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RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:GOD ON TRIAL:
COMMENTS RE SHABBAT 11/15/08 CLASS: HEBREW COLLEGE,MA
Shalom:
Here are some comments re the d'var , parasha, and class of this past Sunday for this coming Shabbat's Torah portion.
From Ben:
This is not my main comment I need to read this a few more times including some of the commentaries and discuss when read.......but my initial comment to your dvar torah and haftarah is simply awesome........the simplest lessons of Abraham are the keys to our whole existence and always have been similar to the well Hagar 'awakened' and saw that which was always there. Really good stuff. Thanks, Ben
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From Miriam:
Hi Rabbi Segal: Gen 18:25:'' And Abraham approached God and said: "... It behooves You not to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked... Shall the Judge of all the earth not act justly?"
How come God killed all of the humans and animals with the flood, sent all the Hebrews of the 10 tribes into oblivion, and the two remaining tribes into Babylonian exile, sent all of we Jews into exile via the Romans, sent 1/3 of Jewry to our deaths via Hitler, and these were a combination of both righteous and wicked Jews, even innocent children?
Shalom, Miriam
From Rabbi Segal: Dear Miriam: While Hebraism may assign God as the smiter, Judaism doesn't. Hebraism actually calls Nebuchadnezzar, as he sent the Hebrews into exile, God's ''servant.''
In war, humans are not very kind to one another, and we can substitute any other country that has been invaded and has had both righteous and not-so righteous citizens , including children, killed. The Talmud tells us that when it rains, it rains for both the righteous and the wicked. And hence if there is war, which is man's doing, not God's, the same applies.
There have been cases where Jews in a Midrashic fashion, using Talmudic logic, have put God on trail for breaking His covenant. But the covenant is with a people and not individuals, and the people's side is to obey God's will. So if you take this to its logical conclusion, the covenant does say that God will punish the people if they don't obey. But also that He will never abandon the people totally. One ends up with Nebuchadnezzar and a whole host of other 'creeps,' including Hitler, as doing God's will in punishing the people. This is something I cannot let myself believe.
As Jews, we can be upset with God. Although we accept that He is the True Judge, if we see injustice, we can't be in shalom. We must scream at God and demand an end to injustice.
The Talmudic response to injustice is challenging. We cannot solve the paradox. But we must let it disturb us. So Judaism leave us with a major contradiction. Our kind Talmudic Rabbinic God has allowed suffering that is unimaginable. This does not make sense to us mere mortals.
The Talmudic response to injustice is challenging. We cannot solve the paradox. But we must let it disturb us. So Judaism leave us with a major contradiction. Our kind Talmudic Rabbinic God has allowed suffering that is unimaginable. This does not make sense to us mere mortals.
We then wish to do something. To do Tikkun Olam and make the globe into a world of only shalom and tov. People suffering does not fit into my view of the world nor of my God. We must work for social justice. At that point we can demand that God do the same.
Don't give up on God, nor in the goodness of humans.
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From Werner:
I would like to comment on the Haftarah and it relationship to today's economy.
The haftarah tells the story of a woman, the widow of a prophet, who was in desperate economic trouble. Her creditors wanted to take her children as payment for her debts. She came to Elisha the miracle worker. She told him that all that she owned was a cruise of oil. He told her to find many containers. He told her to close her door. He then told her to pour oil into all of the containers.
Miraculously the oil from one container filled all of them!
"When the vessels were full, she said to her son, 'Bring me another vessel.' He answered her, 'There are no other vessels'; and the oil stopped (vayaamod hashemen). She came and told the man of God, {Elisha} and he said, 'Go sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your children can live on the rest (uvanaich teehyee benotar)." (2 Kings 4:6-7)
Our sages were perplexed with the words the woman used to say that the oil stopped. They also pondered why she needed counsel about going and selling the oil to get rid of her debts.
In Midrash Beresheit Rabbah 35:3 ''Rabbi Yitchak and Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Yudan the Ger went to learn Torah from Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
Bar Yochai interpreted: 'And the oil rose' – this means that the price of oil rose. The woman had to ask the prophet for advice on whether to sell the oil or not.
This blessing was greater than the first blessing, since the first blessing provided sufficient oil for her to prevent her children from being sold into slavery. From the prophet's second message: 'and you and your children can live (tehyee) on the rest,' we learn that the oil would be sufficient to provide for the widow and her children until the resurrection of the dead (tehiyat hameitim). ''
Note that Elisha was playing the role of a spiritual commodities broker. The oil's value had risen and would provide the woman enough. He did not advise her to be greedy and hold on to the oil and see if it went up even more. He told her 'now' was the time to sell.
As Jews we need to know when God has given us more than enough, and not use our wills for greed that can lead to disaster. By doing our will, as Rabbi Segal, has taught us, and not listening to God's will for us, we can destroy not only ourselves, but those around us.
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Thank you everyone. Nice work!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Arthur Segal
Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, USA
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
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