Yosef Mokir Shavi's reward for honoring Shabbat

Hi,

This story raises several troubling questions in my mind, but I love it anyway:

"Yosef, who honored Shabbat, lived in a neighborhood with a wealthy non-Jew. Astrologers told the wealthy man that Yosef was going to end up with all of his assets. The man sold off his assets and bought a gem with them, and placed it in his turban. When the man was crossing a bridge, a wind blew his turban into the sea, where it was swallowed by a fish.

"The fish was caught and brought to market on a Friday afternoon. The fishermen asked, 'Who will buy fish now [at this late hour]?' People told them, 'Go bring it to Yosef who honors Shabbat, for he regularly purchases.'

"They brought it to Yosef, and he purchased it. He cut it open and found the gem inside, and sold it for thirteen roomfuls of gold.

"An elder met Yosef and declared, 'One who lends to Shabbat will be re-paid by Shabbat.'"

(Talmud, Shabbat 119a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A true student

Hi,

"There are four traits among those who sit before the Sages: Sponge, Funnel, Sieve and Nafah. The Sponge absorbs everything, the Funnel brings it in one side and out the other, the Sieve extrudes the wine and retains the sediment, and the Nafah extrudes the poor flour and retains the better-quality flour."

Midrash Chachamim notes: Students are described here as those who "sit before the sages," rather than simply "students." True learning takes place only when a person establishes himself, regularly, in day and night learning before a sage.

(Pirkei Avot 5:15)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Adar!!!

Hi,

Since today (Tuesday) is the 1st of Adar:

"When the month of Adar enters, we increase our joy!"

(Talmud, Taant 29a)

Adar represents joyous redemption, born unexpectedly out of the depths of despair - even though it has been building for a long time, with a Divine plan. We see this in the Purim story, but it is reflected in other Adar-related themes as well (stay tuned for more in this week's derashah in shul...)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Controlled by Mazal

Hi,

There is much to say here - so much so that I will choose to leave it as an open canvas...

"Rava taught: Lifespan, children and livelihood depend not on merit, but on mazal."

(Talmud, Moed Katan 28a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Making a contribution to society

Hi,

"The Torah states, 'And Yaakov camped before the city.'

"Rav said he prepared a currency for them; Shemuel said he prepared marketplaces for them; Rabbi Yochanan said he prepared bathhouses for them."

(Talmud, Shabbat 33b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Confrontation

Hi,

"Our approach to and relationship with the outside world has always been of an ambivalent character, intrinsically antithetic, bordering at times on the paradoxical. We relate ourselves to and at the same time withdraw from, we come close to and simultaneously retreat from the world of Esau. When the process of coming nearer and nearer is almost consummated, we immediately begin to retreat quickly into seclusion. We cooperate with the members of other faith communities in all fields of constructive human endeavor, but, simultaneously with our integration into the general social framework, we engage in a movement of recoil and retrace our steps. In a word, we belong to the human society and, at the same time, we feel as strangers and outsiders."

(Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitichik, Confrontation [Tradition, 1964])

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Divine attention to the events of this world

Hi,

"Rabbi Simon taught: There is not a single blade of grass that lacks a constellation in the heavens that strikes it and says, ‘Grow!’

"This is the meaning of the verse (Job 38:33), ‘Do you know the laws of heaven? Can you establish its control over the earth?’"

(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 10:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai