avakesh

What do you do between Mincha and Maariv?

You are here!

Where a person puts his thoughts, there he is.

Toledos Yakov Yosef, Chayey Sarah (23a)

Do we all have the same Torah?

It is not uncommon for people to disagree on Torah topics and we are all familiar with this. It is a part of the background of aTorah life. However, it pays to ask, "Why?".

Many of us have had the experience of encountering knowledgeable Torah learned people who not only hold different opinion than we on many matters but hold opinions so outrageous and so obviousely different from what we perceive the Torah to teach that it is hard to believe that we all belong to the same religion. This is not only true in many debates in halacha where one says that a thing is permitted and another that is forbidden and even esteemed authorities come to radically opposed conclusions. It is also so in regard to basic hashkafa where it is not uncommon to find that one group holds something to be good and desirable and another group views it to be bad and outside the pale. There are those who are convinced that Zionism is an authentic and indipensable Jewish teaching and others who view it as a betrayal of religion. Some consider secular studies to be essential and others shun them. There are opposing views on so many matters of practice and doctrine.

Why is it so and shouldn't we attempt to understand it?

On the practical level, one encounters people who believe that Torah requires them to fight with all possible means "for the sake of truth" and others who will compromise every esssential belief and practice for the "sake of peace". There are those who light fires because they argue that the Torah requires them to do so and others who work only thorough peaceful and pleasant ways and  "turn away wrath". Though my sympathies lie with the latter and not the former, they also deserve to be understood - with respect, and not dismissed as psychologically or morally unbalanced.

We know, of course, that machlokes exist and always existed. But why do we, in this generation and place, disagree so profoundly and with so much conviction on so many subjects?

Chazal do say that there seventy faces to Torah ((Bamidbar Rabbah 13:15) or in other places, that there are fourty nine faces to Torah (Sofrim 16:5). Both statements might be true: the Gaon writes: " In the Torah there are seventy faces to the Orally transmitted Torah and 49 faces to the written Torah (Song of Songs 2:4). Another way to understand it is as  per Pesikta Rabbati (21:4, see Eruvin 13b), where we read: R. Yanai said: The Torah which God gave to Mosheh included forty-nine arguments in favor of purity and forty-nine arguments in favor of impurity [on any given question]...[Mosheh] asked: "How should we rule?" - to which God answered: "If those who argue in favor of impurity are the majority, it is impure; if those who argue in favor of purity are the majority, it is pure."

There is really no disagreement. In P'ninim mi'Shulchan ha'G'ro it says that  the seventy souls that went down to Egypt correspond to the seventy 'faces' via which Torah can be expounded, and b. the total of forty-nine of the children of Leah (33, including her daughter Serach) and her maidservant Zilpah (16), correspond to the forty-nine 'faces' of Taharah, and forty-nine 'faces' of Tum'ah via which the Torah can be expounded (Gen. 46).This we can handle. So far so good. However, here is a statement from Shaar Hagilgulim of R. Chiam Vitalm Hakdomo 17, that at first glance one might call "outrageous".

"Torah is the root of the souls of Israel for they were hewn out of it and rooted in it. This is why in the Torah there 600.000.00 explanations in pshat, 600.000.00 in derush, 600.00.00 in remez and 6000.00.00 in sod."... In the Future, each one will will achieve that explanation through which he was born...".The commentary Benei Aharon connects that second part of the statement to the Lurianic teaching that seventy "nitsosos" of Adam generate six hundred thousand souls. That explains the second part of what we quoted but how can one explain that every word and statement of the Torah can be explained in 600.000.00 different ways on the level of pshat. We can perhaps envision that derush and sod, even remez, can produce many differing explanations, but how can you generatesix hundred thousand explanations according to pshat?

Benei Aharon suggests that you can take this statement to refer to a chapter or topic. If so one can to produce many variations. So, for example if there are two words in a chapter that can each have two different explanations, there would be the following combinaitons: AB and BA. If there are three words or phrases that can have different explanations, we can have abc, acb, bac, bca, cab, cba. The general formula is n(n-1). (For the pruposes of Tsirufei Osios it would be divided by 2 because of duplications (i.e. abc and cba is the same etc).)

 You can see how you can quickly work this up to 600.000.00 combinations with only  a few different explanation as long as you are looking at a chapter of a group of verses.

I would like to suggest something else.  At the basis of it is the statement that  "once a talmid chacham learns Torah, it becomes his, as it says, "for in the Torah of Hashem is his desire and his (own Torah he engages day and night (Tehillim 1) ( A"Z 19a). I used to explain this with a parable of a puzzzle or a mosaic. Imagine that an artist is given most of the pieces of a mosaic but not all the pieces and not the the overal plan. He would start by matching pieces and come out with some kind of a partial picture. He would then extrapolate and fill the missing pieces as well as he can, based on his own udnerstanding and imagination. In order to complete the picture, he will have to extrapolate from the partial picture to the overall image and then manufacture pieces to fill in what is missing. This is essentially what a talmid chacham does nowadays. We do have many pieces of the mosaic, but, through forgetfullness and loss, not all of them. Every scholar constructs his own version of what the entire picture must have looked like. Not surprisingly these reconstructions can look very differentlly.  It is because of this that talmidei chochomim can disagree and diverge so greatly.

This is a good explanation but it still does not fully explain why different scholars come out with different overall reconstructions of the original intent.

The statement of Shaar Hagilgulim helps in this regard. As is now appreciated, words do not have a single meaning and many if not most words mean different things to different people. The more abstract a word or concept, the less do people share the same understanding ot it. To some people Love means control, to others abrogation of control and giving freedom and autonomy. Some  view "spirituality" as self-abnegation, others as redemptive self -fulfillment and so on... This is especially true in Lashon Hakodesh. In other words, words have a whole range of different meanings and different people have slightly different, sometimes very different understandings of the same word. In fact it would not be wrong to say that there are 6000.000.00 different understandings of the same word or concept. In everyday communication we share enough agreement about the basic meaning of words to understand each other. However, once we go farther, to interpreting complex and complicated verbal structures, we begin to understand words and their applications very differently.

There are six hundred thousand different souls and so, there are also that many ways to understand even a single word. We can now see that this kabbalistic teaching is not purely technical but, at its core, philosophical and practical.  

So, yes, we all have the same Torah but we do not all understand it the same - because each one draws an understanding according to his own soul-level. The Shaar Hagilgulim goes on to say that higher neshomos, ones that incorporate several different "roots' can possess multiple understandings at the same time. The ultimate in this regard was Moshe Rabbeinu, who was the source and encompassed all the six hundred thousand souls of Israel and could understand and contain all possible explanations.

Breslov books

Shaidim and Levites

By Chaim Gershon,

as adapted by avakesh

 

Introduction

One of the central ideas of kabbala is that both the physical and spiritual realities can be viewed as interactions between expansion, often called “right side” and contraction, “the left side”. The terms, and they are merely terms, left and right refer to the common way or representing the spiritual complexes that formed and guide the Universe. These complexes are seen as containing the element of expansion, on the right, of contractions and limitation of the left, and the melding and mixing of the two into the central line, which conveys these elements from level to level and ultimately into the physical world that we see and experience. These two principles are sometimes referred to as male and male and female, sometimes as form and matter and at times as soul and body.

The Problem

Several sources say that on the sixth day of creation of the world, Hashem created shaidim (usually translated as demons). However, there was only enough time to create their souls and not their bodies as the Shabbas day arrived and creation had to stop ( Bereshis Rabbah 7:5, Yalkut Shimoni Bereshis 1:12 , Zohar Bereshis 14a, 47b.).  Zohar Korach 178a goes on to say that the world was thus left defective until the Leviim came to do their avodah in the world. The section of the Zohar concludes that since the Leviim are also from the left side like the shaidim, they were thus able to repair that defect and a state of completeness in the creation was achieved. This leads us to a number of questions, such as why did Hashem arrange the creation this way and why was it necessary to complete shaidim, a negative creation?! It would seem that the world would be much better off without shaidim.

 

What are shaidim? Briefly, that they have three things in common with people and three with angels(Chagigah 16a). Shaidim are mentioned a number of times in Shas , not just in the mystical and midrashic sefarim. Whether we count ourselves among literalists or not, whether we understand shaidim as literal creatures with disfigured feet or as a figurative representation or auras of pop psychology, we must first gain an understanding of this passage in Zohar Korach.

 

Models

The mefarshim provide at least three mashalim to make shaidim more understandable to us.

1.The world was not created like a final Mem with all sides enclosed but was created like a Beis with an opening to the North (Bava Bathra 25b). This means that it is open to negative influences. This is the opening through which creations such  as shaidim can exist.

2. When one pours out a barrel of wine, at the end the sediments come out. Shaidim are the refuse of creation, having come into being near the end of creation.

3.A third model drawn from Kabbala is that of light and vessel, ohr and keli. An example is the relatiionship of the soul and the body. The shaidim are souls without bodie, or lights without vessels. Therefore, they are handicapped in this world and cannot fully function.

Each of these analogies has weaknesses.

 

The original plan of Creation was that Adam and Chava would wait for Shabbas to unite. However they did not wait and engaged in marital relationship before the onset of Shabbos. That caused a breach in the very fabric of reality and is linked to shaidim: for the next 130 years during his subsequent separation from Chava, Adam's offspring were shaidim. The creative energy of man and wife that produces life and draws new souls from the Supernal realm became misdirected. The tikkun for this is that the optimum time for a Tamid Chochom to be with his wife is on Friday night. On a deeper level, Adam and Chava as well as the Snake initially did not have clothes. Adam and Chava unlike the shaidim did end up getting clothes before Shabbas. This refers to them being wholly spiritual in the beginning but now needing bodies. These clothes were coveted and fought over by Nimrod and Esav.

 

Leviim and shaidim

The Zohar in Korach must be seen in the light of this background information. The main tikkun for Adam’s and Cava’s sin is via the Levim. The service in the Beis Hamikdash is divided into the left and the right side. The Leviim operate in avodah on the left side, that associated with Gevurah, strictness and limitation, as opposed to the Cohanim who work from the right side with Chesed ( the principle of expansion). This is why leviim carry the vesels of the Miishkan, whereas cohanim are associated with kindness and peace. Whereas Birkas Cohanim brings down blessings, the music of the Leviim  arouses people from below and directs them to more lofty states above. 

The shaidim are in the realm of the left side. Being without a body/vessel, they can be “repaired” by the Leviim who have the correspondingly similar coordinates in the mystical realm. This became possible only after Matan Torah when the tools to restore what Chhava and Adam have broken became available. The physical avodah of Leviim has them carrying vessels which repairs the shaidim’s lack of body/keli for their souls. Only after shaidim are enclosed into vessels, can they be redeemed, for Energy not contained in a vessel, that is “free” can not be harnessed for productive purposes. It is said that Hashem made one aspect of the world with the name Shin-Daled-Yud. He created a finite existence by stating at some point of Creation that it could stop, that it was enough, in Hebrew "Sh' Dai". This is one letter more that the word Shaid. This (Shin-Daled-Yud) name of God also associated with Bris Milah (circumcision). It is the name associated with Avraham’s removal of the Orlah and it has been explained to mean an attenuation of a proclivity for gashmiyus (physicality).

 

In another analogy, the Cohanim are masculine and the Leviim feminine, giving and receiving respectively. The shaidim, since they do not possess a body, lack the feminine aspect. The Leviim come to correct this aspect in the shaidim by serving HaShem and utilizing this energy. Not only did they sing but they also carried the Mishkan during the 42 trips in the desert. The application to personal service of Hashem is that we must realize that all emotional energy comes from HaShem even though it might be hidden or difficult to access. It can unexpectedly arrive to a properly prepared and pure individual, or it can be accessed through hard work and Divine Service.

Applications to Avodah

Shaidim can also refer to disembodies and unattached thoughts that frighten, confuse or tempt. One should not be frightened by imaginings that stray or thoughts that go awry. This can happen when imagination disconnects form the world; it is the defect of the shaidim. Being detached from reality, a body without a shadow is not the purpose of creation. Just as entering Shabbas must be done in peace between soul and body so is the aim of settling the land of Israel with the proper balance between ruchniyus and gashmiyus.  Korach wanted to switch left and right, preferring the seemingly superior position of the Cohanim. However this is a mistake, for the left side has a crucial place in Avodas Hashem. We demonstrate this point on the night of Redemption, on Pesach night when the Leil Shomrim protects agaist the shaidim. Similarly, a close relationship with Hashem and involvement in serving Him protects against straying thoughts.

 

 

 

Background References:

 

Leshem Sh'vo V'Achlamah Sefer Deah

Mmaar of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Korach 5744 and references cited therein

Reb Tzadok of Lublin: Pri Tzadik Korach Os 4 and Sichos Shaidim p. 85 etc.

Etz Hadaas Tov- Chaim Vital, Parashas Eschanan
Ben Ish Chai in Daat Tevunos 104b

Chana Ariel - R. Izak of Homil

Siddur Maharid - Pesach

Maor VShemesh Parashas Bereshis, Lech Lcha and Mattos

Sfas Emes Lech Lcha 5655...

http://www.inner.org/hebleter/beit.htm 

http://www.inner.org/hebleter/hei.htm

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/137074/jewish/Beis-Creation.htm#footnote2a137074.

Left alone

 

The Death of a Master

by Traczewska (copyright reserved)

Jewish robot tailors

Avos 1:11: The two models of leadership

We have proposed that Hillel established two different modes of leadership: the dynastic mode, that ends in the middle of chapter 2, and the chain of leadership by merit, which is recounted in the middle of chapter 2 until its end. One might expect then that Hillel would formulate the same teaching differently for each model and that  is what we find. As we will shortly see, the only difference between the two versions is that for the dynastic model, the warning to be an independent individual  (in other words, to think for your self) precedes the prescription to work for the community whereas fort he "merit" model, the prescriptions to subect oneself to communial needs is put before the warning that one must be independent. Each model is told first what it needs to hear first and then what it needs to hear second.

Compare:

1:14 He (Hillel) would also say: If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?

2:4

Hillel would say: Do not separate yourself from the community. Do not believe in yourself until the day you die. Do not judge your fellow until you have stood in his place. Do not say something that is not readily understood in the belief that it will ultimately be understood [or: Do not say something that ought not to be heard even in the strictest confidence, for ultimately it will be heard]. And do not say "When I free myself of my concerns, I will study,'' for perhaps you will never free yourself.

To make this apparent, I will combine the two versions, so you can see:

Chapter 1

If I am not for myself, who is for me.

Chapter 2

Do not judge your fellow until you have stood in his place. Do not say something that is not readily understood in the belief that it will ultimately be understood.

Both versions set up the individual as the final arbiter of what is right.

Chapter 1

And if I am only for myself, who is for me?

Chapter 2

 Do not separate yourself from the community. Do not believe in yourself until the day you die.

Both versions urge subjection of individual to the community

Chapter 1

If not now, when?

Chapter 2

And do not say "When I free myself of my concerns, I will study,'' for perhaps you will never free yourself.

It appears that Hillel understood or consciously set up a hybrid model of joint leadership- by birth and by merit. He also left two sets of teachings, saying the same thing but edited differently for each group. As we proceed through the rest of this and next chapter, we will repeatedly encounter similar teachings, each edited to fit one of these particular models of religious leadrship.

Overheard

Moshe Rabbeinu had a great deal of trouble in parashas Korach. There was the machlokkes with Korach, then the people complained, then the tribes complained about the selection of Aharon.

How was this finally resolved?

Aharon staff sprouted flowers.

This teaches us that a dispute can only be stopped by pleasantness. A machlokes can only be stopped by n'eimus.

Israeli Rock Finds Religion

 

The New Wave Sweeping the Holy Land

By Robbie Gringras

‘I feel like a fish that spent its entire life in an aquarium and has suddenly discovered the sea,” Kobi Oz enthused, prior to going onstage with his new set, “Psalms for the Perplexed,” all of it written after several years of his “soaking in the rich marinade of Judaism.”

MONTAGE: KURT HOFFMAN

The God Squad: Clockwise from the top, HaDag Nachash, Shai Gabso, Etti Ankri, Meir Banai, Shuli Rand, Alma Zohar and Kobi Oz, all represent the new rock ’n’ roll interest in Jewish learning.

The excitement of Oz, former singer-songwriter of the Israeli super-band Teapacks, is now shared by artists throughout the country. The riches of Jewish culture are being plundered and exalted, thrown into rap, rock, and reggae, to the delight of a hungry audience. “Israelis are realizing that Zionism is only one chapter of the Jewish story. Now we want to enjoy the whole book,” Oz concluded gleefully.

It is not as if the language of the Bible or Talmud is foreign to secular Israelis. Notwithstanding the cruel characterization of the general populace as “Hebrew-speaking goyim,” even the most secular students study Jewish history, Bible, and Jewish thought. Yet, few imagined that this rich culture might be shared by anyone other than the strictly Orthodox. In the past few years, all of this has changed. Throughout the Israeli pop world, from the Israeli version of “American Idol,” to mainstream radio, to illegal downloads, the language, ideas and character of ancient Jewish texts are suddenly common currency. Funk rap band HaDag Nachash signed off its latest disc with an electronic adaptation of a psalm. Rock legend Meir Banai recently brought out “Hear My Voice,” which is entirely made up of adaptations of ancient piyutim (hymns) and went platinum within a month. Even the annual Children’s Song Festival features top star Shai Gabso singing, “Hey! You have a kippah on your head…” which is a bit like having Bono going to the Irish equivalent and singing about a crucifix on a T-shirt.

So what’s happening? Has secular Israel gone frum?

The answer is far more complex, fascinating and hopeful. It would seem that unexpectedly, unpredictably and in often contradictory ways, Jewish learning and literacy has become a significant part of Israeli popular culture — regardless of belief or observance....

 

The return of the Iquitos

The Iquitos are coming back to Judaism.

More on Techeles: It's enough to visualize blue

by Chaim Gershon

In a recent post, I discussed the various views about Techeles in out time. They ranged from the attempts identify the source of the dye, using any source of dye that meets the criteria, and the claim that Techeles would not be renewed until Moschiach comes.

There is another way to fulfill the commandment of Techeles these days, without actually wearing it. It may be enough to try to visualize the blue.

This approach is cited in Ben Ish Chai (end of first Noach) and the Chida's
Birkei Yosef (OC 24). It is to imagine/visualize that some of the strings are
colored with Techeles. Why this works is explained in depth in Kav HaYashar by Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kaidanov in Perek 45, as follows:  The gematria of Techeles (850) is the sum of  twice the gematria of eye ( 2 x 130) plus the gematria of Tzitzis (590). One
should thus looks at one's tzitzis with both of one's eyes with this intention.

Lost in Prayer

 

Lost in Prayer, photo by 

Agnieszka Traczewska

So, this Rebbe walks into Sigmund Freud's office...

One of outstanding teachinigs of Chabad is that the "head rules over the heart". One implications is that one's desires cannot force one to submit to them because a person's mind has dominion over his feelings. This general principle has several other applications, among them that elevated feelings in prayer, must proceed from religious contemplation. In practice, this means that a simple "awakening (of feeling) from below" can only serve as the beginning of a process. Whereas some other chassidic groups would seize upon a feeling in prayer and attempt to enalrge and fan it through gestures, nigunim and specific behaviors, Chabad recommended that this feeling become a point of departure for contemplation and go up from the heart to the mind (kabbalistically from Z'A to Chabad), be enlarged through contemplation of various topics (Unity of G-d, the plight of the soul etc), and then be taken back down to the heart, now not merely as a flame, but as a bonfire of emotion, called Ahava Rabba, or Great Love. This is well described in many places in Chabad literature, for example in the Rebbe Rashab's RS'V (Vayelech Ish mibeis Levi..) and in Tanya Ch.33 and surrounding chapters. Ch. 31 of Tanya described how one overcomes sadness to awaken joy in prayer.

But what does one do when this is not enough, when it does not work.

In the winter of 1902-1903, when he ws 42 years-old, Rabbi Shalom Dov-Ber Schneersohn, the 5th Lubavitcher Rebbe1  (known by the acronym RaSHaB), was suffering from "nemichas haruach", a low spirit. He travelled to Vienna to consult the renowned physican Dr. SIgmund Freud, and according to Chabad sources, they had a medical and theological discussion. For those who have little acquaintance with Rebbe Rashab, I quote the following description (which I think does not do justice to this remarkable thinker and doer):

The fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneersohn ("Rashab"), was born in the White Russian town of Lubavitch in 1860. After the passing of his father, Rabbi Shmuel (in 1882), he assumed the leadership of Chabad-Lubavitch.

Famed for his phenomenal mind and analytical treatment of Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi Sholom DovBer wrote and delivered some 2,000 maamarim (discourses of Chassidic teaching) over the 38 years of his leadership. In 1897, he established the Tomchei Temimim yeshivah, the first institution of Jewish learning to combine the study of the "body" of Torah (Talmudic and legal studies) with its mystical "soul" (the teachings of Chassidism); it was this unique yeshivah that produced the army of learned, inspired and devoted Chassidim who, in the decades to come, would literally give their lives to keep Judaism alive under Soviet rule.

Here is a transcript of a part of the discussion between Rashab and Freud":

"Rebbe : The discipline of Chassidut  requires that "the head explains to the heart what the person should want, and that the heart implement in the person's life that which the head understands."

Freud : "How do you do this? Are not the head and heart two continents completely separated? Does not a great sea divide them?"

Rebbe : "The task is to build a bridge that will span these two continents, or at least to connect them with telephone lines and electric wires so that the light of the mind, the light of the brain, should reach the heart as well."

The RaSHaB added: "I must point out that for Chassidim, from birth, the matter of the mind, and the matter of the heart, is fit for study and for avodah ."

After a further unspecified exchange between Freud and the Rebbe, his son recalls that Freud made the following 'diagnosis:'  "The head grasps what the heart is unable to contain, and the heart cannot tolerate." (quoted in M. M. Schneerson, 1997, dairy entry of 24 May 1932).16 The word Freud used, in German/Yiddish was fartroght,  to carry or to bear (German: fertragen, to endure),        or to hold or contain. So the diagnosis can also be translated as: "The head grasps what the heart cannot carry/bear,". or, 'The head grasps that which the heart cannot contain/endure."

The RaSHaB's son, the 6th Rebbe, has himself offered another perspective on Freud conclusion. "The head comprehends what the heart cannot bear to hear, and the heart cannot assimilate what your mind comprehends." According  the file below, Freud told Rashab that: "The head grasps what the heart cannot contain but the heart does not contain that which the head grasps". Freud's prescription was, that since Rebbe Rashab was pursued by the thoughts that he has not accomplished enough, his chassidim should study his writings and addresses and let him know about this... so that they awaken a feeling of elevation in him. So, Freud, leshitoso, thought that the heart, read the subconscious determined what a person thinks or believes. This view was destined to revolutionize how we now perceive man and society. Rebbe Rashab, while not denying that "the heart" was powerful, defended the primacy of the conscious mind. The meeting between these two great personlities brings into relief the all-important relationship between the heart and the mind and should offer us an opportunity to seriously reflect upon a subject crucial to religious and spiritual life. What happened right before the meeting with Freud. Whether Freud was influenced by Rebbe Rashab..

Here is a file from Reshimos

Download Freud and Rashab

Here is a video that mentions it and some comments on the subject

 

Oy, meh haya lanu..., or, mediocrity rules!

"Hesder yeshivas were created to produce Torah scholars who also have a civic conscience to perform basic army duty," said Rabbi Haim Druckman, head of the Or Etzion Yeshiva in Mercaz Shapira, near Kiryat Malachi.

"However, there are many young men who do not have what it takes to be scholars, but who still want a very religious framework."

In an agreement reached between the IDF and the yeshivas, students will now be allowed to opt for a four-year course that combines a shorter period of Torah study with longer army service. The first and last years will be devoted to yeshiva study, while the middle two years will consist of military service.

Presently, hesder yeshivas offer only a five-year course that sandwiches 18 months of army service between two stints of Torah study that add up to more than three years. This five-year course will be maintained, while the shorter, less intellectually demanding four-year course will be added as an option in some hesder yeshivas.

Teshuva sephardic style

Techeles in our times

 

Techeles in our times

by Chaim Gershon

Parshas Shelach is famous for the story of Meraglim (spies). However, from the halachic standpoint the mitzva of Techeles is the dominant topic of the parasha (although recently mitzvah of challah has been getting more visibility as a segulah).

The Radziner Rebbe, Gershon Henoch Leiner of Radzin, brought Techeles back into halachic prominence in the late 1880's and his followers, primarily in the Chassidic world still use his version of techeles in their talleisim. They do so despite the more recent
"scientific" proofs for Murex trunculus as the most likely candidate for the Chilazon, the sea creature from which this blue dye was derived in the ancient past. Rav Yitzchak Isaac Herzog also criticized Radziner’s Techeles on halachic and chemical grounds. There are now three different blue dyes that are claimed, each by its supporters, to be the Biblical techeles: the Radziner squid and his method of extraction, Jancina snail of R. Herzog and Murex trunculus promoted by the Techeles Institute.

 

Of the three, Jancina has the fewest supporters and its main website http://home.earthlink.net/~mendelsinger/chilazon/   no longer exists but can be still viewed by searching internet archives . One can find some of the supporting documents here  and in other summaries of the topic. All of these positions are partly motivated by the view that the mitzva needs to be done with  Techeles if it is known.

 

In contrast, the Tiferes Yisrael  (introduction to Menachos) says that any indelible (colorfast) ink that is the proper color can be used for Techeles: the source of the raw material is irrelevant.  It need not even be related to indigo which is known to be the main component of Kala Ilan, the vegetable source of the “fake Techeles” people use to pass off as a forgery in the times of the Temple

. A good chapter where more chemical structure aspects are discussed is in the book  “Old Wine New Flasks: Reflections on Science and Jewish Tradition “ partly written by a Nobel Prize winning chemist http://www.amazon.com/Old-Wine-New-Flasks-Reflections/dp/0716728990 .

There are also those who are opposed to any kind of Techeles for reasons that include the prohibition of "bal tosif (since we are not sure of the identity of the true Techeles, we might be inadvertently "adding" a mitzva to the Torah). On the other hand, Brisk was amongst those who said that it is problematic from the standpoint of the "masora" to start using a source for dye that has been around all these years.

 

One of the reasons Techeles is so interesting is because of its Messianic overtones. It is noted that the reappearance of Techeles is associated with the coming of Moshiach. RAV CHAIM VITAL (in Sha'ar ha'Kavanos, Tzitzis, Derush 4) writes that Techeles represents Hashem's presence being clearly felt in the world. This is why Techeles was used only during, and close to, the era when the Beis ha'Mikdash was standing. After the exile, and subsequent hardships, when Hashem's Presence among His people is less evident, Techeles became "hidden" as well. There are two contrasting ways to view this Kabbalah. On one hand, the "return" of Techeles may be an indication that the manifestation of Hashem's Presence in this world, too, will be returning to its former state. (See also "Ha'Techeles," p. 186, note 21, and Likutei Tefilos 1:49).  In addition, the appearance of Techeles facilitates the reestablishment of the Temple sacrifices by allowing the construction of Bigday Kehunah which are needed for the Avodah.  Rabbi Berel Wein discusses such motivations in one of his tapes.

On the other hand, it has been stated that since Techeles disappeared, it can only be brought back when the actual coming of Moshiach and the building of the Temple has occurred.  There is a responsa of the Satmar Rebbe in Divrei Yoel YD Siman 44 which states that there can be no Techeles before Moshiach. The Rebbe Rashab of Chabad was also amongst those who said al pi Kabbalah that Techeles will not be relevant until Moshiach comes in a letter to the Radzhiner’s son where he answers the various proofs of the Radzhiner (Igros Kodesh Rashab Volume 1 p. 351). This is also supported by his ultimate successor the Lubavitcher Rebbe (Likutei Sichos  8, 101) who states that the avodah of the Techeles is not relevant before Moshiach comes.  It had been reported that Rav Shlomo Miller was against Murex trunculus.  So perhaps the search for Techeles and the hundreds of pages written about it, is from this perspective, misguided.

We have here an example of how theology at times drives halachic reasoning.

 

Some additional links of interest.

http://mysticalpaths.blogspot.com/2008/06/blue-strings.html

http://www.revava.org/forum/index.php?topic=2397.msg19059

http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/150,2540/Why-do-certain-people-have-a-blue-dyed-fringe-on-their-tzitzit.html

http://store.kehotonline.com/index.php?parentid=69&deptid=3251

http://www.tekhelet.com/DafYomi/EnglishDaf.pdf

http://begedivri.com/index.html

Ernest Bloch: Prayer

Ernest Bloch was a composed and philosopher, who aspired to compose classical music on Jewish themes. Mature works, including his best-known pieces, often draw on Jewish liturgical and folk music. These works include Schelomo (1916) for cello and orchestra, the Israel Symphony (1916), Baal Shem, The "Jewish Life" Suite for Cello and Piano and Avodath Hakodesh (Sacred Service, 1933) and Suite hébraïque (1950).

Ernest Bloch Foundation

Just Koogle it!

Looking for something on the web? Koogle it!

 No, that's not a typo; it's the name of the recently launched Hebrew Web portal Koogle.co.il, which is targeting the haredi community. Hence the name: Koogle...

“If you try to buy something on the Sabbath, it gets stuck and won’t let you.”

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Novardhoker niggunim

 

This notice recently appeared in Yated and Hamodia

The Novhardok Yeshiva movement was one of the largest, if not the largest such movement, in Eastern Europe pre-WWII. After the terrible churban, some remnants survived, notably in Eretz Yisroel, France, and the USA. Prominent gedolim of today with Novhardok connections include Rav Yitzchok Dov Koppelman of Lucerne, as well as Rav Yaakov Galinsky, and Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlita. The movement did not regain its pre-war strength and size afterward, however.

Consequently, although many people, especially from the younger doros, have heard of Novhardok, they often lack comprehensive knowledge of the deep Torah and mussar spirituality that Novhardok stood for.

One of the aspects of Novhardok that is little known today, is the niggunei hisorerus of the movement.

Novhardok had special Yiddish niggunim, composed by Novhardoker leaders, such as Rav Nissan Bobruisker and Rav Dov Budnik zt"l, Hy"d, which were sung on various occasions for chizuk in avodas Hashem.

Recently, in Eretz Yisroel, a breakthrough has come about, in which an excellent, high-quality musical release, entitled 'Niggunei Hisorerus Novhardok', with thirteen tracks of Novhardoker niggunim, has been put out. The niggunim have been recorded in a modern, up-to-date fashion with modern technology and musical accomplishment, with a talented vocalist. Additionally, accompanying the musical release is a booklet of approximately sixty pages, comprising a foreword and lyrics of the songs in Yiddish, with Hebrew translation alongside, line by line, which can be used to follow the songs and better absorb their deeper meanings. There are also a few historical photographs of Novhardoker Yeshiva talmidim and hanholo on the packaging.

The songs shed light on the times from which they came, with references such as not bowing to the hammer and sickle (communist symbol), redifos hadas (religious persecutions), and crossing the border between Russia and Poland. Some of the songs reflect mussar beliefs and practices, at times specifically Novhardok ones. There is mention in one song, for example, of having a notebook with a pen, part of a mussar practice in which people worked on their middos, while another envisions baalei mussar without a measure when Moshiach comes. One song with fifteen parts, focuses on different middos and themes, among them hatovo, amitzus, histapkus, hashgocho, bitachon, zehirus, zikkui horabim, and teshuvoh. The songs vary, with some being slower and others more 'lebedig' (lively). One particularly lebedig song is 'Lebedig Yankel', which (in two versions) talks about when Moshiach will come. There is also a short song at the end sung by Rav Yaakov Galinsky shlit"a.

The release gives a feeling of what it was to be a Novhardoker in the old days and helps us understand the spiritual power of Novhardok, which helped it grow to have thousands of talmidim pre WWII.

One needn't be a Novhardoker talmid, or son, grandson, or great-grandson of one to appreciate and enjoy the recording. Anyone with a curiosity about, and gefil (feeling) for, the pre-WWII European Yeshiva world, should find it of interest. Even if your Yiddish is less than perfect, the line by line Hebrew translation make it possible for you to enjoy it as well.

It is available in both CD and cassette. For further information, call (718) 854-3481.

In our trying times, the spiritual strength such niggunim can offer is surely a welcome development. As we approach Kabbolas haTorah, niggunei hisorerus can help us and we can bring this forgotten aspect of pre WWII Yeshiva life back to life.

Comment:

I obtained the CD and really liked it. The Yiddish is crisp and the content is impressive and well transmitted.

I post the Yiddish of the first song with the English translation (from Meir Levin's book on Novarodok).

Download Translations
 

In order not to violate the copyright by singing the song in the original Yiddish and to encourage you to purchase the CD, I arranged to sing one paragraph Download English Novarodok song in the version of the melody that I had received, which is slightly different from the one on the CD.