Category Archives: Talmud

What kind of Jew are you?Ask the question these days, and people are likely to answer it in one of three or four ways. They may tell you, for example, that they are religious Jews or secular Jews, making observance the focal point of their identity. Or they may apply politics as a yardstick instead, saying theyre conservative or liberal Jews. Some may self-identify as Zionists or anti-Zionists, and some as Reform or Conservative or Reconstructionist Jews. These answers all have one thing in common: Theyre all terrible.What, for example, can we learn about a person who tells you theyre secular? We could assume, of course, that he or she doesnt observe Shabbat and might not adhere to the laws of kashrut, but other than that, the definition tells us almost nothing about the human being in question. Even worse, because were so used to thinking in categories, weve grown accustomed to seeing ourselves and our community through these lenses, making assumptions and forming affiliations based on ideas and notions that are, at best, wildly inaccurate. We need to do better. We need new categories that faithfully reflect the way American Jewish life is actually lived. Luckily for us, theres only one such category: learning Jews.Who among us isnt learning? For some of us, this means engaging with Daf Yomi, the practice of studying just one page of Talmud a day. For some, this means reading a book or listening to a podcast. For others, it could mean signing up for a class at the local JCC or watching a show on Netflix or even just getting together with friends to talk about small frustrations and big ideas. We shouldnt dismiss any of these activities as banal. Seen correctly, they form the foundation of Jewish life, a foundation that invites each of us to build on it further. This is why, traditionally, the greatest compliment you could pay a fellow Jew was to call them a talmid hacham an excellent student not necessarily a genius who already knows everything, but a committed, lifelong pupil who is constantly eager to grow and know more, and is willing to adapt and change.

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What kind of Jew are you? - comment - The Jerusalem Post

Her motivations were corrupt!

The precocious student continued: Thats why she didnt get extra points for doing charity. Its like we read about the Shma if you dont say it with the right kavanah (intention), the mitzvah doesnt count.

We were in the middle of a discussion of NBCs The Good Place, which we had begun watching as part of a Jewish ethics elective I had created for my middle school students.

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As you may know, there is no program on television that covers moral philosophy quite as well as The Good Place. To quote a New York Times review, ethics is not some kind of moralistic byproduct; its baked into the premise. Specifically, the premise is that the protagonist, Eleanor, wakes up in the afterlife and finds herself in the proverbial Good Place. But it turns out that Eleanor was a comically awful person on earth, and is only in the Good Place due to a celestial mishap. Now she must learn to become a good person, or risk being expelled and moving downward.

In my elective class that day, the question was why Eleanors heavenly point total hadnt gone up, despite her having performed several generous acts. Was she acting with pure intentions, or was she motivated only by her own well-being? My students were catching on doing the right thing for the wrong reason doesnt always count.

Purity of motives is alluded to several times in Parshat Terumah. One example is the symbolism of the ark being constructed in the new tabernacle: Cover it with pure gold, from within and without you shall cover it. A question is raised in the Talmud about this seemingly innocuous detail of the Tabernacles construction why must the inside be inlaid with gold if it was to be closed shut and never seen by anyone? It seems unnecessary to cover the inside with gold; what can the Torah be teaching us? One interpretation is that this is a manifestation of the Talmudic dictum that one must be consistent inside and out (tocho kvaro). If the outer gold covering refers to those mitzvot or other deeds we perform publicly, then the inner gold covering signifies the acts we do in private, when no one else can see.

In our personal lives, we can probably think of a time when we or someone we know has engaged in virtue signaling, perhaps by sharing a post on social media about a trending topic or current cause, while remaining apathetic to the issue in private.

In the political arena, likewise, it is noteworthy to see the difference between what some officials say in front of the cameras versus how they vote in closed sessions. Our parsha, through the example of the golden ark, reminds us to act with integrity both privately and publicly.

A related idea is evident in the parshas opening verses: Take for me a contribution ( vyikchu li terumah)and I will dwell in their midst (Exodus 25:1-8).

Many commentators question the use of the word li (for me). What does Hashem mean by saying to take it for me? What could the worlds Creator possibly need?

According to Rashi, li should really be understood as for my sake (lishmi). That is to say, when giving a contribution, do it for Hashems sake, for something greater than yourself. A gift that is meant to burnish your reputation, or that comes as a result of some other external pressure, is not really the kind that Hashem is looking for.

On the other hand, it has always seemed to me that here is a case where a little bit of yetzer hara (the so-called evil impulse) might not be such a bad thing. After all, if my yetzer hara inclines me to desire fame or honor, why not attain it through giving tzedakah? As a result, I will receive the desired recognition, and the needy party will receive a vital donation; everybody wins! (It is also certainly the case that giving in a public manner, whatever ones motivations, can be very positive indeed, to the extent that it spreads awareness of a cause or inspires others to give as well). As the Talmud says, mitoch shelo lishma ba lishma doing a mitzvah with imperfect intentions can habituate us into doing it with appropriate intentions.

Still, while giving with less than perfect motives may be a positive stepping stone, it is not the highest level. Perhaps this is hinted at in the very name of our parsha, Terumah. Within this word we find the root for leharim, to lift up or elevate. As Eleanor sought to elevate her spiritual stature (no spoilers here), so can we. By checking our motivations, eschewing the egotistical incentives that so often drive our choices, and acting with true generosity of spirit, we can ultimately elevate both ourselves and those with whom we interact. It is in this elevated atmosphere where Gods presence will reside.

Originally posted here:

Terumah: Elevating our intentions - The Jewish Standard

I love you. You are my brothers. I am tied to you by history and covenant in the past and destiny in the future.

No matter how much we Modern Orthodox Jews and Religious Zionists write manifestos and hold conferences showing how our way of integration is superior to your Torah-only view, when we sit down with a pen and paper to draw a Jew, he isnt wearing jeans and T-shirt, but rather he is wearing a beard and peyos (hair sidelocks) and looks like you. When asked to imagine a rabbi, he isnt clean shaven with khaki pants; he looks like you. We still look over our shoulders to you as some sort of barometer that we havent gone too far with our embrace of secular culture, that we havent strayed too far from Yisrael Saba (the spirit of the Jewish people throughout their generations). Your commitment to Torah and Jewish continuity is unbounded.

When I was a kid in the 1980s, I needed tutoring in Talmud. My parents used to take me to the local haredi yeshiva, The Yeshiva of Staten Island, to learn with the boys there. I must have stuck out like a sore thumb, but I was welcomed by the students very warmly. Students went out of their way to introduce themselves to me and get to know me. These boys would walk miles to our small local synagogue to help boost our struggling minyan. There was a soda machine there that did not accept dollar bills at the time. In those days a can of Pepsi cost 50 cents. There was an empty coffee can there filled with quarters. You would put your dollar in the can and take out four quarters to make change to put in the machine. I remember being shocked that you can leave a can of money out and that there was no fear that someone would take it. But then I thought, Oh! This is a yeshiva! Of course everyone here is honest! That was what characterized a black hat or haredi yeshiva in my mind: integrity and love of their fellow Jews.

As a rabbi and educator myself, I can unequivocally state that I wouldnt be an observant Jew today if not for the haredi education and influence I received. They were quite literally the determining factor in my understanding of my place as a Jew in this world and my relationship with God. My own decision to be a rabbi and teacher was born out of the need to be the next link in the chain of Torah that you represented to me. Every student of mine is in debt to the haredi rabbis and institutions that have formed my soul.

But either I misunderstood you all these years or something has profoundly changed. I had thought that your commitment to Torah was to preserve Am Yisrael (the nation of Israel). I thought that your commitment to Jewish continuity was to the whole. I now understand during this terrible pandemic that your goal was not to keep Jews Jewish but to keep haredim haredi. You have demonstrated time and again by both your actions and inactions that you completely abandoned the idea of Klal Yisrael (the entire Jewish people). You are so afraid of losing your sons that you sacrificed your fathers.

Your actions have prolonged the lockdown which is killing businesses and destroying families. You have needlessly increased the load on the public health care system, endangering the lives of the entire country.

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Why do you not feel a responsibility to the nation as a whole? Why have you abdicated Am Yisrael in favor of your own communal needs? Your refusal to enlist in the army has already made you a target for not caring about the nation as a whole; why are you exacerbating the situation during this pandemic?

I just paused to reread my words and can see that they can be read with an angry and accusatory tone. I do not mean them that way. I offer them in soft sadness and with an offer to please correct my understanding if I am wrong. There are whole political parties here that refuse to sit in a government with you because they too see things this way. People see you on the streets and instead of getting a warm fuzzy feeling of meeting a beloved relative, they have fear and scorn for you. And because of your distinct look their scorn and fear is for Torah and Judaism as well. This cannot go on. I care too much about you and too much about Judaism to remain silent.

I am acutely aware that Modern Orthodoxy isnt perfect. I can point to many problems in our community that our embrace of secular culture has caused. I see our failures and can see how having televisions in our homes, going to the army and university alienate some of our youth from religion. But we believe the good far outweighs the bad. And our ability to admit to the problems allows us an avenue to address them.

Can you admit you have failures and that your way of life isnt perfect either? Can you honestly say that the good outweighs the bad? I am not asking you to answer me, I am only asking that you answer yourselves. But what I am asking is for you to please be more sensitive to the rest of us and start taking responsibility for others outside your camp as well.

The writer holds a doctorate in Jewish philosophy and teaches in post-high-school yeshivot and midrashot in Jerusalem.

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A rabbis open letter to his haredi brethren - The Jerusalem Post

Every generation has a responsibility to plan for the future, especially during precarious and chaotic times. Looking for leadership lessons in Achashveroshs slaphappy Shushan may seem misguided at best, but wisdom about mentoring can be found in his royal court.

Luck and chance may be perceived as playing a role in the outcome of this biblical satire, but the future then and now is secured by intentional planning and faith in others. While Achashverosh and Haman are despicable characters for myriad reasons that are not the focus of this piece, the formers royal administration provides us with one powerful lesson about how leaders can interact with their teams.

Frustration obviously colors Hamans view of Mordechai, the man waiting by the gate whose self-esteem and ethnic pride cannot be compromised. Towards that end, Haman, whom the rabbis in the Talmud compare to the manipulative snake in Eden, schemes of killing not just this single individual, but an entire people.

Clearly Achashverosh views loyalty and urgency through a different lens. On discovering that Mordechai helped save his life, the king seeks to thank publicly this loyal subject, who embodies these words from A Wrinkle in Time: Nothing deters a good man from doing what is honorable.

Spotting the potential in others can be a revelation, like on Ted Lasso when the new coach notices the strategic soccer acumen of the ignored sideline kit man. At the same time, some leaders regard talent and potential in others as a threat to their power and influence.

Realizing that Mordechai is a mover and shaker, both Haman and Achashverosh choose to elevate Mordechai, yet in radically different ways.

Openly committed to raising Mordechais profile, Achashverosh parades him around Shushan on a horse cloaked in the kings vestments. The kings very explicit message is that when we groom others to shine, their success is teamworks version of a rising tide lifting all boats. Evidence shows that new leaders thrive not only when they are invited to the table and encouraged to speak openly, but also where trust and common purpose reign supreme.

Such grace and humility are not the cornerstones of insecure and paranoid leaders, like Haman. According to Hamans school of management, potential rivals are led up to the gallows. Consequently, myopic leaders jeopardize their own success by following the Haman paradigm etched into the Megillah.

Knowing what it takes for leaders, boards and communities to thrive, Bob Leventhal affirms Achashveroshs approach in his new book Stepping Forward Together: By lifting up a vision of effective leadership we can role model the changes we seek.

Shushan is rightly associated on Purim and for all time with fears about the future due to xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and misogyny; and yet, as Elie Wiesel used to say about seeing the other side of any argument, this royal court surprisingly teaches us a timeless message about building stronger teams and purpose-driven communities.

Rabbi Charlie Savenor works at New York's Park Avenue Synagogue as the Director of Congregational Education. A graduate of Brandeis, JTS and Columbia University's Teachers College, he blogs on parenting, education, and leadership. In addition to supporting IDF Lone Soldiers, he serves on the International boards of Leket Israel and Gesher.

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Leadership Lessons from Shushan | Charles E. Savenor | The Blogs - The Times of Israel

Matthew Keene| Erie Times-News

Calls for unity and reconciliation have gone unanswered in the aftermath of the most contentious presidential election in living memory. What olive branch was extended to supporters of the loser of the 2016 election, some ask. Others counter that the thinly veiled disdain of the victors this time around give lie to the assertion that they are interested in finding common ground.

Both are right. The divisions are too deep, the wounds too painful and the environment too acidic for any reunification of the electorate at a political level.

What ails the U.S. is more than a clash of philosophies of governance, more the traditional battle between political parties in which power swings like a pendulum between the two. It is above all a consequence of the reality that basic human values no longer sufficiently inform our political discourse or social policies.

I am not speaking of the nations founding principles, to which many claim we need to return, nor concerned about reestablishing a commitment to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and property. None of these can be protected without unity on something even more fundamental: agreement on how people should treat one another.

The values at which we nod our heads in agreement at our churches, our synagogues and our mosques seem to remain in the sanctuary as we head out to work Monday morning. Generosity. Empathy. Compassion. Mercy. Self-sacrifice. Forgiveness. All virtues we claim should govern our lives. But in too many cases, we fall short in our thoughts, in our words, in what we have done, and what we have failed to do. Our examinations of conscience seem to be limited to our personal behavior and do not extend to the actions of our communities within society, concerned with the speck in our left eye while ignoring the log in the right.

The Talmud, the Bible and the Quran are filled with instructions on proper social relationships, both within our own community and with outsiders. Not to oppress strangers. To care for the poor and hungry. To treat others as we wish to be treated.

American individualism has created a tension between the deeply ingrained idea of self-sufficiency and the social responsibility we bear toward one another. Views that helping others creates a culture of dependency, that God helps those who help themselves, that the conditions in which we live are primarily due to our own effort and accomplishment all illustrate the conflict that animates our political debate.

We rage against each other with words that lack charity and reflect a lack of openness to true dialogue. We begrudge the successful their wealth and vilify the poor for failing to drag themselves out from under the circumstances of their suffering. When times are easy, we too often clutch tightly to our purses. When they are difficult and we find ourselves in need of assistance, we conveniently forget we failed to extend a helping hand when we had the opportunity. We act as did the unforgiving servant Jesus spoke of in the Book of Matthew, withholding the mercy and charity to others we have ourselves received without deserving it.

We must do what is right simply because it is right.

We must divorce ourselves from the notion that we are the arbiters of others' lives and dispense our love and aid only when we think they deserve it. Nothing in my moral instruction led me to conclude that the rules governing my behavior are limited to my interactions with those like me. What credit is it to you, Jesus said, when you love those who love you? Instead, love your enemies, he said, do good to them and lend to them when asked without expecting anything in return.

The healing of America will occur when we resume the pursuit of doing what is right for its own sake, recognizing that the health of the entire nation is a product of millions of daily acts of righteousness. In this way, we will discover that the problems of a civilization that once seemed so impossible begin to resolve themselves.

When to the hungry man we routinely give something to eat; when we as a matter of habit provide water to the thirsty woman; when we clothe the naked; tend to the sick; visit the prisoner; when we work to empathize with those of different skin colors, religions, sexual orientations and opinions; when we abandon the self-righteous idea that engaging with any of them equals tacit consent of something we may not agree with; when we at last remove ourselves from a throne we have no right to occupy and live strictly by the law of love andleave the moral interrogations and task of reward and punishment to the more qualified; then, and only then, will true unity reemerge.

Matthew Keene, a retired senior foreign service officer, lives in Windsor Township, York County.

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Matthew Keene: America can heal when it works to become righteous - GoErie.com

My dear son Mohammad El Halabi, who has been languishing in Ramon Prison since 2016, is innocent.

A parent knows the soul of the child. It is what parents give our lives to: to nourish and nurture our childrens bodies and souls. I know my son. He was innocent before the arrest and is still innocent.

How do I know? Why am I so certain? I know this with certainty because innocence is integral to integrity and truth, and my son is a good man, a man of integrity and truth. But he is accused of having diverted millions of dollars of humanitarian aid to Hamas. Yet no proof has been given.

Mohammad was offered a plea bargain of three years imprisonment and, of course, he refused. Why?

Why would he not grab the chance to accept, knowing that after three years he would be once again in the arms of his agonized mother, in the arms of his beloved wife, and be able to hold in his arms the treasures of his heart: his five children?

Why?

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Because he is an innocent man. Because as a man of integrity he would have to admit to the lie that said he was guilty. How then could he face his family as a liar? What great lesson of life would he be teaching his young children? That a lie has more power than the truth? That honor is a bargaining chip?

As my Jewish brothers and sisters are aware, the Talmud states, The Holy One, blessed be He, hates a person who says one thing with his mouth and another in his heart

And in my holy faith, we are warned, Avoid falsehood, for it may appear to be a way of salvation, whereas in reality it leads to destruction.

Better for Mohammad to suffer the torture and degradation of prison than to walk free suffering the degradation of his soul. I know that Jews understand the dilemma my son faced. His perseverance as well as all other facts show that he is innocent.

Surely, we Palestinians and Israelis share a common humanity that is held together by the principles of truth, compassion, justice and love. My son Mohammad lives by those principles in his personal and family life, and in his dedicated work for the most vulnerable, as the director of World Vision in the West Bank and Gaza. He should be freed on his terms, the truth of his innocence. The only thing holding back his release is the arrogance of those who made the false and unproven claim against him. They are ashamed to admit their mistake, ensure his immediate release and apologize to him and his family.

My son has been in jail for nearly five years and has suffered through a record 155 court appearances without any credible proof being presented. The Prophet Amos pleaded for justice, saying, Let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Mohammad El Halabi is an innocent man.

The writer is a retired chief of the field education program at UNRWA and a resident of Gaza.

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My son, Mohammed El Halabi, is innocent of funding Hamas - opinion - The Jerusalem Post

President Joe Biden engaged in a rare moment of kvelling during a live broadcast of a CNN town hall in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.

I actually know some Yiddish, Biden revealed during an exchange with a Jewish member of the audience.

The light remark came after the president was introduced to Joel Berkowitz, a foreign language professor and the director of the Stahl Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Im not bad at the literature part, but after five years of French, I still cant speak a word, so I apologize, Biden said.

Ill teach you some Yiddish sometime, Berkowitz responded.

To which Biden, perhaps thinking of his time spent with Jewish relatives, replied, I actually know some Yiddish.

CNN host Anderson Cooper then intervened and said to the president, It would be a shanda if you didnt.

In an interview with The Forward on Wednesday, Berkowitz said the moment wasnt scripted.

I did not expect that, Berkowitz, 55, said. It was kind of like the second that I had to kibbitz with the president of the United States and it just kind of came out.

Berkowitz, who spoke on the phone after teaching a Wednesday morning class on Jewish literature, said he wasnt particularly surprised by Bidens response because he expected the president to know some Yiddish words since hes been around Jewish people and has quoted the Talmud in past speeches.

He described it as a cute and fun exchange and insisted that the few seconds of fame and the spotlight didnt get to his head. I am the same person I was yesterday, Berkowitz said, adding that he will carry on with life unless I get a phone call from the president saying, I hope you were serious about those Yiddish lessons and get on Zoom with me for a few minutes a day.

Berkowitz, who moved to Milwaukee in 2010 after teaching at the University of Albany and at Oxford, said that he had originally submitted two questions to CNN, the other on higher education and that the network had confirmed earlier this week that he would participate to ask a question about white supremacy. This was his first public event since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and he was thrilled to have the opportunity to go out. It was Valentines Day when I got the invitation, he recalled, and I said to my wife, Can I invite you out on a date with the president and Anderson Cooper? Turns out he couldnt have asked for more.

During the commercial break before he got to ask the question, Berkowitz sat close to the stage and the moderator turned to him and inquired about his profession, knowing he teaches foreign language. When Cooper heard that he primarily teaches Yiddish, without missing a beat, he said he read Sholem Aleichem in 10th grade, Berkowitz said. I got a kick out of that.

Berkowitz added that Coopers use of the word shanda was super impressive.

Born in Philadelphia and later moving to Mamaroneck, Westchester County in New York, Berkowitz didnt grow up speaking Yiddish at home. His mother is a second-generation American and his father came to the U.S. at age 10 after his parents fled Poland early in World War II. But he heard bits and pieces of Yiddish when his extended paternal family got together. He joked that he probably learned more Spanish words watching Sesame Street than he learned Yiddish words at home. But the opportunity arose during graduate school when he was offered a course on Yiddish language one summer at Oxford University and I was completely bitten by the bug, he said. It felt like there was some kind of collective unconscious or something that I was tapping into. It just moved me on a really deep level. I was completely smitten with the language.

In 1995, Berkowitz spent a year on a postdoctoral fellowship at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, doing research on Yiddish theatre while also studying Hebrew. He then traveled to the U.K to teach Yiddish for four years, followed by a nine-year tenure at SUNY in Albany.

Berkowitz said that the Tuesday night exchange, the first of a kind hes ever had with a president, was an opportunity to get the leader of the free world to address the issue of white supremacy and conspiracy theories that is deep seated in society and that came out of the woodwork, particularly in the insurrection of the Capitol on Jan. 6. I expect there are people in the administration, in Congress and elsewhere in the halls of power who are talking to the people who understand how those kinds of ideologies come about and how to address them, he said.

More here:

Yiddish professor goes viral in town hall with President Biden - Forward

Jews may be the chosen people, but when it comes to Jewish education, adults with disabilities have often been left out.

Coinciding with Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month, the Marcus JCC of Atlantas Lisa F. Brill Institute for Jewish Learning offers inclusive education classes through the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning virtually via Zoom.

The second series of Members of the Tribe classes is now underway, with more than double the number of students participating. Rabbi Steven Rau of Atlantas The Temple taught the first class, and instructor Devorah Lowenstein of Atlanta Education Associates leads the second.

There isnt anything like it out there right now for this community of adults. They need to be served and connected Jewishly and we cant forget about them, said Talya Gorsetman, director of the Lisa F. Brill Institute. This is the first series of Melton classes that is inclusive of people of all abilities and types of learners. We have a couple of people who were diagnosed with Down syndrome, others with congenital disabilities and intellectual disabilities, she said.

Courtesy of Beth Intro Photography

Talya Gorsetman is the director of the Lisa F. Brill Institute in Atlanta.

The curriculum and pace of the class has been modified to allow additional time for questions, clarification and repetition and to accommodate the needs of the class, such as if someone is vision or hearing impaired. We had a great discussion and mix of ideas, with everyone learning from each other.

Encompassing Torah, Mishnah, Talmud, rabbinical writings and contemporary material, the classes cover two or three texts each week. We did a lot of discussion, engaging and making the texts relevant. We just needed to slow it down and chop it up a bit, Gorsetman said. Its also a class on Jewish values, reestablishing those values and sharing experiences and thoughts, she added. The Melton curriculum is all about listening to each other.

Although Melton adult education classes usually cost several hundred dollars, this series is underwritten and offered at steeply reduced rates. The first semester had nine students enrolled, many participating with a parent or caregiver, and 17 signed up for the current classes, which are offered in the evening to accommodate students who work during the day.

Kyle Simon, 24, who has a job at a honey-producing bee farm, has an invisible intellectual learning disability and attended special schools growing up. He attended the fall semester and re-enrolled for the spring class. It just takes me more time. I need more patience. Some things are a little harder for me than for other people, he said. When youre studying with a disability its always hard to focus. I tried hard to pay attention and it got easier the second time around. Ive enjoyed this semester even more.

Courtesy of Simon Family

Michelle and Kyle Simon participate in a JCC class over Zoom.

This has been an amazing thing to do, to get together as a community and talk about Judaism, keeping kosher and what it means to be Jewish, continued Simon, who was raised Reform. We study the Torah. We talk about the holidays and what they mean, like lighting the candles on Hanukkah. I love how it brings the community together, even though its on Zoom.

Born in New York, Gorsetman attended Jewish day and high schools, majored in Jewish studies at Yeshiva Universitys Stern College, and studied in Israel before and after she married her husband, Rabbi Adam Starr. She is now in her sixth year at Melton, and is looking forward to expanding the adult disability education program.

Were at the beginning stages. Were in talks with the Florence Melton School to develop a curriculum for this community of adults and a faculty guide to train Melton teachers to teach these classes, and get other Melton directors to offer this to their communities all around the world, she said. We have not even begun.

Originally posted here:

At one JCC, new classes make it easy for adults with disabilities to tune in - Forward

Before addressing Shabbat Minchah, letsunderstand which days of the week the Torah is read and why.

The Talmud tells us that Moses instituted that the Torahbe read three days a week, Shabbat, Monday and Thursday, so that three dayswould not pass without a public Torah reading.This is alluded to in the verses describing how the Jews traveled for threedays and then thirsted for water. Torah isoften allegorically referred to as water, thus indicating that after threedays of travel, the Jews yearned for Torah.

However, the Talmud also cites a tradition that Ezra theScribe and the Men of the Great Assembly introduced the practice of reading theTorah on Mondays and Thursdays. So how are these two traditions reconciled?

The Talmud explains that in Moses' times, only threeverses were read on the weekdays. Ezra, together with the Men of the GreatAssembly, lengthened this quota to a minimum of 10 verses.

We can now return to our question regarding the Torahreading at Minchah on Shabbat.

In addition toinstituting the additional verses that are read on Mondays and Thursdays, Ezra also instituted that there bean additional communal reading every Shabbat during the afternoon Minchahservice.This was to accommodate those who would occupy themselves in commercethroughoutthe week and couldnt come to hear the Torah reading on Mondays and Thursdays.

The Deeper Reason

Beyond accommodating those who are busy with business,there are additional, deeper reasons for the Shabbat Minchah Torah readinghaving been established.

The Zoharand the mysticsexplain that on a regular day, the afternoon time, especially as eveningapproaches and darkness intensifies, is a time of spiritual severity and harshDivine judgment. Although on Shabbat there is no judgment, this time is stillordinarily connected to negativity. Thus, by reading the Torah, whichsynthesizes both chesed (kindness)and gevurah (severity and judgment),at this special opportune time, we are able to sweeten the judgments andseverity.

This time is thus referred to by the mystics as rava dravin,desire of all desires, when we experience a revelation ofGdliness from a level that is higher than all of the ten sefirot (attributes), a time when a glimmer of the revelation ofthe World to Come shines forth. As the kabalistic hymn found in many prayerbooks and sung by many after Mincha of Shabbat titled Bnei heichalah puts it:

... Exult,rejoice in this gathering together with the angels and all supernal beingsRejoice now, at this most propitious time, when there is no sadnessDraw near to Me,behold My strength, for there are no harsh judgments. For this timeof Minchah is a time of joy for Z'eirAnpin.

May we merit the time when this glimmer will become ablazing light with the ultimate revelation in the World to Come.

Go here to see the original:

Why Is the Torah Read at Shabbat Minchah? - Chabad.org

How many of us have experienced times when things we created or desired were upended or destroyed through calamity or nefarious forces? Think for a moment how that felt. Then imagine the Creators experience knowing that the good world (yetzer ha tov) introduced in Breishit was corrupted by evil (yetzer ha ra) forces in the form of aberrant human behavior.

Some Torah commentators have reflected upon Gods disappointment and anger expressed within a transactional relationship between God and disobedient human beings.

But what if God were in pain? What if that pain were unbearable? God would cry more than a river. It would be enough to generate a deluge. This deluge of tears would purify the contaminated world and create a new and improved order of things.

Here a second creation story will be revealed along with the promise of new beginnings.

If you dont like the painting you created, you paint over it or begin again on a new surface. You dont like aspects of your job so you find another one. You have a conflict with a friend and you unfriend them. There are some circumstances where we have control of outcomes.

However, there are other circumstances where we are forced into a mode of re-creation that we do not want. That can be especially challenging. Fires, hurricanes, COVID-19 and other forms of chaos are among us. Their unwelcome repercussions have infiltrated our lives and tested our individual and collective metal. Indeed, many people have cried over losses and difficulties, over many months.

Like many of you, I have been wondering where God and salvation are hiding. As we read Parshah Noach this week, there are various avenues for reflection. One is noting that God, the Omnipotent, unilaterally initiated a do-over. As part of that enterprise, a template was provided to a man who was identified as a righteous one of his day.

Exactly what made Noah so righteous and worthy of salvation while others were not, is up for discussion. According to Jewish literary history, righteousness is understood in different ways: legal, moral, responsible, fair, benevolent, pure, innocent.

Fortunately for him and those close to him, Noah was divinely selected and presented with a time sensitive task to save aspects of Creation. He was directed, step by step, how to accomplish this task. God provided him with detailed instructions for the design and assembly of a floating devise that enabled the survival of all within it.

Demonstrating optimal compliance, Noah followed through and created the famous ark. The plan worked perfectly and a rainbow appeared punctuating the first Covenant.

Congruent with the meaning of his name (bringer of rest, and by extension, comfort), Parshah Noach reminds us that hope endures in the midst of a storm, through the perpetuation of life. But in life, tears have endured too.

According to the Talmud, God listens to tears of authentic pain and suffering.

What if tears had a superpower and during moments of difficulty we could see with enhanced clarity? What would happen if our tears became a magnifying glass that revealed the unmistakable template of our own ark? There salvation could be seen along with Divine Presence. Although our society privileges expressions of false positivity, there can be wisdom in our authentic discontent, our suffering.

While we journey with Noah through turbulent seas, lets stay the course. It is time to honor our tears as opportunities for purification and re-creation. This Shabbat, we can imagine that Gods tears, born of real pain and sadness, created the first great mikvah and the opportunity to do better next time. Therefore, we inherited the blessed ability to try again. With aspirations restored, we are afloat with hope. JN

Rabbi Mindie Snyder serves as the rabbi and chaplain for Sun Health Communities.

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God's transformative tears | Religious Life | jewishaz.com - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix