Recap of our discussion, 27 Adar II, 5774, Parsha Tazria

This Shabbos, David led discussion, and we talked about the upcoming holiday of Pesach, and the 5 types of chametz: wheat, barley, spelt, rye and oats.   We discussed that there is some differences in what is considered chamtez, with some holding that rice is ok to consume over the holiday.  We discussed how some foods may not be allowed simply to make sure we do not make mistakes.  Foods such as rice, will also puff up when cooked, so have been forbidden by many to help us avoid confusion.  If we allow rice, we may think something else is rice when it is not.

This Shabos we discussed the weeks parsha, Tazria, and Rav Yeager’s commentary on the parsha and on other subjects.  In ancient times, Kohen, who were the priests, would be summoned to make declarations concerning physical maladies, which may or may not be manifestations of a spiritual condition.  In this week’s parsha, there is discussion of tzafaratz which would afflict people and their possessions.  The Kohen come and make a determination as to whether people and their objects are pure or impure. 

We discussed how it is that the Kohen would make this determination.  The Kohen would simply get a feeling about something, and it is believed that this feeling was transmitted to the Kohen with a spiritual mechanism that can’t be explained by science.  It is believed that when we committed sins, we would be struck by tzafaratz. 

We discussed how Hashem sends warnings.  At first these warnings are not obvious, and may appear to simply be random bad luck.  If we ignore the warnings, we may receive more serious warnings.  In the case of tzafaratz, it may first appear to afflict our house, then it may afflict our clothing, and then finally if all the warnings are ignored, afflict us personally.

We discussed how Miriam was afflicted with this malady, for saying lashon hara about her brother, Moses.  In modern times, we may not get leprosy for saying lashon hara, but hashem may warn us in other ways.  A lot of what we attribute to random happenings of bad luck, may actually be warnings from Hashem.  And these could be warnings for anything, not just that we should not be saying lashon hara.  We discussed how it is very easy to say Lashon Hara, and how damaging our words can be.  It is even a worse sin to say something false – or slander someone.  What is particularly bad is to tell someone the bad things others are saying about them.

This Shabbos we discussed the upcoming holiday of Pesach, and how this holiday should not set off alarms!  We discussed that the total amount of work necessary to get ready for this holiday is actually a lot less than we imagine!  We plan to discuss this more next week.

One of the things we did discuss this week is the importance of making our holidays a simchah.  In Judaism, being in a happy state is not something we should have to force.  It should be the other way around – we force ourselves to be serious when we have a particular responsibility.  On Shabbos and definitely on holidays we should automatically be in a state of simchah, without this something that has to be forced, the same way that opening up the faucet allows water to flow through the pipes.  At certain times – and perhaps most of the time we have to stop the water from flowing – but when we open the faucet the water flows automatically, and in the same way our happiness that we are alive, having been created by Hashem, and in contact with him should automatically flow.  Of course this is the ideal situation, that we should strive to achieve.

Last Shabbos we discussed how the Torah first came out with the fact that time had a beginning, and how scientist finally came to believe the same thing we had known.  This Shabbos, David talked about his father’s, Rav Dr. George Schlesinger, great contributions in the area of the philosophy of time.  There is an organization that Dr. Schlesinger was a big part of that can be found at the following url:  Philosophy of Time Website

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

Recap for 20th of Adar II, 5774, (Parsha Shemini)

This Shabbos, David led discussion and we discussed parsha Shemini, including Rav Yeager’s commentary of this section.  We discussed how in the parsha, Aron’s sons are consumed by flame because they did not follow Hashem’s specific instructions with respect to the sacrifices, by bringing an unauthorized offering.  Although Nadab and Avihu had good intentions, we discussed how it is important that we follow the details of halakhah as specifically conveyed in the Torah.

This led to a discussion of whether or not following the specifics of halakhah was enough.  We concluded that it was important to not only follow the specifics of halakhah but to also “bring something to the table”.  We discussed how it was important to follow the spirit of the law and make sure the general ideas and purpose and our mission are not being lost in the details.  Yaki talked about how we must ask ourselves during the day if what we are doing, or not doing, is what Hashem would want us to do.  Another example is Shabbos.  It is very important that we follow the specific halakhah.  But this is not sufficient, we must also do whatever we can to encourage the spirit of the day and make it special, such as having our best meals and wearing our best cloths.

We discussed how we balance two emotions towards Hashem, fear and love.  We have fear of Hashem and the consequences of not following the details of the Torah, but at the same time we have love for Hashem that motivates us to follow the spirit of the law, and to always look to create a Kiddush hashem, imitating Hashem’s ways, and representing Hashem in a way that is most holy.  Yaki talked about finding money and returning it to its owner, even though there may not be a specific halakhah requiring this.  In business, we should not try to fool customers into believing things that are not true, even though there may not be specific halakhah.

David talked some more about a central idea of Judaism, that we are not the result of some random, unplanned process, but rather the whole universe was created by Hashem with us in mind.  We talked about how we are the only piece of physical material that has free will.  The sun, stars, planets, trees, and animals do not have free will in the same way that we do. 

We discussed how Hashem gave us free will, and wants us to make moral choices.  If we automatically made the right choices, then we would not have free will.  It would also take away some of our free will if we were instantly rewarded and punished for the choices we make.  For example, we generally don’t use our free will to put our hands in fire because we would certainly be punished for this in the form of pain.  However, with moral choices the consequences are not necessary as certain or quick so it really is up to us what to do.  We discussed how when Hashem does choose to reward or punish, it is usually done with leaders, in order to make an example for all of us.

This Shabbos we started discussing Pesach.  We discussed the general purpose of holidays – the “common denominator” – which is to come closer to Hashem, and how with Pesach, there is a specific mitzvah to teach our children – the next generation – about how we were freed from slavery in Egypt.

One of the things we discussed, is why the general mitzvah to teach our children Torah, does not cover the mitzvah to teach our children about what happened in Egypt.  The reason we have 2 mitzvahs – one to remember what happened in Egypt – and two to teach our children Torah, is because the learning and remembering from Cedar nights helps increase children’s desire to learn Torah during the year.  And although it is a mitzvah to teach this to children, in a broader sense it is important for all of us to remember and never forget that we were once slaves, that Hashem helped us become free, and that there was a purpose for our freedom.  We discussed how we were not free just to become free, but were freed to receive the Torah and carry out our mission.

Finally, we discussed that it is most interesting that central ideas of Judaism, contained in the Torah, later turn out to be accepted by scientists.  For example, the idea that time has a beginning originated in the Torah.  Scientist use to believe that time was always here.  Now scientist generally agree that time had a beginning.

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

 

 

 

Recap for 6th of Adar II, 5774 (Parsha Vayikra)

This Shabbos David led the discussion, and we discussed why it is that there is repetition in the Torah.  An example of this is all the details that we performed in constructing the Tabernacle.  As readers of the Torah, we already know the details because they were listed out – why are they all repeated in a later Parsha?  We discussed 2 possible reasons.  First, because there is more that we can learn from these details.  And second, because by repeating the details we receive a form of positive re -enforcement.  By repeating the details in his Torah, Hashem lets us know that he is pleased with our work.

We discussed the upcoming holiday of Purim and what it means that we should get to the point that we can’t recognize the difference between Mordechai and Haman.  Physically, we can get to this point by drinking a lot of wine on Purim, while always making sure that we do not do anything unsafe or unhealthy.  But what we discussed that is interesting is getting to this point spiritually – getting to the point where we realize that everything comes from Hashem, including what is evil and bad, as well as good things, and what matters is our reaction to these things rather than the events themselves, to which we may not have any control.   We discussed how that which is bad can be good, and that which is good can be great, because we can be inspired to do mitzvah and grow from everything. 

We discussed some more how Purim can be the hardest holiday to successfully observe, because it is hard to get the meaning that corresponds to the physical things we are doing.  On Purim we want to reveal our true selves, and see the true selves of others.  It is said that people show their true selves when angry, when asked to donate money, when drinking, and when at play.  We try to encourage ourselves, to reveal our true selves with these activities over Purim.  As we are inclined towards some of these naturally, it is difficult to do them in a way that brings out the meaning of Purim.  That is why Purim is a hard holiday to successfully observe.

We discussed how the events surrounding Purim, during the time of Esther, brought in a new era in which Hashem seems to be more hidden.  Today we do not see splitting of seas and other obvious divine manifestations.  But when we ask ourselves certain questions, such as why are we still here, we can see that Hashem’s presence continues and never went away.  Against all odds, the Jews continue to exist, and flourish.  We continue to have a special relationship with Hashem, and a special mission. 

We discussed how we have a longing to latch onto something permanent.  For example, we prefer capital investments over contributions towards operational expenses.  And sometimes we have been misguided, worshipping physical objects such as the Golden Calf, rather than building tabernacles and worshipping Hashem in the manner he spelled out to us.  But for the most part, we have  carried out our mission and today our contributions to the world are everywhere and we are much more prominent than would be suggested by the small numbers that we make up.

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

Recap for 29 Adar I, 5774 (parshah Pekudei)

This Shabbos we discussed the week’s parshah, Pekudei. In the parsha we bring the mishkan to Moshe who does some final work on it, before a cloud appears signifying the divine presence. We discussed how it could be that we were able to carry such a heavy mishkan. Even if we only carried the pieces, how was Moshe and ourselves able to construct the mishkan on our own. David relayed some of Efroni's comments, that Hashem helps us by performing miracles after we have persisted with our own hard work.

David led our learning and study of Rav Yeager’s book. We discussed 2 possible reasons why we perform mitzvahs. The first reason is that performing mitzvah helps us internalize and understand. For example, we put on tefillin in order to help us internalize and understand bringing Torah close to us, spiritually as well as physically. The second reason is that performing mitzvah may actually be necessary in order for the universe to exist and function. This is hard to imagine, as this includes mitzvah causing results that cannot be explained by physical laws. The universe may be designed so that the rewards for doing mitzvah may come automatically, without Hashem’s direct intervention, and without a physical explanation. For example, if we do certain mitzvah there may be more rain for our crops. This may be done with angels, or by some other mechanism that we do not fully understand.

We discussed how with many mitzvah, there is the general mitzvah and then the details. For example, we had the general mitzvah of building a tabernacle, and then all the details that were involved. General mitzvah, such as being kind, visiting the sick, etc. etc. seem to be associated more with the first reason for doing mitzvah, in order to internalize and understand a concept from Torah. For example, being kind and visiting the sick, help us understand Hashem’s relationship with us. Mitzvah’s that involve details, such as purity laws, seem to be associated more with the second reason for doing mitzvah; these are mitzvah that we do simply because the Torah directs us to do them, and we do not quite understand the benefits. Another example, the general mitzvah to keep kosher teaches us that we can control our physical impulses, whereas a detailed mitzvah such as not eating fish without scale and fins is a chokim, in which there is not a good reason that we understand. However performing mitzvah like this may be necessary for us to experience favorable events in our world.

We discussed that although the reason for details may not be understood, details are also important because they support the general mitzvah. If we start messing around with the details, or allowing ourselves to do whatever details we feel like doing, eventually the general mitzvah gets lost. It is similar to typing a url into a browser. If we are off by one character, we will get a browser error or end up at a different website. Likewise, computer programs will not compile if there is a single syntax error, or will cause an application to freeze in the case of interpreted code.

This Shabbos we discussed why it is that the universe was created with certain things hidden. Why isn’t the existence of Hashem made obvious to us? A similar question is why did Hashem create things so that the mitzvah and reward connection is always easily seen and understood. We discussed how this would take away free will to not have to choose to believe, but be forced to believe something. What would it be like to be a human being without free will? Without free will, we become simply a physical body, or an animal. Howard talked about what we would be like without a soul, and how we are a spirit in a physical body; the purpose of the physical body to enable us to perform mitzvah. Our free will is part of this spirit. If we automatically had certain beliefs without free will, we would be like a robot.

This Shabbos we continued our discussion of Purim, which will occur this month of Adar. We discussed a meaning of Purim that we reaccepted the Torah, and in this case did it when we had more of a choice. Back at the time of Mt. Sinai, in many ways, we had no choice but to accept the Torah with Hashem “hanging a mountain” over us, but at the time of Purim we made a choice with our free will to reaccept the Torah. We made a decision to include the book of Esther as part of the canonization of our written Torah. This book, being the last book, becomes a bridge between the written and oral Torah. We talked about the 4 mitzvah of Purim: giving to the poor, giving gifts to our friends, hearing the megilah, and being present for the Torah portions. We also discussed how with Purim, we can go lenient if we have a doubt about having performed the mitzvah.

Finally, I have some thoughts about my birthday which fell on a Shabbos. Howard talked this Shabbos about the importance of our body having a soul. We all grow older physically, including myself, but our body can always have a great soul that never ages.

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