Who Would Rabbeinu Tam Vote For

In the recent election campaign, one of the parties (who were not elected to Knesset) ran a campaign asking who Rambam would vote for. The implications of the ad were:
1. Rambam is in favour of learning Torah AND working (and by extension serving the country/army/being a productive member of society)
2. (Not stated but implied) Other Rishonim disagree with Rambam, and he is therefore perhaps a minority opinion.

Rambam writes:

כל המשים על ליבו שיעסוק בתורה ולא יעשה מלאכה, ויתפרנס מן הצדקה--הרי זה חילל את השם, וביזה את התורה, וכיבה מאור הדת, וגרם רעה לעצמו, ונטל חייו מן העולם הבא: לפי שאסור ליהנות בדברי תורה, בעולם הזה.

אמרו חכמים, כל הנהנה מדברי תורה, נטל חייו מן העולם. ועוד ציוו ואמרו, לא תעשם עטרה להתגדל בהם, ולא קורדום לחפור בהם. ועוד ציוו ואמרו, אהוב את המלאכה, ושנוא את הרבנות. וכל תורה שאין עימה מלאכה, סופה בטילה; וסוף אדם זה, שיהא מלסטס את הברייות.
מעלה גדולה היא למי שהוא מתפרנס ממעשה ידיו, ומידת חסידים הראשונים היא; ובזה זוכה לכל כבוד וטובה שבעולם הזה, ולעולם הבא: שנאמר "יגיע כפיך, כי תאכל; אשריך, וטוב לך" (תהילים קכח,ב)--"אשריך" בעולם הזה, "וטוב לך" לעולם הבא שכולו טוב.

Or in English

Anybody who undertakes to learn Torah all the time, not work, and support himself from charity is desecrating God's Name, disgracing the Torah, extinguishes his Jewish spark, causes bad to befall him and destroys his life in the World To Come, for it is forbidden to benefit from Torah matters in this world. The Sages said that anyone who does benefit from Torah matters is destroying his life, and they further commanded one not to make a garland with which to glorify oneself, nor an axe with which to dig. Furthermore, one should like one's work and dislike being a rabbi. Any Torah which one studies without working at is worthless, and causes punishment. A man who acts like this will become a bandit.

It is certainly true that the Kesef Mishna disagrees strongly with Rambam (See Hilchot Talmud Torah 3:10)

However, Rambam's view is not only the view of the Talmud, but also of many other Rishonim.

Perhaps the Rishon who is the furthest from Rambam in terms of science/philosophy is Rabbeinu Tam (probably all of the baalei Tosefot, but Rabbeinu Tam is the architect of that school). So, who would he vote for?

23. Tosefot Yeshanim Yoma 85b s.v. Teshuva (bottom of the page of Gemara, second line)
מה שרגיל רבינו יעקב לומר דתלמוד תורה טפל לגבי דרך ארץ מדקתני יפה תלמוד תורה עם דרך ארץ (אבות ב:ב) אלמא דרך ארץ עיקר.
What Rabbeinu Yaakov used to always say, that Torah study is secondary to derech eretz, since it says "Torah study is nice with derech eretz (Avot 2:2) which implies that derech eretz is primary.

"Rabbeinu Yaakov" mentioned here is none other than Rabbeinu Tam himself (if you don't believe me, look at Hagahot Maimoniot on Hilchot Talmud Torah 3:10)

And what does Derech Eretz mean? Certainly it means making a constructive contribution to society, and probably means working (Rabbeinu Tam himself made his living from lending money to non-Jews with interest and dealing in wine)
So, who would Rabbeinu Tam vote for?

How heavy were the Ten Commandments?

I know it isn't relevant until Ki Tissa, which we won't read for another two weeks. (Or it was relevant to the daf from 3 weeks ago), but I was just wondering...

How heavy were the two tablets that Moshe brought down from Mount Sinai? I mean in weight, not in importance.

The Talmud (Nedarim 38a) tells us:

R. Johanan said: The Holy One, blessed be He, causes His Divine Presence to rest only upon him who is strong, wealthy, wise and meek; and all these [qualifications] are deduced from Moses. Strong, for it is written, And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle; and a Master said, Moses our teacher spread it; and it is also written, Ten cubits shall be the length of the board. Yet perhaps it was long and thin? — But [it is derived] from this verse: And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and broke them. Now, it was taught: The tablss [sic, tables] were six [handbreadths] in length, six in breadth, and three in thickness.

There are different opinions as the length of the Biblical Amah. It is somewhere between 48cm (according to R' Chaim Naeh) and 57.66 cm (according to the Chazon Ish). So the tablets were each between 2.88m and 3.5m on each side and between 1.4m and 1.75m thick. At a minimum this is almost 12 cubic metres of stone. This is over 18 tonnes! And Moshe carried two such tablets down from Mount Sinai.

Can someone please check my calculations and see if I did this right? And convert it into old fashioned numbers for the Americans who don't speak metric? Does this make sense?

I know the Talmud says that Moshe was strong, but he was REALLY Strong!!! And this is the requirement for someone to be a prophet! Wow! I'd better get down to the gym quickly if I want to have any chance.

Would you still be Religious?

Someone asked me the following question this week. This blog is my attempt at an answer (though I still don't have a final answer, and may change my mind in the future)

Let's say archaeologists find writings from 2700 years ago, were King Josiah and the priests discuss the name of what is going to become their new national hero. They were deciding between John, Samuel, Sebastian and Moshe, (finally decided Moshe) and you can read their opinions were they say they cannot believe that people actually believe what they tell them, etc. An actual proof for an open mind that Torah was invented for political reasons. It is a hypotetical case, that obviously is never going to happen, but I would like to know if you would continue being a rabbi.

I'll make the question slightly stronger, since I never wanted to be a Rabbi in the first place, - 'would you continue being religious?'

++A word to the wise. This is not a question about the validity of the Torah. The question is about what is the basis for my faith. Could my Judaism survive without the Chumash?++

For years I thought the answer to this was a simple 'no'. If the Torah isn't true, then everything that is built on it is also false, and why would I be religious if it wasn't true.

I could never really understand people who keep mitzvot without believing in revelation at Sinai.

But now that I'm actually confronting the question (and perhaps because I am a bit smarter now) I'm not sure. If the question includes certain knowledge that G-d did not give any commandments to the Jews or any system of legislation, or indeed any message, then I still think I would pack it in tomorrow. In the words of one of my Rabbinical colleagues 'We could be playing glam rock in Maddison Square Gardens'. Perhaps not! but you get the point.

On the other hand, if the question asks us to imagine that the Torah as we have it is not an authentic document, but it is based on traditions, customs and beliefs going back a millenia before Josiah, I think I would still be 'in'.

I'll try to explain why (though I'm not entirely sure myself). Perhaps the best analogy is to the Zohar. Many scholars and Rabbis held (and hold) that the Zohar is a forgery compiled by Moshe de Leon over a thousand years after it was allegedly written. R' Yaakov Emden wrote a book, Miṭpaḥat Sefarim, proving that the Zohar is a forgery. Yet he also wrote several kabbalistic works and commentaries on sections of the Zohar. He used kabbalah in his halachic works and commentaries. How could he hold that it is a forgery, and at the same time consider it authentic? (I know one could argue that he only claimed the Zohar was a forgery because of the threat of Sabbateanism, but I don't think it is possible to prove so convincingly that it is not genuine unless he really believed what he wrote, and I also tend to assume that people write what they think is true).

Perhaps the answer is that the beauty of the Zohar and the kabbalistic system is not dependent on the authority and accuracy of the text, but is a self contained system which works. It can be an expression of the Divine Will if it was written by Moshe de Leon just as much as if it was written by R' Shimon bar Yochai.

I'm not trying to show whether this Zohar is authentic or not, just giving an example that even if it is not genuine, it can still provide a basis for faith.

Perhaps the same could be true for the Torah. Even though I'm convinced that it is true, I think my faith could survive even if it were not. As long as I felt it was an expression of the Divine Will. As long as I can believe in G-d, and as long as the system works, I think I would still be religious.

Perhaps this kind of belief is 'cutting the saplings' which was Acher's heresy in the Talmud Chagiga. Perhaps it is heretical to say that Judaism could survive without the Torah.

On the other hand, none of our halachah comes directly from the Chumash. Our Halachah is from the Talmud through the eyes of the poskim. I think the Talmud could stand without the Torah. The derashot may be 'reverse engineering' anyway (according to 'Doros Rishonim' for example). And (with a few exceptions) Yeshivas certainly don't seem to spend much time, or have much interest, in learning Chumash and Nach. They know full well that Judaism is about Talmud and Shulchan Aruch, not Bible.

So, as of today, I think I would still be religious, even were the Torah to be proven to be a forgery.

I'm open to other opinions, and I reserve the right to change my mind. But after a week of thinking about this issue, these were my thoughts so far.

Over to you, my readers.

Post Tisha B'Av Post

It is amazing how deprivation makes the desire grow stronger. For 24 hours, the whole of Tisha B'Av, we are not allowed to learn Torah, because it makes us happy. For 24 hours I sit and stare at all the seforim on the shelf and wish I was allowed to learn them. They look so enticing and exciting - row upon row of Torah that I need to learn!
I even start fantasizing about what to learn first, and how long it will take and how happy I will be when I am learning it!

Then Tisha b'Av is over, and so are the fantasies. All of a sudden they are just shelves of books, and even though I want to learn them all, and even though I spend several hours a day working my way through them, it is not with the same desire.

How can I retain that strong desire to learn? How can I recapture that intense desire for Torah?

I find that I learn best (by far) when I have an obligation to a chevruta. Not only do I learn better by speaking things through with someone else (of course), but the fact that someone is depending on me, or waiting for me, forces me to get out of the house and learn (or stay in the house and bring the chevruta over). BUT - having an obligation to learn with a chevruta also means that I am learning because I have to, not because I want to or desire to.

OK, for some people it is now bein hazmanim. Even though I am still working, my kids are on holiday and I will try and take some time off to spend with them. And my afternoons are free at the moment because my kollel and teaching aren't operating for the next three weeks. So (bli neder) now is my chance to learn just for fun. Purely for the enjoyment of it.

I have so many things I want to learn. I'll just have to try and remember what I felt like yesterday, and how much I really want to learn it - even if it is the middle of the night and I am exhausted from having taken the kids out somewhere (or just chasing them around the house - good thing it isn't a very big house!)

On with the summer and free Torah!

Hope your fast was as meaningful as mine!

Pray for Learning

I have just come home from my son's end of year performance (and what a performance it was - don't ask. Just let me tell you that I love him a lot).

The principle spoke told a story about R' Shimon Shkop, who said that once, while learning in Volozhin, he was unable to understand a certain Rashbam on Bava Basra. He broke down crying at the frustration of not being able to understand it. The Netziv walked in, saw him crying, and came over to find out what the matter was. When he realised that he was crying because he didn't understand a piece of Talmud he asked R' Shimon to show him what the problem was. When he saw it, the Netziv said to R' Shimon - "Do you know how many heartfelt tefillos I said at HaRav Chaim's grave to understand this Rashbam?"

The message of the story was that a person has to pray for success in their learning.

Now I love this principle to bits (he reminds me of the principle of my primary school, who knew every student by name, as well as their parents, siblings and anyone else who mattered. He also used to play an indoor version of tennis with us kids after school - and he would win!). But at first I though that his message was wrong. If you have a problem with your learning - shouldn't you keep learning and thinking about it until you come up with a solution? Why is crying and praying the correct response? Surely Torah is only acquired through breaking your head over it until you understand it? (I once had a chevrura who had a theory that if you didn't understand a piece of gemara, you should read it over and over until it makes sense. We never had to read it more than 100 times!). Doesn't the Gemara in Megilla say that if a person claims they have worked hard and not succeeded in their learning that it means they didn't work hard? Doesn't this prove that praying is not part of the equation?

Then I thought about it some more (I was there for over 4 hours, so I had time to think). Perhaps my problem is that I think it is an intellectual pursuit to learn Torah (and I love it). Maybe my approach is wrong. Since it is impossible to understand Torah without help from G-d, maybe I should spend less time getting a headache over it, and more time saying tehillim! (It goes completely against the grain to even write those words).

So now I don't know. Obviously we are talking about some combination of learning and praying, rather than spending all day praying and expecting the Torah to appear by itself. But it is too late for me to think now. And I need your input. Can one learn Torah by learning alone, or does prayer need to be an integral part of the daily 'learning' schedule?

(BTW it is obvious to me that in any other subject you need to pray for success - I think anyone who has ever sat an exam will agree with me on that. But Torah is different - isn't it? And even in other subjects, surely doing the time studying and revising must count for something too??)

- Your thoughts please.

Good night.

Short vort Parshat Zachor

I gave the short vort this week for Shapell's. It is about Parshat Zachor. The midrash (Pesikta d'Rabbi Yishmael end of Beshalach)says that Amalek's descendents are not accepted as converts. On the other hand the Gemara in Gittin (57b) says that Haman's grandsons taught and learnt Torah in B'nei Brak. The short vort tries to resolve this contradiction. You can access it here:
http://www.torahmedia.com/streamlink.php?fid=23232&bw=low
http://www.torahmedia.com/downloadlink.php?fid=23232&bw=low

Or through the Shapell's web page: http://www.darchenoam.org/articles/audio/au_home.htm

Shabbat Shalom and Wishing you all a very happy Purim

Rabbi Sedley

Remember 6 - Mount Sinai

This is the final shiur in the series on the Six Remembrances that I gave at Midreshet Rachel (I know that there are only 4 shiurim and there are 6 remembrances, but I only had a four week slot). It deals with the mitzvah to remember the Giving of the Torah and the Sinai experience.
The shiur discusses the famous Gemara in Menachot where Moshe Rabbeinu goes to see Rabbi Akiva giving shiur, and the contrast with the other gemarot which show that Moshe received all of the Torah on Mount Sinai, including the laws that the Rabbis would create in the future.
Here are the links:
For streaming click here
To download click here

By coincidence (or not really coincidence) these Six Remembrances are the topics that I am researching and writing about for www.torahlab.org. Have a look at their website for their current products, and hopefully in the next couple of months we will be adding several new series of shiurim. Your feedback is greatly appreciated on these shiurim.

Enjoy

Shabbat Shalom

Remember Amalek

This is the latest in my series of shiurim on the Six Remembrances. It is about remembering what Amalek did to us when we left Egypt (and therefore is also connected to Parshat Hashavua). I talk about Amalek, Purim, masks, time, Moshe, atomic half-life, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and patterns in randomness.
Click here to listen to the shiur online
Click here if you want to download the shiur.

Please give me your feedback. You can either post a message or e-mail me at rabbisedley@gmail.com

Also, if you enjoy this shiur please go to jblog and vote for it. It is embarrassing having no votes over there. Click here to see this post on jblog and click on the button to vote for it. There is also lots of other interesting stuff to look for while you are there.

Don't forget to check out my parsha blog: www.parshatshavua.blogspot.com. There are several divrei Torah on parshat Beshalach. You can also sign up for my weekly e-mail from there (though for some reason the past two weeks the e-mail hasn't worked - hopefully problem to be corrected by this week).

Shabbat Shalom and enjoy

Rabbi Sedley

Golden Calf

This is the shiur I gave yesterday at Midreshet Rachel. It is the second of my series on the six things that we must remember daily (although in the siddur it is actually the fourth one, but I explained in the shiur that the second and third fit in very well with the next two weeks' parshiot so I will do them then).
It deals with the sin of the Golden Calf - what was the issue that the Israelites were trying to fix with the Calf, why a calf and not any other kind of animal/object and how all of this connects with Yosef.
If you enjoy this shiur please go to jblog and rate it (the link is on the side of the page). Also have a look at the three postings on parshat hashavua that i have put up at www.parshathashavua.blogspot.com

To hear the shiur in streaming audio click here
To download this file click here

Wishing everyone a great Shabbat and Happy Tu B'Shvat.
Rabbi Sedley

Parshat Vaera

Here is my d'var Torah for parshat vaera. I will be the in-Shabbos Rabbi at Darche Noam this week, so if you will be there I had better think of something else to say as well.

Here is the link to the pdf version

If you like this summary can you click on this link and vote for it on jblog. Thanks.
click here to JBlog Me (That means vote for me).


Hard Heart or Free Choice?

"G-d said to Moshe: 'Speak to Pharaoh, that he should send the Children of Israel from his land. But I shall harden Pharaoh's heart..." (Exodus 7; 2-3). These verses raise two obvious questions - what does it mean when G-d hardens a persons heart? How does that accord with our understanding of free choice? Furthermore, if G-d has stated that He will harden Pharaoh's heart, what point is there in sending Moshe and Aharon to speak to him? This seems like mockery, asking Pharaoh to do something which has become impossible for him to do.
The Rambam writes (Hilchot Teshuva 5; 1 ff.):
Each person has the opportunity to turn themselves towards the good path and be righteous, or to choose to follow the path of evil, and become wicked. This the meaning of the verse "Behold mankind is like one of us to know good and evil" (Genesis 3; 22). This means that human beings are unique in the world in that through their own intellect they know the difference between good and evil, and do whichever they desire, without anyone (or anything) preventing them. This principle is a foundation of the Torah and commandments for if G-d would decree that a person would be righteous or wicked, or if there were something forcing a person to a certain path, how could G-d command us to act in a certain way, or how could the prophets chastise us and instruct us to improve our actions?
However, it is possible that a person could sin so grievously, or so often, that strict justice dictates that they must be punished for this, and therefore have their free choice removed so that they are prevented from repentance. Therefore the Torah writes "I will harden Pharaoh's heart" (Exodus 7; 3). Since he sinned initially of his own choice, and acted evilly against Israel who were living in his land, justice therefore dictates that he eventually lose the option of repentance. Why then did G-d send Moshe to him to tell him to send the Jews from his land and repent, if that option was already removed from him? If a person should do something of their own free will, G-d may remove from them the ability to repent and they must die in their wickedness.
We have a principle that G-d helps a person to follow the path that they chose. Pharaoh chose to be stubborn and obstinate, therefore G-d caused him to take his path to its conclusion. His decisions to oppress and kill the Jews, and then refuse to listen to Moshe and Aaron, caused G-d to take him to a point where the gates of repentance were sealed before him.
Pharaoh was not the only one to exhibit this trait of stubbornness. G-d accuses the Jewish nation of being 'a stiff-necked people' at the time of the Golden Calf (ibid. 32; 9), and cites this as the reason that His presence will not remain within the midst of the nation (ibid. 33; 3). Yet despite their stubbornness, when confronted with the enormity of their sin they readily repent, as evidenced by their removal of the crowns that they gained at Sinai (ibid. 5).
Rambam writes (Hilchot Gerushin 1; 1) that a bill of divorce (get) may only be written with the voluntary consent of the husband. Yet later (2; 20) he writes that in a case where the law mandates that a husband should give his wife a get and he refuses, the beis din (Jewish court of law) should whip him until he says 'I want to give my wife a get'. The Rambam is telling us that sometimes a person's stubbornness gets in the way of their true intentions. Therefore whipping them removes the stubbornness, and enables them to give the divorce willingly.
In a sense this is what G-d was doing to Pharaoh. He smote him and all of Egypt with plagues to see whether he would repent and let the Jews go voluntarily. Only after the sixth plague, when it was clear that Pharaoh's inner desire was not to repent did G-d actually intervene to harden his heart. By this time if Pharaoh were to repent it would not be in order to bring him closer to G-d, but only to avoid the plagues. He had reached the point where he needed to follow through and see the consequences of his actions, and receive his due punishment.

Shabbat Shalom