DOCSLIB.ORG

Mazal Tov to Our Rynj Family!

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Mazal Tov to Our Rynj Family! בס“ד Volume 38 Issue 24 קולנו 7:39 pm פרשת אחרי מות־קדשים ט׳ באיר תשע״ז May 5, 2017 PARASHA QUESTIONS DVAR TORAH PARASHA ANSWERS Rabbi Raphy Goldstein GRADES 1 AND 2 LS Rebbe GRADES 1 AND 4 1.May a Kohen Gadol enter the Kodesh 1. No. 2. On Yom Kippur. 3. Ten. Hakodoshim whenever he wants? 4. They kneeled down, fell on their faces it tells and proclaimed, “Baruch shem kevod ,יום כפור of עבודה introduces the laws of the תורה When may a Kohen Gadol enter the When the.2 ".was given Acharei Mos Shinei Benei Aharon, malchuso l'olom vo'ed מצוה Kodesh Hakodoshim? us that the 3.How many times did the Kohen Gadol “after the death of the two sons of Aharon.” Rashi, based on the 5. The story about the golden calf. It was say Hashem’s name on Yom Kippur? on Yom Kippur that Hashem informed 4.What did everyone who heard the Toras Kohanim, explains that the death of Nadav and Avihu are Moshe that He had forgiven the Jews. Kohen Gadol say Hashem’s real name do mentioned as an impactful warning to Aharon to be careful about is warned about the serious GRADES 3 AND 4 כהן גדול The .קדש הקדשים immediately? entering the 5.What story in the Torah shows us that nature of this activity, so that he would not lose his life in the 1. Because the Shechina is there and Yom Kippur is a day of atonement? Hashem constantly showed Himself in the same way that Nadav and Avihu lost theirs. This is difficult to un- cloud. GRADES 3 AND 4 derstand. Chazal offer many different explanations as to what the 2. The Kohen Gadol placed one goat on 1.Why may a person not enter the Ko- sin of Nadav and Avihu was and most have nothing to do with his right and the other on his left. He then so what message is there for Aharon? put both his hands into a box and took ,קדש הקדשיםdesh Hakodoshim? entering the 2.How did the Kohen Gadol designate one lot in his right hand and the other in which goat was to be brought as a korbon How does their death serve as a warning for him? his left. These he placed upon the goats and which was sent to the Azazel? (one upon each of them.) The goat upon 3.If an ordinary Kohen did the avodah on Rabbi Betzalel Rudinsky offers an answer to this question based which was placed the lot bearing the Yom Kippur, would it be acceptable? inscription "for Hashem" was destined for One of the details we learn about the mizbeyach, and that goat upon which .פרשה in this week’s כלי יקר For what sins does the day of Yom on a.4 is that the only person who was able to go was placed the lot bearing the inscription יום כפור of עבודה Kippur atone? the and even his entry was "for Azazel" was afterwards sent to the כהן גדול was the קדש הקדשים What will happen to the Jewish People into the.5 .explains that this is because the Azazel. 3. No כלי יקר The .יום כפור in Eretz Yisroel if they follow all the limited to wicked ways of the goyim? 4. a) The sins against Hashem; b) sins was so extreme that no human being against another person, after one has קדש הקדשים holiness of the GRADES 5 AND 6 was capable of entering. It was only as a representative of the been forgiven by that person. was granted entry. 5. Eretz Yisroel will not be able to tolerate כהן גדול Why is the death of Aharon's two sons Jewish people as a whole that the.1 mentioned at the beginning of the However, during the rest of the year, the Jewish people had sins the sins of Bnai Yisroel any more than the Sedrah? sins of the goyim – they will go to golus. יום When the Kohen Gadol went into the and therefore their messenger couldn’t enter. It was only on.2 when the Jewish people were purified from theirAveiros GRADES 5 AND 6 כפור Kodesh Hakodoshim, was anybody acting as a messenger of the people 1.To warn Aharon that if he comes into ,כהן גדול allowed to be in the Ohel Moed? that the 3.If a kosher beast (chayoh) or bird is representative, was qualified to go in. the Kodesh Hakodoshim when he is not properly slaughtered, what is done with permitted, he will be punished as his two the blood that spills out after the sons were. 2. No. shechita? There are many different explanations about the sin of Nadav 3. It must be covered with earth - kisuy 4.In the time of Moshe Rabbeinu, which and Avihu. However, Rabbi Rudinsky explains that one common hadom. 4. Egypt and Canaan. two countries were the most corrupt? theme among those ideas is that they acted as individuals who GRADES 7 AND 8 Grades 7 AND 8 were focused primarily on their own personal growth without 1: Death at the hands of Hashem. 1.If any person intentionally enters the concern for their place 2.Three. 3. It brought forgiveness for all Kodesh Hakodoshim when he is not among the communi- Jews and, yet, the person who took it permitted, what is the punishment? into the desert became tomeh. ty. They decided the 2.How many times did the Kohen Gadol MAZAL TOV TO OUR 4. U'vechukoseihem lo say a confession for sins (viduy) on Yom Halacha on their selechu. Kippur? own without con- RYNJ FAMILY! 3.Why is the Azazel goat considered to be sulting Moshe Mazal tov to our beloved faculty members, a chok? Rabbeinu or even Morah Lisa Fishkin (K) 4.From which posuk do we learn that Morah Pearl Markovic (PreK) Jews may not follow the wicked deeds each other. They and Morah Valerie Kahn (N) on and social customs of the goyim? didn’t get married being honored at this year’s so that they could RYNJ Scholarship Reception. focus on their own For more information or to make a pledge to the campaign, please email: personal growth. [email protected] (Continued on page 2) Rather taking using a fire from the communal Korban Tamid, they used their own fire. They weren’t representing the Jewish people SCRIP PROGRAM CLOSES when serving in the Mishkan and as a result they died. FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR it is essential that The Scrip Program is officially closed for the school יום כפור on עבודה does the the כהן גדול When the he be cognizant that he is there as a representative of the entire year of 2016-2017. Bills will be sent out shortly. Jewish people. This is the only reason he has permission to enter Please save the Yeshiva a lot of work, aggravation, and this is the only way that he can be successful. and money by completing your financial obligationsקדש הקדשים the .are introduced “after the death of as soon as possible עבודה That is why the laws of the the two sons of Aharon,” to serve as a warning and a reminder of the importance of being a representative of Klal Yisrael. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who helped to make the SCRIP PROGRAM a The Meshech Chachma offers a similar idea to explain the reason strong and successful fundraiser for the Yeshiva. ארץ was specifically in the section of land in קדש הקדשים why the was a place that SPECIAL THANKS and YA’ASHER KOACH קדש הקדשים The .שבט בנימין that belonged to ישראל served the entire Jewish people as whole. Therefore, even the To our amazing distributors in the pre-school: smallest amount of disruption in the unity of the Jewish people Malkie Karlin and Shari Koesterich would detract from the holiness necessary for this location. Bin- the entire office staff, the finance office staff yamin was the only brother who was not involved in the sale of and the faculty Yosef, whose legacy was not tarnished with this decisiveness and and therefore is the only Shevet who was qualified to host this holy site. those special families who fulfilled the mitzvah of hakaros hatov by continuing to buy scrip even after The days of Sefira are a time of reflection about our interpersonal they fulfilled their obligation. relationships. The message of the students of Rabbi Akiva is that complete acceptance of other people is essential, no matter how The Scrip Program will re-open in July. To order or and buy Scrip in the summer please leave a message on קדש הקדשים righteous we are in other areas of our life. The can 201-986-1414, ext. 304 for Marsha or קדושה of the Kohein Gadol within, remind us that true עבודה the only be attained when the Jewish people are unified and working 201-986-0078, ext 319 for Shari. together to serve Hashem. To leave an e-mail, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. All Scrip pick-ups will be AT THE YESHIVA ONLY. Wait to hear back from MARSHA OR SHARI for when you will be able to come to the Yeshiva to pick up your YOM HAATZMAUT Scrip. Remember both ladies are on a summer sched- FUN ule and DO NOT come into RYNJ daily. Boys from 3B1 and 3B2 Ivrit completed a puzzle of Israel HAVE A GREAT SUMMER! for Yom Haatzmaut.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Download Full Journal (PDF)
    SAPIR A JOURNAL OF JEWISH CONVERSATIONS THE ISSUE ON POWER ELISA SPUNGEN BILDNER & ROBERT BILDNER RUTH CALDERON · MONA CHAREN MARK DUBOWITZ · DORE GOLD FELICIA HERMAN · BENNY MORRIS MICHAEL OREN · ANSHEL PFEFFER THANE ROSENBAUM · JONATHAN D. SARNA MEIR SOLOVEICHIK · BRET STEPHENS JEFF SWARTZ · RUTH R. WISSE Volume Two Summer 2021 And they saw the God of Israel: Under His feet there was the likeness of a pavement of sapphire, like the very sky for purity. — Exodus 24: 10 SAPIR Bret Stephens EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mark Charendoff PUBLISHER Ariella Saperstein ASSO CIATE PUBLISHER Felicia Herman MANAGING EDITOR Katherine Messenger DESIGNER & ILLUSTRATOR Sapir, a Journal of Jewish Conversations. ISSN 2767-1712. 2021, Volume 2. Published by Maimonides Fund. Copyright ©2021 by Maimonides Fund. No part of this journal may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of Maimonides Fund. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. WWW.SAPIRJOURNAL.ORG WWW.MAIMONIDESFUND.ORG CONTENTS 6 Publisher’s Note | Mark Charendoff 90 MICHAEL OREN Trial and Triage in Washington 8 BRET STEPHENS The Necessity of Jewish Power 98 MONA CHAREN Between Hostile and Crazy: Jews and the Two Parties Power in Jewish Text & History 106 MARK DUBOWITZ How to Use Antisemitism Against Antisemites 20 RUTH R. WISSE The Allure of Powerlessness Power in Culture & Philanthropy 34 RUTH CALDERON King David and the Messiness of Power 116 JEFF SWARTZ Philanthropy Is Not Enough 46 RABBI MEIR Y. SOLOVEICHIK The Power of the Mob in an Unforgiving Age 124 ELISA SPUNGEN BILDNER & ROBERT BILDNER Power and Ethics in Jewish Philanthropy 56 ANSHEL PFEFFER The Use and Abuse of Jewish Power 134 JONATHAN D.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Fourteen Rabbinic and Other Judaisms, from 70 to Ca
    Chapter Fourteen Rabbinic and Other Judaisms, from 70 to ca. 250 The war of 66-70 was as much a turning point for Judaism as it was for Christianity. In the aftermath of the war and the destruction of the Jerusalem temple Judaeans went in several religious directions. In the long run, the most significant by far was the movement toward rabbinic Judaism, on which the source-material is vast but narrow and of dubious reliability. Other than the Mishnah, Tosefta and three midrashim, almost all rabbinic sources were written no earlier than the fifth century (and many of them much later), long after the events discussed in this chapter. Our information on non-rabbinic Judaism in the centuries immediately following the destruction of the temple is scanty: here we must depend especially on archaeology, because textual traditions are almost totally lacking. This is especially regrettable when we recognize that two non-rabbinic traditions of Judaism were very widespread at the time. Through at least the fourth century the Hellenistic Diaspora and the non-rabbinic Aramaic Diaspora each seem to have included several million Judaeans. Also of interest, although they were a tiny community, are Jewish Gnostics of the late first and second centuries. The end of the Jerusalem temple meant also the end of the Sadducees, for whom the worship of Adonai had been limited to sacrifices at the temple. The great crowds of pilgrims who traditionally came to the city for the feasts of Passover, Weeks and Tabernacles were no longer to be seen, and the temple tax from the Diaspora that had previously poured into Jerusalem was now diverted to the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in Rome.
    [Show full text]
  • Shavuot Daf Hashavua
    בס״ד ׁשָ בֻ עוֹת SHAVUOT In loving memory of Harav Yitzchak Yoel ben Shlomo Halevi Volume 32 | #35 Welcome to a special, expanded Daf Hashavua 30 May 2020 for Shavuot at home this year, to help bring its 7 Sivan 5780 messages and study into your home. Chag Sameach from the Daf team Shabbat ends: London 10.09pm Sheffield 10.40pm “And on the day of the first fruits…” Edinburgh 11.05pm Birmingham 10.22pm (Bemidbar 28:26) Jerusalem 8.21pm Shavuot starts on Thursday evening 28 May and ends after Shabbat on 30 May. An Eruv Tavshilin should be made before Shavuot starts. INSIDE: Shavuot message Please look regularly at the social media and websites by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of the US, Tribe and your community for ongoing updates relating to Coronavirus as well as educational programming Megillat Rut and community support. You do not need to sign by Pnina Savery into Facebook to access the US Facebook page. The US Coronavirus Helpline is on 020 8343 5696. Mount Sinai to Jerusalem to… May God bless us and the whole world. the future Daf Hashavua by Harry and Leora Salter ׁשָ בֻ עוֹת Shavuot Shavuot message by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis It was the most New York, commented that from stunning, awe- here we learn that the Divine inspiring event revelation was intended to send a that the world has message of truth to everyone on ever known. Some earth - because the Torah is both three and a half a blueprint for how we as Jews millennia ago, we should live our lives and also the gathered as a fledgling nation at the foundational document of morality foot of Mount Sinai and experienced for the whole world.
    [Show full text]
  • Beit Shammai & Beit Hillel
    Beit Shammai & Beit Hillel: Two Fundamentally Different Approaches to Chanukah Rabbi Joshua Flug Director of Torah Research, Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future One of the more famous disputes between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel is regarding the practice of the extremely scrupulous (mehadrin min hamehadrin) on Chanukah. מצות חנוכה נר איש וביתו Our Rabbis taught: The precept of Chanukah [demands] one light for a והמהדרין נר לכל אחד ואחד man and his household; the scrupulous [kindle] a light for each member [of והמהדרין מן המהדרין בית שמאי :the household]; and the extremely scrupulous, — Beit Shammai maintain אומרים יום ראשון מדליק שמנה On the first day eight lights are lit and thereafter they are gradually מכאן ואילך פוחת והולך ובית הלל reduced; but Beit Hillel say: On the first day one is lit and thereafter they אומרים יום ראשון מדליק אחת are progressively increased. Ulla said: In the West [Palestine] two מכאן ואילך מוסיף והולך אמר amoraim, R. Yosi b. Avin and R. Yosi b. Zevida, differ therein: one עולא פליגי בה תרי אמוראי במערבא ר' יוסי בר אבין ור' יוסי maintains, the reason of Beit Shammai is that it shall correspond to the בר זבידא חד אמר טעמא דב"ש days still to come, and that of Beit Hillel is that it shall correspond to the כנגד ימים הנכנסין וטעמא דב"ה days that are gone; but another maintains: Beit Shammai's reason is that it כנגד ימים היוצאין וחד אמר טעמא shall correspond to the bulls of the Festival and Beit Hillel's reason is that דב"ש כנגד פרי החג וטעמא דבית .we promote in [matters of] sanctity but do not reduce הלל דמעלין בקדש ואין מורידין.
    [Show full text]
  • Environment Dr Jeremy Benstein
    4329-ZIG-Walking with Justice:Cover 5/22/08 3:27 PM Page 1 The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies esmc lkv,vk Walking with Justice Edited By Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson and Deborah Silver ogb hfrs vhfrs 4329-ZIG-Walking with Justice:4329-ZIG-Walking with Justice 5/23/08 9:56 AM Page 62 ENVIRONMENT DR JEREMY BENSTEIN INTRODUCTION What does Judaism say about nature and contemporary environmental challenges? I often begin lectures by disabusing audiences of the belief that what we’re going to talk about is “what Judaism says about…”, for two reasons. First, there is no such thing as “Judaism,” some reified entity that speaks in its own name. Moreover, given the bewildering array of books, people, schools of thought, historical periods, ideological orientations, etc. encompassed by Jewish tradition - there are very few issues about which one thing is said. Judaism is less a set of rigid answers to fixed questions, than an ongoing dialogue in which the questions arise, along with various answers from different times and places, and even more generally, a language in which to engage in the dialogue and formulate the questions in the first place. And nowhere is this truer than in the case of Jewish attitudes and values regarding the environment, and the challenges and claims put forth by the movement known as environmentalism. What do we mean by “environment”, or “environmentalism”? First, the use of the term, “environment” is intentional and meant to be distinct from “nature”. Focusing on nature circumscribes the discussion to issues of wilderness, species, trees, and animals.
    [Show full text]
  • Scholarly Lineage of Prominent Tannaim
    Source Sheet Class 3-2000 Years of Jewish History-Rabbi Menachem Levine Source 1 Scholarly lineage of prominent tannaim Rabbis of the Mishnah : Chronology & Hierarchy Teacher→Student Father→Son Hillel Shammai Gamaliel the Johanan b. Zakai Elder R. Jose the Eliezer b. Joshua b. Eleazar b. Eleazar b. Gamaliel Galilean Hyrcanus Hananiah Arach Azariah Elisha b. Ishmael Akiva Tarfon Abuyah b. Elisha Shimon b. Nathan Meir Judah b. Ilai Jose b. Halafta Yohai Judah Hiyya Oshiah haNasi Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannaim Source 2 The Oral Torah was originally meant to be transmitted by word of mouth. It was transmitted from master to student in such a manner that if the student had any question, he would be able to ask, and thus avoid ambiguity. A written text, on the other hand, no matter how perfect, is always subject to misinterpretation…. If the entire Torah would have been given in writing, everyone would be able to interpret it as he desired. This would lead to division and discord among people who followed the Torah in different ways. The Oral Torah, on the other hand, would require a central authority to preserve it, thus assuring the unity of Israel. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Handbook of Jewish Thought, Moznaim 1979, p.179 Source 3 12 Our Holy Teacher wrote the Mishnah. From the time of Moshe to Our Holy Teacher, no one had written a work from which the Oral Law was publicly taught. Rather, in each generation, the head of the then existing court or the prophet of the time wrote down for his private use notes on the traditions he had heard from his teachers, and he taught in public from memory.
    [Show full text]
  • Female Homoerotic Sexual Activity – Sources
    Feminist Sexual Ethics Project Gail Labovitz Senior Research Analyst, Feminist Sexual Ethics Project Female Homoerotic Sexual Activity – Sources: The sources addressing female homoerotic sexual activity in rabbinic literature (link to glossary) are very few, and far less clear than those regarding sexual activity between men. There is a great deal of ambiguity in these texts as to what activities are forbidden, the consequences for women who engage in them, and the nature (that is, the source and/or the authority) of whatever prohibition does exist. Reading these sources suggests several potential reasons why rabbinic thinking on female homoerotic sexual activity is less developed than regarding male homoeroticism; these possibilities will be discussed in the course of the analysis of the texts below. Tannaitic Midrash There is no direct prohibition on female homoerotic sexual activity in the Hebrew bible, indeed, no explicit discussion of such activity at all. Biblical laws of forbidden sexual couplings (notably Leviticus 18 and 20) are generally addressed to male listeners/readers. With the exception of the prohibition against bestiality (Leviticus 18:23 and 20:15-16), in which the prohibition against women committing this act follows on the prohibition to men,1 sexual acts which do not involve male participants are not discussed. Nor do the Mishnah (link to glossary) or the Tosefta (link to glossary) discuss sexual acts between women in any way. Only one midrashic (link to glossary) text from this period addresses any form of homoeroticism between women. As midrash, that is, as a form of exegesis of scriptural text, to Leviticus 18:3, this passage thus invokes the authority of scripture for its discourse on female homoeroticism; it links marriage between two women to the practices of the Canaanites and Egyptians, which this verse and numerous others explicitly forbid, as well as to a number of other sexual/marital connections explicitly or implicitly forbidden in scripture [cite the verse?].
    [Show full text]
  • Judah Ha-Nasi Judaism
    JUDAH HA-NASI JUDAH HA-NASI al. Since the publication of his Mishnah at the end of the second or beginning of the third century, the primary pur- Head of Palestinian Jewry and codifier of the MISH- suit of Jewish sages has been commenting on its contents. NAH; b. probably in Galilee, c. 135; d. Galilee, c. 220. Judah was the son of Simeon II ben Gamaliel II, who was See Also: TALMUD. the grandson of GAMALIEL (mentioned in Acts 5.34; Bibliography: W. BACHER, The Jewish Encyclopedia. ed. J. 22.3), who was in turn the grandson of Hillel. As the pa- SINGER (New York 1901–06) 7:333–33. D. J. BORNSTEIN, Encyclo- triarch or head of Palestinian Jewry, Judah received as a paedia Judaica: Das Judentum in Geschichte und Gegenwart. permanent epithet the title ha-Nasi (the Prince), original- (Berlin 1928–34) 8:1023–35. L. LAZARUS, Universal Jewish Ency- clopedia (New York 1939–44) 6: 229–230. K. SCHUBERT, Lexikon ly given to the president of the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusa- für Theologie und Kirche, ed. J. HOFER and K. RAHNER (Freiberg lem. In the Mishnah he is referred to simply as Rabbi (the 1957–65) 5:889. A. GUTTMANN, ‘‘The Patriarch Judah I: His Birth teacher par excellence), and in the GEMARAH he is often and Death,’’ Hebrew Union College Annual 25 (1954) 239–261. called Rabbenu (our teacher) or Rabbenu ha-kadosh (our [M. J. STIASSNY] saintly teacher). He was instructed in the HALAKAH of the Oral Law by the most famous rabbis of his time, but he summed up his experience as a student, and later as a teacher, in the words: ‘‘Much of the Law have I learned JUDAISM from my teachers, more from my colleagues, but most of The term Judaism admits of various meanings.
    [Show full text]
  • Siach Hasadeh – Field Talk Collected Essays for Tu B’Shvat 2015
    SiaCH haSadeh – Field TalK Collected Essays for Tu B’Shvat 2015 MIDRESHET LINDENBAUM SIACH HASADEh – FIELD TALK שיח השדה Chana and Yaacov Tilles Women’s Campus Besen Family Center for Advanced Women’s Studies 51 Leib Yaffe Street, Jerusalem 9339082 Tel: +972-2-671-0043 | Fax: +972-2-671-0144 [email protected] | www.Midreshet-Lindenbaum.org.il America Latina Programa Midreshet Darkaynu Susi Bradfield Women’s Institute for Halachic Leadership The Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program Tochnit Hadas Tochnit Bruriah Tochnit Tushia Design: JK Jen Klor Photos of the Seven Species by Sara Eichler, class of 1989-90, who currently lives in Jerusalem. שיח השדה SIACH HASADEh – FIELD TALK AND THE ALMOND-TREE SHALL BLOssOM HaRav Ohad Teharlev, Director, Israeli Programs Tu b’Shvat, the New Year particularly] almonds? of Trees, is identified That is the fruit that with the blossoming blossoms quicker than of the almond tree in other fruits. Likewise, the winter, around the he who opposes time of Tu b’Shvat. The the kehunah, his familiar words that we punishment comes hear in kindergartens quickly.” and school assemblies, From here we remind us of that: understand that rashi derives that the almond – השקדיה פורחת “The almond tree is tree symbolizes the blossoming … Tu b’Shvat speedy blossoming has arrived, a holiday for before the coming the trees.” of Spring and the blossoming of other Why? What is the meaning fruits. In contrast, the of the early flowering of chizkuni explains that the almond tree? Is there the almond (shaked) a link between this and Tu symbolizes diligence b’Shvat? To answer these (shakdanut): questions, we will try to trace the emergence It gave forth and significance of the blossoms, sprouted almond tree in Biblical buds – a sign that and rabbinic literature.
    [Show full text]
  • Sermon Notes
    SERMON NOTES Second Sunday of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Synaxis Gospel Mark 10:1-12 JESUS’ TEACHING ON DIVORCE INTRODUCTION When it comes to the question of divorce, there are two very different schools of thought. One approach reflects our treasured ancient background; the other mirrors the new freedoms of the American way of life. In the old days, divorce was considered something foreign to our Armenian traditions. On the rare occasions that an Armenian couple divorced, it was looked upon as a shameful thing. Armenians did not divorce! Today, we in America live in a different cultural world, a world that accepts divorce. More and more we are seeing Armenian couples deciding to end their unhappy marriages by divorce. A similar situation existed in the days of Jesus. The people were divided on the issue of divorce. Those who were more conservative followed the teaching of a famous religious teacher, Rabbi Shammai. Those who were more pragmatic, or found the sophisticated new ideas of the Greek and Roman world appealing, followed the teaching of an equally famous rabbi, Hillel. Today, the name Hillel is still held in high esteem by Jewish university students, while Shammai’s is known mostly to those who are scholars in the history of the Jewish people. Hillel’s popularity stems from the fact that most Jews felt (and still feel) that the divine law was too idealistic for the imperfect world in which mankind lives. Hillel’s rulings represented a very relaxed interpretation of the law and were far less strict than those of Shammai.
    [Show full text]
  • Hillel and Shammai: the Jewish 'Culture of Debate' and the Return to Civil Discourse Sermon YK Day 5780 Any Visitor to Jeru
    Hillel and Shammai: The Jewish ‘Culture of Debate’ and the Return to Civil Discourse Sermon YK Day 5780 Any visitor to Jerusalem is sure to visit the Western Wall, the world-renowned Israel Museum with its expanding art collection, and the shuk in Machane Yehuda – on a Friday if possible… If you want to go off the beaten path to explore Israel through what I think is a particularly insightful lens: In Search of the Good Life, down through the ages and today, then you can join our MJCS trip to Israel this coming June. There’s a flyer with details outside. But certainly no trip to Jerusalem is complete - whether in Search of the Good Life, or even just in search of a great schwarma - without a visit to the famous pedestrian mall on Ben Yehudah St. For my teens growing up in Jerusalem, this is the place to Be – it’s like the 3rd St. Promenade of the entire Middle East. Nearby, on Hillel St., both tourists and locals frequently visit the original café Aroma, known for really great coffee served with a square of chocolate and superBly satisfying sandwiches…(sorry to mention that today for those who are fasting!) Or you might prefer to graB a Burger at the world’s first kosher McDonald’s one block over on Shammai St. These two streets, Hillel and Shammai, you may already know, are named after the two revered sages who lived towards the end of the 2nd Temple era 2,000 years ago. Hillel and Shammai are known for disagreeing aBout everything…from how many candles to light on the first night of Chanuka (1 candle then counting up each night, or 8 candles and counting down each night) to whether or not you can tell a white lie to preserve someone’s dignity.
    [Show full text]
  • Talmud Tales – Session 3 - Hillel
    Rabbi Joel Nickerson – [email protected] Talmud Tales – Session 3 - Hillel Rabbi Hillel has a prominent place in the Passover seder with the institution of the so- called “Hillel sandwich,” known in Hebrew as korech. The last ritual prior to the eating of the festive meal, korech involves the joining together of matzah, bitter herbs and the sweet paste known as haroset into a kind of sandwich, which is done in commemoration of Hillel’s practice of eating those three together. BT Yoma 35b They said about Hillel the Elder that each and every day he would work and earn a half- dinar, half of which he would give to the guard of the study hall and half of which he spent for his sustenance and the sustenance of the members of his family. One time he did not find employment to earn a wage, and the guard of the study hall did not allow him to enter. He ascended to the roof, suspended himself, and sat at the edge of the skylight in order to hear the words of the Torah of the living God from the mouths of Shemaya and Avtalyon, the spiritual leaders of that generation. The Sages continued and said: That day was Shabbat eve and it was the winter season of Tevet, and snow fell upon him from the sky. 1 Rabbi Joel Nickerson – [email protected] When it was dawn, Shemaya said to Avtalyon: Avtalyon, my brother, every day at this hour the study hall is already bright from the sunlight streaming through the skylight, and today it is dark; is it perhaps a cloudy day? They focused their eyes and saw the image of a man in the skylight.
    [Show full text]