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Discussion Questions
1. How does this image of "Satan as
prosecuting attorney" differ from that which we find in popular culture? Why do you think
Judaism invests the concept of Satan with less power than does the general culture?
The concept of free will, and not original sin, is paramount in Talmudic Judaism. It is up to us to decide to negate our will and do to G!d's. It is up to us to pick up the yoke of G!d. We are born with a Yetza Ha Ra and a Yetza Ha Tov. Without the Yetza Ha Ra the Talmud teaches we would never marry or go to work or build a house. We are to try to align our Yetza Ha Ra with doing good.
Judaism accepts the fact that man is flawed. We are not saints. Proverbs says that no man walks amongst us that has not sinned, and indeed a righteous man sins 7 times a day. A righteous man however does his best to try to not sin again.
Our prayers are about self judgment. The derivation of the word tephila actually means such. if we know that we are weak in some area, than we must refrain from placing ourselves in an area that is tempting us to sin. The concept of the "devil made me do it," is not Judaic. We decide what our actions are, and we are responsible for teshuvah and correcting our misdeeds. The Talmud understands, using modern terms, that some people are obsessive compulsive and may even have addictions, and have such a strong Yetzer a Ra, they cannot stop their behaviors. The Talmud tells these people to go to another city, where no one knows them to commit these sins. This may sound horrid to us living in 2007 telling a pedophile for example to go bother little kids 50 miles away, but do we really have much better answer for these people now?
2. According to this passage, you should
avoid engaging in physically risky pursuits. How would you extend, or not extend, this precept to the emotional, intellectual and spiritual realms?
I am too old for physically risky pursuits. Eating matzah brie is a risky physical pursuit.
But for the spirital realm I must stay spiritually fit. Regardless of what halakah says, I am at the stage in my life that I need to begin and end my day with prayer and meditation and have a break mid day for the same. I cannot combine minka with ma'ariv. I have some chronic diseases that make my mind not as clear as it once was and makes my frustration not as tolerant as it once was. Asking G!D to give me love and tolerance thru out the day, helps me a great deal.
3. When is a physical risk worth taking?
or example, when are the risks of paragliding
worth taking and when are they not? Or, more
seriously, when are the risks entailed in making
a living by mining or in the armed services justifiable? What would protect one spiritually in such cases?
For me, perhaps only in helping to save the life of another, and even then the Talmud asks me is my blood more or less red than the person I am trying to save? I am protected Spritually trying to keep in constant contact with G!D all day, and thinking before I act. Does it work all the time? No. I still can say the stupidest things to my wife, and then have to amend. And I recently sent a poison pen email, only to have to make amends for doing such.
Understanding G!D and understanding the true meaning of Rosh ha Shana from a Talmudic point of few, means that when we are angry at someone else, or hurt someone else, we are really hurting ourselves, as we are all contected, all brother and sisters, of one human set of parents and one heavenly Parent.
Basically, I try not to give Satan, or my Yetza ha Ra much of a chance to be 'feed.' "Withhold not good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it" (B. Bava Kama 81b). The Talmud tells us these instuctions to avoid Satan given by the timeless Elijah to one of the Talmudic sages: "Do not become angry and you will not sin; do not become intoxicated and you will not sin; and when you depart on a journey, beg leave of your Creator and then set out." Our sages explain that begging leave of God refers to the wayfarer's prayer (B. Berachot 29b-30a).
Rabbinic Literature gives two accounts for the origin of Satan. The first is that Satan was created on the sixth day at the same time as Eve. This ties in with the tradition that Satan played some part in the fall of man as defined in "popular culture.' The second and more prevalent tradition is that Satan is one of the fallen angels. Satan is identified with Sammael and his deeds.
In Tractate Bava Batra (16a), Satan is identified with the Yetzer ha Ra, which is the 'evil impulse' in man. This is what I am referring to above. I believe that in every person, there is a spark of G!D and a spark of Satan, and who we chose to kindle that flame inside us, is up to us. The Talmud distinguishes between the personified Satan outside man, and the Yetzer ha Ra that exists within man. It is this evil impulse within man that allows Satan the opportunity to work his will against man.
Rabbinic writings also foreshadow the destruction of Satan. Tractate Succah (52a) talks of the destruction of the evil angel, while the Yalkut Jesaj (359) implies that Satan will be overthrown at a future time by the Messiah, referring to Psalm 36:9.( O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.)
If you are interested in some good books on the evolution of the concept of Satan in Judaism, from an obedient prosecuting attorney angel to a full-fledged Lord of Hell, especially in the Kabbalah, there are:
1. "A Gathering of Angels" by Rabbi Morris B. Margolies, which has several chapters on Satan and the dark angels (demons):
2. "Kabbalah" by Gershom Scholem, which has a chapter on "Samael" (Satan) plus innumerable other references to the evolution of his role as the rule of the Sitra Achra (the Other Side);
3. "Everyman's Talmud" by A. Cohen, which has a chapter on demonology in the Talmud, and many references to Satan as "Samael" and Satan;
4. "Collected Stories" of Isaac Bashevis Singer, which show how the concept of Satan was regarded by the Hasidic Orthodox Jews of Poland in 1900. The stories contain a lot of Jewish mystical theology and folk beliefs about Satan.
4. Satan also shows up in the Orthodox prayerbook, such as in the "Foundation of Repentance" essay at the beginning of the Rosh Hashanah machzor:"for the seducer [Satan] lurks like a fly at the entrance of the heart. He renews his offensive every day. He scrutinizes and seeks ways to trip a Jew up and convince him of this evil counsel."
Lastly, trying each day to learn humility helps. From the Mishna to truly put me in my place: "3:1. Akavya ben Mahalalel said: Reflect upon three things and you will not come to sin. Know from where you came and where you are going and before whom you are destined to give account and reckoning. From where have you come?--from a putrid drop. Where are you going?--to the place of dust, worms, and maggots. Before whom are you destined to give account and reckoning?--before the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He."
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal
Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.
