avakesh

Rosh Hashana Greetings

The Hidden and the Revealed

He who denies the hidden in the revealed (i.e. denies kabbala publicly), in the hidden he denies the revealed (in private denies the Revelation of the Torah).

 

Chasam Sofer

quoted in Chut Hemshulash (biography of the Sofer family), -. 44

Return

WIth Hashem's help, I intend to return to a more regular schedule of posting. I apologize for the prolonged furlough and hope that you will find what I post to be useful, and above all, educational and uplifting.

WIth Hashem's help!

 

Avos 3:4, What else unites us and being alone

From this, I know only concerning two individuals; how do I know that even a single individual who sits and occupies himself with the Torah, G-d designates reward for him? From the verse, "He sits alone in meditative stillness; indeed, he receives [reward] for it" (Lamentations 3:28).

Now we shift our focus to an individual. In the previous part of the mishna the focus had been on how Divine Presence rests within a group - ten, even three, even two. Divine presence is not possible outside of a group. But even one person can still avail himself of the Divine Experience - but only through the Torah. It is not Shechina but there is a reward. Learning alone is far from ideal.

He who sits alone does not connect with Hashem, for by definition, loneliness is loneliness.

The simple meaning of this verse in Lamentations is that one who suffers should sit in silence and contain the pain which G-d placed upon him. Certainly R, Chanina ben Teradyon knew what it is to be in pain. He had a learned son and a learned daughter, Beruriah. It is related that Simon ben Haninah asked this son a Torah question and, and that the latter and his sister Bruriah, both provided different answers to it. When R.Yudah ben Bava heard of those opinions, he remarked, "Chaninah's daughter teaches better than his son" (Tosefta, Kelim, Bava Kama iv. 17). This son went off the derech and became a bandit. He betrayed his criminal associates, wherefore they killed him and filled his mouth with sand and gravel. Having discovered his remains, the people would have eulogized him out of respect for his father, but the latter would not permit it. "I myself shall speak," said he; and he did, quoting Proverbs 5:11. The mother quoted Proverbs 17:25; the sister, - 20:17 (Eicha Rabba iii. 16;  Semachot xii.)

As in his life, so also in his death, R, Chanania ben Teradyon strove mightily that Torah should be studied in public. He lived what he preached here in Avos.

Hadrian imposed a death penalty of those who taught Torah. In response, R. Chananya ben Teradyon convened public assemblies and taught Torah.

For this he and his wife were condemned to death, and their daughter to degradation. His death was terrible. Wrapped in the scroll, he was placed on a pyre of green brush; fire was set to it, and wet wool was placed on his chest to prolong the agonies of death. "Woe is me," cried his daughter, "that I should see thee under such terrible circumstances!" Haninah serenely replied, "I should indeed despair were I alone burned; but since the scroll of the Torah is burning with me, the Power that will avenge the offense against the law will also avenge the offense against me."

His heartbroken disciples then asked: "Master, what seest thou?" He answered: "I see the parchment burning while the letters of the Law soar upward."

"Open then thy mouth, that the fire may enter and the sooner put an end to your sufferings," advised his pupils. But Haninah replied, "It is best that He who hath given the soul should also take it away: no man may hasten his death." Thereupon the executioner removed the wool and fanned the flame, thus accelerating the end, and then himself plunged into the flames (Avodah Zarah 17b, see also Sifre, Deut. 307).

The simple meaning of the verse in Lamnetation that is quoted here in Avos is that one who suffers must accept the decree that G-d places on him in silence. That is not how R. Chanaya ben Teradyon understood the verse. Instead he saw it as prescribing a reward even for one who studies Torah alone. But in truth, Torah must be studied in public, not alone. This is so important that it must be done even in the time of persecution. When he was captured and put to death, R. Chananya did not just accept his suffering in silence; her justified Hashem's design.

On hearing his sentence, he quoted Deuteronomy 32:4, "He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment"; while his wife quoted , "A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he"; and his daughter cited Yirmiahu 32:19, "Great in counsel, and mighty in work; for Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Sifre, Deut. 307; Avodah Zarah loc. cit)

 

Avos 3:4, 1+1=3

But two who sit and exchange words of Torah, the Divine Presence rests amongst them, as is stated, "Then the G-d-fearing conversed with one another, and G-d listened and heard; and it was inscribed before Him in a book of remembrance for those who fear G-d and give thought to His name" (Malachi 3:16).

In the first part of the mishna, two indviduals were united by silence and mutual rejection. In this part, they are united through conversation. But they are not only united, the Divine Presence rests among them.

How does this work? How does two become three?

Shekhina, Divine Pesence, is a mysterious concept. We do know that it is called in Kabbalistic sources, Knesses Yisroel - the gathering of Israel. A clue is that the very term Sheckhina come for the verse in  Exodus 25:8, "They shal make me a sanctuary and I will dwell(shakhanti) amongst them".

There are various levels of Shekhina, from the very highest to the ones that we sense among us, all really one and the same(See the beginning of Maamar Bosi L'Gani). The godliness that exists among us is inseparable from the basic defining quality of humans, that we know each other as humans only through and in terms of human society and relationship. To restate it in simple but perhaps shocking terms so to say that G-d only exists in the human realm of relationship and community. If there were not a society of inter-related human beings to sense and enshrine G-d as the King and Master, Friend and Parent, Helper and Judge, there would, perhaps be no Hashem in this world, except as distant Cause.

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it really fall? Had there been no humans, would there be G-d (at least in the terms that we understand and perceive him)?

This is what He wanted. "G-d desired to have a dwelling place in the lower worlds (Dira B'Tachtonim( Tanchuma Pikudei2)".

When two individuals share disdain and rejection, they are united by negatvity. But, Hashem is not there, for that is not an interaction that humans can share with the Master of the World, because any rejection between Hashem and humans is one sided. Hashem never rejects. When two people sit and positively interact, especially when they speak of Torah (within which Hashem is enclothed through a different and distinct mechanism), Shekhina dwells among them, for godliness is an aspect of every human interaction. We are only human in as much as we relate to G-d.

Avos 3:4, Alone together

Rabbi Chanina son of Tradyon would say: Two who sit and no words of Torah pass between them, this is a session of scorners, as is stated, "And in a session of scorners he did not sit" (Psalms 1:1).

As we continue to consider and weigh different kinds of belonging and not belonging, this Mishna begins to tell us us about different groups of people. We start with two people, discuss two for while and, in Mishna six proceed all the way to 10.

Perhaps as a literary technique, our first group is two who are disconnected. They sit together but do not speak to one another. Yet, they are not two individuals but a "session of scorners"(moshav leitzim), members of a group. Ruach Chaim points out that these two do not believe that there have anything to gain from a conversation, for each one considers his colleague to be so inferior in Torah as not to have anything to contribute. Paradoxically, in their separateness they are united. By rejecting each other, they become a group of scoffers.

I remember that in my youth I did not wish to be a conformist. I would wear a dark gray hat, which was more accepted at that time than it would be now, and in this way, I thought, I was my own man. This lasted until a wise man told me that everyone belongs to group. All that I was accomplishing is to be thought of as belonging to group of nonconformists. You see that rejection can be as unifying as non-rejection.

In one way, the sages indicate to us that speech is not the only thing that connects individuals. Many things can be the glue that holds a group together. Disdain can unite as surely as respect. One who had seen dysfunctional marriages and families can certainly attest the abiding ability of negativity to unite.

However, this not only that there is no speaking between these two people at all; it is that words of Torah do not pass between them. The essence of being a Jew is being united through the Torah. To sit and not discussed Torah is unifying through rejection, but it is not in any way as good as unity through unity. Perhaps, a paradox, but a paradox with meaning.

The Mishna then goes on to show us that it is much better to be held together by Torah then by rejection of Torah.

The Jewish Educator Award

The Jewish Educator Award is a project of the Milken Family Foundation (MFF) which established the Award as way to acknowledge the work of outstanding Jewish educators. The Award, founded in 1994, is presented to a select group of Jewish educators each year as a way of honoring them for their professional leadership, their community involvement, their efforts in support of their schools' students and families and, most of all, the high quality of their work as Jewish educators.

Lowell Milken created the Jewish Educator Award as an extension of his philosophy that a Jewish Day School education can encourage a child to develop strong Jewish values, remain faithful to his Jewish heritage and nourish the child's Jewish identity. MFF created the Award to strengthen the Jewish Day School movement while rewarding excellence in teaching. These educators, MFF notes in its overview of the Awards, work to create an exciting and engaging educational experience for Jewish students to make Judaism vibrant and meaningful in their lives.

The Award is determined based on the teacher's classroom performance, relationship with the community and with the school's families and with the community. The Award committee reviews each nominee's leadership skills as it influences the school community and its families as well as the nominee's originality of educational methods.

Recipients of the Jewish Educator's Award include individuals who are engaged in all facets of Jewish education including teachers, administrators and specialists. Since 1994 Lowell Milken and MFF has presented the Award to Jewish professional educators who represent almost 40 Jewish Day Schools nationwide.  According to the Award guidelines, the Award recognizes the educator's as "role models deserving of emulation for their intelligence, scholarship, creativity and compassion."

Each year 4 educators are named as Milken Educators. To be nominated the teacher must teach in a school that is affiliated with the local Board of Jewish Education at the K-12 level. The Jewish Educator Awards are distributed to educators who teach in schools representing all streams of Judaism. Each recipient receives $15,000.

Been tardy...

My posting had become less frequent and I apologize. Preparing and giving a Daf Yomi shiur and getting involved in a new project has taken a toll. BE"H I will  slowly be able to increase postings....hope so. Thank you for being patient.

When in Rome.... by Chaim Gershon

MasyaA

MasyaB

MasyaConclusion

 

 

 

Masya ben Charesh is listed among the famous Jews who lived in Rome even recently, He headed a Yeshiva there for Jews who wandered off the derech there. See, here

and

 

http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=16076&pgnum=129

http://www.yesodei.org/videos/videos.php?index=30

 

 http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/2010/11/mattia-ben-cheresh.html

 

and Hear the story weaved in the attachments...

 

 

Avos 3:3 - Kingdom of this Earth

Rabbi Chanina, deputy to the kohanim, would say: Pray for the integrity of the government; for were it not for the fear of its authority, a man would swallow his neighbor alive.

The teaching of R. Chanina is interesting because he was a late Tanna, we lived just before the destruction of the Temple. By skipping more than 100 years forward to R. Chanina, the Mishna indicates to us a thematic connection between R. Akavia ben Mehallel and the teaching of R. Chanina. R. Akvia was focused on individual versus the group, but that was no longer the actual question a hundered years later. Now, the question is individual versus the government.

What happened in the decades before the destruction of the Holy Temple? Well, this was the time of increasing anarchy in the land of Israel, with the appearance of homegrown brigands and terrorists, and progressive weakening of governmental authority. At the same time, the notion of the Kingdom of Heaven, a place that was supposed to and radically better than the kingdom of this Earth, began to circulate. It is very clear from the Gospels that the radical teaching that devalued temporal authority and considered obeisance to it to be a betrayal of the Heavenly Kingdom, has gained many adherents at that time. Whereas before the Rabbis were focused on the questions of the religious meaning of individual service to God versus national destiny, the very value of earthly authority was now being questioned. Rabbi Chanina defined two different charges of earthly authority. One was to serve as a moral and ethical force. The Roman prefect never fulfilled that function. However, it was time to remind faithful Jews that the government also served as a deterrent to interpersonal and intercommunal violence. It may not be fulfilling a positive role that Shimon Hatsadik envisioned, but it was still a powerful barrier to general anarchy. That alone justified that Jews should pray even for an unrighteous government, even for one that represented and elevated values that where radically at conflict with Torah values.