Recap of Shloshim 7/27/2013

We had a siyum to celebrate the finishing of San Hedrin, and the end of the 30 day period of mourning. This is the tractate that David remembers learning with his father when he was a child. David spoke some more about the problem of suffering at our gathering, and the material contained in a paper that his father wrote on the subject. Hashem created a most perfect world, but the definition of a perfect world is one in which the opportunity to do moral acts is maximized. Suffering gives us the opportunity for a virtuous response, to do moral acts such as compassion, kindness, and tzeduka to help alleviate the suffering. A most perfect world does not have the least amount of suffering possible.

One of the problems with suffering is that it is harmful to the relationship that one has with Hashem. By helping alleviate the suffering of others, we help improve the relationship of others to Hashem. We are then rewarded by a better relationship between ourselves and Hashem.

Efroni spoke about some of the amazing coincidences. He noted how his grandfather passed away on the day of his grandfather's (Natan's) page in the Talmud, with the odds of this happening by chance being around 1 in 2000. He also spoke about coming to Memphis planning to study 112 sections of gemara, and the fact that this is exactly how many sections are contained in the San Hedrin. And he also spoke about how this all happened during the 3 weeks, which are traditional times of mourning for us.  Efroni also spoke about how the Torah is a means to an end, and how a person who follows the Torah is more important than the Torah itself, and this is how he thinks of his grandfather.

Recap for 20 Av 5773 (Parsha Eikev)

Last Shabbos we discussed the idea of clinging to Hashem, and how we do this by imitating his ways – doing mitzvah, acts of kindness, and following the Torah. This Shabbos we broadened the discussion to include the idea of loving Hashem. We discussed what it means to be commanded to love Hashem.  How can we be commanded to have this emotion of love?

We discussed how we can love Hashem, by studying the details of his creation. Hashem created everything, so anything that we study, such as the Torah, or secular subjects such as science, math, and psychology, are included. As we study these subjects, it should be amazing to us the beauty and intelligence of Hashem that is manifested in our physical world. And we discussed how the act of studying all these subjects and details doesn’t only lead to our love for Hashem, it is love for Hashem in and of itself.

David talked about how there are 3 levels to a relationship with Hashem. At the most primitive level, we fear Hashem and that we will be punished if we do not follow the Torah and act in a moral way. At the next higher level, we appreciate Hashem for what he can do for us, personally. And at the highest and most desirable level, we appreciate what and who Hashem is, in and of itself, regardless of what he can do for us. As we get to a higher level, we still have fear, but what we are fearing is missing out on opportunities to get closer to Hashem and grow spiritually, rather than some type of punishment.

We discussed the mitzvah of learning Torah and whether or not we get benefit if we don’t understand the learning. We did agree that maximum benefit comes from being able to recap what we learned and provide the knowledge to others. However, unlike secular subjects such as math and biology, making the effort to learn has benefit in and of itself regardless of whether or not we understand the material. If we simply give up learning, we may miss the opportunity to eventually get to a point where the learning is beneficial.  Our journey of learning may take us to a place where we don’t understand, but later lead us to a place where the learning is not only understandable but inspirational to us as well.

Efroni led a discussion about Torah commanded blessings with respect to meals and learning Torah. With meals, we say the Torah level blessing afterwards, whereas with learning we say the blessing in the beginning. We discussed possible reasons for this difference.  One possible reason is that with Torah study the learning never ends whereas with meals there is more of a definite end point.

Ariav gave a dvar Torah on this week’s parsha, Eikev. In the parsha, Moses tells the people what they have to do. We discussed why Moses acts like there is not really that much that the Jews need to do when there seems to be a very large number of commandments in the Torah. We discussed how we need to look at the volume of commandments relative to what the Jews are going to receive in return. When we look at all that Hashem gives us, we can see that what we are asked to do in return is not that much. We also discussed the fact that Hashem really doesn’t need us to do anything – all these commandments are actually for us.

Finally we had some discussion of science and religion. Howard pointed out that science will never be able to explain how something comes out of nothing. Science is concerned with cause and affect. What is most interesting is that Hashem created this concept of one event causing another, cause and affect.  Cause and affect rely on time, which is something else Hashem created.  The question of who created Hashem does not make sense, because cause and effect - if it exists at all - may work very differently in the spiritual world of Hashem, than Hashem's manifestation of this for us in the physical world.

Recap for 13 Av 5773 (Parsha Va'etchanan)

This Shabbos we discussed what it means that we do not do work on Shabbos. We discussed the one type of work that is a Torah violation, but not a capital offense: lighting a fire. This is because Hashem did not create fire during the first six days of creation. Hashem did create the sun, but this is not the same as a fire, as there is no oxygen in space.

We discussed the parsha, known as Va’etchanan. In the parsha, Moses recounts the story of receiving the ten commandments at Mt. Sinai, and repeats the ten commandments to the people. Moses speaks to us on the importance of following the Torah and its commandments. We discussed how Hashem did not descend all the way down at Mt. Sinai, but that there is a distance between him and us.

This distance illustrates the fact we can never completely cling to Hashem. We do the best we can by imitating Hashem’s ways. We do mitzvah, such as visiting the sick and loving acts of kindness. These bring us closer to Hashem.  We follow the Torah as best we can.

We discussed how Hashem created a world in a way that would enable us to do all this mitzvah. David spoke some more about what his father would say with respect to the problem of evil and suffering in the world. The most perfect world has suffering so that we can do mitzvah and practice these character traits such as love, kindness and compassion. This is known as the virtuous response to suffering. If there was no suffering and we simply experienced well-being all the time, we would not know we were experiencing well-being because there would be nothing to compare it to. This may be another reason why there is suffering.

We discussed some more how Hashem gives all of us free will, and how some of us choose to not to do good and/or follow the Torah with this free will. If everyone automatically followed the Torah, then we would not have free will but would be robots and not human beings. Hashem wants us to make choices with free will, rather than automatically having choices made for us.

We discussed why “in the beginning” appears first before Hashem, and not the other way around. It would seem that first, Hashem had to create time itself. We never really answered this question.  Hashem exists outside of time and space. Since we live within time and space, it is very difficult to understand what it is like outside of time and space. Everything that exists in the physical world exists in time, so time would have to be created first.

We continued our discussion of work by non-Jews. If we own a company with a non-Jew, the non-Jew can work on Shabbos but must realize 100% of the profits from that day. We are allowed to own stock in a company that does business on Shabbos. However, if the company is primarily Jewish run and is open on Shabbos, we should divest of this stock.

Finally, David talked about how we will be discussing more topics from his father, including religion and science in coming weeks. We also talked about how we should love our fellow Jew even if they are not as religious as us. And we talked about all the accomplishments going on in Israel, but it is disappointing that some of the Rabbis are fighting with each other as they are.

Recap for 6 Av 5773 (Parsha Devarim)

This Shabbos we discussed the week’s parsha, known as Devarim. This is the first parsha in Deuteronomy. In the parsha, Moses speaks to the people and gives them a recounting of everything that has happened up until now.  Moses recounts to the people how they had committed several sins including the sin of the spies and the sin of the Golden Calf.  Moses also recounts some of our mitzvah and accomplishments, including the construction of the tabernacle. We discussed how at this point in time in our history, it was very important for us to focus on the good we had done, and to build on our accomplishments. This would help propel us to continue making progress, eventually entering and settling the land of Israel.

There are several specific details of the Parsha that we discussed. The locations that Moses brings up are the locations in which he transmitted Torah to us. We also discussed how we did a lot of complaining throughout history, but we never complained when it was revealed that we would no longer be taught directly by Moses. This indicates that our priorities were out of line. Learning Torah should be a top priority in our life.

We did some more learning of material from David S father, HaRav Natan Ben HaRav Shmuel. David led the discussion of what his father would say concerning the problem of evil and suffering. Hashem created the most perfect world possible, given that the goal of the world is not to have the most well-being possible, but to have the most moral acts possible that we choose to do.

We discussed moral acts such as compassion, tzeduka, and forgiveness. These are only possible in a world where everything is not so perfect and sometimes there is evil and suffering. We discussed the virtuous response to suffering. One example we discussed, if someone is poor and suffering we can do the mitzvah of providing them with tzeduka and assistance. When the poor realize our help, they see Hashem working through us and this helps them maintain a good relationship with Hashem.

There is some suffering that is so severe, suffering that we are powerless to do much about, such as the holocaust. Maybe Hashem did intervene and the holocaust would have been much worse. There are some events that we just do not know why they happen, or are allowed to happen. We discussed how we should not bring up these events, such as the holocaust, in order to help us with a personal agenda.

We continued our discussion of Shabbos, and what we can ask a goy to help us with. Avishai told a story of getting into an elevator and asking a goy what floor he was going to. The goy gave a floor, and Avishai and his friend then went to the same floor. In this case they did not specifically ask the goy to press a certain floor.

We discussed how we can ask a goy explicitly to do something for us as long as it is not a Torah level violation, and it is absolutely necessary that the violation be done because we are suffering a major discomfort.   We can ask a goy to turn off a noisy microphone at shul.  Another example we discussed, we cannot ask a goy to light a fire for us as this would be a Torah level violation, however, we could go to the house of a goy and benefit from a fire that he had lit on Shabbos. 

Zach told a story of leaving stoves on low, and how it is permitted to turn the stove up and down on Yom Tov, but not on or off. The management of the apartments turned all the stoves off. This was a case in which they were able to use non-Jews to turn the stove’s back on.

We discussed the importance of mourning during the first 9 days of Av. It is very important that we mourn the destruction of the temples and not accept the current state of things. Only those who mourn the destruction of the temples are worthy of the rebuilding of the temples.

We discussed some of the customs we follow during the first 9 days. In the old days bathing was done at bath houses and was only done once a week or so. In the past there would be a total prohibition on bathing during the 9 days. However, today, when we usual bath once a day, we are permitted to continue bathing during the 9 days, but we should do it in a way that is less enjoyable. One thing we should do is turn down the temperature of the water. We should also take quick showers rather than large baths and avoid pleasures such as whirlpools. We should also avoid meat and wine during the 9 days. However there are some exceptions. We are permitted to eat meat on Shabbos. And we are permitted to eat meat during celebrations such as a siyum or bris.

Finally, David talked about how the Kiddush originally started. David was walking home with Alan from the Yeshiva and they decided to go and do some learning together between the end of the services and lunch time. It was great to have Alan at the Kiddush this Shabbos, as well as visitors from the University of Maryland, Zach, Johnathon, Johnathon, and Yakov.

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

Recap for 28 Tamuz 5773 (Parsha Matot)

This Shabbos the learning was in honor and memory of David S. father, HaRav Natan Ben HaRav Shmuel.  This Shabbos, as many others, much of our learning comes from and originates from Rav Natan Ben Shmuel.

We began our learning by discussing one of the week’s parshas, which is known as Matot.  We discussed the section of the parsha which includes the laws concerning vows. We are obligated to keep our vows. However in certain circumstances, a husband or father can annul the vows of his wife or daughter. We discussed how vows should not be taken lightly. We should be careful not to make too many vows, as each vow adds to the laws and commandments that are already included in the Torah.

David S. shared a story that his father, Rav Natan, would tell. This story describes an interesting paradox. A husband issues a conditional get. The get states that 30 days from today a divorce will be granted, retroactive to today, as long as the wife keeps her vows. What happens, the wife pledges not to eat any meat, the husband annuls the vow, and then the wife eats meat. All this takes place within the 30 days. The question is – is the divorce granted? If the divorce is granted, then the husband annulled the vow during a period of time in which he wasn’t the husband, so the wife committed an aveira and the divorce should not have been granted. But if the divorce is not granted the husband had the power to annul the vows and the wife did not commit an aveira, so the divorce should have been granted.

This Shabbos we discussed some of the issues surrounding evil and suffering in the world. Why does Hashem allow evil and suffering? David S. shared that this was a topic that his father would often talk about. One of the main points we discussed, is that Hashem doesn’t just allow suffering, he intentionally created a world in which suffering and evil would exist. This suffering gives us work and mitzvah to do, in order to create well-being out of the suffering, and turn the negative of suffering into a positives. This helps us to grow, become closer to Hashem, and finish the act of creation that Hashem started.

David S. shared how his father would say that Hashem created the best and most perfect world that is possible. And the most perfect world for us, is a world that is not perfect. This world includes us having free will. If we automatically made choices that were the right choices to make, we would not have free will, we would be like robots. Evil is one of the proofs that we do in fact have free will, and some of us choose to follow the Torah and do what is right and some of us do not.

If there was no suffering, and we always had a feeling of well-being, we would not know we were having a feeling of well-being because there would be nothing to compare it to. One of the questions we discussed is why there is severe suffering, such as with the holocaust and earthquakes? It is possible the holocaust and earthquakes would have been a lot worse without Hashem’s intervention, but why do things like this happen to begin with? We did not come up with a single satisfactory answer, but it is clear that there are events and circumstances we are powerless to do much about. One point that was made is that either there is going to be suffering or there is not, and if there is suffering then all suffering is going to occur, including some that is severe, and/or some that we can do nothing about. If we could control everything, what would be the role for Hashem in our lives?

Another question we discussed is the other extreme, and why it is necessary to have minor annoyances that we cannot do anything about. Hashem gives us free will to choose which annoyances we want to do something about, and which we are going to tolerate and accept. It is clear that Hashem intended the most perfect world for us, to be one that is not perfect in which some things would have to be tolerated and accepted.

One of the topics we discussed this Shabbos, is how everything comes from Hashem, including money. David W talked about how families use to live with maids, butlers, and servants and then lose their wealth. The same way that Hashem can give us money and wealth, he can take it away.

Hashem would like us to enrich ourselves, so that we can use our wealth to perform mitzvahs such as giving Tzedukuh. We discussed giving of Tzedukuh to poor people. In giving tzedukuh, we are representing Hashem. This helps the poor maintain a good relationship with Hashem, and Hashem then has a better relationship with us. We discussed how it is desirable to be helpful to the poor, without enabling them to continue having problems. If we are going to give someone money, then it is better that it be a loan. Better yet, would be to give someone a job. This would be better than giving someone money or loaning it to them.

We spent some time this Shabbos discussing the issue of non-Jews doing work. There is nothing prohibiting a non-Jew from working on Shabbos, but there are prohibitions against us benefitting from this work. We are not allowed to directly ask a non-Jew to do work for us. However, it is possible to train non-Jews. Brian R talked about how an employee has been trained to follow certain rules - like not changing the state of the lights - when he is dressed up as if it is a special day.

We are not allowed to benefit from a Torah level violation by a non-Jew. However, most violations are rabbinic violations, and we can benefit from these as long as the non-Jew did not have us in mind as a beneficiary. For example, if a non-Jew turns on a light in order that he can see better, and then forgets to turn it off, we can benefit from the light being turned on.

Finally David W shared some good news that Israel is doing very well economically. He also shared that it is helpful that surrounding enemies are not focused on Israel, but are fighting each other. He shared that one area in which Israel needs to improve, is internal fighting, and that it would be nice if we could all get along.

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