Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

January 31, 2005 – Number 5765-18

Judaism and Sex I: Legal Responsibilities

Unlike some other religions that see sexual relationships as evil, degrading or less than ideal, Judaism looks upon the human sex drive as part of the way G-d created human beings. To denigrate sexual relations is to imply that G-d made a mistake when creating human beings, a position that would go against the Torah which proclaims all of creation “Tov Meod” or “Very Good”. At the same time Judaism does not imply that sex is the only important force in our lives. It is only one part of what it means to be a human being, and, as it does with so many other drives in life, Judaism declares that sex is neither good or bad. It is just another human drive and the goal is to control our sexual desires and not to let them control us.
The most important sexual laws, therefore, are those that fall under the category of “Taharat HaMishpacha” the laws of “Family Purity”. The frequency of sexual activity in the life of husband and wife is regulated by her menses. During the time wire is menstruating, and for seven days after it stops, sexual activity is banned. At all other times it is permitted. The two times are divided by the wife’s visit to a Mikve, a natural collection of water, into which she must immerse (with the proper blessing) before sexual relations can begin again. Sometimes these two times are called the time of her “impurity” and her “clean days” but this designation in English, implies that there is something wrong with the woman during the time of her menstruation. This is not the case. The issue is one of holiness, holiness of the sexual act and the holiness of the relationship between husband and wife. Menstruation is seen as a time when a holy act can not be permitted, and after immersion in the Mikve, the time for such holy acts has resumed.
Jewish Law understands that one of the many purposes of marriage is to have a partner for sexual relations. This is an independent part of marriage, separate from the law that requires each family to have children. Sexual pleasure is a legitimate goal of a sexual relationship with or without the possibility of having children. It is so important in a marriage, that a change in the frequency of sexual relations between a husband and wife can be a cause to dissolve the marriage. Therefore, before a man can enter into a new occupation that may change the frequency of sex in the marriage, the wife could veto that job change on the basis of not wanting to further limit her conjugal rights. For example, a man who is in business and comes home each evening at the end of the workday, could not change his occupation to sailor where he would not be home for six months at a time without the agreement of his wife who stands to lose the frequency of sharing a bed with her husband seven days a week.
Implied in all of this is the requirement that sexual activities are reserved for those who are married to each other. Adultery is a capital crime in Judaism, and both the cheating wife and husband can be executed for the violation of their marital vows. Pre-marital sex is also forbidden but it has an interesting twist. A marriage can be initiated in one of three ways. One of these ways is by having sexual relations. The Rabbis frown on this kind of “common law” marriage and hold that it is only proper for a man to sign a ketubah ( a wedding contract) (see 5764-34 for details) and to give to the wife an article of value. Still there is a determination in law that “Jewish men do not have sex with Jewish women without the intent to marry”.
Jewish Law maintains that between a husband and wife, whatever kind of sexual activities they prefer are their private decision. There are no forbidden positions as long as both husband and wife are in agreement. One can not force a partner to engage in sex or in any sexual activity to which he or she does not agree. Sexual activity in a marriage is a private matter between the husband and wife. It is not public in any matter. It should not be discussed with friends or family (or on national television) and must be performed in private as well. It can be discussed with a doctor or mental health professional when necessary. Sexual activity is not coercive, partners do not play power games with each other when it comes to sexual activities.
Sexual activity, in a marriage, is a powerful and important part of the marital bond, that leads to a stronger relationship, a healthier relationship and builds trust between partners. It is a holy relationship that finds its source in G-d. It can be fun and playful, but it is never to be degraded or manipulated for other purposes. It is one of the keys to a successful marriage.

Next week: Judaism and Sex II: Procreation and Birth Control

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

January 24, 2005 – Number 5765-17

Jewish Mystical Literature

In the effort to understand G-d and the way G-d operates in this world, Jews have long tried to understand the mystical side of our religion. In some faith circles, mysticism is used to take control of the world from the deity or to force god to do what human beings want. This is not true mysticism, it is only magic. Jewish Mysticism tries to understand the mysteries of G-d so that we will understand the meaning of creation and our place within it.
Some of the earliest mystical literature has to do with two major themes from the Bible. The first is the story of creation. How was the world created? Why was the world created? Why was the world created in the form in which we see it today? What role does every part of creation have to do with every other part? The other theme is based on the vision of Ezekiel. The chariot of G-d that Ezekiel sees in his vision is filled with mystery. As we understand G-d’s chariot, so do we understand the meaning of our place in the cosmos. Hechalot Literature uses repetition and poetry to move through the chambers of Heaven. It is some of the earliest mystical literature and parts of it can still be found in the Shacharit service for the High Holy Days. Long mystical poems were written around the Kedusha of Shacharit as well as first blessing before the Shema. The prayer El Adon, we recite on Shabbat Morning is a small part of this kind of poetry.
The Rabbis of the Talmud also had their own kind of mysticism. They were aware of pagan mysticism and opposed the magic that was inherit in it. Still they looked to rise above the world and draw closer to G-d. There is a kind of “normal” mysticism that the Rabbis endorse, through the saying of berachot, to find the holiness in every part of life. One did not need to remove oneself from society to be a mystic, one need only to pay attention to the world around us.
Maimonides also had his own kind of mysticism (in spite of the fact he was mostly a rationalist). In Rambam’s understanding of the universe, the heavens were a kind of model for how the infinite G-d brings elements of the divine into this finite world. As residents of this world, we can only know a small amount of what G-d is all about, but through our intellect, we can come to know more than just a cursory amount.
In the fourteenth century, Moses DeLeon crafted the Zohar, the first and most important book in Kabbalistic literature. Based on the life of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, this book is a commentary on the Torah and is filled with mystical ways of understanding that important text. It creates a “tree” of ten “sefirot” (attributes or understandings) that prepare this world to understand the infinite nature of G-d. They begin with “Ain Sof” or the infinity of G-d and end with “Malchut” the manifestation of G-d as ruler of the universe.
In the eighteenth century, Isaac Luria started a form of mysticism that is based on the actions of humanity. The world is broken and unrepaired. Our role in this world is to find all the broken pieces of this world and to redeem them and thus repair the broken world. This process is called Tikkun Olam, the “fixing” of this world. And each mitzvah we perform, each time we recite a blessing, each time we perform a ritual, we are helping to redeem another broken shard and to make our world better.
There is always a danger in mysticism that we will give ourselves over to the mystical experience and forget all other responsibilities. For this reason Judaism usually reserves mystical contemplation until three criteria are met. That the seeker is over 40 years old and thus is mature and not easily distracted by the difficult passages that may arise. The second criteria is that all family obligations have been fulfilled. We must first be married and have raised children if we hope to understand G-d. Third, we must have a “Full Belly” of Torah, that is we must be fully grounded in Jewish Law and Jewish texts if we hope to understand the mystical nature of Judaism. There is a tale of four who went seeking in the garden of mysticism, of the three young Rabbis, one went insane, one died and one left Judaism. Only the fourth Rabbi, who was significantly older, over 40 and a great scholar. It is important that we are prepared mentally, physically and spiritually before we begin our mystical studies.

Next week: Judaism and Sex I: Legal Responsibilities

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

January 17, 2005 – Number 5765-16

Teaching Torah: Writing a D’var Torah

If the Torah is the most important book in Judaism, than teaching Torah to others is one of the greatest Mitzvot. When other societies venerated statesmen and soldiers, Judaism saves its highest respect for Teachers. A Rabbi acts in many different capacities in Judaism, but fundamentally, at heart, the position is one of master teacher. But while Rabbis have a certain certification for teaching Torah, in fact, everyone in Judaism has the ability and religious permission to teach Torah to others. One who gives a D’var Torah is called a Darshan (when the teacher is male) or Darshanit (for a female teacher)
What makes Torah so important is that when we read it, it is never the same book twice. While the words always stay the same, they mean different things in our life as we grow and change. What we ignore early in our life, becomes more important as we grow older. What is important in the Torah when we are young, has less significance as we age. The vast range of experiences that make up our life will all color how we read the Torah. Not only is Torah different each time we read it, but no two people will read it exactly the same way. It is therefore important that we share our understanding of Torah, the way we read its words, with others so that they may share our experiences and Torah will continue to help them grow.
To create a D’var Torah, we first need to read the section of the Torah that we feel speaks to our topic. Sometimes we use the weekly Parsha as a springboard to finding meaning. Passages relating to holidays or other important events may also be used. What do we see when we read the text? What part seems to speak to something going on in our life? What verses seem to call us to make a comment about what they are saying or how they are saying it? A D’var Torah starts with a “problem” that we see in the text. The teaching will be how we resolve that “problem.”
Because it is so easy to twist the words of Torah and warp them beyond recognition, the next step to teaching Torah is to see if the classical commentators have anything to say about the verses that have caught your attention. Rashi, ibn Ezra, Rambam and Ramban are a good first place to look. These sometimes appear in translation and can be found in bookstores and libraries. There are also some more modern commentators that can be checked. Aviva Zornberg, Nehama Leibowitz, Kerry Olitzkey are just a few. If you sample their writing, you may find one that speaks more to your way of understanding and will become a favorite. There are also some collections of commentary. Etz Hayyim, The Hertz Humash, and the Plaut Commentary (by UAHC) are all good. For information on Modern Scholarship the best collection is the JPS Torah Commentary but the Jewish Publication Society (it is the foundation of the Etz Hayyim commentary but has more information and important notes at the end of each book). Everett Fox’s commentary for Shocken Books or Richard Elliot Freeman’s commentary are also good. If we see how these passages have been understood in the past, we can better recognize what they have to say to us today.
The third part of a D’var Torah is to build on the past our own understanding of the text. To bring in all the parts of our life that point to the teaching of the Torah. It is not enough in a D’var Torah to just give a survey of what was said in the past. It is far more important to make it relevant to our life by using personal stories and anecdotes to illustrate and punctuate the story. How do these verses change your life? How do they speak to the way you live each day? Does it change the way you see the world? Does it affirm something you have always suspected? What is it about these verses or this story in the Torah that you personally find interesting? This is the most important part of the D’var Torah and the reason people come to listen to the lesson. We learn best from each other.
I always say that writing and delivering a D’var Torah is more than just giving a speech. To be a Darshan or Darshanit means to be actively participating in the longest running classroom discussion in the world. It is a discussion that began with Ezra the Scribe in ancient times, and continues to teach us and guide us today. The best of the best of these Divray Torah, are added to the Aggadic Literature and preserved for all time. As long as we are creating new ways to look at the Torah, Judaism, as a religion remains alive and growing. Teaching Torah is what keeps our faith from getting stagnant and keeps our minds fresh and alive. It is no small matter and it is open to any Jew who wishes to enter into the conversation. “Now, go and study!”

Next week: Jewish Mystical Literature

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

January 10, 2005 – Number 5765-15

Who Wrote The Bible?

The Talmud itself tells us that many of the books of the Prophets and all of the later Writings were not composed by Moses, but were composed by those who came later in Jewish History. Since there is little that relates to Jewish Law in these last two sections of the Bible, there has been little controversy about how these books were written. While it may surprise some people that David did not write all the Psalms, it has little impact on the way Judaism is practiced.
The Torah itself is a different matter. All of Judaism is based on this document. All of Jewish law, both ancient and modern is tied in some way to the words of Torah. But the Torah is filled with evidence that was written over a span of time by a number of different authors. A literary analysis shows us that there are two very different creation stories and two different flood stories. There are differences in style of writing between some books and there are passages that seem to indicate that the narrator was living a long time after the events that are described. Classic commentators from the middle ages noted these problems with the text. ibn Ezra mentions these problems but he refused to comment on their implications. Even the Talmud has different ideas of how the last verses of the Torah were written.
To the fundamentalist, the Torah has to be a unified document that was handed to Moses by G-d at Mt. Sinai in the form that we have it today. It is the unchangeable word of G-d. To the modern scholar, we see at least five different hands involved in the text writing from a number of different times. To be sure some of the texts are quite old. Whoever collected these stories, collected what he knew from ancient history. While it is hard to date the Torah exactly, it seems to have been collected and edited around the time of Ezra, the time the Jews returned from their exile in Babylonia, toward the end of the sixth century, B.C.E.
So if the Torah is written by human hands, than how is it a divine text? It is a divine text on a number of levels. First of all, the contents of the Torah alone, and their importance to Jews and western civilization indicate that there is something more to this text than just another story. The wisdom in the Torah is certainly far beyond what has appeared in any other book to this very day. How G-d got in the text I can not say with certainty, but I know for certain that G-d and G-d’s word is in this text. Second, the Torah never tries to be a book of facts, it is a book of truth. The truth of its words have stood the test of time. It does not matter what the facts are anymore. The Torah is not a history book, it is a book of faith. The narrative and the laws speak to that faith even if they did not happen in the historical context that the Torah assigns to them. There is no way to know, at this time if the Exodus from Egypt really happened or not, but the understanding that people are meant to be free and that the struggle for freedom in the Torah is also our struggle that all people should be free. Rabbi Barry Starr of Sharon, MA sums it up saying, “Our tradition in its liturgy often suggests that “G-d is the G-d of truth.” We never need to worship the G-d of fact.”
It does not matter if the world was created in six days or in six million years. What matters is that the world was created in order, and in that order of nature, we can find evidence of G-d’s hand. The Torah represents our ancestors attempt to share their understanding of G-d with us, and in their faith, and in their words, we find the core principles upon which we base our lives. Torah is then the foundation of all that we believe to be true. Everything in Judaism is based on what we learn from Torah. We do not have to give up our natural curiosity nor ignore modern scholarship to be strong in our faith. And yet, by keeping G-d in the text, we also do not give ourselves over to the conceit that human beings are the ultimate good in the universe.

Next week: Teaching Torah: Writing a D’var Torah

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

January 3, 2005 – Number 5765-14

Halacha and Aggada: The Two Streams of Jewish Law

Jewish Law is called, “Halacha” which means, “the Way” or “the Path” implying that this is the path one should follow in life. Like any law, it grows over time as people walk on the path and encounter all the different trials and tribulations that life throws our way. Halacha begins with the Torah, the “constitution” of the Jewish people. But the Torah is a difficult law code to follow. It is difficult not because the law is hard, but because the law sometimes seems to incomplete. For example, there are lots of married people in the Torah, but there is no ceremony for getting married. To get divorced, the Torah tells us we need to write a “document of divorce” but it never tells us what it is supposed to say. For this reason, there is a tradition that along with our written Torah, there is an “oral” Torah, an oral Tradition that helps us to understand the requirements of what is written. This oral laws is transmitted by word of mouth for many generations until about the year 200 CE when Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, concerned that people might forget the oral law, writes this law in a book called, the Mishna. The Mishna contains only the result of what the oral law says. It does not contain the case law that explains how it is applied. From 200 to about 600 CE, the Sages recreated the case law in a document called, “Gemara”. Mishna and Gemara together constitute the “Talmud”.
Over the centuries, sages have tried to codify Jewish law to make it more available to ordinary Jews. Rambam called his law code, “Mishna Torah” (Teachings of theTorah) . Rabbi Jacob Alfasi called his code, the “Arbah Turim” (The Four Pillars) after the four sections into which he divided the law. In the sixteenth century, in Safat Israel, Rabbi Joseph Karo wrote a law code called the “Shuchan Aruch” (the Set Table) for a Sepahrdic audiance. At the same time, in Crakaw, Poland, Rabbi Moshe Isserles was writing his own law code for an Ashkenazic audience. Karo finished first and Rabbi Isserles read Karo’s work. He then burned his own work and then added the Ashkenazic differences to Karo’s book. The Shuchan Aruch, to this day, is the first book to have both Ashkenazic and Sephardic practices in one code.
Today there are other law codes that have brought Halacha up to date. The Conservative Movement uses “A Guide for Jewish Religious Practice” by Isaac Klein (often called merely “Klein”) as its basic code with additions by the Law and Standards Committee of the Rabbinical Assembly. The committee works by set rules to offer both majority and minority opinions to Rabbis only to be used in their community to decide matters of Jewish Law. In each community, the local Rabbi is the only one who has the authority to rule on matters of Halacha for that community. It is the members of the community who vote who will serve as their Rabbi.
There is also a whole area of moral opinions that are not part of the Halacha. Judaism recognized early on that there are some rules that do not fit into a law code. One can make a rule against perjury, but a law that forbids “lying” is impossible to write. Telling lies is a moral problem. While Halacha sets limits in communal life, there are times we expect people to live above the limits of the law. In the United States we use stories to help teach these lessons (for example, George Washington and the cherry tree is used to teach the value of honesty). Judaism has collected the sermons and teachings of Rabbis over the course of hundreds of years into a collection of books called “Aggada.” These sermons and stories are used to help people understand that there is more to living than just being within the “letter of the law.”
Together Halacha and Aggada help Jews to know their place in society and in the law. They provide the framework to living not just a moral life, but a holy life. The Halacha helps us to understand our responsibilities to the law, and the Aggada teaches us our responsibilities to each other.

Next week: Who Wrote the Bible

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

December 20, 2004 – Number 5765-13

The Place of Torah in the Structure of Jewish Law

While the Torah, is the most central document of Judaism, the “constitution” as it were, of all of Jewish law, There is more to Jewish texts than just the Torah just as there are more American legal texts than just our constitution and bill of rights. The Torah consists of the five books of Moses, and thus it is also called the “Humash” from the Hebrew, “Hamesh” meaning, “the Five”. These books trace the History of our people from the creation of the world to the final days of Moses just before our ancestor’s entered the land of promise. These books contain the origin, not only of our History, but of our Law as well. Almost all of Jewish law traces itself back to verses in the Torah.
But Jewish History, or Jewish law for that matter, did not end with the People of Israel entering the land of their ancestors. Beginning with the book of Joshua, the story continues, about how the people conquered the land from the Canaanites and how they built their cities. Followed by the book of Judges, Samuel and Kings, these chapters chronicle the rise and fall of our people as they struggled to stay faithful to G-d in a new land and with a new life. No longer wandering nomads, the People are now settled into towns and cities and must make treaties and trade agreements with foreign governments. As they move from tribal judges to religious leaders to a monarchy, a class of prophets also rises to remind the people of their religious duties in the face of their political ambitions. Early prophets do not fear to reprimand a king or to speak out against sin, no matter how popular their message may be. The greatest example of this is the Prophet Elijah on Mt. Carmel where he stands alone before 400 pagan priests and in one moment turns the tide of the faith of the people away from idolatry to the worship of the G-d of Israel’s ancestors. As the political winds shift from the Egyptian empire to the new empires of Assyria and Babylon, the role of the Prophet is to make sense of the shifting political realities and to bring the people back to the worship of our G-d.
With the exile of our people to Babylonia, one would think the creative period of Ancient Israel was over. The Jewish G-d, however, is not like the pagan gods, who are limited to one place. G-d is with Israel in exile and is with Israel as Babylon yields to the Persian empire and the Israel returns from captivity. With the leadership of the last prophet, Ezra and the governor, Nehemiah, Israel slowly becomes the “Judaism” that we know today. The last books of the Bible, the “Writings” comes together. Some of these are historical books that bring Jewish history up to date. The others are popular stories that have important lessons for the Jewish people. Ruth, explains the genealogy of King David; The book of Esther is about Jewish life in Persia (and the holiday of Purim) and the Song of Songs, a long love poem, becomes a metaphor for the love of Israel for G-d. It is the Rabbis of the Talmud who close the “Writings” to new works and thus “canonize” the Bible. The bible they describe is the same bible we use today, we call it “TaNacH” the acrostic of “Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim” or Torah, Prophets and Writings.
The stories that did not make our bible were collected together to form a collection called the “Apocrypha” There are many reasons these stories did not make the Bible. Some are historically questionable. Some have no real moral or ethical lesson to teach. Some were too bloody, or were about parts of Jewish History that were not ready for prime time. The books of Maccabees containing the Hanukkah stories is part of this collection. The Sages were not big fans of the Hasmonean family and felt that the military victory was not worthy of a religious collection. Hanukkah is the first holiday on the Jewish calendar that does not have biblical connection. It would remain the only such holiday until modern times when Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day) and Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Reunification Day) have been added to the calendar.
In spite of its “extra biblical” nature, Hanukkah remains a well loved and popularly observed festival. The Talmud notes that there was a more ancient midwinter festival that involved the lighting of candles and there are several reasons that the holiday would last eight days. Some say it is because the oil that was placed in the Menorah in the rededicated Temple in Jerusalem lasted for eight days. Others say the Hasmonians wanted to celebrate the last holiday they missed before capturing the Temple, and that would be the eight days of Sukkot. Still others note that all dedication ceremonies of the Temple were eight days long and that is why this Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah) is eight days long. Biblical holidays always have clear meanings and rituals, Hanukkah, being extra-biblical, has more flexibility and thus there are more questions and explanations as to its origins and laws.

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

December 13, 2004 – Number 5765-12

Torah, Bible and Apocrypha

While the Torah, is the most central document of Judaism, the “constitution” as it were, of all of Jewish law, There is more to Jewish texts than just the Torah just as there are more American legal texts than just our constitution and bill of rights. The Torah consists of the five books of Moses, and thus it is also called the “Humash” from the Hebrew, “Hamesh” meaning, “the Five”. These books trace the History of our people from the creation of the world to the final days of Moses just before our ancestor’s entered the land of promise. These books contain the origin, not only of our History, but of our Law as well. Almost all of Jewish law traces itself back to verses in the Torah.
But Jewish History, or Jewish law for that matter, did not end with the People of Israel entering the land of their ancestors. Beginning with the book of Joshua, the story continues, about how the people conquered the land from the Canaanites and how they built their cities. Followed by the book of Judges, Samuel and Kings, these chapters chronicle the rise and fall of our people as they struggled to stay faithful to G-d in a new land and with a new life. No longer wandering nomads, the People are now settled into towns and cities and must make treaties and trade agreements with foreign governments. As they move from tribal judges to religious leaders to a monarchy, a class of prophets also rises to remind the people of their religious duties in the face of their political ambitions. Early prophets do not fear to reprimand a king or to speak out against sin, no matter how popular their message may be. The greatest example of this is the Prophet Elijah on Mt. Carmel where he stands alone before 400 pagan priests and in one moment turns the tide of the faith of the people away from idolatry to the worship of the G-d of Israel’s ancestors. As the political winds shift from the Egyptian empire to the new empires of Assyria and Babylon, the role of the Prophet is to make sense of the shifting political realities and to bring the people back to the worship of our G-d.
With the exile of our people to Babylonia, one would think the creative period of Ancient Israel was over. The Jewish G-d, however, is not like the pagan gods, who are limited to one place. G-d is with Israel in exile and is with Israel as Babylon yields to the Persian empire and the Israel returns from captivity. With the leadership of the last prophet, Ezra and the governor, Nehemiah, Israel slowly becomes the “Judaism” that we know today. The last books of the Bible, the “Writings” comes together. Some of these are historical books that bring Jewish history up to date. The others are popular stories that have important lessons for the Jewish people. Ruth, explains the genealogy of King David; The book of Esther is about Jewish life in Persia (and the holiday of Purim) and the Song of Songs, a long love poem, becomes a metaphor for the love of Israel for G-d. It is the Rabbis of the Talmud who close the “Writings” to new works and thus “canonize” the Bible. The bible they describe is the same bible we use today, we call it “TaNacH” the acrostic of “Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim” or Torah, Prophets and Writings.
The stories that did not make our bible were collected together to form a collection called the “Apocrypha” There are many reasons these stories did not make the Bible. Some are historically questionable. Some have no real moral or ethical lesson to teach. Some were too bloody, or were about parts of Jewish History that were not ready for prime time. The books of Maccabees containing the Hanukkah stories is part of this collection. The Sages were not big fans of the Hasmonean family and felt that the military victory was not worthy of a religious collection. Hanukkah is the first holiday on the Jewish calendar that does not have biblical connection. It would remain the only such holiday until modern times when Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day) and Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Reunification Day) have been added to the calendar.
In spite of its “extra biblical” nature, Hanukkah remains a well loved and popularly observed festival. The Talmud notes that there was a more ancient midwinter festival that involved the lighting of candles and there are several reasons that the holiday would last eight days. Some say it is because the oil that was placed in the Menorah in the rededicated Temple in Jerusalem lasted for eight days. Others say the Hasmonians wanted to celebrate the last holiday they missed before capturing the Temple, and that would be the eight days of Sukkot. Still others note that all dedication ceremonies of the Temple were eight days long and that is why this Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah) is eight days long. Biblical holidays always have clear meanings and rituals, Hanukkah, being extra-biblical, has more flexibility and thus there are more questions and explanations as to its origins and laws.
Happy Hanukkah to everyone.

Next week: The Place of Torah in the Structure of Jewish Law.

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

December 6, 2004 – Number 5765-11

Jewish Values at Work

Day after day we read in the news about one company or another in trouble with its investors or its customers for unethical practices. The Phenomena is hardly new. The Talmud records many court cases brought by employees and laborers against practices that they felt were unfair. Many of these cases remind us of what we see today in the workplace. While one can make a general rule that the Sages of the Talmud worked hard to defend the rights of workers, they also took a look at the responsibilities of consumers as well.
The first concern in Jewish Law is for the owner of property. Once a person took possession of property, he or she was fully responsible for it. If someone were to do them a favor and look after it, they had only limited liability if something should happen to it that was not in their control. On the other hand, if one rented that object, then they had full liability if something should happen.
One could not open a store that would be in direct competition with another shopkeeper if it would take away the first storekeeper’s business. One could only go into competition if the first seller had more business than he or she could handle.
There are many cases where the Sages changed Jewish law to prevent price gouging. There was a limit to the markup a storekeeper could charge without having to refund the difference if the buyer challenged the price paid in court.
Owners were responsible for their animals as well. If a ox would gore a person or another ox, if the animal was a first time offender, the owner was let off with a warning to tie the animal securely. If the animal was known to gore, than the owner had full liability for any damages it caused.
If someone were to buy an object and take delivery later, the seller must protect the property of the buyer until it is delivered. Otherwise the seller is liable for damages.
The Rabbis also reminded sellers that good customer service would bring back buyers. They were advised to go beyond the letter of the law and not take every advantage they could from their customers. There is a famous story of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai who bought a Donkey from an arab vendor. When it was delivered, a valuable gem was found hidden in the bridle. The students of the Rabbi were overjoyed since the donkey was sold with bridle. The Rabbi, however, asked the students if the Arab knew the gem was hidden in the bridle. “Of course not,” said the students. “The gem is far more valuable than the donkey.” “Then return the gem to the Arab,” said the Rabbi, “Who am I to take advantage of the letter of the law.” When the stone was returned the Arab was overjoyed and praised the Rabbi and the Jewish G-d whom the Rabbi served.
On the other hand, the Sages also reminded the customers that they should not ask a shop owner the price of an item on the shelf if he has no intention of buying. The owner has the right to expect one to buy the object if one is inquiring about the price.
Employees must be paid on time. In ancient days, they were paid at the end of every day. Some agricultural workers might be paid at the end of the season. To delay payment could cause severe hardship for the workers and their families. It was expected that workers would have time for lunch, and if they worked in an orchard, they could eat some of the fruit they had harvested and it would not come out of their pay. Hired workers were not financially responsible for unintended damage.
Landowners had a responsibility to feed the poor, The poor could enter their fields to reap the corners and to glean the dropped ears of grain. If a sheaf was forgotten, than the owner could not go back to get it unless it was clear that it was not forgotten but just not yet picked up. The owners could choose which poor people they would let into their fields. And the poor had to be careful not to damage the other fields that were not yet harvested.
From all of this we see a pattern of behavior in the marketplace that mirrored behavior in one’s personal life. Anytime people gather to conduct business, there will be conflicts in the marketplace. In any small town or city, there will be competition. But there is a line between competition and unethical behavior and the Sages tried to teach this through the law as well.

Next week: Torah, Bible and Apocrypha

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

November 29, 2004 – Number 5765-10

Jewish Spirituality for Children and Teens

Rabbis have taught for centuries that Jewish mysticism can only be taught when three conditions are met. To study Kabbalah, one has to be at least 40 years old, married and be the parent of at least one girl and one boy; and have a full “belly” of Torah. In other words, only when our other duties in life are fulfilled, we are mature, with a family and well versed in Judaism, can we begin to delve into the mysteries of G-d. Considering what some people will do for religion, it is a very practical way to insure that mysticism remains the study that is practiced by mature and wise people.
But the Sages also understood that everyone needs to contemplate G-d and the meaning of all life. Therefore, Judaism also teaches a concept called “normal mysticism”. Normal mysticism is how we can find G-d in all the world that surrounds us and not by studying some ancient tome. Normal mysticism is finding G-d in a beautiful sunset, in a beautiful moment, in the eyes of a child and in acts of kindness. We don’t have to travel distant paths or learn from venerable sages. We need only to lift up our eyes to see the glory of G-d that surrounds us.
To call attention to these spiritual moments, Jews say blessings (berachot). A blessing is a way we acknowledge to G-d that we have understood the moment before us as a gift from G-d and we express our thanks for that moment. Almost anything can be a sacred moment and therefore Judaism has a blessing for everything.
There is an old story of the greatest miracle in history, the crossing of the Red Sea by the Jewish slaves fleeing from Pharaoh and his army. The entire Jewish People understood the meaning of that moment and were in awe of G-d’s power, all except for two men. These two men were upset that the seabed was not perfectly dry as they crossed to freedom. They were getting mud on their shoes just like they used to get mud on their shoes when they made bricks for Egypt. In their eyes, freedom and slavery were the same mud on their shoes. Imagine, they were in the presence of the greatest miracle of all time and all they could see was the mud on their shoes! Often, we are so upset over what is happening in our lives that we don’t see the miracles that surround us everyday.
One Rabbi I know taught preschool age children to understand G-d. He sat them in his lap and had them point out his nose, mouth, ears and eyes. Then he asked them to point to his “love”. Just as love is real but can not be seen or touched, so too G-d’s love for us can be felt, even if we can not touch G-d.
Teens often ask why we don’t have miracles today like we did in ancient times. Of course we still have miracles, but the kind of miracles have changed. It is like the story of the man in a flood who turns down rescue by three boats because he insists that “G-d will save me” and so he drowns. And when he arrives before G-d in Heaven disappointed that G-d had failed him, G-d replies, “What do you want from me? … I sent you three boats!” For the miracle to happen we have to often use our own hands and feet and to make them do G-d’s will.
Rabbi Lawrence Kushner compares life to pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that we try to assemble all of our lives. Only we don’t have all the pieces we need, and we have other pieces that we don’t need but are important to someone else. So we must go through life exchanging our thoughts and ideas, our knowledge and our wisdom so that we can get the pieces we need to complete our puzzle and to help others get the pieces they need to complete their puzzle as well. Rabbi Kushner concludes that each time we give one of out worthless pieces of the puzzle to someone else, we are emissaries of the Most High.
Can we teach our children about G-d? Of course we can. But first we need to make sure we know for ourselves what we believe about G-d. To teach our children, we need to make sure that we are comfortable with G-d as well. Once we can articulate for ourselves what G-d means in our life, only then can we help our children understand as well. Only when we know to whom we address our prayers, can we teach our children how to open their mouths in prayer. There are some great books to help us adults to understand what we mean when we are talking about G-d. Talk to your Rabbi, he can recommend some just for you.

Next week: Jewish Values at Work

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

November 22, 2004 – Number 5765-9

Jewish Education after the Bar/Bat Mitzvah

There is an old myth that Jewish education can be stopped after the Bar or Bat Mitzvah. I guess it depends on how the parents see the goal of Jewish education. If Judaism is to be anything more than a quaint footnote in the family history, than the family must confront the continuing education of their children.
The most important part of a teenager’s Jewish education is the continuing education of his or her parents. Teens are very aware of cases of “do as I say, not as I do” and lose interest quickly when they do things that seem to play no role at all in the family life. Parents who attend synagogue regularly will find their children will want to attend with them, in the adult service. Parents who study will, with their lessons, inspire their children to study. While working for the Jewish community, on communal committees and organizations as a volunteer is crucial for the Jewish community, if the endless meetings will take a parent away from a student who needs parental imput, than it will work against strong Jewish connections in the children. This applies even to synagogue committees that are not connected to learning. Teens need to know that their life comes first, only later do we volunteer our time.
For teens, there are two kinds of Jewish Education. Formal and Informal. Formal Education refers to Judaica High School, Confirmation and College level Jewish studies classes. Jewish Day Schools, at the High School level often provide a quality secular education, with proper guidance programs for the college bound, with sophisticated Judaic studies in Talmud, Bible, Hebrew and Rabbinic Literature. Confirmation classes often have the additional benefit of studying with the Rabbi of their own congregation. Judaica High School offers a wide selection to “taste” the different aspects of Adult Jewish Studies as well as the possibility of adding education classes to earn a “Sunday School Teaching Certificate”, which can be translated into a steady job when the student reaches college.
Informal Jewish Education includes Youth Groups, Summer Camps and Israel Programs. Youth Groups offer a selection of activities and travel opportunities that broaden the teen’s horizons. Summer camp offers a full immersion in Jewish Life for 4-8 weeks. Israel programs offer each teen a connection with the world wide Jewish community and a personal connection to their own faith. Older teens can also benefit from Eastern European tours that visit sites important to Judaism before and during the Holocaust. March of the Living, Ramah and USY all offer Eastern European tours for 11 and 12 graders.
Much of the life of a Teen is social. They are interested in expanding their circle of friends and dating also becomes a concern. In both formal and informal Jewish educational settings, there are many opportunities to enlarge the student’s circle of Jewish friends. It is from these circles that the pattern of later Jewish affiliation will grow. As the students interests in Jewish activities grows, this helps lead to affiliation at college with Jewish groups and later connections as a young adult. Studies have shown that Youth Groups, Israel Tours, Summer camp and Jewish Education all increase the chances that the young adult will stay connected to Judaism, that he or she will marry a Jewish partner and raise Jewish children.
When the time comes to select a college. The rule of thumb is “Large Universities in Large Cities” followed by “Large Universities in Small cities”. Both of these will have significant numbers of Jewish students and will help a student stay involved in their faith while away at school. “Small Universities in Small Cities” is a recipe for disaster. Hillel, The Foundation for Jewish Life on Campus, puts out an annual guide to Judaism on College campus, with information about Judaic classes, Jewish organizations and total numbers of Jewish Students who attend. This should be part of the college selection process.
Parents may find that they will have to “insist” that a student continue in formal and informal Jewish educational settings for a while. There are many organizations that are fighting for the teens attention. By showing our preference early for Jewish organizations and classes, and our own connection to them, we will set the pattern that will last a lifetime. My father always reminded me of one warning: “you only get to make the decisions for your child for the first 15 years. After that, they make most of their own decisions. They will ask for advice, but your control over their life begins to quickly wane”. If we set our standards early, our children will reap a lifetime of Jewish rewards.

Next week: Jewish Spirituality for Children and Teens