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Synagogues
are the central institution that has held our people together regardless of
where we have lived for the past two thousand years. Even during times of
persecution when their very lives were threatened, our ancestors organized
small yet powerful places where they could congregate for prayer and
companionship. These synagogues gave them a sense of hope and community that
helped us overcome what ever trials or tribulations faced us. In other places,
during happier times, our synagogues were bolder, fancier places. They were the
pride of their community, serving as a source of strength to all who entered.
During
the times when the Jewish people lived in the
In
each community, the synagogue was known by different terms. Most synagogues are
referred to by three different names; (1) Bet Hakeneset,
The House of Congregation or Assembly, (2) Bet Hatefilah,
The House of Prayer, or (3) Bet Midrash, The House of
Study. Each of these names alludes to the functions of the synagogue. For some
the synagogue is a place to meet others and get together as Jews. Some don’t
come to pray. They come to see their friends and to spend time in a safe place
being Jewish together. Others come to pray. They come to seek out the presence
of God and to feel the warmth and familiarity of Jewish davening
or tefilah. Others go to the synagogue to study,
learning more about their heritage, and deepening their understanding of our
Torah. They come to drink from the deepest wells of knowledge, knowing that
Torah study enriches the meaning of life giving it direction and purpose like
nothing other.
Each
of the names of the synagogues was often preceded by the letters kuf, kuf (KK). This was an abbreviation
for Kehila Kedosha or Holy
Congregation. Because no matter what the intent of those who entered, that
building, whether it was for camaraderie, prayer or study, it was deeply rooted
in holiness and Jewish spirituality.
Our
synagogue seeks to continue in these fine traditions. We seek to serve as a
place of prayer, assembly or congregation and as a place of study and
contemplation. We pray that all of those who enter our synagogue feel these
connections that they came for and that they leave a little bit differently
than when they entered. That when they leave our congregation that they feel
strengthened and blessed by our friendship, by their connections to God and by
their Torah study. AMEN.
Divrei Emmanuel ktubng hrcs
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Shabbat
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Shabbat Bereshit 5767
“Tohu Vavohu"
At the beginning of the Torah – the story of the creation of the world is told:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was unformed and void (Tohu vavohu), and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2)
Rashi comments that the words Tohu vavohu mean “Bewilderment and void – the word ‘tohu’ means ‘teimah’ astonishment and ‘shimamon’ bafflement that a person is astonished and baffled over the void within it. Bewilderment he explains in the old French as estordison. Vohu – (he explains as) emptiness and desolation.”
*This translation of the Rashi follows the understanding of the Gur Aryeh but Mizrahi explains “tohu Vavohu” according to Rashi as “astonishingly empty.”
Either way the words tohu vavohu appear here to be used to describe the state of the world prior to the creation. It was chaos. There was no order. It was empty and meaningless. This is of course until God put order to it. “Putting order to it” suggests that the raw material was already there and God organized it but this is not the case. There was absolute nothingness. Complete emptiness. God created the world “ex-nihilo” from nothing. The concept of absolute nothing is beyond human comprehension. It is only understandable to the Infinite One. Here the Torah is haring with us some of the secrets of the universe. The process of creation itself. It is seeking humans to engage in a dialogue that we may not be able to fully comprehend but it is inviting us to do so anyways.
Rashi attempts to understand this by asking the question at the beginning of his commentary on the Torah – of why share this story of creation rather than simply listing the commandments since the Torah is after all a book of laws. His conclusion and the conclusion of our Rabbis is that the Torah is much more than that – that it is the process of drawing humans into contact with the divine. Here is an excellent example of how the Torah does so. By asking us to engage in the conversation that only an infinite being can engage in it seeks to draw us out of our present limited existence to a time and a concept beyond our present intellectual capacity. Why because God who created us knows we have the ability to do so because our souls which are not part of the physical creation but are part of the essence of God are part of the infinity of the universe.
But perhaps the words “tohu vavohu” are placed in the Torah to be used as a description of the basic building blocks of creation to share with us another secret of creation and the purpose of the Torah.
If the world was created out of astonishment, bewilderment, senselessness, the void or emptiness or desolation, perhaps the Torah is sharing with us that life’s basic physical structure comes from all of this. Perhaps the human experience as expressed by King Solomon in Koheleth (Ecclesiastes) that life if futile and empty and vain is correct after all.
Through the words “Tohu Vavohu” the Torah is identifying its mission – to make sense of all of the emptiness of life. Through the presence of God hovering over our lives we organize this life and give it purpose and deep meaning. We take the emptiness out of it -the nothingness- and make it have deep meaning. This is the purpose of the Torah to take the raw material of life and transform it into a work of art.
Shabbat Shalom – from Rabbi Manny Viñas and family
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Shabbat Parashat Noach 5767
“Make for yourself an ark of gofer wood, with rooms; you shall make the ark. And you shall pitch it within and without…. A light/window you shall make for the ark.” (Genesis 6:14, 16)
This description of the ark is actually a prototype description of the Jewish home.
Our Rabbis (chazal) explain that gopher wood is actually cedar wood. Just like cedar trees stand tall, towering above the other trees, so to should a Jewish home stand tall serving as an example to other homes of uprightness and lofty goals. The roots of the cedar tree run deep in to the earth. Because of this, the tree will not yield to even the strongest of winds. This signifies the deep rooted philosophy of the Jewish home. As long as the home is firmly set by the roots of Torah, Hashkafa (philosophy) it is immune to the heretical philosophies that change with each generation. It remains straight – unbending to the winds of change, stately in its character and reliable in its steadfastness.
The ark was lined with pitch on the inside and the outside to protect it from the elements that would destroy it. This is symbolically telling us the secret to Jewish imperviousness to negative elements. The Jewish home must be the same on the inside as it is on the outside. We must conduct ourselves as Jews both at home (on the inside) and also on the outside (in the world). The ark also had a window. This tells us that the Jewish home – even though it is (protected by the pitch) from the outside world must never completely shut itself off from the outside world. We must involve ourselves with the community seeking to help and influence it in the direction of God’s loving kindness.
The door on the ark symbolizes our ability to have an open door policy for those in need – standing ready to serve those in need. But of course the door would not remain open all of the time. We must also be ready to use discernment and close the door to protect our homes if necessary.
The three floors on the ark are symbolic of the three pillars that the world is dependant on; Torah study, Avodah (serving Hashem), and Gemilut Hasadim (acts of kindness). Furthermore, the Torah demands that Noach build separate rooms in the ark. The Midrashic material that describes the ark in detail explains that each species had its own room in the ark. This is to tell us that one of the foundations of the Jewish home is respect for privacy and the preservation of modesty – tzniut. Our homes need to be structured to create unity but also permit individuality.
If we construct our homes using the model of the ark – Jewish homes will ones that raise families to be successful at navigating the sea of change, floating above the storm waters of moral and spiritual destruction.
Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Manny Viñas and family
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Parshat Lech Lecha 5767
“Should I stay or should I go?”
“There was a famine in the land, and Abram descended to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.” ( 12:10 )
Ramban (Nachmanides) explains that it was wrong of Abraham to go down to Egypt , “You should know that our Father Abraham sinned by leaving the land to which God had directed him because of famine. He should have trusted that God would save him from death due to famine. It was because of this that his descendants were sentenced to exile in Egypt .”
One of the great Mussar Authorities, Rav Chasman author of the Ohr Yahel explains that the reason this occurred was because Abraham’s personal judgment was affected negatively due to his personal financial interests. He made the wrong spiritual decision due to his concern for his financial comfort.
Rav Chasman further explains that this is one of the ways that the Torah teaches us a bout our own human weaknesses and failings.
Abraham our Father had already undergone numerous trials. He was a man of great faith. He had followed the command of God into the land of Canaan . He had previously suffered great humiliations and trials while in the land of his father but his faith in God never wavered.
Here when confronted by the famine having recently arrived in the Promised Land – he packed up and left for Egypt . He put himself and his wife at risk! The Ramban relies on the principle of “maaseh avot siman libanim” what happened to our ancestors is a sign for later generations – to explain that this action of Abraham was what actually caused our exile (and slavery) to Egypt .
Rav Chasman takes it one step further. He explains that the failings of our ancestors are placed in the Torah to teach us a lesson about our own development.
If Abraham who was a tzaddik could have a failure in judgment due to his financial considerations isn’t it all the more likely that we who have not achieved his level of spiritual union with God can also fail due to this influence?
He explains that we must guard ourselves. We must learn to safeguard ourselves and we must learn about our own weaknesses from the weaknesses of our righteous ancestors. This is one of the ways that the Torah intended to develop us into optimal human beings.
Parents and role models serve as examples to us all of us providing the correct path to take in life. We must be open to receive their teaching and guidance but we must also be open enough to reject their mistakes and to learn from them as well. One of the most powerful gifts that the Torah has given mankind which is uniquely Jewish is that our leaders throughout our history have been confronted by their failings. On some occasions they were able to overcome them and on some they weren’t. Our Torah lists these for us so that we can grow from them. We have never “whitewashed” the sins of our leaders and we should not begin doing so now. Our leaders were always human. In fact perhaps the Torah is teaching us that successful leadership involves making human mistakes and that the test of true leadership is whether the leader is willing to admit his mistake and correct it as best as possible.
Think of the difference between President Bill Clinton when confronted about his affair with Monica Lewinsky and King David when confronted by the Prophet Nathan. King David became greater yet because he was able to admit his failings and repent before the entire nation. That’s why “David Melech Yisrael chai vekayam” David our King is alive and well. He continues to inspire us to renew ourselves admit our failings and do our utmost to correct them.
Shabbat Shalom – from Rabbi Manny Viñas and Family
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Shabbat Parshat Vayeira 5767
“Being in the mix ”
Perhaps there are fifty righteous men in the midst of the city?” (Genesis 18:24)
In this week’s parsha God reveals his plan of destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to Abraham our patriarch. As soon as He does so Abraham begins a bargaining and negotiation strategy with God to attempt to save the city and all of its inhabitants. He argues that perhaps there are righteous people there whose merit could save the city and the lives of their neighbors. He begins by asking if there were fifty righteous men and then challenging God not to destroy on that behalf but he is forced to concede down until – alas there were not even ten men to be found that could influence the city towards salvation.
Many of our Rabbis point out that it is here that the concept of the Minyan is formed. Since Abraham suggested that perhaps the minimum amount of righteous people that could influence the city was 10 - that is the source of our Minyan of 10. Our Rabbis explain that 10 righteous men represent the large society as a whole rather than simply a grouping of individuals coming together to pray near each other. The grouping of ten constitutes a microcosm of a righteous society they change from individuals to representatives of their community. It is for this reason that they can include the communal prayers of the Tzibor such as the repetition of the Amidah which is said for the community as a whole.
In this pasuk the emphasis is on the word “betoch” “in midst” of the community. Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch explains that this is a key word in understanding Abraham’s argument of defense.
It would not be enough if the righteous men had maintained an address in Sodom or Gomorra they needed to actually live in the midst of the community. The righteous man who would live in that community but would maintain a separate identity and not interact with the members of the community did not qualify as a potential source of salvation for the city because he would never be able to influence it. Rather, a truly righteous person must include himself in the affairs of the community and work for its progress.
He is constantly involved in the affairs of the city and must constantly be teaching, admonishing and be active in relationships with others. He must never give up hope and he must be constantly renewing himself on behalf of the community.
If any of these types of people had been found in the community Sodom would have been spared but alas, this was not the case. Even Lot the nephew of Abraham lived a secluded life and he had not sought to influence the community for the good opting instead to do mitzvoth in secret, such as when he welcomed guests and tried to cover this up from his fellow citizens.
Shabbat Shalom – from Rabbi Manny Viñas and Family
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Parashat Chayeh Sarah 5767
“The Eulogy”
And Abraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her. (23:2)
The events in this verse appear to be out of sequence. Usually when a person loses a loved one they begin to cry and then later they may eulogize them. In fact the Talmud Bavli in Moed Katan 27b says that “three days are for crying and seven for eulogies,” thereby acknowledging the natural order of things. First bewailing, then eulogizing is the expected order why would the Torah reverse this in this case?
The purpose of a eulogy is to arouse the mourners to shed tears over the departed one. By eulogizing the person memories are aroused that cause the listeners to realize the enormity of the loss of this person and they are therefore moved to tears by the loss of this significant person. The tears allow the loved ones to release the feelings that could remain trapped within causing emotional damage at a later date. For this reason Judaism encourages tears and emotional release. In fact unfortunately all too often it is men in this culture that hold in their tears and because of this the natural process of healing is delayed.
Usually if a person were to hear of the loss of a great tzaddik or tzadeket it would bring them to tears right away. No one would have to explain to them the loss. Everyone with a spiritual awareness would recognize this as a loss for themselves and would cry.
In this case however Abraham was surrounded by the Hittites. This people was not impressed by spiritual greatness. It was financial greatness that impressed them. The loss of Sarah was not recognized by them as an occasion for crying. They were in such spiritual decline that they did not realize that this was a loss for them. For this reason Abraham had to eulogize her first, so that they would realize and cry for their loss.
The Talmud Bavli in Sotah 13b relates a discussion among the sages regarding Moses’ burial and the eulogy given by Hashem himself at that point. Of course we know that God buried Moses with no human involvement whatsoever but what was being discussed here was what exactly God had said as a eulogy for Moses. According to Rav Nachman, Hashem said (Deut. 34:5) “And there died Moses, the servant of Hashem.” Samalion (another sage) said the eulogy was “and there died Moses the great scholar of Israel . Rav Nachman felt that simply informing of the death of Moses was enough to rouse people to tears but Samalion still insisted that it his eulogy included a brief description of the loss to Israel.
This touches on yet another important aspect of the purpose of a eulogy. Aside from helping to release the emotions of the affected by causing them to cry, we also seek to cause them to emulate the good traits of the deceased. This is one of the reasons why an important aspect of the Jewish Eulogy tradition includes an invitation by the officiant to those gathered that they incorporate the good traits of the deceased into their own lives. At each funeral we are faced with the opportunity to rededicate ourselves with more meaning to the task of exalted spiritual living.
Perhaps this was why Abraham made sure to eulogize Sarah at the time of her death to the Hittites. Sarah was a woman who had spent her entire life in reaching out to others to help them become more spiritual and connected to the One God of Heaven and Earth. At her death her work of education and outreach could not be stopped even for one moment. Abaraham did all he could to keep her work alive even at her death by helping the Hittites incorporate her teachings into their own lives.
Perhaps this is why the parsha telling of her death is called Chayeh Sarah the life of Sarah. What an honorable life if one can die with the same values that he or she lived with all their lives. No regrets rather a loved one who continues the legacy. All these generations later we maintain her legacy and give her life to this day.
Shabbat Shalom – from Rabbi Manny Viñas and family
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Shabbat Parashat Toldot 5767
“The birthright”
And Jacob cooked pottage; and Esau came from the field, and he was famished. 30. And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I beg you, with that same red pottage; for I am famished; therefore was his name called Edom . 31. And Jacob said; sell me this day your birthright. 32. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point of death; and of what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33. And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he swore to him; and he sold his birthright to Jacob. 34. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink and rose up, and went his way; thus Esau despised his birthright.
At first glance this section of the parasha does not make Yaakov look very good at all. His brother Eisav had just returned from hunting in the fields, he was hungry and Yaakov had just finished cooking a pot of lentils. He asked him for some but Yaakov takes the opportunity to sell it to him rather than giving it to him. He trades the lentil pottage for his birthright.
But on a second look we notice other statements that clue us into a deeper level of this transaction.
Firstly, let us examine what exactly was the “birthright.” Our Sages of blessed memory tell us that before the Sin of the Golden Calf incident, the Priestly office was structured according to the usual Middle Eastern arrangement. The first born would normally have served as the Priest for the family. This in fact was the reason that the first born of Egypt were killed during the last plague – so that the Egyptians would see that their religion was false and ours was true. The first born were considered sacred to God and to the gods. Later at the incident of the golden calf since the entire nation except the Levites participated – Hashem creates the priesthood through Aharon and the Levitical role through Moses. He splits the tribe in two dedicating both sides towards the role that was originally intended for the first born son of each family. The birthright of the first born was therefore really a spiritual title that carried with it responsibilities and a deepened role in relationship with God.
Knowing this we can now understand Eisav’s response as callous towards spirituality. His response is what profit will the birthright be to me anyways? This response demonstrates that Eisav was concerned only with benefits to him. He was selfish and motivated only by material pleasures. The expanded spiritual relationship with the birthright was of no interest to him. His statement that he was going to die anyways reveals that his concern was with the momentary physical urges not with a spiritually heightened awareness.
Understanding this interaction between Eisav and Yaakov can give us clues to our own relationship with spirituality.
Sometimes Jews reject the spiritual path of the Torah for more tangible earthly pleasures. Our hunger for the moment of pleasure overpowers our awareness of our spiritual mission.
One of the messages inherent in this story is an assurance that our choice of the spiritual path of the birthright will also reward us with the pleasures of this world as well as the next. When Yaakov was blessed before his brother Eisav – the blessing was not only spiritual but also material. The blessing of the Torah’s life is that it provides the pleasures of this world and deepens them to include the next world as well. Jews who choose the path of the Torah lack nothing. Rather, the physical things that we would have enjoyed anyways become more enjoyable through our heightened spiritual awareness of our birthright.
We Jews are a “mamlechet Cohanim” a nation of priests. We must renew ourselves and decide to take the path of Yaakov rather than the path of Eisav. And we will be rewarded with the “dew of heaven and the fat places of the earth – and plenty of corn and wine…”.
Shabbat Shalom – from Rabbi Manny Viñas and family
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Shabbat Parashat Vayetse 5767
“God is truly in this place and I didn’t realize!”
“And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and garment to put on. So that I come back to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God; And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth to you.”
Genesis 28:20-22
A question was raised first by our sages of blessed memory and then later by Dr. Harold Keltz during our weekly Parashat Hashavuah class on Tuesday nights at 8:15 pm. How could Jacob create a promise like this with God? Doesn’t this appear as a “bargaining with God” strategy? What does he mean by using the words “if and then?” Does he mean that he will only believe in God if all turns out well for him? This doesn’t appear to be the position of a man of true faith - does it?
My first answer to this question was based upon a dvar Torah that I heard from Rabbi Meir Kahana of blessed memory regarding this very same pasuk. He explained that the fate of the reputation of God as presented in the Torah is deeply tied to the fate of the Jewish people. If we the Jews are downtrodden and accept our fate as such – the God of Israel’s reputation is held in less esteem. This he explained is a Hillul Hashem an embarrasment to God’s Great and Holy Name. When the Jewish people prosper the opposite happens – God’s Name (think reputation) is exalted in the eyes of all of mankind. With this statement Jacob is stating the obvious. His success will directly impact upon the mission of exalting God’s image in this world. All Jews must be aware of this. If we accept defeat at the hands of our enemies – our God is shamed if we vanquish our enemies as Israel has done in its wars – the God of Israel is exalted throughout the world.
But there are many other lessons that can be gleaned from this pasuk. The Talmud learns from here that a promise of Tzedaka may be tied to a prayer. This is not seen as a threat to God but a form of prayer where the desire of the heart is tied together with a positive action that will come as a result of the completion of this prayer. Tzedaka and prayer are deeply tied together and Jacob was using this principle to promise his success not only for himself but that much of it would be used for the divine purpose.
Nachmanides (Ramban) offers a different explanation. He divides each verse and explains it in detail:
? “If God will be with me”… He says means to help me serve Him.
? “And He guard me on this route in which I am going” …. Means, He guards me from transgressing the prohibitions of the Torah.
? “And he will give me bread to eat,” means He will help me study Torah which is described as bread (spiritual sustenance).
? “And garments to wear..” this refers to mitzvoth which are described as garments for the soul.
? “And if I return in peace to my father’s house…” this refers to utilizing non-holy objects for the sake of heaven, causing the sparks of holiness within them to “return” to their source.
? “Then God will be my God” then I will reap personal, spiritual gain, because the soul which descended into my body will enjoy an ascent having completed its mission successfully.
? “And this stone, which I have placed as a monument will be a house for God” but more importantly, the physical world itself (“this stone”) will become a home for God below (a house of God) through my service.
The Ramban explains that Jacob was delineating a very deep Jewish understanding of the mission of every human being and especially every Jew. This is the source of safety & joy that we seek:
We must seek to become servants of God. For this reason we invite him to travel with us in our lives. We ask for his help in keeping us on the right path knowing that temptations to lose ourselves encircle us and that we are only human – we can not do it alone. We seek Torah study to guide us and strengthen us just as physical sustenance would do as well. We seek to do mitzvoth and the mitzvoth that we do define us just as our clothing would. In fact our Rabbis explain that in heaven the clothing of the soul are its spiritual accomplishments its mitzvoth. We seek to up lift through the mitzvoth everything that is physical and use it for a spiritual purpose. That’s the significance of all mitzvoth. For example keeping kosher uplifts the act of eating from a physical act to a meta-physical act. Doing this will be a gain for us since our soul will complete its mission here on earth to transform every thing it touches into a spiritual treasure. Hidden within all things is a spark of the divine, a piece of God, by using it for a spiritual task the Jew reveals the inherent nature of the object and returns it to Godliness. This is what he meant by returning to his father’s house. We are expected to reveal the inherent spirituality of all things. “God was in this place and (at first glance) I didn’t know it” but now I have revealed it to myself and others. And the final result of all of this is the transformation of the world from a place of spiritual barrenness (the stone) to a house of God that has great meaning.
Jacob was not bargaining with God – he was restating his mission. He was about to begin a journey into the unknown. He was afraid at first of what might come in the future. Then he realized – I need not be afraid God is with me in all places! All humans are on a journey towards our future. We do not know what it brings us but we ought not to be afraid because God is with us. We must rededicate ourselves continually to the service of God and the accomplishment of the divine mission that our souls were sent here for. If so we will travel through the journey of life filled with blessing and joy.
Shabbat Shalom – from Rabbi Manny Viñas and family
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Shabbat Parashat Vayishlach 5767
“The Pure house of God”
“And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-El, and live there; and make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.
Then Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean , and change your garments; And let us arise, and go up to Beth-El; and I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave to Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. And they journeyed; and the terror of God was upon the cities that were around them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan , that is, Beth-El, he and all the people who were with him. And he built there an altar, and called the place El-Beth-El; because there God appeared to him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
At this point in the parsha God instructs Jacob ( Israel ) to return to the site where he had encountered the ladder of angels prior to his flight from the land of Israel . It was there that he had seen the angels and had received the promise from God that he would be safe in all of his travels and that the land of Israel would belong to his descendants. At that point Jacob had promised to dedicate a temple to God and he called the place ‘Beit El’ the House of God. Now he was reminded of his promise by God. But before he could begin to build an altar for Hashem, he had to purge his entire household of the idols that they had acquired as spoils of war when they attacked Shechem.
Our sages of blessed memory (Chazal) explain that this is prophetic symbolism marking the periods of time when Jews would abandon Judaism and then finally return to the worship of God. A similar situation occurred when Jezebel and Achav ruled the land as despots and promoted idolatrous worship rather than the worship of the God of Israel. And then later the Jews finally did teshuva and returned to God under the leadership of Hezekiah who rededicated the temple to the service of the One God of Israel.
The Chassidic Rebbe of Radomsk Poland , Rabbi Shlomo Hacohen (1803-1866) in his book Tiferet Shlomo, explained that this verse in today’s parsha points to a lesson that not only applies to that moment in time but also to today. He explained that every Jew has within us a little bit of idol worship. That idol worship is actually self worship. We idolize our own thoughts perceptions and desires as if they were the correct path rather than yielding to the path and will of God. In order to accomplish honest dedication to the service of God through mitzvoth we must purge ourselves of any bit of the Yetzer Harah (evil inclination) which permeates our thinking.
He quotes the Babylonian Talmud in Shabbat (105) which states: “What is a strange God which is inside the body of man? The evil inclination." This teaches us that we must cleanse ourselves of the evil inclination before performing a positive commandment. It is only after we have removed the idols from our midst that we can build an altar and offer up sacrifices to the One God.” (Tiferet Shlomo)
Sometimes even when we are in the process of performing a mitzvah the Yetzer Harah interferes and transforms the mitzvah into a process of self aggrandizement rather than making great the Name of God. This would be tantamount using the philosophy of the Rebbe of Radomsk to building the altar for God while still tainted with idolatry.
This applies to every mitzvah that we can be involved in. If there is an element of self worship in it – it does not accomplish what was intended.
The building and maintenance of a synagogue is especially enticing to the Yetzer Harah (evil inclination) as we see in this verse. This is because as we build a synagogue we are tempted to dedicate those buildings to our own values and perceptions rather than to the will of God. An excellent example of this is when members or builders of a congregation attempt to adjust the laws of the Torah as applied in the synagogue to accommodate them to their wishes or perceptions rather than adjusting themselves to the will of the Torah. When this happens the synagogue becomes a social club – adjustable to the whim of the members (congregants?). It no longer serves as the House dedicated to the service of God it becomes the house dedicated to the service of the egos and wills of the members. In order to build a true house of God we must purge ourselves of the desire to mandate the rules and procedures of the synagogue this is symbolized by Jacob purging himself of his idols prior to dedicating the house of God in Bet El.
Shabbat Shalom – from Rabbi Manny Viñas and family
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Shabbat Parashat Vayeshev
Shabbath Chanukah I – 5767
“The Slanderers and Collaborators”
“And for the slanderers let there be no hope, and may all the wickedness perish in an instant and may all your enemies be cut down speedily. May you speedily uproot, smash, cast down and humble the wanton sinners – speedily in our days. Blessed are You Hashem who breaks enemies and humbles wanton sinners.”
(Daily Siddur - Morning Amidah)
This prayer comprises part of the “shemoneh esreh” of the daily prayers. The shmoneh esreh is one of the most important parts of our prayers. It is said as a silent meditation while standing and then later repeated when there is a minyah quorum of ten men praying together. At the repetition the “kedusha” is addedliterally means “18” because it was originally composed of 18 prayers. Today the “shmoneh Esreh” is no longer 18 blessings or prayers it is now 19 prayers because this prayer was added later on by Rabban Gamliel II in Yavneh. The reason given was that this was a prayer that the collaborators with the Romans be destroyed and rendered utterly powerless. Afterwards it was decided to maintain this prayer due to the fact that we have been faced with collaborators throughout time.
Recently we were all witness to the awful spectacle of the Holocaust denial conference in Iran . As part of the spectacle the international press included pictures of members of the Niturei Karta shaking hands with the President of Iran. These Jews were dressed in the clothing of “ultra-Orthodox” or Chassidic men. They told reporters that they were not holocaust deniers but were there to express the fact that they did not support the State of Israel and did not agree with using the holocaust as a reason for the creation of the state. It is obvious to all of us that these men fall under the category of collaborators with our enemies. The Ultra Orthodox organization Agudath Israel of America put out a condemnation of this activity and their organization.
But everything that occurs has a rhyme and reason according to our Rabbis. Perhaps this conference was held near Chanukah to remind us that the battle for the Jewish people’s right to self determination and a peaceful good life is far from over. After the temple was rededicated the Hasmoneans did not usher in an era of peace. We did not live happily ever after. Rather the Romans came in very soon afterwards and ushered in the destruction of the temple and the exile that we are now in. The Chanukah war was really a battle that we won in an ongoing war that will end with the coming of Mashiach and the peace that this will bring for the world and for the Jewish nation.
Part of the Chanukah story which is too often overlooked is the fact that there was at that time a fairly large group of Hellenized Jews that were actively seeking to collaborate with the ‘Hellenization’ of the Jewish people. Throughout time in every calamity we have had collaborators with our enemies. During the holocaust we had collaborators. During the Roman occupation we had collaborators. During the Inquisition we had collaborators. And now when faced with the threat of annihilation once again - this group seeks to collaborate with our enemies. Perhaps this explains the timing of this conference right before Chanukah.
Perhaps another reason for the timing of this conference is that it occurred during the week of Parshat Vayeshev when the story of the selling of Joseph by his brothers is told. Some of our sages explain that the brothers sold Joseph because they came to the conclusion that he was doing the wrong thing telling on them to his father and that he was a threat to authentic Judaism. They explain that this is the most dangerous thinking of all. We may not agree with our brothers but that does not give us license to exaggerate our criticism and suspect that he is the one who will destroy us. Joseph’s brothers sold him out to the enemy. The collaborators sell the rest of us out either for ideological reasons or for profit. The usual pattern of history right before Jewish destruction includes the following elements: 1) a gradual transition away from the Torah observance, 2) heavy assimilation, 3) an amassing of our enemies, 4) world opinion not caring or turning against us and, 5) the collaborators working against us. When I look around at the world news events it causes me to pray for my nation, my people and my family. It is now time to repent and return to God. Perhaps a miracle can occur and we can be saved once again just as we were in the times of Chanukah.
May the above prayer apply to the collaborators and may the Chanukah story be completed in our life times.
Shabbat Shalom Chag Sameach – from Rabbi Manny Viñas and family
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Parashat Miketz Shabbath Chanukah II – 5767
Women and Chanukah
The Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) specifies that while the Chanukiah (Menorah for Chanukah) is lit it is forbidden to engage in work that would distract a person from concentrating on the light of the Menorah and its meaning. This prohibition from work is especially incumbent upon women .
The Babylonian Talmud in Shabbat 23A quotes Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi who explains that “women are commanded to participate in the lighting of the Menorah because they too were involved in the miracles of Chanukah.” This is true even though lighting the menorah is a time bound commandment the likes of which women are usually exempted from in Halacha. Why is that and what were our Rabbis referring to in both of these sources?
One of the most famous and tragic stories of Chanukah beyond the Maccabees story itself, comes from the Second Book of Maccabees in the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha is a collection of stories which were written down by our Rabbis and ancestors as legendary and apocryphal but were later rejected in the canonization of the Tanach by the Men of the Great Assembly. These books were found to be missing too much information or non-prophetic or of doubtful origin or simply not containing a message for the future and were therefore rejected by the Jewish Sages as party of the canon. They have been seen as instructional however and historical. They were later included by Jerome in his Catholic Bible the Vulgate and are still included there until today.
The Story of “the Mother” is how it is referred to in the Book of Macabees. Our Rabbis have identified her as “Channah.” In this story the evil King Antiochus meets Channah and her seven sons who refuse to eat pig in public. They are arrested and brought before him for trial. He offers them one more chance to save themselves by participating in eating the pig which had been a sacrifice to an idol. As each son refuses to eat the pig he is tortured in front of his mother and put to death. The King devises many ways of trying to convince them but each one refuses and each time the mother willingly sacrifices her sons to observe the Jewish law against participating in idol worship. Finally the last son is brought before the King. He negotiates with Channah seeking that she convince this last son to agree to participate in the idol worship. She then asks her son in front of the King what he wishes to do and her son responds that his only regret is that he had to wait so long to sacrifice his life for God and his Torah. Channah then praises him and he is martyred. As a measure of torture she is left alive. There are differing versions of the story. In one she actually commits suicide by jumping off the city walls and in another version she dies of sadness and grief.
This event inspired more Jewish men to join the cause of the Macabees and risk their lives to fight their evil oppressors. There was another story which was actually much older and took place during the Assyrian assault on Jerusalem . This story also inspired the Macabees.
The story is of Judith who killed the general Holifernes. No one is exactly sure how the story of Judith became linked to the story of Hanukah because according to the Apocrypha, she lived centuries earlier, during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Assyria. Her story may have been written down during the Maccabean era to give Jewish rebels courage. Ultimately, her story became incorporated into Rabbinic lore, with the Assyrians becoming the Syrians, whom the Maccabees fought. In the original story, Nebuchadnezzar’s commander-in-chief, Holifernes, is on a mission to conquer Judea . He lays siege to Bethulia, possibly Jerusalem . The townspeople are ready to surrender when a beautiful widow named Judith announces a plan.
Taking along a maid, Judith goes to the general’s camp where in a private audience convinces Holifernes that she, by praying to her God, can help him conquer Judea . She stays with him for three days, leaving each night to pray, and lulling the camp guards into a false sense of security. On the fourth day, Holifernes invites Judith to a special, private banquet, where he plans to seduce her. Judith feeds Holifernes salty cheese to make him extra thirsty. Soon, he is drunk and fast asleep. While asleep, Judith takes his sword and cuts off his head. When the army sees their general’s decapitated head, they run away in retreat. She and her maid leave the camp with Holiferne’s head in a sack, which they display to their townspeople. Israel wins a great victory and Judith leads the people in dancing and singing praises to G-d for defeating the enemy "by the hand of a woman." (Judith 16:6)
In honor of Judith’s bravery, women are to refrain from work on Hanukah while the candles are burning. Another custom is to eat dairy foods since she fed the general salty cheese before she killed him. There have been some very gory illustrations of Judith carrying the head of Holifernes in her hand. There is even a Menorah with this as part of its decoration.
These stories of heroism shed light upon the role of Jewish women in times of crises. The Hanukah stories are no exception to the rule. In modern times we see Jewish women taking lead roles in Modern Israel’s Army as trainers and specialists. Their talents have brought us through many a crisis and their gifts should be recognized not only on a daily basis for the blessing of heroic survival but also as part of the holiday of Jewish resistance and success in battle.
Shabbat Shalom - Chag Sameach – from Rabbi Manny Viñas and family
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Shabbat Parashat Vayigash 5767
“Sinat Chinam - Disunity caused our destruction”
“And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept;
and Benjamin wept upon his neck.” (Genesis 45:14)
This highly emotional parsha relates the story of the reunification of the brothers with Joseph in Egypt . He finally reveals to them after many travails that he is Joseph whom they had sold as a slave. Each part of this wonderful story is filled with emotion as he reunites with each brother but the emotional climax occurs on the neck of his brother Benjamin when both brothers embrace after many years of separation and cry upon each other.
The Midrash comments that Joseph and Benjamin were not only crying the tears of joy at this powerful moment but were also crying bitter tears for the future. Joseph saw through prophecy that the two temples of Jerusalem would be built in the portion of Benjamin in the Land of Israel and that they would be destroyed in the future and Benjamin saw that the Tabernacle (Mishkan) of Shilo would be built in Joseph’s portion and would also be destroyed to build the Temples of Jerusalem. At this moment of great joy – they cried for the bitter future that they saw through prophecy. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why at a wedding – a moment of great joy – we pause to remember the destructions of our holy temples by stomping on a glass and saying “Im eskachech Yerushalayim tishkach yemini - If I forget thee oh Jerusalem let my right hand loose its strength…”
But why would our patriarchs find it significant to detract from this moment of brotherly love and reunification to mourn the destruction of the temples?
Our Sages of Blessed memory explain that the destruction of the temples of Jerusalem happened because of the sin of Sinat Chinam. Sinat Chinam is jealousy, envy and senseless hatred of our brothers. Sinat Chinam caused disunity among us and continues until today. Joseph knew that the Sinat Chinam that had caused his condition of servitude in Egypt would one day cause the destruction of both temples of Jerusalem . He knew that even though there was at that moment a great unification of the brothers that one day they would be disunited by hatred/envy again and that this would lead to the destruction of Zion and Jerusalem . He was deeply saddened that this moment of unity would not last forever. He was deeply saddened that the destructions would occur in the portion of the land of Israel allotted to his brother Benjamin and cried for his loss.
But why did Benjamin cry? The dismantling of the mishkan Tabernacle at Shilo located in the portion of Joseph was not a sad event. This tabernacle was taken down in order to build the Temple of Jerusalem . All of its parts were moved to Jerusalem and a great celebration was held. Why did Benjamin cry for this loss (apparently) this is not a cause for sadness rather it should be a cause for celebration?
It is here that a deeper lesson emerges about brotherly love. Benjamin knew that the Tabernacle at Shilo would be taken down to accommodate the Temples of Jerusalem and that this was progress but his sadness was that the progress which would take place in his portion was at the expense or loss for his brother’s portion. His gain was at Joseph’s loss!
Brotherly love requires that we seek the progress of our brothers along with our own. It requires that we mourn any loss of theirs as much as our own loss and that we not seek to progress at the loss of our brothers.
Joseph’s tears teach us the cause of the destruction of our temples – Sinat Chinam – hatred/envy/disunity of our brothers. Benjamin’s tears teach us how to remedy that situation. We are to mourn each others losses and to seek each others prosperity and not seek our own prosperity at the loss of others.
Perhaps this is why this parsha is read so close to the date of the Tenth of Tevet. On this date the Army of Nebuchadnezzar surrounded the City of Jerusalem and this siege led to the destruction of our first Holy Temple .
May we seek the peace and prosperity of our brothers. May our unity bring Mashiach which will unite all of mankind. AMEN
Shabbat Shalom – from Rabbi Manny Viñas and family
Torah Thoughts in Honor of Shabbat Parashat Vayechi 5767
“Setuma – sealed into slavery”
Most Torah portions begin at a space in the text. This makes it easier to find the torah portion for the reader. Parashat Vayechi is different. It begins in the middle of a paragraph and can be hard to find. Rashi comments on this fact;
“And Jacob lived…” why is this passage closed? Because once our forefather Jacob passed away the eyes and hearts of Israel were closed because of the suffering of enslavement, because the Egyptians began to enslave them.”
He relates the “sealed layout” of the text to the sealing of the hearts and eyes of the Jewish people due to the suffering of Egypt .
The Or Gedalyahu explains that the parsha being sealed is symbolic of the process of enslavement. The missing space is symbolic of the missing space in time necessary to process life. Enslavement started at the point where our lives became so hectic in Egypt that we did not even have a moment to think and reflect about how things were going. This space (pause) for reflection called a “revach lehitbonen,” is a fundamental need of the human being. A human can not simply function without stopping to consider the results of his functions and many of the deeper ideas that make up the human experience.
It appears that the slavery in Egypt began not as a formal slavery but as soon as life got too hectic to allow us to reflect on the greater meaning of life. Later since we were so preoccupied by our hectic lives we did not see the gradual changes that led to our eventual enslavement. We were entrapped by our own blindness to the world around us. We were so busy building a new life in a new country and being successful at it that we did not realize that our neighbors were plotting against us. Our own success provided our blindness.
There is a midrash which relates the same idea as above. It relates that the advent of slavery began with the breakneck pace at which life in Egypt ran. But the problem was not what we saw it was what we didn’t see.
The spaces in life were not there. We only concentrated on the “blackness” of the activities in life not on the “white spaces.”
The continual string of the blackness of the letters with out any pause is the speed of the life. The white space symbolizes the sweet pauses that give meaning to life.
While Jacob was alive he served as the leader of the Jewish people. He was a tzaddik and he understood that his job was to remind the people to pause and enjoy life. The Torah’s purpose is in fact to create these pauses so that we can notice and appreciate the greater meaning of life.
When Moses approaches Pharaoh about freedom for his people he reacts at first by creating more work. His rationale was that if we had time to think about freedom – he would fill it with work so we would give it up.
Castro and other dictators understand this as well. The shortages in Havana are not due to the embargo as he says it is. The shortages are so that the people will be occupied in finding the barest of essentials and not have the time or energy to organize rebellions against him. That’s what Castro and Pharaoh both understood.
Perhaps this is another reason why we say that the Shabbath is also Zecher leyetziat Mitzrayim – reminds us of the exodus from Egypt . Fina