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.
No comments:
Post a Comment