Category: Dvar Torah

Not in Heaven? Then Where?

By Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman

In this week’s parsha (Devarim 30:11-12) we learn one of the fundamental and remarkable concepts of Judaism.

“It is not in the heavens…”

In its context this phrase teaches that the Torah is not impossible to comprehend and observe. The Torah has been given to us and for us to observe. It is “our” Torah now. But the sages of the Talmud understood this phrase as teaching a second idea.

One of the most famous stories in the Talmud is the story concerning a dispute about an oven and the laws of purity (Bava Metziah 59b). Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus was one of the greatest of the teachers in the Mishna and he ruled that this oven was pure. His colleagues all disagreed and said it was impure. The subject was debated and Rabbi Eliezer defended his position but to no avail.

Finally, Rabbi Eliezer called upon Heaven and sought Divine support for his position. He proclaimed, “If the law is like my opinion, let these miracles prove my point.” And truly there were miraculous events. A tree was uprooted and flew through the air, the walls of the study hall suddenly curved inward and a stream of water reversed its flow. But Rabbi Eliezer’s opponents said that miracles do not prove anything.

The Torah is on Earth

Rabbi Eliezer then proclaimed, “Heaven will prove me right!” And a heavenly voice announced, “Why are you opposing Rabbi Eliezer when the Halacha is always in accord with his opinion?” At that moment Rabbi Yehoshuah stood up and proclaimed the words from our parsha (Devarim 30:12) :“It is not in heaven.”

Why? Because the Torah itself says to follow the majority (Shemot 23:2).

The status of the oven was put to a vote by the very human rabbis, here on Earth,  and it was decided by the majority that the oven was impure.

The tale concludes with one more story. The Prophet Elijah was asked, what was God’s response to the vote by the humans? Elijah replied that God smiled and said, “My sons defeated me, my sons defeated me.” Why did God smile? Didn’t the Heavenly voice say that Rabbi Eliezer was correct? Didn’t the sages reach the wrong conclusion? How could they disagree with God?

Even the Divine can be Examined Critically

There are two explanations for this story that I wish to share.

One explanation is according to the Ramban. Simply put, and as shocking as it may seem, the Ramban denies the existence of an objective incontrovertible truth in the study of Torah. The Talmud itself intimates as much when it says concerning the disputes of Beit Hillel and Beit Shamai that “These and these are the words of the Living God.”

The Ramban in his introduction to his commentary “Milchemet Hashem” writes the following words:

Every student of our Talmud knows….that in this discipline there are no absolute proofs as there are in mathematics and geometry. Rather we put all of our effort and all of our lives into distancing one of the opinions by means of persuasive reasoning….

Yes, a Divine voice was heard in the House of Study. But even that Divine voice could and should be examined critically.

Finding Holiness on Earth

A possible related explanation can be found in the Sfat Emet (parashat Mishpatim 5632/1872). The Sfat Emet quotes the Rebbe of Kotzk’s comment on the words, “And a holy people you shall be…” (Shemot 22:30).

The Rebbe of Kotzk said that God has no shortage of perfect, holy angels up in heaven. He could have kept the Torah in heaven for the angels but chose to entrust His Torah to us on Earth. God’s wish is for us to sanctify ourselves on Earth through his Torah.

As our parsha says, “It is not in heaven.”

Is Everyone Happy?

By Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman

Anyone who has ever read even a most superficial work on Jewish history is familiar with the history of the Hassidic movement. Historians emphasize the aspect of joy which they say is unique to Hassidism and among Hassidic teachers the one who is most associated with joy is Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. His most famous teaching is the following (Likutei Moharan, vol. 2 , teaching #24):

It is a great mitzvah to always be happy…

The American Dream

This is something which even the American Declaration of Independence declares:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Rebbe Nachman says that there is a “great mitzvah to always be happy” but if it is a “great mitzvah” then happiness must be elusive and difficult to find.

The Declaration of Independence says something similar. Happiness is not present; it needs to be pursued.

The Jewish Ideal

Another great teacher of Hassidism was Rebbe Zusha of Hanipol. Of the many stories told about him, one of the most famous deals with happiness:

A man once visited the holy Maggid of Mezeritch and said he had great difficulties applying the Talmudic saying that “A person is supposed to bless God for the bad just as he blesses Him for the good.” The Maggid told him to find the Maggid’s disciple Reb Zusha of Hanipol and ask him. The man went and found Rebbe Zusha, who received him kindly and invited him to his home. When the guest came in, he saw how poor the family was, there was almost nothing to eat and they were beset with afflictions and illnesses. Nevertheless, Rebbe Zusha was always happy and cheerful. The guest was astonished at this picture. He said: “I went to the Holy Maggid to ask him how it is possible to bless God for the bad He sends us the same way as we bless Him for the good, and The Maggid told me only you can help me in this matter.” Rebbe Zusha said: “This is indeed a very interesting question. But why did our holy Rebbe send you to me? How would I know? He should have sent you to someone who has experienced suffering.

What was Rebbe Zusha’s secret?

I think that Rebbe Zusha totally felt that his life was lived in the service of Hashem. Every moment of the day was spent in Hashem’s presence and with this perception of life, he exemplified what the Rambam (Rambam, Hilchot Lulav, chap. 8:15) teaches us about happiness which is a lesson based on this week’s parsha:

The joy which a person derives from doing good deeds and from loving God, who has commanded us to practice them, is a supreme form of divine worship.

Anyone who refrains from experiencing this joy deserves punishment, as it is written: “Because you have not served the Lord your God with joy and with a glad heart” (Devarim 28:47)…..True greatness and honor are attained only by rejoicing before the Lord, as it is written: “King David was leaping and dancing before the Lord” (Shmuel Bet  6:16).

If Rebbe Zusha would have ever read the Declaration of Independence I think he would have smiled and said, “Happiness does not have to be pursued -it is right here.”

 

 

On Human Dignity

By Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman

One of the fundamental ideas in Halacha is kavod ha-beriyot which can be understood (if not actually literally translated) as human dignity. The Halacha views the protection of a person’s dignity as something of paramount importance.

One of the dilemmas which confront all urban societies is how to maintain kavod ha-beriyot in ever larger and ever more crowded cities where in many cases there are poor people who cannot afford shelter.

Too many people the homeless poor are unpleasant to see and are viewed as a blight which needs to be dealt with. The solutions vary from simply expelling them some place far away or housing them in crowded and unsafe shelters.

Public Policy

Too often the mere existence of the poor is seen as an infringement on the right of the wealthier classes to enjoy a certain “quality of life.”

That being the case, it would seem that kavod ha-beriyot is reserved for those who can afford it.

Furthermore, Abraham Lincoln once (supposedly) said, “God must love the poor, since He made so many of them.”

The irony behind these words expresses a painful truth: The poor bother us. Seeing them upsets us and we end up seeking to put them somewhere. That is the sad public policy in many cities.

Dignity as a Human Right

The mistreatment of the poor is not a new problem. Our prophets cried out against the exploitation of the people who exist on society’s margins. In this week’s parsha we are taught that the wealthy need to respect the dignity of the less fortunate. The pesukim that teach this lesson say the following (Devarim 24: 10 -13):

When you make a loan of any sort to your compatriot, you must not enter the house to seize the pledge. 

You must remain outside, while the party to whom you made the loan brings the pledge out to you. 

If that party is needy, you shall not go to sleep in that pledge; 

you must return the pledge at sundown, that its owner may sleep in the cloth and bless you; and it will be to your merit before your God.

Mercy for the creditor

Take a moment and think about this situation. A person of means did a mitzvah and loaned money to a poor person. The time for repayment of the loan has passed and the loan was not repaid. In a society where property rights are supreme the creditor would be entitled to enter the debtor’s home and seize anything of his choosing as a security to guarantee repayment of the loan. The debtor’s obligation to the creditor eliminates any right that he might claim.

But the Torah says that this must not be done. The creditor must wait outside of the debtor’s house and ask for a security for the loan. Rabbeunu Bachya explains this mitzvah:

“You must not enter the house to seize the pledge – to take his security, neither the creditor nor an agent of the court. Behold, this is an act based on mercy. The Torah cares for the shame of the debtor when others are searching through his household goods….”

The Torah does not ignore property rights. But the Torah balances the right to be repaid against the right to be treated with respect – kavod ha-beriyot.

This is a right that can never be taken away.

Do You Believe in Magic?

By Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman

In this week’s parsha there is a long list of magical practices in which we are forbidden to engage (Devarim 18: 9-12). It is not clear what exactly these magical techniques involved but it is clear why people turned to them.

People turned to them in order to prevail over the reality of their existence thinking they could try and change that reality, or perhaps to divine the future.

Be that as it may, these magical practices were alleged to be a tool which one could use to create a more advantageous existence and these verses in the Torah raise an important question: Is magic real?

Nonsense. Just nonsense.

It probably comes as no surprise that Rambam (Maimonidies), the great master of Halacha and perhaps the preeminent avatar of a rational Judaism, wrote with tremendous scorn on the subject of magic. Here are his concluding words in the eleventh chapter of his Hilchot Avodat Kochavim regarding the prohibition of magic:

All of these things are false and spurious, and it was that the ancient idolaters misled the peoples of many lands so that they would follow them. And it is unbecoming to Israel who are exceedingly wise to be attracted by these absurdities, nor to even imagine that they are of any consequence…Whoever believes in these matters, and their like, and suppose that there is wisdom and truth in them, except that the Torah disallowed them, such people are none other than foolish and ignorant ….

Not Nonsense

Ramban (Nachmanidies), the greatest Torah scholar in 13th century Spain, was one of the first figures to bring Kabbalistic ideas to the public. He did this in his trailblazing commentary to the Chumash in which he wove together all of the facets of the Torah into one magnificent work.

Ramban opposed many of the ideas of Aristotelian philosophy which enjoyed great popularity among a significant portion of Jewish society. Aristotelians said that miracles are impossible because God cannot change nature. In a similar vein, Aristotelians denied the reality of magic. The Ramban fought Aristotelianism and so we find him defending magic. Here is a passage from the Ramban’s commentary to our parsha:

Now, many scholars dispose of themselves to be liberal with regard to these enchantments by saying that there is no truth in them whatsoever, for who tells the raven or the crane what will happen? But we cannot deny matters publicly demonstrated before the eyes of witnesses. …

To most of us the credulity of the Ramban seems, to put it mildly, naïve. But we need to keep in mind that in medieval Europe many very learned people engaged in the study of astrology and alchemy and these were considered worthy of serious study. Be that as it may, Ramban opposed Aristotle and those who accepted his ideas because they limited Hashem’s absolute freedom to manage all of creation.

What to do?

It is understandable that people will do what they can to shape their future. The world can be very scary. So, what can Jews do to shape their future?  After the prohibition regarding magic the next verse has this to say:

You must be wholehearted with your God

Rashi explains what this verse is teaching:

“…walk before God whole-heartedly, put your hope in Him and do not attempt to investigate the future, but whatever it may be that comes upon you accept it whole-heartedly, and then you shall be with Him and become His portion.”

In other words, Rashi seems to be explaining the beauty of what is called “simple faith,” something that can be easily tested in a world where so much of the truth can be covered in lies.

Being ‘wholehearted’ with God can help ground us and guide our way.

 

Permission to eat meat

By Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman

Elsewhere in the Torah we are taught the rules for eating meat as part of the system of animal sacrifices but in this week’s parsha the Torah specifically permits the consumption of meat for pleasure. We are told (Devarim 12:21) that if we choose, we may eat meat simply because we want to:

כי־ירחק ממך המּקום אשׁר יבחר הי אלקיך לשום שׁמו שׁם וזבחת מבקרך ומצאנך אשׁר נתן הי לך כאשׁר צותך ואכלת בשׁעריך בכל אות נפשך

If the place where God has chosen to establish the divine name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of the cattle or sheep that God gives you, as I have instructed you; and you may eat to your heart’s content in your settlements.

Why now?

The language of the Torah here is astonishing. The Torah seems to be legitimizing something that was terribly destructive forty years earlier amidst a gluttonous craving among the Israelites as they wept and said, “If only we had meat to eat!” (Bamidbar 11:4). The תאוה or desire for meat at that point in our journey to the Land of Israel led to the catastrophe of Kivrot ha’Ta’avah.

So why is Hashem now suddenly permitting us to satisfy the תאוה, our urge to eat meat?

The simple explanation is present in the pesukim. At Kivrot ha’Ta’avah the people were rebelling against the Divine gift of manna. But on entering Israel there would be no more manna and once we entered Israel not everyone would be able to easily come to the Temple to eat sacrificial meat.

Therefore, God permitted us to consume meat should we choose to do so.

Why Food?

If we look at Tehillim 107 we see it is about our deliverance from Egypt and our journey through the desert. The fifth verse states:

Hungry and thirsty, their spirit failed.

The Ba’al Shem Tov asked a simple question based on this verse and he taught a remarkable lesson. He asked, how does food, which is material and tangible, nourish the spirit which is neither material nor tangible?

He answered that in food there are “sparks” which are spiritual and holy. When eaten properly (which means for the proper motives) these hidden sparks are what nourish the soul.

Spiritual Territory

In discussing our parsha, the Sfat Emet elaborates on this idea of the Ba’al Shem Tov explaining the following.

When the Torah says we may eat meat “When Hashem enlarges your territory,” it does not refer to territory on a map. It also does not refer to meat, per se. The Torah is talking about one’s spiritual territory and everyone is born with a certain spark of holiness and it is our job to make that spark grow. When a person has enlarged his or her holiness, the next task is to expand the realm of holiness in this world and this is achieved by liberating the sparks concealed in the rest of Creation.

Everything in this world seeks to be elevated towards God and as the Baal Shem Tov said, food in particular has holy “sparks,” which nourish the soul.

Eating meat is just one example of the many opportunities people have to enjoy something in this world while simultaneously making themselves and the world holier.