Tuesday Dec 5, at night, switching to Barekh Alenu

On Shemini Atzeret, we add in the Amida the prayer “mashib ha-ruach umorid ha-geshem”, praising HaShem for creating and directing the mechanism of precipitation (=rain). But we still refrain from asking HaShem to grant us the blessing of rain. Why?

ISRAEL

Once Shemini Atzeret ends, the rain season begins, and we should be asking God immediately for rain; our Chakhamim, however, postponed this request in remembrance of the days of the Bet haMiqdash. In those days, once the holidays were over, the people had to go back home, and for these Jews walking back home, rain would not have been a blessing. Some of them lived very far away, within the borders of ancient Babylonia, and it would take them up to 14 days to get home. And this is why in Israel, Jews start praying for rain two weeks after Shemini Atzeret, on the evening of the seventh of Cheshvan. We kept this tradition to remember the glorious days when our beautiful Temple was standing.

JEWISH DIASPORA

At the time this ruling was established, the Jews who lived outside of the Land of Israel did not need rain so early, so the Rabbis ruled that in Babylonia, the Jews would begin praying for rain on the 60th day of the season (tequfat) Tishri, or the “Hebrew calendar autumn”. The Rabbis gave a round number for determining the beginning of each Hebrew calendar season. A season consists of 91 days, 7 hours, and 30 minutes. This makes each year precisely 365 days and 6 hours long, about 11 minutes longer than the actual astronomical calculation of a solar year.

All Jews living outside of Israel, therefore, follow the practice of the Jews of Babylonia. Consequently, it has become a tradition for all Jews living in the Diaspora to ask for rain in their prayers, as the Babylonian Jews did. Based on this calculation, we start saying Barekh Alenu from December 5th at night.

Understanding the Miracle of Rain

WATER IS LIFE

Most of us no longer live on farms but in cities and urban areas. It is difficult for us to appreciate the vital importance of rainfall. For most of us, rain is an inconvenience rather than a blessing. What is it that makes our planet “unique” in the universe? One could say the existence of life. Since, as far as we know, there is no other planet that hosts life in the solar system, in the Milky Way and beyond. But there is another fundamental element, a prerequisite for life, created by HaShem before He created life. It is what scientists look for when they investigate other places in the universe, such as Mars, to find any indications of life. You will probably think of “water,” and you will be partially correct. Water is life, and life, as we know it on our planet, is impossible without water.

LIQUID WATER

But to be more precise, for a planet to be able to host life as Earth, it should have “liquid” water. Frozen water, or some type of ice, was found on other planets. Since the temperatures on a planet like Jupiter or its moons, for example, are very low, watery elements cannot exist there in a liquid state. Our planet is privileged because it is the only celestial body that possesses “liquid water”, thanks to the Intelligent and Divine Design of the mass of the Earth, the mass of the sun, and in particular, the perfectly fine-tuned distance between our planet and the sun. All this allows the earth’s temperature to be neither too hot —like Venus, where water would evaporate— nor too cold—where water would freeze, as it would on Mars or Saturn.

THE SECOND DAY OF CREATION

But the presence of liquid water is not the only element that supports life on our planet. “Standard earthly water”, that is, seawater, is salted water, which is not suitable for most types of life in our planet. Most plants, insects, amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals need water without salt to survive. That precious liquid is called “freshwater”. Freshwater is what allows our life to exist on our planet. And what is the origin of fresh water, of that elixir that makes life possible? The only source of fresh water on our planet is precipitation (=rain, snow, and hail). According to Maimonides (More Nebukhim 2:30), the cycle’s mechanism enabling rain production —evaporation of salted water, precipitation of freshwater— was established by the Creator on the second day of Creation. The Tora calls this mechanism “the division of the upper waters (clouds) from the lower waters (oceans) . This is how the creative activity of the Second day was explained among others by Rabbi Moshe Hefets in his book Melekhet Mahashebet pgs. 10-11, Vienna edition, and Rabbi Menashe ben Israel in his book “The Conciliator” (see my book Awesome Creation). John Lynch, the author of the BBC book “The Climate” (p.84, 1996) describes the clouds with words that are very similar to the words used by the Tora : “We live on a water planet. The seas dominate the world … there is an ocean around us [the water of the sea] and an ocean above us [the clouds] “. The Creator dedicated a whole day, the Second Day of Creation, to establish the miraculous mechanism that transforms ocean water into the most precious liquid in the universe: rain.

THE IMPROBABILITY OF WATER

Rainwater is water with low salt concentrations. Of all the water found on Earth, only 2.75% is freshwater. Of that total, 2.05% is freshwater frozen in the glaciers. 0.69% is fresh groundwater, which, like glaciers, was also originally produced by rain. Only 0.0101% of all freshwater on planet Earth is found on the planet’s surface and distributed in all lakes and rivers. This incredibly small percentage, 0.0101% of all the water in our world, is what we human beings and all living beings need for survival.

In our prayers, we praise HaShem for establishing, and we ask Him to maintain the process of the conversion of ocean water into the scarcest, most exotic, and most precious liquid in the entire universe: the elixir of life.

The only source of fresh water in the entire universe is rain produced in Earth’s atmosphere.

“Imagine an entire planet where the universe’s finest liqueur is boiled out of fermenting seas by a brilliant yellow star, distilled in the skies, and rained back down on the land, forming lakes and rivers of the inebriating brew. The planet, of course, is Earth, and the liqueur is freshwater.” (From “Discovery.com)”

Get the book AWESOME CREATION by Rabbi Yosef Bitton HERE

Jewish vs Greek Values

As a tribute to our heroic ancestors who freed us from the Hellenic civilization, I would like to share with the readers of Halakha of the Day some thoughts on the difference between Jewish values and the values of the ancient Greek civilization.

I will base my words on Rabbi Ken Spiro’s book, “World Perfect”, which I strongly recommend reading, and other sources. I warn the readers that the issue we will explore today is extraordinarily harsh and sensitive. It is, nevertheless, the historical truth. And it will help us to appreciate some aspects of the celebration of Hanukka, our triumph over the Greek civilization, which we usually ignore.

While in modern gentile society, there are still debates on the subject of abortion, no one would dispute the right to life of a child once that child is born. Where does this principle come from? Is it an innate value in the minds and hearts of all human beings of all time? Is it, perhaps, part of the so-called “universal ethics”?

In Judaism, the right to life is a fundamental principle. For example, Jewish law allows abortion when the mother’s life is in danger before the birth process begins. But once the baby’s head is outside the mother’s body, the two lives are of the same value and importance. The preservation of that new life is an absolute and sacred principle. Our sages said: “Whoever destroys a life, it is as if he destroys all mankind”. This includes also, or perhaps above all, the life of a newborn baby, regardless of the physical conditions that baby was born with.

In ancient Greek society, this was not the case. Greeks (and later on Romans) normalized the practice of infanticide, killing newborn children as a form of population control, sex selection, and as the usual way to get rid of people who would cost a lot to maintain and would not bring any benefit to society.

Ken Spiro writes: “A baby that appeared weak or sickly at birth, or had even a minor birth defect such a cleft pallet, hair lip, or cleft foot, or was in some other way imperfect was killed. This was not done by some Nazi-like baby removal squad. This was done by an immediate member of the family, usually the mother or father, and usually within three days after birth. The method of “disposal” varied, but generally, we know that, in antiquity, babies were taken out to the forest and left to die of exposure, dropped down wells to drown, or thrown into sewers or onto manure piles. The horror of a parent being capable of killing his or her child is shocking enough. But that this parent should have so little regard for the child as to unmercifully dump it where it might die slowly and painfully, or be picked up by someone to be reared into slavery or prostitution (as sometimes happened), suggests a level of cruelty beyond our modern imagination. Lloyd DeMause in his essay “The Evolution of Childhood” (pp. 25-26) reports: “Infanticide during antiquity has usually been played down despite literally hundreds of clear references by ancient writers that it was an accepted, everyday occurrence. Children were thrown into rivers, flung into dung-heaps and cess trenches, ‘potted’ in jars to starve to death, and exposed in every hill and roadside, ‘a prey for birds, food for wild beasts to rend.’ (Euripides, Ion, 504)” So when a baby was born weak or sick, or if the baby was suffering from some physical defect of birth, even if your lip or foot were slightly split, were killed at birth. This removal was not performed by a squadron of removing babies, but by an immediate family member, usually the mother or father. And usually within three days after birth. The method of the “elimination” varied. But it is generally known that in ancient Greece, babies were taken to the forest and left to die by default, they are dropped into a pit or threw them into a river where they died by drowning, etc.”

DeMausse writes: “Until the fourth century A.D., neither law nor public opinion found infanticide wrong in either Greece or Rome. The great philosophers agreed. Those few passages that classicists consider as a condemnation of infanticide seem to me to indicate just the opposite, such as Aristotle’s “As to exposing or rearing the children born, let there be a law that no deformed child shall be reared; but on the ground of number of children, if the regular customs hinder any of those born being exposed, there must be a limit filed to the procreation of offspring.” Similarly, Musonius Rufus, sometimes called “The Roman Socrates,” is often quoted as opposing infanticide, but his piece “Should Every Child That Is Born Be Raised?” quite clearly only says that since brothers are very useful, they should not be killed. But more ancient writers openly approved of infanticide, saying, like Aristippus, that a man could do what he wants with his children, for “do we not cast away from us our spittle, lice and such like, as things unprofitable, which nevertheless are engendered and bred even out of our own selves.” Or like Seneca, they pretend only sickly infants are involved: ‘Mad dogs we knock on the head; the fierce and savage ox we slay; sickly sheep we put to the knife to keep them from infecting the flock; unnatural progeny we destroy; we drown even children who at birth are weakly and abnormal. Yet it is not anger, but reason that separates the harmful from the sound. (To read the full article of DeMause click here).

One might think that, as we say today, moral values are essentially “democratic” values. And as such, these values and mores probably come from the civilization that was the cradle of democracy: the ancient Greek civilization (the word “democracy” comes from the Greek, δημοκρατία). And it is indeed true that we inherited from ancient Greece architecture, arts, sports, aesthetics and many other positive things. But ethics was NOT one of them. Although the word “ethics” also comes from Greek, the “ethical practices” of the ancient Greeks, as we begin to see today, were radically different from the moral values of our modern society.

Respect for life is based exclusively on ancient Jewish ethics. These are the values for which our ancestors, the Hashmonayim, fought against the Greeks.

What we celebrate on Hanukka is, above all, the preservation of Jewish ethics, the ethics of the Tora.

Thanksgiving to God, by George Washington.

“WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God; to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and,

“WHEREAS both Houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public Thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness: …a day devoted by The people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be…

“Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country .. for the great degree of tranquility, union and plenty, which we have since enjoyed; … for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which He hath been pleased to confer upon us.

“And, also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the Great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually…

“To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us, and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

“Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year 1789.

George Washington”

American Rabbis have discussed the celebration of Thanksgiving.

In this article “Is Thanksgiving Kosher?” Rabbi Michael Broyde explains the various Halakhic opinions on Thanksgiving’s celebration

The following lines by Rabbi Broyde summarize his conclusion:

“Thus, halacha law permits one to have a private Thanksgiving celebration with one’s … friends and family. For reasons related to citizenship and the gratitude we feel towards the United States government, I would even suggest that such conduct is wise and proper”.

SEVEN MITSVOT OF BENE NOAH (#2) What Constitutes Blasphemy?

בן נח שבירך את השם, בין שברך בשם המיוחד, בין שברך. בכינוי בכל לשון . -. חייב

הלכות מלכים , פ“ט , ה“ג

Last time we explained that there are Seven commandments that correspond to the children of Noah. These Seven Laws represent the code of law that, according to Judaism, applies to non-Jewish society.

We are learning the origin and extension of each of these commandments, following the book of Rabbi Benamozegh “Israel and Humanity” (the book was originally written in French, it was also translated into Hebrew, English and Spanish). The first of these seven commandments is the prohibition of practicing idolatry.

The second, which we will explore today, is known as “Blasphemy” (Rabbi Benamozegh in his book called it “sacrilege”) which means, the prohibition of “desecrating” the divine Name through a curse. In Hebrew, as in some other circumstances, a euphemism is used to describe this case (birkat haShem). This prohibition is curiously called “blessing the divine name,” but meaning exactly the opposite. It is worth noting that the fact that Jews cannot explicitly mention this act, and even to describe we have to resort to a euphemism, indicates the level of gravity (and inconceivability) that this offense means in our tradition and idiosyncrasy.

Where does the Jewish tradition learn that the prohibition of blasphemy applies also in a case of a non-Jewish person?

The Tora mentions what happened with the son of an Egyptian man and an Israelite woman. In Vayqrá (Leviticus) chapter 24 we read:

24:10 At that time the son of an Israelite woman, the son of an Egyptian, raged in the camp with a man of Israel …

24:11 And the son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Divine Name, and cursed …

24:12 And they put him in prison, until it was made clear to them by HaShem [what they should do to him]

24:13: And HaShem said to Moses …:

24:15 … .any man who curses his God will be punished for his iniquity.

The Biblical text says there (24:15): ish, ish, which the Jewish tradition interprets as “any man” that is to say, independently of him being of Jewish or Gentile origin.

And the text also says: “… to his God” and does not say “to God”.

And I will try to explain this second element that is learned from this pasuq with my own words. The prohibition of cursing the divine name is more extensive —and stricter— for a Gentile than for a Jew. In Jewish law the prohibition is severely condemned only when one offends the divine name and in Hebrew, but not when one offends a “secondary names” (kinuyim) of God, which includes non Hebrew names. For a Gentile, however, the same prohibition applies, with the same severity, if he blasphemes the name of God in Hebrew or in another language (“his” God = God, in his language).

Rabbi Benamozegh explains that originally, all monotheistic biblical religions believed in the same God. Over time, and to differentiate themselves from Judaism, they began to use other “names”, and the use of those names triggered a greater differentiation, incorporating beliefs in other gods, or other divine manifestations, moving away from pure and original monotheism. This would be the case, according to Rabbi Benamozegh, of the ecclesiastical doctrine of the Trinity. Where the belief in three gods, which began by three names, affected the principle of monotheism.

The case of Islam is different. Since, as Maimonides explicitly says, the Muslim doctrine of monotheism (unicity of God) has not moved away from biblical monotheism, even though the name of HaShem has been replaced by the name “Allah”. In this way, Rabbi Benamozegh would not say that “Allah is the god of the Muslims”, but that “Allah is the form that Muslims call God”.

The prohibition of blasphemy, which applies to “any” Divine name (HaShem, Allah, God) reflects that original state of the monotheistic religions, where the theological difference consisted in “different names” of God, and not in His oneness or in the way that He is worshipped.

In short, Rabbi Benamozegh says that the inclusion of other divine names within the prohibition of sacrilege, reminds us that, beyond languages and cultures, there is only one God for all humanity.

I would add, based on this same concept, that this is also the message of the prophet Zekharia 14: 9. The highest universal aspiration of the Jewish people is that in the times of Meshiah, HaShem will be recognized as the only God, and His name will be also used as the only name of God ביום ההוא יהיה ה ‘אחד ושמו אחד. This would reverse what began with a name change and ended, in some cases, with a deviation from monotheism.

The age of the Earth, according to the book of Job

One difference between science and Tora, which relates to the “evolution” and “age” of planet Earth, might be solved by understanding an idea conveyed by a verse from the book of Yiob (Job). Yiob was a good and honest man who suffered the death of all his children. The book, 42 chapters, deals with Divine justice and when bad things happen to good people. Towards the end of the book, chapter 38, HaShem reveals Himself to Yiob. It shows him how little humans can know about the reality around us and how our knowledge escapes the grasping of physical reality. If that is the case in the material, visible and accessible realm—how much more remote is our potential access to the dimension of Divine Knowledge? Among these is the administration of Divine Justice. God demonstrates Yiob the inescapable limitations of human knowledge and deters Yiob (and the reader) from the illusion of understanding Celestial Designs. In this chapter, which is a monologue because Yiob has no answers to God’s inquiries, God confronts Yiob with a series of fascinating questions on issues related to Creation, the harmony of the cosmos, the mystery of light, the secrets of life on the seabed, and much, much more. In this context, we find a verse (38:38) where God challenges Yiob’s knowledge of the formation of the Earth. The text says: «[Where were you …] when [the planet] merged into a mass, and the layers of the Earth adhered to each other?” This last expression [בְּצֶקֶת עָפָר לַמּוּצָק] which does not appear anywhere else in the Scriptures, led the Rabbis to assert two thousand years ago (Yoma 54b)that our planet is composed of several strata and not, so to speak, of just one piece. The Beur, a contemporary commentary on the Bereshit Rabba written by Rabbi Abraham Shteinberger (Midrash Bereshit Raba HaMeboar, Jerusalem, Makhon HaMidrash haMeboar, 1980, page 13,) says: that “the fact that our planet has been created by strata and layers makes the Earth appear older than it really is, and that is the reason why some non-believers assume that millions of years must have passed between strata and strata “.

It is interesting to know that this coincidence between the Biblical text and geology was evident only in modernity. For thousands of years, scientists did not suspect that our planet is made up of different strata below the surface. Only after “uniformism” —a concept developed by James Hutton (1726-1797), the father of modern geology— “discovered” that Planet Earth was formed step by step and consists of numerous layers.

To summarize, the Biblical text states that while Creator created our planet in a single instant, it was created composed of different strata, from the core to the surface of the Earth. Thus, if a geologist examines the composition of our planet and “discovers” its numerous layers, it will attribute this composition to an evolutionary process that theoretically demanded millions of years of formation. From the Biblical point of view, however, the geologist is not discovering something that contradicts the Tora but something that confirms it. The only conflicting element is the “interpretation” that the terrestrial strata imply a process of millions of years. And this “interpretation” is based on taking the initial act of Creation out of the equation. However, when we examine the facts based on the premise of an initial Act of Creation, the geological discoveries of a planet with numerous layers is precisely what we were expecting to find!

(To be continued …)

SELIHOT and the secret of the 13 attributes

The core of the Selihot prayer we recite before and during Yom Kippur is the Biblical text ‘Amonay, Amonay, E-l Rahum veHanun….”. These words are known as the 13 attributes of God’s compassion.

Maimonides explains that by attributes, we should not understand that these are qualities of HaShem, i.e., what God “IS” (which is beyond our comprehension), but rather, how HaShem operates in this world as it appears to us.

These words were invoked by Moshe Rabbenu at a very delicate time: when the people of Israel built and worshiped the golden calf and HaShem wanted to destroy Israel. Moshe pleaded to HaShem to forgive ‘am Israel, and as we know, He did.

Rabbi Yochanan explained that God Almighty showed Moshe Rabbenu that by invoking these 13 principles, the transgressors would be forgiven.

The 13 principles say the following:

HASHEM – God, behaving with compassion. As opposed to Eloqim, which alludes to God, acting with strict justice.

HASHEM – (we will explain below this repetition of God’s name)

E-L – mighty in compassion to give all creatures according to their need;

RAHUM – merciful, that humankind may not be distressed;

VEHANUN – and gracious if humankind is already in distress;

EREKH APAIM – slow to anger;

VERAB HESED – and generous in kindness;

VE-EMET- and truth;

NOTSER HESED LAALAFIM – keeping His kindness for thousand generations;

NOSE AVON – forgiving iniquity;

VAFESHA– and transgression;

VAHATAA – and sin;

VENAQE – and pardoning.

Rabbi Eliyahu da Vidas (1518-1592) writes in his book Reshit Hokhma (שער הענוה פרק א) that the expression of the Talmud “by invoking these 13 attributes, the transgressors will be forgiven” should not be understood as by reciting these 13 attributes but “by performing these 13 attributes”. This means that when we emulate these attributes of God with our peers, we will be forgiven by God.

A few illustrations:

HASHEM, HASHEM: The repetition of the name of God demands an explanation. Our rabbis taught that from this repetition, we learn a wonderful lesson about God’s complete forgiveness. When we truly repent for our transgressions, God will forgive us completely and will never remind us again of that sin. The repetition of God’s names teaches us thus that He will behave with us after we repent exactly as He behaved with us before we sinned. There is no grudge or resentment but total and complete forgiveness. Thus, if we want to be forgiven by God, we need to act toward others as we want God to act toward us. Namely, when we forgive others, we should delete and erase all bad feelings toward the person who offended us, and we should act toward him or her as we did before the offense.

EREKH APAYIM (Patient) HaShem waits patiently for us to repent. Instead of punishing us immediately for our sins, God gives us time to repent and avoid punishment. So too, if someone wrongs us, we should give that person time to repent and make amends.

VEEMET (Truth). He keeps His promises of good even if we do not deserve that good anymore. If we promise to do a good thing for another person, we should keep our word even if that person no longer deserves it.

NOTSER HESED LAALAFIM (Keeps His Kindness for thousand generations) If we owe a debt of gratitude to someone, we should continue to express that gratitude to that person’s descendants.

When we recite these attributes, we should learn from them, not just how HaShem behaves with us, but also how HaShem expects us to behave with others.

FAST OF GEDALIA: Why Do We Fast Today?

Today September 28th, 2022, 3 of Tishri 5783, is Tsom Gedalia, a fast day instituted to remember the murder of Gedalia Ben Achiqam, the governor of Israel during the days of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

DESTRUCTION OF THE FIRST TEMPLE

When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem (586 before the common era), he killed a large part of the population of Judea (Yehuda). He also took tens of thousands of Jews to Babylon. Many other Jews escaped to neighboring nations like Amon and Moab, (Jordan, today). Once Jerusalem was destroyed, the independent Jewish state ceased to exist. And Nebuchadnezzar declared Yehuda a province of the Babylonian Empire. The Babylonians allowed a few of the defeated Jewish population, the poorest peasants, to remain in Israel to work the land in order to avoid desertification.

GEDALIA BEN AHIQAM

To govern these few remaining Jews, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedalia ben Ahiqam, a Jewish nobleman who lived in Babylon, as governor of Judea. It was an unexpected positive gesture from Nebuchadnezzar. A miracle that a Jew, and not a gentile, was appointed to take care of Judea. Gedalia belonged to the Shafan family, noble Jews who settled in Babylon in the exile of Yekhonia (597 BCE) and had gained the emperor’s trust. Gedalia promised loyalty to the king of Babel. The prophet Yirmiyahu (Jeremias) who had chosen to remain in Israel with the survivors, joined Gedalia in Mitspa and together they hoped that soon the Babylonian emperor would allow the Jews to return to Judea and perhaps allow them to rebuild the Temple. Optimism was in the air….

RETURNING TO ISRAEL

When the Jewish refugees who had escaped to Ammon, Moab to avoid death heard that Gedalia was assigned governor, they returned jubilantly to Israel. They resettled in the land, worked it, and reaped its fruits with great success. With Gedalia in charge, the hope of returning to normal life and rebuilding the Bet haMiqdash was now more real than ever.

THE MAGNICIDE

But then, the unimaginable happened. The kingdoms of Ammon and Egypt were allies, and they were enemies of Babylon. They knew that with Gedalia as governor of Judea, it would be easier for Babylon to eventually conquer Ammon. Ba’alis, the king of Ammon, designed a plan to get rid of Gedalia without being directly involved, avoiding in that way any retaliation by the Babylonians. A Jewish refugee descendant of King David, Yishma’el Ben Netania, voiced his opposition to Gedalia, claiming that the latter did not belong to the Davidic dynasty and therefore could not hold the position of governor of the Jews. This claim was obviously absurd, out of place and completely ridiculous.

WHEN THE ENEMY OF YOUR ENEMY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND

But knowing Yishma’el’s personal ambitions, Ba’alis convinced him that he should kill Gedalia, and offered his help in carrying out the murder, and his political support to proclaim him as the new King of Judea. On the third day of the seventh Hebrew month (Tishri), Yishma’el and a group of armed men arrived in the city of Mitspa. Gedalia cordially received Yishmael with honors due to a descendant of the Davidic dynasty. Gedalia had been warned of Yishma’el’s intention to kill him, but he refused to give credit to that information, convinced that a Jew would never kill another Jew. And besides, why would someone with a minimum of common sense, jeopardize the renewed hopes of Israel’s redemption when those were crystallizing? … But the inexplicable happened. Yishma’el and his men murdered Gedalia and the Babylonian officers that were with him. This murder committed by a Jew was considered an act of insubordination against Nebuchadnezzar, a Jewish coup d’etat against Babylon …

THE SECOND EXILE

When hearing the news of this terrible crime, the Jews who had settled in Israel panicked and thought their best option was to flee to Egypt for fear of reprisals from Nebuchadnezzar. In Egypt, unfortunately, they only found more calamities, hunger, persecution, and death. And so, the land of Israel remained virtually without a Jewish population, and the hopes of returning to Yerushalayim and rebuilding the Bet haMiqdash vanished. It was as if we lost our land for a second time … or worse, because this time, the exile was caused by ourselves …

To remember this horrific tragedy, our Prophets instituted the Fast of Gedalia on the Third day of the Hebrew month of Tishri, the day after Rosh HaShana.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton

Who is exempted from fasting today?

Minors: boys under 13 and girls under 12 years old are 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. In some Sephardic communities and in Ashkenazi communities, nursing mothers are only exempt while they are actually nursing their babies. Pregnant women are exempt from fasting.

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 affect their health. If it will, they are exempted (or prohibited) from fasting.

The fast is observed from daybreak till nightfall.

UMJCA : From 5:35 AM to 7:12 PM. Other communities see here

MY BOOKS

UPCOMING BOOK

His next book is about Genesis Chapter 1, verses 26-28, on the creation of man and woman. Creation is a progressive process: from atoms to life, from life to intelligence, and from intelligence to empathy. Man was created on the Sixth Day, the same as other mammals. But unlike animals, mas was granted a Nefesh Chaya (ruach memalela) that is: verbal intelligence. Unlike animals that perceive reality through sight, smell and sharing, humans think with words, that is: we grasp reality linguistically. And among other things thought makes room for many possible responses to any given impulse. Humans possess freedom of choice or the ability to respond (response-ability) and say yes or no to our urges. Language also allows man to classify reality: he names the animals and the surrounding elements, creating systems that connect words to things. Unlike all other animals, in the beginning, a man was created alone. And in a different act of creation, both in terms of timing and the source of this creation, God fashioned woman: as a special companion opposite to man. Designed with a unique type of non-verbal intelligence, that modern scientist Simon Baron-Cohen, author of the book “The essential difference” defines as“empathy”. Both men and women are to act and work together, using their different uniqueness to complement and supplement each other in synergy and harmony.

IF YOU LOVE ME, READ MY MIND

IF YOU LOVE ME, READ MY MIND
a Shalom Bayit Workshop, by Rabbi Yosef Bitton.

One of the biggest challenges we face is the rise of divorce rates, the growth in the number of men and women who chose to remain single, and the difficulties with Shalom Bayit for the couples that stay in their marriage. To address these very real crises, we must first understand the causes. This workshop addresses one of the main reasons for the lack of happiness and fulfillment in marriage: men and women were created differently by design. Their nature, needs, thought processes, and communication methods are different. Men and women differ in the way they experience and convey emotions; in the way they deal with tensions and challenges; in the way that they solve problems, and in the way that they communicate feelings and love. These differences, when unknown and unacknowledged, cause a lot of unnecessary stress and friction and often damage the relationship between husband and wife. Learning about these differences is essential for achieving a level of understanding and acceptance which will strengthen the married couple for years to come.

THE WORKSHOP
The workshop I’m presenting consists of three units, each focusing on both theory and practical application regarding the innate differences between male and female brains.

The first class is for the couple; we explore the biblical story of Creation and what we learn from the fact that men and women were created in two different acts, from two different sources, and with two different types of intelligence. We explore the ways men and women communicate with each other and the tools we need to learn to reach a better and more healthy relationship.

The second class, just for women, focuses on what men need: physically and psychologically. The challenges of direct or indirect communication and how learning the language of “trade” can improve men’s response. We also refer to the eighth week and the beginning of the male brain and the dynamics between love and intimacy in a man’s world.

The third class is addressed just to men. Women yearn for love and companionship and yet, they would hardly express these needs explicitly. The female brain expects her love circle to understand each other without the mediation of words, almost telepathically. Husbands need to learn how to listen to their wives and almost how to read their feelings. Mastering the 5 love languages

THE SOURCES
(1) This workshop is based on Tora and Jewish values. Is presented around biblical verses and examples. And yet it is designed for modern couples, and it is suitable for all levels of religious observance.
(2) All the information brought in the workshop about the brain and the innate differences between the genders is based on peer-reviewed scientific findings. Mostly on the research of Dr. Simon Baron Cohen, a neuroscientist from Cambridge University, and Dr. Louann Brizendine, an American neuropsychiatrist.

Good News: Your dad is the Judge!

This Shabbat is unique since it is at the center of “The Ten Days of Teshuba”, the days between Rosh haShana and Yom Kippur. During these ten days, we ask God repeatedly to inscribe us in the book of life.
And we also make a meaningful change in the text of the Amida, the central prayer: instead of saying HaE-l haQadosh, “Holy God” we say HaMelech haQadosh, “Holy King”.

These additions and changes help us get into the right mind for Yom Kippur.

What does HaMelekh Qadosh mean?

MELEKH: When we say “Melekh” we should not be thinking of a king from a fairy tale. We have to think instead of “Judge”. Why? In a monarchical state, the king acts as the Supreme Judge, the highest authority. The king also issues the final verdict in terms of the life and death of his subjects. He can sentence someone to die, and he can also spare the life of an individual sentenced to death. These days we think of HaShem as the Supreme Judge, knowing that it is in His hands whether or not we deserve the opportunity to live another year. On Rosh haShanah, the Heavenly Court inscribes human beings in one of two books: the book of life or the other book. But the final verdict is not sealed until the end of Yom Kippur, when the Judge signs the final sentence. During this time — after the ruling has been issued but before it’s signed — I have to appeal a possible “guilty” verdict. My mission is to convince the Judge that if He didn’t inscribe me yet in the Book of Life, He should reconsider. I have a few more days to prove that I sincerely regret what I did wrong. During these days, including this Shabbat, I have to prove to the Supreme Judge that I can be better. On Yom Kippur, I will stand before the Supreme Judge, acting as my advocate and pleading for my life.

QADOSH: “Qadosh”, is usually translated as “holy”. But in the context of this expression, HaMelech haQadosh means “unique”, “different”. In other words, we are saying that HaShem is a very different judge from the other judges. First, God is an invisible judge, whom we do not see, but who sees us, knows us, and knows our secrets and private lives, which no human judge can know. HaShem is “unique” and “different” because he is a Judge whom we cannot deceive with appearances or flattery… He is “unique” because nothing escapes His knowledge. Unlike a human judge, HaShem knows my thoughts, intentions, and potential.

ABINU: But if He knows everything, how will my repentance affect His final judgment and His verdict? HaShem as Judge is “unique” because He is my Creator as well, that is, my Father. And I know what to be a parent means. When one of my children makes a mistake, I want to make sure that they recognize that they have made a mistake and learned a valuable lesson from their bad experience. And once I see that my child has learned his lesson, why would I want to punish him? Suppose my child comes to me spontaneously, admits his mistake honestly, and shows me that he will take the necessary steps to not make the same mistake in the future. In that case, I will hug him, encourage him, and show him that I trust him and am happy that he has finally learned his lesson. Similarly, when we approach HaShem on Yom Kippur and admit and confess our mistakes and transgressions, showing Him that we have learned our lesson, He will surely forgive us and suspend any potential negative sentence. Because apart from being our “Judge”, God is our Father: we are the Judge’s children!

This tremendously important concept is mentioned in the beautiful prayer we say every day now until Yom Kippur, including this coming Shabbat: ABINU MALKENU, declaring and reminding ourselves that apart from being our Judge, God is also our Father.