Parashat Ekev: Start Easy!

A BHP Productions video on the Parasha.

https://chat.whatsapp.com/I4CFQwInPXNATfQSMNOeRV

 

Rischa D'Araisa Season 13 Finale: From Micro to Macro: Forgoing and Forgiving

 

Rischa D'Araisa Season 13 Finale:

From Micro to Macro:

Forgoing and Forgiving

in our interpersonal relationships can change our whole society

https://listen.jewishpodcasts.fm/yeshivaofnewark/120764

The Holiday of the 15th Day of Av (Tu B'Av) - Ta'anit 20b-31a, Uganda Shiur

Uganda Shiur - July 27

VIEW RECORDING - 34 mins (No highlights)

Meeting Purpose

To explore the historical significance and customs of Tu B'Av.

Key Takeaways

• Tu B'Av (15th of Av) was historically a major holiday, second only to Yom Kippur in joy, because it marked the resolution of several national crises.
• Historical resolutions included lifting inter-tribal marriage bans, ending the wilderness generation's deaths, and securing burial for the Beitara dead.
• A central custom was a matchmaking dance, where women in borrowed white garments would dance in vineyards for men to find wives.
• Tu B'Av marks a seasonal shift, signaling the end of summer wood-cutting and the start of longer nights, prompting increased Torah study.

Topics

Historical Significance & Joy

• The Mishnah in Tractate Taanit (30B) states Tu B'Av and Yom Kippur were the two happiest days for the Jewish people.
• The Gemara provides multiple reasons for Tu B'Av's joy, each marking a resolution to a national crisis.

Reasons for Tu B'Av's Joy

• Inter-Tribal Marriage Permitted
  • Problem: A Torah law initially prohibited inter-tribal marriage to prevent inheritance from leaving a tribe's land.
  • Resolution: Sages interpreted the law as applying only to the first generation entering Israel.
  • Outcome: The marriage barrier was removed on Tu B'Av, fostering unity.
• Tribe of Benjamin Reintegrated
  • Problem: The other tribes ostracized Benjamin and swore an oath not to intermarry after a severe incident (Judges 19-21), threatening the tribe's survival.
  • Resolution: Sages interpreted the oath's wording ("none of us") to apply only to the generation that swore it, not their descendants.
  • Outcome: The oath was dissolved on Tu B'Av, allowing intermarriage and saving the tribe.
• Wilderness Generation's Deaths Ceased
  • Problem: As punishment for the Sin of the Spies, 15,000 people died annually on Tisha B'Av for 40 years.
  • Resolution: In the 40th year, no one died on Tisha B'Av. The full moon of Tu B'Av confirmed the calendar was correct, proving the decree had ended.
  • Outcome: God's highest level of prophecy returned to Moses, as the nation was now worthy.
• Pilgrimage to Jerusalem Restored
  • Problem: After the kingdom split, King Jeroboam blocked northern Jews from Jerusalem, forcing worship at golden calves in Bethel and Dan to prevent a return to the southern kingdom.
  • Resolution: The last northern king, Hosea, removed the guards on Tu B'Av, allowing free pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
  • Outcome: Though short-lived before exile, this act was celebrated as a return to unity.
• Beitara Dead Buried
  • Problem: After the failed Bar Kochba revolt, Romans left hundreds of thousands of Jewish dead from the Battle of Beitara unburied for 70 years.
  • Resolution: Romans finally permitted burial on Tu B'Av.
  • Outcome: A blessing was added to the post-meal prayer, thanking God for the bodies not decomposing and for enabling their burial.
• End of Wood-Cutting for the Temple
  • Problem: The Temple required dry, worm-free wood for the altar, which was only available in summer.
  • Resolution: Wood-cutting ceased on Tu B'Av, as the sun's strength weakened and the wood would no longer dry properly.
  • Outcome: A celebration, "the breaking of the axe," marked the end of the season and the trees' respite.

Tu B'Av Customs & Symbolism

• Matchmaking Dance
  • A central custom where women in borrowed white garments danced in vineyards for men to find wives.
  • Modesty: Borrowing clothes ensured no one felt ashamed of their own garments.
  • Ritual Purity: Garments required immersion in a mikvah (ritual bath) before use to ensure ritual purity.
• Women's Messages to Suitors
  • Beautiful: "Set your eyes toward beauty, for a wife is for beauty."
  • Distinguished Lineage: "Set your eyes toward family, for a wife is for children."
  • Less Attractive: "Acquire your purchase for the sake of Heaven, provided you adorn us with golden jewelry."
• End-of-Days Dance of the Righteous
  • A metaphor for the future redemption, where the righteous dance in a circle around God.
  • Symbolism: The circle represents that all sincere paths to God are equally valid and precious, as all points are equidistant from the center.

Tu B'Av's Modern Significance

• Seasonal Shift: Marks the start of shorter days and longer nights.
• Torah Study: Prompts a gradual increase in nightly Torah study.
  • Rationale: Longer nights provide more time for learning.
  • Proverb: "One who adds to his nightly Torah study will add years to his life."
• Preparation for Rosh Hashanah
  • Tu B'Av is 40 days before the 25th of Elul, the day creation began.
  • This aligns with the Gemara's teaching that a heavenly announcement for a future marriage is made 40 days before conception.
  • Conclusion: Tu B'Av is a time to begin preparing and praying for a good year ahead.

Torah Im Derech Eretz: Rabbi Dr Isaac Breuer's Moriah pt 6, State vs Land & People, State Above All

Moriah by Rabbi Dr Isaac Breuer: Part 6, State vs Land & People, State Above All

Meeting Purpose

To analyze Rabbi Dr. Isaac Breuer's philosophy of nation and state.

Key Takeaways

• Nation vs. State: A nation is a historical, synthetic concept defined by shared destiny, not by common language, race, culture, or land. A state is a legal entity with a defined territory, population, and sovereign will.
• The Autonomous State: This state is a "legal personality" with an omnipotent will, independent of its citizens. It is the sole source of law within its borders and claims absolute authority, effectively becoming its own god.
• Justice as a Tool: The autonomous state uses "justice" as a rhetorical tool, especially during crises, but its true highest value is its own existence and power. It will sacrifice justice for its own "greater good."
• Am Yisrael's Uniqueness: Am Yisrael is unique because its identity is defined by the Torah, not by land. This non-Zionist view makes the land of Israel a crucial tool for its mission, but not the mission's defining essence.

Topics

Defining a Nation

Breuer defines a nation as a "synthetic concept," a whole greater than the sum of its parts, with a spiritual component (a "tsar" or angelic official). He rejects common definitions:

• Language: Common language (e.g., US/UK) does not guarantee a single nation.
• Race: No pure race exists; racism is a tool for oppression.
• Culture: Culture is a manifestation, not the essence. The Romani people, for example, have a culture but are not a nation because they lack a "historical ambition."
• Land: Land is a manifestation of national character, but not the defining feature. A nation can survive without its land (e.g., Poland for 200 years).
• Conclusion: A nation is defined by a common historical destiny. Language, race, culture, and land are merely narratives that express this destiny.

Defining the State

Breuer distinguishes a nation from a state, a legal entity with three components:

1. Land of the State (Eretz HaMedina): The defined territory.
2. Nation of the State (Am HaMedina): The population living within the land.
3. Will of the State (Ratzon HaMedina): A sovereign will that unifies the land and people.

The Autonomous State: A Legal Personality

The autonomous state is a "legal personality" with a will independent of its citizens.

• Omnipotent Authority: It is the sole source of law within its borders and claims absolute power.
• Self-Justifying Existence: It severs ties with the laws that created it, making its own existence the highest law.
• "Holy Self": It becomes its own god, demanding absolute loyalty and declaring, "You shall have no other gods besides me."

Justice vs. State Interest

The state uses "justice" as a rhetorical tool, especially during crises.

• Subordinate Value: Justice is not an absolute value; the state's own survival and "greater good" are paramount.
• Cover for Crimes: This ideology can be used to justify atrocities under the guise of patriotism.

Am Yisrael: A Unique Nation

Am Yisrael's definition is unique and distinct from other nations.

• Torah-Centric Identity: Its identity is defined by the Torah, not by the land of Israel.
• Land as a Tool: Eretz Yisrael is a crucial tool for the Jewish people's mission, not the mission's defining essence. This contrasts with religious Zionism, which elevates the land to the central goal.
• "Glorifying Golus": This perspective gives a positive spin to exile, as the nation's identity remains intact through the Torah.

 

The Ramban's Summary of the Book of Iyov (Job) in two parts

Meeting Purpose

Analyze the Book of Job's theological debate on suffering.

Key Takeaways

• The Core Problem: The Book of Job challenges the mida k'neged mida (measure-for-measure) principle by depicting the righteous suffering and the wicked prospering, which appears to be random injustice.
• Ramban's Solution: Suffering without sin can be explained by sod ha'ibur (a soul-spark from a prior generation) or gilgul (reincarnation), which allows for atonement for past deeds.
• Job's Evolving Complaints: Job's arguments shift from blaming astrology to accusing God of random injustice, then questioning why an omniscient God needs to test him or prove power.
• Friends' Flawed Responses: The friends offer inadequate answers, either by denying Job's righteousness (Bildad) or by asserting God's hidden wisdom (Zophar) without providing a satisfying explanation for the suffering.

Topics

The Problem: Suffering of the Righteous

• The Book of Job challenges the mida k'neged mida principle, showing that reward and punishment are not always proportional to actions.
• Examples:
  • Job, an "absolute tzaddik," suffers immensely.
  • Rabbi Akiva endured a horrific death, which Moshe Rabbeinu questioned as disproportionate to any minor misdeeds.
• Ramban's Resolution: Suffering without sin is a divine secret (sod ha'ibur or gilgul).
  • Sod ha'ibur: A spark (nitzos) of a prior tzaddik's soul enters a living person, who then atones for that soul's past deeds.
  • Gilgul: Reincarnation allows a soul to atone for its own sins from a previous life.

Job's Evolving Complaints

• Job's arguments against his suffering evolve through three stages:
• 1. Astrology: Initially, Job blames his suffering on bad astrological fortune from his birth, cursing his existence.
• 2. Random Injustice: After Eliphaz refutes astrology, Job's complaint shifts to God's deliberate, yet seemingly random, injustice.
  • Argument: God is too great to care about individual humans, treating them like animals subject to random events, not divine justice.
  • Evidence: The innocent and wicked are destroyed together by natural disasters, proving a lack of individual divine oversight (hashkocha pratit).
• 3. Unnecessary Testing: Job questions why God needs to test him.
  • Rationale: An omniscient God already knows a person's character and has no need to prove power, making the suffering pointless.

The Friends' Flawed Responses

• The friends' arguments are ultimately rejected by God as inadequate.
• Eliphaz: Rejects astrology, stating suffering is a divine rebuke (musar) for a hidden sin, meant for the sufferer's benefit.
• Bildad: Directly accuses Job's children of sin, implying Job's own suffering is a just punishment.
• Zophar: Asserts God's hidden wisdom and duality (revealed vs. concealed).
  • Argument: God is merciful, punishing less than deserved. If God tolerates the wicked, He will surely not harm the truly righteous.

 

Meeting Purpose

To analyze the Ramban's summary of the Book of Job, focusing on Elihu's role and the ultimate resolution.

Key Takeaways

• Elihu's Cryptic Answer: Elihu offers a "new response" that silences Job. The Ramban states its true meaning is a secret of Kabbalah (likely gilgul—reincarnation) and cannot be written, but the answer is sufficient for Job.
• God's Rebuke & Job's Repentance: God's rebuke highlights human ignorance of the natural world, implying divine justice is similarly hidden but present. This prompts Job's repentance for questioning God's justice.
• The Friends' Error: Job's three friends are punished for falsely claiming suffering proves wickedness. This inadvertently creates an opening for Job's heresy by suggesting he was punished without judgment.
• The Value of the Question: The Ramban justifies the book's frustrating lack of a full answer, calling it a "claim of fools" to reject the process. Asking the question itself is a valuable act of wisdom that strengthens faith.

Topics

Elihu's Intervention & Cryptic Answer

• Elihu, a new character, rebukes both Job for self-justification and the friends for their flawed logic.
• Elihu's answer is a "new response" that silences Job, who does not reply.
  • Ramban's Interpretation: Job's silence signifies acceptance, not dismissal.
• The Ramban states Elihu's true meaning is a secret of Kabbalah that cannot be written down.
  • Likely Secret: Gilgul (reincarnation), where suffering atones for sins from a previous life.
  • Rationale for Secrecy: The knowledge is easily misunderstood or abused by the masses.

God's Rebuke & Job's Repentance

• God's direct rebuke to Job highlights human ignorance of the natural world's wonders.
• Implied Message: Just as the natural world has hidden order, divine judgment has a hidden, just rationale.
• This prompts Job's repentance (teshuva) for questioning God's justice.
  • Job acknowledges his limited understanding and recants his statements, accepting God's righteousness.

The Friends' Error & Punishment

• God punishes the three friends for their false claim that suffering proves wickedness.
• Rationale: Their logic inadvertently created an opening for Job's heresy by suggesting he was punished without judgment.
• Elihu's Exemption: Elihu is not punished because his intentions were sincere, even if his understanding was incomplete.

The Value of the Question

• The Ramban justifies the book's frustrating lack of a full, explicit answer.
• Rationale: Rejecting the process of asking the question is a "claim of fools."
• Benefit: The act of asking the question itself is a valuable act of wisdom that strengthens faith.
• Analogy: A 75% answer validates the existence of a full answer, even if the remaining 25% is hidden.
• Conclusion: The book teaches us to trust in God's hidden justice, even when it is not fully understood.