Frumming Out, Fitting In - A Source Sheet

Our Beit Midrash is presenting a Shiur Theatre installment this Shabbos; it's entitled "Frumming Out, Fitting In". The basic plot: The Sale of Yosef is moved up to 2013. Yosef interprets Mohammed Morsi's dreams, becomes the Chief Economic Advisor, and then is deported when Moris is deposed. Yosef comes home, after 13 years in Egypt, as a Breslover Chasid. Yaakov and Yosef then try to find a modus vivendi going forward...

In case anyone finds the topic interesting, here is the source sheet accompanying the drama:

Frumming Out, Fitting In

R' Mordechai Torczyner – torczyner@torontotorah.com

Act One: Swapping Minhagim (Customs)

1.   Tur Choshen Mishpat 368, citing Rav Sherira Gaon (10^th century Babylon)

ומה שכתבת שיש מנהג במקומכם שהקונה מהלסטין וגנבים מחזיר לבעלים ונוטל מה שהוציא אם בודאי כך הוא חייב כל אדם לבלתי שנות מנהגם דאמרינן מנלן דמנהגא מילתא היא שנאמר אל תסיג גבול רעך אשר גבלו ראשונים וכ"ש בדבר שיש בו תקנה גדולה והסרת מריבה לפיכך עשו כמנהגכם ולא תשנו ושלום

As far as your local custom, that one who purchases from bandits and thieves must return it to the owners and collect his expenditures from them: If this is so, then all are obligated not to diverge from the custom. As we say: "How do we know that custom is substantive? Deuteronomy 9:14 states, 'Do not trespass the boundary of another, set by early generations.'" This is certainly true for a practice which inolves great improvement and elimination of strife. Therefore, do according to your custom, do not diverge, and be at peace.

2.   Sheiltot of Rav Achai Gaon (8^th century Babylon), Vayyakhel 67

רב חזייה לההוא גברא דהוה קא שדי כיתנא בפוריא לטייה משום דקא עביד בפוריא ולא צמח כיתניה ואמאי עבד רב הכי והא אמר מר לא קבילו י"ט עילוייהו אמרי רב כהנא אתרא דנהיג שלא לעשות מלאכה אי הכי לשמותיה שמותיה אמרי כיון דלא צמח כיתניה היינו שמתא ומנלן דמנהגא מילתא היא אמר רבא בר אבא אמר רבי יוחנן אמר רב דכתיב שמע בני מוסר אביך ואל תטוש תורת אמך.

Rav saw someone planting flax on Purim. Rav cursed him for working on Purim, and his flax did not grow. But why did Rav do thus? Have we not learned that they did not accept Purim as such a holiday [on which planting would be prohibited]? Rav Kahana explained: This was a place where their custom was not to work on Purim. Then why did Rav not excommunicate him? The failure of his flax was his excommunication. And how do we know that custom is substantive? Rava bar Abba cited Rabbi Yochanan citing Rav: Proverbs 1:8 says, "Listen, my son, to the ethical instruction of your father, and do not reject the teachings of your mother."

3.   Jerusalem Talmud, Yevamot 12:1

ר' בא רב יהודה בשם רב אם יבא אליהו ויאמר שחולצין במנעל שומעין לו. שאין חולצין בסנדל אין שומעין לו. שהרי הרבים נהגו לחלוץ בסנדל. והמנהג מבטל את ההלכה.

Rabbi Ba and Rav Yehudah said, citing Rav: Were Elijah the Prophet to come and declare that a shoe may be used for the chalitzah rite, we would listen. Were he to say that we may not use a sandal, we would not listen to him, for many customarily use the sandal, and custom overrides law.

4.   Emile Durkheim (20^th  century France), The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of society is the soul of religion.

5.   Rich Sosis and Candace Alcorta, Signaling, Solidarity and the Sacred, Evolutionary Anthropology (2003) http://www.anth.uconn.edu/faculty/sosis/publications/sosisandalcortaEA.pdf

These authors maintained that one of the primary functions of religion is the promotion of group solidarity.  They argued that collective rituals enable the expression and reaffirmation of shared beliefs, norms, and values, and are thus essential for maintaining communal stability and group harmony.

6.   Talmud, Pesachim 50b-51a

דברים המותרים ואחרים נהגו בהן איסור – אי אתה רשאי להתירן בפניהם.

Regarding practices which are permitted, but people customarily prohibit: You may not permit these in front of them.

7.   Rabbi Ben Zion Uziel (20^th century Israel), Piskei Uziel b'She'eilot haZman 2

כל חלוקי מנהגים בתפלות, מעשי המצות והוראות חלוקות בענינים צבוריים שנעשים בפומבי בבית הכנסת אחד, הם בכלל אזהרות לאו דלא תתגודדו; וקרוב הדבר לומר שזה הוא בגדר מצוה הבאה בעבירה, וברור הוא שאין זה מצוה מן המובחר ואדרבה מצוה עלינו לקיים ולהבליט בכל מצבינו ועבודתינו לצור ישענו אחדות עם ישראל ותורתו, שבה מתפאר בעמו.

All division of custom in prayer and mitzvah activities, and contradictory rulings issued regarding communal matters performed in public in one synagogue, fall under the prohibition of "You shall not split yourselves." One could almost call this a mitzvah achieved through transgression! It is clear that this is not the choicest form of the mitzvah; just the opposite, we are obligated to maintain and make evident, in our every situation and service of the Gd of our salvation, the unity of the nation of Israel and its Torah, via which Gd is glorified among His people.

8.   Rabbi Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (Rivash) (14^th century Spain), Responsum 105

ואפשר שיש דברים שאין סתם מנהג מבטל הלכה, אלא הלכה רופפת, אבל הלכה ברורה, אין מנהג סתם מבטלה, אלא מנהג שהתנו עליו בני העיר.

[This source deals with protocols for contracts, established by local custom.] There may be cases in which a generic custom will not override law, unless that law is uncertain. Clear law cannot be overridden by generic custom, but only by custom stipulated by communal agreement.

9.   Rav Hai Gaon (10^th century Babylon), cited in T'mim De'im of Raavad 119

מנין אנו יודעים כי יש עלינו מצוה לתקוע ביום זה? ועקר התורה הכתובה מנין אנו יודעים כי היא תורת משה שכתבה מפי הגבורה, אלא מפי עם ישראל, הנה אלו המעידים עליה גם הם מעידים כי במעשה יצאנו ידי חובותינו וכי כן העתיקו בקבלה מפי הנביאים הלכה למשה מסיני. ודברי הרבים הוא המוכיח על כל משנה ועל כל גמרא, ויותר מכל ראיה מזה פוק חזי מה עמא דבר, זה העיקר והסמך ואחר כך אנו מביטים בכל הדברים שנאמרו במשנה או בגמרא בענין הזה, ומה שיעלה מהם ויתרץ כאשר את נפשותינו מוטב, ואם יש בה כלום שלא יתכוין כאשר בלבבינו ולא יתברר בראיה אינו עוקר את העיקר.

How do we know that we are obligated to blow shofar on this day? And regarding the essential text of the Torah, how do we know that this is the Torah of Moshe, written from Gd's word? It is from the mouth of the Jewish nation. Their mouths testify to it, and they also testify that our deeds fulfill our ritual obligations, and that this has been transmitted by tradition from the prophets, the law of Moshe at Sinai. The words of the masses testify to every mishnah and gemara, and beyond any proof is the [Talmudic] principle, "Go see what the nation says." This [national practice] is the essence and basis, and after that we look at the declarations of the mishnah and gemara in such matters, and whatever emerges from them and we resolve is good. Anything that does not match that which is in our hearts and which cannot be proved does not uproot the essence.

Act Two: Accepting personal stringencies

10.      Maimonides (12^th century Egypt), Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Deiot 4:2

לא יאכל אדם עד שתתמלא כריסו אלא יפחות כמו רביע משבעתו

One should not eat to the point that his stomach is full; he should lack about one-quarter of his satiation.

11.      Rabbi Yehudah haChasid (12^th century Germany), Sefer Chasidim 12

והגדר הגדול והמופלא עזיבת המאכלות. כי שביעת המאכלות מביאים לידי הרהורים רעים. כיצד הי' לפניו מאכל מדגים או מבשר או משאר מעדנים אל ימנע מלאכול כלל אלא משום יראת ד' שלא למלאות כרסו עד כדי השגת תאותו

The great and superior fence for this [special piety] is abandonment of food, for satiation brings on bad thoughts. How should one practice this? If he has fish or meat or other delicacies before him, he should not refrain from eating altogether, but out of awe of Gd he should not fill his belly to the complete realization of his desires.

12.      Talmud, Berachot 17b

כיון דכולי עלמא עבדי מלאכה ואיהו לא קא עביד - מיחזי כיוהרא

[Addressing a personal stringency to avoid work on Tishah b'Av, in a place where the community normally does work:] Since everyone does work, and he does not do work, this will appear like self-righteous arrogance.

13.      Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (20^th century Poland), Biur Halachah 639:7 וכל הפטור

זה הכלל הוא דוקא במקום שיש בו צד איסור כמו במצטער דהוי חילול יום טוב

[Regarding the Code of Jewish Law's condemnation of a Jew who sits in a succah in the rain:] This applies specifically where there is a violation of law involved, as in the case of one who is pained, thereby desecrating Yom Tov.

14.      Tosafot Chullin 2b אבל

וא"ת והא כתיב (בראשית כח) וידר יעקב נדר וכתיב (יונה ב) את אשר נדרתי אשלמה וי"ל דבשעת צרה שרי כדאמרינן...

[Regarding rabbinic disapproval of taking vows:] You might ask: Genesis 28 records, "And Yaakov vowed," and Yonah 2 states, "That which I have vowed, I will fulfill!" One could say that in a time of need this is permitted…

15.      Talmud, Bava Metzia 30b

והודעת להם (שמות יח) זה בית חייהם את הדרך זו גמילות חסדים ילכו זה ביקור חולים בה זו קבורה ואת המעשה זה הדין אשר יעשון זו לפנים משורת הדין... דאמר רבי יוחנן לא חרבה ירושלים אלא על שדנו בה דין תורה אלא דיני דמגיזתא לדיינו אלא אימא שהעמידו דיניהם על דין תורה ולא עבדו לפנים משורת הדין

"And you shall inform them" – This refers to [Torah] their source of life. "The path" – This refers to acts of kindness. "They will walk" – This is examining the sick. "In it" – This is burial. "And the deed" – This is justice. "They will perform" – This is to transcend the letter of the law… As R’ Yochanan taught, that Jerusalem was destroyed only because they judged the law of Torah therein. Should they have used the laws of force?! Rather, they insisted on the law of Torah, and did not transcend the letter of the law.

16.      Talmud, Pesachim 40a

בעל נפש - אפילו חיטין דשרירי לא ילתות.

A person of spiritual strength will not even soak wheat, which is tough, on Passover.

17.      Nachmanides (13^th century Spain) to Leviticus 19:2

בא הכתוב, אחרי שפרט האיסורים שאסר אותם לגמרי, וצוה בדבר כללי שנהיה פרושים מן המותרות.

After the text specified that which is entirely prohibited, it instructed, generally, to separate from the permitted.

18.      Talmud, Berachot 30a

מהיות טוב אל תקרא רע.

Given the chance to be good, do not put yourself in a position to be called bad.

19.      Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein (21^st cent. Israel), Does Judaism Recognize an Ethic Independent of Halakhah?

If, however, we recognize that Halakhah is multiplanar and many dimensional; that, properly conceived, it includes much more than is explicitly required or permitted by specific rules, we shall realize that the ethical moment we are seeking is itself an aspect of Halakhah.

20.      Deuteronomy 13:1

אֵת כָּל־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם אֹתוֹ תִשְׁמְרוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת לֹא־תֹסֵף עָלָיו וְלֹא תִגְרַע מִמֶּנּוּ:  

Regarding all that I command you, take care to practice it. Do not add to it, and do not subtract from it.

Act Three: Personal Practices, Communal Strife

21.      Talmud, Nazir 4b

אמר לי: רועה הייתי לאבי בעירי, והלכתי לשאוב מים מן המעיין ונסתכלתי בבבואה שלי, ופחז יצרי עלי וביקש לטורדני מן העולם, אמרתי לו: ריקה! מפני מה אתה מתגאה בעולם שאינו שלך, שסופך להיות רמה ותולע'? העבודה, שאגלחך לשמים! עמדתי ונשקתיו על ראשו, אמרתי לו: כמותך ירבו נזירים בישראל

He told me, "I was a shepherd for my father in my town, and I went to draw water from the spring, and I saw my reflection. My nature became agitated and began to draw me from the world. I told myself: Empty one! Why are you arrogant about a world that is not your own, when in the end you will be decay and worms? By the Temple Service, I will shave you off for the sake of Heaven!" I stood and kissed him on his head and said, "May there be many more nazirites like you in Israel."

22.      Rabbi Yehudah haChasid (12^th century Germany), Sefer Chasidim 11

וזה שורש החסידות שצריך לעשות לפנים משורת הדין בכל דבר שנאמר (תהלים קמ"ה י"ז) וחסיד בכל מעשיו

This is the root of piety: One must transcend the law in all matters, as it is said, "Gd is pious in all of His deeds."

23.      Mishnah Berachot 2:5

מעשה ברבן גמליאל שקרא בלילה הראשון שנשא אמרו לו תלמידיו לא למדתנו רבינו שחתן פטור מקריאת שמע בלילה הראשון אמר להם איני שומע לכם לבטל ממני מלכות שמים אפילו שעה אחת:

Rabban Gamliel recited Shema on the night he was married. His students said to him, "Haven't you taught us, our master, that a groom is exempt from reciting Shema on the first night?" He replied, "I won't listen to you, to keep myself from recognizing G-d as king even for a moment."

24.      Lawrence Kohlberg (20^th century USA), Stages of Moral Development

III. Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled Level: The individual makes a clear effort to define moral values and principles that have validity and application apart from the authority of the groups of persons holding them and apart from the individual's own identification with the group.

25.      Proverbs 22:6, R’ Shimshon Raphael Hirsch translation

חנך לנער על פי דרכו גם כי יזקין לא יסור ממנה:

Raise the boy according to the course his life will take when he is grown; then he will not depart from it even in his old age.

26.      Rabbi Moshe Sofer (Chatam Sofer) (18^th/19^th century Hungary) 1: Orach Chaim 197

כל האמור להלכה בש"ע היא תורה נתונה לכל ישראל בשוה ואין בודד במועדיו, אכן מי שאין לו אלא תורה אפילו תורה אין לו [עי' יבמות ק"ט ע"ב] כי זה נעשה מצות אנשים מלומדה ואב לבנים יודיע, ע"כ כל המתחסד עם קונו ניכר במעלליו מה שלבו בודה לשם ד' להזיר נזיר מכל מה אשר ידבנו לבו ובזה אין סגנון א' עולה לשנים כי אין לב ב' בני אדם שוה באהבת ד'

All of the law which is contained in the Shulchan Aruch is that which was given equally to all Israel, with no one excluded. However, he who possesses only Torah does not even possess Torah (see Yevamot 109b), for then his performance becomes trained habit, and that which fathers pass on to sons (Yeshayah 38:19). Therefore, he who would act piously with his Creator would be recognized by his deeds – that which his heart originates for the sake of heaven, to vow as a nazirite in whatever manner his heart desires. In this matter no two individuals have the same style, because no two people love Gd in the same way.

27.      Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin (Netziv) (19^th century Russia) to Numbers 24:6

כל גן יש בו מין א' שהוא העיקר, אלא שסביביו נזרע עוד הרבה מינים מעט מעט. כך כל איש ישראל מלא מצוות ד' אבל כל א' יש לו מצוה א' ביחוד להיות נזהר בה ביותר כדאיתא במכילתא פ' בשלח רנ"א כל העושה מצוה א' באמנה זוכה וכו' ובירושלמי קידושין סוף פ' א' על המאמר כל העושה מצוה א' מטיבין לו וכו' ומפרש בירושלמי שעושה מצוה א' בזהירות יתירה.

Each garden has one central variety, and small quantities of other varieties are planted around it. So, too, each Jew is filled with the mitzvot of Gd, but each has one special mitzvah in which he is extra careful, as is seen in Mechilta [Beshalach 251], “One who performs a single mitzvah, faithfully, is worthy of Divine inspiration.” And in the Jerusalem Talmud [Kiddushin 1:9], regarding the statement, ‘One who performs a single mitzvah is given good things,’ they explain that this refers to a person who designates a single mitzvah for himself, and never violates it.

28.      Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook (20^th century Israel), אל חכי שופר

אל נמוד כל קנין רק לפי מדתנו.

נדע כי כל אחד הנהו רק פרט,

חלק אחד, אחוז מקהלינו,

ומה יוכל על הכלל לדון, הלא מעט...

כל איש לחפץ לבבו ילך ויצליח,

ומתנובות כפימו עמם ירוממו.

כל אחד במקצֹעו רוח חיים יפיח,

בבנותו לו בית, הריסות עמנו יקוממו.

We will not measure every acquisition by our personal measure.

We will know that each individual is only a unit,

one portion, a share of our community,

and how could the whole judge but little?...

Each person toward his heart's desire will travel and succeed,

and from the fruit of their hands, their nation will be elevated.

Each in his trade will breathe the breath of life;

when he builds for himself a home, the ruin of our people will be rebuilt.

Peace first, Chanukah second

Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, in his Smiling Each Day, tells of a Jewish community composed of many different religious sects, each one adhering to its own rabbi's authority. At one point a dispute erupted, mushrooming to such an extent that an outside sage was imported to resolve the strife.

This objective authority interviewed the various sides and investigated the issue at length before proposing a solution. When he finally presented an idea, though, one of the interested rabbis rejected it. He tried an alternative proposal, but another participant shot it down. A third approach was similarly demolished. Finally, he threw up his hands in exasperation and declared, "Now I understand why Avraham asked G-d regarding Sodom (Genesis 18:24), 'If there are fifty tzaddikim [righteous people] in the city, won't you desist from destroying it?' Avraham's logic was simple: If there are fifty tzaddikim in the city, they will make sure to bring it to ruin themselves; there is no need for You to intervene!"

The lesson of the story, to me, is that people pursuing righteous goals sometimes forget that they have homes, families, and a world to maintain, and that shalom in that home, family and world must be given greater priority than our other pursuits.

The Talmud (Shabbat 23b) seeks to educate this forgetful Jew, declaring, "It is obvious that a Jew who must choose to spend on either the lights of Shabbat or the lights of Chanukah should spend on the lights of Shabbat, for the sake of the peace they will provide for the home." The core purpose of our Shabbat candles is to illuminate our homes in a dignified way, so that people will be able to enjoy Shabbat in peace, without tripping over obstacles and squabbling with each other. This goal is deemed so important that it even overrides the imperative to publicize Divine miracles through the lights of Chanukah.

This law is remarkable in light of the fact that the minimum length of time required for the lights of Chanukah to burn is just thirty minutes. We are talking about reducing the fuel for one's Shabbat lamp by only thirty minutes – and even that brief length of time is considered so important that it trumps the Chanukah lights. Judaism decrees that it would be better to omit all thanks for the Divine miracle than to have a home in pain for thirty minutes.

The home exists on multiple levels; there is the literal house, the broader family, and the still-broader community. On each level, we need to preserve our shalom bayit, the peace of our home, lest people be pained. On each level we must remember the Divine mandate: Without the lights of Shabbat, one might as well not have the lights of Chanukah. First we build community and create shalom, and then we are able to celebrate Chanukah and thank G-d for the miracles. May we merit to have both parts, the shalom and the gratitude to G-d, in our homes.

Tefillin returned!

With great gratitude to HaShem, and with great thanks for all of my friends who helped look for the tefillin and advertise their disappearance, I am glad to report that the tefillin were returned this morning. It seems that someone mistook them for his own and took them home from shul the other day.

Were there lessons learned? Quite a few, yes...

My tefillin were taken

I am beyond despondent.

I never leave my tefillin in shul, unless they are in a locked locker, but I did it on Monday because I knew that I would be in a rush on Tuesday morning. Then, Tuesday morning - today - they weren't there. I searched, others searched. The shul put out an email. I offered a reward on Kijiji and Craigslist.

I jump ever time an email shows up in my inbox, but there is no news.

It's not just the tefillin. Really, to be honest, it's not the tefillin at all - it's the tefillin bag, which my grandmother a"h made for me - you can read about it, and see a picture, in my post here.

Everyone leaves their tefillin in that shul (Clanton Park Synagogue). I saw someone else's tefillin on the same shelf this morning, while looking for my own.

Of course, people said, it could be that someone took yours by accident. And that could be - but it's very unlikely, given that my bag is very distinctive, and that my bag has my contact information in it and I've heard nothing.

Searching the Internet turns up stories about tefillin ending up in pawn shops. Should I scout out Toronto's pawn shops? I've thought about it.

I had to give a shiur today, which I did. I skipped a chuppah, but did go to a shul dinner (different shul) for a time, but had no taste for it.

I'm supposed to be working on a few shiurim and speeches tonight, and a new shiur theatre, but I have no taste for that either. I answered a few old emails.

I'm not used to being at such loose ends, but tonight I'm feeling a lot of guilt for leaving the tefillin there, and mourning for losing this connection with my grandmother.

You know how people say, "If I could just take back X"? That's me right now.

For a while today I was sure this was just a dream, and I was going to wake up, but no luck.

Just despondence.

Thanksgiving and Chanukah: Twins or Opposites?

As an unrehabilitated American, I grew up viewing Thanksgiving - the one celebrated on the last Thursday in November, not the Canadian one - as a holiday unlike traditional Christian and pagan celebrations. In our shul community, no one would have suggested that a Jew celebrate Halloween, much less Easter or December 25^th. Thanksgiving, though, was considered a more pareve celebration in the U.S., and many Jews used the opportunity to have family gatherings, eat turkey and watch football. [For a discussion of the halachic propriety of celebrating Thanksgiving, see the article here; naturally, there are multiple views.]

This is why many American Jews are now making a big deal out of the extremely unusual overlap of Thanksgiving and Chanukah this year; Aish haTorah, for example, offers a full feature on Thanksgivukkah, accompanied by this comedy routine by Stephen Colbert. To many American Jews, Thanksgiving is benign, and therefore the overlap is more notable than, say, that of Pesach and Easter.

Taking this overlap a step further, some have contended that the two holidays are basically similar; both express gratitude to G-d for rescuing us from harm. However, in my view, these celebrations are not at all comparable. American Thanksgiving is an "apple pie" sort of day, on which the average citizen might contemplate his bounty while reclining in an easy chair, one hand on his belly and the other holding a remote control. The theme of gratitude for a good harvest lends itself to a זמן שמחתנו of sorts, a joy at surviving drought and blight with good for the coming winter.

Chanukah, though, is a more grim and complicated holiday for me. The themes of Chanukah are war against brutal foes, assimilation into another culture, Jew battling against Jew for the future of Judaism, the hard process of rebuilding a nation that has been enslaved to another, and the difficult transition of the Chashmonaim from priests to warriors to kings. Thanksgiving smiles with a full stomach (leaving the concern for what colonists did to Native Americans for another day, of course); Chanukah thanks G-d while wiping away blood and bandaging wounds. Thanksgiving is user-friendly; Chanukah is brutal.

Certainly, we celebrate Chanukah with joy and gratitude to G-d, but let's not sand down the rough edges in our desire to have a happy day. Better to think through the challenges posed by the stories of the Maccabim and the Hellenizing Mityavnim, the history of our relationship with the Greeks, and the rise and fall of the Chashmonai [Hasmonean] kings, and emerge from this Chanukah with a better understanding of what those stories and that history mean for our own lives.

Capping the Cost of Jewish Education

This morning, the following email from UJA of Greater Toronto was in my in-box:

Innovative Pilot Project places a cap on cost of Jewish education

A new joint venture between UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Robbins Hebrew Academy and The AVI CHAI Foundation may provide a major breakthrough in continuing to make Jewish education accessible and affordable to all.

iCAP Tuition, a ground-breaking initiative that will be offered at Robbins Hebrew Academy, will ensure that eligible families with three or more children at RHA and with a total gross income of between $200,000 and $300,000 will have their tuition capped at 15% of their income for Jewish education.

Applicable for students in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8, iCAP Tuition augments UJA Federation’s current Tuition Assistance Program which provides financial relief to parents with a gross income of less than $200,000.

“We are excited to team up with Robbins Hebrew Academy and AVI CHAI Foundation on this exciting pilot, one that complements UJA Federation’s ongoing efforts to provide as many of our young people with a first-rate Jewish education,” says Ed Segalowitz, Executive Director, the Julia and Henry Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Education.

“Every Jewish child deserves the opportunity for the very best Jewish and secular education within the warmest of school communities, that’s what we offer here, at Robbins Hebrew Academy and it’s why we are making sure that Jewish families, no matter their financial background, can have their children educated with us,” says Claire Sumerlus, Head of School, Robbins Hebrew Academy.

It's an interesting idea. Googling the concept turned up this OU page, with a February 2013 report on use of this system at a school in the Boston area.

The core concept seems to be: To help families with large numbers of children manage, so that they don't give up on Jewish day school.

In both cases, the schools involved are not serving the Orthodox community, and I can see why an Orthodox-affiliated school, with the larger family sizes in its student body, would have difficulty implementing this and may not even feel it is as necessary. Nonetheless, it's nice to dream...

Why does talking in shul bother you?

Some time back, I was in a minyan at which a family was celebrating a happy occasion. They had quite a few guests, including people who quite clearly were not regular shul attendees.

As happens when people see each other after a long hiatus, there was a good deal of conversation among those gathered. The noise disturbed some people davening near them, causing them to Shush loudly.

I turned to one of the Shushers and commented that the talking these people were doing didn't bother me much; I am far more troubled by the noise of people who know the value of davening, and talk anyway. To which the Shusher pointed out that their talking was disrespectful toward those around them.

I've thought quite a bit about our attitudes toward shul, and toward shul decorum, as my various posts on the topic on this blog indicate. But in contemplating that brief exchange, I had a thought that I had never formulated in quite this way before: Neither of us had our davening disturbed by noise itself, but rather by the issues accompanying the noise. He is disturbed by disrespect. I am disturbed by a lack of spirituality. It's not the noise, it's the baggage.

What do you think?

Shiur Theatre: Religious Coercion: A Modern Defense of Rachel

This Shabbos, Gd-willing, our Beit Midrash will present a new installation of Shiur Theatre during our "Matriarchs" Shabbaton.

We'll look at the story of Rachel and Lavan's terafim (working with the standard understanding that terafim were a form of humanoid idol), and attempt to offer a modern version of the story, and a defense of Rachel's attempt to dictate her father's religious practice.

Here is the source sheet I expect to distribute after the presentation:

Act Two: Does Halachah Require Coercion?

1.         Sefer haChinuch 239

להוכיח אחד מישראל שאינו מתנהג כשורה, בין בדברים שבין אדם לחבירו או בין אדם למקום

To instruct a Jew who does not act properly, whether in a relationship with others or in a relationship with Gd…

2.         Rabbi Yaakov Kanievsky, Kehillot Yaakov 10:54

ואמאי אסור לשנאותו? ונראה דלא מיירי ברשע ממש שחוטא חטאים מפורסמים, אלא שאינו נוהג כל כך כהוגן הראוי לפי ערכו...

Why is hating him prohibited [per Erchin 16b]? Apparently, this is not a wicked person who sins publicly; it is someone who does not act entirely properly, based upon his level…

3.         Rabbi Bentzion Uziel, Mishpetei Uziel 4:3:1

חיוב התוכחה, לבד מצות עשה שבה עוד מתחייב בבטולה בעבירה על לא תעשה דלא תעמוד על דם רעך, ובעשה דוהשבותו לו לרבות אבדת גופו וכל שכן הצלה מן העברה שיש בה אבידת הגוף והנפש

The obligation of rebuke, aside from its active mitzvah, also involves a transgression in its failure: You shall not stand by the blood of your brother. It also involves the mitzvah of ‘You shall restore it to him,’ which includes loss of his body and certainly, in saving a person from sinning, loss of his body and spirit.

4.         Talmud, Shevuot 39a-b

כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה...

All Jews are guarantors for each other…

5.         Nachmanides to Vayikra 19:17

"הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך" - מצוה אחרת, ללמדו תוכחת מוסר, "ולא תשא עליו חטא" שיהיה עליך אשם כאשר יחטא ולא הוכחת אותו.

"Instruct your peer" – This is another mitzvah, to teach him ethical instruction, "and you shall not bear sin for him," for should he sin and should you fail to rebuke him, you would bear guilt.

6.         Pirkei Avot 2:4

ואל תדין את חבירך עד שתגיע למקומו

And do not judge another until you reach his place.

7.         Tosafot Avodah Zarah 26b ולא

אף על פי שסתם כנענים עובדי כוכבים ומזלות הם ועוברין על שבע מצות מכל מקום אין מורידין

Although normal Canaanites are idolatrous, and they violate their seven commandments, still, we do not punish them.

8.         Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 8:10

מי שלא רצה אין כופין אותו לקבל תורה ומצות, וכן צוה משה רבינו מפי הגבורה לכוף את כל באי העולם לקבל מצות שנצטוו בני נח...

We do not compel someone to accept Torah and mitzvot if he does not wish to do so, and so Moshe instructed, in the name of Gd, to compel all who enter the world [only] to accept the mitzvot commanded to Noachides…

9.         Talmud, Eruvin 63a

כל מקום שיש בו חילול ד' אין חולקין כבוד לרב

In a matter involving desecration of Gd’s Name, we do not show honour to the great.

Act Three: Is a Coerced Religious Act Worthwhile?

10.      Rabbi Meir Simchah of Dvinsk, Or Sameach to Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Divorce 2:20

זה שהוא רוצה להיות מישראל, ורוצה הוא לעשות כל המצות ולהתרחק מן העבירות יצרו הוא שתקפו, וכיון שהוכה עד שתשש יצרו ואמר רוצה אני כבר גירש לרצונו 

This person wishes to be a Jew, and wishes to perform all of the mitzvot and distance himself from all transgressions, but his yetzer overpowers him. When he is struck to the point that his yetzer weakens, he says, "I wish to do this," and then he has divorced willingly.

11.      Roger Williams, The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, pg. 249-250

If persons be compelled to forsake their religion which their hearts cleave to, and to come to the church… and this all their days, I ask, whether this be not this people's religion, unto which submitting, they shall be quiet all their days, without enforcing them to the practice of any other religion? And if this be not so, then I ask, will it not inevitably follow, that they not only permit but enforce people to be of no religion at all, all their days?

12.      Immanuel Kant, The Critique of Pure Reason, Meikeljohn translation, pg. 422

Let each thinker pursue his own path; if he shows talent, if he gives evidence of profound thought, in one word, if he shows that he possesses the power of reasoning—reason is always the gainer. If you have recourse to other means, if you attempt to coerce reason, if you raise the cry of treason to humanity, if you excite the feelings of the crowd, which can neither understand nor sympathize with such subtle speculations—you will only make yourselves ridiculous.

13.      Moses Mendelssohn, Jerusalem, Bennett translation, pg. 7

A man feels his own worth when he performs charitable acts… when he gives because he wants to. But if he gives because he must, all he feels are his chains.

14.      Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Trespass 8:8

והמשפטים הן המצות שטעמן גלוי וטובת עשייתן בעולם הזה ידועה כגון איסור גזל ושפיכות דמים וכיבוד אב ואם, והחוקים הן המצות שאין טעמן ידוע, אמרו חכמים חוקים חקתי לך ואין לך רשות להרהר בהן

Mishpatim are laws with revealed reasons and known benefits from their practice, like the prohibitions against theft and murder, and the mitzvah of honouring parents.

Chukim are laws without known reasons; the sages said, "I have engraved chukim for you, and you do not have permission to challenge them."

15.      Sefer haChinuch 16

אחרי הפעולות נמשכים הלבבות

After deeds are the hearts drawn.

16.      R' Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook, Letters of the Ra"ayah II pg. 186

ומש״כ מר לתמוה עלי במה שאני מקרב את הכל, גם את פושעי־ישראל כדי להחזירם בתשובה, וכתבתי לו ברמז כונתי, שכל מי שהוא מוכשר לעסוק בפנימיות רזי-תורה הוא מתמלא יותר מאור־החסד של תורת חסד, ועליו החובה לעסוק בתיקון נפולים ובקירוב רחוקים

Regarding my practice of drawing everyone near, including Jews who sin, in order to bring them to repentance: I have written a hint at my meaning to his honour, saying that anyone who is capable of involving himself in the inner secrets of Torah will be filled with the light of the Torah's generosity to a greater extent, and is obligated to involve himself in mending the collapses and bringing near those who are distant.

17.      R' Avraham Yeshayah Karelitz, Chazon Ish, Yoreh Deah 2:16

בזמן ההעלם שנכרתה האמונה מן דלת העם אין במעשה הורדה גדר הפרצה אלא הוספה הפרצה שיהי' בעיניהם כמעשה השחתה ואלמות ח״ו וכיון  שכל עצמנו לתקן אין הדין נוהג בשעה שאין בו תיקון ועלינו להחזירם בעבותות אהבה ולהעמידם בקרן אורה כמה שידינו מגעת.

At a time of [Divine] invisibility, when faith has been cut off from the poor of the nation, punishment does not mend the gap, but only increases it, for it appears like a deed of destruction and coercion, Gd-forbid. Since our entire goal is to repair, the law [of punishment] does not apply when it does not repair. We are obligated to bring them back with ropes of love, to bring them to the radiant light to the extent we can.

The last-minute dvar torah

I am asked, from time to time, to fill in with last-minute divrei torah; it happens on a weeknight between minchah and maariv, or at a minyan on Shabbos, or for a group of students in school. And I generally decline.

Certainly, I have delivered far too many last-minute divrei torah over the years to claim inexperience. But I believe that in general, the last-minute dvar torah is not a good idea.

The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 139:1) rules that one is not permitted to lein from the Torah unless he has reviewed the reading multiple times, out of respect for the Torah.

The mishnah teaches that Chasidim haRishonim [early pious people] waited for a time before davening shemoneh esreih, and we have psukei d'zimra for similar preparation, out of respect for Gd. How much more so when we are talking about teaching Torah!

Tefillah is about my personal relationship with HaShem, and perhaps the needs of those for whom I daven, and it requires preparation; giving a dvar torah is about the spiritual life and Torah knowledge of the entire tzibbur [community] - even if said tzibbur doesn't see it that way - how much more so is preparation required.

And it's not only about the stakes, it's also about the odds of success with a last-minute effort:

 

HaShem understands our heartfelt intent, other human beings tend to grasp only our words and expressions, if that.

 

HaShem is merciful, other people, often, are not.

 

HaShem wants our prayers; human beings are often subjected to divrei torah against their will and choice.

 

If I have a poor prayer, I blew an opportunity, but I have another chance later that day; if I give a poor dvar torah, they may never pay attention to me again.

Therefore, I want to spend time first thinking about what I will say, to whom I am speaking, how it will be received, where I should stand, whether the door should be open or closed, whether I should be formal or casual, and so on.

To me, and I know it's not everyone's view, I'd rather skip a dvar torah than deliver one without significant forethought.

That's my thinking, anyway. Make sense?

Random Acts of Kindness: Rabbi Estreicher

This video is so beautiful, and watching it takes only 97 seconds. I suppose it's more moving for me because I know some of the people involved, but I think this ought to lift anyone's day.

What do you do about an impaired driver?

So here's a practical question I faced the other night:

I was driving home from a shiur on Sunday evening; it was about 10:15 PM, and I was five minutes from home after a very long day. I was on a long, relatively busy street (heading north on Bathurst, just south of Steeles, for those who know Toronto). Two cars in front of me, a Toyota, some sort of SUV, stopped significantly short of the light. I thought it odd, but not unprecedented.

The light changed, and the SUVish vehicle started moving - not only forward, but also veering a little into the lane to its right, then back into its lane, and over to the oncoming traffic on its left side. Then far into its left, so that it nearly hit someone who was coming the other way in a turning lane - they missed colliding by perhaps five feet. Then they veered back into their lane.

So it went for the next couple of blocks, before I turned off of that street, as they continued.

To me, this was pretty clear evidence of an impaired driver. The veering was so consistent that it seemed more likely to be intoxication than texting or poor vision.

I imagined calling the police to give them the plate number and approximate location, but knowing that plenty of people get on and off that street at every light, and that I rarely see patrol cars in that area without a specific cause, I didn't think that it would accomplish anything.

I imagined staying behind that car - but to do what?

And so I did nothing, which isn't my usual approach to problems in a public space. Maybe it was just because I was very tired, from giving 3 shiurim that day, and writing up another 2 shiurim. But it's been bothering me. So my question is: What would you have done? What should I have done?

Reclaiming Israeli history, this Sunday

Every 7.5 years, this one-word question arises in Jewish communities all over the world: "Yerushalmi?!"

The worldwide Daf Yomi program studies a single page of the Babylonian Talmud each day - but after studying approximately 450 pages, the program veers into Talmud Yerushalmi, the Jerusalem Talmud, for a single volume: Masechet Shekalim. Students ask themselves: Why are we studying a volume from the Jerusalem Talmud?

The question is sharpened when students open the first page and realize they are not in Pumbeditha anymore. Basic vocabulary, sentence structure, even the format and flow of discussion change when you open the Jerusalem Talmud. We don't even have a commentary by Rashi to make everything clear! So why are we putting ourselves through this? Wasn't the Babylonian version hard enough?

Further: Mainstream Jewish practice follows the rulings of the Babylonian Talmud; only when the Babylonian Talmud is silent do we adopt the view of the Jerusalem Talmud. (Kesef Mishneh, Hilchot Terumot 8:15) So why are we learning the Jerusalem Talmud?

There is a technical reason for learning Yerushalmi Shekalim: Adding this volume of the Jerusalem Talmud completes the seder [order] of Moed. However, another possible benefit of studying the Jerusalem Talmud is that we reclaim a key piece of Israeli history.

The Jerusalem Talmud was written and canonized by Jews who lived under late Roman rule in the land of Israel, in the first centuries of the common era. Despite terrible persecution and the threat of painful execution for the crime of studying Torah, they maintained a powerful commitment to Torah and kept Jewish life in our land alive. Rabbi Yochanan. Rabbi Ami. Rabbi Zeira. And so on.

Their language, challenging as it is, is our language. Their voice is our voice. Their Torah is our Torah. These are heroes of Jewish history, and they are our ancestors, and in studying their words we connect to them.

This Sunday, the Daf Yomi program will begin its study of the Jerusalem Talmud, with the volume of Shekalim. Consider joining a Daf Yomi shiur, or pick it up yourself - you can find audio shiurim on-line at YUTorah.org and on other sites. Alternatively, study another work from an Israeli sage - Rabbi Yosef Karo's Shulchan Aruch, the Alshich's biblical commentary, or the writings of Rav Kook, perhaps. Together, we, as a nation, can reclaim Israeli history.

Providing contraceptive information for unmarried patients

Next week, Gd-willing, I'll present a medical halachah shiur on "Enabling a Patient to Sin". I'm looking at dealing with three types of cases:

• Indirect assistance, as in providing contraceptive information for unmarried patients;
• Direct assistance, as in referring a patient for surgery (such as vasectomy or abortion) that is not halachically sanctioned;
• Direct involvement in the sin, as in providing anesthesia during a surgery that is not halachically sanctioned.

After reviewing relevant halachic rulings, I think that the first tier of cases is permitted, provided that the information is available from other sources of equal quality and availability. The prohibition against causing others to stumble will not apply because other sources of quality information are readily available, and because one is not moving the actual transgression forward in any active way. Halachic sources include Rama Yoreh Deah 151:1, Ksav Sofer Yoreh Deah 83 and Tzitz Eliezer 19:33:1.

Nonetheless, I found the following position articulated at the website of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists:

Question: Does halacha permit the orthodox Jewish physician to give contraceptive advice to and to prescribe contraceptive devices for unmarried girls?

Answer: Except under very exceptional circumstances, Judaism considers it immoral for the physician to give contraceptive advice to an unmarried girl.

Comment: The doctor must use judicious moral judgment in this sensitive area of human relations. Judaism deems it immoral to give contraceptive counsel to unmarried persons when such advice may serve to remove an important barrier to immoral conduct. When confronted with the mentally retarded patient or with people in whom self-discipline is lacking as determined by previous conduct, consultation with a religious guide should be undertaken to decide the proper course of action.

This Halacha Bulletin was written by Fred Rosner, MD, FACP and Rabbi Moshe D. Tendler, PhD and reviewed by HaRav Moshe Feinstein, zt"l.

I wonder what drives this position.

Rav Ovadia Yosef z"l

I am not sure what to write at the moment; having learned from the teshuvot (responsa) of Rav Ovadia for more than 20 years, though, I feel, at least, that I must say this: For all of the strife of the last several years, and the debates over major communal issues that stretch back longer than that, Rav Ovadia was a true giant in his Torah scholarship, his ability to present it clearly for his students, and his dedication in that task. יהי זכרו ברוך.

Jerusalem Post

Jewish Press

New York Times

So what's wrong with Noach, and the US Government?

Anyone who went to Jewish day school or who has spent time in a synagogue at this time of year has heard the divrei torah about Noach: Sure, he was good, but he didn't think about the people around him. Noach was righteous, but unlike Avraham, he didn't try to help those around him to improve.

This weakness is visible in the Torah's description of Noach - after all, the Torah presents ample material about Avraham's interactions, and our spoken Torah expands upon it, while Noach's story offers nothing in this regard. Nonetheless, these divrei torah seem odd: How could someone be great enough that he would remain righteous and Gd-fearing despite living in a world rotten enough to be condemned, how could someone find such favor in Gd's eyes as to deserve a miracle [as well as Divine conversations], and yet be derelict in such a fundamental human obligation as looking after the people around him? Can this be a real human being?

Then again, I wonder if this isn't entirely consistent. Perhaps in order to be a Noach, one must be driven to stand apart from the world. Perhaps being dismissive of his neighbours is a logical byproduct of spending a lifetime rejecting their ways.

And an additional thought: Perhaps this is what makes compromise so difficult for lawmakers. The architects of the US Government shutdown, on both sides of the aisle, spend so much time and energy and emotion on distinguishing themselves from those on "the other side" that compromise becomes an impossible challenge. Further, what drives many of them into government in the first place is their passion for their partisan views, and that passionate personality has real difficulty opening up to another's viewpoint.

And perhaps this is exactly why Avraham is so great; Avraham is able to stand apart, and yet sympathize with his neighbours.

Just a thought. [This could become a derashah, I suppose; this would work well with Rav Zalman Sorotzkin's thought at the end of his Haggadah, on the Jews as rebels and the need for them to learn unity in their slavery and in the model of the matzah.]