Hi,
"I have taught you statutes and laws, as my Gd instructed me, to practice them in the midst of the land you are coming to take. You shall guard and practice them, for these demonstrate your wisdom and intelligence in the eyes of the nations; they will hear all of these laws and say, “This must be a wise and intelligent nation!”"
(Devarim 4:5-6)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Reward and the Afterlife
Hi,
"They taught in the yeshiva of R’ Yaakov… If a person's father told him to climb a building and bring back young birds, and he ascended, sent away the mother and took the young, and then upon his return he fell and died, what of his “length of days” [promised biblically as a reward for honoring parents and for sending away a mother bird before taking the young] and where would be the good due to him?
"Rather, “so that your days will be aroch” refers to the world that is entirely aroch, and “so that it will be good for you” is in the world that is entirely good.
"But perhaps such an event simply could not happen? R’ Yaakov witnessed such an event."
[Note: I did not translate "aroch" because some render it as "long" and others as "of high quality". The former is Hebrew, the latter is Aramaic. I could see arguments for either translation.]
(Talmud, Chullin 142a)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"They taught in the yeshiva of R’ Yaakov… If a person's father told him to climb a building and bring back young birds, and he ascended, sent away the mother and took the young, and then upon his return he fell and died, what of his “length of days” [promised biblically as a reward for honoring parents and for sending away a mother bird before taking the young] and where would be the good due to him?
"Rather, “so that your days will be aroch” refers to the world that is entirely aroch, and “so that it will be good for you” is in the world that is entirely good.
"But perhaps such an event simply could not happen? R’ Yaakov witnessed such an event."
[Note: I did not translate "aroch" because some render it as "long" and others as "of high quality". The former is Hebrew, the latter is Aramaic. I could see arguments for either translation.]
(Talmud, Chullin 142a)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Judgment Day
Hi,
"Rava taught: When a person is brought in for judgment, they say to him:
Did you deal honestly?
…establish time for Torah study?
…involve yourself in procreation?
…hope for Mashiach?
…delve into fine points of the Torah's wisdom?
…understand lessons within the Torah's lessons?
"And yet, with all of this - if he possesses awe of Gd in his storehouse then he will do well, but otherwise he will not."
(Talmud, Shabbat 31a)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"Rava taught: When a person is brought in for judgment, they say to him:
Did you deal honestly?
…establish time for Torah study?
…involve yourself in procreation?
…hope for Mashiach?
…delve into fine points of the Torah's wisdom?
…understand lessons within the Torah's lessons?
"And yet, with all of this - if he possesses awe of Gd in his storehouse then he will do well, but otherwise he will not."
(Talmud, Shabbat 31a)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The Fundamentals of Faith
Hi,
"Investigating the fundamentals of Judaism is dangerous. Even if religious viewpoints agree on general themes like the existence of Gd and the phenomenon of reward and punishment, they still differ on specific points…
"It is appropriate to say that…every Jew must believe that everything stated in the Torah is wholly true. Someone who denies a statement which is from the Torah, knowing that it is the Torah’s statement, is called a “Kofer.”…
"But someone who holds to Moses’s Torah and believes its fundamentals, and then is fooled in his examination when he approaches the Torah by examining the verses and using his own mental faculties, such that he says one of the fundamental principles is different…he is not a “Kofer.” He is included among the pious sages of the Jews, even though he errs in his examination. He sins accidentally, and he must atone for it."
(Rav Yosef Albo, Sefer ha'Ikkarim 1:1, 1:2)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"Investigating the fundamentals of Judaism is dangerous. Even if religious viewpoints agree on general themes like the existence of Gd and the phenomenon of reward and punishment, they still differ on specific points…
"It is appropriate to say that…every Jew must believe that everything stated in the Torah is wholly true. Someone who denies a statement which is from the Torah, knowing that it is the Torah’s statement, is called a “Kofer.”…
"But someone who holds to Moses’s Torah and believes its fundamentals, and then is fooled in his examination when he approaches the Torah by examining the verses and using his own mental faculties, such that he says one of the fundamental principles is different…he is not a “Kofer.” He is included among the pious sages of the Jews, even though he errs in his examination. He sins accidentally, and he must atone for it."
(Rav Yosef Albo, Sefer ha'Ikkarim 1:1, 1:2)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The value of Privacy
Hi,
"‘And Gd spoke to Moshe in the Sinai wilderness’ – Until there was a Tent of Meeting, He spoke to Moshe at the bush… and in Egypt… and in Midian… and in Sinai…
"But once the Tent of Meeting stood, He said, ‘Privacy [tzniut צניעות] is good,’… and He spoke to Moshe in the Tent of Meeting."
(Midrash, Bamidbar Rabbah 1:3)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"‘And Gd spoke to Moshe in the Sinai wilderness’ – Until there was a Tent of Meeting, He spoke to Moshe at the bush… and in Egypt… and in Midian… and in Sinai…
"But once the Tent of Meeting stood, He said, ‘Privacy [tzniut צניעות] is good,’… and He spoke to Moshe in the Tent of Meeting."
(Midrash, Bamidbar Rabbah 1:3)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Monday, May 2, 2011
Bringing the Jews from Egypt via human agents
Hi,
"I only benefited you by removing you from Egypt via a human being, with whom you could speak and to whom you could convey your needs, and who could teach you My ways. These are Moshe, who came to Pharoah; Aharon, who prophesied to Israel before Moshe came; and Miriam, who prophesied for the women. Also, the Torah was only given via Moshe and his speaker Aharon, and both taught the mitzvot to the men, and Miriam to the women."
(Ibn Ezra to Michah 6:4)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"I only benefited you by removing you from Egypt via a human being, with whom you could speak and to whom you could convey your needs, and who could teach you My ways. These are Moshe, who came to Pharoah; Aharon, who prophesied to Israel before Moshe came; and Miriam, who prophesied for the women. Also, the Torah was only given via Moshe and his speaker Aharon, and both taught the mitzvot to the men, and Miriam to the women."
(Ibn Ezra to Michah 6:4)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Our Mountains
Hi,
"What is the meaning of, ‘The sound of my Beloved nears, leaping over mountains (Shir haShirim 2:8)’?
"Gd said: If I were to look to the deeds of Israel, they would never be redeemed. Rather, I will look to their holy ancestors – and so it is written, ‘I have heard the cries of the children of Israel [and I have remembered My covenant].’ I will redeem them in the merit of their ancestors.
"Thus it is written, ‘Leaping over mountains,’ referring only to the ancestors, as it is written, ‘Hear, O mountains, the quarrel of Gd.’"
(Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 15:4)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"What is the meaning of, ‘The sound of my Beloved nears, leaping over mountains (Shir haShirim 2:8)’?
"Gd said: If I were to look to the deeds of Israel, they would never be redeemed. Rather, I will look to their holy ancestors – and so it is written, ‘I have heard the cries of the children of Israel [and I have remembered My covenant].’ I will redeem them in the merit of their ancestors.
"Thus it is written, ‘Leaping over mountains,’ referring only to the ancestors, as it is written, ‘Hear, O mountains, the quarrel of Gd.’"
(Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 15:4)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
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