DOCSLIB.ORG

Celebrating Our Connection to Israel with Pride and Gratitude

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Celebrating Our Connection to Israel with Pride and Gratitude GLOBAL RELIGIOUS LEADERS Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein Celebrating our Connection to Israel with Pride and Gratitude om HaAtzmaut happens in the mark the occasion. At the head of tive-driven portions of the Torah, when weeks leading up to Shavuot – the procession, there was a bull dec- really the Torah is a book of command- the time of the harvest during orated in gold. And all the residents of ments (Rashi, Bereishit 1:1). which we celebrate the great bounty Yerushalayim – the shopkeepers and Y Quoting from a remarkably prescient of the Land of Israel. This includes all the workers, sometimes even the Midrash (Midrash, Yalkut Shimoni the mitzvah of bikkurim – the Torah king – would come out to greet the on Torah 187), Rashi explains that requirement for farmers to bring their farmers’ arrival. Upon arriving at the the reason the Torah begins with the first fruits to the Beit HaMikdash. Beit HaMikdash, the Levi’im would story of Creation is because one day Interestingly, the mitzvah of bikkurim sing a song from the book of Tehillim “the nations of the world” will accuse can teach us how to approach Yom (Mishna, Bikkurim 3:3–4). the Jewish people of unjustly appro- HaAtzmaut. Why all the fanfare? What is so special priating the Land of Israel, to which What is most unusual about this mitz- about the mitzvah of bikkurim that it we can respond – G-d, the Creator of vah is that when the farmers brought warranted such a declaration and such the world, gave it to us. That is our title their baskets to the Beit HaMikdash, a grand, beautiful ceremony? deed. And we underline this claim by publicly declaring and celebrating our they would make a short declaration, The Malbim (Devarim 26:5) explains summarizing Jewish history: how the connection to the Land of Israel in the that the declaration regarding the bikkurim ceremony. Jewish people came to live in Egypt; bikkurim was stated as a response to how we were afflicted by the Egyptians those who would challenge our right There’s certainly a lesson we can draw and called out to G-d; how He answered to the Land of Israel. He cites Rashi’s here in our own age about proudly our cries and redeemed us with signs very first comment on the Chumash – and unapologetically celebrating our and wonders, and eventually brought the question of why the connection to the Land of Israel. Yom us to the Land of Israel – to the sacred Torah begins with the HaAtzmaut is a special time to do so, ground from which these first fruits book of Bereishit, the and remind ourselves of the justice of were harvested (Devarim 26:3–10). more narra- Israel’s cause. Furthermore, the Mishnah paints a colorful picture of the farmers’ proces- sion: they did not arrive one by one in Yerushalayim; rather, they would go up in a group, accompa- nied by music and a whole entou- rage to Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein is the Chief Rabbi of South Africa. | 17.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 2019-20 – HISTORICAL, MEDICAL and HALAKHIC PERSPECTIVES Second Edition Rabbi Prof
    THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC RABBI PROF. AVRAHAM STEINBERG, MD THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 2019-20 – HISTORICAL, MEDICAL AND HALAKHIC PERSPECTIVES Second Edition Rabbi Prof. Avraham Steinberg, MD Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. Historical Background 3 a. Pandemics in the past b. The Coronavirus pandemic 3. Medical Background 5 4. Specific rulings and Halakhot 7 a. General behavior and the obligation to listen to the government and experts during a plague b. Defining plague c. Prayers, fasts and charity d. Self-endangerment of the healthcare providers – doctors, nurses, lab personnel, technicians e. Self-endangerment for experimental treatment and discovering a vaccine f. Prayer with a minyan, nesiyat kapayim, Torah reading, yeshivot g. Ha'gomel Blessing h. Shabbat and festivals i. Passover j. Sefirat Ha'omer k. Rosh Hashanah l. Yom Kippur m. Purim n. Immersion in the mikvah o. Immersion of utensils p. Visiting the sick q. Circumcision r. Marriage s. Burial t. Mourning 5. Triage in treating coronavirus patients during severe shortage 32 a. Introduction b. Determining triage priority in various situations when there are insufficient resources I am greatly indebted to Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner for the English translation & to Dr. Lazar Friedman for his editorial work. 1 THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC RABBI PROF. AVRAHAM STEINBERG, MD c. Halakhic sources on determining lifesaving triage d. Halakhic guidelines on determining priority 6. Miscellaneous 40 7. Conclusion 41 1. Introduction In the modern era, the coronavirus1 pandemic2 has been the most shocking pandemic to the entire world, including experts and scientists, since the Spanish influenza pandemic 100 years ago.3 In recent decades many scientists have arrogantly claimed that in the modern and technologically advanced world there will be no more global pandemics of this sort.
    [Show full text]
  • TRANSGENDER JEWS and HALAKHAH1 Rabbi Leonard A
    TRANSGENDER JEWS AND HALAKHAH1 Rabbi Leonard A. Sharzer MD This teshuvah was adopted by the CJLS on June 7, 2017, by a vote of 11 in favor, 8 abstaining. Members voting in favor: Rabbis Aaron Alexander, Pamela Barmash, Elliot Dorff, Susan Grossman, Reuven Hammer, Jan Kaufman, Gail Labovitz, Amy Levin, Daniel Nevins, Avram Reisner, and Iscah Waldman. Members abstaining: Rabbis Noah Bickart, Baruch Frydman- Kohl, Joshua Heller, David Hoffman, Jeremy Kalmanofsky, Jonathan Lubliner, Micah Peltz, and Paul Plotkin. שאלות 1. What are the appropriate rituals for conversion to Judaism of transgender individuals? 2. What are the appropriate rituals for solemnizing a marriage in which one or both parties are transgender? 3. How is the marriage of a transgender person (which was entered into before transition) to be dissolved (after transition). 4. Are there any requirements for continuing a marriage entered into before transition after one of the partners transitions? 5. Are hormonal therapy and gender confirming surgery permissible for people with gender dysphoria? 6. Are trans men permitted to become pregnant? 7. How must healthcare professionals interact with transgender people? 8. Who should prepare the body of a transgender person for burial? 9. Are preoperative2 trans men obligated for tohorat ha-mishpahah? 10. Are preoperative trans women obligated for brit milah? 11. At what point in the process of transition is the person recognized as the new gender? 12. Is a ritual necessary to effect the transition of a trans person? The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly provides guidance in matters of halkhhah for the Conservative movement.
    [Show full text]
  • CONGREGATION BETH YESHURUN INVITATION to JUDAISM COURSE CURRICULUM – 5781 (2020 – 2021) (As of 08-17-20)
    CONGREGATION BETH YESHURUN INVITATION TO JUDAISM COURSE CURRICULUM – 5781 (2020 – 2021) (As of 08-17-20) # and Date TOPIC for 1st Hr. (9:00-10:00) [2nd Hr. (10:00-11:00) is Hebrew class] 1 Sept. 6 Conversion to Judaism - Overview [No Hebrew class] 2 Sept 13 High Holy Days and Sukkot [No Hebrew class] ⁂ Sept. 19-20 Rosh Hashanah begins Friday night Sept. 18 – Sunday night Sept. 20 ⁂ Sept. 28 Yom Kippur starts Sunday night Sept. 27 - Monday night Sept. 28 3 Sept. 29 Sukkot and the Jewish Calendar (Tuesday evening at 7:00) ⁂ Oct. 3 Sukkot begins Friday night Oct. 2 through Friday Oct. 9. Then Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah Friday night Oct. 9 – Sunday night Oct. 11 4 Oct. 18 Introduction to Prayers – Structure of Siddur, overview of services [Hebrew class starts this week at 10:00-11:00] 5 Oct. 25 Shabbat 6 Nov. 1 Overview of J. History, Classic J. Texts, J. Book List [visit ERJCC website] ⁂ Nov. 1 - Nov. 19 Virtual Book and Arts Festival at JCC 7 Nov. 8 Beliefs: God, Revelation, Torah, Mitzvot (cf Christianity) 8 Nov. 15 Beliefs: Life After Death/Messiah/Resurrection (cf Christianity) 9 Nov. 22 Beliefs: The Problem of Evil & Reward and Punishment (cf Christianty) 10 Dec. 6 Hanukkah (cf Christmas) ⁂ Dec. 10 - Dec. 18 Hanukkah (1st candle Dec. 10, 8th candle Dec. 17) 11 Dec. 13 Prayers: Shema & its Blessings (incl. Mezuzah/tzitzit/tefillin) 12 Dec. 20 Prayers – Amidah 13 Jan. 10 Kashrut 14 Jan. 17 Ethics – Tzedakah/Gemilut Hasadim 15 Jan. 24 Ethics – Honoring Parents/Aged, Bikur Holim 16 Jan.
    [Show full text]
  • Rosh Hashana 5780: There Must Have Been Tears Rabbanit Leah Sarna
    Rosh Hashana 5780: There Must Have Been Tears Rabbanit Leah Sarna When is the last time you cried? Think back to it. This is an easy exercise for me since I cry all the time-- but for you it might not be. Was it recently? Was it yesterday? Was it years ago? Were you watching a movie? Reading the news? Tears of joy? Tears of sorrow? Frustration? Tears of truth-telling? Tears of empathy? Think back to it. In Great Expectations, Charles Dickens puts into the words of Pip, the main character and narrator, one of my favorite quotes about tears, just as he leaves his sister’s house and his apprenticeship and goes off to London to become a gentleman: “Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.” Rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. Tears open our hearts. It’s not always that feelings give way to tears, says Dickens-- often it’s the other way around, tears alert us to feelings, soften us, make us more sorry, more gentle, more whatever it is that we were feeling before --but unable to access. (PART I.) In today’s Haftara we have the tears of Rachel, crying for her exiled children. In yesterday’s Torah and Haftara readings, we encountered a whole lot of tears: the tears of Hagar, the tears of Ishmael, and the tears of Hannah.
    [Show full text]
  • Vayeishev 5758 Volume V Number 12
    Balak 5781 Volume XXVIII Number 41 Toras Aish Thoughts From Across the Torah Spectrum and Midian, suffered a self-inflicted tragedy by allowing RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS Z"L themselves to be enticed by the women of the land. Covenant & Conversation God’s anger burns against them. Several chapters later Rabbi Sacks zt"l had prepared a full year of Covenant & (Num. 31:16) it emerges that it was Bilaam who Conversation for 5781, based on his book Lessons in devised this strategy: “They were the ones who Leadership. The Office of Rabbi Sacks will continue to followed Bilaam’s advice and were the means of turning distribute these weekly essays, so that people all around the the Israelites away from the Lord in what happened at world can keep on learning and finding inspiration in his Peor, so that a plague struck the Lord’s people”. Having Torah. failed to curse the Israelites, Bilaam eventually s leadership a set of skills, the ability to summon and succeeded in doing them great harm. command power? Or does it have an essentially I So the picture that emerges from the Jewish moral dimension also? Can a bad person be a good sources is of a man with great gifts, a genuine prophet, leader, or will their badness compromise their a man whom the Sages compared with Moses himself leadership? That is the question raised by the key – yet at the same time a figure of flawed character that figure in this week’s parsha, the pagan prophet Bilaam. eventually led to his downfall and to his reputation as First, by way of introduction, we have an evil-doer and one of those mentioned by the independent evidence that Bilaam actually existed.
    [Show full text]
  • In 1000 Words Shavuot
    Reform Judaism: In 1000 Words Shavuot Context Celebrating the giving of Torah to Moses at Mount Sinai may not sound like the most Reform friendly festival of the year, and across the Jewish community it has, as Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers writes below, been one of the most neglected festivals of the year. Yet it has seen a resurgence of observance in the last 10-20 years, with Tikkun Leyl Shavuot (all night learning events) gaining in popularity, and could just be the perfect chance for communities to explore the long tradition of diverse Torah interpretation that makes up the colourful weave of Jewish tradition through the centuries, and encourages us to add our voices too. Content Shavuot could be seen as the big loser in the Jewish calendar: It is not nearly as well-known as festivals like Chanukah (a relatively minor festival that isn’t even mentioned in Tanakh) despite being one of the most important festivals of the year. As one of the Biblically mandated Pilgrim festivals when all of Israel would flock to the Temple to offer their first fruits (bikkurim), Shavuot represents a major moment in the Jewish calendar, and is clearly tied into the agricultural cycles of the Land of Israel. Perhaps the problem began when the Temple was destroyed in 70CE, and people could no longer take their offerings to the Temple. There was a need to discover new meaning in the ancient festivals and customs which up until that point had been very much focussed on the produce of the land and the wheat harvest.
    [Show full text]
  • Association for Jewish Studies 43Rd Annual Conference December 18–20, 2011
    43 ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES JEWISH FOR ASSOCIATION New York, NY 10011-6301 NY York, New 16th Street 15 West History Jewish for c/o Center Studies Jewish for Association 43ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES DECEMBER 18–20, 2011 GRAND HYATT WASHINGTON WASHINGTON, DC 43 RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE RD ANNUAL DECEMBER 18–20, 2011 Association for Jewish Studies Association for Jewish Studies c/o Center for Jewish History 43rd Annual Conference 15 West 16th Street New York, NY 10011-6301 Program Book Contents Phone: (917) 606-8249 Fax: (917) 606-8222 E-mail: [email protected] Association for Jewish Studies Goals and Standards.................................................... 4 www.ajsnet.org Institutional Members.................................................................................................... 5 President AJS Staff Marsha Rozenblit, University of Maryland Rona Sheramy, Executive Director Message from the Conference Chair............................................................................. 6 Vice President/Membership Karen Terry, Program and Membership and Outreach Coordinator Conference Information................................................................................................ 8 Anita Norich, University of Michigan Natasha Perlis, Project Manager Vice President/Program Emma Barker, Conference and Program Program Committee and Division Coordinators........................................................... 9 Derek Penslar, University of Toronto Associate 2011 Award Recipients.................................................................................................
    [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]
  • “Food for Peace”: the Vegan Religion of the Hebrews of Jerusalem
    IDEA – Studia nad strukturą i rozwojem pojęć filozoficznych XXVI Białystok 2014 SHELLEY ELKAYAM (Getynga, Niemcy, Jerozolima, Izrael) “FOOD FOR PEACE”: THE VEGAN RELIGION OF THE HEBREWS OF JERUSALEM Food, eschatology and sacred chronology Abraham Elqayam, a great scholar of Jewish mysticism and Jewish Philos- ophy, presented food as key in designing sacred chronology 1 (2006:239). Ruth Tsoffar Mizrahi, who studies Israeli society and culture, argues that in Jewish culture ‘eating’ is ‘believing’ (2006:35), just as in American culture ‘seeing is be- lieving’. (Dundes 1977). Such usage of ‘eating’ as ‘believing’ appears commonly within today’s Hebrew slang. Eating has a religious context of accepting, such as in the Passover ceremony where ‘eating’ becomes ‘believing’ through the symbolic food set on Passover table – from haroset (a blend of fruits and nuts) to maror (bitter herbs) to matza (unleavened bread). These Hebrew words point to specific foods of Passover that serve as instrumental symbols in a ‘tactile’ conservation and in the memorizing of religious collective experience. In this paper I will elu- cidate three major messianic ‘tactile’ terms in the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem (AHIJ) religion: Food and Bio-Evolution. The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem (AHIJ) re-emerged during the civil rights movement, in a time when black pride was salient amongst political 1 Sacred chronology is the system of holidays and Shabbat. For example, for Sabbatians in Shabbat there are three meals: Friday evening, Saturday breakfast and Saturday lunch. See Elqayam’s discussion on the Freedom Redemption via food, where the redemption of the individual and the community go through eating the “sacred meat” (Elqayam 2006:243–248).
    [Show full text]
  • Why Was Maimonides Controversial?
    12 Nov 2014, 19 Cheshvan 5775 B”H Congregation Adat Reyim Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi Adult Education Why was Maimonides controversial? Introduction Always glad to talk about Maimonides: He was Sephardic (of Spanish origin), and so am I He lived and worked in Egypt, and that's where I was born and grew up His Hebrew name was Moshe (Moses), and so is mine He was a rationalist, and so am I He was a scientist of sorts, and so am I He had very strong opinions, and so do I And, oh yes: He was Jewish, and so am I. -Unfortunately, he probably wasn’t my ancestor. -Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, aka Maimonides, aka The Rambam: b. 1135 (Córdoba, Muslim Spain) – d. 1204 (Fostat, Egypt): Torah scholar, philosopher, physician: Maimonides was the most illustrious figure in Judaism in the post-talmudic era, and one of the greatest of all time… His influence on the future development of Judaism is incalculable. No spiritual leader of the Jewish people in the post- talmudic period has exercised such an influence both in his own and subsequent generations. [Encyclopedia Judaica] -Best-known for Mishneh Torah and Guide for the Perplexed: -Mishneh Torah (Sefer Yad ha-Chazaka) codifies Jewish law. Gathers all laws from Talmud and adds rulings of later Sages. Clear, concise, and logical. No personal opinions. -The Guide for the Perplexed (Dalalat al-Ha'erin; Moreh Nevukhim) is a non-legal philosophical work, for general public, that bridges Jewish and Greek thought. -Controversial in his lifetime and for many centuries afterwards. Controversies concerning Maimonides 1-No need to study Talmud -He appears to downplay study of Talmud.
    [Show full text]
  • Issue Number 579 20 Elul 5765 Shalosh Seudos Pirkei Avos (Perek Gimmel & Daled) 5:50 P.M
    Condolences The Kehilah extends its condolences to Glen Lepor and his family on the passing of Glen's father. Glen is sitting shiva in Los Angeles. HaMakom y'nachem eschem s"xc b'soch shaar avlei tzion v'Yerushalayim. Schedule of Services/Events THE B AIS Y ISROEL Page Numbers Shabbos Parshas Ki Savo Artscroll p. 1068, Hirsch p. 768 . Haftorah Artscroll p. HABBOS BSERVER 1201, Hirsch p. 917. Shabbos Parshas Ki Savo S O Shacharis 8:30 A.M. Issue Number 579 20 Elul 5765 Shalosh Seudos Pirkei Avos (Perek Gimmel & Daled) 5:50 P.M. Parshas Ki Savo September 23 & 24, 2005 Shalosh Seudas is sponsored by the Marcus Family in honor of Baruch Nissim Mincha 6:35 P.M. becoming a Bar Mitzvah. Shabbos Over 7:57 P.M. The Bais Yisroel Shabbos Observer is a weekly publication that brings you divrei Torah on the week's parsha from around the world and around the block as well as events going on in the Bais Yisroel Community. To submit a dvar Torah or item of interest to the community, please contact Hindy or Arnie Frishman at 952-927-5134 before Thursday of each week. Bnos for Sept 24th 2:30 to 3:30 P.M Sunday PK- Bas Sheva Heisler Selichos 12:50 & 6:00 A.M. K – Shira Hutman Mincha 2:45 & 6:40 P.M. 1 – Michalle Pitterman Second Maariv 10:00 P.M. 2 - Elisheva Miller 3- Atara Spar 4 &5 Hodaya Afenzer Monday - Thursday Selichos 6:05 & 6:35 A.M. The Well Mincha 2:45 & 6:40 P.M.
    [Show full text]
  • Not Being an Ingrate Is Not Quite the Same As Being a the Judaism Site
    Torah.org Not Being An Ingrate Is Not Quite The Same As Being A The Judaism Site https://torah.org/torah-portion/ravfrand-5774-kisavo/ NOT BEING AN INGRATE IS NOT QUITE THE SAME AS BEING A by Rabbi Yissocher Frand Parshas Ki Savo Not Being An Ingrate Is Not Quite The Same As Being A 'Makir Tov' These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Series on the weekly portion: CD #912, The Phony Tzedakah Collector. Good Shabbos! Parshas Ki Savo begins with the mitzvah of Hav'as Bikkurim [bringing the first fruits to the Bais HaMikdash] and Mikra Bikkurim [reciting the Biblical passage associated with that ritual]. The farmer brings his first fruits to the Bais HaMikdash in Jerusalem, hands them over to the Kohen, and then is recites a passage telling the story of all the kindnesses the Almighty has performed. He places this story of personal Divine Kindness within the historical context of the entire development of the Jewish nation. Under most circumstances, a person not only brings the Bikkurim, he also recites the associated passage. As we have said many times, this passage is the prototype of Hakaras haTov - verbal expression of gratitude and indebtedness. The Medrash states regarding the words "Bereishis Bara Elokim" [In the beginning G-d created...] that the world was created for the sake of 3 entities that were called "Reishis" [first]: Israel was called Reishis; Torah was called Reishis; and Bikkurim were called Reishis. The Alshich wonders at the inclusion of the mitzvah of the First Fruits in the list of the top 3 reasons the world was created.
    [Show full text]