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Shavuot, also referred to as Zman Matan Torahteinu, commemorates the giving of the Torah and each year we have the opportunity to ‘reaccept’ it into our lives. Part of having a relationship with the Torah is recognizing that we all relate to it in a personal way and connect to it as individuals. This is best expressed in the notion that we each have an individual ‘Chelek’, a portion, in Torah. Every Shabbat morning in our Tefillot we ask Hashem “Ve’tein Chelkeinu BeToratecha”, that God provides us with our own portion in Torah. In all areas of life, we sometimes find ourselves making comparisons to others when measuring our capabilities and achievements. This has an especially negative impact with regards to our spirituality, Torah learning and Avodat Hashem. Rather than focusing on those around us, we each need to discover and work on our own Chelek in Torah, taking in to account our background, our strengths, and our situation. We ask Hashem “Ve’tein Chelkeinu BeToratecha” for help in achieving our personal connection. HaRav Avigdor Neventzal, the Rav of the Old City of Jerusalem, explains this concept with an insightful analogy. When the army sends out draft notices, each future soldier will receive a copy of the same piece of paper, telling them to come to the headquarters and register for the army. However, each soldier will ultimately be given their own job. Some will serve in combat; others will sit behind a desk and others will work on base. Even if two soldiers are assigned to the same unit, they will each be given slightly different roles. Using this analogy, he explains that at Har Sinai we all experienced the same Matan Torah, all receiving the identical Torah from Hashem. However, each person has their own individual Tafkid, job or role, in Avodat Hashem and a unique connection to the Torah. The following essays, written by different members of our YICC community, demonstrate how each of us relate to the Torah in a myriad of ways. Each author was asked to share a Dvar Torah related to Shavuot. The range of ideas, concepts and themes that followed, demonstrate beautifully how we each relate to diverse elements of Torah and how different insights and lessons speak to us all. It is our hope that this compendium of Divrei Torah not only educates and enlightens, but also helps inspire readers to further search out their own Chelek in Torah and identify those concepts which resonate with them most poignantly. Another motivation behind this project was to help bind the community together during this prolonged period of separation. There is no greater bond than through the sharing and learning Torah together. Shavuot is synonymous with communal learning and we have attempted to facilitate this both through our online programming and the production of this collection of essays. We are truly grateful to all those who have given of their time and effort by contributing an article, thus making this project a reality. May their words, lessons and insights enhance our Shavuot by inspiring us to find our own unique “Chelek” in Torah. Wishing you and your families a safe, healthy, and uplifting Chag Sameach Elazar Muskin James Proops 1 Contents My Personal Receiving of the Torah – Jeff Astrof ...................................................................... 3 Talmud Torah – Seth Berkowitz .................................................................................................. 6 Second Day Yom Tov & The Moon – Jamie Frankel .................................................................. 7 Defeating a Faceless Enemy – Aryeh Goldberg ......................................................................... 9 Megillat Ruth- A Story About How We React To Our Circumstances – Ilana Goldschein ... 11 Megilas Ruth: A Relevant Story – Meyer Graff ........................................................................ 13 Remembering Sinai – Rabbi David Mahler ............................................................................... 14 Shavuos – Every Day is a Holy Day – Ari Mark ......................................................................... 16 Boaz: Progenitor of Moshiach – Sheryl Neuman , MD ............................................................ 20 Seudat Yom Tov – Sarah Proops ............................................................................................... 21 United For Matan Torah – David Schultz ................................................................................. 23 The Two Loaves – Daniel Silverman ......................................................................................... 25 Matan Torah: Consent or Coercion – Alan Tsarovsky ............................................................. 26 Gleaning Tidbits about Megillat Ruth – Marsha Wasserman .................................................. 28 Why Isaac Newton Studied Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah – Zach Wertheimer ..................... 30 David HaMelech & Shavuot – Mrs. Geri Wiener ....................................................................... 32 Lifnim Mishurat HaDin: A Core Jewish “Imperative” – Dr. Alan Willner .............................. 33 Follow My Decrees and Safeguard My Commandments – Aric Zamel .................................. 36 2 My Personal Receiving of the Torah Jeff Astrof We didn’t have Shavuos when I was growing house (my kids were young at the time). At up. It existed of course, I’m not that old, but it that moment, I was cut off by an all-white Jeep wasn’t one of the Big Three holidays typically Grand Cherokee, with the license plate: observed by Reform Jews. And while no one HALACHA. I trailed the Jeep as it drove would say we celebrated Rosh Hashana, Yom towards my office and continued on my path Kippur or Pesach in a kosher way, they were following Halacha. I would soon realize that the definitely on our calendar. So why was the White Jeep was just one of many instances of holiday commemorating the single biggest Divine Providence where Hashem “showed” revelation in history relegated to only a passing me I was on the right path. reference—a day for us lactose intolerant dessert wanderers to eat dairy? Now that I accepted that the Torah came from G-d, I could celebrate the holiday I once heard Rabbi Frand say, “If you want to commemorating the giving of the Torah, as be Conservative or Reform, you should first prescribed by G-d, Himself, in His Torah. The know what you’re conserving and reforming”. problem, of course, is that the Torah never says The truth is, as a frum Reform Jew, I didn’t that Shavuos is a commemoration of Matan know what I really believed, and more Torah! In fact, it never even mentions what day importantly, what I didn’t. This came into Matan Torah took place. The most we are told sharp focus for me around 17 years ago as I was is that Bnei Yisrael arrived at Har Sinai in the beginning my “Jewish journey”. I had just third month “On this day.”1 Is that an experienced my first Orthodox Shabbaton with oversight? Or perhaps Hashem felt it was so a program called Arachim, which is akin to the obvious that there was no need to add that Aish Discovery program. For forty eight hours detail. Except, as R’ Menachem Leibtag points at the Marriott in Irvine I listened to various out, “When the Torah wishes to inform us of rabbis bring proofs to the divinity of the Torah. the ‘historical’ reason for an event, it certainly Believe it or not, it was not something I had knows how to do so. Take for example the two ever even considered. other pilgrimage holidays ‘chag ha matztot & succot’… [which] are presented from their But my biggest revelation happened the next agricultural… [and] historical perspectives as day. On the way to work I got a call from my well.” He continues, “It is baffling that the best friend at the time, who happened to be a Torah presents Shavuot… without mentioning Reform rabbi. I told him about the Shabbaton even a word about its connection to events of and how exciting it was to learn that the Torah Matan Torah!”2 actually came from G-d! But my excitement was not matched. In fact, he told me he was To solve these difficulties we must turn to disappointed, and that if I gave him a weekend, Chazal. Our Sages (in Masechet Shabbat 86B) he would prove to me that the Torah was a tell us that Matan Torah took place on the sixth product of man. I remember my excitement or seventh of Sivan. Furthermore, Rashi draining from me like a punctured bouncy quotes the Midrash that says “On THIS day” 3 comes to teach us that we should treat the I figured out, or word or concept I grasped, I Torah, not as an event to memorialize, but as if was greeted by a booming “Gevaldik!” from we are constantly receiving it. R’ Liebtag Rabbi Morgan, who made me feel like my explains, “In other words, we should not view picture should be up on that wall. Matan Torah as a one time event. Rather every generation must feel...that G-d’s words were As the Gemara teaches us, we don’t get sated spoken to them no less than to earlier by Torah, the more we learn, the heartier our generations.” 3 So that was my answer. appetite. Learning with Rabbi Morgan led me Growing up there was no Chazal, no Tanaim or to studying Hilchos Shabbos, and doing daf Acharonim. I had not heard of Rashi or the yomi for the first time in my life. I joked with Rambam. Judaism was cultural and historical. Rabbi Morgan that with him I was doing “daf And if we didn’t believe the written Torah came yearly” to which he responded, “Halavei we from G-d, there was no reason to believe the should get through a daf in a year!” It was true, Oral Law was divine. in four years, we were up to our third daf. And the culmination of my yearly journey happened My personal journey into Talmud started late, every Shavuos, when David Weiss, another of in fact, only four years ago. I had decided the R’ Morgan’s talmidim and I would stay up all one thing missing from my learning schedule night, chazering the Gemara, getting into was Gemara (that I believed there was only one heated arguments over whether or not a sign thing missing tells you that there was a lot that was likely to get trampled was actually a more missing).
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  • Drawing the Line

    Drawing the Line

    Newsletter of AJL-MYMA Vol. 17, No. 2 / Winter-Spring 2006 Drawing the line Censorship Highlight This year started off with a very well-attended program, Conference @ Fall the Fall Conference, held September 19th at the New York by EUZABETH F. STABLER Public Library. The program was entitled ‘Censorship and Librarian, Ivan M. Stetterheim Library, Self-censorship: Drawing the Red Lines,“ and our featured Congregation Emana-El speakers were Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch on ’Intra-Jewish The Fall 2005 Conference “Censor- ship and Self-censorship: Drawing the Red Lines,” held Sept. 19th at the South Our CatalogingWorkshop was held November 21* at the Court Auditorium of the New York Jewish Theological Seminary and chaired by our able Public Library, launched NYMA’s Steven Bernstein. Both speakers, Sara Spiegel and programming year with an incisive look Matthew Beacom, encouraged comment and questions at a controversial and vital topic. from the audience, even to the point where time was Organized by NYMA’s new president, running out. We had to stop in order to attend the Marlene Schiffinan, the conference stimulating tour of the current JTS exhibit ‘First featured Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch on “Intra- Impressions: Hebrew Printing in the Fifteenth Century,” Jewish Dialogue: Problems and Per- given by the JTS staff. We are grateful fOi Steven for having spectives” and Professor Marc B. planned such an excellent and well-received program. Shapiro on “Orthodoxy and Censorship.” Steven has shown his talent in another way as well: he is After the congenial registration designing our website. The NYMA website will soon period, allowing attendees a chance to describe our mission, activities, and up-and-coming network with colleagues and greet old programs and be linked with other activities and/or chums, Marlene Schif€inan welcomed Websites of interest to our members.