Rabbi Portaleone And The Four-Hours A Day Tora Curriculum

EARLY LIFE
Rabbi Abraham Portaleone (אברהם משער אריה , 1542-1612) was born in the city of Mantua (Mantova), Italy. The family of Rabbi Abraham was in a comfortable economic position and that allowed the family, among other things, to provide the children with the best possible education, both in Tora and secular studies. The young Abraham began studying Tora with his father, as was the tradition at that time. Then, his father hired for him private tutors who were great Tora luminaries, like Rabbi Moshe Kazés, and Rabbi Ya’aqob MiPano. He also studied in depth the books and ideas of Maimonides with Rabbi Yosef Sinai. His rabbinic ordination was given to him by his mentor, Rabbi Abraham Provenzal, who was his constant source of inspiration (רבו המובהק). With him, Rabbi Portaleone emphasizes, he had the merit to study Gemara, that is, the Talmud. Seemingly, this observation seems to be an unnecessary emphasis, unless we remember that the endless persecutions that Jews had to endure in Christian Europe included the confiscation and burning of every copy of the Talmud that the Church and its officers were able to find. In 1553, for example, the Inquisitors confiscated every copy of the Talmud and in Rosh Hashanah of that year ( September 9th) the Talmud and many other Jewish books were burnt in the Campo dei Fiori. In 1559 by the order of Paul IV, one of the most antisemitic Popes ever, Jews had to deliver their Talmud or risk to be expelled and their properties confiscated. From April to May of that year, the Church burned between ten and twelve thousand volumes of the Talmud. Thus, throughout the remainder of the sixteenth-century, a complete edition of the Talmud could not be found anywhere in Italy.

DOCTOR IN MEDICINE

Parallel to his Tora studies, the young Rabbi Portaleone studied medicine. For Sephradic and Italian rabbis, practicing medicine became the source of a dignified income. The Portaleone family already had four generations of doctors. Rabbi Provenzal himself taught the young Abraham the basics: physiology, sciences and Latin, the language of academic studies. After three years of intensive studies, Rabbi Portaleone received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Pavia, a city near Milan, at the age of 21 (sic!). In his book Shilte haGibborim he asserts that even during those years that he studied medicine intensively, he never spent a day without studying Tora. And he credits his consistency in Tora studying to the inspiration of Rabbi Provenzal. At the age of 24, he received his license to practice medicine from 35 doctors in the city of Mantua. At the beginning he worked under his father in his medical practice and little by little he replaced him, since his father was no longer in good health. In those days, Jewish doctors were forbidden to treat non-Jewish patients, unless they had special permission. In 1573 Pope Gregory XIV granted Rab Portaleone a special dispensation to treat Christian patients. He was also appointed as the Doctor of Don Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantova and at his request he wrote two treatises on medicine: the best known is a book about the healing properties of gold. Throughout his life, he also served as the Mohel of the community: he reports to have performed the circumcision of 360 babies. He was also the chief physician of the Jewish community, and treated the needy members of the community for free.

SHILTE HAGUIBBORIM
At the age of 62, Rabbi Portaleone was affected by hemiplegia, a paralysis on one side of the body. He spent nine months prostrated in bed. When he finally recovered, he began to write his masterpiece, the book “Shilte haGuiborim”. This text was written as a guide for prayer and Tora study for his three children (two of them were also physicians), and most of the book’s 90 chapters are dedicated to the Bet haMiqdash, the Holy Temple of Jerusalem, since the prayers that we recite are actually instead of the service in the Holy Temple. The author describes the building and architecture of the Temple, the utensils that were used there, the Divine Services, –the sacrifices, the incense, etc. Shilte haGuibborim is perhaps the most comprehensive book ever written on the Temple of Yerushalayim. It is practically an encyclopedia of everything you need to know about the Bet HaMiqdash. In addition, the author enriches our knowledge comparing every topic with contemporary scientific, technical and historical information, showing that the Tora anticipated present knowledge by centuries or thousands of years. The book describes, for example, the different songs the Levites used to sing, and the musical instruments used in the Temple; gemology and mineralogy to identify the stones Cohen Gadol used to wear. My favorite is the eleven chapters (78-88) he devotes to explore and identify one by one all the plant and species used in the Qetoret (Incense).

MAAMADOT

In the times of the Bet HaMiqdash, sacrifices and incense were offered daily. These tasks were performed by the Cohanim and Leviim. The 24 guards of Priests who served two weeks every year, are known as Mishmarot. While the services were performed in the Temple, inside the Temple (see main picture) and outside the Temple in towns across Israel. A select groups of volunteers, 24 groups, mostly Israelites, but also Cohanim and Levites, participated in a different kind of Divine Service: devoting a few hours a day to intense prayer, fasting and Tora study: focusing each day of the week on a different text. These groups were known as Ma’amadot (see more information here). Now, the sacrifices can no longer be offered because the Temple no longer exists, but following the Rabbis’ idea, we “replace” the sacrifices with our prayers: Shacharit, Mincha and Arbit. From the other side, we don’t need to “replace” the Ma’amadot. Rabbi Portaleone was of the idea that we should “reenact” the Ma’amadot through an elaborated study program, a Tora curriculum, of texts to be recited and studied every day. He exhorts his son –and his readers– to adopt this regimen of four hours of Tora study, which he calls Ma’amadot. The program includes: Biblical verses of the Parasha of the week, the Aramaic translation, texts from the Prophets, the Scriptures (Ketubim), Mishna, Talmud, Mdrash and the Zohar. Unlike the famous book Hoq LeIsrael, Rabbi Portaleone’s daily program is divided into three sections or sessions: the first session, which should last for about two hours, should be studied in the morning (Shacharit). The second session, around thirty minutes, in the afternoon (Mincha). And the night session, which should take an hour and a half, is for the night (Arbit). According to Rabbi Portaleone, these four hours –a sixth of our day– is the minimum time a Jewish individual needs to devote to the study of Tora.

LEILUY NISHMAT

Abraham ben Shafia Abadi z”l

We present here a text with an example of the Tora program corresponding to Tuesday of the week of Parsahat Teruma, night session.

How did I find this book?

This book came to my hands, literally, from heaven. Around three months ago, there was a big snowstorm in NY on a Thursday. The next day, JFK Airport was closed, and hundreds of Shomer Shabbat Jews got stacked in NY for the weekend. In our community we hosted for Shabbat 12 young boys and girls from Argentina. And we had also an unexpected guest of honor, also affected by the storm, who visited anonymously our Synagogue: Mr. Shlomo Neeman, the current mayor of Gush Etzion, Israel.

Among many other things we discussed, he told me about a special Kolel in the city/settlement Karme Tsur, where he and his family live. In this Kolel, Bet haBehira, the students study EXCLUSIVELY the laws and subjects pertaining to the Bet haMiqdash. A short time later, Mr. Neeman graciously mailed me a copy of the book Shilte haGibborim, which I never knew before. It is a new modern and beautiful edition, published in 2010 by the Kolel Bet haBehira, with an introduction by Rabbi Shalva, the head of the Kolel, and commentaries by Rabbi Abigdor Neventzal, an expert in the field.

I’m holding the book right now in my hands…. and I can’t let go!

The book Shilte haGibborim is unique. I call it “the book of the future”, because B”H, very soon this book will probably serve as the main reference we will use for everything related to the Abodat haQodesh of our Third Bet haMIqdash, תותבב”א

If any reader wants to order the book, or make a donation to this wonderful Kolel כולל בית הבחירה, you can do it via PayPal using the following email address of the Kolel: “kolelb@gmail.com”.

Rabbi Obadia de Bertinoro (1455-1515), from Italy to Jerusalem

EARLY LIFE

Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham of Bertinoro, popularly known as “Bartenura”, was born in 1455. He was a student of the famous Rabbi Yosef Colon, מהרי”ק, and served as rabbi of his own city, Bertinoro, in the province of Cesena, Italy. There he also worked as a banker. His name is mentioned at the top of the list of bankers authorized to grant loans to Christian residents in an official document of Pope Innocent VIII, dated February 12, 1485. When he was 30 years old, he decided to move in the land of Israel, and settle specifically in Yerushalayim, Jerusalem. We have a detailed description of his journey to Israel – which in those days was neither easy nor short – since many of the letters describing this trip were found and published, as we will mention later on.

FROM ITALY TO JERUSALEM

At the end of 1486 he left his native city. He went through Rome and Naples and finally arrived in Palermo, Sicily, where he spent three months preaching every Shabbat in the local synagogue. In Palermo, the main city of Sicily, there were around 850 Jewish families, all living in the same quarter located in one of the best areas of town. The Jews were artisans, blacksmiths, and farmers. The community leaders of Sicily tried to convince him to stay as Rabbi of that Synagogue, but he refused the offer because his greatest desire was to settle in Yerushalayim. He traveled through Rhodes, Greece, and Alexandria, Egypt, where he arrived in early 1488. From Alexandria, he proceeded to Cairo, where Rabbi Natan ha-Kohen Shoulal, the chief leader of the local community (naggid), received him with great honors. There, too, he was offered to remain as a rabbi. The leaders warned him that the situation of the Jews in Jerusalem was very precarious and beyond repair, but he again refused. He continued his journey through Gaza— the fourth-largest Jewish city those days (after Jerusalem, Safed, and Hebron)—and from there he moved to Hebron. He finally arrived in Yerushalayim on the eve of Passover 1488. Upon his arrival, he was received by the rabbi of the city, and stayed in his house for the rest of the holiday.

IF I FORGET YOU, OH JERUSALEM…

In those years, Jerusalem was under the control of the Mamluks, a Muslim group that ruled the city until 1517. Some 4,000 Gentile –Muslim and Christian– families lived in Jerusalem. The local Jewish community numbered approximately 70 families. The wealthiest had fled because of the exorbitant taxes demanded by the Mamlukes. The poor had nowhere to go, and their life became unsustainable. Many were literally starving to death. As Rabbi Obadiah writes: “in the city there were many widows and poor old men…those who have some bread to eat…are considered to be rich…”. Rabbi Obadiah also says that the person who received him upon arrival was an Italian rabbi, Ya’aqob from Colombano. This man was so poor that he was only allowed to eat a piece of bread during Shabbat, while during the week he ate the dried carob pods that the producers discarded after producing the famous syrup known as “carob honey” .

THE SYNAGOGUES

Rabbi Obadiah also writes that a few years before his arrival, there were some 300 Sifre Torah in Jerusalem—ritual Torah scrolls that are read in the Synagogue. But now, virtually all the Scrolls disappeared. The “me’ilim” , that is, the decorated covers made of fine fabrics that wrap these scrolls; and the decorations that are often made of precious metals, also vanished because the synagogues were frequently looted. The only Synagogue that still operated in Jerusalem was very precarious, narrow and dark. However, the Rabbi notes that the prayers in Jerusalem were not comparable in their beauty to any other place he had prayed. On Saturday mornings, the rabbi writes, “the men rise an hour or two before dawn to sing the sweet religious poetry (baqashot), …then they recited the Kaddish, and then two officiants (chazanim) began the prayers with the recitation of the Shema Israel, at exactly sunrise (vatiquin).

CORRUPTION

Rabbi Bartenura complains about the widespread corruption in Jerusalem. He recounts as an example that a Muslim man killed his own mother, slashing her throat with a knife, in a moment of rage. When they brought him before the local court, the murderer justified himself by saying that he was drunk. Muslims are forbidden by their religion to drink alcohol, and therefore they do not produce or sell alcoholic beverages. What was then the verdict of the judges? The court blamed the Jewish community for producing wine, which caused this man to get drunk and murder his mother. The judges, who were always looking for some economic benefit, imposed a fine of 6 gold coins on the Jewish community, and the murderer was set free.

FROM YOUR RUINS I WILL BUILD YOU. מחורבותיך אבנך

Rabbi Obadiah committed himself to restore Yerushalayim, and he did that, single-handedly. He had to personally take care of all the material needs of the community. Including, for example, digging the graves in the Jewish cemetery and burying the dead, as no one else was able, or strong enough, to engage in this religious duty. The Rabbi then decided to devote his effort to raising funds for the Jewish community of Yerushalayim. He reached out to his family, friends and acquaintances in Italy, who generously provided him with funds to assist the poor. Over time and thanks to the solidarity of the Italian Jews he was able to establish charitable institutions and medical infirmaries for the sick. Emanuel Hai Camerino of Florence, who was in charge of administrating Rabbi Obadiah’s state in Cesena, would send him 100 ducats (gold coins) every year, to which he added another 25 ducats from his own pocket for charity. In this way the Jewish community grew and also the name of the main benefactor: Rabbi of Bertinoro. Since he arrived in Jerusalem, he brought a huge blessing to the entire city. Within a few years, thanks to Rabbi Obadiah’s excellent reputation for integrity in Jerusalem, Muslims themselves were turning to him for legal disputes and business disputes, knowing of his wisdom and honesty.

FROM CASTILE TO JERUSALEM

In 1492 the Jewish world was shaken by the news of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. The refugees soon arrived in Turkey, Egypt, Safed and also in Jerusalem. Rabbi Obadiah became the spiritual leader of these refugees and helped them to support themselves, since they arrived without any money, and in order to stay in the city they had to pay the tax to the Mamluk government, the jiziah, which was charged per person. Which meant that with the increase in the Jewish population, the already heavy taxes increased even more. However, after a few years, these Jews who came from Spain with nothing but had professional skill and training in international trade, began to grow economically, and the Jewish community of Yerushalayim flourished again! As a token of their enormous gratitude to their benefactor, the refugees from Spain and Portugal granted Rabbi Obadiah of Bertinoro the best gift he could have dreamed of: they built him his own Yeshiba (rabbinical academy) in Yerushalayim! The first Yeshiba in Jerusalem after 1200 years!

Rabbi Obadiah was named “abi hayishub”, patron or maximum benefactor, of the city of Jerusalem.

He died in 1515 and his body rests in the Har HaZetim (Mount of Olives) the most famous cemetery in Yerushalayim.

REVIVING THE HEBREW LANGUAGE

Rabbi Obadiah of Bertinoro is primarily known for his commentary to the Mishnah, a text that comprises the oral rabbinical traditions, that is, the application and details of all the precepts of the Torah. The Mishnah is usually studied in conjunction with the Gemara (Talmud) which explains, expands and elaborates on the details of the Mishna. Maimonides was the first rabbi to write an independent commentary on the Mishnah. Rabbi Obadiah followed his example and wrote his own commentary, which became the most popular for centuries. To the point that it is difficult to find an edition of the Mishnah that does not contain the “Bartenura commentary”. Rabbi Obadiah’s book was more accepted than Maimonides’ commentary because Maimonides originally wrote his commentary in Arabic, while Rabbi Obadiah’s commentary was written in Hebrew.

Aside from this work, Rabbi Obadiah also wrote a book on Rashi’s commentary to the Tora called amar neqe (See Daniel 9:7, עמר נקא “Pure Wool”). He also wrote three long letters describing in detail his journey and containing invaluable descriptions of the people and customs of the Jewish communities he visited in his journey from Italy to Jerusalem. These letters were addressed to his father and his brother and were published under the name “Darkhe Ẓion” (the Roads leading to Zion, Jerusalem) and “HaMasa le-Eres Yisrael” (The journey to the land of Israel) .

MISHPATIM: Where you sit, matters

אם כסף תלוה את עמי את העני עמך לא תהיה לו כנושה לא תשימון עליו נשך

“When you lend money to (someone from) My people, the poor person who lives next to you, you shall not oppress him, and do not take interest from him.” Shemot 22:24

In this week’s Parasha we have a large number of Mitsvot. Many of these Mitsvot refer to our attitude towards our neighbor. Among them is our obligation to assist the needy.

AVOIDING ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

The rabbis described this commandment, tsedaqa, explaining that there are eight categories of material assistance to the needy. The highest category is to help someone to avoiding financial collapse before he gets in a situation where he needs to ask for assistance. How do you do that ? For example: a) Offering work to someone who lost his job. b) Lending money to someone who does poorly in his or her business preventing his falling.

Referring to this second case, the Tora says that the creditor should not charge interest for the loan. Also, the creditor can’t harass the debtor, for example, going to his home, or embarrassing him in front of his family or friends, etc.

MY PEOPLE

Another important lesson we learn from this verse is related to a little word that might go unnoticed. That little word is ‘ami (עמי), “My People”

God speaks of the poor as “My People”, that is, the people of God. The Sages said the following: “HaShem is very different from a human being. In most cases, when someone has a poor family member, he does not like to be seen with him or her, because he does not want to be identified with the poor …. but when someone has a rich relative, runs to him, tries to take a selfie with him, and does everything in his power to show himself in his company. Why? Because being next to the rich and powerful enhances his own image and prestige … HaShem acts differently: when He says “My People” he is not referring to the richest and most powerful but to ‘the poor among you’. HaShem sides with the poor, identifies with them, and teaches us to do the same.

YOUR SEAT AND YOUR IMAGE

It is not uncommon, unfortunately, that people who are not wealthy – especially if they are publicly known to be needy- are literally left out. At a social event or a party, not many wants to sit at their table. Everyone wants to be in the company of the rich, and be seeing with them.

This pasuq teaches us that we should learn from God and treat those who have less than us with a special deference. Providing material help is important, but it is also important to help the feelings of this who have less than us! This Pasuq teaches us that we should behave toward those who have less than us in the same way you would like to be treated if you were in that condition.

This beautiful verse teaches us a huge lesson. HaShem is with the poor, and identifies His presence with the most needy. Being or sitting next to those who have less is a great act of humility, kindness, empathy and above all, an act in which we imitate one of the attributes of our Creator.

HELBENA: The Qetoret and Chanel 19

קַח־לְךָ֣ סַמִּ֗ים נָטָ֤ף ׀ וּשְׁחֵ֙לֶת֙ וְחֶלְבְּנָ֔ה סַמִּ֖ים וּלְבֹנָ֣ה זַכָּ֑ה בַּ֥ד בְּבַ֖ד יִהְיֶֽה

God said to Moshe: Take aromatic spices, drops [of balsam], aromatic nail and galbanum, spices and pure resin; in an equivalent measure (Ex. 30:34)

IDENTIFYING THE HELBENA

The Torah mentions by name four of the eleven aromatic spices that were used in the making of the Qetoret, the incense that every day impregnated the Bet haMiqdash with a delicious perfume. This incense was offered (haqtara) twice a day in the Temple: in the morning and in the afternoon. The formula, an ultra fine grind powder made with the eleven spices was prepared once a year (pitum haquetoret). Previously, we mentioned the first two species that were part of the Qetoret: the Tsori and the Tsiporen (see below). The third species that the Tora mentions for the preparation of the Qetoret is the Helbena.

As we have seen with the other species, the rabbis (rishonim) did not always agree on the identification of these elements. In his book Shilte haGibborim, a monumental work devoted entirely to all the topics related to the Bet haMiqdash, Rabbi Abraham Portaleone (1542-1612) analyzes what the other sages before him wrote about the Helbena and concluded that in his opinion the Helbena is a plant known as «galbanum». Previously, he mentions the opinion of Maimonides, who says that Helbena is the sap with a honeyed consistency of dark color (debash shachor) that has a very strong fragrance. This sap come from a tree mentioned by Maimonides, whose name in Arabic is Mei’a, and is found in Greece.

SMELLS BAD…. UNLESS YOU MIX IT!

Rabbi Portaleone does something that he usually does not do: he rejects Maimonides’ opinion. Why? First, he identifies the tree Maimonides refer to, mentioning its Latin name “liquidambar orientalis”. Then, he explains that this cannot be the Helbena tree, among other reasons, because the Sages of the Talmud made it very clear that all the species that were used to make the Qetoret have a very pleasant aroma, with only one exception: the Helbena. And the sap of the “liquidambar orientalis” has a really good smell. His candidate for Helbena is then the galbanum. First because the name (helbena , galbanum) attest to a similar origin, which makes the identification much more secure. Second, the rabbi offers a series of evidences and testimonies that help identifying the Helbena with the galbanum. One of the evidences he brings is that people whi live in the forest burn galbanum at night to protect themselves against wild animals. The smell of the burning galbanum is so bad that it drives away snakes and other dangerous animals. He also says that if a person rubs some galbanum on his body, the bad smell of this plant will protect that person from insects bites (see the entire analysis of the Helbena in Shilte haGibborim, Makhon Yerushalayim edition, 2009, par. 347-348).

MODERN USES OF GALBANUM

As the Rabbis explained, when galbanum is used or burned by itself, it produces a very unpleasant smell, but when added tpo the other aromatic substances, galbanum acts as a catalyst, and it actually increases their good fragrance, creating a pleasant and longer-lasting smell. Galbanum is obtained as resin from its flower. It has a sticky, rubbery consistency and a strong sour scent. It seems that galbanum is originally native to Persia. This large perennial plant can grow up to four meters in height. The strong, sour, but distinctive smell of galbanum is still used today in the contemporary perfume industry. Fragrances like “Must” by Cartier, “Vent Vert” by Balmain, “Vol De Nuit” by Guerlain, and Silver Mountain Water by Creed, and Chanel No. 19.

THE LESSON OF THE HELBENA

The Sages learned and taught us a great lesson from the inclusion of the Helbena among the elements of the Qetoret. Since Biblical times it has been established that when a Jewish community suffers some calamity, such as epidemics or severe droughts, days of community prayer and fasting are declared. These fasts are kept on Mondays and Thursday, until the situation improves. In the treatise of Keritot 6b the Sages established a very interesting rule regarding who should participate in these public prayers. They said that these community prayers cannot be said exclusively by the most pious members of the congregation. In fact, they said that if these community gatherings and fasts do not include among their participants the “sinners” and “rebels” of the Jewish people, the fast does not serve its purpose.

כל תענית שאין בה מפושעי ישראל אינה תענית שהרי חלבנה ריחה רע ומנאה הכתוב עם סממני קטרת

The source that the Sages used for this idea of inclusion is the presence of the sour Helbena among the sweet aromatic spices of the Qetoret. The Helbena by itself has a bitter and unpleasant odor, but when included, it brings out the best of all the other spices. Not all Jews are perfect, but they all need to be represented. The word TZIBUR in Hebrew “congregation”, hides an acrostic with the three categories of Yehudim that make up a congregation: צבור: צ = צדיקים, ב = בינונים, ור = שעים “ The righteous; the individuals of a level of average observance; and the transgressors ”

The fragrance of a community – its spiritual level – will not be ideal if it does not reach-out to those who have gone astray. We must try to bring closer and include those individuals as part of the congregation, through “teshuba” and community participation. When we see all Jews as parts of the same body, that union strengthen us and makes us worthy of HaShem’s attention and blessing.

Summary of Parashat Shemot

This week we start a new book: Shemot, “Names” or Exodus.

THE BIRTH OF MOSHE

The Tora begins by mentioning the names of Jacob’s sons and telling us that his descendants were very prosperous, fruitful, and powerful in Egypt. But when a new dynasty arose, Pharaoh set out to weaken the Jews and impoverish them. First by taxing them and giving them hard jobs. But no matter how much he oppressed them, the Jews continued to multiply and did not lose their power. Pharaoh then orders the midwives to kill all the newborn Hebrew children. These women, however, defied Pharaoh’s order and let the children live. Pharaoh called the midwives to punish them for not following his orders. The midwives replied that Hebrew women were self-sufficient to deliver their babies. God rewards the midwives for their bravery and fear of Heaven. Pharaoh then orders all his people to take part in the elimination of the Jewish children by throwing all the newborn males into the Nile. When Moshe (Moises) is born, his mother feared for his life, and she puts him in a waterproof basket and leaves the basket floating in the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter, Batya, is going to bathe in the Nile when she sees the child. She takes it and adopts it as her own. Miriam, Moshe’s sister, who is observing what is happening, offers to bring a Hebrew woman to breastfeed the child. Pharaoh’s daughter accepts her suggestion, and thus Yochebed, Moshe’s own mother raises her own son until he grows up.

MOSHE GOES OUT TO MEET HIS BROTHERS

Moshe lives in the Royal Place. Already an adult, Moshe leaves the palace and feels the suffering of his Jewish brothers. He sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses kills the Egyptian and somehow Pharaoh finds out. Moshe is forced to flee. He escapes to Midian and stays there for a time. There he marries Tsipora, Yitro’s daughter and has two sons, Guershom and Eliezer.

GOD REMEMBERS HIS PROMISE

In Egypt the situation of Jewish slaves is getting worse. The people cry out to God and God takes into account the Covenant that he had made with their ancestors. Moshe is herding Yitro’s flocks in the desert when he sees a burning bush that was not consumed by fire. When he came closer to understand what was happening, God spoke to him. God tells him that He has seen the suffering of the Israelites and has decided to liberate them from the Egyptians through Moshe. God gives Moshe instructions. He must gather the Jewish elders and inform them that God would rescue them from Egypt and will bring them back to Israel. Then Moshe must speak to Pharaoh and ask him to let the Jews go out to serve God. However, God warns Moshe that Pharaoh will not agree to this request. But redemption eventually will come, after God punishes Egypt. God presents Moshe with three miraculous tests to perform before the Israelites, so they will believe that God has sent him. Moshe says that he is unfit for this difficult mission, due to his inability to speak eloquently. God then assigns his brother Aharon to be his spokesperson.

MOSHE GOES TO EGYPT

Moshe takes his wife and his two sons and heads to Egypt. God specifies to Moshe what he should say to Pharaoh: “Israel is my first-born son. Let my son go to serve Me. And if you refuse to free him, I will take your firstborn son.” Moshe meets Aaron, who had come from Egypt to meet him, and together they arrive in Egypt. They gather all the elders and present the evidences that God had sent them.

MISSION NOT ACCOMPLISHED

Moshe and Aharon go to Pharaoh’s palace and ask him to let the Jews go. Pharaoh mocks them and instructs his taskmasters to increase the workload of the Jewish slaves. The Jews could not meet the new demands of Pharaoh and as a result they are brutally beaten. Moses, afflicted and confused, turns to God: “Why have you caused more suffering to this people? And what have you sent me for? For since I have spoken to Pharaoh in Your name, the people are suffering more…. “. God reassures Moshe and replies that he will soon see what God will do with Pharaoh, and that the Egyptian monarch will be forced to liberate the Jews.

ANTISEMITISM: Jews, a Separated and Powerful People

Yesterday we began to analyze the origins of anti-Semitism in this week’s Parasha (see this). We mentioned that the people of Israel were prolific and enjoyed an economic well-being. The Jews had not committed any act of treason or anything to deserving Pharaoh’s hatred. According to what the text of the Tora (peshat) tells us the causes of Pharaoh’s antagonism had to do with a new political situation, an opposition to the previous government, which was friendly with the Jews.

We will now discuss the way in which this type of antagonism became a form of a verbal anti-Semitism, that is, the malicious and false accusations against the Jews .

Pharaoh, as explained yesterday, first ignored the contributions of Yosef to the welfare of Egypt.

Now, Pharaoh begins his speech (Shemot 1:9):

הנה עם בני ישראל רב ועצום ממנו: “Pharaoh said to his people: Behold, a people, the children of Israel, are many and powerful from us”

In this pasuq the Tora subtly records the first two accusations of Pharaoh towards Israel.

FIRST ACCUSATION “A people within a people”

“Pharaoh said to ‘his’ people: Behold, a ‘people’, the children of Israel….”. Almost four long generations had passed since the time the children of Israel came to Egypt (Levi, Qehat, ‘amram). And Ya’aqob’s family has not assimilated into the Egyptian culture and society. The Jews remained as a united people. What was the strategy to avoid assimilation into the powerful and attractive Egyptian society?

There are many elements mentioned on this matter, either by the Tora or by the Sages. We will mention just four illustrations.

1. אנשי מקנה In Parashat Vayggash we see how Yosef insists that his brothers should introduce themselves to Pharaoh as what they are: shepherds. Shepherding was a taboo profession for Egyptians. The children and grandchildren of Ya’aqob, with the consent and blessing of the previous Pharaoh, reside then in a separate land, Goshen, where they could graze their cattle without offending the sensibilities of the Egyptians. This also avoided social and religious assimilation with the general society.

2. איש וביתו באו: The first thing this week’s Parasha tells us is that the children and grandchildren of Ya’aqob did not come to Egypt as single bachelors. The Tora specifies that they came with their wives. In this way they avoided marrying Egyptian women, which would have been the first step into total assimilation.

3. להורות לפניו גושנה. Our Sages say that Ya’aqob sent one of his sons, Yehuda, before his family arrive to Egypt, to establish bate midrashot, Jewish educational institutions. Jewish education has always been seen by our Hakhamim as the number one element to avoid assimilation.

4. … לא שינו את שמותם The Israelites kept their Jewish clothing, their language and their Hebrew names. These three elements were also critical for staying together and avoid assimilation into Egyptian society.

Now, in his effort to hurt the Jewish people, Pharaoh maliciously “denounced” Jewish unity as Jewish treachery. “They are a people apart > they will betray us”. Said Pharaoh. Pharaoh was the first, but it was certainly not the last, to use the argument that the Jews “are a people within a people” in order to generate antagonism against the Jews .

We can also see, from the point of view of Israel, for the first time, the double challenge of staying as Jews in a gentile society, doing our utmost for avoiding assimilation, while being exposed for that same reason to the possibility that the tyrant in power would use our Jewishness as an excuse to accuse and persecute us.

SECOND ACCUSATION: “They stole our money”.

רב ועצום ממנו “they are many, and very powerful, from us.”

The second charge, completely fabricated, is that Jews were rich and powerful “from us”, in other words, because they have taken “our” money. Pharaoh accused the Jews of having taken away the Egyptians’ money. The Jews were probably prosperous, but nothing indicates that it was because they stole Egyptian money. In fact, as we know, Yosef saved Egypt from ruin and starvation. Thanks to Yosef Egypt was a superpower.

At no time Pharaoh refers to the Jews prosperous situation or to Yosef extraordinary management abilities in a positive way, saying as the Chinese say today about the Jews: “Look at the Jews and learn from them how to succeed. The Jews give priority to studying. They are hard workers. They are never lazy. They don’t spend money unnecessarily. They believe in saving for the future. “. Everything Pharaoh said was: “The Jews are rich because they took our money”. Sounds familiar?

This accusation was repeated thousands of times in the history of the Jewish people while in exile. One example: Martin Luther (1483-1546): “The Jews … became rich by our sweat and blood, and we get poorer by this exploitation.”

Of course all these anti-Semitic arguments collapse when one notes that 41% of Nobel laureates in economics are Jewish (while Jews constitute less than 0.02% of the world population). Or when you see the commercial success of Israel, “the Jew among the nations,” which does prosper by its own sweat and its entrepreneurial capacity (see Startup Nation).

In our Parasha we find the first signs of the anti-Semitic propaganda, which unfortunately will be repeated again and again throughout our exile among the nations.

THE LAWS OF THE FAST OF ASARA BETEBET

Who Needs To Fast and Who Does Not?

√ Minors: boys under 13 years old and girls under 12 years old are completely exempt from this fast.

√ Pregnant women are exempt from this fast.

√ In many Sephardic communities the tradition is that after giving birth women are exempted from fasting for the next 24 months, even when they are no longer breastfeeding their baby. In other Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities, the nursing mother is only excused from fasting mothers for 24 months while she is breastfeeding her baby. Consult with the rabbi of your community regarding the custom to follow.

√ A person who is feeling unwell, for example, with flu symptoms or fever, or a person with a chronic illness, such as diabetes, should not fast. Elders should check with their doctors to determine if fasting will affect their health. In which case they are exempt from fasting.

TESHUBA

According to Maimonides (MT, Hilkhot Ta’anit, 5:1), as every other fast day, ‘asara beTebet is a day that should be dedicated to Teshuba. To remember our present transgressions and mistakes , which are similar to the mistakes done by our ancestors. Those transgressions brought the destruction of our Bet haMiqdash and the distancing of the Shekhina, God’s Presence, from our midst. Shortening the distance between us and our Creator is within our power. And that renewed closeness, will bring us closer to have our Bet haMiqdash once again rebuilt.

TEHILIM 23: Why Bad Things Happen To Good People?

The most profound work of Jewish thought is the book of Tehillim, the Psalms of King David. In this Text, the greatest poet of the Jewish people teaches us many fundamental concepts through his powerful words and elaborate metaphors. One of the questions which King David addresses in the well known Psalm 23 is: Why do bad things happen to good people?

King David does not address this subject, in a direct philosophical way. Tehilim is more sophisticated. It refers to the rrlation between the sheep and the shepherd. With a very surprising perspective.

Verse 1: “A Psalm of David. HaShem (=God) is my shepherd. I lack nothing! 2: He takes me to graze in places of delicate herbs, and He directs me to calm waters. 3: He satisfies my needs and takes me through honest paths, for His name. 4: Even if I walk through the valley of the shadows of death, I will fear no evil, because You (God) are with me; Your rod and Your staff comfort me.”

GOD IS MY SHEPHERD

This metaphor, depicting God as a shepherd, is revolutionary.

Once God is compared to a shepherd, King David continues the Psalm not from the shepherd’s point of view, but from the sheep’s perspective. The first thing the sheep does (verses 1, 2 and 3) is recognizing that the grass and the water she enjoys are thanks to the shepherd who provides it all. And that it is the shepherd who always guides her along paths of abundance.

THE TERRIFYING VALLEY

Suddenly, in verse 4, the Psalm changes tone. Not everything is peace, satisfaction and pleasure in the sheep’s life. There are also difficult moments; the sheep feels as though the shepherd is leading her through “the valley of the shadows of death,” and perceives that there is no escape. This is her end. But even in that valley of death, the sheep does not fear or despair. Why? Because the shepherd’s presence reassures her. How? The Psalm mentions the shepherd’s rod and the staff. “Your rod and Your staff comfort me.” The rod is a short stick that the shepherd uses to ‘hit’ the sheep and redirect them when they stray from their path. The staff, on the other hand (literally!), is a cane with a curvature in the shape of a semicircle at its top; it’s quite long, often taller than the shepherd himself. The rod is used to push the animals or stop them from straying off the path. And the staff for catching them by the neck, preventing the sheep from moving forward. Let us now decipher the metaphor.

APPRECIATION

Firstly, King David invites us to appreciate all that we have, and to practice one of the most important gestures that help our Emuna (faith); “attribution”. Discovering HaShem, finding Him, ‘seeing’ Him in every instance and event that we experience. Like the sheep, even in difficult times, we too must begin by appreciating how much we have and declaring our gratitude to our generous Shepherd.

THE ROD AND THE STAFF

The shepherd positions himself behind the sheep. Thus, the sheep can not see the shepherd with their eyes, in the same way we cannot see the Creator with our eyes. Imagine the sheep is thirsty, and goes to a river to drink water. Suddenly she feels something holding her back- it is the shepherd, who caught her neck with the staff and does not let her advance. The sheep is confused. It doesn’t make sense! She is thirsty and all she wants is some water! Why is the shepherd so unjust and cruel that he won’t let her drink? The shepherd — and the reader — know that the sheep was stopped for a good reason. Perhaps the waters of that river are poisoned or infested with crocodiles or have turbulent waves. But the problem, which has no solution, is that there is NO WAY for the sheep to understand the motives of the shepherd. No matter how justified these are, the shepherd’s mind, ways and thoughts are beyond the sheep’s intellectual abilities. She may bleat and complain, but while the shepherd definitely understands her pain, there will still be an insurmountable barrier between the sheep the shepherd in terms of ‘understanding’ impossible (probably, the main advantage we humans have over the sheep is that we do understand why we don’t understand).

I WILL NOT FEAR BECAUSE YOU ARE WITH ME

The sole comfort of the sheep is that even when she walks through the valley of death without understanding why, the sheep senses that the shepherd is there. Ironically, it is sometimes when the shepherd intervenes in a painful way and the sheep feels the rod and the staff, that she realizes her shepherd taking care of a situation. And as long as the shepherd is there, she is not afraid. The only thing that would terrorize her is the shepherd abandoning her.

A PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE

With this exquisite metaphor, “God as our shepherd,” King David helps us understand is that in regard to God we are like sheep. Many things happen to us, which, from our point of view do not make any sense. We suffer “unjustly,” sometimes we feel the sting of the blow (illness, loss, suffering) or sometimes we feel something stopping us from moving, things not going well for us, invisible, inexplicable barriers preventing us from moving forward…. Things can be so bad that sometimes we feel as though we’re on the threshold of death… and we don’t understand why. But in those times, we need attribution. We must believe that God is present. He is behind us, guiding us through the paths- the sometimes very difficult, inexplicable and painful paths- that He Himself brought us to!

And the most important idea reflected in this Psalm, is that the sheep has no clue why she suffers but when she does, instinctively the sheep returns to the right path, not because she ‘understands’ the shepherd. Rather, because she knows that the shepherd is behind the blow, and she trusts Him.

One of the he most important ideas reflected in this Psalm, is that the sheep has no clue why she suffers but when she does, she instinctively returns to the right path, not because she ‘understands’ the shepherd's intervention, but because she knows that the shepherd is behind her, and she trusts Him.

ONEN: Between The Passing And The Burial

The direct relatives of the deceased are considered to be in a state of Onen from the moment they receive the news of a loved one’s passing until the burial takes place, regardless of how much time elapses between the two. The Onen is often immersed in profound sadness and, in many cases, may experience a serious emotional crisis. The initial emotional response may include denial of the loved one’s death. Understandably, the Onen may feel disoriented and not always in full control of their emotions. During this emotional state, the Onen is typically in charge of arranging funeral details, cemetery paperwork, and other practical matters. For this reason, the Onen is exempt from all regular religious obligations until the burial is completed.

The direct relatives considered Onenim are seven: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, and spouse.
Since it is their immediate responsibility to care for all burial-related matters, the Onen is exempt from all positive commandments of the Tora, such as Tefila, the Berakha of Hamotsi, Birkat Hamazon, all daily Berakhot, and the donning of Tefilin. The Onen is not counted in a Minyan. It is also customary that the Onen does not recite Kaddish until after the burial.
The Onen should not wear Tefilin if the burial takes place on the same day as the passing. However, if the burial does not occur during the Hebrew day of the passing, the mourner should wear Tefilin on that day, after the burial, discreetly and without reciting a Berakha.
The Onen should not take a shower, nor eat meat or drink wine.
If the death occurs on Shabbat or close to Shabbat such that there is not enough time to arrange the burial beforehand, Shabbat must be observed in its entirety by the Onen. In such cases, the deceased’s body is respectfully covered with a sheet until Shabbat is over. During Shabbat, the Onen may eat meat, drink wine, and participate in the Tefilot with the Kehila. In some communities, it is customary to allow the Onen to recite Kaddish on Shabbat. The Arbit prayer on Motsaé Shabbat should be recited earlier, and Habdala is recited without Besamim or Me’ore haEsh.
In cases where the death occurs during a Yom Tob or on its eve, and there is not enough time to bury the deceased on the same day, a competent rabbinic authority must be consulted regarding the proper observance of religious obligations.

The Qeri’a

One of the first steps of Jewish mourning is the Qeri’a, the tearing of the clothes. This is the most eloquent and original expression of Jewish mourning, as it is narrated in the Bible regarding Jacob, King David, and Job. The Qeri’a, the tearing of a cloth that one is wearing, is a controlled form of emotional discharge. It produces an effect of psychological relief as it expresses the great anguish suffered by the mourners..

The Rabbi or the officiant performs a small cut on their shirt of the Abel. The Abel, who must be standing, holds the small cut and pronounces the following Berakha:

BARUKH ATA ADO-NAI ELO-HENU MELEKH HAOLAM DAYAN HAEMET

Blessed are you, Almighty, our God, King of the world, the Judge of truth

Next, the Abel, with his or her own hands, pulls the cut downwards for a few inches as instructed by the ceremony officiant.

The family members who perform the qeri’a are seven: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, and spouse.

The qeri’a should be done in one’s shirt. In our community, most people accept this rule, but some families have requested to cut the undershirt instead. For mother and father, one should be more strict and tear the shirt (in any case, if someone refuses to cut the shirt, we still do the qeri’a in the undershirt and allow the mourner to recite the berakha Dayan haEmet as well).

The qeri’a should be done on the left side of the mourner, next to the heart, for his or her father or mother.

The initial cut should be done from the collar.

Additionally, in the case of the father or mother, the cut from the shirt’s border should be detached (Kame Safa).

For all other relatives (siblings, spouse, or children), the qeri’a should be done on the right side of the mourner.

Women have the same obligation as men in performing the qeri’a. To cut, however, they should be assisted by another woman, and for reasons of modesty, the cut is kept covered, not very visible.

The torn clothes must be used during the first seven days of mourning (Shib’a).

If the burial takes place in Chol haMoed, the intermediate days between Yom Tob during Pesach or Sukkot, only the children of the deceased should do the qeriy’a. The other family members, like siblings, would do the qeriya once the Holiday ends.