Through the Torah shall we be blessed

Being a college student concurrently at two institutions is not always easy, and this week was filled with reading, paper-writing, and waking up early for selichot services in anticipation of the approaching Yamim Noraim (high holydays). But it was also filled with much blessing. One special blessing that I was given this week was the opportunity to meet in a small, intimate forum with prominent Israel author and intellectual Amos Oz and approximately 25 other undergraduates. Although I have not yet had the privilege of reading Oz's work, it was fascinating to hear from and ask questions of someone with such broad life experience and depth of insight. Although Professor Oz's words were sometimes difficult to hear or agree with, especially regarding sacrifices that Israel would be forced to make in its future, they came from a place of honesty not often heard from politicians or other public figures.
But aside from being blessed with this special opportunity, I am happy to be in a community where serious Torah study and community building occurs daily. At JTS, I feel lucky to have learned about the development of Halacha with Rabbi Joel Roth, the laws of inheritance from Massachet Bava Batra with Dr. Jonathan Milgram, Medieval Jewish History with Dr. Benjamin Gampel, and Isaiah and Jeremiah with Dr. Amy Kalmanofsky.
However, one of my greatest pleasures is learning Torah lishmah, for its own sake. I again had the pleasure of learning Midrash with my friend Yossi, and we were inspired by halachic lessons on this week's parashah, and philosophical musings from Pesikta D'rav Kahana (a Palestininan collection of midrashim related to special Torah and Haftarah readings).
I was especially inspired from a piece in D'varim Rabbah (8:2):

רבנן אמרי: אמר הקב"ה: אם ברכת את התורה לעצמך את מברך.
מנין?
שנא' (משלי ט): כי בי ירבו ימיך ויוסיפו לך שנות חיים.
The Rabbis taught: If you make a B'aracha over the torah [study or reading], you will recieve a blessing for yourself... as it is written: "Through me shall your days multiply, and years of life shall be added to you" (Proverbs 9).

The shoet parashah of Nitzavim has deep meaning as we approach Rosh Hashanah. We are told (D'varim 30:8): " See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil." After learning this midrash and examining the parshah, I will try to be more concious of the blessings in my daily life, and increase Torah and the blessing that comes with it. Just as we are told in the Torah, we too can choose in our own activities to choose the paths that highlight life and good.

On this not, I pray that we shall all be blessed with a Shabbat Shalom and a Shanah Tovah umvorechet (a good and blessed year)!

Parashat Ki Tetze - Surrounded by Mitzvot!

This week is a special parasha, not only because it contains the most mitzvot of any in the Torah, but it also was (one of the) parsh(iot) on which I marked my becoming a Bar Mitzvah seven years ago. Though some may find the lack of any narrative in the parashah a bit dull, I find the plethora of laws both exciting and axhilirating, as they have so much of an effect on what we do as Jews and members of a western democratic society.
This week I also began a chevruta in Midrsh with my friend Yossi, in which we plan on studying a selection of midrashim related to the week's parasha. There were so many interesting ideas in what we learned that it was hard to choose just one. the following text, about which I will comment comes from D'varim Rabbah 6:3:

ג [לכל מקום שתלך המצות מלוות אותך]

זה שאמר הכתוב (משלי א): כי לוית חן הם לראשך.
רבנן אמרי: נעשה דברי תורה חן לרשיותך.
כיצד?
אדם בן תורה, בשעה שהוא מזקין הכל באין ומסבבין אותו ושואלין אותו דברי תורה.

דבר אחר:
מהו כי לוית חן?
אמר רבי פנחס בר חמא: לכל מקום שתלך המצות מלוות אותך.

כי תבנה בית חדש ועשית מעקה לגגך.
אם עשית לך דלת, המצות מלוות אותך, שנאמר (דברים ו): וכתבתם על מזוזות ביתך.
אם לבשת כלים, חדשים המצות מלוות אותך, שנאמר: לא תלבש שעטנז.
אם הלכת לגלח, המצות מלוות אותך, שנא': לא תקיפו פאת ראשכם.
ואם היה לך שדה והלכת לחרוש בתוכה, המצות מלוות אותך, שנאמר (דברים כב): לא תחרוש בשור ובחמור יחדו.
ואם זרעת אותה, המצות מלוות אותך, שנא' (שם): לא תזרע כרמך כלאים.
ואם קצרת אותה, המצות מלוות אותך, שנא': כי תקצור קצירך בשדך ושכחת עומר בשדה. אמר הקב"ה: אפילו לא היית עוסק בדבר אלא מהלך בדרך, המצות מלוות אותך.
מנין?
שנא': כי יקרא קן צפור לפניך:

Proverbs 1:9 teaches us: "for they are a wreath to adorn your head"....
...What does it mean that they are a wreath for your head? Rabbi Pinchas Ben Hama said: Whererver you shall go, the mitzvot will accompany you!
When you build a new hoise, the mitzvot accompany you, as it says "When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof" (D'varim 22:8)
When you make a doorway, the mitzvot surround you, as it says "you should write them on the doors of your house" (D'varim 4:9)
When you go to shave, the mitzvot surround you, as it says "you shall not round the corners of your head" (Vayikra 19:27)
When you wear new clothing, the mitvot surround you, as it says "you should not wear an admixture of wool and linen" (D'varim 22:11).
If you plant a field, the mitzvot accompany you, as it is written "you should not mix two species in a field" (D'varim 22:9).
When you go to plow your field, the mitzvot surround you, as it says "you shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together." (D'varim 22:10)
When you reap it, the mitzvot accompany you, as it says "when you go to reap your harvest, and forget a measure of grain...it is for the stranger, orphan and widow" (D'varim 24:19).

The Holy One Blessed Be He said: even if you are not engaged in any act and just walking along the way, the mitzvot will accompany you. How do we know this?
" If a bird's nest chance to be before you along the way" (D'varim 22:6).

When Yossi and I first looked at this midrash, we were a bit puzzled. What do we learn from this nice, but seemingly random, list of mitzvot that Rabbi Pinchas presents us with, most of them from this week's parasha? It then occured to me, as it has since I began my journey of critical, academic text study at the Conservative Yeshiva and JTS, that we must examine the text according to when it was written and not purely through our 21st century lens. According to an article in the Jewish Encyclopedia co-edited by Louis Ginzberg, this compilation of Midrash was probably edited around the year 900 in Eretz Yisrael, a time when much of the Jewish community there lived an agrarian lifestyle. Therefore, the mitzvot listed here can give us some insight into activities that were part of daily life for our ancestors over a millenium ago, when houses had flat roofs (and required parapets), and fields needed to be sown, plowed and reaped.

Rabbi Pinchas's list of daily mitzvot inspired me to consider how many opportunities I have for mitzvot in my daily life, and which I'm sure is true for many of us. In addition to 'big' mitzvot like Tefillah, Shabbat and Kashrut, I am amazed by how many opportunities there are in my immeadite community to engage in both mitzvot bein adam laMakom (between humans and God) and Bein Adam L'chaveiro (between humans). JTS's Va'ad Gemilut Chasadim provides countless ways to give back to the community, from blood drives to volunteering at homeless shelters, soup kitchens and old age homes. These types of 'social action' mitzvot are even on our nation agenda, as seen in a forum held here at Columbia last night featuring Barack Obama and John McCain. Finally, I am fortunate to have so many opportunities to engage in serious Torah study at JTS, Columbia and the community at large.

Even if we probably won't happen upon many of the mitzvot enumermay you merit ated in this mishnah, it is our challenge from Parashat Ki Tetze to seek out mitzvot to accompany our daily lives, and activities that reflect the values taught in the Torah, even we aren't plowing with donkeys or oxen!

Shabbat Shalom, and Tizku L'mitzvot (may you merit mitzvot)!

קולומביה אורו של עולם Columbia, light of the world!

Shavua Tov!
I am proud to announce that not only did I start off my college career by hearing the president/dictator of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but Columbia seems to have started an annual high-profile speaker series. This coming Thursday evening, Both Barack Obama and John McCain will be speaking in our very own Roone Arledge Auditorium. I entered myself in a lottery to secure a spot in the room, but the odds aren't too high. We shall see!

Presidential Candidates Will Speak at Lerner

Presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama, CC ’83, will appear on stage together in Alfred Lerner Hall next Thursday as part of a summit on the importance of public service, event organizers told Spectator.

“Both Obama and McCain have confirmed their attendance,” University President Lee Bollinger said Wednesday afternoon.

The candidates are two of the many high-profile figures who will appear on campus during the summit, hosted by ServiceNation, a nonpartisan coalition devoted to increasing the commitment of citizens to part-time public service. The organization hopes to have 100 million per year signed on by 2020.

According to an e-mail sent to members of the Columbia community on Wednesday night, students will be able to enter a ticket lottery to reserve seats. But, Bollinger warned in the e-mail, space for Columbia students is limited. According to ServiceNation, 500 “leaders of all ages” are expected to attend the two-day summit, which may curtail the amount of seats available to students. “We will ensure that all seating available goes to students in our University community,” Bollinger said.

Students will receive an e-mail with details regarding lottery registration on Thursday.

The event is part of ServiceNation’s two-day New York Summit, and will also feature New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and other politicians. R&B singer Usher is serving as the summit’s Youth Chair.

ServiceNation had previously announced that its summit would be held in New York City, but did not specify that Thursday’s events would be held at Columbia.

Thursday’s event also marks the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Out of respect for the memory of those who died that day, both campaigns pledged to tone down attack ads.

The summit’s co-chairs include Caroline Kennedy; Alma Powell, chair of America’s Promise Alliance; TIME’s Richard Stengel; Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation; and Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP. ServiceNation Summit is underwritten by a grant from Carnegie Corporation, and will be presented by AARP, TIME, and Target.

The appearance marks Obama’s first visit to his alma mater during his presidential campaign. Since he announced his candidacy in May 2007, Obama’s reticence to discuss his time at Columbia or to appear at the school has fueled questions about his activities as an undergraduate in Morningside Heights.

Obama, the junior U.S. senator from Illinois, won the Democratic nomination after a protracted primary battle with New York U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton. In this election, he has run on a platform of “change,” citing his personal experience growing up as the son of a Kenyan father and midwestern mother in Indonesia and Hawaii, as well as his time as an activist in Chicago and an Illinois state senator. Opponents have attacked Obama for his relative inexperience in national and international politics.

McCain, the Republican senior U.S. senator from Arizona, last appeared at Columbia as the Columbia College Class Day speaker in May 2006. His daughter Meghan graduated from Columbia College in 2007. He spoke largely about his support for the war in Iraq and the importance of dissent and discussion, and was heckled by many attendees.

McCain was initially considered a long shot for the Republican nomination, but his campaign picked up momentum after the New Hampshire primary in 2008. He is expected to formally accept the Republican nomination this week at the Republican National Convention.

During the campaign, McCain has repeatedly cited his own experience as a war veteran and his years in the House of Representatives and Senate as evidence of his qualifications to be president. Critics say that McCain’s policies are too similar to what they believe are the failed policies of President George W. Bush.

Next week’s event will mark a rare joint appearance between the Democratic and Republican candidates, a point that Bollinger stressed in his e-mail. The two candidates last appeared together two weeks ago at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.
Rumors swirled around Columbia during the first day of classes about a potential high-profile speaker because certain student groups had their secured space in Lerner revoked for the same date.

“It’s wonderful for us to have the two leading candidates here, and to talk about the issues surrounding service,” Bollinger said.

In the e-mail sent to students, Bollinger said that ServiceNation’s mission fit well with Columbia’s interest in public service. “It is entirely fitting for us to become part of this two-day conclave that will bring together so many admired leaders in our country to consider ways to expand the scope and scale of successful service programs throughout the nation,” he said.

Bollinger wrote that the spirit of ServiceNation’s initiatives are “an essential part of Columbia’s identity and academic mission.” He stressed that the event is nonpartisan, and will not be a debate.

The presidential election comes on the heels of strife over the Iraq war, a shaky economy, and the conflict between Georgia and Russia. The vote also touches on issues such as race and gender, since, if elected, Obama would be the first black president, and if McCain sees success, running mate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would be the first female vice president.

Melissa Repko, Jacob Schneider, and Amanda Sebba contributed to this article.

Parashat Shof'tim - How do we take responsibility?

This week's parasha of Shof'tim (which happens to be the one I read at Robinson's arch at the Kotel for my Bar Mitzvah seven years ago), could not be more relevant, as we are in the midst of an intense presidential campaign, a time when discussions of values are in the news and in the air. Shof'tim, which constitutes the heart of the legal portion of Moshe's final address, deals mostly with interpersonal laws (mitzvot bein adam l'chavero), and specifically about setting up a just society. It begins with the famous exhortation of צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף - Justice, Justice, shall you pursue (D'varim 16:20), and continues with a number of topics under this umbrella: idolatry, courts, kingship, murder and war.
One of the most interesting, and possibly troubling situations presented in the parasha is at the end of the sh'vi'i aliyah (which I will be reading tomorrow). After giving a number of instructions about how to conquer the land, including the beautiful environmentalist message of the commandment not cut down fruit trees when attacking a city (20:19-20), for "Is a fruit tree human, to run from you in a seige," we recieve the law of the 'Egel Ha'arufa.'
We are told in D'varim 21:1-9 of the case of a corpse being found between two cities, and no evidence as to who committed the murder. The Torah provides a special ceremony in which the elders of the closest city to the location of the corpse take a calf that has never been worked and take it to the side of an unsown riverbed, where its neck is then broken. The elders wash their hands over the body of the calf and recite:
יָדֵינוּ לֹא שפכה (שָׁפְכוּ) אֶת-הַדָּם הַזֶּה וְעֵינֵינוּ לֹא רָאוּ. ח כַּפֵּר לְעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר-פָּדִיתָ יְהוָה וְאַל-תִּתֵּן דָּם נָקִי בְּקֶרֶב עַמְּךָ
יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנִכַּפֵּר לָהֶם הַדָּם. ט וְאַתָּה תְּבַעֵר הַדָּם הַנָּקִי מִקִּרְבֶּךָ כִּי-תַעֲשֶׂה הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה
"'Our hands have not spilled this blood and our eyes did not see it. For give your people Israel that you redeemed and do not allow innocent blood to be spilled in the midst of the people,' and they should be forgiven for this blood. And thus should you extinguish the innocent blood from your midst if you do that which is right in the eyes of God."

In one vein, it is very nice and beautiful that the Torah provides a ceremony, where we can recognize the occurance of such a heinous act as a senseless murder/death of an unknown person. On the other hand, it is somewhat troubling that it seems that the elders of the city can almost too easily 'wash their hands' of the murder.
However, the existence of this ceremony in itself can send us a more positive message. (I can't remeber in whose name to teach this lesson:) One reason that this type of murder/death could occur, especially outiside of a city, is if a person were spiritually or physically outside of a community, and the leaders of the community did not make the proper effort to include those on the perimeter. This ceremony, which in any case is somber and not jubilant, could serve as a wake-up call to the elders that they must improve their efforts to reach out to those who may be excluded from the community for any reason.
We too, must heed this message; we must reach out to those in our communities who may feel on the outside, especially to guests, visitors and newcomers. As well, in this period of Elul 5768, when we are reflecting on both our personal and national actions, we must remember to include those who may escape our thoughts. May the values of justice and righteousness present in this week's parashah be near to us as we make both personal and national goals in the days and weeks ahead.

Shabbat Shalom!

P.S. (Post Shabbat): As we discuss senseless, and preventable deaths with the 'egel ha'arufah (broken-necked calf), I would like to dedicate these words to the memory of Anthony Esposito, 48, father of 3 and brother of our JTS director of Facilities Joseph Esposito who was killed in a tragic, and probably preventable crane accident this past week, the third such incident in the city in the past year. I hope and pray that preventable incidents like these can be decreased if we, and those who are in positions of power take care in matters of human life.

זה סוף הקיץ, סוף הדרך -An end of Summer D'var Torah

(Translation of title: 'it is the end of the summer, the end of the path' - Lu Yehi, by Naomi Shemer)

After just attending a shiva minyan in the neighborhood the past few nights, I was inspired to offer some words of Torah on this Shabbat of Ekev, the second Shabbat of Consolation following Tisha B'av. As a number of relevant and inspirational quotes had come to mind, I will present each of them and explain its relevance for these concluding days of the summer, after camp has ended and before returning to school next week.

ב טוֹב לָלֶכֶת אֶל-בֵּית-אֵבֶל, מִלֶּכֶת אֶל-בֵּית מִשְׁתֶּה--בַּאֲשֶׁר, הוּא סוֹף כָּל-הָאָדָם; וְהַחַי, יִתֵּן אֶל-לִבּוֹ.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart. (Kohelet Chapter 7)

While I do not believe it is at all healthy to have Kohelet's bleak world view all the time, it is important to take his words to heart once in a while. Although I did not know the woman for whom we were mourning, I always find Shiva Minyanim a time to step back and reflect on our relationships with those whom we care about and with our communities, as opposed to with the material world of our daily lives. These ideas are also reflected in the words of Psalm 49, recited on most days in a house of mourning:

But man abideth not in honour; he is like the beasts that perish.
14 This is the way of them that are foolish, and of those who after them approve their sayings. Selah
15 Like sheep they are appointed for the nether-world; death shall be their shepherd;
and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their form shall be for the nether-world to wear away, that there be no habitation for it.
16 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the nether-world; for He shall receive me. Selah

While these words of the psalmist may be quite overly bleak,I feel that they are appropriate for a house of mourning, when we should be steered to focus on the legacy that a person left, and not just on possessions.

Parashat Ekev is also about reflection, sitting in the middle of Moses's second discourse to the people of Israel as they are about to enter the land. Ekev sits between the majesty of V'etchanan, when we heard the Aseret Hadibrot (decalogue) and Sh'ma, and the legal code which begins in next weeks reading of Re'eh. But this week is Moshe's opportunity to remind the new generation which is poised to enter the land of where they have come from and their ultimate mission. Before Moshe reviews the sins of the generation of the wilderness, and especially of the Golden Calf, he reminds us and them of God's love that he had shown in the desert:

ג וַיְעַנְּךָ, וַיַּרְעִבֶךָ, וַיַּאֲכִלְךָ אֶת-הַמָּן אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדַעְתָּ, וְלֹא יָדְעוּן אֲבֹתֶיךָ: לְמַעַן הוֹדִיעֲךָ, כִּי לֹא עַל-הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם--כִּי עַל-כָּל-מוֹצָא פִי-יְהוָה, יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם.	3 And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every thing that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
ד שִׂמְלָתְךָ לֹא בָלְתָה, מֵעָלֶיךָ, וְרַגְלְךָ, לֹא בָצֵקָה--זֶה, אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה.	4 Your clothing did not get old upon you, neither did your foot swell, these forty years.
ה וְיָדַעְתָּ, עִם-לְבָבֶךָ: כִּי, כַּאֲשֶׁר יְיַסֵּר אִישׁ אֶת-בְּנוֹ, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, מְיַסְּרֶךָּ.	5 And thou shalt consider in thy heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.

We learn a number of lessons from these poignant verses.

• Man does not live by bread alone: As we get ready to return to our routines of school and work, we should also assess the Mitzvot that we perform and our other actions, in addition to the way we earn our physical bread
• Your clothing did not get old upon you: A good reminder to be thankful, in addition to God, to those who raised us and made sure that our clothing never got too worn, in addition to nurturing us spiritually.
• Just as a parent chastens their child: Disipline is only appropriate and effective when done out of love, but we often do not see the love in our discipline or rebuke until years later.

As the summer comes to a close and we return to a regulated routine, our traditions have a number of similar, but contrasting outlooks.

1. Jeremiah: כ עָבַר קָצִיר, כָּלָה קָיִץ; וַאֲנַחְנוּ, לוֹא נוֹשָׁעְנוּ. 20 'The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.'(Chapter 8)
   
2. Naomi Shemer:
   

   זה סוף הקיץ סוף הדרך

   תן להם לשוב הלום

   כל שנבקש לו יהי.

This is the end of summer, the end of the path
Allow them to return safely here
All that we seek, may it be

Both Jeremiah and Shemer served as 'national poets' for the Jewish people, during the destruction of the first Temple and the Rebirth of the State of Israel respectively, and they bring very different ideas out of this turning of the seasons. While Jeremiah seems to represent one who had goals for the long days of summer and now mourns over what he wished to accomplish and was unable to, Naomi Shemer sees this conclusion of a time of hope, concluding with the words made famous by The Beatles, 'Let it Be.' As the days get shorter and start to cool, We can choose to follow Jeremiah or Naomi Shemer; Although both are beautiful poets, I will try to live up to Shemer's lyrics, and in the spirit of the other words of our tradition, trying to use these days of Shabbat Ekev for reflection, and a resolve to keep improving our deeds and continue hoping that God will let it be

Ken Y'hi Ratzon. Amen.

סליק מסכת בבא בתרא: The Tractate of Bava Batra is Completed

While the learning of this entire masechet was in memory of our heroic soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev z"l, I would like to give these words a different dedication, to two young people who were taken before their time, and whose Yahrzeits occur during this week surrounding Tisha B'av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar.
ה' נתן וה' לקח יהי שם ה' מבורך - God gave and God took, may the name of God be blessed (Job 2:21), is a beautiful but difficult verse to accept. These tragedies defy human explanation, but hopefully we can learn from them and make their memories a kiddush hashem, a sanctification of God's name.
Michael Levin, zecher gibor livracha (may the memory of a hero be for a blessing), died age 21, 8 Av 5766, who died in Lebanon defending the land and people of Israel. Michael, an alum of USY, Camp Ramah in the Poconos and Nativ set an example in his dedication to Am Yisrael by leaving his family while on vacation to return to fight with his unit in Lebanon.
Jared Ascher, died age 4, 12 Av 5753, my first cousin (and the closest in me to age, just two months younger than me), who died of an incurable brain tumor.
Each of these young souls had something special to give the world, and were taken from us before their time. Y'hi Zichram Baruch - may their memories serve as a blessing. I wish to end the dedication with the opening words of this week's haftarah: נחמו נחמו עמי יאמר אלוהיכם - comfort, comfort my people! Thus says your God. (Isaiah 40:1)


While many hold that 'just' completing a tractate of Mishnah, is not enough for a proper siyum, which requires a tractate of Gemara or a Seder (one of the six orders of Mishnah), I still feel that my completion of Bava Batra's ten chapters deserves some summarizing and reflection.
Many Masechtot, especuially those which are almost exclusively concerned with halachic material, end with a short passage of aggadah which provides a bit of flavor to the extended legal section. As a sort of virtual siyum (celebration of study), I would like to 'teach' the final mishnah of the masechet and provide some 'drash' on it.
Bava Batra 10:9
י,ט [ח] המלווה את חברו בשטר, גובה מנכסים משועבדין; על ידי עדים, גובה מנכסים בני חורין. הוציא עליו כתב ידו שהוא חייב לו, גובה מנכסים בני חורין. הערב שהוא יוצא לאחר חיתום שטרות, גובה מנכסים בני חורין. מעשה בא לפני רבי ישמעאל ואמר, גובה מנכסים בני חורין. אמר לו בן ננס, אינו גובה לא מנכסים משועבדין ולא מנכסים בני חורין. אמר לו, למה. אמר לו, הרי החונק את אחד בשוק. אמר לו הנח ואני נותן לך, פטור, שלא על אמנתו הלווהו. איזה הוא ערב שהוא חייב: אמר לו הלווהו, ואני נותן לך--חייב, שכן על אמנתו הלווהו. אמר רבי ישמעאל, הרוצה להחכים, יעסוק בדיני ממונות, שאין מקצוע בתורה גדול מהן, שהן כמעיין הנובע. והרוצה לעסוק בדיני ממונות, ישמש את שמעון בן ננס.

One who loans to his fellow through a written contract, he [the loaner] can collect from liened property (i.e., assets that can be seized to pay outstanding debts); a loan made though witnesses, payment can be collected with unliened property. If the loaner poroduces the loanee's handwriting that he is owed money, he may collect from unliened property.
If a guarantor is found after the loan has been granted, he may collect from unliened property. This case came before Rabbi Yishmael, who said that he may collect from uniened property. Ben Nanas said to him, he may not collect from liened or unliened property. Rabbi Yishmael responded, why? Ben Nanas replied, behold the case of a loaner who halts (lit. strangles) a creditor in the marketplace. A passerby said, leave him alone and I will give you [the money]. He (the passerby) is not liable to pay back the loan, because the loaner duid not loan to the creditor based on this person paying back the loan. however, in the caee that the guarantor said, loan to him money, ande I will repay you, he [the guarantor] is liable to repay because the loan was made based on his promise.
(and now, the message): Rabbi Yishmael says, one who wishes to become wise, should study the laws of commerce and property, because there is no greater pursuit than it in Torah, for it is like a flowing fountain. And one who wishes to learn these laws, should study under Shimon Ben Nanas.

Although pages could be written about the legal and philosophical implications of the legal portion of this mishnah, I would like to focus on Rabbi Yishmael's closing maxim. One might think it strange for a rabbi, especially one living quite soon after the destruction of the Temple, to tell his followers to focus on the intricacies of civil law- what about shabbat, kashrut and agricultural tithes? I think that this statement, which echoes Rabbi Akiva's famous words ("Thus said Rabbi Akiva, this is the essence of Torah, love your neighbor as yourself") is indicative of the true goal of rabbinic Judaism: If one is only concerned with matters of ritual and their relationship with God is only fulfilling half of the mitzvot. Rabbi Yishmael is making a strong statement about the importance of interpersonal relationships, which are regulated through Mitzvot Bein Adam L'chaveiro (commandments between human beings) and codified in the tractates of Seder Nezikin.
Rabbi Yishmael's statement is all too necessary of a reminder today in the wake of the agriprocessers fiasco (in which the country's largest kosher meat plant has been accused of violating immgration laws, child labor and worker mistreatment. Although some rabbis such as representatives of the Orthodox Union and National Council of Young Israel have claimed that kashrut is only abut the minatae of those specific regulations (that would be found in masechet hullin), I, and I believe the rabbis of the mishnah, would strongly disagree.
In this time when we mourn so many different tragedies, some far beyond human understanding, we should resolve to work on our fulfillment of interpersonal mitzvot and our treatment of others, and thus we will be watered by the sweet spring of Torah and hopefully improve the world as well!

B'tzeiti M'imitzrayim/B'tzeitim M'irushalayim/ B'shuvi Lirushalayim

Al Eileh Ani Bochiya: For These I Cry - Thoughts on Tisha B'av 5768

Tisha B'av is a difficult day. While the aura of mourning may be difficult to grasp for those who may be unfamiliar with it, it is not easy even for someone like myself, who is fully immersed in the Jewish calendar.
It is an interesting idea to compare Pesach and Tisha B'av, both of which ask us, as 21st century Jews, to place ourselves in our ancestors shoes and imagine respecively, being redeemed from slavery in Egypt, and witnessing the destruction of two temples, as well as the other tragedies that have become associated with is day, inculding the Crusades, expulsion from Spain in 1492, Chelmincki pogroms in 1648-49, and the start of World War I in 1914, which eventually led to the Shoah.
Both Pesach and Tisha B'av are anticipated on the calendar. With Pesach, we are told to start preparing for the holiday 30 days prior to it [i.e., on Purim] (see Rashi to P'sachim 6a), which is pretty necessary for the cleaning and cooking to get done (or at least the planning for it). We also have 4 special shabbatot with their own maftir and haftarah readings, which anticipate this 'Season of our Freedom.'
Likewise, we begin to prepare for the somber nature of Tisha B'av three weeks prior with the fast of Shiva Asar B'tamuz, on which we mourn the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem in 70 CE, along with a number of other sad events. From that date, it is customary not to hold weddings, go to concerts, or have haircuts. Beginning on Rosh Chodesh Av, our joy is [further] decreased (Mishnah Ta'anit 4:6), and we customarily refrain from consuming meat and wine. However, despite this preparation, it is still difficult to go from a joyous shabbat to an intense 25 hours of mourning and reflection.
----
While I hope you appreciate the comparison which I described above between the most intense joy and intense sadness on our calendar, I really can't take credit for it. It is rather based on a stirring kinah (sad poem recited on Tisha B'av) whose refrain is the title of this post (When I left Egypt/When I Left Jerusalem/When I Return to Jerusalem) , written by Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra in 12th century Spain. I would like to provide the Hebrew text below (since the text is not as well known as it deserves to be), and then provide a bit of analysis and translation. [As a side note, this poem was known to me because it serves as one of the introductory pages to the Moss Haggadah, with each stanza framing a perpetual calendar for the first night of Pesach, which is always the same day of the week as the following Tisha B'av, thus another link between the two holidays.]

This stirring poem contains 22 couplets, each beginning with a letter of the Alef-Bet. What provides its beauty and haunting nature is that while the first line of each couplet begins with a joyous image of the Exodus from Egypt, it is immediately followed by a haunting image of the destruction and expulsion from Jerusalem both in 586 BC and 70 CE. May of the images in both categories are based on verses from the Tanach.
Here is translation of the first few stanzas:

A fire burned within me, as it rose in my heart - when I left Egypt.
And dirges I will raise up, so I will remember - when I left Jerusalem.
'And Moses sang,' an unforgotten song- When I left Egypt.
And Jeremiah lamented, and full of crying it was - when I left Jerusalem.
My house He established, and caused His presence to dwell within it - When I left Egypt.
And God's wrath came down upon me like a pillar of smoke - when I left Jerusalem.

One of the elements of this poem that I truly appreciate is Ibn Ezra's writing in first person. He attempts to embody the idea of B'chol Dor Vador -that in every generation one should see him or herself as if they left Egypt - and applies it to both the exodus and the destruction. The poet asks us to remember our highest point even when we are so low, part of the idea that we have at least some ability to control our national destiny. As well, it is stirring how such close comparidons werre found between the exodus and explusion, between songs of joy and songs of mourning, clouds of Divine protection and divine wrath.
Evoking another rabbinic custom, Ibn Ezra beautifully inserts a twist of hope at the end of the kinah, whose last stanza reads in the Ashkenazi tradition:

Torah and witnessing [at Sinai], and precious vessels - when I left Egypt.
Joy and gladness, and an end to tragedy and mourning - when I return to Jerusalem.

May we all merit to return to a Jerusalem of peace, whether to live or to visit, and may we be thanful for the rebuilding of Jerusalem that has occcured in our lifetime.

------------------------

I wish to conclude with a short description of our Tisha B'av observance here at Ramah Nyack. After Seudah Shlisheet on Saturday night, which was augmented by a fuller menu of Lasanga and sweet potato pie, we moved in to the Beit Knesset, where the parochet (curtain) had already been removed from the Aron Kodesh. We had a short study session, folowed by the beginning of the maariv service recited without a tune. This section of the service was concluded with kaddish shalem and the blessing over the flame. We then walked outside and down a candlelit walkway to the grassy area, where we gatherd around low tables and read the book of eicha by candlelight. After the conclusion of maariv, we walked over to a blacktop area, where I sang as part of the 'tisha b'av choir' a series of sad songs as two Israels lit the word zachor (remember) on fire flanked by Israeli flags (a somewhat strange tradition, if you ask me). This was followed by a number of optional activities, from which I chose to attend a session led by my friend Michael on the midrashic compilation Eicha Rabbah.
This morning, we again davened outside on the grass, and I read the haftarah, recited in the melody of eicha except for the concluding verses.

Later this evening we will have a Mincha service, a movie and discussion, and Ma'ariv and Break-Fast.