Thursday, November 26, 2009

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL; JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:Thanks for the ability to thank God

 
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL; JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:Thanks for the ability to thank God
Jewish Spiritual  Renewal: Shabbat 12/5/09 : A Path of Transformation
 
The JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL class is hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network a service of Hebrew College.
 
Shalom my beloved Talmidim, Chaverim, v' Rabbanim:
 
This class is for the Shabbat of December 5, 2009.  It comes out a week early, as usual, giving everyone a chance to learn, and to study spirituality and ethics, as well as the parasha for a whole week, so that when you hear it chanted on Saturday mornings at your synagogue, you will have insights to its meaning.
 
But I am publishing this on the American Thanksgiving Day. It is a day when Americans, like our Canadian neighbors a month early, give thanks for...  well everything. Ellen and I have so much for which to be thankful. We thank God and we thank our fellows, every chance we get.
 
We both would like to give thanks to Rabbi B. Bloom, new to our town for about 5 months, who in this short time while speaking about the Jewish  God of love and compassion, and how we humans should treat one another is the same manner, has begun to change the Jewish climate where we live for the better.  His monthly, [and God willing within time daily], Torah study brings ethics and spirituality lessons to those 10 or 12 who attend it regularly. He is also bringing in bits of Talmud, Midrash and Zohar into his classroom. And in January 2010, something which Ellen and I have asked every rabbi in our town for 14 years to consider  doing, and got a direct 'no,' for an answer, Rabbi Bloom is starting once a month Saturday morning Shabbat services. May they grow into a daily minyon. May God continue to bless him and keep him, and watch over him, and his wife (Linda) and daughter, and grant him not only Shalom, but koach and oz to do the will of Ha Shem. Amen.
 
Thanksgiving is considered a secular holiday today, but its roots were not. In fact the roots were Biblical, as Hebrews gave thanks to God for surviving  near death, their crops, and a safe ocean voyage. In fact Sukkah is am Autumn  Biblical harvest holiday of Thanksgiving. And the bible-knowing Christians who came to what is now the USA knew what their obligations were.
 
Since 1863, in the midst of the USA Civil War, or as we call it in SC, the War of Northern Aggression,  Thanksgiving has been celebrated on the last Thursday of November until 1941. It did not become a Federal holiday until FDR declared it to be in 1941.
 
While kids in school are taught that the pilgrims in New England had the first New World thanksgiving in 1621, the first recorded Thanksgiving was in St Augustine , Florida in 1565, for the Spanish Catholics surviving  the sea voyage.  And the Spanish settlers  near El Paso, Texas had the second recorded Thanksgiving in 1598 for their survival. In 1619, British settlers at Berkeley Hundred, VA,  had their Thanksgiving in 1619 and their charter declared that they would have an annual one to give thanks for their first survival of the ocean voyage and their crops.
 
Most of us think of the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving in New England, in Plymouth, in 1621 as the origin of the USA Thanksgiving.
 
General George Washington, proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving in 1777 thanking God for delivering his army from the clutches of  England at Saratoga, NY. Later, when President, Washington, on October 3, 1789, made a proclamation and created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States of America. It was celebrated on Thursday, November 26, 1789.
 
Washington proclaimed another Thanksgiving in 1795. President Adams declared two in the years 1798 and 99. President Madison declared  two as well in 1814 and 15 to celebrate the end of the War of 1812.
 
In 1863 Lincoln declared an annual Thanksgiving to be celebrated on the last Thursday of every November.
FDR in 1941 made Thanksgiving the 4th Thursday, as the November in 1941, had 5 Thursdays. This was done to help stimulate Christmas shopping as the nation was coming out of the Great Depression. This was done by the urging of Fred Lazarus, Jr, the Jewish owner of Federated Department stores, which now we know as Macy's, Bloomingdales, Filenes,  and Abraham and Straus, to give an extra week of pre-Holiday shopping. 
 
It is ironic that Jewish influences were felt in the First Thanksgivings, as well as to the establishment of a permanent Thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday of November in the USA. But have some fun with this when making a beracha  before your Thanksgiving Dinner. Hodu is the Hebrew word for 'we give thanks.' But hodu is also the modern Hebrew word for turkey. "Hodu hodu!," "We give thanks for the  turkey!"
 
As Jews, as taught in (001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal  or http://www.shop.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/product.sc;jsessionid=1AAD298F635FC0CDB0E40D45B4556F39.qscstrfrnt03?productId=1&categoryId=1 , Chapter Three (see below), we know that our name is derived from Yahudah, meaning thankful to God, as Leah's 4th son was named. Living life with an attitude of gratitude is how we are to live minute by minute. Kvetching, complaining, may be common, but it is not true Jewish behavior. It is the behavior of the non-grateful. In our thrice daily Amidah, in the section called Modim, we say: "Let us thank and Praise You, for our lives, which are in your hand, for our souls which are in your care, and for your miracles which we experience every day, and for your wondrous deeds and favors at every time of day: evening, morning, and noon."  And yes, this could include your computer's modem in the Modim prayer....when it is working.
 
As Jews living spiritually we are to ha karat ha tov, recognize the good. When we do as our sages taught us and bless God over 100 times a day, that flat tire that comes, is a blip compared to all of the gifts we have recognized. Spiritual Jews recognize that everything in our lives in Gamzu L'Tovah, all for the good. We spiritual Jews not only thank God, but the Talmud tells us to thank God for the ''ability to be able to thank God!'' For us Jews who have decide to go thru Jewish Renewal and Spiritual Renewal, every day, every minute is Thanksgiving. 
 
We will now we will begin Chapter Three from:

(001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal

http://www.shop.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/product.sc;jsessionid=1AAD298F635FC0CDB0E40D45B4556F39.qscstrfrnt03?productId=1&categoryId=1 

Chapter Three: A Life with God

Chapter Two gave a glimpse into a life without spirituality; at odds with your fellows; dependent upon your finite self and the finite selves of others; filled with failure, frustration, anger, resentment and grudges. You saw that, try as you might, you cannot control others or your surrounding universe; and that trying to do so will only put you at odds with everyone and everything. Life without a spiritual connection is an empty life of selfishness, self-centeredness, and continued futile attempts to please others for your own gain; of using and being used by others while calling one another friends.

 

After 15 years of marriage Victor and Rivkah decided that they had reached a point where there was no choice but to seek the guidance of Levy, the renowned marriage counselor.

When they arrived for their appointment, Levy asked them to explain their problem. Rivkah immediately launched into a seemingly endless tirade, going on and on about everything that is "wrong" with Victor. Victor is selfish. Victor lies. Victor is a bully. Victor tries to control her. Victor spends money carelessly. Victor never has nice things to say about her. Victor doesn't love her.

It might have gone on all day, but Levy had heard enough. He got up, walked over to Rivkah and pulled her from her chair, embraced her and kissed her passionately on the lips.

As Victor looked on in stunned silence, Levy ripped her clothes from her body, cleared his desk with one sweep of his arm, then laid her down and made love to her as if their plane was going down.

When it was over, Rivkah returned to her chair – dazed, but quite satisfied.

Levy, fastening his belt, turned to Victor and said, "You see Victor? That's all it takes. That is what your wife needs, and she needs it at least three times a week. Do you think you can handle that?"

Victor thought about it for a moment, and then replied, "Well, I can certainly get her here on Monday and Thursday, doctor, but on Friday I play golf!"

 

You picked up this book for a reason; you need something in your life. You need spirituality. As a Jew you desire a connection with God. Psalm 94:9 asks, "Would He who implants the ear not hear? Would He who forms the eye not see?" This is meant to respond to one who denies that God can help in life. Before we talk about how to make that connection, let's talk about what it means to be a Jew.

The word "Jew" is derived from the name Yahudah (Judah), the fourth son of Leah, first of the four wives of Jacob. Jacob was also known as Israel. Leah named her fourth son Yahudah because she wanted to "gratefully praise God" (Genesis 29:35). As Jews we are supposed to be ever grateful and praising, but to whom? The answer is in the Hebrew letters of the name itself: Yud, Hey, Vuv, Dalet, Hey. Delete the Dalet and we have the four letters of God's Ineffable Name, YHVH. Dalet is the Hebrew letter pictogram for a door. So we have the doorway to God by being grateful and praising Him. In Hebrew, Jews are called Yehudim.

Being a Jew means that you need to develop an attitude of gratitude toward God. This means that you must accept that God exists as told in the Ten Utterances (also known as the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:6). You cannot fall back on an agnostic or atheistic rabbi who tells you that it is okay to be Jewish and not believe in God. This is just zeitgeist. Believe me, there are many Jews who do wish to hear this and they will be stuck in Chapter Two for their entire lives.

"In the way in which a person wants to go, God will lead him there." – Talmud Bavli Tractate Makkot 10B

Ironically, when I talk to the rabbis of unspiritual congregants who believe they can behave however they wish and follow their selfish will, the rabbis complain loudly. But what do they expect from these spoiled, undisciplined children? They don't respect God, so who would expect them to respect one another, let alone a rabbi? These rabbis complain, yet often it is they who have failed to teach their congregants that God does exist and that they should be following His will.

 

Benjamin woke up one Saturday morning in a bad mood. When he came down to breakfast, he put on his yarmulka and sat across the table from his visiting sister, Sarah.

"I'm not going to shul today!" he said to Sarah emphatically.

"Yes you are." Sarah calmly replied.

"No. I'm not. In fact, I don't think I really want to ever go again!" said Benjamin with obvious irritation. "The people down there don't like me, they ignore me sometimes. They don't appreciate me at all! I won't go back!"

"Yes, you will go today, and you will continue to go," said Sarah. "You're the Rabbi!"

More from Chapter Three, God willing, next week:

Shalom uvracha:

Rabbi Arthur Segal
www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
 

Parasha Vayishlach: Genesis 32:04-36:43

Rabbi Arthur Segal
www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

"Strummin' on Her Ol' Banjo"

Most of the commentary on this portion is deeply shaded by the times in which they were written. Talmudically, these were times under Roman conquest. The period of Rashi's time, circa 1060 C.E., was under church domination and relentless persecution. Even up to the twentieth century commentaries are overshadowed by the Shoah and anti-Semitism. In all of these, Esau is painted as being evil. Esau is called Edom (blood red). The Torah states that one of the many descendants of Esau is Amalek  (Gen. 36:11). The Talmud records that Esau's descendants are the product of incest and adultery.

The Talmudic rabbis say that Esau is the father of the Romans. They say he stuck a stick into the Mediterranean Sea and that sand began to collect around it. Within time, the Italian peninsula was formed. The Church replaced the Roman Empire, and therefore, indirectly, as one reads between the lines of the rabbinic writings of the Middle Ages, Esau is embodied in the anti-Semitic practices of the Church. But let us peel back 2,000 years of layers, as we have done so many times in this series, and see what the Torah is really teaching.

We first need to remember that it was Jacob who stole from Esau. When Jacob heard that Esau was coming toward him with 400 men, he became frightened. He did not know Esau's intentions at the time, but assumed they were bad, so he prepared militarily. Jacob strategically divided his camp and prepared a tribute for Esau. When Jacob saw Esau, he walked toward him, bowing seven times. Esau on the other hand, ran toward Jacob and, "embraced him, fell upon his neck, and kissed him, and they wept." (Gen. 33:04). Jacob's emotion was fear, but Esau felt love and joy. Jacob begged Esau to accept his gifts, but Esau said that he that he already had plenty.

Esau wanted to help Jacob by assigning him some of his people. Esau wanted to ride along with Jacob, hoping that they would become brothers once again, but Jacob lied to Esau, telling him that his caravan was slow and that Esau should go on ahead. Jacob's group would catch up with Esau at Seir. Esau agreed. Jacob however, took a different direction and went to Succoth, and eventually to Shechem.

The Torah is clear that Esau harbored no bitterness toward Jacob, yet Jacob projected his belief system unto Esau. In Jacob's world, if you cheat someone, there would be payback. Laban cheated Jacob with the wife-swapping episode and Jacob retaliated by tricking Laban with a bit of genetic animal husbandry. Jacob assumed that Laban would be upset, so he sneaked way from Laban, never allowing Laban's four daughters and grandchildren to say goodbye. Laban then came after Jacob. Jacob once again became afraid (Gen. 31:31).

The rabbis of the Roman Diaspora parse the words of this portion to make sure that Esau is 100 percent bad. They place dots over the words for kiss to tell us that the kiss was insincere. They say that Esau, when he fell on Jacob's neck, was really planning on biting Jacob's jugular vein and killing him. The rabbis write that when Esau said he had plenty, he was boasting. Jacob said that he had everything (Gen. 33:11). The rabbis posit that a righteous man always has everything, as he trusts in God, but an evil man has plenty because he continually counts his possessions.

They say that because the Torah does not say that Jacob and Esau kissed when Esau left before Jacob. The implication is that Esau's intentions were evil. The Midrash says that Jacob gave Esau annual tribute to appease Esau. The Talmud says that when he refused Jacob's gifts, Esau was being insincere.

The Midrash records that before the Rabbis would negotiate with the Romans, they would read this parasha first. They said it taught them to pray to God for strength and guidance, to act obsequiously, to give tribute, to keep apart from the Romans, and be secretive. The rabbis used this same technique for two millennia after. The Talmud records how Rabbi Yannai went to negotiate with the Romans and forgot to read this portion before he went. His trip was a dismal failure.

The Midrash blames Jacob for the eventual Diaspora. The rabbis write that Jacob should have taken the long way around Edom and avoided Esau, because no good ever comes from meeting and negotiations with non-Jews. They cite how when two Hasmonean brothers were having a power struggle over the control of the Second Temple, the weaker brother invited the Romans to help him. This is how the Romans gained a foothold in Israel, which eventually lead to the Diaspora. The rabbis of the middle ages say the same rules apply to the new Romans – the Church. Even discourse with Christians on any matter of substance was disallowed. The church-demanded debates between their clerics and the Jews' rabbis almost always ended in tragedy for the Jews.

Jacob and his family settled in Shechem. Dinah, "the daughter of Leah...went out to look over the daughters of the land." (Gen. 34:01). The Talmud says we are reminded that she was the daughter of Leah because Leah also "went out." In Genesis 30:16 Leah is described as going out to meet Jacob to tell him that it was her turn to have sex with him that night. The Talmudic rabbis say that this behavior is appalling and call Leah "she who is fond of going out." They say, regarding Dinah, "like mother like daughter," and blame the rape on Dinah's behavior. We still see this thinking in some courtrooms today. Some Arab tribes today will kill family members who are raped, as it brings shame to the family.

The men of Shechem wanted to live in peace with Jacob's family. They offered Jacob land to live among them and to trade and intermarry. The brothers told the Shechemites that they must be circumcised. This is the Hebrew method of conversion. The Shechemites, though, did not convert for sincere reasons. They thought it would be good for trade, as well as for a source of wives for them, and husbands for their daughters.

The sons of Jacob deceitfully accepted them into the covenant of Abraham, only to kill them three days later. The rabbis say that this is allowed, as the men of Shechem were not going to be sincere Jews and accept Torah values. Are they reading the same Torah we are today? What values did Jacob and his sons possess? Jacob is a master of deceit. He learned this well from his mother and his uncle Laban. Even two of his wives, Leah and Rachel, were in cahoots with Laban; because how else would Leah have tricked Jacob into thinking she was Rachel on the wedding night?

The Talmud says that Rachel was under the bed, talking to Jacob, while he was having sex with Leah, so that he thought he was with Rachel. The rabbis say that Jacob's sons were justified in killing all of the men of Shechem, as rape is one of the seven prohibited Noahide laws. But 400 years later, we learn in the Torah that if a man rapes a virgin, he has the option of marrying her or paying her father a fine. There is no death penalty for rape of a virgin. If you rape another man's wife, it is adultery and therefore punishable by death.

We also learn in the Torah that before a war is fought, your enemy must be given a sincere chance to make peace. Further, when a Jewish army attacks, it must leave open an avenue of escape for the enemy. When is it a Torah value to condemn an entire nation for the sin of one man? Jacob's only concern about this annihilation was not based on Torah morality. It was based only on his fears. His only concern was that friends of the Shechemites would "band together and attack" him. (Gen. 34:30).

What is the Torah trying to teach us? Are we being taught that xenophobia and deceit are admirable traits? Are we being taught that wholesale slaughter is good? Of course not. If anything, we will learn in a few portions later that this behavior against neighbors will eventually turn brother against brother. In the Sephardim Haftarah, Obadiah says, "As you did, so will be done to you." (Ob.1:15). Obadiah prophesied during the reign of King Ahab and his Queen Jezebel.

In the Ashkenazi Haftarah, the 8th-century B.C.E. Hosea says that Jacob's sons lie, deceive, and were "wayward toward God." (Hos. 12:01). Hosea accused Jacob of stealing from Esau while they were still in the womb by "taking his brother by the heel" (Hos. 12:04). The prophets deplore this behavior and agree that the ends do not justify the means.

We are taught in this parasha that Jacob wrestled until dawn with a man (Gen. 32:25). When dawn broke and the fight was over, Jacob asked the man for a blessing, and Jacob was given the new name of Israel. Israel means, "prevailed or struggled with God." The Talmud says that this man was really the guardian angel of Esau and was Satan himself. They see Israel as the champion of good, and Esau as the leader of bad.

Remember, the rabbis of this time assign evil to Rome, and to the Church that follows Rome, as a direct descendant of Esau. Later in the Torah portion, in Genesis 35:10, we read that God also renames Jacob to Israel. But the Torah says that this will not be a permanent name change. The rabbis posit that when Jacob is involved with mundane things, the Torah calls him Jacob. When Jacob is involved in spiritual affairs, he is called Israel.

When Abram received the new name of Abraham (father of nations), he is never referred to again as Abram. Abraham's new name is permanent, but Jacob does not get a permanent name change. This is because Jacob did not wrestle with the guardian angel of Esau, or with Satan. Jacob wrestled with himself. Jacob wrestled with the spark of God that is inside each of us. All of us have the potential to be "heels" and therefore deceitful (as the name Jacob means in Hebrew). Yet all of us have the power to be Godlike as well. We have to continually struggle and wrestle to be truly Israel.

What we learn from this Torah portion is not how to behave like our Talmudic rabbis thought, but how not to behave. The fight is never over. It is never over internally nor externally. Someone will always try to be "in the kitchen with Dinah, strummin' on her ol' banjo." We cannot control others' behavior. We cannot control outside forces. We can control our attitudes and responses to events over which we have no control. It is up to us to find ways of dealing with life's tragedies in ways that do not pull us spiritually down, along with the physical or emotional pain we experience. This is our eternal struggle. Jewish Spiritual Renewal (001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal  or http://www.shop.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/product.sc;jsessionid=1AAD298F635FC0CDB0E40D45B4556F39.qscstrfrnt03?productId=1&categoryId=1 helps with this spiritual process. This is why we are the Children of Israel.

Shabbat Shalom:

Rabbi Arthur Segal
www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

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Posted by Rabbi Arthur Segal at 11:42 AM