Prayers for Men: Eliezer David HaCohain ben Naomi, Avraham
HaCohain ben Yocheved, Asher ben Esther Malka, Avraham ben Devorah, Shalom
Charles ben Gracia, Yoel ben Esther, Yehonatan ben Malka, Zvi ben Chava, Shlomo
Chaim ben Basya Raizal, Yosef ben Shifra, David
Zvi ben Sarah Leah, Daniel ben Rivka, Nehemiah Arieh Liab Peretz ben Esther
Rachel, Eliyah ben Chana, Reuven David ben Rachel, Shmuel Carmi ben Ita, Menachem
Mendel ben Michal, Avraham ben Rachel, Yuval ben Miriam Chaya, Yarin ben Rivka,
New Aharon
Chayim ben Ruchama, Mordechai ben Nina, Menashe Ben Golda
Women: Karen Neshama bas Esther Ruth, Chaya Melecha Rachel bas
Baila Alta, Rachel bas Chana, Hodaya Nirit bas Mazel, Rivka bas Idit, Kayla bas
Chana, Tsvia Simcha bas Devorah Yachad, Miriam bas Irene Taita Malka, Henshi
bas Nashe, Basya bas Chaya Miriam. Gila bas
Francis, Tsipora bas Gila, Kayla bas Chana, Esther Rachel bas Sarah NEW Golde Chaya bas Esther, Lydia bas Elvira
The following person is recovering from long term non-threatening
injuries and need Psalms. Binum Benyamin Tuvia ben Chana Friedel,
Parsha Beresheis
There is an old Medrash Rabbah which Menashe read me from one of
his children’s books. The Aleph-Bet had a dispute on which letter would begin
the Torah. It went from the highest Gematria level to the lowest. First came
Tav but the letter was struck down by G-D for in the future when Yerushalayim
is to be destroyed as written in Yechezkel that the Angel Gavriel will write in
blood Tav on the forehead of those who will die. Then came Shin but the word
Sheker or lie which has no foundation is there. This was followed by Resh but
Rasha or wicked is there and one by one the letters were eliminated until the
letter Bet where Bracha and Baruch HASHEM is so the Torah started with Bet. G-D
turned to Aleph and asked if he had something to say but he only said. I am
only one. G-D said I am ONE as it is written in the Shema. I will reward you by
starting the Decalogue with you. Anochi aka I am the L-RD your G-D.
The Big Bang and Kabbalah – The whole material universe at one
point was the size of a pea and 1,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000
degrees K. The essence of HASHEM contracted into this heat and space in what we
call Tzimzum in Hebrew. For the confines of this Tzimzum, the universe expanded
until what we see today. This year for a change I am skipping the main creation
story which I have attacked from many angles and I am starting out with chapter
two. In fact I will deal solely with certain aspects of the human race.
If I had to name a list of the most important things of creation perhaps I would start with heaven and earth the wonders of the systems and complexities of the human being and the concept of Shabbos and refreshing oneself as third place. In the Psalm of the Shabbos it states that a fool does not understand this. Tradition has it that Adam wrote or prayed this Psalm. For Adam was cursed or blessed with work and just as the wicked in hell and limbo get off from candle lighting to the end of Havdalah after the Shabbos, so too Adam began to see its value.
Let us go into the negative and positive aspects of Shabbos. I deal with a wide readership from big Rabbanim to potential Converts and beginning Baalei Teshuva. It is said that in the place of a Baalei Teshuva the greatest Rabbis cannot stand! How is this? Rachav was a woman of human pleasure from cakes to other desires. She gave up every pleasure and income in this world to become part of Am Yisrael. But when one links himself or herself with Am Yisrael they get the Shabbos. What does the Baal Teshuva see – You can’t drive, carry, garden, write, watch TV or the internet, build, cook, etc. That is the difficult part. But the positive aspects are not obtained until weeks or months unless one does this while being a guest with religious Jews. The first is prayer, the family unity together, singing songs, learning spiritual concepts and spiritual pleasures, resting [especially for A personalities like my wife and myself who need to rewind], thinking and free from the hassle of the world.
Tzvi Hershkovitz tells a story that as a young child in Romania, the Nazis forced his parents to leave their home on Shabbos Aug. 2, 1941 (Tisha B’Av 5701). It was just enough time to grab the Shabbos food Chutney and bread to keep them going on the march to the main city. As it is written: “Whomever guards the Shabbos, the Shabbos will guard them.” Once a person came to the Chofetz Chaim for a blessing for a child. The humble Chofetz Chaim said to them that he could not bless but the source of all blessings is the Shabbos. Perhaps if they take it upon themselves to set the table and bring in the Shabbos earlier that they would have a child. And so it was but one day the husband had to travel and he came back home after midday Friday. Their child took sick so he resolved to not travel later than noon Erev Shabbos and to set the table and prepare the hot water by noon time and the child got better.
To those who observe Shabbos properly the chance of insanity and suicide lowers to close to zero and observing other Mitzvos is helpful both in this world and in the next.
4 These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. 5 No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground; 6 but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
This implies that there was perhaps no rain before the flood of Noach and the ground produced crops that enabled mankind to live close to 1000 years. Already in our times people are working with genetics in able to slow down the aging process that a man could live to be 100 to 180 years. I do not know that in a world with violence in the movies, TV and certain religions that this goal is obtainable or the radiation from our own technology will not kill us by ruining the anti-aging process but the goals are there.
7 Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
In Chapter 1: 26 And God said: 'Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness; and let them plural have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.' 27 And God created man in HIS own image, in the image of God created HE him; male and female created He them. 28 And God blessed them; and God said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creep upon the earth.' In the first chapter we see more a passive statement to create man in the image of HASHEM. Even giving him special commands but here it is more specific that G-D took a very active part and yet it is still general for all we have now is a soul and breath but we have not the knowledge of man as we know him.
8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there HE put the man whom HE had formed.
Prior to the flood there was no need for meat neither for the carnivorous animals or mankind as the soul produced rich edible products that satisfied and sustained all life.
9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
One commentary has these trees of the same species. Were they figs? Apples? Wheat, Esrogim or something special that exists no more?
And…caused to sprout:
Scripture speaks about the Garden. — [from Gen. Rabbah 13:1] In the midst of
the garden: i.e., in the middle of the Garden. — [from Targumim]
10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasses the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
This can only be one of two rivers the Nile or Congo River as Havilah is somewhere in Africa. Rashi has the follow Medrash tradition which river is being mentioned.
Pishon: This is the
Nile, the river of Egypt, and because its waters are blessed, and they rise and
water the land, it is called Pishon, like (Hab. 1:8):“and their riders shall
increase (וּפָשׁוּ) .” (Unknown midrash,
quoted by Zeror Hamor, below 41:1, Letters of Rabbi Akiva). Another
explanation: [It is called] Pishon because it causes flax (פִשְׁתָן) to grow, as is stated in reference to Egypt (Isa. 19:9):“And
those who work at flax (פִּשְׁתִּים)…shall be ashamed”
(Gen. Rabbah 16:2).
12 and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasses the whole land of Cush.
Gihon: [It is named thus
because] it flowed and roared, and its roaring was very great, like (Exod. 21:
28):“If an [ox] gore (יִגַח),” for he gores and
goes along and roars.
I would tend to place my bets that this is the Congo River.
14 And the name of the third river is Tigris; that is it which goes toward the east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Adam and Chava might have been created in Eretz Yisrael but these two rivers had the distinction of supplying Gan Eden. There is also a possibility that Gan Eden was physically on this earth on a joined continent of Africa and Asia.
Tigris: Heb. חִדֶּקֶל, [thus called] because its waters are
sharp (חַד) and light (קַל).
- [from Ber. 59b.] Euphrates: Heb. פְרָת [thus
called] because its waters are fruitful (פָרִין)
and increase abundantly, and make people healthy (Bech. 55b, Keth. 77b). Cush
and Assyria: These did not exist as yet, and Scripture wrote [their names]
based on [the fact that they will exist in] the future. — [from Keth. 10b] to
the east of Assyria: Heb. קִדְמַת To the east of
Assyria. — [from Targum Onkelos] That is the Euphrates: The most important of
all [the rivers] (Gen. Rabbah 16:3), [because it is] mentioned in conjunction
with the Land of Israel (Shev. 47b).
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying: 'Of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die.'
Rabbi Winston Shlita who has a more Kabbalistic approach is copy and pasted on this subject. I am only stating that there is an opinion that says both the tree of life and the tree of knowledge were the same. The Kabbalah calls Torah the tree of life and we say so when we return the Torah into the Aron Kodesh each time.
18 And the LORD God said: 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.'
Ezer Knegdo or a help against him or to counterbalance him. If he is deserving his wife is a counterbalance to keep him on the straight path and if not she is against him.
19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name thereof.
He saw their properties and called their names. Example a donkey is called Chamor and is used for carrying material or Chomer etc.
20 And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him.
He saw they all had mates and perhaps he could speak to them via telepathy and found no one capable of carrying on a conversation with him. I find this a wonder if we take the time zone as the 6th day only for Adam was created in the afternoon, then his wife taken from his side, a relationship and giving birth first to Kayn and then to Hevel and their female twins or Hevel was a triplet. It does appear to me using Einstein’s theory and my own that Gan Eden is above time and space that relatively speaking time moved slower in Gan Eden.
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof.
The operation was done with instant healing.
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And the man said: 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'
When young couples marry they have just left their selfish teen years. Everything was done with friends whether on the side of the groom or the bride. Now they are to be one. If BOTH SIDES view the other as bone of my bones the marriage has a good chance to succeed if not, the success diminishes as each keeps to their own selfish way and this includes older bachelors and bachelorettes.
She shall be called Isha for she was taken out of Ish. The name has stuck and with Avraham we see the Angels ask “Where is Sarah your Isha?” The name for husband is Baal or Master or my Ish in Hebrew.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.
Therefore, a man shall
leave: The Divine Spirit says this, to prohibit forbidden unions to the
Noahides. — [from Sanh. 58a] One flesh: The fetus is formed by them both, and
there [in the child] their flesh becomes one. — [from Sanh. 58a]
One flesh is how a couple should view each other. The husband should not beat the wife and there are many cases that the wife beats the husband and he is too embarrassed to get marriage counselling because of his manhood.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
First of all they were created nude and they were part and parcel of each other.
The commentaries vary from there was the Angel of Death disguised as a serpent. The Kabbala and many commentaries seem to agree that bestiality between the serpent and woman was involved her as there was no Yetzer in the world neither for Ra or Tov. “He injected her with filth.”
2 And the woman said unto the serpent: 'Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said: Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'
Now ELOKIM told Adam not to eat. He put an extra fence not to touch and the serpent who knew that touching was not forbidden pushed Chava into the tree.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman: 'Ye shall not surely die; 5 for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.'
This is not an ordinary snake but a tempting Angel who had this knowledge.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.
She tested out the fruit on the animals. She was hungry and she loved the taste and gained knowledge so she persuaded her darling husband that if she ate it and he loved her that he should eat too.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles.
One of the commentaries say it was a fig tree, another an apple, another an Esrog, another saying it was wheat and finally another saying that it was something else.
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Parenting 101 talking to a child who is guilty and hiding. Then getting an answer and asking who told you to do this etc.
9 And the LORD God called unto the man, and said unto him: 'Where art thou?' 10 And he said: 'I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.' 11 And He said: 'Who told thee that thou were naked? Have thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou should not eat?' 12 And the man said: 'The woman whom Thou gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.'
Passing the blame when you were given the original task.
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman: 'What is this thou hast done?' And the woman said: 'The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.'
She too passes the blame.
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent: 'Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou from among all cattle, and from among all beasts of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
Up until this point the original snakes were more like a serpent version of a dinosaur.
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; they shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise their heel.' 16 Unto the woman He said: 'I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.'
Up until this point the wife was truly equal to the husband and had pain free births of the twins and triples after each intercourse. As much as a man looks about for his missing rib when he desires to marry, the desire in the woman is much stronger. I have seen women who mocked their weak husbands during their lifetime but when the husband passed on, the woman fell apart. For the woman desires the company of a man. Nowadays we don’t see the man ruling over the woman but if he earns her respect, she lets him.
17 And unto Adam He said: 'Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying: Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.
Previously Adam was told to tend to the garden but it was like a hobby and very enjoyable for him. Now he would have to work hard for his food.
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.
This did not exist beforehand as weeds and thorns only came into existence now.
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it were thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.'
Up until this point you were above the angels and a spiritual being now you came from the earth so shall your Gashmiyos body return to the earth.
20 And the man called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Chava see Rashi: And the man named: Scripture returns to its
previous topic (2:20): “And the man named,” and it interrupted only to teach
you that through the giving of names, Eve was mated to him, as it is written
(above 2:20): “but for man, he did not find a helpmate opposite him.”
Therefore, (ibid. 21): “And He caused a deep sleep to fall,” and since
Scripture wrote, (ibid. 25):“And they were naked,” it juxtaposed the section of
the serpent, to let you know that because he saw her naked and saw them
engaging in intercourse, he desired her and came upon them with a design and
with guile. Eve: Heb. חַוָּה. This coincides with
the expression of חַיָה, living, because she
gives life to her offspring, as you say, (Ecc. 2:22):“For what does a man have
(הֹוֶה) ?” with the expression“being” (הֹוֶה) . [i.e., The “vav” and the “yud” are
interchangeable.]
21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.
Rashi explains that the leather was as smooth as fingernails.
22 And the LORD God said: 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.' 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life.
Man had his change to be eternal and he messed up his chance. (See Rabbi Winston Shlita and his interpretation below.)
… 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives, whomsoever they chose.
This Pasuk seems to bring out questions from non-Jews perhaps the son of G-D thing. The Kabbala give the names of two angels but most commentaries seem to agree it was human rules as Judges and Rulers are called Elokim in Hebrew. This practice which began before the flood was reinstated by landlords in the middle ages. The Paritz or Noble had the right to the first night with the bride to be. Perhaps here it was to take a wife completely against her will and that of her parents. For the first night all Jewish maidens in certain countries shaved their heads and speared their bodies with excrement so that the person would not desire the filthy stinking Jew. Then the next day they bathed themselves and afterwards went to the Mikvah. It is not known how many did fall victim to the landlords of their day.
3 And the LORD said: 'My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for that he also is flesh; therefore shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.'
The L-RD hates immodesty and what HE tolerated in Gan Eden with beasts when there was no Yetzer was not tolerated even with humans after there a Yetzer.
120 years most commentaries hold that this means that in 120 years there will be a flood. Others does not see it that way but that man’s lifespan will be shortened so that he will not be bored enough after 100 years or so until they did all these wicked things out of boredom.
4 The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.
These were men either regular height with political powers or giants. After seeing the giants supposedly photographed on the Golan Heights for Og and then the claims that the photos were photoshopped, I have returned to square one and the Midrash that says that these giants existed.
5 And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
There was bloodshed and Hamas (violence) with robbery and no respect for couples being married or a woman’s right to choose a man but they were taken by Hamas. The law said that one could taste a small amount of food from a vendor before purchase. Gangs of people would go into the Shuk and sample less than a prutah’s worth of food. Something like less than a penny or nickel. They would go from vendor to vendor and steal the food and then the clothing then other items.
6 And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7 And the LORD said: 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air; for it repents ME that I have made them.' 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
But of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it, for on the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die." (Bereishis 2:17)
From the story itself it seems as if immortality was an option. Until man ate from the Aitz HaDa’as Tov v’Ra—the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil—he was free of death. Had he not eaten, seemingly, he would have remained that way forever and death would have been only a potential, not a reality.
The Midrash says otherwise:
“Go and see the works of God, awesome in deed toward mankind” (Tehillim 66:5): Go and see how when The Holy One, Blessed is He, created the world, He created the Angel of Death on the first day as well . . . Man was created on the sixth day and yet death was blamed on him! To what is this similar? To a man who decided that he wanted to divorce his wife and wrote her a bill of divorce, after which he came home holding it, looking for a pretext to give it to her. He told her, “Prepare me something to drink.”
She did, and taking it he said [to her], “Here is your Get.”
She asked him, “Why?”
He told her, “Leave my house. You made me a warm drink.”
She said, “You were able to know [before coming home] that I would prepare you a warm drink that you wrote a bill of divorce in advance and came home with it?”
Adam said something similar to The Holy One, Blessed is He, “Master of the Universe! The Torah was with You for 2,000 years before You created the world . . . and what is written in it, ‘This is the law when a man will die in a tent’ (Bamidbar 19:14). If You had not decided that Your creations should be able to die, would You have written this? Yet You blame death on me!” (Tanchuma, Vayaishev 4)
As Adam HaRishon astutely pointed out, death is an integral part of the Torah. There are all kinds of laws to do with death, from laws of mourning to laws of ritual purity. It’s not as if they did not have to exist and God only later included them to adapt Torah to man’s changed reality. The mitzvos are eternal, including the laws to do with death and dying.
There is however an interesting idea that provides direction for this discussion. The Talmud says the following:
Jewish sinners who transgress with their bodies . . . go to Gehinom and are punished there for twelve months. What does “Jewish sinners who transgress with their bodies” mean? Rav said: This refers to the head which does not put on Tefillin. (Rosh Hashanah 17a)
If the person is involved with Torah learning then it is as if he put on Tefillin, as the Mechilta says: One who is involved with Torah learning is not obligated in [the mitzvah of] Tefillin . . . (Tosfos)
On the surface of it, the wearing of Tefillin and the learning of Torah seem to be two separate mitzvos. Though both share the goal of bringing a person closer to God, each is a unique way of doing so and seems to compliment the other. Otherwise, why would they be two different mitzvos?
The discussion becomes even more difficult to put into perspective when one considers another “replacement” for Tefillin.
The Torah tells us that Ya’akov Avinu served his uncle and father-in-law, Lavan, for 14 years. During that time he did little to increase his own personal wealth, which he took the next six years to do. Though he made his uncle rich in a conventional manner, he seemed to use less conventional means to speed up the process of acquiring his own wealth:
And Ya’akov took himself moist rod[s] of trembling poplar and hazelnut, and chestnut, and he peeled white streaks upon them, baring the white that was on the rods. He thrust the rods that he had peeled into the gutters in the watering troughs where the animals would come to drink opposite the [other] animals, and they would come into heat when they came to drink. The flocks came into heat by the rods, and the animals bore ringed, spotted, and striped [young]. And Ya’akov separated the sheep, and he turned the faces of the animals toward the ringed one[s] and every brown one among Lavan’s animals, and he made himself flocks by himself, and he did not place them with Lavan’s animals. It came to pass that whenever the animals that were bearing their first would come into heat, Ya’akov would place the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the animals, [in order] to bring them into heat by [means of] the rods. If the animals would delay he would not place them, so that the ones that delayed were Lavan’s, and the ones that bore their first became Ya’akov’s. The man became very wealthy, and he had prolific animals, and maidservants and manservants, and camels and donkeys. (Bereishis 30:37-43)
Again, on the surface of it, it would seem that this episode has nothing to do with the mitzvah of Tefillin. On a deeper level though it turns out that it has everything to do with Tefillin. When Ya’akov placed the sticks into the gutters he accomplished the same thing as the mitzvah of Tefillin. What? How?
An analogy will help.
When a person winds a watch he is only aware of the small dial that he can barely turn with his fingers. If he is changing the time then he will also notice the hands of the watch move as well as he turns the dial, though not at the same rate as the dial he is turning. But, he probably won’t even think twice about how that works.
If he opens the watch he will be surprised to learn that the dial he turned is not directly connected to the hands of the watch. Rather, there is an intricate system of large and small gears that mesh together to make it possible for the watch to be wound and with accuracy. Furthermore, he will find a coiled spring that allows the watch to tick at a consistent rate and to keep relatively accurate time. The more expensive the watch the more intricate and refined the system will be.
The average person does not open watches to see how they work. Whether they are wound or battery-operated digital watches, most people do not give much thought to what makes an item work. As long as they function well, or can be repaired by an expert when they don’t, then people are satisfied.
This is true of the material world, and of the spiritual world as well. Does the average person have any idea of what actually happens when he or she prays? Or, when a person performs a mitzvah does it occur to him or her that something other than obedience is being accomplished? Do people even know that there are invisible “gears” being “turned” when they perform a good deed?
In the physical world there is something called a “work around.” It is a term that means a person has used an alternative method to accomplish a particular goal usually achieved by another, perhaps more straightforward process. It could be that the principle method is not working or that there is a more advantageous reason to use the work around. Either way the glitch has been “worked around” and the desire result has been accomplished.
If the goal being attempted and the system to achieve it is not sophisticated, a simple work around is enough. If the opposite is true, then a work around requires intimate knowledge of the system and how it works. Otherwise it will fail and perhaps even make the situation worse.
If you think a million dollar watch is intricate, it is nothing compared to the inner workings on the spiritual world. If you think that a half-million dollar supercomputer is incredibly sophisticated, it is child’s play compared to the phenomenally intricate system of sefiros and partzufim Divinely-designed and installed to bring the life-supporting light of God to man. It is the same system that also allows the spiritual light that man generates throughmitzvos to ascend to the upper worlds, spiritually nourishing them and allowing for blessing in return.
The study of such a system falls under the category of Torah learning called “Sod,” or “Kabbalah.” It is also the basis of many manmade miracles.
There are miracle workers who simply have the merit to ask God to do the supernatural and He complies. They’re not really miracle workers, but people for whom seemingly supernatural things occur for one reason or another. The Talmud is filled with many examples of such people, two of the most famous being Chanina ben Dosa and Choni HaMagel.
There are also miracle workers who simply understand the not-so-simple spiritual system of Creation, and know which sefiros to “press” and which ones to “avoid” to get a desired result. They can even figure out times of the day that are more appropriate for certain acts to increase the possibility of achieving a “miraculous” result. They are spiritual technicians.
In the world of mechanical devices, a really good technician can often resurrect something that most others gave up on, including less capable technicians. When the device comes back to life, the happy owner will often say to the “hero,” “You’re a miracle worker!” The technician if he is humble will deny the superlative and just explain which principles of physics he took advantage of, to bring the seemingly irrevocably dead device back to life.
Likewise, people often call Kabbalists “miracle workers” for providing information or a desired result that seemingly could only be arrived at through supernatural means. If they are authentic, which means God-fearing, then they will refuse the appellation knowing well that they are blessed to understand how God runs His world and to use that knowledge to help others.
This brings us back to the middle of the discussion. Ya’akov, like all of the Avos, were master Kabbalists. When they acted, especially on such history altering levels, it was with a tremendous knowledge of how to use the physical world to impact the spiritual realm in very precise ways. At the time that Ya’akov made his fortune, which he did only for holy and historic reasons, he needed to access the energy of Tefillin and the sefiros to which they correspond. The custom made sticks he used were a “work around.”
This now brings us back to the beginning of the discussion.
Though death was the punishment for disobeying God and eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, it was more a form of tikun—world rectification. By eating the forbidden fruit, Adam HaRishon tipped the scales, so-to-speak, and death was the counterbalance. If you are going to add a weight to the left side of the scale then you have to add one as well to the right side to keep the scale in balance.
Death was also more than this. You can’t be the opposite of life, the opposite of immortality and not be some central concept and underpinning of Creation. It is interesting how when God made the covenant with Avraham, he told him:
I am the Almighty God; walk before Me and be perfect. (Bereishis 17:1)
There are different Hebrew words that could have been used to say “perfect,” but the one that God chose is “tamim,” which can also mean “pure,” or “simple.” In fact, it is the same word used to describe Ya’akov Avinu in his early days, before he was forced to become more directly involved in the direction of Jewish destiny:
Ya’akov was an innocent man, dwelling in tents. (Bereishis 25:27)
The Hebrew word for “innocent” is “tam,” and its spelled Tav-Mem. Not coincidentally, these are the same letters of the Hebrew word for “death,” except in reverse. Also not coincidentally, the Talmud says:
Ya’akov did not die. (Ta’anis 5b)
Thus, though Adam HaRishon was correct, that death was a concept built into Creation long before he sinned, its application was decided because of his sin. The perfection that God asked of Avraham and the innocence with which Ya’akov Avinu lived accomplished through life what death accomplishes through, well, death.
The very few who have known this, understood this, and lived their lives accordingly to it were those very few who also beat death.
The two neighbors, both of whom were wealthy
landowners, had managed to live in peace and harmony until one day one of them
decided to do some improvements on his land.
When the second man heard about the work his curiosity was aroused. He saddled one of his fine horses and went out to the outer boundary of his land to see what his neighbor was up to -- and what he saw made his blood boil. His neighbor's workers were busily digging up a tract of land that was part of his property, and they were doing it openly and in complete disregard of the law!
The second man, whose name was David, spotted his neighbor standing to one side as he oversaw the work. David gave an angry crack of the whip, which sent his horse into a gallop, and within seconds he was at his neighbor's side.
The neighbor was startled by the sight of the galloping horse that seemed to be charging right at him. As he quickly jumped out of the horse's path, he started to yell at the reckless horseman. But he was even more startled when he realized who the rider was.
"David," the neighbor said. "Why did you charge at me like that?"
"What got into me?" David angrily replied. "What got into you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," said the neighbor.
"Oh, really," David snarled. "I suppose these are not your workers."
"They are my workers," replied the neighbor, still perplexed.
"How could you give them permission to dig up my land?" demanded David.
"You are mistaken, my friend," said the neighbor, "this land is mine."
"You are the one who is mistaken," said David. "It's mine."
The two men continued to argue along this line for quite some time, and the longer they argued the more heated the argument became. When the first neighbor's overseer saw that things were getting out of hand and the landowners were about to come to blows, he stepped forward.
"Gentlemen, arguing will not resolve the issue," said the overseer. "This is a legal dispute. Only a rabbi can decide who the land belongs to."
The two landowners recognized the wisdom of the overseer's words, and they both made an effort to calm down. However, when they tried to decide which rabbi to turn to, they once again began to get into a fight. Each man wanted to go to his own rabbi and refused to agree to present the case before the rabbi of the other.
"Gentlemen," volunteered the overseer a second time, "why not go to Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin. Surely neither one of you doubts his honesty and fairness."
Since Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin was, without question, one of the leading rabbis of the generation, the two landowners readily agreed to the overseer's suggestion. And as they were both anxious to settle the matter, they set out for Volozhin at once. When they stood before Rabbi Chaim they each presented their claims to ownership of the property in dispute. Rabbi Chaim listened to the words of each man intently, and then he sat in silent thought for several minutes.
"There is something about this case that still confuses me," Rabbi Chaim said softly. "Perhaps if I see the land in question, I will better understand your claims."
The two landowners were more than happy to escort Rabbi Chaim to the field. Now that the land lay before them, Rabbi Chaim asked each man to once again present his case. After both men had finished speaking, Rabbi Chaim suddenly bent down and put his ear to the ground.
The two men didn't know what to make of this strange behavior, and so they glanced uneasily at each other. Because neither one of the men wanted to show disrespect to the distinguished rabbi, each one was hoping that the other would have the courage to ask Rabbi Chaim what he was doing. Finally, David could contain his curiosity no longer and so he spoke up.
"Rabbi Chaim," he called out, "what are you listening to down there?"
"I have given the two of you the opportunity to state your claims to this piece of land," Rabbi Chaim replied, still keeping his ear to the ground. "Now I would like to hear what the ground has to say for itself."
When the second man heard about the work his curiosity was aroused. He saddled one of his fine horses and went out to the outer boundary of his land to see what his neighbor was up to -- and what he saw made his blood boil. His neighbor's workers were busily digging up a tract of land that was part of his property, and they were doing it openly and in complete disregard of the law!
The second man, whose name was David, spotted his neighbor standing to one side as he oversaw the work. David gave an angry crack of the whip, which sent his horse into a gallop, and within seconds he was at his neighbor's side.
The neighbor was startled by the sight of the galloping horse that seemed to be charging right at him. As he quickly jumped out of the horse's path, he started to yell at the reckless horseman. But he was even more startled when he realized who the rider was.
"David," the neighbor said. "Why did you charge at me like that?"
"What got into me?" David angrily replied. "What got into you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," said the neighbor.
"Oh, really," David snarled. "I suppose these are not your workers."
"They are my workers," replied the neighbor, still perplexed.
"How could you give them permission to dig up my land?" demanded David.
"You are mistaken, my friend," said the neighbor, "this land is mine."
"You are the one who is mistaken," said David. "It's mine."
The two men continued to argue along this line for quite some time, and the longer they argued the more heated the argument became. When the first neighbor's overseer saw that things were getting out of hand and the landowners were about to come to blows, he stepped forward.
"Gentlemen, arguing will not resolve the issue," said the overseer. "This is a legal dispute. Only a rabbi can decide who the land belongs to."
The two landowners recognized the wisdom of the overseer's words, and they both made an effort to calm down. However, when they tried to decide which rabbi to turn to, they once again began to get into a fight. Each man wanted to go to his own rabbi and refused to agree to present the case before the rabbi of the other.
"Gentlemen," volunteered the overseer a second time, "why not go to Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin. Surely neither one of you doubts his honesty and fairness."
Since Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin was, without question, one of the leading rabbis of the generation, the two landowners readily agreed to the overseer's suggestion. And as they were both anxious to settle the matter, they set out for Volozhin at once. When they stood before Rabbi Chaim they each presented their claims to ownership of the property in dispute. Rabbi Chaim listened to the words of each man intently, and then he sat in silent thought for several minutes.
"There is something about this case that still confuses me," Rabbi Chaim said softly. "Perhaps if I see the land in question, I will better understand your claims."
The two landowners were more than happy to escort Rabbi Chaim to the field. Now that the land lay before them, Rabbi Chaim asked each man to once again present his case. After both men had finished speaking, Rabbi Chaim suddenly bent down and put his ear to the ground.
The two men didn't know what to make of this strange behavior, and so they glanced uneasily at each other. Because neither one of the men wanted to show disrespect to the distinguished rabbi, each one was hoping that the other would have the courage to ask Rabbi Chaim what he was doing. Finally, David could contain his curiosity no longer and so he spoke up.
"Rabbi Chaim," he called out, "what are you listening to down there?"
"I have given the two of you the opportunity to state your claims to this piece of land," Rabbi Chaim replied, still keeping his ear to the ground. "Now I would like to hear what the ground has to say for itself."
The two men looked at each other and started to laugh.
"Rabbi, does the ground really talk?" asked David.
"Not only does this ground talk," replied Rabbi Chaim, "but it also laughs. Do you know why it is laughing?" The two landowners shook their heads.
"The ground finds it amusing that the two of you are having such a heated argument over whom it belongs to," said Rabbi Chaim.
"It is telling me, 'This one says I belong to him, and that one says I belong to him. But the truth is that eventually -- when they reach the age of 120 -- they will both belong to me.' "
Rabbi Chaim stood up and turned to the men, who had by now stopped laughing and were regarding the land with a sober eye.
"My friends, life is too short and too precious to be spent in arguing and harboring ill feelings toward one other," Rabbi Chaim said quietly. "Perhaps we can find some way to resolve this dispute through peaceful compromise."
Rabbi Chaim's words hit their mark and the two landowners wholeheartedly agreed to make peace and abide by whatever decision the rabbi reached.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Not only does this ground talk," replied Rabbi Chaim, "but it also laughs. Do you know why it is laughing?" The two landowners shook their heads.
"The ground finds it amusing that the two of you are having such a heated argument over whom it belongs to," said Rabbi Chaim.
"It is telling me, 'This one says I belong to him, and that one says I belong to him. But the truth is that eventually -- when they reach the age of 120 -- they will both belong to me.' "
Rabbi Chaim stood up and turned to the men, who had by now stopped laughing and were regarding the land with a sober eye.
"My friends, life is too short and too precious to be spent in arguing and harboring ill feelings toward one other," Rabbi Chaim said quietly. "Perhaps we can find some way to resolve this dispute through peaceful compromise."
Rabbi Chaim's words hit their mark and the two landowners wholeheartedly agreed to make peace and abide by whatever decision the rabbi reached.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source:
Lightly edited by Yerachmiel Tilles from the rendition on //lchaimweekly.org
(#1038), with permission.
Biographical note:
Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin [8 Sivan 5509 - 14 Sivan 5581 (June 1749 - June 1821 c.e.)] was the main disciple of the Gaon of Vilna, who selected him to establish a yeshiva in 1802. The Volozhin Yeshiva became the most important and most influential in Lithuania. His major work is the Nefesh Ha-Chaim (perhaps inspired, some say, by the popularity of Tanya), dealing with complex spiritual issues.
Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin [8 Sivan 5509 - 14 Sivan 5581 (June 1749 - June 1821 c.e.)] was the main disciple of the Gaon of Vilna, who selected him to establish a yeshiva in 1802. The Volozhin Yeshiva became the most important and most influential in Lithuania. His major work is the Nefesh Ha-Chaim (perhaps inspired, some say, by the popularity of Tanya), dealing with complex spiritual issues.
Connection:
Weekly reading - "You will return to the ground, for from it you were
taken." (Gen. 3:19)
Don’t be
fooled by numbers. People invite others to Facebook Groups and some join and
don’t fully participate. Sometimes by posts reach 50 to 70,000 if I decide to
advertise my blogspot. However in reality I posted on groups with let us say
19,500 members and the number of people engaged in the groups 1860 people and
the number who read the blogspot from them is even less. I would be a fool to
follow these numbers.
From
Honey: No mosques only a deserted land and ruins of Christian towns that lived
in Israel and were slaughtered by the Jihad photos from 1862: https://palestineisraelconflict.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/jerusalem-photographs-1862-no-mosques-no-palestinians-only-ghost-towns-of-massacred-christian-areas/
Inyanay Diyoma
Ed-Op
what the free world wants to see and does not chose to see: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4704065,00.html
The new
Arab Refugee Problem but it is not the Jews: Diane Weber Biderman: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-naqba-2015/
Finding
consensus on a new police chief: http://debka.com/article/24911/New-Police-Chief-Ronny-Alsheikh-may-bring-innovative-technology-to-war-on-crime
The so-called "blood red" moon was actually almost
pitch black. I saw a 4.5 to 5 degree maximum this morning no blood some people
saw a dark brown before the maximum I saw mostly black with some earth glow on
it.
Salt
water on Mars: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2015/09/28/mars-has-flowing-liquid-water-nasa-confirms/?intcmp=hpbt1
Rocket
attack on Ashdod during a large outdoor Sukkos gathering: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4705352,00.html our
response was a good hit but was it empty buildings again?: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201221#.Vgtq7Hqqqko
Putin (Magog as the Vilna Gaon stated) is warning Israel: http://debka.com/article/24913/Putin-warns-Israel-off-targeting-Iranian-targets-in-Syria-
Obama is
all talk while Putin is all action: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4704954,00.html
Russia
does not target ISIS but the free Syrian Army: http://debka.com/article/24915/Russia-enters-Syrian-war-with-air-strikes-jolts-the-Mid-East-into-new-era
Baby
stroller attack in Yerushalayim by the religion of peace: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201227#.Vg1KTHqqqko
Hezballah
and Iran will try to crush the CIA group in Syria: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4706105,00.html
I was
sitting in the Sukkah at a Chabad Party I saw Avinoam and I got the same news
update. I continued the joy which is a Mitzvah and even told two stories along
with Rabbi Kochavi and one other fellow a Sephardic Chabadnik. So you have
brotherhood Yemenites, Sephardim and Ashkenazim under the Chabad roof. Inside
my heart was breaking for the four new orphans that witnessed their parents
murder by Arabs at close range. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4706203,00.html A 28-year-old woman was also injured Thursday night after rocks were
thrown at her near the Itzhar junction. Magen David Adom paramedics transported
her to Belinson Hospital in Petah Tikqvah.
Lapid’s
followers strike back at Martin Sherman who in turn exposes Lapid again. http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Into-the-fray-Yair-Lapid-Responding-to-readers-419727
Obama´s
vacuum leads to China and Russia: http://debka.com/article/24926/Chinese-warplanes-to-join-Russian-air-strikes-in-Syria-Russia-gains-Iraqi-air-base
Motzei
Shabbos two murdered and two injured near the Kotel: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201365#.VhAndXqqqko
and http://debka.com/article/24928/Two-Israelis-knifed-to-death-In-Jerusalem-Beefed-up-security-fails-to-staunch-spiraling-Palestinian-terror
Arab
Israeli injured near Chevron because his brothers thought him to be a Jew,
shooting near Beit Chanun, Shooting near Maalei Adumim, stones injure one near
Rachelim Junction. Netanyahu will cut short his US visit and return to military
headquarters and cabinet to meet on Monday night after Simchas Torah. Two
Children shot by Arabs in Israel proper: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201369#.VhAsL3qqqko
9 arrests
made of terror cell in Schem that murdered the Henkin Couple: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201366#.VhArBnqqqko
More on
the shooting at the IDF Post: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201371#.VhAxWnqqqkp
Arab
child playing with the gun that shot him had parents claim settlers did it: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4706547,00.html
In the
wee hours of Friday morning there was another stabbing in Yerushalayim: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4706801,00.html
Clashes
of Arabs against the police on Yom Tov: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4707058,00.html
Russia
trying to enforce no-fly zone in Syria by Israel. http://debka.com/article/24929/With-Russia%E2%80%99s-Dep-Army-Chief-due-in-Israel-Moscow-posts-64-S-300-ship-to-air-missiles-off-Syria-N-Israel
Thousands
protest terror outside of Cabinet Meeting: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201450#.VhLbz3qqqko
Aiding
and abetting terror - Video cameras and a witness captures it all: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201441#.VhLix3qqqko
Miracle - one terrorist shot another last week
during the Henkin murders so the children were left alone. He also dropped his
pistol which led to finger prints. G-D takes sacrifices but he also spares it
is above our understanding. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4707111,00.html
Electrical
fire causes a lot of damage to synagogue: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201449#.VhNJ4TaheM8
My wife
did not want me driving back and forth on road 443 but I did so anyway today.
Road 60 got rocks though with a baby injured: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201500
Another
stabbing attempt of a soldier thwarted but now in Yafa Israel. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4707647,00.html
State
Dept. as anti-Semitic as it was during the voyage of the St. Louis where Jews
were sent by to Germany. http://www.timesofisrael.com/ap-reporter-grills-state-department-over-israel-criticism/
The 13
year old Arab youth shot dead was killed by their rockets.
Arab mob
tries to lynch a Jewish Woman: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201519#.VhTQuHqqqko
Terrorist
in Kiriat Gat who was living in Israel illegally is shot dead after seizing
soldier’s weapon: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4708017,00.html
On Arutz 2 it was reported
that the terrorist jumped on a 369 bus and driver flung the doors open and
everybody fled including a soldier who ran to a park and threw down his rifle
and fled. THAT SOLDIER SHOULD BE JAILED FOR A LONG-LONG TIME!
The
public opinion which feeds PC politicians goes against Netanyahu and Yaalon he
freezes settlements but calls off foreign trip: http://debka.com/article/24932/Netanyahu-curtails-German-trip-to-deal-with-worsening-Palestinian-terror-crisis
We shot
him before he could run us over: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201545#.VhVj2nqqqko
There was
a terrorists attempting to stab in Yerushalayim in the evening but in Petach
Tikva a stabbing: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201540#.VhVkuXqqqko
Arab
attempted riots a 15 minute drive from me: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201544#.VhVms3qqqko
Arab
rioters thought they had back up but instead IDF troops: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201546#.VhVvR3qqqko
It is the same anti-Israel BDS bigots who do this: I have not
heard a white person say that racist remark since the days of George C.
Wallace. IVY league she could not even make a Community College back when I
went to school. Liberal affirmative action did this to your professors. Ben
Carson has brains she has a big rear end and protection from the left. http://bb4sp.com/racist-ivy-league-professor-calls-dr-ben-carson-a-coon/?utm_content=bufferc6002&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
No
restrictions on Arabs but bracing for more terror: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4708274,00.html
The happenings on 25 of Tishrei 5776 (Oct 8th)
11:00AM two people are stabbed in Yerushalayim and a terrorist apprehended.
15:00 An illegal Arab Worker takes a screw driver and stabs a soldier girl to
grab her gun. She hangs on and he stabs four other Jews. An IAF officer sees
what is going on or hears the screams runs over and shoots the terrorist dead.
17:00 near Chevron, a terrorist stabs somebody. 20:00 while trying to remove
computers and other items from the house of the dead terrorist, police raid his
home. The Arabs have an ambush with stones as they know policing patterns and 9
officers are injured by stones and Molotov cocktails. A teen in Hertzeliah
claims that somebody knocked on his door it turned out to be an Arab and he was
stabbed in the chest. The police have not called this a terrorist incident yet.
21:00 a soldier is stabbed in Afula. 26 Tishrei somebody stabs a Bedouin worker
and three Arabs until he is apprehended. Elsewhere people were injured on the
roads from rocks. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4708905,00.html
Top Iranian
General killed in Syria: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201637#.VheGmXqqqko
Police
bust terror network with pipe bombs for Temple Mount: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201635#.VheDnHqqqko
Netanyahu
fails to do the right thing time and time again maybe we need a new PM: http://debka.com/article/24934/Netanyahu%E2%80%99s-Temple-Mount-boomerang-The-Palestinian-knife-strikes-in-Tel-Aviv-too
A news
flash on my cellphone a 16 year old has been stabbed in Yerushalayim!
A peaceful and healthy Shabbos to all,
Rachamim Pauli
