Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh (Leon) mi-Modena was born in Venice in 1571.

A prodigious child, he studied Bible, Hebrew language, poetry, letter writing, voice, music, dancing, Italian, and Latin. At the age of 13, he wrote a short book, sur me-ra’, on compulsive gambling and its destructive power.

Modena was commissioned to write for James I a description of Judaism, the Riti Ebraica, the first vernacular description of Judaism written by a Jew for a non-Jewish audience, first published inParis in 1637 and subsequently republished and translated many times.

From his ordination in 1609 until his death, Modena served as the chief Hebrew translator for the government and Cantor of the Italian synagogue.  He ordained candidates for the degree rabbi, including medical students in Padua. He approved the decisions of other rabbis, and authorized books for publication, with the result that by 1618 he was referred to as a gaon, and an excellent, well-known, honored and brilliant preacher. By 1627 Rabbi Modena signed his name first in order among the Venetian rabbis. In 1628 he was maestro di cappella for a Jewish academy of music, Accademia degli Impediti, which was popular both inside and outside the Venetian ghetto.

He also produced an autobiography, Chaye-Yehuda which was recently translated into English, documenting in poignant detail the turbulent life of his family in the Jewish ghetto of Venice. The book also contains accounts of Modena’s sorrow over his three sons: the death of the eldest from the poisonous fumes of his own alchemical laboratory, the brutal murder of the youngest, and the exile of the remaining son who traveled as far as South America.

Rabbi Modena died in 1648.

Click here to read the book sur me-ra’, a philosophical dialogue against gambling, written by Rabbi Modena at the age of 13. This is the version published in Vilna in 1896.

Magen va-hereb, where Rabbi Modena criticizes Christians interpretations of Hebrew scriptures, refuting their claims and dogmas.

She’elot u-Teshubot Ziqnei Yehuda, Collected Responsa on various ‘modern’ subjects.

Bet Lechem Yehuda, an anthology of statements of Talmudic Rabbis organized around ‘en ya’aqob.

Tzemach Tzadiq, an Ethical Treatise.

Leb ha-Aryeh,  a monograph on memory improvement and mnemonics, in which he greatly extols the use of memory techniques to remember the 613 commandments.

Pi ha-Aryeh, an Italian-Hebrew dictionary of all difficult words in the Tanakh

The words of the Shema Israel are so important that we say them three times a day, every day of our lives.

The first thing we are taught in the Shema is to love God.

To love God “with all our heart”   How can you make sure that you really love HaShem? When you are happy doing what is right in His eyes, and unhappy when you do what is wrong in His eyes.  On the contrary, if you feel obligated but unhappy to do what is right in His eyes, then you might “fear” God, but not “love” God.

To love God “with all our soul” means to love Him so sincerely that we will willingly give our life for Him.   Our ancestors risked their lives and were willing to be killed in order to remain Jewish. If so many of our ancestors gave up their lives for the sake of HaShem, should not we be willing to live our lives for the sake of HaShem?

Loving HaShem with “all our might” means: with all our possessions, our money, our time.  In this sense we should understand “to love God” as “to prioritize God” over our possessions, our money, our time.  The strength of our love for God is proved by the greatness of the sacrifices we are willing to make for Him.

J.B. 2021

To love means you should sacrifice for your loved one, what is more precious to you.

בכל לבבך With all your attention:

ובכל נפשך With all your time:

ובכל מאודך With all your possessions

  

The following lines are quotes from the  book ” The Jewish religion ethically presented” written by Rabbi Hayim (Henry) Pereira Mendes in New York, 1904.

“This commandment teaches us that there is only one God. He is our God and we do not believe that there are any other gods. Therefore to worship any being except the one and only God, is a sin. It is called idolatry”.

“Self-Conceit, to give way to violent outbursts of passion, etc., are declared by our sages to be tantamount to idolatry. For the former shows that self, and the latter that passion, is a greater power with us than God is”.

“If we believe in the one true God, we can prove it by not neglecting or disobeying Him for the sake of anything. Many neglect Him for the sake of business, or pleasure, which is as much as saying that business or pleasure is a greater power than God”.

The descendants of Abraham Abinu are called to be “a blessing to the nations of the earth, preserving for mankind the knowledge of God… Our ten Commandments are recognized as fundamental among all civilized nations. The wisdom of our Torah is recognized universally. The ideals of our Bible are the ideals of humanity. And our Psalms are read and sung in worship in countless cathedrals and churches- while they comfort and inspire countless hearts and homes.”

“We will continue to be a source of “blessing to all the families of the earth”… by showing through the lives we lead, the wisdom and beauty of our Torah, and the ethical value of our religion and its ceremonies; by our loyalty to the ideals of our Bible- and by our standing at all times for God and Justice. When Jewish life means honor, when Jewish homes mean love, and when Jewish citizenship means righteousness- then Jewish example becomes a source of blessing to “all the families of earth.”

  

Video of a Ceremony of Pidyon haBen in Manchester, England (Ashkenazi)

 

 

The second principle of our faith is that God is One. Last week we explained that monotheism, is not just an arithmetic reduction of the numbers of gods.  It is, above all, a moral declaration. If only one God exist, then there is only one clear and exclusive set of moral values. The existence of numerous gods, on the other hand, justifies, or requires, moral relativism (see here).

Monotheism also protected the Jewish people against extinction.

In ancient times, assimilation did not mean social intermarriage. Civilizations clashed with each other, conquered and submitted to each other. When civilization A conquered civilization B, A would force B to accept A’s gods. Still, it was not necessary for B to get rid completely of their own gods. From now on B, would adopt and worship the gods of A alongside its own gods.

When two civilizations would somehow, live in peace with each other, one would graciously add the gods of the other to its own sanctuary. It was actually considered an act of politeness accepting and worshiping other gods. It showed that you were open minded and sophisticated. Needless to say, the constant wars and even alliances between civilizations were fatal for the original identity of those civilizations.  Once A and B became AB, it was just a matter of time until they will also adopt C or D’s gods. Thus, the original identity, culture and values of A or B completely disappeared.   That is how all ancient civilizations: A, B, C, D, etc. diluted from the face of the earth….

This phenomenon is known as ‘syncretism’, and it prevailed among ALL peoples of antiquity except for the Jews. Only the God of Israel demanded ‘exclusivity’: YOU SHALL NOT HAVE OTHER GODS, OTHER THAN ME…says the second of the Ten commandments.

(to be continued….)

Abraham de Sola (1825-1882) was a Canadian Rabbi, an orientalist and a scientist.

De Sola was recognized as one of the most influential leaders of Orthodox Judaism in America during the second half of the nineteenth century, at a time when the struggle between the Orthodox and Reform wings of the community was at an acute stage.

His father was rabbi David Aaron de Sola, and his mother the daughter of rabbi Raphael Meldola.

In 1847 de Sola arrived to Montreal, Canada and there he served as the rabbi of  She-erit Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese community.

Rabbi de Sola soon established himself at the centre of Montreal’s English-speaking intellectual community. An eloquent, popular, and prolific lecturer and a man of broad interests. He frequently addressed the Montreal Mercantile Library Association, the Montreal Literary Club, the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Montreal (of which he was elected an honorary member), the Montreal Mechanics’ Institute, and the Natural History Society (which he served as president in 1867-68), as well as several organizations associated with McGill College.

In 1848, De Sola was appointed lecturer, and in 1853 professor, of Hebrew and Oriental literature at Mac Gill University in Montreal, and he eventually became the senior professor of its faculty of arts.

In 1873, by invitation of President Ulysses S. Grant De Sola opened the United States Congress with a prayer.

He wrote on the history of Jews in England, Persia, Poland, and France; reported on cosmography and Sinaitic inscriptions; examined botanical and zoological references in the Scriptures. De Sola also wrote medical studies, on the rabbinical dietary laws and the use of anesthetics, which appeared in major medical journals and were reprinted as pamphlets. His chief works include: Behemoth haTemeoth, a 16-page pamphlet published by John Lovell containing an annotated catalogue of the animals pronounced unclean by the book of Leviticus.

For a more detailed biography of this exceptional Rabbi and for an impressive list of his articles and publications see here.

Some of his writing:

• 1848. Scripture Zoology
• 1852. The Mosaic Cosmogony.
• 1852. The  Cosmography of Peritsol.
• 1852. A Commentary on Shemuel haNagid  Introduction to the Talmud .
• 1853. Behemoth Hatemeoth.
• 1854. The Jewish Calendar System (conjointly with Rev. J.J. Lyons).
• 1857. Philological Studies in  Hebrew and Aramaic .
• 1858. Scripture Botany.
• 1860. The Employment of Anæsthetics in Connection with Jewish Law.
• 1861. The Sanatory Institutions of the Hebrews.
• 1864. Biography of  David Aaron de Sola.
• 1869. Life of  Shabettai Tsevi.
• 1870. History of the Jews of Poland. 
• 1871. History of the Jews of France.
• 1874. Hebrew Numismatics.
• 1878. New Edition of the Forms of Prayer of the Spanish and Portuguese  Jews, with English translation, based on the versions of    David Aaron de Sola and Isaac Lesser.
• 1880. Life of Saadiah Gaon.

• Abraham de Sola also contributed actively to the Jewish press, a large number of articles by him appearing in “The Voice of Jacob,” “The Asmonean,” “The British-American Journal,” and other contemporary Jewish journals. His articles on william Sawson’s “Archaia,” “Dawn of Life,” and “Origin of the World” are specially noteworthy. He also edited and republished English’s “Grounds of Christianity ” and a number of educational works.