Recap for 8 Nisan 5776 (Parsha Metzora)

This Shabbos we discussed parsha Metzora, including commentary by Rav Yeager. We discussed the upcoming holiday of Pesach, in particular the differences between Shabbos and Yom Tov.  And we discussed some of our fundamental values, including life and healing the world.  Rob Golder led discussion. I also want to thank Howard and Norm for helping to provide the Kiddush.  

We discussed how Shabbos is well defined to occur every 7 days. Today we have calendars, but in the historic past we would actually count days to determine when Shabbos would occur. It is important that we observe Shabbos on what is known in our country as Saturday, because that is 7 days from our last observance, however what do we do if we do not know the day of the week? We discussed how if we are lost in the desert, we would start counting the days, and observe Shabbos every 7 days. Howard shared that astronauts in space would base the timing of Shabbos on their departure location on earth.  We will very likely have Jewish astronauts and may actually colonize space one day.

We discussed how the timing of Yom Tov is agreed upon today, but in the past it was historically based on court rulings.  These court rulings were based on the testimony of witnesses, and would determine the beginning of each and every month. Rob pointed out that today we don’t have these courts, so we are “stuck” with the months and holidays as they are regardless of the actual positioning of the moon.  We are also "stuck" observing holidays for 2 consecutive days. We discussed the reason for 2 consecutive days being that there was uncertainty with respect to the status of the moon.

We discussed how the determination of months was based on witnesses who would come to court and testify. We discussed some of the criteria that would be necessary to be a witness, such as being an adult (based on halakha) and not being a gambler. Today of course science has advanced and we can communicate very quickly across communities, however we no longer have a court, so holidays such as Rosh Hashanah are celebrated for 2 days, even in Israel. However, we did discuss that some of the other holidays are only celebrated for 1 day in Israel, because historically there was more certainty on which days these occurred.

We discussed the Shehecheyanu blessing, and how in Memphis we may want to say this when seeing blooms for the first time in the Spring, which is usually from pear trees in March. Larry shared how we can use this or other blessings to “hedge our bets”, when we are not sure whether the timing is right to be saying the blessing for another meaning. Larry pointed out that we can say a blessing on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, which "headges our bets", as some - but not everyone - considers the second day a continuation of the first day.

Norm shared how his son Gabriel recently went to Poland. I related to this as my father grew up in Costa Rica, and almost the entire Jewish community there originated in Poland, my grandmother. Norm shared how this trip was an opportunity to appreciate our value of life. We can look at the life we have today, with freedom of religion and the existence of Israel, and from a visit to places like Poland realize we should be appreciative and not take things for granted. Norm also commented on our value of healing the world, which is our mission and purpose.

We discussed parsha Metzora, including commentary by Rav Yeager. We discuss how human beings can develop tzara’at, which can appear as white spots on the body. This is a spiritual malody that can come about when we engage in forbidden speech, known as “lashon hara”. Upon contracting this disease, a consultation with a Kohen is part of the healing process.

We discussed how buildings can also contract tzara’at. In the case of a building, a Kohen will visit and determine a course of action. This may include doing nothing, replacing the stones that are infected, or in the most extreme cases tearing down and rebuilding an entire building.

One of the interesting things we discussed from Rav Yeager, is the idea that the white spots that appear with tzara’at are actually the beginning of purity, and not the disease itself. Howard shared some thoughts that the color white indicates to us our potential and what we could be. Rob shared from Rav Yeager how we can embark on a T’Shuva process which will expand the white spots to cover the entire body, at which time we will be entirely pure.

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

Recap for 2 Nisan 5776 (Parsha Tazria)

This Shabbos we discussed parsha Tazria, including commentary by Rav Yeager.  We continued our discussion of the upcoming holiday of Pesach.  We discussed how human beings differ from other species, and the special role we have in the world as Jews.  This Shabbos was a special Kiddush as we celebrated Rob's passing of the bar exam!  David Schlesinger led discussion.

We discussed from parsha Tazria how we wait 8 days before a baby boy undergoes a bris milah.  Rob shared some thoughts as to why we wait 8 days.  First, woman under-go a separation from their husband after birth, and it is better to wait until after this time period.  Secondly, it is better to wait until after a woman has recovered emotionally from the experience of giving birth.

We discussed from parsha Tazria the concepts of tumah and taharah.  Physical objects, animals, and human beings can all be in a state of tumah or taharah, impurity or purity.  We discussed the concept of kashrut, and how the Torah presents these commandments with respect to fish, birds, and meat from other animals, in this order.  We discussed how it is customary to have these foods in this order for our meals, especially on Shabbos.  We discussed how it is important to have fish, if possible, with every meal.

We discussed 3 ways in which food can be non-kosher.  First, the species itself can be non-kosher.  An example of this is shell fish.  Secondly, the animal may not have been put through the proper shechita process.  And third, the animal may have been injured, sick, or bleeding.

Like objects and animals, man can also be impure for various reasons.  Some of these are built into nature, such as a woman becoming impure after giving birth.  In other cases, man becomes impure as a consequence of his actions.  Unlike animals, man has control over his pure and/or impure status.

We discussed how man differs from other species.  Hashem created us to have free will and a soul.  The health of our soul, depends on how we choose to use our free will.   Unlike other species, man has responsibility and accountability for his actions.  Man experiences consequences which includes reward and punishment.  It is Hashem’s will that we make moral decisions based on our Torah, however we can use our free will as we please, and as Ellie pointed out, man does not always do the right thing. 

We discussed how species such as dolphins may appear to be acting morally, by helping to protect and save other animals, however they do this automatically.  As human beings, we have the ability to not react automatically and give thoughts to our actions, carefully weighing pros and cons.  We discussed how in the order of creation, we are created last, because the world was created for us.

We discussed how we as Jews, in particular, have the purpose of bringing morality to the world.  We have a mission to make decisions based on what is right and moral, rather than what we have the power to do.  We have a Torah that guides us in how to use our free will, in a way that carries out the will of Hashem, that we bring spirituality to a physical world.  We as Jews are the first to bring this fundamental idea to the world and the human race, that it is best to act morally and spiritually and do what is right.  This is very much unlike the animal kingdom, and much of the human race, that operates in a very self centered, and in a way that is spiritually dead.   

We discussed how as Jews we are under more risk of failing, but also have the potential for greater reward.  This reward comes through our relationship with Hashem and opportunity to grow spiritually. We discussed how there are ways to sign up for an even higher risk/reward scenario by for example making Aliyah and moving to Israel.  Unlike the higher risk of decisions such as stock market investment, we are in control of whether or not we realize rewards of decisions such as making aliyah.  We have free will and can decide whether or not to make the right decisions, based on Torah and our mission to make the world a better place.  Norm has shared about our value of healing the world.  When we engage in healing the world we are going to increase spiritual rewards, growing our soul and having closer connection to Hashem.   

We discussed some more the upcoming holiday of Pesach.  We discussed how it is prohibited to consume even the smallest amounts of chumatz.  Because of this, unless we have separate utensils, pots, and pans, it is necessary to go through a koshering process with boiling water.  It is interesting that this koshering process is considered acceptable, even if boiling oil was used with a pot.  Oil boils at a much higher temperature than water.  We discussed how the 1/60^th rule does not apply with chumatz, in the case of accidental contamination of food.

Finally, Rob pointed out that legumes such as beans do not have to be sold.  We also discussed how men should not use blades, other than electric shavers, and how it is desirable to have sideburns.

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

Recap for 23 Adar II, 5776 (Parsha Shemini)

This Shabbos we discussed parsha Shemini, including commentary by Rav Yeager. We discussed halakhah related to the upcoming holiday of Pesach. We also discussed some fundamental beliefs that are part of our religion. David Schlesinger led discussion.

A fundamental belief we discussed is that Hashem did more than just create the world and us; He plays an active role in our everyday life.  Hashem can help us, as long as there are minimal obstacles blocking his entry into our lives. One of these obstacles is not engaging in activites - such as prayer and meditation - that demonstrate belief in Hashem, and all that he can do.  There are other obstacles such as dishonesty which are discussed below.

If we have a difficult major decision to make, rather than going through the same process over and over again - that continually leads to frustration - we can pray and meditate in order to invite Hashem in. This can help the solution flow into our minds. David shared what his Dad, Dr. Rav. Geroge N Schlesinger, would say, that if we walk away and clear our mind for a while oftentimes solutions to problems will readily appear.

We discussed how Hashem gives us assets in order to carry out our purpose and mission. We discussed how we often spend too much time working on minimizing our liabilities, rather than on developing our assets. We should consider spending most of our time strengthening our assets rather than dealing with liabilities.

We discussed how in the parsha it took considerable effort before Hashem would dwell in the tabernacle.  In order to achieve this, it was necessary to have the leadership and ideas of both Moshe and Aron. We discussed how just one of these two - without the other - would not have been sufficient to bring about Hashem's presence.   

We discussed some of the differences between the ideas of Moshe and Aron. Moshe represents honesty, where- as Aron represents kindness. Obviously there can be some conflict between these two values, although both of them are important to have. Dishonesty can block Hashem from entering our life, as his plans for us are based on the truth and what is real. Lack of kindness is a failure to imitate the abundant kindness of Hashem. However, what do we do if being truthful is also unkind? This is one of the questions we discussed, and how sometimes there is conflict between different moral values. Perhaps we can say something nice that is honest, without telling the whole truth!

Another difference we discussed is how Moshe represents righteousness, and Aaron represents peace. There can often be conflict between these values. Sometimes we have to stand up for what is right, even if it results in lack of peace. However, we should pick our battles wisely. Sometimes we have to let someone win an argument.

Perhaps the biggest difference between Moshe and Aaron has to do with the components of Torah that they represent. We discussed how Moshe represents the written, unchangeable Torah, whereas Aaron represents the oral law, and that Torah which is flexible and evolves with the times.  David commented on how important it is for Jewish continuity that we keep and follow and not alter what is known as the written Torah, and do not make changes based on short term fads. We talked about how a Jew who lives 2 thousand years ago could come to our world and see us following many of the same traditions he was familiar with.

However, it is still important that we have oral law, and that component of Torah represented by Aaron.  It is important that we have some flexibility that can adopt to the ever changing world. Hashem gave us the instructions to enable our creating some Torah on our own, and much of our law comes from the Rabbis and not directly from Hashem.

We discussed how int the parsha, Aaron’s sons lose their life for carrying on a sacrifice that was not commanded. Brett asked why they were not given the opportunity to do the same T’Shuva that everyone else seems to have.  The answer we discussed is that public figures are held to a higher standard.

We discussed how only Hashem knows the reasons for everything. We have halakhah that does not seem to make sense at all.  For example, some of the kosher laws, known as chokem, do not seem to have a good reason.  The laws against mixing wool and linen is also known as chokem. We discussed how it is forbidden to eat some parts of the cow which contain the most tender meat. We discussed how this and other halakuh may differ based on our status as Ashkenazi or Sephardi.

Finally we discussed the upcoming holiday of Pesach, and how we are not allowed to possess Chumatz during the holiday. We discussed how we have the option of selling our Chumatz to a non-Jew, and then buying it back after the holiday.  If we sell our Chumatz, we can leave it in our house, although technically the Chumatz belongs to someone else during the holiday.

Rob talked about the principle of “consideration” that exists in secular law. When we sell Chumatz to a non-Jew there does need to be a fair dollar amount for consideration, however the money does not have to change hands until after Pesach, unless the non-Jew decides to return the Chumatz, which is what almost always happens.  However there have been times the non-Jew has chosen to pay the price and take the Chumatz. We should always consider this possibility, although it is unlikely.

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