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.