RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: WHO IS HONORED?ONE WHO SHOWS HONOR

 

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: WHO IS HONORED?ONE WHO SHOWS HONOR

 

Jewish  Spiritual  Renewal:

  

  Derek  Eretz Zuta + Rabbah:

  

 Shabbat  1/28/12 

 

 (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.   

  

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: AVOIDING A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES  

or http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com/2012/01/rabbi-arthur-segal-jewish-spiritual_3463.html

 

  

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 continued with  CHAPTER 6 of Talmud  Bavli Tractate Derek Eretz Zuta Verse  6:2.    

 

6:2 ''When entering, the greater shall be first; when leaving, the smaller shall be first. When ascending steps, the greater shall be first; when descending, the smaller shall be the first. At a public meeting, the greater shall have the preference. When entering a prison, the smaller shall do so first. For saying benedictions, the greater is first. The one entering the house must always greet first the one who is in the house. One must not lean at meals (as was the custom in the Orient) when a greater man than he is at the table. One shall not drink in public unless he turns away his face from the bystanders. "

 

I understand that the above can read like a Jewish "Emily Post.'' It discuses  decorum and respect shown to elders and teachers. The lessons  from Talmudic times  are equally valuable today, although many times ignored. They are all to teach us humility.

 

"''When entering, the greater shall be first; when leaving, the smaller shall be first.'' When we enter a room and we are with an elder, a rabbi, or one of our teachers, kavod, honor, is shown by allowing the greater in stature to enter first, and then leave last. We need to remember the adage in Pirkei Avot, of: "Who is honored? He who honors others.'' When we turn the above upside down, and precede ahead of one deserving honor, we show not only disrespect, but display our bad manners and arrogance.

 

Unfortunately when this disrespect is done in synagogues, especially those who think of rabbis as hired help, rabbinic teachings become disrespected as well. In fact, this is one of the main reasons this commentary on Derek Eretz has been studied for years and then written. Without Derek Eretz, again from Pirkei Avot, there is no Torah learning.

 

"When ascending steps, the greater shall be first; when descending, the smaller shall be the first."  We see the  same progression with stairs as we do with entering rooms. Entering a room, just as ascending stairs, is the more important act. So we show kavod to the 'greater.' Descending stairs as with leaving a room, is a less important act, and hence the 'smaller' goes first.

 

''At a public meeting, the greater shall have the preference.'' How often do we see folks with low self esteem have their egos try to take over meetings, making long statements when they are to be asking short questions? It is proper decorum to give all honor and preference to the 'greater' person in the assembly. We can learn more when we take the cotton out of our ears, and place it in our mouths. The Talmud teaches that a jar with one or two coins in it, when rattled, makes much more noise than a jar tightly packed with coins.

 

 " For saying benedictions, the greater is first. " When dinning it is important to let the scholar or rabbi make the beracoth, blessings. In my home, my guests are given this honor. It is just another occasion when we can show chesed as well as kavod to another person. The Talmud spends many dafs (folios,pages) discussing this in Tractate Beracoth. Tractate Derek Eretz Zuta states it simply and succinctly.

 

''The one entering the house must always greet first the one who is in the house. '' This act is showing respect to the host. How often do we see the opposite behavior, of guests congregating at the front vestibule chatting with each other, and not greeting their host? By following the above we are given an opportunity to thank our host and wish blessings upon the host. We can hobnob  with our fellow guests afterwards.

 

''One must not lean at meals (as was the custom in the Orient) when a greater man than he is at the table.''  When we are dinning with a 'greater' person, we need to sit upright and be attentive. There can be plenty of time for leaning, and relaxing later on. We are showing non-verbally that we respect our elders and teachers, and that we are attentive and wish to hear some pearls of wisdom. By immediately leaning, we are implying we are equals and we have nothing to learn. We show lack of humility as well as breeding. The Talmud tells us that a boor cannot fear sin, meaning a person with rude, clumsy manners and little refinement, who leans at a table while dinning, cannot effectively learn Torah. None of us wish to appear as an am ha eretz. (Ironically the derivation for boor is from the German gebur, a peasant farmer. Am ha eretz literally means a person of the earth).

 

"One shall not drink in public unless he turns away his face from the bystanders." Judaism has nothing against the use of alcohol. In fact, most if not all Jewish holy day meals, including Shabbat, begin with drinking wine and thanking God for it. In fact, the Passover seder has 4 cups of wine mandated in  the service for each adult person.  

 

Public drunkenness is frowned upon. But Judaism has its exceptions. During Purim one is commanded to get so drunk so as not to be able to distinguish between "Blessed is Mordechai" and "Cursed is Haman." The Talmud tends to lesson this ruling with a story of how one rabbi while drunk accidentally slashed his friend, causing him to almost die. When the healed friend was invited back for Purim a year later, he declined, not wanting to push his luck.

 

So the above verse is telling us if we are drinking in public, e.g. a bar, and not a dinner, to hide our faces. This again is for ma'arit ayin reasons. We do not want people seeing us have one small drink and assume we have been in the bar for hours consuming cases of liquor.

 

Besides giving people the opportunity to bad mouth us, we are also not giving one the opportunity to look at us as an object of Chillul Ha Shem, hollowing out God's holy name. When some people know we are Jews, and/or rabbis, and they see us doing what they think are improper behaviors, it can effect their attitudes to all Jews, to Judaism, and to God Himself.

 

We discuss these middot, character traits of mar'rit ayin and avoid arguing with people, 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''  

(http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/index.html#Compendium2 ) .

  

What are your ideas about these adages of decorum?  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 Six. Thank you for joining me.

 

For those who want a d'var Torah on Parasha Bo   from '''A  Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and  Talmud'' please click on

Rabbi Arthur Segal: RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: CHUMASH CANDESCENCE: PARASHA BO: EXODUS 10:01-13:16   or http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com/2008/02/chumash-candescence-parasha-bo-exodus.html

 

 

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!!  

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: BO: CONTROL TIME BY PRIORITIZING

  

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH  SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: BO: CONTROL TIME BY PRIORITIZING

 

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: CHUMASH CANDESCENCE: PARASHA BO:  EXODUS 10:01-13:16

 

CHUMASH CANDESCENCE
PARASHA BO
EXODUS 10:01-13:16
DR. ARTHUR SEGAL

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

 

''TIME, TIME, TIME IS ON MY SIDE, YES IT IS.''

''The Mitzvah of Keeping Time''

''People say 'Time is money,' but I say 'Money is Time,' for every luxury
costs so many precious hours of your life," so says Rabbi Israel Meir
Kagan in his book Chofetz Chaim (Pursuing Life).

In this week's fascinating Parasha we read of the last three of the ten
plagues and of our redemption from Egypt. Also included are the mitzvoth
concerning the celebration of Passover and the events that took place on
that glorious night so long ago that we remember each day and each
Shabbat in our prayers.

The first commandment, however, in the book of Exodus, which is also
the first commandment given to us as a freed nation (and the fourth one
of the 613 listed in the Torah) is the mitzvah of the sanctification of
the new moon. It also involves setting our lunar calendar in motion as
well as its continued modification (Ex 12:02).

Traditionally, the Jewish concept of the Rosh Chodesh is very meaningful.
Its meaning to our religious life in setting our holidays in motion was
well known to our oppressors. One thousand years after Sinai when the
Syrian Greeks persecuted us, this mitzvah, as well as the mitzvoth of
circumcision and Shabbat were the three that were denied to us--under
penalty of death.

Our lunar calendar is so important to us traditionally that only a lesser
Sanhedrin Bait Din (Jewish court) could declare a new month and in
order to do so at least two witnesses had to observe the new moon.
Without a calendar the holidays could not be observed . Other mitzvoth,
as well as those that promoted the sacrificial cult of the priestly class,
could not be performed. Religious chaos would follow.

Our calendar is based on the Moon but regulated by the Sun. The time
between each new moon is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3.5 seconds.
Since months must have complete days, Jewish months have either 29 or 30
days. We have 12 months, so our year is 354 days. Since our holidays are
seasonal and agriculturally based (Pesach is the spring holiday), we have
a leap month called Adar II seven times in every 19-year cycle. This way
Rosh Hashanah and Sukkoth are in the fall, sometimes early fall, and
sometimes late fall, but always in the harvest season of autumn. Passover
is always in the spring time as per the mitzvah in Deuteronomy 16:01.

So important was the accuracy of our calendar that only special rabbis
could serve on this calendar Sanhedrin (those with semichah [ordination],
that is believed traditionally to have been passed down by Moses
himself).

By the time of the destruction of the second Temple in 70 CE, during
Roman occupation, the level of scholarship had decreased due to the
Diaspora and confusion. In 358 CE Hillel II (the Second)
preset a lunar calendar for the future, which was based on calculations
that one can read today in the Talmud. Because of Hillel II, a monthly Bait Din,
as well as the court needed to intercalate the leap month of Adar II,
would no longer be needed.

Ironically, Maimonides in his text Hilchot Kiddush Hachodesh 11:04 says
that the arithmetic of the Hebrew calendar does not require any major
mathematical skills, and the method is one in which an average school
child can master in three or four days. Many rules must be followed. For
example, Rosh Hashanah can only be on a Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, or
Thursday. This is to prevent Yom Kippur from falling ten days later on
the day before (Friday) or after (Sunday) Shabbat. And this rule keeps
Hoshanna Rabbah from being on Shabbat. This keeps the first night of
Sukkoth at a full moon in the middle of its month.

Traditionally we are taught that the oral law (Mishna + Gemora = Talmud)
was given to Moshe (Moses) on Sinai by God, and these rules for setting
up the calendar were included. These rules were passed on to future generations
via oral transmission until the Mishna was written circa 200 CE and the
Talmud circa 500 CE. Hillel II assured us that if we follow the rules
of leap years with Adar II in 19-year cycles all would be well, as this
is the Word of God to Moses on Sinai.

However, it is a myth to look upon the Hebrew calendar as some kind of
celestial clock capable of keeping the Jewish holidays in their season,
says Remy Landau in his ''Hebrew Calendar: Science and Myths.'' The
accuracy of the Hebrew calendar is fixed by the value of the mean
lunation period coupled to the 19-year cycle of 235 lunar months. That
leads to an average Hebrew year length of 365.2468 days. The mean
tropical solar year is 365.2422 days. Hence, the average Hebrew year is
slower than the average solar year by about one day in every 216 years.
That means that today we celebrate the holidays, on average, about 8 days
later than did our ancestors in 359 CE when Hillel II's fixed calendar
rules were published.

 

Should no NEW calendar REFORM take place, then over
the next few millennia all of our holidays will have drifted out of their
appropriate seasons and Pesach--our spring holiday--would be observed
in the winter!

 

(Perhaps at the Union of American Hebrew Congregation's
Reform biennial in 11/2999, a committee will be appointed for this task. Then we
liberal Jews will have a spring Passover and our Orthodox brethren, who won't change
the "word of God," will be celebrating a winter Pesach.)

The beauty of our traditions and the brilliance of our ancestors gets
lost if we assign mathematical wizardry to the word of God in oral law
to Moses at Sinai. If indeed this is the word of God, His order would be
off base as the universal clock ticks forward. The first thing we did as
a free nation, after years of having our days' activities set for us by
our Egyptian task masters, was to take back control of our TIME.

Taking control of our daily time today is just as important as it was
3,500 years ago. Perhaps that is a good definition of freedom: being able
to set your own pace and define your time commitments. Are we slaves to
our jobs and our mortgages and our luxuries as the Chofetz Chaim alludes
to in my opening quote? Do we wish to make slaves of our rabbis by
suggesting that we, as lay leaders of our congregations, know better than
he or she does on how rabbinic time should be spent? Do we want our rabbis on
beepers, signing in and out of our temples?

There are many levels of slavery, some of our own making and some that we
can set upon others. Rabbi Ashi says in Talmud Sanhedrin on Daf 29A,
''Though a plague lasts seven years, no one dies before his time.'' And
Rabbi Hillel I (the First) said, "If not now, when?" When will our "now"
be?

The "now" that is "now" the Chassidic rebbe said, this moment, never
existed before--from the time the Earth was created; and this moment will
never exist again. Formerly there was another "now," and later there will
be another "now," and every "now" has its own special import and
function.

We read in Parasha Bo of our freedom, and of time, in the form of our
calendar, being given by God to us. This is a gift of freedom, and this
gift is one that we squander regularly. Carpe Diem! Seize the day! Seize
your lives back from the shackles of impossible time restraints. We can
not be in two places at once. Family, Torah, friends, God--all need to be
placed before petty administrative tasks that society's bureaucrats
place into our laps routinely. Yes, we have to earn our daily bread and
pay the tax man. But when Shabbat comes, let us try to remember this
gift of rest and the gift of freedom of our time being ours to use
wisely.

Shabbat Shalom!
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL

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!!