Shabbat Mevarachim
Shabbat Hachodesh
Hertz p.373
Soncino p.573
Shabbat ends in London at 7.00pm
| Sidra Lite | |
| BOTULINUM TOXIN | Rabbi Doniel Golomb |
| The Shabbat Shluff | Rabbi Daniel Roselaar |
| Holiness
3 |
Chief Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks |
| Zichron Yaakov |
Simon Goulden |
| Riddle of the Week | Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis |
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BOTULINUM TOXIN
I was born with an eye that drifted off-centre. Recently, I went to see a surgeon who told me about a non-surgical treatment using Botulinum Toxin. This is one of the most deadly substances known to mankind. Responsible for Botulism and the high mortality rate that goes with it; this is not a nice bacterium. However, beauticians have been experimenting with "Botox", as it is known, by injecting small amounts into sagging facial muscles. The toxin paralyses the muscles for a short time and creates that "young" look.
The ophthalmologist injects a minute amount of Botox into the outer muscles of the eye. The theory is that the paralysed muscle will not be able to pull the drifting eye out as much and the inner eye muscle will be able to function optimally without interference.
It's an interesting thought: eliminate the negative force and allow the latent positive force to exercise influence. How similar this is to our worship of G-d.
We are all born with a soul that yearns for the spiritual and the holy. This soul is not moved by the prospect of financial gain because it recognises the transient nature of the physical world and the shallowness of amassing personal effects that are ultimately left behind. Rather it enjoys donning Tefillin each day, it is warmed by the glow of the Friday night candles, and it is allergic to foods that are not Kosher. This soul seeks to pull us straighter, ever closer to the Almighty, and to a truly spiritual existence.
But what is this pulling in the other direction? It is an animal-like instinct that seeks only hedonistic pleasure. It is the hungry one, the inner being that is never satisfied. It looks upon Jewish values with just a touch of disdain, preferring a "more realistic" approach to life. We are constantly pulled aside from following Hashem's Torah by self-serving instincts, like a misaligned muscle that pulls the eye off-centre. By paralysing the self-serving negative influences, we free the holy soul and allow it to exert its influence positively.
It is then that we become aware of a more refined voice that resonates with the time honoured values of our parents, a voice that is in harmony with G-d, and strikes a chord with the rich symphony of Jewish life.
At this time of year, we eradicate Chametz, the perception of self-importance, rising high above all others. We destroy this negative trait and eat only the humble Matza.
Interestingly, the Botox injection wears off after a while, and the muscle is once more free to pull against the eye, unless we paralyse it again.
We, too, must keep on top of the negative influences that drag us aside. Only then do we see clearly that G-d and His Torah are the only possessions that we really own in perpetuity in this world and the World to Come.
Shabbat is designated as a day of rest and the Shabbat afternoon shluff is mentioned in some of the earliest Rabbinic works. Indeed, the Mordechai, a prominent 14th century Talmudic commentator, notes that the same Hebrew letters that spell the word Shabbat can also form a mnemonic for the phrase Sheinah B'Shabbat Taanug ("It is a pleasure to sleep on Shabbat"). However, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that part of the purpose of resting on Shabbat is in order to achieve spiritual rejuvenation. The Talmud Yerushalmi cites two views about the nature of Shabbat relaxation and recreation: According to one our souls can be invigorated by physical indulgences, whilst according to the other they should be refreshed through spiritual pursuits. Some Rishonim reconcile these opposing views by explaining that the former is referring to the unlearned laity who are incapable of serious study, whilst the latter refers to scholars who are able to appreciate the beauty of Torah texts. However, most commentators prefer to explain that scholars who study Torah throughout the week are entitled to relax and sleep on a Shabbat afternoon, whereas people who seldom get the opportunity to engage in Torah learning should use Shabbat as an opportunity to compensate for what they are unable to do during the rest of the week. Thus, the halachic consensus is that schmoozing and shluffing are fine, but every observant Jew must regard it as a priority to come back to shul for Mincha and a shiur.
A range of recreational activities are permitted on Shabbat. However, it is important that adults and children alike recognise the intrinsic sanctity of the day and care should be taken to ensure that Shabbat activities do not infringe either the letter of the law nor the spirit of the law.
HOLINESS 3
If to be holy is to be different, it follows that Jews have been called on by G-d to have the courage to be different. The sages interpreted the phrase Avraham ha-ivri, "Abraham the Hebrew", to mean "the rest of the world was on one side, and he on the other." At most periods of history to be a Jew has meant living at a calibrated distance from the surrounding society while at the same time making contributions to it so that "through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed".
Mass behaviour - "the herd instinct" - has been responsible for many of the greatest crimes in history. In 1914 many of the most idealistic young men of Europe enthusiastically looked forward to the prospect of war. It took millions of deaths for them to realise its futility. The passions that accompanied the Russian Revolution and the enthusiasm with which the Nazis were greeted are, in retrospect, among the most tragic phenomena of the twentieth century. Too often revolution begins with a dream of utopia and ends in a nightmare of hell.
That is why, at the very beginning of the Torah, we read the momentous affirmation that it is the human individual as such that is holy, carrying within him or her the image and likeness of G-d. That too is why the famous Mishnah in the tractate of Sanhedrin declares that "a single life is like an entire universe", that the first man was created alone "so that no one can say, My father was greater than yours", and that we are all different, unique, so that we can say "the world was created for my sake" meaning that each life is irreplaceable.
To be a Jew in wider society has therefore often been a lonely experience. Tradition describes Abraham as the first iconoclast, having the imagination and courage to break his father's idols. Jewish life generally has often been at odds with prevailing fashion, political correctness, the conventional wisdom.
It is so today. To believe in the sanctity of marriage, to insist on responsibilities as well as rights, to affirm objective moral principles - all these and many others involve cognitive dissonance between Judaism and the current libertarian individualism of the West. But if we were not different, we would have nothing distinctive to contribute. Judaism remains the great counter-voice in the conversation of mankind.
Abraham lived alone with his family, true to his faith. He fought battles for his neighbours; he prayed on their behalf; but he did not adopt their values. He was, he said to the Hittites after Sarah died, "a stranger and a resident among you". Yet they called him "a prince of G-d in our midst". To be true to our faith while being a blessing to others - that is what it means to be part of a holy nation.
Remember the Baron - Zichron Yaakov
In 1882, at the top of the forbidding Carmel Mountain range, 100 Romanian pioneers purchased a tract of land in a place known in Arabic as Zammarin. Members of the Hovevei Zion movement, they dreamed of working and living off the land. However, like many other early pioneers, they were inexperienced, conditions were hard and the soil was rocky. The rest of the world came to recognise and associate the founding of the Jewish homeland with those who came in the Second Aliyah, but the immigrants of the First Aliyah really made what came later, possible. These anonymous pioneers came to the Land of Israel between 1882-1904. Their struggles - and the efforts of Baron Rothschild to help them - are celebrated in The First Aliyah Museum. Perhaps more unusual is the museum dedicated to the Bilu Group, who secretly helped pass military intelligence to the British forces in the First World War and were cruelly treated by the Turkish army when they were captured.
Leaving Zichron Yaacov on the road to Binyamina, Route 652, you will find the Ramat Hanadiv Memorial Gardens, nestled on a slope. The mature gardens and nature reserve are a real jewel, sprawled over roughly 1,100 acres, 20 of which are the memorial gardens to the great man. Zichron Yaakov has grown in importance as an artistic, cultural and educational centre over the years. You can reach it from the main coastal highway ( Route 2) north of Hadera, turning east onto Route 70, a delightful drive itself.
Last week's questions:
1. The first reference to an organ transplant is mentioned in the Haftarah for Shabbat Parah. What type of transplant is it?
Answer:
Heart transplant. See Ezekiel 36:26.
"I will give you a new heart and I will put within you a new spirit; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh".
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE set by Harvey Freeman of Hendon.
A recent riddle asked which Haftarah is printed twice in the Hertz Chumash but is only ever chanted once a year.
Today we ask: which Haftarah is printed twice in the Hertz Chumash but in most years is not chanted at all?
Answer:
That for [this week's first Sidrah] Vayakhel, which is also the Haftarah for the second Shabbat of Chanukah.
Vayakhel is usually combined with Pekudei, and/or with one of the special Parshiot, while Chanukah rarely has two Shabbatot (it has in fact had two for the past two years and will again in 2006 and 2009, but not then again until 2026). ph).
This week's question:
1. From the Ba'al Haturim:
Count the number of words in the opening three verses of today's Sidra before the concluding word .HaShaBbaT.
What does this allude to?
How does the word LA'ASoT (in verse 1) convey the same message (in a rather cryptic way)?
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE
A frum person on the moon will face many challenging halachic dilemmas.
There is one berachah which he might usually say which will now definitely be a berachah levatalah (an invalid blessing).
What is it?
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