Volume 45 Number 63 Produced: Sat Nov 13 21:30:01 EST 2004 Subjects Discussed In This Issue: Administrivia [Avi Feldblum] I LIKE/LOVE this parsha question [Sara Eisen] Is saint veneration a Jewish custom? [Gilad J. Gevaryahu] A Jewish custom? [Edward Ehrlich] Love [Carl Singer] Putting on Tallis & Tefillin prior to entering shule [Carl Singer] Shmuel Shraga Feigenzohn and _Sha`arei Homat Yerushalayim_ [Gilad J. Gevaryahu] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Avi Feldblum <mljewish@...> Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 21:15:19 -0500 (EST) Subject: Administrivia A quick note, partially following up to my note inside the last issue regarding the posting with the special characters. The world of email has clearly moved to where more and more graphics and/or special characters are now imbedded in messages. A simple example is that many mail clients, especially if they use Microsoft Word and the mail editor, will substitute a special character for both " and '. I read and edit the postings on a pure text based application, and have been replacing the special characters with a guess at what they originally were. This made sense 15 years ago when the majority of the list were reading via text based clients. Now, I would suspect that only a small portion of the list are using pure text based clients. So, if I get a message with special characters, I'll bounce it to my Microsoft based email address, and if it displays there, I'll pass it through to the list. If it comes out like nonsense to you, please let me know, so I will get a sense of how many people this might impact in a negative way, and then I'll decide whether I go back to the old way, or let it continue going through. [Quick update - The next message was such a message, and when the original message was sent to my Outlook account, it showed up fine. But when I tried bouncing the digest, it did not work. I see now that the original message had both a text version with the "special" characters and an HTML version. Outlook correctly parsed the HTML, but does not handle it within the issue where the HTML is stripped off. A good try at least, and now to make the changes below.] Avi Feldblum Moderator ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Sara Eisen <dseisen@...> Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2004 00:12:48 +0200 Subject: RE: I LIKE/LOVE this parsha question The shoresh (root) alef/hey/bet for the word love is used only 4 times prior to this perek in which it appears no less than 3 times and they all revolve around Yitzhak and reflect some amount of pathos: 1. Bereshit 22:2 - When commanded to perform the Akeda, Avraham's love for Yitzhak is first expressed by Hashem. 2. Bereshit 24:67 - A bereaved Yitzhak is comforted by his love for Rivka. 3. Bereshit 25:28 - Yitzhak loves Esav. 4. Bereshit 25:28 - Rivka loves Yaakov. It seems to me that the words "ka'asher ahavti" echo the words "asher ahavta" pronounced by Hashem at the Akeda. The only conversation ever recorded between Yitzhak and his father was on their way to Har HaMoria. It is telling that there is no mention of Avraham's love for Yitzhak from Avraham's point of view - the statement comes from Hashem. It is not a huge leap to say that Yitzhak associates love with sacrifice and loss as this may be the first time that Yitzhak senses the passion of his father's love for him as an individual as opposed to another of his many dependents and followers. The next usage of love appears at the end of the following parsha in the wake of his mother's death. Once again, love for Yitzhak is experienced as part and parcel of loss; he no longer has his mother's love and he needs to supplant it with the love of a wife. The next two usages of love are also not free from a sense of tragedy, when each parent elects to favor a different son. When Yitzhak requests his hunted meat from Esav, it brings us strinkingly back to when this word was first used in conjunction with Yitzhak (and in fact, for the first time in Tanach), "asher ahavta." Love for Yitzhak quite literally translates into sacrifice. In Yitzhak's experience, love is demonstrated through sacrifice. The meat that Esav hunts for him is a tangible manifestation of love as Yitzhak seems to understand the concept. Clearly, "ka'asher ahavti" does not refer to the meat per se; rather, to the sacrifice that was made for him. B'virkat HaTorah, Sara Eisen ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: <Gevaryahu@...> (Gilad J. Gevaryahu) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 20:30:52 EST Subject: Is saint veneration a Jewish custom? Ira L. Jacobson (MJv45n59) wrote: << Issachar Ben-Ami wrote extensively about this practice in his books, especially SAINT VENERATION AMONG THE JEWS IN MOROCCO (English translation published 1998.)>> <I admit that I never read this book, but am I the only one who is horrified by the choice of titles? To think that we Jews have SAINTS?> The word Saint in English, from Latin sanctus ref. to "any of certain person of exceptional holiness of life, formally recognized as such by the Christian Church, esp. by canonization" (The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 2nd edition, 1987, p.1692, first definition). This definition, connecting the 'saint' to Christianity might be the reason for the question. In my view: Yes, we do have saints in Judaism. Saint in English translate into 'Kadosh' and/or 'Tzadik' in Hebrew. People who trust God are labeled 'kedoshim' in Tehilim (34:10); the Shunamit tells about Elisha 'I know the he is a man of God he is kadosh' (II Melachim 4:9). These two examples show that in Biblical time some individuals or groups were called 'kedoshim' for their quality, sanctity or morality. A definition of sorts of a 'kadosh' can be found in Yechezkel (18:5-9). In a sense these two terms 'Kadosh' and 'Tzadik' are interconnected, having more in common between them than what separate them. Among Chasidim, when the Rebi dies he always gets the letters tz[=tzadik], k[=kadosh], l[=livracha] after his name such as 'Tzadik ve-Kadosh Li-Veracha'. Judaism always had venerated persons which were called 'tzadikim'. An example will be Shimon ha-tzadik (Avot 1:2) who made miracles such as predicting the exact date of his own death (Menachot 109b). Even today people go to his grave site in Jerusalem to pray. So what is the different between Judaism and Christianity on this issue? The difference is great. The Catholics have developed a whole procedure to elevate people into sainthood, based on miracles they performed etc. called canonization. No such procedure exists in Judaism. It is worth mentioning that in theory, Catholics do not pray to these saints, only ask for their intercession. In reality, these saints in Christianity get human statues built based on their images, or pictures of them placed in churches, and the average person prays to him/her. If he/she is sophisticated he/she may know that they are asking only for intercession. Judaism strictly prohibits human statues or images in the house of worship. The only time I heard of such pictures was in the last couple of years when some Lubavitch meshichstim put the picture of the late Rebbi up front next to the Aron Ha-Kodesh. That is not Judasim! Over the years Judaism had many 'Kedoshim.' For example: Shel'ah Ha-Kadosh, Alsheich Ha-Kadosh, Or Ha-Chaim Ha-Kadosh. All the above people are called 'Kadosh' for their outstanding scholarship and piety. The practice to venerate grave sites of Tzadikim is known and practiced today in Judaism, called in Hebrew 'le-hishtateach al kivrei avot' but we do not pray to them, we rather pray that they intercede on our behalf. It is common to go to Yerushaaylim, Tzefat, Teveria and Hebron to prostrate on Kivrei Tzadikim. In my view this became much more pronounced in Judaism with the emergence of Chasidut. Chasidim will visit the grave site of their Rebbi frequently. Uman grave site of the Bretzlav Rebbi is a good example. Many Chasidim hold that kivrei tzadikim einam metam'im, that is, even a Cohen is allowed to go to a grave site of a Tzadik (including their Rebbi) since such grave sites do not defile a Cohen. Procedures for walking thru a cemetery inside a box to the grave site of the Rebbi was developed, in order to avoid the defilement of Cohanim to graves of common Jews. In summary, statues of any kind are tabu in Judaism, but 'kedoshim' and 'tzadikim' were venerated since Biblical times, and with the emergence of Chasidism, such practices became more common. Gilad J. Gevaryahu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Edward Ehrlich <eehrlich@...> Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2004 03:55:21 +0200 Subject: A Jewish custom? I share Ira's objection, but the attitude that some Jews have towards tzadikim is in many some ways similar to Catholic veneration of their saints. In Israel, many traditional Jews (some shomeir mitzvot and some not) will go to a tzadik's grave and pray there in the belief that prayer at a tzadik's graves is more "effective". Certain tzadikim are associated with health while others may be connected with getting a good "match". These are folk ways which may not be sanctioned by halakha, but they certainly exist. Ed Ehrlich <eehrlich@...> Jerusalem, Israel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Carl Singer <casinger@...> Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 20:51:36 -0500 Subject: Love Very good! Batya. Alphabetically I love my children (at times.) I love chocolate ice cream. I love my country. I love doing crossword puzzles. I love my grandchild. I love the smell of freshly mown grass. I love my nieces. I love my mother's pletzel (onion rolls.) I love fresh garden vegetables. I love my wife. The problem / question is whether "love" or the word (words) for love in other languages have the same denotation and connotation. In English (my second language) I could substitute "enjoy" for some of the above -- I enjoy fresh garden vegetables. Or "prefer" -- I prefer chocolate ice cream. Or "adore" -- I adore my grandchild. Or "like" -- I like the smell of freshly mown grass. Some languages have more alternatives and more sharply tuned words in this domain words that may be more or less appropriate for the context. Other languages have less alternatives. Additionally there may be accepted gradations (love, like, fond) Clearly our language patterns impact our thought processes and exact translation is challenging. Carl Singer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Carl Singer <casinger@...> Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 21:02:15 -0500 Subject: Putting on Tallis & Tefillin prior to entering shule > Please note Shulchan Aruch OH 25:2 where the Mechaber states that one >should put on tefillin at home ant then go to shul and put on the talis >gadol and daven shacharit (the Rema"h adds that one should put on the >tallis gadol before teffilin at home and then go to shul). Both the >Mishna Brurah and the Aruch Hashulchan comment that today either because >of fear of the goyim or filth in the streets common practice is to put >on tallis and tefillin in the chatser (courtyard) of the shul and then >walk into the shul itself to daven. I imagine that this is the source >of the custom Mr.Singer cites. > Natan R. Kahan Yes, I recall the S.A. -- BUT what is the reason / source. Is it putting on Tallis & Tefillin as early as possible (not forgetting lest interrupted later on, etc.) or is it to enforce some prohibition against putting these on in shule. AND if the latter for what reason -- and I can think of only three basic reasons -- I'm sure there are many more. 1: so as not to enter shule while not wearing both Tallis and Tefillin (i.e., it is improper to enter the shule while not wearing Tallis & Tefillin), 2: So as to not say the brochus for Tallis & Tefillin while in shule / during davening, 3: so as not to disturb others. Carl Singer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: <Gevaryahu@...> (Gilad J. Gevaryahu) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 20:49:34 EST Subject: Shmuel Shraga Feigenzohn and _Sha`arei Homat Yerushalayim_ Although I do not know the story behind the publication of the summary of "Mevo Ha-Yerushalmi" of Zacharia Frankel in the Vilna edition, I found it worthwhile to mention that it is not the only summary of this book. In the last 20 years or so a new edition of the Yerushalmi has been coming out `im perush Toldot Yitshak, `im tosafot, hidushim ha-nikra Tevunah meha-ga'on Yitshak Aizik b.R. Dober Kraslilshtsikov. By: "Makhon Mutsal me-esh" she-`a. y. irgun "Al tidom" in Bene Berak. Yitshak Aizik b.R. Dober Kraslilshtsikov also wrote a summary of the same book, but the publishers decided not to publish it so far and it is still in a manuscript form and my hunch is that it will never be published. I have no idea if there is a connection between these two summaries. Gilad J. Gevaryahu ----------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Volume 45 Issue 63