28 minute read
Judaism
ASK THE RABBI
Looking for answers? Send your question to Rabbi@RabbiSchochet.com
APPROPROTE REPOSNSE?
Dear Rabbi
Howard wrote to you last week, expressing his struggle with being isolated. You suggested to him to hang in there and tough it out. While I appreciate your response, would you not have been better off suggesting he get help from the likes of Jewish Care etc.? I think that would have been a more appropriate reply.
David
Dear David
I am sure Howard appreciates your sensitivity and to be sure, I think I was sensitive to his concerns as well. To quote precisely what I wrote: “I am really sorry for what you are enduring, especially as it is just you and the stillness around you without any technology etc.” And then again later in my response, “I am not saying it’s easy, nor am I looking to mitigate your plight.” Perhaps you’re right that I might have referred him to an organisation, but you are missing the main point of his letter which was wanting to abandon all his previous observance which, he maintains, makes no sense in the face of his current struggles. It was that which I dealt with in elaborate detail while also adding the point that part of the challenge in being Jewish is that “when the going gets tough the tough get going.”
THANK YOU!
Dear Rabbi
I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for the “ask the rabbi” column in the Jewish Weekly. It is truly inspirational and on behalf of my family we would like to express our sincere thanks. Keep up the great work.
Steven
Dear Steven
Thank you very much for your kind words. It always helps balance things out. One compliment for every one criticism (see above).
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Dear Rabbi
When I was young, living in Israel, I changed my surname to a modern name. My father did not approve. Now looking in Genesis we find that the angel confronted Jacob and told him no longer shall you be called Jacob rather you will be called Israel (Yisrael). Now when you look at the portions that follow we find that he is still called both. So I would think it is OK for me to change my name and sometimes use both.
Sason
Dear Sason
Names, as I wrote about here previously, are very significant, and reflect something of the essence of an individual. In fact your name Sason means joy and I would hope you would never consider changing it. For the record, once you are given a Jewish name, you cannot typically change it – and at most, in unique circumstances, look to add to it. Only G-d determined to change the actual names of Abraham and Sarah and, as you note, added a name to Jacob which remained interchangeable.
Notwithstanding all this, you make specific reference to your last name. That has no practical significance of any sort. Once upon a time people didn’t have last names, and even as they were later added, it usually reflected some family association – Jacobson, or one’s profession – Goldshmidt etc. So changing yours, while I appreciate might be upsetting to your father, has no halachic ramifications. (Though you ought to consider the bigger picture and your obligation to “honour your parents.” You don’t mention if you had some real reason for making the change).
In keeping with the spirit of Purim (this weekend already being the first of Adar), I am reminded of a certain Rabbi Sam Ting. People thought it a most peculiar name for a Rabbi, until he once explained: “Ven vee vere emigrating from Poland, the man in front from me vas asked his name at Immigration. He had to come up wit an original and American so he said, John Jacobs. Ven it waz my turn I couldn’t think of anything so I told him, ‘sam ting.’”
RELATIVE THINKING
Dear Rabbi
Do you think that as a Jew, it is incumbent upon me to embrace the view of Maimonides that the sun revolves around the earth?
Brenda
Dear Brenda
The Theory of Relativity, as accepted by all scientists, posits that when two bodies in space are in motion relative to one another, science declares with absolute certainty that both possibilities are equally valid, namely that the earth revolves around the sun, or the sun revolves around the earth.
Thus, in principle it is impossible that it could be scientifically proven, which of the two, the sun or the earth, revolves around the other.
Needless to say, anyone is entitled to their personal opinion on the matter. But it remains a personal opinion, choosing one school of thought. It would not however, be correct to say, that science has resolved the question in favour of one school of thought over another.
Ultimately, when I have the option of choosing a school of thought, where both are essentially valid, as per the above, as a Jew it makes more sense to side with Maimonides than it does to side with Copernicus.
Nobel Prize winner, Arnold Penzias, once remarked: “What we see marking the flight of galaxies with our telescopes, Maimonides saw from his metaphysical view.”
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Pirkei Avot
,ןֵה וּלֵּאְו ,יאַכַּז ןֶבּ ןָנָחוֹי ןָבַּרְל וֹל וּיָה םיִדיִמְלַת הָשִּׁמֲח יִבַּרְו ,הָיְנַנֲח ןֶבּ ַעֻשׁוֹהְי יִבַּרְו ,סוֹנְקְרוֹה ןֶבּ רֶזֶעיִלֱא יִבַּר .ךְָרֲע ןֶבּ רָזָעְלֶא יִבַּרְו ,לֵאְנַתְנ ןֶבּ ןוֹעְמִשׁ יִבַּרְו ,ןֵהֹכַּה יֵסוֹי רוֹבּ ,סוֹנְקְרוֹה ןֶבּ רֶזֶעיִלֱא יִבַּר .ןָחְבִשׁ הֶנוֹמ הָיָה אוּה יֵרְשַׁא ,הָיְנַנֲח ןֶבּ ַעֻשׁוֹהְי יִבַּר .הָפִּט דֵבַּאְמ וֹניֵאֶשׁ דוּס ,לֵאְנַתְנ ןֶבּ ןוֹעְמִשׁ יִבַּר .דיִסָח ,ןֵהֹכַּה יֵסוֹי יִבַּר .וֹתְּדַלוֹי אוּה .רֵבַּגְּתִמַּה ןָיְעַמ ,ךְָרֲע ןֶבּ רָזָעְלֶא יִבַּרְו .אְטֵח אֵרְי ,םִיַנְזאֹמ ףַכְבּ לֵאָרְשִׂי יֵמְכַח לָכ וּיְהִי םִא ,רֵמוֹא הָיָה .םָלֻּכּ תֶא ַעיִרְכַמ ,הָיִּנְשׁ ףַכְבּ סוֹנְקְרוֹה ןֶבּ רֶזֶעיִלֱאֶו לֵאָרְשִׂי יֵמְכַח לָכ וּיְהִי םִא ,וֹמְשִּׁמ רֵמוֹא לוּאָשׁ אָבַּא יִבַּרְו ,םֶהָמִּע ףַא סוֹנְקְרוֹה ןֶבּ רֶזֶעיִלֱא יִבַּרְו םִיַנְזאֹמ ףַכְבּ :םָלֻּכּ תֶא ַעיִרְכַמ ,הָיִּנְשׁ ףַכְבּ ךְָרֲע ןֶבּ רָזָעְלֶא
For a refuah Shalema for Yitzchak Refoel Chaim ben Rifka Perek 2: Mishna 9
Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai had five disciples and they were: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah, Rabbi Yose, the priest, Rabbi Shimon ben Nethaneel and Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach. He [Rabbi Johanan] used to list their outstanding virtues: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus is a plastered cistern which loses not a drop; Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah happy is the woman that gave birth to him; Rabbi Yose, the priest, is a pious man; Rabbi Simeon ben Nethaneel is one that fears sin, And Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach is like a spring that [ever] gathers force. He [Rabbi Yohanan] used to say: if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus on the other scale, he would outweigh them all. Abba Shaul said in his name: if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance, and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus also with them, and Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach on the other scale, he would outweigh them all.
The previous Mishnah showed us how Reb Yochanan warns against taking credit for what we are born to do. To further illustrate this point, he now further enumerates the best Torah qualities of his finest students.
We see the importance of the ability to remember Torah and constantly strive to learn more and more, like an ever increasing fountain. This can only be achieved through proper chazara, which will lead us away from sin. Learning Gemoroh four times has become a popular program followed daily by thousands across the world. May we all merit to remember our learning, Amen.
TO ADVERTISE CALL 020 3906 8488
Torah from Israel
Murder Hornets and The Long Walk Home
BY RABBI MOSHE TARAGIN
The past year shook the world. Humanity faced a pandemic, the likes of which only occurs every hundred years. Locked in battle with an invisible but deadly virus, we also discovered that, bees can also be deadly. Regular bees sometimes cause irrational fear because they buzz and are airborne. But their sting rarely inflicts more than temporary discomfort or passing irritation. This past year, the Northwest region of the USA was introduced to “murder hornets” which are highly venomous, aggressive, and capable of wreaking significant damage both to the “ecological balance” as well as, in rare cases, to human beings.
Parshat Mishpatim actually describes murder hornets – swarming wasps which G-d dispatched to defeat the residents of Israel and pave the way for Jewish settlement. This promise of supernatural victory, spearheaded by deadly hornets, suggests a very quick and easy conquest of the land and a rapid and trouble-free settlement of Israel. Dashing these expectations, the very next verse cautions us that, the process will be slow and staged. Conquest and settlement will not occur quickly but slowly and gradually; the overall process of inhabiting the promised land of Israel lasted over a fourteen-year period. In His very first detailed description of Jewish entry into the land of Israel, G-d reminded us not to expect a quick or immediate process.
The Torah lists two reasons that the schedule will be delayed: Firstly, the frontier cannot be quickly tamed; if the entire land were immediately delivered to the Jewish people, the frontier would overwhelm the city and the jungle would overrun human habitat. A more gradual pace allowed the Jews to slowly build their cities and villages and to stabilize their society.
However, it wasn’t just the threats of the frontier which dictated a more gradual pace of settlement. For internal reasons as well, the young and fledgling nation wasn’t yet prepared to settle the vast land. Ensuing verses describe the extensive borders of Israel – a swath of land which could not possibly be inhabited by a young nation of former slaves; a more paced and gradual timeline would allow natural growth and would allow the nation to slowly ease into their homeland.
The promise of murder hornets vanquishing their enemies may have aroused undue expectations about a rapid conquest of the entire land of israel. The Torah quickly ramps down these expectations by stressing that, for both internal and external reasons, a more staged pace of settling Israel is beneficial and preferable.
Jewish History is all about patterns- what happened before is bound to happen again. We study past redemptions to uncover the general outline of our own redemption. Thousands of years later, we, once again, find ourselves living the “historical pattern” described in Mishpatim. G-d has returned His people to His land; we haven’t exactly witnessed murder hornets but the overall experience feels very similar. We have lived through amazing miracles and G-d has blessed us with the ability to protect ourselves against innumerable enemies; we may not have murder hornets but G-d has enabled us to assemble a pretty impressive air force! We are back in the land that we have dreamed of for over two millennia.
Two thousand years of dreams often stokes unrealistic expectations. In our dreams, we sometimes expect the return to be immediate and “electric”. When we struggle or when the process lags, we sometimes lose our enthusiasm and, sometimes, even our faith. Evidently, G-d has others plans for our return; evidently now, as then, the process will be more staged than electric. Evidently, then, as now, there are both internal as well as external reasons for the delayed process.
The external reasons for this delay surround G-d’s desire to conduct our return to Israel through the historical process. Though God can “impose” redemption upon history, He often chooses to “stream” redemption “through” human history. Rather than wrecking the historical order and introducing apocalypse, G-d often works within historical factors. In Egypt, G-d could have effortlessly and immediately emancipated the Jews, yet he chose to operate within Egyptian politics; our fate and ultimate redemption was streamed through the will of Pharoh, who ultimately became the driving force of our release from Egypt.
Our return to Israel has, so far, been similar to the liberation from Egypt. Our return in 1948 occurred within the most historically dramatic decade of the past century. During the 1940s, wars raged, Communism ascended, Fascism was defeated, European colonies were dismantled and the maps of Europe were redrawn. This events of the first half of the 20th century served as the historical platform for our return to Israel. If the return of Jews to Israel is meant to repair all of humanity, the process must be embedded within the history of humanity. However, if redemption evolves within history it will also be slowed by geopolitics, diplomacy and various other historical pressures. The pace of our return may be slow since, at least at this stage, G-d has chosen to encase our redemption within human history and within human historical factors. The “seas of history” haven’t parted yet, and we are still struggling for our homeland within the battlefield of history. If Mishpatim warns the Jews about the beasts of the jungle, today, we face the “beasts of History”!
However, beyond the “external factors” delaying the process there are also internal “holdups”. Rebuilding our national identity after two thousand years of dispersal isn’t an easy task nor can it be completed in one or two generations. Israel has assimilated Jews from fifty-two dialects and from vastly different cultures; creating a common national identity will take time. Additionally, and sadly, our country is still badly split between religious and secular Jews and, regrettably, the Corona experience is likely to exacerbate these tensions. Incredibly, we have built a robust democracy but evidently haven’t “bred” the type of visionary and selfless leaders which the “founding generation” enjoyed.
Additionally, there are many specific “thorny” issues which probably cannot be solved in our generation. Hundreds of thousands of Jews in Israel, many of them emigres from Russia, seek Jewish and Israel identity without a desire for full halachik conversion. We can’t compromise our standards for conversion but we also can’t ignore so many “Jews” living in Israel but without halachik Jewish identity. Another dilemma surrounds the status of the kotel which should, and does, serve as a magnet for different Jews across the world and across many different denominations. The proper standards of prayer-which includes separation between men and women- must be preserved at the kotel. Alternatively, we must carve out space for people who, currently, don’t desire or adhere to those standards. It would be a pity if we severed Jews from the kotel and from greater Jewish identification. These, and many other issues, will probably take time to solve and, evidently, G-d has decided to give us the time and the opportunity to devise our own solutions. G-d can always decide to shuffle the historical deck, descend into our world, and immediately resolve all these dilemmas and challenges. Until that day we all need a little patience. Building a nation will take some time, and G-d is giving us the opportunity to iron out the wrinkles.
History is all about patterns.
Rabbi Moshe Taragin is a rabbi at Yeshivat Har Etzion/Gush, a hesder yeshiva. He has smicha and a BA in computer science from Yeshiva University as well as a masters degree in English literature from the City University of New York.
Weekly Dvar Torah
FROM ERETZ YISRAEL
Drawing Near to the King
BY RABBANIT SHANI TARAGIN
In last week’s Parashat Yitro, the Torah recounts Am Yisrael’s response to what they saw and heard at Har Sinai: “And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the horn, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off… And the people stood afar off; but Moshe drew near unto the thick darkness where G-d was.” (Shemot 20:15,18)
The description of Moshe “drawing near” while the nation (twice mentioned) “stood afar off” reminds us of another scene eighty years earlier – namely, the salvation of Moshe in his first months of life. Moshe was laid by the reeds of the river – “And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him” (Shemot 2:4). In addition to the textual similarities, the allusion is sharpened as the situations are quite similar: Both Miriam and Am Yisrael stood from afar motivated by fear; Miriam, apprehensive regarding Pharaoh’s decree, and Am Yisrael fearful of Divine revelation. In both cases, Moshe remained alone to confront the source of fear, and in both cases, Moshe’s encounter with “higher authorities” edified his personality and prepared him for political and religious leadership.
Miriam witnessed the compassion displayed by Bat-Pharaoh who drew Moshe from the water and raised him as her son. The Torah immediately thereafter teaches us of Moshe’s adolescent years wherein he went to see the oppression of his brethren Hebrew slaves: “And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And he went out the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together; and he said to him that did the wrong: ‘Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?’” (2:11-13)
How strikingly similar this scene is to the initial mitzvot commanded in Parashat Mishpatim, following the description of Am Yisrael standing from afar as they watched Moshe enveloped by the cloud of G-d! The parasha of statutes begins with the laws of the Hebrew slave and female maidservant (21:1-11) immediately followed by “He who fatally strikes a man shall be put to death” (v.12) and “When men quarrel and one strikes the other with stone or fist…” (v.18).
Perhaps the Torah is teaching us how Moshe, already as a young man, was worthy of transmitting the Divine words of the Torah as he lived them in a microcosmic manner even prior to Har Sinai! He acted on the moral statutes commanded in Mishpatim – he smote the Egyptian who was fatally striking a Hebrew slave, and chastised his brethren for quarreling one with the other. But then Moshe had to flee for his subjective and personal moral standards were contrary to the Egyptian rule and culture. In this week’s parasha, as those same moral statutes are commanded through Divine revelation to the entire nation of Yisrael, Moshe does not retreat. On the contrary, he “draws near” prepared to teach and lead us “to the place that I have made ready” (23:20).
This week’s parasha corroborates Moshe’s personal moral imperative as Divine law. Moreover, it ‘redeems’ Am Yisrael as “a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation”; a nation that witnessed revelation and is implored to display sensitivity to all human life, beginning with slaves, not based on ‘natural law’ but ‘Divine law’, is transformed from a nation of slaves to a nation of G-dly emissaries.
A Torah bite for the Shabbat table To Listen, or To Do, that is the Question
RABBI GOODMAN
Our crowning moment as Hashem’s “Chosen Nation” took place when we unitedly and unequivocally announced at Har Sinai, “Kol asher diber Hashem na’aseh v’nishmah,” – “Everything that Hashem has said, we will do, and we will listen.” As Rebbe Simai vividly describes in the Gemara in Maseches Shabbos, that at the moment Klal Yisroel declared “Na’aseh (We will do)” before declaring “Nishmah (We will listen),” six hundred thousand ministering angels arrived on the scene and tied two crowns to the heads of each Jew; one crown representing “Na’aseh” and one crown representing “Nishmah.”
Rabbi Moses ben Yitzchok of Lublin, author of the Mahadura Basra and son in law of the Maharsha (an acclaimed early seventeenth-century commentator), explains that by placing “Na’aseh” before “Nishmah,” Klal Yisroel effectively declared their readiness to fulfill Hashem’s Will regardless of whether or not they understood it. “First we will do what Hashem is asking and only then will we strive to appreciate its meaning and significance.” “Na’aseh V’Nishmah” was an awesome display of Klal Yisroel’s willingness to accept upon themselves Hashem’s absolute sovereignty.
However, close to 3,332 years later, shelving our own wants and accepting upon ourselves Hashem’s absolute sovereignty is not so popular. Unfortunately, we’ve become a Nishmah V’Na’aseh Nation - when the Torah’s requirements suit us, we’re happy to comply and even lead our lives accordingly, but when push comes to shove, if the shoe doesn’t fit, we won’t wear it.
Interestingly, though, a Na’aseh V’Nishmah lifestyle is not as foreign as we might think. When it comes to following the dictates of Western society and its influence, our selflessness is quite remarkable. We eagerly swallow the media’s fabrications and the billboard’s lies. If the cereal box tells us its contents are high in nutritional value and the way to start the day, we happily munch away. We have no problem accepting our doctor’s diagnosis and will readily pop the pills he prescribes.
We all possess the inner strength to declare Na’aseh V’Nishmah; the only question is whether to apply it to our physical lives or spiritual lives. Although our default position tends towards the physical, thankfully our forefathers have already laid the groundwork in our spiritual DNA, making it considerably easier for us to switch to the spiritual and wholeheartedly dedicate our lives to Hashem’s will.
Rabbanit Shani Taragin is Educational Director of World Mizrachi and the Director of the Mizrachi Matan Lapidot Educators’ Program. She is a member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau (www. mizrachi.org/speakers).
A project of My Dvar Torah, Torah Bite is your resource for a short, dynamic, and meaningful Dvar Torah to share at the Shabbos table. Originally from London, Rabbi Ben Goodman has spent 20 years in Jerusalem, teaching and inspiring students from all backgrounds and from all over the world. He is the director of My Dvar Torah, providing tailor-made Divrei Torah for all occasions. www.mydvartorah.com. He encourages feedback & ideas: ben@mydvartorah.com
Mishpatim
RABBI DR RAYMOND APPLE
MISHPAT & HALACHAH – THE DIFFERENCES
Hebrew has several words for law. From this week’s Torah reading we derive the term mishpat; from many other places in the Torah we get the word halachah.
Halachah, based on the verb halach (“to go”), is the path which the believing Jew makes into a way of life.
Occasions (e.g. Shabbat and the festivals), activities (e.g. eating kosher food), spiritual patterns (e.g. prayer), intellectual duties (e.g. Torah study) and moral attitudes (e.g. generosity) are all part of halachah. We live by and with them because that is the will of G-d.
In a sense we could translate halachah as progress. Life according to halachah is true progressive Judaism because it brings us closer to the Almighty.
Mishpat (civil and criminal law) is part but not all of halachah. Religious believers regard it as a duty to G-d to live by the Jewish legal code but some people regard mishpat in secular terms. They say “Do not steal” is a national Jewish ethic, but religious believers say it is law because it comes from G-d.
EYES & TEETH
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” – the lex talionis – has a bad reputation.
Those who believed the Jewish G-d was a harsh, vengeful G-d decided that this law proved their case. You can understand why. If someone injured you, so the critics read the verse, you go and injure him. Measure for measure. Tit for tat. It sounds like the Code of Hammurabi which said that if a house collapsed and killed the son of the occupant, then the son of the builder could be executed.
Yet in Judaism there is no evidence of any such act of retaliation being carried out. On the contrary. This was not a law of physical vengeance but of monetary compensation.
The very context in which the law appears (Ex. 21:24) proves it, and indicates that “an eye for an eye was not a law of retribution but of compensation… An eye for an eye expressed the need for justice, for correct compensation, not for vengeance… The Mosaic law set limits: the punishment must fit the crime” (S. Levin).
What we are dealing with here is technical idiom: not literally gouging out an eye or pulling out a tooth, but having as it were a tariff of compensation that would ensure that the victim is not under- or overcompensated, and that the compensation payable does not vary according to the socio-economic status of the person concerned.
Unfortunately, the fairness and sensitivity of Jewish law has still not been universally emulated in human thinking.
Wild revenge is still far from obsolete. A minor slight brings massive over-reaction. Even when a person has not opened their mouth or done a single thing, the mere shape of their face or the colour of their skin can provoke victimization and violence… “Why are you hitting me?” “Because you’re black, or old, or fat, or a woman, or a Jew…!”
It’s not even an eye for an eye: it’s an eye without an eye, a tooth without a tooth. There’s no justice here, or decency, or humanity, or morality. I much prefer the Jewish system.
I AM NOT A LIAR
The Torah says, “Keep away from anything false” (Ex. 23:7).
In the Ten Commandments we are warned against distorting the truth; in the sidra we are not only told not to tell lies but not to be anywhere near an untruth.
The rabbi of Lublin once gave advice to the Chasidic personality, the Seer of Lublin. He told him to minimise his greatness and not let people acclaim him. He should just say to people, “I am just a simple person like anyone else!” The Seer did precisely that and when people heard him saying he was an ordinary person they praised him because of his modesty.
Sometime later the Seer said to the rabbi, “I did what you advised but it didn’t work. People praised me all the more!”
The rabbi now said, “Tell your followers you are a great man, a Talmudic giant, a tzaddik!”
The Seer said, “I can’t do that. I am prepared to say I am an ordinary Jew because that’s the truth. But if I show off that means I am really great and that’s just not true. It would make me a liar!”
“AND”.
The Bible often begins its sentences with “and”: “and the Lord spoke to Moses”, “and if you hearken intently”, “and you shall love the Lord your G-d”, “and you shall love your neighbour as yourself”.
Of all the many “ands”, hardly any attracts as much commentary as the “and” which commences this week’s sidra: “And these are the ordinances which you shall place before them” (Ex. 21:1).
The sages explain that this “and” links the civil law code which follows, with the Ten Commandments which were read last Shabbat. Just as the Ten Commandments emanated from Sinai, they added, so was the civil code.
The Ten Commandments establish principles; the civil code translates them into day-to-day detail. The one text tells us not to steal, the other sets out what is to happen if a person does steal.
A society cannot live by principles alone; it needs a pattern of practical applications of principle. That is why it is a mistake to dismiss the detailed rules of halachah as pettifogging and uninspiring.
WH Lecky says in his History of European Morals (1877 ed., vol. 1, page 292), “Simply to tell men what is virtue, and to extol its beauty, is insufficient. Something more must be done… if the characters are to be moulded, and the inveterate vices eradicated”. For Judaism, the “something more” is halachah.
Rabbi Apple served for 32 years as the chief minister of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, Australia’s oldest congregation. He is now retired and lives in Jerusalem. Rabbi Apple blogs at http://www.oztorah.com
Chovat Halevavot
In addition to having clarity that all that happens to a person is pre-determined by G-d and that there is no point in trying to “bring forward” pleasures that G-d has designated, a person must also be aware the Hashem can see whatever they do, and nothing is hidden from Him.
Part of being a “Bote’ach” – a person who trusts, is that the trust is exclusive to G-d. A person does not trust in G-d but also in others – “Baruch HaGever Asher Yivtach B’Hashem” – blessed be the man who trusts in Hashem.
Another crucial component of fitting the title of a “Bote’ach” is that one seeks to constantly fulfil the will of G-d and to perform His Mitzvot as well as being careful to not sin. In the same way a person wants G-d to fulfil their expectations and desires. As the Sages taught in Ethics of the Fathers: Make His will yours so that He will make your will like His.
Someone who, on the other hand, is a wanton sinner, and then expresses their “trust in G-d” is foolish, for in our day-to-day interactions with people we are aware that if someone is willing to bestow goodness on their friend and they ask their friend to do something or to not do something and their friend ignores their request, usually, that goodness will be withheld from the friend. The same is true (to a certain extent) with G-d. How can we transgress His commandments and then expect Him to bestow goodness upon us? (It must be clarified that the extent of G-d’s kindness is beyond our comprehension and we may not always see a mirror response to our behaviour, nonetheless, the verses in Tanach admonish those who committed adultery or murder and then came to the Temple, praying and seeking refuge.)
In other words, trust in G-d, but try to be a person who is worthy of receiving the benefits of that trust.
Hilchot Shabbat
A good method of reviewing the principles of prohibited vs permitted cooking on Shabbat can be provided by the example of “Instant Noodle Soup”. Please note
that some types may be manufactured differently to what will be described but the principles are correct.
First, to recap:
Keli Rishon - the container which was on the fire and has been removed from there. Keli Sheni - the container into which the contents of the Keli Rishon are poured. Keli Shelishi - the container into which the contents of the Keli Sheni are poured. Kalei Habishul - foods that are easily cooked from raw to edible.
Instant Noodle Soups are often comprised of the following ingredients: Noodles. These are pre-cooked until they are edible and then dry heated using hot oil. As a dry food, they are not subject to reheating prohibition on Shabbat and therefore would be able to have hot water poured on them even from a Keli Rishon. The powder in the instant soups is comprised of a mix of spices. As the spices have not been cooked previously, they cannot have hot water poured on them from a Keli Rishon. However, since they are not “Kalei Habishul” they may be placed in a Keli Sheni.
The third ingredient in the soups are the vegetables. These have never been cooked and remain preserved due to the dehydration they undergo. This dehydration is not at the temperature of Yad Soledet Bo (about 45 degrees) and therefore they are not considered “pre- cooked”. For this reason, they should not be placed even into a Keli Sheni.
With all the above in mind, the correct method of heating up an instant noodle soup is to pour hot water from a Keli Sheni onto the dry ingredients, or, to place all of the dried ingredients into a Keli Shelishi.
This should do the job of heating up the soup without transgressing the laws of Shabbat.
A big thank you
Tobi, one of our professional interpreters just taught a 93 year old to Facetime! For the past ten months, JDA has worked flat out to make sure all our most vulnerable clients have food, medication and everything they need to stay safe during COVID-19.
And not only are they all healthy and stable, they’ve been able to stay connected with their JDA friends, had regular visits from our support staff and even had their challahs delivered fresh each Friday morning!
And our efforts have not gone unnoticed.
Many of our Deaf clients have dementia, learning disabilities or frail mental health. JDA’s innovative support services have been featured on national TV - and Deaf charities all over the country have been learning from us how we’ve kept such high risk people free from Coronavirus, healthy, happy and out of hospitals and care homes.
...to JDA staff and volunteers
But this has only been possible because of our support workers who have been working unbelievably hard to look after those in our community who have no one else to get them through.
And they’ve been aided by a team of volunteers who have spent their days keeping the spectre of loneliness and isolation away from our clients.
...and to you, our supporters
Running JDA’s emergency services during lockdown is costly. But they must continue and there is no question of cutting corners when lives are at stake.
The JDA is a family made up of clients, an outstanding workforce, selfless volunteers and our incredibly valued supporters who provide the fuel to keep us running. Thank you so much for bringing us this far and please help us to keep providing the specialist services our community need.
