Monday, November 21, 2011

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JACOB'S LADDER: DEVELOPING OUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH: VAYEITZEI

  
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JACOB'S LADDER: DEVELOPING OUR  SPIRITUAL GROWTH: VAYEITZEI
 
 
JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
 
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH RENEWAL: PARASHA VAYEITZEI: RACHEL, LEAH + JACOB 

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: CHUMASH CANDESCENCE : PARASHA VAYEITZEI : GENESIS 28:10-32:03

 

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: CHUMASH CANDESCENCE:   PARASHA VAYEITZEI;

GENESIS 28:10-32:03


CHUMASH CANDESCENCE
 PARASHA VAYEITZEI
GENESIS 28:10-32:03
RABBI ARTHUR   SEGAL

 www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org
Jewish Renewal www.jewishrenewal.info
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

 

"Earth Angel"

SYNOPTIC ABSTRACT:
Jacob goes to his uncle Laban's home to escape Esau. He falls in love with Rachel and works seven years for her. Laban tricks Jacob, and he marries Leah. Jacob protests and a week later he marries Rachel, but works seven more years for her. Leah has six sons and a daughter. Their maids, whom they marry to Jacob, each have two sons. Rachel finally gives birth to Joseph. Jacob now has eleven sons, one daughter, and four wives.
Jacob works six more years for Laban, and amasses a fortune in herds using genetics principles. After twenty years with Laban, Jacob flees with his family and property. Laban pursues, and they make a peace treaty. For further insight, we invite you to read on.

Our Torah portion gets its name, Veyeitzei ("departed"), from the first words of verse 28:10 in Genesis. Jacob departs and travels to his uncle Laban's home. Rashi says that the Torah could simply state that Jacob went to Laban's home and not use the word "depart." Rashi says," a righteous person's departure from a place leaves a void. As long as this person lives in a city, he constitutes its glory, its splendor, and its beauty. When he departs, its glory, splendor, and beauty depart with him."

Night arrives, and Jacob arranges stones "around his head." He dreams of a "ladder set earthward and its top reached heavenward...and angels of God were ascending it and descending on it"(Gen. 28:12). When Jacob awakes he says,"surely God is present in this place and I did not
know...and he named that place Beth-El (house of God)"(Gen. 28:16-19). He "took the stone (NB: singular) that he placed around his head and set it up as a pillar."

The Midrash notes that first the Torah says that Jacob took stones (plural) for his pillow. But in the morning he took the stone (singular) that was his pillow to make an altar. The Midrash says that the stones  quarreling because each one wanted to be the top stone on which Jacob's head would rest. God got tired of their quarreling, and I suppose so did Jacob, as who could fall asleep on a noisy pillow? God fused all the stones into one big stone.

 

The sages teach some interesting lessons from this. People should not vie and quarrel politically for leadership in the Jewish community. All members of the community need to be combined as one unit. All members of the community who wish to participate should be allowed to. The rabbis also teach that there were twelve stones that were combined as one. They say that each of the twelve tribes had its own customs. Each was unique and each had its own mission. Israel was at its greatest when all Jews were united as one, and differences were not used
for divisiveness.

The rabbis of the Midrash also have different interpretations of the dream of the ladder. One says the ladder is Mt. Sinai, as the numerical value of the letters of the Hebrew for ladder (sulahm) and Sinai are both 130. The angels represent Moses and Aaron who will bring Torah from God in heaven to earth. The Midrash says that if Jews obey the Torah, they will ascend. If Jews do not obey Torah, they will descend. A second interpretation is that Jacob was shown the guardian angels of the four kingdoms that will dominate Israel in the future. Each of these angels
climbed a number of rungs equal to the number of years its conquering nation would control Israel. The Babylonian angel went up 70 rungs and then came down. The Median-Persian angel went up 52, and the Greek angel went up 130. The Roman angel went up and never came down. This frightened Jacob which is why God reassured him that he will return to
the promised land (28:15). If the Midrash was written today, the sages would have said the Roman angel went up 1878 rungs before it descended.

A third Midrashic interpretation says that the angels who protected Jacob while he was in the promised land went up to heaven, and lesser angels came back down. These angels will escort Jacob while he lives with Laban. This also taught Jacob that the land of Israel was holier than any other place. Ramban (Nachmanides of 13th-century Spain) interprets the dream as God's agents carrying out God's orders. They need to go back to
heaven to continually get new commands. The Ramban says that this means that Jacob and his future nation would continually be at God's command to follow His orders.

Our sages miss some interesting points which are important to us as liberal Jews. Jacob awakes and realizes that God was in this place. The Hebrew word for place is "makom." One of God's names is "Makom." Jacob, after having the dream, realizes that God is there with him. The verse says "I did not know." Prior to the dream, Jacob did not know that God was with him. But Jacob does not take a philosophical leap, as his grandfather Abraham did. He calls this place God's house and makes an altar. The Talmud says this place was Mount Moriah, the same place that
Abraham binds Isaac. The Talmud also says that this place will become the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Jacob still thinks of God as being in a particular place.

 

The Talmudic sages follow suit two millennia later and
devote Tractates of Talmud to the ritual sacrifices which will partially resume when the Temple is rebuilt. The prophets later condemn the altars of Beth-El and even the Torah outlaws stone markers to show where God "lives" (Ex. 23:24, Lev. 26:1, Deut. 16:22). Jacob and the sages therefore, miss the point of the dream.

God is always with us . God and heaven are not at the top of the ladder. The Torah says that God was down on earth with Jacob. "God was standing over him"(Gen. 28:13). God was not on the top rung. God was not floating like a figure in a Chagall painting. God was standing on terra firma.

 

Each of us as Jews must ascend our own spiritual ladders. Angels do not come down to us. We must go up first. And what happens when we go up the ladder? We plateau and reach a comfort zone. The ladder is reset on this level. And then we repeat the process. It is never ending.

 

Our province is on Earth. God is with us everywhere and in every place. It is our responsibly as Jews to seek him by climbing. Climbing a ladder is not easy. It takes balance, skill, coordination, dexterity, and strength. Reaching God takes work. And when we have reached one spiritual plane, we are to incorporate that learning into our daily existence. And then the
process of growth begins anew.

 

As Jews, we can never rest on our laurels. When we finish a religious text, and make a blessing, we immediately start a new book. When we finish the Torah on Simchat Torah, we
immediately start reading Genesis.

 

Judaism is an active religion. It is not a religion of a faithful acceptance of a creed. It is a religion that stresses not the mezuzah on the door, but the learning and love of God
and each other that goes on behind that door. It is not a religion of being spoon fed once a Sabbath from the bimah. We are commanded to continually study. Angels do not come from heaven to us. We have to climb that ladder first. But when we reach out to find God, we will find that He has been here with us all along with His hand outstretched, ready to grab onto ours.

This idea is reiterated at the end of the Torah portion. "When Jacob went on his way, angels of God encountered him"(Gen. 23:2). Jacob decided to leave Laban's camp after twenty years to continue his service to God. Jacob made the first move. When he did, the Torah says that God came out to greet and accompany him.

Many times, we as liberal Jews are afraid to experience God or to increase our spirituality. Maybe we think folks will think we are becoming orthodox and call us "too Jewish." Maybe it is because we do not know what paths to take to do this. The prophet Hosea (11:7-14:10) sees this same fear during his time in the 8th-century BCE. "My people is unsure about returning to Me...but it does not rise."

 

Start with sincere quiet prayer and reflection. Continue by reading a Jewish book. Take another step with weekly Torah study. Set aside time each week for doing good deeds to those less fortunate. Make an appointment and speak with
your rabbi. Study and discuss theology with a friend, your spouse, or an on-line class.  Closeness to God will come. "Whoever is wise will consider these words. He who is prudent will take note of them. The paths of God are smooth. The righteous walk in them" (Hos. 14:10). Enjoy the process!

Shabbat Shalom,
RABBI ARTHUR. SEGAL


and


You can learn more about these books at:

http://www.blogger.com/rearrange?blogID=8585582535507252152&widgetType=HTML&widgetId=HTML4&action=editWidget
Shabbat Shalom:
Rabbi Arthur Segal www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org
Jewish Renewal www.jewishrenewal.info
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
If visiting SC's Low Country, contact us for a Shabbat meal, in our home by the sea, our beth yam.
Maker of Shalom (Oseh Shalom) help make us deserving of Shalom beyond all human comprehension!
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RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: SLOW TO ANGER, EASY TO APPEASE

 
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: SLOW TO ANGER, EASY TO APPEASE
 
Jewish  Spiritual  Renewal:
  
  Derek  Eretz Zuta + Rabbah:
  
 Shabbat  12/03/11 
 
 (aka  Derech  Eretz )
  
 
  
Shalom  my dear Chaverim, Talmidim, v' Rabbanim, friends, students and fellow rabbis: 
  
An oneg, joy-filled, Shabbat this coming weekend to all. And again a happy Rosh Chodesh Kislev.  
  
We continue with our exploration into the Talmudic Tractates of Derek Eretz Zuta and Rabbah. (aka Derech Eretz Zuta, aka Derech Eretz Rabbah.  As was mentioned, zuta is Aramaic for 'small', and rabbah is 'large').
  
Remember that Derek Eretz is not about Jewish ritual. It is  about how we are to treat one another and what traits of character, middot, we  are to try to develop. The lessons are universal and ecumenical. The  development of character traits and Jewish spiritual renewal  transformation is called  Mussar.
  
For  those new to the class Baruch ha Ba! Welcome! You can access last  week's class at   Rabbi Arthur Segal: RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: LET YOUR YES BE YES, YOUR NO BE NO
  
From  here you will find links to preceding classes in this series. So, together we continue:
  
 TALMUD  BAVLI
  
 TRACTATE 
  
 DEREk ERETZ  ZUTA
  
 (aka  Derech  Eretz)
  
Today we will continue with CHAPTER 5 of  Talmud  Bavli Tractate Derek Eretz Zuta Verses  5:3-4.
 
''One has always to know with whom he is sitting, near whom he is standing, with whom he is eating, with whom he is conversing, for whom he signs contracts and notes of debt. By four things the scholar is recognized: his pocket, his goblet, his anger, and his dress; and, some say, even his talk. ''
 
Our first verse is telling us to ''know'' about everyone with whom we are having any relationship, from the most casual, to even financial.
 
What does it mean to know someone? Certainly this ''know'' in the Talmud is not the same as ''to know'' in the Biblical sense. Further, we are not to judge others. So this ''knowing'' is derived from our watching, and listening, so that we may discern wisely the important middot, character traits, those with whom we are doing business , or even those with whom we are ''hanging on the corner,'' have or do not have.
 
Now we can all agree that we must know about those with whom we are entering into financial dealings. This is especially true of our business partners and those to whom we lend money. Ask any business attorney and they will tell you that a bad business partner, ending in a break-up of a business, is worse than having a bad spouse and the divorce that ensues.
 
All of us have read about the 'charming', 'nice' Mr Madoff, and the clients that he hoodwinked. We all need to learn that being charming or being nice does not mean the person has the character traits of being just, honest and righteous.
 
So we are to pick our friends and acquaintances wisely. This prevents us from getting harmed, even from people with whom we casually sit, stand, eat and/or converse.
 
This is not to teach us to be snobbish or alone in this world. It is just there are those we can trust with intimate details of our lives, and our money, and those with whom we are best off talking about the weather. '' Distance yourself from a bad neighbor, do not cleave to a wicked person'' (Talmud Bavli Tractate Pirkei Avot 1:7) 
 
The spiritual lesson of this verse is to discern the level of spirituality those with whom we come in contact are on. If we discover someone is lacking while we are sitting, standing, eating or conversing with them, it may be a good time, (and I say 'may'), to try to help increase that Divine spark that is found in all of us.
 
This leads us to our second and last verse today from Talmud Bavli Tractate Derek Eretz Zuta Chapter 5:4. "By four things the scholar is recognized: his pocket, his goblet, his anger, and his dress; and, some say, even his talk.'' In a sense this is the converse of 5:3.
 
While we need to discern about others to avoid getting hurt, others knowing that we are rabbis WILL judge us. We must not, as many clergy do, flaunt our money. Most folks, as cynical  today as they were in Hebraic Temple times, will assume we have gained money unethically. This is why when the Priests entered the Temple to collect  tithes, their clothes had no pockets. No one could accuse them of misappropriating funds.[ Talmud Bavli Tractate Shekelim  3:2]
 
We rabbis, except for Purim, just cannot get drunk and make a fool of ourselves. We need to dress appropriately, and we have to be careful with the words that we use. We certainly cannot engage in lashon ha ra, gossip and slander. We need to practice what we teach.
 
The spiritual lesson here is that what is right for rabbis, is really right for all of us. All of us need to be aware of the concept that we discussed in an earlier class, ma'arit ayin, of what looks good to the eye. By behaving poorly, when people know that we are rabbis, we put a stumbling block before the blind (Lifne Iver).  We allow the uninformed to think that our poor behavior is allowed.
 
Let us talk about anger, that I saved for the last trait  that was mentioned.  We are all human and some days, something will be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Proverbs 16:32 reads, "Better one who is slow to anger than one with might, one who rules his spirit than the captor of a city."

Pirkei Avot 5:11 teaches: '' There are four types of temperaments. One who is easily angered and easily appeased--his virtue cancels his flaw. One whom it is difficult to anger and difficult to appease--his flaw cancels his virtue. One whom it is difficult to anger and is easily appeased, is a righteous person. One who is easily angered and is difficult to appease, is wicked.'' So note how even the righteous person, who is difficult to make angry, still at some point will get angry. But we most learn how to be quickly appeased and make amends.

Allow me to leave you with a story of anger and Rabbi Hillel (c 100 BCE) from the Talmud Bavli Tractate Shabbat 31a:

 ''It once happened that two men made a wager with each other, saying,' He who goes and makes Hillel angry shall receive four hundred zuz.'

Said one, 'I will go and incense him.'

That day was the Sabbath eve, and Hillel was washing his head. He went, passed by the door of his house, and called out, 'Is Hillel here, is Hillel here?' {Rabbi Segal's note: There was no use the title "Rabbi.''} 

Thereupon Hillel robed and went out to him, saying, 'My son, what do you require?' 'I have a question to ask,' said he. 'Ask, my son,' he prompted. Thereupon he asked: 'Why are the heads of the Babylonians round?{ Rabbi Segal's note: R' Hillel was a Babylonia}.

 'My son, you have asked a great question,' replied he: 'because they have no skillful midwives.'

He departed, tarried a while, returned, and called out, 'Is Hillel here; is Hillel here?' He robed and went out to him, saying, 'My son, what do you require?' 'I have a question to ask,' said he. 'Ask, my son,' he prompted. Thereupon he asked: 'Why are the eyes of the Palmyreans  bleared?'

 'My son, you have asked a great question, replied he: 'because they live in sandy places.'

He departed, tarried a while, returned, and called out, 'Is Hillel here; is Hillel here?' He robed and went out to him, saying, 'My son, what do you require?' 'I have a question to ask,' said he. 'Ask, my son,' he prompted. He asked, 'Why are the feet of the Africans  wide?'

 'My son, you have asked a great question,' said he; 'because they live in watery marshes.' {Rabbi Segal's comment: They need wide feet, like ducks, because of the marshes.}

 'I have many questions to ask,' said he, 'but fear that you may become angry.' Thereupon he robed, sat before him and said, 'Ask all the questions you have to ask.'

 'Are you the Hillel who is called the nasi [head Rabbi]  of Israel?' 'Yes,' he replied. 'If that is you,' he retorted, 'may there not be many like you in Israel!'

 'Why, my son?' queried Hillel.

'Because I have lost four hundred zuz through you,' complained he.

'Be careful of your moods,' he answered. 'I, Hillel, am worth it that you should lose four hundred zuz and yet  even another four hundred zuz through me, so yet that I, Hillel, shall not lose my temper.'

We discuss these middot, character traits, especially anger, throughout the majority of chapters in  ''The  Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern  Jew'' ' (http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/ )  as well as in most chapters of ''A  Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud''  

  
What are your ideas about getting angry and being discerning  with whom you spend your time?  How has learning Talmud's Derek Eretz helped you in your  interpersonal  relationships? How  has understanding the spiritual and ethical teachings of  Judaism helped you live a more joyous life? 
  
Next class, Baruch ha Shem, we will continue with Derek Eretz Zuta, Chapter FIVE. Thank you for joining me.
 
For those who want a d'var Torah on Parashot Vayeitzei from '''A  Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and  Talmud ''

 

 

Shabbat Shalom:

Rabbi Arthur Segal_

 www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org_ (http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org/ ) 

Jewish Renewal_ 

www.jewishrenewal.info(http://www.jewishrenewal.info/ ) 

Jewish Spiritual Renewal

Jewish Spirituality

Eco Judaism

Hilton Head Island, SC,  Bluffton, SC, Savannah,  GA

 

If visiting SC's Low Country, contact us for a Shabbat meal, in our home by the sea, our beth yam.

 

Maker  of Shalom (Oseh Shalom) help make us deserving of Shalom beyond all human  comprehension!

purim2

drunk rabbis, on Purim.
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