Pacific Jewish Center | Rabbi » history

The Dead Sea Scrolls Are Alive Thanks to Google

rabbifink — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:20:03 +0000

Last week we learned of the digitized authorized copy of the Mishnah Torah. (Read Maimonides’ Personally Authorized Copy of His Mishnah Torah) This week the Google sponsored Dead Sea Scrolls project went live.

In the old days only a small, select, elite group of people had access to ancient texts and manuscripts. The Internat is changing that.

As of this moment, anyone with access to the Internet can study the Dead Sea Scrolls. Google has partnered with The Israel Museum to bring the Dead Sea Scrolls to the public. And now it is done.

This is a revolutionary accomplishment. It completely democratizes scholarship of the scrolls. As it relates to the Dead Sea Scrolls, this is a complete about face from the early years of Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship that was ruled by various factions that controlled their accessibility.

That is over now.

Anyone and everyone can read these important scrolls. I doubt many non-experts will be able to glean much from the manuscripts but their availability will certainly escalate the level of scholarship and engender a greater number of potential scholars of the scrolls.

Unfortunately, I have seen comments on websites and blogs that are using this monumental achievement to criticize religion. These are the kinds of people that do not appreciate the non-religious significance of these scrolls.

That tells me that they are ignorant and probably just bigoted. The Dead Sea Scrolls provide a unique window into a world that is fascinating and relevant. Three major religions of the world draw from the wisdom in these texts. Millions of people use the interpretations of these texts as the basis for their very lives. To say that these scrolls are useless because “religion is a lie” or there is no point to these scrolls because “they were written by mortal men” completely ignores reality. Even if those contentions are true (I would argue that at least parts of those statements are patently false with regard to the Dead Sea Scrolls) the wealth of information to be learned from these ancient texts is almost infinite.

Great primer on the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Wikipedia

My cousins’ grandfather was one of the world experts on the scrolls. Unfortunately, he passed a few years ago. You can read about him and his accomplishments here: Joseph Baumgarten

Link: Digital Dead Sea Scrolls

Book Review | Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza

rabbifink — Tue, 17 May 2011 17:20:46 +0000

As I mentioned previously (see: When Did the Western Wall Become a Place of Prayer?) I found an interest in the Cairo Geniza. I went on Amazon and looked for the best looking book I could find on the Cairo Geniza and I bought Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza. It was amazing.

First, some background. As we recently studied in the Rambam Class, there is a prohibition against the detsruction of God’s printed name. So what do you do when the names are printed in books or on papers if they are no longer able to be used? Geniza. They are buried and given the same respect given to humans after humans die.

Generally, a geniza will be buried and the paper will decompose and be lost forever. The Cairo Geniza is a collection of items that fell into disuse. But the Cairo Geniza has two incredible anomolies that make it so special. First of all, the residents of Cairo and the contributors to this geniza buried all items with hebrew letters. They buried contracts and poems as well as prayers and biblical texts. This makes the content of the geniza much broader. More importantly, because of the climate and the fact that the geniza was in a closet sized room and not buried underground, many of the items placed in the geniza remained intact.

The Cairo Geniza was a repository of nearly 300,000 Jewish documents and holy texts spanning 1000 years. The earliest documents were from the 9th century and the latest documents were from the 19th century. That is a mind-blowing discovery. Further, as opposed to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the people of Cairo were not a minor sect. They practiced rabbinic Judaism similar to orthodox Judaism of today. The traditions and teachings of orthodox Judaism that are practiced and taught today can be traced through the Geniza and were practiced and taught in a way that is familiar to orthodox Jews today.

Sacred Trash is best known for its wonderful way of weaving together the men and women who discovered the geniza, their motivations and personalities with their discoveries. It reads more like a novel than a book of Academia and I am sure that history buffs and budding scholars will find the book a bit watered down. No matter. It was perfect for me.

Reading Sacred Trash I learned a lot about Solomon Schechter. Today, his name is associated with Conservative Judaism. But when he was chasing the Cairo Geniza, he sounded very different from what I expected. His writings and his passions for strict observance of Judaism is more familiar in Orthodox Judaism than Conservative Judaism today. It seemed to me from the excerpts in the book that were taken from his writings that he would be more comfortable in a Yeshiva today than at the JTS. It could be the book has mislead me, but that is what I gleaned from the book about Solomon Schechter.

I also learned that rough drafts of the Mishnah Torah were found in the geniza. Oh how I would love to see those…

My main interest in the book was to get a sense of daily religious life for observant Jews 1000 years ago. It wasn’t easy to pull these details out of Sacred Trash as that was not its purpose. But the few things that I learned in this regard were very profound and have affected or affirmed the way I see Judaism.

In the earliest recorded days of the Jewish community in Cairo, there were three synagogues. One was for Jews who followed the tradition of the Babylonian Talmud. That would be most similar to today’s orthodox Jews. The second was for those followed the Palestinian Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi). The third was for Karaites. They did not follow the Talmud at all. Although their disagreements on theology were intense. There is evidence that they married out of their respective sects and “intermarried”. They made stipulations about observance in the marriage contracts resolving to place their affection for one another above disagreements on observance. They disagreed on theology but all realized that they were striving for the same truth. This created an environment of inclusion rather than exclusion.

To me, this is an important lesson. I am not certain if the lesson is applicable today or not. But I am sure that I wish it was. Healthy competition among Jewish sects is a good thing. But hatred, negative propaganda and absolute dismissal of entire swaths of Judaism cannot be the ideal. But more importantly, it wasn’t always this way. It doesn’t always have to be this way either.

The other thing that caught my eye in Sacred Trash was the focus on liturgy and in particular piyitum of the Jews in the early years of the Cairo Geniza. Piyutim (liturgical poems) were the focus of Jewish life in those days. People who could not read hebrew or pray came to the synagogue to hear the newest piyutim. Each week a new piyut was written in masterful style and substance. It is something that is lost upon us moderns but to them it was the ultimate expression of devotion and connection to God. It’s interesting for a number of reasons. The first thing I thought about was the comparison to the secular world. Entertainment in those days were ballads. People paid money to hear a good ballad. Jews came to the synagogue to hear beautiful ballads about God, the Jews and Torah.

In my view, this illustrates the amorphous nature of social Jewish observance. During the era of the Temple, the focus of Jewish social observance was the holy Temple service. Following the destruction of the Temple the focus became redacting, editing and perfecting Jewish texts like the Torah and the Talmud. It seems that in the 9th through 12th centuries piyutim were the focus. During medieval times, the focus for many was simply survival for others it was the three methods of commentary on the Talmud, pirush, psak and pircha. After the Renaissance the focus shifted to scholarly Talmudic discourses called pilpul. Some felt this was too intellectual and robbed many of a connection with God and Chassidus was born. In the last century, the focus has shifted to a life of kollel, where men study Torah full time after marriage and are supported by their communities (or wives). Also we have seen the rise of the Daf Yomi (daily study of one folio of Talmud) and perhaps most of all we have seen the proliferation of chumros (stringencies) and segulos (charms). I wonder, how will we be defined in a few hundred years?

Of course, these are generalizations. And also, we are presuming adherence to mitzvos and participation in the synagogue as a given throughout these eras of observant Jews. But the point remains. The focus of social Jewish observance changes, has changed many times and continues to change. It is important for our generation to know that we are unique, things are different today than they have ever been and the social acceptability of kollel life is not a given. Many would say, perhaps it should be reexamined.

Sacred Trash taught me a lot. I am sure it will speak to you in other ways as well and it will be a great addition to your bookshelf.

Pick it up from Amazon.com by clicking any of the links like this one: Sacred Trash

The Churva Shul Rises From the Ashes

rabbifink — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:25:28 +0000

The Churva (1977-2005)

Here’s another post about my recent trip to Israel: (Read the previous two posts in the series here: A Jerusalem Wedding and The Zilberman Home: A Thriving Jewish Family in the Arab Quarter of Jerusalem)

One of my favorite places in the world is the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. The stones are soaked in history and the roads filled with Jews and non-Jews of all kinds seeking to hear what the Old City has to say.

A landmark of the Jewish Quarter was the Churva synagogue ruins. A majestic arch was all that remained of a beautiful synagogue in the Jewish Quarter square. That landmark has now been supplanted by a far more majestic one. The rebuilt synagogue dominates the Cardo / Square area. I was given a tour and some history that I would like to share with you.

"The Churva Synagogue"

The original synagogue on this plot was built in the early 18th century by students of R’ Yehuda HaChassid who settled in Jerusalem. In order to build the synagogue the builders borrowed a hefty sum from the local Ottoman Arabs. When they fell significantly into arrears, the lenders had the synagogue razed.

For over 140 years the synagogue lay in ruin and became known as the Churva, “Destroyed”. In the late 19th century, students of the Vilna Gaon rebuilt the synagogue and it flourished again as the main synagogue for the Jews living in the Old City. It became an international symbol of Jewish pride and the center for Jewish religious life in Jerusalem.

During the 1948 war for Independence, the synagogue was razed once again by Arabs. This time, not for a debt, rather for vengeance. After the war, the Old City remained under Arab control and the synagogue remained a pile of rubble.

In 1967, Israel regained control over the area. The Churva shul was a priority and it was hoped that it would be rebuilt quickly. Ten years later, with no progress to speak of, the city built a commemorative arch to be a placeholder until the synagogue was rebuilt in earnest. This is the familiar arch that most visitors to the Old City will recall over the last 30 years.

Finally, about 5 years ago, construction commenced and was recently completed. The result is a magnificent building which retains many of the same elements as the two original structures. The outside view is beautiful.

From the outside

Inside, takes it a whole new level. I felt like I was in the most beautiful shul I had ever been to. Once you get inside, the building takes on the familiar mode of many older synagogues with a main sanctuary on the ground level and balconies for women. The bima is in the middle of the sanctuary.

: View of the Bima from the front of the shul

The artwork throughout the building is beautiful. There are paintings above the entrance as you can see above. There is stained glass all around the shul. The stone work and moldings are exquisite. But most of all, I loved the paintings in the ceiling corners.

Tomb of the Patriarchs

Tomb of Rachel

View of Tiberias

David's Citadel

The ark is stunning as well. It looks like there are two arks but really there is just one. How would they use the top one!? The bottom ark is the functional ark. The Torah scrolls are stored in there. The top section is not an ark at all. It just looks nice.

The ark

As you can see, the synagogue is stunning. If you look carefully you can see the wall is made of two shades of stone. I believe, the darker stone is original stone from the ruins and the lighter stone is the new stone.

For me, greater than the physical beauty of the shul is the symbolism of the shul. Its original builders were chasidic mystics risked everything to come to Jerusalem in an attempt to hasten the coming of the Messiah. The next builders were vehement opponents of the chasidic movement. The most recent builders was the government of Israel. Now, the shul is maintained by the Zilberman family of the Old City. Four groups of Jews that may not share all that much in common. But the shul connects them all.

Isn’t that one of the points of a shul? To build community? To connect people who would otherwise be disconnected? From Judaism? Or even just from each other?

I think it is. That is why I am proud to represent the Pacific Jewish Center | The Shul on the Beach. Our shul also connects all sorts of people. Our shul is also a common thread among diverse people. The Churva shul is a model for us and others. I hope more shuls can take this model and implement it in their communities in the hope that we can foster unity among our people.

Taking it one step further, the Churva shul has been destroyed twice. And rebuilt twice as well. Our Temple was destroyed twice but only rebuilt (from scratch) once so far. We hope and pray that the Third Temple will be rebuilt speedily in our days.

Finally, in our lives we too can feel destroyed sometimes. Look to the Churva shul for inspiration and hopefully we can rebuild ourselves as beautifully as the Churva shul has been rebuilt.

Book Review | Purim and the Persian Empire

rabbifink — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 20:46:00 +0000

Purim is coming (less than a month away) and everyone is making their Purim preparations. I can think of no better way to prepare than to buy and read Purim and The Persian Empire – By Rabbi Yehuda Landy.

Last year I bought this book right after Purim and was so thoroughly impressed that I said to myself that when the time comes next year I will promote this book and urge everyone to read it.

I know the author, Rabbi Landy from an incredible summer experience where he was the chief tour guide. We spent 5 weeks traveling the Land of Israel. Rabbi Landy is an expert in Tanach and very educated on archeology as well as Jewish history from a religious and secular perspective. Rabbi Landy is the absolute best “technical” tour guide I have had the pleasure of meeting.

In The Persian Empire, Rabbi Landy shows off his extensive knowledge of Tanach, Talmudic and Midrashic sources, archeology and history. The book provides a historical backdrop for the Purim story and Purim story comes to life.

The most fabulous part of the book is the photos. Rabbi Landy has compiled gorgeous pictures of artifacts from ancient Persia. Further Rabbi Landy has connected many statements of Chazal with those photos. For example, the famous dictum of the sages that the Babylonians were foolish because they drank wine in golden goblets which ruin the taste is illustrated by the actual golden goblets that were used. It really is incredible.

The Persian Empire has tons of interesting facts and opinions. It really leaves you wanting more.

In the introduction, Rabbi Landy expresses his hope that this will be first of many books using archeological data to illustrate stories from Tanach. Rabbi Landy, I am waiting eagerly…

In short, run, don’t walk to purchase this book. Get it from Amazon by clicking here: Purim and The Persian Empire – By Rabbi Yehuda Landy or try your local Jewish book store. If they don’t have it. Demand it. You’ll thank me later.

A Real Time Capsule Was Found!

rabbifink — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 02:35:37 +0000

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

Normally, after a “controversial” post (see: The Future is Now (or coming soon) from yesterday) I try to follow up with something lighter. This item from last week definitely qualifies.

As an elementary school student I participated in a time capsule project. We buried items from our daily lives in a capsule, sealed it and told its future finders to open it on a certain date. It was fun. It made us think about our world. But as the buriers it was unremarkable. I don’t even remember what I contributed or what other things we may have buried.

I have always thought that it would so much cooler to be the finder! Imagine finding everyday items from decades ago in a capsule. The items would be authentic, in pristine condition and tell an fascinating story. Sure, archeology has some aspects of this kind of experience, but it’s a lot more guess work and the items that are found are rarely in perfect condition. That’s why a time capsule is so cool!

Anyway, a REAL time capsule was recently found in San Francisco. It was buried in 1910 and was discovered over 100 years later. Sadly, the contents were not that illuminating. In fact, they are pretty boring.

One item that piqued my curiosity was a book titled “Courses of Study – Evening Elementary School”. I guess some kids had to help out at home in 1910 and went to school at night. Pretty interesting.

Anyway, read all about the contents of the time capsule and see some photos here: SFGate and note that the authors of the note in the capsule presumed the future mayor of San Francisco would be a man. Not surprising, but noteworthy nonetheless.

Finally, it is worth considering what we would place in a Time Capsule if we were burying one today… and no cheating by using technology. So no battery powered devices, no digital storage and nothing that uses electricity…

New National Museum of American Jewish History In Philadelphia Apparently Misses the Mark

rabbifink — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:33:44 +0000

A couple weeks ago Ed Rothstein wrote a column in the New York Times about the temporary exhibit at the New York Public Library. He wrote that the exhibit masterfully presented the things that the three religions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism share. (Wonderful Article on the “Three Faiths” Exhibit at the New York Public Library).

Rothstein has a new column in the New York Times. This one is about a new museum in Philadelphia which purports to depict a history of American Jewry. It is called, The National Museum of American Jewish History. Rothstein feels that it is inadequate.

The museum is beautiful, accessible and interesting. So what could be wrong?

First, what I want to see. The museum has letters, pictures and other historical items dating back to the 18th century that show Jewish life in America. Many people think Judaism began in America in the 1920′s. It’s true that in the 1920′s Jewish immigration to America increased, however, there were Jewish communities and families in America way before that. In fact, my father’s, father’s, cousin’s, grandfather (I think) owned a plantation in Virginia in the 17th century. As was legal / acceptable in 17th century Virginia, he owned slaves but he treated them in accordance with Jewish law. In Jewish law a slave must be treated as a family member and be given room and board like any other family member. The museum reaffirms the vibrancy of Jewish life in the 18th and 19th century. I would love to see that.

There is a Torah scroll from Savannah Georgia (I lived in Savannah from ’82-’84) in 1737! 1737! This is the kind of stuff I love to see. There are pictures of Jews in the “Wild West”. I want to see that too. The old stuff is amazing.

Where the museum fails, according to Rothstein, is its one track approach to American Judaism. The museum celebrates the liberation of Judaism in America; the leaving of the ghetto and embrace of cultural America while neglecting Jewish heritage. Specifically, the museum highlights Reform Judaism. In the ultimate “slap in the face” to halachically observant Jews, the first Rabbinic ordination ceremony at Hebrew Union College (Reform Seminary) served the “Treyfa Banquet” with every type of food that halachically observant Jews do not eat. Clam, shrimp, pork and meat mixed with milk were all served at the Rabbinical banquet. The menu from that evening is on display in the museum. In general, the opinion of Mr. Rothstein is that the museum places far too much emphasis on those who left traditional Judaism than on those who stayed.

The museum celebrates the social accomplishments of those who left and their accomplishments should be lauded. Much of Judaism identified strongly with the counterculture of the 60′s. But many did not. It is unfortunate that the museum ignores a large portion of Judaism and so many of its Jews and seemingly allows Judaism to be hijacked as a social movement and not a religion.

I recommend reading the column: NY Times and checking out the photos: Slideshow

And I recommend going to the museum. I hope to visit next time I am on the East Coast and have time to make the trip to Philadelphia.

A Beautiful Peek Into Our History

rabbifink — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:57:17 +0000

When we think of 19th and early 20th century history, we think of everything in greyscale. It’s not our fault, picture and films from the era have clouded our ability to see those times in color.

Much of that era’s Jewish history is captured in black and white photos from Europe. It gives rise to a sense that their time was one of darkness and sadness, devoid of color. Of course this is completely false. (In fact, many would counter that the black and white mode of dress common among many orthodox Jews is more doom and gloom than the the modes of dress present in the 19th and early 20th century.)

I happened upon a selection of absolutely stunning color photographs taken in Russia in the early 20th century before the world was thrust in upheaval during the First World War. The photos are in full technicolor and they tell a compelling story with almost garish colors and of people unaccustomed to photography¹.

The article shows 34 photos. They are all worthy of your attention. However, I call your attention to Photo #16. (click for full frame version)

A group of Jewish children with a teacher in Samarkand, (in modern Uzbekistan), ca. 1910. (Prokudin-Gorskii Collection/LOC)

This photo shows Jewish children studying with their teacher. I find it beautiful. The boys are attentive. They are wearing various styles of yarmulkas. The teacher looks regal. They are sharing their books. And the CLOTHES are amazing! This is a rare, colorful and bright view of a Jewish Education of a century ago.

Some of my great-grandparents were in “White Russia” in 1910. They may have known these boys, they may even be one of these boys.

I feel so blessed to have seen this picture and I am pleased to share it with you.

Head on over to Russia in color, a century ago to see all the photos. Enjoy them.

Compare that to the era of camera phones and Facebook photo albums, we are ALWAYS taking photos and we know just how to behave and act when we are being photographed. The subjects in these photos look almost as if they do not believe that a picture is being taken

KCET Visits PJC and Interviews Me

rabbifink — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:13:40 +0000

KCET (the local PBS affiliate) has been working on a city-wide project. It is called Departures and it focuses on the people and places that make the neighborhoods of Los Angeles. For the last six weeks they have been working on Venice. Today they came to the Pacific Jewish Center Shul on the Beach to learn about us and to be included in their upcoming Venice piece.

It was a true honor and privilege to be a part of this worthwhile project. The production should be finished in February and I look forward to seeing that.

The camera crew shot some footage of our morning services and did two interviews. First, they interview Gary Dalin. Gary has been part of PJC since 1979 and provided great insight into the rich history of Pacific Jewish Center and the greater Venice Jewish community. He was eloquent and impressive in his interview and represented us very well. Great job Gary!

I was interviewed next. I hope I did okay. I myself have interviewed so many Jewish College student on camera and made those interviews into documentaries, so I know how hard it can be. (For two of my videos click here for JAM 2006 and click here for Chase Edler.) Among many topics, we talked about the juxtaposition of the historic quality of the Shul on the Beach to the future of outreach including this blog and my relative youth as a Rabbi. We also talked about the role the Shul plays in the boardwalk community, surrounded by the wild atmosphere of the boardwalk. It wasn’t too long, maybe a 35 minute interview in total, but we covered a lot of topics. Of course, there were some delinquents that felt the need to disturb us, that is just life on Venice Boardwalk…

I hope the final product reflects well on our special community and those who see it are inspired at least to check us out some time. I ended the interview with an open invitation to anyone who would like to see what we are all about and I extend that invitation to all of you reading this right now.

I also, want to thank Justin, Dan and Matt for including us in this project. I wish you much success in this endeavor and anything you do in the future.

Here are a couple pictures that Leslie Friedman took with her BlackBerry during the interview.

Essay: The Oral Law in Judaism

rabbifink — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:38:01 +0000

This essay was inspired by a recent post on DovBear. I have cross posted this post there as well. Head over there for more discussion.

What follows is my understanding of The Oral Law and its transmission to us. This article does not attempt to validate or prove its transmission as fact, rather it explains just what is being transmitted when we refer to Torah SheBaal Peh (TSBP).

I am sure there are plenty of maamarei Chazal that are not 100% congruent with this approach. I am also sure that there are many maamarei Chazal that do jive with this approach. I have spent many hours studying and analyzing the concept of TSBP and what follows is what I believe to be a rational, coherent, non-apologetic approach.

Much of this essay is accessible in audio format by clicking here.

The Torah preceded the world. One tradition tell us that God looked into the Torah and created the world. That means that the Torah contains within it the spiritual genetic code of the world and the world is a physical manifestation of that code. Another metaphor would be a blueprint. All the information necessary to build is in the blueprint, yet it is merely ink and paper. What can this mean? God looked at the stories of Adam and Eve and created the world? Or God looked at the sale of Joseph and created the word? Impossible. The metaphor does not even make sense. I believe Chazal are telling us that Torah is not the stories or even laws in the Chumash. “Torah” refers to the all encompassing Oral Law (this idea is attributed to Rambam). In other words, the Oral Law refers to the natural and supernatural rules of the universe that manifested themselves in a physical sense once God put them into motion during “Creation”.

What this means is that the Torah and our universe are really two sides of one coin. The spiritual code on one side and the physical manifestation on the other side. Thus, someone could potentially rewrite the spiritual code by examining the physical manifestation side. Just as with a blueprint, a talented architect could possibly rewrite a blueprint by examining a building a talented spiritualist would be capable of figuring out the spiritual code the world is made of.

This spiritual code contains within it the natural rules of our universe and some of those rules are recommended limitations on human activity designed to help a person maximize their existence in the world. In this light, the Torah is a guide that gives the physical world its characteristics and contains the instructions for living in that world.

A few individuals were in tune with this reality and implemented some of the Torah’s concepts into their lives. Shem, Ever, Noach and Enosh were a few of the first people who were able to glean spiritual rules from their observations of the world.

Abraham was the first to grasp enough of the code for God to choose him to begin a nation of people to whom God would eventually charge with keeping and teaching this code. Slowly, Abraham taught these concepts to whomever would listen. The Abrahamic family was also aware of these Torah rules and whether they kept them or not is not relevant. They knew them and may have practiced them.

Upon Abraham’s family being enslaved in Egypt, the concepts and their rules became more and more forgotten. The exodus occurred just before the point of no return. The point that Chazal call the 49th level of impurity. The slaves were just as Egyptian as their slave-masters save for 3 (or 4) areas. Such, a large nation of people would need a guide book to remind them of their Abrahamic, monotheistic, Torah tradition. The Bnei Yisrael left Egypt for the sole purpose of receiving these instructions in the form of the Torah.

At Sinai, God gave Moses the entire code. This code included the spiritual rules, the laws, the stories (which all contain important moral and quasi-historical lessons) as well as all the information necessary to live according to those laws. God then gave Moses a written version of notes to this code. These notes were the bare minimum necessary to reconstruct the entire code as God gave it to Moses.

At this point, Moses has all the information in his head and gives the people this written book of notes that we call the Written Law or Torah SheBiksav (TSBK). As time progresses Moses added (probably divinely inspired) notes to the end of the TSBK to complete the books. The Jewish people try to live a lifestyle as Moses taught them according to the code and had the notes in TSBK to help them remember their obligations. As we are taught at the start of Ethics of our Fathers, Moses “kibbel” (received) the “Torah” (including the TSBP) (and again this does not mean the Chumash, why would there need to be a mesora for that if it was written) and gave it all to Joshua, who gave it to the elders etc. There was a central Torah authority who could resolve disputes. Originally, it was a one man show starring Moses. But at the behest of Jethro, some delegation gave Torah authority to others. There was no machlokes (disagreement) among the Torah authority as Moses could always be consulted to give them the truth.

The system was designed to ensure that there would be a transmission from parent to child and teacher to student. This guaranteed the Torah would remain a “living” Torah and not relegated to a library. Codifying the bare minimum in text form forced the Jewish people to rely on a system of relationships and living the life of Torah to remember all its laws. This is an integral part of the Oral Transmission that has stood the test of time, as we shall see.

This system remained in place throughout the 1st Temple. A central Torah authority was the final arbiter of disputes and there was no machlokes as to what Moses claimed God wanted the Jewish people to do in their service of God.

Many called this entire concept into question. Korach, Yeravam and others wished to undermine the Mosaic Torah authority. But it always existed.

During the Second Temple, due to oppression it was literally impossible to maintain a central Torah authority. Torah study was banned, Torah scholars were killed and Yeshivas were disbanded. Students began taking notes to ensure TSBP would be remembered.

In a revolutionary move, Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi collected many of these notebooks and canonized a version of TSBP notes called the Mishna. He too, followed the Mosaic formula of writing just the bare minimum necessary for a scholar to recreate the code from the Mishna. He wrote the Mishnayos in a format that would induce questions and those questions would in turn produce the TSBP tradition. He was successful to an extent. But due to the increased hostility and lack of central Torah authority disputes were common. R’ Yehuda HaNassi completely succeeded in the broader goal of maintaining the need for the parent to child, teacher to student relationship to transmit TSBP.

Mishnaic literature was discussed, argued and taught for a couple hundred years. Students continued taking notes and eventually these notes became the Talmud. Ravina and Rav Ashi collected these notes and recorded these conversations to canonize the understanding of the Mishna in order to recreate the entire code. Although to a lesser degree, they also made an effort to be concise and include only the discussion necessary for recreating the method of Jewish life briefly described in the Mishna that was based on the written notes of the Chumash that God gave to Moses. Their brevity, once again maintained the familiar generation to generation connection that TSBP demands.

Since the closing of the Talmud it has been discussed and argued vociferously. This is a good thing. It gives its scholars the chance they need to arrive at the truth. TSBP is not their discussions, it is what they are discussing. TSBP was given to the Jewish people at Sinai but in truth it exists all around us. It is the rules of nature and spirituality that govern our world. Distant cultures and tribes can come to similar conclusions as the Torah because they are examining the world that is the physical manifestation of that Torah. People who never heard of Torah can relate to many of its laws as they seem natural to them. In fact they are natural to the world.

In conclusion, when we say that Moses received Torah SheBaal Peh, what we mean is that Moses had all the information necessary to live and appreciate the Torah lifestyle. The Written Torah were the original notes to this information as time progresses, we now have Mishanic and Talmudic notes as well. Thus, our study of Talmud today continues the Oral Transmission of TSBP as we attempt to decode the original version of the Oral Law handed from God to Moses on Sinai. Today, our greatest resource to that end is the study of Talmud.

Rabbi Zelik Epstein, Of Blessed Memory

rabbifink — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:34:47 +0000

Yesterday, the Jewish world lost a spiritual giant (good article worth reading). Rabbi Zelik Epstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Shaar Hatorah in Queens passed away. He was 97.

R’ Zelik was a relic of the past. He studied Torah in Europe with some the greatest Torah scholars of recent American Jewry, including Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and Rabbi Yaakov Kamanetsky.

Perhaps even more significantly, he was above the fray. He did not get involved in politics and instead, studied, taught and advised and preached Torah and its values.

Today the Jewish community mourns a man of integrity, scholarship and clarity.

Today, I mourn a man who taught my grandfather, Sidney Greenwald, over 50 years ago in the fledgling Beis Medrash Elyon. My grandfather was very proud to have learned from R’ Zelik.

Today, students of his across the world, in every imaginable profession and walk of life, mourn the loss of their teacher and spiritual guide.

Case in point: Native New Yorkers who listen to Sports Radio are all familiar with “The Fan” 660 WFAN. Anyone who has listened during the daytime has become familiar with “Davening Dov Kramer”, an orthodox Jew. Davening Dov has worked at WFAN for as long as I can remember. He has been a Kiddush Hashem showing the world a wonderful example of an Observant Jew.

Last night Dov sent me a Tweet, to check out a note he wrote on Facebook. Dov wrote a note on his Facebook Profile mourning the loss of his Rebbe. I highly recommend reading it in its entirety Facebook account required (if you don’t have one, send me an email and I will email the note to you directly). I would like to quote one small section that I found most powerful.

I had gotten into radio to be able to reach people through the medium I always loved, and had wanted to learn the business from the “pros” before going into “Jewish” radio. … I didn’t think leaving radio (at least temporarily) would hinder my original goal of positively influencing people via the radio, so wanted to quit my job, move back to Israel (again, I was single and in my late 20s) to learn full-time. I figured I could get free room and board if I did something like being a dorm counselor at a yeshiva for Americans, so would still have no expenses and be able to focus on my learning. Before doing what I thought was clearly the “frum” thing to do (stop working to learn full-time), I went to speak to Rav Zelik.

I told him my plan, but he said it wasn’t a good idea. He was afraid that making such a radical change was unhealthy, and there was a danger that after a while I would regret having done it. Instead, he told me that I should keep working at WFAN … and learn for semicha at night. I had been doing some volunteer work for a kiruv organization (JEP-LI), and they offered me a job that would allow me to work half a day and learn half a day. I asked Rav Zelig if that was an option worth considering, and he told me that if I thought I could get “sipuk hanefesh,” that I would be satisfied doing kiruv professionally, that I could do it, but otherwise, the less of a change in my life I make while studying for semicha, the better.

I had gotten into radio to be able to reach people through the medium I always loved, and had wanted to learn the business from the “pros” before going into “Jewish” radio. I had worked at a dance station (Hot 103), in the news dept. of a country-music station (WHN) and had worked on live talk shows and ball games for a few years. I didn’t think leaving radio (at least temporarily) would hinder my original goal of positively influencing people via the radio, so wanted to quit my job, move back to Israel (again, I was single and in my late 20s) to learn full-time. I figured I could get free room and board if I did something like being a dorm counselor at a yeshiva for Americans, so would still have no expenses and be able to focus on my learning. Before doing what I thought was clearly the “frum” thing to do (stop working to learn full-time), I went to speak to Rav Zelig.

I told him my plan, but he said it wasn’t a good idea. He was afraid that making such a radical change was unhealthy, and there was a danger that after a while I would regret having done it. Instead, he told me that I should keep working at WFAN (I was working Sundays thru Thursdays from 11am-7pm, with “Mike and the Mad Dog” Mon-Thurs, but because of Shabbos worked Sundays instead of Fridays) and learn for semicha at night. I had been doing some volunteer work for a kiruv organization (JEP-LI), and they offered me a job that would allow me to work half a day and learn half a day. I asked Rav Zelig if that was an option worth considering, and he told me that if I thought I could get “sipuk hanefesh,” that I would be satisfied doing kiruv professionally, that I could do it, but otherwise, the less of a change in my life I make while studying for semicha, the better.

This is a glimpse into the insight of a great man. Many people would have just assumed that more studying was an automatically better option. R’ Zelik knew his student and knew what was truly best for his situation.

This kind of indiviualized, custom tailored Judaism is something a bit lacking in our “one-size-fits-all” society. We need more Rabbis who can lead like R’ Zelik did.

It is in this light that we all mourn the loss of a true individual, a true Gadol, R’ Zelik Epstein.

Mourning The Living On The 9th of Av

rabbifink — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:06:53 +0000

A few years ago I was a campus Rabbi for the Jewish Awareness Movement (I even made the video on their home page) at USC. One of my primary responsibilities was to lead large groups of Jewish college students on inspiring trips to Israel.

Of course, the personal inspiration for me, was very often, greater than the inspiration for some of the students.

One episode has inspired me since the moment it occurred and it is directly related to today’s Tisha B’Av fast.

We always were sure to take the students on the Tunnel Tours of the Western Wall. For me, it was incredible to see the beauty and grandeur of the gigantic white stones at the original base of the Western Wall. The Talmud in Sukkah tells of the beauty of the Second Temple that Herod rebuilt. It is hard to imagine such beauty when we see the above ground Western Wall today. Erosion and time have taken its physical beauty. But underground the stones are a pristine white and appear good as new.

Our tour guide was always the world renowned Esther Schlisser (who has since passed May Her Memory Be Blessed). Esther Schlisser was a one of a kind woman who took these tours very seriously. She allowed no talking, no photographs of her and she brazenly single-handedly led us through the Arab Quarter at the end of the tour during the second intifada.

We began the tour sitting in front of a really cool model of Herod’s Second Temple and with the magic of technology it transforms into the current Old City layout. The route of the tour took us deep down to the lower Western Wall base stones and along the Wall below the Arab Quarter. What we see of the Wall today, is a fraction of the size of the original Wall.

We finally arrived at my favorite spot. There is a section of floor from the Second Temple era that has been excavated and this is where Esther had us all sit on floor. I really enjoy touching history, and walking and sitting on the floor where our grandparents sat 2000 years ago is very powerful for me.

Esther then begins to tell us where we are sitting and the great men who must have walked these same cobble stones. She then begins to cry. Esther tells us the following (paraphrased to the best of memory):

“These stones are alive!

My husband died many years ago. When he died I was sad. I cried for days, for months, but eventually, I began to heal and I no longer cry for my husband. This is because my husband is dead and we cannot cry over something that is dead forever. I miss him terribly, but I do not cry.

However, I come to this spot, the floor right in front of the Western Wall of the Second Temple at least once a day for the past 10 years. Every single time I come here, I cry. I cry that we are exiled and that we cannot see the Temple in its true grandeur and I cry that we are at the mercy of the nations of the world and we cannot rule ourselves as per the Torah’s command. Jews have been crying here for centuries. We will continue to cry until we are redeemed from this exile.

There is only one way to explain this. The stones are alive. The Wall is alive. There is a soul in the bricks that lives. Its voice is small, it is weak, but it is alive and that is how we can cry centuries of tears for a destroyed Temple. The Temple may have been destroyed but still, it lives.”

A very powerful experience and one I think of very often.

On this Tisha B’Av, remember that we are not crying over a dead Temple. If it were so, we would have stopped crying eons ago. The stones are alive. They are kept alive by the promise that we will see a Third Temple. They are kept alive by the souls of the Jewish people yearning for their Temple to be rebuild. And they are kept alive by the tears we cry on Tisha B’Av every single year.

We're All Family

rabbifink — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:33:20 +0000

This morning I found this article in my inbox. From time to time, PJC board member, Judd Magilnick sends me (and everyone else he knows) interesting links from all around the web, stretching to the outer limits of the blogosphere and conventional media.

Today’s link covers something that is always on my mind.

The column discusses the latest research in DNA testing to identify if one is Jewish. There is a gene that is only passed from the mother to the child and it can be tested using a cheek swab DNA test.

Jewish roots are cropping up in the least likely of places. Al Qaeda spokesmen, Catholic Priests, a former Buddhist Catholic Radio Host to name a few. Historically, Fidel Castro, Madeleine Albright also claimed Jewish ancestry.

Now, it is testable.

DNA testing makes it possible to identify your Jewish gene as well.

What is fascinating to me is the idea that we are all related and it is scientifically “trackable”. The first time I went to Israel as a teen I experienced a profound feeling. I felt like I was among family. Everywhere I went was family. Every person I saw was a relative. I have always felt this way and in Israel it was an elevated sense of consciousness.

When I worked at University of Southern California for Ashreinu I felt it every time I met another Jewish student.

Now, at the Pacific Jewish Center, and especially when we are at the Shul on the Beach, I feel it whenever someone new wanders in to our Shul.

Frequently, I remark to fellow Jews the first time we meet, “We’re cousins ya know! We’re all cousins.” I don’t need DNA tests to prove it to me. I can feel it.

Taken to the next level. Not only are all Jewish people one family. The entire human race is one family. Yes, we have our disagreements about things, but in the end we are all family.

I think this is a powerful idea. I think we should consider this when hate creeps into our minds. I think we should teach this to our children. I think the more we see our similarities in one another the more peaceful our world will be.

Just last week I blogged about a tragedy that happened to one of our “closer relative s”. I think a lot of us felt strongly about the issue raised then because we innately feel that this happened to family. This is a fair reaction.

We must treat our “closer family” like the closer family that we are. But we must also not lose sight of our broader family. The entire world is family, because “we are all related”.

Happy Birthday Tetris

rabbifink — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:40:25 +0000

June 6th. An auspicious date in history.

For most it a day known as D-Day. The day the Allies invaded Normandy.

I have the greatest respect and appreciation for the massive Ally effort to maintain freedom in our world. Thank you.

If you want to see more about that click here.

For others, it is also T-Day. What is T-Day? Nothing, I just made it up.

But it is the birthday of perhaps the greatest video game of all time.

Tetris.

Would you believe that Tetris is 25 years old today?

Yes. 25 years ago, a Soviet scientist named Alexey Pajitnov invented what has since become an international phenomena.

Everyone knows about Tetris and everyone has played Tetris. This is by no means scientific, I merely think this is the case… and if you have not played yet, read on.

The most famous version of Tetris came packaged with the original Nintendo Game Boy. That version iconic music is the only music that I accept as Tetris music.

The tune was even made into a dance music hit. I kid you not. Check it out.

<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=kc0JNt25GBM">http://youtube.com/watch?v=kc0JNt25GBM</a>

If you want to play the original Tetris on your computer you can play right now by clicking here.

Incredible!

Anyway, this is slightly Jewish related as well.

The original Tetris music as seen above is a Russian folk song. I have some Jewish Russian friends and they sing a Jewish children’s song to the same tune.

I remember when I heard that for the first time I thought that was pretty cool.

Happy Birthday Tetris.

Happy playing to the rest of us.

Human Beings Are Social Beings

rabbifink — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:00:03 +0000

I have had my critiques of David Brooks from the NY Times.

But today, I think he got it right. Really right. Like, 100% right.

He was asked about the “Big Three”. No, not GM, Ford, Chrysler. No, not Harvard, Yale, Princeton. Not, Clemenceau, Wilson, George either.

The new Big Three is Guns, Gays and Abortion.

Brooks was asked his opinion of why the trend in the country is towards Gay rights, the trend is to ignore Gun rights and the trend is against Abortion after the first trimester. In the “asker’s” opinion, there seems to be tension pulling these issues from opposite sides. One is trending “left”, one is trending “right”, and one is not trending at all.

What she really wants to know is why isn’t the left or right winning on all these issues? How come they are trending in three different directions.

Brooks answers very profoundly and eloquently. His basic premise is that Americans seek to maintain the social fabric of their existence.

Most Americans have gay friends, co-workers, relatives, neighbors etc. and therefore it preserves the social fabric of the American’s existence to provide rights for their gay acquaintances.

Guns is a rural vs. urban issue so it depends on where you live that you seek to preserve your social environment. Thus, there is little movement on this issue.

Finally, on abortion, he proclaims most Americans are torn by the issue. We are uncomfortable imposing any opinion on our fellow Americans because it is such a sensitive issue. Thus, most people fall in the middle and trend slightly to the left or the right but are not vocal about it. Therefore, change is not likely on the abortion issue.

Wow. Brooks really did a great job explaining how our country works. Really, he has explained how humans work. How our world works. We care about our social environments and we try to preserve them.

Truthfully, humans are social beings. This is what really separates man from beast. We interact in a more complex way than any other being in our world.

We consider any hominid existence prior to the establishment of a social environment such as cities as prehistoric. History begins when we begin to socialize our existence.

We continue socializing in our lives to this very day.

When we meet new people we are socializing.

When we have guests join us for a meal we are socializing.

When we use social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook and blogs we are socializing.

I believe that the synagogue is a social place. Certainly, our Shul on the Beach is a social place. Yes, we worship in shul, but that could technically be done solo.

We are mandated by Halacha to create and foster houses of worship and to attend them as a group to appeal to the social needs of man.

So come join us!

Structure and Philosophy of Torah 2 | Connections 5/4/09

rabbifink — Tue, 12 May 2009 07:26:26 +0000

Happy Lag B’Omer.

We had a great turnout this week despite the fact that we lost some attendees to Lag B’Omer celebrations this week.

This week Connections was the second of a series of classes about the history, philosophy, structure and benefits to Torah study.

In preparation for Shavuos, when the Jewish people accepted the Torah, this was the perfect time for the series.

Tonight we did a quick review of last week, though listening online would be a better option. You will get the full picture that way.

Our journey this week took us from the writing of the Mishna through the the beginnings of the formation of the Talmud.

There was a great discussion about “machlokes” and the differing opinions among Tanaic and Amoraic literature.

To be continued next week. See you there (or here).

Click through to listen to the class.

You can listen to the entire class below

The Speed of History

rabbifink — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:48:35 +0000

I stumbled upon this video on Facebook.

Once in a while I see a video that really makes me think. This is a video that makes me think.

Once in a while I see a video that reinforces a Torah idea that I heard or read. This is video that does just that.

After you watch the video I want to share a deep insight I heard about history. The video emphasizes the point so check out the video first. You can watch the video right here on the blog.

Just press play!

<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=UIDLIwlzkgY">http://youtube.com/watch?v=UIDLIwlzkgY</a>

There is an incredible book about an amazing Rabbi. The book is called “Reb Simcha Speaks” By, Branfman & Tatz.

It is not a biography of Reb Simcha Wasserman rather it is an homage to his timeless teachings. Rabbi Wasserman passed away in 1992 and the book was published shortly thereafter.

I read the book when I was in Israel Henry Beren High School at Ner Israel and the book had a profound impact on my thinking. I recommend picking up a copy of the book for your personal library.

Reb Simcha comments that in 1913 the Chofetz Chaim remarked that history was like a wheel that spins faster and faster. Progress was slow and plodding for generations. It took forever just to invent the wheel (people are still trying to re-invent the wheel). As time moves on progress comes quicker and exponentially greater.

I think the Chofetz Chaim meant history is like a spiral.

The spiral begins slowly, one revolution takes a long time. But once things start getting closer to the center, the revolutions are much quicker. It keeps getting quicker and quicker.

Changes used to take a long time. Revolutions occurred over centuries. Nations lasted for millennia. Now, things change in a blink of an eye.

This is the exact idea found in the video. The world is changing at breakneck speeds. We are hurtling through history at an unprecedented pace. Today’s media darling is tomorrow’s “has-been”. The newest gadget will soon be obsolete.

This insight from the Chofetz Chaim has two important ramifications.

First, the idea of the spiral. A spiral is a naturally occurring phenomena. We find it on our planet and we find it in outer space. With this insight we now see it in a third parallel existence. History is also a spiral. Therefore, it doesn’t surprise us that changes happen overnight. The video shows a natural approach to history. It may not have been obvious to everyone in 1913. Today, it is a youtube video gone viral. 96 years later, the words of the Chofetz Chaim are available for anyone to see on youtube.

Second, when we travel so quickly through time we need to slow down our lives. It’s one thing to miss the newest iteratino of your favorite video game console, but it does matter if we don’t enjoy our families and other daily blessings. We need to make sure we stop to smell the roses. Our world moves at such a fast pace but we can slow down our lives so that we are actually present.

In Judaism we have a tremendous gift called Shabbos. A few weeks ago I taught a class about Shabbos and how we can understand its place within the Torah system. The up-shot was to use Shabbos as a time to just “be” and not be distracted by the material world and its pursuits for 1 day a week. Listen to that class and try to make Shabbos a real part of your life.

If you do not celebrate Shabbos – please do not miss your own life. Slow down. Enjoy.

The video asks: So What Does This All Mean?

It means, pay attention, your life is happening before your very eyes.

Structure and Philosophy of Torah | Connections 5/4/09

rabbifink — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:22:02 +0000

This week Connections was the first of a series of classes about the history, philosophy, structure and benefits to Torah study.

In preparation for Shavuos, when the Jewish people accepted the Torah, this was the perfect time to begin the series.

This class is the foundation for the next few classes so I highly recommend checking it out. The reviews of the class were great and we hope more people will join us next week.

Our discussion ranged from history of the Jewish people, the connection between the spiritual and material world, astrology and much, much more.

Looking forward to next week. See you there (or here).

Click through to listen to the class right now.

You can listen to the entire class below (60 minutes)