Inseparable Pair

“There is one evident, indubitable manifestation of the Divinity, and that is the laws of right which are made known to the world through Revelation.” -Leo Tolstoy

The Bible details and repeats the account of the divine revelation of God to the entire people of Israel, where He, in His Awesomeness, speaks the famous Ten Commandments in front of the multitude of the Jewish nation who heard and accepted and survived the direct and powerful encounter with God. The giving of the commandments at Mount Sinai was probably the most extraordinary moment in all of human history.

However, Jewish tradition tells us that much more than ten commandments were conveyed at Sinai. In fact, the entire corpus of what we know as the Five Books of Moses, including all 613 commandments were transmitted directly to Moses at Sinai. Moses painstaking writes down, verbatim, the words of God to the world.

Yet there is even more. The Netziv on Deuteronomy 12:1 explains that not only was the Written Torah given to Moses at Sinai, but also the Oral Torah was delivered. There is an entire field of knowledge, much more expansive, deeper, filled with mysteries and secrets, that was given over to Moses during his personal encounter with God. The Oral Torah explains the Written Torah. The Oral Torah is inseparable from the Written Torah. The Written Torah cannot be understood, and in places does not make sense, without the explanations of the Oral Torah.

While it is true that the Written Torah is a fundamental, sacred document for us, it is just one part of the puzzle. It is incomplete, even defective, when studied alone, without the complementary Oral Torah. Parts of the Oral Torah were eventually committed to writing. The process started around 2,000 years ago with the Mishna, followed a few centuries later with the Talmud and subsequently with the written codes of law and rabbinic commentaries and explanations.

Both the Written and Oral Torah are our tradition. If we are to embrace our tradition, we should do so fully, completely, understanding it holistically, keeping the inseparable pair united.

courtesy of ben-tzion.com

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Greatness and Humility in One Place

The time for consolation has come. The Prophet Yeshayahu speaks to the people of Yerushalayim and asks them to declare the arrival of the greatest king of the world – God. His arrival is described in a way that makes a great impression. The way is smoothed over for Him in a miraculous manner wherein all the hill tops become plains and the valleys are raised up to form a flat plain on which to greet the King of the entire universe.

In his prophecy, Yeshayahu puts great emphasis on the endless, eternal strength and power of God, in contrast to the weaknesses of human beings. People are compared to grass that withers and dries up when the wind blows. God differs from the gods of the other nations in that they are manmade and are limited in their abilitieshave a limited scope of abilities. Our all-encompassing and omnipotent God cannot be compared to anything or anyone at all. He is holy and exalted (40:25).

Given our understanding of the omnipotence of God, we would have expected to view Him as distant and aloof, a haughty despot who only considers his own honor, a king who has no relationship with mere mortals. However, this is not how our God is described. The prophet compares God to a shepherd whose primary concern is for the weak lambs who need extra care, who walks slowly with the pregnant sheep so that there is no risk of their miscarrying.

God Himself is the one who grants strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak who need extra help. This is His greatness – "Wherever you find the greatness of God, there you find His humility." (Pesikta Zutra, Ekev,15). This does not in any way diminish His honor, rather it proves that He is the true source of life.

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When are Prophecies NOT Written?

On Shabbat Nachamu (the Shabbat after Tisha B'av) in the year 1920, the High Commissioner of the British Mandate in Palestine , Lord Samuel - a Jew and a Zionist - came to the Hurva synagogue in the Old City and was given the honor of reading the Haftara.**

"Comfort, comfort My people, says your God; Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her." (Isaiah 40:1-2)

The congregants started crying, overcome by their emotions. After two thousand years of Exile, wandering and bleak periods, the Jewish leader of Jerusalem, appointed as a result of the Balfour Declaration and the decision of the League of Nations, stands among them - just like Zerubavel (and Nehemia) at the beginning of the Second Temple era. "You deaf ones, listen, and you blind ones, look to see" (Isaiah 42:18). This prophecy was not written in the Balfour Declaration, nor was it written in the Declaration of King Koresh (Cyrus) - prophecies are not written at the same moment that they are being fulfilled.

Philosophers and leaders who didn't consider themselves to be prophets nevertheless wrote amazingly predictive descriptions of the future, and we are fortunate to know the dates when they wrote.

In 1840, Rabbi Yehuda Alkalai wrote (Shalom Yerushalayim, The Writings of Rabbi Alkalai, Vol. 1, p. 34): "The words of the Zohar… about the year 5600 (1840) reckoned to be the year Mashiach will come) … did not refer just to this one year; Mashiach is not a one-year event … 5600 is a one-hundred year period starting from today until 5699, because after that the terrible year of 5700 will arrive, chas vashalom." The Holocaust began in 5700 (1940), one hundred years after Rabbi Alkalai's wrote.

In 1905, Yosef Chaim Brenner (Collected Works, Vol. 3, p. 90) wrote "Six million (Jews) hanging by a burnt strand of hair, bring us a cave so that he can hide away in it."

On September 3rd 1897, Herzl wrote in his diary: "At Basel, I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today, I would be answered by universal laughter. Perhaps in five years, certainly in fifty, everyone will know it."

Fifty years later, on November 29th 1947, the United Nations recognized the Jewish State in the Land of Israel.

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*Chapter 40 – 49 of Yeshayahu are one complete unit; there is no significance in the division into the chapters.

**I read this story when I was young.

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The Illusion of Reality

“Reality is nothing but a collective hunch.” -Lily Tomlin

One of the more insightful films of recent years was the popular “The Matrix” produced by the Wachowski Brothers. The writers imagined a reality that was a sophisticated illusion. Humanity it turned out was dormant, dreaming a collective dream as the machines fed upon human energy. However, the dream felt real. All of the senses were engaged. The brains of the trapped humans saw, felt, heard, smelled and tasted what they perceived as reality.

Only a select minority was free of The Matrix and saw reality for what it was. Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 8:3 alludes that our world may also be merely a façade for a deeper reality. He explains that the Children of Israel did not live on bread, but rather by the more divinely obvious Ma’an that descended from the heavens daily. He correlates the bread to the courser, more material, physical reality, while the Ma’an is much more representative of the deeper reality of God’s underlying power and will, which is what truly sustains our existence.

May we see through the illusions of our life to the profound truths of our universe.

courtesy of ben-tzion.com

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Unusual Success

“The supernatural is the natural not yet understood.” -Elbert Hubbard

As modern men of science, we are in love with the laws of cause and effect. This is true not only in the physical laws, but also in the social and economic laws. This linear thinking certainly dominates the world of business, where one expects that thorough research, good planning, intelligent decisions, skilled personnel and hard work should ostensibly lead to success.

While all these things are generally prerequisites, we are still witnesses to abysmal failures of well executed and well funded ventures as well as the uncommon successes of businesses that one can only say that extreme “luck” was on their side.

The Netziv on Deuteronomy 7:13 introduces another unusual source of success. According to the Netziv the study of Torah, the daily encounter and familiarization with Jewish law and tradition is an uncommon source of blessings. He states that by learning Torah, God bestows blessings over and above the laws of nature. There is some supernatural power in the study of the Torah that can have an influence beyond the rational.

Let’s take advantage and reach for those supernatural blessings.

courtesy of ben-tzion.com

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MiBereisheet: Avishai, Roey, and Ravshakeh's Speech

Chapter 40

Avishai pointed to the people standing opposite them: "Sanheriv, the king of Assyria (Ashur) sends Ravshakeh, one of the Assyrian army's most senior commanders to wage psychological warfare against Jerusalem. They stood opposite King Hizkiyahu's army generals. Ravshakeh wants to undermine the sense of security of the people in Jerusalem and to intimidate the fighters and break their spirit."

Roey looked around. The city of Jerusalem was surrounded by soldiers on all sides. The sight of the Assyrian army frightened him. He could actually feel the somber atmosphere and was reminded of the fate of Jerusalem's nearby cities in Judea that had already been captured. Suddenly Ravshakeh was heard speaking Hebrew in a very loud voice: "Don't listen to Hizkiyahu."[i]

“Ravshakeh is touching on raw nerves,” Avishai explained. "Ravshakeh continued by saying that Jerusalem is unable to withstand the strength of the mighty Assyrian army. He compares Israel's God to the gods of the other captured nations, which were unable to save them."

Avishai stopped speaking to continue listening to Ravshakeh. "… Lest Hizkiyahu mislead you, saying, 'The Lord will save us.' Have the gods of the nations saved each one his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?" [ii]

The representatives of Assyria's army were standing on a high spot where everyone could see and hear them. Hizkiyahu's soldiers stood on the city walls and, together with many citizens, listened in silence to Ravshakeh's convincing words. No one uttered a sound and they all looked to be in great distress. "So the king of Assyria has said, 'Make peace with me, and come out to me, and each man will eat of his vine and each man of his fig tree." [iii]

Avishai explained: "Ravshakeh is offering them voluntary exile, to surrender without a fight, and to leave Jerusalem and be sent to another place in the Assyrian Empire. This was the policy to exiling conquered nations to faraway lands".

Ravshakeh's speech ended and the crowd remained silent. Roey wanted to know what happened next. Avishai continued: "The representatives of the Judean army went back to King Hizkiyahu with torn clothes, they had also been convinced by Ravshakeh's speech". In a concerned tone, Roey asked how the king reacted. Avishai quoted from the Tanakh: "And it was when King Hizkiyahu heard, that he rent his garments, and covered himself with sackcloth, and came to the house of the Lord."[iv] Just as when he had been sick, so too Hizkiyahu now turned directly to God and prayed.

Avishai asked if Roey remembered the argument between the King and the Prophet Yeshayahu. "How could I forget?! They were arguing furiously with each other!"

Avishai replied that the argument was all over and now Hizkiyahu had turned to Yeshayahu for help, saying: "This day is a day of distress, proof and blasphemy,"[v] asking that Yeshayahu should also pray for the remaining Jewish people living in Jerusalem. Roey knew that whatever the Prophet had warned about had occurred exactly as he had predicted. Roey wondered what would happen now. Avishai explained that now the situation is completely different – the Prophet and the King had joined forces again and were going to work together. Yeshayahu the Prophet tried to raise the morale of the King and the people and threw himself whole-heartedly into helping the city of Jerusalem. He encouraged them and promised that Sanheriv would not succeed in capturing the city. "By the way he comes he shall return, and this city he shall not enter, says the Lord." [vi] Roey held his breath, wondering whether Yeshayahu's words would come true this time.

Avishai touched the screen on his tablet and they both scrolled down to look at the houses within the walls of the city. "There really was a miracle in Jerusalem" Avishai exclaimed happily as they looked on at the relief felt by the people who had been saved. "The Angel of God smote the mighty Assyrian army and killed the thousands of soldiers who had been besieging the city. The salvation came and Jerusalem was saved. Sanhheriv returned to his own country."

[i] Yeshayahu 36:16

[ii] Yeshayahu 36:18

[iii] Yeshayahu 36:16

[iv] Yeshayahu 37:1

[v] Yeshayahu 37:3

[vi] Yeshayahu 37:34

Originally printed in Hebrew as part of a MiBereisheet movement Shabbat newsletter for parents and children.

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מרחק מגן

עוד על פשר הנהגותיהם של בני רכב ניתן לקרוא בפוסט מאת ד"ר ראובן גפני

באדיבות אתר 929

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מפלת בבל ואליליה

"נִלְכְּדָה בָבֶל הֹבִישׁ בֵּל חַת מְרֹדָךְ הֹבִישׁוּ עֲצַבֶּיהָ חַתּוּ גִּלּוּלֶיהָ" (ירמיהו נ', ב)

פירוש דעת מקרא לספר ירמיהו פרק נ'

הוביש בל - בל הוא האליל הראשי שבאלי בבל, ושמו באכדית belu, כלומר: אדון.

עובדי אלילים היו מאמינים שאם הובסו הרי הובס גם אלילם וכאילו הוא עומד מבויש שלא עצר כח להציל את עובדיו.

חת מרודך - חת משמעו נשבר. מרודך הוא כינויו של בל, באכדית marduk.

גילולים הוא שם גנאי לאלילים, לשון "גלל", צואה.

והזכיר תחילה את בל-מרודך ראש אלי בבל, ואחר כך רמז לכל אליליהם, להודיע שבמפלת בל הוכחה אפסות כולם.

דעת מקרא - מפעל פרשנות לתנ"ך, שיצא בהוצאת מוסד הרב קוק. ייחודו של הפירוש הוא בלשונו הבהירה, ובשילוב בין פרשנות מסורתית לממצאי המחקר התנכ"י המודרני (התואם את המסורת), בעיקר בתחומי הגיאוגרפיה והארכיאולוגיה של ארץ ישראל. מחברים רבים השתתפו בכתיבת ספרי דעת מקרא. הפירוש לספר ירמיהו נכתב על ידי ד"ר מנחם בולה.

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על ידי מי הוכו הפלשתים ומדוע?

הנבואה על הפלשתים נושאת את ציון הזמן "בטרם יכה פרעה את עזה" (א). כמעט שאין ספק שהכתוב מתכוון לפרעה נכה... בשנת עשרים ושתיים לפני חורבן בית ראשון ערך את מסעו הצבאי הראשון אל נהר פרת, וכבר בשנת שמונה עשרה בקרוב לפני חורבן בית ראשון הוכה על יד כרכמיש בידי צבא נבוכדנצאר. מכאן, שהנבואה על הפלשתים נאמרה לכל המאוחר בשנת תשע-עשרה לפני חורבן בית ראשון. אמנם ספק הוא אם נלחם פרעה נכה בעזה בלכתו ממצרים לכיוון נהר פרת, או שמא להפך, היה זה בשובו, באחד ממסעותיו מנהר פרת למצרים.

אם אמנם נלחם פרעה נכה בעזה בבואו מן הדרום, הרי שהפסוק "הנה מים עולים מצפון" מכוון לאחד ממסעותיו של נבוכדנצאר, ואם כן עלינו להניח שהיו לפלשתים בזמן קצר שתי מלחמות: אחת מצד מצרים ואחת מצד הכשדים... ומסתבר שניבא ירמיהו לפלשתים שיוצרכו להלחם שתי מלחמות... ומשום כך הפלשתים מקוננים: "הוי חרב לה' עד אנה לא תשקטי..." (ו) כלומר: אין לנו מרגוע מהמלחמות כי תכף למלחמה האחת תבוא מלחמה אחרת.

והודגש שיוכו הפלשתים בידי המצרים ובידי בבל כל כך קשה, עד שיאבדו עשתונותיהם ולא יהיו עוד מסוגלים להשגיח על ילדיהם...

אין ירמיהו מפרש לנו על שום מה יגיע לפלשתים דין קשה זה, וגם צפניה בן זמנו לא פירש את סיבת ענשם של הפלשתים כשניבא על חורבנם (צפניה ב'), אולם יחזקאל אמר, לפחות כארבע עשרה שנה לאחר מכן, כשניבא על חורבן הפלשתים:

"יען עשות פלשתים בנקמה וינקמו נקם בשאט בנפש למשחית איבת עולם" (יחזקאל כ"ה, טו)

נערך ע"י צוות אתר התנ"ך, מתוך תנ"ך עם פירוש דעת מקרא, הוצאת מוסד הרב קוק ירושלים

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Give me Addiction or Give me Death

“Within yourself deliverance must be searched for, because each man makes his own prison.” -Sir Edwin Arnold

It is easy to fall into a pattern. It is easy to find something enjoyable or convenient in your life and stick to it. At first we like it. Later we seek it. At more advanced stages we may rely on it and at the end we can’t live without it. That most advanced stage has many names. A modern term is addiction. An ancient term is enslavement.

The book of Deuteronomy goes to the trouble of repeating the Ten Commandments that were given at Mount Sinai forty years earlier and recorded in the book of Exodus. There are some interesting differences between the two versions, but one of them is the recounting of the fourth commandment to Keep Holy the Sabbath.

The first mention of the commandment in Exodus is more universalistic, connecting the observance of the Sabbath to the Creation story. The second mention in Deuteronomy is more particular to the Jewish experience of the Egyptian enslavement and eventual exodus.

Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 5:14 explains that we must remember the Sabbath because we were slaves. We must take at least one day a week to release ourselves from the bonds of servitude. The real question to ask is what are we slaves to today and how do we break free?

courtesy of ben-tzion.com

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Inseparable Pair

Greatness and Humility in One Place

When are Prophecies NOT Written?

The Illusion of Reality

Unusual Success

MiBereisheet: Avishai, Roey, and Ravshakeh's Speech

מרחק מגן

מפלת בבל ואליליה

על ידי מי הוכו הפלשתים ומדוע?

Give me Addiction or Give me Death

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