HILKHOT TESHUBA: 1:1. The ultimate regret

 

In his monumental book, Mishne Tora, Maimonides dedicates ten chapters to the subject of Teshuba (repentance). In those chapters he describes and explains the technical issues involved in the process of repentance. He also deals in length with the idea of freedom of choice and how it relates to Teshuba. In the eighth Chapter he clarifies the Jewish view on the afterlife (‘olam-habba) and in the last chapter he elaborates on the proper way to serve God: if we should serve God expecting a reward or out of our unconditional love for Him. 
In this month, Elul, B’H I will try to cover some of these important issues. 
Hilkhot Teshuba 1: 1:
“All the commandments of the Tora, when a person transgress a prohibition or when he fails to perform a positive commandment… when he regrets….”.
Normally, we think of Teshuba/repentance as regretting our mistakes, flaws, misdeeds, etc. But according to Maimonides’ statement we also, or primarily, need to regret what we have notdone. We are accountable not just for our actions but also for our inaction and idleness. For not doing all the good and right things we should have done.
Many times, when I’ve visited in the Hospital patients who knew they will die soon (and they were conscious) I’ve seen that they do not focus their regret on the mistakes they might have made. Rather, at those most sacred last moments, when their whole life lies in front of them and there is not more time to change anything, invariably, I found out, people regret the good things they should have done and they didn’t do. The many opportunities they’ve missed to make a change. Big or small. At these moments, when they realize more than ever the preciousness of time, they regret to have waisted so much of it in material-fruitless efforts instead of giving more, helping more, fighting for what is right and getting closer to God.  People regret they have missed their full potential.  The greater the person or the highest position or the power that person had, the bigger the feeling of frustration for having missed so many opportunities to impact positively his own life and the life of others.
Following this simple idea, Teshuba implies, first of all, the realization of our talents. Taking charge and being responsible for maximizing our potential to make a change, to give, to inspire and to come closer to God.
WATCH THIS POWERFUL 1 min. CLIP
How much life are you choosing?


SHABBAT: Using an elevator on Shabbat

Using a common elevator in Shabbat is not permitted, because the activation of any electrical device is considered a melakha (a Biblical Shabbat prohibition) or at least a rabbinical prohibition (see this).
But what about taking an elevator that has been programmed to stop in every floor and it automatically opens and closes its doors? They are known in Hebrew as ma’alit Shabbat and in Israel, New York and other areas with a significant Jewish population, one can find these elevators in hotels, Hospitals or big apartment buildings.  Are those elevators permitted on Shabbat?
Modern rabbis have analyzed and discussed this issue.
Some rabbis (Rabbi Vozner and others) have forbidden to use it because when a person takes the elevator it forces its  engine to use more electricity causing thereby a (slight) increase in the  consumption of energy.
Rabbi Halperin from Israel, a specialist in Halakha and modern world, holds that it is permitted to go up with an automatic elevator but not down. When going down, the elevator uses also the person’s weight (slightly) as a source of energy.
Most contemporary Rabbis (Rabbi Auerbach, Rabbi Obadia Yosef and others) authorize using an automatic elevator on Shabbat, particularly for a Mitzva, like going or coming from Synagogue, attending Seudot Shabbat, etc.   They considered that the arguments regarding the interaction between the person’s weight and the elevator, in terms of the modification of energy consumption are indirect, incidental and non-deliberate side effects (pesiq resheh, see here) and therefore they do not need to be taken into account. They indicate, however, that when the doors of the elevator are closing, a person should not try to enter into the elevator, because that would cause the doors to be open as a direct result of the person’s  action.
Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tob!
Candle lighting in NYC:     7:32 p.m.
Shabbat ends in NYC:         8:38 p.m.
Priceless!
A New York Times article on Shabbat Elevators
Another Landlord Worry: Is the Elevator Kosher?


PRINCIPLE 11: God is just

 

The eleventh principle asserts our belief that God is just. He rewards those who keep His commandments and he punishes those who transgress them.
The following lines are a direct quote from the extraordinary book of Rabbi Hayim Pereira Mendes published in 1905 (see the book here). 
1. Virtue brings its own reward. Sin brings its own punishment.
2. God does not punish in the sense of vengeance but only for correction, in order that we shall forsake our sins and lead better lives.
3. God rewards and corrects sometimes in this life and sometimes in future life.
4. God sends the reward or penalty when He thinks best.
5. Therefore we must not wonder if a righteous man remains long unrewarded or if a wicked man remains long uncorrected.
6. Suffering is not sent to us only for punishment of sin. It is often sent to arouse us to better and nobler lives, to educate us to higher ideals, to lead us nearer to God.
8. God has given us Free-will, to choose between good and evil, or right and wrong.
9. If we were destined to do right or wrong and did not have the power to choose, there would be no merit in doing the right, and we could not be justly punished for doing the wrong.
10. We Hebrews therefore do not believe in Predestination.
11. Nor do we believe in anyone suffering in order that other sinner may be saved from the results of his own sin.
12. We Hebrews do not believe in vicarious atonement. (i.e., God punishing Mr. A to atone for the sins of Mr. B. Vicarious atonement is the Christian doctrine that says that Jesus’ death was the atonement for all humanity. From a Jewish–and Biblical–point of view every individual must repent from his or her ownsins. Y.B.).
 
The debate over the DEATH PANELS in a new American Health care system
√  Watch this video
√ Read the statement  given by the American Association of Neuroligical Surgeons.


RELIGIOUS INTEGRITY: Robbing and stealing

Stealing, in Hebrew geneba is when I  take something that doesn’t belong me without the owner of that object knowing. While robbing, gezela, is to take something from a person by force. Someone can steal your belongings when you’re not home. However, if a person approaches you on the street and forces you to give them your watch, you have been robbed.
In both cases, the perpetrators must restitute the object they took or its  monetary value to its owner. But in ancient Jewish Law, the one that stole (sic) had to pay twice the value, while the one that rob had to restitute just whatever he took by force (this point will be explained later on). 
Stealing is forbidden regardless of the value of the object I take. Even if I steal something of an insignificant monetary value (pachot mishave peruta) I have perpetrated and act of stealing. Moreover, even if I take something temporarily from somebody else, i.e., I said to myself that I’m borrowing an object to use it for a while without the owner’s knowledge and with the intention to bring it back to him, it is still considered stealing. 
It is forbidden to steal from a fellow Jew  or from a gentile.  If the gentile made a mistake and, for example, gave me extra change, although it is technically his mistake and legally I could hold the extra money, it might be an opportunity to fulfill one of the most important Mitzvot of the Tora: Kiddush haShem, sanctifying God’s name. Which will happen when a non Jew would see an exemplary moral behavior of a Jew and would be inspired to praise God for having given the Jewish people a Law of fairness and wisdom (=The Tora). Furthermore, according to Sefer haChasidim those who made money out of a mistake of a gentile did not see any blessing from it.   
READ:   GUSH KATIF, seven years later.
“Fortunately they were able to painstakingly put the pieces of their lives back together.
by Toby Klein Greenwald


SHABBAT: Using sound amplifiers on Shabbat

 

It is not permitted to use sound amplifiers on Shabbat. Some rabbis consider it a Biblical prohibition, and others a Rabbinical restriction.  This prohibition includes the usage of sound amplifiers, even if they were turned on or activated before shabbat.  Therefore, telephones, microphones and other devices that amplify or transmit sound are not allowed on Shabbat (Except, obviously, for a case of an emergency like giving birth, sickness, a security threat, etc.)
What about hearing aids? Those small electronic apparatus that amplifies sound and are worn in  the ear to compensate for impaired hearing.
Some rabbis are opposed to its usage because they consider that they work following the same principle as sound amplifiers. (not by coincidence, the rabbis that forbid the use of hearing aids hold that amplifying sound is forbidden by Biblical, not by Rabbinical law). However, most rabbis in our day, Sephardim and Ashkenazim, authorize wearing hearing aids for those with impaired hearing.  Still, the device has to be activated before Shabbat and when it is removed from the ear before sleep,  it cannot be turned off, and during Shabbat the volume cannot be changed.
Modern rabbis understood that in the case of the hearing device the voice is not directed deliberately into the sound amplifier, as in the case of a telephone device or a microphone. The voice is naturally caught by the hearing device, and that type of action falls into the category of “gerama”, which more or less means anindirect action (“an expected or unexpected forbidden result of a permitted action”. falls under a different category, see for example this)
In this sense, the case of a hearing device is close to the case of an open intercom, activated before Shabbat. Still, most modern rabbis would not authorize the use of an intercom but  in the case of an individual suffering from hearing impairment, the rabbis have authorized the use of a hearing device following the above mentioned conditions.
(Adapted from Penine Halakha, Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, Shabbat B, 16-18)
Shabbat Shalom!
Candle lighting in NYC:    7:41

Shabbat ends in NYC:     8:48 


 
 
PROVING MEDIA BIAS, 
from Prager Universtity

 



The Tenth Principle: God knows everything.

 

The Tenth principle asserts our belief that the Creator knows all the thoughts and actions of man, as it is said, “He who molds their hearts alike, understands all their deeds.” (Psalm 33:15). From this we learn that God is all-knowing, or omniscient.
Man cannot understand the nature of God’s knowledge, i.e., how God knows what we are thinking or feeling, or how His knowledge of the future does not compromise our freedom of choice, etc. As the prophet Yesha’ayahu said (55:8): “My thoughts [God’s thoughts] are not your thoughts, My ways are not your ways”
One of the ramifications of our belief in God’s absolute knowledge is our belief that God, and only Him, knows man’s true potential. A math teacher will judge two students by the same standards: If student A answers right 8 out of 10 questions, his score will be 8/10. And if student B answers 6 questions right, his score will be 6/10.  God by virtue of His omniscience knows, for instance, that the student that got 8 had a potential for 10, but he did not make his best effort. Whereas the student that got 6 had a potential for 6, and he made every possible effort. For the math teacher, 8 is higher than 6. But from the point of view of God’s knowledge B obtained a higher score than A.  Because, even though 8 is higher than 6,  mathematically 6/6 is higher than 8/10! God knows A’ denominator (10). And therefore, He is the only one that can assess the real value of A’s nominator (8).
He knows what conduct should be expected of us by reason of our intelligence, potential, education or environment.  The greater our intelligence, the better our education, the more enlightened our environment, the higher are the ideals of conduct expected from us by God.
READ
The stark contrast of the two events sheds light on what it means to be a Jew.
by Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky, from Aish.


Rabbi Yehuda Alqalai (1798-1878)

Rabbi Yehuda Chai Alqalai (or Alkalai) was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia. He came to Israel with his parents at the age of 11.  At a very young age he was ordained as a rabbi by Rabbi Eliezer Pappo, the author of Pele Yo’etz.  He was sent from Israel to serve as the Rabbi of the important Sephardic community of Zemun (present day Serbia).

In 1839 rabbi Alqalai met with rabbi Yehuda Bibas (see this), who inspired him and shared with him his enthusiastic ideas about the return of the Jews to the land of Israel.
In 1840 the Jewish world was  shocked by the Damascus blood libel. Not only because of the ridicule accusations that “Jews killed gentiles to consume their blood”, but especially because the French authorities in Damascus and the modern “media” of that time, accepted those absurd accusations. “The Jews thought that the world had outgrown, especially in the West, where Jews were convinced that Western culture would not accommodate such terrible lies.”
The Damascus libel affair represented a turning point in the life of Rabbi Alqalai. His ideals would now become part of a practical plan to restore the Jews to the land of Israel and obtain their political independence, as Rabbi Yehuda Bibas had envisioned and preached.
Rabbi Alqalai published in 1840 his first book, Minchat Yehuda, where he called the Jews to reunite in the land of Israel.
Rabbi Alqalai had practical plans for the establishment of the Jews in israel. He wrote and spoke about the need of teaching the Hebrew language to the Jews. He saw that the revival of Hebrew will represent a unifying factor between the Jewish communities worldwide. He also wrote about the need of having a Jewish Bank which, through individuals’ funds, will buy lands in Israel. He insisted in the urgency to address the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He suggested the formation of joint-stock company between the Jewish Bank and the Ottoman Empire, such as a steamship or railroad trust, with the purpose of inducing the  Sultan to cede Palestine to the Jews as a tributary country, on a plan similar to that on which the Danube Principalities were governed.
To be continued….
 
Rabbi Yehuda Alqalai with his wife Esther (Viena, 1874).
Read here about the Damascus Blood Libel of 1840


RELIGIOUS INTEGRITY: When all depends on the intention

We have explained the prohibition of genebat da’at, i.e., when I falsely pretend that I care or I want to help, just to benefit from leaving a positive impression in somebody else mind. Our Rabbis classified these actions as “stealing peoples’ mind”. 
A typical example: If one of my friends is preparing a party or an event for which manpower is required, and my help is definitely needed.  And, for whatever the reason might be, I don’t come to help. But when I estimate that everything is done and ready and my help is not needed anymore, I come to my friend’s house to offer my help.  And when my friend tells me that everything is already done, I pretend as if I’m sorry and regret that I can not be of help…   For me, it might look like a win/win situation: I have not helped, and I still enjoy the benefit of having left a positive impression on my friend as if I had really helped him! 
The Tora condemns this type of cynical attitude and considers it a form of  “stealing”. 
There are some cases, however, in which one can sincerely be offering his or her help, even though one knows that his offer will be refused. If for example, I come to my friend’s house and I see that he has an unexpected guest or event, etc. and then I sincerely offer my help, not to cause a false impression, but to show that I care, knowing that my empathy will make my friend feeling good, then it is absolutely valid.  
In other words, the issue of genebat da’at depends on one’s intention and cannot be judged by a third party based just on the facts at sight. genebat da’at pertains to a category of actions that are judged only between oneself and God.  






ZERO POINT THREE PERCENT, 
a film about Jewish unity. 




Do the bride and groom fast on their wedding day?

In many Jewish communities the bride and groom fast on their wedding day, until the Hupa. The reason is that according to the Talmud Yerushalmi (Bikurim 3:3), on the day a person marries, all his sins are forgiven. The wedding day is, in that sense, a personal Yom Kippur, and the fast is the expression of repentance and atonement that such a day calls for.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan explains it this way: with marriage a person begins a new stage of life. Marriage means a complete change of lifestyle, and the couple is given the chance to begin it with a clean soul. The love they feel for each other on their wedding day can undo whatever misdirected passion they may have had in the past. And they also fast looking forward, to merit the Divine guidance that will let them get through whatever problems come.

In Ashkenazic communities this fast is taken very seriously.

THE SEPHARDIC CUSTOM

In most Sephardic communities, by contrast, the custom is not to fast.

Rabbi Obadia Yosef is explicit about this and advises Sephardic couples not to fast. Other Sephardic rabbis go further and forbid it outright. The reason is practical and it is common sense: the bride and groom need to be strong enough to handle the pressure of the day, the ceremony, and the celebration. A groom who has not eaten, after a sleepless night and with all the tension of that day, is in no condition to enjoy his own wedding.

And the underlying argument is the one that interests me most: the process of Teshuba does not depend on fasting. It can be achieved just as well by devoting that important day to Torah study and Tefila.

Rabbi Obadia Yosef adds a suggestion for couples who still want to do something. Instead of a fast from food, he proposes a taanit dibbur, a “fast of words.” Watching what you say that day, not talking too much, not speaking badly of anyone. And he is right that for most of us, that is harder than not eating.

THE VIDUY

In many communities, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, the bride and groom recite the Viduy, the confession, before the Hupa, using the text of the Minha service of Yom Kippur or something similar.

That is the heart of this custom: not the restriction of food, but the fact that two people stand, each one separately, a few hours before getting married, and take an accounting of their life up to that point. And then walk out and start over.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton



THE 13 PRINCIPLES: # 9. The Tora will not be changed or replaced

 

The ninth principle asserts that our God given Law, the Tora ( see this), could never be changed or replaced by another set of Laws.
Rabbi Pereira-Mendes explains:  “Our Tora was given us by God. He does not change. And His word stands for ever….It is because we believe that our Law never was and never is to be changed, that we reject Christianity.” Christianity and Islam share with Judaism the Eight Principle, i.e., the belief in the divine origin of the Tora.  But the Christian faith claims that God changed His mind and annulled the Pact with Israel (=ma’amad har Sinai, when God made Israel His chosen people) and now He made a new pact (berit chadasha) or a new testament with the Church, annulling the Biblical commandments and replacing them with a new set of laws.
Similarly, Islam accepts the divinity of the Tora, but their claim is that Mohammed’s prophecies were greater than Moshe Rabbenu (whom they also venerate) and the Qoran, therefore, replaces the Hebrew Bible.
The ninth principle conveys our categorical rejection of all these theories of replacement.  Every prophet in the Hebrew Bible came to teach and uphold the Tora and to encourage the People of Israel to be faithful to its commandments, not to change them. The Tora establishes clearly and explicitly (Deut. 13:2-6) that if a prophet comes and claims that we should modify even one Mitzva of the Tora, we know that he is a false prophet. Even though this prophet shows that he is capable of performing miracles, something which apparently would give credibility to his prophecy, we are commanded explicitly to reject his message and consider him a false prophet.  “In all these cases”, Maimonides says “we know that such a prophet is speaking presumptuously in God’s name, making up something not told him by God. For God Himself told Moses that these commandments (=The Tora) is for us and our descendants forever”.
 
Tonight is the 15 of the month of Ab, a happy day in the Jewish Calendar.
Click here to read:  “Six events occurred on Tu B’Ab, the 15th of Av, making it a festive day in the Jewish calendar” by Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi of Israel, from Aish