Sunday, January 26, 2014

Today's (Mishpatim) Haftarah

Where I daven - and it is in a minyan with talmidei chachomim and learned ba'alei battim - just about no one recognized today's Haftarah.

Evidently Mishpatim almost invariably coincides with Parashas Shekalim, Machar Chodesh or Rosh Chodesh, so this Haftarah is rarely heard.

From the Hebrew Wikipedia:

מפטירים בספר ירמיהו, פרק ל"ד, שם מתאר ירמיהו את דיני העבד העברי, ונוזף בעם על שאינם מקיימים אותם. הפטרת משפטים נקראת רק בכרבע מהשנים, בשנים מסוג השא, השג, החא, בשז וגכז. בשאר השנים הפשוטות קוראים את הפטרת פרשת שקלים, ובשאר השנים המעוברות קוראים את הפטרת ראש חודש או "מחר חודש".

I am a bit skeptical about it even being 25% of the time. I think we would then have some recollection of it. Especially considering what  a Haftarah it is!

First from Perek 34

ח' הדבר אשר היה אל ירמיהו מאת ידוד אחרי כרת המלך צדקיהו ברית את כל העם אשר בירושלם לקרא להם דרור

ט' לשלח איש את עבדו ואיש את שפחתו העברי והעבריה חפשים לבלתי עבד בם ביהודי אחיהו איש

י' וישמעו כל השרים וכל העם אשר באו בברית לשלח איש את עבדו ואיש את שפחתו חפשים לבלתי עבד בם עוד וישמעו וישלחו

יא' וישובו אחרי כן וישבו את העבדים ואת השפחות אשר שלחו חפשים ויכבישום \{ויכבשום\} לעבדים ולשפחות

יב' ויהי דבר ידוד אל ירמיהו מאת ידוד לאמר
יג' כה אמר ידוד אלהי ישראל אנכי כרתי ברית את אבותיכם ביום הוצאי אותם מארץ מצרים מבית עבדים לאמר

יד' מקץ שבע שנים תשלחו איש את אחיו העברי אשר ימכר לך ועבדך שש שנים ושלחתו חפשי מעמך ולא שמעו אבותיכם אלי ולא הטו את אזנם

טו' ותשבו אתם היום ותעשו את הישר בעיני לקרא דרור איש לרעהו ותכרתו ברית לפני בבית אשר נקרא שמי עליו

טז' ותשבו ותחללו את שמי ותשבו איש את עבדו ואיש את שפחתו אשר שלחתם חפשים לנפשם ותכבשו אתם להיות לכם לעבדים ולשפחות

יז' לכן כה אמר ידוד אתם לא שמעתם אלי לקרא דרור איש לאחיו ואיש לרעהו הנני קרא לכם דרור נאם ידוד אל החרב אל הדבר ואל הרעב ונתתי אתכם לזועה \{לזעוה\} לכל ממלכות הארץ

יח' ונתתי את האנשים העברים את ברתי אשר לא הקימו את דברי הברית אשר כרתו לפני העגל אשר כרתו לשנים ויעברו בין בתריו

יט' שרי יהודה ושרי ירושלם הסרסים והכהנים וכל עם הארץ העברים בין בתרי העגל

כ' ונתתי אותם ביד איביהם וביד מבקשי נפשם והיתה נבלתם למאכל לעוף השמים ולבהמת הארץ

כא' ואת צדקיהו מלך יהודה ואת שריו אתן ביד איביהם וביד מבקשי נפשם וביד חיל מלך בבל העלים מעליכם

כב' הנני מצוה נאם ידוד והשבתים אל העיר הזאת ונלחמו עליה ולכדוה ושרפה באש ואת ערי יהודה אתן שממה מאין ישב

Then going back (in itself a rarity, and which in many kehillos is specifically avoided - viz., the Haftarah for Shabbos Shuvah) to Perek 33:

כה' כה אמר ידוד אם לא בריתי יומם ולילה חקות שמים וארץ לא שמתי

כו' גם זרע יעקוב ודוד עבדי אמאס מקחת מזרעו משלים אל זרע אברהם ישחק יעקב כי אשוב \{אשיב\} את שבותם ורחמתים

A stirring Haftarah on Hashem's concern with a just society!

But how do we reconcile the words of the Navi with the Chazal that the first Beis HaMikdash was destroyed on account of the "Big Three?"

I gave the drashah today, and tried to give an answer. But the question was better than the answer. The answer was based on the deliberate addition of those two pesukim at the end, in conjunction with the Gemara in Nedarim that the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed because they learned Torah, but without Birchas HaTorah. To this I added the "machlokes" between the Chazon Ish and the Novarockers on Negi'os; the Tiferes Yisroel on the "malach" Hashem sends with us into Eretz Yisroel; the agrarian quality of the ideal life in EY; the Arvei Nachal in Parashas Yisro on mitzvos that arew "min ha'bo b'yado", the notion of Emunas zeh Seder Zera'im; Dr. Nathan Birnbaum's HaOlim manifesto encouraging a return to an agrarian society, and RAEK's advocacy of the opening of Battei Mussar throughout large cities. But the question was still better than the answer. 

Monday, January 20, 2014

Emes Ve-Emunah: Stuck in the Middle

I commented on the blog post below, which appeared over at Reb Harry's:



Well, I don't know where Michael is a student today, but I teach 11th grade in MTA and would be thrilled beyond measure to have such a talmid in my shiur!




Emes Ve-Emunah: Stuck in the Middle



Michael Weiner is 15 years old. He is currently in tenth grade. But his wisdom and insight exceed his chronological age by light years. In fact I would say they exceed the wisdom and insights of many adults. I don't know too many people who are as intellectually honest and keenly analytical about what they encounter in the world in which we live. He has written here before, He did not disappoint then. And he does not disappoint now. His unedited words follow.

For as long as I can remember, I have been stuck in the middle. At the non-denominational Jewish elementary and middle school I attended, I was the only Orthodox student who took notes and did homework alongside my intelligent, cynical, and proudly non-religious classmates. Such a setting had its positives and negatives. Undoubtedly though, I was zocheh to take part in some tremendous kiddushei shem shomayim as a result of being among non-orthodox students for so many years.

Every Shabbat at my Orthodox synagogue, I was the only kid who did not attend the local ultra-orthodox yeshiva populated by the wild children of black-hatted, black-bearded rabbis who learned in kollel and their demure, bewigged wives who raised children and made excellent kugels. On weekdays right after school, my brother and I studied various sugyos in gemara with our chareidi shul rabbi, and my worlds collided. 

My Reform and Conservative classmates walking through the non-denominational school hallways wearing shorts and t-shirts would stop and stare as a man decked out in a white dress shirt, black hat, and thick leather volume tucked under his arm would lead my brother and I into a quiet room in the corner of the building to study 1,500 year old Jewish legal arguments pertaining to questions of finding lost objects, the laws of public Torah reading, the intricacies of the Jewish calendar, as well as fanciful Talmudic legends and stories. 

I loved it all: the challenge of reading foreign script, the winding legal analysis, the Yiddish phrases my Rabbi would pepper his questions with, and finally, the strange, surging emotion of connectivity that I felt to ancient commentators and arcane ideas. Due to all of the above, Talmud Torah became an addiction for me.

Meanwhile, outside in the halls, my friends passed the time waiting to be picked up by listening to rap music, playing basketball, and using lots of profanity. Just a few hundred feet away, my brother, the Rabbi, and I were engaged in passionate Talmudic arguments over questions such as whether one who finds a bundle of purple wool indiscriminately scattered on the sidewalk is required to announce this discovery even if the original owner has already given up hope on finding the object. 

It might not seem interesting, but to me, this study was electrifying. After the hour-long session, we would and I would go home to complete homework problems far more boring than discussions of purple wool, and talk to my friends about basketball, rap music, and the goings-on of the secular world. Again, I was stuck in the middle, between the yeshiva and the academy, the pull of America versus the tantalizing forces of religious texts and learning- the havayos d’abayeh ve’ravah.
 
In middle school, my non-observant classmates began asking me questions about my Orthodox faith, practices, and upbringing. One boy couldn’t understand how I could keep Shabbat and therefore not use the Internet for a whole day. Another girl had questions about kashrut and why God would care what we ate. One of my closest friends at the time was an outspoken atheist. In 7th grade, we would sit for hours at lunchtime discussing basketball and rap music as well as science, god (or lack thereof) and philosophy. 

I didn’t have the answers to all of my classmates’ questions, so I asked the very same black hatted rabbi, an English major at Yale who became observant in his 20s and today rails against secular college, homosexuals, and television. He gave me some answers I liked, others I didn’t and a bit later on, I went home and asked my modern orthodox, college-attending, television-owning parents the same questions and they gave me different answers. At first, these discrepancies were quite troubling. It took me years to accept the fact that there are sparks of truth in all the questions I got from my non-religious friends and all the answers I received both from my chareidi rav and from my parents.

Today, I am in 10th grade at a Modern Orthodox yeshiva high school and I again feel stuck in the middle. Many of my classmates are frustrated with the strictures of an Orthodox lifestyle and want to throw it all away in exchange for a normal high school experience. They want the dances, proms, short days, and lax dress codes of regular American teenagers in exchange for the thrice daily tefillos, hilchos shomer negiah, and gemara shiurim. Rabbis tell them that Judaism is beautiful, that their religious tradition is inspirational, rich, and true. 

But they do not listen, nor do they believe in that which they practice. Every day, I see groups of kids sneak out of shacharit (morning prayer)- the most intimate moment of the day when we are allowed to grasp on to the Soul of the universe and better understand Him and ourselves- in order to talk, play games, and dream about the secular world I left behind. Every day, I see Modern Orthodox high school students who are supposed to take pride in balancing Torah and openness to modernity together choose one over the other. Hint: they did not choose Torah. 

Where are the intellectual heirs of Rabbis Hirsch, Solovetchik, and Kook? Many Modern Orthodox students and families I know have prioritized the modern over the orthodox. In a tug of war between secular studies and Gemara, secular studies wins every time. It is a sad and unfortunate truth.

Sadly, those classmates of mine who are serious about Torah and observance are much more chareidi-leaning and frequently discuss topics like the height of our mechitzah and how the Shulchan Aruch would be against mixed-gender schools. They remind of me of the yeshiva students I knew years ago, their pale faces constantly reading holy books, their bodies moving awkwardly to avoid bumping into women at a crowded Kiddush. 

One of them is a good friend of mine, and we debate endlessly about the legitimacy of the state of Israel, the state of Modern Orthodoxy, and halacha in contemporary times. Listening to him rant against the dangers of all things “modern,” I smile bitterly as I remember witnessing another Modern Orthodox classmate of mine break Shabbat because he hated religion and embraced modernity. 

If you clench your hand too hard, the bird dies. If you open your hand, it flies away. Where is the happy medium? For most people, it is one or the other, black or white, dead or alive. I have that familiar sinking feeling of being stuck in the middle, again.

Sometimes I think of my Rabbi from the past, a lonely figure in black that inched his way through the crowded hallways of my school filled with immodestly clan women, foul language, and normal American teenagers, in order to give me a drink from the everlasting fountain of Torah. 

But of course, I cannot follow in his footsteps. For admittedly, I do enjoy learning English, history, and math, listening to rap music, and watching television shows. Israel is on the brink of civil war between people like me and people like him. I wish it didn’t have to be that way. After all, what we share is a deep love of Hashem, Torah, and Klal Yisroel. That itself should be enough to bind us together as a people.

Oftentimes, I feel like the Mishnaic sage Rabbi Meir, who witnessed his teacher Elisha ben Avuyah become a heretic due to his readings of Greek philosophy and struggle to understand the grand scheme of divine justice in this world. Despite Elisha’s apostasy, Rabbi Meir continued learning from him, ignoring the protests of his rabbinic colleagues by responding with the statement: “ochel tocho vezorek klipaso” ‘I eat what is ripe and throw out the shell.’ I disagree with so much of what non-religious Jews believe, and yet I have learned from them how to be kind and how to question religious authority when necessary. 

Modern Orthodoxy has plenty of problems, inconsistencies, and the next generation does not look so bright, but my greatest role models are its Rabbis who imbue within me their love of Torah while still astounding me with their knowledge of philosophy and science. And yes, I have boundless appreciation of and respect for the chareidi world, its total dedication to Talmud Torah, and chessed. Nevertheless, I cannot see myself living in the yeshivishe velt of black and white, minimal secular studies, and closed doors to the outside world.

So where do I belong? What box do I check if they ask me what my religious preference is? I don’t know. I am perpetually stuck in the middle. You can give me some pointers in the comments, though. After all, kabel es ha’emes mim sheomro! Kol tuv.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Scholar in Residence Information - please share!

We are basically "empty-nesters" as of this year, so would love to do more SIR programs, etc. Please consider scheduling a program, and/or pass this along to the "powers that be" in your shul or other organization. Thanks!

בס"ד

Rabbi Yosef Gavriel

and Dr. Shani M. Bechhofer

Scholar in residence programs, Lectures, Shiurim


We are organizing our schedule for this
Spring.

We both have a large and varied repertoire of topics and programs.

We can also custom design programs.

We are available both individually and jointly.

Baruch Hashem, have been very well received in many venues, including
shuls, communal organizations, educational institutions, as well as hotel scholar-in-residence events and programs.

Our contact information is below.
Please contact us to discuss, plan and schedule programming.

Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might be interested!

Thank you very much,

Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
home: 845.425.6820
cell: 845.216.1617

Shani M. Bechhofer



Bios:




Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer is a Rebbe and Maggid Shiur at the Mesivta of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchok Elchonon (aka MTA) in New York and an adjunct professor at Excelsior College. Rabbi Bechhofer has served for many years as a Rav, Rebbe and Rosh Kollel in the Chicago and New York areas.

Rabbi Bechhofer is one of the few individuals to have served as Maggid Shiur for both Daf Yomi Bavli and Daf Yomi Yerushalmi. He is a senior lecturer for the Aishdas Society, an association devoted to more profound understanding and experience of all aspects of Talmud Torah and Avodas Hashem. He has served as a guest Maggid Shiur, scholar in residence, and lecturer in numerous venues, including Alberta, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Ontario, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin, Israel and England. He is a prolific author. He has published many essays in major Orthodox Jewish periodicals. His published seforim are: The Contemporary Eruv: Eruvin in Modern Metropolitan Areas, Bigdei Shesh on Bava Basra, and Bigdei Shesh on Sefer Shoftim. Well over one thousand audio recordings of his lectures and shiurim (including the entire Yerushalmi) are available on tape and online. Some of his shiurim are available as online videos. Links are at:


Rabbi Bechhofer learned in many yeshivos, including Sha’alvim, Ner Yisroel and both Mirrer yeshivos. He received Semicha from Rabbi Yitzchok Koolitz, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and Rabbi Zalman Nechemiah Goldberg, Av Beis Din of Jerusalem. He holds an M.S. in Education (concentration in Counseling and Guidance) from Johns Hopkins University. 


Dr. Shani M. Bechhofer is one of the foremost authorities on all aspects of Chinuch and Educational Leadership
She is a much sought-after consultant, who recently formed her own consulting agency. 
Dr. Bechhofer is also an adjunct professor at the Lander College of Touro University and instructor in Torah Umesorah's Aish Dos professional development division.
In her over twenty-five years as an educator, Dr. Bechhofer has held the positions of teacher, principal, menaheles, 
researcher, evaluator and professor. Notably, she was featured in U.S. News & World Report for her leadership as 
Principal of the Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov High School of Illinois.
Her doctorate is from Northwestern University, where she wrote her doctoral dissertation on the Bais Yaakov movement. Her previous graduate studies were at the National College of Education (National-Louis University) and her 
undergraduate degree is from the Stern College of Yeshiva University.

Rabbi and Dr. Bechhofer have six children and two grandchildren, and live in Monsey, NY.



An Assortment of Topics that have been addressed in shiurim by Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer

Emuna & Hashkafa:
Contemporary
& Practical Halachic Issues:
The Age of the Universe
Eruvin in Metropolitan Areas
Evidence and Emunah
The Definition of Death in Halacha
Does Reason Serve Faith
or Faith Serve Reason
Organ Transplants
Tradition, History & Belief
Curtailing Treatment of the Terminally Ill
The Authenticity of the Torah
Cholov Yisroel
Bechira Chofshis: How Free are We?
Agunah Problems & Related Issues
Divine Providence
Buying Meat in Non-Jewish Owned Stores
The Unity of G-d
Banking in a Jewish Owned Bank
G-d's Incorporeality
When & What
Mechitza is Required by Halacha
Creation Ex Nihilo
May Jews Return to Spain
Worshiping G-d — Nothing Else
Changing Neighborhoods
Prophecy
Halachic Attitudes Towards Secular Studies
The Prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu
The Use of Microphones in Halacha
The Divine Origin of Torah
Women in Jewish Communal Life
The Torah will not be Abrogated
Gelatin
G-d's Omniscience
Organized Labor & Strikes
Reward & Punishment
Tzedaka & Ma'aser Kesafim
Moshiach: Are These Messianic Times?
Glatt Kosher
Resurrection of the Dead
Sheimos: What are They
& How to Dispose of Them
These & Those
are the Words of the Living G-d
Headcovering for Women
Our Relationship with Previous Generations
The Great International Dateline Controversy
The Impact of Kabbala on Machashava
Bishul Akum
Sophisticated Chesed
Teaching Torah to Non-Jews
Denominational Attitudes
Yeshivot Hesder in Halacha
Sinners Within & Ahavas Yisroel
AIDS
The Greater They Are, The Greater Their Fall
Cheating on Your Taxes
Chronologies of
the 2nd Beis HaMikdosh Period
Kol Isha
Brazenness & Bashfulness
Ashkenazic vs. Sepharadic Pronunciation
Exploring Chutzpa
Suing Your Rabbi for Malpractice
What is True Yiras Shomayim
Copyrights in Halacha
Tefilla & Avodas Hashem Workshops
Autopsies & Biopsies
Truth & Falsehood
Plastic Surgery & Diets
Malachim (Angels):
What are They/What do they Do?
Communal Unity
Bein Yisroel L'Amim: Judaism & Christianity
Shabbos Cosmetics
What is Kedusha & How is it Achieved
Cigarette Smoking in Halacha
Torah she'be'al Peh as the Focus
May Women Wear Pants?
Analyzing Agadata
Music in Halacha
Time & Times in Judaism
Conversion
The Leviathan
Laws of Waiting on Line
& Priorities in a Waiting Room
Bitachon: Trust in G-d
Teshuva & Kiruv
Para Aduma
Magic & Magicians in Halacha
Kilayim & Sha’atnez
Practical Hilchos Mezuza
Basar Ve'Chalav
Abortion
Kisui HaDam
Halachos of Shabbos Goyim
Pride & Humility
Electric Lights in Halacha
Friendship
Vegetarianism in Halacha
Simchas Chosson V'Kalla
Shabbos Elevators
Ta’amei ha’Mitzvos
Heter Iska
Zav & Zava
Entering Churches & Mosques
Mikveh
Rebuking Wrongdoers
Orlah
Cooking for & on Shabbos & Yom Tov
Aleynu
Entering the Temple Mount
Atah Kadosh
Restoring Avodas HaKorbonos
Atah Bechartanu
Techeles
Eating Jewishly
Extradition
Frankfurt vs. Volozhin
In Vitro Fertilization
G-d Diminished the Moon?
Surrogate Motherhood
Acher: Elisha ben Avuya
Dayanim & Batei Din in Modern Times
The Jewish Concept of Thanksgiving
Semicha & Psak Halacha
Shiluach HaKen
Corporal & Capitol Punishment in Our Times
Hallel
Opening Other People’s Mail
The Prophecy of Bilam
Havdala
Chopping Down Fruit Trees
The Use of Lie Detectors in Halacha
Of Donkeys & Cold
Disturbing the Peace:
Exhuming & Relocating Graves
Prophecy: Dreams
From Soup to Nuts:
Eating a Meal al pi Halacha
Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim
Behind Bars with Halacha: Imprisonment
Yomim Tovim
Sale of Weapons by Israel
to Foreign Countries
Yomim Noro’im
Reversing Bal Tashchis: Recycling
Chana & Shmuel HaNavi
Close Shaves with Halacha: Electric Razors
Shaul HaMelech
Business Partnerships with a Goy
The Plishtim
Partnerships with Mechalelei Shabbos
Existence
May a Jew Own Stock
in a Company that Trades in Treifos?
The Ba'alei Machashava on War
Medicines/Medical Procedures
on Shabbos/Yom Tov
Kochi v'Otzem Yadi
Is a Promise Halachically Binding?
Courage & Cowardice
What & Why
Rabbinic Ordinances are Binding
Sanctity & Profanity
Brokerage:
Shadchanim & Real Estate Agents
Shimshon
What's a Bracha & How Does it Work?
Dovid HaMelech
Rise & Shine: Getting Up in with Halacha
Bar Kochba
Wars & Armies
Gid HaNasheh
May a Jew Become a Professional
Football Player & Related Issues
Netzach & Hod
Oh No! You Have a She'eila
& no Rabbi to Ask: What do you do?
Talmid Chochom
Is Pasteurized Wine Mevushal?
Din: Judgement
Fetal Reduction & Related Issues
Judaism & Freedom
Stitches on Shabbos
The Name of G-d & the Night of the Seder
Squeezing & Grinding on Shabbos
The Fifth Cup
Redistributing the Wealth:
Yissaschar-Zevulun Relationships
Kabbolas Shabbos
Were the Chashmonaim
Allowed to Assume the Kingship of Israel?
Rabbi Chanina & Rabbi Yannai
Chopping Pesukim
Shabbos:
Six Tehillim & the Days of the Week
Sunrise, Sunset: Halachic Times of Day
Mizmor L'Dovid
Rising Before the Wise & Senior Citizens
Longevity & Immortality
Lifnei Iver
Astrology
Rib'is: Subscribing to Jewish Periodicals?
Male & Female
The First Year of Marriage
Challa
Halachos of Taking Challa from Dough
Tanya for Misnagdim
The Mitzvah of Ma'akeh
Ma'avir Rishon Rishon
Muktzeh
Beyond Seder
Shabbos Clocks
Chumros:
Is the Way to Heaven Paved with Them?
Shabbos & Electricity
Judaism & Monarchy
Halacha at 35,000 Feet:
Airplane Travel Issues
Netzach Yisroel
Child Abuse
Magen Dovid
Happy Endings: Halachos of Haftaros
Half Hallel
Constructive Justice? Bribing Public Officials
Yerushalayim
Microwave Ovens: Shabbos & Kashrus
Malchus & Shechina
Wills & Testaments: Issues & Resolutions
Havaya”h, Elokim, Tzevako"s, Adnu"s
Office Parties: Yoreh De'ah Issues
Tzimtzum
Social Gatherings: Moshav Leitzim
Beis HaMikdosh: A Neck
A Change of Place:
Shinui Makom in Berachos
288 Nitzotzos
The Effects of Inflation on Halacha
The Eyes of G-d
Kedushas Bais HaKenesses
Too Great a Test?
Finders Keepers?
Abandoned Objects in Public Places
Sorcery & Sin
Kavod & Kerias Sefer Torah
Amalek & Tomorrow
So What's New? Chodosh!
The Throne of Dovid and Shlomo
Is there a Halachic Basis for Yom HaSho'ah?
Intellect
Dishwashers:
Kashrus, Shabbos & Yom Tov
Rosh and Crown
Forcing a Husband to Give a Get
Tzedaka vs. Chesed
Financial Assistance from non-Jews
Tanach vs. Chazal
Da'as Torah
in Halachic & Non-Halachic Areas
Transitions & Chana's Song
Shabbos Babycare:
Baby Wipes & Disposable Diapers
Kaf HaKela: The Catapult
Reuven or Robert?
English Names for Jewish People
Gehinnom & Reward
Good Intentions: Kavana for the Beginning of Shma
Beards
Animal Experimentation & Tza'ar Ba'alei Chaim
Keruvim
Pop-Top Halacha: Opening Various Food Containers