[Avodah] modim

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Wed, May 25, 2016 at 03:48:27AM +0000, Joshua Waxman via Avodah wrote:
: That is, given that techiyat hameitim is from the luz bone, which is
: located atthe end of the spinal column, could the gemara be taken,
: allegorically, to mean that those people won't be resurrected?

Teaser for my post
<http://www.aishdas.org/asp/but-name-of-city-was-luz-originally>

    But the name of the city was "Luz" originally
    by micha · [15 Kislev '765] - Fri, Dec 16, 2005

     And he [Ya'aqov] called the name of that place Beis-el, but the name
     of the city was Luz originally.
		       - Bereishis 28:19

   Luz, the original name for Beis-el, is apparently the name of a kind of
   tree, usually translated "chestnut". It's one of the kinds of wood from
   which Ya'aqov avinu made sticks for the sheep and goats to look at...

   Bereishis Rabba (69:8) discusses the amazing properties of living in
   the city of Luz:
     * They always told the truth.
     * No one in the city died. When people got old and tired, they needed
       to move out for nature to take its course.
     * The city was never conquered by Sancheirev, and wasn't destroyed by
       Nevuchadnetzar at the end of the first commonwealth...

    Luz is also the name of a special bone in the body, where the skull and
    spine meet. Two medrashim associate the luz bone with Hadrian y"sh....

    Luz seems particularly connected with Yaiaqov, the one who renames it.
    First, his service of G-d centers around emes, truth, the middah
    exemplified by the citizens of Luz. He uses the luz sticks...
    ...
    The mishnah says "derekh eretz qodmah laTorah -- proper behavior in
    society is a prerequisite to Torah." Our aggaditos and midrashim seem
    to converge on underscoring that point. Luz is the city of truth, it
    has the permanence of truth both territorially and in the lifespans of
    its inhabitants. And it's truth, the personality trait about which
    Yaiaqov centers his service of Hashem, which determines techiyas
    hameisim. All of these medrashim refer to Luz, to the trait. When
    referring to applying the pursuit of truth to Torah study or
    worshipping Hashem, then we progress from Luz to Beis-el.

    The stick shows the influence of environment...

    The bone luz is situated just where the mind connects to the body. It
    is therefore, in a very real sense, "beis keil", G-d's "home" in this
    world. Ya'aqov builds a circle of stones in which to sleep at this
    spot, which -- as R' Hirsch notes ad loc -- is the first home of
    Israel. He gets a vision of a ladder between heaven and earth, an
    externalized luz bone between mind and body.

    Once one has the foundation of "Luz", one has the proper personality
    and attitude to provide some solidity in time and in social context.
    Then one is capable of building that derekh eretz into Torah, making
    their soul a house of G-d.

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 34th day, which is
micha at aishdas.org        4 weeks and 6 days in/toward the omer.
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