RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:STUDYING TORAH/TALMUD

 RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:STUDYING TORAH/TALMUD

 

Jewish Spiritual Renewal Torah/Talmud Study:Shabbat 10/25/08 Hebrew College,MA

 

Shalom Talmudim v' Chaverim: And Happy Hoshana Rabbah Sunday night, Happy Shemini Atzeret Monday night, and Happy Simcha Torah Tuesday night:

 

Welcome back to our Jewish Spiritual Renewal class at Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, USA in the suburbs of Boston, brought to you by their Shamash Org on-line class service.

 

In the past 15 or so weeks we studied the step-by-step process of Jewish Spiritual Renewal. It is a life long process that we never master, and one of goals, is to learn the wisdom of our sages via Torah and Talmud study, especially the ethical precepts (mussar), the spiritual lessons.

 

I do not believe in censorship and neither did our sages.They recorded all views.  All comments, unless if you ask me not to post them, will be posted, as long as we do not engage in makloket, personal attacks. We are to conduct ourselves with Ahavath Israel, love for each other, at all times, remembering that Rabbis Shammai and Hillel argued over everything, inside the academies, but were friends, outside of 'work.' Their children and their Talmudim married into each others families.

 

The idea of walking up to a rabbi, or a Talmud student, who has his hand out to wish one a ''shavuah tov and a l'shana tova,'' and slam him in front of non-Jewish people for an article he wrote that one disagreed with is an anathema in Judaism and shows the lowest of Judaic learning. The Talmudic sages call folks behaving like this,  am ha eretz, people of the dirt. They may have money, but know no knowledge of Torah or Talmud, or the way to live with Dereck Eretz.  Worse it is Chillul ha Shem, a desecration of God's name as we are to be ''a light onto other nations,'' on how we are to behave.(from this Shabbat's Haftarah: Is: 42:6).

 

If there is one thing I'd like you to learn it is that Torah begins and ends with chesed -kindness. God clothed the naked (Adam and Chava) and buried the homeless (Moses). We are to treat folks we encounter as if it were the last time we are to ever see them with an over abundance of love. So let us make sure from the start that we can disagree but not be disagreeable.

 

This lesson will have some quotations from this Shabbat's Torah portion Beresheit, and from its Haftarah portion, and we will quote a little of Talmud.

 

I would like you to see how these three blend together, and compose your comments. There is no right or wrong answer.

 

After that will be an essay from my upcoming second book, a Compendium on the Torah and Talmud from a Spiritual and Ethical View Point, on how to read the Talmud and Torah. It is dry. It is not meant for you to memorize, but to print, or file in your computer and refer to, as it has many definitions that we will be using constantly.

 

And lastly after that will be a d'var Torah on Beresheit for your study which will explain some of the deeper meaning of the parasha as well as some Talmudic, Midrashic, and other sages takes on the Parasha. Develop your own.

 

OK, so as Portnoy's shrink said in the last line of Roth's Portnoy's Complaint, ''now let us begin.''

 

On of the most oft overlooked puseks (verses) in Beresheit occurs after Cain has seen his sacrifice to God rejected and Abel's accepted. To quickly review, Abel has worked and via animal husbandry, developed a line of prize sheep and offers God a choice lamb. Cain is lazy, and grows root vegetables, requiring little work. And offers to God something like turnips or yams.

 

And Cain looks depressed. And God says to Cain: (Gen: 4:6-7): 6. "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7. If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

 

Our Haftarah has another interesting quote:  "Who was it that gave Jacob over to despoilment and Israel to plunder? Surely, it is the Lord against whom they sinned, in whose ways they would not walk and whose teaching they would not obey." (Is. 42:24)

 

And a quote from Talmud:  But a little history first: Amalek was a tribe that attacked the Hebrews from the rear , killing women and children first. This took place during the 40 years in the Desert.  Deuteronomy 25:17:19 tell us: to both ''remember'' Amalek and ''blot out'' Amalek.

 

King Saul lost his kingship because in a battle with Amalek, he did not blot them out but allowed their king to live. Judge Samuel had to kill this king.

 

The rabbis of the Talmud, knowing that Haman was Amalek, as they developed a Talmudic God of love and forgiveness, decided that the blotting of Amalek would be done with noisemakers whenever we hear the name of Haman read during Purim, and not with swords.

 

However, recent sages have declared that Hitler was Amalek.

 

The Talmud says the following: "But why did Amalek hate us? Desiring to become a convert to Judaism, Timna, (Gen.36:22) went to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they did not accept her. So she went and became a concubine to Eliphaz the son of Esau, saying, "I had rather be a servant to this people than a mistress of another nation." From her Amalek was descended who afflicted Israel. Why so? Because they should not have rejected her. (Talmud Balvi Tractate Sanhedrin 99b)

 

So, we have  verses of Chumash, Nevi'im and Talmud. God is saying to Cain if you do what is right (in God's eyes) you will be accepted (by both God and your fellows). If you take short cuts and do what isn't right, a life of sin, our yetzer ha ra, our evil inclination, is ready to rule over us. We have freedom of choice. In the case of the Jewess with the loshan ha ra, [the evil tongue], she can use her words (devarim, also the word for bees), like honey, or she can use them to sting.

 

While as spiritual liberal Jews we do not necessary ascribe to divine punishment, common sense tells us that if we follow God's simple rules for us, of ''playing nice'' with our neighbors, we will not make enemies. We will live in peace. In Judaism the ends never justify the means. The history of Israel, and by this I mean the people, and also the nation, shows that when we were faithful to the man-to-man laws and ethics and spiritual principals, we lived in peace. When we became arrogant and thought we knew better than God, our neighbors didn't trust us, nor did our host nations. Hence with few exceptions, we have been expelled or worse, from most countries in which we have lived, and conquered by our neighbors.

 

The Talmud is telling us we started the problems with Amalak, who are  Haman and Hitler. This is not  a blame the victim attitude. But as they also teach in Talmud Bavli Tractate Beracoth 5b, when bad things befall us, we are to look into ourselves. When we are angry at some one, we are actually angry with something wrong with our selves. Modern psychiatrists call this projection.  The Talmud teaches that is it much easier for a am ha eretz, to pick on the splinter in someone else's eye, then to do a chesbon ha nefesh, a moral inventory of their own soul, and take the logs out of their own eyes.

 

So, my Chaverim and Talmudim, what are your opinions?

 

Next comes the promised lesson on how to study Torah and Talmud.

 

Introduction

Some Hints on Reading Torah and Talmud

The Two Torahs: Oral and Written

My goal for this class is to have you learn the essence of Torah, Judaism and Talmudic principles without getting bogged down in the minutia. That is, I want you to learn this information without making it a daunting task. To help simplify things, the class is not replete with cumbersome references, however it would be impossible to accomplish the task without some sort of reference guide. This chapter will be that guide. Don't attempt to read and memorize any of the lists; just know that they are here if questions come up about sources quoted, or how and why rabbis draw their conclusions.

You have certainly heard the words Talmud, Mishna, Gemara, or Midrash before. As Jews, we all have. The problem is that our lax religious schools put more emphasis on preparation for bar or bat mitzvah or confirmation rather than on true Judaic studies and these texts taken from the Oral Torah.

Traditionally these words, these books, are said to have been given to Moses while he was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Written Law. You are familiar with the Written Law, it is the written Torah, and you have surely seen the scrolls in your Synagogue and have seen copies of Jewish bibles. I'll bet you've never seen a Talmud, though. Few of us have. Of those who have seen it, most cannot identify Gemara, Mishna or other rabbis' post-Talmudic age commentaries.

The written Torah is easy to describe. In Hebrew it is called the TaNaK, which is actually an acronym formed by the letters of the first words of Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim...namely the Five Books of Moses, the books of the Prophets and the Writings.

The Oral Torah was first the Mishna. This word comes from the Hebrew word for "repeat," as it was repeated orally. It is the same root as the Hebrew word for "year" (shana), which repeats as well. It is the second law. Very tersely written in the Hebrew language, the Mishna began via oral tradition long before the Hebrews came to Babylon in captivity in 586 B.C.E, as it contained laws expounding on day-by-day laws that were mentioned in the Torah, but were not given much detail. It was finally put into writing circa 200 C.E. by Rabbi Judah ha Nasi (the prince).

Discussions about the Mishna, which included the original parts of the Torah from which the Mishna is derived, is called the Gemara, whose name comes from the word, mara, meaning to learn or study. Gemara is written in Aramaic, the language of the Babylonian street, and unlike the Mishna, which is relatively brief, the Gemara tends to go on and on, moving easily off topic at times. For example, in the middle of rules for Blessings, the Gemara wanders off into an ethical lesson about why it is wrong for one to embarrass another. The Talmud is filled with such ethical Jewish Spiritual Renewal pearls of wisdom on how one should live life.

Together, the Mishna and Gemara comprise the Talmud. It was finally put to writing circa 500 C.E.

Jewish law codes and rules come from the Gemara after the rabbis dissect the Mishna to determine what it is saying as it relates to the Torah law. Hence, while there may be 36 ways to incur the death penalty in the Torah and many in the Mishna, the Gemara, passes so many rules for the courts that it makes it impossible to carry out the death sentence. The Gemara says, for example, that any court handing down one death sentence in seven years is a bloody court. This is why the State of Israel has executed one person in sixty years, and the State of Texas many. Texas reads the Bible without the benefit of rabbinic judgment. Israel reads it with the benefit of the rabbis' wisdom from the Talmud.

Written Torah

TaNaK, as mentioned earlier is an acronym formed by Torah, Prophets (Nevi'im) and Writings (Ketuvim).

Jews do not call the TaNaK the "Old Testament" because for Judaism there is nothing old about it. Nothing new or improved comes after TaNaK as far as Judaism is concerned. A book containing only the Torah is sometimes called a Chumash, from the Hebrew word for five as mentioned in the Prologue. Sometimes it is called the Pentateuch, derived from the Greek word for five.

Your study of the Torah will deal with the Five Books. Each book has a Hebrew name derived from the first word or words in the book, just as the parasha's (portion) name comes from the first word or words in the parasha. For example, the first word of the Torah is Beresheit, which means, "In the beginning." Hence this is the Hebrew name of the first book of the Torah as well as the name of the first parasha in the Torah and in the Book of Beresheit.

The English names come from Latin or Greek and have to do with what the Romans, Greeks or early Christians thought the text was about. The chapters and verses were devised by them as well. Hebrews used only the parasha's name. Each parasha is divided into seven sections, called alliyah, from the word that means "going up." In a Traditional Jewish service, seven different people are called to the Torah to bless and thank God for it, and an alliyah is chanted. So traditionally one would find a verse by citing the parasha's name in Hebrew and the alliyah in which the verse is found. However, we all use the same chapter and verse system developed by the church today. This is why you will find some parashot (plural of parasha) beginning or ending in the middle of a chapter.

Here are the names of the second through fifth books:

The second book, Exodus, is about the redemption from Egypt. Its Hebrew name is Shemot, which means "Names."

The third book, Leviticus, is about the Priestly duties. Its Hebrew name is Vayikra, which means "God called."

The fourth book, Numbers, is so named because it begins with a census. Its Hebrew name is Bemidbar, which means "In the Desert."

The fifth book, Deuteronomy, which means "second telling" in Latin, repeats much of the first four books. In Hebrew it is called Devarim, meaning "Words."

A very brief outline of each book of the Torah follows:

Beresheit/Genesis (Gen.)

The Creation; Adam and Eve; Cain, Abel and Seth; Noah's Ark; The Tower of Babel; Histories of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, Rachel and Leah, Joseph and his brothers.

Genesis covers approximately 2,300 years.

Shemot/Exodus (Ex.)

Slavery in Egypt; Moses; The Burning Bush; The Ten Plagues; Crossing of the Sea of Reeds; Revelation at Sinai; The Golden Calf; Building the Desert Tabernacle.

Exodus covers approximately 210 years.

Vayikra/Leviticus (Lev.)

Laws of sacrifices; Purity and Spiritual Dermatitis and the Priesthood; "The Holiness Code" with the famous verse "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Leviticus covers 30 days.

Bemidbar/Numbers (Num.)

Wandering forty years; The Census; The Priestly Benediction; The Sending of Spies; Korach's rebellion.

Numbers covers approximately 38 years.

Devarim/Deuteronomy (Deut.)

Moses's speeches to Israel before they enter Canaan; The Shema and V'ahavta; The Ten Commandments (again); Moses dies; Joshua takes over.

Deuteronomy covers 27 days.

Our Table of Contents lists the parasha and the chapter in this text so you can easily locate it. Here is the same list with the Hebrew name of the parasha translated. Most times, I will have done this in the text.

Genesis

Beresheit: "In the Beginning" Genesis 1:1-6:8

Noach: "Noah" Genesis 6:9-11:32

Lech-lecha: "Go You!" Genesis 12:1-17:27

Vayeira: "God Appeared" Genesis 18:1-22:24

Chayei Sarah: "The life of Sarah" Genesis 23:1-25:18

Toldot: "Generations" Genesis 25:19-28:9

Vayeitsei: "And he went out" Genesis 28:10-32:3

Vayishlach: "And he sent" Genesis 32:4-36:43

Vayeishev: "And he sat" Genesis 37:1-40:23

Mikeits: "At the end" Genesis 41:1-44:17

Vayigash: "And he drew near" Genesis 44:18-47:27

Vayyechi: "And he lived" Genesis 47:28-50:26

Exodus

Shemot: "Names" Exodus 1:1-6:1

Va-eira: "And I appeared" Exodus 6:2-9:35

Bo: "Come" Exodus 10:1-13:16

Beshalach: "When he sent" Exodus 13:17-17:16

Yitro: "Jethro" Exodus 18:1-20:23

Mishpatim: "Laws" Exodus 21:1-24:18

Terumah: "An offering" Exodus 25:1-27:19

Titsaveh: "And you will command" Exodus 27:20-30:10

Ki Tisa: "When you take up" Exodus 30:11-34:35

Vayakheil: "And he gathered" Exodus 35:1-38:20

Pekudei: "The accounts" Exodus 38:21-40:38

Leviticus

Vayikra: "And God called" Leviticus 1:1-5:26

Tsav: "Command" Leviticus 6:1-8:36

Shemini: "The eighth" Leviticus 9:1-11:47

Tazria: "She conceived" Leviticus 12:1-13:59

Metsora: "The leper" Leviticus 14:1-15:33

Acharei Mot: "After the death" Leviticus 16:1-18:30

Kedoshim: "Holy Ones" Leviticus 19:1-20:27

Emor: "Say" Leviticus 21:1-24:23

Behar: "In the mountain" Leviticus 25:1-26:2

Behukotai: "In My Laws" Leviticus 26:3-27:34

Numbers

Bamidbar: "In the desert" Numbers 1:1-4:20

Naso: "Take the sum" Numbers 4:21-7:89

Beha-alotecha: "When you take up" Numbers 8:1-12:16

Shlach Lecha: "Send!" Numbers 13:1-15:41

Korach: "Korach" Numbers 16:1-18:32

Chukkat: "The Law" Numbers 19:1-22:1

Balak: "Balak" Numbers 22:2-25:9

Pinchas: "Pinchas" Numbers 25:10-30:1

Mattot: "Tribes" Numbers 30:2-32:42

Massei: "Journeys" Numbers 33:1-36:13

Deuteronomy

Devarim: "Words" Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22

Va'etchanan: "And I besought" Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11

Eikev: "Therefore" Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25

Re'eh: "See!" Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17

Shoftim: "Judges" Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9

Ki Teitsei: "When you go out" Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19

Ki Tavo: "When you come" Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8

Nitsavim: "Commanded" Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20

Vayeileich: "And he went" Deuteronomy 31:1-30

Ha-azinu: "Pay attention" Deuteronomy 32:1-52

V'zot Habracha: "And this is the blessing" Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12

Torah requires a special reading technique that I will teach you as we go along. Different texts, from the Talmud to the Zohar (Kabbalist book of Radiance), are used. This method of reading is called "pardes," an Aramaic word meaning either "the orchard" or "paradise." It is another word for the Garden of Eden, or in Hebrew, Gan Eden. Pardes has four levels:

1.      Peshat, "The Simple Meaning," is the straightforward meaning.

2.      Remez, "Hint," is the meaning hinted through numerology and plays on words.

3.      Drash, "Exposition," is the meaning the rabbis developed from their discussions and is written in the Talmud and in the Midrash (parables).

4.      Sod, "Secret," is the secret mystical meaning in the Zohar.

Note how the four methods form the acronym PaRDeS.

The next two parts of the TaNaK, Prophets and Writings, may be read in a more straightforward manner.

Prophets - Nevi'im

The Prophets were the ones who transmitted God's word to the Hebrew people. Some were also military leaders called Judges. This section of the TaNaK covers the period from Joshua, through the stories of Kings Saul, David and Solomon, the split of the kingdoms of Judea and Israel, the destruction of Israel in the North in 721 B.C.E. by the Assyrians, the destruction of the Temple in Judea in the south in 586 B.C.E and the captivity of the Jews in Babylonia. This is approximately from 1190-520 B.C.E. 

Writings/Ketuvim

The Ketuvim, "Writings" are a combination of histories like Ezra, poetry like Psalms, or Wisdom like Proverbs. Five of the books in this section are called The Five Megillot (scrolls). They are read on five different holidays, for example, the Book of Esther is read on Purim.

Throughout this book, study of each Torah portion (parasha) will include an exploration of its corresponding Haftarah. Note the spelling. Haftarah is sometimes mistaken to mean "half-Torah." It does not. In fact, the word has nothing to do with "Torah" and comes from the Hebrew word meaning "dismiss or release." It is a reading from the Prophets and its contents parallel the Torah portion. The Haftarah was developed, according Rabbi Abudraham (1340 C.E., Spain), at the time of the persecution of the Jews by Antiochus (just prior to the Maccabees' revolt circa 167 B.C.E.). Reading the Torah was forbidden, so a reading from the Prophets on a similar topic was substituted. The practice was kept in early Second Temple time by the Talmudic Rabbis to demonstrate their disagreement with the Priests, who only accepted the Torah and not the rest of the TaNaK, especially not the Talmud. It was not developed during Roman times. When the Romans forbade Jews from studying the Torah, they meant the TaNaK, and they were firm.

Now back to the Oral Torah. I realize that some of this is getting a bit tedious, but please stay with me. I promised you that this study of the Torah would be spiritual, not dry or legalistic and I will keep that promise. We do, however, need to get some facts straight so that you are prepared to get the most out of the journey to come. So please bear with the ennui you may be feeling while reading this chapter as the rest of the book will be more inspiring and moving.

The Mishna contains six sections called orders or sederim. Notice that sederim has same root as a Passover seder (order of the service and meal) as well as sidur, the word for a prayer book that presents prayers in order. The sections are:

1.      Seder Zeraim "Seeds:" Laws relating to agriculture and blessings over food and other prayers.

2.      Seder Moed "Appointed Times, Festivals:" Laws pertaining to the Shabbat, Festivals and Fasts.

3.      Seder Nashim "Women:" The laws regarding marriage, divorce, contracts and vows.

4.      Seder Nezikin "Damages:" Civil and criminal law, corporal and capital punishments, the courts and testimonies. Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers, is in this section.

5.      Seder Kodashim "Holy Things:" Laws of the Temple sacrifices and kosher.

6.      Seder Toharot "Purity:" Ritual purity and impurity laws.

Each of these six Orders of the Mishna is divided into tractates (books). These tractates are divided into chapters. The chapters are divided into smaller numbered segments called Mishna (singular) or Mishnayot (plural). The Mishna is made up of thousands of these Mishnayot. 

Not every Mishna has a Gemara with it. For example Pirkei Avot has no Gemara. When a Mishna has a Gemara, as discussed above, it is a commentary on the Mishna as well as the Torah portion from which the Mishna is derived. Rabbis lived in both Babylon and Judea. Hence they discussed the Mishna in both places and developed two Gemarot. So we have two Talmuds, Bavli from Babylon and Yerushalmi from Judea. This book will quote mostly from the Bavli Talmud. The tractates of the Talmud follow the orders of the Mishna. Citations for Talmud quotations identify whether it is from the Bavli or Yerushalmi, its Tractate and its folio, or "daf," which is Aramaic for plank, board, or sometimes oar. This term is used because a Talmud page resembles a plank, or a board, or an oar, with the Mishna in Hebrew across the top of the page, and the Gemara in Aramaic running vertically to the bottom of the page. Together they form a "T" shape. The sides of the Gemara were left blank for one to write his Rabbi's teaching, but today, publications of the Talmud have these sides filled in with medieval rabbinic commentaries.

Like a plank or board or oar, a daf has two sides. Each side is called an "amud." So you may see "49b" or "32a" as a page number.

The Seders and their 63 Tractates of Talmud are:

Seder Zeraim

Beracoth "Blessings:" Laws about the Shema; Amidah; Blessings for Food.

Peah "Corner of the field:" Laws regarding leaving the corners of one's fields not harvested so that they can be gleaned by the needy.

Demai "Doubtfully tithed:" What to do with produce that might not be tithed correctly.

Kilayim "Mixtures:" Agricultural laws about the mixing of species.

Shevi'it "Seventh:" Sabbatical Year rules.

Terumot "Priests' portion:" Rules about produce given to the priests.

Ma'asrot "Tithes:" Rules about donating ten percent of a person's crop.

Ma'aser Sheni "Second Tithe:" Laws of the second tithe.

Challah "Dough:" The rules giving some separated dough to the priests.

Orlah "Uncircumcised fruit:" Rule about not using fruit until the tree is 3 years old.

Bikkurim "First fruits:" First fruit offerings.

Seder Moed

Shabbat "Sabbath:" Shabbat rules.

Eruvin "Mergings:" More Shabbat rules, including setting up at Eruv.

Pesachim "Pascal offerings:" Passover rules.

Shekalim "Shekels:" Temple's shekel donation.

Yoma "The Day:" Yom Kippur rules.

Sukkah "Booth:" Sukkoth rules.

Beitsah "Egg:" Festival rules.

Rosh HaShanah "New Year:" Rosh HaShanah rules.

Ta'anit "Fast:" Public fast days rules.

Megillah "Scroll:" Esther and the Torah reading laws.

Moed Katan "Minor Festival:" Chol HaMoed, the intermediate days of weekly holiday rules.

Chagigah "Festival offering:" Festival offerings.

Seder Nashim

Yebamot "Sisters-in-law:" Levirate marriage rules (see prologue about Tamar).

Ketubot "Wedding Contracts:" Weddings and marriage rules.

Nedarim "Vows:" Vow laws.

Nazir "Nazirite:" Nazirite rules.

Sotah "Suspected Adulterous Wife:" Sotah ceremony.

Gittin "Divorce Documents:" Divorce rules.

Kiddushin "Betrothals:" Betrothal rules.

Seder Nezikin 

Baba Kamma "The First Gate:" Civil and criminal law.

Baba Metsia "The Middle Gate:" Business law.

Baba Batra "The Last Gate:" Rules for partnerships, sales, inheritance, etc.

Sanhedrin "Sanhedrin:" Capital punishment laws; rules of the Messiah and Heaven in last Chapter.

Makkot "Lashes:" Corporal punishment.

Shevuot "Oaths:" Public and private oaths laws.

Eduyot "Testimonies:" Miscellaneous Mishnayot.

Avodah Zarah "Strange Worship:" Relationship between Jews and non-Jews.

Pirkei Avot "Ethics of the Fathers:" Wisdom of the Rabbis.

Horayot "Decisions:" Rules of Beth Din (Rabbinical Court).

Seder Kodashim

Zevachim "Animal Sacrifices:" Animal sacrifice rules.

Menachot "Meal Offerings:" The laws tefillin, fringes, and meal-offerings.

Chullin "Unhallowed:" Kosher slaughtering rules.

Bekhorot "Firstlings:" Firstborn male animal rules.

Arakhin "Valuations:" Temple's dedicating property rules.

Temurah "Substitution:" Substitution of one sacrifice for another laws.

Keritot "Excisions:" Excommunication sins.

Me'ilah "Sacrilege:" Unlawful use Temple property laws.

Tamid "Daily Sacrifices:" Temple daily service laws.

Middot "Measurements:" The architecture of the Temple.

Kinnim "Birds' nests:" Bird sacrifice laws.

Seder Toharot

Keilim "Vessels:" Vessels that are ritually impure laws.

Ohalot "Tents:" Dead bodies in tents causing ritual impurity laws.

Negaim "Leprosy:" Leprosy laws.

Parah "Heifer:" Red Heifer laws.

Toharot "Purifications:" Ritual impurity rules.

Mikvaot "Ritual Immersion:" Mickva use and construction rules.

Niddah "Menstruant:" Menstruating women laws.

Makhshirin "Preparations:" Keeping food from being impure.

Zavim "Secretions:" Ritual impurity from genital secretions laws.

Tevul Yom "Immersed during the day:" Rules for one who goes to the mickva in the day but is not ritually pure until dusk.

Yadayim "Hands:" Hand washing rules. 

Uktsin "Stems:" Rules about the ritual impurity of stems of fruits.

As discussed, the Gemara tends to go off track. That is what makes it fun to read and study. You will find Halachah, Jewish law and debates about it. You will read Midrash parables that are related to a part of TaNaK and try to fill in left out sections, like what happened while on board Noah's ark. And you will discover Aggadah, tales that are not related to the TaNaK, but might be about a rabbi and will illustrate a point. I quote from all of these parts.

Lastly, because the Talmud is the beginning of Jewish law, not Hebraic law, and because it is discussed in the Gemara during a 1,000-year period from 586 B.C.E. to circa 500 C.E., the laws are not in an exact order and difficult to find. Hence two rabbis wrote Jewish law down so that Jews and their rabbis could follow it. The trouble is, since the Gemara gives all sides to an argument, and many discussions were left in the air until Elijah came back down to earth to give the answer, when these two rabbis distilled the Talmud their own opinions entered Jewish law as well as the customs (minhag) of their time.

Often quoted is Maimonides's Mishneh Torah (The Second Torah). Moses Maimonides Rambam was a 12th century Spanish and Egyptian philosopher, Jewish legal scholar and physician. His comprehensive work covers all of Jewish law, even parts that are no longer valid such as sacrifices.

Also quoted throughout is Joseph Caro's (1488-1575) Shulchan Aruch (The Set Table). The Shulchan Aruch contains only those laws that can be applied to life today. But both books took the ethical flavor out of the Talmud, and left strict legalism and definite rules in its place.

When these two books are followed, along with study of just the Torah, we get a Judaism without love, kindness, peace, and forgiveness from either God or for each other. It is a Judaism more concerned with making the minyon on time an hour before dusk, than with visiting someone in the hospital. It is a Judaism more concerned about un-koshering one's plate, than about putting some food on it as soon as possible to feed a hungry man. By contrast, the Judaism of the Talmud and of this book that you have in your hands is nothing like that…thank God.

You are now ready to flip the page and begin at "the beginning," Beresheit.

Shalom,

Rabbi Arthur Segal

Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, USA

via Shamash Org on-line class program

Jewish Renewal

Jewish Spiritual Renewal

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OK. And now the D'var Torah:

Parasha Beresheit: Genesis 1:01 - 6:08

"Who's on First?"

Rabbi Arthur Segal

Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, USA

via Shamash Org on-line class program

Jewish Renewal

Jewish Spiritual Renewal

Hilton Head Island, SC

Bluffton, SC

Savannah, GA

For your Shabbat table discussion, two important questions are asked in this week's Torah portion: God asks Adam, "Where art thou?" Cain asks God, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

How would we as individuals, and as a community, answer these questions today?

Synoptic Abstract

This Shabbat's portion takes us back to our Sunday School days. We all have been told the Biblical stories of the Creation: Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel; and the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. If you wish to brush up on your knowledge since your childhood days, please read on.

Let us begin "in the beginning" (Gen. 1:01). In Hebrew, these English words are rendered as one word – "Beresheit." This is the name of our parasha and the name of the first book of the Torah. In English, it is called Genesis. The word begins with the Hebrew letter Bait, which is the second letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Bait, or as we say in English, "alphabet." The Midrash (books of parables from the time of the Talmud, 2,500 years ago), asks why the Torah starts with this letter. The rabbis explain that before God was about to create the world, each of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet came before Him and asked that the world be created specifically with its letter. The letter Tat thought that it should be first, since it is the first letter in the word Torah. This scenario continued with each letter giving a short discourse on why it should be used as the first letter. Bait said it should be used because it is used to bless God with Beracoth (blessings).

The kabbalists delve into this letter more deeply. They say that the numerical equivalent of the letter Bait is two and write that this alludes to harmony and unity. When people live together and work together – as a team rather than as separate units – the world has meaning and life has value. The one major theme of Torah and of this D'var series will be to show that people must always think of others and not just of themselves. We will see time and time again, especially in the inter-family relationships of Genesis, "that a world in which everyone considers his own needs and has no sensitivity toward the needs of others is perverted," says rabbi Leib Scheinbaum. As rabbi David Shneur posits: "dissent and discord along with thinking selfishly lies at the root of all the world's ills." By reading this week's parasha, we can see how the first family was marred by inner strife between the world's first brothers, Cain and Abel. If there is one recurrent theme I notice when I study Torah it is that the world was built upon a foundation of God's altruism. He did not have to create the world. King David writes in Psalm 89:03: "the world is built upon chesed (kindness)." It will be by our following these ethical precepts that, hopefully, we will learn together. By doing ahavath chesed (acts of loving kindness) we will affect the world's continued growth.

"The blood of your brother cries out to Me from the ground" (Gen .4:10). As we know from our Passover seders, when we count the Ten Plagues the Hebrew word for blood is "dahm." In this verse from Genesis the Hebrew word is "dahmie," which is "bloods." The rabbis in Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 37A say that Cain's crime was not limited to one person. He had shed Abel's blood and the blood of potential descendants. They derive from this the notion that "he who saves a life, saves the whole world," as well as the converse. The rabbis also posit that since Cain did not know how to kill, as he was the one who "invented" murder, he had to hit, stab, stone, and whip Abel many times until he caused a mortal wound. It was only after severing his jugular vein that Abel died. The sages say that every bleeding wound cried out in pain and for retribution. Rabbi Joel Sharin cites Psalm 9 to discuss this further.

"The avenger of blood (doresh dahmim) has remembered them. He has not forgotten the cry of the humble." For some Modern Jews who wish not believe in divine reward and punishment, we have the obligation to be our own doresh dahmim, as well as to be careful not to spill blood.

This concept applies to other forms of spilling blood as well as murder. We spill blood when we assassinate another's character with loshan ha ra (gossip). We spill blood when we destroy another's self esteem or dignity. A person does not have to be mortally wounded to suffer irreparable damage. As we will learn in future parashot, we can destroy lives with our mouths. We can run over another's feelings in our race to personal success. When we act cruelly toward others, and our children and grandchildren see our action, we are killing our own offspring. When the grandparent snubs others, are we surprised when we see her child and grandchild do the same? The Torah shows us this with Cain's great-grandson, Tuval Cain. Tuval's great-grandfather was the world's first murderer, and Tuval becomes the world's first arms dealer (Gen. 4:22). We must do our best to curb our own behaviors and be our own – as well as our neighbors' – doresh dahmim.

We can also learn about teshuvah (repentance) in this parasha. Cain was unable (no pun intended!) to bring Abel back to life. We are taught that Cain had a son and named him Chanoch, and that Cain "became a city builder and named the city after his son"(Gen. 4:17). Cain became remorseful over killing his brother and asked himself where the he got the burning passion to kill. The Midrash teaches that Cain learned the value of human life too late. But he did teshuvah by building cities and teaching human values to his descendants. Chanoch is a derivative of the Hebrew word for education, "chinuch." Cain realized that educating children about moral values was important to ensure that others would not repeat his mistake. Ironically, the Midrash tells us how Cain died. When his grandson, Lamech, was old and partially blind, Lamech's son Tuval took him hunting. They used Tuval's "sharpened implements of copper and iron." Being weak sighted, Lamech mistook Cain for a deer and killed him. Sins of fathers can be visited onto the sons.

Before we end this D'var Torah, let us see how the Zohar, the book of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) interprets parts of this parasha. Genesis 5:1-4 lists the generations of Adam, but omits Cain and Abel. We know traditionally that God created man on the sixth day (Gen. 1:27), but we read later in Gen. 2:5 that "there was no man to till the ground." The Zohar says that this is because only the second creation is called a "living creature" (Gen.2.07) because it is only he who receives a soul – breath of life – from God. There were, therefore, two creations of Man. The first was soulless and not fit to till the soil. He is called a "beast of the field"(Gen. 1:24).

The second is called Adam. Then God said "it is not good for man to be alone...and will make a helpmate for him." Then God made the animals and brought them all to Adam from which to choose a helpmate. "But the man did not find a suitable helpmate from among them" (Gen. 2:18). The Zohar says: "Alas for the stupidity and blindness of men who do not perceive the mysteries of the Torah and do not know that the beasts in the field are designated the unlearned first creation of man, who were soulless men-animals among soulful men."

Genesis 3:01 says: "the serpent (nachash) was more cunning than all the beasts of the field." The Zohar says that he was their leader, the first soulless man created by God. He was fruitful and multiplied creating more soulless and unlearned man-animals. The sages write that Nachash walked upright until he was later cursed by God and made to "crawl on his belly and eat dust" (Gen. 3:14). The Zohar says that Nachash was the ideal form of Satan.

God also said: "it is not good that man should be alone" (Gen. 2:18). The Zohar says that, just as there was a first and second man, there were two women. The first was called Lilith. She was formed out of the ground, as were the other beasts of the field. (Gen. 2:19). Eve was created from Adam's rib (Gen. 2:22) and became Adam's wife. Lilith became Nachash's wife.

Both Rashi and the sages of the Zohar agree that Nachash sexually desired Eve when he saw her naked and having relations with Adam. According to the Zohar, this is what Eve was talking about when she said: "The serpent (Nachash) seduced me" (Gen. 3:13). The sages say that both Adam and Nachash had sexual relations with Eve and that she conceived by both of them. Cain is the son of Nachash, and Abel is the son of Adam, but even Abel has "good wine mixed with bad." The Zohar states that Nachash injected his impure semen into Eve and she absorbed it, mixing the serpent's seed with Adam's. Therefore, neither Abel nor Cain was a pure son of Adam, and this is why neither is listed in the generations of Adam, and why the Torah tells us in Genesis 5:03 that Adam and Eve begot Seth "in his (Adam's) likeness and image."

The Midrash of Ben-Sira (written somewhere between 600 and 1000 C.E.) says that Adam also had sex with Lilith. He didn't like it, as Lilith always insisted on being on top. She asked of Adam: "Why must I lie beneath you? I also was made from dust and am your equal." Adam then tried to compel her by force. Lilith, in a rage, uttered the unspeakable four-lettered name of God, became winged, and flew away. God sent three angels to find her. They found Lilith at the Red Sea in an orgy with "lascivious demons to whom she bore lilim (she-devils) at the rate of more than one hundred a day." In the Targum Yerushalmi Aramaic translation of the Chumash, the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:26 is: "The Lord bless thee in all thy doings and preserve thee from Lilim!"

Lilith is mentioned in the Talmud in four Tractates: Eruvin 100B, Niddah 24B, Shabbat 151B, and Bava Batra 73A. The rabbis call her a wild-haired, nymphomaniac winged creature and the mother of demons. She is mentioned in Isaiah 34:14, but some translations use the name "night monster," based on the Hebrew word "lillah" for night. Rabbi Hanna forbids men to sleep alone for fear that Lilith will come at night and seduce them. Some stories show her to have demon children. Other tales show her to be barren and seeking out others' children to kill.

There are some sects of Judaism that hang an angelic amulet above the cribs of boys who are not yet circumcised to protect them from Lilith. A ring of charcoal is drawn on the baby's bedroom wall. Inside the ring is written: "Adam and Eve in. Out Lilith!" If a child is heard laughing in his sleep, the mother strikes the child's lips with one finger whereupon Lilith vanishes.

Because Lilith left the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and became mortal, some Midrashim say that Lilith is immortal. Some say she was the demoness who killed Job's sons. Others say she was the Queen of Sheba who visited King Solomon. Solomon suspected Sheba of being Lilith because she had hairy legs, as well as preferring sex while on top.

The Zohar developed a theory that Adam was originally comprised of both male and female elements. Talmud Tractates Beracoth 61A and Eruvin 18B say: "Adam, who was the first man, had two full faces." Rabbi Samuel ben Nachman said that when God created Adam, "He created him as a hermaphrodite." The Midrash Leviticus Rabbah says: "When man was created, he was created with two body fronts, and God sawed him in two, so that two bodies resulted, one for the male and one for the female." From this the Kabbalists posit that every one of us has a heavenly soul mate to whom we were joined before birth. Our responsibility, if we are lucky, is to find our soul mate (beshert) and to rejoin with that person in marriage. This marriage therefore would be one of equals – with no one always on top so to speak.

While our tradition is full of sexist "old husbands' tales" about women that some sects in our religion cling to as a way of keeping women enslaved, we also find throughout our literature women shown in an equal and honored light. It is these traditions that we as Spiritual Jews need to hold onto and from which we should learn.

As Jews, we must continually ask ourselves where we are and remind ourselves that we are indeed our bothers' and sisters' keepers. While we might have thought that religious school was boring when we were kids, my hope is that you will find the study of Torah and the texts of Talmud, Midrash and other great books to be provocative and inspiring.

Shabbat Shalom:

Rabbi Arthur Segal

Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, USA

via Shamash Org On-line class program

Jewish Renewal

Jewish Spiritual Renewal

Hilton Head Island, SC

Bluffton, SC

Savannah, GA

---

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