Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Gentiles Matter Too

The more, indeed, Judaism comprises the whole of man and extends its declared mission to the salvation of the whole of mankind, the less it is possible to confine its outlook to the four cubits of a synagogue and the four walls of a study. The more the Jew is a Jew, the more universalist will his views and aspirations be, the less aloof will he be from anything that is noble and good, true and upright, in art or science, in culture or education; the more joyfully will he applaud whenever he sees truth and justice and peace and the ennoblement of man prevail and become dominant in human society: the more joyfully will he seize every opportunity to give proof of his mission as a Jew, the task of his Judaism, on new and untrodden ground; the more joyfully will he devote himself to all true progress in civilisation and culture--provided, that is, that he will not only not have to sacrifice his Judaism but will also be able to bring it to more perfect fulfilment. He will ever desire progress, but only in alliance with religion. He will not want to accomplish anything that he cannot accomplish as a Jew. Any step which takes him away from Judaism is not for him a step forward, is not progress. He exercises this self-control without a pang, for he does not wish to accomplish his own will on earth but labours in the service of God. He knows that wherever the Ark of his God does not march ahead of him he is not accompanied by the pillar of the fire of His light or the pillar of the cloud of His grace.

(Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Collected Writings, Vol. VI, pp. 107-150, “Religion Allied to Progress”)


God has dispersed Yisrael among the nations as עבד and שפחה, as "servant" and "handmaiden," to labor on behalf of God's great work on behalf of mankind. Yisrael is called "a servant" to indicate the arduous labor inherent in its outward position vis-à-vis the nations, and "a handmaiden" to denote the joyous fulfillment of its life's task within the sphere of its own homes, families and communities. For the proper discharge of both these tasks Yisrael needs extraordinary spiritual and moral talents and energy; and it is for these faculties that Yisrael looks up to God its God even as a "servant" and a "handmaiden" would look up to their Master.

(Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on Tehillim 123, 2)


When Abraham, the first Jew, was sent out into the world, he was commanded: 'Heyai bracha.' 'Be a blessing.' Unlike those self-centered others who seek blessings only for themselves, you are to devote yourself completely to your calling, namely, to become a blessing, to help increase the happiness and prosperity of those among whom you dwell, and to advance the work of God in your environment with every breath of your life and every ounce of your strength.

( Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, "The Educational Value of Judaism")


The more we understand that Judaism reckons with all of man's endeavors, and the more its declared mission includes the salvation of all mankind, the less can its views be confined to the four cubits of one room or one dwelling...The more the Jew is a Jew, the more joyously will he hail everything that will shape human life so as to promote truth, right, peace, and refinement among mankind, the more happily will he himself embrace every opportunity to prove his mission as a Jew on new, still untrodden grounds.

(Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, "Religion Allied with Progress)


And, indeed, if most of our brethren would live as true Jews, then most of the conditions that now bar the Jew from so many careers could be eliminated. If only all Jews who travel or who are active in business life were to insist on observing their duties as Jews, this insistence would bring about the possibility of fulfilling all religious requirements...Why, even in official institutions of civic and political life, enlightened governments and nations would gladly accommodate a loyalty of conscience which would represent a significant contribution made by a Jewish citizen to the overall society of fellow citizens among whom he dwells.

(Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, "Religion Allied with Progress")


At the end of Psalm 95 we were told of a negative aspect of our task while in Galuth, namely, of the errors from which we must guard ourselves during our long wanderings through exile. This Psalm, on the other hand, has as its theme the fulfillment of the great and blissful purpose of our journeys among the nations, namely the "wakening of awe" of God throughout the world, of which mention was already made in Verse 1 of Psalm 95. It is Yisrael's task to enter into the midst of the nations with a "new song" that is to "behold" God's greatness, and the "newness" of this song lies in the fact that in it, we read the call שירו לה' כל הארץ, summoning all of mankind to unite in "beholding" the greatness of the One God.

(Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Commentary on Psalm 95)


All thy holy ones serve as Thy instruments to this end. Not only Israel but also the rest of mankind will benefit from the educational and moral influence of those among Israel who hallow their lives by faithfully observing this Law. These individuals tacitly serve as a light to all mankind, as models showing how man's sacred calling is to be put into practice. Though we are told above that even Seir and Paran, nations closely related to Israel, were not yet sufficiently mature to accept the Law, the revelation of the Law to Israel on Mount Sinai was intended to benefit all mankind. With and through Israel, the ground was prepared for the future gathering of all mankind to perform its duty toward God .... Only through the Law, whose bearer Israel became at Sinai, will the lessons imparted to the other nations by historical experience attain their purpose ....

(Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Commentary on Devarim 33:3, translation by Gertrude Hirschler)


In order for this be a reality a prisoner must be allowed to maintain a sense that he is created in the image of God; he is a human being who can be a reflection of Godliness in this world. But when a prisoner is denied this sense and feels subjugated and controlled; never allowed to raise up his head, then the prison system not only fails at its purpose, it creates in him a greater criminal than there was before. One of the goals of the prison system is to help Jewish inmates and non-Jewish inmates ... to raise up their spirits and to encourage them, providing the sense, to the degree possible, that they are just as human as those that are free; just as human as the prison guards. In this way they can be empowered to improve themselves ...

(Lubavitcher Rebbe, “The Backstory of the Chassidim Who Got Criminal Justice Reform Done Inspired by the Lubavitcher Rebbe,” Dovid Margolin)


The true and complete Redemption depends on “bringing the entire world to recognize the sovereignty of G-d.” Every person must hasten this, and help prepare the world to serve G-d as one. Although one might think his interaction with non-Jews is mainly for economic purposes, a Jew’s real intention should be to guide and inspire them to fulfill their Seven Noahide Laws. The Seven Noahide Laws are not simply legal matters – they are principles which precede and give meaning to all other laws. Laws only apply to people who are living; once someone is alive, he can be told to follow the law. But true “living” means being connected to Torah, which is “our life,” and observing its Mitzvos, by which “we live”. So, first and foremost, one must see to it that his non-Jewish neighbor is alive!

(Lubavitcher Rebbe, 20 Menachem Av, 5745 • August 7, 1985, Disc 31, Program 123)


Egyptian society was steeped in the pursuit of self-serving carnal pleasure, which is reduced by circumcision. Thus, by having the Egyptians circumcised, Joseph subdued their obsession with carnal indulgence. Pharaoh himself instructed them to go along with Joseph’s condition; thus, even the living symbol of Egyptian corruption was willing to be refined, at least somewhat. We follow Joseph’s example by remaining spiritually uncontaminated by our materialistic environment and even refining it. By strengthening our own commitment to Judaism, we influence our fellow Jews to strengthen theirs. Moreover, we influence the broader community of non-Jews to keep the Torah’s laws that apply to them (the “Noahide” laws). Thus, we will ultimately transform the entire world into G d’s home. (Lubavitcher Rebbe, Likutei Sichot, vol. 10, p. 141.)


(On Nishmas prayer on Shabbos) Although this prayer has the same theme as the blessing of Yishtabach (“May your name be praised”), emphasizing God's attributes and the privilege given to us to praise Him, it is recited only on Shabbat and Holidays simply because there is not sufficient time to recite it during weekdays. It may be described as the great universal hymn of the salvation of mankind. A Jew is not satisfied with his redemption unless everybody will be redeemed with him; the Jew feels the beat of the heart of the universe. The Jew prays even for the cosmos. Once a month, he prays that God restore the diminution of the moon. The Jewish experience is all-inclusive, all-embracing, sympathetic to all.

(Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Days of Deliverance in Mesorat HaRav Siddur, p. 476-7)


He [Abraham] was a resident, like other inhabitants of Canaan, sharing with them a concern for the welfare of society, digging wells, and contributing to the progress of the country in loyalty to its government and institutions. Here, Abraham was clearly a fellow citizen, a patriot among compatriots, joining others in advancing the common welfare. However, there was another aspect, the spiritual, in which Abraham regarded himself as a stranger. His identification and solidarity with his fellow citizens in the secular realm did not imply his readiness to relinquish any aspects of his religious uniqueness. His was a different faith and he was governed by perceptions, truths, and observances which set him apart from the larger faith community. In this regard, Abraham and his descendants would always remain “strangers.”

(Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Reflections of the Rav, p. 169)


We certainly share the concerns of man in general, but at the same time we have interests and concerns of our own. We are part of humanity and at the same time, we are alone.

(Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, “Lonely Man of Faith: Trailer”)


“And you shall say to Pharaoh, 'So said Hashem: Yisrael is my eldest son.'” (Shemos 4,22) What the Almighty God said, בני בכורי, what is the conclusion that is to be drawn from it? If I say, “he's my oldest” or “he's my bechor”, it means that I have more children. He is the oldest, but there are many more children. When God told Moshe, “say to Pharaoh, Yisrael is my son, he is my bechor”, what does it mean? God has more children, He has many sons. Otherwise, the expression 'beni bechori' is inappropriate. If one has a single son he would say 'beni yechidi', like “your son, your only son who you love” (Bereishis 22:2). But now it's 'beni bechor'.

(Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchi, The Rav Thinking Aloud on Shemos, p. 50)


Every nation is a son of HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

(Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchi,k The Rav Thinking Aloud on Shemos, p. 50, See also Rabbeinu Ephraim, p. 176 and Chizkuni on the passuk)



Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Bechor and Ben - two opinions

Here's a case of outright disagreement by two important figures of our generation. I don't know if these two opinions can be reconciled. We have Rav Joseph Soloveitchik on one side and Rav Avigdor Miller on the other. As you shall see, they completely disagree with one another on a subject near and dear to many who follow the Torah Im Derech Eretz path of life.

Rav Joseph Soloveitchik:

What the Almighty God said, בני בכורי, what is the conclusion that is to be drawn from it? If I say, “he's my oldest” or “he's my bechor”, it means that I have more children. He is the oldest, but there are many more children. When God told Moshe, “say to Pharaoh, Yisrael is my son, he is my bechor”, what does it mean? God has more children, He has many sons. Otherwise, the expression 'beni bechori' is inappropriate. If one has a single son he would say 'beni yechidi', like “your son, your only son who you love” (Bereishis 22:2). But now it's 'beni bechor'. 

(Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchi, The Rav Thinking Aloud on Shemos, p. 50)


Every nation is a son of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. (See also Rabbeinu Ephraim, p. 176 and Chizkuni on the passuk)

(Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchi, The Rav Thinking Aloud on Shemos, p. 50)

Rabbi Avigdor Miller:

Question: The Rav said that only the Am Yisroel are the “banim” of Hashem. But doesn’t the posuk of “b’ni bichori Yisroel,” imply that while we are His bechor, but that the other nations are also considered His children?

Rav Miller: Look, he’s asking a good question. Nothing wrong with a little lomdus. If it says, “b’ni bichori Yisroel,” that they are my firstborn, that implies that the rest of the nations are not “bechorim,” but they’re at least “banim.” The answer is – No! Am Yisroel are “banim” and nobody else is “banim.” But not only are they “banim,” but they’re beloved like “b’ni bichori.” That’s what it means.

“Banim atem la’shem Elokeichem.” It doesn’t say, “bechorim atem la’shem Elokeichem.” Banim atem!  Atem! Only you are “banim” to me. Nobody else. Only that, not only are you “banim,” but you are beloved to me like a bechor. Because a bechor is especially beloved. That’s all that it means.

TAPE #E-207

Note, Rav Miller does say elsewhere that if you were to put the entire physical universe on one side of a scale and a Fiji Islander on the other, the Fiji Islander would greatly outweigh the physical universe in importance. He says also, we don't hate the goyim, we just don't mingle with them. We are kindly toward everyone. 



Monday, August 23, 2021

Teach emunah

 Rav Avigdor Miller on Mesivta High Schools


Q:

If studying Hashem's creation and the emunah is such an important subject, why isn't it studied in the high schools, the mesivtas, today?

A:

If studying the halachos of Shabbos and the halachos of brachos is so important, why isn't it studied in the mesivta today?  The answer is the mesivtas today are based on an old system, an European system, and they took it for granted that by the time you entered the mesivta you had learned all the things.  You learned halachos in the cheder. You had learned Tanach and Tanach is emunah. That's how it was in the olden days.  They had learned Tanach, and Tanach is the study of creation. They learned Tehillim.  When I was a boy, we learned Tehillim as a boy. Our rebbi taught us Tehillim; we learned barchi nafshi, the wonders of creation.  You couldn't learn every little thing – a lot has to be left for the individual to do – but certainly if you learned Tanach, you learned a lot.  And you learned a lot of dinim too.  By the time you came into the mesivta you were ready for the big task of the Jewish male to spend his days in the cheker halachah, in the milchamto shel Torah.

But today the boys who are put into mesivta don't know anything; they know nothing about emunah, and therefore certainly they're losing out.  It's very important that the Chovos Halevavos, Sha'ar Habechinah should be taught today. And I would give a suggestion. Instead of the English Departments of the high schools teaching goyishe things – and very many Jewish boys and girls are ruined in the high school department of the yeshivos and this I can tell you from first-hand experience; I happen to know that it's true – if the mesivtas meant business, they could utilize the high schools to teach them emunah. And the boys and girls would come to such a strong faith in Hakodosh Boruch Hu that the high school could even be more powerful in shaping their minds and characters than anything else could be; it's a big opportunity that's going lost.

TAPE # 407 (May 1982)

Saturday, August 21, 2021

all-inclusive

 (On Nishmas prayer on Shabbos) Although this prayer has the same theme as the blessing of Yishtabach (“May your name be praised”), emphasizing God's attributes and the privilege given to us to praise Him, it is recited only on Shabbat and Holidays simply because there is not sufficient time to recite it during weekdays. It may be described as the great universal hymn of the salvation of mankind. A Jew is not satisfied with his redemption unless everybody will be redeemed with him; the Jew feels the beat of the heart of the universe. The Jew prays even for the cosmos. Once a month, he prays that God restore the diminution of the moon. The Jewish experience is all-inclusive, all-embracing, sympathetic to all. (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Days of Deliverance in Mesorat HaRav Siddur, p. 476-7)

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Dr. Isaac Levy

Some years ago I was grateful to locate and be able to post a photo of Gertrude Hirschler, one of the primary translators of Rav Hirsch's writings. Which reader of Hirsch hasn't read her fine translations? 


And now, through the help of Mr. Robert Schleimer, formerly of Munk's synagogue in London, I have been able to locate the photo of the other great Hirsch translator Dr. Isaac Levy, first translator of the complete Hirsch commentary on Chumash. And here it is:




What a debt of gratitude we owe him for his epic translation of Hirsch's epic commentary on Chumash. And here's one of Dr. Levy's translations:

"If we understand these sentences of the תייכ aright, then the sentence which stands at their head: forewarns one not to take the following sentences to mean that one is completely to ignore and remain in ignorance of all knowledge and science which has been gained and nurtured by non-Jewish sources or which have no direct bearing on the knowledge to be gained by the study of the Torah. Inasmuch as what is commanded is: עשם עיקר ואל תעשם טפלה, the permission to occupy oneself also with other spheres of knowledge is assumed. Only, the knowledge of the Torah and the understanding we derive from it is to be our principle concern and to be regarded as having been given to us as the absolute and firmly established Truth. Only as accessory knowledge and in as far as they serve to truly help the study of the Torah and are subordinated as the טפל to the עיקר, are they to be studied. But the Torah and all its teachings must always remain that which we have received from Above and must be the yardstick by which we measure all the results obtained by other spheres of learning. Only that which is in accordance with the Truths of the Torah can remain true for us. All that we accept intellectually as well as all our actions must always be considered from the point of view of the Torah and be within the lines of the doctrines it teaches, so that we only accept and adopt  that which is in accordance with them, and do not adulterate the knowledge we draw our of the Torah with ideas which have developed form other and strange premises."

R' Hirsch, Chumash, Leviticus, 18:5, trans. Isaac Levy, Judaica Press.

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Gertrude Hirschler

"Gertrude Hirschler was a translator and editor of literary works, and was the leading translator of the works of the nineteenth century German rabbi, Samson Raphael Hirsch. The collection primarily consists of materials relating to Hirschler's publishing career, containing her publishing correspondence, as well as manuscripts, articles and miscellaneous writings by other authors that were sent to Hirschler for editing or translating. There is also a small amount of personal materials and original writings by Hirschler."  Papers at YU

Bio

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Love of God

 

"'To love' means to feel one's being only through and in the being of another. 'To love God' therefore, means to feel that one's own existence and activity are rendered possible and obtain value and significance only through God and in God. You exist and are something only through God; and therefore in all that you are and do, you have only to strive to reach God -- that is, to perform His will." R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb, 9.

Friday, August 6, 2021

R’ Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz

 

"R’ Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz told his students in America, “I cannot understand how it is possible for an American yeshiva student to be Jewish without ‘The Nineteen Letters’” "(Klugman, 1998)


from Return to Basics: A Call to Revitalize R’ Hirsch’s Torah im Derech Eretz

Read more

Thursday, August 5, 2021

Whenever a person does a chessed

 

R' Solomon Breuer, zt'l, 1850-1926

R' Solomon Breuer, zt'l, 1850-1926
"In Parshas Vayera, Rav Shlomo Breuer, zt"l has a beautiful thought on this concept of "taking for Me Teruma." Whenever we 'give,' whether we do chessed with our bodies or we do chessed with our money, every giving is actually a 'taking.' Whenever a person does a chessed, he is really doing more for himself than for the person to whom he is giving." R' Yissaschar Frand, Parshas Vayera

Sunday, August 1, 2021

Life, living, aspirations, achievement, and creativity


"Pagans, both ancient and modern, have a predilection for associating religion and religious matters with death and thoughts of death. For them the kingdom of God begins only where man ends. They view death and dying as the true manifestations of their deity, whom they see as a god of death, not of life; a god that kills and never revives, that sends death and its forerunners, sickness and affliction, so that men’s realizing the might of their god and their own impotence, may fear him. For this reason they set up their shrines near graves and the place of their priests is prominently near the dead. Death and mourning are the most fertile soil for the dissemination of their religion, and it seems that in their view, the presence, on their own flesh, of a mark of death, a symbol of death's power to conquer all of life, would be a sign of religiosity par excellence and, above all, the most essential attribute of the priest and his office.


"Not so the priests in Judaism, because the Jewish concept of God and the Jewish religion are not so. The God Whose Name assigns the priest his place among the Jewish people is a God of life, His most exalted manifestation is not the power of death that crushes strength and vitality but the power of life that enables man to exercise free will and to be immortal. Judaism teaches us not how to die but how to live so that, even in life, we may overcome death, lack of freedom, the enslavement to physical things and moral weakness. Judaism teaches us how to spend every moment of a life marked by moral freedom, thought, aspirations, creativity and achievement, along with the enjoyment of physical pleasures, as one more moment in life's constant service to the everlasting God. This is the teaching to which God has dedicated His Sanctuary and for whose service He has consecrated the ihbvf, the guardians of the basis and "direction" (Hebrew: ivf [priest] = iuf [direction] of the people's life.



"When death summons the other members of his people to perform the final acts of loving-kindness for the physical shell of a apb [soul] that has been called home to God, the ‘v hbvf ["priests of God"] must stay away in order to keep aloft the banner of life beside the dead body, to make certain that the concept of life; i.e., the thought that man has been endowed with moral freedom, that he is godly and not subject to the physical forces that seek to crush moral freedom, is not overshadowed by thoughts of death. Only when the realities of life require even the priest to perform his final duty as a husband, son, father or brother for the shell of a departed apb, or the presence of an abandoned body makes it necessary for him to take the place of the father or brother of the deceased, does his priestly function yield to his calling as a human being and as a member of a family. In such cases he is not only permitted but in fact commanded to have the necessary contact with the dead body. Under all other circumstances, however, priests must stay away from the bodies of the dead."


R' Hirsch on Genesis Emor 21:5