RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:LASHON HARA:SISERA:

 RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:LASHON HARA:SISERA:

A Short Snap Shot of Rabbi Arthur Segal

Rabbi Arthur Segal

United States

I am available for Shabbatons,and can speak on various aspects of Jewish history,(from the ancient past to modern day, and can be area specific, if a group wishes), Spirituality, developing a Personal Relationship with God, on the Jews of India and other 'exotic' communities, and on Talmud, Torah and other great texts. We have visited these exotic Jewish communities first hand. I adhere to the Mishna's edict of not using the Torah as a ''spade'', so while I do ask for expenses to be paid if I am asked to travel, I do not have exorbitant honorariums for my services. I am post-denominational and renewal and spiritually centered. On this site is an entire Compendium to the Torah entitled "Chumash Candescence." I am available to perform Jewish weddings, and Jewish inter-marriages (Jewish intermarriage, Jewish inter-marriage, Jewish interfaith weddings) My post-doc in Psych from Penn helps tremendously when I do Rabbinic counseling. My phone number and address will be made available once I am sure of one's sincerity in working with me.

 

Rabbi Segal is the author of three books and many articles on Torah, Talmud and TaNaK and Jewish history. His books are : The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud, and  Spiritual Wisdom of our Talmudic Sages. The first two are published by Amazon through their publishing house, BookSurge. For information on how to purchase these, please contact RabbiASegal@aol.com.  Todah Rabah and Shalom v' Beracoth. Rabbi Arthur Segal ,( Dr. Arthur Segal )RabbiASegal@aol.com . 

 

 

Jewish Spiritual Renewal:Shabbat 2/7/09:Hebrew College,MA:Torah,Talmud,TaNaK:

 

Shalom Talmidim v' Chaverim:

 

I am sending this class out, before Erev Shabbat, and not after Havdallah, as I have a crazy Saturday eve and a very busy Sunday. So a double Shabbat Shalom and a happy Tu B'Shevat.

 

 

 

So far the Tu B'Shevat Seder looks like it will be spiritual as well as fun with 3 Cantors in attendance, some Rabbanim, and some wonderful Jewish educators.  We will be able to shout joyous songs to Ha Shem, during a full moon so we can hear the trees sing along with us as we see them dance in the February island breezes.

 

For those who need some guidance on how to have your own Tu B'Shevat seder, here is a Hagaddah that you can use. Its only five pages and yet covers the spiritual lessons of the holiday with the appropriate beracoth. RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:TU B' SHEVAT SEDER HAGADDAH:SPIRITUAL RENEWAL

 

Some Torah from our Parasha: Exodus 15:1: "Moses and the Children of Israel chose to sing this song to God'': ''God is the Master of War.'' (15:3). "Pharaoh's chariots and army He threw in the sea...deep water covered them. The descended into the depths like stones.'' (15:4-5).

 

Some more Torah from our Parasha: Exodus 17:16: " God maintains a war against Amalek from generation to generation.''

 

Some TaNaK: Judges (note that Judges is part of Nevi'im, but considered to be part of the early Prophets, and not the Later Prophets such as Isaiah et.al.) 5:24-27:     24" Most blessed of women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Most blessed is she of women in the tent. 25"He (The enemy General Sisera) asked for water and she gave him milk; In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.  26"She reached out her hand for the tent peg, And her right hand for the workmen's hammer. Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head,  And she shattered and pierced his temple.  27"Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay;  Between her feet he bowed, he fell;  Where he bowed, there he fell dead. ""

 

Judges 5:31:"So May all of your enemies be destroyed, God."

 

Note that the above is Hebraic. God is a Hebraic God Who is war-like, smites,  and chooses sides. He drowned the Egyptians, rather than just closing up the passage in the Sea of Reeds, leaving them helpless on dry land.  He accepts prayers for Him to destroy all of His enemies. God has enemies Whom He will kill, and He carries grudges from generation to generation against whole tribes.

 

The rabbis of the Talmud who invented Judaism out of the ashes of Hebraism abhorred the above. They made sure that the God of Judaism was one of love, forgiveness, kindness, mercy, and grace. And these were rabbis were in exile in Babylon under Nebedchadnezar and then under Persian, Greek, and Roman rule. They didn't have it easy. When Israel had a measure of independence, after the Hanukah victory, the Rabbis were treated more harshly by Hebrew priests and their Hasmonean champions, than they were by the Romans or Greeks 

 

The Rabbis downplayed the military aspects of this Parasha and this Haftarah.   

 

Some Rabbinic Talmud Bavli form Tractate Megillah 10b about the above singing at the Sea of Reeds:  God rebukes, "How can you rejoice when my creatures are drowning ?"

 

Some more Talmud Bavli Tractate Beracoth  10a:  Beruriah, Rabbi  Meir's learned wife,  points out that the verse says "May sins be removed from the earth" (Psalms 104:35) and not "May sinners be removed from the earth.'' The rabbinic implication is that one should pray for the wicked to repent and not to die.

 

Now Amalek were a tribe that attacked the Hebrews from the rear of the camp, were traditional women and children were. This happened as we can see in the Parasha soon after the first Passover from Egypt. There is a Hebraic Torah commandment to ''blot out the name of Amalek." [Deut. 25:19]

 

King Saul fought Agagites descendents of Amalek. God told Saul to kill everyone and everything. Saul spared the king of Agagites. God is angry. He tells His Judge Samuel to deal with Saul. Saul doesn't repent. Samuel kills the king of the Agagites. God take the crown from Saul. Eventually it will land on King David's head. The Hebrew God is now happy.

 

In the book of Esther, written during Rabbinic times in Persia, Haman is described as an Agagite, hence from Amalek.

 

The rabbis want to know why the Amaleks are so upset with us. People don't hate unless they have a reason, or unless they are spiritually ill, like jealous folk, or rabid anti Semites.  They discover in a Midrash that Timna, concubine of Eliphaz son of Esau, and mother of Amalek, (Gen 36:12)wanted to convert and become a Hebrew and Abraham rebuffed her. And she is the mother of Amalek. The Talmud tells us on daf 5a in Tractate Beracoth that when bad things happen to us, to see what we have done to cause them.

 

So how do the rabbis tell us to keep the commandment of ''blotting out the name of Amalek''? On Purim, when Haman's name is read in the scroll of Esther, we make noise and blot out his name. We do not do it with swords. But it didn't start out with noise makers.

 

Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin 64: " Mashvarta de Puria--a ring (or stirrup) of Purim. The Ge'onim explained the custom, mashvarta de Puria, as follows: The young lads make an effigy of Haman and hang it from the roofs for four or five days. Then, on Purim, they make a bonfire and throw the effigy into it, and they dance around the fire and sing. They hang a ring over the fire, and they jump through the ring from one side of the fire to the other."

 

Now as Jews moved into Christian Europe, the rumors spread that Jews were burning Jesus in effigy. So we stopped this.

 

It is a custom among Sephardim communities to write a "Marriage Contract" (ketubah) for Haman and his wife Zeresh. Here is how it begins:

"May God make of you a curse and an oath, and may the woman fated to you be more bitter than death.

"On the 16th of the 1st month, the month of Nisan, in the third year after the name of Amalek was blotted out, 3,444 years since the creation of the universe, according to the reckoning we maintain here in Shushan, capital of Persia, we witnessed how the cursed, stupid, notorious wild boar, enemy of the Jews, etc., Haman the wicked, may his name be blotted out, declared to this broken- down, evil hag, Zeresh... "Behold you are denied to me", and "Be my bitch, in accordance with the religion of Balaam, and Balak son of Tzipor, may there names be blotted out."
''Signed:
Witness: Deaf Snake son of a Fool
Witness: Brainless son of Embarrassment''

 

Those would be fighting words in Gangstah movies.

 

So how did we end up with graggers,  noisemakers?: "On the first night of Passover, Christian children would go through the streets of the Jewish neighborhoods and congregate around the synagogues with noisemakers "to eradicate the memory of Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus's twelve apostles who betrayed his master. On that night, the priests would also 'eradicate the memory' of Judas with great noisemakers or with sticks upon wooden boards from the Church steeples.

"Owing to the proximity of Purim to Passover, this custom spread among the Jews as well." From the collection of Ya'akov Tzidkuni, who received the document from Yehudah Cohen of Salonika)

 

OK. Can we see from this progression of verses through Hebrew and then Jewish history, how our God grows, matures, mellows, becomes universal, and how our religion, goes from clannish and tribal and exclusive, to inclusive and all encompassing? Can we see how our behaviors as Hebrews is nothing like what we are to behave like as Jews?

 

Can we see the differences yet between Hebraic vengeful thinking with curses towards one you do not like, to Jewish loving thinking, scorning lashon ha ra, and praying for those we do not like, but always loving them, always willing to help them, and never cursing them?

 

When we celebrate Tu B'Shevat on February 8th, 2009 in the evening, think about how it was celebrated by Hebrews, if celebrated was the word, as it was a tax day on produce, to the spiritual way we Jews celebrate today. If you are happy with Judaism's way of life and glad you are no longer  a Hebrew, go hug a Talmudic Rabbi. Or at least a tree, as Tu B'Shevat is the new year for trees.

 

A d'var Torah follows:

 

Have a joyous Shabbat!

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

Parasha Beshalach: Exodus 13:17-17:16

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

Tu B'Shevat 

"Gotta Pay Your Dues if You Wanna Sing the Blues"

"Moses stood at da Red Sea sho,

Smotin' dat wadah wit a two by fo."

So sang the African American slaves during our country's shameful "peculiar institution," echoing Miriam as she sang more than three thousand years before: "Sing to God for He is exalted above the arrogant, having hurled horse and rider into the sea." (Ex 15:21).

Only a mere seven days after their triumphant exodus from Egypt, our ancestors found themselves on the shore of the sea of reeds with the army of Pharaoh approaching. We "were very frightened...and we cried to Moses: Were there no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness?" (Ex 14:10-11). And then God said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me?" (Ex 14:15). This implies, according to the fifteenth century rabbi Ovediah Sforno, that Moses was praying to God for help. And God says to Moses, "Stop moaning, and do something!"

Israel and Moses are told by God not to pray at this time, as prayer is not the proper response when people are facing danger. According to Rashi, God commanded that the prayers be stopped and that our ancestors show their faith in themselves, as well is in Him, by taking action to escape Pharaoh's legions.

When the Israelites were safely on dry land, they gave thanks to God in wondrous song, which is how this Shabbat gets in special name, Shabbat Shirah, the Sabbath of Song (Ex. 15:01-21). But only three days later after witnessing the miracle of the splitting of the sea and the drowning of their pursuers, the children of Israel sang a different tune.

"Muddah n sistah sittin in da shade talkin bout da money dat I aint made," goes the second verse of the aforementioned Gullah song. It sure is easy to sit comfortably in the shade and complain about the entitlements that you are not receiving is the implication.

Our people came upon the waters of Mirah, which tasted bitter, and complained. The water was drinkable, but it did not taste sweeet. So Moses threw a tree into the water and flavored it (Ex 15: 22-25). The people did not take action on their own behalf. Instead, they sat down and sang the blues, hoping for a quick fix and a rescuer.

A few weeks later, instead of hunting and foraging for food, Moses' people complained some more. They were given manna each morning, except on Shabbat (Ex. 16:01-05). This lasted for forty years as they wandered the desert. They had forgotten so quickly about our songs of joy, and learned well the laments of the blues.

In contrast, this Shabbat we celebrate the new year for trees, Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish earth day. This holiday exemplifies what modern Spiritual Judaism is about - action. Jews celebrate this holiday by resolving to improve themselves and the world around them. The rabbis say that this is the day that trees begin to form new fruit. The trees need proper nurturing; and so do our souls.

A spiritual lesson is that "a person is like a tree of the field." (Deut. 20:19). This lesson teaches us that when our fortunes take a turn for the worse, when we fall into despair and have lost hope, we should ponder a tree in winter. Its leaves have fallen. Its moisture has dried up. It is practically dead. Then suddenly, it begins to revive and to draw moisture from the earth. Slowly it blossoms and once again brings forth its fruit. From this we should learn not to despair, but to take hope and have courage, for we too are like a tree (Rabbi Yisrael of Chortkov).

Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for Trees, is one of four Jewish new years. It celebrates the rebirth of trees in the midst of winter, the Kabbalistic reawakening of divine energy with God as the tree of life. This holiday is the first Earth Day. The Talmud declares: "If you have a sapling, and someone says that the Messiah has come, complete the planting, and then go welcome the Messiah." The idea of the importance of having faith and moving forward, as well as being stewards of the earth, is as old as Judaism itself.

Historically, Jews have always done their best when proactive as opposed to reactive. Conversely, we have fared the worst when we expected divine intervention without working hand in hand with God as a junior partner for change.

The concept of Tikun Olam, repair of the world, involves us in a partnership with God. In this Haftarah (Judges 4:04 to 5:31) we see plainly how Jews can take action and change events. Deborah and Jael, two brave women, did not wait for permission from the male hierarchy to act. When the Canaanite king, Jabin, and his general, Sisera, were dominating our people after Joshua's conquest of Canaan, Deborah and Jael acted by luring and drugging General Sisera, then hammering a tent peg into his head. This Haftarah has an equally famous song: Israel "ceased living...until I, Deborah, arose, as a mother of Israel!" (Judges 5:07).

As individuals we need not feel powerless to change our lives and improve our world. We need not feel incapable of feeding ourselves or sweetening our pools of water. We can, on a daily basis, remember to sing daily praises and beracoth for all that we have. We can feed ourselves with wisdom and drink from the words of our ancestors. We can amend and adapt our traditions to liberate ourselves and become closer to God and to each other. We can reclaim our Judaism through a definite path set down for us via the sages, and made easy for us know via Jewish Spiritual Renewal.

Ezra decreed that because only three days elapsed between the miracle and the song at the sea, and the blues at the pool of bitter waters, we should not go more than three days without nourishing our souls with Torah study. This is why Ezra, after the return of our people from Babylon, instituted the public reading of Torah on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbats.

We can, as individuals and as a holy congregation, do so much to help each other and our community. Become involved with mitzvoth this year, study Torah or other Jewish spiritual texts. Volunteer at your children's religious schools or your community's Boys and Girls Club. Sing a New Song this Shabbat. Plant a tree of life. We will find others to join with us.

"Serve God with Gladness, come before Him with Song...Give Thanks to Him, Bless His name. For God is Good, His Chesed (kindness) endures forever!" (Psalm 100 1-5).

Shabbat Shalom:

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
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