A Quick Torah Thought

One of the most famous anecdotes in the Seder is this one: It is told of Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar, the son of Azariah, Rabbi Akiva, and Rabbi Tarphon that they once celebrated the Seder together in Bnei Brak. They discussed the Exodus from Egypt all night long until their students came and said to them: "Rabbis, the time has come to recite the Shema." Reviewing the Shai LaMorah Passover Haggadah before davening this past Shabbat morning, I came across two novel ideas that I'd like to share.  First , "Bnei Brak", the city we all know in central Israel, just east of Tel Aviv, writes Rabbi Zeev Berlin in "Zevach Ha'Pesach," a commentary on the Haggadah, is  NOT  a place, but rather a description of the decor. The sages reclined on  bnei brak , the finest and most resplendent of bedding, i.e. silk pillows, brak meaning luxurious, or opulent. They reclined comfortably, feeling totally at ease, lost in the moment and losing sense of t...

In memory of Sergeant Aviad Elchanan Volansky, of the 77th Battalion, who fell in operations against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon. May his memory protect us.  A few years ago, my father-in-law, a senior social worker, asked me, "Who do you think would feel more left out at a Shabbat table, a blind person or a deaf person?" As a "foodie," the mere thought of having to stab aimlessly at meat, or vegetables, or slop up mashed potatoes, half of which would fall on my shirt, I naturally said, "a blind person."  He said, "No. A deaf person would feel more left out. A deaf person would be able to see but without communicative faculties, and the ability to comprehend the dynamics and social exchanges taking place around him, would feel almost invisible, as if he had no place at the table."  That idea, i.e. the centrality of the ears as the "window to the soul," is very much pronounced in the Parsha of Tzav. For, as part of the inaugurati...

The answer is, it would be pretty darn bad.  This week's parsha speaks to four different situations where one accidentally sins, and the consequent atonement process.  On Shabbat, a friend asked me, "Why does the verse  say, ' When a chieftain (i.e. leader) sins, unwittingly bearing guilt by performing an act Hashem has commanded him not to do (Vayikra 4:22)..?' Why doesn't the Torah say " If " like it says for all of the other transgressors, 'If the annointed priest sins...If the high assembly sins...If a layman sins..?' What distinguishes between the Nasi or tribal chief, or head of Israel, and every other potential sinner'"? I told him, "You see, it's like the expression, ' She'elat Chacham, Chatzi Teshuva ' (the question of a wise person, is already half the answer). A person who has to lead others, will inevitably get his hands dirty." You can't lead without making mistakes, you can't be human withou...

There seems to be an extraneous verse in this past week's Torah portion, Vayakhel.  "So the whole Israelite community (i.e. elite) left Moshe's presence (Shemot 35:21)."  They had just been instructed about what needed to be brought for the building of the Mishkan - from gold to silver, copper, the finest linen and a myriad of skins, oils, precious stones and incense.  And then, the verse teaches that they left Moshe's presence, but it was not they, who returned.  It wasn't the wealthy, or prestigious, the benefactors and the philanthropists. It was the simple folk.  Men and women, all whose hearts moved them , all who would make an elevation offering of gold to Hashem, came bringing brooches, earrings, rings, and pendants—gold objects of all kinds.  Family heirlooms were brought, engagement rings, keepsakes, anything of value, anything that one saw as being of value. And it was so overwhelmingly so, that the elite were taken off guard.  They watched c...

The world of economics talks alout about corrections, going from equilibrium to disequilibrium and back. A world fraught with corrections.  For the Jewish people, and for all of humanity for that matter, it's no different.  There really is no roadmap, no clear set of directions that tells an individual, a people or a tribe where they're going, where they're heading, or what has to be done.  That's simply the way it is, the vicissitudes of life sometimes leaving us on top, sometimes on bottom, and sometimes at a loss for what's going on, and what's happening behind the scenes.  I think that no where is that more pronounced than in the Parsha of Ki Tisa. The "golden calf" was made by Aharon because of the utter centrality of Moshe Rabbeinu. He equaled GOD to the Jewish people, and so, after the dreadful sin, what happens?! Moshe becomes even more central, Judaism becoming even more particularistic, knowledge in the hands of one and no other. Moshe distan...

Shushan Purim, celebrated only by cities that were walled at the time that Joshua conquered the land, represents absolute victory over our enemies, speedily in our days.  What was so different in the victory in Shushan, the capital of the Persian Empire, was that the first time around the Jews residing there still cowered before the reigning empire, and didn't want to disturb the waters. They were too afraid to celebrate, still, for fear of reprisal. And so, they simply didn't celebrate. The rest of the empire, Jews far and wide celebrated, but they, did not. Mordechai, whose name had become great, renowned, knew that this was a critical moment for all eternity, one that would solidify his and Esther's place in the pantheon of the Jewish people's greatest leader, leading our sages to teach that when the Beit Hamikdash is rebuilt, Purim will exceed all other holidays, which will become marginalized, but Purim's message will echo for all time.  Mordechai and Esther co...

I'm sitting in a bomb shelter now like millions of others. I'm in Jerusalem, but they say the Central Region and the North have been hardest hit. It's been brief normalcy punctuated by seemingly endless visits to bomb shelters; ours is dusty and untiled, with a garbage can for a toilet. Others – in fact, most in the area, are very nicely fixed up, tiled, with bathrooms, couches, mini-kitchens and play areas; these midnight runs are not foreign to most Israelis. Most bomb shelters double as recreational areas, or venues for non-profits' day-to-day activity. Some have been converted into synagogues, even, though ours is dusty and frigid, with a built-in ventilation fan that can't be turned off. I personally used to be responsible for the shelter, my name appearing with the other key holder on the door – I have been asked to open it in the late hours of the night for fear of an imminent thank, but now, thank God, it's automated with a magnetized door and the Home F...