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New Koren English Talmud

rabbifink — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:57:03 +0000

I received a press release for the New English Talmud from Koren a few days ago. With all the excitement over the Asifa and the unexpected brouhaha over the role of women in chasidic Judaism, I neglected to post my initial thoughts on this edition of the Talmud.

First of all, I am a huge fan of the Talmud. I think studying Talmud is amazing. The experience of Talmud study, when done right, can be at least as inspirational and spiritually satisfying as anything else in the world. The problem is that it can be a locked book. An English translation is nice, but so much of the Talmud requires background information and illustration that the simple rendering of the words into English is not sufficient to unlock the Talmud.

Artscroll has magnificently risen to the occasion with their English Talmud. Their contribution marked a key turning point for mainstreaming Talmud study. Their translation and interpretations follow Yeshiva style conventions. The Artscroll Talmud may be the greatest contribution to Torah study since the first printing of the Tamud in the 16th century. Its commentary digest is extremely well researched and presented and the sheer magnitude of the project is awe-inspiring.

It is hard to believe, but 30 years prior to the Artscroll Talmud was conceived, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz began a similar project translating the Talmud into modern Hebrew and penning a fresh Hebrew commentary digest. His work would have been more widely used if he had maintained the canonized page format of all the previous printings of the Talmud. But he did not and his version was placed under Rabbinic ban.

The New English Talmud will provide another option for English speaking sudents of the Talmud. The translation is adapted from Rabbi Steinsaltz’s translation into modern Hebrew and the commentary is his. But in keeping with tradition, the New English Talmud stays true to the canonized pagination of the Talmud thus rectifying an unfortunate error in the previous versions.

More options is a good thing. In particular, this version has an emphasis on the aesthetic, taking layout seriously and using color illustrations. It truly looks to be a remarkable and fresh way to study the Talmud. Plus, having two big names in the English Talmud game will force both to step up their games and bring even more innovative, high quality products to the market.

Artscroll announced their iPad app a few months ago. Koren is also supplying an app. Only a few details are available at this point but I look forward to using both of them.

My shul has a set of Artscroll and I have been gifted (by a loving family member) a significant selection of the New English Talmud so I will be able to do a more complete comparison after I receive my copy. In the meantime, if you are considering an English Talmud purchase, I strongly urge you to consider the Koren version. It looks to be amazing.

(Unfortunately, the YouTube video promo for the New English Talmud is a tad on the ridiculous side. I’m not sure what they were thinking.)

Link: Koren

Does Jewish Law Favor Capitalism or Socialism?

rabbifink — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:55:50 +0000

A lot of the political discourse in American and in Europe revolves around economic models. The bold faced names in the discussion are capitalism and socialism. To be fair, no matter what, the United States will have a hybrid version because we will never get to a place where the system is completely capitalistic without taxation and social programs for the poor nor will be ever have a system of 100% taxation and governmental distribution of wealth.

In America, we are somewhere in the middle. Which is why I find it humorous when people call President Obama a socialist or Romney is touted as a true capitalist. It make for good sound bites but the truth is that they are fairly close to one another economically. They might be on opposite extremes on the center. But they are not on opposite extremes of the spectrum the way Ayn Rand and Karl Marx are.

One fun argument is what the Bible has to say about these contemporary economic systems. Pretty much any view can be shoehorned into some passage from the Bible. So it is not a strong argument when one invokes scripture seeing as it so open to interpretation. (See: WWJD?)

However, Jewish Law does not follow the literal translation of scripture. Instead, Jewish Law follows the interpretations and codifications of the rabbis of the Mishnaic period and the analysis and expansion of those laws during the Talmudic period. These are “The Rabbis” that are referred to when people say things like “the rabbis said…”. In Hebrew they are known by their Hebrew acronym, Chazal.

The thing with Chazal is that they actually enacted specific legislation and we know the specific rules that they enforced. They are written in black and white in the Talmud. At Kavvanah Blog Rabbi Isidore Epstein’s introductory essay to the Talmud was posted and among many other fascinating issues, the essay addresses this particular point.

Rabbi Epstein enumerates dozens of regulatory laws in the Talmud. These are laws that were enacted and enforced by Chazal in a governmental capacity. Anyone who has studied the Talmud is familiar with many of these laws. But to see them rattled off one by one and analyzed through the lens of a 20th century scholar is very eye opening.

Here are some examples of Jewish Laws:

Guarantee of public trees from which anyone could pluck
Highly regulated weights and measures
Agencies that regulated quality control of food and other goods
Common rights on real property that was owned
Price control over the sale of chattel
Rights for workers, including going beyond the letter of the law for their benefit
Protection of tenants
Competitive practices when there was no need for additional
Charity taxes that were distributed to the poor

This short list does not do it justice. I think it impossible to read the essay and not draw the conclusion that Chazal endorsed a pretty severe form of socialism. That is not to say that they would endorse the same system for the United States of America in 2012. But it is to say, that the most traditional form of economic policy in orthodox Judaism is pretty close to socialism.

I do note that there were protective policies in place that were designed to prevent over-reliance on the social benefits of Rabbinic Judaism and some policies were skewed more to the side of capitalism. However, it is almost impossible to find ideas like caveat emptor or “the marketplace will decide what is fair or moral” in their system of commerce.

At the very least, the essay shows that many aspects of a social economy were considered moral and preferable to Chazal.

The essay is a must-read for its economic theory as well as its broader implications that are discussed more fully on Kavvanah. I cannot recommend reading the essay enough.

Links: Kavvanah, and the full essay is here: Come and Hear

Big News From Artscroll: The Talmud is Coming to iPad in Spectacular Fashion

rabbifink — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 18:44:57 +0000

In case you have not heard, Artscroll is joining the digital revolution. Perhaps Artscroll’s greatest contribution to date is the Schottenstein Talmud. Their version of the Talmud is comprehensive and useful for beginners and scholars alike. It has likely opened the doors of Talmud study to more people than any other edition of the Talmud in the history of the Talmud.

Now Artscroll is taking the Talmud to the next level. As mentioned previously, the iPad is a magical Torah study device. It lends itself to Torah study more than any other piece of technology. You can hold it in your hand, you navigate with your fingers, pop-ups are the perfect method for providing additional information beyond the text that is so key to Talmud study. Artscroll is bringing the Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud to the iPad.

The features are extensive and the video below outlines many of the key features. It’s a really impressive feature set.

iTalmud did a wonderful job with their limited resources. See: iTalmud – iPad Edition. They did not have access to the copyrighted material and research that went into the Schottenstein edition. But iTalmud pales in comparison to what Artscroll can offer. Of course I expect this to be reflected in the price, iTalmud is $40. Each volume of the printed Shottenstein Talmud is $40 and some tractates are several volumes long. If ebook prices are any indication, the Artscroll digital edition will be priced similarly to the printed edition. That is a lot of money.

A source tells me that there will be various options to gain access to the app. You can buy a daf, a tractate or the entire Shas. There will also be a rental model that will allow users to follow along with the Daf Yomi giving access to each particular daf for a limited time. I think the price will be one of the more interesting story lines as the app moves from development to the marketplace.

The iPad will be the first digital edition of the Shottenstein but my source also tells me that Android and desktop version will eventually follow.

Artscroll has hired the best Jewish app developer out there in RustyBrick to write the software and you can be confident that the final product will be elegant, simple to use and very powerful. RustyBrick also works hard to constantly update their apps to bring more features to the end users. I am happy for my friends at RustyBrick.

Artscroll is doing this because they think it will be a good business decision. I am happy that they are ready to embrace the digital era. Now we just need to get our yeshivos and rabbinic leaders to follow the lead of the community.

Here is a severely overdramatic video about the upcoming app. Whatever happened to understated, humble marketing? Yeesh. This thing is way out of control. (I also don’t love using copyrighted music for a product that so covets its own copyrights.) But shout out to my friend Jeff Cohn who makes a cameo at 3:00!

Rabbi J.H. Hertz’s Epic Introduction to the Talmud (with a little controversy mixed in)

rabbifink — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:53:51 +0000

I am indebted to Alan Brill of the Kavvanah blog for sharing this gem.

One of my favorite topics and themes in Judaism is understanding the structure and methodology of the Talmud. I am constantly looking for more sources and studying, adapting and adjusting my understanding of the issues. Until I read the post on Kavvanah I did not know about the introduction to the Talmud written by Rabbi J.H. Hertz. I read it and I loved it.

I strongly suggest you read the entire introduction. It is written beautifully and with such an inspiring view of the Talmud that it becomes required reading.

Some highlights:

Like nearly every one of the rabbis, he earned his bread by manual labour.

Speaking about the rabbis of the Talmud, R’ Hertz reminds us that the rabbis of the Talmud worked for a living. They studied when they were able. He wrote this before the standardization of kollel. But it is almost prophetically inspired.

Concerning the exact time at which the Mishnah was committed to writing, diversity of opinion has prevailed among eminent Jewish authorities during the last nine centuries.

I never knew this. But apparently, R’ Sherira Gaon and Rashi, among others held that the Mishna was not actually written down until the 8th or 9th century. I would love to see a citation for this. Either way, this is astounding to me. I was always taught that R’ Yehuda HaNassi codified AND wrote down the mishna. It seems that these authorities held that the Mishna was codified by R’ Yehuda HaNassi and was transmitted orally for a few hundred years before it was published in written form. Clearly, Rambam disagrees. Fascinating.

Here is the best part:

Halachah, as we have seen, means ‘the trodden path’, rule of life, religious guidance. To it belong all laws and regulations that bear upon Jewish conduct. These include the ritual, the civil, criminal, and ethical laws.

Everything else is embraced under the term Haggadah; literally, ‘talk’, ‘that which is narrated’, ‘delivered in a discourse’. This again can he subdivided into various groups. We have dogmatical Haggadah, treating of God’s attributes and providence, creation, revelation, Messianic times, and the Hereafter. The historical Haggadah brings traditions and legends concerning the heroes and events in national or universal history, from Adam to Alexander of Macedon, Titus and Hadrian. It is legend pure and simple. Its aim is not so much to give the facts concerning the righteous and unrighteous makers of history. as the moral that may be pointed from the tales that adorn their honour or dishonour.

That some of the folklore element in the Haggadah, some of the customs depicted or obiter dicta reported. are repugnant to Western taste need not be denied. ‘The greatest fault to be found with those who wrote down such passages. says Schechter, ‘is that they did not observe the wise rule of Dr Johnson who said to Boswell on a certain occasion, “Let us get serious, for there comes a fool”. And the fools unfortunately did come, in the shape of certain Jewish commentators and Christian controversialists, who took as serious things which were only the expression of a momentary impulse. or represented the opinion of sonic isolated individual, or were meant simply as a piece of humorous by-play, calculated to enliven the interest of a languid audience.’

In spite of the fact that the Haggadah contains parables of infinite beauty and enshrines sayings of eternal worth, it must be remembered that the Haggadah consists of mere individual utterances that possess no general and binding authority.

This is a loaded paragraph and one that today is considered highly controversial. R’ Hertz has the broad shoulders necessary to make such a statement and I admire him greatly for making it. What he is saying is that the Talmud has statements that are binding and many that are not. The difference between the two is whether or not they are halachic. Further, it should not be a surprise to anyone if the rabbis of the Talmud were inaccurate in their non-halachic statements. Some were mistakes, others were made for purposes other than for their truth. R’ Hertz charges those who take these non-serious statements with greater seriousness than they were intended as fools. I wouldn’t be so harsh. But I agree with the sentiment.

I wonder what would happen if a prominent rabbi wrote this today.

And finally another excellent line in conclusion:

My purpose is merely to give a brief presentation of the Talmud as a book. I shall therefore conclude with the words of I. Abrahams. ‘The Talmud,’ he says, ‘is one of the great books of the world. Rabbinism was a sequel to the Bible; and if, like all sequels, it was unequal to its original, it nevertheless shares its greatness. The works of all Jews up to the modern period were the sequel to this sequel. Through them all may be detected the unifying principle that literature in its truest sense includes life itself; that intellect is the handmaid to conscience; and that the best books are those which best teach men how to live. The maxim, Righteousness delivers from death, applies to books as well as to men. A literature whose consistent theme is Righteousness, is immortal.’

Through it all, the Talmud is one of the greatest books ever written. It’s true, the sequel is at least as good as the original. We follow the Talmud in our lives and the Talmud interprets the Torah. It’s world certainly seems different to the naked eye than the world of the Bible. Says, R’ Hertz, this is a good thing.

Above all, the Talmud is an attempt at righteousness and aids us all in our attempts towards the same.

Now go study!

Link: Halakhah.com

Also, buy R’ Hertz’s Chumash. It’s my personal favorite: Amazon.com

iTalmud – iPad Edition | App Review

rabbifink — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:15:26 +0000

Way back in 2009, I did a review of iTalmud English for the iPhone. See: iTalmud English Edition: Review

A few months ago we got an iPad and I could not wait to try iTalmud – iPad Edition. Torah learning is much easier on a bigger screen and the navigation through an iPad app is less crowded than on an iPhone. I’ve been testing the iTalmud – iPad Edition and it with recent updates and the bigger screen the iPad app is one of the best apps I have used on the iPad. Period.

I figured to give you all a real taste of what using iTalmud – iPad Edition is like I would give you a walkthrough with photos.

Before we begin, I will just say that if you have an iPad and have any interest in studying Talmud, this is the absolutely best way to do it. The Torah is timeless and when technology can be leveraged to make the experience more accessible, exciting and convenient, it speaks to the eternal nature of the Torah and its people. When you think about it, it can be quite inspiring.

Here we go:

I always begin studying a page of the Talmud with the traditional page view. iTalmud provides clear PDFs of every folio of the Talmud. It is a straight PDF with no iOS magic. Functional and perhaps enough to justify spending $40. Imagine having the entire Talmud accessible on an iPad!

To change pages, one taps the book icon on the top of the page and using the iOS selection wheel can turn to any Tractate and any page in that Tractate in an instant. It takes about 2 seconds to download each PDF over wifi. It does not feel like you are “waiting” when you switch pages. Here I have switched from Shabbos to Brachos in an instant. In real life that would mean going to a bookshelf and replacing one overly large tome with another. Amazing.

If you want to be able to read folio pages when offline you can download PDFs of every Daf View page and save them for later in the Download Manager. There is no charge to keep these on your iPad. Additionally, the app provides excellent audio classes for each page. These can also be downloaded and saved for later.

Let’s move on. Daf View is nice, but the other stuff is where we experience the real magic of iTalmud. I use landscape view for viewing the PDFs. It just seems more natural. But for the other modes I mostly use portrait view. (We will stick with landscape for now.) Switching modes is simple. Just tap the page icon on he bottom left. A menu pops up and you can select how you would like iTalmud to display text. Until now we have been using Daf View.

Now I’ve selected “Hebrew Text” and “Rashi”. As you can see, this view is just text without the traditional Daf format. But I have also selected Rashi and the commentary is displayed split-screen style on the left. The two columns are independent and can be scrolled on their own. So if Rashi is lower down on the page you can scroll the left side down but leave the right side where it is. This is great.

We also can select Tosfos and Tosfos will be displayed instead of Rashi. Everything else remains the same.

Another option is to have the English translation displayed. This translation is the Soncino translation with the Footnotes. If you tap a footnote and popup displays the text of the footnote.

I’ve switched the view to portrait. In this view, the secondary text, in this case Rashi, gets moved to the bottom of the screen. I have also tapped on the Daf Yomi shiurim menu. Here, we can see a list of local Daf Yomi classes and their locations. Languages are included so that you can find the class that best meets your needs. You can also enter an address and find class near that address. Unfortunately, this feature did not work for me. The keyboard kept disappearing. I hope this is fixed in a future update.

Sometimes you want to go directly to a specific page. You can easily navigate to any page using the browse and search menu. The English Keyword search is also great. As I have beards on my mind (The Shave Heard ‘Round the World) I typed “beard” into the search and the results displayed everywhere the word beard occurs in the Talmud. This is a really super tool. Tapping a result sends you to that page. This is great, but could be better. The place on the page that the word occurs is not highlighted anywhere. This would not be so bad if there were a “search this page” option but iTalmud does not have that feature yet.

One of the coolest things in the iTalmud app is a $5 add-on. I bought it because it was useful to me and I think it is a great feature. To bring up the extras pop-up just tap on the Extras menu icon.

With Biblical References” add-on you can tap any verse from Scripture that is quoted in the Talmud and explore that verse. So just click buy and then it is automatically built into the app.

For example, I tapped a verse on Brachos 2a. Tapping the verse brings up a menu where you can choose which commentary should be displayed with the text of the verse from the Torah. I chose English. The verse is automatically highlighted and the commentary is inline.

I tried to select Rashi, but it was not working. That’s another kink that needs to be worked out. But the others work. Here is the Ramban on that verse.

And here is Ibn Ezra. It could not be simpler.

I also want to show you a full-screen view that removes the menus and just shows the text on the screen. This is the ideal method for studying. No distractions and it uses the maximum of the real estate. It would even better if iTalmud could do Airplay and be displayed on an external display. Maybe next version…

So there you have it. That’s how I use iTalmud English for iPad. I am sure many of you would use it differently. That’s part of the beauty of the app. It can be used your way.

I have one more suggestion for a future release (my father actually suggested it to me). It would be great if illustrations and models could be provided as well. The Talmud can be so well illuminated by diagrams and graphics. Some sections require illustrations. I hope a future release could provide pop-up graphics for these sections of the Talmud.

Other than that, search on the page and a couple of bugs iTalmud is one of the most complete iPad apps I have had the pleasure of using. I highly recommend the app and even more than the app, I recommend studying Talmud.

Purchase the app here: iTalmud – iPad Edition. Check out Crowded Road’s other apps and services on their website.

Disclaimer: Promotional consideration was provided by Crowded Road for the review of their iTalmud English for iPad app. I was given the app free of charge.

The Accuracy of the Written Torah

rabbifink — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:43:27 +0000

A really old Torah scroll

I’m no scholar of ancient texts. But there are scholars of ancient texts. A large group of them has been studying the evolution of the text of the Tanach (the Jewish version of the Old Testament) for 53 years.

It is important to note that the text we have today has remained virtually unchanged since the 11th century. It was then that Maimonides used the Aleppo Codex to codify a version of the Torah scroll. That version is almost exactly what we have today.

But notice, I used the word “almost”. That’s because it is not exactly the same. Or it might not be exact. There are several nuances that differentiate the standard Torah scroll used in the majority of Jewish communities from the Yemenite Torah text tradition. They can’t both be exactly the same as the text codified by Maimonides.

Certainly the Talmud seems to indicate that they had a different version. The Talmud in Kiddushin gives specific places as the middle of the text and the number of words and letters. None of those are consistent with our text. In several places various rishonim (Medieval commentators) indicate that there were small differences between the Torah scrolls among their peers. Other rishonim stated that the text was deliberately changed by later prophets in certain instances. They were permitted to do so as long as none of the Torah’s laws were affected by their changes.

None of the differences that have been recorded are significant enough to change the law. None of the discrepancies have an effect of the theology or religion of the Torah. Yet, there has emerged a “sacred belief” that the Torah remains unchanged over the 3000 years since the Revelation at Sinai.

This is quite obviously impossible.

A massive project in Israel is charting all the extant versions of the text and their collective history. They are using every possible version and manuscript to show any and all minor differences between each version. The Aleppo Codex is the starting point for the project and all differences are being compared to that version.

And there are differences. It is impossible to pretend otherwise. But this should not be a problem for believers in orthodox Judaism. There are several acceptable approaches to the issues raised by the variations in the text. Each approach appeals to different styles within orthodox Judaism.

1) Hashgacha pratis. God runs the world. Whatever changes that have evolved are part of a grand Master Plan.

2) Lo bashamayim hi. “The Torah is not in the Heavens”. Once the Torah was given to Man, it was understood that there would be mistakes. We do our best to avoid mistakes, but errors are inevitable and it cannot be legitimately stated that our version is perfect.

3) Torah She’Baal Peh is primary. The truth is that we do not live our lives as orthodox Jews based on the Written Law as much as we lived based on its interpretation in the Oral Law. Mistakes in the Written Law have no real bearing on a Jewish life based on the Oral Law.

Certainly each of these positions is more nuanced and broad than the one or two sentence headlines mentioned here. The point is that approaches exist and we should not be afraid of them.

What about the 8th principle of faith according to the Rambam?

See my post about this on DovBear’s blog: The Rambam’s 8th Principle According to R’ Yaakov Weinberg

Link: AP

Do People Argue to Discover the Truth?

rabbifink — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:58:20 +0000

Best. Cartoon. Ever. ©xkcd

The blogosphere is really one giant argument. Opinions are expressed, supported, rebutted, debated, refined and discarded on a daily basis. One has to wonder if anyone ever wins. Is anyone ever swayed by an argument on a blog or even in person? Will anyone change their mind based on an argument? How and when do we change our minds?

These questions are impossible for me to answer. But I have feelings about each of these questions. I have had so many arguments in real life and on the Internet about so many different things. Ranging from sports, to politics, to religion, to culture and everything in between.

Of course my opinions have changed over time. But how did it happen? Did I lose an argument and my mind was changed? It’s impossible to know how it works and when the switch gets turned. But learning is a process and people can change their minds. It just feels like they never do.

Of course, I have also spent significant time arguing over and reading arguments in the Talmud and its commentaries. The Talmud is basically one giant argument. There are many opinions about many things and their validity is questioned and challenged with logical reasoning, textual support and moral arguments. The many commentaries on the Talmud argue about how to codify the law, explain various passages and answer contradictions in logic and thought. Very frequently arguments are won or conceded.

The assumption in all arguments and especially in the arguments in the Talmud is that there is a search for truth that is behind the arguments. Each side believes that they have the truth and when the truth becomes apparent the loser will concede that their opinion is incorrect and change their mind. As mentioned before, this doesn’t seem to happen in real life. Although in the Talmud it happens on just about every page. To be fair, the ones doing the conceding are rarely the owners of the opinion, rather it is the proponents of that opinion. We are left to wonder what the author of the losing opinion would have held had he been presented with the winning arguments.

A recent NY Times article mentions a study that attempts to redefine argument. According to the study we do not argue or use reason to find the truth. Rather we argue with logic and reason, sometimes very flawed, to win the argument and support a previously held position. This is something like confirmation bias. Our opinion is not formed by reason, our powers of reason are used to support an opinion that we want to hold.

This is significant because it really means the real reason that we argue is not with the expectation that we will change anyone’s mind. Rather it is so that we can convince ourselves of our opinion and win the argument. In other words, winning is more important that being right. In fact this is exactly how the law works in the secular court system. We don’t care who is right, we care who presents a better case. We don’t care if the defendant committed the crime, we care whether it can proved that he committed the crime.

(If you read the article you will see that the article uses the law as an example of deciding who is right. I don’t believe the author of the article characterizes the law correctly.)

So, in the Talmud the object is certainly to find some sort of truth. I don’t believe the article would apply to the Talmud as the objective there is clear and established. But I am willing to consider that arguing has evolved into a competition of who wins and who loses as opposed to who is right and who is wrong.

That doesn’t mean that arguing cannot lead to the truth. It just means that is why arguing evolved and it is part of every single argument that ever existed and will ever exist. Arguing to win can lead to truth. It’s just not the explanation for why we argue and why we choose certain logic and fallacies to support our position.

That also doesn’t mean arguing isn’t important or valuable. On the contrary, I also believe that the winning arguments that are best supported by their arguers will over time represent some kind of truth. Sometimes the truth is empirical, but most of the time, the truth is that there is a bias that must be confirmed. Admitted that or acknowledging that can be the case is important. Especially in the areas of religion.

Link: NY Times

The Royal Wedding: A Jewish Perspective

rabbifink — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:21:13 +0000

Right now, the entire world is is divided into two groups. (At least it seems that way.)

Group 1: Passionately interested and soaking in every excrutiating detail about the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Group 2: Passionately DISinterested and annoyed at every excruciating detail about the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton.

As for me, I just wondered what Prince William’s surname is. I found the answer on Wikipedia and it’s not as simple as one would think! (…it’s Mountbatten-Windsor by the way)

All this talk about Monarchs got me thinking about whether there is a Jewish reason to be interested in the wedding and the Prince. Immediately I thought of the statement of the Babylonian Talmud in tractate Brachos that is mentioned on 3 separate occasions (9b, 19b, 58a).

Said R’ Yochanan: One should always attempt to run to greet the kings of Israel. Not only should he run to greet the kings of Israel, but he should also run to greet the kings of idol worshipers so that if he merits [Rashi: to earn a place in the Next World and see the Messiah] he will be able to see the difference [Rashi: between the honor accorded a secular king and the honor accorded to righteous people]. (Rashi from 58a, translation: mine)

There is an eternal message in this passage: We can learn from everything.

Even during the time of R’ Yochanan, when non-Jewish kings did not take too kindly to the Jews, R’ Yochanan taught that it was important to see the honor given to the great monarchs of his time. Was there any real value in simply seeing the king? Perhaps a bit. It certainly was a nice gesture of appreciation to the monarch. But the real value was found in the lessons that could be gleaned from seeing the tremendous honor bestowed upon the king.

If a despot or even benevolent king receive such honor then we can only imagine the great honor reserved for those who act righteously. After all, what is really important? Fleeting honor granted by virtue of fate of birth or earned via might and power? Or a good moral life?

There is no question, the greater honor belongs to the one who has used their time wisely and chosen life.

If you want a sneak peak at what that honor will be like, tune in (if only for a moment) to the Royal Wedding.

Some People Are Making Certain That The Typewriter Does Not Die

rabbifink — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:08:25 +0000

I read a fascinating article about an interesting phenomena in the NY Times.

Technology pervades our lives. Phones that have little computers inside them that can take lovely photos and videos, share them with the world, access the entire Internet and make a phone call live in our pockets. We have computers at home. We have computers at work. Many people use electronic devices to read books. (See: Orthodox Jews and E-Readers).

Some people feel like it has gone too far.

As a result, typewriters are surging in popularity. The unwieldy, noisy, with no delete button typewriters of the 40′s and 50′s. I am not that old, but when I was in 2nd grade I remember the school office secretary had a typewriter. But it was fancy and used a screen to show what you were typing, even had an automatic delete function and was not black metal. Those are not the popular typewriters. People want the old fashioned ones.

A really nice point is made in the article by a Ms. Kowalski:

“You type so much quicker than you can think on a computer,” Ms. Kowalski said. “On a typewriter, you have to think.”

Writing on a computer is like using a pencil. Typing on a typewriter is using pen, or perhaps more like chiseling into a stone. Because we can type faster than we write, sometimes we write things that are incorrect, or stupid. The same thing happens when we speak before we consider the weight of our words. It can be a great exercise in cognition to type without the luxury of delete. I had a half a thought to publish this post in typewriter style, that is, without deleting or modifying anything. It would have been incoherent. I can barely write one sentence without making a correction or two, or three.

But the message is clear. Sometimes we do need to slow down.

Another great lesson I learned from the typewriter enthusiasts is the need to focus. Just while writing this blog post, I have checked and replied to email, replied to a Twitter conversation and commented on a Facebook post. There is something about using a uni-tasker. A typewriter can only do one thing. It helps one to focus and I suppose that is a good thing too.

The last thing I take from this typewriter revival is a bit of nostalgia. Some of us have it, some of us don’t. But in orthodox Jewish life there is much nostalgia. One of the greatest areas of this nostalgia is in the area of Torah study. Old books are treasured and revered. Old printings of those books are treasured and revered. Most significantly, old ideas are treasured and revered.

Using a book to study Torah is the standard. Torah scholars pore over books with ink and paper every day. Many of those texts are available digitally. But the old fashioned way lives on. When no one in the world is reading books anymore, I am positive that Torah will still be studied from books and read during services from scrolls. That nostalgia is built into Judaism. We revere the ancient, we respect the past, we look back to our parents and grand parents with love and admiration and we integrate all that into our present and future.

Personally, I love old things. Maybe one day I will get myself a typewriter, but until then I will need to practice typing more effectively the first time around…

Link: NY Times

Meanwhile, laugh at this:

Inspirational Video: TMB Panyee FC

rabbifink — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:54:39 +0000

I saw an inspirational video that needs to be shared.

We sometimes forget how fortunate we are. We have access to the greatest inventions, medical care, information, comfortable living conditions, every kind of food under the sun and things our great grandparents only could have dreamed of. Sure we have our probelms too. But our problems are mostly “First World Problems“. The Internet goes down during an epic Internet battle, our cell phone drops an important call, our takeout food is a bit soggy etc etc etc. These are First World Problems.

Around the world, others have Third World Problems. Dirty water, no medical care, hunger, extreme poverty, no electricity etc etc etc. Depending on where we are in the world, our problems are to varying degrees. The solutions to those problems depends on our ingenuity, willingness to think out of the box and creativity. Everywhere you go, people are dealing with whatever obstacles present themselves. Or sometimes people stagnate and resign themselves to their problems and don’t seek solutions. To me, that is failure.

Throughout history, Jewish people have use difficult situations to improve the world. In fact, the Talmud, one of the greatest gifts to mankind, is really a result of persectution. Due to the banning of Torah study and a lack of communication between various academies it became necessary to record the Talmud for posterity. Imagine if they had simply thrown in the towel and felt their impossible situation had no solution. The world would be a far darker place.

In our own lives we may be riddled with complications or issues and we don’t know how to extricate ourselves from our situation or fix what is broken. That is a sad place to be. We can all suffer from lack of inspiration at times. If you are feeling even just a tad uninspired I have the perfect way to jumpstart your creative juices. Watch this video.

On a floating village in Thailand called Koh Panyee the youth had nowhere to play soccer. But they needed an outlet. So they got creative and it paid off for them in a big way. The short film is based on the true story from 1986.

Enjoy.

There Is No Such Thing as a Kal V’Chomer (a Fortiori) in the NFL

rabbifink — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 22:44:12 +0000

Everyone who has studied the Talmud is familiar with the logical argument used throughout the Talmud called a “kal v’chomer” or kal vachomer. A kal v’chomer is the Talmud’s version of the a fortiori argument.

That is, if A is more advanced than B, if A can do X, B can certainly do X. Wikipedia uses this example: “If it has been established that a person is deceased, then one can, with equal or greater certainty, argue that the person is not breathing.”

When invoking the kal v’chomer in Talmud study, it is the opportune moment to utilize the familiar Talmudic sing-song as well as a “thumb dip” to emphasize your point. (Speaking of which, the thumb dip needs a wikipedia entry… no?)

Anyway, the kal v’chomer is not considered a perfect argument by the Talmud. No punishments are able to be given as a result of a kal v’chomer.

The weakness of a kal v’chomer is mostly due to the lack of external information that could prove that A is not stronger than B for another reason.

This graphic demonstrates exactly why the kal v’chomer doesn’t always work…

Sports fans love trying to prove their team’s supremacy by using the kal v’chomer. Team A beat Team B and Team B beat Team C so Team A can certainly beat Team C. The problem is, this is a complete fallacy. There are matchup issues, injury issues, effort issues plus the element of luck.

The graphic shows how there are no kal v’chomer’s in the NFL. As you go clockwise, the first team has defeated the second team, thus, imperically demonstrating that anyone can win on “Any Given Sunday”.

Graphic credit: Reddit

Mesillas Yesharim 11/15/09

rabbifink — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:35:41 +0000

Last week we talked about the Healthcare plan that was ratified by the house the night before.

This week we got back on track and started Chapter 9.

In my opinion, this was one of the best Mesillas Yesharim classes to date. The Ramchal was so insightful and I shared an insight of my own which I think is very poignant. It all goes back to Adam and Eve being ousted from the Garden of Eden.

Audio is below.

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.

Enjoy.

iTalmud English Edition: Review

rabbifink — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:57:28 +0000

I love technology and I love Talmud. So imagine how excited I was when I found out that I could learn Talmud on my iPhone!

For the last few weeks I have been testing an incredible iPhone app. iTalmud English Edition (warning: link will open iTunes) is one the best apps I have ever used on the iPhone.

iTalmud English Edition is a very powerful tool that anyone that wishes to study or research anything in the Talmud must have.

User Interface

All good iPhone apps maintain the beauty and simplicity of the iPhone in their user experience. iTalmud English Edition is all those and much more. It is so easy to use and so elegantly presented that it almost feels like an iPhone app developed by Apple! When you start the app you get a simple menu with the basic functions of iTalmud English Edition.

What Does iTalmud English Edition Do?

The app brings the entire Talmud to your fingertips. You can browse the entire Talmud by page or search the entire Talmud by term. The app includes an English translation of the Talmud that is easily accessed as well. In addition, audio classes of every single page are available via the menu. You can find any Daf Yomi class in the world from the menu as well.

Reading Talmud

There are 3 ways to read Talmud in iTalmud English Edition. The default view is a modern Hebew font text view. The text size is large enough to read and wherever Rashi has a commentary the words are hyperlinked so that clicking the text will bring up the Rashi. Very intuitive and perhaps the way Rashi intended us using his commentary – through hyperlinks! iTalmud English Edition also gives you the standard Talmud page view. When invoked, the app downloads a pdf of the folio with the tzuras hadaf preserved. Using multitouch gestures like pinching to zoom and flicking to scroll you can navigate the page pretty easily. The 3rd way to read Talmud with iTalmud English Edition is to read in English. The user just needs to tap the English button on the menu bar and the full English text of the page is displayed. It’s really easy to use. Also, a bookmark can be placed at any time so that you can return to that spot later by tapping bookmarks in the menu.

Listen to Talmud

Many people prefer to have a teacher guide them through the Talmud. iTalmud English Edition has a full library of audio lectures on every page of the Talmud. The classes are taught by Rav Dovid Grossman, an accomplished Rebbe in Yeshiva Gedola of Los Angeles. His explanations are clear and concise and make learning Talmud easier and interesting. The classes are downloaded to your iPhone but stay within the app so you can listen while you read along on using any of the three ways to read Talmud.

Search

Type any Hebrew or Aramaic word into the search box and you will get a comprehensive list of where that word is found in the Talmud. Tap on any of the pages listed and it will take you to that page and the word your searched will be highlighted. This is really a great tool if you are preparing a dvar Torah or just can’t recall the exact page of a Talmudic passage you remember. One limitation of the search is that the results are limited. So when I searched for a fairly common term, the results ended after 3 tractates. Hopefully, this is something that can be addressed in a later version.

Daf Yomi

All around the world, people study Talmud. There is a universal folio a day cycle called Daf Yomi. In almost any city with Jewish people studying Talmud one can find lectures on that day’s stduy. With iTalmud English Edition the location of those lectures is easy to find. iTalmud English Edition will give you as much information as possible. Details include time, location, phone number, teacher and language. A vital tool to folio a day students around the world, iTalmud English Edition, will help you find a lecture near you.

Conclusion

I give iTalmud English Edition 5 stars, 2 thumbs up, a gold medal, whatever. It is a really impressive iPhone app. The price is right too. At $25 you can have the entire Talmud in your pocket – 4 ways! Compare that with a print Talmud which will run anywhere from $150 to $1500. The app gives you everything you need to study Talmud at home or on the road. Kudos to the developers at Crowded Road for providing us with such a great app at such a great price. Buy it now at the iTunes App Store. Check out Crowded Road’s other apps and services on their website.

Promotional consideration was provided by Crowded Road for the review of their iTalmud English Edition app.

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.

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.

Solar Eclipse In Judaism

rabbifink — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:18:40 +0000

Last week the world witnessed another wonder of our universe, the Solar Eclipse. This eclipse was visible from Southeast Asia and was the longest eclipse in 18 years and will remain the longest for the next 123 years.

The eclipse has long been associated with mythology and supernatural acts. If you are a fan of the TV show, Heroes, you know what I mean.

In Southeast Asia, many Hindus were gripped by fear. According to Hindu tradition, the eclipse can cause harm to unborn children. Many ancient cultures attached mythological meaning to solar eclipses. Today, we know that the eclipse is part of the solar pattern that is predictable to the second.

What about Judaism? What do we say about the solar eclipse?

The Talmud in Sukkah (29a) gives us a clue.

The Rabbis taught: An account of four things the sun is [eclipsed]: An improperly eulogized head of Jewish court, a betrothed girl who is raped and her cries go unheeded, [...], and two brothers killed on one day.

What in the world does this mean?

Is this more mythology?

The 19th Century German Torah Scholar, Yaakov Etlinger, writes in his Aruch L’Ner, that the Talmudic Rabbis certainly knew eclipses were natural phenomena running their course. (He proves this with inferences from within the text which are too tedious and lost in translation to English). It is similar to what Nachmanadies writes with regard to the Biblical promise after the Great Flood that God would not flood the world again, and he sealed the promise with the rainbow. Of course, the rainbow always existed, it is a natural phenomena. Nachmanadies explains that the rainbow is a sign, a reminder to us and in a different sense to God that He made a promise never to destroy His world again.

Simililarly, when a solar eclipse occurs and the light is temporarily removed from the physical world we are reminded of the moral implications of a dark world. A world in which good leaders are quickly forgotten, women are treated as objects and blood is spilled within one family, is a world of darkness.

When we see the eclipse we are to remember that it is our job as human beings to bring light into our world. The light of morality, mindfulness and sensitivity will protect our society from these terrible social ills mentioned in Sukkah. It is important to recognize what a world we would have if there was no moral light. If our world was thrust into spiritual darkness just as the physical world is thrust into sudden solar darkness during an eclipse our world would be quite different. Seeing this occur in the natural world “enlightens” us to provide that light and prevent the spiritual darkness from overcoming the light.

I think it is absolutely magnificent to live a life where we find meaning and messages from every part of our lives. A life where each moment makes a difference and each of our choices can change the world.

Equally magnificent is the sheer physical beauty of the solar eclipse.

Thanks for reading this post. In appreciation I have provided some of the best footage (seen on NYTimes.com) of last week’s eclipse. Enjoy it – you deserve it.

Too Many Questions

rabbifink — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:27:07 +0000

I read a really interesting column this week.

Whenever I find a convergence of ideas between the Legal field and Torah I get excited.

This time I found a divergence. Not quite as exciting, but very interesting.

The NY Times followed up on a study conducted a few years ago by a 2nd year Georgetown Law School Student.

The study was groundbreaking. It focused on the amount of questions from the Judges to lawyers and its effect on the outcome of cases.

It turns out that there is almost a direct correlation between the number of questions the lawyers are asked and the decision of the Supreme Court. Over a five year period , the party that was asked more questions lost 86% of the time.

That is a lot. Some of it can be attributed to the Justices attempting to find holes in the weaker arguments. Most cases at the Supreme Court level are very gray areas. The side that is weaker will be exposed by more questions, thus the Judges use the questions to poke holes in the less compelling argument.

On the other hand, getting the Judges to ask your opponent more questions will help you win as well.

One reason for this is that the Judges, by asking questions, are attempting to show their colleagues the flaws in the arguments.

In fact a new, more comprehensive study found:

“The more attention justices pay to a side,” said Timothy R. Johnson, who teaches law and political science at the University of Minnesota and is one of the new study’s authors, “the more likely that side is to lose.”

This week is the Jewish holiday of Shavuos. A day where Jews around the world celebrate the giving of the Torah to the world. To this very day , Torah is studied in depth. Its ideas are discussed and argued.

The greatest arena for this study is the Talmud. The Talmud is a collection of legal analysis of Jewish Law. It is also a lot more thant that, but the purpose of the book is to develop a high level understanding of Jewish Law.

I find it very interesting that the Talmud asks tons on questions. It is not a law book. It is a book of questions. Invariably the side of the law with more questions will help the Talmud get closer to the truth. Questions do not indicate weakness. Good questions provoke better answers and better understanding. The side that has better answers emerges as the true path.

This holds true for all of Judaism. We encourage questions. We provoke discussion. We want to get closer to truth. The path to the truth is paved with questions.

When in the Supreme Court, questions prove fatal. In Judaism they are a necessary component to finding the true path.

On this blog I have an “Ask the Rabbi” Section. I encourage questions. If you have any, just click. I will try to answer as quickly and effectively as possible.

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

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.