Recap for 11 Cheshvan 5776 (Parsha Lech Lecha)

This Shabbos we discussed parsha Lech Lecha including commentary by Rav Yeager. We discussed how in the parsha, Abraham is commanded to leave his home and go to a new land which Hashem will show him. We discussed how “lech lecha” means for Abraham to go for his own benefit, and not for the benefit of Hashem.

We discussed how this is an important point in Judaism, that all the guidelines, commandments, mitzvah, and directive we are given from the Torah and Hashem, is not for Hashem’s benefit, but for our own benefit.  So why does Hashem bother to guide us like this?  This is because Hashem loves us.  The Torah is an expression of Hashem's love.  Doing mitzvah and following the Torah benefits us greatly and is for our own good.

We discussed how as Jews we are “chosen people” but this comes with added responsibility as we are held to a higher standard than everyone else.  Not everyone in the world wants to be held to this higher standard, and that is ok.  Hashem made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants, that we will do our part and Hashem will do his.

Norm talked about some of the ways that Hashem has done his part.  Norm mentioned how we have been able to win one war after another, conquer our enemies and survive against all odds.  All of this is evidence of Hashem's existence and that he has been on our side.

Some would say that there are specific factors that have led towards our success and it has nothing to do with Hashem. For example, we have been able to develop specific weapons.  And this may be how we have won the wars, but why were we chosen to have certain talents as people that led to our ability to defend ourselves?  And why do we have certain characteristics, that powerful countries like the United States are sometimes helpful to us?

We discussed this Shabbos that science and technology can answer the “how” of understanding the world, but we need to believe in and understand Hashem to understand the “why”.  We discussed that we are a people that value morality and life, who have a covenant with hashem, and this helps explain why Hashem has been on our side.  At the same time, we have enemies that value death and have other moral problems.  

We did a review this Shabbos of the first parsha, in which hashem creates man and remarks that it is “very good”. We discussed how unlike everything else around us, including physical objects and animals, we as human beings have free will to make choices. We discussed how it is Hashem’s will that we follow his Torah and make moral choices, however it is a more perfect world in which we have this choice rather than being robots that automatically do the right thing. 

We discussed how Hashem purposely designed the Garden of Eden, to have some temptation with some forbidden fruit. We discussed how up until that point in time, our choices were a lot more clear cut as to what was the right thing to do. However, starting with the forbidden fruit, it became more difficult for us to do the right thing, or even know what the right thing is. 

We discussed this conflict we all have between short term pleasure, and long term reward, that began in the Garden of Eden. There are behaviors and activities that may bring pleasure in the short term, but are destructive in the long term.  It can be very difficult to make long term change, with all the short term temptations and distraction going on.  That is certainly my experience!

We discussed how Noah made moral choices however the people did not, and Hashem let nature go forth which resulted in a flood. We discussed how Hashem did not so much create the flood, as he simply allowed the flood to go forward. If we were not going to be organized in our morality, Hashem was not going to implement any organized control of nature.

We discussed some of the differences between Noah and Abraham. Noah did make moral choices, but Abraham exhibited more concern and kindness towards others. Eventually it is Abraham whom Hashem chooses to inhabit the promised land, and to join in a covenant.

What if we need to make major changes in our life that will take time because they represent long term goals?  Certainly we should avoid short term distractions and temptation that would be destructive with respect to these long term goals.  But should we measure our success based on where we are in life absolutely, or where we are with the "vector" or direction we are headed?  David mentioned that we should be satisfied if we are doing the best we can to move in the right direction, and if we are doing the best we can perhaps this is how Hashem judges us as well.   

Ellie spoke about how it is easier to make changes if we accept ourselves. Ellie shared that it is important that one wants to make a change and there is not a piece of oneself holding them back. If 100% of someone wants to make the change, it would take willpower not to make the change.  We may need to do something about the pieces of us that do not want to make a change, which can be part of moving in the right direction.

Finally we discussed this Shabbos how when something makes a big impression on them, they remember it very well. David told a story from his father, Rav Dr. George N Schlesinger, that it is admirable those who can remember a lot about their Torah study, the same way they remember the details of 9/11.  It is admirable to remember not only the Torah that we studied, but when and where we were, as all of this indicates it made a big impression on us.

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

Recap for 27 Tishrei 5776 (Parsha Bereishit)

This Shabbos we discussed parsha Bereishit including Rav Yeager’s commentary on the parsha. David Schlesinger led discussion. This Shabbos we welcomed David and his family back from Israel, and we welcomed Dave W back from Destin, Florida.

David Schlesinger spoke about his trip to Israel, and how he was able to meet Rav Yeager in person, and attend one of his classes. He also spoke about seeing his guys over in Israel, and how they have a very strong early minyan and kiddush "franchise" set up.   I really appreciate David's guys and everyone from our community who is over in Israel serving in the IDF, or being a part of Israel in other ways.

Dave W spoke about his trip to Destin, and how Hashem did great work in creating such a beautiful place not only physically with the beaches and scenery, but also spiritually with the inner beauty of the Jewish people who live there as well.  Dave recounted how welcomed he felt in the Sephardic shul, even as an Ashkenazi, and how meaningful the services there are for everyone.

We recently celebrated Simchah Torah, which occurs once we finish the Torah and prepare to start over. One of the concepts we discussed this Shabbos is that we really do not start over. Of course we start over with our Torah reading, however we are continually growing as a people and as a nation. When we come back to Bereishit again, we bring with us the experience and knowledge of having gone through the entire Torah many times so we are not completely starting over.

We discussed Rav Yeager’s commentary as to why Hashem says “it was good” after creating the world, and says “it was very good” after creating man. We discussed what it is that is good. This gets to a concept that David’s father, Rav George Schlesinger, talks about in his articles – that Hashem created the most perfect of worlds.

We discussed that the most perfect world is one in which man has the opportunity to use his free will to make moral decisions and finish the act of creation. The point of everything that exists, is to create a world in which man will interact, create, and represent Hashem. 

We discussed that Hashem says that man is “very good”, because man is the whole point of everything. The most perfect world is not one in which we are all robots who automatically do the right thing, but one in which we have free will and can choose whether or not to do the right thing.

Ellie asked an interesting question, which is what happens when man does not make the right decisions. Do we now have a world that is not the most perfect world? The answer seems to be, which we discussed, is that once man has used his free will in a certain way we now have the most perfect world given what has taken place. We discussed how Hashem did not make a static world, but one that would be constantly changing, some of that change based on man’s decisions. We discussed how Hashem designed the world to change in whichever way results in the most perfect world, given the events that have taken place up until that point.

One thing that we discussed is that Hashem is very optimistic about the world and man. He says “it is good”, and “it is very good”. We should also try to be optimistic in our own lives, about ourselves, community, nation, and world. Brett commented that we would be depressed if we are constantly pessimistic, and he is right. That’s been my own personal experience anyways. Trying to be positive and optimistic is one way to feel better, and it seems to be Hashem’s way of being.

We discussed one of the ways we can be more positive, which is when we review and do an inventory of ourselves. We discussed how we have assets and liabilities and not just liabilities. David mentioned we should try to leverage our assets in order to deal with our liabilities. Trying to grow from our good things, no matter how small they seem, is an interesting and helpful suggestion we discussed.

We discussed how in the parsha Moshe looks out over Israel and “sees” the future. He sees what is going to transpire over the long run. Likewise, Hashem “sees” the future of mankind and the world. However in both cases, what is seen is the large picture of what will transpire over the long run. We discussed how we could apply this to our own personal lives, and try not to get caught up in what is happening day to day and focus more on the big picture and long term.

We discussed this Shabbos some of the differences between Rashi and Rombon when it comes to commentary on the Torah. Rashi seems to take the approach of commenting on the details first, and then later we can make conclusions and formulate a larger picture. Rombon seems to take the approach that we should be given whatever details and commentary we can understand at the moment.

One of the interesting discussions we had is whether or not there is a conflict between science and Torah. David mentioned how his father would say that science is actually proof of the existence of Hashem. It is interesting how the Torah was first in saying there was a beginning of time, long before scientist came forth to accept this idea. David's father, Rav Scheslinger, would point out how fine-tuned the universe has to be in order to support life, and the astronomical odds against this happening by chance.

There will never be 100% proof of Hashem's existence, because this would take away free will.  Actually, my father once told me that we can never be 100% certain of anything.  

What does seem to be the case with the Torah, is that much of it was never meant to be taken literally. It was communicated to us as it is because that was what would be most understandable to us. As an example, there are words such as “day” and “hand” in the Torah.   A “day” to hashem when creating the world in 6 days, may be a lot longer than the days we are use to.  And the “hand” of hashem, does not mean that hashem has a physical hand like us.

Hashem works through the physical world. We discussed how things like evolution may involve processes that are obeying physical laws. But it is all under the guidance and plans of Hashem.  Hashem can interfere with with the physical laws, but it seems more likely that there is going to be order, as Norm has pointed out.

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