Parshat Tazria Metzora
by Rabbi Avi Billet
Due to their not (yet) having been translated by the Jewish publishing houses much of the midrashic library is a treasure-trove of untouched gemstone mines. It is particularly fertile ground for rabbis to utilize in homiletical discourses, because not all Midrash is meant to be understood literally. Frankly, much of midrash can not be understood literally – an essential point to bear in mind before exploring any midrashic passage.
It is fascinating to read through certain midrashim – and without the crutch of a translation, because it leaves the midrash open to interpretation, as well as the derivation of either important lessons, important messages, or both.
Parshat Tazria opens with laws and practices surrounding giving birth and the aftermath of boy or girl's arrival, vis-à-vis the baby's mother's responsibilities.
The Yalkut Shimoni on Tazria 547 recounts a debate between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel in which they differ over how the fetus develops versus how a parallel development takes place in the World to Come.
Beit Shammai says "In this world, the flesh and skin develops first, followed by the sinews and bones. In the World to Come, the sinews and bones develop first, and the completion is the development of skin and flesh." He proves this analysis from Yechezkel's depiction of the Dry Bones coming to life (37:8).
On the other hand, Beit Hillel thinks the two developments pan out in the same ways. "In this world the skin and flesh develops first, and [the body] is completed with the sinews and bones. In the future as well, development will begin with skin and flesh and will be completed with the sinews and bones." He proves his analysis from a comment made by Iyov in Iyov 10:9-11.
What are they talking about?
Unlike questions of a "halakhic" nature, I don't believe the conclusion to this difference of opinion is particularly important. But the debate does give us pause to consider how people develop – not only physically, but spiritually.
Bones and cartilage certainly begin developing in the fetus two months into a pregnancy, long after the (somewhat) human shape has formed its skin. This is a fact that everyone – even Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel – can take for granted and cannot argue otherwise.
Aside from the physical reality, the message of human development would seem to suggest that the vessel is created first, and then the human has the opportunity to develop what shape or form the vessel will take. Please read the following descriptive words with their multiple meanings intended: will the person be tall and straight or bent and crooked? Will the mind be full or empty? Will the vessel be growth-oriented to reach great potential or will it be sedentary and take the shape of the couch it sits on its entire life? These are questions we can all appreciate.
But what about the end of life? What will be in future, or in the World to Come? Many rabbinic figures of the past have weighed in on what the World to Come means and what it will be like for all of us on some "other side." I am not interested in entering that conversation, because I am comfortable saying "I honestly have no idea." But Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, in this minor debate, shared with us what their opinions are.
If some version of the World to Come refers to a resurrection of the dead, with former bodies somehow being reformed from DNA, then their debate in the physical realm of how bodies will be recreated speaks for itself.
But if the reality they speak of is a spiritual development, I think there is no harm in suggesting that the two approaches will both be influenced by how a person leads and lives life in this world.
According to Beit Shammai, the bones and sinews will develop first. This would indicate that the form or shape that a person created in life will inform the person's reformulation in the World to Come.
In Beit Hillel's approach, on the other hand, one's "rebirth" is exactly as was one's original birth. In other words, one gets a new slate, just as each person had the first time around.
There is no question that both Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai would advocate living life to one's full potential – an honest, ethical, and morally upright existence. Their sons and daughters married one another because they respected each other greatly (Yevamot 14b). In a different realm, they also discussed the merits of living versus never having been born and concluded that now that we are born, we must constantly review, and presumably improve, our deeds (Eruvin 13b).
But both approaches to the World to Come provide insight as to the long term merits of one's ethical existence.
Beit Shammai would seem to leave little room for error, while Beit Hillel would seem to leave open the possibility that no one is perfect, and every one of us will have the chance to try again to "get it right" in a world-to-come existence.
May we merit to get it right the first time, with no regrets.
Showing posts with label world to come. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world to come. Show all posts
Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Our Father Who Lives Forever
Parshat Re'eh
by Rabbi Avi Billet
As September looms and the thought of what the UN could vote upon in reference to Israel comes scarily closer, many feel the desperation of the future of the State of Israel. Not only that, but recent terror attacks once again remind us that the uncertainty that continues to dominate elements of Israel's future may sometimes foment within us feelings of despair over what is yet to come.
The Torah tells us, "You are children of the Lord, your God. You shall neither cut yourselves nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead." (Devarim 14:1) The specific prohibition is against certain acts of body desecration practiced by pagans in mourning, but it also implies that there is a deeper connection to God that presupposes any need for such extreme measures.
Rabbi Shimshon Nadel, a friend of mine, pointed me in the direction of the comment of the Seforno on this pasuk. He says, "You are children of God. It is not proper to exhibit complete and utter concern and pain over the deceased when there are still close relatives, even more honored, among the living. Therefore 'You are children of God' [reminds us] that 'Your father [in heaven] lives forever.' Don’t make a baldness because you are a holy nation… don't suffer too much for the deceased who died 'You are a holy nation' destined for the world to come, where 'bad times' are better than all of our lives on this earth."
The Seforno argues that we have two things going for us that transcend all kinds of trials and tribulations on earth. Our Father in Heaven is always there, and we are all destined for the glory of the World to Come.
It's an amazing thing to think about. In the scheme of the world, even those of us who live to be centenarians only exist for a relative blip in human history. Every person who lived before us, from every regular Joe to even the worst dictators in history, might have thought of their time and their existence as the time to be living, when the decisions they made were the most important the world had ever seen.
There is no question that all of history played a part in shaping and framing the world we have today. But 100 years from now, when very few of us will still be around, how important will our decisions, actions, and choices of today still be? Will we still have family members who remember us, who will even visit our graves?
Edmund Burke said, "Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it." I believe there is much truth to this statement.
The Jewish approach has always taken this to a higher level. Might I suggest that Judaism has stood not only for learning from history, but living within our history. We not only crave and yearn for great leaders of the past generation (how many still look to Rabbis Aharon Kotler, Moshe Feinstein, Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Joseph B. Soloveitchik, the Chazon Ish, etc?), but we also look to the Vilna Gaon, Maimonides, Rashi, the Geonim, the Tanaim and Amoraim, King David, Moshe, our forefathers. We not only learn from them, but we use their wisdom to guide how we live today.
What keeps us going most of all is our living Father in heaven. There are difficult times, and tragedy strikes all too often. Sometimes it comes in the form of terrorism, sometimes it comes in the form of a disease, sometimes it comes in the form of a terrible accident. None are immune from it. Some seem to get more of a free pass, and some seem to suffer more than others.
But our national experience will one day lead to that which the Seforno reminds us is our ultimate destiny: the blissful experience of the world to come.
It is often hard to remember, particularly because we are building legacies and trying to make the world cleaner and better for our future generations. We forget that our little blip in the existence of the world is our chance to land ourselves a better spot in the world to come.
I am not suggesting not to mourn when we experience a loss. Particularly when the loss seems or is unnatural, we are very sad because we will miss the person very much. And it never seems fair that that's the "only" chance the person will get. And thinking "he or she is in a better place" is really only comforting when the deceased was suffering immeasurably in this world – not when life was snuffed out in an instant.
But if we can shift our focus and imagine that a day will come when we will join our friends and loved ones in experiencing heavenly bliss, it will give our lives greater meaning. We will not need to resort to pagan practices that will only make our existence in this world suffer, because we will be renewed with a sense of purpose to live our lives in such a way that we will be able to join our loved ones when our Father in Heaven allows us to enter the world to come.
by Rabbi Avi Billet
As September looms and the thought of what the UN could vote upon in reference to Israel comes scarily closer, many feel the desperation of the future of the State of Israel. Not only that, but recent terror attacks once again remind us that the uncertainty that continues to dominate elements of Israel's future may sometimes foment within us feelings of despair over what is yet to come.
The Torah tells us, "You are children of the Lord, your God. You shall neither cut yourselves nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead." (Devarim 14:1) The specific prohibition is against certain acts of body desecration practiced by pagans in mourning, but it also implies that there is a deeper connection to God that presupposes any need for such extreme measures.
Rabbi Shimshon Nadel, a friend of mine, pointed me in the direction of the comment of the Seforno on this pasuk. He says, "You are children of God. It is not proper to exhibit complete and utter concern and pain over the deceased when there are still close relatives, even more honored, among the living. Therefore 'You are children of God' [reminds us] that 'Your father [in heaven] lives forever.' Don’t make a baldness because you are a holy nation… don't suffer too much for the deceased who died 'You are a holy nation' destined for the world to come, where 'bad times' are better than all of our lives on this earth."
The Seforno argues that we have two things going for us that transcend all kinds of trials and tribulations on earth. Our Father in Heaven is always there, and we are all destined for the glory of the World to Come.
It's an amazing thing to think about. In the scheme of the world, even those of us who live to be centenarians only exist for a relative blip in human history. Every person who lived before us, from every regular Joe to even the worst dictators in history, might have thought of their time and their existence as the time to be living, when the decisions they made were the most important the world had ever seen.
There is no question that all of history played a part in shaping and framing the world we have today. But 100 years from now, when very few of us will still be around, how important will our decisions, actions, and choices of today still be? Will we still have family members who remember us, who will even visit our graves?
Edmund Burke said, "Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it." I believe there is much truth to this statement.
The Jewish approach has always taken this to a higher level. Might I suggest that Judaism has stood not only for learning from history, but living within our history. We not only crave and yearn for great leaders of the past generation (how many still look to Rabbis Aharon Kotler, Moshe Feinstein, Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Joseph B. Soloveitchik, the Chazon Ish, etc?), but we also look to the Vilna Gaon, Maimonides, Rashi, the Geonim, the Tanaim and Amoraim, King David, Moshe, our forefathers. We not only learn from them, but we use their wisdom to guide how we live today.
What keeps us going most of all is our living Father in heaven. There are difficult times, and tragedy strikes all too often. Sometimes it comes in the form of terrorism, sometimes it comes in the form of a disease, sometimes it comes in the form of a terrible accident. None are immune from it. Some seem to get more of a free pass, and some seem to suffer more than others.
But our national experience will one day lead to that which the Seforno reminds us is our ultimate destiny: the blissful experience of the world to come.
It is often hard to remember, particularly because we are building legacies and trying to make the world cleaner and better for our future generations. We forget that our little blip in the existence of the world is our chance to land ourselves a better spot in the world to come.
I am not suggesting not to mourn when we experience a loss. Particularly when the loss seems or is unnatural, we are very sad because we will miss the person very much. And it never seems fair that that's the "only" chance the person will get. And thinking "he or she is in a better place" is really only comforting when the deceased was suffering immeasurably in this world – not when life was snuffed out in an instant.
But if we can shift our focus and imagine that a day will come when we will join our friends and loved ones in experiencing heavenly bliss, it will give our lives greater meaning. We will not need to resort to pagan practices that will only make our existence in this world suffer, because we will be renewed with a sense of purpose to live our lives in such a way that we will be able to join our loved ones when our Father in Heaven allows us to enter the world to come.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A Holy Nation
Parshat Yitro
by Rabbi Avi Billet
In their fundamental theology, untainted by modern, liberal thinking (the good kind), other major religions of the world claim that those who do not subscribe to their belief system, who do not accept their version of "faith," have no share in the world to come.
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published interesting findings at the end of 2008. The subtitle of the survey results reads "Most Christians Say Non-Christian Faiths Can Lead to Salvation." While the "salvation" term does not speak of any understanding of Judaism, it is the belief in the soul's final resting place which is intriguing, for in a sense, those surveyed are using their hearts and minds to challenge their religion's dogma.
There is a debate amongst responders, however, insofar as what element of different religions brings about this heavenly result. Is it based on one's actions or one's beliefs? For those surveyed, it seems the jury is still out.
With this background, Judaism seems to be light years ahead in forward thinking, as the question of belief versus actions is no question whatsoever.
The original source (to the best of my knowledge) is the Tosefta Sanhedrin 13:1, which says "The righteous of the nations have a share in the world to come." While I don't believe the Tosefta coined the phrase "Chasidei umot ha'olam yesh lahem chelek l'olam haba" in that exact language, the term is used across the spectrum of commentators, including rishonim and acharonim, to indicate its intent regarding those people Yad Vashem honors, for example, the so-called "righteous gentiles."
Some contend that the true "righteous gentile" is a non-Jew who has accepted and lives according to the seven Noahide laws. Others suggest their righteous deeds alone are merit enough.
While I do not want to enter the discussion of "who is better?" simply because I believe no one is, I do believe our actions, most importantly, play a role in defining one's "righteousness." Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel teaches in Avot 3:17, "Study or discussions need not be the focus, because action is the focus."
In the verses leading up the spectacle of the Sinai Revelation, God tells Moshe to tell the people, "Now if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be My special treasure among all nations, for all the world is Mine ('ki li kol ha'aretz'). You will be to Me ('v'atem tih'yu li') a kingdom of priests and a holy nation..."
There are two entities that "belong to God:" All of the world, and this Israelite nation. As a result of being a "special treasure," Israel has the opportunity to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The implication is, however, that other nations are also considered a treasure.
Every religion has their own version of their own exceptionalism. Some ignore others' claims, and some choose to be offended by others' claims to be God's Favorite. Does it really matter, in the scheme of things, if everyone wants to think they're the best? As long as people allow others to believe as they want, to practice as they want, and to live in harmony, I don't see the harm of each group thinking they are God's chosen people.
Rabbi Obadiah Seforno writes on these verses, "You will be my special treasure, and that will distinguish you from the rest. As all the world is mine, and there is no doubt that the righteous of the nations of the world are very precious to me, your becoming a kingdom of priests is what will put you ahead of the pack. You do this through understanding and teaching every sect of mankind to call out in God's name... The Talmud (Sanhedrin 92a) says 'Just as holiness lasts forever, the nation of Israel, which is also holy, will last forever.'"
Godweb.org (a Christian website) succinctly states what prominent Christian theologians have stated in the last century about Judaism: "As the first of the world's great monotheistic traditions and the source from which the others have sprung, Judaism has an importance that far exceeds what is suggested by mere numbers… Christians have much to learn from Jews, as the Hebrew Bible is the foundational document for their own faith."
We will continue to tout the moniker that God gave us. At the same time, we must act in a manner that helps us earn the title of "Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation." The key lies in the actions we partake of, which stand as testimony to the world of what kind of people we are.
Shammai says in Avot 1:15 (two mishnehs before Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamaliel quoted above), "Say little and do much." Actions do indeed speak louder than words.
If we are to serve God and humanity in the role of this kingdom of priests we must continue to do more to deserve the title. As Rabbi Morris Joseph wrote in "Judaism as Creed and Life," "We therefore affirm, not that we are better, but that we ought to be better." This is our duty and mission, and the goal we must continue to set for ourselves.
by Rabbi Avi Billet
In their fundamental theology, untainted by modern, liberal thinking (the good kind), other major religions of the world claim that those who do not subscribe to their belief system, who do not accept their version of "faith," have no share in the world to come.
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published interesting findings at the end of 2008. The subtitle of the survey results reads "Most Christians Say Non-Christian Faiths Can Lead to Salvation." While the "salvation" term does not speak of any understanding of Judaism, it is the belief in the soul's final resting place which is intriguing, for in a sense, those surveyed are using their hearts and minds to challenge their religion's dogma.
There is a debate amongst responders, however, insofar as what element of different religions brings about this heavenly result. Is it based on one's actions or one's beliefs? For those surveyed, it seems the jury is still out.
With this background, Judaism seems to be light years ahead in forward thinking, as the question of belief versus actions is no question whatsoever.
The original source (to the best of my knowledge) is the Tosefta Sanhedrin 13:1, which says "The righteous of the nations have a share in the world to come." While I don't believe the Tosefta coined the phrase "Chasidei umot ha'olam yesh lahem chelek l'olam haba" in that exact language, the term is used across the spectrum of commentators, including rishonim and acharonim, to indicate its intent regarding those people Yad Vashem honors, for example, the so-called "righteous gentiles."
Some contend that the true "righteous gentile" is a non-Jew who has accepted and lives according to the seven Noahide laws. Others suggest their righteous deeds alone are merit enough.
While I do not want to enter the discussion of "who is better?" simply because I believe no one is, I do believe our actions, most importantly, play a role in defining one's "righteousness." Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel teaches in Avot 3:17, "Study or discussions need not be the focus, because action is the focus."
In the verses leading up the spectacle of the Sinai Revelation, God tells Moshe to tell the people, "Now if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be My special treasure among all nations, for all the world is Mine ('ki li kol ha'aretz'). You will be to Me ('v'atem tih'yu li') a kingdom of priests and a holy nation..."
There are two entities that "belong to God:" All of the world, and this Israelite nation. As a result of being a "special treasure," Israel has the opportunity to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The implication is, however, that other nations are also considered a treasure.
Every religion has their own version of their own exceptionalism. Some ignore others' claims, and some choose to be offended by others' claims to be God's Favorite. Does it really matter, in the scheme of things, if everyone wants to think they're the best? As long as people allow others to believe as they want, to practice as they want, and to live in harmony, I don't see the harm of each group thinking they are God's chosen people.
Rabbi Obadiah Seforno writes on these verses, "You will be my special treasure, and that will distinguish you from the rest. As all the world is mine, and there is no doubt that the righteous of the nations of the world are very precious to me, your becoming a kingdom of priests is what will put you ahead of the pack. You do this through understanding and teaching every sect of mankind to call out in God's name... The Talmud (Sanhedrin 92a) says 'Just as holiness lasts forever, the nation of Israel, which is also holy, will last forever.'"
Godweb.org (a Christian website) succinctly states what prominent Christian theologians have stated in the last century about Judaism: "As the first of the world's great monotheistic traditions and the source from which the others have sprung, Judaism has an importance that far exceeds what is suggested by mere numbers… Christians have much to learn from Jews, as the Hebrew Bible is the foundational document for their own faith."
We will continue to tout the moniker that God gave us. At the same time, we must act in a manner that helps us earn the title of "Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation." The key lies in the actions we partake of, which stand as testimony to the world of what kind of people we are.
Shammai says in Avot 1:15 (two mishnehs before Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamaliel quoted above), "Say little and do much." Actions do indeed speak louder than words.
If we are to serve God and humanity in the role of this kingdom of priests we must continue to do more to deserve the title. As Rabbi Morris Joseph wrote in "Judaism as Creed and Life," "We therefore affirm, not that we are better, but that we ought to be better." This is our duty and mission, and the goal we must continue to set for ourselves.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Yisrael and Yaakov
A few years after writing this, I revisited the subject here
by Rabbi Avi Billet
When I was studying in yeshiva, I recall asking one of the rabbis if there is a theme as to when the name Yaakov is used to describe the third patriarch, as opposed to when the name he was given later, Yisrael, is used.
The rabbi was of the opinion that the name Yisrael is used in a context that has national and historical significance, while Yaakov is used when referring to the specific family of the patriarch and their personal experiences.
This theory is nice, but on close examination it does not hold water.
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