By Tzvi Freeman
No man can claim to have reached the ultimate truth
as long as there is another who has not.
No one is redeemed
until we are all redeemed.
Ultimate truth is an unlimited light
-and if it is unlimited,
how could it shine in one person's realm
and not in another's?
Posted in Wisdom, Poetry and Musings
Shai Agnon wrote in MeAtzmi El Atzmi:
Rav Kook once asked me to give him [copies of] my books. I replied that I had indeed thought about giving him one or two of them. He said, “I want all of your books, and you intended to give me only some of them?!” I replied, “Your desire is my honor”…
A while later, he saw me and said “I read your works.” All of them?” I asked. “All of them;” he replied, and I want to tell you something. The author of Pri Megadim wrote a small worked entitled Mattan S’charan Shel Mitzvot (‘Reward for Mitzvot’), in which he writes: If a drop of forbidden food falls into sixty times its volume of permissible food, the forbidden drop is nullified in sixty (batel be’shishim). In that case, the permissible food gains from the forbidden one, for there are now sixty-one parts of permissible food [instead of just sixty]. The same is true of your works. Even if some forbidden material ‘falls’ into your books, it is nullified in sixty and becomes permissible. Thus, the permissible material gains from the forbidden.”
[An Angel Among Men – Rav Avraham Yitzcahk Hakohen Kook pg 399 – 400]
Comments:
– This idea is elucidated in the audio series “Exploring the Role of Art and Creativity. Through the Teachings of Rav Kook – Art and Eros”.
– I believe I have read a similar quote attributed to the Lubavitcher Rebbe (although I cannot find a source, if anyone knows please leave a comment).
– Although seemingly a radical idea, it might perhaps provide guidance in terms of our exposure to art, literature and secular culture in dealing with those "grey" areas where the lines of inappropriateness are sometimes crossed.
Posted in Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook
On Hasidism
By Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik
The following is an extract from a letter written by the Rav to Rabbi
Moshe Dov Baer Rivkin (1895-1976), a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva Torah
Vodaath in New York City for many decades and a prominent Lubavitcher
hasid. It was translated from the Hebrew by Rabbi Yair Kahn.
Erev Rosh ha-Shana, 5715
[Sunday, September 28, 1955]
. . . I possess a special fondness for the Lubavitch movement. As I speak, I recall the visions of my youth, paved with the pure impressions of childhood, enveloped by romantic splendor. Patriarchal images still hover before me, crowned with ancient glory. Behold, the likeness of my mentor, R. Barukh Ya'akov Reisberg, z"l, appear to me. I can still picture his facial expression, which radiated both solemnity and intelligence, as well as sweep and imagination. To this day, I hear his voice in the silence of the twilight, sad, saturated with sorrow and longing, his words emerging from the distance – words full of passion and fascination regarding his stay in Lubavitch during his youth. I still carry in the recesses of my soul, the image of the Alter Rebbe which gazed upon us, (tinokot shel beit rabban) from the whitewashed walls of the heder, a broad forehead, commanding intelligence, deep eyes gazing at Divine infinite distances, fastened upon wondrous visions. The beard which flowed upon his garments enchanted us with its majesty and mystery. My eyes still perceive the portrait of the Tzemah Tzedek, robed in white, who in our childhood fantasy appeared to us as the high priest exiting the Holy of Holies. My ears still detect strange sounds, both pleasant and appealing, detached phrases and scattered words uttered by the "hozrim" by dim candlelight during the long winter nights, referring to "all-encompassing lights" and "returning lights," concealment and revelation, internal love and the soul of Israel hewn from the celestial throne. As I continue to dream, I see the image of elderly Hasidim on the night of Shemini Atzeret, dancing around my father and teacher of blessed memory in a quick rhythmic beat. Images such as these will not be erased from my heart; they are deeply rooted in the mystery of my being. Therefore, all that is written regarding this great movement is of enormous interest to me…
("Community, Covenant and Commitment: Selected Letters and Communications- Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik", edited by Nathaniel Helfgot, Ktav Publishing House , NY 2005. Pp 289-90)
(Hat Tip to Rabbi Aryeh Solomon for sending this to me)
(See the website here for articles and videos of the time when these two giants met at the Rebbe's farbrengen)
Posted in Chabad
There is a powerful passage that really touches to the heart of everything I write about in this blog from R’Samson Raphael Hirsch. It is a response that he penned to Zecharia Frankel’s scholastic writings. I cite it here in full and will be posting further on the topic:
“Frankel makes a distinction between dogma and scholarship and by making this distinction he deals the deathblow to that which he calls dogma. There can be only one truth. That is true by the standards of dogma must be true also according the standards of dogma must be true also according to the standards of scholarship, and conversely, that which scholarship has exposed as falsehoold and delusion cannot be resurrected by doga as truth. If the results of scholarly research have convinced me that the halacha is the comparatively recent creation of the human mind, then no doga can make me revere halacha as an ancient divinely uttered dictate and allow it to rule every aspect of my life.
…. Jewish thought knows no such distinction between faith and science which assigns faith to the heavenly spheres and science to the earth. The “dogmatic” element is not hold in one’s vest pocket ready for presentation to the celestial gatekeeper, if the necessary, as a ticket to heaven, while “science” which shapes the intellect of man and is planted on another sort of soil, is nurtured from wellsprings of quite a different source. Jewish “dogma” does not teach mysteries which logic cannot follow, which have no common language with reason and to which reason cannot address itself.
Those concepts which the Jewish “faith” offers as the basis of Judaism are facts, historical realities founded on the living, lucid experiences of a whole nation. These facts are not presented for “believing” but so serve the most vigorous and vital development of theoretical knowledge and practical action. The true science of Judaism is to perceive the world, mankind and Israel in these terms and true Jewish life is to translate these perceptions into living reality.
[Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Collected Writing V, p 312, Quoted in the Artscroll biography of R’Samson Raphael Hirsch p 260]
Posted in Uncategorized
I am always fascinated by people who make the decision to convert to Orthodox Judaism, especially where there prior lives where anything but ordinary. Read the fascinating story of Jamal Michael Barrow / AKA “Shyne” (Link )
Posted in Uncategorized
It is always nice to see unity among our people, unfortunately it always takes unfortunate circumstances to bring us together. Enjoy the song.
Posted in Achdut
"In my own experience, when addressing a group of students from a Modern Orthodox yeshivah in Jerusalem, I was surprised at the resistance that I had elicited through my comments about Torah Umadda (which reflected some of the reservations that I am mentioning here). The casual gathering that it was, I pressed harder to find out what was underlying their strongly stated commitments to the pursuit of secular studies. For one, as it turned out, most of those present had been, at some time or another, talmidim (students) of talmidim of Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Though most of them did, in fact, stand up for the concept, they failed to give the impression that it was anything more than a rallying cry that they had inherited from their teachers. Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky may have been surprised that his talmidim at Torah Vodaath were unaware of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. These bachurim(young men) to whom I was speaking, though championing Torah Umadda in the abstract, also failed to have anything more than the most superficial connection with secular studies. In fact, from the resistance that my talk had elicited, I had the impression that they thought that I (or perhaps their rebbe who was present) intended to prevent them from reading Tolstoy’s classic.
But if any of them had heard of the book, they certainly did not want to read it. I remained confused by the disparity between their enthusiasm for the concept and their indifference to the actual phenomenon until one of the young men confided: “It’s not so much that we are interested in Torah Umadda, what we are really interested in is Torah and entertainment.” This talmid provided, and he did so humorously, the reduction ad absurdum of the position (to the discernible relief of his friends), but he revealed that the primary concern of many yeshivah boys (aside from parnassah) is not incorporating the classics into the life of the ben Torah, but rather accommodating Torah into a contemporary lifestyle—of popular culture, of movies and of MTV. As a colleague once suggested to me, for the current generation (and there are no signs it is getting better), it is not so much a question of Torah or madda, but rather one of taivah (pleasure) or taivah. This is to say, young men and women in our communities are not worrying over the problem of synthesizing Torah and the legacies of classical traditions. It’s not Torah and Aeschylus and Sophocles, but, at best, Torah and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Cruise (and a lehavdil would have to split between the last two and all of the former terms). Torah Umadda, from this perspective, may be a madreigah to which most young people in our community cannot possibly aspire. Further, if knowing the zeitgeist means knowing Schwarzenegger, does it mean that we and our talmidim, the leaders of the next generation, should be on line to buy tickets to the next sequel to Terminator? For Rambam, knowing madda meant having access to the classical texts of Athenian culture. For the current generation, madda includes much more: Plato and Aristotle come along in a package that includes Yahoo!, The Matrix and MTV. In most cases, it’s the latter set, and not the former, which most compellingly attracts attention."
(Jewish Action 5764 / 2004 – Torah U Madda – A view from the Academy – William Kolbrener)
Notes:
1) For an attempt at synthetis between the world of Hollywood and Sinai see "Corner of Hollywood and Sinai" by Dodi-Lee-Hecht. See her post "Half a cup of plot and a dash of character " where she battles the halachic issues of her approach.
2) For a heartfelt plea from a rebbi to his talmidim not to attend New Years Eve parties (although the issues of hollywood and media are mentioned) listen "Sealed Hearts, Eyes and New Years Eves Parties" by Rabbi Ally Ehrman
3) For these and similiar issues in the MO Camp see the post "Modern Orthodoxys Weakness"by R'Harry Maryles of the Haemtza blog
4) For an assesment of Torah U Maddah reality vs the dream, read "A Tumultuous Love Affair – YU, Me and the Last Three Decades " by Rabbi Mayer Schiller.
Posted in Torah U Madda
Rav Chaim Kanievsky served in the IDF
Yes, you read that title correctly. You can stop rubbing your eyes.I am going to translate this article about how Rav Chaim Kanievsky served in the army, or else to be known as "Sticks and Stones"for those of you who might have trouble with the Hebrew. I had never heard this before, and find the story fascinating.
Rav Shmuel Grossbard, father of one of the mashgichim in Ponevvezh Yeshiva, passed away this week. His children were surprised when Rav Chaim Kanievsky came in to be menachem aveilim, and were even more surprised with what he told them shortly after he arrived.
"You have no idea why I troubled myself to come console you?" Rav Kanievsky asked.. "I have hakarat hatov for your father who was my commander in the army and helped me a lot!"
Those present were surprised by what he said that he had served in the army. One of those present had the courage to ask "The Rav was in the army? We never heard this before about our father, and about the Rav even more so!"
Rav Kanievsky smiled and related to them, "It was during the War of Independence, I was then learning in the Yeshiva of Lomza in Petach Tikva. The war started and everyone was drafted to the army with no exceptions. Of course, we knew nothing, until one day a large vehicle pulled up outside the yeshiva and they said everybody has to get in to go protect the country.
Because none of us knew how to hold a gun,they gave us sticks and stones and put us out to guard a large hill. I remember everyone was very scared and Rav Berel Povarsky hid in a bathroom and got out of it. But me and Rav Moshe Soloveitchik, we went, and he was sitting beside me the whole time saying tehillim while crying.
Your father, z"l, was appointed as commander, because he was the oldest in the group. because he was commander, he got the largest stick. When we got there, I asked him what we should do. he told me you should go up the hill and sit and learn where they can't see you, but take a stick and two stones so if the Arabs would come you can scare them away. We sat there for a long time, and after we left the place we were told the Arabs had shot to that same place."
When he finished relating this story he said, "Out of gratitude for then, I have come to console you."
[http://lifeinisrael.blogspot.com/2009/08/rav-chaim-kanievsky-served-in-idf.html ]
Posted in Uncategorized
