Torah « Hebrew Learning Circles

November 19th, 2010

By ISABEL KERSHNER, Jerusalem Journal, Published: November 18, 2010

In the 1960s, when a young Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz embarked on the mammoth task of translating the ancient Jewish texts of the Talmud into modern Hebrew and, even more daringly, providing his own commentary alongside those of the classical sages, the state of Israel was still in its teens, there were no home computers, and man had not yet landed on the moon.

The monumental work took 45 years. But this month in his hometown, Jerusalem, Rabbi Steinsaltz, now 73, marked the end of the endeavor, as the last of the 45 volumes of his edition of the Babylonian Talmud, originally completed 1,500 years ago, rolled off the press.

“When I began it I did not think it would be so difficult or so long,” the rabbi said in a meandering interview that went late into the night at his Steinsaltz Center for religious studies in the city’s historic Nahlaot neighborhood. “I thought it would take maybe half the time.”

First, he said, there was the arrogance of youth, then financial and political obstacles, several spells in the hospital and the disruptive effect of a few wars.

Rabbi Steinsaltz, frail after a recent illness, sealed his achievement on Nov. 7 with a modest closing ceremony at City Hall here and a live video linkup connecting 360 Jewish communities across 48 countries on a global day of Jewish learning in the spirit of the Talmud.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, sent greetings by video and, recalling his private Talmud sessions with the rabbi in the past, said they were among the most rewarding intellectual experiences of his life.

The original Talmud, written in a mixture of old Hebrew and Aramaic, is all about learning. The act of learning, according to the rabbi, is the “central pillar” or “backbone” of Judaism — what connects Jews with the Almighty above, with their roots below and with one another.

“This book is essential for our existence,” Rabbi Steinsaltz said.

The Talmud, a compilation and analysis of oral Jewish law and ethics governing everything from marital relations to agriculture, is written as a flowing rabbinic discourse. Though the terms are archaic, many say the Talmud contains founding principles that can still be applied today. But its condensed and obscure style made it largely incomprehensible to all but serious scholars.

By adding vowel markings and punctuation to the ancient text, a modern Hebrew translation that fills in gaps, and contemporary interpretations, the Steinsaltz edition aims to make the Talmud accessible to everyone.

Rabbi Steinsaltz, a diminutive man with straggly hair and an unruly white beard tinged yellow after decades of smoking a pipe, is widely considered one of the most brilliant Jewish scholars of his age.

He was born into what he described as a “not especially religious home”; his father was a Zionist socialist who volunteered in the international brigades in Spain. The rabbi says his religious belief developed gradually in his teens.

“By nature I am a skeptical person, and people with a lot of skepticism start to question atheism,” he said.

His father sent him to a Talmud tutor at the age of 10 so that he would not grow up an “ignoramus.” Later, in college, he specialized in mathematics and physics. As a result, the rabbi has an unusual ability to move easily between different worlds — secular and sacred, scientific and spiritual, earthly and divine.

Though born sickly, Rabbi Steinsaltz has long compensated for the limitations of the human condition with intellectual and metaphysical flights. Among his most popular works is “The Thirteen Petalled Rose,” a journey into Jewish mysticism that he described as “a book for the soul.”

Asking questions, he said, is both the secret of science and the essence of the Talmud, the dialectic forming the character of the Jewish people.

He denied that his translation detracted from the book’s inner complexity and mystique. “I am not simplifying the Talmud; I am cutting some of the technical difficulties,” he said. “I am paving roads, opening doors. Not more.”

Just finding the right format for the millions of words of the Talmud was a challenge. Each page consists of a central block of the original text bordered by the classical commentary, alongside the translation, new analysis and notes, each part distinguished from the others by different typefaces and fonts.

Rabbi Steinsaltz began the task alone, but later found people “willing to lend a hand.” It became easier with computers — not least, he said, because his handwriting is so atrocious that he himself finds it hard to read.

Some in the traditional establishment were suspicious, even hostile at first. The rabbi’s level of religiosity was in doubt, and there was a reluctance to open up locked treasures.

Since he started work on it, three million volumes of the Steinsaltz edition are said to have been sold, and it has been partly translated into several other languages, including English.

Today, the rabbi bridges different streams and communities within Judaism, an unusual feat helped by the fact that he chose not to associate himself fully with any one religious group, according to his son, Rabbi Menachem Even Yisrael.

Rabbi Steinsaltz is now eager to get on with his other work, including a concise commentary of the Bible. He says he regularly puts in a 17-hour day.

He leads Shefa, an umbrella organization for all his activities and educational institutions, including schools, seminaries and less formal centers of learning for men and women. Rabbi Even Yisrael is the executive director of Shefa, which has a United States affiliate, the Aleph Society.

Known as a sharp social critic, Rabbi Steinsaltz seems to have lost none of his bite. He has little patience for vanity or pretense, and says he admires the unsparing honesty and curiosity of small children, finding them more inspiring than some adult members of the species.

He is also fond of animals and spent time at the zoo, where he says he discovered how a peacock looks “undressed.”

“A peacock without feathers is like a very unappealing, big chicken,” he said, adding, “There are a lot of people like that.”

Tags: Jewish education, Jewish legacy, Jewish tradition, philosophy, religion, Talmud, Torah
Posted in Being Jewish

EXISTENCE, AND WHAT YOU CAN’T DO ABOUT IT - A TEACHING BY RABBI GERSHON WINKLER

March 24th, 2009

Once when Rabban Gamliel was in the court of Caesar, Caesar asked him: “I have read in your people”s scriptures that your God knows how many stars there are in the heavens (Psalms 147:4). What is so great about that? I too can count the stars.” Rabban Gamliel replied: “Does Caesar know how many teeth are in his mouth?” Caesar stuck his fingers inside his mouth and began counting his teeth when the rabbi interrupted him: “You don not know what is in your mouth, yet you presume to know what is outside your mouth?” (Talmud, Sanhedrin 39a).
Or as paraphrased by the 16th-century Rabbi Yehudah Loew of Prague: “If Caesar does not even know how many teeth he has without sticking his fingers in his mouth because they are hidden from sight, how can he presume to know how many stars there are in the heavens, when many of them too are hidden from sight?” (Chidushei Aggadot on Sanhedrin 39a).

Another version of the story: A heretic asked Rabban Gamliel,
“It is written that God counts the stars in the heavens. Anyone could do that, so what”s the big deal?” In that moment a flock of sheep passed by. Said Rabban Gamliel: “Can you count these?” Said the heretic: “I can not count them while they are moving! Stand them still and I will count them.” Said Rabban Gamiliel: “That which is in motion on earth before your very eyes you cannot count, yet you claim you can count that which is in motion in the distant heavens?”

These cute stories remind us of how small we are, how little we know, how distant our perception is of the origin of life, the purpose of our being, the nature of God. They are important stories to recount again and again to remind us that our rhetoric about God is just that, rhetoric – even this very teaching! Many of us presume that we understand the “nature” of God and thus attribute to the Great Mystery the cause of all our woes, personally and globally. Where was God? We often ask when we read of tragedies, an arrogant assumption predicated on absolutely nothing more than our own home-grown notions and expectations of God. We can’t even count our own teeth without sticking our fingers in our mouths, yet we presume to know the mysteries of God. We can’t even figure out our own purpose, yet we purport to know the God’s purpose.

In one of the prophet Isaiah’s many interviews with God, God is quoted as declaring: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways, and as high as are the heavens from the earth, so high are my ways from your ways and my thoughts from your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). To whom will you liken me? And to whom can you compare me?”(Isaiah 40:25). [Do not assume that, because I dwell within all creations that any one of them represents all of who I am, or that even all of them combined represents all of who I am, for I am more than you can ever know, far more than what I have chosen to reveal of myself.] “Who can fathom my spirit? What mortal can inform you of my plans? To whom will you equate me, and what form will you dream up to describe me?” (Isaiah 40:13).

“The Torah’s warnings about punishment for wrongdoings,” wrote the great masters of the lesser-promulgated Kabbalah, “are not like we suppose, that God is executing this or that punishment upon us for this or that sin like a king punishing his servants for their failures. Rather, it is more a natural phenomenon no different than plowing and planting (Sefer HaSh’lah, Toldot Ahdam, Beyt Choch’mah, No. 3-4). How you seed the earth determines the quality of what she will yield. If you withhold goodness, if you refrain from performing a good deed when the opportunity arises, it is no different than refraining from planting a seed in the earth, and the consequence is the same: nothing will grow. And if you do wrong, it is akin to neglecting your field, or abusing the earth, and you will reap thorns and thistles, or desert sands (Rikanti on Leviticus 26:3).

The ancient rabbis also taught that God shadows our attitudes and perspectives. So if we choose to be positive and cheerful, God mirrors that cheerfulness as well. If we choose to be negative and angry, God comes across as negative and angry. In other words: “I Will Be with you as you are with me” (Sefer HaSh’lah, Toldot Ahdam, Sha’ar HaGadol, No.5), as is written in Psalms: “God will shadow you”(Psalms 121:5).

If things are going awry, we are taught, look inside, see what we are mirroring from the inside out, and whether it parallels what we are experiencing from outside in (Talmud, Berachot 5a). And if we can’t find anything within us that might be drawing shadows we can do without, then we are told to smile and say:
“This is a sign that God loves me” as is written: “For whom God loves does God chastise like a parent would a child” (Mishlei 3:12).

So on the other hand, Judaism teaches, we are not to arbitrarily accept the blame for bad things that happen to us. Bad things can happen for the pure hell of it, too. “There is death and suffering even without sin,” taught the second-century Rabbi Shim’on ben El’azar (Talmud, Shabbat 55b). And often enough the innocent are caught up in the consequences wreaked by the guilty (Talmud, Baba Kama 16a).

The 18th-century Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch summed it up this way: “The evil and challenges that come our way which God at times seems in our eyes to tolerate actually serves to ennoble us and strengthen our moral fiber. The wrong which we must sometimes endure is part of that training course of suffering that will refine us – a training that God reserves primarily for those who by their choices and actions in life have demonstrated their capacity to learn and to grow from it. This is why suffering is not given to the wicked as often as it is given to the righteous” (S.R. Hirsch in The Psalms, Vol. 2, pp. 167-169).

Then again, as a second-century rabbi put it: “Don’t do me any favors; I don’t need this suffering, and I don’t need its benefits, thank you very much!” (Talmud, Berachot 5a).

Sin is not so much what we believe we have done against God – quite an arrogant presumption at best. Rather, sin is more about wronging ourselves and others. It is more about self-compromise, belittling ourselves for our vulnerabilities, apologizing to God for being human. When we hide from God, then, whether out of guilt or out of spite, God, in turn will appear to be hidden from us, for that then becomes our choice for the cosmic choreography we create with Creator (Midrash Tehilim, Ch. 13). We are the ones who get angry and bear grudges, not God (Jeremiah 3:12, 7:19, and Hosea 11:8-9).

Like Martin Buber put it: “One who rejects God is not struck down by lightning; one who chooses God does not find hidden treasures. Everything seems to remain just as it was. Obviously, God does not wish to dispense either medals or prison sentences” [from Literarishce Welt, published in June 7, 1929, and “What Are We to Do About the Ten Commandments?” published in Israel and the World, p. 85].

As God steps back to allow us to be fully ourselves, so we step back from our mortal assumptions and expectations and definitions to allow God the space to be God. This is a great lesson in relationship, in general, and it is one of the most important messages of the Torah. For the Torah is not a monologue, a one-sided script. It is a covenant, a relationship. “The Torah”, wrote Abraham Joshua Heschel, “is more than the word of God; it is the word of God and man; a record of both revelation and response; the drama of covenant between God and man”(God in Search of Man, pp. 260-261).

And our life on earth is the stage upon which that drama is played out.

Rabbi Garshon Winkler

This essay was written by my dear friend and colleague Rabbi Gershon Winkler and posted with his permission. Read more inspirational teachings by Reb Gershon on his website www.walkingstick.org

Tags: God, Jewish tradition, religion, reward and punishment, Sin, Spirituality, Talmud, Torah
Posted in Spirituality

Rabbi Modek’s Classes - at the Community Night of Jewish Learning - Saturday, March 7th, 2009

February 23rd, 2009

At the Rockland Jewish Community Campus, 450 West Nyack Road, West Nyack, NY

Quick preview of Rabbi Modek’s sessions:

Class session I RAISING THE BAR ON BAR/BAT MITZVAH

Our ancestors passed on their Jewish legacy through rites of passage that were life transforming and life affirming. Can we reclaim the existential depth of Bar/Bat Mitzvah? Through surveying Jewish sources and current innovative practices we will search for the answer.

Class session II HASSIDIC STORY TELLING
Through storytelling and discussion students will encounter the pearls of wisdom offered in tales of the Baal Shem Tov and other Hassidic masters.

To register go towww.jewishrockland.orgto register on line
Questions? Email: melton@jewishrockland.orgTHE PROGRAM IS OPEN TO ALL–$18 SUGGESTED DONATION
BABYSITTING PROVIDED

ALL CLASSES AND TEACHERS:

Class session I – 7:40-8:30 pm

1. SCARLET RIBBONS: RAHAV: SACRED PROSTITUTE? WOMAN OF VALOR?
Madonna may not know it, but the red string she loves to flaunt has everything to do with a feisty woman named Rahav who lived long ago in Jericho. In this lively workshop, we will gain a clearer portrait of this unique “non-Jewish Jewish” heroine.
JUDITH ROSE
Educational Consultant, Director of Vital Movement™, Adult Education at CSI-Nyack

2. ETHICAL WILLS: A SACRED JEWISH PRACTICE
We will learn that although human life can be described in generalities, each life is unique in its blessings and difficulties. Although it is true that we take nothing from the world when we leave it, it is the greatest human wish that along the way we leave something of value, some sign that the world is better because we lived here. We will discover how Ethical Wills give voice to these human dreams and wishes.
RABBI PAULA MACK DRILL
Orangetown Jewish Center; Melton Faculty

3. PARAHSAT HASHAVUA AS A CONSTRUCT IN TIME
How do you read the Torah? Learn how to study the Torah one day at a time. See how the weekly parasha can be lived out daily and applied to the weekly rhythm of our lives.
RABBI CRAIG SCHEFF
Orangetown Jewish Center

4. “PRAYER CAN BE…..”
Have you ever wondered if the act of t’fillah (prayer) could be more meaningful to you? Have you ever explored t’fillah in unique ways….ways that are not found in conventional textbooks or siddurim? In this session, we will use interactive and creative techniques to explore the prayer experience, and understand it in a more personal, nuanced and meaningful manner.
BETH KRAMER
Educational Director, Temple Beth El

5. A TASTE OF MELTON:
THE RIGHT TO LIFE OR THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE: A JEWISH PERSPECTIVE
In the past few years and undoubtedly in the coming years the national debate over the court case Roe v. Wade is center stage in our political and religious forums. In this session we will take a look at the Jewish perspective based on many different sources and viewpoints that cross the spectrum of Jewish denominations, using the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School way of teaching.
RABBI JOSHUA GRUENBERG
Congregation Sons of Israel-Nyack; Melton Faculty

6. SHOULD WE ACTIVELY SEEK CONVERTS TO JUDAISM?
We will discuss some of these questions: Is this the time for us to stop obsessing about who is being lost to the Jewish community and instead to start acting on who might come in? Does Judaism have something to offer to spiritual seekers? Where do we begin?
RABBI ARYEH MEIR
West Clarkstown Jewish Center; Melton Faculty

7. RAISING THE BAR ON BAR/BAT MITZVAH
Our ancestors passed on their Jewish legacy through rites of passage that were life transforming and life affirming. Can we reclaim the existential depth of Bar/Bat Mitzvah? Through surveying Jewish sources and current innovative practices we will search for the answer.
RABBI REUBEN MODEK
Hebrew Learning Circles

8. JERUSALEM IS THE NAVAL OF THE WORLD! SONGS, MIDRASH AND MYSTICAL TALES OF THE HOLY CITY WE LOVE
Come learn sources and stories about Jerusalem, our holy city. Songs about the holy city inspire us, and midrash about Jerusalem is simply majestic! Everyone who loves the holy land and our precious City of Gold is invited to come learn together.
RABBI SCOTT BOLTON
Head of School, Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School

9. FINDING GOD WHILE PRAYING
Discover the different intentions of our prayers and where and how we can find God and godliness.
RABBI PAUL KURLAND
Nanuet Hebrew Center

10. ISRAEL: 60 YEARS IN 50 MINUTES
A whirlwind tour as participants share memories and eye witness accounts during this decade by decade survey of the history of the Jewish state.
CAROL H. KING, LCSW
Jewish Family Service of Rockland

11. PURIM EXPOSED—THE REAL STORY
Where are the miracles in the Purim story? Why is G-d’s name not mentioned in Megilat Esther (the only book of Torah missing G-d’s name)?
RABBI CHAIM ZVI EHRENREICH
Chabad Jewish Enrichment Center—Chestnut Ridge

12. J, E, P, D- WHY REFORM AND CONSERVATIVE JEWS ARE NOT ORTHODOX
A look at the scholarly reasons why non-Orthodox Jews do not literally accept “Torah Mi-Sinai,” the concept of the entire Torah being given at Mt. Sinai. Time permitting, we will also deal with the consequences of such a belief vis a vis Torah and mitzvot.
RABBI DANIEL PERNICK
Beth Am Temple

13. THE MIDRASHIC IMAGINATION: HOW WE LEARN TORAH FROM PEOPLE WHO RAISED SHEEP AND GOATS
An attempt to come to an understanding of how the Midrashic process helps us keep learning from the Torah although it was created so many thousand’s of years ago in a totally different culture and milieu from ours.
RABBI DAVID FASS
Temple Beth Sholom

14. ENRICHING YOUR GRANDCHILDREN’S JEWISH EXPERIENCES
Grandparents have a unique opportunity to demonstrate what it means to live a Jewish life (accompanied by a large dose of hugs and kisses!). This workshop will examine how grandparents look at themselves and their personal grandparenting style and offer suggestions for ways of (subtly) adding Jewish values to family events and celebrations (w/o being the ‘family rabbi’ or guest lecturer!).
SHARON HALPER
Regional Educator, Union for Reform Judaism, Grandmother

15. WAITER! THERE’S A SWEATSHOP IN MY SOUP!
Recent labor scandals in the kosher meat industry have forced us to re-examine our approach to one of the most basic aspects of our lives—our food. Explore the question of the ethics of what we consume, as we discuss the issue in light of ancient and modern Torah teachings concerning labor justice.
RABBI MICHAEL ROTHBAUM
Campus Rabbi/Program Director, Hillels of Westchester

16. FEMALE, ARAB, CHRISTIAN: NARRATIVE VOICE IN SAMI MICHAEL’S
“A TRUMPET IN THE WADI”
In this class we will examine how Baghdad-born Hebrew novelist Sami Michael integrates the quintessential Other into the center of Israeli culture simply by “playing” a trumpet in a Haifa Wadi. Participants are expected to have read this short novel (in English) before coming to class.
JOE LOWIN, Ph.D.

17. DID THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT REALLY HAPPEN? (A TASTE OF MELTON)
In May 2001, Rabbi David Wolpe (Conservative Rabbi) said in a sermon that archeological evidence shows that the Exodus from Egypt never happened. His statement generated an uproar in the Jewish community. As Jews, must we believe that the Exodus really happened?
BARBARA ROSENTHAL BIRNBAUM
Melton Faculty, CSI Nyack Adult Ed

18. OUTREACH IN THE OUTBACK
Stories and lessons from three years traveling around Australia connecting and reconnecting isolated Jewish people with their heritage…Christians in Cairns, Davening in Darwin, Bar Mitzvah in Blairgowrie and Torah in Townsville…
RABBI DOV OLIVER
Center for Jewish Life, RCC Hillel; Instructor, Rockland Community College

Class Session II — 8:40-9:30 pm

1. EVERYTHING YOUR KIDS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX, DRUGS, BODY IMAGE AND TATTOOS*BUT WERE AFRAID TO TALK ABOUT WITH YOU
Want to know about the Jewish view on these controversial issues and how to talk about them with your teens? Join us for this exciting session.
BENJAMIN LEWIS
Educational Director, New City Jewish Center

2. SCARLET RIBBONS: RAHAV: SACRED PROSTITUTE? WOMAN OF VALOR?
Madonna may not know it, but the red string she loves to flaunt has everything to do with a feisty woman named Rahav who lived long ago in Jericho. In this lively workshop, we will gain a clearer portrait of this unique “non-Jewish Jewish” heroine.
JUDITH ROSE
Educational Consultant, Director of Vital Movement™, Adult Education at CSI-Nyack

3. I WILL BOW TO NO MAN: ISSUES OF AUTHORITY IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER
Join us for a lively session of text study lead by JT Waldman, the author and illustrator of JPS’s critically acclaimed graphic novel, Megillat Esther. This session will uncover how characters in the Esther story relate to systems of power and agents of authority. Open to students of all levels, previous experience with biblical text-study and familiarity with Hebrew is recommended.
JT WALDMAN
Jewish Publication Society

4. TASTES OF JAPAN
Traditional yet kosher appetizers & main dishes from The Land of the Rising Sun emphasizing aesthetics and preparation that maintains the nutritional value of all ingredients. Let’s create and taste an edible art we can enjoy on Shabbat and holidays! Registration is limited to the first 20 to sign up.
SIGALIT BEN ZEEV
Israeli Teacher of English as a Second Language in Japan among other talents.

5. MAKING PRAYER MEANINGFUL: A SPECIAL EXPERIENCE OF MA’ARIV, THE EVENING SERVICE
Through an exploration of the structure and intentions of the evening service, we will have an opportunity to consider what prayer does and could mean to us. There will be an opportunity for experiential learning and personal meaning making.
RABBI PAULA MACK DRILL
Orangetown Jewish Center; Melton Faculty

6. A TASTE OF MELTON: HOMOSEXUALITY AND JUDAISM
In this class we will explore sources both ancient and modern that deal with Judaism’s attitude toward homosexuality. Together we will try to navigate through these difficult sources so that we can all see through a Jewish lens when looking at this important relevant national and religious issue, using the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School way of teaching.
RABBI JOSHUA GRUENBERG
Congregation Sons of Israel-Nyack; Melton Faculty

7. IS THERE A FUTURE FOR JEWISH-MUSLIM RELATIONS?
Jews and Muslims have a complicated and somewhat tortured history. The Muslim presence in this country is growing rapidly and is felt in the public square. Where and how can Jews dialogue with Muslims?
RABBI ARYEH MEIR
Melton Faculty; Rabbi, West Clarkstown Jewish Center

8. HASSIDIC STORY TELLING
Through storytelling and discussion students will encounter the pearls of wisdom offered in tales of the Baal Shem Tov and other Hassidic masters.
RABBI REUBEN MODEK
Hebrew Learning Circles

9. HOLOCAUST: FAITH AND OUR FIGHTING SPIRIT THROUGHOUT THE DISASTER INSPIRES
In this session, we will explore how Jews continued to keep our traditions and have faith, in the ghettos and in the camps. Writings from Holocaust era writers inspire us to renew our commitment to our way of life. In the blessed memory of the holy ones who perished and with respect to the fighters and survivors, we will study together.
RABBI SCOTT BOLTON
Head of School, Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School

10. IMAGES OF RESISTANCE AND REVOLT
Depiction of the Holocaust is not limited to images of Nazi atrocities. Join Rabbi Berkman for a slide presentation surveying several artists who identified with the heroes of the ghetto, partisans and other symbols of spiritual and active resistance.
RABBI DAVID BERKMAN
Rabbi, New City Jewish Center

11. BODY LANGUAGE
Our relationship with eating and dieting can be a reflection of a deeper psychological, social and spiritual hunger. Let us examine together how our quest for wholeness, wellness and meaning can be honored and nourished.
CAROL H. KING
Jewish Family Service of Rockland

12. MUST THE HUSBAND BE TOLD? A CASE STUDY.
A Ba’alat Teshuvah had an abortion while still non-religious. Her ultra-orthodox husband has no idea. He will be performing the Pidyon HaBen ceremony for their new son. If he does so, there is a problem of his taking the Lord’s Name in vain, as the mitzvah does not apply to a second pregnancy. A Rabbi knows her past. Must he or the wife warn the husband, despite her embarrassment? This is a real case. A teshuva was written in response. We will discuss that teshuva.
RABBI DAVID HOJDA
Florence Melton Adult Mini-School

13. THE MORTGAGE & CREDIT MELTDOWN—A HALACHIC PERSPECTIVE
Who is accountable? Is it the lender, borrower, investor or broker?
RABBI CHAIM ZVI EHRENREICH
Chabad Jewish Enrichment Center—Chestnut Ridge

14. GREAT JEWISH MISCONCEPTIONS–THE SEQUEL
Join a continuation of last year’s SRO talk about beliefs that are commonly held about Judaism, but which happen to be completely false. No prerequisites!
RABBI DANIEL PERNICK
Beth Am Temple

15. THE MIDRASHIC IMAGINATION: HOW WE LEARN TORAH FROM PEOPLE WHO RAISED SHEEP AND GOATS
An attempt to arrive at an understanding of how the Midrashic process helps us keep learning from the Torah although it was created so many thousand’s of years ago in a totally different culture and milieu from ours.
RABBI DAVID FASS
Temple Beth Sholom

16. THE COMFORT, HEALING AND POWER OF PSALMS
At one time or another all of us face challenges in our lives, and particularly during these difficult times. The words of the psalmist echo the universal call to God from our individual fox holes.
Join Rabbi Mitrani Knapp for an exploration of the words from this sacred part of our Tanakh.
RABBI SUSAN MITRANI KNAPP
Assistant Rabbi, New City Jewish Center

17. ORGAN DONATION
In the spectrum of Jewish thought.
RABBI DOV OLIVER
Center for Jewish Life, RCC Hillel; Instructor, Rockland Community College

18. MOSES AS CROSS-ETHNIC ADOPTEE
We know his story well enough, but we forget that Moses was a Hebrew raised in the home of Egyptians. What does Moses’ experience tell us about the particular challenges of the cross-ethnic family? Join us to discuss the saga of the ultimate “hard-to-place” adoptee.
RABBI MICHAEL ROTHBAUM
Campus Rabbi/Program Director, Hillels of Westchester

19. THE CREATION STORY IN GENESIS: WHAT IS IT REALLY ABOUT? (MELTON)
The story of the creation of the world in Genesis has been variously translated and interpreted. What does the actual translation say? What does it mean? Can it be reconciled with scientific theory?
BARBARA ROSENTHAL BIRNBAUM
CSI Nyack Adult Ed; Melton Faculty

9:30-10:15 pm—Dessert and Musical Program

“Cantors Amy & Barry Kanarek & the Temple Dudes”

Cantors Amy (Greenburgh Hebrew Center) & Barry (Nanuet Hebrew Center) Kanarek & The Temple Dudes, featuring Ken Blumberg on guitar, Bruce Pollack on drums and Rose Pollack on flute, perform a wide assortment of folk and rock music from Israel, America and the world over. They frequently play at coffeehouses and festivals in the area and will appear in concert at the Nanuet Hebrew Center on March 22. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/TheTempleDudes

Tags: Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, Jewish education, Jewish tradition, Parenting, religion, Spirituality, Torah
Posted in Classes

The Bar/Bat Mitzvah Child in Korah, A Story of Individuation

January 29th, 2009

Psychology defines an important developmental process in the growth of children called individuation. When we say that a child is individuating, we mean that he or she is beginning to assert his or her separate identity, especially in relation to his or her parents. As parents we like to term this time in our child’s life as the rebellious phase. The Rebellious phase, is often painfully experienced as an extreme assault on our authority, wisdom, esteem, and good faith. The terms that describe the subjective parental experience of a child’s individuation are hardly limited to the clinical languages of developmental psychology or parenting-guide-books. Your most honest, bold, and creative descriptions would be as good as any. My mother, for instance, had a bumper sticker that read: “Insanity is hereditary, you get it from your kids”. So many a Bar/Bat Mitzvah child seem to be eagerly ready to take their “rightful” turn at wholehearted individuation.
In the Biblical story of Korah (Numbers: 16), he and his accomplices rise in rebellion against Moses and Aaron. “All the people in the community are holy, and God is with them. Why are you setting yourselves above God’s congregation?” they challenge. Moses is so taken aback by the assault that he literally falls down on his face. Moses turns to God with a bitter complaint. How can they do this to me? “My integrity has been impeccable and I haven’t harmed any of them,” he tells God. Moses seems to be crying the oh-so-common parental cry of anguish: “What do those kids want from me? What have I done to deserve this?” Hearing Moses’ complaint God is filled with anger and is prepared to deliver immediate consequences. God says to Moses and Aaron: “separate yourselves from this community and I will destroy them in an instant”

Moses and Aaron, like the typical compassionate parent, negotiate with God for a lighter punishment. God abides and decides to punish only the rebel leaders. Korah and friends literally get under-grounded, thus the ground shifts and swallows them alive. However, the punishment doesn’t seem to educate and/or calm the Israelites. The next day the whole people gather to criticize and challenge Moses and Aaron – rebellion once again. This time the people defiantly blame Moses and Aaron for the previous day’s deaths. God’s reaction to this latest provocation is quick and decisive. God orders Moses and Aaron to “stand clear of the community” as God sends in a plague. However, Moses and Aaron again intervene on behalf of the people and get God to stop the plague.

At face value the Korah story seems to describe a contentious relationship between Israel and God that also has many parallels to the often-contentious relationship between parents and a rebellious child. God’s harsh response to the people’s rebellion verses Moses and Aaron’s compassionate response may also parallel the stereotypical family roles of tough father and compassionate Mother. But an broader reading of the Korah story will show that the Torah is not merely describing parental dynamics but may actually be teaching us a lesson in effective parenting.

Let us start with the question, are the people pathologically rebellious or may this be but a natural symptom of individuation? Perhaps they are behaving as appropriate for a young nation in the process of self-definition. If this is indeed so, their rebellion and defiance are healthy acts leading to maturation, which deserve a patient response. Why then is God so extremely wrathful? And conversely why are Moses and Aaron the ones so forgiving and protective?

It appears that the Torah is giving expression to two common emotional responses that typically emerge within us when we deal with our individuating children. How often do we explode in wrath in response to our children’s provocations? And how often indeed do we manage to see beyond the immediate irritation and respond to our developing child from a bigger picture perspective. In the Korah story the Torah is modeling both options, one represented in God’s response and the other in Moses and Aaron’s. But why then is God, who we would expect to be the ultimate role model, the less compassionate one? Isn’t it counter intuitive?

Let us read the end of the story. In response to Moses and Aaron’s intervention God had ended the plague. Immediately thereafter God tells Moses: “…take a staff (made from an almond tree) from each…tribe… let each man (tribal chief) write his name on his staff. The staff of the man that is my choice will then blossom.” Here God is asking Moses to set up a constructive conflict resolution project that honors all voices, a sudden and radical shift in approach. God turns away from anger and initiates a resolution based on compassionate arbitration. Thus, God models the possibility of seeing the unfolding individuation through the appearance of rebellion. While representing thoughtless reactivity at the beginning of the story, at the end God models the preferred choice. Listening to Moses and Aaron’s voices compassion, God responds to the individuating Israel with assertive yet loving consideration that allows the “rebellious child’s” maturity to truly blossom, just like the Almond bud.

Tags: Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, Individuation, Korach, Parenting, Torah
Posted in Bar Mitzvah / Bat Mitzvah

Posts Tagged ‘Torah’