RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:NISSAN:PASSOVER:LOVE

 

Jewish Spiritual Renewal:Shabbat 4/4/09:Torah,Talmud,TaNaK,Ethical+Spiritual View

 

Shalom Talmidim v Chaverim:

 

Allow me to wish you all a happy Rosh Chodesh Month of Nissan. Every day this month is considered to be  a Yom Tov, not just the 8 days of Passover. The reasoning is that for the 14 days leading up to the holiday of Pesach and for the week after, so much chesed was being done for us, that it is impossible to recount it all.

 

The Shabbat of 4/4/09 is also Shabbat Ha Gadol, the Great Shabbat before Passover.

 

IF ANY ONE OF YOU, OR IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE ,WHO DOES NOT HAVE A PLACE TO PARTAKE IN THE FIRST NIGHT OF SEDER, EMAIL ME AT RABBIASEGAL@AOL.COM AND WE WILL HAVE THEM TO OUR HOME.

 

CONVERSELY, IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE ELLEN AND I COULD HAVE  A LOCAL SECOND NIGHT SEDER, PLEASE LET US KNOW. ALL OF THE FOLKS WE USUALLY DO SECOND NIGHT WITH ARE GOING OUT OF TOWN. COMMUNAL SEDERS ARE DIFFICULT FOR US SPIRITUALLY.

 

Some Talmud Bavli Tractate Rosh Hashanah 11a: "Rabbi Yehoshua said, 'In Nissan the world was created. In Nissan the Patriarchs were born, in Nissan the Patriarchs passed on. On Passover Isaac was born… In Nissan they [i.e. the Jewish people] were redeemed, in Nissan they will be redeemed again in the future."

 

What does it mean the world was created in Nissan? We celebrate the Birthday of the World in the 7th Month of Tishrei on one of our four Rosh Ha Shana's. The rabbis postulate that God decided to create the world in Nissan, but did it in Tishrei. This is why the calculation, as discussed last week, for the 28 year cycle for the blessing of the Sun, occurs in the spring and not in the fall, as the rabbis started counting with Nissan, that pre existed before the creation in the month of Tishrei. We all know about negative numbers, but our sages dealt with negative pre-time.

 

We all know the many rules and traditions about Passover and the Seder. Read a non- abbreviated Hagaddah and you will learn, and not eat until about 11:55 PM. That is ok, as the Seder is about learning and not about eating. In fact, when we look at what we are commanded to eat in the Hagaddah, some matzah, some bitter herbs, some salt water, some charoset, some more matzah and four glasses of wine, with more matzah for dessert, we can understand why the Talmud tells us not to eat matzah before Passover, so we will have an appetite for it on the Seder.

 

The Talmud deletes the Pascal Lamb from the menu of the Seder. We have a symbolic shank bone but its not for eating. If you are jonesing for BBQ lamb on Pesach find a Karaite community in Turkey, Israel or the USA.

 

So let us delve a little bit into some spiritual and ethical lessons of Passover.

 

Some Midrash: ''No Jew was permitted to leave his home that evening while the Almighty struck the firstborn of Egypt. This was so that the Jews should not witness the downfall of their enemies and rejoice in it.'' Schudenfreude is not a Jewish concept.

 

Some Torah: The Torah tells us that Passover occurs during the Month of Aviv, literally the spring time month. Aviv is Hebrew and many of our months names that we use now are Babylonian in origin. A special mitzvah, which can be fulfilled only once a year, is to recite the berachah ("blessing" or prayer) made upon seeing a fruit tree in bloom: Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe, who left nothing lacking in His world, and created within it good creatures and good trees with which He gives pleasure to people.''

 

Some Talmud: The sages talk of the four cups of wine as of the four ways God redeemed us from Egypt. Bring; deliver; redeem; take.   God told Moses, "And I will bring you out ("V'hotzeti") from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you ("V'hitzalti") from their bondage, and I will redeem you ("V'gaalti") with an outstretched arm and with great judgment.  And I will take you ("V'lakachti") to Me for a people..." (Exodus 6:6-7)  To commemorate these four expressions, we drink four cups of wine.

 

But the Talmud goes further. As usual, our holidays become spiritual and ethical lessons.

 

The spiritual aspects of Passover are many and much too numerous to fully explore in a few paragraphs. Some have been alluded to in this class. We put ourselves into bondage of ego with our narrowness, our Mitzraim (Egypt). Passover teaches about freedom. Most people are still enslaved with ego and all of the behaviors that stem from it. Passover teaches us to rid ourselves of chumatz (leavening). Chumatz makes bread puff up. The rabbis equate this with ego. "Leaven represents the evil impulse of the heart (Talmud Bavli Tractate Beracoth 17a)." We must get ego out of our lives. We strive to be as humble as a flat piece of unleavened matzah. (Talmud Bavli Tractate Pesachim). Hence we are to work on bringing, delivering, redeeming, and taking ourselves out of our own Mitzraim. Check out The Handbook for Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, for doing just this. Rabbi Arthur Segal : Home

 

In fact the whole spiritual context of the Talmudic Tractate of Pesachim (Passover) is about Jewish Spiritual Renewal. Biblically there is a second Passover, a month from the first, for those who were ritually impure to be allowed to accept the Pascal offering. The Rabbis say this proves that God is always giving us second chances to change from our egotistical selves doing our will, to spiritual Jews doing His will. "He and I cannot dwell in the same world," says a Talmudic Tractate quoting God speaking about the egocentric person.

Even the Four Sons in the Hagaddah are said to be just one person. Today we would call it spiritual schizophrenia. The four actually represent different aspects of the same person who is not integrated. We were like this before our Jewish Spiritual Renewal. We prayed to God, calling Him "Oseh Shalom" (Maker of Peace) and then managed to become the cause of discord.

The Talmud tells us that our Yetzer ha Ra never leaves us. Good is not the absence of Bad. One can be righteous and wise while the evil inclination persists in trying to dominate him. The Kabbalah takes the Gemetria numerical equivalent of Echad (one) son, which is 13, and multiplies it by four to arrive at 52. Fifty-two is the Gemetria numerical equivalent of Ben (son). Passover's story of the four sons is a lesson in becoming integrated and not being spiritually schizophrenic any longer.

Even Charoset which we have been taught represents mortar for the bricks the Hebrews built cities for Pharaoh, is given a totally different take in the Talmud, and represents the love God has for us and the love we need to have for each other. Indeed the Charoset recipe is in Solomon's Song of Songs which is read on the Sabbath during the week of Passover, and is in full Hagaddahs.  RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:THE REAL REASON FOR CHAROSET ON PASSOVER IS THE SONG OF SONGS

 

Now, those of us who are married, and lived close to two set of parents, remember going through the angst of which parent do we have first night of seder with and which night do we have the second night with. And I can remember the angst with my first wife in our first year, and her homesickness, and that we were definitely traveling 300 miles to spend the Passover week with her family.

 

The Talmud addresses this issue, with the law of  REGEL REDUFIN literally ''anxious feet.'' And while a  wife 'belongs' to her husband and his family's seder, during their first years of marriage, being homesick, she has the right to go home to her family. RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: REGEL REDUFIN: TALMUD YERUSHALMI PESACHIM : WOMEN'S RIGHTS

 

While the rituals of Passover are many, the ethical and spiritual aspects of the Holidays, especially to open our doors to anyone who is 'hungry' (and not just for food...for companionship, community, spirituality, learning), is most important.

 

I will leave you with this. During our seders we will discuss miracles, signs and wonders, and God. And there will be those who will challenge us, [who have a daily experience with God], as to His existence.  The other day I was asked by an adult, thinking he was clever, with a question that we discussed in 4th grade. "Can God Create a Rock That's Too Heavy for Him to Lift?''

 

Some attribute the question to the Islamic philosopher Ibn Rushd, others to the Rambam and still others to Thomas Aquinas. I first heard it in 4th grade by my friend David, and the teacher hit him on the head with a ruler. Just as the story of the four sons teaches us that some Jews at our seder will be smart- alecks, even they deserve an answer.

 

I replied Talmudically : "Sure God can create a rock so heavy that even He cannot lift it. God can do anything. And He could even lift that rock that He cannot lift as well." And this true!  Because God indeed created such a 'thing.' It is us!! It's called our human free choice to muck up His world. And in our prayers, we ask God to rid us from our Yetzer ha Ra. We ask God to lift the rock that He cannot lift because He made it unliftable. The Yetzer ha ra is always part of us.  But God will help us negate our Yetzer Ha Ra a situation at a time as long we are doing the lifting.

 

So open your doors this Passover. Many people are suffering. Words do not suffice. Telling someone that others have the same problems does not help.

 

Some Talmud: Avot D'Rebbe Nassan 14:6: Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai's son died. His disciples tried to console him by telling him that Adam, Job, Aaron, and David had lost children, yet they survived and functioned. Rabbi Yohanan said, "Isn't my distress enough? Must you add to it the distress of Adam, Job, Aaron, and David?"

 

Open your doors and your chesed. Folks need it. Many are afraid to ask.

 

God loves us very much. We must love each other as well.

 

Shabbat Shalom:

Rabbi Arthur Segal
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hilton Head Island, SC;Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
 

Parasha Tzav: Leviticus 6:01-8:36

Rabbi Arthur Segal
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hilton Head Island, SC;Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

"Mare's Sweat"

Did you love watching Zero Mostel, of blessed memory, perform as much as I did? He was such a wonderful presence on the stage and screen. I remember him well as Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He and another character, aptly named Hero, were chasing after horses trying to extract mare's sweat to be used in a potion. How silly and so pagan, the audience thought, to use a large mammal's glandular secretions for an elixir.

I wonder, if Cecil B. DeMille were to make a sequel to the Ten Commandments, would he have Zero play Aaron chasing after red heifers when he came to this part of the Bible? Let me explain.

While this Torah portion is Tzav from the book of Leviticus, this Shabbat is one of the special Sabbaths that come before Passover   and it is called ha Gadol. A few weeks ago we had another special one called Parah. We read a special portion from the Torah (a maftir) from Numbers 19:01 to 22. It is about our priests finding a perfect unblemished red cow, burning the whole animal including its dung, and adding in a bit of red thread and some spices.

A pure man gathered the ash and mixed it with water. He then became unclean. But anyone else who became unclean by touching a corpse could become clean by sprinkling the dead cow's ashes on themselves. This type of law is called a chuk, a decree. There was no rational rhyme or reason for it.

Regarding this law, King Solomon said, "I said I would be wise, but it (the explanation) is far from me." (Proverbs 7:23). Modern Israelis, when asked about a nonsensical governmental law, will say, "Parah Adamah" (it's a red cow). In Job (14:04), it is asked, "Who can draw a pure thing out of an impure one? Is it not the One God?" Perhaps Zero Mostel could.

This Torah parasha derives it name from the word "command," as God is giving us more sacrificial ritual laws. For those of us who have ever dissected a frog in high school or have gone on to study larger animals, a quick read of this section will bring back some memories of your favorite (or not so favorite) organs.

 The rabbis, long after the Temple was destroyed and the sacrifices were stopped. have tried to parse some mussar (spiritual and ethical growth teachings) from this portion. I invite you to look at Leviticus 6:18. "This is the law of the sin offering. At the PLACE (capitals are mine) where you slaughter the elevation offering, you shall slaughter the sin offering." Talmud Bavli Tractate Yevamot 8:3 explains that this was enacted to save those who sinned from embarrassment.

Folks who sinned and those who were bringing offerings to raise their spiritual level were all in the same area. No one could be pointed out as a sinner. We learn from this that if God could make certain that sinners were not publicly shamed, surely it is important for each of us not to humiliate or cause public discomfort to another.

 Rabbi Elazar taught: "One who humiliates his fellow in public, though he may know Torah and do good deeds, has no share in the world to come." (Pirkei Avot 3:15). Talmud Bavli Tractate Bava Metziah 58b says shaming someone publicly drains the blood from his face and is tantamount to murder.

The Torah also shows sensitivity to the feelings of the poor. It permits each person to bring what he could afford. A closer read will see that the Torah refers to one bringing an expensive bull as a person, but the Torah's author calls one bringing a bread offering a soul. It is not the value of our gifts that is important, but rather our intention that is crucial.

A poor man may not know from when or where his next bread is coming. And so it is with our prayer (see the previous d'var). What is important about our prayers is not the showy length of the service, or if we can rock and chant faster than our pew's neighbor, or if we can speed-read in Hebrew. Rather it is our intention, our kavanah, that must be pure and from our soul.

Another section of the parasha deals with thanksgiving offerings (Lev 7:1-15). This ritual is still done today in an abbreviated fashion on some bimahs at the time of the Torah reading. It is now called "Birkat ha Gomel." Traditionally one makes this bracha if one has survived childbirth, recovered from illness, arrived safely from a journey, or escaped unharmed from an accident. Actually, there is one more. If you escaped from prison where you were to be executed, this prayer was said as well. (Obviously, this prayer for this reason is rarely heard in Texas.)

When we read this portion and think of the body parts and organs of the animals on the altar and elsewhere, perhaps for a moment instead of reeling in disgust, let us think for a second of all the body parts that we have that are working well that we take for granted.

 In our morning prayers, we traditionally thank God for our consciousness, our mobility, and our eyesight, as well as our freedom. When we think, just for a second, of the bulls' kishkas (intestines) spilling onto the floor of the Temple, we can see how the prayer that traditionally we say after leaving the restroom might be something that we can occasionally gratefully recite. "Blessed are you, the Lord our God, King of the Universe, who fashioned man with wisdom and created within him many openings and cavities. It is obvious and known before your Throne of Glory that if but one of them were to be ruptured, or but one of them were to be blocked, it would be impossible to survive and stand before You. In the merit of my appreciation for Your wondrous works, may you grant me good health and long life." It is easy for one to scoff at this prayer. But ask one who has survived colon cancer, an intestinal blockage, or even a kidney stone just how meaningful this prayer is.

Some years ago there was a public debate in the newspapers when a beloved rabbi was misquoted as saying that the Orthodox are praying daily for the return of Temple sacrifices. It is the traditional belief that when the Messiah comes and the world will be perfect, there will no longer be a need for offerings of atonement because people will no longer sin. However the thanksgiving offerings will always be needed (Talmud Bavli Tractate Pesachim 50a). These thanksgiving offerings will be 40 loaves of bread of the four types outlined in Leviticus 7:1-15.

In the special Haftarah from the Book of Ezekiel 36:16-38, the prophet speaks of the ingathering of the exiles and our purification. Ezekiel says something interesting: "I shall give you a new heart and a new spirit...I shall remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." (36:26). This, the sages teach, is all in preparation of Messianic times. Why do I, as a modern Jew, have a Moshiac theme in this d'var along with numerous mentions of body parts and organs?

A dear friend once asked me about the traditional position on organ donation. I wrote to her that her important question touched on traditional halachic Jewish law principles as well as many Midrashic and folkloric interpretations. The idea of organ donation is not really a new question for the Talmudic sages. Remember that traditionally it is believed that the Talmud and the laws derived from and codified from it, were orally given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Liberal Jews think of the Talmud and the laws that derive from it as scholarly works of learned men who were doing their best to keep us together during the enormous national disaster of the Babylonian and Roman forced diasporas and the nationalization of Christianity as the state religion by Emperor Constantine.

 Liberal Jews do not consider themselves bound by these ritual laws. Jews may, however, choose to do certain rituals after careful study of the historical significance and do so with kavenah. Talmudically we have an obligation to preserve human life. This is derived from many verses in the Torah. This is called Pikuah Nefesh. The most pious are commanded to break Shabbat to save a life and must break keeping kosher to do the same.

There is another pertinent Talmudic principle. This is the law against the desecration of a dead body (Nivul Hamet). Every part of the body must be buried, even if parts are lost from the body before death. In theory, if a traditional Jew gets his hand cut off (God forbid), it must be buried with him. If there is a motor vehicle accident involving a Jew, his blood and skin must be scraped from the street and buried.

The traditional rabbis have posited that if there is an immediate specific known need of an organ, one can permit a donation of organs from a deceased loved one. It is not kosher to put organs in a frozen bank waiting for someone to need them. It is also forbidden to donate a traditional Jew's body to science for medical students to dissect and learn.

A doctor cannot harvest an organ if one is still alive. Of course, you say, it is not that simple. Traditionally, there is no such thing as being brain dead. If the heart is pumping, you are alive. Let us hypothesize that one is brain dead and in a vegetative state. The doctor persuades a family member to "pull the plug" and donate the fresh organs. Halachically, this would not be allowed and would even be considered murder.

On a different note, one could donate a kidney if a doctor guaranteed one was not putting their life at risk. One can only give up life for three reasons: If an aggressor demands that you commit murder, a sexual misdeed, or idolatry. For other than these three reasons, you must protect your own life first, as the Talmud says that no one's blood is redder (better) than anyone else's.

And, of course, cremation is not allowed.

What you will not find in the Halachic laws is the reason that we are traditionally concerned about our body and its parts postmortem. Why can one give an organ if it is going to be used immediately, but not if it will be in a freezer to be used next week? Saving lives is important and a cornerstone in Judaism, but why would we prefer that a body rot in dirt than be used for medical research? What is the real reason?

Traditionally, from Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin, Chapter 11, we believe in corporal resurrection. When the Messiah comes, we will get our same bodies back and be transported to Jerusalem. If we are buried in Galut (exile), we roll through special tunnels underground to Israel. An amputated limb must be buried with its original body so that God can reattach it. Somehow, if we are dismembered on a dissection table, or if our organs go to someone else, God cannot figure out where the pieces are to give them back to us.

By reading Chapter 11 of Talmud Sanhedrin you will see that the whole Messianic concept is not a clear TaNaK (Holy Scriptures) idea. Our rabbis are grappling with the conception of a human king-savior to come and save us from the Romans (who they postulated are descended from Esau!).

They are also dealing with the Christian theologians in 500 C.E. using our Bible as their own source book for Jesus. Few rabbis agree with one another as they debate the issue.

Rabbi Hillel certainly does not believe in these theories. But as usual, a vote was taken. The traditional point of view may be thought of as the word of God from Mt. Sinai, but to the rabbis 1,500 years ago, it was a theological guess. This guess is keeping many deserving sick people from getting organs, corneas, and skin grafts. A chance for continued life on this earth is not being granted to some people, while others are superstitiously holding on to folkloric thoughts.

The Conservative Jew, depending on who you ask, will tell you organ donation is fine, to save a life or help a life, whether you do it immediately or later with a frozen part. Talmudically, a partially blinded person is freed from many mitzvoth, especially the regelem (pilgrimage) holidays, as being half blind was considered a danger to life. The Conservative rabbis posited then that corneal donations, even if frozen in a bank, should be allowed. And if these were allowed, then of course, liver, heart, kidney, and other similar organ donations should be allowed as well.

As informed modern Jews we have to do what our conscience permits. Certainly, if you believe in Olam ha Ba, with its entrance requirements of mitzvoth, what better good deed is there than to save a life? The Talmud says that he who saves one life has saved the world. And the converse is true as well. By not donating an organ, and causing a life to be lost, one is Talmudically "killing the world."

If we believe in a kind compassionate God, full of chesed, then it is not consistent for God to punish us by keeping us from Olam ha Ba because we gave a cornea to Pedro, a kidney to Achmed, a liver to Kenesha, a heart to Kanwal, our spleen to Moshe-Pupik. After all, if Ezekiel says God will give us a new heart anyway, and God is all powerful, who is to say God cannot give us whatever parts we may be missing? But as Zero might say while studying Torah: "Parah Adamah. Have a chalice of mare's sweat and a Gut Shabbos!"

Shabbat Shalom:

Rabbi Arthur Segal
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hilton Head Island, SC;Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

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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'', and do not ask for honorariums for my services. I am post-denominational and renewal and spiritually centered.

 I am available to perform Jewish weddings, and Jewish inter-marriages (Jewish intermarriage, Jewish inter-marriage, Jewish interfaith weddings) and other life cycle events, ONLY IF, it is  a destination wedding and the local full time pulpit rabbi is unavailable, or if there is no local full time pulpit rabbi,  or it is in my local area and all of the full time pulpit rabbis are unavailable.

 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 RabbiSegal@JewishSpiritualRenewal.net and visit WWW.JewishSpiritualRenewal.Net.  OR CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW. 

 Todah Rabah and Shalom v' Beracoth. Rabbi Arthur Segal ,( Dr. Arthur Segal )RabbiASegal@aol.com . 

 

Click to Order	THE HANDBOOK TO JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal distills millennia of sage advice into a step-by-step process to reclaim your Judaism and your spirituality in a concise easy-to-read and easy-to-follow manner. If you find yourself wishing for the strength to sustain you through the ups and downs of life; if you want to learn how to live life to its fullest without angst, worry, low self-esteem or fear; or if you wish that your relationships with family, friends and co-workers were based on love and service and free of ego, arguments, resentments and feelings of being unloved...this book is for you. Price: $19.99 254 Pages Published by: Amazon's BookSurge
Click to Order	A SPIRITUAL AND ETHICAL COMPENDIUM TO THE TORAH AND TALMUD Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal dissects each of the Torah's weekly sections (parashot) using the Talmud and other rabbinic texts to show the true Jewish take on what the Torah is trying to teach us. This companion to The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew brings the Torah alive with daily relevance to the Modern Jew. All of the Torah can be summed up in one word: Chesed. It means kindness. The Talmud teaches that the Torah is about loving our fellow man and that we are to go and study. The rest is commentary. This compendium clarifies the commentary and allows one to study Torah and Talmud to learn the Judaic ideals of love, forgiveness, kindness, mercy and peace. A must read for all Jews and deserves a place in every Jewish home. Price: $24.99 494 Pages Published by: Amazon's BookSurge

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(001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal

In The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal distills millennia of sage advice to reclaim your Judaism and your spirituality.

• Price : $19.99

(002) A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud

A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud dissects each of the Torah's weekly sections (parashot) using the Talmud and other rabbinic texts to show the true Jewish take on what the Torah is trying to teach us.

• Price : $24.99

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The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal and A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud. Purchase both books as a set, and I will donate a portion of the sales price in your name to the tzadakkah of your choice. -- Rabbi Segal

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