RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:doing of justice, loving kindness,walking humbly WITH GOD:

 RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:doing of justice, loving kindness,walking humbly WITH GOD:

 

 

The JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL CLASS is hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network a service of Hebrew College.

 

Jewish Spiritual Renewal:Shabbat 7/18/09:Torah,Talmud,TaNaK: Ethical and ,Spiritual Views

 

Shalom my dear Chaverim v' Talmidim:

 

I am writing this on the 17th of Tammuz, a fast day, and the beginning of the "three weeks'' from today to Tish'a b'Av. In Hebrew these weeks are called yemei bein ha metzriam, the days in straits. This is derived from Lamentations, (Eichah), "all her persecutors overtook her in the straits,(Lam 1:3). The haftarot during this time are called gimmel d'pur'anusa, a trilogy on punishment. During these 3 weeks we are to act as if we are in mourning over the loss of the two Temples. The aforementioned is halakah, Jewish law. RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:17TH TAMMUZ:APOSTEMUS:MENASHE:tablets smashed:Moses:city wall

 

From a spiritual and ethical point of view, I fast today, and during these three weeks behave low key, fasting again on Tish'a b'Av, but not for the Temple's loss, nor for its rebuilding, but for the reason our sages teach that we lost them. And the sages teach us during this time, to work on self improvement in this area.

 

 And of what defect of character are they speaking? Sinat Chinam..baseless hatred of Jew versus Jew. Individual Jews versus other individual Jews. Cliques of Jews being inclusive. Sects of Jews versus other sects of Jews. Jews slandering, lying  and doing lashon ha ra about other Jews. The Talmud even gets so specific to talk about how a party snub caused the walls of Jerusalem to be breached by the Romans.( Talmud  Bavli Tractate Yoma 9b)

 

It is this behavior that I still see today, that I ask ha Shem to remove from my heart and pray that He remove from all of us. To spiritual and ethical Jews,  17th of Tammuz and 9th of Av are not minor fast days but are symbolic of the ills with which  our people have been grappling for millennia. We work daily to remove these and other defects of character from ourselves via www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org, as taught  in

Rabbi Arthur Segal : (001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal , a Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew.

 

Some TaNaK: Dan:10:23: In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three whole weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, until three whole weeks were fulfilled.

 

"Whether a man really loves the Divine can be determined by the love he bears toward his fellow men." Rebbe Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev, Poland (1740-1810). We have all seen others, even in ourselves, even in myself if I am not 100% God-conscious and connected, how we can be at synagogues, praying to God, or sending email ditties telling our friends to 'trust in Ha Shem,' or all holding hands singing Heni Ma Tovu (How good and pleasant it is when brothers (and sisters) dwell in unity), and then drive by ignoring someone with a flat tire, or do lashon ha ra about someone, or even have one rabbi ignore or slander another. The real test to see how one loves God, is to see how one loves and treats all of his or her fellows. Its easy to be nice to someone we like. When we can love a person who rubs us the wrong way, or who mows his grass at 6 AM on a Sunday, then we know we have listened to that ''still small voice", that eternal spark of the Divine, inside all of us.

 

Some Midrash:  All Jews are ma'aminim b'nei ma'aminim, believers who are descendants of believers, but most important is not faith itself, but actions which point to one's faith.

 

Some more Midrash:  D'Vei Eliyahu Rabbah (ch. 28) states: The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to Israel: My beloved children! Is there anything I lack that I should have to ask of you? All I ask of you is that you love one another, that you honor one another, that you respect one another. In this way, no sin, robbery, or base deed will be found among you, so that you will remain undefiled forever. Thus it is written, "He has told you, O man, what is good, and what Hashem seeks of you — only the doing of justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with Hashem, your God" (Mic: 6:8).

 

Some Kabbalah from the Zohar:  (Parasha Mikeitz p. 201b) : Not only did Yosef not repay his brothers in kind [for their having sold him], but he acted toward them with kindness and truth. Such is always the way of the righteous. Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed is He, forever watches over them, in this world and in the next.

 

Some Torah: Lev: 19:18 : "You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the members of your people; you shall love your fellow as yourself."  If it happens that one's fellow acted improperly towards us, we must not take revenge or bear a grudge. Rather, we must erase the matter from our heart, and seek to do good in every way with that person, just as he would with any other Jew, as if nothing negative had ever come between us. This is what Judaism requires of us. To do anything less, is not Judaic, and shows us spiritually disconnected from God.

 

Some beracoth and history: In the county where I live, Beaufort County, SC, it is one of the oldest established counties in the USA. The state was one of the original British colonies and the area has much histories. Jews have been here since before the War of Independence, and established a synagogue, in 1733, the 3rd oldest in the USA, across the river in Georgia, called Mickve Israel, the Hope of Israel, where I served as Scholar in Residence for a year, a decade ago. So its is no small announcement when Southern Beaufort County will have for its first time in history, two Rabbanim on two different bimot.

 

I would like to welcome colleagues Rabbi Brad Bloom who ascended the Bimah at Beth Yam on July 3, 2009, and to Rabbi Robert Seigle who will ascend the Bimah of Oseh Shalom soon. I have written in the past how I have great respect for pulpit rabbis, as this requires a special skill set which I do not desire to possess, and hence I do not. I wish both of them mozel and koach, and anything I or my wife Ellen can do to help them or their families settle into the area in comfort, and with ahavath Israel, we stand ready and able to do and to show them kavod ha Rabbanim .

 

Some Talmud: Bavli Tractate Beracoth 55a: . Our sages count the pulpit rabbinate among three actions that shorten a person's life . While the Talmud adduces a biblical verse for the first two items, the third life-shortening act - filling a leadership position in the Jewish community - has no clear proof text. Rabbinic leadership is an essential yet perilous undertaking according to the rabbis.

 

Some more Talmud Bavli Tractate Sotah  13b: The Torah tells us: And Joseph died and all his brothers and all that generation (Exodus 1:6). From this verse it is understood that Joseph predeceased his siblings (Rashi, 11th century, France). Indeed, Joseph - the second youngest child and six years younger than his eldest brother Reuben - died at the age of 110 (Genesis 50:26), while all his brothers reached the age of 120. Our sages explain his early death: "Since he conducted himself in a position of leadership."

 

Now the rabbis are troubled. They need strong leadership. So the Gemorah has them deciding that if one is strong publicly doing God's will and teaching God's word, but is honorable and ethical in his personal life, that the above ''short life'' will not apply.

 

Some more Talmud: Bavli Tractate Ketubot 103b:  The difference between public and private conduct of leaders is rooted in another talmudic passage where the ailing Rabbi urges his son Rabban Gamliel to act with authority. Here the Talmud explains that this was a directive for public behavior, while in private no such airs are necessary. The nature of the position compels the leader to display authority before his talmidim (in today's parlance, congregants.)

 

Some more Talmud Bavli Tractate Pesachim 87b: Rabbi Yohanan, bemoaning Rabbinic leadership, claiming that it entombs rabbis:  "Woe to Rabbinic leadership, for it buries its possessors." The Gemorah explains that when rabbis stick with teaching the word of God via both oral and written Torah, and do not get involved in administrative duties, or use the "Torah as a spade" to enrich themselves, they will live long. In support of this notion, once again a scriptural source is cited: The prophet Isaiah outlived four kings - Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah - who all reigned while he prophesied (  Isaiah 1:1). Other prophets also brought the word of God during the rule of all four kings: Hosea, Amos and Micah (Rashi).

 

Some more Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin 17a: The Sages discuss the reckless prophecy of Eldad and Medad  . Different suggestions as to the content of their prophecy are offered by the sages, but Joshua's response is taken from the biblical text (Numbers 11:28): ''My master, Moses, stop them! ''Joshua cried in a panic either because they were predicting Moses death or because they were irreverently prophesying before their teacher, Moses. As long as Rabbis stay ethical and spiritual and teach properly, they are protected.

 

Some final Talmud:Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin 14a: Serving as a pulpit rabbi and a community leader is something that cannot be avoided. Rabbi Zeira would hide in an attempt to avoid being ordained, following the adage of Rabbi Elazar to always remain in the shadows and thus survive.  Perhaps perceiving that the burden of leadership was discouraging a worthy candidate from taking office, a further aspect of rising to a position of responsibility was quoted in the name of Rabbi Elazar - forfeiture of all misdeeds.

Once Rabbi Zeira heard that a person's appointment to the rabbinate is coupled with forgiveness for all wrongdoings, he hastily presented himself before his teacher so that he could be ordained with one-on-one semika and have his past sins forgiven.

(Rabbi Zeira was an interesting fellow. he was small and dark skinned, so his fellow students called him, ''black pot''( Talmud Bavli Tractate Avodah Zarah 16b.). He wanted to go to Judea, but his teacher Rabbi Judah forbad it because Babylonia was the seat of Judaic Talmudic study, and Judea was considered inferior. NB: The Talmud Bavli today trumps the Talmud Yerushalmi, and in truth, modern day Iraq is the homeland of the Judaism not Israel. He went to Judea but not before fasting 100 days to forget the didactic intellectual way of studying that Babylonian Rabbis did and Judean rabbis did not (Talmud Bavli Tractate Bava Metzia 85a).

A bit more of Talmud snuck in: Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin 37a.:To show that chesed, the love of one's fellow, that is the theme of this lesson, Rabbi Zeira had many sinning neighbors. But he treated  them with kindness in order to lead them to moral reformation. They did not always treat him well in return.  When he died, these people said, "Hitherto Ze'era has prayed for us, but who will pray for us now?" This reflection so moved their hearts that they really were led to do penance .

So it is with great kavod ha Rabbanim, with great ahavath chesed, that Ellen and I welcome Rabbis Bloom and Seigle to our Southern Beaufort County, and pray that God bless them and keep them, and give them the koach to teach His will, and help destroy any sinat chinam and bring about ahavath Israel in our community, among all Jews, and all Rabbanim, concentrating on the history and traditions we have in common, and not on the petty minutia about which we may have disagreements. And may ha Shem grant them long and productive lives. Amen.

A d'var Torah follows, as always, a double portion, and this ends of 4th book of Moses, B'midbar, Numbers. Our last book, Deuteronomy, will begin in the next Shabbat, and while we were wandering for 40 years in B'midbar (in the wilderness) and the book covers 38 of them, Deuteronomy takes place over a span of only 27 days. (see page 24 in Rabbi Arthur Segal : (002) A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud ).

As we say when we finish a book of Torah : Chazak! Ckazak! Venitchazeik! Be Strong, Be Strong, and may we be strengthened!

Shabbat Shalom,

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

Parashot Matot And Masei: Numbers 30:02-36:13

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

"Gimme Shelter"

This double portion ends the Book of Numbers. Borders of Israel are given as well as rules to prevent blood feuds by the establishment of safe-haven towns. If we can have cities of refuge 3,300 years ago, perhaps today we can have cities for refugees. This may help us end our modern blood feud in the Middle East.

Parasha Matot begins with the rules of vows and oaths. Matot means tribes, as these rules were given to the heads of the 12 tribes. A man must keep his word, but a woman's word can be annulled by her father or husband. Then the Israelites battle against Midian. It is a blood bath. All the Midianite men are killed. Yet Moses rebukes his generals for allowing the women Midianites to live. The Israelites then kill all the non-virgin women and all the male children. Laws about purifying the spoils of war are listed and from this the Talmudic rabbis learn the rules for koshering cooking utensils.

Numbers 31:21-24 refers to methods by which the utensils and garments taken in the Midianite war could be used by the Jews. The Talmudic rabbis, by pilpul extension, say these same laws apply to any vessel acquired from any non-Jew.

 If they are new utensils a simple emersion into the mikvah is sufficient. If they were used in cooking, or in today's parlance, were kosher and had non-kosher food on them making them unkosher and now need to be made kosher, more needs to be done.

Since these utensils now have absorbed the taste of non-kosher food or may still have milk on the meat dishes or vice versa, they must be purged through fire. Rashi notes that these laws should have been transmitted by Moses, as they are supposedly another commandment from God. But the Torah says "Elazar, the Kohen" taught these rules. The rabbis decide that Moses was upset and angry (see verse 31:14). Moses was too preoccupied to hear God speak. Therefore Elazar heard God giving these new kitchen-religion laws and transmitted them to the Israelites.

The parasha continues by dividing the spoils of war. Reuben and Gad wish to live outside of Israel in what is now Jordan. Moses compromises with this idea as long as they help the other tribes conquer the land first. It is from the wording of this compromise, that the Talmudic rabbis learn the rules of business contracts.

Parasha Masei begins with a summary of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years. The Hebrew word masei means "journeys." Forty-two locations are listed. In a traditional synagogue these 49 verses are chanted quickly and without pause. There were 14 moves during the first year. There were 8 during the last year. During the middle 38 years the Israelites moved only 20 times, which is an average of two years between each journey. Moses gives them the rules for conquering Canaan. The boundaries of Eretz Israel are delineated. Lots are drawn for tribal territories and tribal leaders are announced.

 Special cities are set aside and maintained for the Levites. Special cities of refuge (Ir Miklat) are set aside for unintentional murderers. Laws distinguishing between the different types of shedding of human blood are given. Inheritance rules in relation to tribal intermarriage are listed.

The cousins of the daughters of Zelophehad appeal Moses' decision to allow them to inherit their father's estate because they have no brothers. The cousins are afraid that if they marry outside of their tribe, the estate would belong to their new husbands of a different tribe. Moses amends his ruling from Parasha Pinchas. He declares that these daughters can only keep their inheritance if they marry cousins within their tribe. The Book of Numbers concludes.

Numbers 35:09-15 tells how six cities are to be set aside in Israel so one could escape if he kills another by accident. This person could live in this special city and be safe from the wrath and vengeance of the dead person's family. The Torah's authors did not want to see blood feuds. This rule applied to both Israelites and foreigners. The unintentional murderer lived in this city under what we would call today house arrest until the Kohan Gadol, the high priest, died. At that time he could leave and remain unharmed within the general population.

In Talmud Tractate Makkot we are told that the Kohan Gadol's family were worried that these unintentional murderers would pray for the high priest's death so that they could leave the city of refuge. It became customary for the mother of the Kohan Gadol to visit these six cities. She would distribute food and clothing and hope that these gifts would deter the inmates from praying for her son's demise.

The Talmudic rabbis taught that these cities were not jails or detention camps. They were places where the reckless and careless could learn not to repeat their life-taking actions. They were under the constant influence of their neighbors, the Levites, who also lived in special cities. The Levites would visit these cities of refuge and teach. The Talmud states that when these unintentional murderers saw the love and care that the high priest's very own mother showed to them, as well as the Levites kind actions, they developed into kinder, gentler, and more careful people.

Numbers 34:01-12 outlines the borders of Israel. The Torah uses a general term to describe the southernmost point as the wilderness of Zin. It then describes the southern border from the edge of the Salt Sea to the east. It then tells of places where the border will pass and go around. It mentions the "Stream of Egypt." Most of these locations, like the places mentioned in the wanderings in the beginning of Parasha Masei, are unknown to us today.

The Great Sea and Kinneret Sea are mentioned, and we know these today as the Mediterranean and the Sea of the Galilee. The Salt Sea is what we call the Dead Sea today. Mount Hor is mentioned as the northern border, but today we are uncertain which mountain this is. We do know that the borders listed take us into modern Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Borders are also given in Genesis 15:18 and Deuteronomy 1:07. These sets of borders are different from the ones set in Numbers. The eastern border in these sets is listed as the Euphrates River in what is now in Turkey or Iraq.

The rabbis of the Talmud Bavli, in Tractate Gittin 8A and Sotah 14A, as well as later sages such as the Totafot, Sforno, Rashi, Rashbam, Vilna Gaon, Aderet Eliyahu, Hersh Goldwurm, B'chor Shor, Gur Aryeh, and the Ramban write and argue over the borders. They can reach no consensus. Certainly, there are no suggestions or hints to Jerusalem as a capital city.

 What we do know from history is that the land of Canaan as part of the Egyptian dominion had different boundaries than the land that Joshua conquered, the Kingdom of David, the empire-sized Kingdom of Solomon, the divided lands of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, as well as the land when under Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman control.

Oh, a storm is threat'ning my very life today.

If I don't get some shelter, oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away.

War, children, it's just a shot away. It's just a shot away.

Mick Jagger sang these lyrics in the Rolling Stones hit, Gimme Shelter. Today we are faced with another last chance for peace in the Middle East. When I first taught this parasha to my Torah class in 2000, no good news had been heard from the Camp David peace talks between Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Barak. Barak had proposed dramatic concessions. He had agreed to Muslim sovereignty over the mosques and holy places in Jerusalem with exclusive Muslim access to them. The Palestinian flag would fly over these sites in Israel. He said Israel would allow the Palestinians ultimate control over the strategic Jordan valley. Barak stated he would dismantle dozens of Jewish settlements on Arab land. Barak also agreed to expanded Palestinian municipal authority in East Jerusalem. Thousands of Muslims would be guaranteed jobs in Israel, and billions of dollars would be spent to resettle Palestinians who were in Lebanese and Jordanian refugee camps at the time. Arafat wanted part of Jerusalem as his capital.

Israel wanted to keep East Jerusalem. It has agreed to grant municipal powers to the Arabs there. Barak did suggest he would hand over some Arab neighborhoods around Jerusalem to full Palestinian control. Arafat wanted control of all of East Jerusalem. He said he would allow Israelis access to Jewish holy sites.

The Palestinians wanted Israel's borders returned to the pre-Six-Day War of 1967 lines. Israel wanted to formally annex parts of the West Bank and Gaza. Three million Arabs live on those lands. Some 170,000 Jews live with them in about 145 settlements. Israel offered Arafat 80 percent of the West Bank and Gaza and says it wishes to annex or even rent the other 20 percent where the Israeli settlements are located. Barak said that Arafat could have an independent state on this 80 percent. Arafat called the Jewish settlers illegal and does not want Israeli citizens living in his country. He has said the Jews can remain there as loyal citizens of his new Palestinian state.

Four million Palestinian refugees live is squalor in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. Arafat wanted UN resolution 194 enforced. This would allow them to return to their homes and land that are now in Israeli possession within the prewar borders. Compensation was to be paid for those who do not wish to return and live under Israeli sovereignty. Arafat insisted that Israel was responsible for displacing these refugees in the 1947-1948 war of Israeli Independence. The Palestinians call this war the Naqba, or "Great Catastrophe." Israel refuses to accept responsibility for the refugee problem, but says it would put money into a fund to compensate the refugees for land that they lost.

In Camp David's Laurel Cabin the two sides of 21 American, Israeli, and Palestinian negotiators were arguing over the control of the City of David. Barak slept in Dogwood Cabin, where Egypt's Anwar Sadat stayed in 1978. Arafat stayed in the Birch Cabin, which Menachem Begin occupied. Barak left Israel with three right-wing partners in his coalition government defecting at the time of his departure. Some of the Shas rabbis were quoting the boundaries of Israel as described in this parasha. Rallying behind Barak were 28 retired Israeli generals who said, "Go in peace Ehud Barak...and bring about an end to the historic conflict between us and the Palestinians." At the same time, Ephraim Sneh, the new deputy defense minister, ordered Israeli positions in the West Bank fortified and sandbagged in preparation for firefights with the Arabs.

So much has happened since then. September 11th, the death of Arafat, the Oslo accords bring hope, Rabin's senseless assassination, loss of hope with a new Intafada, total unilateral Israeli pullout in Gaza, a month long war lost by the Israelis in Lebanon, and still the suicide bombers come into Israel. Sometimes terrorists cause death with bulldozers. President George W. Bush made his first trip to Israel in the last year of his eight-year presidency in 2008.

What can our TaNaK, our Holy Scriptures, teach us about this situation? In the Book of Judges, Chapter 11 we read of Yiftach who was a leader of Israel. The Talmudic rabbis called him "as great as Samuel." In haste he made a vow to sacrifice to God the first thing that he saw upon his return from a victorious battle. Unfortunately, upon his return he first saw his daughter.

We read in Parasha Matot about vows and how to annul them. All Yiftach had to do was go to Pinchas and have his vow annulled through the vehicle of "hatarat nederim" (undoing of vows). The Midrash says that Pinchas, the high priest, was waiting for Yiftach to come to him. Yiftach, the chief political and military leader, was waiting for Pinchas to come to him. Each was trying to protect his honor. In doing so, the life of Yiftach's beloved daughter was lost.

God punished Yiftach and Pinchas for this. Yiftach died from a disease where his limbs fell off one-by-one. He was buried in the cities of Gilead, a limb here and a limb there. Pinchas no longer could receive the Ruach ha Kodesh (the Holy Spirit).

The Talmud warns that many times people do things because their kavod (honor) was slighted. They will do these things, the rabbis teach, even though doing so is clearly a detriment not only to them, but also to their families. People will put their egos and honor irrationally before their own welfare and the welfare of their children. The rabbis warn that one would literally let his children die over loss of kavod.

We as rational modern Jews cannot continue to read the Torah as if it were an exact deed to the land of Israel. The ancient sages could not decide on where the borders were from the Torah's text, and we certainly know Israel is not in modern Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, or Jordan, as some commentators have suggested. For the sake of Torah itself we need to wrestle with its problems and not stand firm on issues because of irrational kavod.

The Torah wants us to follow it on paths that lead us to peace. There will be parts, like the slaughter of the Midianites, that we cannot accept and that actually go against the Torah's own laws of warfare that we will read of in Chapter 20 of Deuteronomy. The beauty of Torah is that we are challenged by one part to reinterpret another part.

 If we believe that we were given a deed of Israel with boundaries defined, and we are also mandated to seek peace, then we have the choice to decide to trade land for peace. We can decide to emphasize the humanistic parts of Torah and not the militaristic or fundamentalist portions. The Torah is ours. As we learned a few weeks ago, it is no longer in the hands of Heaven.

The Torah found it necessary to protect accidental killers from a blood feud with protection in six cities of refuge. The Torah clearly did not want to see more blood spilled on the soil of Israel. These accidental murderers did not need to stay in these towns for the rest of their lives. They only stayed until the Kohan Gadol died and a new one became invested. The Torah allowed the grieving relatives a period of time to think of revenge and to actually carry it out if the accidental murderer left his city of refuge. But the Torah also placed a time limit on revenge and brooding about blood feuds. If we could set aside and maintain six cities of refuge 3,300 years ago, could we not set aside some of East Jerusalem for a city as a capital for today's refugees?

The status of Jerusalem is a sticking point in the peace process even today. The two sides have agreed on economic issues, religious site issues, and refugee issues. Jerusalem has been expanded to include its West Bank suburbs, where Arabs are living now. If Israel gave this area to them for their capital, the Palestinians would have a capital in East Jerusalem and the Israelis will have lost nothing.

The Israel Knesset Parliament building is not in the Old City at the Wailing Wall (Kotel), and the Palestinian government building does not need to be in the Old City at the Dome of the Rock. The Palestinians can have a piece of East Jerusalem, which the Arabs call Al-quds, as its capital. Beit Hanina and Abu Dis are adjoining suburbs in East Jerusalem, which are Arab neighborhoods. The Palestinian authority has already begun to operate in Beit Hanina unofficially. These are already called East Jerusalem. They can be ceded to the Palestinians, and could restore kavod to them.

It is my opinion that the real struggle in the Middle East will be over water, not over the neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.

When we read these parashot we can come away remembering to do genocide to our enemies, keep hateful vows for prideful reasons, think of the immutable God-given boundaries of Greater Israel, and sit outside the gates of those who harmed us waiting to seek vengeance when they leave through them. Or we can learn to fight strongly but fairly, release ourselves from prideful vows, understand that Israel's borders have never been unchanging in 4,000 years, and give up feelings of vengeance and hatred for those with whom we have been fighting.

When the poet wrote in Psalm 137: "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning," it was written during captivity, "by the rivers of Babylon." This is not a vow for Jews never to give up some of the city in which Jews never lived anyway for peace. The Song of Ascents of King David in Psalm 122 records the Jewish belief about our Holy City more accurately.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

May they prosper that love thee.

Peace be within thy walls,

and prosperity within thy palaces,

for my brethren and companions' sakes,

I will say: 'Peace be within thee.'

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will seek thy good.

David's brethren were clearly his fellow Jews. His companions were those with whom he shared meals – com (with), panis (bread). There is no halakah forbidding us to share bread with our Palestinian fellows in peace. Once we eat with them we can share with them the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem and of the Middle East.

To quote the Rolling Stones again from Gimme Shelter:

I tell you, Love, sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away. It's just a kiss away."

I pray that so is Shalom. Amen.

Shabbat Shalom:

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

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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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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.

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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

• Price : $44.98

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