RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: SHALOM IS BLESSINGS' PIPELINE TO US: DEREK ERETZ

 

 

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: SHALOM IS BLESSINGS' PIPELINE TO US: DEREK ERETZ

 

 Jewish  Spiritual  Renewal:

  

  Derek  Eretz Zuta + Rabbah:

  

 Shabbat  6/16/12 

 

 (aka  Derech  Eretz, Derekh Eretz )

  

 

  

Shalom  my dear Chaverim, Talmidim, v' Rabbanim, friends, students and fellow rabbis: 

  

An oneg, joy-filled, Shabbat this coming weekend to all. 

 

We continue with our exploration into the Talmudic Tractates of Derek Eretz Zuta and Rabbah. (aka Derech Eretz Zuta, aka Derech Eretz Rabbah.  As was mentioned, zuta is Aramaic for 'small', and rabbah is 'large').

  

Remember that Derek Eretz is not about Jewish ritual. It is  about how we are to treat one another and what traits of character, middot, we  are to try to develop. The lessons are universal and ecumenical. The  development of character traits and Jewish spiritual renewal  transformation is called  Mussar.

  

For  those new to the class Baruch ha Ba! Welcome!

 

You can access   last week's  class at 

Rabbi Arthur Segal: RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: DEREK ERETZ: MESSIAH'S NAME=PEACE

or

http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com/2012/05/rabbi-arthur-segal-jewish-spiritual_8193.html

 

From  here you will find links to preceding classes in this series. So, together we continue:

  

 TALMUD  BAVLI

  

 TRACTATE 

  

 DEREk ERETZ  ZUTA

  

 (aka  Derech  Eretz, Derekh Eretz)

  

Today we will continue with CHAPTER 10 of Talmud  Bavli Tractate Derek Eretz Zuta Verses  10: 13-16: 

 

CHAPTER X  

10:13: R. Jose the Galilean said: When the Messiah shall come to Israel, he will begin with peace, as it is written [Is. lii. 7]: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings, that publishes  peace, that announces  tidings of happiness, that publishes salvation, that says unto Zion, Your God reigns ."

10:14: He also said: Great is peace, because even wars are waged for the sake of peace, as it is written [Deut. xx. 10]: "When you come  nigh unto a city to make war against it, then summon it with the word of peace."

10:15: R. Joshua said: In the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will uphold the righteous with peace, as it is written [Is. xxvi. 3]: "The confiding mind will You keep in perfect peace; because he trusts in You."

10:16: Again he said: Great is peace, because it accompanies the living as well as the dead--the living, as it is written [Ex. iv. 18]: "And Jethro said to Moses, Go to peace"; the dead, as it is written [Gen. xv. 15]: "But thou shalt come to thy fathers in peace."

Let us begin with: ''10:13: R. Jose the Galilean said: When the Messiah shall come to Israel, he will begin with peace, as it is written [Is. lii. 7]: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings, that publishes peace, that announces tidings of happiness, that publishes salvation, that says unto Zion, Thy God reigns."

There is Jewish philosophy that the time before the Messiah's coming will be hell on earth. And there are some Talmudic references of how he will come.

He will not arrive on the Sabbath, since that would require people to violate the Sabbath in welcoming him [ Talmud Bavli Pesachim 13a]. The prophet, Elijah who ushers in the messianic age will arrive no later in the week than Thursday, leaving room for the Messiah to arrive by Friday. Elijah will announce the arrival of the Messiah from Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel [Talmud Yerushalmi Pesachim 3:6].

The sages believe the Messiah would arrive suddenly on the eve of Passover, the first redemption, which serves as a model of the final redemption [Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Pischa 14].

"In the footsteps of the Messiah, arrogance  will increase; prices will rise; grapes will be abundant but wine will be costly; the government will turn into heresy; and there will be no reproach. The meeting place of scholars will become a whore house; the Galilee will be destroyed; the highland will lie desolate; the border people will wander from city to city and none will show them compassion; the wisdom of authors will be putrid; sin‑fearing people will be detested; truth will be missing; young men will humiliate the elderly; the elderly will stand while the young sit; sons will revile their fathers; daughters will strike their mothers, brides will strike their mothers‑in‑law; and a man's enemies will take over his house. The face of the generation is like the face of a dog! Sons have no shame in front of their fathers; and on whom can one depend? Only upon our Father in heaven [Talmud Bavli Tractate Sotah 9:15]."

The sages write of God's war against Gog and Magog.  A rabbinic statement which was written during Emperor Hadrian's pogroms (132‑35 CE), offers the frightening assessment that the Messiah will arrive in a period when  Torah learning disappears, poverty increases,  religious despair deepens, Jews collaborate with their enemies

"The son of David will not arrive until informers are everywhere. Another view: Until there are few students left. Another view: Until the last coin is gone from the pocket. Another view: Until the peo­ple despair of redemption…as if there is no support or help for Israel [Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin 97a].

For the Messiah to be effective, he must arrive bringing peace. If he did not, being human, he would not survive the world as described above.

The verse teaches us how low humankind can sink, without true peace and justice, and without humans praying daily for God to keep their yetzer ha ra, their inclination to do what is not right, at bay.

Let us continue with:''10:14: He also said: Great is peace, because even wars are waged for the sake of peace, as it is written [Deut. xx. 10]: "When you come nigh unto a city to make war against it, then summon it with the word of peace."

The Torah teaches us if we have to make war, we must, before attacking, offer a just peace plan. This is not a plan to subjugate another people. This peace plan must be fair and offer true peace between two peoples. We cannot cut down their fruit bearing trees, nor can we attack on all 4 sides. One side must be left open for them to escape and live.

So even in war making, the object is to eventually live with our enemies in peace.

In the middle ages Rabbi Judah ha Levi wrote a book about the Khazar King who wanted to pick a religion for his people. He summoned a rabbi, an imam, and a priest to teach him about their religions. To the rabbi he asked: "You have many wonderful laws of kindness and peace, even to the point of making war peacefully. But you are a landless people. When you get back your land, will you be able to abide by your own laws?" And the rabbi answered "You have found our Achilles' heal.''

Our rabbis were so against war and so pro peace, that they took the Torah commandment of ''blotting out the name of Amalek,'' and put a new twist on it. Hebraically the commandment means to kill all Amalekites  . When King Saul spared the Amalek king and some prized cattle, the Judge Samuel was ordered by the Hebraic God to finish the task. Saul lost his crown, leading the way to establishing the Davidic dynasty.

Our rabbis, knowing that Haman was an Agagite a son of Amalek, had Jews blot out the name of Haman the Amalek with noisemakers on Purim and no longer with swords. They taught that Jews should spend their time ridding themselves of the Amalek inside of us (yetzer ha ra), before trying to rid the world of those who live by their yetzer ha ra.

The Torah (Deut. 21:10) reads, "Kee saytzay la milchomo al oyvecho - when you go out to war against your enemies." Hebrew, depending on whether one is addressing one person or more than one has separate singular and plural forms of expressing "you." In this verse Moses is talking to the Hebrew people. Moses should use the plural "saytzu" (you go out) as if he were speaking to many, but the Torah uses the singular "saytzay" (you go out) as if Moses were talking to only one person. The sages explain that the Torah is saying that the basic war in life is the individual's war against his number one enemy, the yetzer ha ra within. 

 The yetzer ha ra strives to keep each person's Jewish Spirituality down by keeping his ego alive. The yetzer ha ra has the individual do his own will. This leads one to negative actions due to character defects. This leads one farther away from God, mitzvoth, from inner peace and peace with others.

Again, peace both inner and outer, is the major goal of Judaism.

 Let us know look at: ''10:15: R. Joshua said: In the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will uphold the righteous with peace, as it is written [Is. xxvi. 3]: "The confiding mind will You keep in perfect peace; because he trusts in You."

The Talmud Bavli Bava Batra 10b teaches that this world is an "upside down place'' where some righteous people can get little in wealth and a lot of grief, and where some dishonest people can get the big homes and seem to live a life of ease. The sages promise God will correct this injustice in the world to come. This is why our verse says "in the future.''

It also says "future" because when we confide in God as our loving parent through daily prayer, meditation and an inventory of our soul...our day's actions (chesbon ha nefesh), we grow spiritually. The more spiritual we are, the more we are apt to get along with others. And getting along with others is important to earning a livelihood and living in peace.

As we have studied, true inner peace comes from trusting, believing and having 100% faith in God. Pirkei Avot 3:6 teaches that when we pick up the yoke of God, all other human and societal yokes fall from our shoulders. That is peace.

 Let us conclude today with: ''10:16: Again he said: Great is peace, because it accompanies the living as well as the dead--the living, as it is written [Ex.  iv. 18]: "And Jethro said to Moses, Go to peace"; the dead, as it is written [Gen. xv. 15]: "But you shall come to your fathers in peace."

As we discussed in Chapter Ten, for people who are alive we wish them to go 'to' peace. We want them not to just go 'in' peace, but to grow spiritually 'to' peace. For those that are deceased, growth stops, and hence to go 'in' peace is suffice.

We hear so many people say at funerals, "He is finally in peace." So peace is something that we know is good and is desired. Judaism does not believe that peace can only come when we are dead. We strongly believe that if we put our petty wills and yetzer ha ra aside, we can have peace now. We can all be "back to the Garden,'' without dying, as the nine people who went to heaven without dying achieved. (Talmud Derek Eretz 6:1)

"Shalom is the only pipeline through which blessing comes down to earth from Heaven." (Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah). All of our defects and resentments will keep us from true Shalom. We learned in this text that one of God's name in the Talmud is "Shalom." We learned that all of God's and Torah's "ways are sweet and all of its paths are peace" (Proverbs 3:17). We learned we must rid ourselves of defects and resentments. We learned we must continue to do so daily. Allowing ourselves to stay attached to our defects, leaves us not in Shalom, but at war within and with the universe and others in it.

"Great is peace between husband and wife."(Talmud Bavli Tractate Chullin 141a). Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamliel in Talmud Tractate Avot De Rebi Noson 28:3, says: "A person who brings peace into his house is considered by God as if he brought peace on the entire Jewish people." We all know what living in a house with no shalom bayat (peace in the house) is like. None of us could leave that home and go to work and be as kind and gentle as we would like. So developing the character trait of Shalom is the ultimate in living happy, joyous and free with Jewish Spiritual Renewal.

This is why the study of the Tractates of Derek Eretz Zuta and Rabbah are so important to us.

We must never lose sight of the fact that God created all of us to be happy, joyous and free. He wants us to live in Shalom. We have the power to "get back to the Garden" every day of our lives, if only we choose to do so.

These middot, character traits, of living in shalom, and dealing with our yetzer ha ra, are discussed  throughout the majority of chapters in  ''The  Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern  Jew'' ' (http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/ )  as well as in most chapters of ''A  Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud''  (http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/

index.html#Compendium2 ) .

  

What are your ideas about these character traits?  How has learning Talmud's Derek Eretz helped you in your interpersonal relationships? How has understanding the spiritual and ethical teachings of Judaism helped you live a more joyous life? 

  

Next class, Baruch ha Shem, we will continue with  and conclude Derek Eretz Zuta, Chapter Ten as well as conclude this Tractate. For those who have never studied and completed an entire Tractate of Talmud, it is time for a siyum (completion) and a seudat mitzvah feast. At the end of every volume of the Talmud a special ''hadran'' (we will return) prayer is printed with a set order of prayers and a special kaddish , Kaddish D'itchadita, in honor of the completion of that volume, which Judaism considers to be an important achievement and a milestone worth celebrating. "We will return" is our hope that we will study this text again. As an aside, in modern Israeli Hebrew hadran means 'encore.'

 

Thank you for joining me.

 

For those who want a d'var Torah on Parasha Shelach  from '''A  Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and  Talmud'' please click on  Rabbi Arthur Segal: RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH RENEWAL: SHELACH: heart + eyes are body's spies  or http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com/2011/06/rabbi-arthur-segal-jewish-renewal_8509.html

  

 

 

Amazon.com: The Path and Wisdom for Living at Peace with Others, A Modern Commentary on Talmud Tractates Derek Eretz Zuta and R

or http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00757JMIM

Shabbat Shalom:

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 www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org_ (http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org/ ) 

Jewish Renewal_ 

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Hilton Head Island, SC,  Bluffton, SC, Savannah,  GA

 

If visiting SC's Low Country, contact us for a Shabbat meal, in our home by the sea, our beth yam.

 

Maker  of Shalom (Oseh Shalom) help make us deserving of Shalom beyond all human comprehension!!