Recap for 14 Tamuz 5773 (Parsha Balak)

This Shabbos we discussed the week’s parsha known as Balak. In the parsha, Balak summons the prophet Balaam to curse the Jewish people. We discussed how the section about the Jews appearing to threaten Balak, are at the end of the prior week’s parsha. If this threat was the reason for summoning Balaam why wouldn’t this be at the beginning of this week’s parsha? David S. led discussion and made the point that there are other reasons for attacking the Jews other than preventing a threat. Some people simply hate the Jews and attack them for this reason.

We discussed how Balaam is a prophet like Moses, but Balaam did not have the same instant access to Hashem that Moses had.  Nevertheless, Hashem was able to communicate to Balaam exactly what he was to say. Instead of cursing the Jews, Balaam was told to, and did bless the Jews and told of the coming Messianic era. Many believe this was the worst situation the Jews had ever been in, and that it was a miracle and blessing that Balaam was able to come and speak the words of Hashem rather than what Balak wanted him to do.

This Shabbos we had a siyum to celebrate the finishing of the study of the Eruvin tractate. Prior to the siyum, we studied the last page of this tractate. We learned about travelling on Shabbos.  On Shabbos, we are not allowed to travel more than a certain distance outside of the city’s boundaries. Those who are stuck outside the city boundaries when Shabbos begin, may not be able to return to the city.

After the siyum we began study of the Pesachim tractate. We learned that on Pesach it is not necessary to search for Chumatz in the rooms in which we never took Chumatz. Jews that are participating in the Daf Yomi program all study the same pages of the Talmud at the same time.

This Shabbos we discussed how we spend the week getting ready for Shabbos, but we don’t want to spend Shabbos getting ready for the week! However there are exceptions in cases in which we would suffer a financial hardship. For example if we cooked too much food for Shabbos, we can put any remaining food in the refrigerator for the coming week. We are allowed to clean on Shabbos, only if what we are cleaning is taking away from our enjoyment or ability to observe the day. We should not read material that we need for our work or studies on Shabbos, but there are exceptions if we really enjoy the subject and are leaving enough time for Torah study. The most appropriate subject to study on Shabbos is the Torah.

We discussed the 3 week period of mourning that takes place from the 17th of Tammuz to the 9th of Av. The first and second temples were both destroyed during this period of time. Throughout history, there has been many tragedies during this period. Both the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av are fast days. We refrain from certain activities during the entire 3 weeks. These activities include getting a haircut, shaving, listening to music, wearing new cloths, and scheduling a wedding.

We discussed some of the exceptions to these restrictions. We can listen to music in the background, as long as listening to the music is not our primary activity. Someone who makes his living playing live music, can continue to play live music for non-Jews, but should refrain during the first 9 days of Av. We can schedule a bar mitzvah with music during this period, but only if it is on the child’s actual birthday.

Finally, David S. told a story from his father about getting ready for spiritual experiences such as the after-life and how this is analogous to getting ready to go to an event such as an opera. We can all go to the same opera, but those who get ready for it by doing their homework and learning, will get more enjoyment, reward and satisfaction out of it, not be bored etc. etc. Likewise, those who study Torah, grow spiritually and get close to Hashem during their life in the physical world, will get more enjoyment, reward and satisfaction out of spiritual experiences such as the after-life.

This is a summary of what we discussed this past Shabbos.  No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.

Recap for 7 Tamuz 5773 (Parsha Chukat)

This Shabbos we discussed the week’s Parsha Chukat. David S. led discussion, which started out with why there is a 38 year gap. This is there to draw attention to a comparison between this parsha and the story of getting water back in Exodus. Back in Exodus, only the elders were brought before the rock and water was provided based on the merit of Miriam. In Parsha Chukat, water is to be provided based on the merit of all of us, so everyone was called to come forth to witness the miracle of the water being provided.

However Moses does not follow his instructions. He strikes the rock instead of speaking to it. He also does not take the opportunity to talk to the Jews about how they have all reached the level of meriting this miracle. Hashem decrees that Moses will not be able to enter the promised land of Israel. Although this seems like a harsh consequence, leaders are expected to uphold the highest standards. We discussed some of the reasons Moses may not have followed his instructions, such as impatience. Regardless of the reason, Moses is still regarded as a great leader.

Efroni brought us another very interesting dvar Torah with material from Rabbi Avigdor Neventzel. We discussed how Abraham could have received the entire Torah, at a time prior to the Jews arrival to Mt. Sinai. We discussed angels and how we all receive our soul and Torah knowledge, which is what happened with Abraham. However, unlike Abraham, once we are born we become oriented and focused in a self-centered way and lose touch with Torah. Although we are created in the image of God, we transform to a state where only some Torah and morality can be figured out on our own.

We discussed the difference between Chukkim and Mishpatim. Mishpatim is Torah that makes sense and is rational. Mishpatim we can probably figure out on our own without learning the Torah. This includes such things as not stealing, and not hurting others. Chukkim includes commandments that we would not figure out on our own without studying Torah. These include kosher laws such as not eating pork. These are commandments that we follow for spiritual reasons because the Torah says so, and for no other reason. Abraham had knowledge of both the Chukkim and Mishpatim, prior to Mt. Sinai, however other Jews like us must learn the Torah, especially to gain knowledge of the Chukkim.

We continued our discussion of Shabbos. There are some people who work on Shabbos and we talked about how they can be paid for this. We do not actually pay them for what they do on Shabbos, but for their preparation. For example, a babysitter we would pay him or her for the work done before Shabbos of preparing a story to tell the children. A caterer we would pay them for preparing the food before Shabbos. A hotel, we would pay them for letting us rent the room before and after Shabbos.

We discussed what type of reading is appropriate on Shabbos. We should stick to what we enjoy, always making sure we do not take away from our Torah study time. As an example, a dentist should not read any type of articles about dentistry on Shabbos. However if someone is not a dentist and really enjoys dentistry, it may be permissible for them to read articles about this if they really enjoy the material.

On Shabbos we try to make this a special day and refrain from our normal weekday activities. We don’t want to spend a lot of time doing things like cleaning. However if the cleaning is taking away from our enjoyment of Shabbos, it may be permitted to do cleaning such as wiping off dishes that have accumulated in the sink. But we would not want to start something like washing windows. We can play games on Shabbos if we really enjoy them, but again, we do not want to take away from our time for Torah study.

During our lunch, we had an interesting discussion about the kosher status of synthetic meat. If a piece of pork was made molecule by molecule would it be kosher? If a piece of beef was made molecule by molecule would it be kosher?  In the future rabbis may have to deal with these issues.  The kosher laws we have now assume meat is coming from live animals. We never really came up with answers for these questions.

Finally we discussed some miscellaneous topics this Shabbos. We talked about perception and the hallo affect. We should try to be positive about people and avoid lashon hara. If we are negative about people, we will always perceive them this way regardless of how they really are.  Brett talked about how we can use secular law to force someone to get a Get. Joey talked about how a child who is not yet born does a conversion along with his/her mother.  If a mother does a conversion when her baby is already born, the baby is converted but has to reconfirm the conversion at bar/bat mitzvah time.

This is a summary of what we discussed this past Shabbos.  No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.

Recap for 30 Sivan 5773 (Parsha Korach)

This Shabbos David S led a discussion of the week’s parsha Korach. In the parsha there are rebellions by Korach, Dathan and Aviram against Moses and Aaron. We discussed how there were actually 2 rebellions. The first rebellion is with Korach, who wishes to serve Hashem but does not want to accept his (Korach’s) role in the community. The second rebellion is with Dathan and Aviram, who never have any faith or belief in Hashem to begin with.

Korach was like a blocker on a football team who wants to play quarterback. He thought everyone was equally holy, so anyone - including himself - could play the role of Moses or Aaron. He did not realize that he may have been able to act out the role of Moses and Aaron, but he did not have all the qualities of Moses and Aaron.  Korach did not have the depth of a relationship with Hashem, as did Moses and Aaron.  Regardless of what qualities Korach had, the fact is Hashem specifically choose Moses and Aaron to have the roles that they did. This is all a lesson for us today.  We all have a role to play, and all of our roles are important.  But we can't just choose any role that pleases us personally.  We have to consider what is the role that is Hashem's plan for us that best fits into Hashem's overall plan.  We talked this Shabbos about the importance of community, and living on a team in which we give and take with others.

Dathan and Aviram questioned why we even left Egypt, to begin with. They had no faith or belief in Hashem. They refused to even take part in the experiment that Moses had set up. This is why their punishment was worse than that of those who took part in the sacrifice. Dathan and Aviram were swallowed up by the earth, where-as the rebels lead by Korach died from flames during the sacrifice. The rebels lead by Korach died a more honorable death. As for Korach, himself, we discussed how Korach was really worthy of both punishments, because his rebellion lead others to rebel, even if the other rebellion was more extreme.

Efroni gave a very interesting dvar Torah of material from Rav Avigdor Neventzol. One of the questions we discussed is - if Hashem is all powerful why did it take him 6 days to create everything?  We discussed how Hashem wants us to imitate him.  He wants us to finish creation, and to do it with a day of rest just like him.  If hashem just took 1 day, then we would be celebrating Shabbot every day!   

Another questions we discussed is how Hashem could have done all his work in only 6 days.  Scientifally there appears to be millions of years between the time of the "big bang" and the first appearance of man.  Of course, the definition of “day” may have been different in the beginning before the sun and planets came into existence. But Efroni talked about another explanation that comes from Rav Avigdor Neventzol, which is that Hashem created everything to begin in a mature state.  This would mean that events like the “big bang” were just in Hashem’s “imagination” and just the way things appear to us scientifically.  

Efroni also gave a dvar Torah about toveling, immersing pots and other items in water. It is not necessary to tovel items that are attached. It is also not necessary to tovel items that are made by Jews, or that are owned by non-Jews. These exceptions help provide us a solution if we have an item that presents a problem in toveling. We may be able to pass ownership onto a non-Jew, or have a Jew participate in the manufacturing or putting toegether of an item.

David S. led more discussion and learning on the topic of Shabbot. We learned that it is inappropriate to discuss week day activities that are not allowed on Shabbot. For example, it would be inappropriate to discuss how we are planning to water our plants. However, this mainly applies to the future. Discussing what we have done in the past is ok, unless we are using this discussion to plan for the future. If we do want to discuss the future, it may be ok to talk in vague terms. For example, we could say we are going to take a look at our plants when Shabbos is over.

In our discussion, the point was made again that we need to use common sense on Shabbot to preserve the holiness of the day and to keep the day different than other days. If we do not do this, more rules and laws will need to be put into place. It would be best if it was sufficient to just have general directives and then we could use common sense to come up with the details. We do not want to get to the point of some communities where things like exactly what food is going to be served is spelled out.

Finally we want to wish Alex K. well with his move and hope to hear from him soon!

This is a summary of what we discussed this past Shabbos.  No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.

Recap for 23rd Sivan 5773 (Parsha Shelach)

This Shabbos we continued our discussion of Shabbos, talked about the week’s Parsha Shelach, and various other topics.   We discussed how it may be ok to be lenient in the areas of certain prohibitions on Shabbos.   In each of these cases, the leniency may be allowed because of a greater mitzvah.   We learned about buying houses in Israel, going to the store, and exercising such as running.   We also talked about the prohibitions against measuring and riding a bike.   I would like to thank David S and Linda for hosting the Kiddush and learning, and Brian R. and Jerry for hosting the lunch.   If everyone including myself can come to the EM next Shabbos that would be helpful.

In the case of buying houses in Israel, if Shabbos is the only day we can do this - it is allowed.   However we can’t sign any documents, or exchange money.   David S pointed out - how in ancient times signatures were not used as we know them today – contracts were simply agreed to in front of witnesses.   When buying a house one could agree to pay for it, or make arrangements to pay for it, after Shabbos.

We may be permitted to go to the store and make a purchase on Shabbos, however there are certain conditions.   First, it must be very important to have the purchase in order to realize a greater mitzvah.   An example would be someone shows up at our house and this person does not have anywhere else to go. Second, we can’t exchange money on Shabbos.   In fact, we really should not even discuss payment directly.  Typically, this would be a store that is not normally open, but the owner – someone we may know from a place like our shul – is able to open it for us in order that we can get the item.  Howard talked about how we may be able to hint around the fact we are going to make arrangements later to pay for the item.

We discussed how on Shabbos we take a break from our normal everyday routines, and we should act like we are not in a hurry to go anywhere thus we should generally avoid running.   However, there are exceptions when there is a greater mitzvah – like getting to learning on time – or when it is raining.   Unless we really enjoy running, we should not do this type of exercise on Shabbos.   Exercise we enjoy such as playing volleyball would be a lot better on Shabbos.

We discussed some other prohibitions such as measuring and riding a bike.   We are not permitted to take measurements on Shabbos, such as how much something weighs.    However, we can approximate in order to use a recipe.   Many hold that we should not ride a bike on Shabbos.   There has been concern that we may try to fix a bike on Shabbos, or drive the bike outside the Eruv.   On the other hand, David W pointed out that it is unlikely any of us would try to fix a bike on Shabbos.

We discussed the week's parsha.  In the parsha, 12 spies are sent into Canaan.  They come back with a bleak report.  Yaki gave a very interesting dvar torah, that the purpose of the spying mission was to access the spiritual conditions rather than the physical conditions.  Yaki points out that those chosen to do the spying were 70 year old men, rather than young military soldiers.  The hope is that reporting the poor spiritual condition of Canaan, would motivate the Jews to conquer the land.   Unfortunately, the poor spiritual condition spread over to the spies.  In just 40 days the spies changed in such a way that they were now apathetic towards making a home in Israel, and reported how difficult it would be to conquer the land knowing this would lower everyone's motivation.

My own thoughts are that the Jews may have known they had the physical strength to overcome the enemy, especially with Hashem on their side. Their fear may have been not that they couldn’t win a war, but what their life would be like afterwards.  There was hope that knowledge of the spiritual condition of the place would motivate them, but this did not work.  The Jews were not so desperate that anything would be better, and they choose the security and predictability of their current situation.  Instead of wiping the Jews out, Hashem let them continue wandering around for 40 more years until a new generation had arrived.

This is a summary of what we discussed this past Shabbos.  No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.