The Ohr HaHayyim, R' Hayyim ibn Atar, says that [in parashath Ha'azinu] HaShem referred to the written Torah as 'my lesson' (לקחי) and to the oral Torah as 'my sayings.' (אמרתי)
That's amazing!! One normally thinks the 'oral Torah' (תורה שבעל פה) refers to the speech or interpretation of the Rabbis, when here the Ohr HaHayyim is telling us no! HaShem counts the oral Torah as Torah spoken from His Own mouth.
This bolsters the teaching that every word of Torah we speak is tantamount to all of the mitzwoth combined, as taught by Chazal.
Showing posts with label oral torah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oral torah. Show all posts
24.9.09
23.4.09
without graphs
When I studied Astronomy in university I wrote software to help make the boring parts of the work more trivial. When I studied almost anything I would graph the ideas out visually making logical and useful connections. At times, when there was so much information, I experimented with grouping whole structures of information into simple icons and then graphing the relationships between the icons. Sometimes I would crack open a 3d animation software package and start laying things out in 3 dimensions when I wanted to be able to see the big picture, how everything interacted.
Imagine my disappointment the first time my Rav told me I couldn't draw representations of the interactions of sefirot, partzufim, or any of ther other Kabbalistic constructs that exist in the Kabbalistic literature. Why? There's two major reasons, as best I understand it, and I still hope to convince my Rav to help me to find some way to circumvent them but they go a little like this:
(a) God forbade us to create an image of any of the constructs we see in the heavens, this is too close to idolatry -- even if you and I both know it's not God and won't get confused.(b) We can't draw it out lest someone think these constructs really exist, which we know ultimately that they really don't. (As the Sefer Yetzirah says (translated by R' Aryeh Kaplan) 'Ten sefirot of nothingness.')
Yes, there are diagrams of some things, and yes some people do diagram some things. But. But according to the traddition that we have, we don't. And, on the limited occasions where we do draw some sort of graphical representation to help momentarily it is on small pieces of paper or dry erase boards that will be burned/buried or erased (in the case of dry erase boards) in short order.
I can't claim to understand this all, or even very much, but stop and think about it. What's the difference between graphing out chemical interactions or cognitive ideas and graphing out Kabbalistic concepts?
The goal of understanding chemicals, mathematics, medicine, biology, literature, etc is to understand them in order to use them to some end.
Kabbalah (read: Torah and Judaism) is an end in itself. We are drawing ourselves closer to HaShem, becoming more sensitized to holiness and HaShem's designs of and for this world. It isn't that once we understand the constructs of Kabbalah we take them and do something else with them, it is precisely through pursuing these ideas (the same can be said for any level of Torah learning) we are drawing ourselves closer to HaShem.
Does one map out one's spouse's likes and dislikes, or the 'way they work?' No. We get to know them so intimately that the answer to whether they will like this, or how they will react to that is obvious. That is the point of any Torah study, to develop this intimacy with HaShem.
Always deeper and deeper levels of intimacy.
It isn't even about knowing something in the end, it's about closeness. Developing a closer relationship. You could spend your whole life on the introductions to learning the most basic levels of Torah, and be closer to HaShem than one who davens with all of the yichudim and kavvanoth of the Arizal. It's about your desire to be close to HaShem.
When one has the desire and burns with it, so then as you grow in Torah and Tefillah, you pursue that which brings you closer, including study of the hidden aspects of Torah. But that is the true measure of your accomplishments, did they bring you closer.
This helps us to narrow in on exactly what the problem is: HaShem, isn't like your family, when you're at work they aren't there so you draw a picture of them, or commission someone to do so, in this day and age we have cameras so we just snap a quick picture. Since HaShem is always present, drawing pictures or creating some other representation actually creates distance. Would you gaze at a photo of your spouse if your spouse was there in the room having a conversation with you?
When we gain any true knowledge pertaining to our interaction with God, it's only as true and as deep as it is patently obvious to us. The deeper the connection the more we 'know.' Memorizing names, letters, configurations, constructs, what does that really mean? At most its evidence that we want to be closer to HaShem, even if it testifies that we don't know how to get there. But drawing pictures means maybe we'll settle for the picture the way people hang posters in their room of people they will never be able to relate to personally.
When we grow closer to HaShem with new knowledge it means we've changed. If we sketch something on a piece of paper or in a file, all that's changed is that paper or that file.
We're here to grow, not to amass pictures, charts, or graphs. It's not about commiting it to memory, it's about commiting it to our essence, about internalizing meaning.
To me, this is such a vital lesson for people living in our day and age. And I can't begin to explain how much I benefit from this knowledge. every. single. day.
12.8.08
encountering torah
There are many statements made in the context of Chazal (Our teachers) that catch one off guard. Often our first reaction is to ascribe these statements or foreign understandings to superstitions or cultural beliefs of their era.
This is a major mistake in Torah learning. In fact it is a major mistake in any and all learning. The first rule in learning must always be to assess the internal consistancy of any teaching. If the teaching agrees with its own understandings and premises then it passes the first and most crucial test. This test is a real challenge in the learning process because it is often easier to assume poor internal consistency than it is to thoroughly explore all the possible ramifications of what is said such that there might be found a consistent underlying framework.
Once we have established the internal veracity of any teaching, then it is our responsibility to find an analog within our own understanding which would render the idea in a contemporary context. If we fail here we must assume it is due to our own limited mental flexibility.
We must of course thoroughly test this modern analog to see that it doesn't add or remove too much from the premise of the teaching. Once we have a modern analog sufficiently close to the original teaching, we can rest assured that the teaching is itself applicable in our day and age just as we originally thought.
Since we have seen the teaching is applicable we can then assume that perhaps it is our grasp of reality that is flawed. And we can approach the teaching with the assumption that it is objective truth. (Or at the very least, it is more objective (or more accurate) than our own reference frame)
[With God's help, in a future post I will explore this learn style with examples.]
This is a major mistake in Torah learning. In fact it is a major mistake in any and all learning. The first rule in learning must always be to assess the internal consistancy of any teaching. If the teaching agrees with its own understandings and premises then it passes the first and most crucial test. This test is a real challenge in the learning process because it is often easier to assume poor internal consistency than it is to thoroughly explore all the possible ramifications of what is said such that there might be found a consistent underlying framework.
Once we have established the internal veracity of any teaching, then it is our responsibility to find an analog within our own understanding which would render the idea in a contemporary context. If we fail here we must assume it is due to our own limited mental flexibility.
We must of course thoroughly test this modern analog to see that it doesn't add or remove too much from the premise of the teaching. Once we have a modern analog sufficiently close to the original teaching, we can rest assured that the teaching is itself applicable in our day and age just as we originally thought.
Since we have seen the teaching is applicable we can then assume that perhaps it is our grasp of reality that is flawed. And we can approach the teaching with the assumption that it is objective truth. (Or at the very least, it is more objective (or more accurate) than our own reference frame)
[With God's help, in a future post I will explore this learn style with examples.]
13.2.08
a universal how-to
I wanted to build on and discuss the previous post conflicting tasks. The intellect, as it stands has certain attributes, particular strengths and weaknesses which we know differ from person to person but are more or less common to all people. Almost everyone learns how to read and speak, to perform arithmetic, to think rationally in one form or another, to understand hints, to throw and catch, to make jokes. Yet, being that the mind is limited and must handle many complex tasks, it specializes in a few and becomes passably proficient in a larger group. As far as modern science is concerned, we go through various stages of mental growth and though we can always learn new tasks and ideas, the overhead and effort necesary to learn in later years is far greater than in youth.
The Judaic and Torah view of this is vastly different. With regard to Torah specifically we acknowledge that it always arrives as a gift from heaven. One's age or mental acuity is irrelevant, Torah is open to all to master. There is no point short of death that prevents one from being able to master the Torah. The only prerequisite to enter into the gates of Torah is the will to connect to HaShem, the unrelenting will to keep diving deeper into the sea of Torah. This is so extreme that the Gemara makes a blanket statement that anyone who claims he tried and failed to master Torah should no be believed. If s/he really tried, they would have succeeded.
Rebbe Natan explains in Likkutei Halachoth (Hilchoth Tefillin 6:37-42) that while our body is impure, our intellect is incomplete, and until our body is worked like the leather of the tefillin, until there is no further repugnant smell, then our intellect cannot be trusted. Instead we must bind our will and emunah to the Tzaddik, whose body and intellect are refined so that he may guide us. For the spiritual intellect is something else entirely than the natural intellect which we relate to.
Since it would seem that real comprehension in Torah is dependent not on our natural intellect, but on our spiritual intellect, the only thing that limits our accomplishments in Torah is our devotion to the task.
In this way, we can understand how multi-tasking is virtually impossible with our natural intellect. Still, through deep study of the Torah we may begin to access our spiritual intellect which is not constricted and bound by the same worldly limitations that make multi-tasking a challenge. When we see things in this light, it starts to become clear why things that may seem impossible become entirely elementary when we connect ourselves to Chazal and rely on their testimony to the real possibility.
Shabbath is a perfect example. Someone who grew up in a Shomer Shabbath environment barely needs to think in order to avoid performing all 39 melachoth and their many many derivatives. Yet if you were to explain what keeping Shabbath entailed to an outsider, they might easily think that such a rigorous level of observance is impossible.
What I'm trying to get to is that performing even the most complex of the mitzwoth in the Torah has more to do with (1) accepting the yolk of heaven, (2) relying on and trusting in the Rabbis throughout the ages, and (3) faith in HaShem that He will bring about your success than it does any particular mental or physical aptitude.
The Judaic and Torah view of this is vastly different. With regard to Torah specifically we acknowledge that it always arrives as a gift from heaven. One's age or mental acuity is irrelevant, Torah is open to all to master. There is no point short of death that prevents one from being able to master the Torah. The only prerequisite to enter into the gates of Torah is the will to connect to HaShem, the unrelenting will to keep diving deeper into the sea of Torah. This is so extreme that the Gemara makes a blanket statement that anyone who claims he tried and failed to master Torah should no be believed. If s/he really tried, they would have succeeded.
Rebbe Natan explains in Likkutei Halachoth (Hilchoth Tefillin 6:37-42) that while our body is impure, our intellect is incomplete, and until our body is worked like the leather of the tefillin, until there is no further repugnant smell, then our intellect cannot be trusted. Instead we must bind our will and emunah to the Tzaddik, whose body and intellect are refined so that he may guide us. For the spiritual intellect is something else entirely than the natural intellect which we relate to.
Since it would seem that real comprehension in Torah is dependent not on our natural intellect, but on our spiritual intellect, the only thing that limits our accomplishments in Torah is our devotion to the task.
In this way, we can understand how multi-tasking is virtually impossible with our natural intellect. Still, through deep study of the Torah we may begin to access our spiritual intellect which is not constricted and bound by the same worldly limitations that make multi-tasking a challenge. When we see things in this light, it starts to become clear why things that may seem impossible become entirely elementary when we connect ourselves to Chazal and rely on their testimony to the real possibility.
Shabbath is a perfect example. Someone who grew up in a Shomer Shabbath environment barely needs to think in order to avoid performing all 39 melachoth and their many many derivatives. Yet if you were to explain what keeping Shabbath entailed to an outsider, they might easily think that such a rigorous level of observance is impossible.
What I'm trying to get to is that performing even the most complex of the mitzwoth in the Torah has more to do with (1) accepting the yolk of heaven, (2) relying on and trusting in the Rabbis throughout the ages, and (3) faith in HaShem that He will bring about your success than it does any particular mental or physical aptitude.
11.12.07
the torah we rule and the torah that rules us
Chabakuk Elisha wrote a great explanation of how integral minhag is to Judaism over here at A Simple Jew.
I wanted to bring down something from the Hesed L'Avraham (Rav Avraham Azulai) that is tangential to the discussion.
Rav Azulai explains that there are two major parts to Torah (something echoed regarding the soul in the opening chapters of the Tanya (chapter 3 specifically)) there is the part of the Torah that relates to the world of Atziluth, on which level that which dwells in Atziluth can hardly be said to be properly differentiated from HaShem, and so in this world everything is still undivided. The other part of the Torah is the part that corresponds to the three lower worlds of Beriyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah.
The higher part of the Torah is beyond our ability to flesh out and add to, since it is all united and revealed in the higher world of Atziluth. The only way to reveal new things in this part of Torah is through prophecy or a Bat Kol, a voice from on high. This is the Torah that is still rooted in the upper world.
The lower part of the Torah can be fleshed out and determined through a gathering of all the Talmidei Hochamim, Torah scholars, in a particular generation. This is the Torah that is determined not according to the dictates of Heaven, but according to the majority, the rov, of the learned Rabbis.
The explanation of this difference is that only in these lower worlds is there a concept of multiplicity, and so down here, the majority rules and it makes sense that the majority rule. However, in the Torah of Atziluth, the majority is meaningless as the inhabitants of this world are one undifferentiated whole.
To tie this in to what Chabakuk Elisha was saying, minhag is a holy transmission from one generation of Judaism to the next that is thoroughly and wholely involved in actions, in the world of Asiyah. As it is Torah from the level of Asiyah, the majority of the Jewish nation rules in this respect, and so what we do becomes part of the Torah of these lower worlds where the choices and actions of the informed majority have such an impact. That's one of the reasons, perhaps, why a minhag that is a universal minhag (minhag Yisrael) is considered Torah.
I wanted to bring down something from the Hesed L'Avraham (Rav Avraham Azulai) that is tangential to the discussion.
Rav Azulai explains that there are two major parts to Torah (something echoed regarding the soul in the opening chapters of the Tanya (chapter 3 specifically)) there is the part of the Torah that relates to the world of Atziluth, on which level that which dwells in Atziluth can hardly be said to be properly differentiated from HaShem, and so in this world everything is still undivided. The other part of the Torah is the part that corresponds to the three lower worlds of Beriyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah.
The higher part of the Torah is beyond our ability to flesh out and add to, since it is all united and revealed in the higher world of Atziluth. The only way to reveal new things in this part of Torah is through prophecy or a Bat Kol, a voice from on high. This is the Torah that is still rooted in the upper world.
The lower part of the Torah can be fleshed out and determined through a gathering of all the Talmidei Hochamim, Torah scholars, in a particular generation. This is the Torah that is determined not according to the dictates of Heaven, but according to the majority, the rov, of the learned Rabbis.
The explanation of this difference is that only in these lower worlds is there a concept of multiplicity, and so down here, the majority rules and it makes sense that the majority rule. However, in the Torah of Atziluth, the majority is meaningless as the inhabitants of this world are one undifferentiated whole.
To tie this in to what Chabakuk Elisha was saying, minhag is a holy transmission from one generation of Judaism to the next that is thoroughly and wholely involved in actions, in the world of Asiyah. As it is Torah from the level of Asiyah, the majority of the Jewish nation rules in this respect, and so what we do becomes part of the Torah of these lower worlds where the choices and actions of the informed majority have such an impact. That's one of the reasons, perhaps, why a minhag that is a universal minhag (minhag Yisrael) is considered Torah.
28.11.07
letters that unite above and below
I always thought that the angels were called the numerous above (המוני מעלה) and we down here were known as the group below (קבוצי מטה) and together, each in our rightful place we praise HaShem and say קדוש, kadosh. I understood that so many mistakes were made throughout history because we didn't understand or accept our place. Hassidut did a great service and helped us to realize that there is no better place to be than in the world, involved in Torah, Tefillah, and Mitzwoth. That is our job. (or to quote an 80s movie, Goonies, "it's our time, our time down here.")
Rav Avraham Azulai explains (Hesed L'Avraham 2:22) the secret on a deeper level: The "numerous above" are the souls of the Tzaddikim in Gan Eden who ride down upon the ladders created by the letters of new Torah being learned in the world in order to unite with those down here who are learning Torah. This joining of the Tzaddikim in shamayim and Bnei Yisrael in the world is exactly the right formula to complete the union of HaShem's dwelling place within the world. This is the secret of the המוני מעלה and the קבוצי מטה.
Rav Avraham Azulai explains (Hesed L'Avraham 2:22) the secret on a deeper level: The "numerous above" are the souls of the Tzaddikim in Gan Eden who ride down upon the ladders created by the letters of new Torah being learned in the world in order to unite with those down here who are learning Torah. This joining of the Tzaddikim in shamayim and Bnei Yisrael in the world is exactly the right formula to complete the union of HaShem's dwelling place within the world. This is the secret of the המוני מעלה and the קבוצי מטה.
30.10.07
learning in pairs or groups
A Simple Jew brought up the issue of Chevruta. (learning Torah with a study partner) It's a really difficult issue for me. I know that it is supposed to be the focal point of Jewish learning, at least in the revealed, nigleh, Torah.
I can see how learning in chevruta pertains clearly to Halachah. Halachah is an objective system that boils your subjective world down into step by step instructions for how to serve HaShem through living your daily life. It's easy to gloss over the Halachah and misunderstand how to apply some objective ruling to your subjective world. By learning with a chevrutah, you need to apply the same objective ruling always to at least two subjective worlds, this increases the chances you will correctly understand and internalize the halachah.
When learning the written Torah, or the hidden, nistar, Torah, the goal is very different. The goal of the nistar is to connect to HaShem. The goal is admittedly insurmountable from the outset. HaShem is beyond us in every imaginable way. Still, through our nistar studies we can attain a form of closeness, a relationship with HaShem.
In such an instance, it is very hard to learn with someone else. For a good example, try and explain to someone else how to do something on their computer over the phone.. You are looking at your desktop, and they are looking at theirs and you are telling them what to click and where. (I'm sure most people who can find this blog have had this experience in one instance or another) It is tremendously difficult and requires a lot of patience. The more you use your computer, the more specific and customized it becomes, the more difficult it is to relate to someone else's computer. The more personal your relationship to HaShem through the nistar, the more difficult it becomes for two people to study together.
This is how it always seemed to me anyways. But the more I thought about it the more I realized how much more there really is to it:
When two people come from a very close spiritual connection, from the same soul root, then since their connection with HaShem has many similarities it is easier to learn with them and helping them to connect actually helps you to connect. On an even deeper level all of Bnei Yisrael is connected spiritually and learning with any member of Bnei Yisrael and helping them to connect to HaShem bridges and strengthens and deepens your own connection.
This is a very high level of understanding. But, when we can relate to our fellow Jew as a part of ourselves, carved from the same source, then learning with them can be transformed from a chore to a very high level of relating to HaShem. A level above relating directly, as we learn in the Tanya in chapter 32 (לב) that truly loving HaShem is loving what He loves most, Bnei Yisrael. Giving and sharing with Bnei Yisrael allows us to get even closer to HaShem than trying to pursue HaShem directly.
This is why Gemilat Hesed is tantamount Torah learning, and Teshuvah, and Tefillah. (See Pirkei Avot) Because through the Hesed that we do with Bnei Yisrael we can attain a closeness that isn't possible through relating to HaShem directly. (The goal of Torah, Teshuvah, and Tefillah)
As we know, the highest Gemilut Hesed, the highest Tzedaka enumerated by the Rambam is teaching someone to help themselves. What could be higher than learning with another Jew and helping them to get closer to HaShem directly? That it brings us closer to HaShem shouldn't hurt either.
This understanding of Chevruta and learning for the sake of raising all those learning closer to HaShem is often demonstrated in the Zohar. In the Gemara every learning is about hearing. Come and hear. In the Zohar, there are many descriptions that use words like "over there," "on this side," and "like so." One way to understand what is going on in the Zohar is to understand that when learning and discussing the Zohar they were actually in the midst of a common mystical experience of the heavenly realms and the underlying structure of the world. This way, when they pointed to or gestured at things, it was to illustrate the idea being discussed. Outside of this common mystical experience it is much more difficult to understand the explanations according to all of their implications and manifold possibilities.
Sinat hinam, free hatred of our fellow Jews brought about the destruction of the Beith HaMikdash, without being able to come together and unique in goals of holiness like Torah learning, we can't repair that breach.
B'ezrat HaShem we should all merit to bring ourselves, those around us, and all Klal Yisrael closer to HaShem through Torah learning in chevrutah.
I can see how learning in chevruta pertains clearly to Halachah. Halachah is an objective system that boils your subjective world down into step by step instructions for how to serve HaShem through living your daily life. It's easy to gloss over the Halachah and misunderstand how to apply some objective ruling to your subjective world. By learning with a chevrutah, you need to apply the same objective ruling always to at least two subjective worlds, this increases the chances you will correctly understand and internalize the halachah.
When learning the written Torah, or the hidden, nistar, Torah, the goal is very different. The goal of the nistar is to connect to HaShem. The goal is admittedly insurmountable from the outset. HaShem is beyond us in every imaginable way. Still, through our nistar studies we can attain a form of closeness, a relationship with HaShem.
In such an instance, it is very hard to learn with someone else. For a good example, try and explain to someone else how to do something on their computer over the phone.. You are looking at your desktop, and they are looking at theirs and you are telling them what to click and where. (I'm sure most people who can find this blog have had this experience in one instance or another) It is tremendously difficult and requires a lot of patience. The more you use your computer, the more specific and customized it becomes, the more difficult it is to relate to someone else's computer. The more personal your relationship to HaShem through the nistar, the more difficult it becomes for two people to study together.
This is how it always seemed to me anyways. But the more I thought about it the more I realized how much more there really is to it:
When two people come from a very close spiritual connection, from the same soul root, then since their connection with HaShem has many similarities it is easier to learn with them and helping them to connect actually helps you to connect. On an even deeper level all of Bnei Yisrael is connected spiritually and learning with any member of Bnei Yisrael and helping them to connect to HaShem bridges and strengthens and deepens your own connection.
This is a very high level of understanding. But, when we can relate to our fellow Jew as a part of ourselves, carved from the same source, then learning with them can be transformed from a chore to a very high level of relating to HaShem. A level above relating directly, as we learn in the Tanya in chapter 32 (לב) that truly loving HaShem is loving what He loves most, Bnei Yisrael. Giving and sharing with Bnei Yisrael allows us to get even closer to HaShem than trying to pursue HaShem directly.
This is why Gemilat Hesed is tantamount Torah learning, and Teshuvah, and Tefillah. (See Pirkei Avot) Because through the Hesed that we do with Bnei Yisrael we can attain a closeness that isn't possible through relating to HaShem directly. (The goal of Torah, Teshuvah, and Tefillah)
As we know, the highest Gemilut Hesed, the highest Tzedaka enumerated by the Rambam is teaching someone to help themselves. What could be higher than learning with another Jew and helping them to get closer to HaShem directly? That it brings us closer to HaShem shouldn't hurt either.
This understanding of Chevruta and learning for the sake of raising all those learning closer to HaShem is often demonstrated in the Zohar. In the Gemara every learning is about hearing. Come and hear. In the Zohar, there are many descriptions that use words like "over there," "on this side," and "like so." One way to understand what is going on in the Zohar is to understand that when learning and discussing the Zohar they were actually in the midst of a common mystical experience of the heavenly realms and the underlying structure of the world. This way, when they pointed to or gestured at things, it was to illustrate the idea being discussed. Outside of this common mystical experience it is much more difficult to understand the explanations according to all of their implications and manifold possibilities.
Sinat hinam, free hatred of our fellow Jews brought about the destruction of the Beith HaMikdash, without being able to come together and unique in goals of holiness like Torah learning, we can't repair that breach.
B'ezrat HaShem we should all merit to bring ourselves, those around us, and all Klal Yisrael closer to HaShem through Torah learning in chevrutah.
4.9.07
short sweet and to the point
This will (hopefully) be a short post. After witnessing a lifetime of drawn out internet discussions where the point is thoroughly lost, I've come to truly appreciate the genius of the Tannaim and Amoraim of the Mishna and Talmud.
If a point could be intuited, they didn't say it. Every recorded word of theirs was novel and totally necesary. (words like succinct and brevity don't even come close)
When we discuss communication we often discuss the signal/noise ratio: How much of what we receive is useless noise, and how much actually carries information.
The Talmud and mishna as they were codified contain no noise, it's all signal!.
B'ezrat HaShem I will be able to learn from their examples and pare down the noise, sticking (mostly) to the signal.
If a point could be intuited, they didn't say it. Every recorded word of theirs was novel and totally necesary. (words like succinct and brevity don't even come close)
When we discuss communication we often discuss the signal/noise ratio: How much of what we receive is useless noise, and how much actually carries information.
The Talmud and mishna as they were codified contain no noise, it's all signal!.
B'ezrat HaShem I will be able to learn from their examples and pare down the noise, sticking (mostly) to the signal.
1.8.07
bare necessities
I read of Rabbi Yosef de la Reina over on Dreaming of Moshiach.
The most useful, and perhaps scary lesson from the whole tale is that anything we give over to our physical desires is in a sense an offering to avodah zarah. Now, that's a very extreme view but it does help me to understand some of the statements made in the Tanya, and most of all the Baal HaTanya's first lesson to his hassidim, what is forebidden is forebidden and what is permitted isn't necesary.
Even thinking about being on that level is scary still.
The most useful, and perhaps scary lesson from the whole tale is that anything we give over to our physical desires is in a sense an offering to avodah zarah. Now, that's a very extreme view but it does help me to understand some of the statements made in the Tanya, and most of all the Baal HaTanya's first lesson to his hassidim, what is forebidden is forebidden and what is permitted isn't necesary.
Even thinking about being on that level is scary still.
30.7.07
galut and the torah of the ways
I will be in the states for the next two weeks, b'ezrat HaShem I will be able to post from there; but if it happens only rarely, then may my time be spent absorbing new Torah to share and raise up when I return.
There is an understanding that galut is good for personal growth, and that the deepest Torah is revealed only along the way. May this trip be a galut that reveals new and deeper levels of Torah.
There is an understanding that galut is good for personal growth, and that the deepest Torah is revealed only along the way. May this trip be a galut that reveals new and deeper levels of Torah.
19.7.07
black fire on white fire
It occurred to me, while looking at a sefer that newborn babies love the contrast of black and white because they were learning Torah in the womb in it's raw form of black fire on white fire.
12.7.07
opening the book
I have a number of different sedarim of learning every day. It's not by any means a long list, but I try to learn at the very least a little after shacharit, (in the morning) a little after mincha, (in the afternoon) and a little after arvit. [maariv] (at night)
It is so hard not to get caught up in the routine, and to open up the sefer and learn like there's nothing else in the world right now except you and HaShem and this sefer as your medium of connection.
But, that's what learning Torah is.
Somehow I received this knowledge from my parents as a child I don't know how else one can attain this, I imagine it must be very very difficult.
It is so hard not to get caught up in the routine, and to open up the sefer and learn like there's nothing else in the world right now except you and HaShem and this sefer as your medium of connection.
But, that's what learning Torah is.
Somehow I received this knowledge from my parents as a child I don't know how else one can attain this, I imagine it must be very very difficult.
9.7.07
the peace of the wise
וכל המקים את דברו רוח חכמים נוחה הימנו
anyone who keeps their word brings solace to the wisemen.
anyone who keeps their word brings solace to the wisemen.
This is the final statement in Masechet Shevi'it, the mishna which discusses the laws of the Shemitah year. The Shemitah year is the seventh year in a repeating seven year cycle in which we are commanded to let the land lay fallow.
More relevant to this particular quote is that all debts between people are to be (automatically) forgiven/forgotten upon the arrival of the Shemitah year. The quote praises those who pay their debt in any case, because then lenders won't be affraid to lend out money to those in need during the sixth year in the cycle. The quote is actually a more general phrasing praising everyone who keeps their word because when people keep to their word, there is no need for disputes in court. Everyone is honorable.
Keeping our word, being upstanding and honorable Jews brings peace to the Hachamim. Since we are overcoming our nature, it seems natural that we are bringing peace to the world and this in turn brings peace to the Hachamim.
I think another reading of this same phrase may be: "all those who keep HaShem's Word, Which is to say all those who keep the Torah, the spirit of the Hachamim rests upon them."
We find this in a number of places, especially in the stories of the Talmidim of the Arizal (whose hillulah is tonight and tomorrow) who merited the ibur of (the impregnation of their soul with the soul of another) a tzaddik from the earlier generations (the Tannaim or Amoraim) because of their extraordinary performance of a particular mitzwah.
14.6.07
questions that heal the world
Uncertainty, ספק, shares the same gematria with עמלק - Amalek. (gematria 240) So when we are in a place of halachic uncertainty, and we go to a Rav, and ask a sh'ela and receive a psak, we are fulfilling the mitzwah of wiping out the memory of Amalek, by removing halachic uncertainty from our lives. (by transforming a ספק into a פסק)
21.5.07
tree of unification
Scientific American has an article about Cognitive Ability and Development:
Our Rabbis teach us something rather interesting. Until the age of 13 (Twelve for girls) a child has only an earthly soul, (sometimes called the 'evil urge') from the age of mitzwoth, thirteen and on, the child receives a Godly soul in addition to the earthly soul. The rest of his or her life is then spent learning to rely on the desires of the Godly soul to elevate the earthly soul.
R' David Zeller of blessed memory, who passed away last thursday (mentioned @ Heichal Negina) wrote in his comments on the Tree of Life:
"childhood is characterized by improvement on tasks of cognitive and motor function, this progress levels off at around age 11 or 12, just prior to adolescence."(You can see the Science Blog coverage of the same study here.)
Our Rabbis teach us something rather interesting. Until the age of 13 (Twelve for girls) a child has only an earthly soul, (sometimes called the 'evil urge') from the age of mitzwoth, thirteen and on, the child receives a Godly soul in addition to the earthly soul. The rest of his or her life is then spent learning to rely on the desires of the Godly soul to elevate the earthly soul.
R' David Zeller of blessed memory, who passed away last thursday (mentioned @ Heichal Negina) wrote in his comments on the Tree of Life:
Judaism and Jewish mysticism in particular tried to warn us about "falling" into seeing everything through duality, by planting the story of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life at the beginning of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). We start out in Paradise (a state of oneness), eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Opposites, the Tree of Duality, and are out of oneness and paradise. Every child goes through this in his or her early development. But there is almost no education for, no maps to, regaining access to this realm of wholeness, soulness and Godliness.
And those systems that do exist, are mainly descriptions and analysis, linear vehicles - themselves from the Tree of Knowledge - that rarely can transport the seeker to the ever-present dimension of the Tree of Life. The Tree of Knowledge is horizontal, linear, rational, hierarchical, sequential, causal, time and space bound, trapped in the past or sucked into the future. The Tree of Knowledge is the vulnerable, temporal world of the mortal ego/personality/body. The Tree of Life is vertical, holistic, multi-dimensional, simultaneous, overlapping, interpenetrating, beyond time and space, ever present in the here and now moment. The Tree of Life is the safe, protected, womblike timeless world of the immortal soul, life force, essence of all.
Taken together, these three different sources illustrate one beautiful unity. With MRIs and studies we can see the direct effects of what it means to be without a Godly soul, exactly what R' Zeller described. And, from our own experience of what it is to be a teenager, we can see the complexity of the development of a child in the conflict of the Godly and earthly souls. A process that R' Zeller tirelessly worked towards easing.
17.5.07
children of war
There's an animation over at chabad.org, the Tefillin Booth. It commemorates the beginning of the Chabad Teffilin campaign that's still going on to this day. Why are they bringing it up now? Well, it started in 1967, as a spiritual tactic to aid us in our military effort. (Or at least that was the marketing spin of the day. In any case, because of it, tens of thousands of Jews have put on tefillin.)
See Kumah's post about it:1967: A Year of Jewish Military Campaigns
The reason I'm bringing it up is that I was looking through my wife's great-grandfather's books recently, (There are over 20 books of his notes, dreams, commentaries on Tehillim, and Zohar, most in his own handwriting) paper-clipped to one of his dreams about the Kotel was a newspaper clipping from 1967 about the start of the Tefillin campaign.
Oh, I forgot to mention that this great-grandfather had a dream in 1967 that big things were about to happen in Israel, and that's why he made the arduous journey from Bombay to Jerusalem, right before the war.
During the war, some of the soldiers making their way to the old city stopped him and asked him to bless them. He turned to one of the men, singling him out, and said "You will be before God shortly, tell Him to have mercy on His children."
See Kumah's post about it:1967: A Year of Jewish Military Campaigns
The reason I'm bringing it up is that I was looking through my wife's great-grandfather's books recently, (There are over 20 books of his notes, dreams, commentaries on Tehillim, and Zohar, most in his own handwriting) paper-clipped to one of his dreams about the Kotel was a newspaper clipping from 1967 about the start of the Tefillin campaign.
Oh, I forgot to mention that this great-grandfather had a dream in 1967 that big things were about to happen in Israel, and that's why he made the arduous journey from Bombay to Jerusalem, right before the war.
During the war, some of the soldiers making their way to the old city stopped him and asked him to bless them. He turned to one of the men, singling him out, and said "You will be before God shortly, tell Him to have mercy on His children."
1.5.07
small words
The Noam Elimelech (פרשת שמות) continues a theme here (an old post about it can be found here a newer one here) about why Tzaddikim undergo a yeridah, a falling, for the purpose and need of the masses, so that they can rise up with the Tzaddik when s/he does so.
Instead of talking about the why, this time he describes another situation of how the Tzaddik lowers himself in order to raise us up:
Speech, the Noam Elimelech says, is a tremendous fall for pure intellect to take, because one can have many many (often exceedingly complicated) thoughts at once, but through speech only the smallest part of them may be shared. So, when the Tzaddik who is involved in lofty thoughts and perceptions lowers his intellect to the level of speech, such that we might glean some shining tidbits and experience tremendous elevations, the Tzaddik is lowering himself to raise us up.
In my mind it seems like the Tzaddik is going down to the well, to draw up our souls in the bucket of his words. So, in light of that image, it behooves us to jump into his words, so that he can lift us up out of the confines of the well, and into a much more spacious frame of mind, a broader service of God.
Instead of talking about the why, this time he describes another situation of how the Tzaddik lowers himself in order to raise us up:
Speech, the Noam Elimelech says, is a tremendous fall for pure intellect to take, because one can have many many (often exceedingly complicated) thoughts at once, but through speech only the smallest part of them may be shared. So, when the Tzaddik who is involved in lofty thoughts and perceptions lowers his intellect to the level of speech, such that we might glean some shining tidbits and experience tremendous elevations, the Tzaddik is lowering himself to raise us up.
In my mind it seems like the Tzaddik is going down to the well, to draw up our souls in the bucket of his words. So, in light of that image, it behooves us to jump into his words, so that he can lift us up out of the confines of the well, and into a much more spacious frame of mind, a broader service of God.
18.3.07
amounting to something
The Brisker said that you only get reward for the Torah you understand. How does that square with our previous post about Hassidut enlivening you even when you don't understand it?
Not to mention, something you learned years before can be understood anew many times over the course of your life. Which time counts as you 'learning it' if each time you understand it better than the last, only the last time? This also raises the question of does understanding it later even count as learning it, if you aren't learning it when you understand it?
At this point, I think it would be prudent to simply mention נעשה ונשמע - we will do, and we will hear. שמיעה or hearing is normally associated with בינה (understanding) which is actually the root of the Oral Torah. Whereas עשיה, action, relates back to Will, or desire, which is רצון which relates above the intellect (of which בינה is a part) entirely to the level of כתר or God's Crown.
So, it still seems that learning Torah even without understanding it, is doing. The most important part of the learning in this case is speaking it aloud while you are learning. (The speaking is the essence of the doing.) In this way, there is still a basis to say you are 'doing and hearing' since you are speaking the Torah aloud, and your ears are hearing your voice.
In short, just keep learning as we are fulfilling the letter of נעשה ונשמע by reading it out loud and hearing it with our ears, and fulfilling the spirit of נעשה ונשמע by moving forward with our learning even though we haven't yet heard (understood) the proper way to learn.
I have one more subtle nuance: the Oral Torah is rooted, as we said, in בינה. Whereas Hassidut is actually rooted not in בינה but in חכמה (wisdom) the source of the Written Torah. Understanding is something we need to work for, Wisdom comes on its own, it's like receiving a present. So, it makes perfect sense that the Brisker, (Rav Hayyim of Brisk) who was talking about the Oral Torah says you don't get any reward unless you understand, and Hassidut explains that even if you don't understand Hassiduth the reward comes anyways.
The moral of the story? When in doubt, learn Hassidut.
Not to mention, something you learned years before can be understood anew many times over the course of your life. Which time counts as you 'learning it' if each time you understand it better than the last, only the last time? This also raises the question of does understanding it later even count as learning it, if you aren't learning it when you understand it?
At this point, I think it would be prudent to simply mention נעשה ונשמע - we will do, and we will hear. שמיעה or hearing is normally associated with בינה (understanding) which is actually the root of the Oral Torah. Whereas עשיה, action, relates back to Will, or desire, which is רצון which relates above the intellect (of which בינה is a part) entirely to the level of כתר or God's Crown.
So, it still seems that learning Torah even without understanding it, is doing. The most important part of the learning in this case is speaking it aloud while you are learning. (The speaking is the essence of the doing.) In this way, there is still a basis to say you are 'doing and hearing' since you are speaking the Torah aloud, and your ears are hearing your voice.
In short, just keep learning as we are fulfilling the letter of נעשה ונשמע by reading it out loud and hearing it with our ears, and fulfilling the spirit of נעשה ונשמע by moving forward with our learning even though we haven't yet heard (understood) the proper way to learn.
I have one more subtle nuance: the Oral Torah is rooted, as we said, in בינה. Whereas Hassidut is actually rooted not in בינה but in חכמה (wisdom) the source of the Written Torah. Understanding is something we need to work for, Wisdom comes on its own, it's like receiving a present. So, it makes perfect sense that the Brisker, (Rav Hayyim of Brisk) who was talking about the Oral Torah says you don't get any reward unless you understand, and Hassidut explains that even if you don't understand Hassiduth the reward comes anyways.
The moral of the story? When in doubt, learn Hassidut.
28.1.07
torah, body and soul
Just wanted to briefly revisit my last post on Rambam's take on the written Torah.
I met up with Rav Immanuel Levy (mentioned in the former posting) again, and discussed the matter further. It turns out exactly as I posted last time, but actually even more broad.
Halachah as a whole does not learn out anything from the Written Torah directly. It ONLY learns halachah from mesorah, the Oral Torah that each generation receives from the former generation. Even in the Talmud, when they search for a biblical source for a teaching, they are actually searching for a mesorah that we learn a particular idea from a particular passuk. (passage)
In that sense, it is the Oral Torah that invests the Written Torah with the holiness of Halachah. That's an amazingly radical viewpoint that I've never heard nor understood before and it gives me a whole new window through which to view Torah study. When we are learning how a Jew is to act in ANY situation at all, we must connect that back to the Oral Traddition, or else we haven't clarified the matter at all. Halachah is an entirely oral phenomenon, completely rooted in the transmission from Moshe on down to the heads of today's Jewish communities.
The Written Torah is given to us to learn and to connect to God, but not to determine our life decisions. Written Torah is always learned l'shmah. (For it's own sake) This is totally profound.
The Kabbalah, which is actually an extension of the written Torah is likewise something that is totally and completely involved in relating to God directly, but cannot substitute the Halachah of how to perform the proscribed mitzwoth--just as insight into the Written Torah does not (cannot) have a direct effect on our performance of the mitzwoth.
In this sense, the Oral Torah is clearly the body that expresses what is hidden in the soul, the Written Torah. Just as our own bodies clothe and can express the desires and nature of our soul.
This is the Halachic perspective. It's not the perspective from which I was raised, nor is it the perspective upheld by my fathers exactly. (Having derived from Sepharadi and Hassidic origins) But it is an awe-inspiring perspective all the same.
It is interesting to apply the lessons of Tanya and Hassiduth as a whole to this Body and this Soul of Torah. Hassiduth is actually just that, the investing of the body with the soul. (Whether on a personal basis, or on the level of the Torah as a whole.)
I met up with Rav Immanuel Levy (mentioned in the former posting) again, and discussed the matter further. It turns out exactly as I posted last time, but actually even more broad.
Halachah as a whole does not learn out anything from the Written Torah directly. It ONLY learns halachah from mesorah, the Oral Torah that each generation receives from the former generation. Even in the Talmud, when they search for a biblical source for a teaching, they are actually searching for a mesorah that we learn a particular idea from a particular passuk. (passage)
In that sense, it is the Oral Torah that invests the Written Torah with the holiness of Halachah. That's an amazingly radical viewpoint that I've never heard nor understood before and it gives me a whole new window through which to view Torah study. When we are learning how a Jew is to act in ANY situation at all, we must connect that back to the Oral Traddition, or else we haven't clarified the matter at all. Halachah is an entirely oral phenomenon, completely rooted in the transmission from Moshe on down to the heads of today's Jewish communities.
The Written Torah is given to us to learn and to connect to God, but not to determine our life decisions. Written Torah is always learned l'shmah. (For it's own sake) This is totally profound.
The Kabbalah, which is actually an extension of the written Torah is likewise something that is totally and completely involved in relating to God directly, but cannot substitute the Halachah of how to perform the proscribed mitzwoth--just as insight into the Written Torah does not (cannot) have a direct effect on our performance of the mitzwoth.
In this sense, the Oral Torah is clearly the body that expresses what is hidden in the soul, the Written Torah. Just as our own bodies clothe and can express the desires and nature of our soul.
This is the Halachic perspective. It's not the perspective from which I was raised, nor is it the perspective upheld by my fathers exactly. (Having derived from Sepharadi and Hassidic origins) But it is an awe-inspiring perspective all the same.
It is interesting to apply the lessons of Tanya and Hassiduth as a whole to this Body and this Soul of Torah. Hassiduth is actually just that, the investing of the body with the soul. (Whether on a personal basis, or on the level of the Torah as a whole.)
24.1.07
Rambam on Torah: What Torah?
I attended a shiur by an absolutely brilliant (many times through shas, knows everything more or less by heart) relatively young (~40) Rav, on Shabbath.
Caught up in the fiery debate on hilchoth Shabbath (קוצר & זורע), I didn't have time to notice the point he mentioned in passing. Rambam doesn't learn anything out solely from the text of the written Torah, because any passuk can always be read another way. That's radical. You know what comes out of that. The only thing we rely on for certain is the mishnah and the gemara.
We don't live by the Written Torah. ONLY the Oral Torah.
From this perspective it seems that the Written Torah's main use is to connect to God through learning and prayer, but as far as connecting to God through mitzwoth, there's only the Oral Torah.
Perhaps I misunderstood his point, I'll have to follow it up. But if I understood correctly, I've never heard something so radical in Torah before, and it makes me understand better why people make such a big deal about the Rambam.
Also makes me wonder if this had anything to do with the Written Torah being misappropriated by the christians.
He definitely wouldn't be down with piskei halachah al pi haKabalah. Heh.
Caught up in the fiery debate on hilchoth Shabbath (קוצר & זורע), I didn't have time to notice the point he mentioned in passing. Rambam doesn't learn anything out solely from the text of the written Torah, because any passuk can always be read another way. That's radical. You know what comes out of that. The only thing we rely on for certain is the mishnah and the gemara.
We don't live by the Written Torah. ONLY the Oral Torah.
From this perspective it seems that the Written Torah's main use is to connect to God through learning and prayer, but as far as connecting to God through mitzwoth, there's only the Oral Torah.
Perhaps I misunderstood his point, I'll have to follow it up. But if I understood correctly, I've never heard something so radical in Torah before, and it makes me understand better why people make such a big deal about the Rambam.
Also makes me wonder if this had anything to do with the Written Torah being misappropriated by the christians.
He definitely wouldn't be down with piskei halachah al pi haKabalah. Heh.
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