DOCSLIB.ORG

Daf Digest Eruvin 18: Duo/ Δύο Adam Riche1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Daf Digest Eruvin 18: Duo/ Δύο Adam Riche1 Daf Digest Eruvin 18: Duo/ δύο 1 Adam Riche 1 Signature to Adam Riches’ style and the darkness he conveys is the simplicity with which he’s able to produce it, a process you can occasionally see first-hand in videos posted to his Instagram. In these you are treated to the movements of Riches’ choice of color for his signature ballpoint pen as he seemingly scribbles out loose shapes of discordant lines. From there he builds within that loose structure with more dense shading, crafting an eerie face drawn directly from the surreal discordant shadows which preceded it. Riches shows impressive versatility in his ability to create shape from the shade with varying levels of detail as some of his figures retain the more scribbled quality of their origin, looking like vacant skulls with darkened features. Others are more detailed, taking on the shadow of a man with hair and lips that appears to be looking at you from the underworld. It’s easy to imagine Riches has seen the river Styx itself. Whether you’re a lover of art and the power of simple techniques or are just drawn to the darker side of life, Adam Riches is your artist. 1 2 3 MISHNA: One may arrange upright boards [passin] around a well in the public domain in order to permit drawing water from the well on Shabbat. A well is usually at least four handbreadths wide and ten handbreadths deep. Therefore, it is considered a private domain, and it is prohibited to draw water from it on Shabbat, as that would constitute a violation of the prohibition to carry from a private domain into a public one. The Sages therefore instituted that a virtual partition may be built in the area surrounding the well, so that the enclosed area could be considered a private domain, thus permitting use of the well and carrying of the water within the partitioned area. In this specific instance, the Sages demonstrated special leniency and did not require a proper partition to enclose the entire area. For this purpose, it suffices if there are four double posts [deyomadin] that look like eight single posts, i.e., four corner pieces, each comprised of two posts joined together at right angles; this is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Meir says: There must be eight posts that look like twelve. How so? There must be four double posts, one in each corner, with four plain posts, one between each pair of double posts. [The leniency discussed here regarding the wells was instituted in order to provide water for the pilgrims and their animals on their route to Yerushalayim for the Festivals.] Wells (that are situated in a public domain and are no less than ten tefachim deep and four tefachim wide and, in consequence, subject to the status of a private domain) may be provided (in order that water may be drawn from them on the Shabbos) with posts of wood by erecting four cornerpieces (each consisting of two standing boards of the prescribed measurements with their ends joined at right angles to each other) that have the appearance of eight single posts; these are the words of Rabbi Yehudah. Rabbi Meir said: Eight posts that have the appearance of twelve (must be erected), four being corner-pieces and four single posts (one between each two corner-pieces). 4 We learned there in a mishna: Rabbi Yehuda says: All inferior figs are exempt from being tithed, even if they are of doubtfully tithed produce [demai], as even if the seller is an am ha’aretz, he must certainly have already separated tithes from them, since the loss incurred by tithing is negligible, except for deyufra. The Gemara asks: What is deyufra? Ulla said: A tree that yields two [deyo] harvests of fruit [peirot] each year. 5 Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar also said: Adam was first created with two [deyo] faces, one male and the other female. As it is stated: Thou hast hemmed me in behind and before, and laid 5 חר ֶםצדָקָאווֹ ְָנַתֶּר ִ;י לﬠ י ַָוֶתּשַָׁת י לﬠ .Thy hand upon me ַכֶּפָּכ.ה Psalm 139:5 “You have formed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me” Similarly, it is written: ,And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man 22 ִמן - ;הְשּׁאל ִָ ,ָםדָהא ָ ,ָםדָהא ִָ ;הְשּׁאל .made He a woman, and brought her unto the man ַוביאהלא ְִֶֶָ, - ָ.ָםדָהא Gen 2:22 “And the tzela, which the Lord, God, had taken from the man, He made a woman, and brought her unto the man” Rav and Shmuel disagree over the meaning of the word tzela: One said: It means a female face, from which God created Eve; and one said: Adam was created with a tail [zanav], which God removed from him and from which He created Eve. The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who says that tzela means face; it is understandable that it is written: “You have formed me [tzartani] behind and before.” However, according to the one who says that tzela means tail, what is meant by the verse: “You have formed me [tzartani] behind and before”? 6 The Gemara answers that this verse is to be understood as bearing a moral message, in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ami, as Rabbi Ami said: Behind means Adam was created at the end of the act of creation; and before means that he was first for punishment. The Gemara asks: Granted, it is understandable that Adam was behind, or last, in the act of creation, meaning that he was not created until the sixth day, Shabbat eve. However, before, or first, for punishment, what does this mean? If you say that he was punished first because of the curse pronounced in the wake of the sin involving the Tree of Knowledge, there is a difficulty. Wasn’t the snake was cursed first, and afterward Eve was cursed, and only at the end was Adam cursed? Rather, this refers to the punishment of the Flood, as it is written: And He blotted out every living substance which was 23 גכ ִַויּ ַמח ֶאת- ָכּל - קםﬠשׁאיַה ְֲרוּ ֶַל - upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and ְפּ הםדאמדﬠ ,המדַא יֵָ ֲֵָָָָנ - ַדﬠ ְֵָבּהמה - creeping thing, and fowl of the heaven; and they were ֶר ֶמשׂ ְﬠ ו דַ -עוֹף ַהָשַּׁמִים, ִַויּ ָמּחוּ, ִמן- blotted out from the earth; and Noah only was left, and ָה ָאֶרץ; ִַויּ ָשֶּׁאר ַא…- אתּוֹ, ֲחוֶאשׁרִ ַֹנַ ֲחוֶאשׁרִ אתּוֹ, .they that were with him in the ark ֵַבָּב.התּ Gen 7:23 “And He blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle, creeping things and fowl of the heaven” This indicates that the punishment began with man. 7 The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who said that Eve was originally a face or side of Adam; it is understandable that it is written: Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the 7 ז ִַויּיֶצר ְיהָוה ֱאŠִהים ֶאת- פ,ָםﬠדָהא רָָ ָ רָָ פ,ָםﬠדָהא ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of ִמן - ָהֲאָדָמה, ִַויּ ַפּח ְבַּאָפּיו, ִנְשַׁמת ִַחיּים; life; and man became a living יּה.ח פנַָלשׁ ַויֶהְֶהדאם, ָָָי ְִ ָיַיהְדם נַשׁיּ. Gen 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed [vayyitzer] man” Vayyitzer is written with a double yod, one for Adam and one for Eve. However, according to the one who said that Eve was created from a tail, what is conveyed by spelling vayyitzer with a double yod? The Gemara responds: This is interpreted homiletically, in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, as Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said: This comes to emphasize that which one says to himself in every circumstance: Woe unto me from my evil inclination [yetzer] if I perform the will of my Maker, and woe to me from my Maker [Yotzri] if I perform the will of my inclination. 8 The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who said that Eve was a face, it is understandable that it is written: ,male and female created He them, and blessed them 2 ב ָזוּנרכ ,רהָבבּק וְ;א …,םרתָאָבְַיֵָם ְֶָָֹ …,םרתָאָבְַיֵָם וְ;א ,רהָבבּק ָזוּנרכ and called their name Adam, in the day when they were ִַויּ ְקָרא ֶאת- אםְשׁמ בָּ,םָדָ ,וְֹםי ,וְֹםי בָּ,םָדָ אםְשׁמ .created ָ.םאִהרבּ ְָָםִר Gen 5:2 “Male and female, He created them, and blessed them, and called their name Man in the day when they were created” which indicates that from the very beginning of their creation, He fashioned two faces, one for the male and the other for the female. However, according to the one who said that Eve was created from a tail, what is the meaning of the verse: “Male and female, He created them”? The Gemara answers: It can be explained in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Abbahu, as Rabbi Abbahu raised a contradiction between the verses: On the one hand it is written: “Male and female, He created them,” in the plural, and on the other hand it is written: And God created man in His own image, in the 27 זכ ִַויּ ְבָרא ֱאaִהים ֶאת- ָםבּדָהא ְ,בּוֹמְַלָצ ֶםְלצ ֶ ֶםְלצ ְ,בּוֹמְַלָצ ָםבּדָהא image of God created He him; male and female created יבּםֱאaה אאָרִ ֹ:וָֹת רקרוּנבּכ.םתא א ,הָזב ְֵָָָָָֹ ,הָזב א רקרוּנבּכ.םתא He them. Gen 1:27 “So God created man in His own image, for in the image of God He created him” in the singular.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Humanity of the Talmud: Reading for Ethics in Bavli ʿavoda Zara By
    The Humanity of the Talmud: Reading for Ethics in Bavli ʿAvoda Zara By Mira Beth Wasserman A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Joint Doctor of Philosophy with Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley in Jewish Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Daniel Boyarin, chair Professor Chana Kronfeld Professor Naomi Seidman Professor Kenneth Bamberger Spring 2014 Abstract The Humanity of the Talmud: Reading for Ethics in Bavli ʿAvoda Zara by Mira Beth Wasserman Joint Doctor of Philosophy with Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley University of California, Berkeley Professor Daniel Boyarin, chair In this dissertation, I argue that there is an ethical dimension to the Babylonian Talmud, and that literary analysis is the approach best suited to uncover it. Paying special attention to the discursive forms of the Talmud, I show how juxtapositions of narrative and legal dialectics cooperate in generating the Talmud's distinctive ethics, which I characterize as an attentiveness to the “exceptional particulars” of life. To demonstrate the features and rewards of a literary approach, I offer a sustained reading of a single tractate from the Babylonian Talmud, ʿAvoda Zara (AZ). AZ and other talmudic discussions about non-Jews offer a rich resource for considerations of ethics because they are centrally concerned with constituting social relationships and with examining aspects of human experience that exceed the domain of Jewish law. AZ investigates what distinguishes Jews from non-Jews, what Jews and non- Jews share in common, and what it means to be a human being. I read AZ as a cohesive literary work unified by the overarching project of examining the place of humanity in the cosmos.
    [Show full text]
  • Dngd Zkqn Massekhet Hahammah
    dngd zkqn Massekhet HaHammah Compiled and Translated with Commentary by Abe Friedman A Project of the Commission on Social Justice and Public Policy of the Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism Rabbi Leonard Gordon, Chair [email protected] Table of Contents Preface i Introduction v Massekhet HaHammah 1. One Who Sees the Sun 1 2. Creation of the Lights 5 3. Righteous and Wicked 9 4. Sun and Sovereignty 15 5. The Fields of Heaven 20 6. Star-Worshippers 28 7. Astrology and Omens 32 8. Heavenly Praise 41 9. Return and Redemption 45 Siyyum for Massekhet HaHammah 51 Bibliography 54 Preface Massekhet HaHammah was developed with the support of the Commission on Social Justice and Public Policy of the Conservative Movement in response to the “blessing of the sun” (Birkat HaHammah), a ritual that takes place every 28 years and that will fall this year on April 8, 2009 / 14 Nisan 5769, the date of the Fast of the Firstborn on the eve of Passover. A collection of halakhic and aggadic texts, classic and contemporary, dealing with the sun, Massekhet HaHammah was prepared as a companion to the ritual for Birkat HaHammah. Our hope is that rabbis and communities will study this text in advance of the Fast and use it both for adult learning about this fascinating ritual and as the text around which to build a siyyum, a celebratory meal marking the conclusion of a block of text study and releasing firstborn in the community from the obligation to fast on the eve of the Passover seder.1 We are also struck this year by the renewed importance of our focus on the sun given the universal concern with global warming and the need for non-carbon-based renewable resources, like solar energy.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sun Represents Torah She'b'chsav the Moon
    Rabbi Pinches Friedman Parshas Pinchas 5775 Translation by Dr. Baruch Fox “Bring atonement for Me for minimizing the moon” The Sun Represents Torah She’b’chsav The Moon Represents Torah She’b’al Peh This Shabbas Kodesh, we will read from the Torah parshas one ram, seven male lambs in their first year, unblemished . and one he-goat for a chatas-offering to Hashem, in addition . “בין Pinchas. We do so annually either during the three weeks of .Bein HaMetzarim”—or just before them. At this time to the Tamid olah-offering, shall it be made, and its libation“—המצרים” of the year, every Jew should mourn the destruction (“churban”) of the Beis HaMikdash and our plight in galut. We can suggest that Gemara (Chullin 60b): it is for this very reason that all of the korbanos that Yisrael are Regarding this matter, we find a fascinating passage in the “רבי שמעון בן פזי רמי, כתיב )בראשית א-טז( ויעש אלקים את שני המאורות commanded to offer in the Beis HaMikdash throughout the year הגדולים וכתיב את המאור הגדול ואת המאור הקטןאמרה ירח לפני הקב”ה, רבונו של ”are mentioned in this parsha. They include the two daily “tamid עולם, אפשר לשני מלכים שישתמשו בכתר אחד. אמר לה לכי ומעטי את עצמך. אמרה offerings, and the korbanos offered on Shabbas, Rosh Chodesh לפניו, רבונו של עולם, הואיל ואמרתי לפניך דבר הגון אמעיט את עצמי. and all of the annual holidays. This reinforces our belief that the Supreme King, HKB”H, will redeem us from galut in the very near אמר לה לכי ומשול ביום ובלילה..
    [Show full text]
  • Daf Ditty Shabbes 118: Pangs of Messiah
    Daf Ditty Shabbes 118: Pangs of Messiah “If you desire to know the manner...of the war of Gog and Magog you may see them both described by Ezekiel chap 38 and 39...where he represents how the Jews after their return from captivity dwell safely and quietly upon the mountains of Israel in unwalled towns without either gates or bars to defend them until they are grown very rich in Cattel and gold and silver and goods and Gog of the land of Magog stirs up the nations round about. Persia and Arabia and Afric and the northern nations of Asia and Europe against them to take a spoile, and God destroys all that great army, that the nations may from thenceforth know that the...Jews went formerly into captivity for their sins but now since their return are become invincible....” Isaac Newton: Yahuda Manuscript 6, fol. 17-18. “When the ships of the kingdom of Russia will cross the Dardanelles you [Israel] should dress in Sabbath clothes because this means that the arrival of the Messiah 1 is close” Vilna Gaon 1 Rabbi Moshe Eisemann, Yechezkel. Jerusalem: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., 1980 p581 1 ררָאמ יַמשַׁבּ בּןוִֹע ֶפּןְִ ִרירָאמַזּ שׁיַַבּ בְֻּוֹהﬠִי ֶלןַ שּׁמבּםֵו רקוּי ִ כָּ:ארִַַפּ לה ָָמ שׁיְּשׁסַק Iםוּעַ ְָיֵ וֹדת ְשׁ בּ בַּ תָ ִ נ לוֹצּי ִשּׁ מ ָ שׁשׁ וּפּר ְﬠ נָ :תוֹיִּ חֵ מ בֶ וֹלְ לֶשׁ ָשׁמ חיִ ַ , מוּ דִּ ניִ הָּ לֶשׁ ֵ גּ הי נִּ ,םָ מוּ ִמּ לִ חְ מֶ תֶ גוֹגּ מוּ .גוֹגָ חֵ מ בֶ וֹלְ לֶשׁ ָשׁמ חיִ ַ — ,״ אכה״יוֹם בת ְָָכּי ִ ָכּ תאהים, כוּ תְ ביִ תָ ה :םָ ה״ נִּ הֵ נָ א כֹ יִ לוֹשׁ חֵ ַ כָ ל םֶ תֵ א לֵ א יִּ הָ נַּ ה בָ איִ פִ ל נְ ֵ י אוֹבּ םוֹי .״׳וֹגְ ו ִ מ ה שׁנּגּם ִֵָיל ֶ ִָדּינהּ — ,״ אכה״יוֹם בת ְָָכּי ִ ָכּ תאהים, .
    [Show full text]
  • ISSUE 73 - AUTUMN 2000 Established 1971
    JOURNAL OF BABYLONIAN JEWRY PUBLISHED BY THE EXILARCH’S FOUNDATION Now found on www.thescribe.uk.com ISSUE 73 - AUTUMN 2000 Established 1971 A Happy New Year 5761 to all our Readers and Friends The procession of His Royal Highness The Exilarch on his weekly visit to the Grand Caliph of Baghdad, ALMUSTANJID BILLAH, accompanied by Benjamin of Tudela (12th Century) who wrote in his diary that the Caliph knows all languages, and is well-versed in the law of Israel. He reads and writes the holy language (Hebrew) and is attended by many belonging to the people of Israel. He will not partake of anything unless he has earned it by the work of his own hands. The men of Islam see him once a year. In Baghdad there are about 40,000 Jews “dwelling in security, prosperity and honour and amongst them are great sages, the heads of Academies engaged in the study of the Law. At the head of them all is Daniel, The Exilarch, who traces his pedigree to King David. He has been invested with authority over all the Jews in the Abbassid Empire. Every Thursday he goes to pay a visit to the great Caliph and horsemen, Gentiles as well as Jews, escort him and heralds proclaim in advance, ‘Make way before our Lord, the son of David, as is due unto him’. On arrival the Caliph rises and puts him on a throne, opposite him, which the prophet Mohammed had ordered to be made for him. He granted him the seal of office and instructed his followers to salute him (the Exilarch) and that anyone who should refuse to rise up should receive one hundred stripes.” THOUGHTS & AFTERTHOUGHTS by Naim Dangoor REFLECTIONS ON T H E as martyrs for the free world and should that G-d cannot do wrong, they try to put HOLOCAUST be remembered and honoured throughout the blame on the victims themselves.
    [Show full text]
  • Levinas Emmanuel in the Tim
    In the Time of the Nations EMMANUEL LEVINAS Translated by Michael B. Smith Indiana University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis First published in the USA, 1994, by Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana First published in France 1988 by Les Editions de Minuit, Paris as A L'Heure des Nations © 1988, Les Editions de Minuit English translation © 1994 The Athlone Press Originating publisher of the English edition: The Athlone Press, London Publisher's Note The publishers wish to record their thanks to the French Ministry of Culture for a grant toward the cost of translation. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses' Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. Manufactured in Great Britain Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Levinas, Emmanuel. [A l'heure des nations. English] In the time of the nations/Emmanuel Levinas; translated by Michael B. Smith. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-253-33295-8 1. Talmud—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Judaism. 3. Philosophy, Jewish. I. Title. BM504.2.L43513 1994 181'.06—dc20 94-8617 1 2 3 4 5 00 99 98 97 96 95 94 To Professor Bemhard Casper, theologian and philosopher, a friend of great heart and lofty thought CONTENTS Translator's Note viii Glossary
    [Show full text]
  • Avodah Zarah 2A
    Talmud - Mas. Avodah Zarah 2a CHAPTER I MISHNAH. ON THE THREE DAYS PRECEDING THE FESTIVITIES1 OF IDOLATERS, IT IS FORBIDDEN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS WITH THEM, TO LEND ARTICLES TO THEM OR BORROW ANY FROM THEM, TO ADVANCE, OR RECEIVE ANY MONEY FROM THEM, TO REPAY A DEBT, OR RECEIVE REPAYMENT FROM THEM.2 R. JUDAH SAYS: WE SHOULD RECEIVE REPAYMENT FROM THEM, AS THIS CAN ONLY DEPRESS THEM;3 BUT THEY [THE RABBIS]4 SAID TO HIM: EVEN THOUGH IT IS DEPRESSING AT THE TIME, THEY ARE GLAD OF IT SUBSEQUENTLY. GEMARA. Rab and Samuel [differed]: the one quoting [from this Mishnah] ed, while the other quoted ‘ed.5 The one who quoted ed is not in error, nor is the one who quoted ‘ed in error.6 The one who quoted ed is not in error, since Scripture says: For the day of their calamity is at hand;7 so also is he who quotes ‘ed not in error, for Scripture also says: Let them bring their witnesses [testimonies] that they may be justified.8 Why does he who quotes ed not have ‘ed? — He might say, the term ed [‘calamity’] is more applicable [to idolatry]. Why then does not the one who quotes ‘ed have ed? — He might say: What is it that brings about that calamity [if not] their testimony? hence the term ‘ed [‘testimony’] is more apt. But does the verse, Let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified, refer to idolaters at all? It surely refers to Israel; as R. Joshua b. Levi said: All the good deeds which Israel does in this world will bear testimony unto them in the world to come, as it is said: Let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified — that is Israel; And let them hear and say: It is truth — these are the idolaters.
    [Show full text]
  • The Context of Tombstones Vayishlach SS
    The Gravestone Halacha in and History This shiur is kindly sponsored by ע“ה ,Anne & Dr. Chaim Bernstein on the occasion of the yahrtzeit of Chaim’s Mother, Lillian Bernstein Tova & Nat Farago in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of their grandson Josef Simcha Saperstein Naomi and David Kaszovitz on the occasion of the yahrzeit of David’s mother, Vivian Kaszovitz ע״ה Sarah Leah bat Rav Shaul Warner v. City of Boca Raton, 64 F. Supp. 2d 1272 (S.D. Fla. 1999) The Lawsuit On June 12, 1998, the plaintiffs filed an amended class action complaint naming the City as the sole defendant, and alleging that the prohibition on vertical grave decorations violates their federal and state rights to freedom of religious expression, freedom of speech and due process of law. In particular, count I alleges that the prohibition substantially burdens the plaintiffs' exercise of religion in violation of the recently enacted Florida Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1998 (the "Florida RFRA"), Fla. Stat. § 761.01 et seq. Count II alleges that the prohibition violates the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights to the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech. Count III alleges that enforcement of the prohibition would deprive the plaintiffs of a property interest in maintaining vertical grave decorations on their Cemetery plots in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Finally, count IV alleges that the prohibition violates the plaintiffs' rights under the Florida Constitution to the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech and due process of law. … In sum, nowhere in the sacred texts, doctrines, traditions or customs of either the Jewish or Christian faiths can the principle be found that grave markers or religious symbols should be displayed vertically rather than horizontally.
    [Show full text]
  • Kol Rina an Independent Minyan Parashat Noach October 24, 2020 *** Cheshvan 6, 5781
    Kol Rina An Independent Minyan Parashat Noach October 24, 2020 *** Cheshvan 6, 5781 Kol Rina – An Independent Minyan, is a traditional egalitarian community. We are haimish (homey/folksy), friendly, participatory, warm and welcoming. We hold weekly services in South Orange as well as holiday services and celebrations which are completely lay led. We welcome all to our services and programs from non-Hebrew readers to Jewish communal and education professionals. Noah in A Nutshell https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3155/jewish/Noach-in-a-Nutshell.htm G-d instructs Noah—the only righteous man in a world consumed by violence and corruption—to build a large wooden teivah (“ark”), coated within and without with pitch. A great deluge, says G-d, will wipe out all life from the face of the earth; but the ark will float upon the water, sheltering Noah and his family, and two members (male and female) of each animal species. Rain falls for 40 days and nights, and the waters churn for 150 days more before calming and beginning to recede. The ark settles on Mount Ararat, and from its window Noah dispatches a raven, and then a series of doves, “to see if the waters were abated from the face of the earth.” When the ground dries completely—exactly one solar year (365 days) after the onset of the Flood—G-d commands Noah to exit the teivah and repopulate the earth. Noah builds an altar and offers sacrifices to G-d. G-d swears never again to destroy all of mankind because of their deeds, and sets the rainbow as a testimony of His new covenant with man.
    [Show full text]
  • Aggada in Jewish Thought: Changing Paradigm Rabbi David Sedley
    Rabbi David Sedley Aggada in Jewish Thought: Changing Paradigm Rabbi David Sedley Overview “Rabbi Chiya bar Ami said in the name of Ulla: Since the day that the Temple was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, has nothing in His world but the four cubits of Halakhah 123 alone” . It is the halakhah which gives definition to Judaism, and by extension to God Himself. A person can only define himself in relation to his Creator in terms of halakhah. Yet it is aggada which gives life to that relationship. It is the stories and legends of the Talmud and other rabbinic writings which give a human side to our relationship with God. The distinction between halakhah and aggada is not always so clear. Law and lore blend into a sometimes seamless, inseparable whole. In simple terms halakhah defines the way a Jew must act, the laws and behaviours expected of an observant Jew. Aggada is the stories, history, legends and any other non-legal writings. Ostensibly their purpose is to teach about faith, philosophy and weltenschaung of Jewish life. 123. Brachot 8a 93 Aggada in Jewish Thought: Changing Paradigm Shmuel Ha-Nagid defines aggada as “any explanation that comes in 124 the Talmud on any topic which does not concern a mitzvah” . According to Beit Aharon the purpose of aggada is to teach “words of reproof, good traits, fine attitudes, and polite behaviour. It teaches us the wisdom of religion with purity and the principles of faith, the unity of God etc, to bring our hearts close to serving God with 125 holiness and purity”.
    [Show full text]
  • Ohrnet Layout
    THE OHR SOMAYACH TORAH MAGAZINE ON THE INTERNET • WWW.OHR.EDU SPECIAL SUMMER ISSUE • PARSHIOT VA’ETCHANAN-EKEV-RE’EH-SHOFTIM • 5775/2015 • VOL. 22 NO. 45 PARSHA INSIGHTS Va’etchanan O H DRRAWING BY NNUMBERS E T “Hear O Israel…” (6:4) he first verse of the “Shema” is like “Drawing by inferred. Bina takes chochma and comes to conclusions that Numbers”. At one time, we must have all followed move beyond the evidence at hand. Bina is the lines that the numbers on a seemingly inscrutable page of dots, emerge from those points, the development and the extrap - Tand watched as a perfect picture slowly emerged. olation. There are really three elements to drawing by numbers: And da’at is what is called Ruach Hakodesh – literally the The numbers themselves, the connection of the numbers “Holy Spirit.” (Rashi, Shemot 31:3). one-by-one by lines, and the final emergence of the picture from the lines. A person can have knowledge; he can extrapolate that In the first verse of the Shema there are three Names: knowledge beyond its literal implications, but he can still be “Hashem” – the Tetragrammaton – the ineffable four-let - unconnected to what he knows from what he has inferred. ter Name of G-d. Da’at is connecting ourselves to the fruits of our knowl - “Elokeinu” — literally, “Our G-d.” edge, so that it becomes part of us. And then the Name “Hashem” again. However, this sec - That’s when the picture emerges. ond mention of the Name is different to the first, as it is con - Now we can understand the three Names of the Shema: nected to the last word of the verse, “ Echad ” — One.
    [Show full text]
  • Megillat RUTH: Hesed and Hutzpah a Literary Approach
    Megillat RUTH: Hesed and Hutzpah A Literary Approach Study Guide by Noam Zion TICHON PROGRAM SHALOM HARTMAN INSTITUTE, JERUSALEM. Summer 2005, 5765 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION page 4 Structural/Scene Analysis of Megillah APPROACHES to Getting Started with the Narrative page 6 Theme #1 – Responses to Tragedy? Naomi, the Female Job? Theme #2 – A Woman’s Story in a Man’s World Theme #3 – A Romance of a migrant foreign-worker Widow and an aging landed Notable Theme #4 - Redemption of Land, of a Widow/er and of the Jewish people by the Ancestors of King David RUTH Chapter One – Abandoning Bethlehem for the Fields of Moav and Returning to Bethlehem page 9 Structural Analysis of Chapter Ruth 1: 1-7 EXPOSITION IN MOAB page 10 Literary Methods of Analysis: Exposition and Primary Associations: Ruth 1:1 Midrash Shem – Ruth 1:1-4 Divide up the chapter into subsections with titles, identify leitworter and plotline Elimelech – Midrashic Character Assassination Ruth 1: 8-18 – TRIALOGUE AT THE CROSSROADS page 18 From Fate to Character Literary Methods of Analysis: Character Development How does Naomi change in Chapter One? Dialogue of Naomi and her Daughters-in-law and Three-Four Literary Pattern The Mysterious Ruth the Moabite: What makes her Tick? Character Education: Friends or Best-Friends? 1 Megillat RUTH: Hesed and Hutzpah, A Literary Approach by Noam Zion Ruth as the Rabbis’ Star Convert Ruth 1: 19-22 – TRAGIC HOMECOMING page 34 The Female Job A Failed Homecoming Naomi as a Mourner: Reactions, Stages, Processes RUTH CHAPTER TWO - A Day in the Fields of Bethlehem page 42 Structural Analysis of Chapter page 42 Literary Methods of Analysis: page 44 Scenes Withholding and Releasing Information Type-Scene - Parallel Story in Same Genre – The Marriage Ordeal of Hesed – Gen.
    [Show full text]