The Meaning of the Kaddish

The Meaning of the Kaddish

Yizkor-Pesah  2014 

. What is the one thing that every Jew comes to learn--too well, in the course of life--the one prayer--perhaps even more than Shma Yisrael, which a Jew must say morning and evening?

            What else if not the Kaddish--this one statement, which we associate with life's most tragic moments. How many recall that , even today, a husband would be concerned that his wife gave birth to a boy, no matter how many girls, just to be sure that he had a kadishel--some one to say Kaddish for him.

             But we know this prayer so well--do we understand it--do we know what ot means- what it comes to teach us.

            Today, Yizkor, we all say Kaddish, we will examine what the Kaddish has to offer us.

             The most important thing I can say--is the Kaddish is not, never was, and never will be a prayer for the dead, but a statement of faith for the living.  

             Some of you know, I worked in Israel in Jewish education, and one of my areas was teaching Jewish concepts to secular teachers who had little feeling for the subject.  

            One of the most moving and powerful days on the Israeli calendar is Yom Hazikaron, the day preceding Israel independence day, which will be observed in just two weeks.

            It is amazing--on this day, the country comes to a stand-absolute stand. Siren calls, every one stands absolutely still. Cars halt on highway, drivers get out and stand silently.

             At every ceremony, standard declaration--the poem found in book of Samuel, King David's elegy for Saul and Jonathan--Aich Naflu Giborim--How the mighty have fallen. Then, followed by Kaddish, with a very special introduction by the great Jewish writer, Shai Agnon.

            Main point I made to the teachers--if we must send young men and women out to the battlefield, they must have a sense of purpose, a faith in the need and value their cause. The Kaddish is a declaration of the faith that a Jew has that his actions in life are for a nobler cause.

            What then is the Kaddish--it never was a prayer for the dead.

            One sentence became a popular refrain among the Jewish people, comparable to Amen, and it is recorded in various versions already in parts of the Bible--it has come down to us in Aramaic, the language of the Jewish people of the time after the close of the Bible, some 2500 years ago--It is

            Yehey Shmeh Rabba mevorach leolam ulolmei olmaya--May  His Great Name be Blessed for all eternity. This sentence was considered to be the great declaration of faith of Jews of the day. Note as I said, it’s in Aramaic, not in Hebrew--Aramaic is to Hebrew, as English is to German, kissing cousins , but different sounds and rules. By the way, there is a legend, that it is in Aramaic because angels, who are jealous of the Jewish people, know Hebrew , but never studied Aramaic, and so they can't interfere with the prayer when it is recited.

            In the course of time, it became the practice , at the end of a days lesson in the yeshivah, for the teacher to declare a statement of consolation and faith in a messianic day, to which the students would respond: Yehey Shmay.

             In time, we have the formula, as we know it, created before the destruction of the second temple:

Yitgadal veyitkadash--Magnified and ssanctified be his name, in the world he created by his will, may his kingdom reign, in our lives and in our days, speedily and soon, Amen.

             Anyone who has examined the Lord's Prayer of the Christian scriptures recognizes where the phrases" Hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come" originated, in the Aramaic of the Jews of Israel of 2000 years ago.

             By the year 600, the Kaddish was added, not just to the end of the lecture of the academy, but also to the end of the Torah reading, before Barchu, and at the end of the worship service. By the 9th century, it achieved the format and usage that we have today.

            . But what about the deceased, what about mourning. From the time the very first phrases were formulated, till we see the Kaddish as we know it, it was  used only for the academy and only as a prayer in the service. No one used it for a reference to death.

            What happened?

                         In the course of time, when a great scholar would die, at the end of the shivah, another great scholar would get up and deliver a lesson in his memory, and then conclude the lecture with the Kaddish, Kaddish derabanan, the scholar's Kaddish.

            What started with great scholars soon spread to lesser scholars. What continue with lesser scholars soon spread to every man--why should he get the honor--don't I deserve it too!

             Finally, what was said at the end of shivah, and then said by the mourner in memory of the deceased, soon spread , not only to the end of a lesson in the academy, but to the  end of every service.

            What, finally gave Kaddish its connection with the dead?

            There is a legend, in which a man was so evil and wicked, that it is said that he was condemned to everlasting torment.

            Rabbi Akiba learned of this, sought out the man's son, taught him a prayer, and the man's soul was released from its torment. There are 17 different versions as to what it is that the child learned to say, but not the Kaddish!

             Nevertheless, out of that legend, arose the belief that when a man's son is engaged in some prayer, this serves as a testimony of merit for the deceased.

            By time, the Kaddish became associated with that prayer, until it became, by the end of the middle ages, the prayer of obligation for a mourner, even though it is not found in a single book of Jewish law, not even the shulkhan arukh! Only in the Polish commentary, the Mapah, of Issereles, do we find the explicit instruction to recite Kaddish over the course of the year--that is not until  400 years ago-- what we call the beginnings of the modern era.

            The custom of saying Kaddish took on one more flourish---by ancient Talmudic tradition, the souls of even the most wicked are condemned to hell for only twelve months. There is no such thing as eternal damnation--but who ever could imagine a Jew who was so wicked as to deserve all twelve months in gehena! Therefore ,the custom arose of the son saying Kaddish only for eleven months—after all--how wicked could a father be if the son thought enough of him to say Kaddish.

             So, as you see, Kaddish became a prayer said for the dead, by accident--it never was intended, and never is intended as a prayer for the dead

             Now , what is its significance--

                         It is most appropriate for recitation at the funeral, or in the house of mourning, or at the conclusion of study, or the conclusion of worship precisely because it is a prayer of faith and hope--never a prayer centered around death--Jews believe that Lo hametim yehallula--the dead can not praise God, nor those who go down in silence  but we, the living, praise god.

             What does make it appropriate-- it describes faith in God's sanctity, and in God' rule, faith in the kingdom of God. In the version which is used by Yemenite Jews, and also for us, only at the funeral service itself,  it speaks of Balma dehu atid leithadta--The world in the future which will be renewed, life will be given to the dead, to everlasting life, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the Temple, and the end of idolatry form the earth. The theme is that of the Jews faith in the triumph of God over idols, of good over evil, of life over death.

            Central to the Kaddish is that word "kadosh"-Kaddish"-it ties in with the theme of Kiddush hashem--sanctifying God;s name. Kaddish is a public declaration--always in a minyan, a public of ten, never less, because it is a universal declaration of faith.

             A Jew is asked , in every act in life to be engaged in Kiddush hashem--making God' name holy. That is the function of public worship, since anyone could just as well pray in private. Public worship enables us to share our faith and our hopes with the world around us. Hence, Kaddish must be in minyan to be of purpose since it is a public pronouncement.

             Its function is to teach us always to be willing to speak out in public for our causes, for our beliefs, for that which we value. It also enforces on us the recognition that we are part and parcel of a community--we pray not by and for ourselves alone, but by and for our fellow human beings.

            Now, there is one other legend, which gives us an insight in the meaning of the Kaddish for us.

            In the Talmud, there is a description of God sitting in heaven, and groaning: Every moment that the children of Israel enter the academy and declare Yehy shey rabba--the Holy One shakes his head and says:Happy the king who is praised in his house--but now that the palace , the ancient temple has been destroyed. He cries:

Woe to the father who had exiled his sons and woe to the sons who were exiled from the father's presence."(Ber3a).

            There is a peculiar commentary to this sentence on that page in the Talmud, referred to by the grandsons of Rashi, the Tosafot.

            The phrase Yehy Shamy Rabba should be translated: In the future , God's name shall be made great---today, Amalek, hatred, maliciousness and will ful hatred, prevent God's name from being great, from being complete. God himself, in the struggle against the evil that mankind is capable of, mourns, and he is in need, of what we say in the Kaddish "Tushbechata venehamata"-even God is in need of our encouragement and consolation--that evil will be eliminated from the human heart.

            This very thought brings us right to the very first time that the idea of Kaddish appears, the prophet Ezekiel speaks of a final cataclysm, in which the forces of evil among the nations of the world, Gog of Magog, will be finally destroyed, and then, only then, Hitgadalti ve hitkadashti v nodaati leeynei goyim rabim--then shall I be magnified and sanctified, and and be known to all the nations."(Ez 38:23).

            Our Kaddish then is the descendant of this declaration of faith in the ultimate triumph of the kingdom of God by the prophet Ezekiel. We have many variations on a theme, from a short, hatzi, Kaddish. To full length Kaddish shalem, , to Kaddish yatom, mourners Kaddish, to Kaddish derabanan, to the Kaddish deithadta. But all carry this theme for us, and teach us what is expected of us as Jews, both ion our prayers and in our lives--not to look back to the dead, but to look forward, and strive to the future.

             

           

            

Food for Thought on Chametz and Matzah

Food for Thought on Chametz and Matzah  


            You know that on every one of our 3 festivals, we are to rejoice, so I will begin 
my comments with a few words of humor before I actually get to my theme of this
Shabbat:
            You know we Jews love to play on words, especially when we can do so in two
or three languages.
For example, Do you know why we have an Haggadah at Passover?
A: So we can Seder right words.

Of course, all Jews are born psychologists, and Freud was merely verbalizing

what we all know instinctively.  What do you call someone who derives pleasure from the
bread of affliction?


 A matzochist.

Then, of course, all Jews are either doctors, have doctors in the family, and

believe we know more than the doctor . Did you hear that  a group of leading medical
people have published  data  that indicates that Seder participants should NOT partake
of both chopped liver and  charoses.  It is indicated that this combination can lead to
Charoses of the Liver.

There 's a story about a very wealthy, yet very modest, Jewish chap named

Hyman  Goldfarb. Because of his large donations to charities through the years, the
queen wanted to knight him, but he was going to turn it down.
"That's a great honor," a friend asked. "Why would you turn it down?"
"Because during the ceremony you have to say something in Latin," he said. "And I don't
wish to bother studying Latin just for that."
"So say something in Hebrew. The queen wouldn't know the difference."
"Brilliant," Hy complimented his friend, "but what should I say?"
"Remember that question the son asks the father on the first night of Passover? ... Can
you say that in Hebrew?"
"Of course," he said. " Thank you, old sport, I shall become a knight."
At the ceremony Hy waited his turn while several of the other honorees went before the
Queen.
Finally they called his name. He knelt before Her Majesty, she placed her sword on one
shoulder and then on the other, and motioned for Hy to speak. Out came "Ma nishtana
ha leila hazeh."
The queen turned to her husband and said, "Why is this knight different from all other
knights?"

            Enough, enough, now is  time for some wisdom for Pesah, about matzah- mah nishtanah- not just haleila hazeh- the one night, but "sheva yamim"= seven days you shall eat matzah.! Why matzah- Why not, in the words of Marie Antoinette- let them eat cake.!

            In this zman herutenu, Season of Liberation, Pesah, Passover, no element so dominates the festival as the contrast between "Chametz" and "Matzah", leavened and unleavened bread.

            Our official explanation is that our ancestors left Egypt in haste on the night of liberation and had only enough time to prepare the simple matzah for the journey into the desert. That simple fare has remained for us Jews as the symbols par excellence of our freedom as human beings, subject to no other human being, bound only by the moral and spiritual responsibilities emanating from the Eternal One. Because of that event, the Jew, even in exile, under oppression and persecution, remained free in the heart.

            But mazah is even older than pesah! Lot, Abraham's nephew served it to his angelic visitors 400 years before. Matzah was not only for Pesah-- The Kohanim, the priests, ate matzah through the year with their sacrifical meals.

            The choice of Maztah over Chametz is ironic. After all, the similarities greatly outweigh the difference at first sight.

            Eve the Hebrew spelling is close.  Chametz and Matzah,  share two root letters, Mem   and Tsadi .  The third letter is similar .

חמץ  מצה    מ  צ ה  ח

The only difference between the letter Het  ח of Hamezt  and Heh ה of Matzah is only a tiny space that closes the gap. In pronunciation, the two are similar; again, the difference is a little friction in the throat for the sound of Het .

.           The real difference between the two  is a result of bio-chemistry.

            What can be Chametz?  Only five grains, which by common tyranslation in Europe are-- barley, rye, oats, wheat, and spelt and only when immersed  in  cold  water  for  at  least  eighteen  minutes,  or immediately in hot water or salt water.

 (Modern scholars , however, suggest this translation:

 שיפון Shippon (shifon) – einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum),
כוסמין Kusmin – emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccon),
חיטים Ḥittim – durum wheat (Triticum durum) and bread wheat (Triticum aestivum),
שעורים Se’orim – six row barley (Hordeum vulgare), and
שיבולת שועל Shibbolet shual – two row barley (Hordeum vulgare).)

Rice and legumes, which Ashkenazic Jews avoid during Pesah, are treated as Chametz only by custom, as there was a concern that flour substitutes made from these foods might be mistaken with real flour. These plants  can never leaven, only ferment. That is why Sefardic Jew use rice and beans in their cooking and why an Ashkenazic Jew may eat at a Sefardic meal at which rice is served, even though by tradition, he doesn't eat the rice, unless- unless the cook is his wife as she is sefardic.)

            These grains share a scientific peculiarity. Only these five grains of all plants have a combination of four enzymes- B Amylase, A Amylase Oxydase,  and Proteinase. This is the chemistry lesson : it is just that combination of enzymes, in the presence of water, that causes the release of  carbon dioxide which causes the dough to  rise.

            So now, what is matzah?

            It's the same thing as Chametz. A matzah can only be made of those five grains,  never from corn flour, nor rice nor potato flour. Only that which  can become Chametz may be used for matzah.

            What makes the difference? Only  eighteen minutes separate the one from the other, the time between the mixing of the dough and the putting into the oven.

            How so?.

            The dough is baked in an extremely hot oven. This instantly dries up the water, before the leavening can take place, and destroys the key enzyme B Amylase. There is no leavening and  no release of carbon dioxide, the bread stays flat, and you have matzah.

            So why this oddity, this peculiarity that so much effort is made because of eighteen minutes of baking--that which is kosher throughout the year is suddenly forbidden, yet it is replaced by something made from the same source, which is now commanded. This peculiarity becomes the symbol of our liberation from bondage.

The moral lessons are plentiful.

1)     Matzah must be made new, while  Chametz can be old. Matzah must be made fresh and quickly. This is the rule for life--­we have to start each time, in life, renewed, fresh. We can not rely on last years efforts, nor allow ourselves to go stale.

2)     Matzah is simple, while  Chametz is fancy. Matzah reminds us of our ancestral simplicity in life . Chametz symbolizes  all the trappings of  human civilization. Once a year, we put some of it aside, to remember us to return to the basics of our ancestors in a simpler time.

3)      Matzah is flat, while Chametz is puffed up. A Matzah is humble and modest,  true and straight--what you see is what you get. A loaf of bread is all fluff , a lot of air, and less substance. An ounce of Matzah and an ounce of Chametz must  weigh the same, but the Chametz seems greater only because it is filled with hot air. So too, with people-- we are to be straight and honest, filled with human substance,  and not inflated for show  with vain ego.

4)      A Matzah is pure, while the Chametz has impurity in it, a souring of the dough. Matzah is our basic nature, created clean and pure. Chametz is the souring and the gas that is produced in our lives by giving in to our passions and instincts  and the choosing evil instead of good.

5)     A Matzah is fast food, while Chametz is slow.  The Torah describes the matzah as being made in haste, and that the children of Israel could not linger . Legal  contracts always say 'Time is of the essence' and that is true here. The Chametz is puffed up because we waited  too long, we missed opportunities to do good in our lives and with ourselves. The Matzah is permitted to us because we have acted speedily and resolutely.

6)      A  Matzah is poor, while Chametz is rich."Ha lahma anya  - This is the bread of poverty that our ancestors ate in Egypt." Better the poor Matzah made with hard work, than the rich Chametz,  gained by letting things spoil or earned without effort.

            That is why Chametz and matzah are so near, yet so far apart. Hence, the matzah, so poor in texture and appearance, is so rich in meaning for us as we celebrate with our families and friends through the rest of the holiday.

            Hag Kasher v'Sameach--May you have a truly Kosher for Passover holiday and a joyous celebration with all those you love. 

Words as Weapons of Murder Metzora

Words as Weapons of Murder  Metzora 

           

            We all should know the old Rabbinic word game of “ gematria”. That is where we pull apart a word, letter by letter, assign each letter  a number value. The next step is to find another  word whose letters have the same value, and then say “Ahah”! There’ s a connection. The best example you know is 18, because when you take the number and transpose it to its alphabetical equivalent, you get Yod for Ten, Chet for 8, reverse them , and you have “Chai” for “ Life”.

            The are many other letter games and number games. There is “ atbash” , in which the letters of the alphabet are read as if they were in revese order, so that an alef stands for a shin, a bet stands for a Taf, or “av-gad”, where the letter stands for the letter following it in the alphabet, alef for Bet, gimmel for daled. It’s a Kosher kind of Pig Latin.

            So we have another one, which comes very handy for the sages when they are stumped for an explanation,” notarikon”, where the word is taken apart and reread as if each letter were an an abbreviation. You can see that this leads to a lot of creativity.

            This is exactly what is done, in rabbinic lore, to explain the phenomenon that is described in the readings of last week and this week, Metzora. Metzora, as we understand from the reading, which translated as “ leprosy” is  not leprosy, and it is not anything that medical scientists can clearly identify—neither could the Rabbis!. It is a disease that manifests itself on the skin but also on stone buildings. The treatment is not a medical treatment but one of isolation. Therefore, the one way our sages could determine the intention of the word was to pull it apart- notarikon.

            We have in it Mem-Tzadik-Resh-Eyin. Mem-Tzadik is short for “ Motzi”- to spread out, and Resh-Ayin is the word “Ra” evil. What kind of evil can be easily spread out and only stopped by quarantine—why “ Motzi Shem Ra”- Spreading out  of an  evil and maliscious slander . That is the dangerous “skin disease” that the Torah is dealing with.

            Why would this “ condition” require treatment by isolation?

            It is because, as our sages taught, that the sin, the act of slander, is as criminal as the act of murder. Thus, number six of the Ten Commandments, which states, “ Lo Tirzach”, ” Thou shalt not Murder,” was interpreted as “Thou shalt Not Shame or Embarrass ", for insult and slander have the power of killing. They called it "Malbin pney havero" --making one's fellow's face grow pale, bloodless from shame. When one is shamed, the blood leaves the face as if one had been stabbed.

            Add to that, the commandment “ Lo Tisa” You shall not take God’s name in vain” and “ “Lo Taane ed Sheker”.You shall not bear false witness.” and we have a very tight case to be made against someone bad mouthing another.

            Words , our sages taught, was deadlier than weapons. A knife or sword, or even gun, could kill the victim, but a malicious word of slander or gossip could kill three--the victim, the slanderer, and the people who listened to slander. Think of the power of words unleashed by skillful propagandists like Hitler , think of the millions who died as a result, and you see my point.

            Why do I mention this in particular?  

            Because I believe that our words--our language, our tone of voice, in our every day usage, has grown to become a monster.

            Here is my point from a noted journalist, Nina Easton, back in the 90’s ( which seems so last century):

            Cutting insults, crude put-downs, and vulgar viscious personal lampoons are dominating mainstream entertainment.  . .

            She continues:

            " American pop culture is rich with examples of misogyny, racism and homophobia,Need some Anti-semitism? The syndicated TV series" Uptown Comedy Club recently featured a skit about the law firm of "Judacy", where Hasidic lawyers sing, "I really want to sue you, I really want to overcharge you."

            Perhaps, though, the media, print, television, radio, cinema, perhaps they have no impact. Perhaps they neither impact our society, nor reflect our society. What about our innocent children--surely they are different. So grade school children , reflecting their parents thoughts, have a popular song. Forget " Mary had a little lamb."Try this one:

I shot my teacher with a .44 gun//I didn't miss her, her class was no fun//... I took a bazooka and blew off her head."

             Let no one say that these are mere words, that words have no impact, that people are merely spouting off, to vent themselves.

            Ask any dictator if he believes that words have no impact. Dictators are often put in power by their creative abuse of the word, and dictators stay in power, by controlling what anyone else may say.

            If words can have the power to keep our democracy alive and vital, they can also serve to undermine our society.

            Increasingly, researchers speak of the meanness " of our society, of the" psychological violence" that pervades everyday language.  It pervades our politics. Look at our language of public discourse. Democrats and Republicans, Reds and Blues, especially over the course of the tenures of the past and current Presidents, use exceedingly strident language against each other.

            It pervades our children, who go on line, and take the Metzora and spred it virally on facebook, twitter, and other apps.

            I had mentioned Hitler. You know that Hitler’s mentor was a journalist and a socialist leader. This journalist who understood the power of the printed and spoken word. he understood how language could be used to galvanize a people to evil, and how , through language, violence could be made a sacred goal in itself, how, through language, one people could be pitted against another people. Benito Mussolini's fascism, which is still echoed today, begins in the house, nursery, in the schools.

            Fascism and Nazism saw in Judaism there direct enemy, for Judaism believes and teaches the opposite.

            Six hundred years ago, a simple Jew of the town of Mayence, in the Rhineland, left his children with this message, it is a classical Jewish message, to the nature of language and our words:

            I earnestly beg my children to be tolerant and humble to all, as I was throughout my life. Should cause for dissension present itself, be slow to accept the quarrel; seek peace and pursue it with all the vigor at your command. Even if you suffer loss thereby, forbear and forgive, for God has many ways of feeding and sustaining his creatures. To the slanderer, do not retaliate with counterattack; and though it be proper to rebut false accusations, yet it is most desirable to set an example of reticence. You yourselves must avoid uttering any slander, for so will you win affection. In trade be true, never grasping at what belongs to another. For by avoiding these wrongs, -scandal, falsehood, money-grubbing---men will surely find tranquility and affection. And against all evils, silence is the best safeguard."

            A lot of radio talk show hosts, politicians and gossip columnists may go bankrupt if they follow this advice but life would be so much nicer for us all, wouldn’t it..

            At the end of the Amidah, there is a personal prayer, Alohai neztor leshoni--My God, guard my tongue from evil, a nd my lips from uttering deceit. One of the great Jewish teachers of the past century, Rabbi Israel Meir Hacohen, was known by the title of his book, Hafetz Chayim--Seek life. It reflects on the theme of that prayer, and the verse of the psalms, which says: Who is the man who seeks life, and length of days to see good? Just hold your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking guile." Language, he taught, was the basis of all the evils in our lives, and also the basis for building and creating the good life.

            How do we cure the plague of Metzora—our verbal contagion? We do so by starting with ourselves. We refuse to participate in maligning any one, we teach that to our children and grandchildren. We counter it with acts of " Gemilut Hasadim", acts of lovingkindness' .'These acts begin with our words. This is our medicine, this is our surgical procedure, this is our “occupational therapy.” We remove formour mouths “ Sinat Hinam”—Groundless hatred of our fellow, and replace it with Ahavat Hinam- Groudless love of our fellow.” May our words always be words of truth-not of deceit, words of healing-not of harming, words of shalom, peace, never of violence, words of ahavat hinam, causeless love, never of sinat hinam, useless hate. Amen

Tazria :Life before Birth

Life before Birth     Tazria  

            Some years ago, I had to sit down with our son to help him review for a test in a high school class on contemporary Jewish issues. The first word he had to define was "bioethics", and he had trouble breaking the word down into its components. Ethics, he knew, was the theory of right and wrong behavior, but the bi-part confused him.

            He was, after all, an excellent math student, and knew that ,in math, the prefix "bi" always means two. I straightened him out--this is not a discussion of math, but a discussion of life. The prefix is not bi, but bio, as in biology, that is life. We are talking about what is right and wrong in regards to life itself.

            The right and wrong of life itself is fast becoming the crucial moral and legal issue of our society. When does life itself begin, and when does it end? May I prevent a life; may I hasten its end? May I tamper with the way in which we begin life? Can I change my genes, so that my descendents will all have blond hair and blue eyes and be six-feet tall?

            Surely a whole list of names come to our mind with these thoughts: Thalidomide babies, to Terry Schiavo, to Dr. Kevorkian, names and cases that were undreamed of a century ago.

            Can we find guidance in Jewish sources, sources going back two, three thousand years, for issues that face people today, in our Jewish 58th century, the gentile' s 21st century?

            There is a basic premise of classic Jewish thinking, Hafoch bah ve hafoch ba--Examine the Torah over and over, for all is in it.

            This weeks Torah portion begins with the discussion of birth" Ishah, ki tazria,--A woman at childbirth, who delivers a son, shall bring such and such an offering, shall be impure for such and such a time." We deal here, with the question of the start of life, and based on the words  "ishah ki tazria", according to the Talmud, we can choose the sex of the child in advance.

            ( The secret, according to the ancient Sages, was that the husband must see to it that his wife is satisfied in bed first. It is considered to actually  be effective in increasing the likelihood of a boy being born if the father was anxious to host a bris. The converse could be said as well, then; if the mother wanted to have a baby girl like herself, then she would need to be considerate of her husband first!)

            Let us then, look at this question, of birth, of the beginning of life itself. It is question that is constantly bounced around ever since the famous ( or infamous, depending on which side of the argument you may be on)  Roe vs Wade case--does life begin at conception--or at a certain point in the growth of an embryo-or at birth itself? Is a women who determines that she is incapable of going through with a birth to be considered a murderer, or is a women the sole proprietor of herself and of any part of her body?

            Clearly , the most vocal answers, the ones that get in the press, are either the complete “pro-life”anti-abortionists, for whom all abortion, no matter the reason, is murder, or the very abstract “pro-choice” for whom it is , very simply, a matter of a woman’s choice.

            For the Catholic Church, as for many evangelical Protestant groups, abortion is a sin, and to many, murder.

            In classic Christian doctrine, unique to the Christian fathers, and borrowed from Greek mystic movements, the moment the infant is conceived, the soul, the eternal, individual soul, enters the egg, and from that moment on, we have a full fledge human being, with all rights and safeguards. It is backed up, by a translation of a verse in the portion of Mishpatim ( Exodus 21:22) , in the Greek text( Septuagint)  but not  in ours, which we see to be a mistake and error in translation.

            The Torah speaks only of a miscarriage, caused in a fight. If the fetus is killed, the aggressor pays only a penalty. He has not committed murder, nor has he caused an accidental death. By implication, in Jewish law, the fetus is not yet a living independent human being.

            In later Jewish law, also, in the Mishnah and the Talmud, the embryo is not yet a living entity. The fetus has no legal rights; it can not inherit property, nor can any purchase be made in its name, for one can make no legal transactions on behalf of someone who does not yet exist. In Jewish law, the fetus is ubar yerech emo--the fetus is a part of the mother, just as her thigh is, or any other organ, stomach, heart, bones.

            The Talmud explicitly calls for abortion, up to the moment of birth, for the sake of the mother's life, because clearly, as Rashi explains, before physical birth, it is not considered alive. Only after birth is it alive." Clearly, terminating a pregnancy is not in and of itself an act of murder.

            From this perspective, Rabbis actually required abortion in the case of physical danger to the mother, or even mental danger to the mother even up to the moment of birth. The Rabbis actually considered the fetus to be the equivalent of a “ rodef”, a very harsh term, a word used to indicate one intent upon killing another—the fetus, in this case is the “hunter”. Other rabbis used it to indicate “ rodef” as, even though Heaven itself is pursuing the mother, as if to kill her, we must perform an abortion. There are those Rabbis who justified fear of pain, or mental anguish or shame as legitimate grounds for abortion in earlier stages. In all cases, the operative concept is that the active( mother) takes precedent over the  potential ( fetus). However, the moment, any part of the fetus emerges, whether naturally or by Caesarian, it is at that moment, considered a full human being who must now be brought to full birth.

            It would seem, from this, that the Catholic and Jewish positions are worlds apart. Yet even here, there may be grounds for a meeting place. The new Pope, Francis, while still declaring abortion ‘horrific”, has suggested that the opposition to abortion should not be seen as the Church’s “obsession”.

            Even the Christian church in history did not define abortion as murder in all cases. Medieval Church codes for example, accepted abortion before the 40th day of pregnancy. It was not until 1869 that the Catholic Church officially defined the moment of conception as the moment of the beginning of human life.

            Does this mean then that we stand eagerly with NOW and NARAL on this?

Not yet.

            Perhaps  instead there needs to be a greater general principal between the ends.

            Abortion is not murder, nor is the unborn fetus yet a full human being, yet on the other hand we also are concerned, lest we lose our sensitivity to the potential of life in each pregnancy.

            Jews were very well known in antiquity for an exceptional trait. You well know the Spartan practice of abandoning deformed babies to the wolves. Only fully healthy children were allowed to be raised to serve as warriors. Here is the law as it was recorded in The Twelve Tables of Roman Law: "Deformed infants shall be killed" (De Legibus 3.8). It was clear in Roman law that any baby less than fully desirable could be disposed of freely , and that applied, very often to baby girls who could be exposed to the beasts. Roman law gave the father “ius paterfamilias”, absolute power of authority over life and death of any of his children . The Roman historian, Tacitus condemned Jews for their opposition to infanticide; it was another proof of the  "sinister and revolting practices" of the Jews.( Histories 5.5.)

            As Jews, we recognize that we must confront moral responsibility from both ends of the equation, never form an abstract absolute.

            When we close down clinics and muzzle doctors do we really save lives, or create greater anguish. Since the woman, in pregnancy, risks her health and life in the process of birth, we cannot mandate birth by force any more than we can force someone to donate an organ, even to save another's life.

            On the other hand, where possible, we need to encourage the birth, and again, the key word is “where possible” because ultimately, the final decision rests with the woman carrying the child. Can we help the woman raise the child, can we support her to be a responsible mother, can we find the father, encourage him to be a responsible father? Can we encourage and help the mother give the child up for adoption to the many parents who are incapable of adopting? What are the tools that we can apply, whether through government agencies, or through community and faith based organizations, to see to it that every child born is wanted and loved and cared for. .

            In our tradition, every child born is a special event. May we make every effort possible, so that, when life begins, at birth, that life is a blessing, a joy, and a comfort for all. Amen.

Coming soon from IndieGo Publishing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Rabbi Norbert Weinberg

(323) 969-8430

norofra@sbcglobal.net

Courage of the Spirit tells of one man’s victory over the Nazis

Rabbi Dr. William Weinberg becomes the first State Rabbi of the community of Holocaust survivors in the German State of Hesse

Many books have been written of the spiritual heroism of the Jewish people as they rebuilt their lives after the devastation wrought by Hitler’s attempt to wipe out every last Jew, but some books stand out as unique because they are written by family members who were told those stories of heroism firsthand. Courage of the Spirit (paperback ISBN 978-0-9846685-6-4; ebook ISBN 978-0-9887048-9-3) is such a book. It portrays the spiritual struggle of one man during the first half of the twentieth century—the author’s father, Rabbi Dr. William Weinberg, who survived under Nazi and Communist tyranny to become the first State Rabbi of the community of Holocaust survivors in the German State of Hesse.

Rabbi Weinberg’s saga serves as a tour of the ideologies and principles of the contemporary world, but it also encompasses the movements that shape Judaism today: Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative, as well as political Zionism. It is a story that spans thousands of physical miles, by freight train and on foot, from the Galician Shtetl to cosmopolitan Vienna and Berlin, and to Stalingrad and central Asia and back as Rabbi Weinberg kept one step ahead of the Nazi armies. It is a story that spans the mental and emotional journey from the medieval Shtetl, the great empires, and the weak democracies and totalitarian regimes that followed, and finally, to freedom.

Along the way, we meet significant figures in Rabbi Weinberg’s life: Martin Buber and Mannes Sperber, the founders of Israel’s Marxist-Socialist party, Rabbi Leo Baeck, and Albert Einstein. We are shown a window into life in a Nazi prison and concentration camp, the day-to-day life of Jews in Nazi Berlin, and the vagaries of survival under Stalin’s totalitarian shelter.

“This book reconstructs these events from conversations with my father, from family notes, and from historical documentation,” says the author, Rabbi Norbert Weinberg.

Courage of the Spirit is the first part of a trilogy. The second part will follow the account of Irene Gottdenker, the author’s mother, who openly survived the Holocaust in the guise of a Pole of German descent and witnessed the destruction of the Jews in Lwow and Warsaw. The third part will examine the rebirth of Jewish life in the refugee camps in Austria and then in the city of Frankfurt, Germany, and the environs. 

IndieGo Publishing is an independent publishing firm that believes in supporting authors as the world’s primary source in promoting freedom of expression through the written word. Retailers may order Courage of the Spirit through Lightning Source/Ingram.

          

Shabbat Shekalim Love Expressed in a Silver Coin

Shabbat Shekalim    Love Expressed in a Silver Coin

            I will start with a little side account on Israeli money. The official coin of the state of Israel is the shekel, actually,  the Shekel Hadash, or the New Shekel. It came to replace the Israeli Lira, which was originally based on the British pound, at a rate about $3 and a quarter. Then, it inflated over time to  20 or 30 to the dollar, so the government switched the currency to the Shekel.

            Back when they were trying to fix the old shekel, they told a story of a great Hasidic Rabbi, however, who went for a walk on Shabbos in Jerusalem, He spied 100 Shekel note lying on the street in front of him, picked it up, and promptly put it in his pocket.

            His followers were astounded; Rabbi--this is mukseh ( untouchable)! You know your are forbidden to pick up money on Shabbos!

            He looked at them: You call this money, and went ahead.

            He was right—the shekel hit 1500 to the dollar three years later, because of inflation, it was reissued as the New Israeli Shekel, and brought down to 1.50 a dollar. Now, it has been stable for about 30 years at about 3 and a half, not far from where it was in 1948 at 3.25! The British are the ones who took a monetary bath however, as their pound is now about half what it was compared to the dollar in 1948!.

            Israelis used to value contracts in US dollars. Now, over the last few years, they went back to valuing contracts in Israeli Shekels. After all, the head of the Israeli National Bank, Stanley Fisher, was the mentor to the head of the Fed, Ben Bernanke. He is now back at the Fed to help shore up the US dollar.

            This story of the modern shekel brings us to the story of the ancient shekel.

            This Shabbat, we have a special reading-shekalim, named for  the real shekel, not the modern printed version, but a silver coin, unclipped, about the weight, in silver of the pre-1960’’s US silver dollar.

             We added the opening verses of Ki Tisa, which we read a few weeks ago, as our Maftir this week..

            We recall the ancient task of collecting one-half shekel from everyone, in addition to all other collections-for establishment of the sanctuary, later for annual maintenance of the Temple.

            The special Haftarah reading reflects the same theme, of an event in later history, the collection of funds for repair of the Temple in Jerusalem. This was added for the Shabbat preceding Rosh Chodesh Adar, just one month and a half before Pesah, to remind the public to bring contributions that would prepare ancient Jerusalem for the myriads of visitors who would come for the Pesah offering at the Temple.

            Our sages express astonishment at our people’s response to our requests for funds. They paid, it shows, not only the half-shekel, but added generously out of their own pocket, as we read last Shabbat in Vaykhel and on this Shabbat of Pekudei.

            “What a strange  people! Last week, they raised funds for the Golden Calf, this week, they raise funds for the Holy Sanctuary?  Whatever you ask them for, they give!” (Yerushalmi)

            Of course it was not always easy to raise funds either for Golden Calves or for Temples.

            Our literature is filled with exhortations to give generously, which means that the people had to be prompted and prodded.

 Thus our sages insisted

"No one ever became poor by giving Zedakah"

Or, they promised, as in the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, some 2200 years ago, “As Water  douses a flame, so zedakah atones for sins.”

            Those who pled poverty, and thus unable to give,   were assured,:

“Whoever pursues the giving of zedakah, God gives him the means.”(Baba batra)

            Nothing ever changes. Plus ca change, plus ca meme chose! .The more the change, the more things remain as they were. Jews have been trying to raise funds ever since. We didn't have the power of taxation to maintain our institutions so we had to rely on the power of the community to persuade and encourage.

            Jews also loved their synagogues-it goes back a long time. In the opening of the prayer book, there is a prayer for entering the synagogue

            “Ma Tovu ohalecha”--How goodly are your tents

It goes on" Oh Lord, I love the habitation of your house, the place where your glory dwells.”

            Look at the 23rd Psalm,”The Lord is my shepherd”. We use it for funerals but that is not its purpose. Sefardic Jews use it as a table song to celebrate and it declares, in celebration "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”. You only seek to dwell forever  in a place you love.

            Archaeologist in Israel and the Middle East have uncovered countless plaques with the names of one donor or another, in Hebrew and in Greek, naming the president of a congregation, the donor of a doorway, even the name of a women who was president of her congregation. This is a precedent which every charitable institution has followed down to this day.

            Why do people go out of their way to do this? People in general, not just Jews.

            .One reporters described the aftermath of fighting in an Italian village.

            An artillery shell fell through the top of a church, ruined the church, but spared its famous mural by Bellini. This was seen as a miracle. The people began to raise the money to rebuild the Church; people who didn't have shoes came up and put money in the box. It was cold and they didn't even have enough to eat.

            “I asked one man, ‘Why do you do this?’ He hesitated a moment and said, ‘Signor, what I give is only a little, but in giving it, I become a part of something beautiful.’ (Stanley Andrews)

            We all, Jews and non-Jews, want to be part of something beautiful.

            I have my share of stories of how people care for their synagogues

            I will start with an  example from a non-Jew!

            I recall being my youth in a small town in West Virginia, My father had been the Rabbi. You  didn't know there were Jews in the heart of West Virginia?

            At every Jewish holiday, in would walk a Christian lady from the neighboring town with an armload of first fruits from her yard. She brought it to the synagogue because she took it seriously--God has asked for the first fruits, and she has given it.

            I was Rabbi once in Newport News , Virginia, where they just celebrated 100 years of the congregation. The entire Jewish community, of two thousand, was for the most part descended from three main families; everyone was either a descendent of, married to, a cousin of, or best friend of. Board members were all relatives. If someone was upset with the president, it was "Cousin Ralph" or "Uncle Bob". Since the synagogue was a family affair, everyone took care of it as if it were his own house-- and it was. (By the way, the head of the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College, Rabbi David Ellison is a product of the town’s Orthodox synagogue! His brother taught in our Hebrew School. Small world, then, for his son and our son were in school together here, in this building, many years later, downstairs in what was the Herzl school. Small world, the granddaughter of our Hebrew school program is friends with our granddaughter here in LA.)

            In yet another congregation where I served, in Whittier,I recall one member, the wife of a prominent lawyer and judge, who lived in an elegant house in the best part of the city. She had her maid to do her house, of course. But when it came to the synagogue, no cleaning lady was good enough. Time and again, I would find her in the sanctuary scrubbing the stains on the carpet on the Bimah-- because no else could do the job the right way! That's care.

            .Every Jewish community had its" sheva tovei ha'ir"--its seven good men of the town, the executive committee, which undertook the responsibilities of the synagogue, and every community had its asarah batlanim-its minyan of batlanim--a batlan is not a lazy man, just the opposite, a batlan meant a wealthy man, who was batel--he was free from the burden of employment so he could dedicate himself to the needs of the synagogue.

            (.Here too, we have our tovei ha-ir.our goodly people of the city. We have our core of people who give and have given of themselves constantly. I look here at Carmen, Marcello and Lillian, Simon, Rosa and others, for example.

            But they alone cannot lift up this great institution. Leaders are of no avail without followers to give fullest support.)

            Finally, people may ask with a practical approach: In times like these, what does this synagogue mean to me?

            I close with the words of a noted Rabbi, Solomon Goldman

"Why go to the Synagogue?"

            I come to the synagogue to probe my weakness and my strength

            I come to lift myself by my bootstraps, I come to quiet the turbulence in my heart, restrain its mad impulsiveness and check the itching eagerness of my every muscle to outsmart and outdistance my neighbor.       I come for self-renewal and regeneration I come to behold the beauty of the Lord, to find him  who put an upward reach in the heart of man. "

            That is what this synagogue can do for each of us. That is why we have the reminder, before we make merry with Purim and celebrate Pesah with family and friends, to give our half-shekels worth, and more, to make our Sanctuaries  and congregations flourish.

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