Recap for 16 Adar II, 5776 (Parsha Tzav)

This Shabbos, we discussed Parsha Tzav, including commentary from Rav Yeager.  We also discussed some of the fundamental principles of our religion.  And we discussed some of the halakhah related to Pesach.  David Schlesinger led discussion.

From Parsha Tzav, we discussed how during the times of the temple we made various sacrifices for various reasons.  We made sacrifices for guilt, sin, and thankfulness.  Today, without a Temple we say blessings instead.  For example, we discussed how after surviving a dangerous or potentially risky situation we say Gomel.  Situations in which we say Gomel include having been in jail, surviving a risky journey, and getting over a major illness. 

We discussed how by saying Gomel, we demonstrate an appreciation for Hashem helping us get through risky experiences.  We also experience increased empathy for those who struggle, having been through struggles ourselves.  I remember when I had a stress fracture in my foot and had to use crutches for several months.  I thought about how my situation was not that bad compared to others although - of course - I was not always that positive about it!

We discussed why Hashem designed a world in which we would face obstacles. Just like those who fight in wars benefit greatly from the obstacle courses their commanders put them through, we can benefit greatly from the obstacles thrown in our way.  If everything always went great, we would be very unprepared and weak, so we should be grateful for obstacles in general, although I know there are some obstacles in which I'm still working on being grateful!

We talked about how over the short run, day to day, things seem to be random, however Hashem is always playing a role in our lives, with the broad picture as well as certain specific events.  If a stranger bumps into us, that would be a random act, but we can think of other events that happen to us, such as who we meet and where we end up, and connect them to an overall journey.  I definitely think it is part of Hashem’s plan we are in Memphis and meet and connect with the great community we have here.

We discussed how Hashem does his part, to create a physical world, give us a Torah, and then plays a role behind the scenes.  It is up to us to use our free will, to do our part to apply spirituality and accomplish our mission.  We talked about how we lift the ashes in the Temple to symbolize us doing our part.  We also discussed how dough rising to form bread - symbolizes us doing our part - although there are reasons we refrain from bread during Pesach.

We discussed how questions are always raised about why there is suffering, and why Hashem did this or didn't do that.  We discussed how none of us has all the answers to this, because we are not Hashem, and only Hashem has the complete picture.  We do not understand everything, but it does seem clear that a world without obstacles in which we experience continuous pleasure, would be a world in which we were not human beings and simply robots and this is not what Hashem wanted, nor what we should want either.  But it is sad to me how some people suffer, including here in our community, and I do have thoughts about how I don't understand an apparent lack of intervention by Hashem, but it is possible Hashem is intervening at least to some extent.  I have thoughts that I have been given a lot more obstacles than others.

David discussed how the virtuous response to suffering can go on for a very long time.  Thousands of years from now, there still may be a virtuous response to suffering we are experiencing today.  Sometimes it can be impossible to tie a particular suffering to a particular virtuous response, but there may be a connection we don’t see. 

Hashem created a physical world so we could apply spirituality and morality.  The physical world has to be designed in a way that there is opportunity for us to apply this.  If the world is already moral, then there is not much for us to do.  This seems to be why there is immorality in our world in general. 

The danger in this is that many of us may not “get it” and get sucked into the physicality and immorality.  The Torah has many stories of those who forgot to apply spirituality and morality to the physical world.  Rob pointed out that there is also a danger in rejecting physicality completely, and only seeking out the spiritual rather than a way in which to apply the spiritual.  It should be our goal to not only study the Torah, but also to apply it, although we all have our different roles in our community.

Ellie pointed out that sometimes an immoral act can lead to something good.  For example, if I decide to not go to Shul on Shabbos, I may avoid an explosion that ends up occurring at the Shul.   However, it is still undesirable to refrain from what we have been commanded to do.  The physical world has some randomness and is based on probabilities.  The odds are that going to Shul is better for us than staying home on Shabbos. 

We discussed that it is desirable to do what we are commanded to do, even if we do not understand the reasons completely.  Rob talked about the reasoning that some have that perhaps nature has changed so certain laws no longer apply.  Of course, we have no way to understand everything and commandments are not solely based on nature.     

We discussed from Parsha Tzav sacrifices we made for simply having immoral thoughts.  In this case we would bring entire cows, which would be consumed by the Kohen, except for the fat and bones which were burned and turned into ashes.  The ashes would later be raised.  We discussed how although it is our behavior that matters in Judaism, thoughts often lead to behavior so it is important to be aware of them. 

We discussed that there are also sacrifices for thankfulness, and for sin that were made.  By making these sacrifices, we began the process of repenting.  Today, without the temple, we have our own way of doing T’Shuva, which includes being in the same situation and not repeating the regrettable act or behavior.

Finally, we discussed the upcoming holiday of Pesach.  We talked about how the rising dough when making bread, symbolizes arrogance.  Once a year we need to be reminded of the importance of being humble so we refrain from eating bread.  Of course, we also did not have time to wait for dough to rise when escaping from Egypt, and we symbolize this today by not eating bread during Pesach.  Rising dough also symbolizes us doing our part and not leaving everything up to Hashem. This is why we can eat bread during most of the year.

We discussed the process of getting ready for Pesach.  Although consumption of Chumatz is absolutely forbidden during Pesach, and we must do everything possible to avoid this, mere possession of tiny amounts that are less than the size of an olive are permitted.  Therefore, it is not necessary to clean and search absolutely everywhere prior to the holiday.

If we have any questions, we should ask our Rabbi.  We discussed how it would normally be inappropriate to change the subject on a Rabbi, however it is appropriate to ask the Rabbi questions about Pesach as long as it is within 30 days of the holiday.

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

Recap for 2 Adar II, 5776 (Parsha Pekudei)

This Shabbos we discussed Parsha Pekudei.  We discussed some aspects of the world to come.  David and Brett celebrated completion of the entire 7 and a half year Daf cycle.  And we shared about some important dates coming up.  

Mazel Tov to David and Brett on completion of the Daf!  The last page of the Daf from Gitin was studied on Shabbos, Adar 2.  On Sunday, Adar 3, the cycle began again with the study of Kiddushin. David had a big Siyum Hashash in Israel to celebrate completion of the 7 and a half year cycle.  The cycle includes 2711 pages of Talmud, both front and back. 

Yaki gave a dvar Torah concerning the order of construction of the Tabernacle.  Hashem had told Moshe to first construct the building, and then the arch and vessels.   However, Moshe told Betzalel to first construct the arch and vessels and then the building.  We discussed how the building represents our foundation, whereas the vessels represent a higher level of spirituality.  Moshe was at such a high level, that he was more interested in the vessels, than in the foundation.

We discussed how Betzalel could see the instructions were out of order, and decided to construct the building first.  This is a lesson for all of us.  Just like the vessels need a building as a foundation, higher levels of spirituality need fundamental principles as a foundation.  

We discussed one of these fundamental principles - that we are here in this world to do mitzvah in order to get ready for the world to come.  In the world to come, we will no longer have the opportunity to apply the spiritual to the physical that we have today.  

We discussed how there is mystery about what the world to come is like.  We discussed how Hashem created our world in a way that keeps some details hidden.  This helps preserve free will.  Hashem created man to make free choices, rather than be forced to choose one thing or another.  We all need to make a free choice to grow spiritually in this world, to be ready for the next.  Hashem would not force us to do so, as we are human beings and not robots.

We discussed some more, how some would say Hashem does not intervene to stop tragedies.  However we never know how much worse tragedies would have been without Hashem’s intervention.    

Yaki shared some amazing stories about how his family escaped the holocaust.  Yaki’s grandmother was able to talk non-jews into helping her.  And his father was able to play dead in order to fool people and later escape.   Yaki shared that his father, Rabbi Yekutiel Yehuda Ben Rabbi Yaakov, has his yeirzeit on the 17^th of Adar.  And his grandfather, Rabbi Yaakov Ben Rabbi Meir, has his yeirzeit on the 29^th of Adar. 

Norm shared that his father’s, Baruch Elyiahou, yeirzeit is coming up this week on Adar 6.  His dad passed away on March 1, 1982.  March 1^st is the same date that his son, Bryan was born, in 1996.  Bryan’s birthday is on Adar 10 which is coming up soon.  Happy birthday to Bryan, and may Baruch Elyiahou’s memory be a blessing.  Coincidentally, my birthday is also March 1^st, but I was born in a different year so the Hebrew date differs.  

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

     

Recap for 26 Adar I, 5776 (Parsha Vayakhel)

This Shabbos we discussed parsha Vayakhel, including commentary by Rav Yeager. It was a special Shabbos, as this is the bar mitzvah parsha of Harold Katz - a regular reader of these summaries.  Harold pointed out that for his bar mitzvah there was a double parsha, as it was not a leap year, however Vayakhel was part of it.  David Schlesinger led discussion.

David spoke some more about how Hashem has created the most perfect world for us. This most perfect world is not necessarily one in which we experience maximum pleasure and joy, but one which maximizes our opportunity to make an impact in the world by connecting with Hashem and doing mitzvah.

We discussed how it may be hard to grasp the spiritual which seems to be hidden, but we can use 3 aspects of physicality to help us connect. The three aspects are space, time and mass, which can have various degrees of holiness and potential to connect spiritually.  Shabbos would be an example of a holy time with a great potential to connect.  The Temple would be an example of a holy space with a great opportunity to connect. And a Sefer Torah would be an example of holy mass with a great opportunity to connect. We talked about how the “holy of holies” section of the Temple, is the ultimate in holiest and reflects an intersection of space, time and mass.  Only the holiest people are allowed into this space, and only on Yom Kippur.

David talked about how we can use physicality to connect to the spiritual but there are 2 important points. First, we need to realize we are simply using the physical to connect, and it is not the physical itself that we are worshiping. And second, we must use the physical according to how we are instructed by Hashem and the Torah and not in any way that we wish.

This is one of the reasons why we are given such details as to how to construct the Tabernacle. The other reason is that the 39 types of work involved in constructing the Tabernacle, is the 39 types of work we are prohibited from doing on Shabbos. We discussed how Moshe gives the instructions on building the tabernacle, but also reminds the people about Shabbos observance.

We discussed some of the reasons why the details for building the tabernacle are given twice in the Torah. The first time, the details are given to Moshe on Mt. Sinai. In this week’s parsha, the details of the work are given again, but this time it is what we actually did. The first time we were at a spiritual height, and Moshe was given the details while in the spiritual world. The second time, we were in our own physical world, trying to build something that would connect us to the spiritual.  

We discussed other examples where something is repeated in the Torah more than once. For example, the prohibition to mix meat and milk is mentioned 3 times. We discussed how one time is to remind us it is prohibited to cook milk and meat, the second time is to remind us it is prohibited to consume milk and meat, and the third time is to remind us it is prohibited from benefiting from a mixture of milk and meat.

Efroni posted his thoughts on the week’s parsha and why it was necessary for us to receive so many details.  Efroni pointed out that when Hashem created the world, it was described in a few sentences,whereas the building of the tabernacle is described in substantially more detail. This is because the main purpose of the Torah is to focus on us and our impact on the world.  The focus is on how we can be great, ourselves.

We discussed how Moshe was on Mt. Sinai and was going to receive not only the 10 commandments, but the entire Torah, however he was interrupted by the need to return to the people and deal with their worshiping of the Golden Calf. As we know, Moshe ended up breaking the tablets. The next time Moshe was on Mt. Sinai, Hashem no longer conveyed the Torah directly but Moshe had to write things down. As we know, Moshe returned with the tablets he had written. We then received the remainder of the Torah from Moshe over time, and celebrate receiving the entire Torah on Shavuos, although Moshe returned with the tablets on Yom Kippur.

We discussed how if we had not worshiped the Golden Calf, Moshe would have received the entire Torah at Mt. Sinai, directly, rather than the Torah being communicated over time. Although we as a people can climb ever higher spiritually, we will always have a scar from the Golden Calf.  The Golden Calf represents our misuse of the physical.  We have discussed how as Jews we do not reject physicality, however we use physicality as a platform to apply spirituality, in the ways we are instructed, encouraged, and allowed to do so.

I'd like to wish David a great trip to Israel and mazel tov to both David and Brett on their anticipated completion of the Daf, which they have been studying every day for more than 7 years.  I'll include more about this in next week's summary in anticipation of Brett describing more of what has been accomplished.

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