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
Monday, January 31, 2005
Monday, January 24, 2005
HMS 5765-17: Jewish Mystical Literature
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
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
Monday, January 17, 2005
HMS 5765-16: Teaching Torah: Writing a D’var Torah
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
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
Monday, January 10, 2005
HMS 5765-15: Who Wrote The Bible?
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
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
Monday, January 3, 2005
HMS 5765-14: Halacha and Aggada: The Two Streams of Jewish Law
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
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
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