The siyum was held on Tuesday in celebration of Efroni's accomplishment of finishing the in depth study of a full tractate. Although the siyum was held during the 9 days, we were able to enjoy many types of meat which were very nicely barbecued. Efroni gave a dvar Torah, and shared when and why it is appropriate to have a siyum and eat meat during the 9 days. Since it has always been our habit and custom to have Siyums all year around, and not just during the 9 days, we can have one during the 9 days.
We continued our discussion of Derech Eretz, which we define as the “ways of the world”. These "ways of the world" includes all the physical laws, and how we use these to participate in the act of creation and perform work. We discussed how regardless of our need to do work, there is a minimum amount of Torah study we should engage in. There are 2 Opinions on exactly how much this minimum is. One opinion is that the minimum amount is simply to say the Shma in the morning and evening. The other opinion is that the minimum and maximum Torah learning is the same, and is equal to as much as we can do, with limited exceptions for other activities, such as work.
We discussed that we should not engage in lengthy secular study, that takes away from Torah study, just to have a profession that enables us to make a lot of money. However, if we are very passionate about a certain career, and have good reason to believe that it is our calling to pursue this, then we should pursue it, although it would mean less Torah study for us.
We discussed how in the parsha, we are told that we spent many years travelling a distance that was only 11 days away. We are told this, in order to remind us that we could have entered Israel much sooner. We discussed how Moshe recalls the broader reason why he was unable to enter Israel, which is because as leader he was responsible to get us ready to enter the land, which we were not.
Regardless of what happened, we discussed how the messages we were receiving at the time were much more oriented towards the future than dwelling on the past. This is a lesson for us today, that rather than dwell on the past so much we should focus on the future which is something we have the power to change.
We discussed an analogy that Moshe was like the sun, and Joshua who would be taking over as leader, was like the moon. We discussed how, unlike the sun, the moon grows larger and smaller. We discussed that the temple being built and destroyed, follows a pattern similar to the moon. We discussed how when mashgiah comes, the moon will always be at full size, and the temple will always stand without any more destructions.
We discussed the observance of Tisha B’Av that gets pushed off by one day, as the 9th of Av falls on Shabbos. We discussed that we can have a Brit on Tisha B’Av, however no one is allowed to have a meal during the day with one exception. The exception is, that if there is a brit on Tisha B’Av, and Tisha B’Av is observed on the 10th, then the Mohel, Sandak, and father are allowed to have a meal during the day.
We discussed the reasons why we can not just go and rebuild the temple. Rob shared that there are practical as well as Torah reasons. The practical reasons include not wanting to start a major war. The Torah reasons include our making of vows that would prohibit us from rebuilding the temple at this time.
We discussed how in the parsha, we are told that we spent many years travelling a distance that was only 11 days away. We are told this, in order to remind us that we could have entered Israel much sooner. We discussed how Moshe recalls the broader reason why he was unable to enter Israel, which is because as leader he was responsible to get us ready to enter the land, which we were not.
Regardless of what happened, we discussed how the messages we were receiving at the time were much more oriented towards the future than dwelling on the past. This is a lesson for us today, that rather than dwell on the past so much we should focus on the future which is something we have the power to change.
We discussed an analogy that Moshe was like the sun, and Joshua who would be taking over as leader, was like the moon. We discussed how, unlike the sun, the moon grows larger and smaller. We discussed that the temple being built and destroyed, follows a pattern similar to the moon. We discussed how when mashgiah comes, the moon will always be at full size, and the temple will always stand without any more destructions.
We discussed the observance of Tisha B’Av that gets pushed off by one day, as the 9th of Av falls on Shabbos. We discussed that we can have a Brit on Tisha B’Av, however no one is allowed to have a meal during the day with one exception. The exception is, that if there is a brit on Tisha B’Av, and Tisha B’Av is observed on the 10th, then the Mohel, Sandak, and father are allowed to have a meal during the day.
We discussed the reasons why we can not just go and rebuild the temple. Rob shared that there are practical as well as Torah reasons. The practical reasons include not wanting to start a major war. The Torah reasons include our making of vows that would prohibit us from rebuilding the temple at this time.
This is a summary of what we discussed. No halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
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