Recap for 4rth Elul, 5774 Parsha Shoftim

This Shabbos we discussed parsha Shoftim and Rav Yeager’s commentary on the parsha.  David Schlesinger led discussion.  We discussed how the levy were given a special role, and how they have certain mitzvah that do not apply to all of us. Some of these roles continue to this day.  We discussed how even today Hashem gives all of us a special role.  We have discussed in the past how Judaism is a team sport, and we all have a position on the team based on our skills and talents and how we fit in.

We discussed the section in the parsha having to do with inadvertent murder, a situation in which a person causes another person’s death but did not mean to do so.  This would be like having civil liability in secular law, even if no criminal charged were filed.   We discussed how this section teaches us the importance watching over each other.  We have discussed in the past the halakhah of loving your fellow Jew.   This love includes watching out for each other.  We have to be careful not to be reckless, especially when others are around.

David talked about the laws of bribing a judge, and how he learned this from his father, Rabbi Dr. George N Schlesinger.  In this halakhah, a person who bribes a judge is not charged with any crime, however the judge if he accepts the bribe is charged.  By not being charged with a crime, a person who bribes a judge is likely to go around and tell everyone if the judge accepts it.  This deters judges from accepting bribes, because they know if they accept it, it is likely a lot of people will find out.  Please check out our new website in honor and memory of David's father, www.georgeschlesinger.org.

Dave W commented that the Hebrew word which is pronounced as hamas, appears in this week’s parsha with a meaning of false.  The other time we see this word is in parsha Noach.  In Noach the meaning of the word hamas is corrupt.  These two words would definitely describe the Hamas organization, as well as some of the other terrorist organizations we hear about in the news.

In the parsha, there are sections concerning the structure of government.   Back in history, Kings were allowed and were given certain roles.  Marshal talked about how our democratic government we have today is different with our legislative, executive, and judicial branches.  Marshal drew a comparison between the Torah and our constitution.  We discussed how although we live in a great country, but maybe it is time for us to return to our home of Israel.

Dan B brought up some commentary on the parsha.  Dan shared about the importance of walking with Hashem.  Dan brought up the point that we should not be like robots, following the halakhah but not being conscious of Hashem and walking with him.  Dan talked about how Hashem is inside us and that is how we walk with him.  Hashem is not an external entity to us.

We had a very interesting discussion about the importance of belief in general, and belief in Hashem’s plans for us, specifically. Norm talked about his house getting flooded by hurricane Katrina, and his belief that coming to Memphis was Hashem’s plan for him.  Norm talked about how important belief is, and how a lot of therapy deals with this. He pointed out, that if he had believed Katrina was some sort of punishment, or that he and his family were unlucky and had to suffer, life would have still moved on, but he would not have connected with Hashem and would have lost the opportunity to turn this tragedy into a positive.  Even those who are not religion, can benefit by having positive beliefs.

Today I can see that it was part of Hashem’s plan for me to come to Memphis and connect with the Jewish community like Norm.  In my case I first lived downtown, and my connection to Judaism and the community here has been a slow process. It would have been quicker and happier for me if I had belief it was Hashem’s plans to begin with, rather than just believing I have to live here in Memphis. I remember when I first went to the JCC, how this was the first Jewish institution I went to, and how the idea to go there seemed to come out of nowhere.  Today, I know based on learning we had on a previous Shabbos, that Hashem no longer communicates directly with prophets, but can communicate with us by giving us ideas and solutions such as becoming a member of the JCC.

Nathan commented that a lot of people have the question of how we can know that Hashem exists if he is no longer manifested in an obvious way, such as direct communication.  David talked about how we have matured as a people.  Just like children when they are little, at first we needed to be almost forced to use our free will in a certain way.  As children grow they can make more and more decisions on their own, and realize the consequences of their actions.  The same it is with us as a nation. Today Hashem wants our free will to be as free as possible, and as a nation we should have matured to the point where we are ready for this.   If Hashem suddenly appeared in front of us in a physical form, we would have no choice but to believe in him.  So Hashem still will communicate with us, by giving us solutions like coming to Memphis to live, but we have to use our free will to believe in him.  When we use our free will we truly are human beings, created in Hashem’s image, and not robots.

This Shabbos we had some discussions about what the Torah means to us in general. Norm brought up the point that it is about responsibility, especially in the first few chapters.  Yaki brought up the point that the Torah is also a guideline, and that not everything is included.  David brought up the point that it is important to study Torah, in order to meet our needs such as actualization, represented at the top of Meow’s pyramid of needs.  We discussed as a society, how our economy can meet our physical needs at the bottom of the pyramid, but we need to be concerned with our needs at the top of Meow’s pyramid as well.  We discussed the opinion that people should work or join the army in Israel in addition to just Torah study, and be part of meeting the needs through-out Meow’s pyramid.   We learned that on Shabbos we should engage in Torah study, one-half of the time that we are not sleeping, which works out to approximately 9 hours, however we had a discussion on how we can combine physical pleasures as well as Torah study on Shabbos.

We discussed this Shabbos how we have both good inside of us, and also an “evil inclination”. It is the role of Judaism to bring out the good. Some-times we need help having the “evil inclination” beaten out of us. Brett from the “all Torah team” came up with the example of a Get. Sometimes the person needs to have the evil “beaten out of him” - in order to strip away the evil and get to the good inside him and get him to issue the get.

Norm brought up how Judaism would be an easy religion if we had no “evil inclination” at all, and everyone would be converting to become Jews.  Norm brought up how the king would put an attractive, promiscuous woman in the presence of his son in order to test him.  Hashem created our world in a way that we are constantly tested.  If we were never tested we would not have an opportunity to follow the Torah, to strengthen and to grow.

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

Recap for 27 Av, 5774, Parsha Re'eh

This Shabbos we discussed parsha Re’eh. David Schlesinger led discussion. In the parsha Moshe tells the people that they can be either blessed or cursed depending on their choices and actions. Yaki commented that consequences are not necessarily punishments or blessings. Yaki mentioned as an example, running out in the street without looking and getting hit by a car. It is not necessarily a punishment for running out in the street, but simply what happens.

David commented that the rewards for doing mitzvahs may be internal as well as external. We discussed the differences between these types of rewards, and that the connection between our actions and our blessings may not be immediately apparent. External rewards include money and favors people may give to us in return for our service. Internal rewards include feeling good about doing mitzvah, and spiritual growth that we may receive.  We discussed that communities and nations can also receive rewards and blessings collectively.

We discussed how during our life it is our purpose to grow spiritually, in order to get ready for the world to come. David talked about how our religion places a very large value on life, not because life is necessarily better than the world to come, but because life helps us get ready for the world to come. We discussed how it is said that one minute in the next world is better than an hour in this world. But it is also said that one minute of Torah study, is better than an hour in the next world. We say the later, because Torah study is how we prepare for the next world, when we will receive our Torah study directly from Hashem.

David commented how his father would make an analogy between getting ready for an opera, and the world to come. We all will get to go to the opera, but those who are ready for it are going to enjoy and get a lot more out of it. Unlike the philosophy of other religions, in our religion we should spend as much time as possible getting ready for “the opera” and not be in a hurry to go.

We discussed how in this section of the Torah, there is a transition from a repetition of our history over to a reminder of what are our most important mitzvahs. Dave W commented that there is a lot of repetition in these parshas. We had a discussion of the different types of mitzvahs that we do. There are mitzvahs that we do individually, mitzvahs we do as a community, and mitzvahs that we do as a nation. As a nation, we have a mitzvah to settle and defend the land of Israel. As a community, we have mitzvahs to do such things as build schools and synagogues. And as an individual we have mitzvahs to do such as study Torah, and follow commandments to keep Kosher.

In this week’s parsha, there is a section about being the children of Hashem and not making marks on our body. There is also a reiteration of the commandments to keep Kosher. Brett asked what all this had to do with “tea in China”, saying that these commandments do not seem to be related. We discussed how being a child of Hashem, means that our bodies do not necessarily belong to us, and are on loan.  We have a responsibility to use our bodies for spiritual purposes, rather than physical purposes such as having tattoos and markings.

We discussed the Kosher laws, specifically the prohibition against mixing milk and meat. We discussed how the prohibition against seething a calf in its mother’s milk is repeated 3 times. The first time is simply to command us not to mix milk and meat. The second time is to command us not to consume milk mixed with meat. And the third time is to remind us to not benefit from mixing milk and meat. We discussed how the Torah commandment does not include fowl such as chicken and turkey, but that the rabbis added the additional laws to include fowl, so that there would be no confusion.

Finally, Yaki as part of his dvar Torah talked about how we each have different personalities and talents, because we each have a unique mission to perform here in this world, and that we have unique ways to grow spiritually. We have some unique ways that we grow spiritually and get ready for the world to come, additional to the ways that we have in common such as keeping kosher and studying the Torah.

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

Recap for 20 Av 5774 (Parsha Eikev)

This Shabbos we held a siyum to celebrate the completion of tractate Megillah. David Schlesinger led discussion. We began by studying the last part of the tractate. We learned that on Yom Kippur we should be in a hurry to get to shul, and to not be in a hurry to leave. We learned that the most important aliya on Shabbos, is that of wrapping up the Torah. We learned that we do not want to add words during the Torah reading, as it may be mistaken as coming from the Torah. However, we do have the exception for the blessing, which should be obvious as not coming from the Torah. 

We had a discussion about our historical contact with Hashem. We began our history having direct contact with Hashem through our prophets. As we have gone through history, our contact has become more and more indirect, as Hashem has become more hidden. But even today, Hashem continues to communicate with us.  An example of this we discussed is when we are given a solution to a problem we have been experiencing.

David brought up how his father would say if we are immersed in a problem it is helpful to get away from it for a while and it may seem as if the mind will actually keep working on it. When we come back to the problem, we are able to see a clear solution. Norm brought up an interesting story about the inventor of the sewing machine. He had a dream in which he came up with the solution of how to design this machine.  The solution would be to have the hole in the needle on the other side of the needle.  

This Shabbos we continued our study of Rav Yeager's commentaries.  We discussed that there are 6 constant mitzvahs, with one of them being to love Hashem.  We discussed how it could be that we could be commanded to love Hashem.   We may be familiar with loving a human being, but how do we love Hashem and how can this be a commandment?

First we have to figure out what is the essence of Hashem, given that Hashem can not be sensed physically as can be a human being. We continued our discussion from last week concerning how it is that we can grasp this spiritual essence of Hashem. We discussed how this would be similar to someone who is blind perceiving the differences between colors.

We discussed how one of the things that we can do is study Hashem’s creations. We can study such subjects as science and biology. David brought up how his father would present the complexity, yet harmony of science and nature, as evidence of a creator. This evidence would include all the physical laws, and things like the behavior of molecules in a cell, being exactly what would be needed in order to support life, such as human-beings, that can think, and imagine, and be conscious of such things as a creator of everything.

One of the other things we can do is study the Torah. By studying the Torah we may be able to get a feel for Hashem. We discussed how there really is not a separation between science and Torah.  We also discussed how the desire and willingness to study science and Torah are not just a means towards an ends, they are the ends themselves. The desire and willingness to study Hashem’s creations, be it science, or Torah, or biology, or anything else, is love for Hashem, or as a friend of mine would say "this IS the program".

Finally, we continued our discussion of exactly what “sparks of kidusha” means. It means that it is our mission to bring spirituality to the physical world, and that everything that is physical can be used in order to achieve this. There can be a bit of spirituality in everything. An example could be a table. When that table is used for a Shabbos meal, we are bringing spirituality to the physical table. Another example would be food and drink. We elevate the “sparks of kidusha” by saying the blessings, and benching after our meal.

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

Recap for 13 Av, 5774 (Parsha Va'etchanan)

This Shabbos David Schlesinger led discussion of the week’s parsha Va’etchanan, and Rav Yeager’s commentary on the parsha. We started by discussing the very beginning of the Torah, with the first sentence of Bereishit, and how this relates to this week’s parsha. This week’s parsha includes a repetition of the 10 commandments, which begin with the first commandment, which is belief in Hashem. We discussed how we must first believe in Hashem, and that the Torah comes from Hashem, before we can move on to anything else.

We discussed how the first sentence of Bereishit is about Hashem, but why Hashem’s name isn't the very first word.   Ellie suggested that maybe there is a gematra reason for this. Another possible explanation that we discussed is that the Torah is not suppose to be directly about Hashem.  The Torah is actually about how to connect with Hashem.  By studying and following the Torah, we can connect to Hashem.

We discussed other ways to get close to Hashem, or "cleaving" to Hashem, as Yakki called it.  One of these is to study his creations. David pointed out that the more we know about such subjects as science and math, the more we can see the greatness of the creator. Another way to get close to Hashem that we discussed is to imitate his ways.

We discussed how human-beings have a natural desire to connect to something greater and more powerful than ourselves. We seem to be born with this. Yaki referred to this as a “yearning". David suggested that the fact we have this yearning, is evidence of the existence of Hashem. Although we are born with this yearning, it is not necessarily for Hashem specifically. Hashem wants us to use our free will to believe in him. Through out history, many people have satisfied their desire for something greater by worshipping idols, believing in multiple Gods, or believing in other types of greater forces.

We discussed how Judaism brought monotheism, and a Torah of moral values, to the world. Today the largest religions are monotheistic, and have taken the ideas that originated with Judaism. We discussed how Jews have a special mission in the world, and how non-jews are expected to follow 7 special laws which ensures they at least have a chance at receiving our message.

Ellie brought up the question of why we even need a Torah to begin with if certain things are obvious. Ellie then answered his question by pointing out that we all have a yitz ahora which is an evil inclination. This inclination interferes with our ability to be able to figure out what we should do, and then to carry it out.

We discussed some of the current events that are in the news. Norm pointed out that our customs and laws concerning burial, prevent the spread of disease, such as what is going on now with the Ebola epidemic. Norm also spoke about the heroism of KC, who stopped a train in order to save everyone’s life except himself. KC was willing to sacrifice himself for everyone else. A gentleman at our learning who prefers to be anonymous spoke about how terrorist groups such as Hamas are no different than Al Quada and ISIS and that we should support Israel, and fight these groups now rather than later.

One of the main topics we discussed this Shabbos is that of being “in a storm”, or going through a period of life that is not going well. One thing we can do to deal with this is realize that things could be worse. David repeated what Norm says about a group of people attending a group therapy and how that allows them to see that it could be worse. A gentleman (who wants to remain anonymous) at our learning pointed out what it says in the Torah about he who is happy with what he has, being someone who is happy.

We discussed another, perhaps better way of dealing with a bad period - which is to have faith in Hashem and realize that it will get better. That is what some of the Jews did who were in the desert, and Hashem did spare the lives of 15,000 of them. Given time, all bad things will come to an end, and if we have faith and connect with Hashem we really never need to be as fearful as we are.

We discussed the upcoming day of Tu Bshvat. This is the day that Hashem spared the lives of the 15,000 people. It is the day that these people looked up and saw a full moon. These people had faith in Hashem, and things did in fact get better for them.

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

Recap for 6 Av 5774 (Parsha Devarim)

This Shabbos, David Schlesinger led discussion of this week’s parsha Devarim, and Rav Yeager’s commentary on the parsha. In the parsha Moses begins his repetition of the Torah and our history of what has happened with us up until that point. We talked about how much of this was a rebuke to us. Avishai pointed out that we had spent a total of 40 years wandering in the desert. And we discussed how this was a trip that only had to take us approximately 11 days.

We discussed how Moshe recounts in the parsha, how in our history an organizational structure was set up so that Moshe did not have to deal with things directly. We discussed how when this structure was set up, the people did not seem to care that they would no longer be able to learn from Moshe. We discussed how this made a “crack”, and how later in our history, especially with the sin of the spies, this crack widened up.

We had an interesting discussion at this point, on how it is the best way to rebuke people. David pointed out that rebuking that is based on truly caring about someone, that is done in a positive way – that this is the best way to rebuke because it is most motivating and minimize the probability of  leave someone feeling bad. It is possible to force someone to change, but when people feel forced, at the first opportunity they will rebel and not show appreciation for the rebuke. This may all be a lesson for us in our personal lives, not only in how to rebuke people, but also to not take rebukes personally. We discussed how it can really be important how we word something. We have to be careful what we are implying.

We discussed how Moshe goes on to talk about how he himself is held accountable for what we did. We discussed how what happened with Moshe at the "rock", may have only been a minor contributor to Moshe not being able to enter Israel.  Certainly Moshe had to wander the desert for 40 years, because of what we did and failed to do. Moshe failed to follow Hashem’s directives at the “rock”, but he was also held accountable for our actions.

We are all affected by what others do. David talked about how his father, HaRav Natan Ben HaRav Shmuel (Dr. Rabbi George Schlesinger) would tell a story of a few people riding in a boat. One of the people starts drilling a hole. In the parsha, Moshe talks about how our actions affected him, which is analogous to how someone drilling a hole in a boat would affect everyone.

This Shabbos we had a discussion of Tisha B’Av, and the entire month of Av leading up to this day. We discussed the different fast days that we have during the year. And we discussed how the month of Av is known as a time of mourning, but is actually a month where simchah continues just in a diminished state.

We discussed the purpose of diminished simchah in our life, which is to motivate us to deal with whatever the issue is. We discussed how the same way we feel physical pain, we may also feel emotional pain, such as depression. Depression can be a sign that there is something in our life that we need to deal with. We discussed how events in our lives are really experiences, which can have both good and bad points, and how we do not have to label things as “good” or “bad”. We discussed how “bad” things such as pain and depression may happen, so that we are motivated to turn these things into positives by doing good.

Finally, Brett brought up how every detail is in the Torah for a reason. And we wish Avishai the best on his return to Israel.

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