Monday, February 28, 2011

Parshat Pekudei
Shmot 38:21 – 40:38
29 Adar 1 5771 / March 4 – 5, 2011

A Blessing from Moshe to Moishe House
by Zvi Bellin, Moishe House Headquarters

וַיַּרְא מֹשֶׁה אֶת-כָּל-הַמְּלָאכָה, וְהִנֵּה עָשׂוּ אֹתָהּ--כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה, כֵּן עָשׂוּ; וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם, מֹשֶׁה.

And Moses saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it. And Moses blessed them.

The tabernacle and all of its parts are constructed, yet not united. The clothing of the Priests are stitched in fine detail. The Children of Israel bring all the products of their handiwork before Moshe for approval. He inspects the holy tools carefully; he measures each post and eyes the thread pattern of each cloak and garment. Moshe sees that everything was indeed made in accordance with what G-d commanded. The people prove their personal connection to know what G-d wants from them. According to Rashi, he blesses the entire congregation with these words.

“May it be willed that the Shechina [divine presence] will rest on the doing of your hands, and may the favor of the Lord our G-d rest on us. Establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.”

This blessing offers an important reminder for our work through Moishe House. Like the Children of Israel (and as Children of Israel) we set the stage for some major Jewish experiences for our peers. We take care in preparing the food, and keeping the house ready for events. We are mindful about our relationships with our housemates who are in part co-workers and part friends. We do a lot to create the space and get all the details ready.

After that, we have to let go. Will people show up? Will new people come? Will our peers appreciate the scene we have created? Will our programs necessarily translate into a richer Jewish life for all involved? We don’t know, and neither did Moshe when the Israelites brought him all the ritual items. Will these physical items actually draw G-d closer to us?

Moshe’s blessing fills the gap between planning with our best effort and the actual outcome of our work. We can choose to be overcome by worry about an event, or we can bring an intention and hope that things will work out as needed. So I want to bless all of us:

May it be willed that the Divine Presence will rest on the doing of our hands, and may Divine favor rest upon us. Establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Number 10 Connections

Parshat Vayakel
Exodus 35:1-38:20
22 Adar 1 5770 / Feb. 25 – 26, 2011

(SEE ENGLISH BELOW.)

Число 10 и его значения -
от Ильи Агрона, Дом Моисея в Москве.

Сегодня я хочу рассказать не о нынешней недельной главе, но о нескольких главах: Итро, Мишпатим и... Шлах! И общих моментах в трех главах.

В целом, я думаю, все представляют канву этих трех «эпизодов»: Итро, Мишпатим и Шлах.

Но все равно стоит коротко напомнить, что происходит в этих главах.

Итро – это имя тестя Моисея , содействующего становлению судебной системы, в этой главе народ Израиля получает 10-ть заповедей.

В главе Мишпатим происходит дальнейшее становление судебной системы, вводятся конкретные меры и наказания, Моисей уходит назад на 40 дней на Синайскую гору за Торой.

А вот в главе Шлах, которую мы будем читать через пару месяцев, речь идет о том, что евреи дошли до Святой земли, но испугались туда входить, отправили туда 12 разведчиков, но не простых разведчиков, а глав колен! Те вернулись, и 10 из них сказали правду, а потом добавили свое мнение, что местных не одолеть никак... Народ заплакал, потом взроптал и решил не идти дальше.

Почему я решил объединить эти главы? Все просто, в них много общих элементов, часто числовых, что мне как физику-математику близко.

В Торе всегда интересно искать общие моменты, это позволяет понять более точно смыслы и нюансы событий.

В этих же главах есть много общих чисел: 10, 40.

10 заповедей, 10 разведчиков, которые «уговорили» народ не идти, 10 человек для миньяна.

40 дней на Синае, 40 дней разведчики в Стране Израиля, 40 лет в пустыне...

Сколько братьев оставило Йосефа в колодце? Сколько братьев пришло за зерном в Египет? Сколько на Скрижалях Завета заповедей? Сколькими речениями, наконец, был сотворен Мир? Сколько евреев надо для миньяна? Уверен, что список можно продлить.

Скажу честно, не могу увязать все эти вопросы, но попробую найти нечто общее.

Начнем с того, что из 12-ти разведчиков «заплакать» народ заставили 10? Эти достойнешие из достойнеших сделали грубейшую «ошибку»: они сказали факты, а за ними аналитику, свое мнение! Не отделив одно от другого, воспользовавшись своим влиянием. Не говорю уже, что они не поверили в то, что эта Земля им заповедана... И народ взроптал и получил 40 лет: по году за день разведчиков. Не могу сейчас предложить концептуального видения связи между 40 днями на Синае и 40 днями в Израиле. Ну, если только сказать о равной святости Земли Израиля и Торы, как нечто, требующее одинакового времени – для познания и получения.

Очень интересно, что в этом контексте, когда 10 из 12-ти поступили таким образом, что народ не вошел в Израиль, мы читаем слово «община». На основании этого определения Талмуд выводит принцип о миньяне – 10 мужчинах, необходимых и достаточных для многих духовных штук. То есть важный духовный инструмент мы выводим из одного из гнуснейших поступков в еврейской истории!

Согласно объяснению раввина М.М. Шнеерсона следует обратить внимание на то, что миньян мы используем только для духовных действий (молитв, благословений, чтения Свитка Торы), но не для материального. Он высказал мнение, что те 10 – они были супердуховны, они не хотели ничего материального: воевать, пахать, сеять, строить, и потому и не захотели входить в Землю, а предпочитали положения отшельников в пустыне, питающихся манном небесным. И поэтому миньян – это не для постройки бани, но для молитвы.

Вот такие дела, пора пить чай.=)

Number 10 Connections
by Ilya Agron, MH Moscow

Today, instead of discussing this week’s Torah portion, I would like to turn to several other parashas, namely Yitro (Jethro) , Mishpatim and... Shlach, and their similarities.

I believe most of you are familiar with the content of these three “episodes”. Yet I shall briefly remind you of their outline.

  1. Jethro is the name of Moses’ father-in-law, who influenced the establishment of a legal system. In the parasha, named after him, the 10 Commandments are given to the Israelites.
  2. In Mishpatim (Hebrew for “Laws”) the legal system is developed further, concise measures and punishments are introduced. Moses leaves for Mount Sinai to obtain the Torah and spends there 40 days and nights.
  3. While the Shlach parsha will be read in a couple of months, it speaks of how the Jews reached the Holy Land and, being afraid of entering it, sent 12 spies to scout the land of Canaan. These were not simple spies, but chieftains of the 12 tribes of Israel!

They came back and 10 of them spoke the truth, adding their opinion that the locals could not be overtaken. The community broke into crying, repined and refused to go further.

Why would I decide to discuss those episodes together? It very simple: they share a lot of common elements, purely number-wise, which is very close to me as a physicist-mathematician. Searching for coinciding details in the Torah is always exciting; it helps to deepen the understanding of the meaning of these passages.

The above mentioned parshas have these common numbers, 10 and 40.

10 Commandments, 10 scouts talking the community into disobeying the Lord, 10 males for a minyan.

40 days on Sinai, 40 days spying in Canaan, 40 years in the desert...

How many brothers left Joseph in the well? How many of them came for the wheat to Egypt? How many commandments are on the Tablets of the Law? With how many divine commands was the world created? This list can go on forever, I’m sure.

Honestly I can’t find connections between all these questions, nevertheless I’ll try to define certain resemblances.

To start with, out of 12 scouts only 10 brought the people to tears. These men of worth made a mistake: they followed the facts with analytics, personal opinion! By not separating those they misused their influence. I won’t even mention their disbelief in the Holy Land being commanded for them. And the people repined and got 40 years: a year for each day spent by the spies in Israel. I can’t suggest a conceptual vision of connection between 40 days on Sinai and 40 days in Israel. The only explanation would be that, well, the Land of Israel and Torah are equally sacred as something that needs equal time for obtaining and exploring.

It’s very interesting in this context that it was 10 out of 12 who, by their talks, prevented the people from entering Israel. Based on that, the Talmud deduces the principle of a minyan – traditionally, 10 males, necessary and sufficient for many Jewish ceremonies. That means we have one of our most important spiritual traditions resting upon one of the most villainous actions in Jewish history!

According to Rabbi M.M.Schneerson’s explanation we should note that we use a minyan for spiritual actions only (praying, blessings, reading the Torah) but never for material ones. He stated that those 10 were super-spiritual, they denied everything material: fighting, ploughing, seeding, building and therefore preferred entering the Land to remaining hermits in the desert. That is why minyan is not for building a bath house – but for prayers!

That’s it, let’s have some... tea!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Angry Moshe Blows His Top

Parshat Ki Tisa
Shmot 30:11 – 34:35
Feb. 18 – 19, 2011

Angry Moshe Blows His Top
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ

If there is a portion of the Torah where Moshe seems to be out of his mind, this is it! Moshe is on the mountain and everything is going fine. He is learning Torah with G-d and crafting a timeless text together. When they are done, G-d tells Moshe that the people have gone bananas. They are worshiping a false god and G-d will kill the whole nation and start fresh with Moshe’s kin. Moshe “leaps” into action and begs for the people’s forgiveness. He convinces G-d that it would be very un-G-d like for the people to be destroyed now. After all, they’ve come so far. And would we really want a rumor spreading around the world that the Almighty G-d freed the Jews only to kill them in the desert. No one wants that! G-d sees the reason in Moshe’s words and relents. The Jewish people will be spared.

This all seems great. Gold star for Moshe.

Now Moshe goes down the mountain hefting the first set of stone tablets. And he hears … debauchery! A raucous celebration that can only mean one thing – G-d was not kidding and the poop has really hit the fan! He approaches the camp and sees the Israelites dancing around this golden statue of a calf. They are singing around it and pointing to it proclaiming, “This is our new god!”

Moshe has already saved the people from destruction. He could have returned to the community, smashed the baby cow and set the people straight with a strong reprimand. Instead he seems to go ballistic. He breaks the tablets and grinds the calf to dust making it into an atonement cocktail for the people to drink. Then he rallies the people who are still “with G-d” and orders these zealots to slay their brothers who refused to come with Moshe. They killed about 3,000 people! In the text, he gave this order in the name of G-d, though it is not evident from the text that G-d actually told the people to kill their own flesh and blood.

While Moshe learned to ask for forgiveness, he did not seem to model G-d’s ability to forgive. 

As I read Moshe’s story, I get a sense of a man who carries a burden that is too great. He is a leader that is broken by his responsibility. From this story it is very clear to me why Moshe could not continue on with the people to Israel. I hate to come down on Moshe. I would not want to walk even one step in his shoes. For me the story brings a lesson as a leader. Losing one’s head in anger is not a time for action. It is a time for reflecting on why there is so much angry.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Praying For The Whole

Parshat Tetzaveh
Shmot 27:20 - 30:10
8 Adar 1 5771 / Feb. 11-12, 2011

Praying For The Whole
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ

In this week’s Torah portion Moshe and the Israelites are commanded regarding the clothing of the High Priest (Aaron), and his sons. In the caste system of this newly-liberated people there was one family (Aaron’s) from within the Levite family that would bear the burden and receive the honor of serving in G-d’s tabernacle. The Priests performed the holiday rituals and the daily sacrifices. They made sure to keep the lamp burning day and night, and were the only ones allowed to enter into the inner chambers of the temple. Reflecting on this, I think about a monogamous relationship where the most intimate revelations about two people are shared between the couple only.

As we know very well, Judaism does not say that the Priestly connection was the only connection between humans and G-d. We believe that each person can reach out to G-d and also find forgiveness through G-d. If you think about it, atonement and reconciliation is a major function of clergy in many faiths. Similar to last week’s question, why have this central role if we are all privy to the power of Divine communication? And what of today, where a strong Jewish central figure seems to be missing?

When speaking of an individual’s relationship with G-d, I believe the priests’ role was less crucial. You did something wrong, and you brought an offering to the temple for atonement. The priests’ function was to help you with the roasting and blood spilling, and keeping order, very much like the clerks at a Department of Motor Vehicles. Essential for order, but not adding much more.

Now when we talk about communal processes, then the kohanim serve a much more important function. They act as the representative for the entire nation, with all of our intricate connections and bonds. This is very beautiful and wise. Having a central person atoning for the collective, shows that we understand that no one person is solely responsible for his or her actions. A murder acts within a social context and framework. A thief does not grow up with this propensity in a total vacuum. Just as we affect each other to express our positive identity, we also play a role in each other’s failings. Having the priest as a central figure is a cosmic play of the, “many combined into the One.”

Now how about today? We do not have the same system of centralized sacrificial atonement. We pray with words, words, and more words. Each person is individually responsible for the words of his or her lips and the meditations of his or her own heart. I believe, that the unification of prayer can be found in the repetition of the silent prayer by the Shaliach Tzibur (literally, The One Sent by the Collective), Service Leader. Also, we have a need for 10 people in order to say specific prayers – an enhancement of the individual prayer by the formation of a quorum. Though sitting through a recitation of what you just read can seem boring (i.e. the repetition of the silent standing prayer, or, Amida) and going to synagogue in general can be a drag, I want to invite some meaningfulness around these communal prayer rituals that we have as part of our Jewish culture. Perhaps thinking of them as a form of “healing between us” can increase the meaningfulness of our prayer experiences.