Recap for 20 Tishrei, 5777 (Parsha V'Zot HaBerachah)

This Shabbos we discussed the holiday of Sukkot. We also discussed the holidays of Shemini Atzeres and Simchat Torah.  I would like to thank Yaki and Shirley for hosting our Kiddush in their Sukkah, and Rob and Yaki for leading our learning. I would like to wish mazel tov to Avishai and Esther, on their engagement over the last week.

Yaki spoke about the pilgrimage festivals, Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. Historically, on these 3 festivals, we would travel to the temple in Jerusalem and make special sacrifices.  Yaki spoke about how these festivals correspond to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  It is believed that Abraham was visited by angels on Pesach. On our very first Shavuot at Mt. Sinai, we blew the horn made out of the Ram that was sacrificed in place of Issac. And Jacob built huts for his cattle on Sukkot.

In our learning, we focused in on the relationship between Jacob and Sukkot.  Shirley shared her thoughts that Jacob’s actions introduced us to the important mitzvah of kindness towards animals. Jacob was also very concerned about “kindness” towards his material possessions – he returned to retrieve missing jugs, for example. What is noteworthy, is that he did this out of a very strong belief that his material possessions come from Hashem, and that they have spiritual purpose. Succos is all about “elevating the sparks of kiddusha”, bringing spirituality to the physical world, which is something we have discussed quite a bit on Shabbos.

Yaki shared how Jacob built huts for his cattle, in a place called Sukkot, and this is how the holiday received its name. Jacob’s action illustrates to us that the same way our creator has been kind to us, we should be kind to all of Hashem’s creations. Yaki shared about how Sukkot is a very happy time to be with friends, family, and Hashem.

Howard shared his thoughts that holidays and mitzvot, in particular Sukkot, were offered to everyone, not just Jews. The non-Jews were not able to handle the physical discomfort of Sukkot. In general, Hashem and the Jewish people have a special relationship, because the Jews choose to sign on and have been willing to perform the mitzvah, whereas the non-Jews, in particular with Sukkot, have not.

We discussed the holidays of Shemini Atzeres, and Sukkot. Rob spoke about how Shemini Atzeres is connected to Sukkot, and how it is not. Shemini Atzeres means the assembly of the 8th day, and is known as the 8th day of Sukkot. However, on Shemini Atzeres we do not perform the mitzvah of waving the lulav and etrog, and do not say the blessings. It is believed that Hashem enjoyed our company so much, he invites us to spend another day in the Sukkah. It may also be, Sukkot is offered to everyone – Jews and non-Jews – but the 8th day is just for Jews.

Harold Katz, a regular reader of these notes, talked to me about Simchat Torah. On Simchat Torah we celebrate the entire Torah, and how the whole Torah is much greater than the sum of its parts – the individual parsha. On Simchat Torah, we read the last parsha, as well as the beginning of the first parsha Bereishit, and it is customary that we all get an Aliyah. This symbolizes that the Torah never ends, but is a never ending circle that always builds on the previous year.

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

Recap for 13 Tishrei, 5777 (Parsha Haazinu)

This Shabbos we discussed the upcoming holiday of Succot. We discussed parsha Haazinu, including commentary from Rav Yeager. Rob Golder led discussion.

Rabbi Males commented during his shier, that Sukkos occurs at the time it does because we want to remember that good times come from Hashem.  One of the reasons we shake the lulav in 6 directions, east, west, north, south, up and down, to remind us that Hashem is everywhere within the space of our world.

We discussed the mitzvot of Succos, from the Shulchan Aruch. It is a mitzvah to dwell in a succos, but only for things which are pure, so we still use the restroom in our homes, for example. We also do not use the succos as a kitchen, however we may barbecue a meal in the sukkos if it is not a fire hazard.  It is very desirable to have meals in the sukkos. And weather permitting, it is desirable to sleep in the succos.

We discussed what we should be thinking of as we dwell in the succos. We want to think of our ancestors who wandered in the desert living in huts but were protected by Hashem. We want to realize that Hashem is our ultimate protection. And we want to have gratitude for the things we have in life, such as our homes and shelter.  This as well as everything else, ultimately comes from Hashem. We want to enjoy this holiday, and dwelling in the succos with family and friends.

We discussed some exceptions to the mitzvah of dwelling in the succos. Anything that is a fire hazard, such as having lights in the succos, should not be done. If the weather is bad, for example if there is a thunderstorm, we not only can, but we should move indoors. In harsh climates, we skip sleeping in the sukkos. A husband and wife may sleep indoors, if they would like privacy from the rest of the family.  We discussed if the succos is really small, we may have to take turns being in the succos.

Harold Katz, a regular reader of these notes, commented that the weather has been very nice this year which enables us to do more dwelling in the succos. We have not experienced rains or very cold temperatures.

We discussed how Hashem can reward us, and help us, if we do our part to follow his Torah and perform the mitzvot. David has shared thoughts in the past about how if we want divine intervention we must do our part. We discussed how the Torah refers to these rewards as “rain for your crops”. We discussed how we interpret “rain for our crops” in a much broader sense, to mean help for whatever business we are in, and for whatever our goals are in our life in general.

We discussed how the Torah refers to us when we are being “punished”, as having our “rains withheld”. My thoughts based on our past learnings, are that Hashem may actually not punish us, he just doesn’t help us, and we end up living life on our own.

Howard brought up a very interesting question for discussion, as to why we can be so severely punished for sins which were committed many generations ago. We discussed specific examples of people under- going extreme suffering having done nothing to warrant such treatment. And of course, we are all facing the consequences of what happened in the Garden of Eden with respect to eating the forbidden fruit, which is a sin that none of us from this generation committed. Rob shared a thought that it was up to each generation to do as well as it could, which would result in the sins of prior generations having diminishing effect as we go through time.

My thoughts are that even if we are destined to have harsh conditions based on factors outside of our control, we should focus on what is in our control and do the best we can with that. I think of kids born into terrible families, with poverty and absentee parents who don’t care. These kids are not going to have as much as kids growing up in better homes, but they do have some control over their lives based on decisions they make. We have also discussed the virtuous response to suffering, in previous learnings. But having said all this, I think this is a very hard question to answer when the suffering is very extreme, and was not warranted by someone’s actions. We should continue discussing this.

We discussed parsha Haazinu, and how Moshe communicates a prophecy through a song. Rob commented how Moshe was asked to do three things, speak, write things down, and put words in our own mouths. We discussed how the prophecy foretells that we will sin and be dispersed from our land.

We discussed a very interesting question, which is how these things can be foretold, in particular sins and punishment, while at the same time we have free will. Rob suggested a possible answer in that there are so many of us, that it is inevitable that we will not all make perfect decisions. None of us are hashem, so none of us are perfect. It makes sense to be reminded that we will always have room to grow because none of us will ever be perfect.

Howard brought up a very interesting question, as to why during our recent Yom Kippur service we confess sins and ask for foregiveness during Maariv, seconds after having already done this in a previous Yom Kippur prayer. Rob commented that perhaps the reason is that we had the sin of wanting the Yom Kippur service to be over as quickly as possible so that we could eat. Howard commented that we were created to have hunger, so this does not make sense. Perhaps, our sin isn’t being hungry, but wanting the Yom Kippur service to be over as a solution to our hunger. I am not sure we answered this question.

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

Recap for 6 Tishrei, 5777 (Parsha Vayelech and Yom Kippur)

Last Thursday, we discussed the upcoming holiday of Yom Kippur, and specifically the Vidui, which is the prayers of verbal confession. On Shabbos, we did a siyum on Maseches Rosh Hashanah, and continued our discussion of Yom Kippur. We also discussed parsha Vayelech, including commentary from Rav Yeager. I would like to thank the Nisannis for hosting our Kiddush, and Rob Golder for leading the learning both Thursday and on Shabbos.

At our Thursday learning we discussed confessional prayers, specifically the Vidui which is coming up on Yom Kippur. We discussed how it is a mitzvah to confess our sins, but with the Vidui we seem to be confessing sins we did not commit. We discussed the reason for this, which is that we are all responsible for one another. We discussed how Moshe was the first to say Vidui, and confess for sins he did not commit. He had a responsibility for everyone, especially as the leader.

David has shared in the past a story from his Dad which illustrates how we are all responsible for one another. If someone is in a boat drilling a hole, and water starts leaking in and the boat is in danger of sinking, obviously it would be ridiculous for the guy drilling to claim his actions does not affect anyone else. Likewise, in our community, the actions of one or a few risk “sinking” our community, so we all need to join together to be concerned about, and help one another.

We discussed how normally we would do a confession in private, or very quietly, but on Yom Kippur we are not endanger of creating embarrassment, as everyone says the prayer out loud together. We discussed how sins are from the heart, and not from the head, which explains why we touch our heart while making the confessions. We discussed is how it is essential to stand during the confessional prayer.

We discussed how on Yom Kippur we want to “afflict” our souls, however we cannot do this by working. We discussed how on Yom Kippur we refrain from eating and drinking, wearing leather, taking baths, washing, anointing ourselves, and marital relations.

As we discussed last Shabbos, during the 10 days of repentance it may be too much to close the gap between where we are and where we want to be, but we can at least point our life in the direction of where we want to go and make some progress. As we do teshuva, we remove the obstacles that have distanced ourselves from Hashem.

We discussed how in this world, the purpose of any reward is to encourage us to do more mitzvah. From Rav Yeager, when we do a mitzvah, it leaves an impression on the soul. At the same time, we feel good emotionally which encourages us to perform more mitzvah. However, it is not until the world to come, that our soul will fully experience the state of reward and closeness to Hashem that has been attained. 

David has told a story from his father, Rabbi Dr George Schlesinger, about how getting ready for the world to come by receiving these impressions on the soul, is analogous to getting ready for an opera.  If we are not ready for the opera, we become very bored and perhaps uncomfortable during its performance.  Likewise, if we are not ready for the world to come, we will be empty of the closeness to Hashem that would have been available to us.  Franco pointed out that the “world to come” may also refer to this world at some future point in time, when we may all feel a reward and closeness to Hashem that none of us feels today.

This Shabbos, we did a siyum on Maseches Rosh Hashana. We finished the last daf of this tractate. We discussed how davening by some, can fulfill the mitzvah of davening for others who cannot be present in shul. Specifically, we discussed workers who are out in the field and unable to come to shul. After finishing the daf, we held a siyum.

This Shabbos we discussed parsha Vayelech, including commentary from Rav Yeager. Harold Katz, a regular reader of these notes, commented to me later on Shabbos, that we are reaching the last parshas of the Torah and will be starting the cycle again soon.

I would like to apologize if I have harmed anyone in any way over the last year. With these notes I have never meant to write anything that anyone would take personally or that would make anyone feel bad. I tend to be a perfectionist and just write down everything but want to improve.   Have an easy fast!

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

Recap for 28 Elul, 5776 (Parsha Nitzavim, Siyum, and Rosh Hashanah)

This Shabbos was a special Shabbos, as we had a siyum on tractate Bava Kama. We continued our discussion of Torah v’Derech Eretz. We discussed Parsha Nitzavim. And we learned more about the meaning of Rosh Hashanah.

We finished tractate Bava Kama and had a siyum on finishing this tractate. The siyum was especially celebratory, as Efroni finished the entire Talmud!   Efroni accomplished this over the last four years or so. For 3 of these years, he was serving in the IDF as a soldier, but was able to set aside time for Torah study. This is very inspiring to all of us, I know it inspires me to take a look at the daily daf!

From the final page of tractate Bava Kama, we learned that a carpenter can keep the saw dust from his work, as long as the work is performed on his premises, and he is using a adze, which is a tool that leaves small particles of saw dust.  If the carpenter is working on the owners premises, or is using a tool like a hatchet, all scrap and dust becomes the property of the owner.

We continued our discussion of Torah v’Derech Eretz, from Leo Levy’s book. We learned that it is not appropriate to pay someone for doing tasks for which they have an obligation. For example, we have an obligation to teach each other Torah.  However, it is appropriate to reimburse people for their expenses. So in many cases, we may pay a Torah scholar such as a Rabbi, however this pay is reimbursement for expenses, in the form of opportunity costs.

We discussed some more about the payment of judges. A judge has an obligation to not take a bribe. However there is no obligation for someone to not bribe a judge. This is to encourage bribe givers to talk and report their bribes.  Obviously if one is going to get in trouble, he is motivated to keep his mouth shut.  So we give automatic immunity to one of the parties, in order to encourage people to talk.

We discussed some more about how Judaism is a religion of obligations, and not a religion of rights. For example, we have an obligation to give tzedukah, however the needy do not have a right to this help. We all have an obligation to do our best to not put ourselves in a position of needing tzedukah. We discussed that we may need to work while studying Torah.  This work may be serving in the army, as Efroni has done.  

We discussed how doctors have an obligation to help heal people, so they can not "profit" from their activities.  However, we have an obligation to reimburse them for their expenses, which includes the enormous opportunity cost they incur.  We discussed how the work of doctors helps people. Eliona pointed out that this help can be mental as well as physical. Cosmetic surgeons in particular, help people mentally.

This Shabbos we discussed parsha Nitzavim, including commentary from Rav Yeager. We discussed how in the parsha we are told of our covenant with Hashem, that would not only be binding on us, but be binding on future generations as well. We discussed that with this covenant we and our children are guaranteed a “net plus” of rewards and benefits, so it is a great honor, and not necessarily unfair to be born into this.

We discussed the concept of free will that is mentioned in the parsha. We are all human, and have the freedom to choose whether or not to keep our part of the deal with Hashem. Hashem does not want us to be robots and automatically follow the covenant.  He wants us to freely choose to follow the covenant.

We discussed how much of our judgement, is collective. On Rosh Hashanah, we should take inventory of how us as a whole are keeping the covenant. At the same time, we should do an inventory of ourselves. But much of the focus is on us as a community and nation.

Yaki shared that unlike many situations in life, with our holidays the order of things is judgement and then forgiveness. Yaki shared that on Rosh Hashanah, the focus is on judging the direction of our life rather than where we are absolutely. If we are not headed in the right direction, we have an opportunity to correct this during the period of time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, if we are now headed in the right direction, we can be forgiven for where we are in an absolute sense. Even if we are in a good place absolutely, we all have room for more growth. None of us are Hashem, so none of us will ever be perfect.

David shared that on Rosh Hashanah we should not be negative and fearful because of the gap between where we are, and where we want to be. This applies to us in modern life, as well as the Jews when returning to Israel after the destruction of the temple. If we see a very large gap, and an enormous mountain to climb, we should still celebrate that we now have Hashem with us, and put the focus on the future (as we discussed last week), and celebrate where we are going.

We discussed how the Shofar wakes us up, to take inventory both as individuals and collectively, to make changes that will point us in the right direction. Rosh Hashanah is a festive day in which we celebrate our closeness with Hashem and how this relationship has and will benefit us. We discussed how just like with other Yom Tov, we want to wear our best clothes, and eat our best food.

David shared about the importance of being positive on this holiday. When we are positive, we are more likely to focus on our strengths. These create a base for us to build on. David shared that if there is no base then we are hopelessly trapped, as there is nothing to support and propel us into the coming year.

David shared that Hashem looks after our EM. I would also like to share that Hashem helps me remember and write these notes every week. I would like to wish everyone a Shana Tova, and thank you for your participation at our em and learning, and reading the notes. Our learning definitely helps have a positive and meaningful RH, I know it helps me.

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