Pacific Jewish Center | Rabbi » philosophy

Philosophy for Tots

rabbifink — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:00:27 +0000

Sometimes you read something and you just need to share it. I read about teaching Philosophy to 2nd graders last week.

I LOVE this idea.

The NY Times ran a story last week about a new program at a Massachusetts charter school teaching 2nd graders philosophy.

There are not learning the nuances of the different techniques of philosophers. What they are doing is learning how to have open ended discussions about debatable ideas. So much of school is learning the right answer to a specific question. We are taught at a very young age to figure out what the teacher wants us to say, and then to say it.

Even critical thinking is just a mask for “critically thinking the way the teacher wants you to think”. Giving 7 year old children an opportunity to free-think about an idea is amazing.

Each session the group is read a story. After the story is over, they are asked what their thoughts are on particular subjects.

For example after reading The Giving Tree the students were asked to think about how we should treat natural resources. And they were allowed to disagree in classic philosophical format.

I would love to see this in more schools.

The reading list includes:

The Giving Tree
Frog and Toad Together
Morris the Moose
Emily’s Art

I recommend reading the NY Times article here: The Examined Life, Age 8

I also recommend one of my favorite Monty Python bits of all time. The Philosophers Play Soccer:

Physical Reward For Spiritual Deeds | Connections 9/14/09

rabbifink — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:54:17 +0000

This week we learned about the actual nature of the judgment of Rosh Hashana.

Using a unique approach from Rav Dessler, we resolved a difficult contradiction in Jewish philosophy and enjoyed great questions and insight from all the attendees.

This was our final class in the Preparing for Rosh Hashana Series.

All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.

You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.

Listen to the class here.

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.

Rosh Hashana: Beginning of all Beginnings | Connections 8/31/09

rabbifink — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:41:42 +0000

As we continue our journey through Elul, marching towards Rosh Hashana, Connections returned the Pacific Jewish Center.

Our approach was that if we are “preparing” for Rosh Hashana, we need to understand just what Rosh Hashana means. What is a succesful Rosh Hashana and how do we get there?

We analyzed one angle of Rosh Hashana that can help us this year on Rosh Hashana and throughout the year.

All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.

You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.

Listen to the class here.

Mesira (The Jewish Informant) in Halacha

rabbifink — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:25:27 +0000

This post has been cross-posted to DovBear – more discussion there.

The topic of mesira is complex. I do not claim expertise on the subject of who is a moser, but I have heard a discourse from an expert on Jewish and American Law named Rabbi Breitowitz. Aside from teaching law at University of Maryland, Rabbi Breitowitz is a practicing Rabbi in Silver Spring Maryland. When I lived in Baltimore, I heard Rabbi Breitowitz speak on the topic of mesira and I was able to find the same speech online to refresh my memory.

This is my basic understanding of his take on mesira.

He mentions three contemporary positions, Reb Moshe Feinstein, the Aruch HaShulchan and Rav Wosner.

He begins with Reb Moshe. Reb Moshe holds that there is a prohibition of mesira when the secular punishment is worse than the Torah’s punishment. A moser has a halachic status of a rodef, one who is trying to kill another, and must be stopped from his mesira. There are 3 big exceptions. 1) When the person about whom the moser is speaking of is a rodef himself. This is because a person who kills a rodef is not a killer nor is his act of attempting to kill the rodef is not considered a rodef. As an aside, a sexual or physical abuser is considered a halachic rodef and thus there is no prohibition of mesira in those situations. 2) If the moser is preventing a major communal disaster then there is no prohibition. 3) If it one’s job to inform, then mesira will not apply.

This is the most narrow view of when one is permitted to be moser that Rabbi Breitowitz mentions.

The Aruch Hashulchan says in a footnote to section 318 in Choshen Mishpat that in a benevolent and fair country where there is a justice system that does not unfairly imprison Jews, one is not guilty of mesira by informing the government of a fellow Jew’s crimes. He continues by saying “for example in wonderful Czarist Russia”. There is a question as to the seriousness of this footnote as he could not have possibly meant that Czarist Russia was fair and benevolent. The question is whether the entire footnote has value or if the entire thing was a false gesture of good faith to the Czar. It is not likely that the Aruch Hashulchan would add a deliberately misleading footnote and the reasoning of his footnote stands whether his country was wonderful or not. Thus, the Tzitz Eliezer holds that the Aruch Hashulchan means that wherever there is a “procedural justice” there is no mesira.

The third opinion is that of Rav Wosner. His approach integrates the rules of dina d’malchusa dina with mesira. His reasoning is that when the non-Jews follow the Noachide law of creating a set of laws it becomes a halachic basis for the Jew to obey those laws. Thus, he concludes that it cannot be possible to violate the prohibition of mesira if one is following the laws of their country. Since, he must follow the laws of that country his mesira is not against halacha. This does not mean one is required to be a moser, rather the reporting is not a violation of mesira.

It is necessary to define when dina d’milchusa dina constitutes to determine when mesira is not prohibited according to Rav Wosner. The Mechaber says that dina d’malchusa dina is limited to government interests. The Rama disagrees and says that it applies to anything that is designed to promote the well being of society. Most poskim agree with this definition which includes but is not limited to, criminal law, minimum wage laws, environmental laws and child labor laws.

In conclusion, mesira is a term bandied about to protect our own criminals. In reality, it is very difficult to pin down a halachic moser according to the Aruch Hashulchan or Rav Wosner and although it is possible according to Reb Moshe to be a moser it is still unlikely. We need to be honest with ourselves and stop hiding behind archaic halachic terms to justify false ideas.

To listen to the entire discourse online click here.

A Jewish Black Woman's "Henry Gates" Situation

rabbifink — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 02:32:35 +0000

As a Law Student, there are things I find interesting that may not interest “clients” (non-Lawyers, hehe). The following article interests me and will probably interest any lawyer or law student, anyone Jewish, or anyone that has been following the Gates Saga.

I invite you to contribute your opinion in the comments.

The article originally appeared in this week’s Jewish Press as an OP-ED. The writer is Nathan Lewin (read more about him here).

WHAT IF GATES WERE AN UNRENOWNED JEWISH BLACK WOMAN?

Nathan Lewin

Posted Jul 29 2009

Soon after Cambridge police arrested and handcuffed Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. on a disorderly conduct charge, they realized the black man they wanted to prosecute was a renowned academic. As a result, he was released and the charges against him were dropped.

The ensuing public debate – in which Cambridge authorities now try to justify arresting a man because he refused to comply in his own home with police directions and deny that race had any influence on how the police reacted – suggests that if an ordinary black homeowner, rather than a Harvard professor, had been arrested under these circumstances, the criminal charges would not have been dropped so readily.

Consider the pending case of Rivka – a black, very dark-skinned, extremely devout Orthodox Jewish woman. Rivka is employed in New York, spends Shabbat in Washington, and her work frequently takes her on extended trips overseas. Being single and in her mid-fifties, she rented a 3-bedroom apartment on the West Side of Manhattan, and advertised on Craigslist for female roommates willing to accept short subleases. All applicants were informed by Rivka that the apartment was strictly kosher. A special page prescribing the kashrut rules was added to the lease that each roommate signed.

The rules were followed by a series of women Rivka accepted as roommates. In July 2007, a white blond-haired girl named Brooke answered Rivka’s ad and signed a five-month lease with the kashrut provisions. Brooke promptly violated the kashrut rules and admitted, in sworn testimony, that she brought nonkosher food into the apartment in knowing violation of her signed agreement. Rivka told Brooke she would have to leave.

Having e-mailed Brooke that she had arranged, at her – Rivka’s – expense, for a hotel room where Brooke could stay while she was looking for other accommodations, and believing that Brooke had agreed to have her belongings transported to the other location, Rivka began moving Brooke’s clothing to the hotel. Brooke arrived at the apartment unexpectedly and called the local precinct, reporting, “My roommate is currently stealing stuff out of my room.”

When Rivka returned after depositing Brooke’s belongings in the reserved hotel room, she found two policemen at the apartment with Brooke. The senior police officer (who is white), testified that Rivka showed them the lease and the e-mail she had sent to Brooke, and explained that she had moved Brooke’s belongings to the nearby hotel because she had an agreement with Brooke to do so. Rivka insisted to the officers that she wanted Brooke out of the apartment. The officers testified that Rivka interrupted her conversation with them to spend ten minutes in prayer.

Rivka then left the officers and retreated to her bedroom and locked her door. The officers demanded that she come out. On her cell phone, Rivka called a friend from the Georgetown Synagogue in Washington who had a law degree but was not in private practice. He told her to ask the officers for a warrant and for their precincts and badge numbers. The white policeman said in his testimony that he “did not recall” whether he gave his precinct and badge number.

When Rivka did not emerge voluntarily from her bedroom, the sergeant called the Emergency Services Unit – the police department’s riot squad. They came in full force, with more than one dozen policemen. They broke down the door to Rivka’s bedroom, dragged her into the hall and up against the wall at gunpoint, handcuffed her, and then took her downstairs to a waiting ambulance.

The ambulance drove to a nearby hospital. One of the officers tried to have her committed to the psychiatric unit. After an examination, the hospital said there was no basis to admit her. The police then took Rivka to the police precinct, where she was permitted one phone call. She called a person she had befriended while regularly attending Shabbat services at the Georgetown Synagogue, but the arresting police officer hung up the telephone in the middle of Rivka’s call.

Rivka was then taken to another hospital, where she was handcuffed to a bed. Next morning, she was returned to the precinct. The rabbi at the New York synagogue she attends on weekdays heard of her plight and brought a kosher meal to the precinct – the first meal Rivka had since her arrest the day before.

Rivka was charged with “Obstruction of Governmental Administration in the Second Degree” and with “Unlawful Eviction.” The New York D.A.’s office refused to dismiss the charges even after all the facts were presented. The young prosecutor first demanded that Rivka plead guilty and perform community service and ultimately was willing to accept an unconditional “Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal.” Rivka refused to accept any terms other than outright dismissal because she insisted she had done nothing wrong.

The case went to a nonjury trial before a (white) judge who was a former prosecutor. He excluded much defense testimony as irrelevant and hearsay and rejected out of hand Rivka’s right to remain in her own bedroom after her discussion with the police. At the end of the trial, he found Rivka guilty on both counts and fined her $500. Rivka is appealing.

Would the police have broken the bedroom door of a white gentile and charged her with crimes after being called to a dispute between her and a roommate? Is this another instance – as the Gates arrest is said to be – of injustice against blacks, aggravated by Rivka’s Jewish identity?

Rivka is suing New York City, the policemen, and Brooke in federal court. The docket number of her case is 08 Civ. 10065. I am her lawyer.

Nathan Lewin is a Washington attorney who has represented Jewish communities in litigation in federal courts.

Great Post on ParshaBlog

rabbifink — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:28:57 +0000

I have had so many conversations about the issue posed today on ParshaBlog.

A couple weeks ago the Chinuch Roundtable in the Yated dealt with this as well. We have become the Segulah Generation. We look for shortcuts and magic to avoid the effort involved in Personal Growth.

In short Messilas Yesharim > Segulahs. But Segulahs tempt us with their instant gratification, no effort results.

I urge everyone to read the article on ParshaBlog.

You can read all about Segulahs on ParshaBlog by clicking here.

Structure and Philosophy of Torah 3 | Connections 5/4/09

rabbifink — Tue, 19 May 2009 06:22:37 +0000

The third and final class in a very exciting series concluded our preparations for Shavuos.

Catch up by listening to Part 1 and Part 2.

Today we sought to resolve the burning question we began our series with. Why is Talmud study the focus of Torah scholarship? Why do Yeshiva students spend the bulk of their time studying Talmud? Why is Talmud our connection to the Oral Law transmission?

Those questions plus much more are covered in this week’s class.

The participants truly challenged me and asked some really great questions today. As always your attendance and contributions are much appreciated.

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

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)

Intro to Talmud 1

rabbifink — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 04:07:18 +0000

Today I gave a lecture for a local Aish Campus retreat. My friends Rabbi Bloom and Rabbi Quinn run Aish Campus in Los Angeles and they invited me to give a 2 part lecture on the Introduction to and Philosophy of Talmud.

Today we had a very engaging session with a lot of great questions. We covered some very interesting ideas which are central to Torah study and understanding how our forefathers kept Torah before it was given to the world at Sinai many years later…

Just click the audio player to listen to the lecture (40 minutes).

Download

Part 2 is posted here.