RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:KI SAVO:JEWISH SPIRITUALITY:Shechem Dodecalogue:

Jewish Spiritual Renewal:Shabbat 9/5/09:Torah,TaNaK,Talmud:Ethical/Spiritual View

The JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL class is hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network a service of Hebrew College.

Shalom my beloved Chaverim v' Talmidim:

I hope this month of Elul is progressing nicely for all of you. We are to judge ourselves, and learn that since we are all coming up 'short,' we are not to judge others. If we find ourselves in the rare position to have to judge another, we are taught to judge one favorably.

If there is ever a parasha promoting ethical and spiritual Judaism, Ki Savo, is it. Many in this class may not know, but another set of important commandments is given to us. Twelve of them in fact. As you will read below, every one is about our relationship to one another, and not one involves ritual or even Shabbat or even acceptance of God. And these mitzvoth were so important, that Moses had the Levites yell these to the entire B'nai Israel as they were getting ready to enter the 'promised land.'

I urge you to read the D'Var below as for almost a lunar year now, I have been teaching the thesis of Ethical and Spiritual Judaism from our Torah, TaNaK and Talmud. Here it is, plain as day, with only three more parashat to go, in addition to holiday parashat, before we are at Simchat Torah and start Genesis again on the Shabbat of October 17, 2009. (This is also a good time to email me and give suggestions for what you would like to study next).

Some mid 18th century European Rabbinic thought: Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (d. 1810): "To be a person of truth, be swayed neither by approval nor disapproval. Work at not needing approval from anyone and you will be free to be who you really are." During Elul one of the defects of character that shows up on almost everyone's Chesbon ha Nefesh, is self-seeking or people- pleasing. We do things in order to please others, and then are in conflict with ourselves. The conflict causes a lack of integration, i.e. shlema. As discussed, with out shlema there is no shalom or serenity.

Worse when we live a life trying to please others, we grow resentful of the very people from whom we want approval. The so-called relationship is unequal and out of balance. In my case people pleasing, really would be ''Arthur-pleasing.'' It is selfish , or ego, and it backfires. We don't really care of love those who's approval we seek. We want something from them...their approval. I don't allow myself this dubious luxury. I pray each day for Ha Shem to show me how I can be of maximum service and love to Him and my fellow humans. I seek to love, not to be loved, and if by doing so someone approves of my actions, I give all glory for those mitzvoth to God.

Some Talmud Bavli Tractate Pirkei Avot: Rabban Gamliel the son of Rabbi Judah Ha Nasi: ''Make that His will should be your will...nullify your will before His will.'' This is our greatest of struggles. It is an ongoing process and why the sages and I teach that we need to pray each day for our egos to be aligned with God's will. One who makes peace between his ego and mission in life [that God has for all of us], develops true integration, true shlema, true shalom. We can then make peace between the world and its purpose of creation, in our families, between our earth and humans.

Some TaNaK: Both from Isaiah: "But with kindness everlasting I will take you back in love said the Lord your Redeemer" (54:8); "For the mountains may move and the hills be shaken, but My loyalty shall never move from you – said the Lord, who takes you back in love." (54:10) . No matter how far we have sunk in our spirituality or our actions, God wants us to renew, to return. The gates of renewal are always open. It takes some work and this is outlined in easy to understand, step-by-step instructions in
(001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal . It is written for the Modern Jew.

On Rosh Ha Shana this year, even though in the Torah it is called the Feast of the Shofar, because Erev Rosh Ha Shana is on Erev Shabbat [9/18/09] and the first day is on Shabbat [9/19/09], we will not hear the Shofar until the second day.{9/20/09}

There is some interesting Midrash on the Shofar.

First we need to understand that our sages deem Rosh Ha Shana to be the day that Isaac was about to be sacrificed by his father Abraham, but that a ram appeared and was used instead.

Some Talmud, again from Pirkei Avot:5:8: Ten things were created on the eve of the first Sabbath at twilight. ... the ram sacrificed in place of Isaac on Mount Moriah.

Some more Talmud: ''[Bavli Tractate Rosh Hashanah 16a]: Why do we sound the shofar? Because the Holy One, blessed be God, said: Blow me a ram's horn that I may remember to your credit the binding of Isaac, the son of Abraham, and I shall account it to you as a binding of yourselves before Me. The Torah tells us: Abraham look up and behold, he saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns [Genesis 22:13]. This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be God, showed our ancestor Abraham the ram tearing himself free from one thicket and becoming entangled in another. Said the Holy One, blessed be God, to Abraham: Thus are your children destined to be caught in iniquities and entangled in misfortunes, but in the end they will be redeemed by the horns of a ram. Therefore the prophet Zechariah said of the time of redemption: And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth like the lightning; and the Lord God shall blow the shofar, and shall move in stormy winds of the south [Zechariah 9:14].''

Some Rashi: ''The Shofar blown at Mt. Sinai was the same Shofar that came from the head of the Ram that was offered in Isaac's place. '' Midrash says it was Moses who used this Shofar to gather the Hebrews together to hear the Ten Utterances (aka Ten Commandments), and some say it was God Himself.

Some Talmud Bavli Tractate Pirkei d'Rabbi Elezer 31: ''''Nothing of the ram was wasted: Skin became Elijah's mantle, gut was used for David's harp, one horn was for Moses and the other for Elijah to announce Moshiac. [Is. 27:13]

Some TaNaK: Is. 27:13: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great shofar shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.(Note that when Isaiah wrote, Egypt was a euphemism for Babylon.) He is talking of Messianic times when the Ten Lost tribes taken by the Assyrians, and the two remaining tribes (Judah and Benjamin), as well as the two priestly classes, taken by the Babylonians, will be in-gathered back to Jerusalem. The verse doesn't really say Elijah's name at all.

So when we hear the shofar each morning during the month of Elul, except on the last day of Elul, and this year, just on the second day of Rosh Ha Shana, we bring ourselves back to the Akeidah, the binding of Isaac, and how fragile our lives are. We bring ourselves back to the Revelation at Sinai and make the words of our sages, ring true to us, each in our own way. And if we wish to believe, we think about the Messianic times, when human's and animal's yetzer ha ra will cease to exist, and we can all live together in peace, with each other, and with the Earth.

Oh, and don't take our human foibles and other's seriously. Ending with some TaNaK: Eccl.9:9:'' Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, during all your brief, pointless life. God has given you your pointless life under the sun.'' Make love, not makloket. Ninety-nine percent of what we get upset or worry about in life is ''Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.''(Eccl: 1:2).

Enjoy the d'var Torah below.

Shabbat Shalom:

Rabbi Arthur Segal
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

Parasha Ki Savo: Deuteronomy 26:01-29:08

'He's Making His List, He's Checking it Twice, He's Gonna Find Out Who's Naughty or Nice..."

This parasha gives us the rules of the tithing of the first fruits, and the famous blessings and the infamous curses.

Just before the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan and enter the Land of Israel, Moses read them a series of 12 commandments. The Israelites were commanded to write "this Torah" (Deut. 27:04) on stones covered in plaster. It is clear that it was to be this particular teaching (the Hebrew word Torah means instruction), and not the entire Chumash, which would have been impossible to fit onto two stones. The sages in Talmud Bavli Tractate Sotah 32A say that the entire Chumash was inscribed on these two stones. Rashi adds that it was done in the 70 known languages of the time as well. Rabbi Saadiah Gaon (Saadiah the Genius of the ninth-century C.E. Babylon) says the stones had only the 613 commandments and not the text of the Torah. Other scholars, quoting Josephus (first century C.E. Jewish-Roman historian), say it clearly means the stones had only these 12 commandments from this parasha.

Before I review these twelve commandments, let me review briefly the curses and the blessings. The blessings are given first and the curses follow. The curses are the opposite of the blessings. If there is a blessing to have rain and good crops, there is a curse to have drought and no food. There are 68 verses of blessings and curses. The curses do not paint a pretty picture. If you have watched any World War Two Holocaust movies, these curses come close to describing the horrors of that Shoah. The traditional view is that if you follow the commandments, you will be blessed, and if you do not, you will be cursed. Traditionally, God is the blesser or the curser.

Let us review these 12 commandments. These were mitzvoth (commandments) that were important enough to be written on stones. They were so important, that the entire nation was divided into two. Each half ascended one of two mountains. The Levites yelled these commandments with everyone screaming, "Amen!" (Deut. 27:11-14). Here are these twelve commandments paraphrased:

1. No idols.

2. No degrading your parents.

3. No moving of another's real estate boundary marker.

4. No leading a blind man astray.

5. No perverting justice of the widow, orphan or stranger.

6. No incest with your father's wife.

7. No sex with animals.

8. No incest with your sister.

9. No incest with your mother-in-law.

10. No striking another secretly.

11. No bribe taking.

12. No ignoring "this instruction."

Let's categorize them. Mitzvoth 6,7,8 and 9 are clearly laws against incest and bestiality. Mitzvoth 5 and 11 are telling us to have fair and honest court systems. Number 2 is similar to honoring one's parents but does not give the positive command of honoring, just the negative command of not degrading. Number One is not telling us to believe in God, or the God of the Jews, but just not to make or worship idols. Commandments 3 and 4 are mitzvoth not to steal, but also to have fair business practices. We have learned that a person coming into a shop or even a professional's office is "blind" and can be easily mislead. The idea of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) is not a Jewish idea. Number 10 is both an admonition not to hit, but also not to murder. It is also a warning not to do loshan hara (evil speech) or gossip, as these acts can kill one's reputation. The 12th commandment is telling us to pay attention to these eleven commandments, so there are really only eleven commandments folded into six categories. Do these six categories sound familiar?

In the chapter on Noah, which we studied before and will do again in Autumn, we read about the seven Noahide laws. These are the seven laws that all peoples must follow to be considered righteous. They are: no idols, no blaspheming God, establishing courts of justice, no murder, no adultery or incest, no robbing, and no eating meat cut from a living animal. The Deuteronomy categories have the law about not degrading your parents added, but have the laws against blaspheming God and eating live animal flesh deleted. If we assume that we can combine the rules against blasphemy and idol worship, and if we further assume that the eating of live limbs from animals stopped after Noah's time, negating the need for such a law, we are really left with the Noahide laws. Von Rad in his text, Deuteronomium, calls these twelve laws the Shechem Dodecalogue and says they are the oldest list of prohibitions in the Torah.

The Levites are not shouting about kosher dietary rules from the mountaintops. They are not exhorting about the laws of sacrifice. They are not even yelling about Shabbat or other Jewish holidays. They are admonishing the nation of Israel to be righteous in their dealing with their fellow human beings, Jew and non-Jew alike. Any nation that treated each other in a way opposite these six categories' rules would fail within time. God would not be the agent of the curses. Man himself would be his own agent.

Traditionally the entire Torah portion is chanted on Shabbat and seven different people are called to the Torah to either chant the Hebrew, or make a blessing and allow the Rabbi to chant for them. The honor of being called up to the bimah (pulpit) is called an alliyah (from the Hebrew word meaning "to go up"). However it was considered a dishonor to be called for an alliyah to chant these curses from this Torah portion. Sometimes the sexton of the synagogue would be paid to do this duty. Instead of being called up to the Torah by his name, as is the custom, he would be called to the bimah as "he who wishes." When these curses are read, they are read quickly and in hushed tones.

In some congregations, the community's worst sinner would be called up to take this alliyah. One cannot refuse this calling to the Torah. The story is told of a gabbai (the one in charge of giving out bimah honors) who was a tailor in an eastern European town. He did not get along with a competing tailor whom he suspected of using cheaper materials, stealing his business, and working on the Sabbath. In those days, everyone in town, except the very ill, showed up for Shabbat services. So the gabbai-tailor called his competitor to the bimah to take the alliyah of the reading of the curses. This was a major insult to the second tailor whose entire family and clients were in the synagogue. A shouting match ensued which turned into a fistfight on the bimah. Our negative actions can bring about our own curses.

As we have learned in this D'var Torah, one of the six major categories of heinous crimes is "striking a man in secret." Our sages interpret this as doing loshan hara, as well as murder. Loshan hara is not only gossiping untruths about another, it is even uttering negative truths about another. But the rules of loshan hara as defined by Rabbi Israel Kagan of 20th-century Europe, known as the Chofeitz Chaim, are more detailed. It is a sin for person A to approach person B with a negative comment about person C. It is an equal sin for person B to allow person A to continue the conversation. Person B's obligation, under the man-to-man laws which modern Judaism has not abrogated, is to advise person A to talk to person C directly. If person B received a letter from person A about person C, he should return the letter with this advice and without further comment. Under no circumstance should person B go and tell person C that person A has complaints about him, and worse yet, person B should never say to person C that an unnamed person has complaints about him. This type of behavior tends to divide people and not bring them together.

As Jews, we have an obligation to compromise, communicate, and get along. We have to be polite, assertive and honest with one another. Saying that it is a Southern way to smile at someone and then talk behind their back is not a valid excuse. If we are to be the people of Shalom (peace) and be a light unto the other nations to help bring about world peace, how can we show that we can achieve Shalom Olam (world peace) when we cannot accomplish Shalom Bayat (peace in the house)? We cannot expect our individual congregants to grasp this concept if they were not taught it. However, even the most liberal of the Jewish movements' guidelines for officers of a Holy Congregation do teach these ethics. If our leaders, or even rabbis and their rebbetzins (wives, or now even husbantzins) engage in lashon hara, how can we expect our congregants not to follow suit?

The Mishna teaches, "whoever occupies himself with the study of Torah for its own sake merits many things. He is called a friend and a beloved. He loves God and he loves God's created beings. He brings joy to God and he brings joy to God's created beings. The Torah garbs him in humility...it keeps him far from sin and closer to meritorious deeds. The Torah (not man) bestows upon him royalty, authority, and judgment. He becomes a fountain that flows with ever-increasing strength. He becomes modest, patient, and forgiving of insult." We are told that in Torah, we were "given good teachings" (Proverbs 4:2). We are told in the same verse "not to forsake them." As we have learned in this series, there is so much more to Torah than laws of ritual minutia. It really can be a way of life. Yet those who study it in modern temple are sometimes considered odd and out of place.

Some congregants actually feel threatened by Torah or Talmud study in their temples or threaten by those who know more than they do. Those who do not study Torah regularly, including board members in some of our modern temples, are missing out on beautiful instructions that will help them lead and guide ethically and fairly.

To those who see Torah study as a threat to their way of prayer, or their interpretation of Judaism, I say that it is not. If anything, Torah study shows that all are beloved of God. Even the Talmud, which our traditional brothers and sisters think is the word of God, says that abbreviated prayer in your own language with spiritual concentrated attention is better than a complete Hebrew prayer service with no understanding. Modern Judaism is about choice. And just as we abhor those in other movements who call modern Jews "not real Jews," we would abhor anyone in our own Temple calling Jews who choose not to attend class or services "lesser Jews." We would abhor anyone calling Torah study attendees "too Jewish." Frankly, it becomes anti-Semitic, and I do not use this term lightly, for secular Jews, to snub liberal Jews in their midst who have found God via Jewish Spiritual Renewal.

Liberal Judaism is open and welcoming like Abraham's tent. There is no litmus test in spiritual Judaism. There is no halakah (Jewish law codes) to follow. We are all equal. And whether we say "Shabbat Shalom" or "Good Shabbos," whether we wear Kipot (skull caps) or not, or whether we like the Friday night services with Hebrew melodies or the Saturday morning service with classical hymns, we are all beloved by God. We need to be beloved by each other as well. This is our blessing.

Shabbat Shalom:

Rabbi Arthur Segal
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

member Temple Oseh Shalom

A Short Snap Shot of Rabbi Arthur Segal

Rabbi Arthur Segal: United States; I am available for Shabbatons, and can speak on various aspects of Jewish history, (from the ancient past to modern day, and can be area specific, if a group wishes), Spirituality, developing a Personal Relationship with God, on the Jews of India and other 'exotic' communities, and on Talmud, Torah and other great texts. We have visited these exotic Jewish communities first hand. I adhere to the Mishna's edict of not using the Torah as a ''spade'', and do not ask for honorariums for my services. I am trans-denominational and renewal and spiritually centered.; I am available to perform Jewish weddings, and other life cycle events, ONLY IF, it is a destination wedding and the local full time pulpit rabbi is unavailable, or if there is no local full time pulpit rabbi, or it is in my local area and all of the full time pulpit rabbis are unavailable.; My post-doc in Psych from Penn helps tremendously when I do Rabbinic counseling. My phone number and address will be made available once I am sure of one's sincerity in working with me.; Rabbi Segal is the author of three books and many articles on Torah, Talmud and TaNaK and Jewish history. His books are : The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud, and Spiritual Wisdom of our Talmudic Sages. The first two are published by Amazon through their publishing house, BookSurge.; For information on how to purchase these, please contact RabbiSegal@JewishSpiritualRenewal.net and visit WWW.JewishSpiritualRenewal.Net. OR CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW.; Todah Rabah and Shalom uvracha Rabbi Arthur Segal ,( Dr. Arthur Segal )RabbiASegal@aol.com .

Click to Order	THE HANDBOOK TO JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal distills millennia of sage advice into a step-by-step process to reclaim your Judaism and your spirituality in a concise easy-to-read and easy-to-follow manner. If you find yourself wishing for the strength to sustain you through the ups and downs of life; if you want to learn how to live life to its fullest without angst, worry, low self-esteem or fear; or if you wish that your relationships with family, friends and co-workers were based on love and service and free of ego, arguments, resentments and feelings of being unloved...this book is for you. Price: $19.99 254 Pages Published by: Amazon's BookSurge

Click to Order	A SPIRITUAL AND ETHICAL COMPENDIUM TO THE TORAH AND TALMUD Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal dissects each of the Torah's weekly sections (parashot) using the Talmud and other rabbinic texts to show the true Jewish take on what the Torah is trying to teach us. This companion to The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew brings the Torah alive with daily relevance to the Modern Jew. All of the Torah can be summed up in one word: Chesed. It means kindness. The Talmud teaches that the Torah is about loving our fellow man and that we are to go and study. The rest is commentary. This compendium clarifies the commentary and allows one to study Torah and Talmud to learn the Judaic ideals of love, forgiveness, kindness, mercy and peace. A must read for all Jews and deserves a place in every Jewish home. Price: $24.99 494 Pages Published by: Amazon's BookSurge

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(001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal

In The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal distills millennia of sage advice to reclaim your Judaism and your spirituality.

Price : $19.99

(002) A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud

A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud dissects each of the Torah's weekly sections (parashot) using the Talmud and other rabbinic texts to show the true Jewish take on what the Torah is trying to teach us.

Price : $24.99

(003) Tzadakkah Bundle

The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal and A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud. Purchase both books as a set, and I will donate a portion of the sales price in your name to the tzadakkah of your choice. -- Rabbi Segal