Shaarei Tzedek – Orthodox Judaism in Downtown Toronto

[via inner.org, Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh]

The names of all the months in the Hebrew calendar are originally from Babylon. The Jewish people adopted these Babylonian names during the 70 year exile in Babylon. Yet, of all the Babylonian names adopted, Tamuz stands out as peculiar: it is the name of an actual Babylonian deity and idol. Why would the sages allow the adoption of the name of idolatry into the holiness of Judaism?

The short answer is that our role is not only to combat idolatry by defacing it, because the psychological motivation that draws people to idolatry is not cured that way. Instead, in the long run, we have to transform the negative psychological proclivities that lead to idolatry and transform them into positive ones.1 It seems therefore, that the sages’ choice of the false god of the Tamuz provides us with a case study of the problem of idolatry and its solution. The month of Tamuz is thus the time of year best suited for understanding and practicing the process of transformation (or, ithapcha as it is called in Chassidut) in the psyche.

As we will see, the Tamuz is a parasite that lives off of the human tendency to self-pity and our sense of the tragic—two sentiments that are intrinsically linked to this time of the year.

Read more at inner.org … 

Parshat Matot 5768

© Rabbi David Lapin, 2008 – http://iawaken.org

Contaminating Flavors

Gourmet chefs know how flavors retained in the walls of their cooking utensils can contaminate dishes. Cultures such as the Japanese, with highly developed taste senses, will often keep their utensils for specific foods and wash them up separately. We too are sensitive to flavor, but as the Nation of Hashem, we are more concerned about the pollutant flavors of Issur and Tumah (two different forms of negative spiritual energy that can attach to food and utensils) than we are about culinary contamination. Hashem teaches Benei Yisrael in this week’s Parsha, how to cleanse the utensils of Midyan of those spiritual contaminants to make them fit for Jewish usage. These laws are the foundation of our laws of the kashrut of keilim (utensils):

Laws of Kashrut of Keilim

If a keili (utensil) contains non-kosher food, not only may we not eat that food, but we may also not use that utensil for hot kosher food if the non-kosher food it previously contained was hot. The reason is because flavor is absorbed in the sides of the keili, and ta’am ke’ikkar – flavor has the spiritual and halachik properties of the food itself.

There is a way to repair that keili and make it fit for kosher use. The parsha teaches us a second principle, keboll’oh kach polltoh – a keili will discharge the flavors it has absorbed if the same level of heat is applied to it as was used when it absorbed the non kosher food’s flavors initially. So a pot in which non-kosher was cooked (in liquid) will discharge those flavors if it is immersed in boiling water. This is called hag’allah.

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Parshat Pinchas 5768

© Rabbi David Lapin, 2008

The Imperfection of Knowledge

Wisdom is mysterious and human knowledge is not absolute. There is a dimension of wisdom that eludes even the wisest of men. “Fifty pathways to wisdom were created in the Universe” says the Gemarra,[1] “and all were given to Moshe except one.” Human knowledge will always lack at least one dimension of understanding, and therein lies its mystery.

Wisdom is like an onion. Each time that new insights peels away another layer of ignorance or confusion, we find yet another layer of questions and mysteries. At its core, this “onion” of knowledge carries a secret, a secret known to no one but G-d Himself: the fiftieth gateway to wisdom.

This applies even when man must make halachik decisions or decide in a matter of justice between two litigants in a court of law. “Ki Hamishpat Leilokim hu”, says Moshe,[2] “for the decisions of Justice are ultimately in G-d’s domain.”

If this is so, how are we meant to make halachik decisions? Even if a judge, Poseik or Rav is inherently competent and qualified, how is he to decide on matters of justice if his knowledge is always incomplete, never absolute?

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Ego – “Now you see it; now you don’t”

Parshat Chukat 5768

© Rabbi David Lapin, 2008 (http://www.iawaken.org)

Ash and Dust – Sota and Para

Travel with me on an imaginary trip forward (or backward) into a time when the Beit Hamikdash is operational.

We stroll and we observe. We see two strange, seemingly unrelated practices. First, we see a Kohein fixing a drink. The scene is sad. Conflict, fear and resentment permeate the atmosphere. He is mixing sand and water for the Mey Sota (Waters of a Sota). A man requested that his wife avoid ongoing privacy with another man. After ignoring his request, he accuses her of unfaithfulness. Drinking this water will prove her either guilty or innocent. If innocent, cleansed of the negative energy between them, the couple will reconcile in peace and joy. Later, a righteous son of Abrahamic stature will be born.

In a different place a Kohein is mixing another inert powder, the ashes of a Para Aduma (Red Cow), with water, the source of life. This mixture also cleanses negative energy; the negative energy that attaches to a Jew when he has contact with a dead body. This mixture however will not be drunk; it will be sprinkled.

The intersection of Masechet Sotah in the current Daf Yomi program with Parshat Parah in this week’s Parsha, begs a comparison that the Gemmara (Sotah 17a) provides: “Rava researched[1] and discovered that as a consequence of Avraham’s humble declaration ‘and I am merely dust and ashes,’ his children were privileged with two mitzvot: the ashes of the Red Cow and the dust of the Sotah (water).”

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