Rabbi Isaac Canpanton was born in Castilla, Spain (probably in Zamora) in 1360.  Rabbi Canpanton was known as “The Gaon of Castilla”. He witnessed the decline of Spanish Jewry, especially after the persecutions, mass-killings and forced conversions of the 1390’s, and the outrages of Vicente Ferrer y Ferrand Martinez.
Rabbi Canpanton directed the Yeshiba of Zamora for many years. He was succeeded by one of his disciples, rabbi Shemuel al-Valensi (=from Valencia) who headed this prestigious Yeshiba until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.
Rabbi Canpanton probably wrote many books, but today we only know of one of his books,  Darkhe haTalmud (“A Methodology of the Talmud). Darkhe haTalmud is a short book which teaches the proper methodology to study and teach Talmud.  Incidentally, it also shows the way the Talmud was studied in Sepharad for centuries.  This book affected the way the Sephardic communities studied the Talmud after the expulsion from Spain in Salonica, North Africa and the Middle East. Rabbi Ya’aqob Berab, for example, who was one of the luminaries of Tsefat (Safed) in the 16 century, taught Talmud in his prestigious Yeshiba, following strictly the methodology of Darkhe haTalmud. Rabbi Yaaqob Berab was the rabbi who ordained Rabbi Yosef Caro, the author of the Shulhan ‘arukh, with the renewed semikha. In the Bet Yosef (YD Siman 275), Rabbi Yosef Caro mentions rabbi Canpanton with much honor and respect:  “הרב הגדול החסיד הר’ יצחק קאפאנטו”ן ז”ל היה נוהג לעשות כן”.

Rabbi Canpanton lived a long life, 103 years. He died in Peñafiel, Spain,  in 1463.

ספר דרכי התלמוד לרבי יצחק קנפאנטון

The book Darkhe haTalmud contains 15 short chapters. Most of them deal with methodological rules, to train the student to develop an active and critical study of the Talmud.  Rabbi Canpanton insists, for example, that the student has to read the text at least three times, paying very close attention to the language (diyuq) before he engages into any of the commentaries.  When the student reads the text he must ask himself several (=ten) questions: Who are the protagonists of the debate (the suguia)? What is the goal of this particular text? What novelty it comes to teach? etc. Only after that, he should proceed to read the commentaries. One of the most important didactic rules the book systematically presents is, in my own words, “anticipation”. Rabbi Canpanton teaches the student to read carefully the debates, the questions or the comparison between the texts and stop before reading further. Once the student understands the question, he must try to arrive on his own at the possible answers and solutions, anticipating the solutions the Gemara will possibly offer. This didactic rule is very effective because by trial and error the student learns to analyze his own thinking and eventually he will be able to integrate into his own mind the sophisticated Talmudic thinking.

Darkhe haTalmud also teaches some practical techniques to improve one’s memory and focusing abilities.

On chapter 12 Darkhe haTalmud examines the ways to study the commentators of the Talmud, for example, Nahmanides, Rishba. The author exhorts the reader to read the commentaries analytically, trying to discover what is the main novelty the author tries to teach.

On Chapter 14 the author clarifies some of the less known Talmudic terminologies.

The book is very short (less than 60 pages) , and written in a very easy Hebrew.
To download the book Darkhe haTalmud, click here.

הויאל והיות הגוף בריא ושלם, מדרכי ה’ הוא , שהרי אי אפשר שיבין או יידע והוא חולה צריך אדם להרחיק עצמו מדברים המאבדין את הגוף, ולהנהיג עצמו בדברים המברים המחלימים

Besides being one of the greatest rabbis in Jewish History, Moses Maimonides (known in Hebrew as haRambam) was also a world-renowned medieval physician.

He was born in Cordoba, Spain in 1135.

Not much is known about his medical education, but it is thought that he read a great deal and was familiar with classic and contemporary works on medicine.  He grew up in times of poor healthcare, with infant and child mortality leading to half the population dying before they were 10 years old.

Soon after he arrived in Egypt (ca. 1165) he was appointed as the court physician to the Regent of Egypt while the Sultan (Saladin the Great) was fighting the crusades.  According to a letter written to his student Yosef ben ‘aqnin,  his daily duties to the Sultan would last from first light until well into the afternoon. He would then come back home where a long line of  patients were waiting for him, “both Jews and Gentiles, nobles and common people… friends and enemies”. Maimonides would treat them, many times without expecting any retribution, until well into the night,.

Maimonides was a pioneer in one very important field: preventive medicine.  Preventive medicine is all about keeping good habits.  What and how to eat; the duty to working-out and maintaining a good hygiene; etc.

Maimonides says that if a genetically healthy person follows his advices he would live a long life and most probably will never need a doctor.

Most of his recommendations for a healthy life are found in the fourth chapter of Hilkhot De’ot of his Mishne Tora.

He wrote this chapter as a physician and as a Rabbi.  In the first Halakha Maimonides explains that the duty of taking care of our bodies is a religious obligation. A requisite to properly serve HaShem.

Hilkhot De’ot, 4:1

Since maintaining a healthy and sound body is among the ways of [serving] God – for one cannot understand or have any knowledge of the Creator, if he is ill – therefore, he must avoid that which harms the body and accustom himself to that which is healthful and helps the body become stronger.

As we have previously explained, our rabbis introduced two prayers for the rain in the ‘amida. One is barekh ‘alenu (the ninth berakha of the ‘amida), which is the blessing for our livelihood (parnasa). We ask God for “rain” and not for “customers” or “money” because in ancient times, when Israel was an agricultural society, everyone’s economy depended entirely on rain.  We ask HaShem to bless us with dew and rain which should come in a way of blessing (librakha). We request HaShem to give us rain in its time and in its proper measure. As it is written in the Shema’ Israel be’ito yore umalqosh, give us “in its proper time the strong rainfall (the first rain, which is very strong and helps to soften the land we need to plow) and then the soft rain, which is needed once the vegetation starts to grow (if we would get the mild rain at the beginning of the season, it will not be enough to soften the land.  And if we get the strong rainfall when the vegetation is growing, the rain will destroy the plants).

Now, the first time rain is mentioned in the ‘amida, is during the second berakha we don’t ask or request rain or anything else from God. We praise Him. We state that God is Omnipotent (=infinitely powerful) and that He uses His powers to sustain, maintain, support, cure, deliver, nurture, and revive His creatures.
This is the context in which we say “the prayer of praise for the rain” mashib haruah, umorid haGeshem, “[HaShem, You are the One] who makes the wind to blow, and the rain to fall”. In this context we are not asking for rain, we are expressing our appreciation for the fact that HaShem created rain.  We perceive rain as part of tehiyat hametim, “God’s power to restore life” , because only thanks to the rain the dry-land revives, the plants grow again and the living creatures of the world stay alive.

Rain is critically important for our survival.  And praising God for “rain” should be nothing short of natural and spontaneous.  In our days, however, we do not really appreciate rain. This morning, for example, is raining in New York city, and you don’t see people are excited and thankful to HaShem about it.  On the contrary. I would say that 99% of people are actually annoyed by the rain.

What kind of praise then, would one say for something that feels an annoyance more than a blessing?

Tomorrow, BH we will explore some of the wonders of the mechanism of precipitation which should help us to gaining a more positive outlook at the miracle of rain, and hopefully be able to praise HaShem for one of His main blessings to mankind.

The day after the seventh day of Sukkot (also known as hosha’na rabba) we celebrate another Holiday: “Shemini Atseret” which  technically, is a different  and independent Holiday from Sukkot.

During Shemini Atzeret we do not have anymore the Mitsva of Lulab and Etrog.

As for the Sukka, in Israel during shemini atzeret the sukka should not be used. The meals should take place at home. If one would use the Sukka in Israel on Shemini Atseret it would incur into the prohibition of adding an additional Mitsva (lo tosif!).

In the Diaspora, however, because of the ancient calendar system, we still use the Sukka during the first day of Shemini Atseret, but without reciting any blessing.

As we explained yesterday, the end of Sukkot indicates the beginning of the new rain season.  This is why from the Musaf prayer of Shemini Atseret, we change the words morid hatal (You make the dew descend) for the prayer of the rain mashib haruah uMorid haGeshem, “You make the wind blow, and the rain descend.”

It is important to notice that at this specific point we are still not asking HaShem for rain. We begin by praising God for His wisdom and power to produce precipitation. By saying mashib haruah we are acknowledging God as the source of rain, and by extension, as the ultimate source of our livelihood.

In Israel the holiday of Shemini Atseret is also Simhat Tora.
Outside Erets Israel, as with any other holiday (=Yom Tob),  we celebrate the holiday for two days. The second day of Shemini Atseret is also known as Simhat Tora, when we celebrate the end of the annual cycle of Tora reading, and the uninterrupted beginning the new reading cycle, from Bereshit.

We sing and dance around the Tora, expressing our joy for being part of the people chosen by God to follow His Tora.

We should celebrate Simhat Tora with this real happiness:  “During Yom Tob a person should not drink too much… because drunkenness and frivolity is NOT part of the Mitsva of happiness, but foolishness and licentiousness…  and we were commanded to attain a level of happiness that is part of worshipping HaShem… and one cannot worship HaShem by frivolity and drunkenness”  (MT Yom Tob, 6:19).

As haRambam explained, a Jew does not need to get drunk to feel happy and/or to express this happiness. People who need to get drunk in order to feel happy do that because they want to “forget” who they are, turning off their senses and escaping the reality of their lives. We are AM ISRAEL, the chosen people. And even  when personally we might be living difficult times, we still derive immense happiness from the fact that we have the privilege to belong to the people of God.
Maimonides explains that our greatest joy derives from knowing that we have the privilege to serve God, as God wants to be served:  “The greatest way to worshiping God is by being happy because we are doing the commandments of God, and being happy because we love our God”  (MT H. Sukka veLulab, 8:15).

The days of Sukkot were days of a special happiness in the Bet haMiqdash (Temple of Jerusalem). In addition to the Biblical commandment of taking the four species (ארבעת המינים), there were two other Mitsvot fulfilled in the Temple. These two practices are part of what is called “Halakha leMoshe miSinai”, religious traditions taught to Moses at Mount Sinai, with no explicit Scriptural source. One of them was nisukh hamayim (lit. water libation) also known as the ceremony of pouring water on the altar.

The Rabbis described the great joy of this ceremony:

“Whoever has not seen the celebration of the water libation has never experienced the feeling of true joy. Great lamps of gold were hoisted, with four golden bowls at the top of each lamp. Four young priests would climb to the top, carrying immense oil jugs with which they would fill the bowls. Once lighted, there was not a courtyard in all of Jerusalem that did not glow with the light that emanated from the celebration in the Temple. Special balconies were constructed to enable the righteous women of Israel to watch the wise men of the Sanhedrin as they danced. As the people sang, the righteous and pious men would dance before them while juggling flaming torches. The levites, standing on the fifteen steps that descend from the Court of Israel to the Women’s Court, played on lyres, harps, trumpets and many other instruments. Two priests who blew silver trumpets [these were real trumpets or חצוצרות not shofarot, as you will see in the video below]  stood at the top of the stairs on either side of the entrance to the great gate of the Court.

(Tractate Sukkah, Chapter 5)

All this was done to honor the commandment of the water libation. At dawn, the assembly proceeded with melody and song to the spring of Shiloach, at the foot of the walls of Jerusalem. One priest carried with him a special golden decanter and filled it with the sparkling spring water. Then the congregation ascended again to the Temple, led by the priest who bore the golden vessel. Arriving at the Temple, he brought the decanter up to the altar, and poured the water into the  silver cup at its corner.

This ceremony is connected to the rainfall of the coming year, and it was accompanied by prayers for blessing on the earth and its produce.

Adapted from “The Temple Institute” (see the complete article with illustrations  here)

Rabbi Ya’aqob ibn Habib was born in Zamora, Spain in 1460. He was one of the greatest rabbis and Talmudist of his time and the head of the Yeshiba in the city of Salamanca, Castilla (Central Spain). When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 he and his family
left to Portugal. But in 1496 the Jews were given the choice to convert to Catholicism or to abandon Portugal. Rabbi Ya’aqob left Portugal and settled in Salonica (today Thessaloniki, Greece) where he founded the new congregation of “Megoreshe Castilla”, the exiled from Castilla (Since those days Salonica became one of the most important and influential cities for Sephardic Jewry for centuries. Up until recent times the economic presence of the Jews was so important that the Salonica Port was closed on Shabbat. In 1943 more than 60,000 Jews –95% of the Jews of Salonica– were deported and killed in concentration camps. Today approximately 1,500 Jews live in Salonica).

Today, Sunday September 28, 2014, is the fast of Gedalia, a fast-day instituted by the Rabbis to remember the assassination of Gedalia Ben Ahiqam, the governor of Israel during the days of Nebukhadnetzar, King of Babylonia.  The fast is observed on the 3rd of Tishri, the day after Rosh haShana. This year, because Rosh haShana was followed by Shabbat, we fast today, the 4th of Tishri.

When Nebukhadnetzar destroyed the Temple (586 BCE) and exiled the Jews to Babylonia, he allowed a few Jews (mainly poor farmers)  to remain in Israel and work the land.  He appointed Gedalia Ben Ahiqam as their governor. Many of the exiled Jews were planning to return shortly from Babylon to Israel to work the land under the auspices of the king of Babylonia, hoping that eventually the Babylonian King (or his successor) would allow all the Jews to reestablish again in their land.

A man from Davidic descendant, Yishma’el Ben Netania, was opposed to the appointment of Gedalia, because he did not belong to the Davidic dynasty.  Simultaneously, Ba’alis, the King of Amon (=today Jordan) knew that a Babylonian appointed governor, Gedalia, would mean an easier access for the Babylonian to conquer Amon. Ba’alis then encouraged Yishma’el Ben Netania to assassinate Gedalia. In the beginning of the seventh month (Tishri) Yishma’el and a group of men came to Gedalia in the town of Mitzpa where they were cordially welcomed with the honors due to descendent of Davidic dynasty. Gedalia had been warned of his guests murderous intent, but he refused to believe his informants, convinced that a Jew would never kill another Jew, and compromise their hopes for redemption.  However, Yishma’el and his men murdered Gedalia together with the Jews who had joined him in Mitzpa, and a numbers of Babylonians whom Nebukhadnetzar had left with Gedalia. Fearing the reaction of the Babylonian king, the few Jews that were left in Israel to work the land fled to Egypt. And Israel remained virtually without Jews. Thus, the exile of the people of Israel from its land reached its highest peak, and the hopes for returning to the land vanished.

In remembrance of this tragedy our Sages instituted the Fast of Gedalia.

The fast is observed today from daybreak till nightfall (from 5.38 am to 7.04 pm, NYT)

Who is exempted from fasting today?

Minors: boys under 13 and girls under 12 years old are completely exempt from fasting.

Nursing women: According to the Sephardic Minhag, after giving birth women are exempted from fasting for 24 months, even if they are not actually nursing their baby.

Pregnant women are exempt from fasting today.

A person who feels ill, or who experiences symptoms of flu or fever, or a person with a chronic disease, such as diabetes, should not fast today.

Elders should consult with their physicians if the fast will not affect their health. If it will, they are exempted (and in some cases, prohibited) from fasting