This Shabbos, the learning was in memory and honor of David’s uncle Micha Ben Tzvi Aryeh, who lived in Israel. David spoke of the chessed (kindness) his uncle has shown to him and others. David spoke about how his uncle’s great knowledge of halakuh has been helpful to him and others, and spoke about how his uncle would help the davening services run smoothly.
This Shabbos, our thoughts and prayers are also with everyone in France who has suffered as a result of the recent terrorism. We think of our fellow Jews who had to spend Shabbos in a virtual lock down, fearful of their lives. We are proud of our religion and country that stands for good against evil.
This Shabbos we discussed how some may see science as in conflict with Torah. Some do not believe science should be studied at all, and our education should be composed of Torah alone. I shared that science is the study of Hashem’s creation of the physical world, and that we need this knowledge in order to participate in this act of creation and perform our mission in life. However, there is a danger in only studying secular subjects in that we may lose track of our purpose, why we are here to begin with, and how this knowledge of science and secular subjects should be used. Studying a balance of Torah and Secular subjects seems to be the best way to go, in my opinion.
This Shabbos we discussed the meaning of names, and how what we are called can influence us. This is particularly important with children. What we call them can have either a positive or negative effect. We discussed some of the names from the Torah, and how a name can indicate one’s purpose in life. Yaki talked about how Jacob started having the additional name of Israel, and what this meant. Jacob represents having a fear of negative consequences, and then using strength to overcome these fears. Israel represents having a more mature fear, which is that of missing out. We discussed this fear of missing out, and how that is what should motivate us in a more mature state, however children and some elements of society may require fear of immediate consequences as motivators.
We discussed how sometimes it is hard to be motivated by the long term. After Shabbos, eating a bag of Kettle potato chips and surfing the internet may bring more pleasure than going to the JCC, and running on a treadmill, or using an arc trainer machine. However, in the long run if we keep our bodies healthy, we have more energy to do mitzvah, feel better, and provide our soul the best possible place to reside during its journey in this world (this is from a poster at the JCC).
We discussed the parsha this Shabbos, and specifically Moshe’s interaction with Hashem and all of the apparent “magic” tricks Moshe was shown. Yaki led a discussion of what was the purpose of all these tricks. Yaki shared how the stick represents “good” which turns into a snake, which represents “bad”. Then the snake turns back into a stick - representing something “good”.
It is important to realize that most of us are good, and those that are not have the potential to return to goodness. Norm pointed out that the overwhelming majority of people in Memphis are not criminals, and will not end up being one of Brett’s clients. We have discussed in the past how most of the world is oriented towards construction and not destruction. However, having said all this, Yaki shared what it meant for the water to turn into blood, and then not be able to turn back into water. Some, such as Pharaoh, are so "bad" they can not become "good" again and must be defeated. The water symbolizes "good", and the blood symbolizes "bad".
Efroni presented a very interesting dvar Torah this Shabbos. The dvar torah includes an alternative explanation for some of the events in the parsha. Efroni discusses how Pharaoh believes or claims he is like a “stick”, simply carrying out Hashem’s plans for the Jewish people. Efroni discusses how the “stick” becoming a “snake” represents pharaoh taking on a will of his own and exceeding what was necessary. Dave W also discussed how Pharaoh had definitely exceeded what would be Hashem’s plan. Efroni’s dvar torah also included an interesting definition of faith, as being the gap between what Hashem would like us to believe and do, and that which seems logical and rational.
This Shabbos we discussed the gift of time that is a precious resource that Hashem gives us. We each have a limited amount of this resource, and it is important that we do not take it for granted. We discussed how when we become employed, we have sold some of this resource to others. And when we become enslaved, we no longer have use of our time at all.
It was once thought that improving gains in productivity in our economy would result in our having more free time. However our desire to consume has continued to go up along with productivity. Even as we become more productive, we continue to work more and more hours. Today we have larger homes, drive nicer cars, and own bigger televisions and multiple computing devices. This is all why it is necessary to have Shabbos, and not rely on our being able to find time for leisure, reflection, and spirituality.
We discussed Rav Yeager’s commentary on the parsha. Rav Yeager notes how this parsha starts a new book in the Torah, However, the word used to name the parsha “Shemot” – which means names - does not seem to describe the parsha.
This Shabbos we discussed the gift of time that is a precious resource that Hashem gives us. We each have a limited amount of this resource, and it is important that we do not take it for granted. We discussed how when we become employed, we have sold some of this resource to others. And when we become enslaved, we no longer have use of our time at all.
It was once thought that improving gains in productivity in our economy would result in our having more free time. However our desire to consume has continued to go up along with productivity. Even as we become more productive, we continue to work more and more hours. Today we have larger homes, drive nicer cars, and own bigger televisions and multiple computing devices. This is all why it is necessary to have Shabbos, and not rely on our being able to find time for leisure, reflection, and spirituality.
We discussed Rav Yeager’s commentary on the parsha. Rav Yeager notes how this parsha starts a new book in the Torah, However, the word used to name the parsha “Shemot” – which means names - does not seem to describe the parsha.
We discussed how Moshe receives his name, which means pulled from water. We discussed how water lacks order and structure, whereas dry land does not. This is analogous to Moshe's mission in life, which is to bring order to disorder.
We discussed how people's names do not seem to be used in certan parts of the Torah, and then their names reappear. This is because slavery, not only took away our freedom to use our time, it took away our identity, which is represented by our names. When we are slaves we are only numbers. However, in other parts of the Torah the names reappear, when we have their identities restored. We are finally able to see why calling this entire book, the book of Shemot – names – makes sense. This is the book of the Torah in which our identity was restored.
Finally, we discussed the halakuh of cooking on Shabbos. We discussed how cooking is not only heating food, but actually changes the structure of food. For example, a potato becomes soft when it is heated. We discussed how it can still be permitted to keep food warm on Shabbos. However, cooking is forbidden. We also discussed food that becomes hard when cooked, such as eggs.
We discussed how people's names do not seem to be used in certan parts of the Torah, and then their names reappear. This is because slavery, not only took away our freedom to use our time, it took away our identity, which is represented by our names. When we are slaves we are only numbers. However, in other parts of the Torah the names reappear, when we have their identities restored. We are finally able to see why calling this entire book, the book of Shemot – names – makes sense. This is the book of the Torah in which our identity was restored.
Finally, we discussed the halakuh of cooking on Shabbos. We discussed how cooking is not only heating food, but actually changes the structure of food. For example, a potato becomes soft when it is heated. We discussed how it can still be permitted to keep food warm on Shabbos. However, cooking is forbidden. We also discussed food that becomes hard when cooked, such as eggs.
This is a summary of what we discussed. No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred. To unsubscribe, send reply email with unsubscribe in the subject line.
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