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The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal:
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Torah and Talmud
| | | | Fast of Tammuz 17
A Holiday Message From Rabbi Arthur Segal's Jewish Spiritual Renewal June 2010
| | Shalom Arthur,
As we swing into a long awaited summer we find only one minor holiday on the Jewish calendar in the month of June. But, as always, there are significant historical and spiritual lessons to speak of.
The holiday is the Fast of Tammuz 17, which falls on June 29, 2010 on the Gregorian calendar.
Among other things, the Fast of Tammuz begins three weeks of mourning for traditional Jews, as it marks the day that the Romans broke through the walls of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., and days later, on the 9th of Av, (July 20 this year) destroyed the Temple.
Traditional Jews do not hold weddings or other joyous events during this three-week period.
| | | |  | | As you read, please keep the following Talmudic maxim in your mind and in your heart:
"If a person sees that afflictions are befalling him, he should investigate his deeds to determine which of his actions he may have committed that would cause such suffering.''
-Talmud Bavli Tractate Beracoth 5a
The same applies for a nation.
According to Talmud Yerushalmi Tractate Taanit 4:5, five terrible things happened on Tammuz 17:
1. The tablets of the law were broken because the Israelites lost faith and worshiped the Golden Calf circa 1300 B.C.E.
2. The daily sacrificial offering was canceled as all animals had been eaten while Jerusalem was under siege.
3. The city wall was breached. A Jew was denied entry to a party while rabbis watched and did nothing, and in a jealous rage, he went and lied to the Romans that his fellow Jews were plotting against Rome. This gave the Romans the "excuse" to breach the walls of Jerusalem (Talmud Bavli Tractate Gittin 55b-56a).
4. Apostemos burned the Torah. The Talmud, to avoid censorship, uses a Greek leader's name from the Chanukah wars of 165 B.C.E. In fact it was a Roman general.
5. "And Apostemos set up an idol in the Temple.'' In fact this was the Hebrew King Menashe in the First Temple. King Menashe was one of Judaism's three worst Hebrew kings. He was the son of King Chizkiahu. He killed his grandfather, the prophet Isaiah (Talmud Bavli Tractate Yevamot 49b). He extinguished Solomon's Ner Tamid, the always burning lamp, in the Temple. He became an avowed pagan. He brought a giant idol on Tammuz 17 into the Temple (2 Kings 21).
Most of us have seen Charlton Heston's portrayal of Moses smashing the Tablets of the Ten Commandments. You probably won't be surprised to learn that the Talmud has a
 different version of the event.
According to Talmud Yerushalmi, Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: "The tablets were six handbreadths long and three broad. Moses was holding on to two handbreadths and God, was holding on to two of them and there was a space of two handbreadths in the middle. When the Israelites worshiped the golden calf, God wanted to grab them out of the hand of Moses. But Moses's hand was stronger and he seized them from Him."
Rabbi Yochanan said: "The tablets wanted to fly, but Moses was holding on to them."
Rabbi Nehemiah taught: "The writing itself flew off the tablets." (Talmud Yerushalmi Tractate Taanit 4:5).
It is interesting to note from a modern historical perspective that Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor, from which he planned to create a bomb to drop on Israel, was called "Tammuz 17." This was the reactor that the Israeli Air Force destroyed in 1981.
The rabbis teach that all of the sad events happening on Tammuz 17 did not happen in a vacuum. They teach that their own people played a role in their own demise.
We are taught that the Second Temple was destroyed because Jews expressed hatred toward one another - sinat chinam.
They treated each other horridly. They formed exclusive cliques and were exceedingly jealous. They gossiped. (Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma 9b).
And this is a valuable lesson for us today as Americans. God willing, we will pull through our present issues. But our present situation did not drop on us like some plague. Decisions and actions we took in the past, got us to where we are today.
| | | | | Point the Finger in the Mirror
A bit further in Talmud Yerushalmi we find the very evil Hebrew King Menashe praying to and accepting G!d when he becomes aged and sickly...but he was only praying to get well.
The angels closed Heaven's windows so that G!d would not hear his prayers. G!d pleaded with the angels to open the windows, but they would not listen.
So He took a saw and cut a hole under His Heavenly throne through which Menashe's prayers could now enter Heaven.
This is a wonderful passage and has juxtaposition with the Talmudic quote with which we started.
G!d allows all of us to do to spiritual renewal, and make amends, even King Menashe.
The Talmud tells us that rabbi Ashei disrespected King Menashe when speaking about him to his students many years later. In a dream, Menashe asks Ashei Talmudic questions which Ashei could not answer.
Ashei angrily calls Menashe an '' idol worshipper.'' Menashe said: "If you had been in our times, you would have lifted up your garments and run after me to serve the idols." (Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin 102b).
Ashei could not truly understand Menashe's idol worship. We truly do not understand the Hebrews choosing to worship the Golden Calf. (Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin 64b).
This is why the Mishna tells us in Pirkei Avot (2:5): "Do not judge your fellow until you have reached his place."
We can never be in another's place, though.
The Talmud tells us that all Jews - in fact all righteous people - have a place in Heaven. (Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin 105a).
If G!d is willing to let all of us into Heaven, how can we be cruel to each other here on Earth, especially in buildings which we call Houses of G!d?
The Talmudic point is we create our own Tammuz 17s and cause our own suffering.
Many of us smash The Tablets daily with our behavior. Some treat the strangers among us, or even our fellows, without love.
People cheat in business and politicians lie systematically. Some folks treat animals cruelly. Many of us worship more Golden Calves and idols than King Menashe could have ever imagined schlepping into the Temple.
Many of us deny G!d, but curse Him when things do not go our way.
Continues below...
| | | | | | Who Do You Blame
When it Doesn't Go Your Way?
Has it ever worked?
Be honest with yourself.
When things go wrong in your life, do you
(A) Look inward and try to figure out how to improve something about yourself so that this wrong does not happen again?
Or,
(B) Blame somebody - or something - else, and just go on living with anger, resentment, or sadness, accepting that this is simply the hand you were dealt?
If your answer is (B), I have another question for you: Why?
When things are going bad in our lives, the Talmud tells us not to look outside, not to blame others and harbor resentment.
Instead, we are taught to look inside at ourselves and our own defects of character.
For example, according to the Talmud, when you say that you do not like somebody, you are painting your own character defects, which you refuse to acknowledge, unto that person.
In other words, when you say that you do not like somebody, what you are really saying is that you do not like something about yourself.
And you are only hurting yourself with your outwardly-directed negative sentiments.
If you, instead, learn to recognize and deal with your own character defects - we all have them - you will live a much happier life.
Taking that step may seem like a daunting task, but it is not, and you do not have to study the Talmudic texts like a rabbi to learn how.
 Instead, you can let my book, The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, be your guide.
Jewish Spiritual Renewal is a lifetime journey up the path to a happier, more spiritual life.
This book sets you on that path with a simple, step-by-step life transformation process.
The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, teaches you how to transform your life into one that is happier, more peaceful, and more spiritual, regardless of what is going on in the world around you.
In this book, I distill the teachings of our sages and rabbis that have been passed along for thousands of years, along with lessons from the Torah and the Talmud.
But unlike other Jewish spiritual texts that you may have read, or sermons you may have heard, this book presents these lessons in a concise, easy-to-read, easy-to-follow life transformation process that you can follow step-by-step at your own pace.
You will learn:
- That "normative" Judaism as you have known it throughout your life is not really Judaism at all, why it may leave you uninspired, and how spiritual renewal will help you recapture that inspiration (Chapter 1).
- That your ego can be your own worst enemy, and how to win the battle against it (Chapter 2).
- How to stop struggling for control over things you cannot control, and be happier because of it (Chapter 3).
- How spiritual renewal conquers the fears and character flaws that are holding you back in life (Chapters 4 and 5).
- To actually get rid of your character flaws forever (Chapter 6).
- How to turn negative relationships in your life positive (Chapter 7).
- How simple it is to make prayer a regular part of your days...without going back to Hebrew school (Chapter 8).
- How to find peace of mind through meditation (Chapter 9).
- How to simplify life's toughest decisions
(Chapter 10). - How spiritual renewal transforms you into the best individual you can be, and how to stay on track (Chapter 11).
- How to celebrate the Sabbath and the Jewish Holidays with meaning (Chapters 12 and 13).
- How to live with happiness, joy, and freedom every day of your life (Chapter 14).
The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew is only $19.99 (plus S&H) when you purchase your copy from Rabbi Arthur Segal's online bookstore. That's $5.00 off the Amazon price.
Click the link below to order.
| | | | | Who's Coming With Me?
While Traditional Jews are praying these three weeks for the restoration of the Temple and mourning its loss, I am praying for the return of ethics and spirituality for all people.
I am praying for the final dissolution of sinat chinam, hatred among us, either interpersonal, or sect versus sect.
I am praying for the true establishment of loving our fellows as ourselves.
This is the modern lesson of Tammuz 17.
Will you join me?
| Many Blessings,
Rabbi Arthur Segal
| | | | | | The Torah and Talmud
In Plain English
In my years of Rabbinic Counseling I've noticed that many modern Jews are not as familiar with the Torah and the Talmud as they might be.
They find it difficult to understand and interpret in a way that makes sense and has relevance to their lives in the modern world.
The spiritual disconnection that this causes inspired me to write a second book, A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud.
 This book instills Jewish values and an understanding of the Torah and Talmud's teachings in plain English and from a modern point of view.
The Talmud teaches that the Torah is about loving our fellow man and that we are to ''go and study.'' The rest is commentary.
A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud clarifies the commentary and allows one to study the Torah and the Talmud to learn the Judaic ideals of love, forgiveness, kindness, mercy and peace.
A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud is only $24.99 (plus S&H) when you purchase your copy from my online bookstore.
That's a $5.00 savings from the Amazon price, and certainly a small amount to pay for the priceless wisdom contained within the Torah and the Talmud.
Click the link below to order.
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