD… and when they saw that there was much money in the box, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags…And they gave the money…into the hands of the workmen (of the Temple)" (Melachim II 12:10-12)

In other words, he instituted a Temple tax. This mode of procuring funds from the people for the Temple tax reflects the annual donation of the Half Shekel in the wilderness – the Half Shekels were used for the construction of the Mishkan. And in Divrei Hayamim, this is actually a HALF SHEKEL TAX

"A proclamation was issued in Yehudah and Jerusalem to BRING THE TAX IMPOSED ON ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS BY MOSES… All the officers and all the people brought it joyously and threw the money into the box until it was full." (D. Hayamim 24:9-10)

So here is the question: What went wrong? Why did the Koahanim and Leviim fail in their responsibility? What made Yoash accuse his mentor, the High Priest, Yehoyada?


PROTEKZIA

Two pesukim in our Haftara hold the key to the answer. When Yoash realises the the Levites are failing in their efforts to raise funds for the Temple, he summons Yehoyada:
[7] Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests , and said unto them, Why have you not repaired the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house.[8] And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house.

Money from acquantances? Why are the priests collecting money from friends and associates? What is this system? And why does Yoash ask that it cease? It would appear that there is a certain system of financing that is failing and it is that system that needs improvement. Let us attempt to explain a little.FINANCING: STAGE 1.

Yehoash sees the Temple in a run down state, especially after the priod of Athalia in which the Temple was dedicated to the Ba'al. Now is the time for renovations.

But where do the funds come from?

"All the money… brought to the House of the Lord as sacred donations … let the Kohanim receive it, each from his associate. They shall make the repairs to the House…" (12:6)

The Radak explains that initially, the Kohanim would collect contributions from their friends, or "acquaintances." This method reminds me of a shul commitee in which each commitee member has to fill a table with their friends and relatives for the shul fundraising dinner. This method may work well for small communal organisations, but it is a disaster for public institutions. Why?

First, there is apathy. What incentive do Kohanim have to ask and beg for funds for the Temple? As it is , priests have to request food of Teruma and Maaser in order to live, to eat. I imagine that priests were reluctant to ask for even more money. Possibly they feared that if a person gave too positively to the Temple, there would be no extra funds for themselves. Maybe they simply resented being THE fundraisers.

But secondly, this method is an opening for corruption. This system allows certain Kohanim to become "activists" lobbying for extra funds, and then having greater power to decide on the designation of those funds. (This similar to that which we saw in the past in Israel's central party committees where certain "machers" gained inordinate politacl clout.) Financing through personal favours and protektzia opens the door to paybacks, bribery and other abuses of the system.

One can imagine that in a situation where Kohanim had to personally solicit fund, certain monies "went missing" other people used it for political gain. In other words, this sytem of collection is an opening for problems. And when an oeganisation becomes corrupt, who wants to put money into it? One wants to give as little as possible!Were they corrupt or just inept? We don't know. On the one hand King Yehoash says: "Do not receive any more money from your acquaintances, but deliver it for the breaches of the house." (12:8) indicating that possibly, some money is not being delivered! But on the other hand, Divrei Hayamim (II 24:5) simply puts it down to laziness. So, whether it was their fraudulent handling of the money or their amateur approach, the money failed to reach the desired destination.

In short, the system did not work. In the final analysis, even if the system was not corrupt, it certainly was ineffective! The question of success in any fundraising operation comes doen to the famous "bottom line" Are the funds there? And the result? -The Beit Mikdash was dilapidated! The system was not working well.


REGULATED GIVING

So instead, Yehoash orders a change:

"now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance"
He improves things in a number of ways:
1. The the money management is taken away from the control of the Kohanim.
2. Anonymous giving: People cannot build large factions on the basis of their fundraising potential.
3. Accountability: A representative of the governmment AND the Kohein Gadol each have to be presnt as the money is counted.

If we take Divrei Hayamim as our guide, a further detail is added. That they also reinstituted the annual half-shekel tax in order to facilitate the renovations. And yet, there it states that they gave "joyously." Who gives taxes with glee? Unless, they are happy that they now have a transparent accountable mechanism of giving to their beloved spiritual institution and they don't need to be concerned about financial missaproriation or simple amateur financing.

It would appear to be the case that these improvements did the trick. Now the Beit Mikdash is finaced and things can continue more steadily.

TRUSTING THE TREASURER

We have spoken about the problems with relying too heavily upon an informal fundraising mechanism, based upon "who knows who" and simple goodwill. On the other hand:
[15] Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully.
Despite the earlier misappropriation of Temple funds, the treasurers who paid all the builders and craftsmen in the Temple, were given a free hand to write the cheques and make the orders for the Mikdash renovations seemingly, without accountability.Indeed. The Gemara in Bava Batra (9a) bases a Halakha on our chapter:

"Our Rabbis taught: The collectors of charity are not required to give an account of the moneys entrusted to them for charity, nor the treasurers of the Temple of the moneys given for holy purposes. There is no actual proof of this (in Tanakh), but there is a hint of it in the words: 'They reckoned not with the men into whose hand they delivered the money to give to them that did the work, for they dealt faithfully.'"

Now, this after the Talmud has already established that there need to be no less than 2 and preferably 3 treasurers! This is given that one may not distribute or collect charity except in the presence of other treasures so there are some safeguards. And the Talmud mandates that the Tzedaka treasurer be a person of impeccable reputation. However, on the other hand, if every charity official is summoned for a cheque misplaced, then few people will be willing to take the task upon themselves. At some level, along with the checks, and the accountability, there must also be a certain element of trust and ingegrity.When is it appropriate to express trust, and when is it advisable to investigate and express criticism? When can one rely on the intehrity of public officials and when mus one be suspicious and wary?

These are difficult dilemmas facing any public sector. Because, obviously, if we are dealing with the renovation of the Temple, as reflected in passuk 16, there is always a certain degree of discretion in running a project. Do you take the cheaper or more expensive craftsman? Which fabric or material do you choose? Do you take standard goods or have them especially crafted by a designer? When it comes to these questions , it would appear that license was given to the trustworthy work-managers to appropriate the funds as needed be. And it would appear that part of their professional pride was precisely that trait of integrity and honesty – כי באמונה הם עושים.

THE TEMPLE OF THE NATION

We may ask ourselves, why does the King not pay for the repairs and renovations? Why demand that the nation pay? Why is the king reorganizing the Kohanim and Leviim? He should take the money from his own tax collectors!

But here is another connection point with Parashat Shekalim.
We read Parshat Shekalim this Shabbat; the Shabbat prior to Rosh Chodesh Adar in order to remember the annual donation of a Half Shekel?

What was this donation used for? The Mishna (4:1) tells us that it was used for the Korbanot Tzibbur – the "public sacrifices" – for the Temple service. What are these "Public Korbanot"? It's very simple. There are sacrifices offered by individuals: for sins, for celebrations, for all manner of ritual purification purposes. However there are certain korbanot – the Tamid, daily sacrifice; the Mussaf etc. – that are not on behalf of any particular individual, but rather, on behalf of Klal Yisrael, the nation as a single entity.

Why was this method of taxation used? Very simply, the Korbanot Tzibbur have to be PUBLIC donations; given by the corpus of the entire nation of Israel! Only by EVERYONE contributing equally can we say that each Jew has an equal share in the sacrifices. Each year, the half shekel becomes the fund that pays for these public sacrifices. The collection is renewed each Nissan. Adar becomes the month of collection in advance of Nissan.

But the crucial point here is that the Temple belongs to the nation. It is not dominated by me or you; it is unaffiliated with any sector or group. It isn't even the property of the king. The king should not finance it, because as in our parshat shekalim, the Mikdash should be the project of the nation as a whole.

Shabbat Shalom

[1] The figure of Yoash burst in to the public limelight a year or two back when a tablet surfaced that was said to have been excavated on Har HABayit itself. It quoted almost verbatim, certain lines from Divrei Hayamim that relate to Yoash. Unfortunately, the widespread assessment was that it was a fraud.
[2] Div Hayamim II 24:7

Advanced Theology (from a 5-year-old)

Today, I visited the Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion with my five-year-old son. The parochet (curtain) of the Aron Kodesh (the ark) has a large colourful crown embroidered upon it. I pointed it out to my son, Hillel. And then, I asked him a question:

"Whose crown is it? Does it belong to God or the Torah?"

(… after all, we talk about כתר תורה and also, in Nusach Sephard, we say כתר יתנו לך ה' אלוקינו... so it could be either)

He replied with an almost disbelieving tone:

"Well, of course it is the Torah's! How could it be Hashem's crown? He doesn't even have a body!"

And then he continued:

"If Hashem had a crown, he would need to be in one place, but God is everywhere!"

I thought that was rather sophisticated theological deduction for a five year old!

It reminded me of the Rambam in Hilchot Yesodei Hatorah 1:7

רמב"ם הלכות יסודי התורה פרק א

ואילו היה היוצר גוף וגוייה היה לו קץ ותכלית שאי אפשר להיות גוף שאין לו קץ, וכל שיש לגופו קץ ותכלית יש לכחו קץ וסוף, ואלהינו ברוך שמו הואיל וכחו אין לו קץ ואינו פוסק שהרי הגלגל סובב תמיד, אין כחו כח גוף, והואיל ואינו גוף לא יארעו לו מאורעות הגופות כדי שיהא נחלק ונפרד מאחר,

The Lubavitcher Rebbe as a god

Scary article in Haaretz

The journalist visits a Chabad Yeshiva in Tzefat. Here is the conversation:

Why do they think that Schneerson is alive? "The Rebbe was no normal human being," is the response. He was a polymath who "studied under Einstein in Berlin" before "inventing the atom bomb."

How do they view the connection between Schneerson and God? "The Rebbe is not something different from God - the Rebbe is a part of God," says a British teenaged student.

Does this not 'idolize' Schneerson, in the literal sense? "We cannot connect to God directly - we need the Rebbe to take our prayers from here to there and to help us in this world. We are told by our rabbis that a great man is like God and the Rebbe was the greatest man ever. That is how we know he is the messiah, because how could life continue without him? No existence is possible without the Rebbe."

Would they go so far as to describe the Rebbe and God as one and the same, as some extreme Messianists have done? "No, some people have gone too far and described the Rebbe as the creator.

"They say that God was born in 1902 and is now 105 years old. You can pray to the Rebbe and he will answer, and he was around since the beginning of time. But you must be careful to pray only to the Rebbe as a spiritual entity and not the body that was born in 1902."

Does the Rebbe have a will of his own? What if the Rebbe and God disagree? "That is a ridiculous question! They are not separate in any way."

So the Rebbe is a part of God. "Yes, but it is more complex than that. There is no clear place where the Rebbe ends and God begins."

Does that mean the Rebbe is infinite omnipotent and omniscient? "Yes of course," an Argentine student says in Hebrew. "God chose to imbue this world with life through a body. So that's how we know the Rebbe can't have died, and that his actual physical body must be alive. The Rebbe is the conjunction of God and human. The Rebbe is God, but he is also physical."

"Only in Israel!"

I teach a class in Zionism at Emuna VeOmanut, an exciting new "Art and Judaism" One Year Program in Jerusalem. The class I teach is a thick mix of of Israeli History, Current Events, Thorny Issues in Contemporary Israel, Religious Zionism, Jewish Sources on Eretz Yisrael. This year I have begun to experiment with some Israeli poetry and popular music as well!

Well, from the beginning of the teaching year, every few weeks we have an "Only in Israel" session when students can share the stories that would only ever happen here. I began these sessions because from past experience, students away from home comforts living in dorm conditions can sometimes spend quite some time complaining about Israelis and Israel, and this was a great way to bring out the positive sides of Israel.

I just read on Treppenwitz a priceless, moving story that really can join this genre. Here is the link. Enjoy!

Three Shiurim for Parashat Yitro

Here are 3 of my shiurim for Parashat Yitro:

1. Yitro's Visit - a "parshanut" shiur examining Shemot ch.18 and the textual peculiarites of the chapter, alongside some important spiritual messages.

2. The Ten Commandments. - Why are the Ten Commandments divided into two tablets? What is the significance of the structure of the Asseret Hadibrot

3. The Closing Mitzvot. Following the Ten Commandments, Parashat Yitro closes with 3 Mitzvot which form their own mini-paragraph. Why are these mitzvot tagged along to the end of the parsha. What is their significance?

The Truth About the "Al Aqsa" Excavations

All over the internet and the news sites, arab leaders have been condemning excavations that are "undermining" the Temple Mount.


I figure that some readers might be in confusion as to what is happening, so here is a brief explanation.

The place in question is the ramp to the right of the kotel plaza, a ramp that leads to the Mugrabbi Gate that leads into the Temple Mount/Har HaBayit.

A few years ago, there was a small earthquake and the little hill suporting the ramp to that entrance collapsed, making it dangerous.

Instead, the authorities built an (ugly) wooden ramp while planning what to do.

Now they have come up with this plan (see the picture) for a permanent ramp and in the meantime they need to build it, and that involves excavation, and while you are digging, why not excavate to find historic remains?

Nothing is being destroyed, (although there have been disputes about this particular design) and the arab protests are absolute provocations without any substance. Israel is not undermining the wall, whose foundations go ten metres below the excavation site and can stand pretty well by themselves. (Herod did a fine job!) In fact the ONLY threat to collapse of Har Habayit happened because of irresponsible excavations by the Muslims ON the Temple Mount, and they had to patch up a piece of wall - and they did a horrible job!

The Arabs LOVE to use Al Aqsa as a provocation. It was the excuse for the violence in 2000 when Ariel Sharon visited Har Habayit... as if that visit justified the violence (?!). And in Netanyahu's time, when a new entrance was opened to the Kotel Tunnels - in the Muslem Quarter, far from Har Habayit, they had violent protests. It is a great call to arms (ever since the Mufti's time) but it is absolute nonsense and the world should know the facts.

Unfortunately so many Israelis are absolutely ignorant of all this that the reporting on the Haaratz website is totally inaccurate as well! (And never mind those Israeli critics who have zero ideological connection at all with the place!)

The Judge and the Compromise

See this ingenious shiur by Rabbi sacks on Parashat Yitro. He is analysing the parsha in which Moses appoints judges of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. What exactly did this achieve? Rabbi Sacks suggests that these judges, untrained in Jewish law - helped people come to peaceful resolutions on the nasis of compromise. They were mediators. Here is an excerpt:

Moses preferred strict justice to peace. He was not a man to compromise or mediate. In addition, as the greatest of the prophets, he knew almost instantly which of the parties before him was innocent and which guilty; who had right on his side and who did not. It was therefore impossible for him to mediate, since this is only permitted before the judge has reached a verdict, which in Moses' case was almost immediately.

Hence Netziv's astonishing conclusion. By delegating the judicial function downward, Moses would bring ordinary people - with no special prophetic or legal gifts - into the seats of judgment. Precisely because they lacked Moses' intuitive knowledge of law and justice, they were able to propose equitable solutions, and an equitable solution is one in which both sides feel they have been heard; both gain; both believe the result is fair. That, as the Talmud says above, is the only kind of justice that at the same time creates peace.

The entire shiur may be found here.

Prisoner or Politician?

Periodically I read and hear about how Marwan Barghouti is calling the shots in Palestinian politics. Read this for instance:

"the most famous Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti, who from his prison cell last week sent his associate, the former minister Qadura Fares, and his lawyer, Khader Shkirat, to Damascus for talks with Khaled Meshal and the Hamas leadership. "

Now can someone please explain why a convicted terrorist who is serving five life sentences in jail has access to legal advisors and can run Palestinian politics from his jail cell? Is Israel allowing him a cellphone (excuse the pun!)? And how does he manage to have such powerful control of Palestinian affairs?

If Israel wants to treat him as a politician, then I don't understand why he is still in jail and how Israel can ignore its own court's rulings. And if he is an arch terrorist, then deny him any visitation rights by dignitaries and lawyers other than family members!

And yet, time and time again, we read that important diplomatic documents are being drafted by Barghouti. Something fishy is goin' on here! ...And how is it that I have never heard any journalist raise this question?

Unexpected Judaism

One of the beautiful features of life here in Israel when one encounters Jewish identity, observance and pride in the most unexpected circumstances.

Today, I went to order a new pair of glasses (spectacles!) I was discussing with the salesman the merits of different lenses as regards their strength and thickness. And he mentioned that one type of lens goes yellow with time as it "absorbs." I looked puzzled. And then my non-kippa wearing salesman began his explanation: " You know how Sephardim use glassware for milk and meat, but not plastic. That is because glass doesn't absorb whereas plastic does!" And then applied it the lenses! He completed his halakhic lecture with the line:
תראה! עכשיו קיימנו את המצוה ללמוד תורה היום! .
In other words; Look! We just fulfilled our obligation to learn Torah today!
And he flashed me a proud smile.

I just love it!

I love buying food in a café, listening on when the young bare-midriffed waitress asks the trendy waiter whether he wants a coffee. And then to hear his reply: "No I just ate meat!" Or the time I went to purchase a shaver. I picked out a particular model from the shelf and then the sales assistant cautioned me that that particular model did not have halakhic approval.

We must never forget not to judge people by their outward appearance. And it would be good to remember just how deep Jewish observance runs in all sectors of our beautiful country.

Parashat Beshalach. Fire and Cloud.

The opening lines of our parasha describe a pillar of fire and cloud hovering above the nation and acting as a signal to the Israelites to lead them on their desert trek. We wonder as to exactly how they worked. Did these pillars of cloud/fire lead the Israelite nation throughout the 40 years in the desert? Did they simply serve a role of signalling the direction of travel or did the clouds serve a different function? Chazal talk about sven "clouds of glory" protecting Israel and flattening the path ahead! What is the source for that? And why were "cloud" and "fire" the substances that were appropriate for the task?

Read the shiur here.

Quail

This week we talk about the Manna. But many forget that along with the Manna came meat in the form of Quails.

שמות פרק טז
(יא) וַיְדַבֵּר יְדֹוָד אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: (יב) שָׁמַעְתִּי אֶת תְּלוּנֹּת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל דַּבֵּר אֲלֵהֶם לֵאמֹר בֵּין הָעַרְבַּיִם תֹּאכְלוּ בָשָׂר וּבַבֹּקֶר תִּשְׂבְּעוּ לָחֶם וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי אֲנִי יְדֹוָד אֱלֹהֵיכֶם: (יג) וַיְהִי בָעֶרֶב וַתַּעַל הַשְּׂלָו וַתְּכַס אֶת הַמַּחֲנֶה וּבַבֹּקֶר הָיְתָה שִׁכְבַת הַטַּל סָבִיב לַמַּחֲנֶה: (יד) וַתַּעַל שִׁכְבַת הַטָּל וְהִנֵּה עַל פְּנֵי הַמִּדְבָּר דַּק מְחֻסְפָּס דַּק כַּכְּפֹר עַל הָאָרֶץ: (טו) וַיִּרְאוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל אָחִיו מָן הוּא כִּי לֹא יָדְעוּ מַה הוּא וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֲלֵהֶם הוּא הַלֶּחֶם אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְדֹוָד לָכֶם

Did the Bnei Yisrael have Quails throughout their stay in the Midbar?

How long did they last?

In Bamidbar ch.11, the people once again request meat and are given ... Quails! So they must have disappeared at some stage. Why does God provide this delicacy in particular?

In his lovely book on Exodus, Nahum Sarna comments:

The quails that descended in the evening, like the manna the people found in the morning, may have a natural explanation. The narrative says little about them, and there is certainly no suggestion that they were available every day. It is well known that the quail, known to ornithologists as Coturnix coturnix, migrates in huge flocks from Europe to central Africa in the autumn and returns in the spring. A short-tailed game bird of the pheasant family, it flies rapidly
at very low altitudes. Due to the long distance involved, the migration is carried out in stages. The small quails twice each year land exhausted on the Mediterranean shore, where they can be easily captured by hand and by nets in great quantities. Their flesh and eggs are said to be delicious, and to this day they are prized food among the local population and are exported as a delicacy to Europe. 56 The season of the year in which the Israelites encountered the quails fits in precisely with the bird's migratory pattern.

As we mentioned, there are TWO Quail episodes in the Torah. This story in Exodus is dated 15th of Iyar (Shemot 16:2) in the year of the Exodus. The story on Bamidbar is also easy to date. Bamidbar 10:11 tells us that they embarked from Mt. Sinai on the 20th of Iyar. 10:33 talks about a three day journey. In other words Bamidbar ch.11 (which lasts for a month see 11:19) in which Quails settle in the camp is dated 23rd Iyar. Put simply it is PRECISELY the same season. If Sarna is correct and these are migratory birds, it all fits perfectly.

This episode is also a wonderful example of how God uses natural phenomena, with perfect timing, to create "miracles."

We can imagine then, that the Quails were in the camp for the period in which they were in Eilim (see Shemot 16:1) and when they moved on from there (17:1) there were no more quail.

There is a farm in Israel that produce Quail. Maybe we should get one for Shabbat!להתענג בתענוגים

ברבורים ושלו ודגים

When Tzniut is Immodest!

I came across this on the internet. Please, please tell me that these people are viewed as marginal, as crazy, by the Haredi community. From my perspective, men, religious men who are busy collecting women's clothes and defining with a toothcomb what is modest and what not, and holding public burnings of those clothes, are abrogating the very value of tzniut that they seek to uphold.

This obsession with modesty/tzniut frequently reaches a point when it is the height of immodesty!

Have you seen the book "Oz veHadar Levusha"? It details the precise apparel a woman may wear, including pyjamas (which are banned!) It is a very think tome, and it is written by a man. How can a Rav spend months compiling a book only thinking about women's clothing and exposed body parts? Please! it is perverted! Is that tzniut?

Rav Lichtenstein once told a great story. Once, I leading Rabbi in the OU office had a secretary who wore a short skirt. The Rabbi in question went to Rav Ahron Soloveitchik for advise. "Is it appropriate for me as a Rabbi to say something? Should she work for me?" Rav Ahron Soloveitchik replied: "You and me talking about her skirt is much more of a problem than her skirt. Let's not talk about it!"

Tu Bishvat - Planting for the Future

Planting for the Future

This Shabbat is Tu Bishvat. I wanted to spend a little time thinking about Trees and their significance. It is true that in the Mishna (Rosh Hashanna 1:1) Tu Bishvat is little more than a technical date in order to distinguish the tithes of a certain year from the next. And yet, under the influence, first of Kabbala, and then of Modern Zionism (now that is a lovely combination) Tu Bishvat has flowered and developed an identity all of its own.

THE STORY OF CHONI

Let us take one particular vantage point and cast our focus to the story of Choni as narrated by the Gemara in Massechet Taanit. We remember Choni! He was the man who confronted God when there was a drought. The Mishna tells us how Choni "drew a circle (on the ground) and stood inside it. He announced: Master of the Universe, Your children are looking in your direction. I swear that I will not leave this spot until you have mercy upon your children." And the rain began to fall. Choni is the person who brazenly orders God around. His colleagues disapproved of his aggressive and arrogant style of prayer, and yet his defiant stand is recorded for posterity in the Mishna. (See Taanit 19a)

"R. Yohanan said: Through all the days of that righteous man (Choni), he was
troubled about the meaning of the verse "A Song of Ascents. When the Lord
brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like as if in a dream" (Ps.
126:1) Is it possible for a man to doze off and dream continuously for seventy
years? One day, as he was walking on the road, he saw a man planting a carob
tree. He asked him, "How long will it take this tree to bear fruit?" The man
replied, "Seventy years." He asked, "Are you quite sure you will live another
seventy years to eat its fruit?" The man replied, "I myself found fully grown
carob trees in the world; as my forebears planted for me, so am I planting for
my children." Once, when Choni sat down for a meal, sleep overcame him and he
dozed off. He continued sleeping for seventy years. When he awoke, he saw a man
gathering the fruit of that same carob tree. He asked, "Are you the man who
planted this tree?" The man replied, "That was my grandfather."" (Taanit
23a)

Apparently Choni, is an impatient fellow. When he talks to God, demanding rain, he insists upon immediate results. He wants rain now! Quickly! Choni finds the notion of long-term processes a challenge. In this Gemara, he cannot fathom the notion of how one might dream for the return of the Exiles of Jerusalem for seventy years! I think that it was not the length of the sleep that bothered him. It was the fact that a dream might lie unfulfilled for seventy years. He cannot understand why a person would plant a tree whose fruit he would not enjoy.

Choni sees things in the here-and-now; long-term planning is not his strong point. And yet, the lesson of the Seventy years is brought home by a simple Carob tree. A Grandfather plants a tree because he has faith in the future, because he wants to plan for the next generation and the generation after that.

The planting of trees symbolizes permanence and endurance. The tree spans generations, and do we not say in Tehillim, "The span of our life is seventy years" (90:10)? Seventy years represents a lifetime. Can we look beyond our era, our epoch? The tree is the notion of endurance, of continuity, of the seeds I set down for the future, building, investing and planting. It is the quintessential symbol of longevity, of viewing time beyond the immediate.

And it is this that Choni has to learn. We can live life in the immediate, but in a natural world, God teaches us that we have to plant, to plant seeds, to invest in processes that will persist well beyond our lifetime. We might not eat the fruits of those trees but we live secure in the knowledge that we have toiled to ensure that our children will reap those fruits.

At the beginning of the creation of the world, God immediately engaged in the act of planting, as it states: 'He planted a garden in Eden' (Bereshit 2:8) Likewise, when you enter the land, the first thing you should engage in is the act of planting, as it states: 'When you enter the land, you shall plant all manner of fruit trees.'" (Vayikra Rabba 25:3)

At the very start of the world, God planted trees. He might have planted them before man entered the scene, but he waited for man, so that man might witness this momentous event. God wished to demonstrate a crucial lesson to mankind. That living is not simply about today. Sometimes it is not even about tomorrow. It is about a day in the distant future. The trees teach us to plan for the future.

REDEMPTION

But beyond this universal lesson is also a lesson that relates to our particular Jewish future. Choni is not puzzled simply by the notion of planning a lifespan ahead. He is concerned with Redemption.

How can one dream of Redemption for Seventy years? Do we not want Mashiach now? Can a person tolerate an unredeemed world for all of one's life? The Midrash quoted above seems to link God's planting with man's planting of trees. The prooftexts are fascinating. God's planting is taken from Bereshit as God plants the Garden of Eden, the perfect world. What is the mirror image of God's planting Gan Eden? It is the when we enter Eretz Yisrael! There is something about these trees that relates directly to the Jewish People's tenure in Eretz Yisrael. We yearn to recreate Gan Eden - the perfect reality - in Eretz Yisrael!

"If you are planting a sapling and they inform you that the Messiah is coming,
plant first and greet him afterwards." (Avot De-Rebbe Natan, Shechter Edition,
chap. 1, version b).

"Rabbi Abba taught: 'You have no clearer sign
of the End (i.e. redemption) than this, as it states: (Ezekiel 36:8): 'But ye, 0
mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to
my people Israel" (Sanhedrin 98a)

It is quite fascinating that JNF dedicated its efforts to reclaim Eretz Yisrael in modern times by planting forests, and that the early founding fathers of Zionism saw agriculture as the primary tool in which to rebuild the ancient land.

But what message might we take for our confusing times from all this? Eretz Yisrael is blooming! Does that mean that we have the "clear sign" that Mashiach is on his way? Is Mashiach here "Now" as Choni would have it. Or alternatively, should we "plant first and greet him afterwards."?

As I have suggested, the Gemara about Choni is suffused with Messianic overtones. I think that the Gemara is saying that even when waiting for Geula, we might only plant the seeds, and reap the fruits many generations later. It isn't always a case of the Redemption happening "in the blink of an eye."

We talk of "Reishit Tzmichat Geulateinu." There were times when we imagined that the flower of Redemption was flowering imminently; that we could see the process of growth so vividly. The process appeared to be taking shape as we watched. But nowadays, that path seems more confusing. The plant refuses to flower, it twists and turns, it wilts sometimes, and then grows some more. But the flower of Redemption still eludes us.

What should we do? There is a danger here. It is a danger of impatience, of the desire for immediate results. We have to be worried that when we understand that our dreams will not be realised with immediacy that we will refuse to dream! Or worse; that we will try to reshape and adjust the plant - and snap its head off in the process! Maybe if we understand that our dream will take shape in a generation or two we will fail to plant, to sow the seeds for the next generation. And for this reason, we must reread the Gemara about Choni. We CAN hold a dream for seventy years and longer. Sometimes we have to wait for redemption and in the meantime to raise grandchildren as we wait for the tree to take shape. We cannot rush the process. But we will only have what to dream about if we continue to sow the seeds that yield redemption.

We must do our part, ploughing the tough earth and sowing the tender seeds with faith and love, with hope and tears, so that eventually, if we are patient - in time - the tree will grow.

Happy planting! Happy waiting!

It Takes a Generation!

Last week, I picked up Rav Yuval Sherlo's new book on the topic of Nevua. As I leafed through the introduction, Rav Yuval pays homage to the Tanach methodology of Yeshivat Har Etzion and in particular Rav Yoel Bin Nun.

Now, for any of you who know me, Tanach is my speciality and the Gush is where I learned. One of my teachers was Rav Yoel bin Nun. Rav Medan, Leibtag, Samet, Sabato all taught me Tanach. And so , whenever I read about the influence of the Yeshiva, it pulls a beloved heartstring.

Let me get to the point. When I came to the Gush, in 1985 I was greatly impressed by the Rashei Yeshiva and the entire learning methodology and the unique Hashkafa. And I was puzzled that the Yeshiva had produced few sefarim. It seemed that the Yeshiva had a clear derech, so where was the literature, the scholarship, that could spread the Torah beyond the Yeshiva walls?

The publishing began with the Megadim journal in 1982. In recent years there has been a burst of publishing by the Yeshiva, its Ramim and talmidim. Rav Amital and Rav Lichtenstein have published books on lomdus and Machshava. Rav Samet's books are a bestseller. Rav Medan and Rav Yoel have published. Rav Sherlo is prolific; so is Rav Chaimi Navon. Rav Amnon Bazak and Rav Y.Z. Rimon have published books. Rav Moshe Lichtenstein published a unique fusion of chumash, drash. The Tanach study days at Herzog College draw thousands of participants annually, and now it has spawned an American copy in the form of YCT's Yemei Tanach in Teaneck (run by Rav Nati Helfgot.) In English, Rav Leibtag's Torah has been on the web for a while, Rav Yitzchak Etshalom's book represents the Yeshiva's Tanach style.

In short, the past five years have produced a phenomenal wave of writing. What happened? When I read Rav Sherlo's introduction it occurred to me that it takes a generation for an institution to mature to the point at which it can effectively spread its Torah in writing. It takes 30-40 years! The Rashei Yeshiva have to build the institution, teach talmidim, but then those Talmidim teach too. It takes some time for the Torah of those teachers and those students to mature to the point that one wishes to publish. After years of teaching and formulating ideas, it is time to write books and to publish. Something that I realised here is just what an immense project an institution of this type is. And that sometimes you embark on a project and you see fruits only FORTY YEARS LATER! May that be a lesson for us mechanchim.

In the past, when I had "down moments" as a mechanech, feelings that many of my efforts and messages had passed students by, my boss would always talk about how we as teachers plant seeds, and we never ever know when and how these seeds will bear fruit. Frequently it is in the most unexpected of situations that the seeds flourish and flower! And sometimes many years hence.

It is incredible to think that it takes a generation for an institution to reach its fulfillment. In certain ways, the initial years have such energy, such excitement and youth, and in later years one sometimes feels that the institution has become "middle aged". So suddenly when you realise that time has distinct benefits, it gives a totally different dimension.

And so, on this exciting note, I look forward to an entire library of books published by Talmidei Har Etzion. I am happy that today's Torah community can read much of the Torah of Gush and the unique derech limmud and philosophy of this special Yeshiva.

Parashat Bo: The Ibn Ezra, Peshat and Halakha.

In the narrative sections of Torah, the Ibn Ezra pursues the peshat, the reading of the text based upon logic, grammar, context, and other linguistic rules. "The human mind is the angel that mediates between man and God," he writes. And hence he limits himself to the words, the language of the Torah to interpret the Biblical text. In general he is wary of added, imposed readings attached to the story, even of they come from Midrashic, Rabbinic sources.

But when it comes to reading Halakhic texts, the Ibn Ezra swings in the opposite direction:

"… if we find two readings to the text and one accords with the opinion of the Rabbis – who were all righteous - we shall rely upon their truth with no doubts."

In other words, whenever it comes to Halakhic texts, even if the peshat meaning is stretched somewhat; the Ibn Ezra prefers a reading that accords with normative Jewish Law, and the Halakhic readings of Chazal. In this situation he abandons his pursuit of strict textual rigour and allows a certain fluidity.

Why is this the case? And what is the connection to parashat Bo?

Read the entire shiur here: