HaMekubal

2011-03-13T15:47:00.001+02:00

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HaMekubal has moved...

2011-02-20T01:23:00.001+02:00

If you are wondering where I have been... I have moved.
The blog can now be found over at word press here.

One of the exciting new posts is The Kabbalah of Nursing, check it out.

Truth will out

2010-11-21T17:43:00.001+02:00

Since the relevant parties refuse to admit the truth, and insinuate that I am liar. I have decided to post here, the email I received from the owner of the Daas Torah blog, indicating that Rav Shternbuch did in fact place the Dybuk in niduy. I really hoped that it would not come to this, I hoped that people would be able to be honest about their mistakes, especially as our sages tell us that the Gadol who can admit his mistakes only increases his own Gadlut. However since there has been a lack of honesty, I offer this proof. I have posted the email as it would serve as a legal document in any court with a the full header.

Commenting here is has been disabled. To leave comments please see my word press blog here.

The Migration has begun

2010-10-22T09:38:00.000+02:00

I have begun migrating my blog to wordpress. We will see how this works. What the popularity is like and so forth. For the next month I will be duel posting... So we will see what happens.

Redefinin Hillul HaShem II

2010-09-03T08:57:00.001+03:00

But if he has been guilty of Chillul Hashem, then repentance has no power to suspend punishment, nor the Day of Atonement to procure atonement, nor suffering to finish it, but all of them together suspend the punishment and only death finishes it , as it is said : And the Lord of hosts revealed Himself in my ears; surely this iniquity shall not be expiated by you till you die. Yoma 86a

I have already discussed the penchant to redefine Hillul HaShem once before. I am brought back to the subject now. Then it was tefillin(arguably according to some opinions a mitzvah d’rabbanan), now it is with brit mila. I said then and I will say again since when did following halakha or acting like a Jew become a hillul HaShem? Considering that just a little further on in the same general sugiya of Yoma it states, What constitutes a hillul Hashem?… Rav Yochanan said in my case if I walk four cubits without Torah or Tefillin. However people are now trying to argue that brit mila, what makes a man a Jew, is a hillul HaShem.

To give an example of what I speak:

Circumcision, or better know as( child mutilation, and torture) came from an ignorant ancient caveman religious beliefs. Circumcision is inconsistent with significant Jewish laws and values. For example, the human body must not be altered or marked. The Torah also prohibits the causing of pain to any living creature. Since circumcision causes extreme pain. Jewish values place ethical behavior above doctrine. Therefor circumcision is antihalachik and a chillul hashem of the first order.

The Greeks thought so as well, and try to do away with it. We fought a war over it, and have a minor holiday dedicated to the victory of that war, it is known a Hannukah. You can come with all of the rationalist, humanistic arguments that you wish. However in doing so you demonstrate only that you have departed fully from the faith of Judaism. Even the rationalist Rambam stated that only through mila is a Jew inducted into the thirteen britot of the Torah. I am not ignorant I know there is probably no medical value to a circumcision. However that is not the point of a brit. The point of a brit mila is as is expounded in the Tur Y”D 160 so that the Jew has a certain and eternal sign of the existence of HaShem in his very flesh.

The rejection of circumcision is by definition the rejection of HaShem. It is not circumcision that is the hillul HaShem here, it is fighting against Torah and HaShem to say that it is an aveira that is the real hillul HaShem. It is a free internet(mostly, and for now) so feel free to spread around your stupidity as much as you want. Just please spare me the stupidity of stating that following Torah is a hillul HaShem. Truthfully what I find most appalling is not the secular humanists who want to fight against brit mila. As I have already said, this is not the first time that has happened. What truly appalls me is the sheer number of people who call themselves Jews who are willing to lay down and take it. To go with the flow.

Milah(circumcision) is child abuse!!!

2010-09-01T08:39:00.001+03:00

Apparently the video of the brit has really kicked off some interest. I would first like to thank all of my Roman Catholic brethren for their thoughtful and insightful four letter explicative filled comments slinging around words like child abuse and eternal damnation. Most brilliant were your many citations of varying Vatican decrees and papers. Truly it was an education in the diversity of usage possible with the F-word as well as the beauty of intolerance and various bigotry. So please bear with me while I respond.

First many civilized Western societies perform clinical circumcisions for various health reasons. A medical procedure, which I have viewed as part of my training takes between 15-20min to perform. The way it is done causes damage to the organ that takes up to 6 weeks to heal. Jewish ritual circumcision from start to finish takes about five minutes as demonstrated in the film(and I was going slow as it was my first actual procedure). The way it is done, we can(unlike the medical procedure) apply a local anesthetic immediately afterward(as well a giving the child pain meds an hour before). A properly done brit mila takes only two to three weeks to completely heal. Really considering that nothing was done that wouldn't be done as a matter of course in many civilized Western nations, calling me a barbarian is really kind of anachronistic.

Now on to the claims of child abuse. Really? This coming from Roman Catholics... Considering the seemingly weekly headlines of clergy child abuse and the Vatican endorsed sport of "Hide the Molester" I can only say that I was dumbfounded when I first read those comments. Friends, I mean this in the best possible way: look to your own house as there is plenty there to keep you busy for quite some time. However putting the less than stellar track record aside(or at least not overly dwelling on it). In case you hadn't noticed throughout this blog(or the Youtube channel) we are JEWS. So I commend you on your scholarship in relation to your own religion, however once again I am a JEW. My forefather made his way in the world by smashing idols, what in the world makes you think I would consider the opinion of men who build and bow down to idols of made of of wood and stone? As far as my child being now permanently cut off from your religion and the salvation supposedly only found there, do you really expect me to think that a bad thing? If you could do some minor act prescribed as necessary by your religion and thus ensure that your own child would never become a Hindu or Muslim, would that exclusion deter you or give you added incentive? Just food for thought.

To those of you who claim to be Jews who are making accusations of child abuse... well I have nothing to say other than I hope you enjoy your new religion.

Brit Video now up

2010-08-31T21:30:00.000+03:00

Finally it is here, video of the Brit. It is a little choppy, I apologize for that. Due to some as yet unknown technical error, the camera was not able to record constantly.

The hits just keep on comming... Mila quest 2010

2010-08-30T08:31:00.000+03:00

So just when I thought the worst was over... we run into another problem: bilirubin. It is the stuff that makes babies yellow. Yellow babies(according to halakha) for mila is bad. We are not allowed to circumcise yellow babies. Erev Shabbat the Little Guy's bilirubin levels were, while somewhat elevated, within the realm of circumcisability(yes I just made that up). Unfortunately for various reasons we had to check him again yesterday morning. The level had jumped to 13.8. The cut off is 12. So we called Rabbi Mahpoud(the man when it comes to mila in Israel) explained the situation to him, and followed his advice which was to put the baby in the sun(oh what fun that is in Israel where everyone thinks they know better than you and the Gedolei Yisrael how to parent your child), feed him as much as he will eat and have him tested again that evening. So here is the quandry... do I immediately jump on the phone and start telling all of the informed(since we don't invite) guests what was happening or do I wait until after the second check. With the advice of some Rabbanim we decided to wait until after the second check which was supposed to be around 6PM.

Next hit... Israeli socialized medicine. Sure they will tell you that you can come to your authorized clinic at 6pm for the necessary check, what they don't tell you is that lab is closed from 4pm-7pm, and once you have waited until 7pm you also find out that they only do bilirubin checks until 4pm. So you have to go down to floor one to get authorization from another bureaucrat before going to fight the bureaucracy on floor 4 to get the necessary paperwork to authorize you go somewhere else to get the much needed check on the other side of the city. Then you go there(Bikur Holim maternity ward). However, they cannot admit you for the check you so have go to the emergency room. Just when you think that you are finally getting somewhere, you find out that your clinic didn't give you all the necessary paperwork. So you can either truck back across the city, OR you can pay out of pocket for the necessary information. Having decided that time is somewhat of the essence and hoping for the best, we decide to pay out of pocket.

Ok... so now we are getting somewhere right? You poor poor fool. Of course you can't actually have your baby checked in the emergency room. Don't you know that there is so much bacteria in the air in there that if you were to take him in it would kill him... INSTANTLY!! So you have to get the necessary forms and be discharged from the emergency room, so that you can go back over to the maternity ward, to be admitted there, wait in another line, and finally get your test. To find out what, that it is now 12.7... An improvement to be sure, but not enough of one.

The problem with Gedolei Yisrael is that most of them don't answer their own cell phones. Their shamashim do that. So I find myself tearing back across the city as fast as my two legs will carry me, madly dialing shamash after shamash to try to get the word out. The problem is that it is already after 9pm(yes a five minute check took over three hours to complete... it still astounds me that thinking Americans actually voted for a system like this... but that is another post entirely). Why is 9pm a problem, well, most of the Gedolei Yisrael also daven Netz minyan(read early). Many rise for tikkun hatzot(middle of the night) and learn until said minyan. So 9pm is typically after bedtime. I managed to get to one Yeshiva which has a late Sunday night shiur by the Rosh and other Rabbanim and inform them, and we managed to get in touch with another Rosh Yeshiva.

However the Gedolim count that was not reached was... two Rabbanei HaIr(granted of Moshavim), Two Roshei Yeshivot, two Dayyanim from the Rabbinut, and four Dayyanim from the Jerusalem B"D. So that left me making apologies, though mostly understood, it was still a rather embarrassing moment. Just kept reminding myself that humility at times comes through humiliation. May it all be for a kappara.

What makes a cult?

2010-08-26T07:30:00.000+03:00

So I have had a boy and we are doing a Brit. Part of that entails me going around and telling our friends and acquaintances when and where. Most of my Israeli friends don’t even bat an eye, or if the press for details and I tell them who the sandak is going to be I get “zacita”(what a merit!).

The Americans however are a little more sheepish with an “Oh…” You know the kind that trails off like they are leaving enough unsaid to fill the grand canyon. When I press for details I hear, “isn’t that place kinda cultish” or “I thought they were a cult”. Personally I have never thought of it as a cult, as it never met any of the criteria that I thought of as being cultish. Members are encouraged to learn elsewhere as well, we argue with the Rosh Yeshiva all of the time, never been asked for money or to fundraise, never been discouraged from speaking with/relating to my family(even the secular parts). So I did some research, wiki has several cult checklists, as does cult-buster Rick Ross then there is my personal favorite from Cultwatch which was actually featured on CNN some time ago and lead me to leave a B”T Yeshiva I was in, because as I read through the criteria it eerily sounded like the life I was living.

The main complaint is that my Yeshiva is such a tight knit community. Which admittedly is true. We are. It is not an instant thing, it builds over time, as friendships and relationships are established, but it is a tight knit community that takes care of each other. For instance we have had three children, for each I was at least part time in another Yeshiva. Never did we have a Rabbinit(Rebbetzin for you Ashkenazim) make the trip out to the hospital to visit my wife. Not so here, once word got around that she was in hospital and which one, the Rosh Yeshiva’s wife, and the wife of another major rabbi both visited right away. My wife called the Rosh Yeshiva’s wife a one person baby shower. Part of that is that they know we have no family to speak of in Israel, and so they fill in to a degree. However, unlike a cult they don’t try to take our family’s place. They encourage us to visit, and to have them visit.

So I have come to two(semi-controversial) conclusions. One is that many American Yeshivot are Ashkenazi which tend to avoid Kabbalah and have a bit of a general fear of it. So labeling Kabbalistic Yeshivot cults is a way to protect their people from something they consider dangerous. The second is that some of those American friends belong to the cultish Yeshiva(or its offshoots) that I left behind, and well I guess the best way to keep people in your own cult is to label everyone else a cult as well.

Running a little slow...

2010-08-24T07:49:00.001+03:00

I appreciate all of your comments. However, if you ask me a question in the comment section it may take me a little time to get back to you right now. Things are a little hectic. I have toddlers to care for. A wife who needs some serious recovery after a fairly major surgery, a brit to plan, and in laws flying in. I will, bli neder, get back to you… but it might be a day or three.

It just doesn't stop

2010-08-23T16:12:00.001+03:00

I am finding that I like Wordpress better and better. One reason is that I am not tied to whatever domain may or may not be available as as also being the title of my blog. My new Wordpress title and tag line much more fit the way I view myself and what I want my my blog to be.

Its a Boy!!!

2010-08-23T15:59:00.001+03:00

It was a night of nisim niglim. We had been told by the doctors, on account of the various problems with the pregnancy to expect all sorts of horrible things. We had been told by our Rosh Yeshiva, that on account of the father learning mila to be the mohel for his own son, that the child had all the zecut of that learning, and as mila is equivalant according to our sages as all the rest of Torah, the child had the zecut of equivalent to learning all of Torah lishma, so nothing could be wrong with it. Even when for an hour and a half they could not hear the baby's heart beat, and they feared the worst, our faith in the power of Torah was unshakable. In the end they wound up giving imma an c-section(which turned out to be uncessary and perhaps we should have kept up the fight), however in the absolute end we have a perfect baby boy, and a healthy though exhausted and recovering mother.

Thus it is with great gratitude to HaKodesh Baruch Hu, and with great joy that my wife and I inform you that we have a new baby boy. The brit milah will take place Monday the 20th of Elul(next week) at Yeshivat Nahar Shalom, 6 Rehov Shiloh(toward the corner of Agrippas), following Shacharit(approx 7:45).

The power of Torah(baby saga part 2)

2010-08-20T10:06:00.004+03:00

Sorry for not posting yesterday. By the time we got home I was simply too exhausted. The short of it is that we saw and unbelievable nes(miracle). When I first came home from the hospital the day before yesterday(in the midst of all of the bad news) I went immediately to speak with my rosh yeshiva and a couple of other big mekubalim. I don't normally go in for segulot and such things, but as we were talking a case of pekuah nefesh... I decided to see what I could get.

The answer was universal. There is no need. The reason, from the moment we learned that the child would be a boy I began learning mila(so that I would be able to circumcise my own son). The Shulhan Arukh Y"D 160 says, "Is it is a positive commandment for the father to circumcise his own son, and this mitzvah is greater than all of the positive commandments."
מצוה עשה לאב למול את בנו וגדולה מצוה זו משאר מצוות עשה
The Shakh and the Beit Hillel(and several other meforshim) state that this means that it is greater than all of the other positive commandments combined.

The Rabbanim and Mekubalim said that since it was the boy(even though as yet unborn) the caused me to undertake all of this learning, and since the Reishet Hokhma defines the essence of Torah Lishma as learning Torah to be able to keep it, all of the merit for all of the Torah learned belongs to the child. With all of that merit(equal to learning lishma all of the positive commandments) it is impossible for something to be wrong with the child.

So armed with that we went back tot he hospital yesterday. We took a friend of my wife's along who is an EMT since her medical Hebrew is far better than mine. While she was with the doctor I learned hilkhot milah. At one point an older litvak was there with his wife, and was looking for something to read. As it turns out there is a shortage of Torah reading in the women's clinic at the hospital. So I offered to learn with him. It quickly became apparent that he was by far and away a better learner than I and we had some great Iyyun. When my wife came back out, it was his wife's turn to go in. He thanked me for ensuring that his time there wasn't bittul Torah. It was then that I found out who it was. Rav Kamenetsky Shlit"a. What a merit!!!

So here is the nes. The baby turned on its own into the right position. So far not such a big deal. The amniotic fluid disappeared. The day before my wife was at 350ml, then she was under 200ml, well within normal range. Also her cervix was beginning to open naturally. Upon further checking(aside from being overdue) everything NOW is perfectly normal with the pregnancy. Though it is not over yet. We have to be back at the hospital on Sunday for another check to see what happens next as we are still overdue. Assuming that the baby isn't born before than(please G-d not on shabbat).

Choose Life! The value of a baby.

2010-08-19T02:57:00.003+03:00

So the day has finally arrived when we will have our next child. It will be sometime today... it is weird knowing that on a given day for sure by hook or by crook your child will be born, bu that is what is happening.

The night before last my wife began having contractions, and then suddenly they stopped, as did all fetal movement. So we did what any rational couple would do, we sought medical advice. It appears that the things that have gone wrong with the pregnancy in its last weeks are numerous. One of the things at issue is that there is too much amniotic fluid. About three times too much.

So what was the doctor's initial advice? An abortion. My wife is currently at 41 weeks, or just over nine months. But this was the advice. Why? Because one of the things that an excess of amniotic fluid can indicate(1 in 5 pregnancies as we later found out) is that there is a genetic disorder, and why would we want to take the chance. To get an idea of what they wanted to do here is a late term abortion demonstrated on a anatomical model. WARNING: somewhat disturbing imagery.

I was shocked, and greatly disturbed. I am living in Israel, the Jewish nation, and the doctor at the hospital was religious. It is a procedure which here in Israel is called fetuscide(which is latin for fetus murder). They got that one right, as halakhically the baby is fully "born" and a separate human at that point. From the time the baby crowns or, if breach, the naval passes the cervix, for the purpose of mila we begin counting the eight days, even if it takes another seven to finish the delivery. So this is absolute murder of the infant.

I never thought I would be in a fight with a Jewish doctor over the right to life of another Jew. Yes I know that raising a downs syndrome child is a hard lifelong process, but quite honestly so is raising any child. I have a daughter who at the age of two has already figured out how to blow a shofar and the basic mechanics of playing a guitar. She can identify when a song is in a major or minor key, what music is "happy" and what is "sad". She even has favorite genres. She is outgoing and artistic. All qualities that I want to see blossom in her life, and which the Israeli educational system(and especially the religious one) will try to quash within her. Each child has its own unique challenges, this one, even if we fall into the 20% category(by the way we did have a detailed ultrasound at 28 weeks which indicated that there was no birth defects or genetic disorders), but assuming that just now something went horribly wrong, and truly there is a problem, that child while its difficulties will be unique, every child has its unique difficulties in rearing it.

So I am shocked and stunned. Today we will induce labor(or have a c-section) so I will keep you informed. Stay tuned.

Something is wrong around here...

2010-08-16T03:38:00.002+03:00

Once again this one is coming a from Hadassah's wigs post, except this time we are discussing whether the Rabbis through the centuries(Has V'Shalom) were off about their views on human sexuality and desire. Essentially as the Ramhal illuminates in is seminal work Mesilat Yesharim, our Rabbanim have said that all men struggle with the ta'avah of sexuality. First we have to decide if there is a problem.

Without doubt chastity is the most unpopular of the Jewish virtues. There is no getting away from it: the traditional Jewish idea is, "Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence to the extent of shomer negiah." Now this is so difficult and so contrary to our instinct/ta’avahs, that obviously either Judaism is wrong or our sexual instinct/ta’avah, as it now is, has gone wrong. One or the other. Of course, being a Rabbi, I think it is the instinct/ta’avah which has gone wrong.

But I have other reasons for thinking so. The biological purpose of sex is children, just as the biological purpose of eating is to repair the body. Now if we eat whenever we feel inclined and just as much as we want, it is quite true that most of us will eat too much: but not terrifically too much. One man may eat enough for two, but he does not eat enough for ten. The appetite goes a little beyond its biological purpose, but not enormously. But if a healthy young man indulged his sexual appetite whenever he felt inclined, and if each act produced a baby, then in ten years he would easily populate a village. This appetite is in ludicrous and preposterous excess of its function.

Or take it another way. You can easily get a large audience together for a strip-tease act-that is, to watch a girl undress on the stage. Now suppose you came to a country where you could fill a theatre by simply bringing a covered plate on to the stage and then slowly lifting the cover so as to let every one see, just before the lights went out, that it contained a steak or a bit of kugel, would you not think that in that country something had gone wrong with the appetite for food? And would not anyone who had grown up in a different world think there was something equally absurd about the state of the sex instinct/ta’avah among us?

Now it has been suggested that the problem lie in the restrictions, that they are driving us hapless Jews into the jaws of obsession. Really? Consider the permissiveness that has been a part of the secular world for the last fifty years in the form of sexual liberation and free love. Has this changed anything? Is the porn industry at last heading toward bankruptcy and shutting its doors? Have the instances of sexual assaults dropped off dramatically? Are marriages happier and longer lasting? Quite the opposite on every account. The throwing open of the flood gates has taken things from bad to worst(skipping worse altogether). While some may still dream of that Utopian society when we can set restriction aside and have all of humanity move forward to a place of serenity and world peace... it simply is not going to happen this side of yamei Mashiah. Rabbi Haim Vital writes in the opening of sefer Lev David, that on account of the Het of Adam HaRishon, mankind no longer recieves a Yetzer HaTov at his birth, but rather thirteen years later, it is finally born, and then in only an infant state. Whereas the yetzer hara has had thirteen years of getting to know us and set up shop in our lives. It is time to face facts, the "problem" is not the restrictions and rules, rather the problem is our own desires gone out of control on account of our present spiritual condition.

I should be flattered

2010-08-16T00:39:00.002+03:00

I have a relatively minor blog. I merit only six followers and a few thousand hits a day. I am not a mega-blogger, yet I have the most dedicated Troll following anywhere. This is a major part of the reason that I did away with my moderation changes. I have people who are willing to set up five or six google accounts to attack me on my own blog. There are people who have taken sock puppetry to a level that you could call it an art form, just for the purpose of trying to make me look the fool on another person's blog. It sort of reminds me of an interview I heard on the radio with Colin Farrell. They congratulated him on becoming an "A List" actor, he said he wasn't "A List" but he was definitely "B List". When asked how he knew that, he said it was based on the number of teenage girls outside his hotel room screaming his name in the middle of the night.

Well while I have not made it to the "A List" of the blogosphere, I am definitely "B List". I mean when there are people who will go through the trouble of establishing five or six google accounts just to try to fool my moderation system so that they can attack me on my own blog... I mean that is dedicated fandom right there. It may be the negative psycho type fans, you know the ones that love an actor so much they just want to do them physical harm for some odd reason that only makes sense in that alternate reality they call home... but it is fandom nonetheless. I guess I should be flattered...

Dan L'Kaf Zecut anyone?

2010-08-15T02:27:00.002+03:00

Alternately I could have titled this post, "Don't judge me on what you don't know about me." This is coming from a bit of a rabbit trail that occurred in the comment thread on a post on Hadassah's blog. Simply put an anonymous blogger decided to judge my actions and my advice by assumptions they made about my past, from nuggets of truth I and my wife dropped.

Now it is a free internet(mostly) and you are free(within certain bounds) to think and say whatever you please. However, if you are going to judgments about me based on what you think happened in my life, you are most probably going to be wrong. That is unless you are one of my handful of intimate friends that actually know the whole story behind the story. In all likelihood you may have sat next to me everyday in minyan and learned with me as Havruta every night while I was preparing for my Semiha examinations and you still would not know the whole story.

Reason being is that I kept the vast majority of the details that caused me to make the radical life changes that occured in my life nearly ten years ago entirely to myself, and exactly four other people. Why? To protect the reputations of the guilty. I chose to uproot myself and what was left of my crumbling life at the time, rather than cause communal splits or embarrassment(no matter how due) to other people.

One excellent example of this is the dissolution of my first marriage. Believe me when I say that no matter how close you think you were to me in the community I was living in at the time, you do not know what went down. Even the Beit Din knew only the bare minimum that my to'ain deemed necessary to achieve the desired outcome(I wasn't willing to pay her ketuba after having signed over my savings and investment portfolio which was already worth four times over). So the next time I visit you need not stare daggers at my back, because really you are clueless.

If I am vague in actual reality I am doubly so in virtual reality. I have no intention or desire to spew my bile all over the ethers of cyberspace. I hope for my posts and comments to be about hizuk and the discussion of Torah ideas. I desire that my blog and comments on other blogs draw people closer to HaShem and Judaism. If I were to talk openly about my past, which for several years of my history would be more about how I was dumped upon(putting it politely) than anything even remotely uplifting, it would achieve just the opposite.

However, I choose not to focus on the negative actions of others. As someone who is a tzadik yesod olam once said to me, "everyone is a Ba'al Teshuva, everyone even Moshe Rabbeinu..." If you truly understand that statement it is impossible to take offense at people for their actions. None of us have achieved perfection in this life, and the best we can say about the best of us is that they do teshuva right away after their sin.

There is a lot more I could say on this topic, but it will suffice to say that if you really want to judge me or my statements by what you think you know about me, or what you assume you know, if that will make you feel better somehow than feel free. You certainly won't be the first, and unfortunately you probably won't be the last... however dollars to doughnuts says that you are wrong.

Of men and dogs...

2010-08-12T21:26:00.002+03:00

Hat tip to Hadassah for tipping me off to the absurdity that can be viewed being espoused here. While I realize that the three minutes that you will spend watching that video is three minutes of your life that you will never get back and probably utter bittul Torah, you really should watch it in order to understand the rest of this post.

For those of you who simply won't in short, if you hire good looking women(or women with better middot) to help around the house, its your own fault if your husband cheats. So only hire ugly cranks to watch babysit your kids and sweep your floors.

To which I say that we are Jews. We are supposed to be sons and daughters of Kings. Instead mean are being portrayed as... well the image that comes to my mind is a starving pitbull staring down a T-bone steak. There just isn't much you are going to be able to do hold it back. If that is really how you want to view your spouse well I guess that is your decision, but it certainly is not healthy.

Let me start by saying that one I am offended that it is only "men" who are portrayed as the cheaters. From painful personal experience I know that such simply is not the case. Furthermore quite honestly, as someone who has suffered the infidelity of a spouse, my perspective is that if spouse is cheating, most of the time there is a serious sickness in the relationship, not just the typical ebb and flow of a marriage. Rather there are real and serious problems that leave the spouse feeling that they would be better getting their needs fulfilled outside of the marriage. That is not to excuse their bad choices. People's bad behavior is ultimately a matter of their own bad choices and bad decisions. Much like a man who is starving because he cannot buy bread, has the choice to beg for a few shekels to buy a loaf of bread, or to steal one.

However neither am I saying that we should put ourselves in a place of personal testing. Ultimately I think that spouses should be able to be open and honest with each other about their faults, failings and temptations. For instance if a husband is in a situation where he feels himself being attracted to a woman other than his wife, if he is wise he will confide that in his wife, and if at all possible remove himself from the situation. From personal experience I know that this is effective.

When we used to host Sem girls for Shabbat, every so often a Sem girl would adopt us, and my wife was never too good at saying no to someone in need for a place to go on Shabbat. When I started getting dreamy eyed looks from some of those girls, I would start disappearing to the Yeshiva for Shabbat. Once I started to explain it to my wife, and she just said, "Well I figured that you found X attractive and she obviously has a bit of a crush on you... so I figured you were just removing temptation." See sometimes we do think alike.

Finally is the importance for a person to be honest with himself and his spouse about his own weaknesses and Ta'avot. Our sages say that everyone has some level of ta'ava(desire) for every aveira(sin), however not all are equal. The Ben Ish Hai writes in places that he struggled all of his life against his own ta'avot to steal and murder, yet everyday he overcame and conquered those. Some people have exceptional ta'avot for food, or whatever... it is simply important to know what one's own weaknesses are.

While it is true that the majority of men, even according to our sages, have a ta'avah for the opposite gender, it is not up to the women to safeguard men from it(except for the halakhot of tzniut which our sages ordained). Doing so only leads to things like the burqa ladies. Rather it is up to men to learn to conquer it and overcome it, as well as when to remove themselves from the situation.

About two years ago I was offered a job teaching at a Sem. My answer was swift, "Ask me again in twenty years." The Rabbi making the offer asked me why the refusal, my answer to that was essentially that in 20 years those girls will be closer to the age of my daugther than my wife, and I don't want to end up as another Sem Rabbi statistic of leaving his wife for the young pretty thing in his class. It is up to the men to lay down proper boundaries for themselves. It is a personal matter and thus highly individualistic. To try and force it into the communal arena has proven to be damaging. To alleviate men of their responsibility and lay it upon the wives and women doubly so.

House Keeping

2010-08-12T21:05:00.002+03:00

Because of Blogger's new comment controls, I am going to try reverting back to open commenting(still moderated, but without the need for an ID). Hopefully it will help keep the Troll infestation to a minimum. If problems with Trolls start up again I will consider my options.

The Problem of Wigs...

2010-08-12T20:46:00.001+03:00

I have been sitting on this for just about nine months now. However seeing this post over at Hadassah's blog How are wigs Ok? I figured it was time to share. What we have here is a Pashkveil of sorts put out in Poster form and in leaflet and distributed by all the Shas affiliated Yeshivot. Essentially it is a list of quotes against the wearing of wigs. What makes this unique as far as Pashkveilim go is that instead of making a statement and relying about a shady signature to back it up, it lists the actual sources where these Rabbanim wrote these things.
The only thing that I would add is this. On the Pashkveil for Rav Ovadiah Yosef it only gives reference to a recent speech that he made. Most probably because he has written on this subject extensively in every responsa series that he has published. Most notable is Yabia Omer Vol 5 Even HaEzer 5, where as part of his psak he rules that a woman who wears a wig should be treated as non-religious in regards to kashrut and such until she does teshuva(stops wearing the wig).

The Supposed Agunah crisis and bigotry

2010-08-06T09:09:00.001+03:00

I was reading this Relationships post over at Hadassah's blog. It really has turned into a mega threat. In my opinion what started as a fairly positive discussion quickly degenerated into a bigoted attack on Orthodoxy in general and Hareidim in particular. Let me first explain in detail why I say that it is a bigoted attack. There are in fact a number of reasons. The first and foremost is the decision to judge an ethnic or religious group by its worst members. For instance in one comment Leib Tropper and his Hillul HaShem was held up as the standard of Hareidi Rabbanim(Has V'Halilah). Quite honestly this is no different than when some Klukker(a member of the infamous Klu Klux Klan) rants on against all African Americans because of the high incarceration rates, and high drug related arrest rates. While it would be nice if all of the human trash was concentrated into one ethnicity or religion, however in His infinite wisdom HaShem has not deemed fit to do so, and rather it is scattered throughout the peoples of the earth equally. To hold up the worst aspects of a society as indicative of a society is simply absurd. Face it the White House is not a crack house and the Mirrer is not a brothel.

One of the things the people tended to try to latch onto was the Agunah issue, as a symbol of the chauvinistic oppression of women. Let me start by stating that if even one Agunah exists in the world it is a horrible tragedy. However it is not a representation of primitive oppression of women by an outdated patriarchal system as some would like you to believe. To be fair in many states within the United States under their liberal secular laws, spouses have the ability and "right" if you will to refuse to grant a divorce. Second to that is that it is not only men who are permitted withhold a get, a part of the gezeira of Rabbeinu Gershon(the same one that outlawed polygamy) was that a woman could refuse to grant a Get to her husband. Now let us come to statistics according this report there are only 69 agunot in all of Israel, there are 180 cases where the husband is refusing to grant a get for some reason, and 190 where the wife is refusing to grant a get for some reason, that is a total 370 divorces that are contentious out of 942 currently open cases. Compare that to this report on New Jersey(chosen because of similar landmass and population density) you will the differences are staggering. Both in the number of divorces filed(tens of thousands in NJ compared to under a thousand in Israel), as well as the numbers that are unresolved because of contention(517 in just a handful of counties, verses 370 in all of Israel).

In a separate report that I cannot find right now, Rav Amar claims that typically every agunah is cleared within 3 years. Being somewhat conversant with those halachot myself, I know that there are things that Rabbis and Batei Din can do to move the process along, especially in Israel. However because of the serious nature of everything involved it is a process. As I said earlier even a single Agunah is a tragedy. However we are not talking about a massive crisis here, we are talking of a fairly small percentage. I understand that to a modern secular mind Hareidi Judaism is an easy punching bag, however at the end of the day it is fueled by the same bigotry that compels the Klukker to defame African Americans.

Zohar on Parshat Re'e

2010-08-04T03:52:00.010+03:00

Zohar shiur given by HaRav HaGaon HaMekubal Benayahu Shmueli Shlit"a
[The entire shiur is available here in a single low quality video]

Or for your viewing pleasure you can watch it in fifteen minute parts with a substantially higher quality:
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Banned Book Club

2010-08-01T02:55:00.006+03:00

[Edit... Thank you to everyone who has emailed me saying that you can buy the book in bookstore X. I am aware and was aware when I wrote this post that there are about three different stores/online venues that sell this work. However a quick perusal of each will show that they sell other banned books(such as R' Slifkin) thus ignoring the words of the sages, as well as "Kabbalistic" books from two Kabbalah cults. There is one bookstore that is an exception to the latter... however I didn't then, and do not now think that it reflects on what I had to say about this. Ultimately if HaShem wants you to have this book, it will come to your hands. If you have to do it through a store that disobeys the words of our sages... there is what to consider]
The world was a tizzy when Rabbi Natan Slifkin had his books banned. Shock waves flowed through the blogosphere when there was talk of DovBear burnings. Many thought, and insinuaed that these were the acts of Zealots and worse. Many questioned whether they really had the ideals and best interests of Judaism in mind. Well now there is a new author to add to the banned book club. Rabbi Haim Vital ZTz"L. A newly published work(actually collection of three different works) has been banned, and mostly by the same Rabbanim who lead the charge against R' Slifkin.

First let me talk briefly about the work. What is being called by the publisher "Sefer HaPeulot" is a work of mostly Kabbalah Ma'asit, with a few added extras thrown in. It is composed of several "parts" or other works that have, until now not been published. One was a manuscript left with his own son R' Shmuel Vital ZTz"L, and the other was a manuscript that was interred with his body, and was discovered by chance when his body was moved from Damascus to Israel(more on that story another time). As such it certainly falls outside the rubric of a great many of his other works(with the exception perhaps of Shaarei Kedusha).

So why the ban? It appears from the people I have spoken with(both bookstore owners and Rabbanim) that the Gedolei HaDor believe that this work is too dangerous to placed into the hands of the people. Rabbi Yaakov Hillel Shlit"a writes in Faith and Folly:

In our times, the correct usages of the Names is no longer known. The early Sages who knew how and when to use the Names deliberately broke the chain of oral tradition by not teaching this wisdom to their disciples. Even though the Arizal undoubtedly knew the correct spelling, meaning and use of the Names, he did not transmit this knowledge even to his closest disciples.[Mekubal: R' Vital says in numerous places that this knowledge was imparted to him alone of the Ari's disciples] All that remains in our hands today are the tradions recorded in books. But even these classic works on the subject... are not accurate. To begin with the Sages who wrote them used veiled concise language and left the essences unwritten. Subsequently the Rishonim deliberately inserted errors in the spelling and methods... still more errors resuled from inaccurate copying.(p 44)

However that does not apply to this particular work for three primary reasons. First Rabbi Haim Vial ZTz"L never intended for this work to be passed on(beyond that part that was written directly as instructions to his son). therefore it is quite clear that he wrote this as his own notes. This is not unique amongst the works that were buried with him, that he believed were too holy for his generation. Amongst the others there is a also a very plain language used, and the Mekubalim of old(the RaShaSh, R' Yaakov Tzemah ect) said that we could explicitly trust those works to convey his true intent above that which he published in his life. Second he states quite clearly in the work that he received at least part of this teaching from the Arizal. Third he also states that that which he did not receive from the Arizal he received from gilui Eliyahu HaNavi, and Maggidim.

Comming back to the ban. Thus the reason that this work is considered to be so dangerous is that it alone amongst the works of Kabbalah Ma'asit presently available, contains none of the safeguards the other works do. Essentially it is an explicit how-to manual, which also bridges the gaps found in the other works. So not only is itself dangerous, but it places the necessary keys into the hands of the readers to open the other works which have essentially remained sealed.

However this ban has further reaching implications. Initially when the other books mentioned ran into their own problems the charge was that it was over hashkafic differences, and that the Gedolim would not ban a work that matched their own non-rationalist hashkafa. The banning of this work shows that to be a mostly false assumption. It would appear that in both instances, the Slifkin affair and Sefer HaPeulot, the Gedolim of the generation saw in those works, very real, though very different, dangers to the generation, and that reason, and that reason alone, was why they were banned.

Seder Limud(No rest for the weary)

2010-07-29T02:39:00.004+03:00

It is Bein HaZmanim, the time when most Yeshiva Bahurim and Kollelites take a break for a few weeks. Most... I technically have a half day, just a three hour shiur in the afternoon/evening. I am really not complaining about that. We are learning about the different Kabbalistic aspects of Brit Milah, and well I have been learning to be a Mohel for several months now, and have a brit milah comming up sometime in the very near future. As it appears my own child may well be my first. No worries, there will be a slew of Rabbinute certified "Expert Mohelim" there to make sure everything goes as planned. If you live in Israel, stay tuned for the announcement. I know it will probably blow the majority of my anonymity, so if you have been jonesing to out me to the local modesty squad this will be your chance.

Anyway, this bein hazmanim tiyulim are out, with my wife's current physical condition, a family trip to the local super is about as exciting as it is going to get. And I have work to do, besides the sudden uptick in orders for items of safrut, I really cannot take that much of a break. I have been put into a position where I am teaching a beginners kabbalah shiur at my yeshiva for an hour an a half twice a week. It was somewhat sprung on me in the middle of last zman. Essentially the yeshiva needed someone to do it, and since they were covering the normal Rabbinut cost($15,000) of me learning to be a mohel, the Rosh Yeshiva decided that I would be the perfect volunteer(until now I thought that only Russians and others from the FSU chose volunteers this way).

So while I have been racing to keep pace with my shiur, throughout the second half of zman, now I am taking this time to get well ahead in the inyan that we will be working on until the next break(Yom HaKippur). It is truly hard work, because I have to be able to explain things to people that can only really be fully understood in a rather intuitive level. Quite honestly it is a lot like some nonlinear and abstract mathematics that I once learned, you simply have to be able to bend your head around it. Which essentially sums up the difference between the majority of people learning Kabbalah and a true Kabblist(like Rav Kaduri or Rav Sharabi), it is like the difference between the majority of physicists and Einstein or Hawkings. There are just those that get these abstractions on a deeper level.

Granted I am only really dealing with the basic foundations. However, I have found that the difference between the lowest shiur(mine) and the highest(the Rosh Yeshiva's) is simply the level of pilpul. In the Rosh Yeshiva's shiur we will look at a hundred different sources on say the Kabbalistic aspects of Sim Shalom in the Amidah. Whereas in my shiur we will stick to the basic texts of Etz Haim, Nahar Shalom, Shaar HaKavanot and the Shemen Sasson.

To dispell one misconception that seems to be floating around. Most Kabbalists don't study Kabbalah Ma'asit(Kabbalistic Magic) or Kabbalistic meditation. It seems that vast majority of the people think that is what Kabbalah is all about. In truth the majority of Kabbalists stick with learning to be mekavenim. People who have purified their middot, and developed deveikut to the point that when they pray, they pray with their entire being, and full understanding of the spiritual realities taking place while they pray.

Things such as amulets and other "workings" are left for the minority of the minority. Those whom the true kabbalists believe can contain such knowledge and never be tempted to use it. The majority of those things today, because of the state of our generation, the lack of a Beit HaMikdash and various other things are dominated by the forces of the sitra achra. If a person was ever tempted to make use of them... well in the Stars Wars Galaxy these words were uttered by Yoda, but in ours they were uttered by Rav Haim Vital, "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your life." Essentially once one has bonded with the forces of darkness it is very hard to break that bond.

Shas the new NRP

2010-07-26T13:36:00.002+03:00

Arutz 7

Shas is the new NRP,” Bibi told Arutz-7 on Tuesday. “Shas is now doing what the NRP once did, fighting for both the Land of Israel and the Torah of Israel. Minister Yaakov Margi is responsible for Religious Affairs, Interior Minister Eli Yishai [looks out] for the country’s Jewish character, and Housing Minister Ariel Attias is in charge of building the Land. There is therefore no reason why a party like Shas should not be a part of the body that is responsible for settlement and the Jewish National Fund.

This may be old news to some of you, but it is rather new to me. It doesn't really come as a shock considering the Sephardi Yeshivot that I have attended, most were more than a little nationalist. Even amongst Sephardi Hareidim the vast majority do some form of military/national service. Going to a Shas affiliated Yeshiva I would have thought that I would have heard something about this previously, but then it makes sense that I would not, not if it was an organic element of the growth of the Shas party.

Lashon HaRa and Cyber Bullying

2010-07-23T00:12:00.003+03:00

NY-Times

DP: How does the Internet make rumor different than it was pre-Internet?

JP: I think it's somewhat more explosive to spread a rumor on the Internet. Because it spreads so quickly, and the scale, the scope of it can be much greater. One of the things you hear from people who have been the victim of a malicious rumor is that the hurt is more, because so many people could have seen it so quickly and it's so hard to respond to it.

In short this is a major part of the reason for my comment rules and new comment moderation system. As well as why I am personally signing off of blogs that have lackadaisical comment moderation. It is simply way to easy to hurt another person on the internet.

Consider this. When the Hafetz Haim wrote his monumental work on Lashon HaRa, a rumor or gossip or a back biting statement would maybe impact a city block or two. With the advent of technology all of that has changed. As this article points out many people now web search their neighbors, or future employees. Negative comments now spread not just a few blocks but entire continents. A single mean-spirited troll can follow an individual from blog to blog and message board to message board spewing their venom and destroying lives and reputations. I know I have my own pet troll or two. Trolls using ever changing screen names have the ability to make it seem(unless you are willing to pay a subscription fee to something like Echo) as if there is a chorus of people that have your number, whereas in reality it is just one bored individual who sadly has nothing better to do, and has latched on to you for whatever reason and seeks to hurt your name and reputation just for the sake of entertainment. Just look at the trolls that inhabit the DaasTorah blog and say horrible things about the blog owner there for example.

I am sorry if the new comment system on this blog has in anyway excluded you from the conversation. That is not my intent. However, I could not in good conscious continue to allow trolls through.

Attack of the Trolls

2010-07-22T16:47:00.002+03:00

I have just spent the last half hour deleting comments from Trolls and adult content websites with embedded links. I don't have the time to deal with the former, and do not desire the latter to constantly bombard my email inbox, so I have gone to a new commenting format. If you feel that this excludes you from the conversation please drop me an email. However, as blogger accounts, as well as wordpress and other sites supported by OpenID are also free, hopefully all will still be able to partake.

Lashon HaRa confusion...

2010-07-22T01:04:00.002+03:00

Over the three weeks I typically try to take on extra learning in musar seforim. Rav David Kohen ZTz"L used to say without study of musar there is no true teshuva. This year I took up a number of very good seforim, Shalom L'Am(by Rav Shalom Hadayya ZTz"L), as well the Hafetz Haim on Shmirat HaLashon, Kedushat Einayim(by Rav Meir Shmueli Shlita) and another sefer which will remain unnamed because it greatly perplexed me.

I have long understood that if one wanted to tell illustrative stories, especially true ones, one needed to modify the details sufficiently to not be able to identify the individuals, lest one transgress the laws of lashon hara and cause undue embarrassment. This was significantly reinforced this past three weeks by going through the Hafetz Haim's work on the subject.

So as I was reading the Unnamed Sefer I noticed that the big name Rav who wrote was drawing illustrative stories from the foibles and failings of other Rabbanim and Roshei Yeshivot. The names were absent, but he wrote the stories in such a way as to include the various idiosyncrasies of the individuals and the specifics of the events in which they took place, so that anyone who had either attended those events, or had any real knowledge of those Rabbanim would be able to easily recognize them.

So here is my perplexity, is simple deletion of names from stories enough to avoid the snare of lashon hara? To head off one objection, that being that the Hafetz Haim is not necessarily the last word on what is and isn't lashon hara... yes that is the case, and he does take a rather humradik stance... however shouldn't Rav Big Name have followed the more humradik stance, especially since he was writing a book of musar?

As an example, at one point he is talking about how one can be an Am Haaretz shrouded in false piety and false humility, and brings an example of certain Rav giving details of how the Rav acts, and speaks, as well as the typical behavior of his talmidim. Honestly my own interactions with Rav Am Haaretz more than prove out Rav Big Name's words. However, is it appropriate to immortalize this person's(a Rosh Yeshiva actually) failings by means of the printed word?

Now I know someone will raise the objection that I am making wild assumptions without hard evidence as Rav Big Name himself left out the specific names. Yes that is a possibility, one in fact that I already considered. Thus I conferred with some of the Rabbanim that I know that I thought were referred to in the Unnamed Sefer and yes it was really them they were talking about.

At another point he strongly criticizes the psak of an unnamed Gadol as being overly maikel and not nearly pious enough for our generation, claiming that by such psak halacha he is leading the klal into error and away from the spirit of sanctity that our sages intended. Now I understand that certain things fall into the category of mahloket poskim, some are strict and some are lenient. However to clarify a few things, while Rav Big Name is a big Rav, Gadol Bigger Name is so far out of his league that it might as well be another sport. This is not a sefer of Sheilot and Teshuvot, this is a sefer meant for the masses, quite honestly the vast majority of the audience of this sefer probably hold by Gadol Bigger Name most if not all of whom will know this psak halakha fairly well, is it right then for Rav Big Name to take him to task in his work?

Considering that I have severely been taken to task for some of my own stories, as I have previously discussed, I am quite confused by all of this. Is it or is it not Ok to use illustrative stories? Is being critical of a the actions of a fellow Jew an aveira? Is but the thinnest veil of anonymity enough to excuse one from the obligations of lashon hara and the prohibition of causing another Jew embarassment?

As Jews part of how we are to learn is Shimush Hakhamim. Meaning that by being around Gedolim and seeing how they act and interact we learn what it truly means to live the Torah beyond the writ letter of the law. What then is one to think or do when when sees a Gadol acting in a way that seems to contradict other words of the sages?

The Obama Pharaoh connection

2010-07-22T00:26:00.002+03:00

All I can say is that it takes everything a little longer to filter down into the religious spheres of Judaism. The most recent news comes from US President Barack Obama's Cairo speech. Apparently while touring the pyramids Mr. Obama saw a likeness of one of the Pharaohs, pointed to it, and said, "that looks like me." Now this has filtered down into the Hebrew speaking world as Mr. Obama saying, "that is me."

Added to this were the pictoral comparisons between Mr. Obama and Tutenkamen and Pharaoh's wife and Mrs. Obama. Comparisons which I must admit are rather striking indeed. I was quite impressed.

Of course many of you are by now wondering what in the world any of this has to do with my blog and why I am bringing it up. Well I had been intending to sit on this until the video went up, but because of the delay(as well as the delay of several of my books arriving and thus me having nothing else to write about), I decided to go ahead with it. This past week Rav Benayahu Shmueli, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat HaMekubalim Nahar Shalom, in his weekly public Zohar shiur, which incidentatly can normally be found at hazohar.net, spoke about this incident.

It was fitting as it we were in the three weeks, and this was just days before Tisha B'Av, a day of exceeding trouble for the Jewish people. In the midst of this he spoke about the troubles that Israel today is facing from the Obama administration and this incident that took place when Obama was in Egypt. His final conclusion was that Obama is a Gilgul(reincarnation) of Pharaoh, and thus the reason he doesn't like Israel so much.

I will post the video as soon as it becomes available(I really expected it to be up by now). Hopefully the delay is not on account of editing out "sensitive material" aka his statements on Obama. B'Ezrat Hashem as soon as the video is available I will post it here, or you can download it yourself from the above link.

Aveira Gedola

2010-07-21T12:43:00.003+03:00

Well folks once again I am walking the broad path straight to hell. Yes that's right as my irreverence knows no bounds apparently I have crossed the line into the broad world of Kofrim. Who knows too much more of this and I might kick off all restraint start doing things like watching movies such as Ushpizzin.

What is my grave offense? Telling a story. A story of my life, a story that though altered to protect the anonymity of the individual is true none the less. The story goes like this:

Late one night a long long time ago in a country far far away when Mekubal was neither Mekubal nor overly religious(I fit the modern Orthodox schema at the time) I received a phone call from a friend and Rav. He said, "I need some help are you available tomorrow morning?" I replied in the affirmitive. He said, "Its a lot of work." I said, "Never been afraid of hard work, what's it about." He replied, "I will tell you tomorrow."

So perplexed I went to bed wondering what on earth could be going on. The next day I arrive at his house. After the typical pleasantries he says, "First we have to carry all the dishes out to the dumpster." Knowing that these are high quality dishes, and that they were wedding presents I asked him what was going on. So he tells me that they(he and his wife) had always used a certain brand of margarine as it was parve. They were so used to it that they never bothered to check the hecsher on it. Well as it turns out, a year and a half before the margarine went dairy. All this time they had been cooking meat with this dairy margarine. In the intervening time they had treifed their kitchen, and served dozens of people, including close family, and me taaruvot milk and meat.

So now there was nothing left but to essentially start over.

Today this person who remains a close friend tells this story himself as a Chizuk to people who are going kosher to always check hecsherim. The idea being that if a person such as himself from such a Chashuva family could err by not being careful, everyone else could as well, especially those just staring out.

So that was my grave aveira, telling that story(as well as another that will wait for another time). With names deleted and details changed to protect the identities of those involved. Apparently to claim that a human can err, is problematic. Apparently being FFB from a "good" or "chashuv" family puts you in a league far above even Tzadikim who the Ari HaKadosh says sin every day. But then what do I know... I don't come from one of those families. I come from the barely tolerated classes of B"Ts and workers who are tolerated only for the potential donations they will make.

Anyway comment rules for this post:
1) Anything over asinine such as "Kofer how dare you..." simply will not be allowed.
2) Pretending to be the people I am speaking of, while amusing, also won't be allowed. Because if you really were them, you would contact me through our normal channels of communication and not need resort to an anonymous blog comments.
3) If you are one of the people from the old days and would like to reminisce again there are better ways to do that than blog comments. Yes I know Ploni tells the story all the time, but it is his story to tell or not tell and I don't want to cause him the embarrassment of having it tossed around a blog thread.

Going forward

2010-07-21T02:12:00.003+03:00

Now that the three weeks is over, I plan to start blogging again, from time to time. However, I am planning on changing directions. I have been running this blog for two years now as well as commenting on others. Essentially what I have found in that time was that for the most part a B"T has little to no voice in the Orthodox world. Say what one will to the contrary, essentially, by and large, B"T is the underclass of the Orthodox world. See reactions to a comment I made here on the Daas Torah blog for a perfect example of such.

Frankly I have no desire to deal with aggravation and typical put downs. Nor do I have the desire or time to debate these holy Tzadikim who do the rest of us lesser beings the favor of reminding us that the accident of our birth has forever limited our intellects. So if you are a reader of my blog and wonder why I have signed off on yours when I may have been a somewhat heavy commentator... well the answer is that my schedule and my mental dictate I spend my time on things of a more constructive nature. By and large I probably still lurk your blog... it just isn't going to go much further than that for a while.

As far as where this blog is going, I plan on starting to work on an English translation of Seh L'Beit Avot. A commentary by Rav Shalom Hedayya ZTz"L on Pirkei Avot. As well as continuing, with some revision to be my personal online journal and stream of consciousness as well as a window into the goings on in the Kabbalistic Yeshiva world.

If you have been a reader for a while thanks for sticking around and I hope you will like where it goes from here.

Jerusalem Pro-Segregation March

2010-06-18T15:44:00.001+03:00

E. Fink posted a series of questions over the DovBear blog... here are my responses and in those responses are my feelings about the entire affair.

Here is my swing at this as a fairly Hareidi Sephardi person living in Israel.

* Did the court overreach in its decision?
Did the US courts and legislators overreach when they desegregated the South? The Court did not immediately throw parents in jail for segregation, this has been going on since the beginning of the school year. Essentially the Slonim want to have a chartered private school, but still receive state funding, and it just doesn't work that way. There are essentially three types of schools in Israel. A public school with an incredibly secular curriculum(sex ed starts in first grade). An independent religious school. Technically still a state school, it receives state funding, but it has an independent curriculum decided by the local religious council. Alternately such a school could be set up by an independent religious group such as Slonim after receiving an exemption from the Education Ministry. However, they are still bound(technically though often not in practice) by the admission policies set down by the state for independent religious schools. Essentially they are are supposed to take anyone who mostly fits into the Hareidi mold. Finally you have Private schools. They have received an exemption from the Ministry of Education to operate(as Israel has compulsory education) however they receive no state funding and thus are able to make their own decisions as to admission policies and such.

The school in question was not a Private school, but rather an independent religious school, receiving state funding. It was also the only B"Y school on the settlement. Whereas in Jerusalem such things are often over looked as there are a dozen other B"Y schools you can send your kids to instead, no so much on a settlement.

* Is racism the cause for not allowing Sephardi girls into the primarily Charedi school?
Absolutely. Many Sephardim are themselves Hareidi. When the decision comes down to whether your father wears a hat or a streimel on Shabbat, or how wide his gartel is, it becomes discriminatory. When accent and pronunciation of Hebrew, or the not speaking of Yiddish, is a deciding factor, yes that is discriminatory.

* Is religious indignation the cause for not allowing Sephardi girls into the primarily Charedi school?
What indignation? We are talking extreme Humrot. There is indignation that a Sephardi person eats kitniyot on Pesah? That the man doesn't wear a streimel on Shabbat? That the wife doesn't wear four or five layered head coverings? Or how about the things to which are no one's business but the family, such as how often the parents have relations, weather the wife shaves her head or her pubic area?

* Are those the same thing?
No not at all.

* Why don't the Charedim pull out of the public school and make a private school that suits their needs?
They don't have the funding for a fully private school. The parents don't work, and the sect is too small to effectively fund raise abroad.

* Would the court have a problem with that too?
No not at all. If they would file the proper paper work(which they haven't), find an independent location, and be able to hire an effective teaching staff, then there would be no problem. However they choose not to.

* Is there a more civilized way to deal with this problem? (Not protesting, not taking parents away from their children...)
Yes, stop discriminating against people.

* When the parents go to jail for 2 weeks, who watches their precious children for whom they are making this stand?
The children are essentially left in the lurch. Why? Because of the parents' poor choices. The Supreme court has repeatedly stated that any couple wishing to serve their sentences consecutively(husband or wife first followed by the other) would be allowed to do so if they filed the proper paperwork. The Rebbe told the people not to do so, and guaranteed them that HaShem would not allow both husbands and wives to be imprisoned at the same time. Apparently his navua is a little off, but trusting in him the parents decided not to file the required paperwork, and now(assuming that they actually showed up which many didn't, apparently they rethought their stance somewhat) they both have to sit in prison. The damage done to the children I lay entirely at the parents' feet. It was their continued bad choices that lead to this.

* Is it conceivable that having both parents in jail is better for the children?
Yes absolutely. It has to be better than having children raised by bigots, and it has to be better than having children raised by people who think their Rebbe has the ability to dictate governmental policy.

Apology owed?

2010-06-17T17:57:00.003+03:00

Torah Truth wrote(In a comment I chose not to put through):
you may disagree with my Mesora and point of view but I believe you owe me an apology and a public one at that.
Malbim Chavero B’rabim (essentially calling me a liar) is a grave issur even on the internet. Maybe ask Rabbi Hillel.

But you see I didn't call him a liar, I said that he was arguing dishonestly, and here there is a difference. Arguing dishonestly means relying on second-hand sources instead of looking the material up oneself. For instance in this case he wants to bang on about how the Noda B'Yehuda rejected Kabbalah, over the L'Shem Yihud" prayer. Then he brings a source from the Mahdura Kama(first edition or set of Teshuvot that the Noda B'Yehuda published).

From his putting this forth(in translation) I know that he has not actually read the source. How do I know this? Well the Noda B'Yehuda was niftar in 1793. Even in his own lifetime, newer editions were published with emendations and footnotes, regarding the Mahdura Tenina, and Mahdura Batra. For instance in this particular source, there is a footnote saying to see what is written in the Mahdurah Tenina Orah Haim 107, with the specific reference that he retracted there, what he had written here. So unless he is bringing the source from a mid-1700's original, there is no way he didn't know that the Noda B'Yehuda retracted himself.

Quite simply no there is not apology owed for closing said thread, or saying that the argumentation was dishonest. The very reason that I closed that thread, was because I simply don't have the time to track down every source, and see if it says what is claimed. After having repeatedly shown that a number of claimed sources don't say what he is "quoting" them as saying, and then finding out that he is bringing this from his "Mesora" which essentially means he is quoting other people, not the original sources, somewhere in that mix, someone intentionally falsified the source.

To be clear, as well as fair and honest, I do not know if "Torah Truth" is one doing the falsification, or if he is simply, in ignorance quoting someone else who did. However, by simple rules of debate, either way is considered dishonest argumentation. Either you are not quoting your actual source, and are claiming the research of another as your own, or you are falsifying these sources of your own accord.

If you really want to write polemics against Kabbalah with little to no regard for what sources actually say, then by all means start your own blog and do so. However, please spare me your indignity for calling you on your own dishonesty, especially when you are hiding behind a anonymous screen name. However you will have quite a hard time arguing through halakha that I caused you any amount of embarrassment, as it is an anonymous name, without so much as a blog behind it, and as such you can simply walk away from it at anytime with no hurt, loss, or anything. You have no actual investment in that screen name other than a number of dubious posts on my blog.

A Chassidic tale, A Chassidic warning

2010-06-14T13:04:00.003+03:00

A certain Chassidi rebbe became renowned for performing wonders to help people in distress. His advice was like prophecy, and his blessings always came to pass. One day, a luckless chassid came to him for a blessing

On his way , the chassid passed through a forest, where he encountered an old man who gave him a coin and told him to buy some merchandise with it.

The chassid bought some merchandise with the coin, sold it for a profit, bought more merchandise, sold that and continued until he had amassed a fortune. Then he went to see his rebbe to tell him of his good fortune and to give himm a good portion of his new-found wealth for distribution to the poor.

To the chassid's horror, the rebbe informed him that all his success came through a work of Kabbalah Maasit, and thus the side of impurit, and unless the wealth was returned, he would lose his portion in the world to come. "Go find the old man,"said the rebbe. "Insist that he take back everything- at all costs."

The chassid returned to the place of the original encounter. He cried and shouted until the old man appeared.

"I agree to take everything back," said the old man, "but on one condition; you must tell your rebbe that all his powers, and those of the other rebbeim, come from the same source."
The chassid had no choice but to agree. He returned to his rebbe and told him what the old man said.

"If so," said the rebbe, "I am no longer a rebbe." He departed and was never heard from again.(Or alternatively: He departed in shame and went to such and such a city where he founded x chassidus).

A Shabbat Tale

2010-06-11T11:52:00.004+03:00

I just read this post over at J.A.P's blog, and was equally disheartened. However in the comments NMF#7 said that there are some strange stories that are actually true, and she is right there are. Here is one about the awesomeness of Shabbat. I heard this originally from Rav Yosef Yithak Kaplan Shlita, on the anniversary of his father's Petira. I know it is true, because well Rav Kaplan witnessed it with his own eyes. I am sorry if some of the less important details are a bit fuzzy, it has been a number of years since I heard this story. Perhaps some of my Lubavitcher readers may be more familiar with it and be able to fill in the the missing bits.

Anyway, somewhere where there was Lubavitch in Russia(or perhaps the Ukraine) on Erev Shabbat word went out that a pogrom was coming to their town. The people were in a panic, as they did not know what to do. There was going to be a Pogrom, but at the same time it was Shabbat. Many decided to flee, as pikuah nefesh takes precedence over Shabbat. Rav Kaplan ZTz"L did not(Sorry I can't remember his actual name). He said to his family, "every week I sing, 'Ki eshmera Shabbat E-l Yishmareini'"... actually he probably said, "every week I sing, 'Ki eshmeroh Shabbois Keil Yishmooreini'"... but anyway, it means, "If I guard Shabbat, G-d will guard me."

So he hid his chilren in the loft(perhaps his wife too), davened, made Kiddush, and sat down for his meal. When he heard the (I believe they were) Cossacks enter the town, screaming and yelling and smashing things, a young (and not yet Rav)Yosef Yitzchak watched as his father started to sway and sing "Ki Eshmera" to a tune of the Rebbe(then the 6th Admur of Lubavitch). He lost himself completely within the tune. When the Cossacks burst into the home, they are greeted by the sight of this Hasid, dressed in his bekasha, completely lost in a sense of devekut(I can understand it, that song does it for me too). Their captain or whatever comes in to see what things are being smashed, women raped and Jews killed(not necessarily in that order), and is also greeted by the sight. Then the miracle occurs. He turns to his men, and says, "This is a true Holy Man, even if he is a Jew, leave him in peace." Thus Rav Kaplan's home and family was spared. Of all his neighbors, he had no loss that Shabbat.

I know, it is an almost unbelievable story. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I didn't know the Rav, who as a little boy, lived through it. Shabbat Shalom.

Here is the song. I know that this is not an Ashkenazi tune. However, I couldn't find one that didn't have Kol Isha or Tzniut issues. So I made this one myself. Please enjoy.

What's all the fuss: Part 2

2010-06-10T23:05:00.004+03:00

This was a comment made by Anon 613 under the original post. I thought that it very well summed up the theological reasons behind Lubavitch cricitcism of the new biographyThe Rebbe: The life and afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson

im a bit surprised that a former lubavitcher such as yourself could write this post. thats because im assuming that you learned tanya at one point in your life. the tanya defines or better yet differentiates between what a tzaddik gamur is as opposed to a tzaddik benoni. he basicly says that a tzaddik gamur is one who owns his tov, he quotes the gemara, "tzadik vtov lo tzadik gamur".(emphasis on tov lo, the good is his as opposed to the common translation, who it is good for). so far nothing new since different sources had already said this concept as he points out. then the baal hatanya explains that different neshamot come from different parts of the "higher body". some will come from the mochin while others will come from the nails of the toes. each is needed for the body but one is infinitely greater then the other. so far nothing really that novel yet, since sifrei kabbala already say these concepts. then he says something that is his chiddush. he says that certain great tzaddikim are born, not made. ill rephrase it according to the way i understand what he says as well as how i believe lubavitchers understand it. the way i understand him is that certain people come down to this world not to perfect themselves but the world around them, these are tzaddikim that are born (hence we find the house lighting up when moshe was born, because he was born a tzaddik). others have to build on themselves though but according to the way i understand, even the latter could reach the level of tzaddik gamur. lubavitchers wouldnt agree with me on the last point. they believe that tzaddikim gamurim are born. they come to perfect the world. a person could become a tzaddik but he will only be a tzaddik beinoni at best. thus this book in their eyes isnt just saying that their rebbe was just a human (which to a true lubavitcher borders on heresy), its also saying hes not a tzaddik gamur per the baal hatanya. ofcourse rav nachman strongly disagreed with the baal hatanya on this point. he firmly held that tzaddikim are made. period. one isnt given his level but must work to get to any level. if one wants, he can show how these two views dont really contradict each other.
sof sof we find that this book is viewed as false by lubavitchers not because they dont want it to be true, but because according to them, it simply cannot be true. they're old chant for why the rebbe was in western europe was because he was "collecting the nitzutzot found their" and making a great tikkun olam. they take it so far as to say that he had to get the last nitzutzot out of there before the holocaust. i cant give you sources for the last two points because this is what was explained to me by a few lubavitchers whom i know very well. by definition these are what people say and thus cannot be sourced or placed as hard data. it is the belief of at least a few of them and i would venture to say, seeing the reaction to the book, what most of them believed.

Davening at Beit El

2010-06-10T23:00:00.001+03:00

Over the past few days, for minha I have been the Shliah Tzibbur at Beit El. No I am not some great Hakham, in reality it is just that the Hakhamim have not been able to stick around for the early minha so I was the default mekaven there, well me and perhaps a few more who are more or less on the same level with me, but being a Kohen and all...

Beit El has four daily Sedarim, the first from the end of Shaharit until Minha Gedola, then from Minha Gedola until Minha/Arvit/Kriat Shema Al HaMita, then from the finish of that service until Hatzot HaLaila, then from Hatzot until Alot HaShahar at which point they put on Tefillin and begin to Daven. No one learns all four Sedarim obviously, and most of the Hakhamim want to Daven with the Rav HaHasid who davens the later Minha. So that leaves the newer talmidim and such to make up the earlier Minha. Usually a senior Hakham is there to be the Sha"Tz, however he has been sick.

When I was first asked to take the Amud, my knees went weak and I was shaking with fright. It is not that I have never been Shliah Tzibbur before, I have on many an occasion. I have just never been the Shliah for such a Tzibbur. As I walked to the Teva it passed through my mind the people that have stood in this very spot before me. Rav Shalom Hedayya of whom the Hazon Ish writes that when he would begin to recite the repetition a Holy terror would fall upon the people there. Rav Ovadya Hedayya, Rav Kaduri, Rav Darzi, Rav M. Sharabi... Tzadikim to which I cannot compare. All had stood in that very same spot, using that very same Siddur, reciting those very same words with those very same intentions... Who am I to think I can mount that teva?

I had expected that feeling to more or less wear off. You know after a few days, it will just be part of the routine... it hasn't. My knees still go weak when I am told that I am the Sha"Tz.

What's all the fuss: New book on the Late Lubavitcher Rebbe Z"L

2010-06-10T15:20:00.002+03:00

Ok so a new book came out about Menachem Mendel Schneerson Z"L, and apparently it has kicked up quite a fuss. The book is called The Rebbi the Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson. The controversy mostly centers around the "lost years" of the life of the Admur Z"L. Essentially the authors claim that while M.M. Schneerson Z"L remained fully observant, he had set his sights on a secular career path, as was evidenced by letters between him and his father in law, the sixth Admur of Lubavitch, as well as his secular dress and his trimmed beard. Furthermore they state it was only after his life came crashing down around him that he decided to dedicate himself to Judaism, and the returning of Jews to Judaism.

Critics, mostly Lubavtichers, have torn this book to pieces across the blogosphere, essentially claiming that the authors are insinuating that the last Admur of Lubavitch was a fraud(ChV"Sh). Others mostly non-Lubavitchers find the book to be a refreshing humanization of a nearly(and in some cases actually) deified man. Though in all fairness to the Lubavitchers I would say that many of those same people would probably take umbrage at the humanization of their own pet Tzadikim... but that is for another time.

Personally I take a different route, I think the book defines the Admur's Tzadikut. Yeah so he wasn't a tzadik m'beten, well no one is, that is a myth and an invention. Without a doubt the Rebbe was a man of unusual intelligence and could, if he had aptly applied himself, probably mastered the English language and pursued his same secular goals on American shores. Yes the holocaust and the destruction of European Jewry probably defined the man. Does that make him less of a Tzadik?

The second Rosh HaYeshiva and Rav HaHasid of Bet El, Rav Shalom Mizrahi Sharabi, was an philanderer and thief in Yemen. Only when captured with some Sheik's wife, and threatened with execution did he do Teshuva. From that we got one of the greatest Tzadikim and Mekubalim of all time. Every Mekubal since has followed in his methods, prayed with the prayerbooks he arranged and so forth. It took that event to focus his life.

Is it really such a problem to say that the eradication of over six million Jews probably greatly impacted Menachem Mendel Schneerson? Do we call Winston Churchill a failure because it took the threat of Nazi invasion of England to bring forth is leadership abilities? No of course not, we say he was a man of the hour.

Personally I would say that Menachem Mendel Schneerson Z"L was also a man of the hour. He did succeed in becoming an engineer, as he always dreamed. But instead of building empty structures and bridges, he set about rebuilding Judaism when it needed it most. The crucible of his own failures in the secular world, coupled with the holocaust is what brought forth his true Tzadikut. I just don't get why that is so offensive to say.

How do you like me now?! II

2010-06-10T08:31:00.004+03:00

The initiative behind this post starts with me going to a wedding. Yes I know I almost never go to weddings, and for good reason too. But that aside, I went to this wedding, it was a child of a former Havruta. It was a small intimate affair, though the two families must have been fairly well connected as it seemed every Rosh Yeshiva of note was there. Rosh of Lakewood, the Mirrer, Slabodka, Ponevezh, Hevron... to name a few. Some of whom I know personally.

As we are standing at the Huppa waiting what seems to be an eternity for the bride to arrive, Rav BigName of the BigName Yeshiva asks me where I am learning now, if I am still learning. A few years ago he offered me a spot at his illustrious Yeshiva(after a little string pulling from my Rav from the US who was here in Jerusalem for his own Simha). At the time I told him, "thank you, but I want to try to get into Yeshiva X." His reply which was still ringing in my ears was, "Well, when they turn you down, my door is still open. You honestly don't stand a chance of getting in over there." Well I did get in over there, just one week after that initial conversation. So I said, "I learn two of the three sedarim at Yeshiva X".

No offense meant to the Rav, but his mouth became a fly trap for about the next 15 seconds or so, as he stared at me with unbelieving eyes. Finally he stumbles out with, "Why don't you learn all three sedarim by them?" My answer was that I did, but was since invited to join the Hevra at Yeshivat Bet El by Rav Hedayya. Repeat above fly trap impression.

Another of the Rabbanim there, in whose Yeshiva I had learned for a while, and was attending when I made shidduch to my wife said to me, "If we had known your potential we could have made you a much better Shidduch to a real top girl, possibly even the daughter of a Rav or Rosh Yeshiva." What went through my head at this was, along the lines of what you mean all those girls that you once told me were so far out of my league that it might as well be another sport? Followed shortly thereafter by What I sat in your Yeshiva for how many years, yet you act as if there was some hidden potential that you could not discern, whereas this other Rav was able to spot in a 5 minute conversation. I guess that's what comes of having thousands of student. My actual reply was quite polite, it went like this, "Kavod HaRav, Rabbi Akiva, a B"T like me who achieved greatness the likes of which none of us will know, to what does he owe is abilities in Torah."
To which the Rav answered, "His wife that is well known."
To which I replied, "Kavod HaRav, the same with me. If I have achieved anything in the realms of Torah it is on account of my wife, I could not have made a better shidduch." Which was met by another stare of bewilderment. What was I supposed to be embarrassed by my family? Was I supposed to be ashamed of my wife? Was he hoping that I would arrange for a Get then and there so that I could move on to a proper match? Yes I was mildly insulted on many levels. It reminded me of something a rich and famous friend once said, that the only true friends a rich and famous person will ever have is pretty much limited to those he knew before becoming rich and famous, as they are the only ones he can trust to be interested only in him. Yeah essentially I wasn't good enough before and now I am.

During the meal one of the Rabbanim approached me and said that he would like me to do him a tremendous favor. Flashes through my mind Oh no! Here we go. It actually wasn't as bad as all that. The son of this Rosh Yeshiva had been turned down for admittance into above mentioned Yeshiva X. Since I am in the Hevra of the Rav and thus have a kesher with him, he wanted me to intercede for his son, and try to change the Rav's mind. I told him it would have to wait a week or two. I had just interceded on someone's behalf for a much more pressing need a day or two before. While I enjoy the Rav's favor, I don't want to be going to him seeking a new dispensation every other day.

All in all a very interesting experience. What a difference just a few years can make.

Live a little first 2: a retraction and apology

2010-06-09T17:31:00.002+03:00

In my haste and frustration with people who have no place telling others what to do, I included (not)The Girl Next Door and her list of must read resources in my list of asinine assertions. I did this without having read or even viewed her list. As it was my including her in said list was as asinine as the "advice" I was ranting about. She has been removed from said list. This is a formal apology. She showed incredibly good sense in picking the advice of people who more than met the standards set by our sages, some of those people I know personally and have guided me for many a year.

So I am sorry.

Live a little first...

2010-06-07T19:01:00.006+03:00

(Editor's note: I started this post before the petira of Rav Eliyahu ZTz"L. Thus it is to him that I dedicate this as it is in large part wisdom that I learned from him).
I was twenty six years old and found myself in a position as an assistant Rav in quickly growing kiruv community. The main Rav was four years my senior. What that meant was that I was in a position of needing to give people, at times twice my age, advice on how to hold their lives together. What I found was that I was trying to tell other people how to hold their own lives together while mine was coming apart all around me.

Speaking with Rabbanim such as Rav Kaduri ZTz"L, Rav Mordekhai Eliyahu ZTz"L and others a little closer to what was then home, a common theme emerged. Essentially what I was hearing was, "You simply haven't lived enough of life to have the wisdom necessary to guide people, or even yourself through the storms of life." Looking around and seeing that I was making a real mess of things, I did the only thing that made sense at the time. I packed up and left. Simply put some of the messes I had created could not be fixed so long as I lived in that community.

I am now still much closer to thirty than I am to forty. I had a Rav in the meantime tell me that I have lived more of life than most people twice my age. At the very least I have encountered some of life's toughest obstacles in the meantime. I have buried two parents. I watched as a wife that I loved more than life itself walked out of my life. I had the fortune to find such a once in a lifetime love a second time. I have 2.5 children, and have achieved most of my life goals. Despite all of that, or perhaps on account of it, I know that I am still far from qualified to be a guide for someone else to have happy life, and to navigate life's difficulties.

So I stand appalled when I see people who are fresh out of their year in Israel pretending to give advice to the rest of us. I can't help but wonder what it is that makes those who are just starting to live life think that they can inform us of what the dangers are, or what the right course is? As Rav Ovadiah Hedayyah ZTz"L writes in the first siman of his sefer De'ah V'HaSkil, a person's Da'at does not even begin to settle until they are the age of 20, and only then if they have done some extreme tikkunei middot, a person does not acquire Bina until they are 40, and the ability to truly advise until fifty, as our sages teach
הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, בֶּן חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים לַמִּקְרָא, בֶּן עֶשֶׂר לַמִּשְׁנָה, בֶּן שְׁלשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה לַמִּצְוֹת, בֶּן חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה לַתַּלְמוּד, בֶּן שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה לַחֻפָּה, בֶּן עֶשְׂרִים לִרְדּוֹף, בֶּן שְׁלשִׁים לַכֹּחַ, בֶּן אַרְבָּעִים לַבִּינָה, בֶּן חֲמִשִּׁים לָעֵצָה, בֶּן שִׁשִּׁים לַזִקְנָה, בֶּן שִׁבְעִים לַשֵּיבָה, בֶּן שְׁמוֹנִים לַגְּבוּרָה, בֶּן תִּשְׁעִים לָשׁוּחַ, בֶּן מֵאָה כְּאִלּוּ מֵת וְעָבַר וּבָטֵל מִן הָעוֹלָם:
(Pirkei Avot 5:21)
He used to say: At five years old a person should study the Scriptures, at ten years for the Mishnah, at thirteen for the commandments, at fifteen for the Talmud, at eighteen for the bridechamber, at twenty for one's life pursuit, at thirty for authority, at forty for discernment, at fifty for counsel, at sixty to be an elder, at seventy for gray hairs, at eighty for special strength (Psalm 90:10), at ninety for decrepitude, and at a hundred a man is as one who has already died and has ceased from the affairs of this world.

Rav Shalom Hedayya ZTz"L, who had the merit to be a Rav to Rav Kaduri ZTz"L and Rav Eliyahu ZTz"L, as well as numerous other Rabbanim of merit, states that only when one is 30 is one truly ready for the Rabbinate, and if one strengthens himself he will merit true hora'ah(the ability to be a teacher) at forty, and then only after ten years have passed and we have found no error in his teaching and are able to trust him implicitly, then he merits to advise Klal Yisrael.

Yet in our generation we have abandoned the words of our sages. There is the twenty something year old Kabbalah scholar that sees fit to regularly send me messages(and blog comments) on how my life is headed down the wrong course, and how the Gedolim are really nobodies that should not be trusted(ChV"Sh). We have highschoolers telling people what they must do in order to make Shidduch, we have people barely out of Sem and their year in Israel for Yeshiva feeling that they now have the ability to give advice to the world. For instance we have the 19 year old that wishes to inform us of the horrors of Disney(without realizing that Disney stories are mostly based on the folk wisdom of the centuries past as recorded by the brothers Grimm[do your homework before you post]). Also ignoring the words of our sages, "Believe that the nations posses wisdom, but do not believe that they posses Torah."(Eichah Rabbah 2:13). All of this in the past week no less, hence the dismay to the point which I blog about it.

So before you decide to instruct the rest of us, and tell us all how we must live to be proper Jews with a proper hashkafa, before you decide to burden us with your untested advice because it sounds good to your own inexperienced ears, live a little first. Take some time to experience life in all of its diversity before you decide to tell others what to make of it. Focus your attention and your energy more on what our sages have instructed and less on what popular culture has leeched into Judaism.

Barukh Dayyan HaEmet: Oy Lanu

2010-06-07T17:25:00.002+03:00

Approximately one hour ago, Rav Mordekhai Eliyahu was niftar. Rav Eliyahu was a Tzadik gamur, and the loss to our generation is unimaginable. Please spread the word. His funeral will be tonight at 10pm for those in Israel that can make it, and who are not Kohanim like myself.

Final Selection

2010-06-07T14:47:00.002+03:00

Welcome to the new HaMekubal blog layout. I chose to go with a blue theme primarily on account of Rav Yitzhak Kaduri's love of all things blue. He said it was the color of Hesed, hence he would often be seen wearing something that was gaudily blue. In his memory and because Blogger seems to eventually take a dislike to my more adventurous choices here we go.

Blogger Frustration

2010-06-07T09:23:00.002+03:00

So once again blogger has updated its server software and the template I was using is no longer supported. I hope you like the new look. Though I may try out a few more, before I settle.

Jew Go Home!!!

2010-06-06T06:26:00.003+03:00

Jew Go Home!!! Mean words, cruel words. Words uttered by a long time leftist and White House press correspondent Helen Thomas.
(WARNING: Lady with vampiric appearance may frighten small children. Parental discretion is advised.)

Yes her words were ugly and uninformed, and nearly as pathetic as the weak apology with which she is attempting to save her career,

I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.

So let me say this, I am home. My family(paternal side) was never German, or Polish, and only three generations were born and died on US soil. Aside from a three hundred year sojourn in Salonica Greece, and three hundred year sojourn in Morocco followed by the US, my family has for the last 3500 years, lived and died right here. The Turks deported the Jews from Salonica back to Israel(and other places). The Arabs have expelled most of the Jews from their own lands. Should I go where I am not wanted? Why should I not long to live in the historical national home of my people?

Lucky for you lady that no one ever branded a number into your arm and lead you and your family to extermination chambers. Lucky for your that Henry Ford's assembly line industrial efficiency was never applied to the destruction of all you hold dear. May your descendants never have to know such a thing. However, that does not excuse your ignorance. There has never been a time when Israel lacked a Jewish presence. Rare are the times that Jews have not been the majority presence.

Another time we can talk about the absurdity of a "Palestinian" people or that Jerusalem is a "Holy Site" let alone the 3rd holiest. No for right now let's talk about a (non-native)American telling someone else to go back to where they came from. Lady you live in occupied territory. If the genocide and unrestricted warfare that the US carried out against the Native Americans(still offering rewards for proof of death until 1918 in fact) were to perpetrated today, the world would scream. You and your ancestors have no historical claim to the land in which you now live. People in glass house ought not throw stones.

One for the ladies

2010-06-04T00:23:00.002+03:00

I know that my minor irrevrancies will probably come back one day to bite me, however until such time I am determined to swing for the fences. So I am looking for a few good ladies to write guest posts about the treatment of women in Orthodox/Hareidi society, and how that affects self-esteem, self-worth, and that sort of thing.
If you are interested drop me a line. If you are worried about how you/your blog will be viewed if you are candid and honest, I will grant anonymity to anyone who wants it.

How do you like me now?

2010-06-02T02:10:00.005+03:00

So on a personal note, I have had an exciting week. Let me start this by saying that I am a self-supported(as in I make my own parnassa) Kollel learner. I am not paid by my Kollel, this is for my own personal reasons and it is a decision that my wife and I came to mutually. Initially it was easier to gain access to high level Kollelim if I did not want to be paid. Secondly not being paid means that if I want to take a day every now and again to be with my family I can. We have no intention of changing this status quo, but find the following to be rather exciting none the less.

In the last week I have been approached by representatives of two different top Kollelim(one of which is arguably the most prestigious Sefardi Kollel in the world who turned out none other than Rav Ovadia Yosef), and offered 2,000 and 3,000 shekel a month per seder to learn at them(there are three sedarim a day). Why this is exciting news. Well other than the ability to earn a decent living(by Israeli standards) with my learning, it is really neat feedback on my learning. Because I don't get paid, I typically don't get feedback on where I am holding, especially in the area of Kabbalah study. So to have other Kollelim offer top shekel for me to jump over to them is quite exciting. It gives me an idea of where I am holding, and how I am being viewed by other Roshei Yeshivot/Roshei Kollelim.

To quote my wife, "It is nice to know those doors are open should we ever need them for our support." Yes this is an unabashedly self congratulatory post. What can I say, it is one for the B"T team. Here I am an immigrant B"T who is being recruited, while top learners from top Yeshivot are being rejected. Yeah that feels mighty good.

Beyond the edifying feeling of having my own hard work recognized and appreciated, it is also a vindication for all the times when I was starting into learning and frum life that my FFB brethren looked down their noses at me, especially when I found my self in Shidduchim. It actually reminded me of this song by country legend Toby Keith:
(WARNING: Does contain what could be considered to be untznius images as it has cheerleaders doing a routine)

Flotilla Recapitulation

2010-06-01T14:26:00.002+03:00

My earlier post on Israel exaggerating claims of a "weapons cache" from this video posted by the IDF

was apparently somewhat misunderstood. My wife included felt that I came across as being somewhat defamatory toward Israel, so let me set the record straight.

I believe that under international law Israel was completely in the right. I believe that, while the rest of the world will try to construe it otherwise, Israel was also in the moral right. Israel is running a naval blockade of Gaza, which is a legal reality and totally permissible when a state of armed conflict or war exists.

A blockade is by nature an act of war. Since Israel pulled out of Gaza and back within the "Green Line" from the Gaza perspective, Gaza and Hamas lost its right, as an occupied territory, to resist occupation with any means necessary. In other words, when Israel occupied parts of Gaza, it was legal(speaking in terms of international law) for the Gazans to bomb and rocket Israel. Once Israel left, under those same international laws, rocket attacks became and act of war.

While the international community is unfortunately Hamas leaning, and thus will never go for it, even though the facts on the ground say otherwise, after Israel's withdraw from Gaza further attacks from Gaza and Hamas allowed Israel to undertake certain actions as a response to an act of war. If Israel can in anyway state that an active state of armed conflict or war exists between it and Gaza it then has the right under the rules of war, to enact a Naval blockade of Gaza. Much like the US did of Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis(by the way the US fired upon and killed Cuban fisherman during that blockade). Anyone attempting to run such a blockade, unless they are sailing under the flag of the IRC, is undertaking an act of war, and Israel has the right to respond as it sees fit. Again precedents for this are numerous, Germany and the US using submarines to torpedo ships(including civilian ocean liners) in the Atlantic and Pacific respectively during WWII, the US blockade of Cuba(where the US torpedoed Cuban fishing vessels under suspicion that they may be spying on US ship movements). Or the US blockade of Iraq, which is probably the most comparable. There the US sent boarding parties onto any ship trying to run the blockade from either direction with explicit orders that all resistance was to be met with lethal force. Entire crews of Iraqi sailors(most of whom were conscripted against their will) were killed before the US started exploring less than lethal options when they came to the understanding that these people would be executed when sent back to Iraq if they didn't resist.

All things considered, and given the history of blockades and what is permissible in them under the rules of war, Israel putting its soldiers into harms way by trying to board and commandeer a vessel under orders to only fire when fired upon, is quite passive. Even once engaged Israel used rubber bullets which are considered a less lethal option.

A fair comparison of the US blockade of Iraq to the Israeli blockade of Gaza, and the resulting criticisms or lack thereof will easily show a world bias against Israel.

To cap it off look at the first nation to pose its "condemnation". Turkey. Ever hear the Armenian Genocide? They need to look to their own house first, there is plenty enough there to keep them busy for quite a while.

The US has also stabbed Israel in the back by supporting(hey when you have veto power and don't use it, there is no other way to put it) the UNSC condemnation of Israel. It should look to its own history of blockades. From the end of the first Gulf war to the start of the second they were running a blockade against Iraq. Admittedly in congressional testimony and the writings of those involved, they only reason they didn't use stand off weapons(torpedoes and cruise missiles) is because they wanted to confiscate the Oil that Iraq was trying to run... oh and it would have created an environmental disaster.

Israel didn't use stand off weapons, because it was trying to protect the lives of those who mean her harm. Sending tons of aid to the bottom of the Med will not create an environmental disaster. A part of me hopes that that is how Israel behaves in the future, just like every other nation who has ever put up a serious Naval blockade. However, that is not the Jewish thing to do. Instead we will be martyrs to our morals, and suffer world condemnation for our restraint.

Ship boarding fiasco

2010-06-01T08:08:00.002+03:00

To put it simply Israel attempted a ship boarding, within the bounds of international law regarding the laws of war and blockades. Unfortunately for Israel most of the rest of the world doesn't see Israel's fight to defend itself as legitimate, and the whole thing got out of hand. Now Israel is trying to do damage control and is posting YouTube vids left and right, with dubious amounts of honesty. For instance this video claims to show the "weapons" found aboard one of the ships.

Now all of that would probably look fairly sinister to someone who has never been around a serious maritime vessel. However, excluding the slingshots/wrist rockets, gas masks and one firebomb, the rest of what you see is fairly standard fair for a ship. You have an assortment of kitchen knives(these ships typically have industrial sized kitchens to cook for crew and passengers) and a lot of metal and wood belaying pins. The primary purpose of belaying pins is to help tie the ship off at port. Now I do realize that a belaying pin, especially a metal one, can be used as a fairly vicious club, and have been a standard part of repelling boarders since the first maritime battles thousands of years ago. However to pile up every belaying pin that could possibly stripped from a ship that size and call it a pre-meditated weapon... well that is absurd.

To be honest if you were to pull any Red Cross or Doctors without borders ship into a port, excluding the gas masks(maybe) the fire bomb, and perhaps the number of sling shots/wrist rockets(though those are used as signaling devices so there will typically be a few) you would probably find the same "cache" of "weapons". That the crew and passengers took up those things to attack a legal boarding party, is a different matter. There you are talking about the savagery of the people involved. However, my vote is for honest reporting.

Cholent

2010-05-28T08:25:00.003+03:00

Well rightfully speaking we in the Sfardi world don't have cholent. We have Hamin or S'hina, the latter being the term that I have always known. It is a shortened form of the worde Shehina. Over time my wife and I(more my wife than I, though I dare say I have had some creative influence) have come up with several simple but tasty versions, usually involving varying amounts of rice and meats and flavorings. Before the advent of children when our house was a revolving door for Sem girls so that my wife would have something to do on Shabbat when I was at the Yeshiva learning, there was no end to the surprise(and sometimes dismay) of a "cholent" free of potatoes and heavy gravy.

Likewise there was no end to my surprise as to how much a few thin girls could typically pack away and that we would actually have to make more food for Melave Malka. This of course I chalk up to the difference of the dish, typically making it lighter(and easier on the stomach) then its Ashkenazi cousin, as well as to my wife's(and sometimes my own) good cooking abilities. Finally it is S'hina living up to what it is supposed to be, a little taste of heaven.

For us one of our favorite recipes, though by far not our lightest or easiest, is an old Recanti recipe that has been floating around my family for some time.
1/2 pound (1-1/4 cups) dried chick-peas
1/4 cup safflower or vegetable oil
3 leeks, white part only, cleaned and diced
1 large onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup uncooked rice
3 pounds boneless lean lamb, cubed
1 chicken, cut into pieces
1 marrow bone, sliced
6 raw eggs, in their shells
3 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
1 small cabbage, trimmed and quartered
1/2 pound garlic sausage, thickly sliced
2 mint sprigs
3 to 4 cups water or chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Soak the chick peas in cold water to cover, overnight. Drain and place in cheesecloth or foil and tie or seal. Set aside.Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the oil and sauté the leeks, onion, garlic and rice. Layer the lamb, chicken, marrow bone, eggs, carrots, cabbage, sausage, and mint leaves. Place the cheesecloth containing the chick-peas on top. Add the water. Place the Pelota at the very top. Add cumin and salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and bake for 3 hours. Reduce the heat to 225 degrees and keep warm until ready to serve.When ready to serve, carefully remove the Pelota and place them in the center of a large soup tureen or individual soup bowls. Surround the Pelota with the meat, vegetables, chick-peas (cheesecloth removed), peeled and halved eggs, and sauce.

Pelota is a rather dry Polenta that is then formed into a ball and essentially serves the same function as "kishke" in Ashkenazi recipes thought it is significantly different in flavor and texture. Often it is best to wrap it in cheese cloth, the idea is for it to be steamed with the fragrance of what is in the pot, not for it to be boiled in the sauce.

Also this is a large recipe so don't be afraid to cut it down. Typically if it is just my wife and the kids we halve it with the intent of eating it for three meals.

Kabbalah in English?

2010-05-26T12:43:00.001+03:00

Here is a Teshuva from a pre-eminent Kabbalist, Rabbi Yosef Haim, better known as the Ben Ish Hai, in which he explains the prohibition of translating Kabbalistic texts into other languages.
Rav Pealim

Who may learn and who may teach Kabbalah

2010-05-26T12:31:00.001+03:00

Here is a teshuva from Rav Ovadia Yosef on who is qualified to learn Kabbala and who is qualified to teach it. Thus also how to help identify charlatans.
Yehave Da'at 4:47

Book Review: Faith and Folly

2010-05-24T19:01:00.005+03:00

So here is another blogger first for me I am going to review a book dealing with Kabbalah. The title of the book is Faith and Folly it is written by Rav Yaakov Hillel Shlita. I originally read this work in its Hebrew original, and was delighted to be able to pick up the English translation. In the star category I would give this book 4.5 out of 5. Yes, not a perfect score. So, let me start with the things that I didn't like about the book.

First was that the English translation was not done by Rav Yaakov Hillel himself. Perhaps this sounds petty, however, considering he speaks and writes better English than I do, I would have expected him to translate his own thoughts into English. A translator is always grasping at the original intent of the author, whereas the author knows what he meant.

My second gripe, and this is my main one, is that unlike the Hebrew version which carried the full unedited Haskama of Rav Kaduri ZTz"L, this one axed about 80% of it. They actually do translate the many haskamot, and literally the book has a haskama by every living Gadol of the time it was originally written(1987). The reason I am upset about the editing of the haskama by Rav Kaduri ZTz"L is that he actually takes Rav Hillel to task for some inaccuracies in the book and speaks quite explicitly about some matters which he felt were misrepresented. That being said, I understand why they cut it, essentially there are halakhic issues with translating explicit Kabbalah into English. However, my gripe stands.

Aside from that, I think this book belongs on the shelf of every Ben Torah and Rabbi. With the proliferation of false Kabbalists who extort large sums of money (or any sum of money for that matter), this book serves as an excellent warning as to what one should stay far away from and how to identify charlatans posing as Mekubalim. In short his advice on this can be summed up in a few short words, if they are charging you money, you can bet that they are a charlatan.

However, Rav Hillel does not stop there. He brings an excellent and concise history of Kabbalah and how it was passed through the ages. With this he explains in brief the full gamut of Kabbalistic powers and practices, including giving detailed descriptions of who is and more importantly is not qualified to use them.

Finally he elucidates which practices that go under the guise of Kabbalah are permitted and which are forbidden, as well as sourcing through Kabbalistic texts as well as the revealed words of the sages of Israel why these practices are permitted or forbidden. Not only will this help a person from being deceived it also serves as an excellent resource for those who are genuinely interested in understanding more about Kabbalah.

This book will be one of my all time favorites and will probably be lent out to everyone who asks me about such and such Kabbalistic practice.

As one final point, Rav Hillel also does an excellent job of concealment. There are many things in his lists of permitted forbidden or forgotten practices that are actually still taught in Kabbalistic Yeshivot and actually found in the Kitvei Ha"Ari. Rav Hillel quite obviously does this for one prime reason, namely that a number of spurious works have come out in recent decades detailing various Kabbalistic practices which are not based on Holy sources, but many in fact are based on unholy sources. Those who have understanding will know, however, if you are truly studying Kabbalah in a legitimate Kabbalistic Yeshiva you will probably know exactly what I am talking about.

So once again, I recomend that everyone buy a copy of this book, especially if you are thinking of looking to "kabbalists/Rebbeim" for advice/prayers/segulot ect. It will help the lay individual steer well clear of the predators in fancy jackets, gartels and hats/streimels.

Mila and Protexia

2010-05-18T15:52:00.003+03:00

So my hopes of learning mohelut(how to circumcise) in English have been dashed. First there is no one in Jerusalem that teaches regularly in English, secondly those that do, are a part of Rabbinut certification programs. Starting price of tuition $15,000, let me spell that out for you fifteen thousand dollars. While I find it funny that a state run program in a nation whose primary currency is the shekel charges dollars for its tuition, the amount is ludicrous.

When my face had drained of blood and turned white and I had hung up the phone, I explained to my wife(who is part of the push for me to learn this in time). Her response was, "well now I know why more people don't do it." No kidding! The majority of those who are going to be interested are kollel avreichim(like me) and even those who work to support themselves(like me) typically don't have 15G laying around to through into a venture.

It seemed that the story there was going to come to a screaming halt. Then my Rosh Yeshiva asked me how things were going, and in the midst of the conversation I told him that I wanted to learn mohelut in the hopes of being the mohel for my own son. He said, no problem, talk to so and so, he runs a certification program. To which I responded, I don't have a lot of money for it. To which he responded, "Tell him that I want you to learn it, and I want it to be free(bli kesef) if he is not happy with that, tell him the Yeshiva will foot the bill."

Oh protexia, only in Israel can such things occur. I am not complaining. The down side is that I am going to be learning in Hebrew, as I am in an Israeli Yeshiva, and the Rosh Yeshiva doesn't speak more than three words of English... actually five in two phrases(Thank you very much. Got chicken?) I am forced to learn in Hebrew. Not my first choice. Yes I do learn the intricacies of Kabbalah in Hebrew, but there if I make a mistake, I am just like 90% of the other people who don't fully understand it. I also learned Safrut in Hebrew, but with Safrut if I make a mistake there is a Baal Hamagiah that will point it out, and I can either fix it, or do it over depending on what I am working on.

In mohelut however, there are no do overs. So it is a little nerve racking, though the Rav who runs the program has told me not to worry, it goes like this all the time. Its why we get so much practice. Apparently we do several hundred on anatomical dummies, and then move up to still borns, before doing them on those who will complain if something goes wrong. My Rosh Yeshiva's brother, who is a physician, said to me, "Don't worry you will have several hundred practice ones under your belt before you try the real thing. People, like in America, who have doctors do them in the hospital, they are lucky if the person performing it has ever done even one before." From my pre-med days I know that to be true. Typically interns do "minor surgeries" and residents will often perform complicated surgeries under the rubric of see one, do one, teach one. One of my professors in University had an interesting story of how in his first week of residency he had to put a man's face back together. Apparently he was in a bad accident and required extensive plastic surgery, and he was tasked with it, having never done a surgery before. He ended the story with, "I always wondered how that turned out."

So I guess it will be alright. Just a little nervous, though happy I don't have to smack down 15g.

Praying to the Dead

2010-05-09T09:00:00.003+03:00

Edit: I bolded the Mareh Makomot that deal directly with the topic at hand.
One more from Bad4's thought provoking post. In the midst of it all someone came up with davening at Kevrim and what was or was not allowed to happen there. Here is a choice quote which out of respect for the Baalat Hablog, I will respond to here:

Not only do I still maintain that at Kivrei Tzaddikim you are allowed to speak to the Tzaddikim buried there, but that it is what you are supposed to do! (Not that you shouldn’t also pray to Hashem there, but that in addition you are meant to address the Tzaddikim and request that they be a melitz and arouse mercy in Heaven.)... So you seriously want to tayna that something which is minhag yisroel, and certainly the whole Chassidic community does, is close to kefira/avoda zara???

I want to handle the last part first. Yes it is Avoda Zara, as I will attempt to demonstrate through numerous sources. Secondly it is not Minhag Yisrael, it is not Minhag Hassidim, it is the minhag of a single questionable sect of Chassidim, nothing more. Several months ago coming up on the Hillulah of the RaShaSh ZTz"L someone in my shiur challenged the Rosh Yeshiva that it was not permissable to even daven to HaShem at a Kever based on a certain Rambam found in his Hilchot Avoda Zara. If you want to know how someone can challenge the Rosh Yeshiva in his own shiur... well its a very high level shiur, with a great many serious Talmidei Hakhamim, many of whom could be Roshei Yeshivot in their own right if they had any desire to, and some of whom are. I am one of three young people who managed to beg a a seat at the table. Anyway, the Rosh Yeshiva decided to dedicate a half-hour to an hour of the shiur each day to pilpul on the subject to work up a Teshuva on what exactly one was and was not allowed to do at a Kever. When that was finished we submitted the Teshuva for review and correction to the following Gedolim:
Rav Ovadia Yosef
Rav Shalom Eliyashiv
Rav Yaakov Hillel
The Admur of Belz
The Admur of Ger
The Admur of Bobov
The Admur of Toldos Aharon
The Adumor of Toldos Avraham Yitzchak
Rav Eliyahu Muhadem(He is the Rosh of five Kollelim and Yeshivot, and was established as such by Rav Moshe Teitelbaum a previous Admur of Satmar).
Rav Morgenshtern(one of the Leading Rabbanim of Breslov Chassidut here in E"Y as well as a Rosh of a Kabbalistic Yeshiva).
Aside from Rav Yosef adding a slew of additional sources and asking why there was a need for such a Teshuva as it was in his view "Pshat Halacha" all of these Gedolim were in agreement with the Teshuva which stated:

It is ossur to daven a regular service within the Tziyun(the area or room directly around the Kever) or if the Kever is in the open or in a Bet HaKeverim within 4 amot of it or any other kever. It is ossur to make any petition of the Tzaddik or niftar buried within the Kever. It is ossur to daven for one's specific needs within 4 amot of the Kever. One may read Tehillim within the Tziyun or within 4 amot of the kever for the sake of the Tzaddik or niftar buried there. One may make specific prayers for the ascension of the Tzaddik's neshama.

Following that was the detailed Teshuva comprising all of the sources. I am not going to type out all of the sources here, it would just be way to long, though I will list them.
Vayikra 19:26, Devarim 18:11, Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 56b, Sanhedrin 65b, Kritot 3b, Talmud Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:10, Tosefat Sanhedrin 10:3, Makkot 4:4, Avoda Zera 9:4, Shekalim 2:5, Zohar Pekudei 150a, Emor 70a, Emor 71b, Acharei Mot 71a, Rambam Hilchot Avoda Zera 11:13, Rambam Hilchot Aveilut 4:4, Rambam Hilchot Taanit 4:17, Rabaz Ta'anit 4:4, Tur Y"D 344 Beit Yosef there, Tur Y"D 179, Shulchan Aruch Y"D 179:13, Shulchan Aruch O"H 581:4, Shulhan Arukh O"H 579:3 Magen Avraham 579 S"K11, Kitvei HaAri Shaar HaKavvanot Drush Lag B'Omer, Shaar Ruach HaKodesh 22d, 13b-c, 47a-49c, Zohar Shemot(didnt' hear the daf), Kitvei HaAri Maamar Rashbi Shemot, Maaseh Rav(don't have page number), Nefesh HaRav p 254, Ish HaHalakah 36-40, Hokhmat Adam 89:7, Mishneh Berura 581:4:27, Sefer Ben Ish Hai Parashat Netzavim 2, and Halikhot Olam 224.

So to recap praying to the dead is considered by a majority of Judaism as being Avoda Zara. There is ample documented halachic evidence for this. Praying to the dead is not minhag Yisrael. It is not Minhag Chassidim either, as somewhere between 1.5-2million Chassidim are represented by the Rabbanim listed above. In fact it remains to be seen as to whether any Chassidic sect holds that way, though this blogger has promised to post something proving me wrong. It has obviously been delayed, and will remain to be seen as to whether it is a valid tradition in his own sect(which would in my opinion speak very poorly for the sect), or if it is his own misunderstanding.

Kabbalah Vs Rationalist Judaism...

2010-05-08T22:34:00.006+03:00

Over on Bad4's blog, I was presented with an argument that certain aspects of Kabbalah are dangerously close to(or possibly even) Avoda Zara. I was presented with this article wr itten by an anonymous Torah Scholar, which essentially makes the claim that Kabbalah, on account of things such as the Sephirot, does not hold to the belief of an absolute unity. Let me start by saying that I respect that Scholar's research, and his familiarity with sources. It was quite an interesting read. Unlike some other commentators, I don't believe that anything the author said was Kefira or out of the bounds of authentic Orthodox Judaism in any way. However, I do think that he made two major errors.

First, he presented the position of the "Rishonim" as being overly monolithic, as if the Ramban was some sort of oddity in the world of Torah Judaism at the time, neglecting the fact that a good number of other Rishonim were also heavily involved with Kabbalah, he overlooked personalities such as the Raavad, Rabbeinu Yona, the Rosh and the Tur, Yosef Giktalia, Shimon D'Min'Acco to name but a few. Also in this vein he states that the view of the faith as proposed by the Rambam was essentially a continuation of previous monolithic system, which, quite frankly is not true, as this article from Hashkafa Circle will clearly demonstrate.

Second major mistake, he presents an inaccurate view of what Kabbalists believe. He seems to state that Kabbalists actually view things such as the Sefirot as being existent. Which is not the case, as I have already done one post on. However to really firm this up I offer you a piece of the Eitz Haim(daf 14c)

Therefore it is an apparent matter that there is body and no resemblance of a body, G-d forbid. All of these descriptions and images it is not that they actually are like this Has VShalom. Therefore they are to soothe the ear in order that the person will be able to understand lofty and spiritual things will be precieved and registered in the intellect of mortals, thus permission has been given to speak in the manner of descriptions and images... Even the verses of the Torah itself answer and speak in this manner such as when the pasuk says, "the eyes of HaShem wonder in all the earth"...

Just as we are no more supposed to actually think that HaShem has hands, feet, eyes, ears, or nose, despite them being referenced in the Torah, same with the Sephirot and such things spoken about in Kabbalah. They are simply constructs to help us understand. In reading the writings of the Ari(more accurately Haim Vital's transcription of the Ari's teachings) it is important to understand that they were not given over to beginners. Most of the Ari's students had giluy Eliyahu HaNavi before they started learning with the Ari. Thus what the Ari gave only a single paragraph here and there to, others have written substantial works on. Two that are considered absolutely foundational for the study of Kabbalah are Shomer Enumina (HaKadmon) and Kise Eliyahu. These two works spend an incredible amount of space explaining how none of these things about which we talk truly exist, they simply are constructs to help conversation.

Are there people who call themselves mekubalim who in their arrogance have thought that they could bypass these works, and skip right into the meat of things? Yes absolutely, and yes they are completely off about the unity of HaShem. Hey I know whole Yeshivot that follow this kefira. However there are crazies in every sect of Judaism, we need not name names or point fingers. Just as it would be wrong to reject Litvakim or Hasidim because of the extremists and crazies that populate their midst, it would be wrong to reject Kabbalah simply because there are some who don't seem to be read what is written on the page, or think that they are above the commentaries of generations past.

DovBear Burning

2010-05-03T11:27:00.003+03:00

As I stumble out of the Lag B'Omer induced fog of no sleep and five hour bus rides, I feel compelled to comment on the burning of DovBear's books. As one blog made graphically known, and as others have since responded strongly toward, there were people who were burning copies of DovBear's book on Lag B'Omer. I witnessed it in Meron, people are definitely upset with his work, and are deciding to lash out.

Now if DovBear's work wasn't a work of Torah(I will explain that in just a bit), I would urge him to take the same track as Kevin Smith(Dogma) or J.K. Rowling(anything Potter) and encourage his detractors to buy many copies in order to burn many copies. It would just be a capitalistic way to pump up his revenue and his standing on the New York Times best seller list. However, DovBear's books are not works fiction, but works of Torah.

Lag B'Omer is the day that we celebrate the life of the Rashbi. Its been almost two days and refrains of Bar Yochai are still ringing in my ears. Why do we celebrate the Rashbi like this, and none of the other Tannaim? Because the Rashbi wrote the Zohar, or at least portions of it. Yes I do know that various scholars have claimed a late date for the authorship of the Zohar. However I believe there is ample evidence for authentic authorship as can be easily demonstrated and has by people far more interested in that polemic than I. Returning to my original point, the Rashbi was the author of the Zohar. Specifically the Tikkunei Zohar. On the very first Daf it states that the Rashbi wrote the Tikkunei Zohar for the express purpose of demonstrating the 70 facets of Torah, from the aspect of Sod, on the first word(Bereshit) of the Torah.

What does the Rashbi and the Tikkunei Zohar have to do with DovBear? Simple DovBear is doing nothing more than offering up another facet of Torah. There are more than 70 BTW, the midrash tells us that Reheboam was able to offer up 490. Therefore I think it rather absurd to be burning a book of Torah, albeit written from a different opinion, on a day celebrating a man who did just that.

You may not agree with DovBear, I know that very often I do not, however his opinion and his point is within the four amot of Torah. He has not rejected the 613 mitzvot or the 13 principles of faith. Thus he does not qualifiy as a an Apikoris, and there can be no halachic imperative to burn his works on Torah. Even if this were not the case I still don't think his books should be burned. DovBear definitely represents the left wing of Orthodox Judaism. However while we are in anatomical analogies, consider anything that lives by flight. If you remove one of those wings it will cease to fly, and so will assure its death.

Ultimately though what DovBear lacks, what gets his books burned, is not his views. It is his lack of proper protexia. His views are expounded by Rabbis(possibly not all concentrated within one person) within the Hareidi world. However, DovBear, like Slifkin, has the misfortune of living outside the bunker of Hareidi Judaism. Only because his views are perceived to be from the outside is he attacked. More on Hareidi bunker mentality another time.

But does he speak English...

2010-04-27T05:18:00.001+03:00

But does he speak English? It is a question that I never really thought that i would be asking concerning learning Torah ever again. It was a question however that I posed to an old havruta of mine just yesterday. He looked at me like I was nuts, and reminded me that I learn the depths of Sodei HaTorah as well as the rest of Torah everyday in Hebrew, not to mention that I learned safrut in Hebrew.

So why did I ask this seemingly insane question. Because I am undertaking the learning of Mohelut(how to circumcise). See in any other area of Torah if I get something wrong, it can easily be corrected without someone being severely injured Has V'Halila or worse... dying Has V'Halila. Here however, I am dealing with cutting something off of someone in a, albeit minor, surgical procedure, so I really do want to make sure that I understand exactly what is going on. Not to mention the fact that, if G-d willing it be a son, my first actual go at this will be on my own child which is due in a few months.

So while it may seem crazy to those around me to want to learn(at least initially, in Israel there are two levels, mohel and expert mohel) this is English... it doesn't seem to crazy to me considering my own child may well be my first solo attempt. Anyone else agree with me? Feel free to weigh in...

Evolution

2010-04-25T15:35:00.002+03:00

I read this post on Bad4's blog. It made begin to think about affecting change within oneself, and how we measure such change. While I am not an expert in the area of personal change, by nature of being a Ba'al Teshuva and by nature of learning Kabbalah, the issue is nearly constantly before me. I think of one of my Havrutot, a man who like me was a B"T very young, though entirely through a certain Kabbalistic Yeshiva. Today one of the of greatest frustrations he and his wife face are with their daughter in shidduchim. Almost every boy being redt to her is a son of a Rosh Yeshiva... most of us would would say halevai that should be the biggest of our problems with shidduchim(whether our own or in the lives of our daughters). For anyone in the Hareidi world, it is easily understood that for the daughter of a B"Ts this should be a major honor. However for them it is not what they want. Why? Put in the simplest terms, and meaning no disrespect to any other Jew, all too often the sons of Roshei Yeshivot in the modern, post WWII world are treated in their communities as the sons of kings, and thus(my havruta's[actually his wife's] words not mine) are often lacking in the basic middot development found in other boys their age(something I had already slightly dealt with).

See the issue is that today often the tool for effecting personal evolution is a theory חיצוניות מעוררת את הפנימיות hitzoniut m'oreret et hapnimiut(the outside awakens the inside). This is was at one point a theory of behavioral modification in psychology that has largely been rejected for usage in modifying one's thought patterns. Here is how it works, essentially the thought is that if you force a set of behaviors and habits upon an individual that eventually their attitudes will be changed. To put it more blunt terms you press a child into a cookie-cutter and you will get predictable results. Psychologically this has actually been found to be less than effective and possibly psychologically damaging. To a wider extant a number of the problems currently found within the Hareidi community with קנאיים kanoiim(zealots) and "at risk" children are a direct result of this type of attempted conditioning.

The time tried method of חשבון נפש heshbon nefesh combined with study of musar is fading. Many major Yeshivot in the last decade have decided that such things are bitul torah as they take away from the time that one could be learning a blatt of gemarra. See this post as well as this earlier post as to what I think of many of changes that have occurred within the Yeshiva system. The key principle that our sages of old operated under was that man was created בצלם אלקים b'tzelem elokim(in the image of G-d). It was this image that was damaged through the sin of Adam HaRishon, and through our individual sins. Thus it is this image we are trying to restore. Traditionally there were three main ways that this was accomplished the afore mentioned heshbon nefesh as well as התבוננות hitbonenut and התבודדות hitbodedut, all of which the Rambam records as mitzvot. Forgive me for not expounding more upon each of those, but essentially they are blog posts in and of themselves to truly capture their essence, and brevity would do them a disservice.

By and large Judaism today has walked away from these tried and true methods of affecting personal change and evolution. Primarily they are considered to be bitul torah because the time spent on them could be, in some people's minds, be put to better use doing other things. To gain any noticeable benefit out of any of those three requires a dedication of time every day for several months. They are complicated skills that must be learned and cannot be hurried. So instead we have come up with the cookie cutter. Unfortunately the cookie cutter deals primarily with externals. The problem with this is that tzelem elokim has no physical form or image, it is only middot. So instead we force people into the images of other, definitely inferior things. We try to force people into tzelem beit yaakov, tzelem mirrer, tzelem admur so and so, tzelem... thinking that external manipulation will affect internal change, when our sages for thousands of years(until about the last 30-50 actually) have said that only internal change will affect the exterior.

To be continued...

While it may be found

2010-04-21T10:57:00.003+03:00

"Seek HaShem while He may found found, call to Him while He is near..."(Yesheyahu 55:6) In the last five years Rav Kaduri passed away, followed by Rav Darzi, and recently(Shabbat HaGadol) Rav Shalom Mordechai Hedayya. Just to be clear I am not inferring in any way that these men were somehow divine. They were tzadikim gemurim, this is certain, but they were men of flesh and blood. What is striking to me is that I had opportunity to learn with each of them, opportunity that now I wished I had taken full advantage of. While certainly they are not HaShem, they were repositories for the Torah of HaShem, both the revealed aspects and the concealed. Being a young man(even younger when I first started delving into the hidden Torah under the tutelage of Rav Kaduri), I have often found it easy to make excuse to put off going to a shiur, or not to pay the utmost attention. I looked at myself, a very young person to be starting this level of study to be sure, and thought that I had plenty of time. In an endeavor that will last a lifetime, what is a single day, or even a week.

Now I understand the fullness of my folly. While I can never recover those sessions that I lost, I will cherish those that I have recorded all the more. The petira of Rav Hedayya, struck me the hardest of all. It made me realize that I was wasting golden opportunities. As those of his generation are coming to the end of their time upon this earth(even if it be the fullness of 120), there is precious little time left with each of them, and thus now is the time to seize upon every opportunity as if it is the last, for truly it may be. While there will yet be many generations that call Rav Beniyahu Shmueli, Rav David Batzri, or Rav Yaakov Hillel their teachers(bezrat HaShem, bli ayin hara), for many(who were themselves the teachers of the current giants) they are now most likely instructing the last talmidim that they will ever have. It is an opportunity not to be wasted...

A Shabbat table story...

2010-04-19T15:28:00.000+03:00

I was reading this WWYD Shabbat Guest and again in the way my mind works I was reminded of a story. I heard this from one of the students of R' Mordechai Sharabi Z"L. After he became Zaken V'Rosh Yeshivot HaMekubalim a famous litvak Haredi Rav, who was also a major Rosh Yeshiva, asked for hospitality at Rav Sharabi's home for Shabbat. Rav Sharabi was delighted to have him, as it is always an honor to host Talmidei Hakhamim. Rav Sharabi's minhag was to have women sit at one end of the table and the men at the other, with either children or empty chairs offering the necessary negia buffer zone in between. All went well until the first course. As Rav Sharabi was preparing to give a short discourse as the salad course was being served, the Litvak Rav turned to him and told him that he was uncomfortable with the seating arrangements, that is not proper for men and women to be seated together. Rav Sharabi, told him that he was confused, as the men and women are not seated together, but rather they are at one end of the table, with a buffer zone between those of the opposite gender. The Litvak Rav replied, that he meant that it was not proper men and women to be at the same table, or even where the men can see the women. Rav Sharabi told him not to worry that he would remedy the situation and asked his wife to go and prepare a separate table in the kitchen(they lived in a fairly small Nahlaot home). When his wife came back to state that all was prepared, some of the wives of the Litvakim that came with their Rav began to get up. Rav Sharabi waved them back to their seats, turned to the Litvak Rav and said, "Feel free to move whenever you want." and then proceeded to give his dvar.

Please Daven

2010-04-19T02:21:00.003+03:00

Yeshivat Rabbi Akiva whose website can be found here has lost their building. I know that many will initially think, "So What?!? What does it matter if Jerusalem looses a single Yeshiva?" Normally at that point I would shrug my shoulders and walk away, as it is probably an irreconcilable hashkafa difference. However, this is not your normal Yeshiva. It is a Ba'al Teshuva Yeshiva catering to the retired. Yes, the retired. With a uniquely warm atmosphere that actually attracts even young bochurim who are willing to brave the grumpy old men for the atmosphere. Admittedly I was one of those young men for a little while when I first moved to Israel.

While you may think that Jerusalem could use to loose a single Yeshiva, even a single B"T Yeshiva, I personally don't know of another Yeshiva anywhere in the world that caters to mature individuals who have made their professional careers(or who are continuing them) and having returned to Judaism, want to learn what it is all about. I am asking anyone who reads this to please daven that they will soon find a new space. These aren't people who are looking to get out work by being in Yeshiva, they have made their professional careers and in many cases finished them. I personally think that the least we can do is pray that HaShem will open the doors for them to have space to live out their golden years learning Torah.

Why the Rabbi can't answer the question...

2010-04-18T15:19:00.001+03:00

I saw this post R-E-S-P-E-C-T the Rabbi! over at the Out of Town blog. After having already responded to the blog that it is a derivation from. I know I have touched, at least briefly in posts gone by, as to how the Yeshiva system is different today from what it was before, and one is forced to say that the change has not necessarily been for the better. Most Modern Yeshivot are run on the model set up by Rav Haim of Volozhen. Essentially shortly after the young man's Bar Mitvah he enters into Talmud sudy b'iyun(in depth) with a havruta(a study partner at roughly his same level). He will have a shiur usually for a half hour to an hour a day. When he hits the age of 20+ if he wants to become a Rabbi he will begin studying halacha with a hevra(a group of peers on roughly the same level) and have a shiur with Rav for a half hour to an hour once or twice a week. However the primary time is spent learning Gemarra b'iyun. Around 24(he may still not be a Rabbi) he starts looking for a wife, once he gets one, he will typically leave the Yeshiva. If he is capable(or if he still hasn't attained Semicha and wants to try his hand at being a communal Rav) he may enter a Kollel for year or two, to learn Issur V'Heter(basic laws of Kashrut), and then he is done.

However this is not the way things were done. I can point to numerous sources laying out daily study plans(and I will), but first one needs look no further than the Shulchan Aruch. Sh"A Even HaEzer 1:3, "It is a Mitzvah for every man to marry a woman at the age of 18, and one who married earlier fulfills the Mitzvah in its choicest manner. However, before the age of 13 one should not get married as this is considered immoral [z’nus]. In any event, one should not go past 20 years of age without a wife. And one for whom 20 years passed and he does not want to get married, the Beis Din forces him to marry in order to fulfill the Mitzvah of piryah v’rivya. Nevertheless, one who is occupied [with learning] Torah and toils in [its study], and he is afraid to take a wife in order that he will not have to bother [working] for his sustenance and will thus disrupt his Torah study, is permitted to delay" The Beit Shmuel S"K3 raises the question of why the age of getting married starts at 18. He answers that because learning started at the age of 15(what that constitutes we will talk about later). Until the age of 15 at that time, the children were still being introduced only to the basics of Mikra and Mishnah(after 10). It was not until 15 that Gemmarra and the law codes(such as Shulchan Aruch) would begin to be studied. What's more is that they expected the children to be proficient by the time they were between 18-20. Essentially the men were expected to earn a living to support their families. The perpetual Kollelite as we have today was a lot more rare and reserved only for Scholars of high caliber. It gets better the Pithei Teshuva S"K 5 discusses the permitted delay that was allowed for the sake of Torah, he said that it should not be beyond the age of 24. By that point the students were expected to be self-sufficient scholars to the point where they could become Rabbanim, or move out into the world of labor and need only the basic minimum hours(five according to the Shulchan Aruch) of learning to stay proficient.

Recently a Orthodox educational institution did a study of communal Rabbanim across the US. They found that five years out of Yeshiva 95% of communal Rabbanim could not read a page of Gemmarra, and worse most could answer only the most rudimentary shailot in the areas for which they had recieved Semicha. So what has changed? Just about everything. The way we learn has changed completely. First the foundational system was obviously different as already mentioned. Second the Rishonim and Achronim until R' Haim Volozhen advocated an order of study known as Hok L'Yisrael. Yes there is a sefer now called Hok L'Yisrael for those who want to sort of follow the seder of our sages, but need to spend most of their time in the standard Yeshiva studes. However, Hok L'Yisrael was compeletely different from what we now have as an order of learning. Today we have a heavy iyun emphasis. A Yeshiva student will spend 12-16hrs learning, all but 2-3 of that will be spent in Gemarra b'iyun. Hok L'Yisrael was primarily Bekiut(breadth as opposed to depth). Because the AR"I and the RaShaSh was such a fan of this system, most Kabbalistic Yeshivot still employ it. Here is a typical schedule for a beginner(like me). Reading a selection of the Torah twice and the Targum to it once, with Rashi. Then reading a section of the Neviim and Ketuvim, with their Targumim and Rashi, so as to complete the NaKh in a year. Follow that with 18 chapters of Mishnah with the commentary of R' Ovadiah M'Bartenura(this way one completes the entire Mishnah every month). Seven dapim of Gemarra with Rashi and Tosefot(in order to complete the Gemarra every year). Two dapim of Zohar(to complete the Zohar yearly), a reading from Reishit Hokhma(musar), Daf yomi of Eitz Haim. Then about an hour to two a day of gemarra b'iyun(it is typically a shiur taught by a Rav), 2-3hrs a day of Halacha b'iyun(also taught by a Rav), and if you want to be a mekubal, a third seder of Kabbalah b'iyun. The Havruta system was also different. Instead of being paired with someone roughly your own level, you are paired with a senior student or a Kollelite. For example right now I have two primary Havrutot, one has been learning(he supports himself primarily as a sofer and shochet) for 30+ years. My other Havruta has been learning longer, but I may be losing him soon because his father(a Rosh Yeshiva) is recently niftar and he is one of the scholars that may be taking his place.

I asked the senior of my Havrutot once, why the difference. Why not pair off with people who are on equal levels. First he gave me a parable. He said imagine that a group of people want to learn to be silver smiths. An expert smith shows them out to bang out a kiddush cup, in say a half hour, just a quick demonstration. He then tells them to pair up, hands them lumps of silver and tells them to reproduce the work to the best of their abilities and he will be around everyday to offer advice on the progress of their work. A few naturally skilled individuals will become quality smiths. A very rare few will become smiths of any sort of true expertise. This is why throughout history apprenticeship has always been a one on one endeavor, why should Torah, which is far more precious that articles of silver or gold be treated differently. When this system was in full swing consider the results. Of the disciples of the AR"I the price of admission was gilui Eliyahu HaNavi, or consider the RaShaSh the very least of his students that he considered unworthy to learn, and thus refused to teach him was the Hid"a Z"L. Finally the Mishnah says that a Rav must make many disciples... Why? The meforshim explains that a Rav only truly learns from the questions of his disciples.

The reason for the Volozhen model was that there were only three, yes just three, Yeshivot in all of Europe. The local community could not support that many Rabbanim, and considering the poverty of European Jewry, it was hard to establish reliable support for Rabbanim. To put it into practical terms they wanted to able to run a massive Yeshiva with only a handful of Gedolei Torah. In practical terms take a Yeshiva I know a little bit about, BMG(the Lakewood Yeshiva). They have a Rabbinic staff that include probably a dozen truly recognized Gedolim... for six thousand students. At its peak capacity of 125 talmidim, Beit E-l had over 15 Gedolim, with names such as Rav Ovadiah Hadayyah, Rav Shalom Hadayyah, Rav Mordechai Hadayyah, Rav Darzi, Rav Sharabi, Rav Kaduri, Rav Attiyah, and Rav Ades, all of whom at some point in their lives would be honored with the title "Zaken V'Rosh HaYeshivot HaMekubalim" typically translated into English as "Chief Kabbalist."

There is no doubt that the Volozhen model saved Judaism. Without it rebuilding after the Holocaust would have been near impossible. However, now that we have rebuilt, perhaps it is time to reconsider.

Yom HaShoa

2010-04-18T12:39:00.003+03:00

Yes I know that Yom HaShoa has come and passed this year. However, as the Haredi(or lack thereof) observance of said day keeps popping up on blogs, I figured I would throw in my two cents. First the Holocaust was without a doubt a horrific time in the history of the Jewish people. 60+ years later the Klal still feels the loss. However, that does not mean that I think it should have its own day.

Of all the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people why is the Holocaust different? Is it more traumatic that the destruction of our Holy Temple for which we still mourn? Is is more important than over two thousand years of persecutions, pogroms and attempts to eradicate the Jewish people? I am only airing my own opinion(granted many of the Gedolim of Haredi world have said the same), but to me it seems to give the Holocaust its own day, while every other tragedy that has befallen the Jewish people is commemorated by one(Tisha B'Av) is, at least in a sense, to say that the Holocaust trumps all of those other tragedies combined.

Falling back on my own Sephardi heritage, this also smacks of the "racial" divide between European and non-European Jews. To put things into perspective, the Holocaust afflicted roughly one-third of the world's Jewish population. That was tragic no doubt, but bear in mind that the Inquisitions(perpetrated mostly against Sephardim) afflicted over three-quarters of the world's Jewish population, yet any commemoration of that also is relegated to Tisha B'Av.

So yes, I think those Jews who treat Yom HaShoa as just another day are well within their rights.

A Shabbat Kiruv Tale

2010-04-16T11:14:00.003+03:00

This is the story of one of the Rabbanim who initially trained me in Yeshiva. I was reading this post on Hadassah's blog and was reminded of this(if you don't get how, don't worry, my mind makes funny connections sometimes).

A unique aspect to Hareidi life in Jerusalem are the arsim(if you are Hareidi in Israel I wouldn't recommend using that word around your Rosh Yeshiva) who decide to do things like drive through Meah Shearim on Shabbat just to cause a stir. This Rabbi who I will call Zaphod II(I don't want to cause him embarassment but I think the story has real potential for hizuk) was one of those people.

So there he is taking a Saturday drive through Meah Shearim. Stones of various sizes are hurtling at his car from all directions, and there is cacophony of "Shobboyes!!" going up all around him. As he turns to head right down the heart of Meah Shearim into Shmuel HaNavi, he is confronted by a strange sight. There stands a Hassid, short pants, long bekesha cinched by an oversize gartel, big streimel, long beard and even longer peyut. I know not such a strange sight for Meah Shearim on Shabbat, except that this man is standing right in the middle of this narrow one-way street with his arm outstretched in the universal "Halt!" sign.

Zaphod II has to make a quick decision is this a trap of some sort set to trick him into stopping so the zealous youth can drag him from his car and stone him to death for his blasphemies and thus should he just run this silly Hassid down, or does he actually stop. Zaphod decides, admittedly against his better judgment to stop. His reasoning... he is still in the reserves and thus allowed to carry a firearm, which he does in the form a colt .45 so at the very least he will take a few with him when they stone him(his words when he told me this story, not mine).

The Hassid jogs around to the drivers side window and signs for Zaphod II to roll his window down. Reluctantly Zaphod II does.

Says the Hassid: "Maybe you want to come to my house for Shabbat"
Zaphod II(stunned): "What did you say?"
Hassid: "Maybe you want to come to my house for Shabbat, not this week I already have too many guests and my wife will kill me if I bring more, how's next week sound?"
Zaphod II: "Rabbi maybe there is something wrong with your eyes or your intellect, but in case you haven't noticed I am not one of you."
Hassid: "I assure you my eyes and my intellect are both quite alright. I saw you and I thought that perhaps you had never experienced the joy and the light of Shabbat, so I wanted to invite you my house to see Shabbat in all of its splendor. So what do you say, next week?"
Zaphod II: "Rabbi I have no intention of being locked up in Meah Shearim for all of Shabbat"
Hassid: "Ok just come for dinner"
Zahpod II: "And how I am supposed to get back and forth walk?"
Hassid: "Perhaps I do have a problem with my eyes, but right now it appears to me that you have a car. Look, come, if you don't like it you can get in your car and drive away."
Zaphod II: "Fine I will come, how am I supposed to find you."
Hassid: You have something to write with and on?
Zaphod II: Yes.
Hassid: Good write this down(gives him address and time).

That week Zaphod II went and bought his first kippah. He showed up at the Hassid's house expecting fully to bolt as soon as the dinner was done. Instead he stayed all of Shabbat, and has kept every Shabbat since. Two weeks later he enrolled in Yeshiva. Today he is a Mashgiach Ruchani at a major kollel. It is always amazing what a little love will do.

I know that some people will say it, so I will head you off. Yes the Hassid broke Shabbat on many counts with this interaction. I can also tell you that he is a master in the laws of Shabbat with semicha and permission to posek hilchot Shabbat from Rav S.Z. Auerbach ZTz"L. He held then, as he does now, that his actions were pikuach nefesh, and as a physician does not know when he begins an operation on Shabbat whether he will save his patient or not, neither did he.

Lecha Dodi, the joy of the Omer

2010-04-11T14:54:00.002+03:00

One of the nice things about the omer for me is the piyutim. Kabbalistic services use a fairly archaic siddur so many of the piyutim that have made it into modern siddurim and services are not to be found. However during the Omer, as a general rule, the mekubalim do not perform the various kavvanot, save for the sefirah. This allows me to travel to other Synagogues, such as the Ades to daven, and hear the various Piyutim.

For instance Lecha Dodi. Yes I know that Chabad will tell you that the AR"I put it in his siddur. Unfortunately this is not the case. First the AR"I did not write a siddur, he did not write anything himself aside from three songs used at the Shabbat table. Furthermore his chief student who recorded his teachings wrote that the AR"I would only say Havu LaShem, followed by only Bo'i Kallah according to the Talmud, then Mizmor Shir L'Yom HaShabbat, and then finish with HaShem Malakh Geut Lavesh. Thus has been the tradition of the Mekubalim since the time of the AR"I.

Rav Kaduri who only ever prayed with Mekubalim from the time he was young never sang the song Lecha Dodi in Kabbalat Shabbat. My own Rosh Yeshiva who is the son and grandson of major Mekubalim told me that it was not until his final year in Porat Yosef that he first sung the Lecha Dodi. Lag B'Omer that year fell on Shabbat and he decided to go to Meron with Porat Yosef instead of his father's Yeshiva. After Kabbalat Shabbat he was speaking with the Rosh Yeshiva of Porat Yosef, HaRav Ezra Attiya, and in the course of the conversation said to him, "I like that new song we sang." Rav Attiya responded, "What new song?" So my own Rav then still a young man began singing Lecha Dodi. He says that Rav Attiya at first said, "What? Are you telling me that you don't pray, how have you never heard this before." It was only when my Rav explained to Rav Attiyah that until that point in his life he never davened a Shabbat away from his father's Yeshiva that Rav Attiya understood how it was that a 25yr Old had never before heard this song.

My own children probably will. I doubt that my desire to go places such as the Kotel or the Ades during the Omer will abate when I am dragging children around. Or perhaps it will. Perhaps the security of knowing that I and they have set seats, and the order that will impose upon the young ones will make it so that they too will enter Yeshiva never having heard Lecha Dodi. For now though it is one of my joys during the Omer.

Re-Focus and Mitzvat Ahavat Yisrael.

2010-03-21T08:04:00.002+02:00

In an attempt to re-focus my blog on what I had originally intended it to be, I have removed a quantity of content that was mostly off topic.

Truth be told that content dealt with a scandal, which while it may have been necessary to publicize at the time(several Gedolim felt as thought it was), its continued existance is pointless. Even more than pointless its continued existence has the ability to cause undue pain to a fellow Jew, who hopefully is doing Teshuva now.

Rav Morgenshtern(who is adamantly opposed to the internet btw) in his sefer Yam Chochma 5770, Parashat Vayikra has an excellent piece on Ahavat Yisrael and what that means. What especially got me was that he said that while a person will run to a Rav concerning to the slightest possible infraction on Kashrut, the same person will often not seek the advice of a Rav when dealing with the laws of Ahavat Yisrael. While reading that this past Erev Shabbat, it struck me that while I had initially sought the advice of Rabbanim regarding the initially publicizing the affair, I had not sought their advice on its continued existance on my blog, which may in fact, as it could cause pain to those involved, be a violation of Ahavat Yisrael now that the matter has been resolved.

So I consulted with my Rabbanim, the same ones that initially gave me a green light to air the whole affair, and they said that all things considered, if possible the material should be taken down so as not to cause undue embarrassment or pain to another Jew.

If you notice that I have missed a thread, please drop me a line and I will take it down. Hopefully now we can return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Kabbalah, Mazal, and the Abuchatzeira affair

2010-02-21T14:25:00.002+02:00

I am still out of the country visiting family so all that follows is strictly my own opinion, as I have not had the opportunity to speak with any major Rabbanim about this. First let me state that what Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira is accused of is very serious. I personally do not know if the accusations are true or false. It is clear that people gave him large sums of money, whether that was done with specific promises of reward is what is unclear. In the US a person is supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty, so for now, as I have not myself seen any evidence, I am going to remain neutral on his guilt or innocence.

Even if he did do what he is accused of, I doubt that it will be criminally prosecutable. On account of the US separation of Church and State, as well as numerous other factors, the case will very easily be made into a trial of religion and religious beliefs as well as the validity of certain religious claims. I am no lawyer, that is just my own personal assumption. My guess is that this will turn into a circus making Judaism look bad before this is all over.

On to the actual accusations. Again I am not implying either his guilt or innocence, I am strictly dealing with the "claims" he accused of having made. Simply speaking anyone making the claims that he is accused of having made, should be viewed as a charlatan. This is a mainstream Torah view, it was the view of Rav Kaduri, and it is the view of Rav Yaakov Hillel as he expounds in his book Faith and Folly.

First and foremost mekubalim through the ages have condemned the practice of "selling" spiritual remedies. In all of my time with Rav Kaduri, I never once saw him demand payment of any sort for prayers or segulot. If people would offer to pay him for a segula he would say, "Better that you give the money to tzedaka and ask HaShem in its merit for your need." Often people would try to pay him for prayers or segulot and he would always tell them that it was not necessary, specifically he would say, "Not necessary, not necessary better that you give to Tzedaka." Yes many people then put what they had wanted to give into the Yeshiva tzedaka box, however, he at least attempted make a distinction that he was not praying for them so that they would give him money. The Baba Sali, on several occasions was offered money to perform a segula/tikkun or to give a blessing, on every occasion he refused and threw the people out.

Secondly is the issue that has been brought up in numerous times in the news reports about influencing mazal. The Gemarra Shabbos 156a states, "Ain Mazal L'Yisrael", meaning that these things have no control over Yisrael as Jews are governed by Hashgaha pratit. I know that there is some back and forth in the Rishonim regarding this, however(and forgive me for not remembering the exact source) the Shulchan Aruch in Hilchot Avodah Zara quotes this exactly as halacha. Bearing in mind that Rav Yosef Karo was a talmid of both of the RaMaK and the AR"I, if there was any dissension about this thought, even among these great mekubalim, there would have been at least a Yeish Omrim. Meaning that there are other opinions, which while perhaps valid, are rejected by the Shulchan Aruch. For a full treatment as far as what we can look to mazal for see Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 179. Even there it states only so that we may know what deficiencies in middot we are born with so that we may do the proper tikkunim within ourselves.

True mekubalim, true Kabbalists, have never sought monetary reward for even genuine segulot and tikkunim. True mekubalim strive to hold by every word(usually in the strictest manner) of the Shulchan Aruch. Therefore anyone who seeks monetary gain through hocus pocus which the Shulchan Aruch says does not affect the Jewish people is by all means a charlatan.

It is clear that there is a spiritual awakening of sorts taking place and that on account of that many people are drawn to spirituality. Within Judaism that is often Kabbalah. However, folk religion and superstition as well as actual chicanery is often passed off under the guise of Kabbalah. This is not something new, nor is it something for which the Rabbanim of the mekubalim were not prepared. I would strongly suggest that anyone who is thinking about consulting with a mekubal in any way over any issue first obtain a copy of Rav Yaakov Hillel's book Faith and Folly and read it several times. Its very purpose was to arm the average Jew with the necessary knowledge to be able to indentify charlatans and to steer clear.

I wish to reiterate that I am making no statements as to the guilt or innocence of Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira. I have not seen the evidence directly, and so I cannot say. My only point here was to definitively state that no true Kabbalist would ever do the things that he was accused of.

What my blog is(not)

2010-02-15T21:03:00.003+02:00

There seems to be some confusion as to what I intend my blog to be, and what I do not intend my blog to be. So here is what my blog is not. My blog is not a news source. I make no claim to being any sort of neutral source for facts. My blog is primarily my observations on the world around me. While I may reference news and news items, I have no intention of being a new source. Most things on this blog are editorialized.

Secondly my blog is not a source for psak halacha or authoritative hashkafa. As this blog is my reflection on the world around me, as well as sharing things from a Kabbalistic perspective that I think will be of interest to others. Nothing should be considered as authoritative that does not come from an authoritative source. Even my own direct translations of sources should be checked against their Hebrew originals as translation is by nature a subjective affair, any translation should be seen as a guide to the original.

Also I readily admit that in my discussion of halacha on my own blog normally I do not do my due diligence as far as investigating all of the pertinent sources and working up a full teshuva. The vast majority of the time I simply go with what is stam psak halacha or minhag mekubalim. None of what I write should be viewed as anything more than my own opinion, and should not be relied upon as halacha l'ma'aseh. For demonstrative purposes I will work up a full teshuva on a halachic issue.

Redefining Chillul HaShem

2010-01-31T16:01:00.004+02:00

Yoma 86a
But if he has been guilty of Chillul Hashem, then repentance has no power to suspend punishment, nor the Day of Atonement to procure atonement, nor suffering to finish it, but all of them together suspend the punishment and only death finishes it , as it is said : And the Lord of hosts revealed Himself in my ears; surely this iniquity shall not be expiated by you till you die.

With that in mind let us discuss the young man who put on Tefillin aboard an airplane. I have absolutely shocked by the comments on other blogs such as this, where people have been quick to accuse the young many of committing a Chillul HaShem. To put it blunly by the definition given our sages, to have committed some act so heinous that nothing but his own untimely death will expiate his guilt. Rabbi Yaakov Hillel in his work Ascending the Path does an excellent job of defining just how heinous a Chillul HaShem really is, and what is more how backwards our society has become in ascribing it.

Essentially since when did following halacha or acting like a Jew become a Chillul HaShem? Considering that just a little further on in the same general sugiya of Yoma it states, What constitutes a Chillul Hashem?... Rav Yochanan said in my case if I walk four cubits without Torah or Tefillin. However people are now ready to ascribe such a thing a young man who had the audacity to actually put on Tefillin.

The truth of the matter is that is that all TSA employees and Flight Attendants are required to take sensitivity training. However the problem is that it is computerized training in which you read through some material on the computer screen and then answer questions. You can redo it until you get the desired score. What that means is that it does not necessarily stick. So the major part of the problem is that we had an incompetent flight attendant. It was not the young man's actions that caused that flight to be diverted, and numerous people to be inconvenienced, it was the incompetence of the flight attendant and the failure of her employers to ensure that she was properly trained.

The second bit of harsh truth is, that if something like this happened to anyone but a Jew, any other ethnic or religious minority, the airline, the flight attendant, the arresting officers and possibly a host of others would already be facing massive civil suits. Outspoken spokespersons would be issuing condemning statements about the injustice and inherent prejudice of the White Anglo-Saxon Christian dominated system, and the oppression that any and all minorities, but especially those of their particular brand face under said draconian system. His coreligionists and/or other of his own ethnicity would be rallying behind him in an absolute demand for justice. Misunderstanding or not, someone would have to hang for the absolute embarrassment and degradation caused to the young man and his young sister.

However he is a Jew. So none of that will happen. Instead the uninformed, the ignorant, the self-hating, self-righteous will stand up and condemn him. They will label him a heinous violator whose only hope for expiation is true and complete repentance to the point where HaShem will send some calamity to cut his life tragically short. Self-Proclaimed poskim will rise up contrary to the many Poskei HaDor, who despite 30+ years of Jihadist attacks on Airplanes and like suspicion have insisted that one must don Tefillin even aboard a non-Jewish flight, and these self-proclaimed poskim will say that this is wrong and must be stopped.

This incident has in reality done two things, first it has shown us that the spark of Yiddishekeit is still alive and well within our people. It has also shown that our generation has sunken to such a level of depravity that many will do their utmost to extinguish it, and call it a Chillul HaShem.

Will Work for Books

2010-01-31T09:07:00.002+02:00

Here is one of my latest creations. Just before this, I finished my second Megillat Esther, which I managed an Alef/Alef mehadrin on. That was written for someone else and I didn't think to take pictures before I delivered it. This shviti however is a different story. One of the people in my Yeshiva also learns part time with HaRav Avner Anjin, who has been writing Divrei Shalom Im Ner Shalom, essentially the Mishne Berurah for Mekubalim. It really is a monumental work. I have been collecting it(and learning from it) for the past decade. He just released the two newest volumes, covering Rosh HaShanna and Yom Kippur(two quite complicated topics and thus two quite thick volumes).

With the economic crisis on, some of my book buying has been curtailed. However, a unique opportunity presented itself. The Rav who helped Rav Anjin on the books, for his help was given a number of them to, distribute/sell/give away. He wanted a Shviti. I wanted two books. The books cost 50 shek a piece, my shvitis go for 150(while supplies last, the price of klaf is climbing and so will my prices). This was only a momentary impasse, desire mixed with opportunity got me down the extra 50shek, and a deal was struck.

So this then is the semi-end product. I took the pic while waiting for the ink to dry. A close up will reveal that I still need to erase out my penciled in guidelines. Overall I am rather happy with the way it turned out.

In an unexpected twist, someone that Davens with us(I delivered this at Shachrit) tried to commission me to write him a Kamea(amulet). I said no. This turned into a mini-argument, as most Israelis don't take no for an answer. He insisted that it was something very simple and I just needed to copy an amulet from another source which he would provide. I tried to explain the extreme details involved in amulet writing, as well as the spiritual consequences for the writer and such... Eventually some other people(also not in the know about such things) came to his aid, and being the weak willed American that I am, I sort of caved. I said that I would ask the Rosh Yeshiva, and do what he said. Of course I have had Semicha long enough to know that part of what determines the answer you get from a Rav is dependent upon what information you give him and what you withhold. So I laid out exactly what the guy wanted, along with my reluctance and the reasons for my discomfort. As predicted I got the "no" I was seeking. Turns out the guy has already tried to get every other sofer in our Yeshiva to write it for him with the similar results. Maybe HaShem is trying to tell him something.

Hillulot

2010-01-25T09:17:00.005+02:00

In the past few weeks there were two important Hillulot(Yahrtzeit to the Ashkenazim amongst us). That of Rav Kaduri Z"L and today that of the RaShaSh. These things have always fascinated me to a certain degree, because, except for direct family members, it is as close as I will ever get to a funeral. I obviously didn't know the RaShaSh, but his influence is in almost everything I do.

I did know Rav Kaduri. He was a mentor, a friend, and in many ways as close as a father. Lessons that he gave me, as I was taking my first tentative steps in Kabbalah a decade ago, I am still unpacking today. Whenever I feel that I am losing my way, I go back and read my notes or listen to the lessons that I recorded. To this day it still centers me, and sets me in good stead with Yesodot of Kabbalah.

I used to think it morbidly odd that we celebrate the deaths of those whom we esteem. Yes I know that there are all kinds of Kabbalistic secrets involved. However, it still seemed rather morbid. It was only recently that I realized that we were not so much comemorating their deaths, as much as celebrating their lives, and the impact they have had on us. May the light that the Tzadikim have imparted continue to burn within us.

My apologies

2010-01-14T15:11:00.002+02:00

I am sorry if the new layout is bothersome. However, my previous layout for inexplicable reasons crashed, and would no longer load. So until I can figure out what the issue is/was... this is how the blog will look.

Practicalities of an extended fast

2010-01-14T09:19:00.003+02:00

I have been asked this a couple of times. How does one fast more than 25hrs. The simple answer is much in the same way one fasts for 25hrs. Fasting is mostly a mental game. There are specific things that can and should be done to prepare, but for the most part the first thing that a person should understand is that fasting is mostly mental.

Let me start by dispelling some myths. The first is that a person cannot survive more than 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food, typically known as the rule of three. Though the latter does not directly affect our situation it does play into the consciousness as far as what one is able to do. A person can go without food until his body fat reserves fall down into the "essential fat" area. If a person is at 10% body fat, that will typically take, for a person with a normal metabolism, 6 weeks. Most people in this day and age are well above 10% body fat.

As far as how long a person can go without water is entirely dependent upon their prior level of hydration. The rule of three, mentioned above, is given in survival schools and such, primarily to enforce the priority of the need. As in, as hungry as you may be, you need water far more than food. Secondly it is given for a survival under extreme conditions circumstance, which most of us today do not find ourselves in. I have not checked recently, but the Australian SAS and Boy Scouts, extended this to six days. Their reasoning was that most people today are over-hydrated, and that as most of the water sources in their nation are infested with crocodiles which prey upon creatures drinking in them, a person was in far more danger from the lizards then they were from dehydration, despite that the vast majority of Australia is arid.

So let us understand what makes a person thirsty or hungry. Primarily these are bodily reflexes. The human body is incredibly adaptable, as are its reflexes. HaShem has programed many of our reflexes to ensure the greatest probability of survival. Thus reflexes are quite easily reset conservatively. To explain, if a person were to achieve maximum hydration, in which for instance the urine runs clear, and there is a regular(perhaps even hourly) need to vacate the bladder. A very small drop in that level of hydration will trigger the thirst reflex, whereas the person is still (over)hydrated.

Hunger is caused by two separate reflexes. The first is stomach weight(the amount of food being constantly digested) and satiety(caused mostly by blood sugar levels). In small children the satiety reflex is the primary control of the hunger reflex. However as we age, the vast majority of people, most likely through the gluttony that is so common in our culture today, end up having the primary controlof their hunger reflex being stomach weight. Meaning that you do not need more food, your stomach is simply not digesting anything at the moment.

All of that is said to point out that no matter how you prepare, you are going to be both hungry and thirsty. The hunger and be primarily ignored(assuming that a person is in good health and not suffering from a blood sugar disorder). The thirst... before a person undertakes a fast they should familiarize themselves with the signs and symptoms of de-hydration at its varying levels. Being under medical and/or Rabbinical supervision is also highly advised.

So now preparation, I personally recommend that for at least a day, preferably two or even three days prior to such an extended fast that a person achieve and maintain a maximal level of hydration. I also suggest that a person use "sport" drinks to do so, so as to have maximal levels of necessary electrolytes within one's body. I understand that sport drinks are expensive, so here is a home recipe:
2 liter water(or juice)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/2 tsp. potassium salt
3tsp of sugar(sweeten to taste).
If not using juice use some sort of kool-aid like drink mix.

That will cover the hydration. The day before the fast I suggest a diet heavy in protein and carbohydrates, as well as fiber. Typically for me this includes things like steel-cut oatmeal, humus, eggs, perhaps some meat or fish.

Beyond those measures it really is all a mental game.

House Keeping Question

2010-01-14T09:17:00.002+02:00

Is my blog appearing normally to everyone else? It is not doing so on my browser much of the time, but then I have a very low bandwidth internet connection.

Shovavim

2010-01-04T22:56:00.003+02:00

It has begun this year's shovvavim. You may be wondering just what in the world a shovvavim is. Well the Shovavim, or more appropriately shovvavim t"t, are eight weeks corresponding to the eight torah portions starting with Shemot(exodus). More importantly they are an eight week window of repentance, especially for sins of a sexual nature. The Shovavim are discussed in numerous places. R' Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch, discusses it at great length in his work, Magid Meisharim.

Halakhic details aside, the AR"I writes in Sha'ar Ruach HaKodesh, Tikkun 27, that it is an auspicious time for not only teshuva, but also tikkunim for various sins. He states that at the very least that one should fast everyday, from sunrise until sunset. However, when one looks at his Tikkunim, it quickly becomes apparent that it would take many years of this to rectify a single sin. As many tikkunim require hundreds of fasts. However, in speaking of fasting the AR"I states that two days and nights are equal to 27fasts, three to 40, four 54, five 67, six 80. Thus it is possible within a single week to achieve much more.

Thus is the custom amongst the mekubalim today, to fast, most 3-4 days and nights in row(though some do as many as six, from havdalah to kiddush, nothing passes their lips) in order to rectify the damage done by their sins. It is important to understand that a Tikkun does not take the place of Teshuva(repentance). Rather it finishes the work that Teshuva began.

When a person sins in some way, not only have they transgressed a commandment(or not performed one as the case may be). They have also caused certain holy names and upper worlds to be damaged. There is also the damage done to the soul. Teshuva alone, according to the Kabbalists, does not fix all of these problems. There needs to be a Tikkun as well. That is where these fasts come into play. Coupled with Yichudim(joining together of specific holy names) and special prayers with specific kavvanot(kabbalistic meditations) a person is able to fix the damage done by these sins. According to the Ben Ish Hai, if a person commits themselves to this, one can fully rectify himself in as little as 5 years.

However, fixing the damage done by one's own sins is only the beginning. We are told in various places that the "soul" of a person is made up of five distinct parts, Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida. However, according to the Zohar and Sha'ar Gilgulim of the AR"I, a person is only born with nefesh. It then needs to be rectified and elevated, irregardless of whether it is Gilgul or a new soul. The earliest that this can occur is by the time a person is 13. Only then can they receive Ruach which also needs to be rectified. The earliest that this can happen is 20. They then recieve Neshama, which also needs to be rectified in order for the person to have Chaya and Yechida(which come together and are never blemished). The AR"I writes that the majority of people never ascend past Nefesh(which is what the Ben Ish Hai tells us is possible in 5years). They are thus required to reincarnate again.

So even after one purifies themselves and rectifies everything, it is necessary to do so again and again.

Zohar Shemot

2010-01-04T21:33:00.003+02:00

Segulot gone wrong

2009-12-31T22:16:00.003+02:00

I happened upon this post over at the Jewish Side. Most notable was segulah number twelve. Which states that for a better memory, the first time it snows, to rub the snow on the forehead. Somehow I see in my mind's eye a line of Sem girls rubbing snow on their foreheads hoping to become Ba'alei Zicharonim. Unfortunately it doesn't quite work that way.

This isn't a segulah it is a Tikkun. It is found at the end of sefer Nahar Shalom by R' Shalom Sharabi Z"L. There are certain sins that cause one to have a bad memory(at least for Torah subjects) and to not be able to enter into the learning. Therefore Tikkunim need to be done. The different Tikkunim require certain numbers of days of fasting. Only after those other Tikkunim have been completed can we come to do this Tikkun. What this Tikkun requires is that one fast three days and nights. Then not to simply rub snow upon oneself, but to actually roll one's entire body in the snow. You also need to dressed in the same manner as when using the mikvah, so there are some difficulities with performing this, but those can be creatively overcome.

That is enough details for now. In general this is my main problem with Tikkunim. They have become essentially folk-tales that get changed and distorted with the telling, to the point that they become essentially a superstitious sub-religion devoid of their original content, reason and meaning. For all the Sem girls who have crushed snow into their foreheads hoping for a better memory, I am sorry to disenchant you, but you have done nothing more than follow another's foolishness. The same can be said for a great many Segulot.

Vay'chi Zohar

2009-12-30T09:49:00.002+02:00

The Real meaning of Tzanua

2009-12-16T16:08:00.004+02:00

I am going to attempt, in my limited ability to bring here a Kabbalistic understanding of Shmirat Einayim(guarding of the eyes) and Tzniut. It is brought in the Recanati on the Torah(Parasha Lekh Lekha) that Sarah was taken twice from the house of Avraham to Pharaoh and Avimelekh hints that the Beit HaMikdash would be destroyed twice. Seemingly a necessary explanation is that Pharaoh and Avimelkh did not do a modest deed, and it is known that they fantasized about her body very intensely, and the Gemarra informs us(Yoma 29a) fantasizing about a sin is worse than the sin, and it is necessary to explain why fantasizing about a sin is more serious than the sin itself.

It seems to necessary to explain the severity of a issur of woman causing a man to fanatsize about her, as well as the severity of a man looking at a woman in order to fantasize about her. At the time of marital relations the woman receives from her husband the Shefa(emanation, abundance) that the Holy One Blessed be He conveys via the husband. And this Shefa has in it the an abudance of life for the woman with all the particulars included of the life a a person as it is written(Kohelelt 9.9) "Live Joyfully with the wife that you love." At the time of marital relations there is an abundance of life for the husband and his wife, the husband emanates to the wife half of the Shefa that he receives himself. As the Ari Z"L explains in Sha'ar Maamarei Rashb"i 9 that the wife receives her vitality of her 248 limbs from her husband at the time of marital relations and she depends on her husband for this, and therefore she is exempt from the 248 positive commandments, and the vitality of the 365 tendons are from herself. Thus we find in the Zohar that the man is the aspect of the Neshama, and the body of that Neshama is his wife, and at the time of marital relations the body receives vitality from its Neshama, and this matter is well known if the physical that the wife recieves spiritual completion and serenity from marital life.

If the man thinks about a different woman at the time of relations the Sitra Achra gains entrance to the Shefa of the woman that he is thinking about and draws down this via the passion of the fantasy of the man, and he so to speak steals from her the Shefa that rightfully her's, and even though he has actually done anything, the force of his fantasy has already stolen the Shefa that came down by means of the fantasy. This thing then causes a blemish in the life of the woman that did not receive from her husband the Shefa that was rightfully hers. Thus the man by fantasizing on a strange woman, causes his wife to receive the Shefa of another woman that comes down through him. IF she doesn't receive the true vitality that the Holy One Blessed be He intended for her, she will be incomplete and feel that she is missing something and have feelings of insufficiency. This then will cause her husband to also be incomplete, as his own vitality will not be properly renewed, This will cause his Avodat HaShem to be blemished and rejected on high, as we see in the Zohar Parshat Achrei Mot, that Nadav and Avihu lost their lives because they were unmarried and thus incomplete.

It need not be said that other sorts of fantasies which are based in aveirot during relations also cause this vitality to be poisoned. There is much more that can be said about this, but this is enough for now.

Holding the Keys

2009-12-15T19:02:00.003+02:00

When I was first starting on my Kabbalistic journey, going Kabbalistic I would say, one thing that I often heard but never truly understood was that Kabbalistic seforim are sealed books. Until the keys have been given into your hands they are impossible to comprehend. In truth that statement used to cause me no end of frustration, and more than a little aggravation. See I had always been raised to believe that I could accomplish what any other man could accomplish. So naturally when it came to these books, I thought(in my arrogance) that if one man wrote them, that I could at the very least understand them.

I have slowly be disabused of that notion. It was not until today that it truly struck home however. I have long owned a copy of a commentary by the Ari Z"L on Sefer Yetzirah. I have read it several times, and each time been frustrated because it was in truth little more than words upon a page. I had not picked that particular sefer up for nearly two years now. Today I came across it as I was looking through my seforim, and decided to read a couple of paragraphs. It is important to note that in the last couple of years, my kabbalistic studies have immensely progressed. Anyway, as I read those paragraphs the concepts seemed to jump off the pages at me, as well as shailot. It was no longer a closed book, I could finally understand and enter into what was being said in all its profundity.

Even now I sit amazed at how much I am able to grasp. Truly truly there are keys to understanding that without them one would simply be lost.

Zohar Hannukah

2009-12-14T12:42:00.003+02:00

So you had a dream... Part 1. Minchat Yehuda on the Parasha

2009-12-13T03:42:00.000+02:00

[Editors note: All that follows is a direct translation of the words of R' Yehuda Patiya, one of the greatest Kabbalists of recent times. It is only a translation and translations are never perfect, I encourage you to read the work in its original if at all possible. Some of the things he says may seem a bit odd. I make no apologies as they are not my words but his. Personally I think the Rav gives us sound advice on how to recieve communication from above if we would only listen. My own comments are in small italicized letters in brackets.]
And it was morning and his spirit was agitated. Learn from this that his spirit was not agitated by the dream at the time he was sleeping, only in the morning as he was waking from his sleep, he pondered the dream that he saw in the night, and his spirit was agitated within him. As it comes out here you find in the dream that Nevukhadnetzer dreamt, it is said about it, "his spirit was agitated and his sleep left him." For he was awoken from his sleep after he saw the dream, and his spirit was agitated within him, and he was not able to return to sleep again. For this is the way of a true dream that comes by means of an angel, that his spirit is not agitated in his sleep at the time he sees the dream, rather after this at the time that we wakes from his sleep. This is the reason, on account that the Creator does not desire to frighten the man and trouble his sleep, only to inform him concerning was has been decreed upon him or upon others, in order to give him a chance to rectify his sins. If so, what is the reward in frightening him in his sleep?

This is similar to the prophecy of Yeshyahu that he said to Hezekyah king of Yehuda, that he would die and not live. And our sages of blessed memory said, that he would die was in this world, that he would not live was in the world to come. Hezekiah said to him why? He replied, because you have not been occupied with the mitzvah of Pru U'Vru. He replied, If so give me your daughter. Isaiah said to him, the decree has already been decreed. Hezikyah replied to him, Ben Amotz finish your prophecy and go. Thus is the tradition of my ancestor's house(David HaMelekh A"H), even if a sword rests on the throat of a man, he should not withhold himself from the Merciful. That if the decree has already been decreed and there is no further hope, why did HaShem send you to me, because He had good news to tell me. Thus is the matter of a dream that is shown to a man by means of an Angel, that if it was impossible to nullify the decree by means of prayer, fasting and tzadaka, and to regret his actions, if so, why would they show him this dream. As our Sages of Blessed memory have said[Berakhot 55a] on the Posuk[Qoheleth 3.14] G-d has so made it that men will fear before him. This is is a bad dream in order that they should have fear from it. If this is so why should it trouble him at the time that he sees it.

And the general category of this is as follows, if the dream comes from an Angel it will be in order and not a mixture of things each different from one another. Also it will not cause him to be terrified or even frightened at the time that he sees the dream. Only one thing more, that he sees himself as if literally in a picture. If all of these conditions are met within the same dream, than you should know that this dream is true, and that it came by means of an Angel, that is is 1/60 of Navua[Berakhot 57b].

But a dream that comes by means of a Sheid(demon) has a different way about it. For he(the Sheid) stands next to the sleeping person while he is still sleeping a light sleep, and whispers in his ear frightening things piling different things one onto another. These things then take shape in the mind of the man and he is frightened by them, and his heart beats very fast, and he wakes from great terror. And the Sheidim remain standing there, joyous and making fun of him that they are able to terrify him. When he goes back to sleep they will resume terrifying him, and so they do several times. The person will not be free from them until he goes back and recites the Kriat Shema, or until he does something different and that is when he awakes he will say, "טמא טמא ברח לך מכאן Unclean Unclaean go out from here."[I have recieved that this needs to be said in the original Hebrew] He should say this formula three times, and thus the Sheid will go out from there and he will sleep soundly. And if there is someone that he despises, he should say, "טמא טמא ברח לך מכאן ולך אצל פלוני בן פלוני והבהילו Unclean Unclean go out from here, and go to Ploni Ben Ploni and terrify him." Thus it will do all that you command it. If you will want to test this, whisper into the ears of a small child while he is sleeping lightly and say to him, I bought for you apples and nuts, and here they are resting on the table next to you. When he awakes from his sleep he will ask about the apples and nuts as to where they are. This is as it is written in sepher Hasidim siman 135 and 441, therefore most terrifying and bad dreams do not come except when a person is sleeping a light sleep, such as at the beginning of his sleep or when he begins to wake. This is when the mind is able to feel and picture the things. Not when he is sleeping in deep slumber.

Know that even if a man reads the bedtime Kriat Shema before he goes to sleep, and afterward he is awoken by the sound of a small child crying, or for the needs of his body and the like, and afterward he returns to sleep, then it is possible for the Sheidim to rule over him and to frighten and terrify him with evil visions. Rather he needs to go back and recite the Kriat Shema a second time, or at the very least the first Posuk and Barukh Shem ect. As it is is explained in Sha'ar HaPasukim in Shir HaShirim on the Pasuk "I slept...", see there.

Know also if a man or a woman has joined with them a male or female Sheid that intends to have relations with them[as I have received this, this refers to dreams of an erotic nature], these are able to break through the fence of the Kriat Shema in order to fulfill their appetite, and a simple Kriat Shema is not effective, rather one needs to have complete Kavvanah and a focused heart on each and every word, only this is able to help.

A very special Shiur

2009-12-10T16:45:00.000+02:00

The following video is of R' Benayahu Shmueli Shlit"a's weekly Zohar shiur. They can be viewed live online and also archived. I am posting this one because it was done in honor of a very special Rav who was niftar, R' David HaKohen ZTz"L. He was a Tzaddik Gamur who achieved a level of learning without books. Meaning he quite literally knew Kol Torah Kulo Baal Peh B'Girsah(in English he had it all memorized). Please enjoy.

On Second thought...

2009-12-10T14:01:00.002+02:00

I have decided to bring Loss of Modesty back. I have read and re-read it several times since my decision to pull it down, and personally I think it is one of the most important posts that I have written. So it is now back unedited in its original form.

I have been accused of using a picture of a famous Mekubal and thus attacking him by that post. For reasons of full disclosure, let me state that the particular image in use there is of myself, posed to look like a picture that I found, of someone else.

At issue were the halakhic prohibitions of showing two pair of Tefillin, for a comprehensive treatise on the matter, see the following sources:
Sha'ar HaKavanot 7c-d
Nahar Shalom Drush Tefillin
Sefer Ben Ish Hai year 1 Va-yera 15-21
Sefer Halikhot Olam(same as Ben Ish Hai)
Siddur HaRaShaSh Introduction to Tefillin.
Siddur Kol Eliyahu Halakhot of Tefillin.

It should be noted that I never intended for that blog post to devolve into an argument as to whether halakha was binding upon everyone. So I will not be publishing comments of that sort from this point forward unless some authoritative source is brought to show that the other halakhic decisors are wrong.

What... you forgot how to write? Minhat Yehuda on the Parasha

2009-12-10T12:11:00.004+02:00

And he entrusted to him his house and all that was his he gave into his hand. Is there not reason to wonder that after Yosef merited to be the trustee of Potiphar's house, why he did not send a letter to his father to inform him that he was in Egypt? This is because Yosef thought that his father had already passed on account of grief over Yosef. The witness for this can be seen in the number of times that Yosef asked his brothers, " Does your father still live?" Not only this, rather also even after he had revealed himself to his brothers again he asked, "Does my father still live?" From all of this it appears that Yosef did not consider his father to still be living, and therefore he did not send a letter. For he said, to whom will I send a letter, to my father and mother who are not living, or to my brothers who hate my soul?

I dreamed a dream... Pituhei Hotam on the Parasha

2009-12-10T11:29:00.002+02:00

"We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

There is reason to be particular as to why they were shown to him in a dream as sheaves of wheat? In can be inferred that the Blessed One desired to demonstrate that He was with him according to Hashgacha Pratit and to infer clearly to show him what the future would be. Yosef did not merit to the kingdom and to such a high level until he was tested with immodesty of Potiphar's wife and he stood in his righteousness and guarded the Brit Kodesh according to halacha, and on account of this he merited to ascend to greatness. Therefore in the dream they were shown first the he alone from all of his brothers would be tested in the Brit and that he would withstand, and afterward he would ascend to greatness and he brothers and father would come and they would bow down. See in the word sheaves(אלומות) there is the letters of circumcised(מולות), and sheaves(אלומים) there is circumcised(מולים) and in my sheaf(אלומתי) there is his circumcision(מילתו), and here is what they inferred to him in the dream, that all of the circumcisions of the tripes would bow down to his circumcision because they would not be test in the Brit, and he alone would be tested and would stand in his righteousness. Therefore when his brothers heard this dream, they understood the inference and they said, "if this thing will so be, this will cause him to ascend to greatness and he will be a king over us." Therefore they said to him, " "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" So also when he dreamt the second dream after the first dream concerning the testing of the Brit, came the dream of greatness and royalty and therefore he dreamed "the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

The Loss of Loss of Modesty

2009-12-10T10:22:00.002+02:00

I have been forced to remove the post I had made entitled Loss of Modesty the reason is that felt the need to make it seem as though I were bashing a particular individual and well respected individual within the Kabbalistic community. My blog has never been about doing harm to individuals or institutions, and I do not wish for it to be viewed that way, along with the negative consequences that would have both on myself and my family. I was thus left with the options of making the entire blog private, which would exclude many of my readers, or to remove the particular post, despite the fact that I feel strongly that the content therein needed to be aired. At issue was a an illustrative image, in which I had blurred the face so as to avoid identification. The antagonist apparently did a google search under the name of every known kabbalist until she found a match. Then felt the need to publicize that I was bashing that individual. Alas it would appear that this time, those that wish only to do harm, have won. For those of you who found that post helpful or inspiring, I am sorry, but for now it has to go.

Wedding Wonders

2009-12-09T09:23:00.004+02:00

Let me start by saying that I don't go to many simchas. Weddings especially are usually not on my list of priorities. I know that it is a mitzvah to give joy to a bride and groom, however, on account of my cross communal involvement(I have a foot in at least 3 distinct Ortho communities in Jerusalem), I get a lot of invitations. As an example, except for Shabbat and Motzei Shabbat, I could be at a wedding every single night of Hannukah. So I am discerning in the events I choose to attend. Typically if it is not a Rav of mine or a Chavrutta, I don't go.

So last night someone who was a Chavrutta of mine years ago got married, and I was in attendance. It was for all intents and purposes a Chareidi wedding, though it had mixed seating(bad... bad idea) how that came about is a story unto itself. It was also the first Ashkenazi/Litvak wedding I have ever attended. My first impression is... Wow!!! After that is... What a cultural divide! Ashkenazim and Sephardim have grown so closely together in manners of dress, food and other such things, it often seems that only nusach seperates us. That is until you attend what is probably the most universal of rites within Judaism, the wedding.

Let me define for you the issue. At a Sephardi wedding the Bride and Groom are a Queen and her King, and treated with such respect. The wedding is considered a Holy occaision and the music is typically the spirituals that have emerged from our people over the centuries. See I must admit to some confusion when I read about maypole umbrella's and Chassidic rock with a further detailed followup at other places. So as the people danced to the lyrical stylings of ACDC and the Beatles(with original lyrics) and the bride had fairy wings slapped to her back and a maypole umbrella shoved in her hand, the groom suffering the indignity of having a pompom wig shoved atop his head as he is made to stand atop a step ladder and swing another pompom around, I could only stare in horrified shock. There are complex anthropological terms for what I was doing/experiencing, but it can simply be summed up as culture shock. It is when the familiar and unfamiliar collide with such force that a person loses all grace and becomes wide eyed and staring.

The mixed seating was... interesting. The dance floor, which did have a mechitza, was in the middle of the room and I had the misfortune of sitting on the women's side. So every time they started dancing between courses, I was forced to abandon my seat. Even when my injured knee started to swell, and I thought that sitting in my seat, reading a sefer, with my back to dancing, would be enough to guard my eyes, oh no... I was wrong! The wedding planner, who you would have expected to be a happy jovial person, instead was a rather cranky lady wearing a dress with a top that looked as though she had wrapped some newly slaughtered beast around her, would soon be there shooing me to the men's side, my excuses be damned. Finding a seat was still problematic, as the women were allowed to stay on the men's side, so when my knee began to bother me too much(shouldn't have been jumping up and down when the groom was on my shoulders), I left the wedding hall and found a seat in the atrium.

The other reason that mixed seating was a bad idea is that those of us on the men's side, even if we moved with all haste when the band began to play, we still caught more than an eye full of the sem girls going into their crazy gyrations of spinning and jumping up and down. On the up side, though I did get to sit by my wife. With us was another couple, the wife was a teacher at the B"Y sem the girls all came from, so I got to ask some probing questions. Like what's with the music? Answer: The Beatles are really popular at weddings now... Just so that I could determine that this was a normal thing. So I am still in amazement.

Baruch Dayan HaEmet...

2009-12-06T08:23:00.002+02:00

The Bostoner Rebbe has passed. While I am not Chassidic myself, his life has in ways inspired me. Here is a short story of his greatness, may it inspire you:

In his early years in Boston, there was only one Mikvah, and it was very far away and only open to women. Wanting to guard his personal purity, he would rise every night, winter and summer, after Chatzot yet well before dawn and walk to the ocean, which was fairly close to his residence at the time, check that no one was around, and immerse in the ocean. It is hard to understand such a commitment to holiness. The waters off Boston's shores can be so frigid in the winter as to kill a man in minutes, yet this was his routine.

One day, on shabbat, he was spotted by some passerby who called the police. It so happened the chief of police and another officer were the ones to respond to the call. They arrived just as the Bostoner Rebbe was emerging from the waves. Waited until he was dressed, and told him that he had broken several ordinances concerning public indecency and that they would have to arrest him. He responded, "You are correct I broke your ordinances, and I will gladly go with you, however the ordinances of my G-d forbid me from riding in a vechicle on Shabbat so I must walk, and you may follow." He immediately set off for the police station. After several miles the police stopped him and offered him to ride, as it was so cold outside, yet again he refused. The police chief asked him, "Rabbi are you not worried about your health." To which he responded, " If I guard the Shabbat, G-d will guard me! That includes my health."

The police chief was so impressed by this humble rabbi's piety that he said to officer with him, "What this man did had to be for some holy reason, and I cannot arrest him for that." They stopped the Rabbi again, and told him they were going to let him go, the police chief asked him to promise to not immerse in the ocean again. The Bostoner replied that he could not make such a promise has he needed to purify himself for prayer. The police chief than requested that he be more careful so as not be observed again, and the Bostoner agreed. With that he turned around and headed for his Shteible to pray Shachrit with his Chassidim.

Naturally with their Rebbe arriving late they were concerned as to what had happened, and the Rebbe was forced to explain both his custom and the resulting incident to his Chassidim. So concerned and grieved were the Chassidim and that they had neglected such a mitzvah as to establish mikvaot and the problems this had caused their Rebbe, that they built a mikvah nearby within the space of the coming week.

A tale of two people... A Tzadik and a Beinoni

2009-12-03T22:42:00.001+02:00

I read this post on Dixie Yid commented and then continued to follow the comments. In the midst of this, there was a little instance of Hashgacha Pratit, as I stumbled upon a story of the Chida. The Chida was a tzadik gamur(a complete saint), there is no doubt to that. The stories of miracles following the man, and their attestation even by people of other faiths speaks for the Ruach HaKodesh that rested upon him. He was nominally a student of the RaShaSh, and this is where it gets interesting. The RaShaSh refused to teach the Chida Kabbalah. He allowed him to sit in shiurim, but told him specifically, "Ask me no questions, and ask my students no questions for we will give you no answers." The Chida was most likely stunned, that is my conjecture, what we do know is that he pressed the point and asked the RaShaSh why he would not teach him Kabbalah, why he was blocking him from entering into Sod? The RaShaSh answered, " You are required to learn Sod, as everyone is required to learn PaRDeS, but it is not your tikkun, your tikkun lies in Gemarra and Halakha."

Fast forward just over 300 years and you will find me standing before R' Kaduri Z"L when I came to Israel for my Semicha exams, seeking his blessing and some other advices. He asked me what I learn, and I told him Shulchan Arukh and Gemarra, standard fair for Yeshiva/Kollel student. He asked me if I were married, and I was, he then said, " You need to learn Gemmarra to think like a Jew, and Halakha to know how to act like a Jew, but do not waste too much of your time with it. That is not your soul's main Tikkun, for you that lies in Kabbalah." Am I better than the Chida somehow? That's a laugh. I am not in the same ball park, same league, same sport...

See as I was reading the comments of the blog and watching their de-evolution, one thing became clear, we have two people arguing over whose derekh as the most light, which is the most right. While neither stopped to think that perhaps both were equally right, as both are valid derekim of Torah. Neither stopped to think that perhaps instead of someone being unworthy, or an unfit Keli, what is really going on is that they simply have different tikkunim for this life. Seen in this light, I see no difference between a Bratslaver, Gerrer, Satmarnik, Bostner, Litvak... ect. They are all walking the derekh that is best for them.

One... More... Day...

2009-12-02T18:57:00.003+02:00

One... More... day... Yep that about sums it up. That is the way I feel every Wednesday when I come home. There is just one more day to go. Don't get me wrong, I am over the moon at the level of personal growth that I am seeing. While I used to measure my growth in Torah over months and years, it seems like now it is going by days and weeks. Which leaves me a walking zombie by Wednesday and virtually dead on my feet Thursday. But I find it all worth it.

Things this week are not aided by my lack of sleep last night. Don't think that it was for some holy purpose of learning Torah, or even the performance of a mitzvah like dancing at a wedding. Instead it was on account of two home invasions. One by an exceptionally large rodent, and the other by a stray cat. If only they could have come at the same time I would have let the cat the have the rodent before I showed him the door. But alas things were not to be so.

And so here I sit sleep deprived and exhausted.

Sending forth Angels[Pituhei Hotem Vayishlah]

2009-12-01T19:00:00.003+02:00

Yaakov sent angels before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir the region of Edom. 32.4

There is reason to be precise as to the meaning of "before him" as it is redundant. It is possible to explain, as is known, that all of the levels of Tzadikim depend upon guarding the sign of the Brit Kodesh. As Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai expounded in the Holy Zohar(1:94) upon this matter. Yaakov Avinu, peace upon him, he was one who guarded his Brit according to all of its Halakhot, he completely yoked his inclination, and from this he merited to all of the levels, and he merited to the point that the Angels of Elokim were his servants and his messengers. Behold, this is what it means, "Yaakov sent angels"- they were the angels of Elokim. And if you will say, " In what way did Yaakov merit to this level that angels of Elokim became his messengers?" For this it says "before him" which is the Brit Kodesh, which is before him, in this way Yaakov merited to this level.

And with this it appears, according to my poor knowledge, to explain as our Rabbis Z"L interpreted(Chulin 91) upon the verse(Bereshit 32:25) "And the man wrestled with him", that they raised dust. Why does the Torah write with the language of "and he wrestled"[ויאבק which as the same root as אבק which means "wrestle" or "dust"]? There is to say of it that he was covered with dust[ויתעפר] and they raised the dust[עפר] Therefore it appears that it is customary of the Sitra Achra, the great ruler, that he owns within the Tzadik, that which is from the side of Pagum HaBrit[a defilement of some sort, usually but not always of a sexual nature of the Brit... the AR"I writes several things such as anger and lashon Hara also cause this], according to this he is called a Tzadik or not, like Yoseph HaTzadik, peace upon him. The Sitra Achra pursued him in Egypt to bring him to Pagum HaBrit Kodesh and he overpowered his Yetzer, he had assistance from HaShem and he was not defiled, and because of this he is called Yoseph HaTzadik. Also here there is to say that Sitra Achra was wanting to defile Yaakov Avinu, peace upon him, in the sign of his Brit Kodesh and was not able to, and the merit of Yaakov Avinu's vigilance in guarding his Brit, it was that which stood for him until he vanquished the angel, and therefore the Torah wrote in the language, "and he wrestled". And the sages wrote that they raised up dust, because the word for dust אב''ק is the beginning letters of sign of Brit Kodesh[אות ברית קודש], to imply that the intention of the Angel was to cause a pagum in the sign of the Brit Kodesh. That which the Angel wanted to defile- Yaakov saved from him and vanquished him, and therefore the usage of the language "he Wrestled".

The more things change the more they stay the same...

2009-12-01T09:23:00.002+02:00

One of the things that I noticed most about the R' Eliashiv vid was that things really haven't changed much in the last 5770 years. See back then at the dawning of the human race man made a fatal mistake, and then(according to both the plain reading of the text and our sages) promptly decided to blame it on the woman, as it is quoted in Parashat Bereishit, "The woman that you put here with me gave me and I ate." Instead of accepting the responsibility for his own actions, that first man, the father all all humankind decided to blame everyone else, primarily, HaShem and his wife.

Not granted, since the giving the Torah and its relevant commandments about not disrespecting HaShem, at least openly we don't seem to do that one so much anymore... we keep that more or less on the DL. However, we are still in full swing for blaming our women for everything from the lack of ability to hold down a job and earn an honest living, to cancer.

While I must admit that this part of the baser nature of humans is well understandable, wrong in the extreme, but understandable as it has been there from the start. What I don't get is the need to blame it all on just one aspect of a woman's avoda, that being Tznius. I mean the three main miztvot that a woman is supposed to uphold are lighting shabbat lights, seperating Hallah, and family purity. Why not blame it on some lack in those three? Why the focus on Tznius only?

Certainly we would be better served in simply encouraging more women to actually seperate Hallah on a regular(or dare I say even weekly) basis, then piling Chumra on top of Chumra and blaming women for every ill if they some how slipped off the junk heap of Chumrot. Obviously the best thing for all of us to do would be, as I had hear my own Rav tell someone once, "worry about the cleanliness of your own house(meaning his own miztvah observance) there is enough there to keep you busy."

Wag the Dog.

2009-11-30T09:40:00.002+02:00

Apparently this is an old vid but it is new to me.

alyashiv2 from bhol on Vimeo.

Essentially what we have here is the person who a large part of Judaism considers to be the Posek HaDor being more or less told how to answer questions, and being forced to insist that all the world's problems are simply because some of those pesky women just don't dress right.

Thanksgiving thoughts

2009-11-27T11:34:00.002+02:00

Having been born an American, thanksgiving was always a part of life. It is in fact one of my favorite holidays. Not that I think its holiness approaches that of the Jewish holidays, however, nor is there the pressure of the Jewish holidays... While I could wax on about the many things I like about thanksgiving quite easily, I must admit that I also have some qualms with the holiday.

Most notably, what thanksgiving actually celebrates. Yes, technically it is supposed to be celebrating the first settlers of the US who called themselves pilgrims from some odd reason, not starving to death, because of the bounty of the new world and the generosity of their Native American hosts. This however is also where the holiday starts to go astray in my mind.

See these people who were so thankful, were also actively and intentionally dispossessing those they believed to be subhuman of their ancestral homelands. Meanwhile engaging in(albeit a primitive form) of mass genocide through biological warfare, by trading pox infested blankets for food items. What part of this exactly am I supposed to be thankful for? The naivete of the victims or the effectiveness.

I have wondered for some time, if the reason that we call it thanksgiving is because "Subjugation and genocide of a native people day" just doesn't have the same ring to it, and is nowhere near as appetizing.

Something I never thought I would hear

2009-11-26T04:07:00.002+02:00

As way of introduction I should say that my current shiur is at a very high level. Not that I am on that level as of yet, but as explained in other posts, that is the way things work in this type of Yeshiva. Beyond simply students from the Yeshiva, we also have Roshei Yeshivot from other Yeshivot joining. It is a pilpul heavy shiur and thus they, like my own Rosh Yeshiva, like to see the way other views work and look. Or if they have the same basic shita as we do they apparently like to join in the pilpul. I know that my own Rosh attends shiurim given by other Gedolim in Kabbalah.

So yesterday, after a week of sitting the shiur, I jumped in with both feet. In the midst of this I brought a book, that I was fairly sure that most there had not seen, as it was for the most part a k'tav yad(manuscript) from another Yeshiva. So I toss it into the ring. My Rosh Yeshiva and a couple of ther Gedolim read the opinion stated therein refering to what we are talking about. Then my Rosh Yeshiva says something that I never thought I would hear, "Ploni's opinions are always interesting to read, but the problem almost everything he says is wrong." Then another of the Roshei Yeshivot there said, "At least he was a Ba'al Middot(a good person) the current Rosh of that Yeshiva is a complete boor."

Quite a shocker to me actually. Not that I personally agreed with the method of learning employed at the other Yeshiva... or just about any of their views actually, which is a large part of why I am no longer there. However, I have only ever seen mekubalim interact with each other with the utmost respect. Some of the opinions noted, and brought as valid, are as different as night and day, but dare not say that they are wrong or mistaken. They are upheld as valid opinions, just not the way we hold or understand things. So I guess I have finally stumbled across the black sheep of the kabbalistic family. Who would have thought? Apparently the new Rosh Yeshiva there has really taken them in a direction that is outside limits of all acceptability. R' Yaakov Hillel even used him(unnamed) as an example of how arrogant a person attempting to look humble can be in his own work, Ascending the Path, as I was given to know last night. In a world of new sights and sounds that is this shiur, this one just caught me off guard.

Why we will never be friends

2009-11-25T21:46:00.002+02:00

I have long give up hope on the Mid-east peace process. The truth is that Muslims and Jews simply will never be friends. If there are any questions about this watch this That should say it all. They also did a followup which further showed through the lies in many of the responses they got from those they interviewed.

In search of modesty

2009-11-25T14:15:00.002+02:00

Modesty is an essential element of the development of middot for any Jew, and all the more so for a person aspiring to delve into Kabbalah. I don't mean simply what you cover your body with, or how much is covered but general behavior. The issue that I am struggling the most with is what is, or isn't modest speech. When can I, if ever, acknowledge my own successes and triumphs. With whom is it or is it not appropriate to discuss such things? These are questions that plague me every day. They strike at the very core of my early Yeshiva training where one is encouraged to take pride in his learning and abilities. To what extant this goes against the rules laid down by our scholars as to what modesty truly means. So I am left wrestling with this... Is it modest to "celebrate" by telling my wife when I have overcome my Chavruta? What of my other friends? What of my blog readership? What about my Sofer writing? It gets very complicated.

Substance Abusers?

2009-11-23T08:15:00.002+02:00

As I sat down to my morning cup of coffee I had a thought. In general Judaism is against substance abuse. Yes I know that there are some new varieties of people calling themselves Chassidim that make use of various substance to "experience the divine" however, in the overall greater reality of Judaism substance abuse is looked down upon. But what about caffeine? That's right caffeine, it is by nature a stimulant and stimulants are by nature mood and perception altering substances.

R' Mordechai Sharabi Z"L felt very strongly about this, so much so that he banned certain brands of instant coffee from his Yeshiva(a ban which is still in force today) because they had caffeine unnaturally added to them. Even with regular coffee he apparently urged his students to drink only one or two cups a day and then to splice it 50/50 with milk. He felt that the altered state of perception hindered one from properly learning Torah, even at the most basic level.

I asked one of his chief students about this once, most specifically dealing with stories of the GR"A and such who would hardly sleep and simply study. His answer was, "that is all they are... stories. If one wants to be a Tzadik and a Talmid Chacham one needs to sleep a regular amount." He then referenced me to various halachic works which essentially stated that a person should sleep 8hrs a day, and if they truly want to make the sacrifice for Torah they can reduce that to 6hrs without danger of harm, but not less.

This is in such contrast to what I have heard in many other Yeshivot which have often taught that their students should not sleep more than six hours in a day. So this leaves me to wonder are we creating a generation of substance abusers? Surely for anyone to go week on week sleeping so little they have to essentially live off of caffeine. Considering that caffeine takes a minimum of 16hrs to metabolize and vacate the body, they are never not wired. Essentially they are going from one caffeine fix to another. Is this healthy? Is it wise? Does it in essence contradict the message of Torah?