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RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:overly righteous
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:DIVINE SPARK IN ALL
Jewish Spiritual Renewal:Torah:Talmud:TaNaK:Hebrew College,MA
Shalom Talmidim v' Chaverim:
Shavuah Tov. And welcome always to those new comers joining us. If you want past classes you can get them on archives by using the shamash.org web site at the bottom of this class, or if you are having difficulty navigating, please email me, at rabbiasegal@aol.com and I can copy and paste past classes to you. Just tell me which classes you're missing, if possible, by using the parashot's names. If you are not familiar with them, (and my first class was a class on how to read the Torah, Haftarot and Talmud), just tell me what your earliest class is, and I can figure it out for you. Thanks.
Our parasha for this coming Shabbat in the Torah has a view of world of Jew (i.e literally Israel and the children of Israel) versus everyone else. Their protective God is the Hebraic one. The Haftarah of the prophet Hosea deplores this type of outlook and says that the universal Judaic God is not pleased with this thought process nor the behaviors that stem from it.
The Gemora of the Talmud written over a span of 1000 years can advise Jews to be xenophobic and untrusting of anyone but Jews, or being loving, kind and open to all, depending on whether, the Rabbis doing the writing were under harsh oppression or under relative freedom.
Quotes from the Torah, TaNaK and Talmud of the above are in the D'var Torah below.
But what I would like us to focus on today is how God wants us to live happy, joyous and free and not be hung up with petty rivalries and jealousies. When we are constantly looking into the 'plate' of another, worrying about what he or she is doing, or how he or she is doing, we are in effect saying we have no trust or faith in God, as our Divine Parent, to know what is best for us. Jealousy, and trying to undermine someone else, especially when rabbis do it to other rabbis, is only a sign that the undermining individual, for whatever rationalization he or she gives, is spiritually disconnected from God, and shouldn't be a rabbi anyway. Believe me, when I see this, it hurts me terribly, and I add these folks names to my mishaberach list.
As I mentioned in another class, there seem to be two types of people in the world. One group who think there in a limited amount of 'pie,' and those who think there is an unlimited amount of 'pie.' For the first group, if another has a piece, they covet. They want it. And they will do what they can to undermine you to get it from you. And if they ever get a piece of pie, they won't share it. They will protect it. They haven't a clue that all 'pie' is a loan from God.
The second group of folks is happy if they see a person get some pie. They don't covet. They have faith that by doing what is right and good in God's eyes, pie will eventually come. And when it does, they can share it. Because they know it is only a loan, and more will come to them.
God doesn't want us being so silly. He wants us to enjoy this corporal life while we have it. He doesn't want us giving into our yetzer ha ra, but he doesn't want us sitting around like monks either. Or like fighting warlords.
"Therefore the Sages commanded that a person not deny himself other than that which the Torah denies him. Nor should he forbid permissible things by way of oaths. So did the Sages say: 'It isn't enough that which the Torah forbade that you want to forbid upon yourself other things?!" (Jerusalem Talmud Tractate Nedarim 9:1).
Likewise, people who fast constantly are not following the proper path. The Sages forbade a person from afflicting himself through fasting. Regarding all such matters King Solomon commanded: 'Do not be overly righteous, and do not be too smart. Why should you become desolate?' (Ecclesiastes 7:16)."
In addition, the Talmud writes that there is nothing forbidden in this world for which God did not provide a permissible equivalent (Talmud Bavli Tractate Chullin 109b). Denial is not for the sake of making us suffer. It is because the God who created this world knows that some things are spiritually harmful for man. But He graciously offered us a permissible alternative. {Be careful of Turkey sausage as it actually has pork casings.)
The Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 34:3) writes that the great sage Hillel once excused himself from his students, saying that he needed to go perform a mitzvah. When his students inquired which mitzvah, he responded: going to the bathhouse. His students asked further, what kind of mitzvah is that? He explained that ''when the king places his statue in public places, the fellow who is appointed to wash and clean it is paid wages and accorded honor. And all the more so I, formed in the very image of God, as the verse states "For in the image of God did He make man" (Genesis 9:6).''
Hillel taught us wisely circa 100 BCE that what is hateful to ourselves, do not do to our fellows. We are not only created in the image of God, we are all part of God, having that Divine spark inside of all of us. When we do hurtful things to one another, we are only harming ourselves.
The parasha for this coming Shabbat teaches us that we can be like Jacob, a conniving heel, or be like his other name Israel, and wrestle for God. Our sages seek to explain the nature of the yetzer ha ra, the evil inclination that diverts us from the path of righteousness. According to one view the yetzer ha ra is comparable to a fly that sits between the two gateways of the heart (Talmud Bavli Tractate Beracoth 61a). To support this, the TaNaK is used: ''Flies of death fester and putrefy perfumed oil (Ecclesiastes 10:1).'' "If that despicable character, the yetzer ha ra, attempts to harm you, drag it to study. If the yetzer ha ra is like a stone, the Torah will wear it away; if the yetzer ha ra is like iron, the Torah will smash it to smithereens" (Talmud Bavli Tractate Kiddushin 30b).
My prayer for everyone this week, as the newspapers give more bad news, is not to cannibalize one another. Now is the time for kindness, love, and sharing, not coveting, jealously, and undermining.
Enjoy the d'var Torah on the parasha below.
Many Blessings,
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
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