TEFILA: Blessing vs Magic

Rabbi Isaac Abarbanel (1437-1508. Tomorrow BH we will have a special column about him) explained that the concept of berakha (=blessing) must be understood from three different viewpoints. 
1. First and most importantly is the berakha that HaShem bestows upon us. His free blessings to us. Everything we have (most of it we take for granted!) is part of the berakha coming from HaShem.  The first example of this berakha is the blessing of procreation. When HaShem, after creating the first forms of life, established the mechanism of procreation so life perpetuates itself. “God blessed them saying: Be fertile and multiply….” (Bereshit  1:22 ).  The creation of life and life’s ability to reproduce itself is part of HaShem’s blessings.  The first type of berakha is ALL what HaShem gives or does for us.   
2. The second type of berakha is from us to HaShem. When a person recognizes, acknowledges and expresses that all what he or she has, comes directly or indirectly from Him. One of the best and most beautiful examples of this type of berakha is the Tefila of King David, which in due of its magnificence we recite everyday while standing (I Chronic. 29:10-13: “Vaybarekh David” . In this superb blessing David blesses HaShem, not by giving something to Him but by acknowledging that He is the Supreme Giver and the Master of the whole universe.   
3. Then there is a third form of blessing, a blessing from man to man. One of the best example of this type of berakha is birkat kohanim, the priestly blessing we read in last weeks’ parasha. The Kohanim bless the people of Israel. But they don’t bestow anything unto us directly, as if they would have some type of superpowers or magic abilities.  The Kohanim invoke the berakha of HaShem: may HaShem bless you and protect you. This type of berakha, when we wish someone to be blessed, never goes directly from man-to-man, but thru HaShem. By invoking His blessings. Not mine. 
(To be continued….)



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The most powerful SEGULA

ועתה, אם-שמוע תשמעו בקולי, ושמרתם, את-בריתי–והייתם לי סגולה מכל-העמים, כי-לי כל-הארץ.  ואתם תהיו-לי ממלכת כוהנים, וגוי קדוש

Today is the 1st day of the month of Sivan (Rosh Hodesh Sivan). In six days, we will celebrate the festival of Shabu’ot, one of the major Holidays of the Jewish calendar. Shabu’ot is known as hag Matan Tora, the celebration of the giving of the Tora. Receiving the Tora was actually the conclusion of a larger process: the choosing of the Jewish People as the Nation of God.

We arrived at the Sinai desert on the first day of Sivan (today!) then HaShem told us to camp, all of us together and united, and get ourselves ready for the greatest event: entering a covenant (berit) with HaShem. For the following days, the Jewish people purified themselves, physically and spiritually, for the great event.

Then HaShem began to explain to us what this covenant was all about. He said (Shemot 19, 5-6) “And now, if you would listen to my commandments, and keep a covenant with Me, you will become for me a treasure (segula) among all the people… and you will be for me a Kingdom of Priests (mamlekhet kohanim) and a consecrated nation (goy kadosh).

Comprehending these three concepts, segula, mamlekhet kohanim and goy qadosh is essential to understand not only the essence of shabu’ot but the essence of the Jewish people as well.

We will explain these words BH in the coming days, one by one.

 

SEGULA

The Tora says that upon accepting the covenant we will become God’s  “segula”.   What does “segula” mean? In dibre hayamim (I, 29:3) the word segula indicates a treasure, a special treasure. Addressing the people of Israel, King David said that he had allocated the Royal reserves of gold and silver to build the Bet haMiqdash, and then he added: “Besides [the allocated royal reserves], in my desire [to build] the Temple to my God, I now give my personal treasure (segula) of gold and silver for the Temple of my God…”. For the Bet haMiqdash, David wanted to use 1. public money (=money or other assets coming from taxes), 2. the royal reserves (=federal reserves), and also 3. his personal treasure (the Kings private money). King David called his personal in Hebrew “segula”.

‘am segula, a treasured people, is a beautiful metaphor. It means that we are God’s most precious possession. His “private” possession. Furthermore, in the context of the covenant celebrated in Shabu’ot, “segula” means that HaShem commits Himself to watch over us and protect us, in the same way a man protects his private treasure, his most valuable possession.   This assures us that the Jewish people, as a nation, will never disappear. Israel will be supervised, and treasured, directly by God.

Against all odds, after being persecuted from time immemorial by virtually all peoples and civilizations,  we are still alive as a nation, thanks to the most powerful Segula: HaShem’s direct supervision.

 



SHABBAT: the ‘erub debate (Part 1)

We are reviewing the melakha called hotza-a,  “transferring” on Shabbat from one domain to another domain (see here) and as an extension of it carrying an object in the public domain  ( see this). 
In our days the most controversial issue in regards to hotza-a  is the matter of the ‘erub, i.e., an enclosure which turns a public domain into a private domain.  
This is not an easy subject to explain, so I will go step by step. 
As we have said, the Tora forbids to carry in a public domain. But, what is considered a public domain? Everyone agrees that the point of reference is the camp of the Children of Israel in the Sinai desert. As we have explained, the bringing of elements and goods from people’s private “huts” to build a mishkan was called melakha (see link above). 
The first Halakhic debate thus, has to do with the different views of what made the area of the mishkan a public domain.
Briefly: for one opinion it is the width of the street or corridor where the dismantled mishkan was carried on wide wagons (‘agalot). That corridor was 16 amot wide (approximately 25 feet ).  
For a second opinion, it was the fact that 600,000 people would usually flow within that area what made it a public domain, not just the width of the corridor. (This point could be also explained in different terms: is the street wide enough to allow in theory a traffic of 600,000 people? Any corridor which is narrower than 16 amot is not!)
Now, we may begin to understand the partial consequences of this controversy: following the first opinion then any street (and its surrounding areas) which is 25 feet wide or wider is considered a Biblical public domain. Regardless of the amount of traffic on that street.
However, for the second opinion, if there is no an actual 600,000 people traffic, that area is not considered a Biblical public domain but karmelit a semi-public domain, i.e., it does not have all the conditions of a public domain.  Carrying in karmelit is still not permitted, but 1. it is categorized as a rabbinical (not Biblical) prohibition and 2. as we will explain BH in the coming weeks, it allows more flexibility to be enclosed with a standard ‘erub (besurat petah).
To be continued…
Shabbat Shalom!
Candle lightning in NYC:   7.41 pm
Shabbat ends in NYC:        8:42 pm 

 



FIRST COMMANDMENT: We, the People?

We have seen last week (see here) that the Ten Commandments include two commandments that were conveyed directly by God, these are the First and the Second commandments. 
Now, and I know that this question will sound absurd,  which one is the First commandment? 
Let me explain.
Literally, the First Commandment says: “I am HaShem your God, Who took you out of Egypt from the house of slaves” .  This statement is definitely not written in an imperative form, as a direct order from God like “You shall not kill”. Perhaps this might not be a commandment (Mitzva) but a preamble where God introduces Himself to the people of Israel before giving them the commandments,  similar to the preamble of the American constitution: “We, the people of the United States….” . 
Interestingly this is how other Biblical religions have understood the First Commandment.  For Protestants, for example, the First Commandment is not “I’m the Lord your God” but  “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”.   For the Catholic tradition the first commandment is integrated as an introduction (a preamble) to the second commandment. The catholic First commandment reads: “I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.”
In Judaism the First commandment “I’m haShem your God” is indeed considered as a specific precept, i.e.,  a Mitzva.  In his Sefer haMitzvot a book which details the account of the 613 precepts of the Tora Maimonides (haRambam) brings “I’m HaShem your God” as the first Mitzva of his book. That is, for Maimonides this is the “Starting Precept of the Tora”. Definitely not a principle or a preamble. 
Now, we need to clarify. What is the content of this very important Mitzva? What are we ordered to do, think or believe by the “Starting Precept of the Tora”? 
To be continued... 
(If you any suggestions on this question write to: rabbibitton@yahoo.com).
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TEFILA: From turbans to kippas

כי פריס סודרא על רישיה לימא עוטר ישראל בתפארה     
“Blessed are You haShem Who crowns Israel with glory”.
This blessing was established by the rabbis in Talmudic times to be said when a man was covering his head.  What kind of head covering they used in those times? The word the Gemara uses issudar. sudar (which Maimonides renders sadin) indicates a piece of fabric of different sizes for different purposes.  It could refer to a handkerchief, a bed-sheet or a long scarf that was wound on one’s head as a turban. Covering the head was a common practice among Jews, and mandatory at all times for Tora Scholars (see Maimonides MT de’ot 5:6).  Many rabbis from the post Talmudic times (geonim) asserted that the sudar the Gemara refers to was a turban. Therefore, only in places or cities where a turban is worn this berakha should be recited.  Other Rabbis (Tosafot) thought that when the Gemara refers to the turban is indicating the standard way male Jews would cover their head in those times, but the recitation of this bearakha should not be limited to a turban, but it should be said for any kind of head covering. And that is the opinion of Rabbi Yosef Qaro in his shulhan ‘arukh (46:1) that this bearkha is said for any kind of head covering “When one places a hat or a turban on his head he should say ‘oter Israel betif-ara“.  
The rabbis also debated about the connection between covering our heads and God crowning us with glory.  The author of the Tur, Rabbi Ya’qob ben Asher said that his father, the famous Rosh, when saying birkot hashahar, would stop before saying‘oter israel betif-ara and at that moment he would wear his Tefilin. After wearing the head Tefilin he would say the berakha “Blessed are You HaShem… Who crowns Israel with glory” indicating that in his opinion this berakha refers (or includes a reference to) the Tefilin, which Jews consider a “glorious crown” (pe-er).  
Rabbi Yosef Qaro (siman 46), perhaps viewing the Rosh tradition as a private practice, said that this berakha refers to the traditional head covering (a hat or a Kippa), which by reminding us to be God’s fearing Jews (morat shamayim) inspire us to behave in a way that represents and reflects haShem’s glory. 

 



HEBREW: How to create a strong password, practicing your Hebrew?

In Hebrew, every letter has a numerical value according to the order in which that letter appears in the Hebrew alphabet.   ALEF is the first letter of the alphabet, and its numeric value is 1. BET, the second, is 2. YOD is the tenth, and its numeric value is 10. The following letter, KAF is 20, LAMED 30, etc. The 19th letter is QOF, which’s numerical value is 100. The next one RESH is 200, etc, etc.    This technique is popularly known as GEMATARIA (or GEMATRIA), which is many times used by Rabbis to associate between different words with an identical numerical value. Beyond GEMATARIA,  using the letters as numbers was the normal way Jews used to write numbers before incorporating our modern numeral system (1,2,3).   This numeral system is still in use, for example, for numbering pages or references in traditional Jewish books, or in the Hebrew calendar.  We are now in the year 5773 which in Hebrew HE (5) TAV (400) SHIN (300) ‘AYIN (70) GIMEL (3) = התשע”ג .
In our modern days passwords that can be easily remembered are very necessary. Here is an idea that I thought to create strong passwords, combining letters and numbers, by replacing your Hebrew name and/or your last name with numbers. 
My Hebrew name is YOSEF.  In Hebrew it has four letters: YOD, VAV, SAMEKH, PE.  Now, I will reduce every Hebrew letter to is  minimum decimal: YOD (10) = 1, VAV = 6, SAMEKH (60) = 6, PE (80) = 8.   “1668bitton” will be a combination of my Hebrew name and my last name. 
The name “Daniel Cohen” will be  “45113cohen”   or  “daniel255”  or if we want to convert the whole name into Hebrew letters we will get 45113255   :  4 (DALET) , 5 (NUN), 1 (YOD) 1 (ALEF) 3 (LAMED) 2 (KAF) 5 (HE) 5 (NUN).     
The cool thing about this system is that it works only in one way: you can convert your name into numbers and then easily remember the number. But you will not have an easy time trying to guess that 1668 corresponds to “Yosef” or that 45113255 corresponds to “Daniel Cohen”.    



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How many commandments contain the Ten commandments?

Many Jews (especially those living in Christian countries) probably believe that the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments looked as something similar to the McDonald’s symbol  (two arched tablets, bond to each other) because this is how Gustave Doré (see this) , and even Marc Chagall ( see this ) among many other artists have painted them. There is no source for this popular image, and it actually seems that the Tablets of the Law looked more like the tablet which Lady Liberty is holding in her left hand: two square tablets, independent from each other . According to the Talmud Baba Batra 14a the tablets were rectangular, with no arc. They each measured 6 tefahim [=handbreadths. Each tefah is a little more than 3 inches] high by 6 tefahim wide by 3 tefahim thick.
 In any case, this is just a visual and relatively minor non Jewish myth.
  The major differences between the Biblical and the Christian tradition, which we will analyze BH in the coming weeks, are related to the content: for example, the way non-Jewish tradition reinterprets the prohibition of making images, or the observance of the seventh day.  But before we analyze the major issues I would like to point to another popular misconception.  According to Jewish tradition the Ten Commandments contain more that ten commandments. For Maimonides, for instance, the Second Commandment includes four precepts:  The prohibitions of 1. believing in any god, other that haShem; 2. making idols;  3. bowing down to idols;  4. worshiping idols.  Consequently,  the Ten Biblical Commandments contain actually 13 precepts or Mitzvot, not 10.  
What is more disturbing about this misconception is that the Biblical text never called the Ten Commandments “commandments” (i.e., ‘eser hamitzvot) but debarim (‘aseret hadebarim, or in Rabbinical Hebrew ‘aseret hadibberot), which in Hebrew mean the ten “words, enunciations, proclamations”. 
Quoting Rabbi Hayim Pereira Mendes: “The Ten Commandments are called in Hebrew ‘Asereth Hadebarim”-“the ten words or declarations.” In English they are called “the decalogue,” from two Greek words, deka ten, logoi, words.”


TEFILA: The underrated importance of wearing a belt

כשהוא חוגר את חגורו, הוא אומר: ברוך אוזר ישראל בגבורה.
When describing the blessings to be said in the morning (birkot hashahar) the Talmud explains that when a person girdles his belt he says: ‘ozer Israel bigbura.  “Blessed are You, haShem, Who girdles Israel with strength”. 
  
We have already explained that birkot hashahar are said for the small “events” we experience every morning, from the moment we wake up until we are ready to leave home.  For example: poqeah ‘ivrim, when we open our eyes; malbish ‘arum, when one wears his main cloth (in those days  a plain tunic) or she’asa likol tzorki, when we wear our shoes ( see this ). Now, in ancient days, when these berakhot were established, men did not wear pants or undergarments. How do we know? We have a priceless barayta in Masekhet Shabbat 120a which describes the typical 18 garments that a person would normally wear in those days. There are socks, scarfs, coats, etc. but not pants (a Kohen, however, would wear pants during his ritual duties).  A belt around the waist was then an essential tool to keep the tunic in place. The Halakha stresses the importance of the belt. At the time of praying, for example, the belt would avoid the possibility that a person would see his own nakedness while praying ( there is also another special Halakha in this area related to the belt “shelo yihe libbo ro-e et ha’erva“, see here). 
This is indeed an atypical berakha. Up until now we have seen that each of the berakhot describe what a person experiences in the morning, acknowledging haShem for it.  In this case, however, the wearing of the belt becomes a motif of the dynamics between HaShem and Israel. I found two ways of interpreting this symbolism. 1. In the same way the belt protects the clothing from being loose or falling, HaShem protects His people Israel. Or 2. This berakha might refer particularly to the Tora’s guidelines and restrictions in the area of sexuality.  When we control our desires, we become stronger. As the Rabbis said: “Who is considered strong?  The man who controls his impulses”. i.e., through His Miztvot, HaShem girdles Israel with strength.  
If one of the readers has any other suggestion about the explanation or symbolism of this berakha, please, feel free to share. Write to rabbibitton@yahoo.com.   
 
 
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SPECIAL EDITION: The Touro Synagogue

Today, I had the pleasure to pray in the beautiful Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island. 
In 1658, approximately 15 Jews from Barbados settled in Newport.  Several Jewish merchants flourished through trade with American ports, the West Indies, England, and West Africa. By far the most successful was Mr. Aaron Lopez, who emigrated from Portugal in 1752. He gained renown as an accomplished merchant, shipper, and manufacturer.
The first Congregation was called Yeshuat Yisrael (Salvation of Israel), it was established in 1756. Peter Harrison, a Newporter and one of the colonies’ most distinguished architects, designed the exquisite two-story brick building with a central bimah based on the Synagogues of Amsterdam and London. The Synagogue accommodated approximately 30 Jewish households or 200 people. Rabbi Hayim Caregal (see this) was brought by Mr Aaron Lopez in 1772 from Hebron, Israel, to serve the Jewish community of Newport. His inaugural speech was published in the  Newport Mercury. It was the first Jewish sermon published in North America.
In 1781, President George Washington visited the synagogue when it housed Rhode Island’s General Assembly and Supreme Court. When he returned to Newport on August 17, 1790, Washington received a congratulatory letter from the Hebrew congregation, written by the Hazan Moses Seixas. Washington’s reply was perhaps America’s most important expression of religious liberty, proclaimed “For happily, the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should discern themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.” 
As Newport’s economy declined Jews sought opportunities elsewhere. In 1822, Moses Lopez, the last Jew in Newport, departed for New York City. In that same year Abraham Touro provided funds to maintain the synagogue in memory of his father, Isaac, who had been the congregation’s first ḥazan. In 1854, the magnanimous bequest by Abraham’s unmarried brother Judah, of New Orleans, provided for the perpetual care of the synagogue and cemetery. 
In Honor of the hatan and kala, Mr Ralph Dweck and his wife Naomi Tawil, who got married last night in Newport, Rhode Island. 
 
 

 



SHABBAT: Wearing vs. Carrying

Last Friday we explained that carrying an object  is a melakha, i.e., an activity forbidden on Shabbat. That includes transferring an item from one domain to another and carrying an object in the public domain. 
In a public domain (without ‘erub) it is forbidden to carry anything even in our pockets. However,  wearing something it is not considered carrying.   Therefore it is permitted to wear any clothes, even when one does not have the intention or need to use that garment. Illustration: It would be permitted to wear two sweaters or two scarfs, etc. even when one’s intention is to bring one of the scarfs to somebody else.  Again, in this case it is the nature of the action (carrying vs. wearing) what counts regardless of the intent.   
Also, any accessories to the garment we are wearing, even though we are not using those accessories, are considered part of that garment and therefore we can wear them in the public domain. For example: One can wear a raincoat with a belt or with a detachable hood even when there is no need or no intention to use those items. 
The Rabbis have noted that sometimes the line between wearing and carrying is blurry. One example:  a coat or a jacket that is worn on one’s shoulders, is that considered wearing the coat or is it perceived as carrying the coat (nir-a kemasoi)? Should we determined that according to the local custom, i..e., if in that specific place people regularly wear a jacket on their shoulders, etc.?  In the case, for instance,  Rabbi Obadia Yosef suggest to be stricter, particularly when there is no ‘erub. However, if one is wearing a Talit on his shoulders it is fine, because that is the normal way to wear the Talit.   
One can wear something for protection against the rain, for example, a poncho.  But it is forbidden to carry an umbrella on Shabbat. 
SHABBAT SHALOM
Candle lighting in NYC: 7:27 pm
Shabbat Ends in NYC: 8:28 pm
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