A Challenge

Okay, so I promised you that I would post a שיעור about the deeper significance of the new name of 'ה that we spoke about today, "אהי-ה אשר אהי-ה".  You can learn more by listening to a fascinating class given by Mrs. Esther Wein; just click on this link and scroll down until you reach "Parshat Shemot 5771".  Once again, this class can also be heard as a podcast, just search for "Esther Wein parsha podcast" and look for the title on iTunes.


Now let's make it fun.


I know that this is not a short שיעור, clocking in at just under an hour.  Not all of it is directly related to what we are learning in שמות, but it is 100% relevant to our understanding of some major concepts in Jewish השקפה, and the fact that there is even another פורים tie-in is just icing on the cake!


Speaking of cake.....


While I would love to assign you to listen to the entire thing, I understand that for most of you, an hour is a long time.  Therefore, you are hereby required to listen only to the first 29 minutes and 50 seconds (it's easier to monitor this if you are listening to the podcast version, as some of you discovered last time).  HOWEVER, if at least 3 members of the class opt to listen to the entire שיעור and can provide written proof of having done so (in the form of an explanation of the infamous story of דוד המלך and בתשבע, and how it pertains to the general theme of אמת), I will bring in a cake some time next week for the entire class to share as a congratulatory gesture.

In the meantime, the assignment for everyone is as follows: I would like you each to summarize in 2-3 paragraphs what the name "אהי-ה אשר אהי-ה" connotes, and why 'ה chose to call Himself by that name in reference to יציאת מצרים.  You should also explain what the connection is between פורים and the ultimate, long-awaited appearance of אמת.  This work is due in class on Tuesday, March 22nd, or it can be emailed to me beforehand.


P.S. In case you were wondering who Rebbetzin Wein's grandfather is (she refers to him multiple times), you can take a look at this.

HS חומש Assignment 3/15/11

As we spoke about in class today, I'd like you to each find some time this week to post a comment or two here sharing your thoughts or feelings about the tragic massacre of 5 of our Jewish brothers and sisters in the ישוב of איתמר.  Today we considered it in light of the message of the סנה, as a wake-up call to turn the search for the perpetrators inward, and to examine our own hurtful and destructive actions towards other members of כלל ישראל.  You can choose to elaborate or ruminate further on this approach, or you may want to express your own fears, outrage, uncertainties, etc instead.  Any and all carefully thought out opinions are welcome.  I will share with you something that Rabbi Perl wrote to me in an email this morning about one authentic Jewish response to such a heartbreaking event: 

"...I think the Rav's [Ed. note: Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, זצ"ל]  approach in Kol Dodi Dofek is always a good way to go:  we can't answer the question "why" (if we could, we'd be G-d), but we can answer the question of "what now."  We can never point a finger at anyone or any group of people and say they were to blame for what happened (except for the perpetrator, of course).  But we can always point a finger at ourselves and know that we'll be to blame if we don't hear HKB"H "knocking at our door" and make ourselves better because of it."

May הקב"ה comfort the surviving Fogel children, extended family members, and their loved ones, and help them-and us-to cling to the תורה with greater strength than ever before, and to always know that כל מה דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד-everything that The Merciful One does is for the good.

!!חודש טוב

I once heard a teacher of mine in seminary, Rabbi Jonathan Taub (you can read a bit about him here or here) say that when what you are learning connects to the weekly

פרשה, it's a sign that you're on the right track in your approach and understanding.  I think we could extend this notion to connecting our learning to other timely Jewish concepts, such as the ימים טובים. To that end, I was recently listening to a שיעור about פורים which made mention of none other than the סנה, the burning bush that we've been studying in class.  The speaker is Mrs. Esther Wein, who is a popular תורה lecturer in the New York area.  You can listen to her here, by scrolling down to the title "Layehudim Hayta Oorah" and clicking on "Download mp3" (you can also find it as a podcast, just search iTunes for "Esther Wein parsha podcast").  אם ירצה 'ה, we will be hearing more from Mrs. Wein in the future.  For now, I hope that this gives you some insight both into משה's vision at the סנה, as well as a deeper understanding of פורים.  It's deep, and if it seems a bit lengthy for you, at least try to listen to the section that is particularly relevant to the סנה, starting from about 11 1/2 minutes in.  Pay attention to the discussion of the 3 things that משה was rewarded for due to his behavior at the סנה.