tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78987826354707656142024-03-13T08:41:33.892-04:00The Rebbetzin's HusbandPerhaps some rabbis marry women and make them rebbetzins<br>but my rebbetzin married me and made me a rabbi<br>שלי ושלכם שלה הוא<br>mawkish, but trueThe Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.comBlogger1359125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-41125739056099332402019-10-07T20:49:00.000-04:002019-10-08T12:24:19.262-04:00G-d Rewards Failure (Derashah, Yom Kippur 5780)<i>My mood is more into the heavier type of derashah these days, like the one I posted <b><a href="https://rechovot.blogspot.com/2019/10/teshuvah-and-suffering-jew-derashah-yom.html" target="_blank">here</a></b> on how a suffering Jew does teshuvah, or like the derashah I posted for Rosh HaShanah. But optimism is important too, so here goes with an upbeat idea...</i><br />
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Adam and Chavah<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was a beautiful garden. Lush foliage,
animals,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
perhaps some colourful birds, a literal paradise designed for two human beings,
Adam and Chavah, the original <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">צלם אלקים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
created by Gd and commissioned to implement Gd’s vision on Earth. But there
was, as they say, a serpent in the garden, a snake in the grass, and he identified
a defect in the human design. Although granted explicit permission to eat of
any tree save one, Chavah succumbed to the serpent’s invitation to eat from
that single forbidden fruit, and Adam soon followed suit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What defect did the serpent discover? It
was not merely a weakness for attractive fruit, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">כי טוב
העץ למאכל וכי תאוה הוא לעינים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. The serpent lured Chavah by promising that
if she and Adam would eat from the fruit, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">והייתם כאלקים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
they would be gods, like Hashem. This greed was the weakness. But what did
Chavah and Adam know about Hashem at this point?<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span> </span>What
was the magnet for their greed? Rashi explains that they knew Hashem to be a
Creator of Worlds, and this was what Chavah and Adam wanted: to be <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יוצרי עולמות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, Creators of Worlds, the capacity to
create life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And then we arrive at a perplexing
part of the story. Hashem punished Adam and Chavah – but rather than take
something away due to their greed, Hashem only adjusted the challenges to
acting on their greed. I would have expected Hashem to punish Chavah and Adam
by inhibiting any capacity to create – but Hashem explicitly licensed to Chavah
and Adam the privilege of bringing life into this world. Hashem told Chavah:
You will bring life from your body! HaShem told Adam: You will bring life from
the ground! Painfully, to be sure. Frustratingly, of course. But Hashem allowed
them the ability to create worlds; why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Eigel<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For an even stronger example of
perplexing punishment, look at what happened millennia later, in the events
which would lead up to the first Yom Kippur. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Moshe proclaimed the Aseret haDibrot
(Ten Commandments) to the Jews, and then disappeared up Mount Sinai. Day after
day, his followers waited at the base of the mountain, still wearing their
finery, still anticipating the return of the miracle-working leader who had
brought them out of Egypt, split the sea and delivered to them the Torah. One
week went by, then two, then three. Finally, after nearly six weeks, their
long-eroded patience gave way and they created a Golden Calf as an intermediary
via which to communicate with Hashem.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hashem told Moshe, “Descend, for your
nation has become corrupt.” Moshe took in the scene, smashed the tablets of the
Torah and punished the perpetrators - but what should have happened next? The
nation overstepped in seeking to communicate with Hashem, so should not Hashem
have cut off communication?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But again, just the opposite - according
to Rashi, Hashem commanded that we create a Mishkan to facilitate our access to
Hashem, and Hashem even inaugurated it in a grand and beautiful and joyous
celebration, with special sacrifices and gifts! And when Shlomo haMelech built
the Beit haMikdash, the eventual successor of that allegedly <i>bedieved</i>
Mishkan, the celebratory dedication overrode Yom Kippur that year; as the
gemara explains, the Jews ate and drank!<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even per Ramban,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
who contended we were always meant to have a Mishkan and Beit haMikdash and
these were not a response to the Eigel, the <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יום השמיני</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
the final day of the dedication of the Mishkan, may have been added just to
make up for the Eigel – and this day was such a grand celebration that a
midrash identifies it as <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יום שמחת לבו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
the day of Hashem’s great joy!<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
How could the Eigel’s terrible sin, with its death toll in the thousands, lead
to <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יום שמחת לבו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Level 1: Learning from Failure<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On a simple level, we could suggest
that Hashem provides new opportunities for Adam and Chavah, and the Jews of the
Wilderness Generation, because now they are ready to learn. As p</span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">sychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
wrote, “There are no mistakes, no coincidences. Just gifts given to us to learn
from.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>” Or
as a famous athlete<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> once said, “</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I've
failed over and over and over again in my life,</span> and that is why I
succeed."<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Level 2: Turning Failure Into Success<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On a deeper level, though, Rav Avraham
Yitzchak Kook identified a second reason for Hashem to respond to our
transgressions with new opportunities: because recognizing our aveirot can
stimulate us to perform mitzvot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rav Kook was troubled by a classic
gemara, in which the sage Reish Lakish declared, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">גדולה
תשובה שזדונות נעשות לו כזכיות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, teshuvah is so great that it converts
even intentional sin into merit.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
How could an intentional aveirah possibly become a source of merit?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In his Orot haTeshuvah, Rav Kook
explained that aveirot cause our sensitive neshamot (souls) to feel unsettled
and anxious, recognizing that we have left the proper path. This anxiety
triggers what he called </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">העריגה והחפץ הקבוע אל השלמות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, our inherent longing and desire to achieve perfection.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> And
so the aveirah becomes not an instant of degradation but a long-term building
block, a catalyst for greatness, turning our intentional sin into an
opportunity for merit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This phenomenon of <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ירידה לצורך עלייה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, destruction which fuels growth, appears not
only in Torah, but also in nature. This is how muscles grow. When we exercise,
we inflict “micro-tears”, small rips in the muscle fibers. Soreness after a
workout is a function of those tears. Those tears are what enable muscles to
grow; in repairing the tear, we experience hypertrophy, the fibers grow. The
tears are our building blocks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Level 3: Responding to Our Motivations<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But let’s look closer, and we’ll see a
third level, a deeper genius the Torah is revealing in its comprehension of sin
and redemption, failure and possibility. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chavah and Adam wished to be Creators;
that’s a potentially positive motivation. But they wanted to do it quickly and
cheaply, just eat a fruit and you become like Hashem. So Hashem taught them
that they could indeed create life, but it would involve time and labour and
pain. Hashem identified the creative desire that had been corrupted by their
greed, and transformed their aveirah into a building block.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Eigel was born from a desire to communicate
with Hashem, but it was corrupted. So Hashem granted us an opportunity for
successful communication with the Divine, a building block for greater success –
a success which went on for many centuries of service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In other words – transgression is
often born from a potentially good desire, poorly implemented. Hashem is
willing to provide additional opportunities to make good on those positive
desires.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hashem has three reasons,
then, to reward our failure with opportunity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First,
because we learn from failure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Second,
because capitalizing on our feelings of guilt and discomfort can lead us to
success and growth, and justify the mistakes, the micro-tears, we endured in
order to get there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
third, because our failures often stem from useful drives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And so Hashem
responds to Adam and Chavah by giving them greater opportunities to create, and
to the Jews of the Golden Calf with greater opportunities for access to Gd. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of course, having
new opportunities also means we can fail in a greater way. Adam and Chavah’s
power of creation generated Kayin, who killed his brother. And look at the many
times we desecrated our Mishkan and Beit haMikdash, leading to its destruction!
And yet – Hashem gives us those chances.</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Goal of Viduy<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are going to recite viduy (admission of
sin) ten times today.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On
one level, viduy involves declaring to Gd that we are a hot mess, filled with
failure. We analyze the chain of events that brought us to this point, with an
emphasis on the bad: The vulnerabilities which made us susceptible to
destabilization. The actions of our transgressions. And the damage we created, for
ourselves and for others, with those transgressions. We declare sin and regret,
and we ask for forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But viduy is also </span><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">an appeal for opportunity.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
We declare <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ולא שוה לנו!</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> (it wasn’t worth
it!), that we feel anxiety and upset as a consequence of our sins, testifying
to our innate yearning to achieve perfection. We recognize that our sin
involved desires to do something which could be good, which could generate
greatness if only we could address our vulnerabilities and interrupt the destructive
chain. We appeal for help <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">שלא אחטא עוד</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
that we never sin again. We ask </span><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gd to <u>reward</u>
our failures, with the opportunity for success.</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To give but one example: A <i>chevra
man</i>, who enjoys his role as a social leader, is vulnerable to the
excitement that comes with holding, and selectively sharing, potentially
scandalous information. He learns of someone’s personal mistake – and that
event leads him to share the information with other people in the community,
violating innumerable halachot against <i>lashon hara</i>, <i>rechilut</i>, <i>lifnei
iver</i>, and much more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before he ever gets to Yom Kippur, our
<i>chevra man </i>must find a way to make amends for all of the people he has hurt
– the subject of the scandal, that person’s family, the audience who heard the
news, their own audiences for their re-tellings, etc. And then on Yom Kippur,
as part of Viduy, our <i>chevra man</i> needs to acknowledge to Hashem and
express regret for what he has done, and describe how he is going to avoid a
repeat performance in the future. But he should also recognize the potential
good – his desire to connect, unite, organize and rally people together. His
horrible feelings from his wrongdoing. These can be strengths!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And this recognition can lead Hashem
to send more opportunities the way of our <i>chevra man</i> – information which
could lead him to corrrect, unite, organize and rally people for chesed, for
tzedakah, for Torah study, for prayer. Our <i>chevra man </i>can follow the
model of Adam and Chavah as positive creators, the Wilderness Generation
building a Mishkan, Shlomo haMelech dedicating a Beit haMikdash!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yizkor<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many people here will be saying Yizkor
shortly, remembering relatives who have passed away. Yizkor testifies that our
opportunities never end. Even for those who have gone on to <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">עולם האמת</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> (the world of truth), their families, the
people they impacted through their lives and deeds, remember them, commemorate
them with tefillah and tzedakah and mitzvot, and appeal to Hashem to remember
them as well. The gemara states, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">אין ציבור מתה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>;
whatever mistakes a previous generation made, the community lives on and has
the opportunity to correct them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Closer<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes, failure is depressing – and
admitting it ten times in one day is a lot, enough to drag anyone down. But when
we recognize that our failure can point the way to our success, that viduy is
actually a request for the opportunity to achieve, we will be inspired to
follow Shlomo HaMelech’s counsel, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">כי שבע יפול צדיק וקם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
– The tzaddik falls seven times, but each time he gets up.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Or as Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith re-worded it: </span>"Success consists
of getting up one more time than you fall down." And that success will be
well worth celebrating.<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">May our anxiety over
our sins move us to identify both our mistakes <u>and</u> our strengths, and
use those strengths to return to Hashem – and may Hashem return to us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Based on the
<span dir="RTL" lang="HE">לעבדה ולשמרה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
mandate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> See Kuzari
1:92-97, and Ibn Ezra to Shemot<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Moed Katan
9a<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Ramban to
Vayikra 9:3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> And see
Haameik Davar to Vayikra 9:1 on what <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יום שמחת לבו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> adds to <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יום חתונתו</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
https://www.wellbeing.com.au/kinship/parenting/10-steps-to-a-confident-child.html<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Michael
Jordan<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Yoma 86b<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Orot
haTeshuvah 5:6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> See Tur
Orach Chaim 620, Maharil and others for explanations of why 10.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Ditto viduy
maaser; see Devarim 26:12-15<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/yk5780foremailing.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Mishlei
24:16<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br /></div>
The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-26113043423664141592019-10-06T12:01:00.000-04:002019-10-06T12:01:14.395-04:00Teshuvah and the Suffering Jew (Derashah, Yom Kippur 5780)<i>From the Cutting Room Floor:</i><br />
<br />
I wrote the following draft derashah for Yom Kippur, but the Rebbetzin, whose derashah sensibilities are as close to unerring as a human being gets, pointed out numerous flaws, so I'm going in a different direction. I still feel the message holds some value, though, so I'm posting it here. Feedback always welcome.<br />
<br />
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<u>Introduction<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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The Book of Yonah conveys distinct messages to different
audiences.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>To some, it’s an
entertaining fish story!<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>To others, it’s a
philosophical polemic on mercy and forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>To another audience, it’s a
political attack on the barbaric Assyrian Empire.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>And to still others, it’s a
mystical parable about the journey of the soul, represented by Yonah himself.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But I’d like to read it on another level – as a story of unexpected,
if partial, redemption, offering a powerful lesson for our relationship with
Hashem, on Yom Kippur and all year round.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Chapter 1: Fight and Flight<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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In Chapter 1, almost from the opening sentence, our
protagonist, Yonah, an experienced prophet,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
dramatically demonstrates that he is at odds with the Gd he serves. Gd orders
him to travel east to the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, and convey a simple
message: In forty days, Nineveh will be overturned. Yonah refuses to go – but
whatever drives his refusal is so disturbing, so painful that he cannot express
it at this point. Yonah silently descends to the water and hires a boat heading
west, the opposite direction.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At first, it seems that Yonah will retire, or change
professions; as midrashim and mefarshim explain, Yonah expects to evade his
prophetic responsibilities by leaving Israel, the land of prophecy.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Perhaps
he’ll become an itinerant sailor, maybe a merchant. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But then the boat leaves port and a ferocious wind erupts
out of nowhere, and Yonah’s reaction is not to help the sailors weather the
storm, and not to position himself to escape, but instead to calmly descend to
the bottom of the boat - in fact, to go to sleep. Yonah seems unsurprised by
Gd’s gambit; it’s almost as if he was <u>expecting</u> this Divine response,
and indeed he goes along with it, prepared to die. The sailors temporarily
thwart the strategy when they wake him and demand that he pray to his Gd – but
the former prophet refuses to daven, and instead insists, successfully, that
the sailors throw him overboard, to his presumed death.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Chapters 2-3: A mysterious turnaround<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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Then, in Chapter 2, Yonah changes his mind
about Gd, or so it appears. In a case of “Man bites dog”, a fish reels in Yonah,
saving his life. And instead of looking for more creative ways to die, Yonah
returns to Gd. Not even reluctantly – he composes a beautiful, if waterlogged,
poem about his newfound appreciation for his Creator! <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is followed by Chapter 3, in which Hashem
sends Yonah to Nineveh, and he carries out the mission, and the people of
Nineveh repent. We’re looking good!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Chapter 4: Yonah is still angry<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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But in Chapter 4 we learn that Yonah hasn’t
really made his peace with Gd. True, he carries out the mission, but he is
still suffering, and now he finally opens up with his feelings. Yonah chastises
Gd for His mercy on Nineveh; it’s an existential complaint against the ways of
the Gd he serves, the sort of complaint that we have difficulty appreciating ourselves,
but would make perfect sense for someone who lives in the rarefied spiritual
air of prophecy and spirituality. The mission Gd gave Yonah is offensive to him,
even painful for him; he cannot stomach the idea of forgiveness for Nineveh!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes, Yonah is done running away, finished
trying to end his life, but he is clearly not reconciled with his Creator, and
even at the end of the book he still seems to be suffering.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>The problem<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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So here is our problem: What happened in
Chapter 2, to cause Yonah to return to Gd? Especially, if he is still angry in
Chapter 4!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>More than Yonah<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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I’m asking these questions about Yonah, but really
- a prophet who’s been gone for more than 2600 years, and the nuances of a
small book of Tanach, are not my point this Yom Kippur. I’m asking these
questions because they are relevant for many of us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yonah ran away from Gd, and even life, when he
was suffering. Many of us are suffering. Physical Health. Emotional Health. Relationships.
Finances. The News. Existential fear. That suffering must make Yom Kippur very
difficult; how can we practice teshuvah, a return to Hashem, when we don’t feel
like returning? If we can understand what brought Yonah back, even though he
clearly didn’t feel like returning, perhaps we will understand how we can come
back as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>The Key: The Second Perek<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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I think the answer is actually clear in Chapter
2 – the chapter of Yonah that people largely ignore, because it’s poetry rather
than a story about an angry prophet, a man-eating fish and a kikayon plant,
whatever that is.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
A few sentences give us three insights into what Yonah was thinking, and why he
came back despite his suffering.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yonah sings:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: 11pt;">3</span></sup><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I called to Gd in my trouble, and He
answered me. From the belly of the depths I cried out, and You heard my voice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: 11pt;">4</span></sup><span style="font-size: 11pt;">And You cast me into the depths, the
heart of the seas, and the river surrounded me; all of Your breakers and waves
passed over me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: 11pt;">5</span></sup><span style="font-size: 11pt;">And I said, ‘I have been exiled from
before Your eyes.’ Still! I would look toward Your holy sanctuary.</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Our first insight comes from the way Yonah
characterizes his near-death experience. He says, “You cast me into the depths”
“Your breakers and waves passed over me” “I said I have been exiled.” In fact,
the Hebrew word Yonah used for “exiled” was <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">נגרשתי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
– the same term used when Gd ejects Adam and Chavah from Gan Eden <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ויגרש את האדם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, the same word that Kayin uses to describe
how Gd will make him wander, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">הן גרשת אותי היום</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In other words: Yonah thought that Gd was his
tormentor. Of course, on a practical level, Yonah knows <u>he</u> was the one
who decided to head west, and <u>he</u> was the one who ordered the sailors to
throw him into those breakers and waves! But to Yonah, Gd’s decision to send
Yonah on this painful mission was the equivalent of ordering Yonah away, driving
him off, forcing him to flee and nearly die. It’s Gd’s fault.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Second insight: In his poem, Yonah recounts, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">שועתי, קראתי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – “I called to Gd,” “From the belly of the
depths I cried out.” “Still I would look toward Your holy sanctuary.” We didn’t
see Yonah cry out or daven in Chapter 1, but in Chapter 2 Yonah discloses that
even as he insisted on being thrown overboard, he cried out to Gd to save his
life! Yonah didn’t <u>want</u> to die; he wanted to live.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last insight: After he is saved, Yonah
declares, jubilantly, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ויענני</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">שמעת קולי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>! Gd answered me! You heard my voice! You aren’t pushing me away! In fact – You
saved my life! In other words – Yonah now sees what Gd has done for him,
and is moved to recognize that Gd is there for him. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is why Yonah returns in Chapter 2 – he never wanted to leave.
He felt that Gd was pushing him away with the offensive mission, and when he
called out to Gd and Gd threw him a line, he realized that Gd did not want him
to die, Gd was not pushing him away. Looking at what Gd had given him saved
Yonah’s life, and made his teshuvah possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Important clarification: Pain is not canceled by Divine
favours<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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But let’s be clear: Even after returning in Chapter 2, Yonah
is still angry – sure, he does his job in Chapter 3, but hear his wrath in
Chapter 4. Recognizing what Gd has done for him doesn’t eliminate or balance
out his pain. But seeing what he has received demonstrates to Yonah that at
least, Gd isn’t pushing him away.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Yom Kippur</u><o:p></o:p></div>
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I think there’s a lot we can learn from this layer of the
Book of Yonah – from his original feeling that Gd is forcing him away, and his
realization that Gd wants him close.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the course of Yom Kippur, we will apologize to Gd many,
many times. The Tur<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
notes that we say 10 viduyim (confessios) because the Kohen Gadol proclaimed
the Name of Gd ten times on Yom Kippur. But reciting 10 viduyim can be hard,
when we feel that Gd is pushing us away, by permitting us to suffer in ways we believe
we don’t deserve. We may well experience Yonah’s resentment and sense of exile,
<span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">נגרשתי
מנגד עיניך</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. Do You really expect me to apologize? How am I supposed to
arouse in my broken heart a feeling of yearning and longing for a Gd who has
abandoned me? How can You expect me to strike my chest and apologize for
missing a minyan once, for failing to give tzedakah once? <o:p></o:p></div>
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But perhaps, even in our pain, we can search our lives and
identify a moment in which Gd supported us, visibly or less visibly. Then, perhaps,
we will appreciate that there is a relationship, that even with all of the
suffering, Gd does not want to chase us off. It’s not all better – Yonah still
rages! – but there is a path forward and a means to return.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">סדר העבודה</span><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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On Rosh HaShanah I spoke about a new Israeli song, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">בין קודש
לחול</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
I’d like to conclude this derashah with a thought from another new Israeli
song, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">סדר
העבודה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> by Yishai Ribbo.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> It’s
a wonderful song, using the text of the machzor as it describes the kohen gadol
counting aloud the motions with which he applies the blood of a korban for
atonement: <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">אחת, אחת ואחת, אחת ושתים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – One, One plus one, one plus two, one
plus three – and the kohen proclaims the Name of Gd, and the nation falls on
their faces.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ribbo first presents the words of the Kohen Gadol in the
kodesh kodashim (Holy of Holies). <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>But Ribbo has the kohen
count out apparently infinite transgressions. He sings, “If one could remember
all of the defects and deficiencies, all of the rebellions and all of the
guilt, certainly, he would count – One, one plus one, one plus two, one plus
three, one plus four, one plus five, and immediately he would despair, for he
could not bear the bitterness of the sins, the wasted opportunities, the loss.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>The assembled Jews kneel
and fall on their faces. Falling on their faces is an expression of despair and
shame at our sins, an expression of agonized distance, a feeling that we must
be exiled.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But then, after our repentance, the kohen gadol again
counts, but this is a different counting:<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Now the kohen counts out
infinite Divine acts of kindness. He sings, “If one could remember the acts of
generosity, the favours, all of the mercy and all of the salvation, certainly,
he would count – One, one plus one, one plus two, one of the thousand,
thousands of thousands and the manifold myriads of miracles and wonders You
have performed for us, day and night.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>And the assembled Jews
kneel and fall on their faces. But now, falling on their faces is an expression
of gratitude for our relationship, which has survived the sins and the distance,
and remains available for our return.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ribbo’s point is not quite mine, but it shares a common
thread: No matter where we have been:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>No matter the suffering we
have endured, like Yonah in Chapter 1 – <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>And what we will endure in
the future as Yonah will in Chapter 4 – <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>If we can live like Yonah
in Chapter 2, recognizing what Hashem has done for us, we will end the feeling
of tragic distance, and the path will be clear for our return. <o:p></o:p></div>
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May we succeed in returning to Gd, and may Gd return to us.<span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Melachim II 14:25<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Mechilta d’R’ Yishmael Bo 1, as well as Ibn Ezra 1:1 and Radak 1:3.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> See
the Mechilta ibid.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> See
Ibn Ezra vs Radak in Yonah 4. I’m a fan of Ibn Ezra’s approach.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Tur
Orach Chaim 620; and see the Maharil and others<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="https://rechovot.blogspot.com/2019/09/bein-kodesh-lchol-between-sacred-and.html">https://rechovot.blogspot.com/2019/09/bein-kodesh-lchol-between-sacred-and.html</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday80v3.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECy3CMxShIQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECy3CMxShIQ</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-39152095536504430812019-09-29T09:40:00.004-04:002019-09-29T09:41:14.752-04:00Turns out it was poisonous all alongToday, Erev Rosh haShanah no less, I had the chance to fulfill an unusual mitzvah - ולא תשים דמים בביתך "You shall not place blood in your home" (Devarim 22:8), which requires us to eliminate hazards from our homes.<br />
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Here's a mug shot of the hazard:<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YSmH4IyhHJw/XZC0KyktWJI/AAAAAAAAMVc/5irWeVYlFG8aE0G9Oq2VI6efJm3KT3sdACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/wolfsbane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YSmH4IyhHJw/XZC0KyktWJI/AAAAAAAAMVc/5irWeVYlFG8aE0G9Oq2VI6efJm3KT3sdACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/wolfsbane.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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In early spring, I thought I would surprise my wife with new plants and flowers. I went to the nursery and picked up what I thought were some great purchases, including one called "Autumn Monkshood" (aka Wolfsbane, but I didn't know that at the time). It grew beautifully - dark green leaves, a very tall stem, and finally, just a week or two ago, it started to flower. Many buds are yet to open, promising rich, blue-purple flowers for weeks to come. Yes, it flowers in September-October! And into November, I'm told. And it's perennial, and hardy to Zone 2. What's not to like!<br />
<br />
So the other day, I thought about buying a bunch more of these beautiful plants. I was in love. And then I Googled it and found out it's toxic. Not a little toxic, either - potentially fatal. Even contact can be hazardous, although there is some debate about the extent.<br />
<br />
So out it went this morning. Depressing, but nice to fulfill this unusual mitzvah, going into the new year...The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-74130587425200936392019-09-25T21:13:00.001-04:002019-09-28T23:21:02.058-04:00Bein Kodesh l'Chol - Between Sacred and Secular (Derashah, Rosh HaShanah 5780)My current draft for Rosh HaShanah, inspired by Amir Daddon and Shuli Rand's new song, בין קודש לחול (<b><a href="https://rechovot.blogspot.com/2019/09/amir-daddon-shuli-rand-and-rosh-hashanah.html" target="_blank">video and translation available here</a></b>). Comments welcome, on this page or in email!<br />
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<i><u>Bein kodesh l’chol</u></i><u><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Amir Daddon is a very successful Israeli
musician and singer in his 40s; he’s been a part of various bands; in recent
years he has released three solo albums. He identifies as secular. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;">Shuli Rand is a popular,
57-year old Israeli singer who grew up Religious Zionist, left observant
Judaism, then became a Breslover chasid. You may know him as author of, and an actor
in, the movie <i>Ushpizin</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;">Last week, Daddon
and Rand released a song together; it’s called <i>Bein Kodesh l’Chol</i>,
“Between sacred and secular.”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"> The video shows the two of them standing in an
alley in what may be the Old City. They take turns singing, and as they sing
they pace and turn, but constantly face each other. Their actions, facial
expressions, and most of their words mirror each other’s, and they are only
about a meter apart for most of the song. They nod at each other’s words, sighing,
conveying a deep, empathetic comprehension. Both are clearly distraught, exhausted,
frustrated, their expressions intense, their arms flung out and gesturing. To
me, it’s the rare case of a video that makes a song better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;">Daddon, looking
strung-out in a black t-shirt, with defeated eyes and a deep 5 o’clock shadow,
sings first about his feelings of unrest in his secular life, and his
frustration with the sense that he doesn’t belong in that life:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Between sacred and secular I live,
with the truth that wreaks havoc inside of me, with a thousand habits, with
every scar on my face, I go forth to scatter these words.</span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Between reality and insanity, it
all comes back to me. There, in the place from which I come there is no peace,
and this burden is heavy, and a little too big for me.</span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">I need to grow out of this and be
done with it, to grow out of this and be done with it. </span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;">And Rand, the
chasid, in white shirt, black pants and a long beard and the same expression of
pain and defeat, sings almost identically in response, questioning his comfort
in his religious life:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Between sacred and secular I live,
between the truth that wreaks havoc inside of me, with a thousand habits, with
all of the fear on my shoulders, I go forth to scatter these words.</span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">Between reality and insanity, it
all comes back to me. There, in the place from which I come there is no peace,
and this burden is heavy, and a little too big for me.</span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">I need to grow out of this and be
done with it, to grow out of this and be done with it.</span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><i><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><u>My impressions
from the song<o:p></o:p></u></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;">The two musicians
express a struggle between <i>kodesh</i> and <i>chol</i>, between sacred
religion and secular attractions, between the scars of the secular and the fear
of the religious, between what they each consider the poles of reality and
insanity, as perceived from their opposite points of view. The two use nearly
identical words to describe their own unsettled feelings where they are, their
attraction to where the other is, and their wish they could “grow out of” this
attraction and be done with it. The struggle of living <i>bein kodesh l’chol</i>
exhausts them. It’s a dramatically, gorgeously honest song.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;">I’m not sure how
many of us regularly feel the religious exhaustion that Daddon and Rand
express. Many of us are at a stage where we have our peer groups, our work and
our histories; we made the big religion and lifestyle decisions years ago. But
some of us do, even within a mainstream, observant community like ours. We have
people who are still making those decisions, and whose family members are still
making those decisions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Whether to go clubbing or
to shul on Friday night;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Whether to invest in
sending their children to Jewish day school and high school;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Whether to go kosher, or to
stay kosher;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>What sort of romantic
lifestyle to pursue;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Whether to seek meaning in
religion at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;">And even for those
who aren’t wrestling with major religious decisions, we face personal decisions
which test our ethical strength – exhausting decisions of relationships, of
work, of chinuch. We search for clarity between right and wrong, but even if we
find it, we strain to develop the strength to follow through. My point is not the specifics of religious struggle; my
focus is the exhaustion of having that struggle. Like Daddon and Rand, we shake
our heads, we fling out our arms, we cry and we turn this way and that, in
search not so much for an answer as for a way out of searching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;">How can a Jew
navigate this exhaustion? Burned out and frustrated, wanting just to stop
thinking about these choices, how does a religiously drained Jew move forward from
<i>chol</i>? And while the song doesn’t take sides and doesn’t favour religion,
I do; I want to choose <i>kodesh</i>. How does the religiously drained Jew move
forward from <i>chol</i>, and find firm footing in the world of <i>kodesh</i>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20338711;"></span>
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An answer may lie in Rosh HaShanah, and its emphasis on
recognizing Hashem as <i>Melech</i>. A deep understanding of <i>Melech</i> can energize
all of us, whether facing the Daddon/Rand exhaustion or our own.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>What is a Melech?<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">The act of recognizing Hashem as <i>Melech</i> sometimes reminds me
of the scene in the movie, <i>My Fellow Americans</i>, in which a former American
president talks about how every time they played <i>Hail to the Chief</i> for
him, he would sing to himself, “Hail to the Chief, he’s the Chief and he needs
hailing.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> But Hashem doesn’t need
hailing, and that’s not what we are doing when we recite malchiyot. Far from it
– on Rosh HaShanah, when we say the malchiyot berachah coronating Gd, we are
actually empowering the human being.</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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The Zohar coined a phrase, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">לית ליה מגרמיה כלום</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. It means: “He possesses
nothing of his own.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>The Zohar uses it to refer to
the Moon,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> which
offers no illumination of its own.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>It also applies to Shabbat,
a day when nothing is created; we prepare for it beforehand, and then, as the
Zohar says, it communicates the reward for those preparations in the form of
berachah to the ensuing six days.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>And in the Zohar and many
other works of Jewish mysticism, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">לית ליה מגרמיה כלום</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> also describes a
king. Far from being “the owner of all”, the monarch is an owner of nothing.<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Zohar’s point is logical. The monarch receives whatever
the nation provides via taxes, and whatever a predecessor bequeathed from a
previous generation’s taxes, and the monarch’s job is to distribute that wealth
for<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> the benefit of the nation. The monarch is a
conduit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Kohelet<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
said it: “The benefit of a land, anywhere, is in a king who is enslaved to the
field.” He isn’t out there plowing, but his role is to be a conduit, making
sure that the benefits of the economy reach the nation.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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And the Rambam said it, in his Laws of Kings:<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> “<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Just as the Torah assigned great honour to
the king, and all are obligated to honour him, so the Torah instructed him to
keep his heart humble… He must be generous and merciful for small and great, he
must exit and enter at their desire and for their good, and he must care for
the honour of the smallest of the small.” The king’s role is to look after the
nation.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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In sum: In Judaism, a king is an enabler, a facilitator.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Hashem as Melech<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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The same is true for Hashem, whom we declare King on Rosh
HaShanah. Of course, the phrase <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">לית ליה מגרמיה כלום</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, that a king owns
nothing, can’t apply directly to Gd; Hashem created everything, and possesses
everything. But in terms of what Hashem’s monarchy means for us, <u>in that
sense</u>, yes, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">לית ליה מגרמיה כלום</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, He has nothing. Because Hashem’s goal in
this world is to enable us to achieve, to grow, to choose <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">קודש</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
over <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">חול</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rabbi Shimshon Pincus,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> who served
as Rosh Yeshiva in Yerucham and the Rabbi of Ofakim, spelled out this concept
beautifully. He explained that a king, elevated above the narrow concerns of
normal life, is positioned to act on his best impulses to benefit the entire population.
And then he wrote, “This is the meaning of <i>Malchut</i> for Hashem. When we
yearn and daven for Hashem’s monarchy to be revealed before the world” – like
in <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">ובכן
תן פחדך</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – “we are davening for Hashem, in all His exalted glory, to
become involved in a practical way in our world,” acting as a facilitator for <u>us</u>,
enabling <u>us</u> <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">להביא לגילוי יחודו של הקב"ה בעולם בכל הדרו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, to live a life which
demonstrates the Unity of Gd, in all its glory, for all the world to see.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In other words – on Rosh HaShanah, the day of Creation of
humanity, we mark the ultimate, ongoing empowerment of humanity.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> We
call Hashem our <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">מלך</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, but we aren’t only talking about Hashem as King and Owner; we
are talking about Hashem as Empowerer, whose monarchy has the ultimate goal of
facilitating our spiritual work.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the ultimate realization of
the romantic reciprocality envisioned by the Torah and elaborated upon by our
sages – <span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20375567;"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">את ד' האמרת היום להיות לך
לאלקים וללכת בדרכיו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, “You have embraced Hashem on this day, to
be Your Gd, to walk in His ways,” promoting His agenda, </span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20375567;"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">וד' האמירך היום להיות לו לעם סגולה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
“Hashem has embraced you on this day, to be a special nation for Him.”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20375567;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20375567;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk20375567;"></span>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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What a gripping, resonating vision – the Jew not as an
anonymous, struggling citizen of the Divine empire, but the focus of that
empire, and the Divine Emperor personally focussed, entirely, on our spiritual
success! What a vision! What a responsibility!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Back to Daddon and Rand: Empowerment<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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In their <i>bein kodesh l’chol</i> existence, caught between
the sacred and the secular, Amir Daddon and Shuli Rand have two problems. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>First, they are spiritually
torn; one lives in the reverence of the sacred and is drawn toward aspects of the
secular, the other bears the scars of the secular world and is drawn toward aspects
of the sacred. It’s hard to live in both worlds; Hashem is <i>mavdil bein
kodesh l’chol</i>, Hashem has divided the two dimensions, and their souls are
straddling that division.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>But second, they are exhausted,
burned out, from the intensity of this struggle. They feel too weak to pursue
this intense struggle to its end and to make the hard choices that come with
it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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No one can answer the first problem for us; in a world of
Free Will, no one will force a person from the camp of <i>chol</i> to the camp
of <i>kodesh</i>. But for the second problem, the sense of helplessness, Rosh
HaShanah asserts that help is on the way! Hashem is Melech! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Like the melech that is the
Moon, reflecting the light of the Sun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Like the melech that is Shabbat,
channeling berachah to the week ahead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Like the melech that is a
human king, distributing the wealth of a nation to benefit the land, and caring
for “the honour of the smallest of the small.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hashem is here to enable and empower us! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>If Shuli Rand feels burnt
out, the Melech will give him the strength to keep going!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>If Amir Daddon feels exhausted,
the Melech will grant him the energy to keep seeking!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>And if you or I feel like
our personal struggles <i>bein kodesh l’chol</i> – whether Kashrut and Shabbat
or Minyan and Tzedakah – are too hard and not worth the strain and struggle,
Rosh HaShanah’s Melech declares, “This is the top of My agenda, this is why I
created the universe, all those Rosh HaShanah’s ago!” You are not small; you
are the reason I am Melech.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">שמור נא עלי</span><o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a moment, we will blow shofar. As the shofar blasts ring
in our ears, we should have in mind that we are fulfilling a mitzvah – and we
should also have in mind the closing words of the song: “<span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">שמור נא עלי, רק שלא יכשלו
רגלי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. Please, watch over me; just don’t let my feet stumble.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The ambiguity of the song and video allows us to think that
the singers could be addressing each other or Gd, but on Rosh HaShanah, during
shofar, we voice this plea directly to Hashem, our Melech. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">שמור נא עלי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>!
Tekiah, a straight sound, erupting from the shofar with pride and strength – Hashem,
You are our Melech!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">שמור נא עלי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>!
Shevarim, a groan, three tired breaths pushed through the shofar – Hashem,
please invest energy in me!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">שמור נא עלי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>!
Teruah, a staccato series of gasps frenetically jolted from the shofar
anxiously - Hashem, let me see and feel how You are here for me, enabling me!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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This year, may we merit to see and feel Hashem’s <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">שמירה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
Hashem’s help for all of us, how our Melech is working and manipulating our
world to enable us to find our spiritual path. <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">שלא יכשלו רגלי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
may our legs never falter, but instead may we march into the future with a <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">כתיבה וחתימה
טובה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCJh9YcrL3k">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCJh9YcrL3k</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWWQVmKOI28">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWWQVmKOI28</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> See
Zohar Vayeshev pg. 181a<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> For
more examples, see Zohar Chayei Sarah pg. 124b-125a, Zohar Vayishlach pg.
168b,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zohar Vayechi pg. 238a<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Zohar
Yitro pg. 88a. And it is called a <i>melech</i> or <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">מלכה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, as per Shabbat 119a, which will fit our
point here.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Kohelet 5:8<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">The Jews demanded a King, and the prophet
Shemuel criticized them. According to the classic commentator Rabbeinu Nisim
(Derashot haRan 11), the Jews wanted someone who would hold all of the power
within himself. But the Divine vision is for a king who is just <b>a conduit</b>
to communicate and implement the Divine message to the nation.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 2:6<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">שבת מלכתא, חלק א' פרק א'</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. I am grateful to Rabbi Ezriel Sitzer for pointing me to this
source.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Humanity as a whole, as <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">צלם אלקים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. The Jewish nation, the collective <i>Knesset Yisrael </i>which
is a member of the <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ברית</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. And the individual.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Worth noting - <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">אבינו מלכנו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> is not an oxymoron – the parent is the ultimate Melech,
empowering the child.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-80foremail.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Berachot 6a, building on Devarim 26:17-18<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
<br /></div>
The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-22285161257361734432019-09-25T20:59:00.002-04:002019-09-25T22:55:22.139-04:00Amir Daddon, Shuli Rand and Rosh HaShanahFor a variety of reasons, I haven't posted here in a very long time, and I don't know whether anyone bothers to check this blog for updates anymore. But I am taken by a new song by Amir Daddon and Shuli Rand; it comes with a video which truly augments and deepens the emotion conveyed by the music:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sCJh9YcrL3k/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sCJh9YcrL3k?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
Here is my attempt to translate the lyrics; I'd welcome corrections (especially from Israelis who will be more attuned to the nuances of current slang):<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<u><b>עברית</b></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">בין
קודש לחול אני חי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">עם האמת שמשתוללת בי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">עם אלף הרגלים,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">עם כל צלקת שעל פני</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">אני
יוצא שוב לפזר את המילים.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">בין
המציאות לשגעון הכל חוזר אלי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">שם במקום ממנו באתי אין שלום,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">והמשא הזה כבד וקצת
גדול עלי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">אני צריך לגדול מזה ודי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">לגדול מזה ודי.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">בין
קודש לחול אני חי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">בין האמת שמשתוללת בי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">עם אלף הרגלים,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">עם כל הפחד שעל כתפי</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">אני
יוצא שוב לפזר את המילים.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">בין
המציאות לשגעון הכל חוזר אלי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">שם במקום ממנו באתי אין שלום,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">והמשא הזה כבד וקצת
גדול עלי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">אני צריך לגדול מזה ודי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">לגדול מזה ודי.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">שמור נא
עלי.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">רק שלא
יכשלו רגלי<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">בין
המציאות לשגעון הכל חוזר אלי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">גם במקום ממנו באתי אין שלום,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">והמשא הזה כבד וקצת
גדול עלי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">אני צריך לגדול מזה ודי,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">לגדול מזה ודי.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt;">בין
קודש לחול אני חי.</span><span dir="LTR"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<u><b>And in English</b></u>:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">Between sacred and secular I live,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">With the truth that wreaks havoc inside of me,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">With a thousand habits,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">With every scar on my face,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">I go forth to scatter these words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">Between reality and insanity, it all comes back to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">There, in the place from which I come there is no peace,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">And this burden is heavy, and a little too big for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">I need to grow out of this and be done with it, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">to grow out of this and be done with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">Between sacred and secular I live,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">between the truth that wreaks havoc inside of me,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">With a thousand habits,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">With all of the fear on my shoulders,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">I go forth to scatter these words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">Between reality and insanity, it all comes back to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">There, in the place from which I come there is no peace,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">And this burden is heavy, and a little too big for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">I need to grow out of this and be done with it,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">to grow out of this and be done with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">Please, watch over me,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">Just don’t let my feet stumble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">Between reality and insanity, it all comes back to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">Also in the place from which I come there is no peace,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">And this burden is heavy, and a little too big for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">I need to grow out of this and be done with it, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">to grow out of this and be done with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 11.0pt;">Between sacred and secular I live.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div>
Part 2 coming soon - my derashah for Rosh HaShanah, inspired by this song...</div>
The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-72231420847828985752019-02-09T19:27:00.001-05:002019-02-09T19:27:39.924-05:00Mental Health and Mitzvot: A Source SheetYes, I know I haven't posted here in forever. It's not for lack of things to say...<br />
<br />
In any case: I'm scheduled to give a shiur this Monday evening on "Mental Health and Mitzvot". Specifically, I expect to look at four ways in which halachah addresses mental illness as a reason for exemption from the Torah's obligations. Because I'm including some material which people may not be familiar with, I thought I would post the source sheet here, for those who still frequent these cobwebbed webpages. I expect to post a recording of the shiur on YUTorah.org.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Cases<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level8 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Susan, age 14, is
undergoing nutritional rehabilitative therapy for life-threatening anorexia;
her treatment team helps her develop healthy eating habits through regular
meals, while she works on her underlying emotional issues. Yom Kippur is
coming; must Susan fast?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level8 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">David, age 55, has
been in counseling for 30 years for anxiety attributed to lifelong emotional
abuse by his father. The abuse was largely verbal, through criticism and
insults, from early childhood through the present. David’s father passes away;
is David obligated to sit shivah?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level8 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Samantha, age 25, is
hospitalized with schizophrenia; her doctors believe that her delusions place
her at risk of self-harm. Is Samantha’s family obligated to arrange kosher food
for Samantha?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level8 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Avraham, age 18,
experiences severe OCD, with a particular manifestation in the area of prayer.
He cannot complete key lines, like the Shema, without hesitation and repetition
which drag on for more than an hour at a time. During the treatment process,
Avraham’s psychologist would like to try ERP, instructing Avraham to recite
prayers just one time, even if the pronunciation or level of concentration are
halachically inappropriate, and keep going. Is this acceptable?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Argument 1 for
Overriding Halachic Imperatives: Halachah Endangers Health<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Talmud, Taanit 22b; Rashi’s commentary<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">יחיד שנרדף מפני נכרים או מפני לסטין ומפני רוח רעה על כולן יחיד
רשאי לסגף את עצמו בתענית </span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<b><span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מפני רוח רעה </span></b><span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">-
שנכנס בו רוח שידה, ורץ והולך, ושמא יטבע בנהר או יפול וימות.</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If someone is pursued by
non-Jews, bandits or <i>ruach raah</i>, for any of these someone [else] may
cause himself suffering by fasting [on Shabbat].<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rashi</span></u><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">:
The spirit of a <i>sheid</i> enters him, and he runs about; [one prays] lest he
drown in a river or fall to his death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (20<sup>th</sup> century USA),
Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 2:59<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="color: black; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אולי יש לדון מצד מחלתו אם
יאמרו הרופאים שיש בזה ענין פקוח נפש, כגון דעלול מזה להרוג את עצמו באם יהיה לו
איזה צער, או דיעבור על דברים שאסורים גם בדיני המדינה ולא ישמע להפאליס ויריב עמם
עד שיבא מזה שיהרגוהו, או שיאמרו דעצם המחלה היא סכנה שבאה לו מקלקול שבמוחו
וא"א לרפאותו אלא במקום ההוא <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Perhaps there is room to
debate regarding his illness: If doctors were to identify a life-saving issue,
such as that he might respond to pain with suicide, or that he might violate civil
law, not listen to the police, and resist such that they might kill him, or
that the illness itself is dangerous such that his brain is damaged, and he can
only be healed there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (20<sup>th</sup> century USA),
Igrot Moshe Even haEzer 1:65<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="color: black; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">באשה שנשתטית אחר הלידה בשני
הילדים שהולידה והרופאים אסרו לה להתעבר אם יש להתירה לשמש במוך י"א תמוז
תשכ"א. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="color: black; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הנה ודאי צדק כתר"ה
ששטות הוא ענין סכנה לא רק לעצמה אלא גם להילדים הקטנים שאף מי ששטותו אינו לעשות
רע, אפשר להתהפך שתרצה לעשות רעה לעצמה ולהילדים ח"ו ואי אפשר להעמיד שומרים
על זה. ולכן יש להתיר לה לשמש במוך... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Regarding a woman who became
insane after the birth of her two children, such that the doctors forbid
further pregnancy. May she use contraception?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Certainly, his honour is
correct; insanity is dangerous not only for herself, but also for her small
children. Even one whose insanity does not currently incline toward harm could
still change, wanting to harm herself or her children, Gd forbid, and one
cannot stand guard for this. Therefore, one should permit her…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Isser Yehudah Unterman (20<sup>th</sup> century
England, Israel), HaTorah v’HaMedinah 4 pp. 26-27<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ובהעמק שאלה מפרש כי פלוגתתם תלויה
בפלוגתת בן פטורא ורע"ק... ונפלאים בעיני הדברים מאד, כי אי אפשר לומר דכאן
מיירי בסכנת נפש ממש שהאחרים ימותו בצמאון, דהאיך יתכן הדבר שר' יוסי יאמר כי
כביסתן קודמת לחיי אחרים? ואעפ"י דערבוביתא דמאני מביאה לידי שעמום, מ"מ
אין זה כלל וכלל בגדר סכנה קרובה ולא נחשבה אפילו לספק סכנה אלא לדבר שיכול להסתעף
ולבוא לסכנה...</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And in <i>Haameik She’eilah</i>
he explains that their debate depends upon the debate of Ben Petura and Rabbi
Akiva [regarding choosing between saving one’s self and saving others]… This is
very shocking for me, for one could not say that this case involves actual
danger to life, that the others would die of thirst! How could Rabbi Yosi say
that their laundry precedes the survival of others? And even though dirty
clothes can trigger depression, still, this is not at all “imminent danger” and
it is not even considered potential danger, but something which could evolve
into danger…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Moshe Sofer (18<sup>th</sup> century Pressburg),
Chatam Sofer Orach Chaim 83<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מ"מ בהא סלקינן דלרוב
הפוסקים משמע בפשיטות דבמה שמעמידו אצל נכרים אינו כמאכילו בידים... א"כ הכי
שרי ובתנאי שכשיגיע לבן י"ג שנים ויום א' יוציאוהו משם עכ"פ.</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Still, we conclude that from
most authorities it seems clear that keeping him with non-Jews is not the same
as personally feeding him [non-kosher food]… If so, one may do this, so long as
they remove him when he reaches 13 and one day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein (19<sup>th</sup>-20<sup>th</sup>
century Lithuania), Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 320:26</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="HE" style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ודורס האדם שלג
ברגליו ואינו חושש ואף על פי שלא ימלט דדרך דריכתו נימס מעט שלג מ"מ כיון
דזהו דרך הלוכו לא שייך לאסור בזה וא"כ נהיה סגורים בבתינו כל ימי החורף ולא
גזרו בזה...</span><span dir="LTR" style="color: black; font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">One may trample snow without concern, even
though some snow must melt when he walks. Still, since this is the way of
walking, prohibiting this is not relevant; we would be locked inside all
winter, and they did not make such decrees…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (20<sup>th</sup> century Israel),
Yabia Omer 3:Yoreh Deah 23<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="color: black; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ראיתי להגרא"י אונטרמן
שליט"א בשבט מיהודה (עמ' שיד) שאחר שחילק בין סומא לנכפה כאמור כתב
בזה"ל, שוב התבוננתי כי אין לחלק בין זל"ז ויש סכנה ממשית גם לסומא,
ולכן מקרי פקוח נפש לרפאתו מעיורון, משום שלא יתכן שהסומא ישב תמיד בבית, וכשעובר
ברחוב אורבות לו סכנות שונות, וגם צריך לעלות ולרדת במדרגות ואין הסכנה נמנעת... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.5pt;">I saw that Rabbi Isser
Yehudah Unterman wrote the following, after distinguishing between [the levels
of danger involved for] a blind person and an epileptic: I then thought that
one should not distinguish between them, and there is substantive danger for
the blind person as well, such that healing him of blindness would be called
'saving a life'. It would be impossible for the blind person to stay at home
eternally, and various dangers would lie in wait for him on the street.
Further, he must ascend and descend stairs, and danger is not absent…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Yitzchak Weiss (20<sup>th</sup> century England,
Israel), Minchat Yitzchak 4:8:2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אמנם נתעוררתי מת"ח גדול
אחד, דאם מניעת התפילין יוכל לגרום צער להחולה, שנפשו עגומה עליו, לאיש ירא וחרד,
על האי אפשרות לקיים מצוות תפילין, וחושש שלא להיות בכלל קרקפתא דלא מנח תפילין
ח"ו, וחלישת הדעת הזו, תוכל לפעול ג"כ חלישת בהבריאות של החולה, אז יש
להקל להביא עמו התפילין, - והראה לי שכה"ג כתב לו הגה"צ מליובאוויטש
שליט"א, בנדון חולה אחד, שהי' שאלה בדבר אם מותר לו להתפלל וללמוד...</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In truth, a great scholar
pointed out to me that if withholding tefillin could pain the patient, as he is
depressed about [missing] the chance to don tefillin, and he is intensely
Gd-fearing, and he is concerned about being in the category of “the head that does
not don tefillin”, Gd forbid, and this depression could catalyze weakness of
the patient’s health, then one may be lenient to bring tefillin with him. And
he showed me that the Lubavitcher Rebbe wrote thus to him regarding a patient
where there was a question of permitting him to learn and study…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Argument 2 for
Overriding Halachic Imperatives: Halachah Imposes a Great Burden<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Talmud, Berachot 19b-20a<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אמר רב יהודה אמר רב המוצא כלאים
בבגדו פושטן, אפילו בשוק. מאי טעמא? אין חכמה ואין תבונה ואין עצה לנגד ד' - כל
מקום שיש חלול ד' אין חולקין כבוד לרב.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מתיבי "קברו את המת וחזרו,
ולפניהם שתי דרכים אחת טהורה ואחת טמאה, בא [האבל] בטהורה באין עמו בטהורה, בא
בטמאה באין עמו בטמאה, משום כבודו," אמאי? לימא אין חכמה ואין תבונה לנגד ד'!</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR" lang="HE" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> </span><span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">תרגמה רבי
אבא בבית הפרס דרבנן... </span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Rav Yehudah said, citing Rav: One who finds
shaatnez in his own garment should remove it, even in the market. "</span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There
is neither wisdom nor understanding nor counsel opposite Gd (Proverbs 21:30)</span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">" –
where there is desecration of Gd, we do not give honour to the great.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But we have learned, “After
burying the body, when returning, if they have two paths, one <i>tahor</i> and
one<i> tamei</i>, if [the mourner] takes the <i>tahor</i> path then they escort
him on the <i>tahor </i>path, if he takes the <i>tamei</i> path then they
escort him on the <i>tamei </i>path, for his honour.” Why? Cite Proverbs 21:30!
Rabbi Abba explained: This is a <i>beit hapras</i>, which is only impure
rabbinically. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (Chafetz Chaim, 19<sup>th</sup>-20<sup>th</sup>
century Poland), Shaar haTziyun 322:12<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">עיין בפרי מגדים שמצדד דהוא הדין דמותר
לקטום הקיסם ביד כדי לחצות בו שיניו אם אי אפשר לו לחצות בו בלא זה, וכפי מה
שכתבנו מקודם דקטימת הקיסם ביד הוא רק משום שבות <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">See the Pri Megadim, who
contends that the law permits cutting the splinter by hand to pick one's teeth
where he has no other way to pick his teeth. It is as we have written, that
cutting the splinter by hand is only rabbinically prohibited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">11.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Moses Nachmanides (Ramban, 13<sup>th</sup>
century Spain), Laws of Niddah 9:25<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ומדיני החציצה לא טוב היות האדם מחמיר יותר מדאי ומחפש אחר הספיקות
לפסול טבילתה בדבר הקל, כי אם כן אין לדבר סוף... לא יכניס אדם ראשו בספיקות
החמורות אשר אין להן קץ וסוף.</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">With the laws of <i>chatzitzah</i>, one should not be
overly strict, seeking doubts with which to disqualify immersion for minor
matters. There would be no end to this… One should not insert his head into
serious doubts, which are interminable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">12.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Talmud, Moed Katan 27b<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ואמר רבי יוחנן הכל חייבין לעמוד
מפני נשיא חוץ מאבל וחולה.</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Yochanan said: All
must rise for the <i>nasi</i>, other than a mourner or one who is ill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Argument 3 for
Overriding Halachic Imperatives: The Patient is Exempt<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">13.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Talmud, Chagigah 3b<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">תנו רבנן: "איזהו שוטה? היוצא יחידי בלילה והלן בבית הקברות
והמקרע את כסותו." איתמר רב הונא אמר עד שיהו כולן בבת אחת. ר' יוחנן אמר אפי'
בא' מהן. היכי דמי? אי דעביד להו דרך שטות אפילו בחדא נמי! אי דלא עביד להו דרך
שטות אפילו כולהו נמי! לא, לעולם דקא עביד להו דרך שטות... כיון דעבדינהו לכולהו
הוה להו כמי שנגח שור חמור וגמל ונעשה מועד לכל. אמר רב פפא אי שמיע ליה לרב הונא
הא דתניא "אי זהו שוטה זה המאבד כל מה שנותנים לו" הוה הדר ביה. איבעיא
להו כי הוה הדר ביה ממקרע כסותו הוא דהוה הדר ביה דדמיא להא, או דלמא מכולהו הוה
הדר? תיקו.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>“Who is a <i>shoteh</i>?
One who travels alone at night, and who sleeps in a cemetery, and who tears his
clothing.” Rav Huna said: One who displays all of these at once. Rabbi Yochanan
said: Even one of these behaviours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But what is the case? If he
acts apparently irrationally, even one [act] should suffice! If he does not act
irrationally, even all of them would not suffice! No; this is where he acts
apparently irrationally, but one could explain [each symptom in a rational
way]… Once he performs all of them, it is like an animal that gores an ox, a
donkey and a camel; it is now identified as dangerous for all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rav Pappa said: Had Rav Huna
heard the lesson, "Who is a <i>shoteh</i>? One who destroys that which
people give him," he would have recanted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Does Rav Pappa mean he would
have recanted from listing the trait of tearing his clothing because it is
similar, or that he would have recanted from all of them? This remains unclarified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">14.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Yosef Karo (16<sup>th</sup> century Israel),
Beit Yosef Even haEzer 121<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ולכאורה היה נראה דחד מהני ארבע דתניא בגמרא בעינן ליחשב שוטה, אבל
אי עביד שאר דברים אחרים דרך שטות אכתי בחזקת שפוי הוא... אלא דמדברי הרמב"ם
שלא הזכיר דברים הללו אלא סתם וכתב "שנטרפה דעתו וכו' בדבר מן הדברים"
משמע דהני ד' דברים השנויים בברייתא לאו דוקא אלא לדוגמא נקטינהו והוא הדין לשאר
דברים. ונראה שהכריחו לפרש כן מדחזינן דבברייתא קמייתא קתני תלת ולא קתני "מאבד
מה שנותנין לו" ובאידך ברייתא קתני "מאבד מה שנותנין לו" ולא קתני
אינך תלתא...</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It would appear that one of the four behaviours
mentioned in the Talmud would render a person a <i>shoteh</i>, but performing
other irrational acts would leave a person in his presumed status of sanity…
but from the Rambam, who did not mention these acts and only said, "one
whose mind is torn… in some matter," it sounds as though the four items
taught here are not specific, and are only examples, and other behaviours could
also do it. It appears that he was driven to state thus from the fact that the
former source listed three behaviours and did not list "destroys that
which people give him," and the latter source listed "destroys that
which people give him" and did not mention the other three…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">15.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (20<sup>th</sup> century USA),
Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 4:29<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הנה ודאי איכא חילוק בין שוטה ובין פתי ביותר (עי' בזה מש"כ
באגרות אה"ע ח"א סימן קס"ד לעניין חליצת פתי ביותר) - ששוטה לא
תלוי בכשרונות הבנת דברים ועניינים. דאף בעלי כשרון להבין הדברים, אפשר שדעתם תהא
משובשת ומטורפת, והיינו שיודע ומכיר שאיכא חילוק בין הדברים שרואה, אבל הוא טועה
בדמיונו ומתחלף אצלו הדמיונות בזמנים קצרים מאוד...</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Certainly, there is a difference between a <i>shoteh </i>and
one who is exceptionally unintelligent – for being a <i>shoteh </i>is not about
powers of understanding his affairs. Even one who is able to understand matters
may have a confused, torn mind, meaning that he knows and understands that
there are differences between the things he sees, but he errs in his delusions,
and his delusions change in very brief periods of time…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">16.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Yosef Karo (16<sup>th</sup> century Israel),
Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 35:8<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">שוטה, פסול. ולא שוטה שהוא הולך ערום ומשבר כלים וזורק אבנים בלבד,
(אלא) כל מי שנטרפה דעתו ונמצאת דעתו משובשת <b>תמיד</b> בדבר מהדברים, אף על פי
שהוא מדבר ושואל כענין בשאר דברים, הרי זה פסול, ובכלל שוטים יחשב. </span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A <i>shoteh</i> is
disqualified [from testifying]. This is not only a <i>shoteh </i>who wanders
without clothing and breaks implements and throws stones, but anyone whose mind
is torn, so that his mind is confused <b>perpetually</b> on some matter, even
though he speaks and inquires on point in other areas. He is disqualified, and
considered a <i>shoteh</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">17.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Moshe Sofer (18<sup>th</sup> century Hungary),
Chatam Sofer Even haEzer 2:2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הנה לדון בדיני השוטים א"א כ"א בראיית עיני הדיין המבין מה
טיבו ומהותו וא"א לברר בכתב מה ענינו וטבעו ומהותו וכמ"ש הרמב"ם
פ"ט מה' עדות ואין לדיין אלא מה שעיניו רואות <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Judging in the matter of <i>shotim</i>
is impossible other than through the eyes of a judge who understands his
nature. One cannot clarify his nature in writing. As the Rambam wrote),
"The judge only has what his eyes see."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">18.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Baruch Frankel-Teomim (18<sup>th</sup>-19<sup>th</sup>
centuries Galicia, Moravia), Ateret Chachamim, Even haEzer 18<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="color: black; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ומה שרצה כבוד מעלתו להמציא שאם השטות מצד חולה מרה
השחורה שאנו קורין מלאנקאלי אינו בכלל שוטה, לא מחוור, דתחת שם מלאנקאלי הוא גם
משוגעים גמורים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR" style="color: black; font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span> <span lang="HE">כאשר ידוע לאשר יש לו ידיעה קצת בספרים המחוברים בזה...
וממילא אם הגיע האדם בעל מלאנקאלי להתמיד שטות בדבר שמורה על טירוף דעת, בוודאי הוא
מכלל השוטים לשיטת הרמב"ם... יהיה סיבתו מה שיהיה.</span></span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">His honour’s wish to
innovate that if irrationality derives from illness of black bile, which we
call ‘melancholy’, then he is not a <i>shoteh</i>, is not clear to me. The
class of ‘melancholy’ includes people who are entirely irrational, as is known
to anyone who has some knowledge of the texts composed about this… As a result,
if someone with ‘melancholy’ displays perpetual behaviour in a matter which
demonstrates a torn mind, he certainly is within Rambam’s category of <i>shoteh</i>…
regardless of the cause.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">19.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rambam (12<sup>th</sup> century Egypt), Mishneh Torah,
Laws of Testimony 9:10<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הפתאים ביותר שאין מכירין דברים שסותרין זה את זה ולא יבינו עניני
הדבר כדרך שמבינין שאר עם הארץ, וכן המבוהלים והנחפזים בדעתם והמשתגעים ביותר הרי
אלו בכלל השוטים, ודבר זה לפי (מה) שיראה הדיין שאי אפשר לכוין הדעת בכתב. </span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Those who are especially foolish [<i>peti</i>], who do
not recognize contradictory statements and do not understand matters as other
normal people do. Also, those who are confused and hasty in their minds, and
those who are especially foolish, are in the category of <i>shotim</i>. It is
as the judge sees it; one cannot specify a mindset in writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">20.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Yehoshua Falk (16<sup>th</sup> century Poland),
Sefer Meirat Einayim, Choshen Mishpat 35:22<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="font000005"><span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">המבוהלים והנחפזים בדעתם
והמשתגעים ביותר</span></span><span class="noprint"><span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> - נראה שכל הני פירושם הוא שאינם מתונים בעניניהם, אלא כל מעשיהן
עושין במהירות ולא מבינים לסוף הענין ולתכלית המעשה, מ"ה זה ג"כ בשם
שגעון ושטות יחשב</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="noprint"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>:</span></span><span class="noprint"><span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>"Those who are confused and hasty in
their minds, and who are especially foolish" – It appears that the meaning
of all of these is that they are not patient in their affairs. They perform all
of their deeds hastily, not understanding the end of the matter and goal of the
act. Therefore, this is also considered foolishness and irrationality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">21.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Shemuel de Medina (16<sup>th</sup> century
Turkey), Even haEzer 239<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ולכאורה נר' שאין לנו מבוהל ונחפז גדול ממי שהוא מנוגף בקדחת עזה
והרי הוא בכלל שוטה שפסול מן התורה <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It appears that none are
more confused and hasty than a person who is struck with powerful fever; he is
a <i>shoteh</i>, biblically disqualified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">22.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein (19<sup>th</sup>-20<sup>th</sup>
century Lithuania), Aruch haShulchan Even haEzer 121:13<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">בעלי המרה השחורה שאין עושין כלום
דברים של שגעון רק יושבין בעצבות ורחוקים מחבורת אנשים ואין מבקשין לאכול
וכשנותנים להם לאכול אוכלין, ואין מתחילין לדבר וכששואלין אותן עונין מעט דברים,
ואין מדברים דברים של שגעון, יש להתיישב אם דינם כשוטה אם לאו ולפי הסברא אין בזה
סימני שטות אלא מחלת העצבות בלבד ותלוי בראיית עיני הב"ד להבין דרכו
ועלילותיו.</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">People of black bile who do
not perform any irrational acts, but only sit in sadness, far from human
company, and do not seek to eat but do eat when given food, and do not initiate
conversation but respond a little when addressed, and do not speak
irrationally, one should analyze whether they have the status of <i>shoteh</i>,
or not. Logically, there is no sign of irrationality here, only a disease of
sadness. It depends on the court’s view, to understand his ways and their
causes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Argument 4 for
Overriding Halachic Imperatives: Enabling Future Observance<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">23.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Natan Zvi Friedman (20<sup>th</sup> century
Israel), Netzer Mata’ai I 8:1<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ואם הלימוד הוא "'וחי בהם'
ולא שימות בהם", נכלל בזה גם רפואת חולי-רוח, שהרי מקרא מלא דיבר הכתוב
(דברים ל) "לאהבה את ד' אלקיך, לשמוע בקולו ולדבקה בו כי הוא חייך ואורך
ימיך." וכל זמן שהוא שוטה הוא פטור מכל המצוות שבתורה...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">וכן מוכח דבר זה לפי הדרש האחר המובא שם ביומא בשמו של רבי שמעון בן
מנסיא, שלומד דין פקוח נפש שדוחה שבת מדכתיב (שמות לא) ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת —
חלל עליו שבת אחת כדי שישמור שבתות הרבה. מפורש להדיא שהיתר של פקוח נפש הוא כדי
לאפשר לו קיום מצוות להבא, שאם לא נפקח עליו את הגל לא יוכל לקיים מצוות להבא. אם
כן במקרה שהוא בריא בגופו אבל חולה ברוחו, והיום הוא לא יכול לקיים מצות כי שוטה
פטור מכל המצוות, מצוה לחלל עליו שבת כדי שישמור שבתות הרבה. וזה פשוט וברור לפי
דרשא זו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If the deduction [teaching
that we violate Shabbat to save lives] is from “’And he shall live by them’ –
and not die by them,” this includes healing the emotionally ill, for Devarim 30
speaks explicitly, “to love Hashem your Gd, to listen to His voice and adhere
to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days.” As long as he is a <i>shoteh</i>,
he is exempt from all of the Torah’s mitzvot…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And so is clear within the
other exegesis brought in Yoma, from Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya, who learns the
law of overriding Shabbat to save lives from Shemot 31, “And the Children of
Israel shall observe Shabbat” – Desecrate one Shabbat for him, so that he will
observe many Shabbatot. It is explicit that the license to save lives is to
enable future fulfillment of mitzvot, for if we would not overturn the debris
for him, he could not fulfill mitzvot in the future. If so, in a case where he
is physically healthy but emotionally ill, and today he cannot fulfill mitzvot
because a <i>shoteh</i> is exempt from all of the mitzvot, it is a mitzvah to
desecrate Shabbat for him, so that he will observe many Shabbatot. This is
simple and clear, according to this exegesis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Application to our
cases<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">24.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Asher Weiss (21<sup>st</sup> century Israel), <i>Halachik
Challenges in Dealing With Mental Illness</i>, 11/24/16 <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.yutorah.org/sidebar/lecture.cfm/867170">https://www.yutorah.org/sidebar/lecture.cfm/867170</a></span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">,
21:40-22:50<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Many times in the past I
paskened that girls suffering from anorexia could eat normally on Yom Kippur.
Not <i>l’shiurim</i> [minimal amounts, below the standard of ‘eating’]. Because
even though there is no direct <i>sakkanah</i> [danger], it’s a terrible
ailment, and people, and girls, die from anorexia, to my dismay. I personally
know a few families that lost children to this terrible malady. And the way to
treat them is difficult, and it’s a long haul, and it takes a long time to
design a plan of eating. And any interference, any interruption with that
pattern could set the patient back months, or years, and ultimately could
endanger the patient’s life. So it does seem to be a <i>chiddush</i> [novelty]
to many, and some rabbonim didn’t really agree with my psak, but my psak was
that girls suffering from anorexia, Yom Kippur, should eat in the normal
pattern that was worked out in the personal, tailored plan for them, and they
should not try to eat <i>l’shiurim</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">25.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rambam (12<sup>th</sup> century Egypt), Mishneh Torah,
Laws of the Mourner 1:1<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ואין אבילות מן התורה אלא ביום
ראשון בלבד שהוא יום המיתה ויום הקבורה, אבל שאר השבעה ימים אינו דין תורה...</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There is no biblical law of
mourning other than on the first day, if it is the day of death and burial. The
rest of the seven days are not biblical law…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">26.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Moshe Isserles (16<sup>th</sup> century Poland),
Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 340:5<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">רגיל לעשות עבירה, אין מתאבלין
עליו (מרדכי סוף מ"ק).</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">For one who sins regularly,
we do not mourn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">27.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Shlomo Luria (16<sup>th</sup> century Poland),
Yam shel Shlomo to Gittin 2:4<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ועוד, איך יעלה על דעת האדם
להאבילו מה שאין לבו אבל, ואין יום מר לפניו, ונהי דבאבל ממש לא חלקו רבותינו בין
אוהב לשונא, הכא יש ויש לחלק.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Further: How could one think
to make him mourn when his heart does not grieve and it is not a bitter day for
him? Granted that for actual mourners our sages did not distinguish between
friends and enemies, here there is room to distinguish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">28.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Mark Dratch (21<sup>st</sup> century USA), <i>Honoring
Abusive Parents</i>, Hakirah 12 (2011), pp. 111-112, 118<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">R. David Cohen suggests yet another reason for
exempting an abused child from the obligation of honor. Asserting that there
are limits to how much a person is allowed to spend in order to fulfill a
positive commandment—no more than one-fifth of one’s monetary assets—he argues
that emotional distress and psychological consequences are excessive personal
costs that free one from an obligation. He maintains that <i>Halakhah </i>does
not re-victimize abused children by forcing them to honor their abusers; that
would be a price much too high to pay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Furthermore, the Talmud concludes that while a child
must expend time and effort in order to honor a parent, the child does not have
to spend any personal resources; the obligation is fulfilled <i>mishel av</i>,
with parental assets. While many acts of honor make demands on a child’s time,
emotions, and energies, the emotional and psychological burdens imposed on an
abused child in order to honor an abusive parent far surpass any appropriate <i>mi-shel
ben </i>filial (responsibility)…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Another factor that supports exemption from mourning
is that most, if not all, mourning rituals are rabbinic obligations and, in
general, rabbinic rulings are sensitive to their impact—financial and
personal—on those who are to observe them, providing exemptions when those
obligations exact significantly adverse consequences. The Sages often did not
apply their rulings <i>be-makom tza’ar</i>, when they caused great pain or
distress; in situations of <i>hefsed merubah</i>, significant financial loss;
and when <i>kevod ha-beriyot</i>, the basic dignity due to all humans, is
violated. And specifically with regard to mourning, the principle is that the
law follows the lenient opinion. These factors need to be considered when
confronting the imposition of mourning on abused children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">29.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Asher Weiss (21<sup>st</sup> century Israel),
Minchat Asher 2:134<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">לדעת הרופאים המומחים בתחום זה דרך הטיפול היא שלעולם לא יחזור
פעמיים על דיבור או תפילה... כאשר ברור לו כשמש שלא הגה את השם כדין ולא יצא
יד"ח בברכתו האם מותר לו לאכול?...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אף אם נאמר דאסור לעבור על איסור כדי להתרפאות, שאני נידון דידן שהרי
אם לא יתרפא ויחלץ מן המיצר יבטל מצוות אלה לנצח, וכל כה"ג אמרינן מוטב שיחלל
שבת אחת ולא יחלל שבתות הרבה... נראה גם בני"ד דמותר לאיש יקר זה לבטל ברכות
וק"ש כדי להתרפא ויכול לקיים מצוות אלה כהלכתן ודקדוקיהן.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Doctors who are expert in this field believe that the
way to treat it is that he never repeat any statement or prayer… When it is
clear as the Sun to him that he has not said the Name properly and he has not
fulfilled his duty in his berachah, may he eat?...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Even if we would say that one may not violate a
prohibition for medical purposes, our case is different, for if he would not be
healed and freed from his crisis, he would violate these mitzvot forever. In
any such case we say, “Better to desecrate one Shabbat, and not desecrate many
Shabbatot”… It appears in our case, too, that this precious person may cancel
blessings and Shema to be healed, so that he will be able to fulfill these
mitzvot properly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level4 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">30.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe (20<sup>th</sup> century Israel), </span></b><b><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">פסיכיאטריה ודת</span></b><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, Bishvilei
haRefuah 5 (1982) pp. 79-80 <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">www.daat.ac.il/daat/chinuch/tehnologya/volbe-psych.pdf<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אמרנו, כי גם חוסר ידיעה גורם עיכוב בהבאת חולים לטיפול פסיכיאטרי.
קרובים, חברים, מחנכים שמים לב כי אדם סובל, או שהוא מתנהג בצורה מוזרה, אבל אינו
עולה על דעתם כי לפניהם מקרה של מחלת נפש. לא פעם מיעצים לצעיר מדוכא שיתתתן בהקדם.
לפעמים באמת עצה זו נכונה היא, אך לא במקרה של דכאון מאני וכדומה. רק פסיכיאטר
יכול להכריע בזה. דוגמה אחרת: קרה לי פעמיים, שבאו אלי תלמידים במצב של פניקה,
ותוך בכי חזק התלוננו כי ״אבדה אמונתם״: זה הי' התקף שיצופרני והם היו זקוקים
לטיפול דחוף... אני מניח כי מה שקרה לי פעמיים, קורה גם לרבנים ולמחנכים אחרים,
שאינם יודעים פרק בפסיכיאטרי', ונתאר לעצמנו, אם במקרה כזה היו מנסים להרגיע את
החולה ולחזקו באמונה — ובדאי ייווכחו לדעת מאוחר יותר שלא הצליחו בזה, אבל בינתיים
עבר זמן יקר והחולה בא לטיפול באיחור שיכול להיות גורלי...</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">בעיות אלו משותפות לציבור הדתי ולפסיכיאטרים. יש צורך דחוף בארגון
קורסים לרבנים בפועל ולמחנכים, במטרה להפיץ ידע בסיסי על הסימפטומים של נוירוזה
ופסיכוזה ודרכי הטיפול שלהן בקווים כלליים, כדי שידעו להפנות חולים בהקדם אל
הרופא. ידיעה בסיסית היתה מסלקת הרבה משפטים קדומים!</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We have said that ignorance causes a delay in
connecting the ill with psychiatric treatment. Relatives, friends, educators
notice that someone is suffering, or behaving oddly, but it doesn’t enter their
mind that they are seeing a case of emotional illness. More than occasionally,
they advise a depressed youth to marry early; sometimes this is good advice,
but not in a case of manic depression and the like. Only a psychiatrist can
determine this. Or another case: It happened to me twice that students came to
me in a panic, and while crying powerfully complained that “they have lost
their faith”: This was a schizophrenic episode, and they needed urgent care… I
assume that what happened to me twice also happens to other rabbis and
educators, who do not know anything about psychiatry. We can imagine that in
such a case they would try to calm the ill person and strengthen his faith –
and certainly, they would come to know later that they did not succeed, but in
the interim precious time would be lost, and the ill person could come to
treatment with a fateful delay…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">These problems are shared by the observant community
and the psychiatrists. There is an urgent need to organize courses for active
rabbis and educators, with the goal of spreading basic knowledge of the
symptoms of neurosis and psychosis and their modes of treatment with general
guidelines, so that they will know to direct ill people to doctors early on.
Basic knowledge would remove many prejudices!</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-4182364441259705962018-09-17T10:41:00.002-04:002018-09-17T16:53:43.941-04:00Davening, Fast and Slow (Derashah for Yom Kippur 5779)<i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is my current draft; feedback (especially before Yom Kippur!) wanted...</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’d like to dedicate
my derashah this morning in memory of Ari Fuld, HY”D. I was in school with Ari,
and his older brother Donny. As most of you know, Ari was murdered this week by
a terrorist in the Gush. That’s how he died; at the end of the derashah, I’ll
have more to say about how he lived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thinking, Fast and
Slow<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In a 2011 study,
researchers reviewed parole decisions by Israeli judges.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> They
found that judges who had just returned from a food break approved about 65% of
parole requests. That percentage dropped in the ensuing hours, to the point
that rulings just before the next food break rejected almost all parole
requests. Then, after the food break, they went right back to 65%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another study, this
one out of MIT in 2006.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[2]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> They
asked students and executives to participate in an auction. For each item, they
asked the participants to first record the last two digits of their social
security numbers as though that was their bid. Then they asked them to enter an
actual bid. Believe it or not – people with higher social security digits bid
up to 346% more than those with lower numbers. For example: On a cordless
keyboard, the people with digits between 00 and 19 bid an average of $16; those
with digits between 80 and 99 bid an average of $56. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Educated,
experienced judges; students and executives at MIT! How could they be so easily
influenced by appetite, and irrelevant numbers?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Starting about
twenty years ago, Professors Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahnemann<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[3]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> sought
to explain these and other cognitive slips by pointing to research<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[4]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> which
shows that our brains consume more energy than most other parts of the body. As
Kahnemann wrote, “When you are actively involved in difficult cognitive
reasoning or engaged in a task that requires self-control, your blood glucose
level drops.” (I don’t know how many calories you burn by listening to this
derashah, but I know I burned a lot of them composing it.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In 2002, Kahnemann
won the Nobel Prize for his work, which enshrined in scientific history
something we all intuited in high school: Concentration uses energy; therefore,
our brains avoid doing it. To the extent possible, we get by with what Kahnemann
calls shallow “System 1” thinking, using approximations of the world around us
and loose methods of problem-solving, to conserve energy. Only when forced to
concentrate, such as due to a sense of danger, do we go to the more thorough,
intense and precise “System 2” thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is why the parole
decisions become more negative as the judges’ blood sugar drops; it’s easier to
be machmir. And this is why the MIT bidders were influenced by entering random
digits before bidding – they didn’t focus carefully, and so they were subliminally
influenced by the social security digits they entered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Davening, Fast and
Slow<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kahnemann’s insight
regarding thinking is important beyond behavioural economics; here in this
room, and all around the BAYT, we can observe a related phenomenon – System 1
Davening and System 2 Davening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From the vantage
point of Torah and halachah, System 2 davening is the goal – an intense
religious experience. But more often, we are like the Israeli judges and MIT
bidders. Witness the passage from the Talmud Yerushalmi</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[5]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in which one sage admitted, “</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When I stand in Shemoneh Esreih, I count
birds.” Another acknowledged, “I count the bricks in the wall!" And a
third confessed, "I'm grateful for my head, because when I arrive at Modim
it bows on its own", even if I'm not thinking about the words! As Tosafot<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[6]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> said,
even our greatest sages have had trouble concentrating for davening.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But what can we do
about this? Today is a landmark opportunity to ask Hashem for a clean slate,
how can we avoid falling into the automated System 1?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Medical answers<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are some great
solutions for the problem of System 1 thinking; Professor Pat Croskerry from
Dalhousie has done remarkable work in teaching doctors how to avoid System 1 pitfalls
when seeing patients.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> But these methods are hard to
apply in the middle of the day on Yom Kippur. One step, for example, is to be
well-fed to avoid the low blood-sugar phenomenon… good luck with that today. So
what can we do now, right here?<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Importance of Emotion<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One answer may be to turn
to an aspect of our personalities which is more powerful than our thoughts: Our
emotions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Psychologists and
philosophers have long debated the role of emotions; already in 1890, American
philosopher William James wrote that he was tired of the efforts in the field,
and would prefer to listen to “</span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">verbal descriptions of the shapes of the rocks on a New Hampshire
farm” rather than read papers on the role of emotions.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
But I think a key element suggested by evolutionary biologists is useful here: our
emotions are activated when issues of survival are raised.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Our intellect solves problems; our emotions help us survive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because our intellects
aren’t always alert to the stakes and threats at hand, we fall into System 1
thinking, or System 1 davening. But when circumstances trigger fear or love or anger
or sympathy, that overpowers the intellect, energizing us, stimulating our
nervous system, our endocrine system, our circulatory system, and forcing us to
focus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Further – the more vital
an emotion, the more intense the sense that survival is at stake, the greater
the power to command our attention. Rabbi Yosef Dov haLevi Soloveitchik<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> made this point; he
described a man in pursuit of an aveirah so sweet, so desirable, that he
steamrolls his intellect in pursuit of the opportunity. But on the way to his
rendezvous, as he races across a frozen lake, his foot slips – and suddenly, the
thunderclap of fear for his life overwhelms all that he had been feeling a
moment earlier and grabs the reins ; the more vital the emotion, the tighter
its grip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Applying this to our
tefillah and teshuvah<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is how we can break
out of System 1 davening – by summoning vital emotions which compel our
concentration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Music can summon those emotions; 900 years ago, Rabbi Yehudah
haChasid<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black;">[12]</span></span></span></span></a>
wrote that when we daven we should find tunes which will draw our minds into
rhythm with the words we are saying, whether they are psalms of thanksgiving or
anguished pleas. I find certain tunes do this for me; I say almost none of the
piyutim in the repetition of the amidah, but I try to sing </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">וכל
מאמינים</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> and </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">כי
אנו עמך</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, because the memories
they evoke for me summon tears of hope and joy which, for me, are life itself.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">A memory of an emotional experience can do it. Over a century ago, the Piaseczner Rebbe, Rav Kalonymus Kalman
Schapira, was </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">approached
by young men who wished to refine their personal spirituality. In response, he
wrote a book called </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">בני מחשבה טובה</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
and in that book<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[13]</span></span></span></a> he
counseled that whenever we become excited, whenever we feel extreme joy or love
or sorrow or fear, we commit those feelings to memory, and then we call forth
those feelings when we are ready to perform mitzvot, and to daven. For me, I
can call forth the image of my mother giving me a berachah before Yom Kippur.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Recalling a loved one can do it.
Moments ago, people recited Yizkor and remembered relatives who have passed on
– the emotions those relatives summon in our hearts are valuable, too. And for
those of us with the good fortune to be able to step out for Yizkor – we can
still think of people like Ari Fuld </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">הי"ד</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.
Ari’s widow, entering Yom Kippur without him. Ari’s four children. Ari’s
parents.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If low blood sugar and exhaustion
undermine our concentration, then let us jumpstart our emotions – with a tune,
with a memory, with a loved one, with something which will alert us to the
intensity of the moment, the magnitude of the opportunity of </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: black;">כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="HE" style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> </span><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to start again with a clean slate. Then we will be able to daven
a System 2 davening, with a full heart and a dedicated mind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Closer<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An article about Ari Fuld appeared
on Aish.com in 2007;<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> it described his deployment
in Lebanon as a paratrooper during the Second Lebanon War. Every day, before
heading into battle, his unit would say Viduy, as we will at musaf, minchah and
neilah. And one day, 28 kilometers deep in Lebanon, they came under direct
attack by Hizballah. Two groups of soldiers fell to rocket fire, and Ari was
tasked with leading a group of soldiers to retrieve as many bodies as he could.
As he described it, “</span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
left most of our protection behind, and all of our gear. All I had on me were
my Tefillin, a book of Psalms, and some other holy writings. Oh -- and bullets.
A whole lot of bullets.”</span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They took just
ten steps out of the orchard where they had been hiding, and then they heard a
whistle – and seconds later, three missiles landed right where they had been,
in the orchard. Ari felt blood coming from him; he had been hit by a piece of a
mortar. The medic found that the shrapnel had gone through his protective vest,
but had miraculously stopped there – he was safe, for the moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When they made
it back to Israel, Ari was inspired to take a year off from his career, to
devote himself to study Torah. And after the year was over, he turned down
financial opportunity, choosing instead to join the staff of Yeshivat Netiv
Aryeh. He displayed that mortar shrapnel in his home, beside his kiddush cup
and menorah, as a sign of the miracle of his survival.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I tell this
story for three reasons:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">First: Because I think it’s
important that we remember Ari not as yet another casualty, but as a remarkable
human being and Jew.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Second: Because by following his
inspiration to take time off to learn Torah, Ari demonstrated what we have been
talking about – using emotion to override life’s automatic gear and focus our
energies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">And third: Because when we say
viduy today, we can call the viduy of Ari’s unit to mind, and they can inspire
us to abandon System 1 davening, and invest in System 2.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Ari said of the
shrapnel he kept, “That warped piece of iron that you're looking at... it looks
like a piece of garbage - but that's <i>my</i> miracle.” May his
story inspire us to our own miracle, to a day of davening which is not about
counting birds, or bricks, or the moments left in the fast, but instead about confronting
our deepest truths, connecting with Hashem, admitting and apologizing for our
wrongdoing and truly committing ourselves to growth, and so earning a clean
slate and a </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: black;">גמר חתימה טובה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="color: black;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Extraneous Factors in Judicial Decisions, </span></i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21482790">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21482790</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[2]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.wired.com/2010/05/anchoring/">https://www.wired.com/2010/05/anchoring/</a></span>,
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.inc.com/the-build-network/the-anchoring-effect.html">https://www.inc.com/the-build-network/the-anchoring-effect.html</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[3]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See, for example, <i>Thinking, Fast and Slow </i>pg 42<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[4]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Such as <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17279852">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17279852</a></span>;
but see also <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-design/201108/glucose-is-not-willpower-fuel">https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-design/201108/glucose-is-not-willpower-fuel</a></span>
and <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303445162_The_Bitter_Truth_About_Sugar_and_Willpower_The_Limited_Evidential_Value_of_the_Glucose_Model_of_Ego_Depletion">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303445162_The_Bitter_Truth_About_Sugar_and_Willpower_The_Limited_Evidential_Value_of_the_Glucose_Model_of_Ego_Depletion</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[5]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Yerushalmi Berachos 2:4. There are variant explanations of <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">אפרחייא</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[6]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Tosafot Rosh haShanah 16b and Bava Batra 164b [But see Pnei Moshe (they were
distracted by Torah), Pri Tzaddik to Vayyeshev, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.temanim.org/shtaygen/dvr_tora/70/2-8.pdf">http://www.temanim.org/shtaygen/dvr_tora/70/2-8.pdf</a></span>]<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[7]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
See <i>Diagnostic Failure: A Cognitive and Affective Approach </i>and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFE6D5460oE</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[8]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
For my shiur for doctors, see <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/902006">https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/902006</a></span>
Also, my shiur on cognitive bias and teshuvah is at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/906339">https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/906339</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[9]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Principles of Psychology</span> Chapter 25; <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://psychclassics.yorku.ca/James/Principles/prin25.htm">https://psychclassics.yorku.ca/James/Principles/prin25.htm</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[10]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
For example: <i>Evolutionary Explanations of Emotions</i>, Human Nature 1:3
(1990); The Nature of Emotions, American Scientist 89:4 (2001) <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27857503">https://www.jstor.org/stable/27857503</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[11]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Beit haLevi to Parshat Yitro<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[12]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Sefer Chasidim 158<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[13]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<span dir="RTL" lang="HE">אות ח-יא<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[14]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Vayikra 17: For on this day Gd will accept your atonement, to purify you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday79foremail.docx#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[15]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070913230112/http:/www.aish.com/jewishissues/israeldiary/Miracle_in_Lebanon.asp">https://web.archive.org/web/20070913230112/http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/israeldiary/Miracle_in_Lebanon.asp</a></span>.
Now available at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.aish.com/h/imd/48971601.html">http://www.aish.com/h/imd/48971601.html</a></span>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-78317598448072966682018-09-09T01:02:00.000-04:002018-09-09T15:46:24.337-04:00Derashah for Rosh HaShanah 5779: The Wounded PrayerI haven't posted anything on here in ages, and I have no idea who is reading, but if anyone is, here is the derashah I intend to present on the second day of Rosh HaShanah:<br />
<br />
<br />
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<u>Rav Schachter’s Tefillah<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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Berachos from tzaddikim are a dime a dozen in certain
circles – but not generally in YU circles. In YU, the normal story is of the
fellow who went to Rav Soloveitchik and asked him for a berachah, and Rav
Soloveitchik responded, “What are you, an apple?” So that makes the following
story,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
which I will abbreviate somewhat, remarkable.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was 2001, and Rav Herschel Schachter was in Israel with
his son, Yummy, with whom I verified this story. On the night before they were
leaving Israel, they forgot a suitcase in a taxi. They didn’t know what to do –
but it worked out. A a later passenger recognized Rav Schachter’s name on the
tag, and told the driver that Rav Schachter is “the Baba Sali of American
Ashkenazim.” The driver contacted an Anglo he knew, who happened to be in the
same Miluim unit as a relative of Rav Schachter, and so the bag came back. But
that’s not the important part of the story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the driver brought the bag, he wanted a moment with Rav
Schachter. The driver grabbed his hands and started crying; he said, “Rabbi, my
wife and I have been married for 14 years and we have no children. Please give
us a berachah for a child.” Rav Schachter holds the driver’s hands, cries with
him, and says to him, “You are going to be blessed with a child within the next
year.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The driver leaves, and Yummy demands of his father: “How
could you say that to him? You have no idea! They’ve been married for 14
years!” To which his father replies, “Yummy, we’re going to daven for him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
About a year later, it’s Simchas Torah. During the dancing,
Yummy sees a young man trying to approach his father. Yummy asks what he wants.
The young man says he had just been in Israel, and on a cab ride the driver had
heard him speaking English. The driver asked if he knew Rav Schachter, and when
he said Yes, the driver asked him to pass along a message: He and his wife had
just had a baby boy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yummy asks his father, “Did you daven for him?” And his
father replied, with tears in his eyes, “Every day. Three times a day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I bring this story as neither prescription nor consolation;
I am well aware that tefillos are not always answered positively, and that
people who are experiencing difficulty having children will not necessarily
find comfort in this event. I bring this story because I think it says
something important about tefillah, and why and how we daven. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Chanah<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s go back more than 3000 years, to yesterday’s haftorah.
Chanah, the outstandingly righteous<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
wife of Elkanah, has no children; her husband, Elkanah, marries a second wife,
Penina.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Penina produces children, and torments Chanah for being unable to do the same.
And every year, they go through the same routine: the family travels to the
Mishkan, they bring korbanot, and Chanah sits at the family feast without an
appetite.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But one year, the narrative changes. After the feast ends,
Chanah davens – and it’s not your standard tefillah. As the gemara explains
based on cues in the text, Chanah launches an aggressive assault on Gd. She
calls Gd by the sacred name <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">צבקות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, Master of M<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ultitudes
- she is the first person in the Torah to do so!<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
But in the talmudic read, she means “Master of Multitudes” not as an honour,
but as an assault. She argues angrily, “</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Master
of Multitudes! Of all of the multitudes of multitudes You created in Your
world, why are You too stingy to give me just one child?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And Chanah, with her aggressive, angry demand, succeeds; on
Rosh HaShanah, Hashem remembers Chanah and grants her a child, Shemuel. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Choni<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And a third story of unusual tefillah accepted, this one
from 2100 years ago. It was a year of terrible drought; Succot came and went,
as did Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar, and still there was no rain. The
people sent for Choni haMe’agel – Choni the Circle-Drawer. He davened for rain,
but nothing happened. Then he drew a circle and stood inside it, and swore by
Gd’s Name that he would not leave the circle until Hashem displayed mercy. Rain
began to drizzle, just enough to free him from his oath – but Choni remained in
the circle, sayng, “That’s not what I asked for; I want rain that will fill
cisterns.” The rain then poured down with destructive force, and Choni again
complained, “That’s not what I asked for; I want rain of berachah.” And
beneficial rain then fell – but to the point that it created dangerous
flooding, and so Choni davened once more, “This is not the rain Your people
need!” And the rain relented.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Like Chanah, Choni was answered with <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">חן</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
from Hashem.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Why are these tefillot answered?!<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Three stories of accepted prayers, and I don’t understand:
Why does Hashem listen to any of them? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Why does Hashem honour Rav
Schachter’s guarantee?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Why does Hashem accept
Chanah’s demand?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Why does Hashem go along
with Choni’s very-specific tailorings of the rain he received?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe the answer lies in understanding what davening is
all about. Why are all of us here, right now, beyond a sense of obligation –
what are we doing when we daven?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Tefillah as Demonstration of Emunah<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rambam<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
cast davening as an act of devotion; the Torah says we are to serve Hashem with
our hearts, and this refers to prayer. So we humble ourselves before the
Creator of the Universe, in sincere service. But within that view, the point is
for me to express devotion, not to guarantee people success, or make aggressive
demands, or stipulate exacting specifications on a wish list!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there is another vision of why we are all here in this
room. Ramban<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
argued that if tefillah is a biblical mitzvah at all, it is actually a mitzvah
of expressing emunah. When we have trouble, when we experience a need, when we
are in pain, we are summoned to faith, to the trust that Hashem has the
capacity to help us, and to turn to Hashem for that assistance. Even though we all
know of prayers that have not yet yielded berachah, tefillah is about having
that emunah that Hashem can assist us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This brand of tefillah is not a display of praise or
requests, per se; this brand of tefillah is a demonstration of a profound relationship
with Gd which sees through the world we observe with our eyes and finds
inspiration in our heart’s awareness of our Creator.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>This is what Rav Schachter
expressed, with his guarantee; he channelled the certainty of Ramban that
Hashem possesses the ability to help.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>And this is what Choni did;
his demands were remarkable, but they also rested on the bedrock of unshakable
faith that Gd could help them in their state of need.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Chanah’s Aggressive Demand is also an act of Emunah<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But one more step, because Chanah’s prayer requires
additional explanation. How do anger and aggression express emunah? In a world
of ahavah and yirah, of love and reverence for Gd, of shevach and hodaah –
thanks and praise – where is there room for anger and aggression?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think it depends on where the anger and aggression
originate. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>A tantrum, venting
frustration with a universe that does not comply with our expectations, is not
about emunah. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>But anger that comes from
wounded emunah, faith in a vision of Gd that is not visible in the world around
us – that’s still faith. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When a Jew holds the Torah’s religious view of Hashem as the
Gd of Justice and Mercy, and events around her do not meet the standard set for
Gd by the Torah itself, then a sense of betrayal can set in. Where is the Gd
who protected Yosef? Where is the Gd who took us through Yam Suf? Where is the
Gd who led our ancestors into Eretz Yisrael? And then the Jew has two options:
To reject and walk away, or to faithfully appeal to the Gd described by the
Torah.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"> <a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe there is no contradiction between love of Gd, and
anger when the Gd we love is not visible in our lives. I believe there is no
contradiction between reverence for Gd, and an aggressive demand that Gd’s own
values should be manifest in our world. Chanah’s ahavas Hashem and yiras Hashem
are intact.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The proof of that ahavah and yirah is that Chanah chooses
not to walk away; instead, she faithfully appeals to the Gd described by the
Torah - a Gd who would want, who should want, to give her a child. She cries
out <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">צבקות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>! She recognizes Gd as not only the Master
of multitudes, but the Creator of those multitudes. Axiomatically, from the
start of Bereishit, Gd is on the side of life, generating it and perpetuating
it. Chanah believes that it is inconceivable that Gd should deny her request to
bring more life into this world to serve Gd. And so she leans in assertively
because she knows Gd, and she knows what Gd should do to create life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Us<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is why we are here – as Ramban said, as Rav Schachter
and Choni displayed, we are here to express our emunah that Hashem can give us a good year ahead, that Hashem wants to give us a year of berachah
ahead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For some of us, life this past year has been good, full of
simchah; we have every reason to believe, and we gratefully daven to a Gd who
has met and exceeded our expectations. But for some, life has been hard; emunah
in Gd has been pushed to its limit, and perhaps beyond. Then we face Chanah’s
choice – do we walk away, or do we lean in? Gd’s feelings are not so easily
bruised; let us coronate Hashem as befits this day, but let us also express our
sense of pain and betrayal, even as we assert that we know Hashem can give us what we need. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even on the day of Divine coronation, seemingly the least
likely day for aggression to be acceptable, Hashem answered Chanah’s aggressive
prayer positively,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and the same will be true for us – if our emotion is not simply a matter of
venting frustration, but rather it bespeaks faith that our vision is in line
with Hashem’s vision. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>If we want parnasah in
order to be able to feed our families and support the needy, causes which
Hashem claims to endorse -<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>If we want health in order
to be able to fulfill mitzvot and improve our world, causes which Hashem claims
to endorse - <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>If we want friendships in
order to be able to build community and create chesed, causes which Hashem
claims to endorse -<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then we need not limit ourselves to a meek plea; we can make
a demand. We can be aggressive. We can say, “This is what You want, too!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>The Shofar<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are about to blow the shofar. In Tanach, the shofar plays
multiple roles, all related to our emunah:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ד'
אלקיו עמו ותרועת מלך בו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – It is the horn declaring Divine majesty
and honour;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE">היתקע
שופר בעיר ועם לא יחרדו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – It is the siren making us tremble in
fear as we are called to reckoning;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>But it is also <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">קוֹל שׁוֹפָר שָׁמַעַתְּ נַפְשִׁי תְּרוּעַת מִלְחָמָה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
the trumpet of battle, summoning us to aggressive war.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If we believe our requests for the coming year are justified
and faithful, then let us sound the trumpet of battle, putting forth our
tefillah with forceful faith, and as He did for Chanah, perhaps Hashem will
respond to us. May we be blessed with a <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">כתיבה וחתימה טובה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
for health, of blessing, of peace and security in Israel and the world over, of
nachas and fulfillment and Torah and mitzvot, for the year to come and beyond.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5f-utADG1w<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
See Rabbi Yaakov Zvi Mecklenburg on Bamidbar 28:4 for a particularly
interesting note<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Malbim to Shemuel I 1<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Berachot 32<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Taanit 23a<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Sefer haMitzvot, Aseh 5<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Hasagah to Sefer haMitzvot, Aseh 5<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Consider Avraham debating Gd regarding Sdom, and shouting <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">חלילה לך</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>! It is a
desecration for You! I have faith in You as the <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">שופט כל
הארץ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, the Supreme Judge, how
could You not carry out justice? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Consider Moshe, who blames Hashem for the Eigel,
shouting, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ודי זהב</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, You gave them the gold! I have faith in You as a fair Gd, how
could You put the Jews in the position of sinning by abandoning them with the
gold for six long weeks? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Or consider Iyov, who calls Gd, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">צרי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, “My enemy”, and yet Gd says of Iyov that
he is <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">עבדי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
“My loyal servant”. Why? Because all along Iyov kept faith in his vision of Gd
as just; his cries of “enemy” came only from his sense of betrayal, that Gd was
not living up to His own self-description. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And consider Choni. It’s not the circle that made it
happen; it’s his tefillah: “<span dir="RTL" lang="HE">רבש"ע</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>! Master of the Universe! <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">בניך שמו פניהם עלי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
Your children have turned to me!” They are Your children – and I have faith in
You to deal with them as a parent deals with children! And why have they turned
to me for them? “<span dir="RTL" lang="HE">שאני כבן בית לפניך</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, for I am like a child of Yours,” they have faith that You will
deal with me as a parent deals with a child!<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday2-79v2foremail.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
For a variety of reasons within the story, it is unlikely that Chanah’s
tefillah was voiced on Rosh HaShanah – but it was answered on Rosh HaShanah.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-83352860383607121622018-04-15T00:06:00.000-04:002018-04-18T17:49:49.618-04:00Seventy Years, Still Under Construction (Derashah, Yom ha'Atzmaut 5778)<i>I was a guest-speaker at a shul this past Shabbat, in honour of Yom ha'Atzmat. I gave this derashah, and liked it enough to re-post it here. But I realize in retrospect (thanks, Batya) that some words of introduction are in order, so you might look at the first two comments on the post, below.</i><br />
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How can we celebrate?<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Archaeologists have discovered a
2500-year old letter, dating to the destruction of the first Beit haMikdash. It
was from a soldier named Hosheia, a Jewish commander defending our eastern
border against the Babylonians. He requested, “Please send the arba minim.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chief Rabbi of South Africa Warren
Goldstein notes that 2500 years later, early in the Yom Kippur War, an IDF
commander named Yehoshua sent the same message to headquarters, “Please send
the arba minim.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ve been asked to speak “</span><span style="background: white; color: black;">in honour of Yom
Ha’Atzmaut and the 70th anniversary of Medinat Yisrael”, and the beautiful
religious symmetry of those letters from Israel fills me with hope for our
nation which has survived both the ancient Babylonians and modern invaders, and
continues to seek the arba minim. I can celebrate this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But then I read the daily headlines of
Israel’s internal strife, and I have to wonder about this celebration. A Prime
Minister facing criminal charges. Rising levels of poverty. An on-going crisis
over drafting yeshiva students. Scandals in the rabbanut over kashrut supervision. Conflict over egalitarianism at the Kotel. Conversion quarrels.
The struggle to cope with African migrants. Is this the
answer to the millennia-old question of what it looks like when Jews run a
country? This doesn’t look like something to celebrate; Yeshayah criticized the
Jews of his day who ate and drank and sang when they should have been fasting
and crying!<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk511508896;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk511508896;"> And really, what have we achieved - is
there an honourable mention prize for just reaching 70, no matter what
condition the medinah is in?</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But perhaps the answer is that
terrible problems are not always a cause for grief; from the Torah’s
perspective, a crisis can be a catalyst for celebration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Example 1: Adam and Chavah<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This idea goes all the way back to Gan
Eden, and the curious way Hashem punished Adam and Chavah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When the serpent convinced Chavah to
eat from the Tree of Knowledge, it was not merely via the charms of an
attractive fruit. The serpent lured Chavah by promising that if she and Adam
would eat from the fruit, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">והייתם כאלקים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
they would be gods, like Hashem. What did Chavah know about Hashem at this
point?<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span> </span>Rashi explains that they would be <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יוצרי
עולמות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – Creators of Worlds. What attracted Chavah and Adam was the
capacity to create life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Given Rashi’s explanation, I would
have expected Hashem to punish them by removing all capacity to create – but
instead, Hashem gave Chavah and Adam the privilege to bring life into this
world! Hashem told Chavah: You will bring life from your body! HaShem told
Adam: You will bring life from the ground! What was Hashem doing here?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When we look closer, we realize the
genius the Torah is revealing. The human beings wished to be Creators, but to
do it quickly and cheaply, just eat a fruit and you become like Hashem. So
Hashem taught them that they could indeed create life, but it would involve
time and labour and pain. Hashem took their weakness and their flaw, and turned
it into an education which would refine them. Hashem converted their aveirah
into a building block.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Example 2: Eigel<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The same phenomenon takes place millenia
later, in this morning’s parshah, as the Mishkan is dedicated. According to
Rashi, the Mishkan was created to make up for the catastrophic Eigel [Golden
Calf] – but it led to a grand and beautiful and joyous celebration! And even per
Ramban,<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
who contended we were always meant to have a Mishkan, the <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יום השמיני</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, the eighth day of the Miluim, may have
been added just to make up for the Eigel – but this day which was produced by
the Eigel was a grand celebration, such that the Sifra calls it <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יום שמחת לבו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, the day of Hashem’s great joy!<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
How did the Eigel’s terrible sin, with its death toll in the thousands, lead to
<span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יום שמחת לבו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because the Eigel was born from a misguided
attempt to communicate with Hashem, and the Mishkan turned that desire to
communicate with Hashem into a building block for greater success – a success
which went on for many centuries of avodas HaShem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Example 3: <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">זדונות
לזכויות</span><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This concept of recognizing an aveirah
as a building block is not restricted to the era of the Chumash; it applies to
us today, as expressed in a classic gemara. The amora Reish Lakish declared, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">גדולה תשובה שזדונות נעשות לו כזכיות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, teshuvah is so great
that it converts even intentional sin into merit.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
How does an intentional aveirah become a source of merit?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In his Orot haTeshuvah, Rav Kook
explained that aveirot teach us lessons. They cause us to feel unsettled and
anxious, recognizing that we are out of sync, we have left the proper path.
This anxiety triggers what he called </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">העריגה והחפץ הקבוע אל השלמות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, the longing and desire to achieve
perfection.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
And so the aveirah becomes not an instant of degradation but a long-term building
block, a catalyst for greatness, turning our </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">זדונות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> into </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">זכויות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Exercise and Psychology<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This phenomenon of destruction which
fuels growth<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
appears not only in Torah, but also in Teva [nature]. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is how muscles grow. When we
strain our muscles with exercise, we inflict “micro-tears”, small rips in the
muscle fibers. Soreness after a workout is a function of those tears. Those
tears are what enable muscles to grow; in repairing the tear, we experience
hypertrophy, the fibers grow. The tears are our building blocks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And the growth potential of our
mistakes is a core principle in developmental psychology. P</span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">sychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
wrote, “There are no mistakes, no coincidences. Just gifts given to us to learn
from.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>” Or
as a famous athlete once said, “</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I've failed over and over and over
again in my life,</span> and that is why I succeed.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>"
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nature knows: Failure generates success.<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Summary<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In sum: We would prefer not to sin in
the first place, but we know our reality. Like the Haggadah, our lives are <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, we start with
disgrace and we conclude with glory – and it is the disgrace itself, eating
from the fruit in Gan Eden, creating an Eigel, even performing <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">זדונות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, which generates that glory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So keep moving forward!<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is a crucial concept for us to
remember and implement personally after an aveirah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We look at what we
did wrong, and we ask ourselves what we can learn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We detect the
anxiety that comes from an unsettled neshamah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We study the yitzrim
which attract us, and figure out how they can become strengths – laziness can keep
us from an aveirah, a gossiper can learn to share Torah, a ringleader can
organize people for chesed.<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When we recognize that our failure can
point the way to our success, we will be inspired to follow Shlomo HaMelech’s
counsel, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">כי שבע יפול צדיק וקם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – The tzaddik falls
seven times, but each time he gets up.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Or as Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith re-worded it: </span>"Success consists
of getting up one more time than you fall down." And that success will be
well worth celebrating.<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For Israel Today<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Which brings me back to celebrating
the 70<sup>th</sup> birthday of the State of Israel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The problems and scandals and crises
are there. And yes, we continue to face religious problems, in particular. In
1954,<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Rabbi Chaim David HaLevi said, “</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
have a strong desire to give our state a religious character where the Torah of
Israel will be its law <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- though none of
us believe that we will succeed, at least not in this generation.” Two
generations later, we are still working on it.</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But so much social and religious good
has been achieved by this State, in facing and addressing its problems.
Millions of lives have been saved, from trouble spots all over the world. Many
thousands of Jews are only able to study Torah daily thanks to the financial
support of the world’s greatest sponsor of Talmud Torah, the State of Israel.
That same State of Israel includes Tanach in its public school curriculum. Kiddush
HaShem is experienced daily via the actions of visibly observant Jews, from Israeli
hospitals and non-profits to sidewalk interactions on Israeli streets to the
corridors of the Knesset to the beneficiaries of Israel’s international aid
projects. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And the troubles of today will lead to
a greater Jewish state tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The proper solution
to Israeli poverty will lead to fulfillment of <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">וחי אחיך
עמך</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The proper solution
to the draft crisis will lead to more Torah study and defense of the medinah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The proper solution at
the Kotel will lead to more Jews davening and saying Tehillim. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These problems will turn out to be
micro-tears in our national muscle, and they will leave us ever stronger. This
is why we celebrate, and thank Hashem for bringing us to this day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Zecharyah<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hopelessness plagued
the Jews early in Second Beit HaMikdash, too, in the days of the navi
Zecharyah. We were embedded<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in an
assimilated exile; then we re-gained our homeland through Persian policies of
conquest. Most Jews opted to remain in exile. Then the Persians withdrew their
permission to build the Beit HaMikdash, and even the Jews who had returned to
Israel sank into deep doubt and disappointment; some actually left.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Zecharyah<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
summed up his generation's malaise with three words, “</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">בז ליום קטנות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,” We “degrade the day of small
achievements.” But then Zecharyah described a vision of Yehoshua, the Kohen
Gadol, clad in </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">בגדים
צואים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, filthy clothing representing our exile
and poverty and degradation. In this vision, HaShem told a malach to remove
Yehoshua’s filthy clothing and to replace it with resplendent Bigdei Kehunah,
the glorious garments of the Kohen Gadol. That generation would build on its
weak beginnings, and create a glorious structure.</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">At the
age of 70, we are part of our own </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">יום
קטנות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, struggling to incorporate our mistakes
into a process of construction. It’s hard </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">עבודה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> [work];
we are still under construction. But through Hashem’s orchestration, and our </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">השתדלות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> [effort], we and our children will see the
fruit - and for this we can celebrate. </span>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> The set
of four plant species used for a mitzvah on Succot<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Essay
in Sixty Days for Sixty Years, “The Eternal Message”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">
Yeshayah 22:12-14, and see Taanis 11a<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Ramban
to Vayikra 9:3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Sifra
Miluim 15. And see Haameik Davar to Vayikra 9:1 on what </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">יום שמחת לבו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span dir="LTR"></span> adds to </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">יום
חתונתו</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Yoma
86b<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Orot
haTeshuvah 5:6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ירידה לצורך עליה<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">
https://www.wellbeing.com.au/kinship/parenting/10-steps-to-a-confident-child.html<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Michael
Jordan, but I don’t want to distract from the derashah<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Mishlei
24:16<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">החק ותועלתו בעיצוב
חיי דת במדינה </span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span dir="LTR"></span>, in the anthology </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">בין ישראל לעמים<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> The
Torah’s imperative to support our brethren<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">
Metzudat David to Nechemiah 7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7898782635470765614#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Zecharyah
4:10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-37391570680944616032017-12-02T20:36:00.002-05:002017-12-02T20:36:39.793-05:00Rav Kook and the Artists of Jaffa (Derashah Vayishlach 5778)<i>I gave this derashah this morning, and liked it enough to post it here. Feedback wanted!</i><br />
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Yosef Chaim Brenner, one of the top Hebrew writers of a
century ago, was born in Russia in 1881. He made aliyah in 1909, and settled in
Yafo – where Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook was the Chief Rabbi. Brenner was a
legend for his fiery insistence on what he believed to be truth, and he was viciously
anti-religious. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Brenner wrote a particularly strong article in 1911, “<span dir="RTL" lang="HE">על חזיון השמד</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>: On Predictions of Assimilation”, in which
he declared that Jews should stop bemoaning Jewish conversion to other
religions. Mocking Jewish antipathy toward Christianity, he wrote, “The New
Testament is also our book, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh… [I say that]
a Jew can be a good Jew, devoted to his nation with his entire heart and soul,
and not fear this legend as some form of <i>treif</i>, but rather relate to it
with religious fervour like the non-Jew Leonardo daVinci in his day.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Yosef Chaim Brenner also had no great respect for his city’s
Chief Rabbi. Brenner was once brought to seudah shlishit at the home of Rav
Kook, and he walked out, insisting he would never return. Once, when seated
with S.Y. Agnon and others, they went to daven minchah with Rav Kook, but
Brenner refused. There are reports that toward the end of his life he changed
his mind, but in his writing we find that he dismissed Rav Kook’s religious
beliefs as handmaidens to clerical ambition, his ideas as illogical and
confused, and his writing style as antiquated and opaque.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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And yet! Yehoshua Radler Feldman, a Hebrew novelist of the
day,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
wrote that Rav Kook said the following about Brenner: “Brenner had a great soul;
he was tossed about by great spiritual suffering… Once I met with Chaim Nachman
Bialik in Yaarot haKarmel, and he told me that Brenner burned entirely with a
fire of love for Israel, and he burned with the pain of Israel.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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How do we understand Rav Kook’s apparent appreciation for
Brenner? I think we need to examine Rav Kook’s optimistic view of human culture.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>1: Culture expresses Divine Light<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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To Rav Kook, “culture” refers to the unique way an
individual human being expresses herself, or a community expresses itself. <a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
It includes art and literature and music. It includes the breadth of society,
from urban design to political structure to religion. Our civilization is
culture. But most important, Rav Kook invoked a well-known midrash
to explain what we are doing when we express ourselves in culture. This midrash
says that like a builder working from plans, “Gd looked in the Torah and
created the world.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”<o:p></o:p></div>
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In other words: The world – which includes earth, sea and
sky, beast and bird and human being – expresses Gd’s Torah. And Rav Kook
extrapolated from this idea to teach that all <u>we</u> produce as human beings
also expresses Torah.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Everything – our laws and ethics, our science and art, our culture – reveals
Gd’s will.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Rav Kook expressed this idea in numerous ways.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>In his introduction to Shir
haShirim, he wrote, “Literature, painting and sculpture aim to bring to
realization all the spirtual concepts impressed deep in the human soul.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>The Bezalel Academy of Arts
and Design was established by Dr. Boris Schatz in Jerusalem in 1906. Two years
later, Rav Kook wrote Dr. Schatz a letter of passionate encouragement, and
guidance.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
He said, “It is heartwarming and exciting to see our talented brethren,
geniuses of beauty and art, finding a proper place… And a spirit from Heaven
has carried them to Jerusalem, to beautify our holy city.” As he wrote, this
art institute would “open sensitivity to beauty and purity” for all of us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>And perhaps most famously,
Rav Kook said that when he lived in London, he would visit the National
Gallery, and he most loved the work of Rembrandt. He said, “<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When G-d created the
light [on the first day], it was so strong and luminous that it was possible to
see from one end of the world to the other… From time to time there are great
men whom G-d blesses with a vision of that hidden light. I believe that
Rembrandt was one of them, and the light in his paintings is that light which
G-d created….<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>” </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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To Rav Kook, everything we create
spreads beauty, and spreads enlightenment, channelling that Divine light which
created us.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>2: You can corrupt the light<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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I find this reverent view of culture a powerful idea, one
that lends itself to a remarkable respect for all humanity and its varied
cultures. But there is a glaring problem, perhaps best expressed with a set of
names from recent headlines: Lauer. Keillor. Spacey. Rose. Weinstein. Franken.
Zahn. How seriously can we take the idea that culture expresses Divine light,
when the most successful creators of contemporary culture seem to express the
opposite?<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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And the problem isn’t just in music or
literature or cinema – we said before that Religion is also culture, and we
have seen our own Spaceys and Keillors among our religious leaders. How
seriously can we take the idea that culture expresses Divine light, when even
Religion can be corrupt?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here we need to invoke a second idea
from Rav Kook: That it is possible to corrupt the Divine light we express, to
produce a vulgar form of culture. That was his understanding of Greek culture.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
But Rav Kook had a solution: This is why we have halachah, to shape our expression
of that light. Halachah places boundaries and implements structure for that
cultural expression.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In his letter to the Bezalel Academy,
Rav Kook wrote that every valuable trait, even justice and wisdom, must be kept
within bounds; as Kohelet says, “Do not be too much of a tzaddik and do not
make yourself too wise.” In the same way, we must be careful in art and culture
“to avoid intoxication and overreach.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
Or to use the terminology of Nietzsche, we must be Apollo, not Dionysus,
manifesting an ordered beauty rather than an inebriated pursuit of desire.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
We express ourselves, and the light within us, and with attention to these
limits we will avoid pathetic vulgarity, and instead attain gorgeous radiance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>3: Appreciation of Our Potential<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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So Rav Kook had two ideas: That our culture expresses Divine
light, and that this expression is vulnerable to corruption and must be
directed. But he had a third idea, and this may be what drove his approach to
Yosef Chaim Brenner: That even if someone has yet to express Divine light
purely, we look at them as being on the path to redemption and purification.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
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It’s no surprise, then, that Rav Kook
valued Brenner’s creative work even if the author’s poison pen was sometimes
directed at him, and at the Jewish religion. That fiery soul, that commitment
to the Jewish people, was the Divine Light Rav Kook saw, the Torah that had
guided the creation of the world, and Rav Kook optimistically expected it would
eventually elevate Brenner’s work. Perhaps it would have, but Brenner was
murdered in Arab riots in 1921.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I should note that I don’t think Rav Kook would offer the
same respect to the people I mentioned before, who stand accused of harassment
and abuse; where there is a vulnerable victim, one dare not display admiration
for the corrupt. But with Brenner, Rav Kook saw fit to emphasize his strengths.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This Shabbos we celebrate seventy years of Israeli culture.
Yaacov Agam. Nachum Gutman. S.Y. Agnon. Anna Ticho. Naomi Shemer. Daniel
Barenboim. Dana International. Uri Zohar. Matti Friedman. In the work of some
of them, the light of Gd is obvious. In some, like Brenner, we can see their
altruism even if we are turned off by their application of it. And in some,
frankly, it’s hard to see the Divine light at all. But Rav Kook promises us
that it is there, and orders us to respect it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But this is about more than respect for others; once we
recognize the power of the culture we produce, we must also acknowledge the
dramatic influence of the culture we absorb. To view art is to bond with the
artist, to invite the creator into my living room and bedroom, into my mind and
heart - and it will shape my own expression of Divine light. May we choose our
influences wisely.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This morning,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Esav offered to Yaakov, “Let’s travel together.” Yaakov declined. Esav said,
“Let me send some of my people with you,” but Yaakov denied him that as well.
Instead, Yaakov said, “I’ll go on at my own pace, and we’ll meet up in Seir,”
Esav’s residence. But that meeting doesn’t happen in chumash; what kind of game
was Yaakov playing?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some write that Yaakov never meant to meet up with Esav.
Others say he meant to meet Esav at Seir, but it didn’t work out. But a midrash<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
takes it differently: Yaakov intends to meet Esav at Seir, in the time of
Mashiach. Right then, at Yaakov’s moment in history, Esav’s culture was not a
good influence; his expression of Divine light was too tainted. But
Yaakov anticipates the day when Esav’s light will shine forth as well, and on
that day, envisioned with such ardor by Rav Kook, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">אבוא אל
אדוני שעירה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, Yaakov and Esav will finally be prepared to join together.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[20]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
http://benyehuda.org/brenner/baaretz_059.html<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Ibid. pp. 38-40. I may grant him the opaque.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
also known as R’ Binyamin<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Yonatan Meir, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">תשוקתן של הנשמות אל השכינה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, pg. 42 <a href="https://www.academia.edu/945983/_Longing_of_Souls_for_the_Shekina_Relations_Between_Rabbi_Kook_Zeitlin_and_Brenner_The_Path_of_the_Spirit_The_Eliezer_Schweid_Jubilee_Volume_Jerusalem_Studies_in_Jewish_Thought_Volume_XIX_ed._Yehoyada_Amir_Jerusalem_Department_of_Jewish_Thought_and_The_Mandel_Institute_of_Jewish_Studies_The_Hebrew_University_of_Jerusalem_The_Van_Leer_Jerusalem_Institute_2005_2_pp._771-818_Hebrew_">https://www.academia.edu/945983/_Longing_of_Souls_for_the_Shekina_Relations_Between_Rabbi_Kook_Zeitlin_and_Brenner_The_Path_of_the_Spirit_The_Eliezer_Schweid_Jubilee_Volume_Jerusalem_Studies_in_Jewish_Thought_Volume_XIX_ed._Yehoyada_Amir_Jerusalem_Department_of_Jewish_Thought_and_The_Mandel_Institute_of_Jewish_Studies_The_Hebrew_University_of_Jerusalem_The_Van_Leer_Jerusalem_Institute_2005_2_pp._771-818_Hebrew_</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
See R’ Yehudah Mirsky, Towards Rav Kook’s Theology of Culture, and esp. pp.
110-112<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Bereishit Rabbah 1:1<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
R’ A. Yehoshua Zuckerman, The World of Rav Kook’s Thought, pg. 189<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Arpilei Tohar 2; Orot haKodesh II 289; cited in Benjamin Ish-Shalom, Rabbi
Abraham Isaac Kook and Jewish Spirituality pp. 182-183<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Mirsky, pg 113<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Igrot haRa”ayah I 158, found at http://www.atid.org/resources/art/igrot1.pdf<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jewish Chronicle, 9
September 1935, cited in Dr. Yehuda Gelman, The World of Rav Kook’s Thought pg.
206</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Zuckerman pp. 190-191, and the Mirsky article<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Rabbi Dr. Yehudah Mirsky has expressed doubts about Rav
Kook’s ideas about culture, too, and his challenges point to our problem as
well. He has written, “His
an extremely idealistic conception of culture, both in that [his version of] culture
enacts ideas, and in that those who participate in it are assumed to be driven
by noble motives… Along these lines, there is almost no sense in his writings
that culture is a commercial enterprise, that people do it to make money.” (Mirsky,
pp. 133-134)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Moadei haRa”ayah pg. 193, cited in Zuckerman p. 192-193<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Igrot haRa”ayah I 158, found at http://www.atid.org/resources/art/igrot1.pdf<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dr. Yehuda Gelman,
The World of Rav Kook’s Thought pp. 195-197</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
See, for example, much of Orot haTeshuvah<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Bereishit 33<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Bereishis Rabbah 78:14<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bereishis/vayishlach78foremail.docx#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[20]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
See also Rav Kook’s vision of art in <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=gY125uCDkp8C&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33">https://books.google.ca/books?id=gY125uCDkp8C&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33</a>,
more on the R’ Kook-Brenner connection in <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=yE1IBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA380&lpg=PA380">https://books.google.ca/books?id=yE1IBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA380&lpg=PA380</a>
and <a href="http://www.ravkook.net/rav-kook.html">http://www.ravkook.net/rav-kook.html</a>,
and Brenner’s critique of Rav Kook in <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=TB_BAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89">https://books.google.ca/books?id=TB_BAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89</a>.
And R’ Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook and the Brenner Affair at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/sho.2017.0013">https://doi.org/10.1353/sho.2017.0013</a>
(available on Muse). And bio of Brenner at <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=yE1IBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA200&lpg=PA200">https://books.google.ca/books?id=yE1IBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA200&lpg=PA200</a>.
And Part 8 of <a href="http://mizrachi.org/category/rav-kook-and-art/">http://mizrachi.org/category/rav-kook-and-art/</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-78779028358693509882017-10-19T09:15:00.001-04:002017-10-19T09:21:32.480-04:00Weinstein, Mayim Bialik and the Perils of Religious Instruction<i>I wrote the following for my Beit Midrash's weekly email, and on reflection I'd like to get feedback from a broader population, so I'm reproducing it here:</i><br />
<br />
Two weeks ago, journalists revealed that Harvey Weinstein, a very influential Hollywood film producer, stands accused of many acts of sexual harassment and assault. The story has been given top coverage on every major news website.<br />
<br />
Commenting on Hollywood's abusive culture, Orthodox Jewish actress Mayim Bialik wrote <b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/opinion/mayim-bialik-feminist-harvey-weinstein.html" target="_blank">an apparently well-intentioned essay for the New York Times</a></b> last week, describing her own experiences. Toward the end of the article, she stated, "<i>I still make choices every day as a 41-year-old actress that I think of as self-protecting and wise. I have decided that my sexual self is best reserved for private situations with those I am most intimate with. I dress modestly. I don’t act flirtatiously with men as a policy.</i>"<br />
<br />
Ms. Bialik also wrote very clearly, "<i>Nothing — absolutely nothing — excuses men for assaulting or abusing women.</i>" Nonetheless, <b><a href="http://www.nyblueprint.com/film-television-television/harvey-weinstein-scandal-causes-big-bang-orthodox-community" target="_blank">she has been attacked by numerous victims of sexual abuse</a></b>, who claim that she is blaming the victim. Ms. Bialik's message of 'I help protect myself by acting modestly' is understood as alleging that victims must not have acted modestly.<br />
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This is not what Ms. Bialik meant, <b><a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/mayim-bialik-deeply-hurt-over-weinstein-comment-backlash/" target="_blank">as she has responded</a></b>. However, I think the fact that people read her comments this way is important. As the Talmud (Bava Metzia 58b) explains, we are guilty of <i>ona'at devarim</i> [verbal abuse] if we convey to sufferers that they are responsible for their own pain, even if we don't mean that.<br />
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I think if we are to be honest, we must admit that ideas expressed in Torah can be seen as blaming the victims. The Talmud Yerushalmi (Sanhedrin 2:6) associates Dinah's rape with the fact that she mixed among the people of Shechem. A well-known midrash (Psikta Zutrita to Shemot 2:12) links the rape of Shlomit bat Divri to her friendliness toward an Egyptian slavedriver. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 21a) states that the sages reacted to the rape of Tamar, daughter of King David, by prohibiting seclusion of men with unmarried women. To my mind, these comments of our sages are meant to educate about hazards, not to claim that victims of abuse must have put themselves at risk. But if they are cited without context, or to a sensitive audience, or without complete explanation, these sources come across as indictments of rape victims.<br />
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We do need to learn and teach Torah, and halachic sexuality is certainly worth promoting. At the same time, we who learn/teach these texts are obligated to be very careful with our words. As the Talmud (Sanhedrin 107a) quotes King David, "One who commits adultery receives capital punishment, but he enters the next world. One who causes another person to blanch [in shame] in public has no share in the next world." May we learn from the events of the past two weeks; when addressing sensitive matters, even [or especially] when quoting Torah, let us choose our words with extra care.
The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-987929867515713532017-09-26T17:57:00.002-04:002017-09-26T18:53:06.046-04:00The Three Faces of Satan (Derashah, Yom Kippur 5778)<b>Critiques welcome - especially before Yom Kippur!</b><br />
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Like many Jewish children growing up in North America in the
1980’s, my only real exposure to Satan was via Dana Carvey’s <i>Church Lady</i>
on Saturday Night Live. To me, Satan was a Christian concept, a red-skinned
fellow with horns, a goatee, a tail, hooves and a pitchfork. You might read
about his adventures in Milton’s <i>Paradise Lost</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In truth, Judaism does describe a Satan, but for most of the
year we downplay it, barely mentioning it anywhere.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
That is – until we arrive at Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. The Yamim Noraim
seem to be the season for acknowledging Satan’s influence:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Why don’t we recite the
monthly <i>Birkat HaChodesh</i> blessing in shul in advance of Rosh Chodesh
Tishrei? Some say it’s to avoid alerting Satan that Rosh HaShanah is coming.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Why do we stop blowing
shofar one day short of Rosh HaShanah? According to some, it’s to confuse
Satan.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Why does the <i>tokeia</i>
blow shofar out of the right side of his mouth on Rosh HaShanah? To combat
Satan, who is described in Tanach as attacking on our right side.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Why do we blow shofar before musaf? To confuse Satan with multiple sets of
shofar blasts.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
And in some communities a Teruah Gedolah is sounded at the end of davening –
you guessed it, to addle Satan.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>It’s not just Rosh
HaShanah, either; our liturgy for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur mentions Satan,
as the chazan pleads with Gd <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ותגער בשטן לבל ישטינני</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
to obstruct Satan lest it act against our prayers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>And who could forget the <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">שעיר לעזאזל</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, the scapegoat which is at the heart of
the Yom Kippur Avodah, which some interpret as associated with Satan?<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Clearly we have heightened concern for Satan at this time of
year. Why?<o:p></o:p></div>
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First, we need to know what Satan actually is. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Talmud<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
states, “<span dir="RTL" lang="HE">הוא שטן הוא יצר הרע הוא מלאך המות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>”
– “Satan is the Yetzer HaRa, and both of them are the Malach haMavet/Angel of
Death.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>I know what the Malach
haMavet does – it kills a person’s body, removing the soul.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>I know what the Yetzer HaRa
does – it kills a person’s actions, by tempting us to sin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>But what is Satan? What
does Satan do?<o:p></o:p></div>
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A personal Satan appears in three stories in Tanach. If we
look briefly at each of them, we will soon see a common thread which will first
show us what Satan does, and then, second, answer the question of why Satan is
so important at this time of year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One story involves Dovid haMelech/King David.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
After putting down a rebellion, Dovid haMelech initiated a military census and
a mandatory draft. The Talmud<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
is aghast; how could Dovid haMelech make this basic mistake? Schoolchildren
know we are not allowed to count individuals!<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
But as Tanach records, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ויעמוד שטן על ישראל ויסת את דוד
למנות את ישראל</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. Satan arose and persuaded Dovid to count Israel. Satan told Dovid
haMelech, “You have no allies anymore. They deserted you to follow one rebel,
and they will desert you again. You cannot lead this nation.” And so Dovid
created a military census and a draft.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The second story involves Iyov/Job. The celestial malachim
are gathered before Gd, when Satan crashes the party<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
and declares before Gd, “Business is good! I can go wherever I want, and I am
welcomed with open arms.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
Gd responds by defending the value of humanity, identifying a single champion,
Iyov, who is pure in his relationship with Gd. To which Satan responds, “There
are no pure human beings; Iyov is as venal and selfish as the rest of them. Take
away his wealth, and he’ll blaspheme like everyone else.” This, of course,
leads to the great test of humanity that is the Book of Iyov.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The third story involves Yehoshua, the Kohen Gadol at the
beginning of the second Beit haMikdash. The navi Zecharyah experiences a prophetic
vision of this high priest standing before Gd, wearing stained clothing, and Satan
stands on Yehoshua’s right, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">לשטנו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, to block him. As Rashi
and Malbim explain, Satan is there to accuse Yehoshua and his family of
wickedness, to allege that Yehoshua is unworthy of leading the Jews who have
returned to Israel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Three stories, three faces of Satan, with one thread:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Dovid! You are not a
legitimate king.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Iyov! You are not a
legitimate tzadik.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Yehoshua! You are not a
legitimate kohen gadol.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The word “Satan” means obstruction, and the creature lives
up to his name. The Malach haMavet kills the body. The Yetzer HaRa kills the
deeds. But Satan is the most sinister of all – by convincing us of our own
worthlessness, Satan kills our souls. He robs us of faith in ourselves, he robs
us of our sense that we are valuable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the moment of Creation, Gd formed a celestial entity<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
whose ongoing role is to challenge us by telling us what we can’t do, to stand
on our right side, our best side in the language of Tanach, and to charge, “Is
that the best you can do? You can’t cut it. You should just give up.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Undermining self-esteem may not seem that frightening, more
like some watered-down, white-collar version of a devil-lite, but don’t kid
yourself; this work of Satan is a global threat. Read what psychologists and
sociologists say about 21<sup>st</sup> century humanity - about rates of
suicide and depression among individuals, about entire societies that have
imploded under the weight of insecurity and have consequently devolved into
racism, xenophobia and death-worship. It all comes down to the same cause: this
Satan is wreaking havoc on the lives of people and polities as it preaches its
gospel of “You can’t!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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So now we know what Satan does. And to go back to our
original question, at this time of year we emphasize Satan because we
understand the existential spiritual threat he poses on our Day of Judgment and
Day of Atonement: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>As I listen to shofar on
Rosh HaShanah, as I examine myself during the ten days of repentance, as I fast
all day on Yom Kippur, I am not tempted by the <i>yetzer hara</i> to repeat my
stupidities of the past year. This week, I have had no desire to hurt other
people, to take Shabbos or kashrus lightly, to skip minyan. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>But Satan telling me I
can’t do any better, I can’t grow, I can’t change, I will always be a person of
anger, I will always be a person of weakness, I will always be a person of
inconsistency, I will always be too tired or too stupid or too easily
intimidated or too feckless – <u>that’s</u> the threat at this time of year. Hashem
promises to accept us back when we return,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
and to purify us on Yom Kippur<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
– but am I going to take that step when Satan stands on my right side, arguing
that I can’t return?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Indeed, the Talmud
(Chagigah 15a) tells the tragic story of Elisha ben Avuyah, a sage who was
lured away from Judaism by Greek theories and who became known as Acher, “the
other”. He wanted to come back, but thought he had heard a Divine voice say
“Return wayward children – except for Acher.” Acher – you can’t! You have no
value! And so he never returned.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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But if we look back at those three stories in Tanach, then
we will also recognize that Satan can be defeated, so long as we know our own
value – not some artificially inflated sense of pride that makes us feel
better, but our true value:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Yehoshua Kohen Gadol is
challenged by Satan and wrapped in filthy garb, but Gd declares, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יגער ד' בך השטן</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>! Yehoshua’s valuable merit wins the day. Gd
rebukes Satan, and orders the malachim to give Yehoshua pure, clean clothing,
befitting his righteousness. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Iyov comes under the most
furious attack, and he is pushed almost to the breaking point – but he doesn’t
break, he wins his family back,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
and he is identified by Gd at the end as the righteous victor in that terrible
battle. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Dovid fell prey to
insecurity, and carried out a census – but the tragic story ends with Dovid
buying a threshing floor and building a mizbeiach for Gd there. Out of Satan’s
obstruction, we gain the future site of the Beit haMikdash.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We can win – just as we did throughout Tanach. So even
though on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur we ask Gd, “<span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ותגער
בשטן לבל ישטינני</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, Don’t let Satan attack us,” the truth is that it’s in our
hands. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>We can set our goals in the
heavens. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>We can get our tempers
under control, and we can start making people smile. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>We can learn a masechta of
gemara, or multiple masechtot. We can learn Hebrew. We can learn how to daven.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>We can become people of
mercy and benevolence, and stop undermining and putting down people around us
to make ourselves greater. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>We can take care of our
parents. We can take care of our children. We can take care of our own health.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>We can give tzedakah and we
can raise tzedakah, for causes from which we benefit personally and for causes
which benefit others. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>We can break off
destructive relationships, and establish the foundations of productive ones.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>We can make that most unhumble
commitment in Neilah <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">שלא אחטא עוד</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, that we will never
sin again! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We can be <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">גוער בשטן</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.
Satan is easily confused by resistance, and he has no teeth – Yehoshua and Iyov
and Dovid kicked them in long ago! We just need to stop listening to him, and
to recognize the value in ourselves that Satan tries to deny.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[20]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski tells the following story
regarding a patient of his, a woman named Sybil:<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[21]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">Sybil
was admitted for heroin addiction. She was a registered nurse who had not
worked for six years because of her addiction. The reason she came for help was
that she had used up all her veins and had none left for injecting heroin.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">In
the first interview, I noticed that she was wearing a locket. “Is that real
gold?” I asked. When she answered in the affirmative, I asked, “How come you
still have it and did not sell it to get heroin?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“I’ll
never sell this,” she said. “This was my mother’s.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“Let
me see it, please,” I said. Sybil handed me the locket, and I took the scissors
lying on the desk and made as though I was going to scratch the locket.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“What
are you doing?” Sybil said.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">I
said, “Don’t get upset. I’m just going to scratch it up a bit.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“But
that’s mine,” Sybil said.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“I
promise I’ll give it back to you,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“But
I don’t want it scratched up,” Sybil said. “It is beautiful and very valuable
to me.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">I
said, “So, if something is beautiful and very valuable, you don’t let it get
damaged, right?” I took Sybil’s arms, which were marked by the unsightly tracks
and scars of abscesses. “Can you read what that says?” I asked. “It says, ‘I am
not beautiful. I am not valuable.’”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">Tearfully,
Sybil said, “I never thought I was any good.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">Sybil
recovered from her drug addiction and became very active in helping other
nurses with drug problems. She discovered that she had a desire to help others.
Now Sybil knew who she was.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Malach haMavet and the Yetzer HaRa
are small fry; they go after our bodies and our actions. The true enemy,
unmasked at this time of year, is Satan, enemy of our souls. But like Sybil, we
know who we are, and we know we are valuable. May we, in our davening,
capitalize on that knowledge and use it to propel us to unprecedented heights
in the year ahead, and may our newfound commitment put Gd in the happy position
of being justified in awarding us a <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">גמר חתימה טובה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div>
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> A
notable exception: our daily prayer to Gd not to let the <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">שטן המשחית</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> harm our actions<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> I
thought it was <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">בכסה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, the
overshadowing of Rosh Chodesh by Rosh HaShanah, but Taamei haMinhagim 691
co-opts that idea as part of confusing Satan.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Taamei
haMinhagim 693, Mishneh Berurah 581:24; note the other approach of
distinguishing between customary shofar blowing and the actual mitzvah.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Mishneh
Berurah 585:7<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Rosh
HaShanah 16b<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Mishneh
Berurah 596:1<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> See
Maharam Rutenberg 4:513, although I must admit some reticence re: linking
Samael with Satan<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Bava
Batra 16a<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Shemuel
II 24 and Divrei haYamim I 21:1; I am taking Malbim’s read. Somewhat
differently, Abarbanel to Shemuel II 24’s suggestions include the idea that Dovid
feared his army was too small<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Berachot 62b<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Indeed,
Shaul specifically avoided the census by using <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">בזק</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> and <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">טלאים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> to count troops in Shemuel I<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Moreh
Nevuchim 3:22<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn13">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Daat
Mikra Iyov pg. 11<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn14">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Abarbanel to Shemuel II 24 suggests that it is really Gd talking, but the
attack is identified as <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">השטנה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> -
obstruction<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn15">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Ditto Satan
attempting to dissuade Avraham from the Akeidah, and shaking the confidence of
Sarah as well as the Jews waiting for Moshe to return from Har Sinai. Even
Bilam’s encounter with a malach which is <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">לשטן לו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> is consistent, although that
malach was on our side.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn16">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Devarim
<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><span dir="RTL"></span>30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn17">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Vayikra
16:30<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn18">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Rambam
(Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah 2:4) writes that teshuvah requires me to say,
“I am someone else, not the person who committed those deeds.” But how will I
say that if I believe I can’t?<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn19">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> A pshat
read of Iyov 42:10<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn20">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[20]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And this may be the
secret behind those rituals we reviewed earlier, which confuse Satan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Some of those rituals take the route of lying
low. If I don’t play up my desire to change, if I don’t announce that Rosh
Chodesh Tishrei is coming, if I stop blowing shofar for a day, then the voice
of “You can’t” won’t be awakened until it’s too late.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But more powerfully I can also steamroll my
Satan directly, because like Dovid, Iyov and Yehoshua Kohen Gadol, I know what
my value is, I know Satan is wrong, I know I am capable of teshuvah. So I can
channel my inner New Yorker, interrupting Satan, drowning him out with the
shofar. If he wants to stand on my right, then that’s where I will blow shofar.
If he wants to shout against the shofar, I’m going to blow it before musaf, I’m
going to blow it during musaf, I’m going to blow it after musaf, as long as he
keeps talking, to proclaim that I am capable, that I can change.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn21">
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/ykday78foremail.docx#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[21]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <i>Without
a Job, Who am I?</i> pg. 36<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-66398249625331291072017-09-18T13:21:00.004-04:002017-09-18T13:21:54.192-04:00Cracking the Cold (Derashah for Rosh HaShanah 5778)<i>Yes, I've neglected this blog, but here is my current draft of a Rosh HaShanah derashah. Please let me know what you think.</i><br />
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Over a period of 16 years, from 1833
to 1849, Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote a long poem in memory of his beloved
friend, Arthur Henry Hallam. It’s called “In Memoriam A.H.H.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”.
The best-known line from the poem is probably, “’Tis better to have loved and
lost than never to have loved at all.” But I want to focus on a different passage
today. In describing his own faith in the face of this bereavement, Tennyson
wrote:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Behold, we know not anything; <o:p></o:p></div>
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I can but
trust that good shall fall <o:p></o:p></div>
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At last—far
off—at last, to all, <o:p></o:p></div>
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And every winter change to spring. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So runs my dream: but what am I? <o:p></o:p></div>
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An infant
crying in the night: <o:p></o:p></div>
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An infant
crying for the light: <o:p></o:p></div>
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And with no language but a cry.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Tennyson describes his cry as that of an infant; he hears the
voice of a baby in the emotions of a grown, worldly, sophisticated man grieving
for his friend. Keep that image in mind, please, as we look at a very odd
element of the mitzvah of shofar.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shofar is a surprisingly vague mitzvah;
the Torah describes the first day of the seventh month as <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">יום תרועה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, a day for trumpeting, but it doesn’t
define what exactly a <i>teruah </i>is. How do we know what sound to make? The
Talmud<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
deduces the nature of the shofar’s <i>teruah</i> based on the crying of a
particular woman in Tanach.<o:p></o:p></div>
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More: We blow 100 shofar blasts each
day of Rosh HaShanah, even though 60 should cover all of the possible permutations
of sounds. Why 100? Tosafot<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
quotes the 10<sup>th</sup> century sage, Rabbi Natan baal ha’Aruch, explaining
that we want to match the cries of that same woman in Tanach. She cried 99 or
100 times, depending on your version of this idea, and we cry as she did.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So there you have it. How do we know
that <i>teruah</i> is a crying sound? That crying woman in Tanach. Why do we
blow 100 blasts? Same woman in Tanach. And my problem is this: That woman in
Tanach ranks as one of the coldest, most heartless human beings in Jewish history.
That woman was the mother of a Canaanite general named Sisera.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Go back in time about 3200 years.
After the Jews left Egypt and entered Canaan, Yehoshua led them for 28 years.
After he died, we were governed by a series of Shoftim/Judges for centuries,
during an up-and-down period in which we were often under the thumb of local
tribes. About 120 years into this period, the Canaanites come to dominate us;
they have iron, horse-drawn chariots, and they force us up into the mountains.
Their lead general is a man named Sisera.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To make a long story short, our shofet
at the time is a woman named Devorah, and she leads us in rebellion against
Canaan. Miraculously, the Canaanite chariots are routed. The soldiers flee
east, to go home; their general, Sisera, deserts and heads west, looking for
shelter. He is intercepted by a woman named Yael, who kills him. Devorah
composes a poem about the victory, and at the end of the poem she describes the
scene back at Canaanite headquarters, where Sisera’s mother anxiously awaits
her son’s return. To quote:<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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“At the window, the
mother of Sisera gazes out and cries at an ornately decorated window. She cries,
‘Why is his chariot delayed in coming? Why are the hoofbeats of his chariots
late?’ The wise noblewomen answer her, and she also gives this statement to
herself, ‘Have they not found and distributed spoils, a womb, two wombs to
every man, spoils of dyed [fabric] for Sisera, spoils of dyed embroidery, dyed
embroidery around the neck of the despoiler?’”<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the mother of Sisera – a woman
who comforts herself with the thought that her son is assaulting women and
stealing spoils. And her language – a womb, two wombs to every man – it’s vulgar,
obscene! How grotesque! What a mockery of maternity! Sisera’s mother may have
cried for her son, but why in the world would I want to model my shofar on Rosh
HaShanah on the grief of the most abominably cold-hearted human being
imaginable?!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m not the only one with this
question. Rav Eliyahu Ki-Tov asked this question in Sefer haTodaah, and decided
that we are not looking at her villany, but at our own goodness. We are contrasting
ourselves with Sisera’s mother. She wept with cruelty; we weep with humanity.
There is a logic to this, certainly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Another answer is to look past her cold
villainy, and see her as a bereaved mother. As Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider wrote in
a column on the OU website last year,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
“<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[S]o great is the
grief of any parent for the loss of a child, that we all are left completely
bereft. The universality and commonality of suffering over the loss of a child
transcends names and identities.” Rabbi Goldscheider knows what he is talking
about; he lost a child. And I accept his point. But I don’t understand – do we
really need to demonstrate our compassion for a bereaved parent by invoking this
particular bereaved parent? Do we not have enough bereaved parents in our
history, on whom shofar could have been modeled?<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
would suggest that the answer is not to ignore her villainy, but to embrace it,
to understand that her lack of a heart is precisely the point. We invoke her because
she is so unsympathetically heartless. This merciless human being, who
reassures herself that all is well by imagining her son viciously violating prisoners
– even she can crack. </span>And that unadorned cracking of the cold,
yielding sincere emotion below, is what matters in shofar.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rav Yehudah Amital<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> also
emphasized the sincere cry, in
an essay regarding Akeidat Yitzchak. He quoted a manuscript of the midrashic
Avot d'Rabbi Natan<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
which describes the fateful scene on the mountain. In contrast to the classic
image of the stoic father and son, pure in their devotion to Gd, in this version
Avraham says to himself, “<span style="background: white;">I am old, and he is
young, perhaps Yitzchak could escape!” And Yitzchak says to himself, “Who will
save me from my father? I have no aid other than Hashem!” Rav Amital explained,
Avraham was no malach, and Yitzchak was no seraph; neither of them wanted to go
through with this, and they were looking for something, pleading with Hashem,
to prevent Yitzchak’s death. They cracked - and as we say in our Selichot, Hashem
answered Avraham. It’s true that Hashem never wanted Yitzchak to die, but even
had Hashem wanted Yitzchak to die, He would have halted the akeidah because of
Avraham’s plea for Yitzchak’s life – because the most valuable prayer to Hashem
is that simple, sincere cry, like that of Avraham, for that which we love the
most.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
is what shofar is about – expressing the sincere cry. Returning to the
beginning, I think this is what Tennyson described in his own grief for his
beloved friend: “A</span>n infant crying in the night: An infant
crying for the light: And with no language but a cry.” Simple. Sincere.
Lacking artifice and style, and all the more beautiful for it. Even Sisera’s
mother, at her moment of crisis, releases this pure voice from inside of her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We may not like to admit it, but we nurture within
ourselves the seeds of the cold brutality of Sisera’s mother - and for good
reason. A soul open to every emotion, a heart with strings that can be plucked
by every circumstance, would drown in a sea of passion. We would suffer
depression at every hurricane and shooting and car accident and famine. We
would ride a roller coaster of joy with every birth and marriage and success we
saw on Facebook or Linkedin. We would spend our last pennies on helping people
around the world in need. We would overload in reaction to every news headline
and private conversation, and we would be left gasping for air, for emotional
space, for survival.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So we develop a necessary shell, but we pay a
price in doing it. I become much more at ease snapping my fingers to an upbeat
tune than contemplating loss. I become more comfortable reading a book of intellectual
essays about Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur than intensely contemplating what I
did for the past year, and why I did it. I would rather go home to a delicious
lunch than remain here asking, a la Tennyson, whether spring will truly follow
winter for me, for my family, for my friends. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But on Rosh HaShanah, with the shofar, we are
meant to penetrate to just those fears that inhabit the pit of our stomach. To
imagine what it would mean to lose that which we love and treasure more than
anything on earth – and to cry like Tennyson’s infant. Toward that end we summon
the image of the coldest, crudest human being imaginable, Sisera’s awful
mother, cracking, and we know that if
she can, then so can we. And our cry, at the moment when our cold is cracked,
is gorgeous in its purity, in its simplicity, in its sincerity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Along the same lines, the Talmud Yerushalmi<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> says we blow an animal horn
because our own cry on Rosh HaShanah is that of an animal. The shofar has no
words, only an animal, or perhaps infantile, sound that emerges with our
breath, from our core. <span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">May we crack, and find that cry inside of ourselves this
morning, for just a little while. May we call out to Hashem sincerely, for the
sake of our parents, our siblings, our spouses, our friends, our children. And
may Hashem respond to us, as HaShem responded to Avraham, with a verdict for a </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">חתימה
טובה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, to be inscribed
and sealed for a year of berachah and shalom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Memoriam_A.H.H.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45341/in-memoriam-a-h-h-obiit-mdcccxxxiii-54<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Rosh HaShanah 33b-34a<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Ibid.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
End of Shoftim 5<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<a href="https://www.ou.org/holidays/rosh-hashanah/shofar-mothers-cry/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">https://www.ou.org/holidays/rosh-hashanah/shofar-mothers-cry/</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
I.e. Sarah and Yaakov, when they believe their children dead. Of course, there
are other answers, such as noting that R’ Akiva was her descendant, and
invoking mystical ideas. Rav Soloveitchik has a particularly moving idea found
in Pninei haRav pg. 158 and “Before Hashem you will be purified” pg. 10. See <a href="http://www.yna.edu/emails/newsletter/5771/Haazeinu/03_Shofar-_Recognizing_the_Emes-1.doc"><span style="background: white; color: #551a8b; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">http://www.yna.edu/emails/newsletter/5771/Haazeinu/03_Shofar-_Recognizing_the_Emes-1.doc</span></a>)<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:fN2QQl3BbWsJ:asif.co.il/download/kitvey-et/alon-shvot-bog/alon-shv-bo-16/bn15_sheyare.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:fN2QQl3BbWsJ:asif.co.il/download/kitvey-et/alon-shvot-bog/alon-shv-bo-16/bn15_sheyare.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca</span></a>
and <a href="http://www.etzion.org.il/he/06-%D7%95%D7%98%D7%94%D7%A8-%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%95-%D7%9C%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%93%D7%9A-%D7%91%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%AA"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://www.etzion.org.il/he/06-%D7%95%D7%98%D7%94%D7%A8-%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%95-%D7%9C%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%93%D7%9A-%D7%91%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%AA</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Cited in Torah Sheleimah Bereishit 22
#92<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/noraim/rhday178foremail.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Yerushalmi Taanit 2:1<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-90844134194406832932017-06-19T18:49:00.000-04:002017-06-19T18:49:04.669-04:0099999 or 100000?Yesterday, my car went from<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5DIZX7MqmcE/WUhUoHoHlSI/AAAAAAAAJkA/WH_EHusMmPEvLGgUOJ8Z6-bgytKM3hYKQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20170618_170436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5DIZX7MqmcE/WUhUoHoHlSI/AAAAAAAAJkA/WH_EHusMmPEvLGgUOJ8Z6-bgytKM3hYKQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_20170618_170436.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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to<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vIBPpWBIJQI/WUhUn5mkEdI/AAAAAAAAJj8/YzRT6aRUaxYBV8zX30FGr7fjnE2ejb0IgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20170618_170755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vIBPpWBIJQI/WUhUn5mkEdI/AAAAAAAAJj8/YzRT6aRUaxYBV8zX30FGr7fjnE2ejb0IgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_20170618_170755.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
For some reason, the former was more exciting to me than the latter. Not sure why.<br />
<br />
Either way, I brought the car in for the Check Engine light this morning, to find out this car isn't going to make it much further...<br />
<br />The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-12099717439530483172017-06-11T00:01:00.000-04:002017-06-22T15:15:51.814-04:00And here's the derashah... (Behaalotcha 5777)... from <b><a href="http://rechovot.blogspot.ca/2017/06/we-heard-you-have-aquarium.html" target="_blank">the aquarium billboard</a></b>:<br />
<br />
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A couple of years ago, the Nova Scotia
board of tourism posted a giant billboard on Bathurst. It featured a monster-sized,
awesome picture of a diving whale off the Nova Scotia coast, and it said in
tall letters, “We heard you have an aquarium. That’s nice.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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I give the ad campaign a 10 for snark,
and a 10 for content – it reminded me that I really, really want to see Nova
Scotia. Unfortunately, I have a problem: minyan. Other than in
Halifax, there aren’t too many minyan options in the Maritimes. Is a Jew – and
especially a male, who has extra obligations – allowed to go to a cottage, to
go on vacation, without a minyan?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course, going to Nova Scotia can
have religious value. We can appreciate Divine creation, declaring <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">מה רבו מעשיך ד'</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>! Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch wrote, “I almost believe that all you homebodies would
one day have to atone for your staying indoors, and when you would desire
entrance to see the marvels of heaven, they would ask you, ‘Did you see the
marvels of Gd on earth?’ Then, ashamed, you would mumble, ‘We missed that
opportunity.’”<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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There is also religious value in charging
our batteries, absorbing energy for future mitzvos.<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span> </span>The
Shulchan Aruch writes, “Eating or drinking for your own pleasure is <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">אינו משובח</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, not praiseworthy. One should intend to
eat and drink in order to live, to serve the Creator.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”<o:p></o:p></div>
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But <span style="color: #222222;">I’m
not talking about going to Nova Scotia in order to appreciate Hashem’s creation,
or to recharge for spiritual service. Yes! Admiring nature can be a spiritual
experience, but I’m just talking about going as a human being. Human beings
love to experience the new and different, we relish natural beauty, we dance to
music, we expand our souls through literature and art. Is being human
justification for missing minyan, or not learning another page of gemara, or not
volunteering for an organization? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of course, I’m not
going to pasken here. First, because psak rightfully belongs solely with shul
rabbis. Second, this is a simple, perhaps even a bit oversimplified, derashah;
it’s not a shiur. So instead I’m going to focus on the underlying philosophical
question: How do we look at sacrificing a mitzvah for the sake of being human?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Let’s review two stories from our
parshah: The lashon hara about Moshe, and Pesach Sheni.<o:p></o:p></div>
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First, the lashon hara: As the Talmud<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
tells it, Moshe separated from his wife Tzipporah because he expected to speak
with Gd at any time and he needed to be available, just as Jewish men and women
separated from each other temporarily at Har Sinai. His siblings, Miriam and
Aharon, were scandalized; after all, they were prophets too, but they had
families! Hashem decisively declared Miriam and Aharon wrong about Moshe, and
they were both punished with tzaraas.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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But here’s what people often miss in
the story! Miriam and Aharon <u>were right</u> about everyone not named Moshe,
everyone who did not speak to Gd “face to face”. Normal human beings are meant
to pursue normal human life, with families! And as the sage Ben Azzai noted,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
does not family life impose obligations which necessarily obstruct total
commitment to the omnipresent mitzvah opportunity? Will not a spouse, a parent,
a child, a friend, a neighbour, an organization lay ineluctable claim to your
hours, directly and indirectly? Will not participating in a family involve
diapers and carpools, cameraderie and sympathy – in short, being human?<o:p></o:p></div>
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If Miriam and Aharon are correct, does
that not mean that the Jew is supposed to be a human being, to recognize the
limits of Covenant and honour human need?<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Rabbi Alex Israel of Yeshivat Eretz
haTzvi eulogized Rav Yehudah Amital z”l, former Rosh Yeshiva in the Gush. He reported
on the time when Rav Amital saw someone straining to fulfill the minutia of a
ruling in the Mishneh Berurah. Rabbi Israel wrote, “<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rav Amital saw him and gently said to him: “Danny. Be normal!” He
believed that strict and full accordance with the Halakha was a way of life
that demanded effort and work, but that it should not take a person away from
the orbit of normal people, or regular living.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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So far, then, it seems that Miriam and
Aharon are right, and it’s fine and appropriate to relax and take a few days in
Nova Scotia. Be normal!<o:p></o:p></div>
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But there is another story in our
parshah: Pesach Sheni.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the start of their second year in
the wilderness, the Jewish people brought the korban Pesach, but a small
community was denied participation because they were tamei, ritually impure. According
to the Talmud,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
they were ineligible for the best of reasons – they were the chevra kadisha, carrying
the bones of Yosef and his brothers. So they were exempt. They could relax. They
were required to relax! While the rest of the nation went about their duties.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But that’s not what these Jews did;
they came to Moshe in protest, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">למה נגרע</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
why should we lose out on this mitzvah? We don’t want an exemption! We don’t
want to relax! We want to do the mitzvah! And although they did not receive exactly
what they wanted, they are unquestionably admired for seeking greater duties,
greater obligations!<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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And if I quote Rav Amital on one side,
I must also quote Rav Asher Weiss, the posek of Shaare Zedek Hospital, on the
other. He was asked about a thoroughly exhausted person, awake all night for a
particular mitzvah, going to sleep at the end of the night, shortly before the
time for Shacharis. Since he would be out cold come morning, our Sleeping
Beauty would be exempt from davening when the time came. Rav Weiss replied, in
part, “One who keeps himself from becoming obligated in a mitzvah, before its
time arrives, has not ‘failed’ in the mitzvah. However, the desire of the Torah
– <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">רצון התורה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – places an expectation upon people to <u>make
certain</u> they will be able to fulfill mitzvot, and indeed <u>pursue</u>
their fulfillment.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
The desire of Torah is that the exhausted individual push past his boundaries
and achieve more!<o:p></o:p></div>
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So who is right, Rav Amital or Rav
Weiss? Is rest and relaxation in Nova Scotia a fulfillment of the message of
Miriam and Aharon, or a violation of Pesach Sheni?<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Let’s go back to a problem at the
start of Bereishis. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik noted<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
that plants, fish, birds, animals and human beings were created with shared
language in the 10 Declarations of Creation:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE">אמירה,
עשייה, בריאה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – the same verbs create all of us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>We were all brought
forth as miraculous life from dead matter. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Gd expressed a desire
for all of us to bear fruit and multiply. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Both animal and
human are vegetarian at the outset. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Adam was even named
for the mud from which he and the plants and beasts were taken. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At first blush, to be human is to be a
mobile plant, a fish with lungs, an earth-bound bird, a two-legged animal with
opposable thumbs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But first subtly, and then explicitly,
Hashem differentiates the human being from all else by communicating with us:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>The fish and birds
are blessed with procreation, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">פרו ורבו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
but humans are told <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">פרו ורבו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Gd tells the reader
that animals are to eat plants, but Gd tells the human being directly to eat
plants. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>And then, most
powerfully, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ויצו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>! Gd commands us! As
Rav Soloveitchik wrote, “Gd takes man-animal into His confidence,
addresses him and reveals to him His moral will.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once Gd gives us not instinct but instruction, not
physicality but spirituality, we enter into a relationship with Gd, our first
and primary commitment, in which we must strive to prioritize that instruction
above all else.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And to me, this is the big question of Bereishis, and our
parshah, and I think of Nova Scotia as well: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>When human beings “enter
Gd’s confidence”, are we meant to shed our animal skin, to transcend the plant,
fish, bird and beast, to bond with Gd and never look back? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Or is our spirituality
meant to co-exist with our original, animal character, so that we are both
human and pursuers of the Divine?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I would suggest that the answer also
appears right there in Bereishis. Right after <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ויצו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
charges Adam with spirituality, Gd charges Adam with sociality. Hashem declares
<span dir="RTL" lang="HE">לא טוב היות האדם לבדו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – it is not good for
the human being to be alone. And Gd searches the kingdoms of beasts and birds,
who could have been mates of animalistic humanity prior to <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ויצו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> but who are now inadequate for the Commanded personality. And
Gd finally separates the souls of Adam and Chavah into different bodies, to
join with each other socially.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ויצו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
meant that we were only to bond with Gd, then there would be no role for a mate
and the demands of family. We would spend our lives seeking to grow out of our
desires and become as superhuman as possible. No sports, no hobbies, no literature,
no tourism, no artwork, no gourmet dining.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, when Gd seeks a mate for
Adam, when Gd creates the concept of community, Gd is undoubtedly looking for
that mate to help Adam become a better spiritual person, become a better
citizen of that <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ויצו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> mandate – but here’s
the thing: Gd also implies a parallel mandate: Be a mensch! Be normal! You are
to have spouses and children, and therefore you shall have parents and siblings
and communities, and you will need those most human experiences and sympathies
and goals. Live the life of a human being, feel the emotions of a human being,
experience the pain and joy of the people around you! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Gd desires for human beings to
exist in the company of others, then <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ויצו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="HE"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> </span><u>must not</u> supercede our humanity. We are charged
with two competing and complementary aspirations: <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ויצו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
to bond with Gd, and <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">לא טוב היות האדם לבדו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>,
to bond with man. We must aspire to be godlike and we must aspire to be human.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The challenge is for a human being,
over the course of a lifetime, to feed both of these drives<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
– to excel in both arenas. To produce a mosaic of ten thousand occasions, a
million instants when we learn a page of gemara or give tzedakah or go for a
walk in the woods, we become ideal servants of Gd, fulfilling every mitzvah and
spending our every moment in search of ways to grow closer to the Shechinah, and
we become ideal human beings, living life, reading books, seeing Nova Scotia, playing
games, visiting art museums, viewing plays, growing in our ability to be
sympathetic, productive members of society.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The lesson of <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">ויצו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
is that we must aspire to defy human weakness and draw close to Gd.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The lesson of <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">לא
טוב היות האדם לבדו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> is that we must aspire to be human. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those aspirations must never be separated.
The Jew who tours Nova Scotia or reads a novel must also make a siyum haShas.
And the Jew who makes a siyum haShas must also go to Nova Scotia – or at least
the Toronto Aquarium, nebach. The Jew who schmoozes with friends on Shabbos
afternoon must also make time to learn. And the Jew who learns must also make
time to schmooze. We can satisfy both, if we look at our lives not moment by
moment, analyzing each decision in a vacuum, but as a whole, to gauge whether
we are satisfying our duties in both areas.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These are our grand aspirations. The
poet Cordelia Ray wrote of human aspiration,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
“We climb the slopes of life with throbbing heart, and eager pulse, like
children toward a star.” May our twin goals, spirituality and sociality, be the
binary stars that make our hearts throb. We can never fully achieve either one
while we yet stand on the slopes of life – but may our mission, and our passion,
be to make that climb. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
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<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/screen-shot-2015-11-11-at-6-51-19-pm.png?w=600&h=450<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Collected Writings Vol 8 pg. 259 “From the notebook of a Wandering Jew”<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 231:1<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Shabbat 87a<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Shabbat 97a<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Yevamos 63b<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Indeed, when Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son came out of
their cave after 12 years of non-stop study in hiding from the Romans, they
could not deal with human beings; shocked to find people spending time plowing,
they turned their gaze upon the fields and those fields were incinerated.
Hashem rebuked them, “Did you emerge to destroy My world? Go back into your
cave!” They observed a year of mourning in the cave, and Rabbi Shimon bar
Yochai emerged much chastened. (Shabbat 33b) Human beings are expected to live
as human beings do.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<a href="http://text.rcarabbis.org/in-memory-of-rabbi-yehuda-amital-ztl-reflections-by-nathaniel-helfgot-yehudah-mirsky-alex-israel-yair-kahn-and-reuven-ziegler/"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">http://text.rcarabbis.org/in-memory-of-rabbi-yehuda-amital-ztl-reflections-by-nathaniel-helfgot-yehudah-mirsky-alex-israel-yair-kahn-and-reuven-ziegler/</span></a>
And also expressed in hesped by R’ Yoel Amital - <a href="http://shaalvim.co.il/torah/maayan-article.asp?id=425">http://shaalvim.co.il/torah/maayan-article.asp?id=425</a>:
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: right; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">אבא, בזמן
השואה הכנת את עצמך למות על קידוש השם, ולאחר השואה המניע העיקרי של הרבה פעולות
שעשית היה למנוע חילול השם; רצית למות על קידוש השם – אבל קידוש השם היה המניע
העיקרי שלך בכל חייך, קידוש השם כפי שמגדיר אותו הרמב"ם בהלכות יסודי התורה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR" style="background: white;"><span dir="LTR"></span>:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>"</strong></span><strong><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">עושה בכל מעשיו לפנים משורת הדין, והוא שלא יתרחק הרבה ולא
ישתומם</span></strong><span dir="LTR"></span><strong><span dir="LTR" style="background: white;"><span dir="LTR"></span>".</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span dir="LTR" style="background: white;"> </span></b></span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">המקור לענין שדברת עליו הרבה פעמים על הצורך להיות
"יהודי נורמלי", לא להתנהג בצורה משונה וחריגה אלא דווקא כ"יהודי
פשוט", גם הוא נמצא בדברי הרמב"ם הללו: "שלא יתרחק ולא ישתומם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR" style="background: white;"><span dir="LTR"></span>".</span><span dir="LTR"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Succah 25a-b<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
It is as the Talmud (Sotah 14a) states regarding Moshe, that
he longed to enter Israel not to enjoy the produce, but to fulfill mitzvot from
which he was exempt!<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Minchat Asher II 9. Ditto Rav Aharon Lichtenstein on tiyulim and exemption from
Succah, at the end of <a href="http://etzion.org.il/en/travelling-and-mitzva-sukka" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11.0pt;">http://etzion.org.il/en/travelling-and-mitzva-sukka</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
The Emergence of Ethical Man<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="ftn13">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
We are also <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">צלם אלקים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, and it fits, but I didn’t want to go into that here.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="ftn14">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<span dir="RTL" lang="HE">חציו לכם וחציו לד'</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> of Shavuos – Beitzah 15b<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/bamidbar/behaaloscha77foremail.docx#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/aspiration<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-41595504481941514782017-06-08T21:31:00.004-04:002017-06-08T21:32:39.059-04:00We heard you have an aquariumI saw this ad a couple of years in Toronto, and fell in love with the sheer snark of it...<br />
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<a href="https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/screen-shot-2015-11-11-at-6-51-19-pm.png?w=600&h=450" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/screen-shot-2015-11-11-at-6-51-19-pm.png?w=600&h=450" width="320" /></a></div>
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... and it's the topic of my derashah this Shabbos. Writing it now.The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-84134201105733686962017-03-26T01:01:00.000-04:002017-03-26T01:01:07.879-04:00Pesach Seder Companion 5777!My Beit Midrash began publishing a Seder Companion two years ago, with <b><a href="http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/832306" target="_blank">our 5775 version</a></b>, and continued last year with <b><a href="http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/855470/yu-torah-mitzion-toronto-kollel/seder-companion-5776/" target="_blank">the 5776 edition</a></b>.<br />
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This year, with 18 Seder-related Divrei Torah which have not appeared in the previous editions, I am glad to present our <b><a href="http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/875588" target="_blank">Pesach Seder Companion 5777</a></b>! Click the image to be taken to it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/875588"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qBMpH2Z6h7k/WNceVsXoP3I/AAAAAAAAJWA/OIW5vbk1yUcN8YSWk3C1GGEvyE4ABF_tQCLcB/s400/cover1.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
<br />The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-57860315587830185742017-03-10T12:14:00.000-05:002017-03-10T12:14:29.476-05:00Purim Torah 5777: JewsplainingFor whoever still comes by to read my very occasional posts, here's my contribution to <b><a href="http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/874394" target="_blank">Toronto Purim Torah 5777</a></b>: The Torah's 618th mitzvah, <b>Jewsplaining</b>:
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In Bamidbar 20:8, G-d instructs Moshe, “And you shall speak to the stone,” from which Rabbi Abba bar Eban derived a commandment to lecture the United Nations on behalf of G-d. (Eduyot 3:7) Rabbi Abba’s protégés expanded the mitzvah to include lecturing all ignorant people, and Rabba Caroline Glick expanded it further to include talking to actual rocks. (Shabbat, Perek Rabbi Elazar d’Milah) Sefer HaChinuch lists this as the Torah’s 618th mitzvah: Jewsplaining. Israelis prefer to call it <i>Hasbara</i>, meaning “condescension”.
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Within this daily mitzvah, every Jew is obligated to seek out a hostile listener and explain the Middle East to him/her/it for at least eighteen minutes, without convincing him/her/it. Children may also be obligated, because Jewsplaining requires neither intelligence nor maturity, only a willingness to loudly repeat one-sided tropes like “Jordan is the actual Palestinian state” and “Israel invented oxygen, go boycott oxygen” until the other side draws a weapon or walks away.
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One does not recite a blessing before Jewsplaining. Per Rashba (1:18), we do not recite a blessing for a mitzvah which depends on another party for its fulfillment; one example is tzedakah, since the intended recipient might decline. Regarding Jewsplaining, the mitzvah is fulfilled only if the listener remains deaf like a stone, and so one’s success depends on the listener being stubborn. Therefore, there is no blessing. [Note, though, that some authorities rule that the Jewsplainer fulfills her obligation so long as she thinks convincing the listener is impossible. Even if the listener changes his mind, it may be assumed that he was already uncertain, and the speaker’s role was only indirect <i>grama</i>.]
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<i>I would have written more, such as regarding the Karaites over at the New Israel Fund and their interpretation of this mitzvah, but there was no room in our publication...</i>The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-10342739401819177112017-03-06T10:01:00.000-05:002017-03-06T19:33:01.837-05:00Our Troubled History of Righteous Warriors (Pre-Purim Derashah)I presented this derashah on Shabbos, and it was sufficiently well-received for me to post it here as well:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Children of the 1970’s and 1980’s will remember the movie <i>Wargames</i>,
in which Matthew Broderick hacked into the Pentagon’s central computer system –
the WOPR – and accidentally started playing a real-world version of a game
called Global Thermonuclear War. At the end of the movie, the WOPR computer
observed that war is, “A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tanach and Talmud seem to come to the same negative conclusion
regarding war:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Look at our earliest biblical
battles:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "courier new"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Avraham battles an alliance
of four kings to save his brother-in-law Lot; the Talmud<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
says that Avraham was then punished for drafting his students to fight in the
war.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "courier new"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Yaakov prepared to fight
against Esav, and we are told, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">ויירא יעקב מאד ויצר לו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, Yaakov was afraid, and he was troubled.
Midrashim<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
explain: Yaakov was afraid lest he be killed, but he was also disturbed by the
possibility of killing others, apparently even in self-defense.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "courier new"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Shortly thereafter, Shimon
and Levi smashed the city of Shechem and saved their sister Dinah. Yaakov
responded, “You have muddied my name in the eyes of the nations of the land!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Fast-forward to Nach, where
we meet Dovid haMelech, who is told by G-d that he cannot build the Beit
haMikdash because <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">דמים רבים שפכת ארצה לפני</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, You have spilled much blood – but Ramban<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
says that this blood was spilled in wars ordered by Gd!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Or since Purim is coming, read Megilat Esther – the Jews didn’t want to go
to war, even in their own self-defense. Esther and Mordechai pleaded with
Achashverosh to rescind the decree against them, and only when he refused were
they forced to resort to battle.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>In this light, it’s no wonder that we are prohibited from using iron to
shape the stones of the mizbeiach; <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">כי חרבך
הנפת עליה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, your
sword is an unwanted, unrighteous weapon of death.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It seems that the WOPR is indeed correct about war – the
only way to win is not to play!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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The problem is that Judaism simultaneously depicts war as a
righteous, even glorious pursuit!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Torah presents war as a mitzvah:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">וכי
תבאו מלחמה בארצכם על הצר הצורר אתכם והרעותם בחצוצרות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – <u>When</u> you go to war, not <u>if</u> you go to war,
against the enemies who attack you in your land, blow the trumpets and Gd will
save you.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">כי תצא
למלחמה על אויביך</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – <u>When</u>
you go to war against your enemies<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">לא
תכרות להם ברית</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – <u>Do
not</u> make peace treaties with the seven Canaanite nations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>In the classic catalog of 613 biblical mitzvot, Sefer haChinuch records
four separate mitzvot related to war (394, 525,526, 527)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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And not only is war a
mitzvah, but our Sages teach that war is a religious act pursued by righteous
figures, specifically:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>According to a mishnah, the Sanhedrin, the high religious court, approves
all wars;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>The Talmud describes Shaul’s general Doeg, and Dovid haMelech, and his Shlomo’s
general Benayahu ben Yehoyada, as both warriors and Torah scholars;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>The Talmud teaches that Jewish soldiers were given the opportunity to
retreat from the battlefield if they had any sin on their records, however
minor, leaving an army of soldiers who would be ideal tzaddikim.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We did not go as far as
the Greeks, with Plato’s declaration that one must engage in military service
in order to be a complete person – but we seem to have come pretty close!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So how do we reconcile
biblical and rabbinic negativity toward war and warriors, with the idea that
war is a great mitzvah, waged by our best and brightest? And to apply this
today - how should we look at serving in our own IDF?<span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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We could argue that war
is simply a <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">בדיעבד</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, a
necessary evil; other mitzvot are necessary evils, too, like returning stolen
goods and punishing criminals in beit din. If we were worthy, Hashem would
battle our enemies and we would not need to fight, but we have not been worthy
and so we have needed to fight.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The idea that war is a
concession to reality is not new to Judaism; almost two thousand years ago, the
Talmud<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
blamed our wars on the Golden Calf. Rav Ada, son of Rabbi Chanina declared: If
we had not created the Golden Calf, Tanach would have been very short – we
would have needed only the Chumash, and the book of Yehoshua describing the
division of the Land of Israel. As Rav Kook explained:<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
We would have faced none of the wars and challenges and Divine rebukes which
fill the rest of Tanach. Our righteousness would have awed the nations of the
land, and we would not have needed to fight.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Indeed, according to the
Rambam these bedieved wars were an undesirable, weak and inferior means of
sanctifying the land of Israel. He wrote<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
that sanctity which comes about via the sword can also be removed by the sword,
and so the kedushah conferred by Yehoshua through battle was actually removed
by the Babylonians when they conquered us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Within this view, the
ideal would be for victory to come through Divine intervention. Perhaps this is
why our Sages looked for less bloody ways to re-interpret the violent exploits
of our greatest leaders. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Moshe kills an Egyptian who is beating a Jew – but Avot d'Rabbi Natan<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
says he did it by invoking the Name of Gd. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>The book of Shoftim says that Kalev marries off his daughter to the shofeit
Otniel ben Kenaz, after he conquers the city of Kiryat Sefer – but according to
the Talmud,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> what
Otniel actually did in “Kiryat Sefer” was to teach hundreds of laws which had
been forgotten upon Moshe’s death. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Both of these derashot
are based on solid textual analysis, but they also reflect a certain
perspective: War represents a failure of spirituality, and our greatest leaders
did not need to resort to fisticuffs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In truth, this bedieved
view of war may be part of a broader philosophical view of this world as a
perfect planet shaped by imperfect people: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>We should receive food from the heavens or miraculous crops, but because we
are imperfect, we need to plow and plant and harvest. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>We should be healed of disease upon praying to Gd, but because we are imperfect,
we need to rely on painful, expensive and uncertain medicines. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>And we should be protected from enemies without fighting, but because we
are imperfect, we must go to war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So the WOPR is indeed
correct; the only winning move is not to play – but sometimes you don’t have
another option.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But there is another layer
to war. When the Torah depicts war as religious and righteous, it is because
war is not only the act of bludgeoning the enemy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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War also means protecting
our families and defending our ideals, and putting our own lives on the line to
do so. War means seeing ourselves as part of a community, and recognizing that
the parts must sacrifice on behalf of the whole. The redemptive character of
war, that which makes it a mitzvah and a pursuit for our greatest and most
righteous, is found in living beyond ourselves, pursuing neither pleasure nor
power, but selfless purpose.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Avraham goes to war not to demonstrate power or gain spoils, but to save
his brother-in-law;<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Shimon and Levi are guilty of excess, but they went to war to save their sister;<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Dovid haMelech cannot build the Beit haMikdash, but he fought the Plishtim
in order to save his nation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In truth, this approach
requires more nuance; not every selfless fight is noble or heroic. The suicide
bomber also thinks he is pursuing selfless purpose in the name of country and
ideology. We need more discussion of what constitutes a “just war”, and that
will be part of our panel discussion before minchah, at 4:45 PM. But the
message I see in the Torah’s mitzvot of war is about not the glory of finishing
our foes, but the glory of risking one’s life for others and for ideals.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rav Aharon Lichtenstein
made this point in an essay entitled <i>The Ideology of Hesder</i>. Describing
the mission of the yeshivot which blend Torah study with military service, he
wrote:<o:p></o:p></div>
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No one responsibly connected with any
yeshivat Hesder advocates military service per se… No less than every Jew, the
typical Hesdernik yearns for peace, longs for the day on which he can divest
himself of uniform and <i>uzzi</i> and devote his energies to Torah… In one
sense, therefore, insofar as army service is alien to the ideal Jewish vision, Hesder
is grounded in necessity rather than choice… <o:p></o:p></div>
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In another sense, however, it is very much <i>l'hathillah</i>,
a freely willed option grounded in moral and halakhic decision… We advocate it
because we are convinced that, given our circumstances - would that they were
better - military service is a <i>mitsvah</i>, and a most important one at
that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the source of our
troubled history of righteous warriors – of Avraham and Yaakov, of Shimon and
Levi. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>The sword may not cut the stones of the mizbeiach, and Dovid haMelech
cannot build the Beit haMikdash, because war is corrupting; the Golden Calf
ensured that we must fight, as a bedieved concession to our imperfect
spirituality. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>But war is also an ennobling opportunity to live for others, to sacrifice
years, and possibly one’s life, to serve the nation. In that sense it may be
the greatest mitzvah we can perform.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the beginning, Hashem
created a garden, and populated it with many trees. One of those trees was the
Tree of Life; eat from it <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">וחי לעולם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, and live forever. Another of those trees was the Tree of
Knowledge of Good and Evil. We chose the latter, the fruit which gave us good
and evil combined, and the result was the blending of good and evil in all of
our pursuits, however noble. As a result, Chavah is told that bringing a baby
into this world will involve not only life, but also pain. Adam is told that
bringing food from the earth will involve not only life, but also pain. And
serving our nation, too, involves both life and pain.<o:p></o:p></div>
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May we soon know a day
when we will return to the Tree of Life, when the sin of the Golden Calf will
at last be expunged, when <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">לא ישא גוי אל גוי חרב ולא ילמדו
עוד מלחמה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> – when
nation will not raise sword against nation and no longer will they study war,
when instead of <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">מלאה הארץ חמס</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> a land filled with chamas, we will have <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">מלאה הארץ דעה את ד' כמים לים מכסים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, a land filled with knowledge of G-d, as the sea is filled with
water.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Nedarim
32a<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> See
Rashi Bereishis 32:8, and Sifsei Chachamim there<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Ramban
Bamidbar 16:21<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Esther 8<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Bamidbar
10:9<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Nedarim
22<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Orot
HaMilchamah 4<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Ditto
Shem miShemuel Succot 5674<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Hilchos
Beis haBechirah <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> 1:20<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/derashah/shemos/terumah77email.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Temurah
16a<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-19598267145824865762017-02-07T23:34:00.000-05:002017-02-14T22:43:57.198-05:00HaNidach: The Banished OneI led a session on S.Y. Agnon's remarkable <i>HaNidach</i> last month, and I didn't know of a translation I could share with the group. It's a very long story - 47 pages in my edition - so I translated enough of it for the group to get a sense of the story. Since it's not available in translation anywhere, here is my partially annotated rendering for anyone who might want it. [The numbers in parentheses match the page numbers in my Hebrew edition of אלו ואלו.]<br />
<br />
The story is heart-wrenching in its description of the depths of the divide between early Chasidim and the mainstream Jewish world, and for the elements which remain recognizable in our own world today. For easier reading, download it (.pdf) <b><a href="http://www.torontotorah.com/torah/hanidachalone.pdf" target="_blank">here</a></b>.<br />
<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt;">Excerpts from HaNidach<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Chapter 1<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(9) Great snow fell all that
week, from the celestial level to the lowly world. The black earth turned
white, and the heavens remained dull, and people entered their homes, between
oven and stove,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
and in the city no one departed or entered.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
But on the fifth day to Shabbat the trait of <i>chesed</i> triumphed.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
The sun shone over the land, and the snow began to melt…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The day descended and those
who trembled at the word of Gd began gathering in the study hall. The learned
closed their books, and the youths ceased their singing. The <i>shamash</i> lit
the candles, and the prayers washed their hands and prayed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">They were praying, and two
elderly women broke through the door, wailing, to seek mercy for Aydele, modest
and pious. They opened the Ark and hugged the Torah scrolls and called to Gd
mightily, “Gd, please heal her,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> on
behalf of her chicks who have not sinned.” And so they cried, until their tears
met and merged.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Between minchah and maariv
news was heard in the study hall – a <i>tzaddik</i> had come to town.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
His few allies were strengthened and filled with joy, that their Rav had had
mercy on their city, to visit them on this Shabbat. They prepared their hearts
and spirits to greet his holy countenance. The uninformed thought that the Rav
had come to the city only to heal Aydele, daughter of Rabbi Avigdor the Parnas,
but those who knew the hatred of the Parnas for the sectarians knew that this
tough person would overturn the entire world to keep that <i>tzaddik</i> from
stepping foot in Shibush.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
[But] they still had some hint of a thought; Rabbi Avigdor was in pain, and it
would be a burden for him to evict [the Rabbi].<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(10) When day broke, the few
Chassidim left the city to greet the <i>tzaddik</i>. Some of the people of
Shibush joined them, to see his entrance. They said, “If he is a <i>tzaddik</i>,
the entrance of <i>tzaddikim</i> induces awe of Heaven.” And anyone whose heart
was uncertain about belief in <i>tzaddikim</i> convinced himself, saying, “If
people thirst to see him, this is a sign that the Shechinah is upon him.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
While they were anticipating him, the wheel of a wagon began hammering along in
the street of the city. The entire place was filled with joy; “The Rebbe has
come, the Rebbe has come!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">His intimates were
energized, and they drew close to the <i>Merkavah</i>.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
They greeted the Rav and untied the horses from their reins and took their
places to draw the <i>Merkavah</i> along. Immediately, the Rav descended from
the <i>Merkavah</i> and mixed with those who had come to greet him. They said
to him, “Rebbe, why did you descend? We have come to greet you and you descend
from the <i>Merkavah</i>?!” He told them, “I saw that you fulfill the mitzvah
of greeting guests with great passion, and I descended from the <i>Merkavah</i>
to include myself with you in this mitzvah.”…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A Jewish householder,
childless, who had never entered Chassidut, made his house available in order
to be perfumed with the blessing of that <i>tzaddik</i>… The people could not
separate from him, and he could not separate from them, and he was warmed by
the light of their love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(11) At that same time, Rabbi
Avigdor left the room of his sick daughter, Aydele. He heard the voices of the
Chassidim, joyously escorting their Rebbe. He trembled and said, “How long will
this sin be stored with me?<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
Rabbi Avigdor cloaked himself in Shabbat clothes, scrubbed his head with water
and coiled his <i>peiot</i> with beer, fixed up his hat and prepared his cloak
and looked in the mirror for beauty. Why all of this? So that he would impress
the <i>poritz</i>, and he would listen to him…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The intimates of the <i>tzaddik</i>
were energized, and they took white clothing, abandoned their mundane
activities and went to the bathhouse to purify themselves for Shabbat and to
stand before their Rebbe with a clean body. And Jewish girls baked challot and
cooked meat and fish and increased various types of kugel for the pleasure of
Shabbat, with a guest like this. But the hope of Man is worms. The Satanic deed
triumphed, and the noble complied and sent an officer to chase out Rabbi Uriel
from the city, for Rabbi Avigdor had brought bad speech against him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">At that same time, Rabbi
Uriel stood cloaked in a tallit and crowned in tefillin, and his face shone
from his prayer. The officer entered and saw the illumination of his face, and
stood in confusion, waiting for him to finish his prayer. After he completed his
prayer, [the officer] said to him, “My master has decreed to remove you from
the city, please leave.” Rabbi Uriel removed his tefillin, and wrapped their
straps like the wings of a dove.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
He did not finish before the officer grabbed him by the hand and said, “Take
them and go.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(12) His group of Chassidim
stood and cried <i>Chamas!</i> and sought revenge upon their enemies to punish
them properly, for the Heavenly Name they had disgraced and for the Shabbat
pleasure which had been destroyed. His holy heart was awakened, but he said,
“Uriel, Uriel! Are you truly concerned for the honour of His Name, or are you
concerned for your own honour? And how will you know the truth?” But nature
triumphed and he cursed the Parnas,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
and a harsh curse was uprooted from his mouth, that one who was banished would
be banished from him.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
And all who were present nodded their heads and said, “He has bitten Avigdor in
his tail like a serpent, woe to him, woe to him, so is good for him, so is
appropriate for him.” </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rabbi Uriel left the city,
and his group of Chassidim left with him. The snow was melting, and the rain
descended with force, and the land was partially smooth and partially sunken.
They hesitated and walked, hesitated and walked, reciting Song of Songs.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Rabbi Uriel walked and recited, “Do not look upon me that I am dark, that the
sun has blackened me, the sons of my mother have attacked me,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
and his group of Chassidim recited after him, “Behold, my beloved is pleasant,
even pretty.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(13) The innkeeper saw them
and his blood chilled with fear; Gd forbid, there was trouble in the city and
they had fled here! He ran and brought them into his house and asked, “Why has
my friend come to my house?<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
They told him the entire story. The innkeeper was filled with the joy of a simpleton.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
This Avigdor, who would not let them make a minyan in the village – now Gd had
brought him something to anger him. Immediately, he turned to them with a happy
face and told them, “Remove all worry from your hearts, my masters. We have
meat and fish here, thank Gd, and no lack of beverage, to eat and drink
according to Gd’s word.” And he bowed before the Rav and greeted him, and
looked with shame at his own clothing and his pants of animal hide. He said, “A
tzaddik comes to my inn and I greet him with mundane clothing!” The Rav nodded
in the manner of satisfaction, but in the depths of his heart he groaned for
the children of Gd who greet the holy Shabbat in such clothing. And when the
Rav groaned, so did his Chassidim. Shabbat is a day for Gd, and they were
grieving and tossed and moved about and away from their families. And so they
groaned, until the Rav rebuked them. They repressed their groans in their
hearts, and were silent…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And the Rav led the prayers
with holy passion, and when he arrived at <i>Lecha dodi</i> he actually left
physicality, and he </span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">applied his two legs and
went out to dance to greet the bride. And all who were present were elevated
from level to level, until the end of the entire prayer…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(14)
And Rabbi Uriel would [normally] minimize Torah speech, for Rabbi Uriel would
say, “It is not speaking of Torah that is important, but doing and fulfilling
the words of Torah.” Now Rabbi Uriel did not repress his holy speech, and he
intentionally brought himself down to simple speech, so that even the simplest
of his intimates would understand, and he taught the weekly parshah, Parshat
Vayetze Yaakov…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">After <i>Birkat
haMazon </i>they spread out on long benches and coloured boxes, and the host
and his wife ascended over the oven, and the house was silent… The candles were
guttering and the smoke column rose, and the Rav did not move from his place,
and he drank the smoke of the Shabbat candles. The members of the group lay
with open eyes and did not sleep in the bosom of their pleasures, and they
cloaked and crowned every statement that came from the mouth of that tzaddik,
and they taught mountains upon mountains of intentions<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> from
his every motion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Chapter
2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(17)
There is no snow as attractive as the snow of the end of Shabbat. What is that
snow like? Like the feathers of angels’ wings. Israel is beloved, for even the
ministering angels remove their wings in their honour and spread carpets for
them from the entrance of the synagogue to the entrance of their homes when
they depart to recline at the meal of King David<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[20]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">And
Rabbi Uriel sat and sang songs of the end of Shabbat, and he sighed and waited
and delayed until making Havdalah, for as long as Rabbi Uriel did not make
Havdalah, the keys of Gehennom<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[21]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> were
in his hands, and out of mercy for the wicked who would be returned to Gehennom
it was hard for him to pick up the cup of Havdalah in his hand, until they
showed him the light of the next Shabbat…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(18)
And so they sat. The most holy, the Rav, Rabbi Uriel, crowned in reverence and
the light of his face like the light of the seven days.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[22]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> To
his right Elyakim Aryeh, a Jew who knew to rejoice on Simchat Torah and cry on
Tishah b'Av. And beside Elyakim Aryeh, Leib the Silent, who prayed with force
until his teeth flew from his mouth. And beside Leib the Silent, Maharam the
Mohel, a Jew of stature. And beside Maharam the Mohel, the elder from the
village. He was the one who had brought the Torah scroll, from which they read
the weekly portion. And beside the elder from the village, Natan Nata, husband
of Chayah Sarah the storekeeper. And beside Natan Nata, husband of Chayah Sarah
the storekeeper, Yaakov Yehoshua, who was counted in the assembly of important
people. And beside Yaakov Yehoshua, Ephraim Shlomo, the great drinker. He began
to spice the Rav’s table with his jokes. Beside Ephraim Shlomo, the great
drinker, Zanvil Berish the shocheit, a Chassid who had been removed from
shechitah by the Parnas. And beside Zanvil Berish the shocheit, a Chassid who
had been removed from shechitah by the Parnas, Elimelech Meizlovitz, descendant
of Elimelech the water-drawer, about whom the Baal Shem Tov – his soul stored
in the heavens – had said, “Have you seen my friend Elimelech? When he prays,
the gates of Heaven are open.” Each day he would draw water and fill the barrels
of the needy for free, and pray at sunrise. Once he was coming from the well,
and he went to pray. It was harshly cold, and his sleeve froze and stuck to his
skin, and he could not put on tefillin. He lowered the sleeve by the handles of
the bolt until the flesh of his arm peeled, and his blood flowed, and he put on
tefillin, as it is said, “And my hands dripped myrrh upon the handles of the
bolt.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[23]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(21)
Rabbi Uriel remembered how the entrance of Shabbat was in silence and tearful
faces, and now it departed with great noise and the light of honour. Great fear
befell him – might this light only be from the <i>kelipah </i>of Nogah,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[24]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Gd
forbid? He turned his eyes from the joy and said, “Master of the Universe, who
sees the shame of the shamed and my broken heart, give Your light and truth to
those who walk before You.” Immediately, his limbs were moved by the light of
truth. At that time Rabbi Uriel turned his mind from the expulsion, and put his
heart to the secret of the Creator’s deeds, for all that happens in this world
is at Gd’s supervision, and there is no difference between that which happens
according to His will and that which happens that is not according to His will…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(22)
Rabbi Uriel arose and looked at the world itself, and he was inflamed with an
awesome passion from the chain of worlds and the refined realms, until he was
afraid that he might cease to exist. He put his forehead upon the window glass
to chill his awesome <i>dveikut</i>, so that he could keep his soul in his
body.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Chapter
3</span></b><b><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>(23) On a bed of grief Aydele lay, and there was no cure for her
illness… Suddenly she saw an angel before her, his length from one end of the
world to the other, full of eyes from the sole of his feet to his skull, his
garb fire, his clothing fire, entirely of fire, with a knife in his hand and a
drop of bile suspended from it.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[25]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Immediately, her face turned green and the joints of her spine popped and her
bones separated and Gd in His holy presence descended to her, as it were, and
appeared to her, and she gave Him her pure soul. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Snow
covered the ground, and the house was covered in shrouds…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(25)
[The children were reading a book of wondrous deeds of tzaddikim, including a
tzaddik bringing miraculous healing.] Rabbi Meshulam spread his two hands and
cried out from his heart, “All of the ‘ends’ have come and gone,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[26]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> this
cannot be, this cannot be.” And he jumped up and left the house. Where did
Meshulam go? Where did he turn? Rabbi Meshulam descended to the village, to
Rabbi Uriel, to seek mercy for his wife Aydele, that she not die.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Rabbi
Avigdor knew all that had been done.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn27" name="_ftnref27" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[27]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Rabbi Avigdor turned his two ancient eyes down upon his only daughter as she
was expiring, and his heavy tears flowed into her tears. He strengthened his
heart with [thoughts of] the merciful Gd, of great mercy, who would have mercy
upon her and send His help from His sanctum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">At that
same time Rabbi Avigdor had a thought in his heart – perhaps they would say
that in the merit of the prayer of Uriel his daughter Aydele had been healed,
and people would then stumble because of her! Rabbi Avigdor turned his two eyes
heavenward and he said, “Master of the Universe, please take her life
immediately, lest the power of falsehood<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn28" name="_ftnref28" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[28]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
increase in the world because of her, Gd forbid.” Not even a few moments passed
before the ‘end’ of the body was completed, and her soul exited in purity<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn29" name="_ftnref29" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[29]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(26)
The dead are forgotten from the heart,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn30" name="_ftnref30" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[30]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> and
her son Gershom entered their hearts, sitting in the yeshiva of Torah with his
relative, the Rabbi, several parasangs away from Shibush. When they remembered
Gershom, all of them began to speak of the glory of the Talmud which his
[future] father-in-law, Rabbi Zundel had bought for him, and they spoke in
praise of its commentaries…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(28)
[From the letter Rabbi Avigdor sent to Gershom after the shivah:] But after my
return I have some comfort when I remember that your mother, of blessed memory,
when she was about two years old, her nursemaid brought her to see the Strypa
river, and for an instant she turned her attention from your mother z”l, and
your mother z”l fell into the Strypa, and she sank in mighty waters beneath the
bridge, where the water was very deep, more than the height of two men. And
when a man from the butcher shop saw, he did not remove his clothes, and he
jumped into the water and he saved her from death and he brought her to my
home. And now see the wonders of the Perfect Intellect.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn31" name="_ftnref31" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[31]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The
deeds of Gd are great, for He wanted her to leave behind sons and daughters…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">I ask
one thing of you, this I request.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn32" name="_ftnref32" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[32]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Although I know that you will not join with empty, reckless people, but only
with those who revere Gd, of great hearts, still, I see fit to warn you firmly
against the sect of Chassidim who are suspected of nullifying the <i>brit</i> [<i>milah</i>],
drunkards who have spread like weeds…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Chapter
4</span></b><b><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>(29) During this season the luminaries in the heavens are
muddled, and they did not finish the Shacharit prayer before the time for
Minchah arrived, as though the sun had stopped serving its duty before Gd to
benefit the creatures from its light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">In the
study hall, the oven was cooled and a damp darkness enwrapped the household
implements, and a damp, cold draft blew from the books and fluttered into a
person’s limbs and sapped the desire to learn, as though Gd forbid all love of
Torah was gone from the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Gershom
triumphed and studied. In the corner, between the Ark and the window on the
east side of the study hall, he sat and read and learned and immersed himself
in Torah. This even though a spirit of sorrow hovered over him every day; from
the time of his mother’s death he imagined that the heavens were with him in
his pain…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">When he
remembered that she was dead he began to moan and cry, and to desire and yearn
and long for the day when he would return to his house and take her siddur and
join his voice with those of his young brothers when they stood in the
synagogue and recited Kaddish, and he would cry on the neck of his father until
his eyes wore out from tears. This is Gershom, who studied Torah and mourned
for his mother…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(30)
The youths were stretched out on their benches, and they devoured their nights
in their sleep. The entire world was deep in sleep, and the candle burned and
drew near to its end. The yahrtzeit candles were quiet in their sediment, and
the clock awoke people for midnight, and the time had arrived for Gershom to
sleep. But Gershom knew himself, that even if he would go to his dwelling and
lie on his bed, his rest would not be restful. Gd had cut his life with
suffering, and even if he would return to his dirt, his troubles would return
with him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">At that
time, Gershom began to question Gd’s justice, why He had created him…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(31)
The day was not yet lit, and the <i>shamash</i> called for service of the
Creator. But Gershom did not rise like a lion to the service of his Creator.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn33" name="_ftnref33" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[33]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Not
only did he not awaken the dawn,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn34" name="_ftnref34" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[34]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> but
he did not even merit to awaken himself. The shades were sealed, and the light
of sunrise did not shine through, and the household implements made black, long
shadows, to which the imagination gave life. Gershom kept himself in bed, and
they moved along and came to the point of reaching him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(33)
From evening to evening Gershom involved himself in Torah, and his thoughts
floated in the higher wisdoms. Most of the day, he stood on the ladder of the
book repository and read books and ascended the <i>sansinim<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn35" name="_ftnref35" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[35]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></i>
of wisdom. His mourning became sweeter, and Divine kindness sheltered him all
day. His heart was softened by this sensitivity he had inherited from his
mother, and he also softened it with popular <i>aggadot</i> which draw a
person’s heart to love of Gd. Gershom did not yet know the light of the truth
of the tzaddikim…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Chapter
5<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(34)
“Do not arouse, do not awaken,” the text says, and because the yeshiva students
mentioned his betrothed to [Gershom], all sorts of affection were awakened in
his heart…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">And
when Gershom arrived near his city, he found his brothers and sisters standing
by the <i>eruv</i> and waiting for him. They mobbed him and took his bags from
his hand, and while one embraced and hugged and kissed him,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn36" name="_ftnref36" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[36]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
another hung on him and kissed him…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Rabbi
Avigdor asked Gershom whether he had completed a tractate, and which tractate
he had completed. He told the cook, “Give him something to eat.”…</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>(36) [This scene takes place at the Passover Seder at Gershom’s
future in-laws:] They poured the cups and took their <i>Haggadot</i>. Rabbi
Zundel had one, his wife had one, and Menuchah had one. Gershom began to fear
that they might combine him to read with his betrothed from the same book. In
truth, Rabbi Zundel had ordered a <i>Haggadah </i>for Gershom, but since the
craftsman had bound it close to Pesach when he bound the Talmud, they had
decided not to use it because of some bit of chametz.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn37" name="_ftnref37" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[37]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Rabbi Zundel stood and took an old siddur from the rafter and gave it to
Gershom, and Gershom’s mind was eased.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">They
made Kiddush over wine and read the Haggadah, they drank and ate and drank and
blessed and finished. Rabbi Zundel took his pipe, and before he had put it in
his mouth, sleep caught him and he slept. And even the hostess did as her
husband, and dozed. And Gershom read and added, and since he had drunk four
cups his heart was full, and he sang in a pleasant voice. Menuchah heard and
was happy, as though a brother had been given to her and he was filling the
house with the sound of Torah. Gershom read <i>Chad gadya</i>, and Menuchah
answered him <i>Chad gadya, chad gadya d’zabin Abba</i>. And so they added and
read in Song of Songs,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn38" name="_ftnref38" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[38]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> him
a verse and her a verse, until they completed the entire book and parted from
each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Gershom
came to sleep in his grandfather’s room. While it was still day, they had
brought there his mother’s bed on which to sleep, so that his body would lie in
rest and pleasure. He ascended the bed, recited the first paragraph of Shema,
and covered himself in his mother’s cover. He had some childishness in him, as
though he was a baby lying beside his mother, until the Master of Dreams came
and made him sleep with verses of Song of Songs and the image of his betrothed…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(38) A
spirit of the outdoors grabbed Gershom by his cloak and drew him to tour a bit
in the city. Close to minchah, Gershom came to a street, hidden from the major
road. He saw two men standing by a house, looking for a tenth to come complete
the minyan, and he entered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Although
Shibush was a small town and Gershom was well-known in the town, they did not
recognize him when he entered. Once they recognized him, they thought he had
been sent by the Parnas, to harm them. [But] they remembered their Rebbe’s
curse and they said, “He is a dead man, and we need not fear him. If someone
should fear, he should fear.” When they saw his depressed appearance and his
charm, they understood that it was chance that he had come here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">The
room was small, its form like a dwelling. When he entered, Gershom thought some
Jew had set up a minyan in his home. When they reached <i>Kedushah</i> and he
heard them say <i>Nakdishcha</i>,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn39" name="_ftnref39" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[39]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> he
realized he had entered the domain of “the sect”. He leapt from his place as
though bitten by a snake, but the pleasantness of the prayer enveloped his
heart, and he did not leave. The enthusiasts saw him, and they no longer said
it was chance that he had come here…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(39)
After they finished <i>Maariv </i>they went out to dance, and they sang
pleasantly <i>Atah Bechartanu</i>.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn40" name="_ftnref40" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[40]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Gershom stood from the table and took a book in his hand and covered his face,
lest he see Jews acting immaturely. One of the group patted his shoulder and
pointed to the dancers, saying, “How beautiful are your feet, O princess.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn41" name="_ftnref41" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[41]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
After only a few moments, Gershom put down his book and concentrated fully on
watching the dance. Even though he knew the dance was a dance, he contemplated
each movement, and his lips began to move with the pleasant tune, until they
finished dancing and they blessed each other <i>Moadim l’simchah</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Gershom
left the <i>shtiebel</i>, and a sort of elixir of life bubbled in his limbs.
The nights of Nisan were at the height of their beauty, and a sweet smell came
from the fields close to the city, and he enjoyed the beauty. While walking he
met an old man. Gershom said, “Shalom.” The man brandished his stick and said,
“Empty one! I am about seventy years old,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn42" name="_ftnref42" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[42]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> and
I have lived near their temple all my life, and I never entered there! You,
once you arrived here your spirit rose rashly upon you and you entered their
house.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(40) In
those days he did not read Psalms or Job, which bring rest to the soul; sadness
was even more beloved to him than a page of Talmud, Gd forbid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Sometimes
he read <i>Reishit Chochmah</i> and he dampened the pages with tears, and he
saw himself dwelling in the seven levels of Gehennom, and he mentally accepted
upon himself all manner of punishment for his very existence… When he
remembered his betrothed, it was only with painful emotion, for she bound him
to this lowly world…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(42)
[While trying to sleep] Gershom could not repress his tears any longer, and he
cried bitterly from the great pain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Rabbi
Avigdor jumped from his bed and awakened his household. Rabbi Meshulam came and
soaked a towel in vinegar and rubbed it on his son’s chest, as he had done for
Aydele of blessed memory, for they thought he had heart pain. In truth, there
was pain in Gershom’s heart, but not as his household thought…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Chapter
6<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(43)
Rabbi Avigdor wanted to ease the heart of his household. Rabbi Avigdor said,
“Since my son-in-law Meshulam has entered his 36<sup>th</sup> year, I will make
a feast of thanks, for he has left the category of ‘Men of blood and trickery,
they will not live out half their lives.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn43" name="_ftnref43" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[43]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>’” He
sent the <i>shamash</i> and invited his relatives to a cup of blessing that
evening…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">[Menuchah’s]
friends began to embrace her and hug her and kiss her. One of them held her
with her two hands and said to her, “Come, I will tell you what I heard from
Father. So I heard from Abba: All day, Regional Rabbi discussed fine points of
Torah with Gershom. You think he defeated Gershom, it is not so, Gershom
defeated him. You think he did not admit it, it is not so, he said explicitly,
‘No one ever defeated me, only this young one.’ You think he was angry, it is
not so, he was ready to give Gershom a gift. And what was it? Ordination. When?
When you and Gershom are sitting and rejoicing at your wedding.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Menuchah
arranged a basket of fruit before her friends, to interrupt their prattle…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(45)
The Rabbi agreed [to participate]. Rabbi Avigdor added and invited the seven
councilmen.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn44" name="_ftnref44" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[44]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
A minyan gathered, and they recited <i>birkat hamazon</i> with “Elokeinu”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">To
fulfill the statement of our Sages<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn45" name="_ftnref45" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[45]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> that
those of refined mind in Jerusalem would not recline at a feast unless they
knew with whom they were reclining, Rabbi Avigdor opened and said, “Rabbi, the
elder official who sits to the right of his eminence is Rabbi Yaakov, son of
Rabbi Yitzchak, may Gd avenge his blood, from the grandchildren of the milkman
who would not eat meat from Shabbat to Shabbat, and from the line of the holy
Sh’lah. And the official who sits behind him is Rabbi Moshe haKohen, grandson
of the Ot Emet who is mentioned by the rabbis of the generation in their
responsa, who struck the men of the accursed sect of Shabbtai Tzvi with the rod
of his mouth. And the official who sits behind him is Rabbi Yosef Shemuel,
whose name is like that of his grandfather, Rabbi Yosef Shemuel who studied
Torah standing<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn46" name="_ftnref46" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[46]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
for 25 years, and learned the entire Talmud 42 times, fulfilling <i>v’dibarta
bam</i>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(46)
The Rabbi shut his eyes and focused his thoughts and began to speak on the
matter of the day, and he presented a sharp <i>pilpul</i> until the faces of
those reclining there were illuminated from his Torah. When he had finished, he
said to Gershom, “Gershom, what do you respond to this?” Gershom leaned over
and repeated the Rabbi’s words in summary, including the entire <i>pilpul</i>
in a few words to ensure he had heard it properly, and in his words he answered
part of it and refuted part of it, and tied to it a great <i>pilpul</i> on the
matter of the day. The Rabbi’s face glowed, and he said, “Beautiful,
beautiful!” and he did not stop showing love. Gershom bent his head and
repeated verses which keep people from arrogance…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(47)
While they were eating, the chazan arose and gave his voice pleasantly and
blessed with the <i>Mi sheBeirach</i> Rabbi Meshulam, the focus of the meal,
and all of the guests answered Amen with pleasant hearts. Even the Regional
Rabbi, who rebuked chazanim for going on at length with tunes, enjoyed it and
said “Yeyasher kochacha Chazan.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">The
officials asked the Chazan where he had heard the tune. The chazan deceived the
higher mind and that of the officials, saying, “I received this from my father,
and my grandfather, the tune from Sinai.” The chazan knew that the Regional
Rabbi did not tolerate new tunes, how much more so a tune which he had heard
from a passerby, such that one might be concerned that he was from the sect…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Once
they had mentioned the sect, the Regional Rabbi said, “I will also tell you a
story: Once an <i>avreich</i> fled from his father-in-law’s house and went to
his Rabbi’s house. They brought him from the road, to me. I instructed to cut
off one <i>peah </i>and half his beard,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn47" name="_ftnref47" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[47]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> so
that people would hear and see.”…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(49)
Once Rabbi Meshulam found [Gershom] upset, and decreed that he wander about
each day. The fields surrounded the city, and he wandered in the fields or sat
in the shade of a tree and looked at the gardens and the flowing rivers.
Creation smiled upon him. The Sun decorated the entire world, the trees and
bushes stood in their beauty, and the field produced pleasant aromas. But if
you have lost faith, there is nothing that all of the gifts of Creation can
give or add.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">An <i>avreich
</i>said to Gershom in the study hall, “Do we not say, ‘The commandments of Gd
are straight, they gladden the heart,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn48" name="_ftnref48" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[48]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>’ and
you learn with an angry face!” Gershom’s eyes streamed tears. “What can I say,
what can I tell? Gd has found my sins.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn49" name="_ftnref49" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[49]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
“She has fallen, she will not rise again,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn50" name="_ftnref50" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[50]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>” a
verse fell into his mouth,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn51" name="_ftnref51" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[51]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> from
a high roof to a deep pit.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn52" name="_ftnref52" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[52]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Man
only sees with his eyes. They said, “Gershom is crushing his body with Torah,”
and they blessed themselves, “We wish that we would be like Gershom.” And the
sectarians opposite them pointed at him with their fingers and said, “The curse
of the tzaddik, the curse of a tzaddik makes a mark.” What was Gershom like?
Like silk the tailor cuts, from which he makes a beautiful garment. Had he not
cut it, he could not have made a garment from it…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(50)
[The students who followed tzaddikim] said to Gershom, “You have black bile.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn53" name="_ftnref53" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[53]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> With
our Rebbe, you could see how to serve the Creator with joy.” But Gershom sealed
his ears and did not wish to hear their words. An avreich said to Gershom,
“Gershom, I will tell you something the likes of which you have not heard. When
I was a youth, I was troubled by doubts in faith, Gd save us, until my spirit
was dark and my life was not life. Once I told myself, ‘The world says there
are tzaddikim who help people with their counsel,’ and I began to draw close to
them and I merited faith in the sages…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Daily
they spoke to him and their words did not enter his heart. One time his heart
began to beat powerfully, and he desired and yearned to see the Rav, Rabbi
Uriel. The thirst inflamed his heart, and he cooled his heart with Torah. And
yet, the thirst reignited, like an oven. Even if he put his entire soul into
Torah, he could not extinguish the love.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn54" name="_ftnref54" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[54]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> If
he would tell his relatives, he would be disgraced with them and they would
mourn him as for the dead. If he would not tell, how could he bear it? He
turned his eyes heavenward and said, “Master of the Universe, I can depend only
upon Your mercy.” And he picked himself up and went out in secret.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">The
Mitnagdim were battling the Chassidim, and they exiled the Chassidim, each from
his in-laws’ home, and they separated them from their wives. They broke their
windows and dirtied their tzitzit, and they even sent their hand against their
house of prayer. If the Chassidim stood on Friday night to pray, then
uncircumcised ones, drunk from the wine of the Mitnagdim came and extinguished
the Shabbat candles, and did not leave light in the house of prayer, or a
candle, candelabra or lantern. And when the Chassidim complained to the noble,
the noble sent his servants and they destroyed the house of prayer at night…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(51)
That day, Zusha the Butcher travelled to the village, to Zanvil Berish the
Shocheit, to slaughter an animal. On the way he found a youth lying, arms and
legs outstretched. He pushed him with a rod and called out, “Arise, why do you
sleep? Are there insufficient benches in the study hall, such that you lie down
to sleep at a fork in the road?” When this one did not rise, Zusha jumped from
the wagon and saw that it was Gershom, grandson of the Parnas, lying on the
ground as if dead. He picked him up in his arms and revived him and put him in
the wagon and returned to the city with him. Had Zusha known that Gershom had
sought to go to Rabbi Uriel, he would have carried him there himself…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">In the
time of his illness Gershom read stories of wars and chronicles and <i>Tzitzat
Noveil Tzvi</i> about the deeds of Shabbtai Tzvi and his group. This reminded
Gershom of the Chassidim, and he remembered that he had been headed to that
Uriel, and his eyes darkened in shame. He said to himself, “Had my illness not
grabbed me on the road, I would have strayed and left the path.” He justified
the [Divine] verdict and saw his illness as a Divine kindness. He said of
himself, “To oppress you, to benefit you in the end,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn55" name="_ftnref55" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[55]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
that Gd had made him suffer in order to help him in the end. And from then on
he read and studied and learned <i>pilpul</i> as did the schismatic students,
until the <i>Chozer</i><a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn56" name="_ftnref56" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[56]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
arrived and brought him back to his root.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Chapter
7<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(52)
[The following scene takes place on Shabbat, when a <i>Chozer </i>visits
Shibush, and ends up at the table of Gershom’s family:] The <i>Chozer </i>saw
the host sitting, his head and bulk<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn57" name="_ftnref57" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[57]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> in a
book, and his son-in-law sitting opposite him, his head and bulk in a book, and
the eyes of the holy matron, the Shabbat Queen, gazing at them from the gravy,
and them not looking at her. The <i>Chozer </i>remembered his holy Rebbe, who
was actually greater than any man by two heads, and whose holy body was
different from on all other days, from Friday after immersing until after
Shabbat. The <i>Chozer </i>cried in his heart, “Master of the Universe, why
have You chased me out of the lot of Your beloved,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn58" name="_ftnref58" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[58]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> to
crush my feet in a desolate wilderness? I said I would travel from city to city
to educate properly the humble of the land,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn59" name="_ftnref59" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[59]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> to
guide them in paths of righteousness for Your Name,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn60" name="_ftnref60" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[60]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> and
I would keep myself from benefit, and I never challenged Your actions, Gd
forbid, but now sadness and worry almost fell into my heart on Your holy
Shabbat.”…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(53)
The <i>Chozer </i>joined in their battle of Torah. At first he wanted to show
them Torah with pleasant paths, but he realized that this was neither the place
nor the time, lest the Parnas recognize his type and expel him. He wanted to
stay here, since he had smelled the bottle of the youth<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn61" name="_ftnref61" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[61]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> and
found him to be a precious vessel, ready to receive purity. He hid his deeds
and concealed his ways…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">One
day, the <i>Chozer </i>said to Gershom, “Today we will learn a simple page of
Talmud.” Gershom was surprised; this genius who had left no great matter
[unlearned] wanted to learn a simple page of Talmud? The <i>Chozer </i>saw that
Gershom was surprised. The <i>Chozer </i>said to Gershom, “Come and see how
blind are the eyes of men. A man sees something and thinks, ‘How simple this
is,’ and in truth it contains many hints, and many matters depend on it.
Regarding them the verse says, ‘They do not look at the deed of Gd.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn62" name="_ftnref62" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[62]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>’”
And so he clarified and went in this matter, many awesome lessons. And once
Gershom’s heart was opened, and the secret of Gd hinted in the simple words was
revealed, the <i>Chozer </i>began to guide him from level to level on the rungs
of wisdom, until Gershom saw things that no one in Shibush had ever seen…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(55)
And [now] Gershom had already left all of the books and he did not read them;
he only remained alone in the house, sitting in the shadow of Gd and nursing
from sacred thought…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">(56)
Gershom stood and stood and reviewed all that his ears had heard, and from the
great energizing of his spirit he began to cry. He leaned against the wall and
stood as long as he stood.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn63" name="_ftnref63" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[63]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> In
the end he drew out his head and said, “The time has come to accept Shabbat.”
He uprooted himself from his place and went to the study hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">He came
to the study hall and found that most of the congregation had already gathered
for prayer and were sitting, saying Song of Songs. Some of them said it aloud,
with a tune, and some said it quietly. Gershom took a siddur and went to his
place by the <i>bimah</i>. He opened his siddur and put his head between his
two arms, and he stood for a brief time, until he drew out his head and began
to recite Song of Songs with terrifying passion and awesome might. He recited
and went until he reached the verse, “Draw me forth, I will run after you.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn64" name="_ftnref64" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[64]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
Then, when he arrived at the verse, “Draw me forth, I will run after you,” his
soul departed in purity. His lips were still moving, “The King brought me to
His chambers,<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn65" name="_ftnref65" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[65]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>”
“My soul left when He spoke.<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftn66" name="_ftnref66" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">[66]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>” So
died Gershom, grandson of Rabbi Avigdor, for Rabbi Avigdor had fought with
Rabbi Uriel, with the Chassidim he had fought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Arnold
J. Band<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">The suspense of the story is created
by the deliberately slow pace in which Agnon works his way to the inevitable
tragic ending. Situation by situation we learn more about Gershom, begin to
understand him as a person, and consequently watch his steady progress to his
doom in sympathy and horror…. The drama of Gershom is played out on two levels.
On the metaphysical plane he is doomed because of the curse of Reb Uriel, hence
the innocent victim of an ideological clash; on the psychological plane he is
victimized by his own hypersensitivity. Both tensions, the
metaphysical-ideological and the purely psychological convulse the tranquil folkloristic
milieu resulting in the inevitable death…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Israel
Cohen, The Buczacz Community, http://www.karniel.org/buchach/book/Community.htm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt;">Buczacz was characterized by people like R' Avraham David Ben
Asher (1770-1840). His life history and philosophy constitute a very important
chapter in Buczacz' history. We shall, however, suffice with a concise account
of his story. As a boy he already drew attention to himself by his great
Talmudic erudition and sharpness. Tsvi Hirsh, author of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Neta Sha'ashuim</i>, chose him as a
son-in-law for his daughter. At twenty he was ready to serve as the rabbi of
Yazlovitsh. Buczacz was a town of scholars and Talmudists who did not believe
in the tsadikim and their miracles. The war between the Talmudists and the
hasidim reached its peak at that time, and it greatly troubled R' Avraham. When
his son fell ill, his wife and friends urged him to bring the sick child to R'
Levi Yitskhak of Berditshev. After refusing for a long while, he finally
consented. From that day on he was a different man. He was greatly influenced
by R' Levi Yitskhak, who helped him in reconciling his Talmudic and hasidic
views, positions that were polarized in his town. The hasidim could not imagine
a greater joy, for many of them feared his mastery of the Talmud and rabbinical
law. Nevertheless, after he inherited his father-in-law's position, everyone
marveled at his religious knowledge but opposed his way of life, his following
the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov. In the practice of rabbinical law, he would
draw his judgment from the Talmud and from rabbinical authorities [poskim], and
not from the principles of the Kabbala. His wide-ranging literary work was
basically rationalistic, Talmudic and exegetic. His essay<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Da'at Kedoshim</i>, as well as<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Eshel Avraham</i>, was incorporated
as an independent section of the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Shulkhan
Arukh</i>. In addition to all of his other books, he wrote a Kabbalistic
commentary named<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Birkat David</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>[David's Blessing]. At one point in
his life his reason was somewhat shaken, and according to tradition he was
cured by the rabbi of Sasov. He acted as Buczacz' rabbi till the day he died,
approximately fifty years, and bestowed his spirit upon the town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Shemuel
II 14:14<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">כִּי מוֹת נָמוּת וְכַמַּיִם הַנִּגָּרִים אַרְצָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא יֵאָסֵפוּ וְלֹא
יִשָּׂא אֱלֹקִים נֶפֶשׁ וְחָשַׁב מַחֲשָׁבוֹת לְבִלְתִּי יִדַּח מִמֶּנּוּ
נִדָּח:</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">For we will certainly die,
and [we are] like water spilled on the ground which will not be gathered in,
and Gd will not show favour to anyone, but He plans lest anyone who is pushed
away remain pushed away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rabbi
David Altschuler, Metzudat David to Shemuel II 14:14<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ועוד הלא אין אלקים נושא פנים לשום נפש ושלם ישלם לאיש כמפעלו ולטובת האדם
חושב מחשבות לשלם גמול בזה העולם לבל יהיה האדם הנדח במעשיו מוטרד ונדח ממנו יתברך...</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Further, Gd does not show
favour to anyone, and He repays each person according to his deeds, and for a
person’s benefit He plans to give just desserts in this world, lest a person
who is pushed away because of his deeds be banished from Gd…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Sichot haRan 189, </span></b><a href="http://breslev.eip.co.il/?key=2330"><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;">http://breslev.eip.co.il/?key=2330</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">פַּעַם אַחַת הָיָה נֶכְדּוֹ זִכְרוֹנוֹ
לִבְרָכָה</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">מֻטָּל עַל
עֶרֶשׂ מֵחֳלִי הַפָּאקִין </span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">[</span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">אַבַּעְבּוּעוֹת שְׁחוֹרוֹת</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">] </span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">רַחֲמָנָא לִצְלָן וְהָיָה קוֹבֵל לְפָנַי מְאד שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ צַעַר גָּדוֹל
מִזֶּה מְאד וְסִפֵּר לִי אָז</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span dir="LTR" style="background: white; font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> </span></span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">וְאָמַר שֶׁיֵּשׁ
דַּרְכֵי ד</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">' </span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר
לַהֲבִינָם כִּי אִיתָא שֶׁאֵצֶל הָאֲרִ</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">"</span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">י זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">נִסְתַּלֵּק בֵּן אֶחָד וְאָמַר</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">שֶׁנִּסְתַּלֵּק בִּשְׁבִיל הַסוֹד שֶׁגִּלָּה לְתַלְמִידוֹ רַבִּי חַיִּים
וִיטַאל זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה וַהֲלא בֶּאֱמֶת הָאֲרִ</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">"</span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">י הָיָה מֻכְרָח לְגַלּוֹת לוֹ כִּי רַבִּי חַיִּים וִיטַאל
הִפְצִיר בּוֹ מְאד</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
</span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">וּכְשֶׁהִפְצִיר בּוֹ הָיָה מֻכְרָח
לְגַלּוֹת לוֹ כִּי אָמַר שֶׁלּא בָּא לָעוֹלָם כִּי אִם לְתַקֵּן נִשְׁמָתוֹ שֶׁל
רַבִּי חַיִּים וִיטַאל זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה נִמְצָא שֶׁהָיָה מֻכְרָח מִן
הַשָּׁמַיִם לְגַלּוֹת לוֹ הַסּוֹד, וְאַף עַל פִּי כֵן נֶעֱנַשׁ עַל יְדֵי זֶה
כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וְזֶהוּ דַּרְכֵי ד</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">' </span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לְהָבִין בַּשֵּׂכֶל בְּשׁוּם אפֶן. וְהַמּוּבָן
מִדְּבָרָיו לְעִנְיַן עַצְמוֹ שֶׁכָּל צַעֲרוֹ וְיִסּוּרִים וְצַעַר בָּנָיו
שֶׁיִּחְיוּ הַכּל הוּא רַק מֵחֲמַת שֶׁעוֹסֵק עִמָּנוּ לְקָרְבֵנוּ לְד'
יִתְבָּרַךְ וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהוּא מֻכְרָח לָזֶה</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">כִּי בְּוַדַּאי ד' יִתְבָּרַךְ רוֹצֶה בָּזֶה כִּי הוּא
יִתְבָּרַךְ חוֹשֵׁב מַחֲשָׁבוֹת לְבַל יִדַּח מִמֶּנּוּ נִדָּח וְאַף עַל פִּי
כֵן הָיָה לוֹ יִסּוּרִים קָשִׁים גְּדוֹלִים מְאד עַל יְדֵי זֶה</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
</span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">כִּי הוּא דַּרְכֵי ד</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">' </span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל וְהָיָה הוֹלֵךְ וּמְסַפֵּר לְפָנַי
צַעֲרוֹ הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ מִזֶּה שֶׁנֶּכְדּוֹ חוֹלֶה כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל וְאָמַר
שֶׁהוּא רוֹצֶה שֶׁהוּא בְּעַצְמוֹ יִהְיֶה חוֹלֶה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> <span style="background: white;">בְּעַד הַתִּינוֹק הַנַּ</span></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">"</span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">ל וְאָמַר שֶׁהוּא מַרְגִּישׁ כָּל גְּנִיחוֹת הַתִּינוֹק
בְּלִבּוֹ וְכוּ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR" style="background: white; font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>'</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span> <span lang="HE">אַחַר כָּךְ אָמַר</span></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">: </span><span lang="HE" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">אַךְ זאת יֵחָשֵׁב לִי לְטוֹבָה שֶׁגַּם כְּשֶׁאָדָם אַחֵר
יֵשׁ לוֹ חוֹלֶה בְּתוֹךְ בֵּיתוֹ וּמֵבִיא לִי פִּדְיוֹן אוֹ מְבַקֵּשׁ
לְהִתְפַּלֵּל עָלָיו יֵשׁ לִי גַּם כֵּן צַעַר כָּזֶה מַמָּשׁ כְּכָל הַנִּזְכָּר
לְעֵיל גַּם כְּשֶׁאֶחָד מֵאֲנָשֵׁינוּ שֶׁהָיָה מְקרָב מִתְרַחֵק עַצְמוֹ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם
יֵשׁ לִי צַעַר כָּזֶה מַמָּשׁ בְּלִבִּי כְּכָל הַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל...</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Once his grandson z”l was
lying in bed with smallpox, Gd save us, and He complained before me greatly
that he felt great pain from this. He told me then that there are Divine ways
which one cannot understand; it is found regarding the Ari z”l that he lost a
son, and he said that the reason was that he had revealed a secret to his
student, Rabbi Chaim Vital z”l. In truth, the Ari had needed to reveal it to
him, for Rabbi Chaim Vital had pushed him greatly, and this pushing had
required him to reveal it, for [the Ari] said that he had come to this world
only to repair the soul of Rabbi Chaim Vital z”l. So Heaven required him to
reveal the secret to him, and yet he was punished, as noted. This is one of the
Divine ways which one cannot understand rationally, at all. From [Rebbe
Nachman’s] words it was understood regarding himself, that all of his pain and
suffering, and the pain of his children, may they live, were all because he worked
to bring us close to Gd. Even though he was required to do this, for Gd
certainly wants this, as Gd plans lest anyone who is pushed away remain pushed
away, and yet, he suffered greatly in this way…</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Sefer
Dorot HeChadash<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מעשה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">בהרב הגאון</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">המובהק</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הקדוש מוה'</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אברהם</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">דוד ז"ל</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מביטשאטש</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">בעהמ"ח</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ספר</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ברכת דוד כי פעם</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אחד הלך לבית</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הכסא</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אז</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">בא</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אחד</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ממתנגדיו והסגיר</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">בעדו</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הדלת בבית</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הכסא כמו</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">שעה אחת והצדיק</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הקדוש ז"ל היה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מצטער</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מאד מהריח</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">רע,</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">גם</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">שהיה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מוכרח</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">לצמצם מחשבותיו</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הקדושים</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אשר</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">לא</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">פסק</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">רגע</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מלחשוב מחשבות</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">קדושות</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">בדביקות</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הבורא</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">כל עולמים.</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">וכאשר הרגישו בני ביתו</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ופתחו לו</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הדלת</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אמרו</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">לו כי</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">יתנקם בשונאיו ויחרים</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אותם בנדוי</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ושמתא מפני שזהו</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">כבוד שמים</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">וכבוד</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">התורה.</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">וכמעט</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">שמע</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">לעצתם</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ולקח</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">שופר להריע</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">בחרם</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ונדוי,</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אז</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אמר</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הקדוש</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">לעצמו</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אמור</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">נא הבאמת ותמים אתה חושש לכבוד שמו ית' וכבוד תורתו? אולי</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אתה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">חושש</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">לכבוד</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">עצמך,</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">במה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">תדע</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">להבחין האמת? אז</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ברגע נהפך</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הקדוש לאיש</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אחר</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">וחדל</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מעשות הדבר</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הזה.</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It once happened with the
great and holy Rabbi Avraham David of Buczacz, author of <i>Birkat David</i>,
that he went to the outhouse, and one of his opponents locked him in the
outhouse for about an hour. The righteous and holy sage was very upset because
of the fumes, and because he needed to narrow his holy thoughts, for he never
ceased thinking holy thoughts, cleaving to the Creator of all. And when his
household realized and opened the door for him, they said he should avenge
himself against his enemies and issue a ban against them, for the honour of
Heaven and Torah. He almost listened to their counsel, and he took a shofar to
trumpet the ban, but then the holy one said to himself, “Tell me – are you
truly and completely concerned for the honour of His Name and His Torah?
Perhaps you are concerned for your own honour – how will you know the truth?”
In a moment the holy one becamse someone else, and refrained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;">7.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Aryeh
Veinman, <i>Aggadah va’Amanut: Iyunim b’Yetzirat Agnon</i>, pg. 84-85<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מבחינות</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">שונות,
"הנדח" מזכיר</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">את</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">"מעשה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">בבן</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הרב",</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אחד</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">משלשה עשר סיפורי</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">המעשיות</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">של רבי</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">נחמן</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מברצלב.</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">משותפים</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">לשני הסיפורים אותו המצב
והדגם העלילתי של תלמיד, מרקע משפחתי אנטי-חסידי, השואף לדעת</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">שמחה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">בתורתו</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">והנמשך</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">לצדיק כדי</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">שהוא יוכל</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">למלא</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">את</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">החסר. בשני הסיפורים,</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">המתנגד</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הוא</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">קרוב</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">משפחה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">לדמות... ובשני הסיפורים,</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">האוירה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הלמדנית אינה עונה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">על</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הדרישות</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הנפשיות</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">של</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">הדמות</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">ומחניקה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">אותה</span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"> </span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;">מבחינה רוחנית</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="HE" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-hansi-font-family: Futura-Book;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>..</span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On various levels, <i>HaNidach</i>
recalls <i>Maaseh b’Ben haRav</i>, one of thirteen stories of Rebbe Nachman
miBreslov’s deeds. Common to the two stories are the situation and model of a
student from an anti-Chassidic family who longs to know joy in his Torah, and
who is drawn to the <i>tzaddik</i> so that he will fill that which is lacking.
In both stories, the opponent is a relative of the hero… And in both stories,
the intellectual atmosphere does not meet the spiritual needs of the hero, and
strangles him spiritually…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Futura-Book; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Futura-Book;">8.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Stephen
Katz, <i>The Centrifugal Novel</i>, pg. 52<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Reflecting on the virtual
silence in Agnon’s fiction concerning Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hacohen Kook
(1865-1935), among the few individuals to have had a profound influence on him,
Michael Shashar appears to be expressing the attitude held by many. His
explanation, supported variously through others’ as well, is that “he was
afraid to approach Rav Kook’s grand image lest he fail in his task.” However,
as <i>A Guest for the Night</i> proves, the author did include, and publish, an
account of the Rav Kook in its early editions…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Futura-Book; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In what seems to be one such
example, the Guest, in his argument with the rabbi of Shibush, echoes the views
of the Rav Kook as he defends the young Zionists from the Shibush rabbi’s
accusations that, by playing soccer, they desecrate the Sabbath… During a later
confrontation, having added more to the previous statement, the Guest
concludes, “Father in heaven, if you can suffer them, we can suffer them too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> A
talmudic phrase for a small place in which one might sit while grieving (Taanit
30b)<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> A biblical phrase used to describe the city of
Jericho when it anticipated a military assault (Joshua 6:1)<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> A popular phrase in Chassidut; see Sfat Emet Lech
Lecha 5647<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Moshe’s prayer for Miriam in Bamidbar 12:13<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> This may
be connected to Hosheia 4:2 and Gittin 57b on the merging of blood of martyrs.<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">צדיק בא לעיר</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> is a standard announcement
in Chassidic communities, heralding the arrival of a Rebbe.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Shibush
is S.Y. Agnon’s regular stand-in for his hometown of Buczacz, which had its own
troubled history with Chasidim and Mitnagdim. See Israel Cohen, The Buczacz
Community, <a href="http://www.karniel.org/buchach/book/Community.htm">http://www.karniel.org/buchach/book/Community.htm</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> This is
a Chassidishe saying; see, for example, <a href="http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pagefeed/hebrewbooks_org_24376_47.pdf">http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pagefeed/hebrewbooks_org_24376_47.pdf</a>
and <a href="http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pagefeed/hebrewbooks_org_23187_29.pdf">http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pagefeed/hebrewbooks_org_23187_29.pdf</a>.
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> This is
a kabbalistic term for the Divine throne, based on various passages in Tanach<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Sanhedrin 95a; Gd asks King David how long the guilt for the massacre of Nov
will go unpunished<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> A
reference to the tefillin of a Jew who was persecuted by the Romans for wearing
tefillin; they were transmuted into dove wings so that he could escape
detection. Shabbat 49a, based on Psalms 68:14.<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> To truly
appreciate this scene, one must see Sefer Dorot heChadash with a similar and
yet very different story involving R’ Avraham Dovid of Buczacz. See <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">תחנות ביצירה החסידית של עגנון </span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> pg. 82-83.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn13">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> See
Samuel II 14:14. And one must see Rebbe
Nachman of Breslov, Sichot haRan 189, <a href="http://breslev.eip.co.il/?key=2330">http://breslev.eip.co.il/?key=2330</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn14">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Reciting Song of Songs is an ancient practice for Friday afternoons<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn15">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Song of
Songs 1:6<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn16">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Ibid.
1:16<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn17">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Yirmiyahu 11:15, although taken out of context<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn18">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> This
phrase is used in Tanya 1:33 to describe the joy of a simpleton when he can host a human king<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn19">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Eruvin
21b uses this phrase for deducing mountains upon mountains of laws from every
element of a biblical letter<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn20">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[20]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> This
name for Melaveh Malkah is brought in Rabbi Tzaddok haKohen’s Pri Tzaddik
Devarim Motzaei Yom haKippuim 11<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn21">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[21]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The
concept of keys of Gehennom appears in various midrashim<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn22">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[22]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> See
Chagigah 12b, on the light of the first seven days of Creation, created on Day
One and replaced by the light created on Day Four, and stored for the righteous
in the future<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn23">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[23]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Song of Songs 5:5<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn24">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[24]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> A
mystical element which is situated between purity and impurity; on Friday night
it becomes holy, but that leaves with the departure of Shabbat<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn25">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[25]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The
image of a person on the deathbed witnessing the “angel of death”, with this
appearance, is found in Avodah Zarah 20b.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn26">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[26]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Psikta
Zutrita Shemot 3:20, among other places<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn27">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref27" name="_ftn27" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[27]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Esther 4:1<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn28">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref28" name="_ftn28" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[28]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The
concept of <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">כח השקר</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> is
popular in chassidut; see Shem miShemuel<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn29">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref29" name="_ftn29" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[29]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> See
Sanhedrin 68a on the death of Rabbi Eliezer<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn30">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref30" name="_ftn30" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[30]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Berachot 58b speaks of the dead being forgotten from the heart<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn31">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref31" name="_ftn31" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[31]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Job
37:16<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn32">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref32" name="_ftn32" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[32]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Psalms 27:4<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn33">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref33" name="_ftn33" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[33]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Avot
5:20, Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 1:1 <span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn34">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref34" name="_ftn34" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[34]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Psalms 57:9 and Berachot 4a<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn35">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref35" name="_ftn35" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[35]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> See
Song of Songs 7:9<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn36">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref36" name="_ftn36" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[36]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> See
Song of Songs Rabbah 8:1, which uses this phrase for a reunion of long-lost
siblings<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn37">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref37" name="_ftn37" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[37]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The
fear is that chametz in the paste might not dry out and become inedible before
Passover. See https://books.google.ca/books?id=B8b8LEI2nAoC&pg=PA190&lpg=PA190.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn38">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref38" name="_ftn38" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[38]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> There
is an old practice of reading Song of Songs after the Seder, until falling
asleep. See the Haggadah of the Shelah pg. 170a.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn39">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref39" name="_ftn39" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[39]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> This is
the text of Kedushah in the siddur popular among Chasidim; others say <i>Nekadeish</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn40">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref40" name="_ftn40" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[40]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> From
the amidah of holidays.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn41">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref41" name="_ftn41" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[41]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Song of
Songs 7:2<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn42">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref42" name="_ftn42" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[42]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> A
loaded phrase for Passover! See Mishnah Berachot 1:5, cited in the Haggadah.<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn43">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref43" name="_ftn43" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[43]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Psalms 55:24<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn44">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref44" name="_ftn44" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[44]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">שבע טובי העיר</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> were the city council in the
times of the Talmud, and similar bodies were appointed in Jewish communities
throughout the ages.<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn45">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref45" name="_ftn45" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[45]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Sanhedrin 23a; and Agnon used this passage to introduce himself in his Nobel
Prize acceptance speech<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn46">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref46" name="_ftn46" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[46]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Per
Megillah 21a, this is the way Torah was learned until the death of Rabban
Gamliel, when people weakened and they began to sit<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn47">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref47" name="_ftn47" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[47]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> A sign
of humiliation; see Samuel II 10:4<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn48">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref48" name="_ftn48" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[48]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Psalms
19:9<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn49">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref49" name="_ftn49" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[49]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Genesis 44:16<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn50">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref50" name="_ftn50" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[50]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Amos
5:2; and see Berachot 4b on ways to read this verse positively and negatively<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn51">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref51" name="_ftn51" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[51]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> On the significance of a verse falling into one’s
mouth as an omen, see Berachot 55b<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn52">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref52" name="_ftn52" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[52]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> See
Chagigah 5b<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn53">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref53" name="_ftn53" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[53]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> In
Greek medicine, this was a cause of depression; Rambam and others mention it in
this connection, too.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn54">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref54" name="_ftn54" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[54]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Song of
Songs 8:7<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn55">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref55" name="_ftn55" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[55]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Devarim
8:16<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn56">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref56" name="_ftn56" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[56]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> A <i>Chozer</i>
is a follower of a Rebbe who also has an unusually strong memory; he is tasked
with memorizing the Rebbe’s speech on Shabbat, and recording it after Shabbat.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn57">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref57" name="_ftn57" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[57]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> A
mishnaic expression for one’s entire body being immersed in something; see
Eruvin 10:6 and Succah 2:7.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn58">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref58" name="_ftn58" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[58]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> See
Samuel I 26:19, where King David says something similar<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn59">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref59" name="_ftn59" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[59]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Isaiah
11:4<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn60">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref60" name="_ftn60" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[60]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Psalms 23:3<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn61">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref61" name="_ftn61" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[61]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> An
expression for testing someone, usually intellectually; Shabbat 108a and Bava
Batra 22a<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn62">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref62" name="_ftn62" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[62]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Isaiah
5:12<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn63">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref63" name="_ftn63" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[63]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Agnon
uses the same phrase for someone whose death is pending in <span dir="RTL" lang="HE">לפנים מן החומה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> pg. 32.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn64">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref64" name="_ftn64" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[64]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Song of
Songs 1:4<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn65">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref65" name="_ftn65" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[65]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Ibid.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn66">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/torczyner/Documents/classes/agnon/hanidachsheet.docx#_ftnref66" name="_ftn66" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[66]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Ibid.
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The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-5666068309719000222017-02-01T09:01:00.000-05:002017-02-01T09:01:48.359-05:00S.Y. Agnon on Parshat Bo: A Journey HomeA thought on Parshat Bo, courtesy of S. Y. Agnon:<br />
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Over a two-week period our ancestors were told how to prepare for our national Exodus. Those commands, recorded in our parshah, described three activities:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Designation and sacrifice of the korban pesach (Shemot 12:1-6);</li>
<li>Placement of blood from the korban pesach on the entrances of their homes (12:7, 21-23);</li>
<li>Circumcision of all males (12:43-50).</li>
</ul>
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We could view these three activities as elements of the korban pesach. However, we might also see in them a broader theme, crucial for the Exodus. <br />
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<b>Agnon’s Exodus</b><br />
In the late 1920’s, S. Y. Agnon wrote a short story called <i>L’Veit Abba</i>, “To Father’s House”. The protagonist begins the story working at home, but he is frustrated by labour which “has neither beginning nor end, which you start without benefit and from which one can never walk away.” He also suffers from an uncomfortable sense that he does not belong there. Abruptly, he decides to go to his father, whom he has not seen for many years, for Pesach. He departs in haste, but he then encounters delays which may be a product of his own ambivalence about visiting his father. Once in his father’s town, he encounters a heretical individual who wants to discuss the end of the book of Yehoshua. A little further along he finds himself in a tavern with “a set table” holding bottles of liquor, even as Pesach is about to begin. Finally, he arrives at his father’s home – but he remains outside, unable to enter, as the story ends.<br />
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<i>To Father’s House</i> works on several levels, one of which is a parable for our departure from Egypt. As the Talmud (Sotah 11a) describes, our labour in Egypt was perpetual and unrewarding, and we shared the protagonist’s sense of not belonging. Suffering made us long for the house of our Father, and we left in haste. (Shemot 12:11) We displayed great ambivalence, though, en route to our land; we even claimed that we had been better off in Egypt. The end of the book of Yehoshua (24:2-4) is part of the Haggadah, and the tavern’s “set table” parallels the Shulchan Orech phase of the Seder – but the heretic as well as the liquor, presumably grain-based, don’t fit at a reunion with our Father on Pesach. These events represent our own troubled journey to Israel. And in the end, like the generation of Jews who left Egypt, the hero does not actually enter the land.<br />
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<b>Leaving Egypt or Going Home?</b><br />
With this story, Agnon does more than summarize forty years of troubled travel; he puts the Exodus itself in proper perspective, as a central stage in a greater arc. The arc starts with the life of the family of Avraham and Sarah in Canaan, continues with our descent to Egypt, and sees our subjugation in Egypt. Then we leave Egypt, receive the Torah at Sinai, build a Mishkan and journey home. As Agnon hints with his title, the Exodus is not merely <i>yetziat Mitzrayim</i>, a group of slaves departing from Egypt. Rather, it is <i>l’veit Abba</i>, a journey of Hebrews back to the home in which we were raised in Bereishit, from which we had departed, and to which we had always been meant to return. <br />
Seen in this light, the Exodus requires that we be identified as the rightful heirs of Avraham and Sarah, to merit that return home.<br />
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This is the role of the three preparatory activities outlined in our parshah:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Circumcision was Avraham’s mitzvah, and it became the mark of the Jew.</li>
<li>Korbanot were a hallmark of Avraham and Sarah, who built altars each time they settled a new part of Canaan.</li>
<li>Placement of blood from the korban pesach marks the structure as a home dedicated to G-d, like the landmark tent of Avraham and Sarah.</li>
</ul>
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Having performed these deeds, we were visibly ready to return home.<br />
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<b>Arrival</b><br />
The conclusion of this arc comes in Yehoshua, Chapter 5, when G-d “removes the shame of Egypt” from our nation. (Yehoshua 5:9) The males are circumcised. (5:2-8) They bring a korban pesach. (5:10) And they camp in Gilgal (5:10), their first step in building a home in the land.
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One odyssey met its completion long ago, but our religious and physical wanderings continue to describe a still longer arc. While we work toward the final Exodus, let us remember the need to identify ourselves as part of that original family. Whether through circumcision, korban and the Jewish home, or through other actions, we must identify ourselves as descendants of Avraham and Sarah, as part of meriting the long-awaited return To Father’s House.
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<i>Note: I call Gd "Father" here not to be misogynist, but because it fits Agnon's story.</i>The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-24580147195319795552017-01-26T08:55:00.001-05:002017-01-26T09:09:08.117-05:00Dangerous BedfellowsI've been trying to figure out a way to express this for some time. Then last week, I began a new chabura, and found what I think is the right language.
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We are learning the book of Yeshayah (Isaiah). One of Yeshayah's persistent messages for the leaders of his day (2500-2700 years ago) was a warning against alliances with the nations around us, like Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. The same message came from the prophet Yirmiyah. Their point was that we should rely on G-d, and that these new friends shared neither our faith in G-d, nor our values. Further, the alliances were also simply bad investments: some nations violated our trust, while others were too weak to help us. In the end, we paid the price by falling prey either to our "allies" or to our foes.
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But we've never outgrown our national predilection for partnerships. Whether because we love peace, or because we are insecure in our own identity, or because we fear assault, we tend to accept every olive branch extended our way - regardless of the quality of the match. This led, for example, to an awkward relationship with apartheid South Africa in the 1970's, engaging in trade even as Israel condemned apartheid on the world stage.
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Today, the ally many Jews in Israel and abroad seek is the new American President Donald Trump. Applauding his election may have started as a way to spite his predecessor, but <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-friend-in-white-house-benjamin-netanyahu-donald-trump-phone-call-tel-aviv-jerusalem-a7541031.html" target="_blank">Israeli officials have come to speak of him as a friend and ally</a>.
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True, the new president has spoken positively of Israel and negatively of her enemies, and has promised significant steps in Israel's apparent favour. Nonetheless, one wonders what Yeshayah or Yirmiyah, would have to say. Even for those who are fans of Trump, and aside from Trump's many sins, presumably the prophets who opposed alliances with Assyria, Babylon and Egypt would not look more kindly on identifying closely with an American president, whose list of deficiencies includes the fact that he will face election in just a few short years. Swept into office by national reaction to the overreaches of the left, President Trump may face a broom of his own in 2020 - and what will be the fate of those who yoked their causes to his?
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Normally, I am an optimist, but I fear the timeless messages of Yeshayah may come back to haunt our nation.
The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-18158732576093296122016-11-23T00:01:00.000-05:002016-11-23T20:07:56.329-05:00The Price of Exclusion<i>A thought on Parshat Chayei Sarah</i>:
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The villains of Bereishit are rarely “Monsters of the Week”, appearing for a single episode, threatening the Jewish protagonist and being vanquished by G-d and our intrepid heroes. Many of the foes introduced in the Torah’s early chapters – Aram, Canaan, Amalek, Edom and Moav, for example – participate in centuries-long biblical arcs of antagonism, and along the way they teach us lessons about our identity and mission. One such foe is the nation of Midian.
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<b>A History of Midian</b><br />
At first, Midian seems like a footnote in our genealogy. After Yitzchak marries Rivkah, Avraham weds Keturah, and she births six sons. Midian, the fourth of these sons, does not stay in Canaan long; he is exiled to the east, along with his brothers and the anonymous children of unnamed concubines. As Bereishit 25:6 states, Avraham “gave them gifts, and he sent them away from his son, Yitzchak,” lest there be any confusion about who would be included in the Jewish national line.
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Midian is far from done, though. They re-surface to play a role in drawing Yosef from the pit, and sending him down to Egypt. (Bereishit 37:28) Later, Moshe becomes a fugitive from Egyptian justice and flees to Midian. (Shemot 2:15) Further along, the Moabites recruit Midian for support in hiring Bilam to curse the Jews. (Bamidbar 22:4) Then, when Bilam fails to harm the Jews, Midianite women join with Moabite women to seduce the Jews and draw them into idolatry. A Midianite princess, Kozbi, publicly embraces Zimri, the prince of the tribe of Shimon. (Bamidbar 25)
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<b>The Midian Motif</b><br />
When we examine these stories of Midian carefully, we recognize two consistent Midianite markers.
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First, the Midianite national subconscious remembers being excised from the line of Avraham, and intentionally or unintentionally, they pay back their ancestor by separating his other descendants from the family:<br />
Yosef is separated from his family via the agency of Midianites;<br />
Yitro, a Midianite, welcomes Moshe to spend decades apart from the Jews enslaved in Egypt.<br />
Kozbi separates Zimri from the Jewish people, drawing him to her before the entire nation.
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Second, Midian tempts the isolated Jew sexually and religiously, attempting to strip our ethnic and religious identities:<br />
When Yosef descends to Egypt via Midianite agency, the wife of Potifar attempts to lure him into a liaison – an act which Yosef labels “a sin against G-d.” (Bereishit 39:9) Neither immorality nor idolatry actually takes place, and that is a credit to Yosef’s righteousness.<br />
When Moshe goes to Midian, he marries Tzipporah, the daughter of Yitro, “the priest of Midian”. The act has the appearance of impropriety; indeed, Zimri justifies his deed with Kozbi by asking Moshe, “Son of Amram! Is she prohibited or permitted? And if you will say she is prohibited, then who permitted the daughter of Yitro for you?” (Sanhedrin 82a; and see Sotah 43a) Certainly, Moshe’s marriage to Tzipporah and relationship was ultimately neither immoral nor idolatrous, but like Yosef’s refusal of Potifar’s wife, that is a credit to the righteousness of the participants. [It is also worth noting that Midrash Aggadah to Shemot 18:3 ascribes to Yitro a quasi-successful attempt to educate Moshe and his children in idolatry.]<br />
Finally, in luring Zimri and other Jews, Midian succeeds in separating Jews from their family, leading them first into immorality, and then into the idolatry of Baal Peor. Midian has achieved her revenge.
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<b>The Moral of Midian</b><br />
Perhaps Midian’s cross-generational retribution carries a message for the descendants of Avraham. I have not seen any traditional commentator criticize Avraham’s treatment of Keturah’s children, and I would never suggest otherwise. The apparent motivation of averting challenges to Yitzchak’s inheritance is sensible. Nonetheless, the most benign separatism remains exclusive, and our human social drive naturally resents exclusion.
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For all of its emphasis upon darchei noam [paths of pleasantness] and community, Torah is exclusive, even within our family. Certain rituals are limited to particular groups, and laws like kashrut and tumah compel the observant to keep a measured distance from the non-observant. May we learn from the saga of Midian, and recognize the pain this inflicts. Even when such pain is necessary, we would do well to find methods of mitigation beyond “Avraham gave them gifts.” The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-8919502733313071772016-11-10T08:01:00.000-05:002016-11-10T08:01:13.897-05:00Avshalom, King Yoshiyahu and President Obama walk into a barFrom my vantage point, it seems that Avshalom, King Yoshiyahu and the American Democratic Party all fell victim to a common leadership mistake.<br />
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About 3,000 years ago, wicked Avshalom launched a failed coup against his father, King David. Achitofel, described in Tanach as the greatest counselor of all time, advised Avshalom to lead an immediate assault to eliminate his father, but instead he listened to the flattery of a shepherd who said that the whole nation was on his side, and he had already won. If Avshalom had not taken the nation's support for granted, he might not have taken three lances in the heart. (See Shemuel II 16-18)<br />
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About four centuries after Avshalom's death, righteous King Yoshiyahu suffered not three lances, but three hundred. The prophet Yirmiyah warned him not to go to war against Egypt, but he didn't listen; Yoshiyahu thought the nation was behind his attempts to restore Torah law, and that their merit would ensure victory. The result was his death, and the end of his pious campaign. (See Eichah Rabbah 1:53)<br />
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Which brings us to Donald Trump's surprising victory in this week's American election. Analysts will debate this upset for a long time to come, but from my perspective there is at least one clear lesson in the rejection of President Obama's legacy by sixty million American voters: Never take for granted that the nation is behind you .<br />
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This president passed healthcare, trade deals, the Iran nuclear agreement, environmental legislation and more by aggressive lobbying or executive order. As the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/us/politics/obama-era-legacy-regulation.html?_r=0" style="color: blue;" target="_blank"> New York Times </a> wrote, "Once skeptical of executive power, Obama has come to embrace it. Mr. Obama will leave the White House as one of the most prolific authors of major regulations in presidential history." Pollsters and Hillary Clinton's team thought that the president's supporters and beneficiaries outweighed those who had been legislatively overpowered over the past eight years ; it was only Tuesday night that we learned that given one vote per person, the balance of power would swing the other way. In politics as in physics, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.<br />
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To my amateur eye, the shared experience of Avshalom, King Yoshiyahu and the Democrats teaches a critical lesson in leadership. As Mishlei 28:14 preaches, "Fortunate is the one who is always afraid." A little bit of insecurity in our leadership, a little less bullying and a little more bargaining, can go a long way.The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7898782635470765614.post-8108193142008719792016-11-09T14:01:00.000-05:002016-11-09T14:01:05.607-05:00"Brought to you by..."A few people have tried to console me post-election by noting that Jewish tradition credits G-d as the coronator of kings, הממליך מלכים.<br />
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Somehow, though, I find little comfort in the idea that Donald Trump is brought to you by the Maker of Pharaoh, Nevuchadnezzar and Titus...The Rebbetzin's Husbandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977193945074906534noreply@blogger.com3