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PARSHAT MISHPATIM

February 12, 2010 By punktorah

Language is funny. We have words that sound the same, but mean different things, and in other cases, we have words that are different, but mean the same thing.

We’re stuck in that vicious grammar cycle in this week’s Torah portion. Moses is basically giving his first big legal speech. I’m got going to get into the particulars of it…but let’s just say that it’s a whole lot of “thou shalt nots” that are really good to look into, when you have some free time.

After G-d tells Moses all the good stuff, he relays it to the Hebrews. And they reply, “we shall do”. In other words, “yeah, it’s cool. We’ll take on that Torah stuff.”

Later, Moses writes down these laws, and the Hebrews reply again. This time they say, “we shall obey.”

Why is there a difference here? Why is it that when Moses says some words, the people “do”, while in written form, people “obey”? I’d think that if I was wandering the desert with some guy who is talking directly to the creator of the universe, I’d obey everything that’s going down, whether it’s on paper or a conversation or text message or whatever!

I think the reason why the Hebrews get more serious with a written Torah is that they are invested in it. Many cults that are based around a leader fall when the leader dies or is shown to be a fake. They last when there is something written down. Writing, in its best form, lasts forever. When Moses put those words down on a scroll, he was making an investment in the future. He was saying, “OK, this isn’t about me and what I experience on top of mountains. This is about the future. This stuff is gonna last, with or without me.”

That’s why the Hebrews say “we will obey”. Moses is showing that this whole Judaism thing isn’t a passing fad or a power trip on his part. It’s legit.

A lot of times when we start something, we tend to bottle it up, to keep it to ourselves. We get on these ego trips where we think that we’re the only one who should have any control. It’s funny to see charities and outreach organizations that are supposed to be a collaboration, turn into a dictatorship where the only person really getting any attention is the fearless leader.

I think Moses understood that. He didn’t want to be Pharaoh. He just wanted to deliver a message and do the best he could, until his time was up. And since we’re still talking about him today, he must have done a pretty good job.

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PARSHAT BESHALACH

January 29, 2010 By punktorah

Is G-d With Us?

The Israelites have left Egypt and are experiencing freedom for the first time. Obstacle one: the Sea of Reeds. Moses and G-d tag team it, and the Israelites cross. Next, the bitter water of Marah. Again, Moses and G-d make a miracle and the bitter water becomes sweet. And to eat, a heavenly food called manna that comes from the sky.

Every time the Israelites come up against an obstacle, G-d gives them exactly what they want. That’s a pretty sweet deal! It seems like G-d does not do that for people anymore. Rough, huh?

We live in an amoral universe where good and bad things happen all the time. We can’t pin point the “why” of certain things. And when we read stories in the Torah about G-d handing things out like a cosmic Santa Claus, it seems really unfair. It makes people doubt how G-d can even exist.

The thing to remember about this Torah portion is that the Israelites were slaves. And slavery can do a lot to the psyche. They may have had post-traumatic stress disorder, where they constantly have feeling of re-living the darkness of their old lives, despite the fact that they are free. They have never had the ability to make choices for themselves and are now burdened by their own free will. And even though they are free, what good is it if they are going to die in the desert?

So G-d throws them a bone. G-d puts up with their complaining because G-d knows that they are dealing with a lot. This is where the g-dly sense of “doing good” comes from. Preparing food for a family, caring for the sick, giving money to those in need: this all stems from a divine precedent set for us in the Torah.

You can pray all you want, but G-d will not always give you exactly what you want. That’s because we are free now. G-d helped our spiritual ancestors to go from slavery to freedom, so that we can turn inward and see the g-dliness that is inside us, and perform miracles for others.

Does this mean that G-d is no longer with us? Absolutely not! Later in the Parshat, Amalek attack the Israelites. Moses begins praying and Joshua raises an army. Between the two of them, they defeat Amalek.

It took a combination of Moses praying and Joshua acting to defeat the Amalekites. Not one of them could have acted without the other. G-d didn’t destroy the army of Amalek for the Israelites. Instead, G-d inspired their strength and encouraged the Israelites to work together to achieve their goal.

This, I believe, is where G-d is in our lives: the divine inspiration to band together against obstacles we cannot endure alone, giving us the g-dly power to overcome whatever we face.

Are Jewish Labels Necessary?

January 25, 2010 By punktorah

Everyone is judging everyone all of the time, whether it is based on the clothing they wear, the community or place they live, what kind of car they may drive or where they buy their groceries. Judaism is no different when it comes to judging and labeling. Everyone uses labels on a daily basis to decide whether or not they want to move to a certain community, send their kids to certain school or eat at certain people’s house. We, orthodox Jews, love to judge and also hate the judging, but in my mind we kind of need the labels, maybe not to the extreme that they exist, but to me it seems that without labels there would be huge issues.

I have heard so many people say that they just want to be Jewish. I would love to just be Jewish, but so many issues would arise without labels like frum, modern or Chassidic. As much as we love to hate the labels, they do serve a purpose.

Though I don’t think the judging serves a purpose, other than as providing entertainment, the labels themselves do serve a very valid purpose.

Imagine for a second that you wanted to erase labels, think of all the problems that could arise.

How would people date if they didn’t know anything about the person’s religious level beyond the fact that they were Jewish? How would these people know if the prospective date kept kosher or kept shabbos without labels? When you say someone keeps kosher you label them in my mind.

What about sending your kids to school? Lets say that you want a modern school, but can’t say such things, so you try and describe what modern orthodoxy is. The problem is everyone has a different opinion as to exactly what constitutes modern orthodoxy. I have many friends who wear black hats that are modern orthodox, and friends who wear “regular clothes” who consider themselves yeshivish. Without these labels, people would spend all of their time trying to get places without saying exactly what they wanted.

It seems as if having labels is like having a necessary evil. We love to hate them and hate to need them, but what would we do without them? Some people cannot be labeled, that’s true, but you can place yourself in favor of a certain label. I wouldn’t know how to properly label myself. I dress and look modern orthodox; I like the yeshivish mussar movement and I have an affinity for chabad, even though I didn’t place myself in one category it was easier than explaining all of my affiliations.
One of the beauties of Judaism is that there is no right way to practice, everyone does their own thing. But how on earth would we be able to categorize these Jews without labels. Or is there really no need for categorizations?

(Originally posted at FrumSatire)

PARSHAT BO

January 20, 2010 By punktorah

When we think about the Passover or Exodus story, we tend to side with the Israelites and their struggle for freedom. For just a moment, I want to think about this from Pharaoh’s perspective.

Pharaoh’s objective as a leader is to maintain power for himself and ensure his family will continue to rule Egypt for eternity. Seven plagues have come, and he has not let up. He allowed everyone in Egypt to suffer, so that he could hang onto this work force.

This is the crazy length to which some people will go in order to stay in power. Even if they really do not have control over a situation, they’ll still hold up a good front to make it look like they have everything wrapped around their little finger.

It took the death of Pharaoh’s first child to finally give the people of Israel the opportunity to leave. But it wasn’t just the personal loss of a child that made Pharaoh’s heart soften. In ancient times, a male child was your future: he was your investment, your retirement plan, the promise of the next generation. Pharaoh didn’t think, “gee, how sad I lost my kid”. Rather, he came to grips with the fact that all was lost, from his patriarchal way of thinking. Ultimately, Pharaoh was holding onto something, in this case it was the Israelites, in order to live out his dream, despite the consequences that were staring him in the face.

In this tough economic time, I think of the number of business owners and families who pretend like they are still making big money, in order to continue on their financial dynasty: their vision for what their lives are supposed to be. And I wonder about all the first-born children, the first generation to suffer with 20% unemployment/underemployment. And I wonder: what are we as a nation “holding on to” that keeps us in this dark plague. Are we holding onto the idea that we deserve fancy cars and nice vacations? Are we holding onto the idea that a credit card is not actual money? Are we holding onto the idea that a big house, with a huge mortgage, is the real promise of America?

Pharaoh held onto the Israelites for as long as he could, and Egypt suffered mercilessly. What are we holding onto, and how long are we going to hold onto it? And if we let it go, just like Pharaoh did, will our suffering end?

I hope, for our own sake, that we do not lose our children to whatever selfish things we are holding onto, which plague our society. America, let go of your false control. See the plague that surrounds you.

Different Kinds of Kashrut

January 15, 2010 By newkosher

Kashrut at it’s simplest is the sacred diet of the Jewish people, including the laws of not mixing meat and milk and refraining from eating non-kosher animals.

There are also new movements in kashrut that seek to further elevate the human soul through food, as well as stricter forms of traditional kashrut.

Eco-Kashrut combines kashrut with an emphasis on eating organic, locally produced foods. The impact that people have on the environment through their eating habits, including the use of insecticides and fuel to truck foods across the country, has lead people who maintain a kosher lifestyle to seek out sustainable kosher foods.

Ethical Kashrut is an approach to kashrut that includes eco-kashrut, as well as concern for worker’s rights and animal treatment. The Jewish people have always emphasized treating workers fairly and minimizing the pain and suffering to animals, including those that we eat. Ethical kashrut has also given birth to vegetarian and vegan kashrut.

Vegetarian/Vegan Kashrut is a part of the ethical kashrut movement, with a special emphasis on the belief that kashrut, at its best, is observed through a vegetarian and/or vegan life. The motivations for a vegetarian kosher lifestyle vary from a belief in animal rights, to a desire to simplify kashrut by eliminating animal products.

Cholov Yisroel means “milk of Israel” and seeks to further sanctify the eating of dairy products. Cows that are raised according to Cholov Yisroel standards are kept at optimum health. While the FDA allows animals with certain kinds of diseased to still be milked, the strictness of Cholov Yisroel prevents these animals from being used.

Bishul Yisrael was instituted in the past to keep Jews from eating food prepared by non-Jews and limit social interaction between the two groups. While today, Jews and non-Jews alike eat together without any problems, the laws of Bishul Yisroel have been transformed into another safety net that prevents food from accidentally being rendered unkosher. Practically speaking, this includes having someone observe the food being prepared (called a mashgiach) to ensure that the rules of bishul Yisrael are complied with.

Pas Yisroel is a certification for kosher bread. Mainly, this rule means that a Jewish person who is observant of Jewish law was a part of the bread making process. This is similar to Bishul Yisrael, but specifically for bread.

Yayin Kasher are the laws of kosher as it pertains to wine. Obviously, wine is kosher if all the ingredients are kosher. But yayin kasher takes this a step further by regulating who has come into contact with the wine, just like Pas Yisroel.

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