avakesh

Can a Buddhist be a Kabbalist?

An interesting analysis from Rav Leitman. Here is an elaboration of the teaching on the EGO.

Comment: These teachings are based on the writings of R. Ashlag but, in my opinion, as presented, they are selective, glib, superficial and misleading. All that is being spoken about is the ego as the vessel to receive. But a vessel that only receives will either become a shell (kelipah) or will break. The problem is the use of the inadequate term "ego". What must be emphasized is that we must grow to learn how to recieve in order to GIVE, to become a vessel, a transit point, a part and ways station of the channel for Divine goodness so as to share it with others. To explain, I will first address the difference between Kelli (vessel) and Kelipah (husk) in Kabala. Both contain and encompass Divine light; yet, the former is good and the latter is evil. How does one explain this?

R. Ashlag in the introduction to his Commentary to the Zohar explains that a keli contains light only in order to share it with the others Light flows through it and it is but a way station. Kelippah on the other hand imprisons and holds on the the Light, only for itself. Since God gives, a Kelli is like God and it is therefore good. Kelipah, on the other hand, is a complete opposite of God, for it only takes. As such it is evil. It is fine, then, to speak of the Ego, although this should be better defined. But it is an error and a misrepresentation for Mahari Ahslag's thought to present the spiritual task as expanding the ego in order to recieve rather then receive and give.

Golden Calf

By Y. Rosehshtein, copyright by the artist

Comment: Note the substitution of the coin for calf - worship of money.

Physical and Spiritual 8: Emotions

Man is a creature in constant turmoil. At all times, a multitude of thoughts, impressions, moods and feelings course through and within him. Only the strongest of these rise to the level of conscious awareness; most remain unacknowledged and unrecognized. Let me give an example. Let's say that you walked by someone in the street who should have greeted you but did not. You let it pass but a few minutes later your mood turns sour and you do not know why. Much has taken place beneath the surface: frustration, anger, self-loathing, insecurity, regret, but chances are that you noted nothing, because none of this was conscious. Your lack of familiarity, also inability to honestly assess your own spiritual state did not allow full cognition. All that a person knows is that suddenly and without cause he is thrust into the experience of a changed mood, and he does not know why. The primary condition of living on the level of Ruach is becoming aware and attuned to the inner processes that are automatically running beyond your awareness and learning how to strengthen and encourage the noble emotions of the level of Ruach and weaken and ultimately attenuate the feelings and moods that stem from the level of Nefesh. As we said previously, living on the level of Ruach allows an opportunity for an occasional glimpse into the level above ( or before) it, what Sefer Yetsirah calls "ruach miruach". It is the level of Ruach Hakodesh, which is still accesable to us, and that is motivation enough.

We have previously explained that there are emotions, feelings and moods at each level of the soul. The nefesh, the animalistic, lower level of the human being, produces self-doubt, jealousy, anger. But, it can also produce pity (not compassion) and kindness and trust - all depending on the constitution and material from which a particular psyche is hewn. This is why even lowly people are sometimes capable of self-sacrifice and generosity. What nefesh will not produce, however, is fine discrimination of when these emotions are appropriate and when they are harmful or unjust. Neither can they produce Awakening, as opposed to Arousal, Compassion as opposed to Pity, Transcendence as opposed to Self-sacrifice. The ruach provides the more religiously positive and higher order emotions – joy, exhilaration, gratitude, wonder, awareness, compassion, satisfaction, hope. We humans constantly move and slide from mood to mood, feeling to feeling. The question then is: How do we transition from the unconscious background of unrecognized emotions to actively directing the background process? How do we train ourselves to experience the emotions that elevate the soul and push aside those that pollute and weaken it?

The answer is - it requires spiritual discipline  and hard work. Chassidus mentiosn manu tools; meditation is one of them. In essence, meditation is a short-cut. It allows us to become aware of our emotions and thoughts. It can teach how to focus. Once one knows how to focus he can aim to call-up and enliven positive emotions in the place of negative ones. It is possible to wrest control from the unconscious and learn how to direct and affect feelings. There are different types of meditations and we will discuss it the next installment. One thing I must caution: Meditation is a shortcut, a psychological tool that makes it easier to be self-aware and enables gaining self-control and self-mastery; it is not a key to mysteries; neither does it in itself possess intrinsic religious value. However, in our rushed, busy American lives, it is rare to find a man with inner calmness, someone who has learned to focus and step out of the moment without using some kind of a meditative technique. This is what R. Arye Kaplan wrote in his (until recently) unpublished notes: " The highest level is closeness to and awareness of God. Many of our righteous people reached extremely high levels of consciousness and closeness to God without ever meditating. When you reach that level, in which you have a well-enough disciplined life, the entire concept of the Torah and commandments becomes a meditation." (quoted in the introduction to Living Kabbala: A guide to the Sabbath and festivals in the teachings of Rabbi Refael Moshe Luria, by Simcha H Benyosef, Feldheim, 2006.

It is indeed possible to reside at the level of Ruach but it takes years of determined, unremitting work to achieve it.

Faith power: Prof. Halivni

Haretz has an article on Professor David Weis-Halivni.

My favourite quote:

"It is my personal tragedy that the people I daven (pray) with I cannot talk to and the people I talk to I cannot daven with. However, when the chips are down I will always side with the people I daven with. For I can live without talking, I cannot live without davening."

Comment: I was always impressed by Professor Halivni's ability to walk the tightrop between an almost outright denial of Torah's authenticity and  his dedication and personal committment to its teachings. His attempt to bring Oral Law in consonance with Written Law by positing the principle of Choto Yisroel, that Oral Law was passed down together with written Law and that it is the later that came down to us corupted, as per the historical-critical method) are totally unacceptable to believing Jews. HIs method of solving Talmudic issues by suggesting answers to Tannaitic contradictions that are contrary to those of the Gemoro itself is universally opposed, for it implies that we understand Tannaim better than the Amoriam did. At the same time, he is an erudite and caring Talmid Chacham. Great indeed must be his faith and wide indeed is his heart  for his spirit to be able to survive and not wither in the face of the relentless attacks from his cynical academic environment and his ciritical mind-work.

Such was the faith of the previous generation, the faith of Hungarian chassidic Jews of before the War, that no amount of Kefirah could sway or uproot.

Prof. Halivni as an 11 year-old child with his family.

Links: Hametivta

There is a link there to lectures. In the first lecture, Prof. Halivni explains his opinion on when to follow Rishonim and when one may not and gives examples.

Good old age

AL TASHLICHEINU K'E ZIKNA - DO NOT THROW US OFF IN OLD AGE.

This statement taken from the Shma Kolenu we say on Yom Kippur and
> during Selichos has much wisdom to it yet seems to be exaggerated. We all
> strive for... a long, healthy and active life. Who among us wouldn't
> it. Why... Al Tashlichenu L'Eis Ziknah...?

Unfortunately, the answer is all too obvious to me. The key phrase is
"Kichlos Kochenu". But... you may ask, isn't it just the natural process
to weaken when we get older? It is to be expected. Of course the old grow weaker but that is not contrary to enjoying the golden years.

R. Chaim Boruch Faskowitz Z'L explained that when the
elderly go down, they sometimes detriorate very rapidly. It is common that an
independant, healthy elderly person fals and breaks a hip and within
a month is incapacitated, ill, unalbe to live alone and begins to
lose mental capacity. That's "al tashlikheinu" - a rapid process of
detrioration. We ask that, if such is the decree above, even our old age should be "k'chlos kocheinu", a slower process of weakening so we, and those dear to us, can adjust to it.

Midrashic muliplicity

Getting a handle on multiplicity.

Every beginning student of Midrash encounters a basic difficulty - the sheer number and diversity of Midrashic comments on any particular verse, passage or text. How does one make sense and order of such an abundance of riches? With the profusion of newly published manuscripts and previously unknown targumim, this methodological difficulty has multiplied and grown. It should be obvious when discussing method, as we do here,  that a way to organize, classify and rank midrash is urgently needed. Scholars such as Yitzhak Heinemann and Yonah Frankel suggested classification of Midrashic passages by form. Thus, they spoke of homiletic midrash, interpretative midrash or halachic midrash and the like. A literary approach comes naturally to those who aim to describe midrash as of literature but it does not particularly assist in understanding the goal, purpose and function of the texts themselves form a religious-teaching perspective. In addition, focusing on literary forms and genres as method of study, while often helpful in defining a type of a teaching that one encounters, are entirely too supple, intertwined and vague, and in many ways are foreign to the traditional Talmud Torah approach [1].

In the past we discussed the concept of exegetical motif and how, when coupled with the historical method, it can produce a coherent and systematic framework for classifying Midrashic comments on a particular theme. As presented, it starts from a supposition that there is an early received core of exegesis that subsequent midrashim attempt to explicate and reconcile. It allows one to order Midrash according to root and branches, with the later sources seen as commenting, explaining and reconciling earlier ones. At other times, it can be demonstrated that multiple explanations were inherent and co-existent from the beginning. While consistent with belief in Oral Law, this method also represents a deviation from the purely traditional approach and its origin lies in Wissenschaft von Judentum and not in traditional methods of study.

Let us consider another approach, one that we have repeatedly utilized in this series but never explicitly discussed. As the first step, the student identifies the exegetical problem or difficulty in a verse or passage. It may be gap, contradiction, difficulty, uncertainty or others that we discussed in the introduction to this series. Consulting the classic commentators will often aid in identifying the difficulty, for they may explicitly discuss it, or one may be able to deduce it from their comments. A 360% all around overview will almost always bring the exegetical problem to the fore. Finally, one can classify various Midrashic comments by how they solve this problem, keeping in mind that midrash tends to resort to only a number of basic approaches.

Let's look at one example from this week's parsha.

See, Hashem called by name Betsalel Ben Uri Ben Dan of the tribe of Judah ( Exodus 35, 30).

There exist numerous midrashic comments regarding this verse that, at first glance, appear to range all over the place. In truth, they all attempt to explain the very serious difficulties with this verse. Among them is the theologically severe problem of Hashem calling one specific individual to build a communal center of worship and how this is fair or proper, and several Midrashic passages address this issue. Their response to this source of difficulty is a demonstration that the individual was uniquely qualified or that he possessed special merit, or showing that this procedure is not as unique as it may appear. We also will focus on the very unusual structure and syntax of this verse. Where else do we find that an appointment to a position requires an explanation to the public, especially one couched in such grand language? While there is ample precedent in the Chumash for a verse starting with "See…" [2], it is invariably a direct address to the person appointed or sent and is never about a third person, as is the case here. "Calling by name", usually means praying to or relying upon, whereas here it seems to have a meaning of "appointing". We can classify disparate midrashim as addressing one of these several points.

1. Why is the format "See…" used here to describe a third person whereas it is usually used as direct address? The answer is that here too it is a direct demand to an addressee who is not specified in the verse itself.  Hashem is asking the community to agree to His appointment.

R. Yitshak said: We do not appoint an official (parnes) over a community unless we consult the community, as it says, "See, Hashem called by name…(Brochos 55a)".

See wisdom that I put in his heart (Tanna D'Vei Eliahu 17).

2. Why the expression "called by name"? The following midrashim explains its relevance to Hashem's selection of one individual out of many and presents it as regular procedure and not something unique in this instance.

It says,"He called all of them by name" and it says, "He called them by names"…When the Holy One Blessed Be He calls them as a group, he calls them by (one) name. When he calls them as individuals, he calls each one by a name - Michael, Gavriel. This we know regarding above; regarding below, how do we know this? It says, "See, Hashem called by name…"(Tanchuma Yashan 2).

R. Yochanan said: Everything is (done) through calling whether it is for good or evil. For good - "I will call to grain and make it numerous". For evil - "And He called hunger upon the land". The same is regarding appointing authority. For good it says, "See, I called by name, Betsalel". For evil, what does it say? "A sinner, from womb I called him".

3. Insofar as the theological problem, several midrashim connect the selection of Betsalel to the merit of his grandfather Hur, or Miriam, the prophetess. The common thread in all of these answers is that Betsalel's appointment was a just compensation for some great act. Hur gave his life to protect G-d's inheritance and Miriam risked hers to save Jewish children and was rewarded with the promise to build "houses", including the House of G-d by her descendant, Betsalel. These midrashim can be found listed in Torah Sheleima.

The ability to classify midrashic texts into groups or to assign them to one of several common themes, is extremely helpful in being able to rationally approach Midrash. After classification is accomplished, in depth approach to both specific midrashim and the overarching themes becomes possible. Without a method, one flounders in the " sea of midrash without a vessel or rudder with which to traverse it.

---

1 See the remarks of S. Peter in Learning to read midrash, Urim Publications, 2004, p. 9-10

2 Genesis 41, 41;Exodus 7,1

Teaching B'nei Noach

Hassidic modernistic artist

Punctuating his dark suit, Yitzchok Moully wears a bright-pink yarmulke, orange socks and a green tie. Moully, a youth director at the Chabad Jewish Center in Basking Ridge, N.J., wears both of his identities — Hasidic rabbi by day, painter by night — proudly.

........The 29-year-old photographer and father of three has been painting for about three years. He attended yeshiva (but not art school), and two years ago he began exhibiting in galleries and community centers in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Currently, his work is on exhibit at the gallery ArtisZen Arts in Lambertville, N.J.

Raised on a commune in the Australian outback, in the 1980s Moully passed through New York with his family en route to Israel and decided to write the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. According to Moully, the rebbe advised the family to stay in New York. A 10-day trip became four-and-a-half years, and Moully became Hasidic.

By combining vibrant colors with Jewish and Hasidic themes, Moully unites two apparently separate worlds, which, he said, “in essence are not so disparate.”

Brian Hanck, owner of ArtisZen, believes that Moully will find success both within the Jewish community and beyond. He says many non-Jewish customers have purchased “Tree of Life,” which can be appreciated universally. (Examples of his work can be viewed at www.chassidicpopart.com.)

from http://www.forward.com/articles/12739/

Reconstructing ancient Hebrew music

" In 1907, Abraham Zvi Idelsohn (1882-1938), the generally acknowleged “father” of modern musicology, settled in Jerusalem. The great diversity of musical traditions he found among the Jews living in the region led to the creation of his monumental musicological collection, Thesaurus of Hebrew Oriental Melodies. Idelsohn examined the traditional melodies of Hebrew music from Jewish centers throughout the world, and found recurring motives and progressions that were not found in any other national music. This suggested a common origin for these musical phrases that went back to Israel/Palestine in the first century c.e., prior to the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans and the Jewish Exile.

He found that these motives fell into three distinct tonal centers, which corresponded to the Dorian, Phrygian, and Lydian modes of the ancient Greeks. Each of these modes elicited a distinct psycho-emotional response. The Dorian Mode tetrachord was used for texts of an elevated and inspired nature; the Phrygian for sentimental texts, with their very human outbreaks of feeling, both of joy and grief; and the Lydian was used in composing music for the texts of lamenting and confessions of sins.

Idelsohn further categorized and defined these motives as ones that either prepared a musical phrase, began it, or conluded it. In the hopes of creating an echo of first-century authenticity on this recording, the melodies for the Dead Sea Scrolls text and the prayers and sayings of Jesus were carefully composed using the motives and melodic fragments collected by Idelsohn. It is very likely these sacred texts and prayers were chanted and sung, as that is the both the Jewish and Middle Eastern tradition. "

A CD based on this premise is available (caution, I have not heard it and don't know whether it involves kol isha or shirei agavim problems)

Academic studies and Torah

I received this query from a very bright seeker. I decided, with permission, to share both the question and the answer on the blog.

Question

"I see that on your site you address many issues regarding Biblical scholarship, as well as academic Talmudic scholarship. My goal has been to make the yesodei ha-das (G-d, Torah and Man (spirituality)) real to me, pashut, to have a strong foundation,well planted roots. I have grown in my emuna in Hashem and in the soul...and Torah knowledge. I have long struggled with the areas of modern scholarship, and I have discussed it with many knowledgeable rabbis and religious professors. But I find that being osek in these matters lowers my spiritual state.Besides for any hadracha you could give me in dealing with these issues intellectually, how do you deal with the spiritual. I feel on a much lower spiritual level when I read these things. I also struggle with balancing the investigation of the foundations (philosophy, secular scholarship etc.) with the investigation of the details, and the details of the details etc. (Talmudic study). But yet, I feel that I must; I have been afraid of the scholars for too long. Pachad is the worst midda. With much appreciation..."

Response

Thank you for asking this question, a question I not infrequently receive.

There is no question that indulging in academic scholarship can be bad for one's spiritual health. Experience bears this out. The real question, therefore is, what benefits might there be in academic study of Bible and Talmud and , whether they justify the investment of time that can otherwise be devoted to traditional Torah study, and if it has positive religious value, how can the risks be attenuated?

The foundation for the inquiry must be that academic studies do not have a value greater than traditional Torah study, for nothing can be more dangerous and false than such an assumption. Being familiar with the modern methods of Bible study does not mean better understanding of Tanach than that of someone who only knows Rashi and Ramban. What is a small increment of knowledge worth in front the most immensely rich, deep and powerful book ever written. Neither is there room for self congratulatory feeling of smug superiority over the  old-time (and behind the times) talmidei chachamim that one sometimes finds among academic scholars. Academic studies are only justified when they take their place in the armamentarium of an advanced  Torah scholar - as one method among others. R. Hildesheimer, for example, was known for his ability to quickly assess his audience and deliver a lecture exactly befitting his listeners. To Hungarians he gave a pilpul in the style then current in that land, to the Lithauanians he spoke as a Litvishe lamdan and to Germans, he presented an academic discourse in the style of Wissenschaft vom Judentum.

Why then read academic writers at all? Well, because so many areas of Torah study are not covered in the traditional curriculum or lie in manuscripts and obscure texts that one cannot locate and has no teacher to explain.

You must not believe that academic inquiry uncovers the Truth, only that it makes available a slice of reality. You get out what you put in.

Remember that it tends to obtain results that befit its style of inquiry. Scientific approaches are reductionist. They employ the historical method, and a powerful method it is,  and attempt to separate Torah into various layers, usually based on the historic period, cultural milieu and assumptions, or surrounding intellectual trends. This is not the way of the Torah, or Judaism for that matter. We, Jews, are unifiers, lumpers, not splitters. Just like the world itself is Unity within apparent multiplicity, so also all of Torah is one. A contemporary scholar can offer an explanation that resolves a contradiction within an ancient text, that then can be used to explain an ever older Biblical passage. Torah is one, without layers or sublevels. Thus, the academic method is merely one way of analyzing the evidence of the Tradition; in fact, it will often produce results that are contrary to what the Tradition itself teaches.

Is there a value to Academic study? I think yes, but only under certain conditions.

1. Do not engage in it until you have filled your belly with Shas and Poskim. This is because otherwise you cannot evaluate whether the academician is collating secondary sources, misreading the text, misapplying a flashy thought while overlooking the obvious meaning, or is a plain am haaretz. Why should you be thrown by the words of an am haaretz? His language may be polished, his idiom sharp and his delivery impeccable but he may be nothing more than an ignoramus, and you do not want to be swayed by an ignoramus.

2. Do not engage in it until you yourself possess and master some academic discipline. This I say because there are certain tricks of the trade that an academics know, that are used to transition between facts and conclusions. Without a thorough training in academia, without having played the game yourself, you will miss these devices and scribe more validity to the conclusions than is warranted. Especially watch out for “is would stand to reason”, "therefore", “consequently", "it is more likely than not' etc. These examples you can be taught to identify and suspect; others are more refined and even more elegant. If you do not own an area of inquiry, do not wield perfect English and understand the art of rhetoric, you will be at a disadvantage when a false elegant presentation undermines your faith based on nothing.

3.Fideism, the position that truth is established by faith and choice rather than by reason, is a necessary component were you to involve yourself in academic study. A belief that Truth is established by mystical rather than rational means, would also suffice to protect you. No amount of philosophy can sway a prophet.

4. Finally, as Menachem Ecktein wrote in his small and wonderful book, Visions of a Compassionate World, philosophy (read science) is nothing more than an attempt to come closer to God, using the means at one’s disposal. Some people have only their brain because their other facilities remain underdeveloped. At the center of their spiritual quest is their reason, unaware that the very criticism and inquiry to which they subject G-d’s word is an expression of their deep longing for it.  Seek, we must seek, Hashem through reason, through feeling, through every means at our limited disposal. If you do so, what can the academic method do to you? Academia is not the whole story, it is barely even a part of the story. If you remember this, you will be safe.

Does academic study of Torah have value? Yes, some!

Should you engage in I? Possibly at some future time, probably not now, not yet, not until the conditions above have been satisfied.
All roads lead to Jerusalem, only some can lead you to wander for a while.

Should I, the writer of these words, engage in it. No, not anymore. B’H this knowledge has served me and others well. However, that which I have gained already, I must also not deny. I must use everything that Hashem gave me, all the blind blundering in the valleys of Life, its broken paths,for the Glory of my Creator. May Hashem lead us in the path of Truth and open our eyes in His Torah and may He have nachas from all his children.