This Shabbos, we discussed Parshah Behaalotecha, including Rav Yeager’s commentary on the parsha. David Schlesinger led discussion. We discussed how when we were at Mt. Sinai we were not fully paying attention, and were in too much of a hurry to leave. We discussed how this is similar to kids in school not paying attention, anxious to finish the school year and leave for the summer break. When it was finally time for us to leave Mt. Sinai, we left not having learned all that was expected.
Norm commented that this is similar to adolescents wanting to leave the house before they are adults. And just like adolescents will eventually have to face the consequences of their actions, so did we have to face the consequences of our action (or inaction). We left Mt. Sinai without having learned a sufficient amount of Torah, and many of our mistakes to come were consequences of this.
We discussed the Torah commandment that "thou shall not kill". We discussed exactly what this means. There is a big difference between murder and killing. We concluded that perhaps the commandment should be thou shall not murder, as some killing is justified. In fact, there are numerous times in the Torah in which we kill others, when we go to war and/or have to eliminate enemies. The Torah commandment does not mean we should never end a life. In fact, in some situations the Torah would mandate that we do so.
Norm commented about patients with PTSD. It may be easy to say there is a difference between murder and killing. But it is much more difficult to get PTSD patients who have participated in a war to believe and accept this with their entire minds. Norm commented that the Torah has numerous examples in the Torah in which we go to war and/or eliminate our enemies. However, many PTSD patients are not Jewish, and even those who are Jewish - it may be difficult to bring them comfort - regardless of what is in the Torah.
We also discussed how the Torah commandment may in fact include emotional as well as physical "murder". Yaki spoke on this point. He commented that although non-Jews are subject to the 7 laws of Noah, they did not want to accept the Torah which includes a broader definition of transgressions. Yaki commented that when we verbally assault someone, it is a transgression that may be covered under the 10 commandments. Yaki also commented that giving someone wrong directions is a form of stealing - in this case stealing time.
We also discussed how the Torah commandment may in fact include emotional as well as physical "murder". Yaki spoke on this point. He commented that although non-Jews are subject to the 7 laws of Noah, they did not want to accept the Torah which includes a broader definition of transgressions. Yaki commented that when we verbally assault someone, it is a transgression that may be covered under the 10 commandments. Yaki also commented that giving someone wrong directions is a form of stealing - in this case stealing time.
As the Jews went on a physical journey with the goal of reaching Israel, they were also on a spiritual journey. The spiritual journey included receiving the Torah, and then applying the Torah in their daily lives. We discussed the importance of learning Torah, and how it is a big mitzvah to do so. This helps us reach our spiritual as well as physical destinations. If we do not have regular jobs, we should be engaging in Torah study.
We discussed how we traveled through the desert from Mt. Sinai. For a long time we lacked direction, and would frequently make mistakes. This was true both physically and spiritually. Instead of learning from these mistakes and continuing we would often fail to keep moving both physically and spirtually. David talked about how when we fall, we need to “get up” and keep going. The Jews needed to get up and keep moving towards Israel, physically, and "get up" and learn from their mistakes and continue to do Mitzvah. In the same way, it is a good lesson that we should "get up" when we fall down in our personal lives as well.
We discussed how we traveled through the desert from Mt. Sinai. For a long time we lacked direction, and would frequently make mistakes. This was true both physically and spiritually. Instead of learning from these mistakes and continuing we would often fail to keep moving both physically and spirtually. David talked about how when we fall, we need to “get up” and keep going. The Jews needed to get up and keep moving towards Israel, physically, and "get up" and learn from their mistakes and continue to do Mitzvah. In the same way, it is a good lesson that we should "get up" when we fall down in our personal lives as well.
We discussed what we should do if there are conflicts between studying Torah and doing other mitzvah. If someone else can do the mitzvah, then we should give priority to studying Torah. On the other hand, there are mitzvah such as putting on tefillin, in which we should discontinue Torah study to do the mitzvah. Even if we know what the mitzvah are, it helps us spiritually to know why we do the mitzvah with respect to what conveyed in the Torah. Brett commented that doing mitzvah has more meaning, if we understand why we are doing it and how it is bringing us closer to Hashem and advancing us in our spiritual journey and growth.
Finally, Dave W talked a little about the kosher laws and how Hashem provided birds when we were asking for “meat”. Although birds were not considered meat in the Torah, the rabbis have instituted rules classifying birds as meat.
Finally, Dave W talked a little about the kosher laws and how Hashem provided birds when we were asking for “meat”. Although birds were not considered meat in the Torah, the rabbis have instituted rules classifying birds as meat.
This is a summary of what we discussed. No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
No comments:
Post a Comment