DOCSLIB.ORG

Rabbis on the Road: Exposition En Route in Classical Rabbinic Texts

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Rabbis on the Road: Exposition En Route in Classical Rabbinic Texts Rabbis on the Road: Exposition En Route in Classical Rabbinic Texts by Ruth Ellen Haber A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Joint Doctor of Philosophy with the Graduate Theological Union in Jewish Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Daniel Boyarin, chair Professor Dina Stein Professor Michael Nylan Fall 2014 Abstract Rabbis on the Road: Exposition En Route in Classical Rabbinic Texts by Ruth Ellen Haber Joint Doctor of Philosophy in Jewish Studies with the Graduate Theological Union University of California, Berkeley Professor Daniel Boyarin, Chair Throughout classical rabbinic texts, we find accounts of sages expounding Scripture or law, while “walking on the road.” We may well wonder why we find these sages in transit, rather than in the usual sites of Torah study, such as the bet midrash (study house) or ʿaliyah (upper story of a home). Indeed, in this corpus of texts, sages normally sit to study; the two acts are so closely associated, that the very word “sitting” is synonymous with a study session or academy. Moreover, throughout the corpus, “the road” is marked as the site of danger, disruption and death. Why then do these texts tell stories of sages expounding en route? In seeking out the rabbinic road, I find that, against these texts’ pervasive notion of travel danger runs another, competing motif: the road as the proper – even necessary – site of Torah study. Tracing the genealogy of the road exposition (or “road derasha”), I find it rooted in traditional Wisdom texts, which have been adapted to form a new, “literal” metaphor. The motif of sages expounding en route actualizes the Proverbial “Way of Wisdom” making it a real road upon which sages tread. That way is paved by a (literalized) reading of the Shema’s command, “speak [these words] as you walk on the road…” In the first part of my study, I consider the motif’s setting, asking what rabbinic texts tell us about this site. I find that danger is the keynote of discourse about the road; indeed the multitude of dangers and risks indicate that this is a far from suitable place for Torah study. Rabbinic discourse about the road seems to preclude discourse while on the road. The second part of my work focuses on teachings that (in spite of this pervasive sense of road danger) actually adjure travelers to study en route, declaring that Torah study protects travelers on the way. Not only do these teachings seem to justify the accounts of road exposition, but they also point the way to the roots of the motif; by closely reading each teaching and its links to the larger corpus, I mark the way to the Wisdom tradition in which the motif is grounded, and which it transforms. Finally, in the last part of my study, I consider a text containing many road derashot – and of which the main theme is the journey. This text, which concerns esoteric wisdom, complicates our motif, for here (instead of guiding and protecting us on the way), Wisdom is considered a dangerous path, from which we are warned away. And yet, 1 even against warning and prohibition, it seems that the imperative to “speak [these words] on the way” is still in force. For here too, we find sages expounding on the way – accounts that are emblematic of the text’s larger discursive journey towards this dangerous wisdom. 2 For my mother i Transliteration and reference sources Transliteration: For the Hebrew and Aramaic words transliterated in this work, I have primarily used the Library of Congress Cataloging transliteration system: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/hebrew.pdf However, for proper names and the titles of tractates, I have used fewer diacritical marks (for ,and have sometimes opted for a more familiar ,(ׂש, ק, ט ,ו example, eschewing marks for commonly used spelling (such as Shabbat rather than the LCC’s Shabat). I have adopted this method in the hopes of a smoother read, and apologize for the remaining infelicities or inconsistencies. Reference sources: In the notes to this work, I refer to the following dictionaries of Aramaic: Jastrow, Marcus. Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi and Midrashic Literature. New York: The Judaica Press, 1996. Sokoloff, Michael. A Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic of the Byzantine Period, Second Edition. Ramat-Gan: Bar Ilan University Press, 2002. Sokoloff, Michael. A Dictionary of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic of the Talmudic and Geonic Periods. Ramat-Gan: Bar Ilan University Press, 2002. For brevity’s sake, I refer to these throughout as “Jastrow”; “Sokoloff (Babylonian)”; and “Sokoloff (Palestinian).” ii Contents Introduction: Embarking on the rabbinic road 1 Chapter One: Danger on the Road 10 Chapter Two: Wisdom on the Road 48 Chapter Three: Dangerous Wisdom 82 Conclusion: Departing be-shalom 128 iii Introduction: Embarking on the rabbinic road The second chapter of Bavli tractate Ḥagigah begins with a series of teachings that weave stunning, mythic images of the Creation of the world. Here we learn that God created the heavens by “taking fire and water and hurling them together”; we see “the depths shattered by His reason” and “the mountains set by His might.” We learn that “by the light created on the first day, one could have seen from one end of the world to the other.” Could have, but did not – for this is a landscape that as yet has no human footprints. Even the sages who describe it seem to do so from offstage, in teachings marked “our sages taught” and “Rav said,” but reported without any narrative setting; we hear their words, as it were, but do not see the sages speaking. Yet, quite suddenly – just after God’s elemental creation of the heavens – the scene abruptly changes: “R. Ishmael asked R. ʿAkiva, as they were walking on the road: For twenty-two years you served Naḥum ish Gamzo … Tell me, how would he expound [And God created] the heavens and the earth?” Suddenly our sages are visible; they seem to have walked right onto the primordial stage – or rather, to have changed the setting entirely. We might well wonder why, in the midst of the momentous event of Creation, these two sages are doing something as mundane as “walking on the road.” Although, in this context, the sages’ sudden appearance on the road is particularly striking, their location is not unusual. Throughout rabbinic literature, others may be found expounding “on the road” – that is, while on a journey.1 As in the case above, these accounts often begin with a question: “As they were walking on the road, Rabbi Ishmael asked Rabbi Yehoshuʿa : Why are we forbidden the cheese of heathens?”2 Some contain their own “telling”: “Rabbi said, I once asked R. Yose and R. Shimʿon when they were walking on the road: What is the law when a menstruant examined herself on the seventh day…?”3 Rabbi marks the exchange as something to be retold, and indeed, it seems that road exposition is not only “heard of” but also expected; when erudite sages visit R. Shimʿon b. Yoḥai, he sends his students after the departing guests “to see what they expound on the way.”4 These and other accounts indicate that the rabbinic road is a place where exegetical, legal, and even metaphysical questions are asked and discussed. My work is a study of the rabbinic motif of teaching on the way – and the texts in which it is grounded. I begin by asking why we find these sages expounding on the road, instead of the expected sites of Torah study: the bet midrash (study house) or ʿaliyah (upper story of a home). Indeed, in classical rabbinic texts, sages normally sit to study; the two acts are so closely associated, that the very word “sitting” is synonymous with a study session or academy. So why are these sages teaching in transit? Finding our sages on the road is not in itself surprising, for these are texts in which people go places. We hear of jaunts to neighboring towns, as well as travel between Babylonia and Palestine, and journeys to Alexandria, Cappadocia, and Rome. Sea voyages 1 The expressions holkim ba-derekh and azli ba-orḥa most often indicate the act of traveling, rather than simply the act of walking. In fact, in some cases holkim ba-derekh refers to sages who are riding rather than walking (see for example, b.Ḥagigah 14b and b.Shabbat 52a), and in b.Bava Batra 73a, azlinan ba-orḥa refers to a sea voyage. 2 m.ʿAvodah Zarah 2:5, b.ʿAvodah Zarah 24a. 3 b.Niddah 68b. This is actually only the beginning of Rabbi’s question, abbreviated here. 4 Genesis Rabbah 35:3. 1 and treks to the “wilderness” are reported; sailors, desert nomads and traveling tradesmen cross our path. In this world of people on the move, our sages are no exception. Indeed, classical rabbinic texts specifically describe scholars as travelers. In addition to accounts of rabbis on the road (such as those above), we also hear of sages “going from city to city and from province to province” to settle a halakhic question, and “scholars who go from town to town to study Torah.” Moreover, one text, which concerns professions that require extensive travel, lists among them “students who go away to study Torah.”5 And yet, if scholars must “go away” to study, there is ample reason not to study on the way. For in these texts, the road is most often the site of danger, loss and death, as is attested by two of its typical denizens: the robber and the met mitsṿah (abandoned corpse).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Should Bakeries Which Are Open on Shabbat Be Supervised? a Response to the Rabinowitz-Weisberg Opinion RABBI HOWARD HANDLER
    Should Bakeries Which are Open on Shabbat Be Supervised? A Response to the Rabinowitz-Weisberg Opinion RABBI HOWARD HANDLER This paper was submitted as a response to the responsum written by Rabbi Mayer Rabinowitz and Ms. Dvora Weisberg entitled "Rabbinic Supervision of Jewish Owned Businesses Operating on Shabbat" which was adopted by the CJLS on February 26, 1986. Should rabbis offer rabbinic supervision to bakeries which are open on Shabbat? i1 ~, '(l) l'\ (1) The food itself is indeed kosher after Shabbat, once the time required to prepare it has elapsed. 1 The halakhah is according to Rabbi Yehudah and not according to the Mishnah which is Rabbi Meir's opinion. (2) While a Jew who does not observe all the mitzvot is in some instances deemed trustworthy, this is never the case regarding someone who flagrantly disregards the laws of Shabbat, especially for personal profit. Maimonides specifically excludes such a person's trustworthiness regarding his own actions.2 Moreover in the case of n:nv 77n~ (a violator of Shabbat) Maimonides explicitly rejects his trustworthiness. 3 No support can be brought from Moshe Feinstein who concludes, "even if the proprietor closes his store on Shabbat, [since it is known to all that he does not observe Shabbat], we assume he only wants to impress other observant Jews so they will buy from him."4 Previously in the same responsum R. Feinstein emphasizes that even if the person in The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly provides guidance in matters of halakhah for the Conservative movement.
    [Show full text]
  • Women As Shelihot Tzibur for Hallel on Rosh Hodesh
    MilinHavivinEng1 7/5/05 11:48 AM Page 84 William Friedman is a first-year student at YCT Rabbinical School. WOMEN AS SHELIHOT TZIBBUR FOR HALLEL ON ROSH HODESH* William Friedman I. INTRODUCTION Contemporary sifrei halakhah which address the issue of women’s obligation to recite hallel on Rosh Hodesh are unanimous—they are entirely exempt (peturot).1 The basis given by most2 of them is that hallel is a positive time-bound com- mandment (mitzvat aseh shehazman gramah), based on Sukkah 3:10 and Tosafot.3 That Mishnah states: “One for whom a slave, a woman, or a child read it (hallel)—he must answer after them what they said, and a curse will come to him.”4 Tosafot comment: “The inference (mashma) here is that a woman is exempt from the hallel of Sukkot, and likewise that of Shavuot, and the reason is that it is a positive time-bound commandment.” Rosh Hodesh, however, is not mentioned in the list of exemptions. * The scope of this article is limited to the technical halakhic issues involved in the spe- cific area of women’s obligation to recite hallel on Rosh Hodesh as it compares to that of men. Issues such as changing minhag, kol isha, areivut, and the proper role of women in Jewish life are beyond that scope. 1 R. Imanu’el ben Hayim Bashari, Bat Melekh (Bnei Brak, 1999), 28:1 (82); Eliyakim Getsel Ellinson, haIsha vehaMitzvot Sefer Rishon—Bein haIsha leYotzrah (Jerusalem, 1977), 113, 10:2 (116-117); R. David ben Avraham Dov Auerbakh, Halikhot Beitah (Jerusalem, 1982), 8:6-7 (58-59); R.
    [Show full text]
  • Research Bulletin Series Jewish Law and Economics Game Theory in The
    Research bulletin Series on Jewish Law and Economics Game Theory in the Talmud Robert J. Aumann Dedicated to the memory of Shlomo Aumann, Talmudic scholar and man of the world, killed in action near Khush-e-Dneiba, Lebanon, on the eve of the nineteenth of Sivan 5742 (June 9, 1982) Abstract A passage from the Talmud whose explanation eluded commentators for two millennia is elucidated with the aid of principles suggested by modern mathematical Theory of Games. ________________ * Institute of Mathematics, Center for rationality and Interactive Decision Theory, and Department of Economics, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem Game Theory in the Talmud1 By Robert J. Aumann l. A Bankruptcy Problem A man dies, leaving debts totaling more than his estate. How should the estate be divided among the creditors? A frequent solution in modern law is proportional division. The rationale is that each dollar of debt should be treated in the same way; one looks at dollars rather than people. Yet it is by no means obvious that this is the only equitable or reasonable system. For example, if the estate does not exceed the smallest debt, equal division among the creditors makes good sense. Any amount of debt to one person that goes beyond the entire estate might well be considered irrelevant; you cannot get more than there is. A fascinating discussion of bankruptcy occurs in the Babylonian Talmud2 (Ketubot 93a). There are three creditors; the debts are 100, 200 and 300. Three cases are considered, corresponding to estates of 100, 200 and 300. The Mishna stipulates the divisions shown in Table 1.
    [Show full text]
  • The Intersection of Gender and Mitzvot Dr
    The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies Walking with Mitzvot Edited By Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson ogb hfrs andvhfrs Rabbi Patricia Fenton In Memory of Harold Held and Louise Held, of blessed memory The Held Foundation Melissa and Michael Bordy Joseph and Lacine Held Robert and Lisa Held Published in partnership with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the Rabbinical Assembly, the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs and the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism. THE INTERSECTION OF GENDER AND MITZVOT DR. RABBI ARYEH COHEN TO START WITH A COUPLE alakhah, or Jewish Law, it has been often noted, is as much a pedagogical system as a legal system. The goal of the Hmitzvot as codified and explicated in the halakhic system is to create a certain type of person. Ideally this is a person who is righteous and God fearing, a person who feels and fulfills their obligation towards God as well as towards their fellows. Embedded into this goal, of necessity, is an idea or conception of what a person is. On the most basic level, the mitzvot “construct” people as masculine and feminine. This means that the halakhic system, or the system of mitzvot as practiced, classically define certain behaviors as masculine and others as feminine. The mitzvot themselves are then grouped into broad categories which are mapped onto male and female. Let’s start with a couple of examples. The (3rd century CE) tractate Kiddushin of the Mishnah begins with the following law: “A woman is acquired in three ways, with money, with a contract and with sex.” The assumption here is that a man “acquires” a woman in marriage and not the reverse.
    [Show full text]
  • Rosh Hashanah Jewish New Year
    ROSH HASHANAH JEWISH NEW YEAR “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelite people thus: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts. You shall not work at your occupations; and you shall bring an offering by fire to the LORD.” (Lev. 23:23-25) ROSH HASHANAH, the first day of the seventh month (the month of Tishri), is celebrated as “New Year’s Day”. On that day the Jewish people wish one another Shanah Tovah, Happy New Year. ש נ ָׁהָׁטוֹב ָׁה Rosh HaShanah, however, is more than a celebration of a new calendar year; it is a new year for Sabbatical years, a new year for Jubilee years, and a new year for tithing vegetables. Rosh HaShanah is the BIRTHDAY OF THE WORLD, the anniversary of creation—a fourfold event… DAY OF SHOFAR BLOWING NEW YEAR’S DAY One of the special features of the Rosh HaShanah prayer [ רֹאשָׁהַש נה] Rosh HaShanah THE DAY OF SHOFAR BLOWING services is the sounding of the shofar (the ram’s horn). The shofar, first heard at Sinai is [זִכְּ רוֹןָׁתְּ רּועה|יוֹםָׁתְּ רּועה] Zikaron Teruah|Yom Teruah THE DAY OF JUDGMENT heard again as a sign of the .coming redemption [יוֹםָׁהַדִ ין] Yom HaDin THE DAY OF REMEMBRANCE THE DAY OF JUDGMENT It is believed that on Rosh [יוֹםָׁהַזִכְּ רוֹן] Yom HaZikaron HaShanah that the destiny of 1 all humankind is recorded in ‘the Book of Life’… “…On Rosh HaShanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed, how many will leave this world and how many will be born into it, who will live and who will die..
    [Show full text]
  • A USER's MANUAL Part 1: How Is Halakhah Organized?
    TORAHLEADERSHIP.ORG RABBI ARYEH KLAPPER HALAKHAH: A USER’S MANUAL Part 1: How is Halakhah Organized? I. How is Halakhah Organized? 4 case studies a. Mishnah Berakhot 1:1, and gemara thereupon b. Support of the poor Peiah, Bava Batra, Matnot Aniyyim, Yoreh Deah) c. Conversion ?, Yevamot, Issurei Biah, Yoreh Deah) d. Mourning Moed Qattan, Shoftim, Yoreh Deiah) Mishnah Berakhot 1:1 From what time may one recite the Shema in the evening? From the hour that the kohanim enter to eat their terumah Until the end of the first watch, in the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer. The Sages say: Until midnight. Rabban Gamliel says: Until morning. It happened that his sons came from a wedding feast. They said to him: We have not yet recited the Shema. He said to them: If it has not yet morned, you are obligated to recite it. Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 2a What is the context of the Mishnah’s opening “From when”? Also, why does it teach about the evening first, rather than about the morning? The context is Scripture saying “when you lie down and when you arise” (Devarim 6:7, 11:9). what the Mishnah intends is: “The time of the Shema of lying-down – when is it?” Alternatively: The context is Creation, as Scripture writes “There was evening and there was morning”. Mishnah Berakhot 1:1 (continued) Not only this – rather, everything about which the Sages say until midnight – their mitzvah is until morning. The burning of fats and organs – their mitzvah is until morning. All sacrifices that must be eaten in a day – their mitzvah is until morning.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography
    Bibliography I. Reference Works Avanesov, R. I., ed., Slovar’ drevnerusskogo jazyka (XI–XIV vv.) (10 vols.; Moscow: Russkij Jazyk, 1988 ff). Barhudarov, Sergei G., ed., Slovar’ russkogo jazyka XI–XVII vekov (25 vols.; Moscow: Nauka, 1975ff). Cejtlin, R. M., ed., Staroslavjanskij slovar’ (po rukopisjam X–XI vekov) (Moscow: Russkij Jazyk, 1999). Jastrow, Marcus, Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi and Midrashic Literature (New York: Judaica Press, 1985). Kurz, Josef, ed., Slovnik Jazyka Staroslovenskeho (Lexicon Linguae Palaeo Slovenicae) (4 vols.; Prague: Akademia, 1966). Leslau, Wolf, Comparative dictionary of Ge`ez (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1991). Miklosich, Franz, ed., Lexicon Palaeoslovenico-Graeco-Latinum (Vindobonae: G. Braumueller, 1862–5). Schäfer, Peter et al., Konkordanz zur Hekhalot-Literatur (2vols; TSAJ 12,13; Tübingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 1986–88). Sokoloff, Michael, A Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic of the Byzantine Period (Ramat-Gan: Bar Ilan University, 1990). Sreznevskij, Izmail, Materialy dlja slovarja drevnerusskago jazyka po pis’mennym pamjatnikam (3 vols.; Petersburg, 1883–1912) [repr. Slovar’ drevnerusskogo jazyka (3 vols.; Moscow: Kniga,1989)]. Trubachev, O. H., ed., Etimologicheskij slovar’ slavjanskih jazykov (Moscow: Nauka,1961ff). II. Texts and Translations Alexander, Philip, “3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of) Enoch,” The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (ed. J. H. Charlesworth; New York: Doubleday, 1985 [1983]) 1.223– 315. Andersen, Francis, “2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch,” The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (2 vols.; ed. J. H. Charlesworth; New York: Doubleday, 1985 [1983]) 1.91–221. Anderson, Gary A., and Stone, Michael E., A Synopsis of the Books of Adam and Eve. Second Revised Edition (SBLEJL 17; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999). Angelov, B. and M. Genov, Stara bulgarska literatura (IX–XVIII v.) v primeri, prevodi i bibliografija (Istorija na Bulgarskata Literatura v primeri i bibliografija II) (Sofia: Paskalev, 1925).
    [Show full text]
  • Miriyam Goldman OA Thesis 9Dec20.Pdf (247.7Kb)
    The Living Stone: The Talmudic Paradox of the Seventh Month Gestational Viability vs. the Eighth Month Non-Viability Presented to the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Completion of the Program Stern College for Women Yeshiva University December 9, 2020 Miriyam A. Goldman Mentor: Rabbi Dr. Richard Weiss, Biology Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………. 3 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………….…. 4 Background to Pregnancy ……………………………………………………………………… 5 Talmudic Sources on the Dilemma ……………………………………………………………. 6 Meforshim on the Dilemma ……………………………………………………………………. 9 Secular Sources of the Dilemma ………………………………………………………………. 11 The Significance of Hair and Nails in Terms of Viability……………………………….……... 14 The Definition of Nefel’s Impact on Viability ……………………………………………….. 17 History of Premature Survival ………………………………………………………………… 18 Statistics on Prematurity ………………………………………………………………………. 19 Developmental Differences Between Seventh and Eighth Months ……………………….…. 20 Contemporary Talmudic Balance of the Dilemma..…………………………………….…….. 22 Contemporary Secular Balance of the Dilemma .……………………………………….…….. 24 Evaluation of Talmudic Accreditation …………………………………………………..…...... 25 Interviews with Rabbi Eitan Mayer, Rabbi Daniel Stein, and Rabbi Dr. Richard Weiss .…...... 27 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………….…. 29 References…..………………………………………………………………………………..… 34 2 Abstract This paper reviews the viability of premature infants, specifically the halachic status of those born in
    [Show full text]
  • The Greatest Mirror: Heavenly Counterparts in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha
    The Greatest Mirror Heavenly Counterparts in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha Andrei A. Orlov On the cover: The Baleful Head, by Edward Burne-Jones. Oil on canvas, dated 1886– 1887. Courtesy of Art Resource. Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2017 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production, Dana Foote Marketing, Fran Keneston Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Orlov, Andrei A., 1960– author. Title: The greatest mirror : heavenly counterparts in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha / Andrei A. Orlov. Description: Albany, New York : State University of New York Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016052228 (print) | LCCN 2016053193 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438466910 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438466927 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Apocryphal books (Old Testament)—Criticism, interpretation, etc. Classification: LCC BS1700 .O775 2017 (print) | LCC BS1700 (ebook) | DDC 229/.9106—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016052228 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For April DeConick . in the season when my body was completed in its maturity, there imme- diately flew down and appeared before me that most beautiful and greatest mirror-image of myself.
    [Show full text]
  • Tanya Sources.Pdf
    The Way to the Tree of Life Jewish practice entails fulfilling many laws. Our diet is limited, our days to work are defined, and every aspect of life has governing directives. Is observance of all the laws easy? Is a perfectly righteous life close to our heart and near to our limbs? A righteous life seems to be an impossible goal! However, in the Torah, our great teacher Moshe, Moses, declared that perfect fulfillment of all religious law is very near and easy for each of us. Every word of the Torah rings true in every generation. Lesson one explores how the Tanya resolved these questions. It will shine a light on the infinite strength that is latent in each Jewish soul. When that unending holy desire emerges, observance becomes easy. Lesson One: The Infinite Strength of the Jewish Soul The title page of the Tanya states: A Collection of Teachings ספר PART ONE לקוטי אמרים חלק ראשון Titled הנקרא בשם The Book of the Beinonim ספר של בינונים Compiled from sacred books and Heavenly מלוקט מפי ספרים ומפי סופרים קדושי עליון נ״ע teachers, whose souls are in paradise; based מיוסד על פסוק כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו upon the verse, “For this matter is very near to לבאר היטב איך הוא קרוב מאד בדרך ארוכה וקצרה ”;you, it is in your mouth and heart to fulfill it בעזה״י and explaining clearly how, in both a long and short way, it is exceedingly near, with the aid of the Holy One, blessed be He. "1 of "393 The Way to the Tree of Life From the outset of his work therefore Rav Shneur Zalman made plain that the Tanya is a guide for those he called “beinonim.” Beinonim, derived from the Hebrew bein, which means “between,” are individuals who are in the middle, neither paragons of virtue, tzadikim, nor sinners, rishoim.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nonverbal Language of Prayer
    Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum Edited by Martin Hengel and Peter Schäfer 105 Uri Ehrlich The Nonverbal Language of Prayer A New Approach to Jewish Liturgy Translated by Dena Ordan Mohr Siebeck Uri Ehrlich: Born 1956; 1994 Ph.D. in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy, Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Senior lecturer, Department of Jewish Thought, Ben-Gurion University. ISBN 3-16-148150-X ISSN 0721-8753 (Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism) Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; de- tailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de. © 2004 by Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany. Authorised English translation of "n:-ßxn 'ra^a © 1999 by Hebrew University Magnes Press, Jerusalem. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher's written permission. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was printed by Guide-Druck in Tübingen on non-aging paper and bound by Buchbinderei Spinner in Ottersweier. Printed in Germany. In memory of my grandparents Martha and Arthur Dernburg Preface to the English Edition Prayer has many names: tefillah (petition), tehinah (beseeching), le'akah (shouting), ze'akah (cry), shavah (cry for help), renanah (cry of prayer), pegi'ah (plea), nefilah (falling down); amidah (standing). (Tanhuma, Va-ethanan 3) This midrash highlights the multidimensional nature of the Prayer and names a variety of expressive means alongside the Prayer's verbal aspect. It is this book's aim to portray the nonverbal components of the Prayer - physical gestures, attire, and vocality - and to demonstrate their impor- tance for, and integrality to, the prayer-act.
    [Show full text]
  • The Name of God the Golem Legend and the Demiurgic Role of the Alphabet 243
    CHAPTER FIVE The Name of God The Golem Legend and the Demiurgic Role of the Alphabet Since Samaritanism must be viewed within the wider phenomenon of the Jewish religion, it will be pertinent to present material from Judaism proper which is corroborative to the thesis of the present work. In this Chapter, the idea about the agency of the Name of God in the creation process will be expounded; then, in the next Chapter, the various traditions about the Angel of the Lord which are relevant to this topic will be set forth. An apt introduction to the Jewish teaching about the Divine Name as the instrument of the creation is the so-called golem legend. It is not too well known that the greatest feat to which the Jewish magician aspired actually was that of duplicating God's making of man, the crown of the creation. In the Middle Ages, Jewish esotericism developed a great cycle of golem legends, according to which the able magician was believed to be successful in creating a o ?� (o?u)1. But the word as well as the concept is far older. Rabbinic sources call Adam agolem before he is given the soul: In the first hour [of the sixth day], his dust was gathered; in the second, it was kneaded into a golem; in the third, his limbs were shaped; in the fourth, a soul was irifused into him; in the fifth, he arose and stood on his feet[ ...]. (Sanh. 38b) In 1615, Zalman �evi of Aufenhausen published his reply (Jii.discher Theriak) to the animadversions of the apostate Samuel Friedrich Brenz (in his book Schlangenbalg) against the Jews.
    [Show full text]