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Shabbat ends in London at 10.11pm
| Sidra Lite | |
| Masei - The parsha of Galut | Rabbi Jason Kleiman |
| Pidyon Haben III |
Rabbi Daniel Roselaar |
| Gossip | Chief Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks |
| Israel A - Z, L - Levi Eshkol | Simon Goulden |
| Riddle of the Week | Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis & Prof Lester Kershenbaum |
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MASEI - THE PARSHA OF GALUT
For all of the challenges facing Jews who live in the Diaspora in the 21st century, life is much more comfortable for us than it was for previous generations. We can hardly begin to imagine what it must have been like to have endured the pogroms in Russia or the persecutions of Nazi Germany. Yet, there is a condition that Jews continue to endure today that unites us with the plight of our ancestors and it is known by the Hebrew word, galut.
Galut is usually translated as 'exile', but the term relates to far more than being geographically distant from our homeland. The concept of galut is about all of those distances and barriers that exist in our lives as Jews and we have a duty to remove them. To respond to galut is to bridge the gap between Jews and Jewish observance, to mend relationships that have gone sour and to work for the peace, harmony and unity of our people. By closing the gaps in our personal relationships with each other and the Almighty, we bring the end of our galut from the Land of Israel and our people ever closer. This is important in itself, but it is also necessary to constantly remind ourselves that we continue to be in galut and this is a theme running through the second of this week's Torah readings, Parshat Masei.
The Sidra reviews the Israelites' forty two journeys through the desert and the Talmud compares a person's moving from one place to another to being in galut. Therefore, reading about how the children of Israel journeyed from place to place serves to remind us that we, today, are still in galut. In the next chapter, the Torah delineates the boundaries of Eretz Yisrael and this reading poignantly reminds us of our galut status. It causes us to focus on the present state of affairs in which the world refuses to recognise our rights to land which is rightfully ours.
The Sidra of Masei is always read during the Three Weeks between the fast of the seventeenth of Tammuz and the fast of the ninth of Av. This is a period of national mourning for the Jewish people when our thoughts should focus on why we continue to be dispersed across the world instead of fulfilling our destiny to be gathered together in the Land of Israel with the rebuilt Temple standing in Jerusalem. It was on the date of the ninth of Av, the fast day that concludes the Three Weeks, that the Jews were originally told that they would wander for forty years in the desert in what was their very first galut. The destruction of the two Temples on Tisha b'Av also led to further experiences of exile for the Jewish people. By taking heed of the different manifestations of galut that are addressed in Parshat Masei, the Sidra provides us with a timely reminder of the priorities that should currently be uppermost in our thoughts.
Pidyon Haben III
A Pidyon Haben is usually accompanied by a festive meal and the actual ceremony takes place after Hamotzi has been recited. The father advises the Cohen that he has a firstborn son and the Cohen asks him if he would prefer to redeem him or to retain the money for himself. The father answers that he wants to redeem his child. Prior to handing the money to the Cohen the father recites a berachah on the mitzvah of Pidyon Haben as well as the berachah of Shehecheyanu, since this is a mitzvah that is rarely performed. According to some authorities the Cohen should be seated during the ceremony to reflect the importance of his priestly status.
Following receipt of the money the Cohen holds it above the child's head and declares that he has received the money in lieu of the child. He then blesses the baby and recites Borei Pri Hagafen over a cup of wine which he then drinks.
Unusual manifestations of Pidyon Haben can occur as follows:
A Pidyon Haben can be effected even if the baby is not present - for example, if the father is away on business on the thirty-first day following the birth, provided he has access to a Cohen he should nevertheless redeem his son.
Though a baby's Brit Milah will normally precede a Pidyon Haben, if for whatever reason the baby has not been circumcised by the thirty-first day, the Pidyon Haben should still take place.
GOSSIP
Few things are more harmless and pleasurable than gossip - or so it seems. What could be wrong with making gentle indiscretions about someone else? Sharing confidences? Leaking private information? Talking about others over the dinner table, or the phone, or by e-mail?
A distinguished American-Jewish sociologist once wrote a book entitled Synagogue Life. He discovered that the Synagogue was organized as a gossip network. "Essentially," he wrote, "the entire congregation may be viewed as one large gossip cell." He added that "Not unsurprisingly, one finds that members of the Shul who see themselves as leaders are among the most frequent utilizers of secret gossip. They use it to hold on to their power and to peddle influence, often at the expense of their rivals' reputations."
The Torah disagrees. "You shall not go around as a tale-bearer among your people" (Vayikra 19: 16). Maimonides explains this prohibition as follows: "He who tells tales of his fellow violates a negative command ... Though it does not carry with it the penalty of lashes, it constitutes a grave iniquity and drives many people to their deaths. For this reason the next verse [in the Torah] states, 'You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbour'."
"Who is a tale bearer? He who retails gossip, going from one person to another saying: 'This is what so-and-so said about you. This is what I've heard from so-and-so.' Though it may be true, he goes about destroying the world."
The Chafetz Chayyim ruled: "It is immaterial, as far as the prohibition on gossip is concerned, whether the speaker volunteered the information or whether he was pressed to divulge it by his friend. It is forbidden in any event. One is forbidden even to obey one's own father or teacher - whom one is obliged to respect and honour - if they ask you to tell them about something, and you know that telling will involve evil talk or even that it will lead them to draw negative conclusions."
The classic Biblical example is Doeg the Edomite, who told King Saul (I Samuel 21- 22) that David had sought help from the people of Nov. That led directly to a massacre. As they used to say in Britain during the Second World War, "Careless talk costs lives."
Even when it does not, it still does damage. Gossip destroys trust, undermines relationships, damages reputations, creates suspicions, sets one person against another and erodes the subtle bonds of goodwill on which community depends. There is nothing to be said in its favour. There is no excuse for it in Jewish law.
Someone was once described as a man whose ear was so close to the ground that he could not hear what an upright man was saying. That is not the Jewish way.
L - Levi Eshkol
The third prime minister of Israel was born Levi Shkolnik in 1895 near Kiev into a wealthy chasidic family. He received a traditional Jewish education, joined a Zionist movement and settled in Eretz Yisrael in 1914, quickly becoming active in agricultural and financial affairs. He founded a workers' commune in Petach Tikvah, became one of the founding members of the kibbutz Deganyah Bet and went to Berlin in 1934 to organise the transfer of German Jewish property.
During World War II Eshkol headed the finance department of the Haganah and became treasurer of the Jewish Agency in 1949. He had a deep interest in defence, was a member of the Jewish Legion from 1918 to 1920 and, in 1922, was arrested in Vienna on a mission to buy arms. After independence, he was largely responsible for the development of the crucial National Water Carrier.
In 1963 Eshkol became Prime Minister. During his term of office, West Germany established formal diplomatic relations with Israel in 1965 and relations with the United States were greatly improved. He also gained permission for some Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel. Eshkol was Prime Minister during the Six-Day War Forced by public pressure to form a "Government of National Unity" on the eve of the war, he nevertheless was able to hold this government together for some time after the war. He firmly believed that Israel should not return Arab territories occupied in 1967 without a solution to the entire Arab-Israel conflict. He died in 1969.
Last week's questions:
1. Explain:
One before six, and approximately seven hours later, six before one.
Answer:
At a Chupah in the Sheva Berachot, the berachah of Borei Peri Hagafen precedes the other six, while at the wedding reception it is recited after the other six.
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE set by Harvey Freeman of Hendon.
Which name is given to two different women in the Torah?
Answer:
Milcah
1. Abraham's sister-in-law
2. and a daughter of Zelophehad
This week's question:
1. In today's second Sidra, Masei, in the details given about the journeys of the Israelites, there is a veiled reference to the festival of Chanukah.
What is it?
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE set by Prof Lester Kershenbaum of New West End Synagogue.
The section from the Torah most frequently read in Synagogue is from Chapter 28 of Bemidbar (Parshat Pinchas), which is read on Rosh Chodesh. This is read on 17 to 21 occasions during the year.
The second most frequently read section is read 11 or 12 times every year. What is it?
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