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RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:BUBER:THANKSGIVING
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:I-THOU RELATIONSHIPS
Jewish Spiritual Renewal:Torah,TaNaK,Talmud:Shabbat 11/29/08 Hebrew College, MA
Shalom once again Talmudim v' Chaverim:
We have an interesting Parasha this coming Shabbat and I urge you to read it and the D'var Torah below even though some of you may feel you are too busy with family with the long American Thanksgiving weekend. The Parasha is about family and familial relations, the kinds we do not want to have. So you may even want to master its teachings before the door bell starts ringing.
A pusuk of Torah: Gen:27:41: ''So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing that his father had given him. Esau said to himself, "The time to mourn for my father is near. Then I'll kill my brother Jacob." ''
A pusuk of TaNaK: Mal: 2:10: ''Have we not all one father? has not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?''
Another pusuk of TaNaK : Jer. 9:4 : "Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; Because every brother deals craftily, And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.''
When you read the parasha and the d'var Torah below, can we decide if are we having I-Thou relationship with all of our fellow humans which whom we come in contact , or are we just having I-Thou relations with those we like the best, and at times that are convenient for us? Have we let go of loshan ha ra (gossiping), jealousy, and holding grudges? And we getting along with our own family, yet?
So from the Talmud to tie this up: Talmud Bavli Tractate Beracoth 54b- 55a '' that sitting for extended periods by the dinner table is one of the actions that can lengthen a person's life.'' How does eating leisurely increase your life? The sages say that a poor person may come by and you can invite them in to share your meal, and doing mitzvoth prolongs life.
The Talmud goes on to say that since the Temple is destroyed, that in the Jewish home the dinner table replaces the altar and atones for our defects of character. How? Even better than the Temple's altar. We do beracoth of thanksgiving before and after we eat, and we make sure that our conversations at our table are not secular, but revolve about the study of Torah, TaNaK and Talmud.
But more importantly, when we sit and eat leisurely with friends and family, sitting at the table enjoying a meal, it is a gratifying and satisfying experience. This emotional pleasure also translates into physical well-being that may lead to long life. But before we can do this, we must make sure we have good relationships, honest, loving, I-Thou relationships, with our friends and family.
Shabbat Shalom:
Happy Rosh Kodesh and Happy Thanksgiving!
Rabbi Arthur Segal
Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, USA
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hilton Head Island, SC;Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, USA
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hilton Head Island, SC;Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
