[Aspaqlaria] Aspaqlaria
Aspaqlaria
micha at aishdas.org
Sat Oct 28 02:34:49 PDT 2006
Aspaqlaria
///////////////////////////////////////////
The Nature of Reality
Posted: 27 Oct 2006 10:55 AM CDT
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2006/10/the-nature-of-reality.shtml
Its interesting to note that in Jewish terminology, existence is phrased in terms of the thing-as-experienced, not the thing-in-itself, as it would be objectively known if it were possible. For example, the Rambam opens the Yad by telling you that there is a First Matzui, and He is mamtzi everthing that is nimtza. The word nimtza, which is used to mean existence, is from the root /m-tz-a/, to find. Experience.
When something is real enough to have impact, we say is has mamashus. Or we say that something is mamash exciting, where in English it would be really and literally exciting. The word itself, though, literally means tangibility.
Perhaps this is because halakhah exists to change the person following it. The person is made [nifal] according to his actions [peulaso], as the Chinukh often says. Thus, the reality that the halachacist must address isnt the objective abstract existence, rather, its the one experienced and shapes the person.
///////////////////////////////////////////
Shema Yisrael
Posted: 27 Oct 2006 09:16 AM CDT
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2006/10/shema-yisrael.shtml
In this weeks shiur we concluded Birkhas Ahavah and started Shema with the origin of Kel Melekh Neeman and some thoughts on its first sentence.
Some of the topics discussed:
Vehaeir eineinu beSorasekha Tiferes, fully integrating our Torah knowledge to shape our entire selves.
Vedabeiq libeinu vs Veyacheid levaveinu Two approaches to serving G-d (another reference to the Fork in the Hashkafic Road), two ways velo neivosh leolam vaed (not to be embarassed ever).
Vesolicheinu qomemiyus leartzeinu coming upright to our land. Redemption includes the opportunity to live peacefully and with self-respect.
The value of our being a lashon, a group of people united by the Hebrew language.
Birkhas Ahavas connection to Shema.
Should we say amein after our own birkhas ahavah? Kel Melekh Neeman as an amein.
Other explanations for saying Kel Melekh Neeman
The significance of saying Shema Yisrael, that the two words arent merely a preface.
The unity of Hashem and Elokeinu what each name connotes, and how do they really describe a Single Indivisible Deity
This posting includes a media file: http://www.aishdas.org/asp/audio/shemaYisrael.mp3
///////////////////////////////////////////
Urgency, Importance, and the Yeitzer
Posted: 23 Oct 2006 05:21 PM CDT
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2006/10/urgency-importance-and-yeitzer.shtml
Rabbi Ephraim Becker wrote in a reply to a comment on one of his posts:
The Yetzer hijacks our urgency (we get more excited about playing with the latest PDA than about getting up and putting on Tefillin) and leaves us struggling with trying to uphold rules that do not move us - only the guilt remains.
Two comments later he elaborates:
Simply put, the Yetzer operates with the ancient principle that nature abhors a vacuum. A person’s mind is going to be filled with something that excites him (be that a positive, productive endeavor or a negative self-destructive one) or, when there is fear of the ‘excitement’ (as when a person is afraid to confront him or herself) then there is numbness. The Yetzer is always alert for such emptyness and offers the person here-and-now excitement in an attempt to distract the person from here-and-now growth and closeness to HaShem. In that sense the Yetzer hijacks our urgency. That is one of the reasons that it is so important to visit and revisit our urgencies and why the masters of Mussar advocated avoiding unnecessary urgency or excitement. Urgency and excitement are precious commodities, to be used with caution and purpose.
Thinking about the yeitzer hara in terms of urgency
Time management experts point out our habit of confusing the urgent with the important. Picture being a salesman in a store, helping a customer. You get a call, and after quickly assessing the caller, you learn its a potential customer asking about a product. Who is the higher priority? It should be the person who is interested enough in buying that they came to your store. But since the phone call rings, and demands immediate attention (urgency), we very often fall into the trap of keeping the customer waiting for the call in a way that may well cost you the sale. As opposed to politely putting the caller on hold.
The yeitzer is out there seeking immediate gratification. Therefore is it surprising that it too creates that sense of urgency that we so often allow to override our real priorities?
///////////////////////////////////////////
Birkhas Ahavah
Posted: 20 Oct 2006 07:48 AM CDT
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2006/10/birkhas-ahavah_20.shtml
The Tefillah: Beyond the Words shiur resumed this week, picking up where we left off, with birkhas Ahavah.Some of the topics discussed:
Two dimensions for discussing a middah: Ahavah Rabba and Ahavas Olam
How those dimensions are reflected in the structure of the berakhah as a whole
What is love?
The avos: Three models for how to express love
The progression from ahavah (love) to chemlah (pity) to chein (unearned giving)
The Torah as chuqei chaim (the law for living)
What do we mean by qiyum hamitvah?
This posting includes a media file: http://www.aishdas.org/asp/audio/birkhasAhavah.mp3
///////////////////////////////////////////
Anu maamirekha veAtah maamireinu
Posted: 02 Oct 2006 11:58 PM CDT
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2006/10/anu-maamirekha-veatah-maamireinu.shtml
Anu maamirekha veAtah maamireinu. Artscroll renders this line from the machzor as referring to we as Hashems designated, and Him as our designator.I would like to suggest a different translation. The mishnah says that Hashem created the world with eser mamaros ten utterances. Maamar means utterances, and in particular, Chazal associate it with the ten statements through which Hashem created the world. Existence is words. The Baal Shem Tov stresses that the idea is speech, not writing. Texts are written, and then continue to exist afterward. Spoken words exist as long as they are being spoken. For light to exist now, it means that Hashem is still saying the words yehi or even today. The words themselves are the phenomenon we call light.
I therefore believe the relationship described is We are your statement, and You are the One Who speaks us.
///////////////////////////////////////////
Selach lanu, Mechal lanu, Kaper lanu
Posted: 02 Oct 2006 11:14 PM CDT
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2006/10/selach-lanu-mechal-lanu-kaper-lanu.shtml
Caveat: Most of these entries are extrapolations from something I learned. In this case, the entry is a chidush on top of an earlier chidush.In Mesilas Yesharim, the Ramchal describes the various types of yirah (awe / fear). (This is the topic of an earlier entry.) The first is (1) yiras haonesh, fear of punishment. This is in distinction to true yiras shamayim. Yiras Shamayim comes in two forms: (2) yiras hacheit, fear of the sin itself and its impact on our relationship with Hashem; and (3) yiras haromemus, awe of the magnitude of Hashem, compared with our limited selves.
In Vidui, we ask for three things: selichah, mechilah and kaparah. According to Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch these are in descending order selichah is full repair of the sin, whereas kaparah is the containment of its punishment. I would like to suggest an explanation of the terms consistent with the Avudrahams position that they are an ascending sequence.
According to his opinion, selichah is being pardoned from any due punishment.
Mechilah is forgiveness. There are no ill feelings remaining from the act.
Kaparah is from the same root as kapores, the cover of the Aron. Its the containment of the inclination that lead to the sin. This also explains the verse Ki bayom hazeh yechapeir aleichem litaher eschem mikol chatoseichim, lifnei Hashem tit-haru for on this day, it will provide kaparah for you to make you tahor, before Hashem you will become tahor links kapparah to taharah. Taharah, purity, is freedom from adulterations, negative habits inculcated into the soul. (See my earlier entry on the subject of taharah.) Kaparah, then is their containment. Beyond pardon from punishment and restoration of the relationship, but a healing of the very self.
These three stages parallel the three types of yirah described above. Selichah, pardon from punishment, is a resolution of the sinners yiras haonesh.
The one with yiras hacheit, someone who values His relationship with the Creator is concerned with the impact of his actions on that relationship. That concern is resolved through mechilah, a restoration of that relationship.
Kaparah is the containment of personal flaw. A step toward closing that gap between my finite self and the romemus, the greatness of the A-lmighty.
///////////////////////////////////////////
Thoughts for Aseres Yemei Teshuvah
Posted: 01 Oct 2006 01:14 AM CDT
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2006/09/thoughts-for-aseres-yemei-teshuvah.shtml
My PDF collection of thoughts on teshuvah, Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur from this blog and my other writings is now updated to include this years writings. Suitable for when your mind wanders on Rosh haShanah or Yom Kippur.
You can get it here.
///////////////////////////////////////////
A Fallen Soldiers Prayer for Peace
Posted: 30 Sep 2006 11:57 PM CDT
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2006/09/fallen-soldiers-prayer-for-peace.shtml
Modified: Transcription of text in Hebrew added. - 30-Sep-2006.(Hat tip to the One Family Fund. May they be put out of business soon!)
Benaya Rein Hyd fell toward the end of the war on Saturday night (yahrtzeit: 19 Av). He and four others were part of a unit that went in battle to rescue wounded soldiers and soldiers in distress. 24 hours a day, often without sleep or pause, he went into battles, braving heavy fire.
Sunday, the very day after he was killed, his sister went into labor and had a son. Shivah ended, the family went to the cemetery, and from there to the beris of the new grandson, a new Benaya. An emotional roller-coaster. Finally, it was time to go through Benayas belongings, and among the things he often took into war they found the following tefillah:
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ ה אֱ-לוֹקֵנוּ וְאֱ-לוֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ,
שֶׁתְּבָתֵּל מִלְחָמוֹת וּשְׁפִיכוּת דָמִים מִן הָעוֹלָם,
וְתַּמְשִׁיךְ שָׁלוֹם גָדוֹל וְנִפְלָא בָּעוֹלָם,
וְלֹֽא־יִשָּׂא גוֹי אֶל־גּוֹי חֶרֶב וְלֹֽא־יִלְמְדוּ עוֹד מִלְחָמָֽה,
רַק יַכִּירוּ וְיֵדְעוּ כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵּבֵל הָאֶמֶת לַאֲמִתּוֹ
אֲשֶׁר לֹא בָּאנוּ לְזֶה הָעוֹלָם
בִּשְׁבִיל רִיב וּמַחְלֹקֶת חַס ושָׁלוֹם,
וְלֹא בִּשְׁבִיל שִׂנְאָה וְקִנְאָה
וְקַטֵגוֹר וּשְׁפִיכוּת דָמִים חַס ושָׁלוֹם,
רַק בָּאנוּ לָעוֹלָם כְּדֵי לְהַכִּיר
וְלָדַעַת אוֹתְךָ יִתְבָּרַךְ
Translation:
May if be the Will before You, Hashem our G-d and the G-d of our fathers,
That You anull war and bloodshed from the world,
And spread out great and awe-inspiring peace in the world ,
And No longer will one nation life against another a sword, and they will not again learn war,
Just they will recognize and know, all who live on the earth the truth for truthfulness
That we didnt come to this world
for fighting and dispute chas veshalom,
and not for hatred and jealousy
and accusations and bloodshed chas veshalom,
we only came to this world in order to recognize
and know You, may You be blessed.
I put in quotes those phrases that I recognized were quotes. I also refrained from translating the idiom chas veshalom, as I can only think of the longer [may Hashem grant] pity and peace, which would distract from the flow of ideas more than an idiom does.
I would love to see shuls say this Yehi Ratzon this Yom Kippur, perhaps immediately after the Yizkor said for those who fell defending Israel or as victims of terror. Or to be included with your shuls prayers for the State of Israel and its soldiers, if they say any. Please send a copy to your rav with this suggestion.
///////////////////////////////////////////
Coronating G-d, part II - Pragmatics
Posted: 29 Sep 2006 02:48 AM CDT
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2006/09/coronating-g-d-part-ii-pragmatics.shtml
I was recently discussing the ideas in my essay Coronating G-d. In it I utilized the Vilna Gaons distinction between a melekh (king) and a mosheil. A melekh rules with the support of his people, a mosheil rules by strength. I suggested that the reason why accepting Hashem as Melekh is such a central part of Rosh haShanah is that a Melekh has more room for mercy. By accepting Him as king ourselves, we enter the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah without the need for Hashem to impose His Will despite us.The person I was talking to asked what should have been an obvious question. Okay, so how do we go about doing that? And I surprised myself by realizing I didnt know. How can I have ever said Shema, a tefillah described as qabbalas ol malkhus Shamayim (accepting the yoke of [the One in] heaven), and not know what it is Im supposed to be doing?
So, I put some thought to the subject.
Looking at Shema, we start by joining the community of Jewish (Shema Yisrael), and then proclaiming that despite our disparate perceptions of Him, Hashem is one and unique. This is an awareness of G-ds uniqueness and power. True of a melekh or a mosheil, although here were actively acknowledging it. We accept the fact of Hashems rule.
And then, before the list of pragmatic mitzvos for keeping this message an active part of our day, we are told to Love Hashem with all your heart (kol levavekha), all your soul, and all your resources. Willingly bowing to that rule. This is the step of which were speaking, the shift from realizing Hashem is Mosheil to accepting Him as our Melekh.
Chazal comment (and quoted by Rashi) perhaps on the word kol, perhaps on the use of the two-veis word for heart levavekha rather than libekha, that this is with both of our inclinations our good inclination and our evil one.
veyishtachavu lefanekha kol haberuim,
veyeiasu kulam agudah achas laasos Retzonekh beleivav shaleim,
kemo sheyadanu, H E-lokeinu, shehashalton/shehashilton lefanekha
and all those who were created will bow before you, and they will all be made into a single union to do Your Will with a whole heart. For as we know, Hashem our G-d, that the rule/scepter is before You
- Amidah for Yamim Noraim
Bowing before Hashem because we acknowledge His rule is obvious. However, note again that this global union of worship is with the whole heart, a two-veis heart. Both inclinations. This to is because we know that He rules. But how does that cause us to engage our baser inclinations?
On Shabbos we say, Yismekhu beMalkhusekha shomerei Shabbos veqorei oneg They shall rejoice in Your Kingship, those who keep Shabbos and call it pleasure.. Its not enough to keep Shabbos. To be happily a subject of Hashem as King, we must find it an oneg, a pleasure.
It would seem that qabbalas ol malkhus Shamayim involves accepting the idea that following His plan is what is best for you life. Not just fulfilling the mitzvos, but seeking to do so beleivav shaleim and with qerias oneg.
How does one do it? I must start with the first mitzvah that I dont do and think I can. And with the first mitzvah I do begrudgingly and search the sources and the experiences it brings me to find its beauty. Then the second
That is working toward the day when our teshuvah is rewarded, and vehayah Hashem leMelekh al kol haaretz Hashem will be Melekh over the whole world. Bimheirah beyameinu, amein!
///////////////////////////////////////////
Tireh beTov
Posted: 22 Sep 2006 11:34 AM CDT
http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2006/09/tireh-betov.shtml
The Bostoner Rebbe (of Boston) commented once on the expression Shanah tovah umsuqah - a good and sweet new year, which is related to the famous custom of having apple and honey on Rosh haShanah.What does umsukah and sweet add, beyond the notion of tovah good?As Rabbi Aqiva often said, All that the All Merciful does, He does for the good. An echo of the words of one of his rabbeim, Nachum ish Gamzu, who would greet events that would disappoint or depress most of us with Gam zu letovah this too is for the best.
So actually, wishing one another a good year could be thought of as being redundant. Everything is good, how could this year be any different? However, not everything I was told was for my own good was particularly pleasant.
Therefore, the rebbe teaches, we wish that the year not only be tovah, good, but also be mesuqah, sweet to our perception as well.
Along the same lines, I had a thought about a phrase in Shabbos and Yom Tov davening:
Our L-rd, and the L-rd of our fathers, sanctify us bemitzvosekha (through Your mitzvos), and put our portion beSorasekha (in Your Torah), satisfy us mituvekha (from Your Goodness), and make us (or: our souls qua living force) biyshuasekha (in Your salvation)
The predicate prefix has an oddity: it says bemitzvosekha, beSorasekha, and later, beyshuasekha. But by goodness, the prefix is mituvekha from, not be- (in or through) like by the others.
The reason, I believe, is because we are asking for something inherently different. We can ask G-d to make us more holy by allowing us to do more mitzvos, or give us the opportunity to learn more Torah, or make us happier by saving us more often. This is be-, we are asking for more of a gift by asking for more of the vehicle He uses to give it to us.
Since everything G-d does is good, we cant be asking for G-d to give us more good, and thereby make us more satisfied. There is no more good for us to get. Rather, we are asking for more satisfaction with the goodness He already provides. This is why the mi- prefix is used.
This is also in contrast to Rebbes words (Berakhos 50a) about benching, that a wise person says uvtuvo chayinu and through His good we live, and a boor, umituvo chayinu and from His good, we live. Rebbe says that umituvo is incorrect because it says that we live through some of His Good, implying that Hashem gives meagerly. Perhaps its different here, when we ask for happiness, because the truth is that if we had a full realization of even a small part of His Good would be enough to satisfy. Like the piyut we sing at the seider. We list fifteen things Hashem did for us when taking us out of Egypt. But had He done any one of those 15 alone, Dayeinu!
R Shelomo Wolbe ztl would part someones company wishing him tireh betov may you see the good! This is both a berakhah and a mussar shmuess. A blessing that Hashem allow him to see all thats good in his life, and advice to the person to take the initiative and look for it. To aspire to the middah of Nachum ish Gamzu and Rabbi Aqiva of realizing the Hand of G-d in everything, and looking to see how even the tragedies in our lives are necessary steps to something bigger which He has in store for us. Its a beautiful greeting, one worth adopting. Wishing others could taste the sweetness.
And with that, may we all have a Shanah tovah umsuqah!
(With thanks to RYGB for helping me find the gemara.)
--
You are subscribed to email updates from "Aspaqlaria."
To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubcribe now http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailunsub?id=317024&key=izo%2Byu3%2FM71F48ktt9O6JA%3D%3D
If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: Aspaqlaria, c/o FeedBurner, 549 W Randolph, Chicago IL USA 60661
This Email Delivery powered by FeedBurner.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/private.cgi/aspaqlaria-aishdas.org/attachments/20061028/abac7577/attachment.htm>
More information about the Aspaqlaria
mailing list