January 17, 2010

  • THE MYTH OF A JUDEO-XTIAN TRADITION

    This is an age in which news has been superseded by propaganda, and education by brain-washing and indoctrination from the advertising used to sell poor quality goods, to the classes in schools designed to make children into conditioned robots of the State, the art of persuasion has displaced the simple virtue of truth.

     Since the end of the Second World War we have been bombarded from all sides with references to the Western world's "Judeo-Christian religion," and "our Judeo-Christian heritage." We are told by both church leaders and scholars that our society is based on a supposed "Judeo-Christian tradition". The notion of "Judeo-Christian religion is an unquestioned - almost sacrosanct - part of both secular and church thinking. American Christian leader Prof. Franklin H. Littel, a vocal supporter of the Zionist state, frankly declared that "to be Christian is to be Jewish," and that consequently it was the duty of a  Christian to put support for the "land of Israel" above all else. Pat Boon, the North American singer and evangelist, said there are two kinds of Judaism, one Orthodox and the other Christian. Yet such a decidedly Christian Zionist outlook is to say the least  wildly simplistic and profoundly unhistorical.

     
    As the astute Jewish writer, Joshua J. Adler, points out, "The differences between Christianity and Judaism are much more than merely believing in whether the messiah already appeared or is still expected, as some like to say."

     The comments of Jewish author Mr. S. Levin may well explain the Christian's need for the Judeo-Christian myth. Writing in the Israeli journal ,Biblical Polemics, Levin concludes: "'After all, we worship the same God', the Christian always says to the Jew and the Jew never to Christian! The Jew knows that he does not worship the Christ-God, but the Christian orphan needs to worship the God of Israel and so, his standard gambit rolls easily and thoughtlessly from his lips. It is a strictly unilateral affirmation, limited to making a claim on the God of Israel, but never invoked with reference to other gods. A  Christian never confronts a Moslem or a Hindu with 'After all, we worship the same God'."

     Back in 1992 both Newsweek magazine and the Israeli Jerusalem Post newspaper simultaneously printed extensive articles scrutinizing the roots of the sacrosanct  Judeo-Christian honeymoon.

     The statement heading the Newsweek article read: "Politicians appeal to a Judeo-Christian tradition, but religious scholars say it no longer exists." The Jerusalem Post article's pull quote announced: "Antisemitism is a direct result of the Church's teachings, which Christians perhaps need to re-examine."

     "For scholars of American religion," Newsweek states, "the idea of a single Judeo-Xtian tradition is a made-in-America myth that many of them no longer regard as valid." It quotes eminent Talmudic scholar Jacob Neusner: "Theologically and historically, there is no such thing as the Judeo-Christian tradition. It's a secular myth favored by people who are not really believers themselves."

     Newsweek cites authorities who indicate that "the idea of a common Judeo-Christian tradition first surfaced at the end of the 19th century but did not gain popular support until the 1940's, as part of an American reaction to Nazism and concludes that, "Since then, both Jewish and Christian scholars have come to recognize that - geopolitics apart - Judaism and Christianity are different, even rival religions.

     The Jerusalem Post accused the Christian Church of being responsible for the holocaust. The French Jewish scholar Jules Isaac was quoted as saying: "Without centuries of Xtian catechism, preaching, and vituperation, the Hitlerian teachings, propaganda and vituperation would not have been possible." "The problem," concludes the Jerusalem Post, "is not, as some assert, that certain Christian leaders deviated from Christian teachings and behaved in an un-Christian manner; it is the teachings themselves that are bent."
     
    A few perfect example of these teachings are such as (SAINT) JOHN CHRYSOSTOM: The strongest attacks on Jews and Judaism by the Church Fathers are to be found in the homilies of Chrysostom (344-407) in his Antioch sermons. He is considered to be among the most beloved and admired in Church history. Besides his proclamation of Jews as
    "godless, idolaters, pedicides, stoners of prophets, and commiters  of 10,000 horrors [which, incidentally, is found in the Christian  book in Matthew 23:37-38], Chrysostom said in his book Orations Against The Jews that:: "The  Jews are the most worthless of all men.   They  are  lecherous,  rapacious, greedy. They are perfidious murderers of  Christ.  They  worship  the   Devil.  Their  religion is a sickness.  The Jews are the odious assassins of Chrst and for killing  God there  is  no  expiation possible,  no  indulgence  or pardon.   Xtians   may never cease vengeance,  and  the  Jew must live in servitude forever. God always  hated  the  Jews.  It  is  essential that all Christians hate them." (year 379)
     
    Chrysostom's homilies were to be used in seminaries and schools for centuries as
    model sermons, with the result that his message of hate would be passed down to succeeding generations of theologians. The nineteenth century Protestant cleric R.S. Storr called him "one of the most eloquent preachers who ever since apostolic times have brought to men the divine tidings of truth and love." A contemporary of Storr, the great theologian John Henry Cardinal Newman, described Chrysostom as a "bright, cheerful, gentle soul, a sensitive heart."
     
    Then there is the Father of the Protestant Church, Martin Luther, who stated:"What then shall we Christians do with this damned, rejected race of Jews?
    First, their synagogues should be set on fire, and whatever does not burn up should be covered or spread with dirt so that no one may ever be able to see a cinder of it. And this ought to be done for the honor of God and of Christianity, in order that God may see that
    we are Christians. Secondly, their homes should be likewise broken down and destroyed.
    Thirdly, they should be deprived of their prayer-books and Talmuds in which such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy are taught. Fourthly, their rabbis must be forbidden under threat
    of death to teach any more..."

     Joshua Jehouda, a prominent French Jewish leader, observed in the late 1950's: "The current expression 'Judeo-Christian' is an error which has altered the course of universal history by the confusion it has sown in men's minds, if by it one is meant to understand the Jewish origin of Christianity...If the term 'Judeo Christian' does point to a common origin, there is no doubt that it is a most dangerous idea. It is based on a 'contradiction  in abjecto' which has set the path of history on the wrong track. It links in one breath two ideas which are completely irreconcilable, it seeks to demonstrate that there is no difference between day and night or hot and cold or black and white, and thus introduces a fatal element of confusion to a basis on which some, nevertheless, are endeavoring to construct a civilization." ("Antisemitisme Miroir du Monde pp. 135-6)

    What is the Truth?
     Is there then any truth in this term, "Judeo-Christian"?  Is Christianity derived from Judaism? Does Christianity have anything in common with Judaism?

     Reviewing the last two thousand years of Western Christian history there is really no evidence of a Judeo-Christian tradition and this has not escaped the attention of honest Christian and Jewish commentators.

     The Jewish scholar Dr. Joseph Klausner in his book "Jesus of Nazareth" expressed the Judaic viewpoint that "there was something contrary to the world outlook of Israel" in Christ's teachings, "a new teaching so irreconcilable with the spirit of Judaism," containing "within it the germs from which there could and must develop in course of time a non-Jewish and even ANTI-Jewish teaching."

     Dr. Klausner quotes the  Xtian theologian, Adolf Harnack, who in his last work rejected the hypothesis of the Jewish origin of Christ's doctrine: "Virtually every word He taught is made to be of permanent and universal humanitarian interest. The Messianic features are abolished entirely, and virtually - importance is attached to Judaism in its capacity of Jesus' environment."

     Gershon Mamlak, an award-winning Jewish Zionist intellectual, recently claimed that the "Jesus tradition" is essentially the ultimate extension of ancient Greek Hellenism and is in direct conflict to Judaism's "role as the Chosen people" 

     Dr. Mamlak, writing in the Theodor Herzl Foundation's magazine of Jewish thought, Midstream, maintains that the prevailing theory that Christianity originated in the spiritual realm of Judaism "is anchored in a twofold misconception: 1) the uniqueness of Judaism is confined to its monotheistic God-concept; 2) the 'parting of the ways' between the Jesus coterie and Judaism is seen as the result of the former's adaptation of the doctrines of Christology

     The first misconception means: "When the affinity of the Jesus coterie with Judaism is evaluated by common faith in the One, severed from the believer's duty to execute the Law of the One and to acknowledge the Chosen Nation of Israel as His instrument-faith in the One becomes anti-Judaism par excellence

     In Gershon Mamlak's view, "The conflict between Judaism and the Jesus tradition goes beyond the confines of theology. [The Jesus tradition] was the cosmopolitan renunciation of the national phenomenon in general and extreme hostility to Israel's idea of a Chosen Nation as the divine instrument for the perfection of the world."

     Evidently the concept of a common Judeo-Christian tradition has more to do with post 1945 politics and a certain amount of 'public relations' than it does with historical and Biblical reality. Never the less a number of modern Christian polemicists have managed to rest certain Greek text verses in the drive to give a Scriptural basis to their argument. 

      The few Christian book 'proof texts' utilized by Christian Zionists and secular proponents of the modern Judeo-Christian myth are the product of poor  translation. Messianic Jewish writer Malcolm Lowe in his paper "Who Are the Ioudaioi?" concludes, like Robert and Mary Goote, that the Greek word "Ioudaioi" in the Greek text should be translated as "Judeans", rather than the more usual "Jews". David Stern, a Jew turned Christian, also came to the same conclusion when translating the "Jewish New Testament".

     Few Christians are aware that the translators of Scripture often mistranslated the word "Jew" from such words as "Ioudaioi" (meaning from, or being of: as a geographic area, Judean). The word Judean, mistranslated as "Jew" in the Greek Text, never possessed a valid religious connotation, but was simply used to identify members of the native population of the geographic area known as Judea.

     Jesus Christ and the Pharisees
     
     The Greek text reveals an intense conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees, which was made up of two schools of thought and were principal Judean religious sects (see Matthew chapter 3, verse 7; Matthew chapter 5, verse 20; Matthew chapter 23, verses 13-15, 23 29; Mark chapter 8, verse 15; Luke chapter 11 verse 39). Much of this controversy was centered on what was later to become the foundation and highest authority of Judaism, the Talmud. In the time of Jsus , this bore the name of "The Tradition of the Elders" (see Matthew chapter 15, verses 1-9).

     The Judean historian Josephus wrote: "What I would now explain is this, that the Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many observances by succession from their fathers, which are not written in the laws of Moses

     While the Pharisees observed the laws of Moses, they also had a great body of oral tradition which is its explanations of how to observe the written. By their tradition, they undertook to explain and elaborate upon the Law. This was the "Tradition of the Elders", to which the name of Talmud was later given. In the written form, it had its beginning in Babylon, during the  Babylon captivity of the people of Judah, where it developed in the form of the commentaries of various rabbis, undertaking to explain and apply the law. 


     Rabbi Louis Finkelstein in Volume I of The Pharisees, the Sociological Background of their Faith says, "Pharisaism became Talmudism, Talmudism became Medieval Rabbinism, and Medieval Rabbinism became Modern Rabbinism. But throughout these changes of name, inevitable adapting of custom, the spirit of the ancient Pharisee survives unaltered."

     According to The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII, (1942) p.474: "The Jewish religion as it is today traces its descent, without a break, through all the centuries, from the Pharisees. Their leading ideas and methods found expression in a literature of enormous extent, of which a very great deal is still in existence. The Talmud is the largest and most important single member of that literature."

     Moshe Menuhim explains that the Babylonian Talmud "embodied all the laws [ Misnah] and legends [Midrash], all the history and 'science,' all the theology and folklore, of all the past ages in Jewish life - a monumental work of consolidation. In the Talmud, Jewish scholarship and idealism found their exclusive outlet and preoccupation all through the ages, all the way up to the era of Enlightenment. It became the principal guide to life and object of study, and it gave Judaism unity, cohesion and resilience throughout the dark ages."

      "The Talmud is to this day the circulating heart's blood of the Jewish religion. Whatever laws, customs, or ceremonies we [Jews] observe - whether we are Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or merely spasmodic sentimentalists - we follow the Talmud. It is our common law." (A History of the Jews, SoIomon Grayzel).

     Both Jewish and Christian scholars agree that it was Jesus'  flagrant rejection of this "Tradition of the Elders" and his open confrontation with the powerful Pharisees that created the climate that led to his death. Historically, Christian thinkers argued that the Talmud was directly responsible for the rejection of Christ. In their view these "traditions" blinded the eyes of the people to a true understanding of the prophecies  which related to the coming of the Messiah. These Christian thinkers seem incapable of understanding that they have made of the Jesus person just another type of Pagan god, walking around on two feet and performing miracles, rising from the dead and vanishing in a blaze of light, sitting on the right hand of the god on that high chair - like some of Zeus's sons and  like so many of those gods on Mount Olympus. They have even attempted to say that Jesus is derided in the Talmudic writings.We should also point out here that, contrary to many Christians' thinking, the Talmudic literature does not contain criticism of Jesus.  Some have sought to link him with a Yeshua Hanotzri, who is said to have practiced magic and sought to lead Israel astray (Sotah 47A and Sanhedrin 107B).
     
     But a foremost historian of the rabbinate, the twelfth century Abraham ibn Daud, wrote (Sefer Ha-Kabbalah, Jewish Publication Society Edition, p. 15) that we possess a true tradition (Kabalat Emet) that this Yeshua Hanotzri lived during the reign of Alexander Yannai (died 76 B.C.E.), and had been a disciple of Joshua ben Perachiah, thus making it impossible for him to have been the founder of Christianity.  This tradition is also given by Nahmanides (Vikuakh Ha-Ramban, Mossad edition, p. 306).  Some have tried to link Jesus with a magician named Ben Stada, but R. Jacob Tam-the eminent Tosafist and grandson of Rashi-dismissed this (Shabbat 104B), as he had lived during the second century.
    The point of the post is not to say that different people can't live,work and just plain exist side by side. It points out that there is no theological connection between Judaism and Christianity or Jewish scripture and Christian scriptures, as some may like to believe. While our book shows over and over that God forgives anyone that repents and seeks Him, the Christian book changes the very meaning of the concept of a coming new covenant from Torah being placed in our heart as though it were instinct to a human sacrificial concept with a being "washed in the blood" as many Christians phrase it, and a ritual consumption of the flesh and blood of messiah/god that excludes all that disbelieve. This may seem rather blunt, but it reflects the pagan ideas of consuming one's god as in the Mithra Cult and a dozen others. Those that followed the Mithra Cult would cover themselves in the blood of sacrifices to "wash away transgressions".

January 14, 2010

  • New Covenant ?

     

    Jeremiah 31:31.  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
     32.  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
     33.  But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
     34.  And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
     35.  Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name:
     36.  If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
     
    What is this "new covenant" that is mentioned in Jeremiah if it is "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt"?
     
    Jeremiah states that "this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." If one looks at the actual Hebrew text, "My Law" is towraatiy, My Torah.
     
    Jeremiah 31:33  Kiy zo't habriyt 'asher 'ekrot 'et- beeyt Yisraa'eel'achareey hayaamiym haaheem, n'um- Yahweh, naatatiy 'et-towraatiy bqirbaam w`al- libaam 'ektabenaah whaayiytiy laahemlee-'Elohiym wheemaah yihyuw- liy l`aam.
    How is this new covenant different from the original? Originally it states we are to write these laws on our own heart and teach them to our children.
     
    Deut 11:18.  Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
     19.  And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
     20.  And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
     
    Looking at the text,one can see this coming new covenant is God writing the Torah laws on our heart where it will be as instinct to know them rather than learning and no longer need to teach them to our children.
     
    The term "new covenant" is used only once in Jewish text and Jeremiah is it.It's precepts are direct and simple in meaning, that the Torah law will be written on our hearts.No mention of blood sacrifice of a man and , to be perfectly blunt, no mention of a ritual representation of drinking blood and eating human flesh.
     
    When one examines the Greek text of the Christian book, the term new covenant is used six times It is only used in the book of Matthew and in Hebrews by Paul, if he is the author .
     
    The book of Matthew has Jesus saying Matthew 26: 28.  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.This the translation from the KJV, which translates the Greek word here as testament instead of covenant, as Paul does in his books. You can find the Greek word in Strong's and it is the same here as in Hebrews. G1242  The same goes for the parallel stories in Mark and Luke.
     
    This raises the question on whether this is added text, whether the authors copied the idea from Paul's books since those were written first, or Jesus wasn't familiar with the text of Jeremiah.
     
    The Christian book misquotes Jeremiah in where the original text says in verse 32:....which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: the Greek text changes the wording to Hebrews 8:9..... because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
     
    Whether the author of Hebrews was unfamiliar with the Hebrew text or changed the wording to give the impression that God has now,somehow, discarded Israel for the new believers is something the reader will have to discern. Christianity does regard their text as divine.
     
    The Hebrew word in Jeremiah's verse says "ba'altee," which means a "husband." It in no way can be translated as "to disregard."  To be a "husband" is the precise opposite of "disregarding" someone.
    One may try to point out the reference of divorce in Jeremiah in an attempt to show that the radical change in what the new covenant is valid in claiming God did indeed "divorce" Israel..When you ask about the "divorce in Jeremiah," I am sure that you are referring to the parable in the opening verse of the third chapter of Jeremiah, where the prophet uses a harsh allegory to illustrate God's displeasure with His wayward nation.  For the readers of our website who are unfamiliar with this subject, I will briefly explain your series of questions.

    Using a jarring metaphor, Jeremiah compares Israel's spiritual disloyalty to an adulterous woman who has been put away by her husband whom she betrayed.  The prophet then asks a biting question, "After she leaves him and marries another man, may he return to her again?" (Jeremiah 3:1) The unspoken answer is that he cannot.  Deuteronomy 24:1-4 states that the original husband may never come back to his twice-divorced wife.

    Therefore is how can Israel ever return to its rightful place as God's priestly nation?  The prophet seems to indicate that she (Israel) has married another, namely, the gods of the heathen nations, and she is therefore unable to return as God's "firstborn son" (Exodus 4:22).  How can Israel ever hope to restore herself with the Almighty when the Law of Moses seems to indicate that she cannot?  How can the nation of Israel look to the commandments of the Torah for her salvation when, according to Jeremiah's metaphor, it is those very commandments that prevent her from returning? 
     
    If you have had difficulty understanding Jeremiah 3:1, it is that you made two mistakes while reading the parable of Israel as the divorced wife.  The first error is to interpret a parable in a hyper-literal fashion.  I find it puzzling that Christians, who should be quite familiar with the use of parables, have such difficulty understanding how Jeremiah is using the parable of the "divorced wife."  The second mistake is reading only half the parable.  In fact, the answer to your question is embedded in the final clause of the very same verse.  Let's first examine this parable more closely.

    Jeremiah's purpose in using this parable is two-fold.  First, the prophet wishes to vividly illustrate Israel's spiritual disloyalty to its Creator.  Second, and most importantly, unlike the twice-estranged wife whose original husband cannot return to her, the prophet appeals to the Jewish people to repent and proclaims that it is their covenantal purpose to be restored as God's chosen people.  What is impossible with the forsaken woman is the destiny for the children of Israel.  Let's look at the entire verse in context.

    They say, "If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man's, may he return to her again?"  Would not that land be greatly polluted?  But you have played the harlot with many lovers; "Yet return to Me," says the Lord.    (Jeremiah 3:1)

    The central feature of the prophet's exhortation that you overlooked appears at the very end of the verse, " 'Yet return to Me', says the Lord."  Jeremiah makes this plea five times throughout the chapter.  The message of the prophet is clear: The mercy and compassion of the Almighty is far beyond the scope of man's comprehension.  Whereas normally the betrayed husband would never take back his adulterous wife, our merciful God will forgive His wayward nation.  While the transgressed husband would never part with his burning wrath against his estranged wife, Jeremiah points the way to forgiveness, reconciliation, and salvation with the Almighty. In contrast to the enraged husband who would never take back his unfaithful wife, God will, upon repentance, compassionately receive his disobedient people.  What must Israel do to win the affection of its Maker?

    Just cry out to Me, "My Father, you are the Master of my youth!" (Jeremiah 3:4)

    Yet how can this be?  Will God's wrath not be kindled forever against His nation?  Jeremiah responds with a rhetorical question.

    Will He remain angry forever?  Will He keep it to eternity? (Jeremiah 3:5)

    The Almighty's answer follows with a comforting oath promising Israel an eternal destiny and permanent union with the Almighty.

    "Return, O backsliding children," says the Lord, "for I am married to you.  I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion." (Jeremiah 3:14)

    The central message of the third chapter remains: The fate of disloyal Israel stands in stark contrast to an unfaithful wife.  Whereas the adulterous woman may never return to her former husband, Jeremiah beckons the Jewish people back to the Almighty, and assures them of their eternal destiny to be forever married to their Maker. 

    Yet, by what means can the Jewish people return to God?  A few chapters later, Jeremiah answers this question as he outlines for his disobedient nation how they are to end their persistent backsliding.  In his seventh chapter, the prophet warns his people not to place their hopes on blood sacrifices or look to The Temple of the Lord to save them.  Jeremiah proclaims that these institutions cannot deliver them from their brazen sins.  Rather, they must turn away from idolatry and return to God by keeping the commandments.  Please take a moment and study Jeremiah's remarkable message on atonement. 

    So said the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, "Improve your ways and your deeds, I then will allow you to dwell in this place.  Do not rely on false words, saying, 'The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord are they.'  If you improve your ways and your deeds, if you perform judgment between one man and his fellow man, you do not oppress the stranger, an orphan, or a widow, and you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and you do not follow other gods for your detriment.  I will then allow you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave your forefathers from days of yore to eternity . . . .  So says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, "Add your burnt offerings upon your sacrifices and eat flesh; for neither did I speak with your forefathers nor did I command them on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning a burnt offering or a sacrifice.  This thing did I command them saying, 'Listen to Me so that I am your God and you are My people, you walk in all the ways that I command you . . . .' " (Jeremiah 7:3-7, 21-23)

    The above chapter stands as a reverberating indictment against the church's most fundamental creeds.  For example, according to Christian doctrine, man cannot merit salvation through his own repentance.  Atonement comes only through the shedding of innocent blood.  Throughout the seventh chapter of Jeremiah, however, the prophet proclaims the very opposite message on atonement.  Over and over again, Jeremiah loudly declares that God does not want blood sacrifices but rather repentance alone for man's grievous sins.(  See my post of True Biblical Teachings on Atonement) 

     
    The  term new covenant is used again in the continuation of the text in 8:10.  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
     11.  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
     12.  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
     13.  In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
     
    G-d made a covenant with Abraham. G-d reconfirmed that covenant with Isaac. He recommitted it with Jacob. G-d made a new covenant, built on the old, with Moses.None of the "old" covenants went away as implied by the Greek text. This is what Jeremiah prophesied. After the Diaspora G-d will make it clear to the world that Israel is STILL his beloved. He will make a new covenant with the houses of Judah and Israel that will be so apparent to Israel and the world that we won't need to teach the word of G-d. Instead Torah will be inscribed in the heart just like the prophesy says.
     
    On first look at the text in Hebrews 8, it appears that the author is saying that soon people WOULD have it written on their heart and the old way of learning and study was going to end. Then you get to Hebrews 12 where the author drops any pretense of saying the new covenant is anything like it says in Jeremiah, but changes it to being pivotal on the death of Jesus. Hebrews 12:24.  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
     
    Then when one looks at Paul's book 1 Corinthians 11:24-25
     
    24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."  This verse shows a claim as to what the new covenant is completely changed without any pretext.
     
    Under the eternal covenant G-d has with the Jews we are forbidden from consuming  blood -- even symbolically. Leviticus 17:12.  Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.
     13.  And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.
     14.  For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.
     
    This is a total abhorrence to a Jew and this "new" covenant is obviously NOT a continuation of the Jewish covenant nor any type of reflection of the prophesy in Jeremiah. The concept shown in the Greek text is not a mistranslation of the Hebrew text, but a completely foreign idea to what it says in the Jewish scripture as far as the Law and the Prophesies.
     
     Compare 2 Samuel 7:14 against Hebrews 1:5. The link in the Christian bible is not such a straight line. Hebrews 1:5 references Psalm 89:26, not 2 Samuel. When you read a few verses preceding that in Psalm 89, you will find a replay of 2 Samuel 7  Then you see that Psalm 89:24 is almost exactly 2 Samuel 7:15 - but who would know, without searching. …then…. you will see something more.  Psalm 89, which the book of Hebrews has directed you to, the same book of Hebrews that says the "old" covenant is decaying and about to vanish away (see above) …when you come upon Psalm 89: 34 which just eight verses later and even in the poorly translated Christian version -(this is v.35 in the Jerusalem bible) - says clearly:
    My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips."

  • In The Image of God

    This is the last of pieces on the soul of man. I would like to remind people that references to Midrash, the non-binding story parts found in the Talmud are not taken literally. Thank you all for taking the time to read them.

     

    Man is the highlight of creation and deserves honor and respect for he carries the image of God.The honor due man as the representative of God who carries His image is a basic theme is Chassidic thought.  Supposedly this was the last teaching of the Baal Shem Tov.  On his deathbed his final statement was, “An artist invests himself and expresses his deepest self in his work.  Want to understand an artist? Look at his handiwork.”  The point of the lesson was that to appreciate God and to love God it is necessary to appreciate and love man.  Man is God’s greatest masterpiece, study the sculpture and appreciate it in order to appreciate the Divine.   What is the meaning of Tzelem Elokim, the image of God?  If I look at my reflection in a mirror am I to think for a moment that I have seen God?!  Judaism abhors any attempt to ascribe to God any physical characteristics, as Maimonides defined it and it is one of the articles of faith that Jews recite on a daily basis,

    I believe with complete faith that the Creator, Blessed is His Name, is not physical and is not affected by physical phenomena, and that there is no comparison whatsoever to Him.

    God is totally incorporeal, so in what way is man in His image? 

    The mystics explain that each Hebrew name of God denotes a different way in which man perceives the Omnipotent.  Sometimes, I feel the Almighty’s boundless love, at other times I witness His awesome force and power, at still other points I might see His hand in nature.  Each of the different attributes of God that man acknowledges is characterized with a unique name.  The name YHVH reflects our feeling His love, Ado-n-y is the name for the fact that He is the master of all, and Sha-d/k-y reflects His power and dominion, His setting limits for the world.  

    Man was formed in the image of Elokim.  This name represents the awareness that God is “Baal Hakochos kulam ubaal hayecholes,” “Master of all powers and He has total authority.”  Man in the image of Elokim means that man too, in a certain sense, is the master over all the forces of creation and is endowed with unbridled power.

    Tzelem Elokim teaches the cosmic effect of human behavior.  Our deeds affect the entire world and the entirety of creation follows man’s lead. 

     An example of this principle is the story of the great flood.In parshas Noach the Torah tells of a time when all creatures were corrupted.  Even animals and the inanimate earth violated nature’s law.  Lions copulated with bears and a man would plant peach seeds only to reap apples.  As a result of the pervasive corruption God sent a deluge of water that destroyed almost all of humanity, the animals, plants, and several feet worth of topsoil.  Only man has freedom of choice, animals, plants, and the earth do not have the ability to decide between good and evil, so how did all of creation become corrupt?  The answer is that man controls the rest of creation.  When man performs evil, the spirit of misconduct is increased throughout the world.  Animals and the earth become infected too, and they start to perform in ways that are at variance with their law.

    Mankind at the time of the flood was thoroughly rotten.  They consistently chose evil. All the humans were sinners who polluted themselves and they caused the rest of creation to be polluted as well.  Noah was righteous and his influence allowed for a minute sample of animal and plant life that maintained fidelity to its laws.   

    Currently we confront a physical world that suffers from pollution, ozone depletion, and global warming.  The earth’s illnesses do not result merely from industrialization and its excesses.  Spiritually there is an obvious cause for our planet’s troubles; human society is an increasingly corrupt group.  Presidents lie, corporate titans shamelessly deceive, and the various forms of media pull readers and viewers to the lowest of lowly urges.   Innocent faith, old-fashioned honesty, decency, and morality have become rare commodities.  The rest of creation reflects our misdeeds.   

    How does this cosmic power work?  Why do the actions of man have such effects?The answer is that man is a miniaturization of the entire spiritual realm.  Man’s soul parallels God’s spiritual universes that form the foundation for this physical world. The technical term for this concept is Olam Kattan, man is a miniature of the entire world.  C.f. Shichas Malachey Hashareis chapter three, and the Overview of Artscroll’s Tehillim by Rabbi A.C. Feuer.  When God created man, He said “Let us make man.” Nahmonides explains the plural of “Let us” to mean that God invited all of creation to contribute to the creation of man, man has within him microcosmic traces of each created being.  When a man displays strength and power that is the aspect of the lion within man, sometimes man is timid and fearful, that is when the nature of the lamb expresses itself in man.  When people idle, doing nothing, it is a display of the plant element within man.    

    Imagine two harps tuned to the same pitch placed right next to each other.  Play note A on one harp, its string will vibrate and produce a loud sound.  Even though you have not touched the second harp, note A in the other harp will also vibrate softly.   Man and the universe are parallel harps; when we cause our strings to vibrate, parallel strings in the supernal realms vibrate ever so softly, broadcasting the same notes throughout the world.The imagery of two parallel harps is utilized by Rav Wolfson to explain a Talmudic story.  The Talmud in Berakhoth 3b relates:

                    There was a harp hanging above the bed of David.  When midnight would hit, a northern wind would blow.  The harp would then play.  David would awake and rise to study Torah until the morning.

    The Spiritual Dimension as Supernal Universes

    A great Rabbi once walked with his student along a grassy path.  While they were talking, the student carelessly picked a flower from the ground and started to scatter its petals.  The Rabbi stopped walking and said to his student, “In the Midrash (Breishit Rabba 10) it is taught that every blade of grass has an angel that stands behind it hitting the grass saying, ‘Grow.’  When you picked the flower from the earth, you caused this flower’s angel to die.  Do you have a good reason for destroying the life of a celestial light?”

    Our physical world is controlled by a spiritual world.  Each blade of grass, for instance, has a spiritual channel, an angel that provides for its life.  Jewish mysticism details the makeup of this spiritual dimension.  In a broad sweep this spiritual dimension is comprised of five spiritual universes. 

    Why is there a need for a spiritual dimension?  Can’t God direct us personally without any intermediates?  The answer is that man’s feeble physical and spiritual nature would be overwhelmed by the presence of God.When the Torah was given at Mt. Sinai Jews experienced a direct revelation of Godliness.  The experience was so overwhelming that their souls left their bodies and all of Jewry had to undergo a revival of the dead.  Finite man cannot directly experience the breath of the infinite. 

    God’s essence is so overpowering that it does not allow for anything to exist independently before It.  The spiritual universes are the steps in which God has limited His essence so that an independent existence can emerge.  The key terms in understanding these steps are Tzimtzum, constriction, and Or Ain Sof, Light With No End. 

    Consider light.  Light usually enables sight, yet too much light can blind. The same is true with noise.  A whisper can hardly be heard, only if one raises the volume of speech is it audible.   However, if one shouts at the top of his lungs, the heightened noise renders the words inaccessible.  Similarly, God is called Infinite Light (Or Ain Sof), with no end and no beginning.  He is the ultimate Reality.  His life and vitality is so powerful, it overwhelms all other existing items that face Him directly.  To allow for creation God acted with Tzimtzum, He pulled in His light.  He then emanated from Himself a light that was less bright than His essence.  Even this light was too much for existence, so out of this light He caused another further limited light to emerge, and then another and another.  At the last stage of limited light a physical universe emerged out of the spiritual lights.  Olam is a universe, and the words heelam and neelam, unknown and hidden, share the same Hebrew root.  A universe is a “hiding of the Infinite”, a dimunition of Divine light.  The process of limiting the light and turning the spiritual into a progressively more physical creation is called Seder Hishtalshlus- the order of development.  

    Hishtalshlus shares a root with the word shalsheles, a chain.  Creation is a chain for two reasons.  Firstly, in a chain each ring leads to another and creation is a process of cause and effect, greater lights producing lesser lights, out of which are formed even smaller forces.  The Nefesh Hachaim and many other sources tell us that there are many interlocking levels to the Creation.  In an infinitely stretching chain beginning at the very Source of existence, many worlds are connected in sequence.  Each of these higher worlds infuses the level below it with existence and energy; each is “male” with regard to the world below it which is relatively speaking, “female”, and together they “bring out” yet another level below them.  This process continues with myriad complexity until finally our finite world results.Secondly, in a chain, the rings interlock, the end of the first ring’s airspace has within it the beginning of the second ring and in the spiritual dimension each level is interwoven with the next level.   For instance, the lowest level of the universe of Atzilus (the first universe), is also the highest level in the universe of Beriyah (the second universe).  

    The different stages of the Seder Hishtalshlus are the universes that are the soul parts of the physical universe.

    The first supernal universe is so high that it too is a light that is almost infinite.  This universe is hardly spoken about in Chassidic literature and is called Adam Kadmon, Initial Man, or Olam Hatzachtzachos, in Kabbalah, it parallels the human soul part of Yechida.The Ari Hakadosh wrote that humans should not try to meditate and think about this world.

    The second universe is Atzilus.  Atzilus means next to, noble, and emanated or given off.  This world is “next to” God, it is the first light that God gave off.  An Atzil is a nobleman, he has power and importance because of his proximity to the king.  Similarly, this universe is next to the King of Kings and that is where its importance stems from. 

    Prayer is a soulful sojourn through the universes. Atzilus is represented by the extremely righteous in their Shemoneh Esreh, - silent devotion - part of prayers.  For the silent devotion one takes three steps forward to enter into a new dimension in which the prayers are recited silently. At this point of the service the petitioner is standing next to God and that is why all can talk with Him in the hushed tones of an intimate whisper.  Furthermore, according to Halakha ideally this prayer should lead to leaving the physical self and getting lost in rapture of the Divine.  During the silent prayer the Tzadik achieves Dveykus, absolute cleaving.  Dveykus means becoming one with God.   What is it like to become one with someone else?   Oneness cannot be described nor defined it can only be understood through the experience of a sensitive heart.  Loss of all bodily sensation and absolute union with the Infinite is a human sensation that is Atzilus-like, it is a sense of a wholly new dimension.  The sense of absolute oneness with the Divine is an out of body experience that emerges from Atzilus, the universe that is above our world and serves as a makif an enveloping light to our physical dimension. 

    Atzilus is all good and it produces the Chaya part of the human soul. Chaya is the source of dveykus, devotional oneness, and what Chaya is in the human is what Atzilus is to the cosmos. 

    Out of Atzilus a further diminished light emerged, the world of Beriah, creation.  Atzilus experientially is felt as a loss of self-hood, it is called Ayin, a sense of nothingness.  Beriah emerged out of it, thus Beriah is a manifestation of and the place of Yesh meayin, something coming out of nothing.  In this world there is a possibility of evil although good is the majority.  This world parallels the section of prayers that speak of accepting God’s yoke, the recital of Shma and its blessings.  This world is also termed “Olam Hakisey” “the universe of God’s throne.”  Symbolically the Almighty “sits” there, that is why there is a widespread Jewish custom to sit during the prayers of Shma.  Beriah produced and parallels the Neshama part of the soul.  The Neshama is located in the mind and expressed through thought, and in the world of Beriah thoughts are tangible and real.  The depths of Neshama can be felt when all of one’s thoughts are holy, centering on Torah knowledge and Mitzvah fulfillment.

    Beriah let out a lesser light that became the world of Yetzirah.  Yetzirah implies yesh miyesh, something from something, to form an item out of a primordial matter.  In Yetzirah evil has even more presence and is equal to the amount of good.  This world is represented by the Psukey Dzimrah - verses of praise - part of the morning prayers.  Zimrah also means to prune, the verses of praise are pruning shears, they cut away the forces of evil and allow man’s prayers to enter before God. This universe let off the Ruach part of the soul that it parallels.  Yetzirah is the world of feeling and man’s emotions of holiness reach this world.  The ultimate level of Ruach is felt when one’s heart is filled exclusively with the best desires, such as swirls of love for Judaism, or awe and fear of Heaven.  Feelings are as tangible in the world of Yetzirah as objects are in our universe.

    Finally, there is the universe of Asiyah where the majority is evil, and it parallels the Nefesh part of the soul, and the prayers of Korbanos - the sacrificial order that purified and provided the spiritual merit for this world. Good deeds performed on this earth reach the world of Asiyah.

    After the spiritual universes, stands the physical universe itself, which is joined to the world of Asiyah.

    Man in Hebrew is called adam a word that shares a root with the word adameh, literally, “I will resemble.”  What is a man?  A being who resembles the Heavenly domain.  Since man’s soul parts constitute a small harp to the great harp of the physical universe’s “soul-parts” his actions cause similar results in those realms.  Man is the soul of the universe.Rabbi Tzadok explains that the life-forms on our planet are roughly divided into four categories; domeim, inanimate materials such as air and water, tzomeach, growing items such as grass and trees, chay, living beings like animals, fowl, and insects, and medaber, speaking creatures, namely, humans.  The world of Asiyah and the soul part Nefesh are expressed through righteous deed.  If you put a coin into the hand of a poor person without any care for his welfare nor a thought about why it is correct to give charity, then it is exclusively in the realm of Asiyah.  Domeim bears a trace of Asiyah.  An act without feeling or thinking is like an inanimate item, the doer was a block of wood during its performance, no better than a mechanical machine.  The world of Yetzirah is the source for Ruach and feelings and resembles tzomeach.   Most of what I feel is internal, only a small fraction of my love or hate can be seen by others.  I cannot see the tree moving up when it grows, however I do see a small fraction of the growth process, and by regular monitoring of a plant I can stay abreast of its development.  Animals have some intelligence, thus chay corresponds to Beriah and Neshama, the sources of thoughts.  Chaya and Atzilus is total connection to God, thus corresponding to medaber, the human who through speech can experience union with Infinity.

January 13, 2010

  • The Body Can Complement The Soul

    A superficial view of body and soul and their relationship to each other would lead one to view them as eternal opponents.  Yet, once one delves deeper one can see how the body can help the cause of the soul. 

    The Body Clothes the Divine Soul Most of this segment (The body as clothing) is from the Stutchiner Rebbe not Rav Wolfson.  C.f. Mishbetzos Zahav,Shavuos (5751), page 194

               The inner wisdom of Torah teaches that the relationship between the physical body and the Divine soul is like that of a garment.  The body is the clothes of the soul.  In mystical terminology Oros, lights, is the term for soul-like forces while Keilim, clothes or vessels, is the term for body-like entities.  To describe the soul and other spiritual entities and mystics use the term light.   This is because light is one of the least physical of items in our material world, it cannot be grasped and held, thus it represent the spiritual non-tangible entities.  Light also provides a clear field of vision, and is a universal symbol of purity.  Furthermore, it spreads out quickly just as spirituality causes a person to spread himself out and do acts that bring honor to God.  Additionally, light was the first creation and thus it represents the source of existence.  Rabbi  Yechiel Bar Lev suggested that light represents an extremely strong degree of connection to root.  If you cut a branch off a tree the branch will no longer grow but it will not disappear, it continues to exist.  However, if you sunder a ray of light from its root, say shuttering a window, thus separating the rays from the sun, the room will become dark because light detached from its root ceases to exist.  Light represents the spiritual dimension since we must be totally connected to the root and if we are not connected to the Divine we cannot exist.  C.f. Yedid Nefesh pages 35-36

    Consider a lamp in your living room as an example of Oros and Keilim.  Light in the elemental form is soul-like, it is the Or.  Essential light is clothed in the Keli (vessel) of the light bulb.  Light itself; pure, absolute, and unlimited in any way would be so bright that no one would benefit from it.  In a light bulb, light is restrained so that it can be appreciated. This is the function of all Keilim.  They limit the Oros to enable enjoyment.  

    The light bulb is an Or, a soul-like light, relative to the lamp shade, its Keli, its vessel.  The light bulb on its own would be too bright for anyone to benefit, the shade around it reduces the glare so that its rays are soft and helpful.  Body is light to clothes as its vessel.  The clothes conceal the body so that it is not seen in its naturalness. 

    The soul is light to the body as vessel.  The soul on its own is like pure unlimited light.  It is overwhelming.  Just as a light fixture limits absolute radiance and cloaks it in a manageable form, the body obscures the light of the soul. Body as vessel to soul as light seems to mean that the two are opposing forces since concealing is the opposite of revealing.Another pair of terms that describe this relationship is chomer and tzurah.  Chomer  literally means matter and it is body-like or vessel-like.  Tzurah literally means form and it is the soul or light to matter Within man the soul is the tzurah and the body is the chomer.  C.f. Yedid Nefesh part 1 chapter 5.At the Creation, the body of Adam was just that.  It was an ethereal, luminescent structure which revealed the spiritual content.” (Living Inspired page 118) “The garments of the world, the covering of Adam before he sinned were of Or “light.”  After the sin, the covering became skin.  The root Or has the silent aleph, it is light, spiritual, all revelation.  The root (for the Hebrew word for skin) spells not only skin but blind too – the covering which revealed has become a covering which obstructs.” (Living Inspired page 120)  When one purifies his body he is, in some measure, returning to the state of Adam before the sin.

      The soul is the source of life, it is what gives life. The body receives life from the soul.  The body is a receiver to soul as a giver.  Here again, body and soul are opposites for taking is the opposite of giving, just as dimming is the opposite of illuminating.  A deeper look will reveal that the definition of body and soul as light and vessel is the reason why study of the body can teach about the soul.

      We can delve deeper.  A vessel need not always dim the light.  Sometimes the vessel becomes pure and radiant.  Then, the vessel itself becomes light-like.   For instance, a lampshade can become translucent so that the light bulb shines through it without being dimmed at all.  In such cases the lampshade is indistinguishable from the bulb and one might say that the lampshade produces light for it loses its identity to the light bulb.  The body is the vessel of the soul, yet once the body is purified it will not oppose the soul nor will it hide the soul. “The body should reflect the neshama perfectly, (it) should serve the soul in perfect loyalty.  Never should the body stray after its own desires.  It should be a vessel, a tool which obeys its control dimension totally selflessly.  It should be like a vehicle driven only from within, its very existence justified only as a loyal servant.

    Even prior to the absolute purification of the body, the body can help you grow spiritually. Every Keli (vessel) can become an Or (a light), and the ability to become a light is constantly latent within it.  Thus a study of the vessel that discovers its latent abilities will teach about the light’s characteristics. The body clothes the soul. “Clothes hide but also reveal – although the wearer is hidden by his clothes, his dignity is revealed by his clothes.  Royal robes cover the king, but they reveal his royalty. (‘Oteh or ka’salma’ –‘ God wears light like a garment’; nature hides God, but accurately reveals His presence!)” (Living Inspired page 120)  Thus the body obscures the soul and reveals the soul.

    Lessons of the Body

    What is the body’s strongest impulse?  I would argue that it is lust.  Lust is a mask of a Heavenly and soulful force, Chessed, the desire to spread out and connect with others. In Leviticus 20:17 it is written, “Viish asher yikach es achoso bos aviv oh vas imo viraah es ervasah vihi sireh es ervaso chessed hu vinichrasu lieiney bney amam ervas achoso gilah avono yisah” “ A man who marries his sister, daughter of his father, or daughter of his mother, and he saw her nakedness and she saw his, it is chessed, and they will be cut off before their nation, he revealed his sister’s nakedness he must bear his sin.” (emphasis added)  The Baal Shem Tov explained that the verse included the word chessed, to teach that lowly lustful desires are a misapplication of the Heavenly drive for chessed.  The verse is bemoaning the disgrace saying, “Lust? How could you do that, to misapply chessed, the most radiant and important of character traits?” Lust is when I seek to connect with them for my own selfish pleasure, Chessed is the elevated form of this urge; desire to connect with others in order to give and to help them and an urge to attach oneself to God.  Lust as the most virulent bodily desire teaches that generous giving is the most powerful urge of the soul.  The body’s lust drive is enormously powerful; that should teach us how deeply the soul desires Chessed.

    Perhaps the following thought might help one overcome improper drives:  The animal soul is ascendant when lust is actualized.  If one acts according to the dictates of desires one is little better than the beasts of the wild.  On the other hand, the Heavenly soul shines through the body when one displays selfless giving.  When experiencing lust temptation the body is reflecting a fallen urge of the soul.  It is a moment to engage in Chessed - selfless giving to other humans and to the cause of Holiness. Raising lust is a very high level of service of the Almighty.   When overcome with such feelings contemplation that at its root it is a desire for divinity and turning those passions towards feeling Love towards Him or His children is a difficult task.  Chassidim demanded it of themselves.“The Baal Shem Tov taught that God created human emotions to teach man how to serve his Master.  The Besht explicitly said, ‘Man must believe that when an evil lust falls into his heart it was sent to him from God, for the time has come for him to serve God with love of Holiness.  Heaven is hinting to him, “turn love to the love of God.”   Once the heart is already in a state of desire it is easier to reach love of Divinity.  Similarly, when a great fright falls upon man, he should know with certitude that this fear was sent from Heaven to tell him, “Now is the time to arouse your own innate fear of God.”  So it is with all the emotions’”(Divrey Sholom, Purim page 38) 

    The reason for the centrality of lust and generosity  is that Chessed, the Divine and elevated form of this drive, was the foundation of the world; as scripture states, “Olam Chessed Yibaneh” “The world was built upon Chessed” (Psalm 89)  God’s creation was an act of total love, and he placed Chessed as the foundation of a Heavenly personality.

     Even the physical form of the body can teach lessons about the Nefesh elokis, the Godly soul.  Look at the body from the form of the body, and the various functions its parts fulfill, and you may learn about the nature of the soul.  For instance, the tongue is the vessel for speech and it is a very delicate and soft limb, it does not have a bone and can easily be burnt and damaged.  This is a lesson about the soul, soulful speech is soft and delicate.  Soulful rebuke is delivered to others through a context of love and in an oblique manner that does not offend.  (C.f. Mishbetzos Zahav, Parshas Noach) The tongue has two uses it enjoys taste that no one else will enjoy and it reveals to others insights through oral communication.  This teaches that some ideas, such as lessons of the revealed Torah should be shared, other concepts, such as the secrets of how God created the universe are to be hidden and each individual should enjoy them by himself.  (C.f. Pachad Yitzchok on Rosh Hashana Maamar one). The Maharal explains that the reason why the human body is naturally straight and we do not walk on all fours with our head to the earth, is that God wanted to send a message to man through the human form.  “Because God’s presence is not visible in this world, it is easy for people to come to sin.  God compensated for this physical blind spot with the spiritual ability to perceive and fear God.  Our erect human posture directs our gaze upwards to the Heavens.  There we observe God’s presence… and we are less inclined to sin.”  (Maharal of Prague on Pirkei Avos page 81 c.f. Derech Chaim, end of the commentary to Mishna 2:1)

      The body has two hundred and forty eight primary limbs and three hundred sixty five sinews. The limbs are the major bones of the body, the sinews are what hold muscles to bone and contain blood within their channels.  Bones are white while sinews (that are filled with blood) are red.  Thus there are two hundred and forty eight white parts of the body and three hundred sixty five red parts of the body.  The soul has matching segments.

    There are two hundred and forty eight “white lights” and three hundred and sixty five “red lights” in the soul.  Each soul “light” (part of the soul) is Godly holiness clothed in one of the physical parts of the body.  The soul-part is what gives life to that portion of the body.  The “white lights” are clothed in the limbs, in the white bones, and the “red lights” are sheathed within the sinews.

     Jewish observance is divided into two parts, Mitzvos Aseh, commandments that require a particular act from the Jew, and Mitzvos Lo Taaseh, enjoinders prohibiting behaviors.  The Torah contains two hundred and forty eight Mitzvos Aseh and three hundred sixty five Mitzvos Lo Taaseh.  Performance of the Mitzvos Aseh draws life to the limbs from the “white” of the soul while observing the prohibitions of Mitzvos Lo Taaseh brings added strength and purity from the “red” of the soul.  Thus each Mitzvah parallels a soul and a body part.  The more Mitzvos one performs the purer the body becomes and that much more spiritual vigor may flow into it.

    In mysticism, the different colors along the spectrum symbolize different Divine attributes (C.f. “Meditation and Kabbalah” pgs. 179-183 )  The color white symbolizes chessed – unbridled generosity and love.  The color red represents din – harsh justice, and limitations.  Mitzvos Aseh require that action be taken, one has to extend his personality and do, and are expressions of love for God.  What we do is the basis of who we are, thus our deeds provide added life to the white bones, the body part that frames a person’s form and shape.  Mitzvos Lo Taaseh are injunctions, forbidding acts that are injurious to our and the world’s spiritual well being.  Observance of these laws entails constriction, pulling one’s self in and not doing what sensory urges seek.  Scrupulous adherence to the commands of Mitzvos Lo Taaseh is thus an exhibition of din, -fear and justice - setting boundaries and rigorously maintaining them.  Our forefather Avraham was the ultimate paradigm of chessed, Heavenly giving and love.  Avraham even sought to perform kindness with earth worshippers and the sinners of Sodom (see parshas Vayera).  Since Mitzvos Aseh are expression of giving, extending oneself for God’s sake, Avraham is the personification of Mitzvos Aseh.  The gimmattriah of Avraham’s name (1+2+200+5+40) is 248 the same as the sum of all Mitzvos Aseh.

    The goal of Mitzvos Lo Taaseh is to preserve the spiritual well being of the person, thus they parallel sinews that tie the muscles to the bones and maintain the person. Isaac was the paradigm of Din or Gevurah, setting limits and constriction.  Isaac’s greatest moment was when he allowed himself to be bound on the altar, an act of remarkable discipline and withdrawal.  Isaac is the personification of Mitzvos Lo Taaseh, as a result when God first appeared to him and gave Isaac a Mitzvah to live in the Land of Israel it was phrased as a prohibition “Do not go down to Egypt, stay in this land etc.” (Genesis 25:2).  (Emunas Etecha, Lech Lecha 5759).  The Nefesh part of the soul is the part that has 613 “pieces” that correspond to the various body parts.

     Death divides the soul from its physical body and the soul then enters another dimension, the World-to-Come.  A soul always needs some sort of vessel to contain it.  Since death rids us of a body, what will clothe our soul in the next dimension?  The answer is the Mitzvos that we performed.  Since each Mitzvah parallels a soul part, if we fulfill all of the Mitzvos in the next world they will clothe us fully in a Heavenly body-like cloak. Every Jew can fulfill all the Mitzvos even though some commands only apply to priests and others were limited to the Land of Israel.  A simple Israelite outside the Holy Land can study the Torah’s discussion of the Mitzvos of priesthood or of the Land of Israel.  Intellectual thought of these commandments and discussing their laws are partial fulfillments of these Mitzvos.  Another way for each individual to fulfill all 613 obligations is through love.  If a Jew binds himself with great attachment to all the Jews within the nation, the Mitzvos that the Cohanim perform will accrue merit for him as well.

    A great Tzadik who has performed many good deeds brings about a new spirit to his person.  While in this world he already has some qualities of the next world.  His body is constantly being purified through the Mitzvos that he performs and it becomes a vessel like the translucent lampshade.  It does not oppose the soul, rather it reflects God’s glory to all.  When seeing such an individual you immediately sense his soul and its message for it shines right through the body. 

    At an ideal level all of us when seeing others focus on what is essential, the soul of the other and not what is external, the body that clothes the soul.  If you shake the gloved hand of a friend you would not characterize it as, “touching Jake’s glove”, rather you would describe the event as, “I shook Jake’s hand” since the glove pales in importance to the hand it covers.  Similarly the body is merely the clothing of the soul.  It should pale in importance to the soul.  Where there is a conflict between the will of the body (the nefesh habahamis) and that of the soul (the nefesh elokis), the needs of the soul should come first, and in truth when we think of ourselves we should immediately think of our essence, our soul and not the clothes, the body.  The gemmatriah ( numerical value of words and letters) of the word ahava (love) is 13 the same as for the word echad (one).  Total love demands singular devotion.   One can only truly fully love one spouse or ideal.  If so how did the Torah demand love for fellow Jews once we were already commanded to love God our Lord?  If the heart is filled with love for God where will there be room for love of fellow men?  The answer is that the Torah  demands love to one subject, God.  If one sees souls and not bodies, then one sees the Divine in others and that Divinity is what is beloved.  If you love your spouse you love her children who are extensions of the spouse.  “You are children to God,” according to the Torah, therefore, love of God demands love for the Jewish soul that emerges from Him.   The Tzadik reaches this level; he only sees souls; all he sees is the nefesh elokis - the Divine within others.

  • Body Versus Soul

     God formed man out of dust of the earth, and blew into his nostrils a soul of life, and man (thus) became a living creature (Genesis 2:7).    For you are dust and to dust you shall return (Genesis 3:19)

     Man is composed of two opposing components.  He has a body that was initially formed from dust and is coarse like the physical world.  Man is also the guardian of a soul, a fragment of Divinity, that emerged from God’s essence when He blew into Adam.The Midrash, (Bresishis Rabbah 12:8, Rashi’s version) describes the composite nature of man in the following text.

    “Great is peace for when God created His world he made peace between the higher (spiritual) creations and the lower (physical) creations.  On the first day He created in both realms, as is written, ‘In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth.’ On the second day He created in the spiritual realm, as is written, ‘And God said “Let there be a firmament.’’’  On the third day He created in the lowly realm, as is written, ‘And God said “Let the earth sprout grasses.”’  On the fourth day He created in the Heavenly realm, as is written, ‘And God said “Let the Heavenly lights (the sun and moon) appear.”’  On the fifth day He created in the lower realm, as is written, ‘And God said “let the waters swarm.”’  On the sixth day He wished to create man.   God then said, ‘If I create Him from the Heavenly then the spiritual will exceed the physical by one creation and there will be no peace in the world.  If I create him from the lowly then the physical will be one more than the spiritual and there will be no peace in the world.  Therefore, I will create him from the Higher and lower realms for the sake of peace.’  This is what is meant by the verse, ‘And God formed man dust from the earth’ (man is) from the lowly, and ‘He blew in his nostril a soul of life’ (man is also) from the Heavenly.”

    Hebrew names manifest the essential nature of an item.  The essence of man can be found in his name Adam.  The letter aleph is a composite of three letters, two letters yud (one on the right and the other to the left) and a vav.  The gimmatria equals 26 which is the numerical value of God’s name of being (Yud then Heh then Vav and Heh).  The aleph of Adam recalls “Alufo shel Olam” “The Master of the world” for man has a part of Divinity within him.  The remaining two letters spell the word dam - blood.  Blood is the home for the animal soul of man.  Thus man is a union of Divine Soul with animal flesh. (Rav Wolfson)

     Since God is not a human who has a respiratory system, what is the meaning of God’s breath?  God’s breath symbolizes the Almighty’s “essence”, as it were His “vitality”.  Breath is human life.  Time of death is determined in Jewish law as the point when respiration ceases, and the Hebrew word for soul, neshama, shares a root with the word for breath, neshima.  To blow means to push out breath from the depths of your being, “G-d blew into man”, He reached to the essence of Himself, cut off a piece, and endowed it to man as the human soul.   Body (earthiness) and soul (pure Godliness) are opposites, yet they need each other.

         A parable helps explain their relationship.  There was once a cripple who was blessed with vigorous eyesight and a keen intellect.  One day he was told that his daughter, who lived in the next town, was organizing a party in her home celebrating the birth of her first child.  The invalid sorely wanted to attend the party.  The next town was only a few miles away, but he could not walk, and he could not afford to pay for a horse and buggy to transport him.

         In the same town as the invalid lived a blind man who was healthy and strong.  He had heard that a medical professor, expert in vision restoration, was in the next town for a short visit.  The blind man desperately desired to visit the doctor, however, he knew that he could not attempt the trip on his own.  Were he to try and grope along the roads he would quickly lose his way at the various turns and would be easy prey for the bandits that ambush passerby.

         The invalid asked a friend to bring him to the town’s central square to find a ride to the next town.  The blind man also came to the square for the same purpose.  They ended up sitting next to each other.   They both waited for hours but no ride materialized.  Eventually, they started talking to each other and the invalid realized that he and the blind man both sought the same destination. 

    He recommended that the blind man carry him.  He would look out and guide the blind man along treacherous turns and watch from his elevated perch for ambushers that may be lying in wait, while the blind man’s vigorous strength would easily carry them both to their goal.  Together they arrived in the next town.The blind man is the body while the invalid is the soul.(Adapted from Vayikrah Rabbah chapter four)

    The body does not see well. The body accepts pleasure as the purpose of life.  The body desires to sleep and waste away time.  It is easy to anger, and it revels in wasteful speech and thought.  The body is often depressed and it seeks pride and power.  The soul however has perfect vision. The soul knows that we are on earth in order to display the Divine’s rule and thus mend His world.  The soul sees ultimate reality, what truly matters and what is real pleasure.  Alone, the soul is an impotent invalid.  For its tikkun, to accomplish its mission of performing Mitzvoth and learning Torah in this sphere of existence, it needs a body. 

    It was most important for the blind man to walk and the invalid to ride.  Imagine if the order had been inversed, would they have achieved their goal?  If the blind man had ridden atop the invalid, he would not have been able to see afar in order to protect the invalid from robbers who lay in ambush, nor would the invalid with his atrophied legs have been able to carry the blind man’s weight.  The soul must control the body and have the body serve it.  People in whom the soul serves the body lack the correct perspective on life, they enslave their moral thinking to legitimize base behaviors, and they torment their soul with the lowest desires.The highest point of the soul is concentrated in the mind, that is why the prayer recited before placing Tefillin (phylacteries) on the arm and head declares, “(the Teffilah box) on the head stands opposite the brain so that the Neshama Shebimochi, the soul, whose location is in the head, together with my other proclivities and abilities will be fully committed to the service of God.”  Thus, thought is associated with the soul, while impulses are expressions of the body.

    The differing attractions of the body and the soul             

    Everything in nature seeks to return to its root.  So as well is a child always attracted to his parental home. Home as the source of one’s life has the quality of a root and branches are attracted to their roots.  Consider the strength of the bond between father and child.  The father is the source of the son, he is a root, and the son is an offshoot.  Since the attraction to source is so powerful the son seeks to emulate his father and earn his father’s approval. Tzion Viareha pg. 31

    Similarly every man is attracted to his wife and when single feels forlorn and incomplete.  This too stems from the need to reconnect to one’s roots.  Before birth each soul is a duality, with a male half and a female half.  When we are born, only half of a soul enters the world at a time.  There is another half, of the opposite gender, that is born into another family, usually at a different time.  The urge for marriage is a desire to return to the perfect state, the most natural, the form in which we were originally created.  Marriage is not a union of disparate individuals, it is a reunion of the halves that were initially one soul. The primordial unity of souls is hinted at in the verse, “Hema Mehevel Yachad” “They are together from mist,” namely, since the point of mere soul mist, male was together with female.  Perhaps this concept can explain a difficulty that is found in Rabbinic sources about marriage.  Legal authorities stress that marriage should be performed with symbolic omens of blessing.  For instance, ideally one should marry at the beginning of the lunar month when the moon, the symbol of the Jewish nation, is growing in luster.  Secondly, there is a widespread custom to place the wedding canopy under the stars, the artifact of God’s blessing to Abraham that Jews will be as plentiful as the celestial lights.  Yet, the Rabbi’s derived the laws of marriage from the purchase of the Machpela cave, the burial plot where Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sara, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah are interred.  Can a cemetery and death be a good omen?  The answer is yes, the Machpela cave indicates the heights of union married individuals can reach.  Marriage is not merely a partnership of bodies and lives, it is a reunion of souls.  As a result it does not have to end.  The body stops living at the point of death but the soul lives on and a marriage where husband and wife are fully connected to each other, continues after death.  Even in the next world the two souls are fused.  That is why our patriarchs and matriarchs were buried as couples in the same cave, to indicate that during their lifetimes they had fully fused their personalities and therefore the bond fully continued on a soulful level after death.  Perhaps the name Chevron (where the Machpela cave is located) reflects this concept, since Chevron stems from the word Chibur - connection.  Deriving the laws of marriage from the purchase of the Machpela cave is a wonderful omen, it shows that in marriage an absolute unity can be achieved during the lifetime of the couple and that union can continue after physical death.  (Emunas Etecha parshas Vayetze page 86)

    C.f. “Made in Heaven” page 1 note one.

    Since marriage is a return to one’s root it resembles and symbolizes the ultimate redemption. 

    Every nation’s root is their homeland, that is why Englishmen are loyal to England and Americans are loyal to America.  The root of the Jewish nation is the Land of Israel.  That is why Jews are innately attracted to the Land of Israel. 

    In the realm of person the roots of the Jewish people are our forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov.   God introduced Himself to each with commandments about the Land of Israel.  God’s first words to Abraham were, “Lech lecha” “Leave your land, birthplace, and family and go to the Land that I will show you (Israel).” (Genesis 12:1)  To Isaac He said “Do not go down to Egypt, reside in the land that I will command you to stay there.  Stay in this land (Israel).” (Genesis 25: 2-3)  And Jacob’s first message was “I am the G-d of Abraham etc. the land that you are lying on will be given to you and your descendants.” (Genesis 28:13)   Since the land of Israel is the root of the nation in the dimension of space, in the dimension of people our roots first began their relationships with God through hearing of the bond to the land.   (Emunas Etecha, Lech Lecha 5759)

    The ultimate redemption will return Jewry to their land and thus will return us to our root.  Since marriage is also a return to the root, marriage is the symbol of the redemption.  That is why in the blessings celebrating marriage the seventh blessing requests the ultimate redemption.  At a time of return to a root it is fitting to pray for the ultimate return to the Source. Thus, the prophet promised, “Once again it will be heard in the hills of Judea and in the outskirts of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness, the sounds of groom and bride, the sounds of thanks to God.” 

    The body and soul have different roots. The body is from the earth.  It is organic and chemical like the earth.  Since the body is attracted to its root it is drawn to an animalistic life, one of passions, laziness, emptiness, and false pride.  The soul however is also attracted to its root.  The soul stems directly from God’s breath.  The soul pulls us up to God Himself.  The soul attracts man to the highest ideals, it inspires morality, and demands behavior that connects us to God.See Horeb chapter 61, who explains the obligation of burial as a requirement to return the body to its root, just as the soul has returned to its root in Heaven through death.  The concentrated life force of the body is called nefesh habahmis - the animal soul, since animals also have organic “spirits” that provide their life and attract them to lowly desires.

    The soul is the nefesh elokis - the Godly soul, since it is a piece that was hewed off of the Divine.  The nefesh habahamis is concentrated in the blood, which is why loss of much blood causes death to the body.  The Torah severely prohibits ingestion of animal blood because what you eat influences your character and since the blood contains an intense form of the animal’s vitality and nature, eating it would cause the human nefesh habahimis to become too strong.C.f. Ohr Hachaim, Vayikrah 17:10  The organ with the most blood in the body is the liver, the nefesh habahamis is therefore said to be located in the liver, or the left half of the heart, a section of the heart that has excessive amounts of blood.  The home of the nefesh elokis is the mind, and it is concentrated in the right half of the brain.  The nefesh habahamis is sometimes called yetzer hara, evil inclination, for it draws the person to evil, the selfish behaviors of the animal world.  The nefesh elokis, pulls man to attachment with the Divine and is called yetzer tov, the inclination for good. 

         “The candle of God is the human soul.”(Proverbs) Just as in a candle the flame seeks to leap ever higher, the soul (nefesh elokis) seeks to leap out of the body into the embrace of the Heavens.  The wick tethers the flame and the body tethers the soul keeping it grounded and constrained.

         These conflicting urges may be the source for the custom to Shuckle, sway back and forth, while praying and studying Torah.  To remove an embedded tooth a dentist must pull it.  Resisting dislocation, it shakes back and forth.  When praying or learning the soul seeks to leap out of the body; it wants to rejoin its root and feel God without the limitation of flesh.Rav Moshe Chayim Luzzato writes in his work Daas Tevunos, “The soul is a fragment of Divinity, its only desire is to return to and cleave to its Source, to reach Him; (this is because the soul is) like all effects that seek their cause, and the soul will only rest and feel inner peace once it accomplishes this goal.”      Yet the body keeps the soul in this world. The two drives face off against each other, as a result, there is a swaying back and forth.

         The greatest miracle is the human specimen.  According to Rav Moshe Isserles,[17] the blessing recited after relieving oneself in a lavatory expresses thanks for the wonder of human life.  The blessing concludes with praise to God, “Baruch atah hashem rofeh chol basar umafli laasot” “Blessed are you God who heals all flesh and created a wondrous creation.”  The final few words seem incongruous.  The ability to release excrement and the various holes in the body preserve health, but what is so wondrous about them?  Seeing the intricacies of the microscopic realm or the magnificence of a waterfall does not elicit a blessing with the term “wondrous creation” in it, why does excretion?  Rabbi Moshe Isserles answered that the paradoxical nature of man makes his existence wondrous.  On the one hand man is a physical being who eats, procreates, and excretes as the lowest animals do.  On the other hand man is a soul with the ability to praise God, thank the Almighty, and experience transcendent Divinity.  Joining these two forces is a supernatural feat.  Thus, after the most physical of activities when we are reminded of the coarse nature of man it is the time to thank God for maintaining the union of body and soul.Body and soul seem to be opposite forces destined to eternal conflict for supremacy.  However a deeper look reveals that the body can help you learn about the soul, and that the body is neither exclusively nor permanently an opponent to the soul.

    The story of “The turkey prince”   

                     Once the king’s son went mad.  He thought he was a turkey.  He felt compelled to sit under the table without any clothes on, pulling at bits of bread and bones like a turkey.  None of the doctors could do anything to heal him or cure him, and they gave up in despair.  The king was very sad.

         Until a wise man came and said, “I can cure him.”

         What did the wise man do? He took off all his clothes, and sat down naked under the table next to the king’s son, and also pulled at crumbs and bones.

         The prince asked him, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

         “And what are you doing here?” he replied.

         “I am a turkey,” said the prince.

         “I am also a turkey,” said the wise man.

         The two of them sat together like this for some time, until they were used to one another.

         Then the wise man gave a sign and the king’s men threw them shirts.  The wise man-turkey said to the king’s son, “Do you think a turkey can’t wear a shirt? You can wear a shirt and still be a turkey.” The two of them put on shirts.

         After a while he gave another sign and they threw them some trousers.  Again the wise man said, “Do you think if you wear trousers you can’t be a turkey?” They put on trousers.

         One by one they put on the rest of their clothes in the same way.

         Afterwards, the wise man gave a sign and they put down human food from the table.  The wise man said to the prince, “Do you think if you eat good food you can’t be a turkey any more?  You can eat this food and still be a turkey.”  They ate.

    Then he said to him, “Do you think a turkey has to sit under the table?  You can be a turkey and sit up at the table.”

    This was how the wise man dealt with the prince, until in the end he cured him completely. (Rebbe Nachman of Breslov)

     Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s parable can be understood as a display of the ideas in this lesson.  Every human has a body, that is his animal or turkey part, and a soul, that is a prince as the son of God.On the verse, “Vigam haNefsh lo timaleh” “ And the soul as well will not be satisfied” (Kohelet 6:7), the Midrash compares the relationship of body and soul to a marriage of unequals.It is like a village peasant who marries the king’s daughter.  Even if he were to bring her many luxurious items they would be worthless in her eyes since she is the daughter of the regent.  He can never provide for her according to what she expects.  So too the soul is the daughter of the King, even if the body brings her all the physical pleasures of the world she will not be satisfied, for she is Heavenly. 

     We should stress our soul and the fact that we are the children of the King of Kings.  Yet the prince thinks he is a turkey.  We so often immerse ourselves in bodily concerns that we view them as the sum of our essence.  Physical desires become our needs and the body’s urges our obligatory behavior.   We are the prince who is certain that he is a turkey.

    The wise man used the turkey misconception to heal the prince and free him from his delusions.  As a turkey the prince had to act like the other turkey (the wise man), since turkeys cannot be different from each other.  Guided correctly, the body itself, its physical urges, can further the cause of holiness and eventually become saintly.Rebbe Nachman’s lesson can serve as a source of comfort.  Even if I feel that I am lost in a morass of physical urges and I am naked of my spiritual dignity, there is still hope.  I can be rescued by a wise man, a Tzadik, who will descend to my level and attach himself to me.  The Tzadik will then show me how to channel my physicality and turn a turkey into a prince of God’s kingdom.Rabbi Wolfson did not quote this story of Rabbi Nachman in this lesson.  I inserted it and adapted its explanation from Avraham Greenbaum’s “Under the Table and How to Get Up: Jewish Pathways of Spiritual Growth”.

    Study of the body is another way in which the material aspect of man might help further the cause of his soul.  Through a deeper look at the relationship between body and soul. The next post will detail why the body can help the cause of the soul and how the body’s lessons can be accessed. 

January 12, 2010

  • The Soul at Birth

    Kabbalistically speaking, the Talmud (tractate Niddah 30b)  says that the best moments of one’s life are those spent as a fetus in the womb.  Then, there is benefit without loss, the developing child ingests food but does not expel excrement.  The embryo gains insight, a personal angel sits with him or her and a glowing candle atop allows them to see from one end of the world to the other.   The seraph also teaches this nascent human all of the Torah and during its exit from the womb leads the young soul in a final oath:

    I will be a Tzadik. A righteous individual.  I will never take pride for virtue even if the whole world calls me a saint. In my eyes I will (always) remain like a Rasha, a wicked person, (who must still grow and improve).”   

    Upon entry to this world, the child is touched by his celestial mentor and the candle, angel, Torah, and oath  vanish from memory.

                From this Talmudic passage three questions arise: Since we as adults have no memory of this prenatal oath why were we led to accept it?  And if, according to Jewish law, only the oaths of adults can create legal and binding obligations, then what was the point of having an unborn child swear?  Lastly, considering that an oath usually serves as a guarantor to the truth of one’s words, why is the pure soul of the child not accepted as trustworthy without the oath?

              The questions may be answered as follows: an oath is not merely a verbal guarantee it is a process that imbues an individual with added strength.  This definition of the oath-taking process emerges from two sources, the usage of such verbal commitments in the Bible and the etymology of shevua, the Hebrew word for oath.

    Oaths in the Torah

    In the book of Genesis, after the death of Sarah, Abraham sends his trusted servant Eliezer to find a wife for Yitzchok, Abraham’s son.  Abraham saw the rampant corruption among the indigenous Canaanites, and he sought a suitable daughter-in-law from a different society.   Not satisfied merely to request that Eliezer not engage a Canaanite, Abraham led him in an oath: 

     I will make you swear by God, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from among the daughters of the Canaanites in whose midst I dwell.  But you should go into my country and to my relatives and take a wife for my son for Yitzchok.Genesis, 24:3-4

    Abraham’s insistence on this oath is troubling. Did he not trust Eliezer’s solemn commitment?  Eliezer had been Abraham’s most loyal student.  Genesis 15:2 and the commentary of Rashi s.v. “uven meshek beisi” and “DamsekThe two had fought together and depended on each other in battle.Genesis 14:14 and Rashi’s commentary on that verse Abraham had trusted Eliezer’s loyalty to defend his life. Did he not trust Eliezer’s word?  One might argue that Eliezer was not trustworthy absent an oath since he was not a member of Abraham’s family.  But then how can we explain the case of Jacob and Joseph? 

     According to Jewish mystics, Joseph was the paradigm of virtue and righteousness, the personification of Tzadik Yesod Olam, i.e. a man of such holiness that his merit sustains the entire world.  Joseph was also Jacob’s favorite son and they shared a special relationship. Genesis 30:25 and Rashi’s comment on that verse; Genesis 37:2 and the respective Rashi; also Genesis 37:11, 37:35, 45:27-28 When Jacob lay dying he called Joseph and requested burial in the Land of Israel.  Although Joseph promised that he would ensure his father’s internment in Israel, Genesis 47:30 Jacob was not satisfied and demanded that an oath be sworn in God’s name:

    And he (Jacob) said “Swear to me” and he (Joseph) swore to him, and Yisrael (another name for Jacob) bowed back toward the head of the bed. Genesis 47:31

     

    Did Jacob really suspect that Joseph would not fulfill his final request?  It is a mitzvah to fulfill the last wishes of a dying man.Tractate Gittin 15a  Did Jacob fear that the paradigmatic Tzadik would not fulfill a moral charge?  Did he think that his most beloved son’s word could not be trusted?

     Evidently, oaths function in the Bible as more than  mere guaranties of truth-telling. They give the oath-taker added strength to attain what might otherwise be too difficult to accomplish.  Abraham trusted Eliezer, and Jacob trusted Joseph, yet the goals that Joseph and Eliezer were charged to achieve were seemingly unattainable.  To find a suitable spouse for his master’s son, Eliezer had to overcome his personal interests, having a daughter of marriageable age, and the opposition of the boorish Bethuel and Lavan, relatives of Abraham who rejected Abaham’s mission. Furthermore, Eliezer had to leave Avraham’s house and in the home of Bethuel convince Bethuel and Lavan to allow Rivkah to marry Yitzchok.  The home of Avraham was suffused with a spirit of sanctity, the home of Bethuel was a den of iniquity.  Avraham feared that the atmosphere of Bethuel’s home would affect Eliezer; in Aram Eliezer would not be able to overcome his own biases and he would falter and leave the task unfulfilled.(Rav Wolfson)   To bury Jacob in Israel, Joseph had to overcome the opposition of Pharoh, a tyrant who believed that Jacob’s physical presence in Egypt brought blessings to the land and prevented the recurrence of famine.  Absent their oaths, Eliezer and Joseph might have tried their best but given up had their initial efforts proved unsuccessful.  Perhaps they would have invoked the Talmud’s rule that “the coerced are not liable.”  Their oaths called forth added strength from the core of their souls.  The extra determination and fortitude enabled them to successfully complete their missions.

    The Words Shevua and Sheva:

    Hebrew words are developments and variations of three letter roots.  The root of the word shevua (oath) is also the root of the word sheva (seven).  The verbal confluence reflects a connection between an oath and the symbolic message of the number seven.  

     The number seven recalls the days of the week and also God’s creation of the world during which, on each of the seven successive days, He formed a different elemental spiritual force.  These spiritual forces devolved into the material world. The number seven symbolizes these spiritual forces and the totality of the natural world.See the Collected Writings of Rabbi Samson Rapheal Hirsch (1808-1888), volume 3, pg. 96-111.  Rabbi Hirsch develops the theory that the number seven represents completeness, as in the verse (prov.9:1) “Wisdom has hewed out its seven pillars.”  The seven pillars of wisdom represent all the knowledge in the world.    Rabbi Hirsch then symbolically interprets details of many laws such as the seven sprinklings of blood of animals offered as offerings, and the seven branches of the menorah as representing a totality.

     How is an oath related to seven? Oath-taking invokes all of the natural forces within man. 

    In critical situations people may discover the enormous potential strength latent within them.  An ordinary housewife might manage to dash through flames that engulf her apartment to rescue a child trapped in the inferno.  Caring relatives might spend weeks with inadequate nourishment and sleep to take care of a sick family member.  During moments of trial the adrenaline in our bloodstream increases to give us added vigor and enables us to perform at seemingly superhuman levels.  Usually, in daily living, we utilize only a fraction of our physical strength, mental concentration, and spiritual capacity - that is unless we swear. 

    Oath taking calls forth and dedicates every ounce of willpower and strength.  If one swears in God’s name that a statement is true, that person is committing his or her entire being to the fulfillment of these words.  This passionate commitment proves the integrity of their pledge. 

    According to the sages, when God declared in the Ten Commandments, “Do not take my name (through swearing) in vain” the entire universe shook. Tractate Shavuot page 38b. Why did this command frighten the entirety of creation? Perhaps because a shevua summons all sheva, i.e. all the seven spiritual roots of creation, and invests them in the cause.  Nachmonides in his commentary to Numbers 30:3 writes, “The secret is that the word shevuah is from the word sheva.” C.f. Emunath Ethecha parshas Chaya Sarah page 70 s.v. Vichen Matzinu A human is a miniature universe.  Since I parallel the world, whatever I do with my soul causes a corresponding effect on the soul of the world. When I swear I arouse all the parts of my heart, the physical world then finds all the sources of its existence aroused as well.  A false oath weakens every root of mine and that causes all the channels through which God pours life down to the world to shake with instability.  

    Hebrew has a variety of letter sounds that are similar and therefore interchangeable.  Commentators sometimes replace letters in a word with similar sounding letters in order to obtain an additional layer of meaning. The name for this concept is Otiyot Mitchalfot- letters which interchange. An example is the letters, ayin, chet, heh, and alef; all of which are interchangeable with each other. Otiyot mitchalphot is the guiding principle of Rabbi Samson Rapheal Hirsch’s analysis of the Hebrew language, see the Introduction to the Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew by Matityahu Clark.  See also Rashi on Leviticus 19:16 who explains that the letters bet and peh interchange as well as the letters gimmel, chaf, kuf; nun, lamed; resh, zayin and tzadi. One such interchangeable pair is the letters bet and peh.In the ktav ashury form of the Hebrew script, within the black ink of the letter peh, is a white letter bet.  Through their interchange sheva acquires a relationship to the word shefa, an overflow of energy. Every shevua, is really an awakening of a Divine emanation of spiritual energy and the source for renewed strength and commitment.

    The meaning of the unborn child’s oath

      The oath of the yet to be born child is a charge of strength that gives each human added energies and determination to succeed in this life.  This world can be a house of horrors that is filled with trials and doubts that undermine faith.  The wicked often seem to prosper and the righteous to suffer.  Maintaining the inner faith that is harbored within our souls and following the faint voice of conscience despite the deafening protestations of lust and self - interest are most difficult feats.  To resist the seductions of the profane and fully devote our energies to God’s work we need a commitment of the entirety of the spiritual forces within man.  Before birth, we did not lift our hands onto a Torah scroll and swear, but every fiber of our being was charged with passion for our mission.  We may have forgotten the encounter with the angel but the invigoration from that parting persists.  Each individual is primed, with every fiber of his or her heart, to become a Tzadik.

January 11, 2010

  • The Human Soul

    God told Moses that He wants people to understand that in His eyes people are fire. The word nefesh, "soul," stands for ner, "lamp," shemen, "oil," and psilo, "wick" -- each person's soul is a repository for the Divine flame that originates in God's throne.
     
    From my files:

    The human soul was created in a unique manner.   All other creations were formed through command, God declared and the item appeared.  For example, of the sky Scripture states, “Bidvar Hashem shamayim naasu” “With the word(s) of God Heavens were created”.The soul was not commanded to emerge rather God blew man’s soul into him. From scripture’s account it is clear that man’s body was formed from the earth in a way that resembled the rest of creation, apparently it was formed through a command,but the soul was placed into man by the breath of God (Gen 2:7)

    God does not recite words.  What is meant by the image of God declaring the existence of a physical dimension?   Breath is the life of a person.  Human speech limits breath, modulating it with the mouth and limiting it to particular sounds.  Speech is a process in which the essence of man is clothed and limited.  God’s creation resembles human speech, the created world is a cover for God, His Essence was limited many myriad of times until He was clothed within the world.  The image for the creation of the soul is one of direct breath, for the soul contrasted to the created world is like blowing versus speaking.  The human soul, when compared to the rest of the created world, is “pure”, essential, and unclothed Divinity. This principle should lead us to an enormous respect for every soul, for the soul is pure Godliness.  Furthermore, it should teach us that our souls seek absolute and total attachment to the Divine, for each soul is a piece of absolute infinity. An even deeper truth reveals that the image of a soul emerging out of blowing is a lesson about the parts of the soul, they resemble the different stages of breath a glassblower employs when blowing glass.  With glass once the vessel is shaped the other steps in the process are lost but in the Heavenly realm every stage of the formation leaves eternal results.

              Firstly, the glassblower wishes to create a vessel.  Then he decides what the vessel will look like and prepares for the process by filling his lungs with sufficient air.  The glassblower then pushes the air through his lungs to his mouth and releases the breath out of his lips.  The breath turns into a mini wind.  It enters the heated glass and changes its form.  As the wind settles the glass’s shape is solidified.

    God is the glassblower, my soul is His breath and my body and personality comprise the glass vessel.

     There are five parts to the soul and they resemble the five stages of glass production.

     The first part or the lowest level is Nefesh corresponding to the craftsman’s breath that settled within and fully shaped the vessel. Nefesh is a derivative of the term nafash meaning to rest. Nefesh is the “resting soul.” This is God’s “breath” once it has reached its destination within man.  Nefesh can be felt when a person is fully a vessel.  It can be felt through the quietistic experience. Silence the external static that we are constantly processing; relax, and humble yourself.   Open your heart as an empty vessel to be animated with God’s light and you might feel a bit of Nefesh…  Nefesh is the part of the soul that is most directly connected with the body and physical existence.  One merits receiving the holy form of Nefesh soon after birth.  A Jewish boy will receive his Nefesh with his circumcision and a girl when her father names her in the synagogue.  The next stage of the soul, Ruach, is received with adulthood. 

    The Hebrew word ruach conjures a picture of a forceful wind.  In the glass making analogy, before the breath settled in the vessel, it was a powerful force that gave form to molten glass.   Forceful and emotionally stirring spirituality is God’s “wind”, the Ruach part of the soul.

     Imagine a room filled with dancing Chassidim. They are singing and when they reach the climax of the song, all are screaming, “Ki ata hu melech malchey hamlakhim malkhuskha netzach”  “That you God are the King above all kings; Your rule is eternal.”   Their eyes are closed and their bodies bob up and down throbbing with devotion.  They pull you into their circle and you join their dance. You lose yourself in a passionate swirl. You feel that God is everything and your deepest desire is to be loyal and close to Him.  Those feelings are an expression of Ruach.     

    A level higher than the wind is the breath at the lips of the glassblower.  God’s breath at His Lips is the Neshama.  This level of soul is felt in the experience of pure thought.  Most of our thoughts are tainted, they are the result of physical biases and emotional inclinations; pure, abstract, moral thought is an experience of Godly intimacy.  The pleasure of comprehending and fully grasping the pure truth of Torah is a bit of Neshama.   Neshama is the highest part of the soul most of us will ever fully internalize, as a result the soul as a whole is called Neshama .   It enters a righteous, scholarly, married person at age twenty.  If one is not righteous enough to internalize the holiness of the Neshama, it will hover above man, serving as a Makif- an encompassing light, not a pnimi – an inner light.

              Above Neshama are two levels of soul that are rarely fully internalized by humans, Chaya and Yechida.  Chaya is the breath of the glassblower before it reaches the mouth, it is the stage when he has first determined the mental picture of the vessel he will create and has filled his lungs with sufficient breath for the creation of the vessel.  Yechida is the first possible stage of glass making, the will and desire to produce a vessel, it is the level of soul that parallels God’s decision to create a being.   Yechida is God’s will before He has even conceived of the form of man, it represents God’s desire.     

              The Body and the Parts of the Soul

               The different parts of the soul are concentrated in distinct body organs.  Nefesh is in the blood.   The Torah characterizes blood as Nefesh when it prohibits the ingestion of blood, “Ki hadam hu hanefesh”, “for the blood is the Nefesh.” The blood of a person is his source of organic life.  If blood stops flowing to a limb in the body, the limb will atrophy and waste away.   The body part that has the most blood is the liver and Nefesh is primarily concentrated in the liver and the left ventricle of the heart.  The limbs of the body are the tools for all human action, thus bodily action, Maaseh, of Mitzvos, such as stretching your hand to give charity, or walking to hear a Torah lecture, is an expression of Nefesh.

              According to the Midrash,none binding stories and conceptions, Ruach is the part of the soul that “rises and descends.”  This soul part rises to the mind and then descends to the body, connecting our thought with our deeds.  What is the intermediary between the mind and the limbs?  Feelings.   All emotions stem from Ruach.   It is also related to dibbur, speech, a wind that connects the mind’s thoughts to the physical mouth. Speech also connects people to each other. Speech primarily strengthens the emotions that you are feeling.  Why do words have such an impact on the heart?  Because emotions and speech are expressions of Ruach while an act is a manifestation of Nefesh. Our emotions usually dictate how we act, thus, Ruach is usually the deciding part of the human personality.  It is concentrated in the heart - the source of all emotions.  Feelings of purity, such as fear of violating Divine mandates, or love for fellow Jews, are expressions of Ruach.

              Neshama is located primarily in the mind. The Neshama is the most Godly of the soul parts.   It is pure intellect. One feels God’s “breath”, with Machshava, pure thoughts, such as when you fully understand an abstract, correct, and moral principle.

              Chaya and Yechida are called Makifin, enveloping lights.  These are levels of holiness that are hardly attainable for most mortals.  That is why they surround man and do not enter man.  They form a protecting shield and occasionally send to the individual flashes of inspiration.  Since these levels of soul are outside man’s essential personality they are not internalized within a physical body part.       

              The most perfect hierarchy within man is one in which the Neshama rules the Ruach and Nefesh.  Obey the clear voice of pure thought, then allow clear logic to inspire emotions and finally let pure emotions control the body and guide its lusts.  In symbolic terms the ideal arrangement is mind then heart and then liver.  God teaches this lesson by the very makeup of a human being.  God placed mind (which holds the Neshama) in the skull, the highest point of the body, the heart (the place of Ruach) and liver (the seat of the Nefesh) are beneath the head, thus indicating that the head should rule the others. 

    The Hebrew terms for mind, heart, and liver are moach (mind), lev (heart) and kaved (liver).  An acronym of the terms is Melech – literally king. When man lives a life of mind first and then heart and liver, he is king over his lower self. Frequently, we reverse the order.  Our lusts lead.  For example, we desire someone else’s money, or we are lazy and seek to avoid performing a moral duty, we then arouse our heart to love that path and we employ our mind to rationalize and justify misbehavior, saying, “He did not need that money anyway, I will use it for better purposes than he,” or “The duty will be performed by someone else, I can safely ignore it.”  In these instances our livers were really first, followed by the heart and then the mind.  The first letters of Kaved, Lev, Moach,(the reversed order) spell Kalem, which means embarrassment, shame, and death.  A life in which lusts rule inevitably ends with the unholy trinity of embarrassment, shame, and death.

January 10, 2010

  • The Value of Human Life

    Pikuach nefesh (Hebrew: פיקוח נפש‎, "saving of human life") is the principle in Jewish law that the saving of a human life is paramount, overriding virtually any other religious consideration. When the life of a specific human being is in danger, almost any negative commandment of the Torah may be broken, with just three exceptions.

    The Bible in Leviticus 18:5 states "אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם הָאָדָם וָחַי בָּהֶם" literally translated as "that do them the person and live with them". Ezekiel 20:11 also states this phrase. Nehemiah 9:29 also mentions this phrase.The Talmud discusses a number of cases as examples in which biblically mandated laws can be disregarded for the sake of saving a human life. All of these examples relate to Shabbat prohibitions: rescuing a child from the sea, breaking apart a wall that has collapsed on a child, breaking down a door about to close on an infant, and extinguishing a fire to save a life. The Mishna there discusses when one is permitted to break his or her fast on Yom Kippur: "If one is seized by a ravenous hunger (ostensibly referring to something life threatening), he may be given to eat even unclean things until his eyes are lightened."

    Pikuach nefesh has limitations. The individual whose life is to be saved must be a specific, identifiable individual, rather than an abstract or potential beneficiary.

    The laws of pikuach nefesh apply equally in saving the lives of a Jew or a gentile, since a gentile is just as much God's creation as a Jew. If one must choose between saving a Jew or a gentile, and can only save one, the one who is more likely to survive given the circumstances must be saved.

    Pikuach nefesh does not apply when an animal's life is in danger, and halakha may not be broken to save the life of an animal. Reform Jewry challenge this interpretation based on compassion for a wounded animal that one would certainly use a car to an drive an injured animal to a hospital on Sabbath.

    Another question is what constitutes a life-threatening situation. Some situations are clearly life-threatening, such as one who is dying of a disease and will die without medical intervention, or one who is drowning and will not be able to escape the water without help from another. But in other situations, it may be unclear if a life is truly in danger.If one is in danger of losing a limb, mobility, eyesight, suffering the loss of some other function vital to one's future survival, or may be in danger of a new health problem developing that may ultimately shorten one's life, the situation is considered to be life-threatening.

    If it cannot be ascertained whether or not a situation is life-threatening, the situation must be considered life-threatening until proven otherwise, thereby allowing action to be taken.

    It is of prime importance that if one believes a life may be in danger, and seconds may count, that persons involved not delay helping the victim out of fear of violating halakha, or in order to determine if such a violation is permissible according to halakha.

    If one takes action in violation of halakha to save a life when s/he believes the situation is life-threatening, but later learns that there was no threat to a human life, s/he has not sinned, and must not feel guilty over having made such a mistake.

    In a life-threatening situation, when possible, it is necessary that the most qualified individuals available provide all assistance necessary during every moment of the situation. But when seconds count, there must be no delay in determining who is more qualified.

    If there is a choice between a Jew and a gentile who are equally qualified, and there is clearly plenty of time to decide, it is preferable that the gentile provide the assistance. But if there is a choice between two Jews, and there is clearly plenty of time to decide, it is preferable that the more observant of the Jews break the halakha. This shows the importance of breaking halakha when a life is on the line, and that less observant Jews are not permitted to serve the purpose of breaking halakha during non-emergencies.

    According to some halakhic rulers, organ donation under Jewish law is one classic example of the obligation to violate a commandment because of Pikuach nefesh. Saving one's life can override the prohibition against desecrating a corpse. However, due to the limitation that a specific life must be in danger, a specific organ recipient must generally be identified before the organ is removed. Organ removal to organ banks for possible future is generally prohibited by all Orthodox Judaism halakhic decisors.Basically this is saying that if a relative dies and there is a person who immediately needs a transplant to live,you should donate that organ.

    The laws of Shabbat and the Jewish holidays may be suspended for the purposes of pikuach nefesh. The earliest known example of this took place in 167 BCE, when Mattathias and the Hasmoneans declared that it was permitted for their followers to fight on the Sabbath day to defend themselves from attack. One is allowed to travel in order to save another’s life, and medical care may be provided to critically ill patients (see Driving on Shabbat). According to Moshe Feinstein, it is permissible to travel to accompany a woman in labor to a hospital because the Talmud is especially solicitous of health with respect to pregnancy and childbirth. Shabbat laws can also be bent for a woman who has given birth in the last three days to make sure that she is comfortable and healthy.

    One is allowed to drive a woman to a hospital on Shabbat to give birth, since birth can be life-threatening without medical supervision. Similarly, one may sign a consent form for surgery on Shabbat if the surgery will otherwise be delayed.If one's close relative is transported to the hospital under emergency circumstances during Shabbat, one is allowed to drive or accept a ride to the hospital in order to provide company to their relative at the hospital, since this may be life-saving. One may also be needed at the hospital to sign potentially life-saving consent forms

    If a medical emergency is known or suspected that warrants placing a phone call rather than transportation in a motor vehicle, the telephone may be used. If the situation has a lower level of urgency, the receiver shall be removed and the buttons pressed in an unusual manner. If the person involved is expecting a call to be returned to deal with the issue, answering the phone is permitted, and if another uninvolved person has placed the call, the person involved shall state that they are waiting for a call from the doctor (or similar).

    It is permissible for one whose profession it is so save lives (such as a physician, nurse, or emergency medical technician) to work on Shabbat in order to save lives. It is permissible even for such a professional to use a telephone or pager to be alerted to his/her need for a life-saving act or to communicate life saving information, or to travel by any means necessary to the location where the potentially life-saving act will be performed.

    Extinguishing a fire on Shabbat or Yom Tov is forbidden under Jewish law. Extinguishing a fire or using the phone to call the fire department only in order to save one's property from damage is forbidden. However, it is still permissible do to so in most cases due to the danger caused to others unknown to the person who discovers the fire. Even if all people can escape a building, as long as the fire burns, there is a danger it can spread to other nearby buildings, thereby endangering the lives of others in them. Even in a rural area, where there are no other buildings nearby, there is the danger the fire can spread to a nearby forest, started a more devastating forest fire, which may endanger others. Only if it can clearly be established that no such risks are present is it forbidden to break Shabbat.

    On Yom Kippur, the fast preferably may only be broken if one is advised by a physician not to fast, and then consults a rabbi regarding the physician's advice. The general practice though, is to eat only as much as is necessary in order to satisfy one's needs. If one is advised by a physician not to fast, but is unable to consult a rabbi, s/he should eat in accordance with the physician's advice.
    If one senses s/he may have a health problem that may be aggravated by fasting, but no physicians or rabbis are available to give advice, s/he should use his/her own judgment, and is permitted to refrain from fasting. In such cases, s/he must not delay eating in order to speak with the appropriate authority, or feel guilty for eating in this situation.
    One who must eat on Yom Kippur is required to give eating necessary to avoid aggravating a medical condition priority over prayer. All blessings normally recited before and after eating are recited as usual.Fasts other than Yom Kippur are viewed more leniently. Anyone who feels unable to fast is permitted to break the fast without attempting to consult a physician or rabbi.
    On all fasts, one who is taking a medication for any reason is permitted to use food or water as necessary to aid in taking the medication. If the medication has instructions to consume food or beverage with the medication, s/he is not permitted to fast, and s/he need not further consult a physician or rabbi.
    A person who becomes severely dehydrated during any fast shall consume sufficient fluids to restore his/her body to normal hydration levels.
    Rabbinical law prohibits eating at certain times even on non-fast days, such as prior to daily morning prayer, the recitation of kiddush on Shabbat or Yom Tov, and between the ending of Shabbat and Havdallah. In particular, these laws are to strictly be followed by adult males and should be followed by adult females who are not pregnant or nursing. While it is optimal to wait out these shorter periods of time rather than eating, even for one whose medical condition demands frequent eating, there are exceptions:
    A pregnant woman or a woman who is nursing a baby who has a craving shall eat without delay. For all other women and for boys yet to have reached bar mitzvah age, these laws are treated more leniently.
    One who must take a medicine at a specific time may consume any food or drink necessary in order to consume the medicine or that must be eaten with the medicine.
    A person who is severely dehydrated may consume fluids as necessary to restore his/her body to normal hydration levels.
    A person who lacks the strength to perform the necessary service without nourishment may eat the minimum amount necessary to perform the service with kavannah.

    There are some Jewish laws that may not be violated, even when a life is in danger. In these cases, a life must be sacrificed rather than a halakha be broken. These include:
    Sins that involve Chillul Hashem (the defamation of God's name) may not be committed even to save one's life. These include idolatry, blasphemy, or denial of God's existence. Forbidden violations include:
    Worship of any god other than Hashem
    Bowing to any god other than Hashem for show just to please the enemy, or other signs of pretending to worship such a god, even if one's intention is not to worship
    Violating any negative commandment in submission to a persecuting enemy whose purpose is to stand against God
    Construction of such a god for oneself or others to worship, or support of such worship
    Entry into a building where a god other than Hashem is being worshipped. It is for this reason that one may not enter a church during services, even to save a life. Entering a church when services are not going on has lesser restrictions.
    Recitation or printing God's Holy Name in vain
    Destruction of God's Holy Name from a printed sheet of paper or parchment except in the performance of rituals prescribed in the Torah
    Pretending God does not exist in order to avoid persecution

    Any act that intentionally causes the death of another person (considered to be an act of murder), that injures a person so the potential for death from the injuries is high, or that otherwise creates a dangerous situation that will very likely put one or more lives at risk, is not permitted for the preservation of life. Forbidden examples are:

    Harvesting organs from the body of a person who is clearly alive
    Live organ donation, where the risk of death to the donor is extremely high. If the risk is low, the donation is permitted.
    Driving at a very high speed in order to reach a hospital if a crash with an innocent motorist is almost assured
    An exception in which killing another person is permitted is the case of a rodef (aggressor), who may be killed in order to save the live of oneself or another. This permits self-defense and wartime killings in Judaism. Also, abortion is permitted in Jewish law if the unborn fetus is endangering the mother's life, because the fetus is considered to be a rodef. The "rodef" assertion is also used to permit the separation of conjoined twins when it is likely or even certain that one will die as a result if the operation if this is necessary to save the other.

    While one is not permitted to automatically give up one's life in order to save the life of another (an act of suicide, forbidden in Jewish law), one may risk his/her life to save the life of another. Doing so is a great mitzvah.

    One may not put another's life in danger, especially against that person's will, in order to save his/her own life or that of another.

    Scholars have long questioned whether or not stealing is permitted in order to save a life. Most have concluded that stealing sustenance from a poor person is prohibited under life-threatening circumstances, since the life of a poor person who loses even a small portion of his/her sustenance is considered to be endangered. Also, operating a business or similar operation that intentionally robs or defrauds the poor of all or any part of their sustenance is strictly forbidden, even to save a life. Robbing or defrauding a large business, organization, or the government is forbidden if the poor will suffer as a result of the business, organization, or government losing these funds. If a business suffers the loss of money due to fraud or theft, it may pass the losses onto customers by raising its prices, and as a result, the poor may have to spend more. The government, if cheated, may raise taxes, even to the poor, or cut services from which the poor benefit.

    Lashon hara is symbolically considered an act of murder, and therefore may not be spoken to save a life. However, most cases in which bad word must be spoken against a person in order to save a life are productive, and thereby do not constitute lashon hara.

    Torturing or persecuting another person is forbidden, since a person who has undergone such trauma has been "murdered" for whom s/he is. An exception is one who is seemingly tortured by medical treatment performed to save his/her life.

    Engaging in individual sex acts or entering long-term relationships forbidden according to the Torah are not permitted if failure to do so would place one's life on the line. This includes adultery, incest (acts with one's blood relatives mentioned in the Torah as constituting a forbidden relationship), male homosexual acts, or marriage between a kohein and a woman forbidden to a kohein.

    Forbidden sex acts that are only rabbincally prohibited are permitted in order to save a life. Also forbidden forms of sex with one's spouse, such as niddah violations, are also permitted in order to save a life.

    Other behaviors that directly lead to a violation of a prohibited sex act are also forbidden in order to save a life. For example, violations of yichud laws prohibiting long-term seclusion with a member of the opposite sex would be forbidden. It is therefore forbidden to live with a member of the opposite sex forbidden under yichud laws if the alternative is life-threatening homelessness. Pre-sexual romantic behaviors, even without intercourse, are also forbidden. However, indirect violations, such as those falling under the category of negiah, may be broken. A man is permitted to rescue a drowning woman, even if his contact with her causes him to be sexually aroused. Violations of tznius (modesty) laws are not forbidden to save a life because these are rabbinically defined and standards vary by community.

  • What is your most prized possession and why?

     My personal integrity is my most prized possession. The only person that can take it away from you is yourself. Material possessions, while nice to have, come and go with what your taste happens to be at the time.


       

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  • Anger and what you say

    Let's face it, anger is one of the hardest emotions to keep a leash on. It requires an almost constant watch for the yetzer hara (evil inclination) within in us all to control harsh words toward our fellow man and a concentration to allow only the yetzer tov (good inclination) to show and motivate our actions.
     
    One of the important lessons in Judaism is Derehk Emunah U-Maaseh Rav: The angry man fills his mouth with live coals and with needles,sharp and hard.For each angry word he utters,he deserves to be banished from holiness in shame and disgrace,and to suffer grievously until his soul is purified from its blemishes. Every man must be the master of his mouth.
     
    This is shown quite clear in the Covenant of Fellowship entered in by the disciples of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov:
    Bab Metzia 58  Resolved from words of scolding and denunciation,which our Holy Rabbi has barred as transgressing the law against murder.
     
    There are commentaries that say words can be worse than murder. How can words be compared to committing murder? Because unlike physically taking a life,which is is once, words spoken can continue to destroy a person over and over by being carried by others as lashon hara (evil speech) like gossip. The tongue is said to be a two edged weapon since it can used for good to build up and consol or to tear down and denigrate.
     
    Siach Sarfei Kodesh:The verse in Psalms 81:8:I answered thee in the secret place of thunder;I proved thee at the waters of Meribah teaches us that the L-rd will answer the prayer of the man who keeps his anger secret,though highly provoked by the other man's quarrelsomeness. (Note:Meribeh=Quarrelsomeness)

    Dubnow,H.ofCh:The good man should himself be the Torah,and people should be able to learn good conduct from observing him
    As I pointed out in a previous post, sins against your fellow man are only able to be atoned by seeking their forgiveness, what about those that slight you and don't seek you?  The answer to this is found in Tractate Megillah"Those who forgive people who sin against them -- their sins will be forgiven."
     
    There is a story about a great Rabbi that told a disciple to go buy him the finest cut at the market and the disciple returned with a tongue.
     
    "Why a tongue the finest cut?" asked the Rabbi
     
    The disciple replied, " Because the tongue can praise Hashem, uplift the soul of those who are pained, comfort those in sorrow and bring peace between people."
     
    The following week the Rabbi asked his disciple to go buy him the worst cut at the market and the disciple returned with a tongue.
     
    "Last week you brought me a tongue as the finest cut.How is it now the worst?" asked the Rabbi
     
    The disciple replied," Because the tongue can be used to create a hillul Hashem (desecration of The Name), drag down the soul of the pained, cause sorrow and bring discord between people."