Edited Humash?

I'm a blogging roll today !

It's come to my attention that a brand of Haredi Hasidic Judaism[1] has released a new Humash [2] for their girl's school. Which is great, except that it has come to light that this version has edited out various parts of the Torah [3], including the Genesis creation account and the 'sexual' parts of the Hebrew Bible. Which is great if that is what they want to do; personally I am not sure how you can study the Torah properly with bits missing and to be honest Haredi are very sniffy when it comes to adherence to one's religion and one's religion is based around the Torah. Orthodox Jews believe that "This, The Torah of Moses, shall not be abrogated, nor shall there be any other Torah from G-d save it". 

I and others of my family have often been criticised by Haredi  and those outside of our faith who seem to like their brand of Judaism, for seemingly saying 'to hell with Halakhah'. Except we never do, what we do is to work with The Torah, Tradition, Reason, a dipping into mysticism & Zohar and the Hebrew Bible, to understand it and apply it, not to work against it. We certainly do not edit parts we don't like out. We grapple, struggle, debate & learn to understand these passages. Precisely because we are not Reform Jews we simply can't dismiss them as being irrelevant or out of date, which to my mind at least is never a very satisfactory answer to a curious and intelligent mind. 

Not that I'm suggesting that this movement is now doing what Reform Jews do and not that I'm saying  what Reform Jews do is wrong, but that Haredi Orthodox always like to tell everyone else what the rest of us are doing wrong . Heaven forbid that I would do so. Just don't go around calling me a heretic when a Haredi sect goes around taking bits out of the Bible that they don't want to teach, deal with or cope with. At least I am my family try and deal with the text as it is without heavy edits. You know, the way it should be .

NOTES : 

[1] the Skverer dynasty (or school or sect), who reject material in favour of spiritual, a bit like monk in Christianity, see their history here

[2] Humash is the word for The Torah in printed form, rather than the scrolls we use in Shuls. It is where the word Pentateuch comes from.

[3] See here, here and here 

Thought for the day ...

Hi All,

In respect of   'Orthodox & observant enough'.

Discuss.

Shabbos thread for 29 Sivan

"For six days you may perform melachah, but the seventh day is a complete Sabbath, holy to the L-RD ... it is an eternal sign that in six days, the L-RD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed". -Exodus 31:15-17

Hi All, 

Another week and another Shabbat dawns, a chance to relax and refrain from work after a busy week. This means that it is time for another Shabbat thread, where people can share their hopes, worries, dreams, fears, a word of Torah, food and other stuff that we usually chat about over the Shabbat meal table. 

As readers will know, I've recently brought a min-grand piano. I'm not a rich bitch, I've just been saving for a while and done a few other jobs. plus my friends & family have chipped in a few pounds as well. I learned to play from a young age; being raised on a farm, the tv reception was crap and we used to entertain ourselves in other ways. Writing songs  is something I've been meaning to get back into, so whilst  I do enjoy playing old favourites as well as writing my own material; I have no illusions about making a career out of this, I just do it for my own personal satisfaction. I especially want to do this for Shabbat songs and hymns, so I'll kick off this thread with one. I don't have the music just yet as I'm still working playing it through on the piano to find the correct tune : 

Come now  O  Israel
It is time for Shabbat
The time to rest  & love
To reflect and pray
To eat our best meal on this finest day
Let us welcome the bride of Shabbat
Torah, Family, friends and community
May we all be one and one in unity

Light the candles now
Put your hands up
Sing  Shabbat Shalom
Sing the story
of our freedom
Sing, Shabbat  Shalom

We celebrate Shabbat
To Remember and Observe
Zakhor and Shamor!
Prayer, wine and bread
Kiddush and Challah
To be thankful for all we have
Torah, Family, friends and community
May we all be one and one in unity

You gave us Shabbat
Because you're the G-d of life
We're not here due to random chance
may we sing, celebrate and dance
Torah, Family, friends and community
May we all be one and one in unity

When we stand in Gan Eden,
Shall we not meet you face to face
With all our loved ones already there
Our Shabbat is just a portion of what
we'll see in that Holy Place
.
Torah, Family, friends and community
May we all be one and one in unity

Shabbat Shalom!

Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89) & Sotah

Hi All,

A couple of weeks ago I said we'd be doing posts reflecting on the weekly Parashah. Alas we've got a bit sidetracked, so a few have been missed (well 2, 3 if you include this weeks as well!). Don't worry, we fully intend to keep these D'var Torahs going. So briefly, here is one about Naso (Numbers 4: 21-7:89), which was for the week ending 30th May 2014: 

What leaps out to me for this reading is the idea  of the Sotah (unfaithful or 'wayward'  wife) in Numbers 5, 11 to 31, which is a 'trial by ordeal' and to modern eyes can seem as primitive & barbaric  as the idea of drowning witches to see if they were witches; except in this case the trial was to ascertain suspected adultery. Furthermore this legislation is solely against women and not men or should it be said there is no mechanism for women to do the same against their husband, if he was suspected of adultery.  Whilst it is reassuring that, as the Talmud notes (there is an entire tractate  dedicated to this ritual, although the discussion lasts only  a couple of pages),  this practise was abolished in Judaism over 2,000 years ago and in any case would be unenforceable, like much Biblical legislation, due to the lack of a Temple and Sanhedrin , is there any reason for G-d to have put this into the Torah and what is the importance for it today? 

We can never fully know the mind of G-d, but clearly one of the themes that Numbers deals with is trust. Specifically the lack of it; both at the macro and micro level. Israel doesn't trust G-d. That's the macro. Among Israel people don't trust each other, indeed later on even Aaron and Miriam will turn against Moses, because they don't trust him and don't trust G-d; in Numbers 11 and then 16 to 17 there are accounts of similar jealousies, rivalries and claims of others to speak on behalf of G-d.  You will note that in all of these examples the jealous, distrusting parties are wrong .Within this theme then, perhaps, is a subtle criticism of the jealous husband, namely that if he is prepared to put his wife through such a bizarre ( & humiliating ritual), then that is a poor reflection on him and his lack of trust. Perhaps this connects to this overall theme of Numbers, namely that in any relationship, trust is the key and we need to be more trusting. Equally perhaps Israel should have been more trusting  of & therefore more faithful to  G-d.

As we should be today. 

Indeed in  Sotah, (49a and 49b)  the phrase (repeated 3 times) is used :

In whom can we trust? In our Father in Heaven!

Discuss. 

New Planet, old conversation

Hi All, 

Much to my delight, via the BBC, a new planet has been discovered :

"There is a new class of planet out there that astronomers are calling the "mega-Earth".It is an object with a hard surface like our own world but much, much bigger.The necessity for the new designation follows the discovery of a planet which has a mass some 17 times that of Earth.Known as Kepler-10c, it orbits a star about 560 light-years away."

What is fascinating about this discovery is that this is a planet (see picture below) which is twice the diameter of the earth, which makes it the size of a mini gas giant, but because of its mass, means it is more likely to be  a rocky planet like earth, than a gas giant like Jupiter or Neptune (technically you could call Neptune an 'ice giant'). And if the planet is earth like, then there may be life there. Of course with a strong gravity on the planet, life would be very different to that which we are used to on earth, but it could be life nonetheless. Whilst we as Orthodox Jews believe that "This, The Torah of Moses, shall not be abrogated, nor shall there be any other Torah from G-d save it", we are also comfortable with science,except some of our more strident Haredi, who aren't really the only authentic voice of Orthodoxy, but a new brand of Judaism dating back only 200 years ago. Indeed Moses Maimonides went so far in the preface to his book  'Guide for the Perplexed' : "Knowledge of the Divine cannot be attained except through knowledge of the natural sciences."  

Tikkun Leil Shavuot

"I prefer your Torah to thousands of gold and silver pieces" (Psalm 119)

"I have invested my very essence in writing" [The Torah] (Shabbat 105a)

Hi All,

David has asked us to post on themes related to Shavout, which starts next week. One thing I want to comment on is Tikkun Leil Shavuot, that is the tradition of staying up all night to study the Torah.  To some this can seem like a strange tradition, especially as it goes back no further than the 16th century. But as with any tradition, if applied in a certain spirit it can be a wonderful experience. One year I tried- and failed- to read through the whole Torah during the night. I think I learnt a lesson there, namely, that quality study is better than quantity study. I also think that it is, like, so easy to become ensnared in mindless ritual and that is not what G-d wants of us. If reading through the whole Torah floats your boat, so be it, but it wasn't for me. 

In our house, after we have had our festive meal on Tuesday night, we indeed to do Torah study. There will the rest of us who live here and 2 other guests, so 7 in total. . All of us are going to write out and talk about a particular word of Torah; be it a passage, a reflection on a Bible character or a  particular theme. As we have 2 non Jewish (neither have any religious affiliation, but like living in a Jewish household & our festivities) housemates and those of us who are Jews come from different traditions, it should be an enlightening experience. On the second day we've agreed is that we are going to discuss/study the Ten Commandments and the book of Ruth, which are traditional readings for this festival.

I love Torah; her divinity, her soul, her meaning and her message, which draws us close to G-d, helps us in life, guides our ethics, makes us ,questions us and gives us so much more. I struggle with some of it, clearly, but I don't think I could abandon it. I wish to grow and learn more Torah as the years go by. The passages I have chosen to present on Genesis chapters 1 & 2, along with Psalm 23. I hope to put these reflections up next week.

I'll leave you all with questions for thought : 

• To help me think these through, does anyone have any particular key idea on them?
• What will others be doing, study wise during this festival?
• Is it right to always follow tradition for its own sake?
• If you are not Jewish, how do  study you own holy scripture? 
• Is it communal or individual? And where and when do you do so?

Celebrating Shavout, Pentecost or Cheesecake

This time next week we shall be starting the festival of Shavout or Pentecost. Readers will note that this is nothing to do with the current Christian festival of Pentecost, but to do with celebrating the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. You can read the facts here at the Wikipedia entry, which saves us the time of having to describe what goes on, as what is more interesting and important is not just describing the rose, but to be able to feel it, to smell it as well as to enjoy its beauty. Over the next couple of days we're going to delve into some of the aspects of this festival, which will hopefully help us all gain a greater understanding, to reach a deeper level- e.g. a look at the Ten Commandments, the Akdamut,  Tikkun Leil Shavuot ,the book of Ruth & of course the food that we eat during this festival. Including cheesecake. Which is the name of the festival according to my eldest daughter. 

Can't think why....?

Letter to G-d

Dear G-d, 

I hope that you are well. I appreciate that as creator and master of the universe, people might think you probably might not have the time to check this little letter to you, although I understand that you are our  Avinu Malkeinu; our Father and our King.

You know I love you loads,even though I went through a long period of not believing you existed, that I didn't want to bother with you&  you know that I sometimes want to ask you difficult questions, like why did you give us such wonderful stuff in your Torah, only for people to use it badly? Why do people insist that why you gave us your creation and your science, one is told you have to pick you or science? 

You know I've screamed at you before, very loudly, and asked you why me and Rachel never got a chance to meet my mum and dad. Why was life was being taken as it was being given? I know that they are at the Shabbat table in Gan Eden, the place of peace which is like the feeling after sex or the warmth of a sunny day. But I still would like to know stuff.  What do they think of me? My life? My choices? My relationships ? Do they mind if I'm gay? Do they like my beloved, Sarah?  Do they love me? Are they proud of me? What about my brother's  first wife, his son and my sister's daughter?I have mourned their passing, so, so greatly. You know I grieved the loss of dear uncle Hashy, who raised me in difficult circumstances; is he still smoking his pipe? Is he still grumpy and stubborn? Is he with auntie Eleanor? I know that you love all nations of this world and that he followed you all the days of his life. You know that.

You know I'm not the best Jew or the most observant one, I try and meet you through living, the attempts to be kind, to not let my 'inner bitch' come out too much, trying to do and not to do... & friends and family. I enjoy the Shabbat you gave us. We light candles, break bread and drink wine over prayers, sing , eat discuss the Torah, debate & reflect over the week together,often till the early hours of the morning (especially as one of my brothers is now living with us!). You know that, though, because you are with us there. 

You know I've struggled a lot in trying to meet with you; being an atheist, then looking into Christianity, now returned to the Jewish fold. .My brother David says to me what is more important is how we all act in the world, rather than what we say we believe.I know you  understand all of this because I just have that sense of shalom, peace completeness and wholeness . You know that for the first time in a very long time I'm beginning to feel happy. I don't know if that will last, because life is life. Good and bad. But YOUR love,G-d, is eternal as you've said via King David (Psalm 136), it never ceases or ends.

That's what I like about you G-d

Hashem, ani ohev otra

God, I love you loads xxx

This week's parashah-Bemidbar (Numbers 1 to 4 : 20 )

Hi All,

This week's Torah portion takes its name from the book that we are about to delve into, namely Bemidbar or Numbers . What is enjoyable about this book is that it contains many different types of writing : narratives, poetry, songs, prayers. prophecy, blessings, laws and lists. The overall themes are the journey toward 'the promised land',  moans, groans and ultimately the faithfulness of the Almighty. 

The beginning of this book can seem somewhat daunting and possibly irrelevant for any kind of spiritual guidance today, because the bulk of it is  mostly a long census list and various instructions on the obligations and responsibilities of the various times, but as ever the is stuff than we can draw out from this for today. To me it seems that the census was incredibly meticulous, which meant it would have take a lot of time, effort and organisation. 

Which got me thinking on the following train of thought -  

• Time 

In today's society this is one of the most precious commodities that people have.  You cannot buy it, but it is something most people want. Yet we live in a 24 -7 world in which everything has to be done yesterday. There is increasingly little time to spend with family and friends, enjoying their company, enjoying leisure (yes you ARE allowed to do that!), undertaking non work activity. The list goes on. Thankfully we are blessed as Jews for having the institution of Shabbat. Whilst others might see this as a long list of 'don't do's ', I think we can see Shabbat as G-d's way of addressing this 24-7 lifestyle. That by divine legislation we are able to, once a week to relax and enjoy ourselves. If only the rest of the world could be as thus, perhaps we might live in a better society. Aside from this, is there any way that you as a person are able to make more effective use of the time you have during the week? And what will you do with that extra time, once it is found?

• Effort 

This is a big challenge for me. Sometimes I just cannot sum up the effort and enthusiasm for any of my various projects. It is something I've got to work on.  I really, really want to do various stuff, which I've been putting off and off. No more procrastination, time to do ! We also need to put effort into our relationships. Perhaps you have someone who really pisses you off? Is it perhaps time to make the effort to reconcile 

yourself to that person? Or have you had an argument with someone? Perhaps it is time to make the effort to clear matters up.

• Organisation 

This is something I need to work on. If we have time & effort, if we do not have organisation, we will not be as effective as we could be. Is there anyway you and me can improve our spiritual organisation? Regular Torah study, being able to pray at least once a day? And as Judaism is a practical faith, how organised are you for this life? Can you improve? I'll admit I need to work on that .

I hope these thoughts are helpful to people. I'd like to finish with this thought: G-'d's love is eternal (Psalm 136) and his compassions never fail, his faithfulness is great (Lamentations 3).

Be encouraged. Try. Do.

A D'var Torah -Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh

This is a traditional Jewish song which we the Kav household sing after our Friday night Shabbat meal, whose title is taken from Exodus Chapter 3  vs14.  When Moses asked the Almighty who he should say had sent him to liberate the Jewish nation from slavery in Egypt, he replied 'Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh' (Exodus 3,14). This is commonly translated into English as 'I am that I am', but a more literal translation is 'I shall be that I shall be' or 'Who was , Who is'.

Maimonides, in his guide for the perplexed,  provides an explanation for this  difficult to understand description as follows: 

"When God appeared to our Teacher Moses, and commanded him to address the people and to bring them the message, Moses replied that he might first be asked to prove the existence of God in the Universe, and that only after doing so he would be able to announce to them that God had sent him. For all men, with few exceptions, were ignorant of the existence of God; their highest thoughts did not extend beyond the heavenly sphere, its forms or its influences. They could not yet emancipate themselves from sensation, and had not yet attained to any intellectual perfection. Then God taught Moses how to teach them, and how to establish amongst them the belief in the existence of Himself, namely, by saying Ehyeh asher Ehyeh, a name derived from the verb hayah in the sense of "existing," for the verb hayah denotes "to be," and in Hebrew no difference is made between the verbs "to be" and "to exist." The principal point in this phrase is that the same word which denotes "existence," is repeated as an attribute. The word asher, "that," corresponds to the Arabic illadi and illati, and is an incomplete noun that must be completed by another noun; it may be considered as the subject of the predicate which follows. The first noun which is to be described is ehyeh; the second, by which the first is described, is likewise ehyeh, the identical word, as if to show that the object which is to be described and the attribute by which it is described are in this case necessarily identical. This is, therefore, the expression of the idea that God exists, but not in the ordinary sense of the term; or, in other words, He is "the existing Being which is the existing Being," that is to say, the Being whose existence is absolute. The proof which he was to give consisted in demonstrating that there is a Being of absolute existence, that has never been and never will be without existence." 

The song's English lyrics  can be translated as  follows :

'WHO WAS and WHO IS, desire Your people, listen to my prayer from your holy abode 

Chorus: Behold I yearn for Your Temple, to see the greatness of Your strength, splendor, and glory (2x) Have mercy, my Only One, Who spares those who oppose you, shorten my exile, for I lean on You 

Chorus: Behold I yearn for Your Temple, to see the greatness of Your strength, splendor, and glory (2x)

WHO WAS and WHO IS, desire Your people, listen to my prayer from your holy abode 

Chorus: Behold I yearn for Your Temple, to see the greatness of Your strength, splendor, and glory (2x) Have mercy, my Only One, Who spares those who oppose you, shorten my exile, for I lean on You Chorus: Behold I yearn for Your Temple, to see the greatness of Your strength, splendor, and glory (2x)'

This version is lead by the late and great Ofra Haza, a well know Israeli-Yemenite Jewish singer

Younger viewerss will have to excuse the '70's fashion!

This version is helpful because it has English sub-titles  :