Shabbat Nachamu
(Isaiah 40:1-26)
July 28, 2007 ⁄ 13 Av 5767
This week's haftarah is the first of seven special haftarot which follow Tish b'Av. These seven are known as the "shiva denekhemta – the seven of consolation" because, at least in part, each of them offers comfort by affirming that the exile will end, the land of Israel will be rebuilt and the community will come home and be reestablished. These haftarot are among the earliest that we have a fixed record of since the sages already collected midrashim for them as early as the 3-4th century CE. Like almost all haftarot taken from the later prophets, this haftarah contains more than one message. It also challenges the people's disloyalty to God, in particular, the people's incorrect conclusions drawn from their experience of the natural world.
This critique is expressed poignantly in the following obscure verse: "Do you not know? Have you not heard? Have you not been told from the very first? Have you not discerned how the earth was founded (mosdot haaretz)?" This verse seems to be aimed at those who worship idols, chiding them to take note that it is impossible to claim that the inanimate objects that they worship could possibly be the creator of the world. (A. Hakham, Isaiah, Daat Hamikra, pp. 421-2) Targum Yonatan, the Aramaic translation of the prophetic books, makes this clear: "Do you not know? Have you not heard? Have you not seen for yourself from the beginning of the works of the order of creation? Have you not discerned to fear the One who created the foundations of the world?"
This verse prompted Rabbi David Kimche (12th century Provance) to attempt to trace the etiology of the flaw in human reasoning that led to the idolatrous betrayal of God: "How could you possibly have erred. Didn't you pay attention to books…to tradition... to reason? You should have understood from the foundations of the world. Even the idolater does not think that the gold [statue] has control over the star that it represents. If so, then, how did it happen that he began to worship the statue? It simply became habit and then they forgot the distinction between the statue as symbol and that for which it is a symbol so that they began to think that the statue itself could control good and evil. Earlier generations erred in judgment; later generations erred through habit." (abridged and adapted) He goes on to assert that anyone who pays attention to the workings of the natural world [and ignores habit] will become conscious of the fact that the elements of the physical world cannot be deified and that they must have been created. It is possible that Kimche's approach to this question was influenced by that of Maimonides who follows a similar tack in explaining the origins of idolatry. (See Mishnah Torah, Hilchot Avodah Zarah ch. 1) These sages, based on their understanding of this verse, discerned that the natural world was an important source for the awareness of God.
Kimche's valuable lesson for us is that habit and naivety are no excuse for ignorance of God's reality. It is a religious responsibility to discern the glory of God through the wonders of His creation and to take care not to fall prey to anything less.
This study piece is offered as a service of the United Synagogue Conservative Yeshiva. It is prepared by Rabbi Mordechai (Mitchell) Silverstein, senior lecturer in Talmud and Midrash at the Conservative Yeshiva. He is a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
With the permission of The United Synagogue Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Rabbi Edward S. Romm - Director of Education
© 2007
Shabbat Shalom,
Henry Ray Wengrow
Ritual Chair, Beth Shalom
Friday, July 27, 2007
Weekly Announcements, 7/27
Upcoming Events:
Saturday, July 28–9:45 a.m. Shabbat services; Guest speakers: Lauren Kranson & Suzanne Schwechter from American Jewish World Service, to discuss Jewish teachings related to three global issues and why as Jews we should take action to work on them. After Kiddush, they will be doing a workshop discussing the AJWS project Organizing for Global Justice, and how to engage with presidential candidates as they campaign across South Carolina. The workshop will focus on how as a Jewish community working together (this project is also happening in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire) we can get our voices heard and make important global change.
Friday, August 3–6:30 p.m. SB Bat Mitzvah
Saturday, August 4–9:45 a.m. SB Bat Mitzvah
Saturday, August 11–9:45 a.m. Shabbat morning services followed by a sponsored kiddush luncheon in honor of Daryl G.'s 65th birthday.
Wednesday, August 15
7 p.m. Jewish Women’s Book Club Meeting in the social hall. This will also be the annual planning meeting. In addition to choosing titles for the next year, we will be discussing a possible change in venue. Plan to join us and bring your suggestions for next year’s reading list.
7:30 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting in the library.
Sunday, August 26
10 a.m. Unveiling of the stone for Matthew Nankin at Whaley Street Cemetery.
10:15 a.m. Hesed Outreach Meeting⁄Training in the social hall. Dr. David Greenhouse will be our guest speaker and will do a presentation and engagequestion and answer.
Tikkun olam:
The leaders of MAIN (Midlands Area Interfaith Network) are promoting a food drive for Harvest Hope Food Bank, July 15 to August 15. There will be a Harvest Hope food barrel in the lobby at Beth Shalom Synagogue. Harvest Hope will pick up the donations August 15th and deliver the food to Harvest Hope. Please bring your donations of non-perishable food items and put them in the barrel during the four weeks of the drive. Harvest Hope, as you know from news reports, had the misfortune of losing a bunch of food because of a water line break earlier this summer. They are still trying to recover and this effort will be of enormous benefit to them and the hungry in our community. Thank you for helping us fight hunger in Columbia!
Saturday, July 28–9:45 a.m. Shabbat services; Guest speakers: Lauren Kranson & Suzanne Schwechter from American Jewish World Service, to discuss Jewish teachings related to three global issues and why as Jews we should take action to work on them. After Kiddush, they will be doing a workshop discussing the AJWS project Organizing for Global Justice, and how to engage with presidential candidates as they campaign across South Carolina. The workshop will focus on how as a Jewish community working together (this project is also happening in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire) we can get our voices heard and make important global change.
Friday, August 3–6:30 p.m. SB Bat Mitzvah
Saturday, August 4–9:45 a.m. SB Bat Mitzvah
Saturday, August 11–9:45 a.m. Shabbat morning services followed by a sponsored kiddush luncheon in honor of Daryl G.'s 65th birthday.
Wednesday, August 15
7 p.m. Jewish Women’s Book Club Meeting in the social hall. This will also be the annual planning meeting. In addition to choosing titles for the next year, we will be discussing a possible change in venue. Plan to join us and bring your suggestions for next year’s reading list.
7:30 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting in the library.
Sunday, August 26
10 a.m. Unveiling of the stone for Matthew Nankin at Whaley Street Cemetery.
10:15 a.m. Hesed Outreach Meeting⁄Training in the social hall. Dr. David Greenhouse will be our guest speaker and will do a presentation and engagequestion and answer.
Tikkun olam:
The leaders of MAIN (Midlands Area Interfaith Network) are promoting a food drive for Harvest Hope Food Bank, July 15 to August 15. There will be a Harvest Hope food barrel in the lobby at Beth Shalom Synagogue. Harvest Hope will pick up the donations August 15th and deliver the food to Harvest Hope. Please bring your donations of non-perishable food items and put them in the barrel during the four weeks of the drive. Harvest Hope, as you know from news reports, had the misfortune of losing a bunch of food because of a water line break earlier this summer. They are still trying to recover and this effort will be of enormous benefit to them and the hungry in our community. Thank you for helping us fight hunger in Columbia!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Tisha B'Av Service, Monday evening, July 23rd
Fast of Tisha B'Av
Monday evening, July 23rd
7:30 p.m.
Beth Shalom Synagogue - Chapel
Tisha B'Av starts July 23rd, the day on which we mourn Jerusalem and, in a larger sense, all of the brokenness and problems in the world. In a world which is so badly damaged, in which evil runs rampantly wild, our reaction as Jews is to mourn, and also to examine how each of us, in our individual lives, can take responsibility for that brokenness. Maimonides, in his Laws of Fasts (1:2-3), writes:
2. This practise is one of the paths of repentance, that when
a threat appears, and the people cry out to God and sound the
trumpets, then all begin to recognize that it is their wrongful
actions that have contributed to their troubles, as it says, "your
sins have tipped the balance" (Jeremiah 5:25). This will help the
threat to be removed from them.
3. But if people do not cry out and sound the trumpets, and
instead say, 'What has happened to us is just the way it is, and
this trouble is just by chance,' then this is the 'way of cruelty',
and leads them to become attached to their wicked deeds.
Michal Rubin will lead us tonight in reading the book of Lamentations, and she and David will also share their experiences visiting the sites of horror in Poland; the program will begain at 7:30 p.m. with the traditional simple meal before the fast (seudat mafseket). I hope you can make it, and I am sad I will not be there (Tanya and I are currently out west).
If you cannot make it, you can still fast and read the book of Lamentations, and share in our communal commemoration. In addition to the fast, which lasts through tomorrow night and which includes drinking as well as eating, it is also forbidden to bathe⁄take a shower, wear leather shoes, anoint oneself (i.e. put oil, gel, etc. in your hair), or to have sex. It is also customary to take the money we saved by not eating, and donate it to the poor; we will collect donations in the office and forward them to Harvest Hope Food Bank.
Have a tzom kal, an easy and meaningful fast.
Rabbi David Siff
Friday, July 13, 2007
Weekly Announcements, 7/14
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday, July 17–10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Interfaith Community Action Forum on Homelessness at Eastminster Presbyterian Church (Thompson Hall), 3200 Trenholm Rd. Keynote address and Q&A by Rev. Michael Elliott. Dr. Moss Blachman will be giving a presentation on “The Blueprint to Address Homelessness” and Action Plan. RSVP for this conference by calling Julie McDaniel at 256-1654 ext. 123.
Wednesday, July 18–7 p.m. Jewish Women’s Book Club meeting in the library.
Sunday, July 22–11 a.m. Unveiling of the stone for Harvey Golden at Hebrew Benevolent Cemetery.
Monday, July 23–7:30 p.m. Mourning the brokenness of our world. Seudah Mafseket (meal before the fast), presentation by David Reisman & Michal Rubin on visiting the horrors of Eastern Europe; Tisha B'Av service & reading of the Book of Lamentations.
Tuesday, July 24–6:15 p.m. Fast of Tisha B'Av, mourning the brokenness of the world,from sundown Monday through sundown Tuesday.It is customary to contribute the money you would have spent on food to tzedakah; please bring or send in a check written out to "MAZON" to the office for this amount, and we will send a combined donation to fight hunger., as on regular weekdays, will be held at 6:15 p.m., and will include special prayers for Tisha B'Av.
Saturday, July 28–Shabbat services; Guest speakers: Lauren Kransen & Suzanne Schwechter from American Jewish World Services, to discuss Jewish teachings related to AIDS awareness education and other contemporary social issues.
Friday, August 3–Shayna Brannock Bat Mitzvah
Saturday, August 4–Shayna Brannock Bat Mitzvah
The Three Weeks:
The three weeks from the 17th of Tammuz (July 3rd) until the fast of Tisha B’Av (July 24) are a time during which we mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and, in a larger sense, the brokenness throughout the world. During the three weeks, we refrain from:
Haircuts or shaving (except for a job, or for Shabbat)
Getting married or participating in a wedding;
Listening to music and dancing;
Reciting shehecheyanu (e.g. over new clothes, car, fruit).
During the nine days starting with the first of Av (July 16), we refrain from eating meat & wine.
Tisha B’Av (July 24) is a public fast, from sundown Monday through Tuesday at dark. The following are also prohibited:
Washing⁄bathing
Wearing leather shoes
Marital intimacy
Anointing oneself (i.e. putting oil in one’s hair)
If you cannot make it to services, you can still observe Tisha B’Av by fasting, reading the book of Lamentations, and donating the money you saved by fasting to feed the hungry.
Tikkun olam:
The Cooperative Ministry 2007 "Helping Students Succeed" School Supply Drive. We have placed a box in the foyer at Beth Shalom to collect school supplies for the Cooperative Ministry's annual drive. The box will remain through Monday, July 16th. A list of needed items is: Pencils, dry erase markers, pens, highlighters, crayons, rulers, glue sticks, notebook paper, spiral notebooks, composition journals, 3-ring binders (2" or less), tablets, 3 prong pocket folders, hand sanitizer, boxes of tissue..... Please call Penny Blachman at 788-8597 with any questions.
The leaders of MAIN (Midlands Area Interfaith Network) are promoting a food drive for Harvest Hope Food Bank, July 15 to August 15. There will be a Harvest Hope food barrel in the lobby at Beth Shalom Synagogue. Harvest Hope will pick up the donations August 15th and deliver the food to Harvest Hope. Please bring your donations of non-perishable food items and put them in the barrel during the four weeks of the drive. Harvest Hope, as you know from news reports, had the misfortune of losing a bunch of food because of a water line break earlier this summer. They are still trying to recover and this effort will be of enormous benefit to them and the hungry in our community. Thank you for helping us fight hunger in Columbia!
Tuesday, July 17–10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Interfaith Community Action Forum on Homelessness at Eastminster Presbyterian Church (Thompson Hall), 3200 Trenholm Rd. Keynote address and Q&A by Rev. Michael Elliott. Dr. Moss Blachman will be giving a presentation on “The Blueprint to Address Homelessness” and Action Plan. RSVP for this conference by calling Julie McDaniel at 256-1654 ext. 123.
Wednesday, July 18–7 p.m. Jewish Women’s Book Club meeting in the library.
Sunday, July 22–11 a.m. Unveiling of the stone for Harvey Golden at Hebrew Benevolent Cemetery.
Monday, July 23–7:30 p.m. Mourning the brokenness of our world. Seudah Mafseket (meal before the fast), presentation by David Reisman & Michal Rubin on visiting the horrors of Eastern Europe; Tisha B'Av service & reading of the Book of Lamentations.
Tuesday, July 24–6:15 p.m. Fast of Tisha B'Av, mourning the brokenness of the world,from sundown Monday through sundown Tuesday.It is customary to contribute the money you would have spent on food to tzedakah; please bring or send in a check written out to "MAZON" to the office for this amount, and we will send a combined donation to fight hunger., as on regular weekdays, will be held at 6:15 p.m., and will include special prayers for Tisha B'Av.
Saturday, July 28–Shabbat services; Guest speakers: Lauren Kransen & Suzanne Schwechter from American Jewish World Services, to discuss Jewish teachings related to AIDS awareness education and other contemporary social issues.
Friday, August 3–Shayna Brannock Bat Mitzvah
Saturday, August 4–Shayna Brannock Bat Mitzvah
The Three Weeks:
The three weeks from the 17th of Tammuz (July 3rd) until the fast of Tisha B’Av (July 24) are a time during which we mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and, in a larger sense, the brokenness throughout the world. During the three weeks, we refrain from:
Haircuts or shaving (except for a job, or for Shabbat)
Getting married or participating in a wedding;
Listening to music and dancing;
Reciting shehecheyanu (e.g. over new clothes, car, fruit).
During the nine days starting with the first of Av (July 16), we refrain from eating meat & wine.
Tisha B’Av (July 24) is a public fast, from sundown Monday through Tuesday at dark. The following are also prohibited:
Washing⁄bathing
Wearing leather shoes
Marital intimacy
Anointing oneself (i.e. putting oil in one’s hair)
If you cannot make it to services, you can still observe Tisha B’Av by fasting, reading the book of Lamentations, and donating the money you saved by fasting to feed the hungry.
Tikkun olam:
The Cooperative Ministry 2007 "Helping Students Succeed" School Supply Drive. We have placed a box in the foyer at Beth Shalom to collect school supplies for the Cooperative Ministry's annual drive. The box will remain through Monday, July 16th. A list of needed items is: Pencils, dry erase markers, pens, highlighters, crayons, rulers, glue sticks, notebook paper, spiral notebooks, composition journals, 3-ring binders (2" or less), tablets, 3 prong pocket folders, hand sanitizer, boxes of tissue..... Please call Penny Blachman at 788-8597 with any questions.
The leaders of MAIN (Midlands Area Interfaith Network) are promoting a food drive for Harvest Hope Food Bank, July 15 to August 15. There will be a Harvest Hope food barrel in the lobby at Beth Shalom Synagogue. Harvest Hope will pick up the donations August 15th and deliver the food to Harvest Hope. Please bring your donations of non-perishable food items and put them in the barrel during the four weeks of the drive. Harvest Hope, as you know from news reports, had the misfortune of losing a bunch of food because of a water line break earlier this summer. They are still trying to recover and this effort will be of enormous benefit to them and the hungry in our community. Thank you for helping us fight hunger in Columbia!
Parshat Mattot-Mase
Parshat Mattot-Mase
(Jeremiah 2:4-28; 3:4)
July 14, 2007
This week's haftarah is the second of the "tlata d'puranuta – the three haftarot of desolation" recited to set the somber tenor of the three week period before Tisha b'Av – the fast marking the destruction of the first and second Temples. The choice of these haftarot prompts a heightened sense of awareness of the Jewish attitude toward these monumental tragedies. The Jewish focus seems to be less on the tragedy itself and more on the perceived reasons for the tragedy. The message of this haftarah is a didactic one; one of correction, awareness and warning.
This week's haftarah is literally a continuation of last week's haftarah. Last week, we read the first chapter of the book of Jeremiah, with Jeremiah's initiation as a prophet and God's warning of the dire consequences of the nation's linking its fate to Egypt when its fatal destruction was likely to come from its northern enemy, the Babylonians. In true rabbinic fashion, the sages were unwilling to end even a haftarah of desolation on a bitter note, so they incorporated at the end of last week's message of rebuke, the positive message found at the beginning of the second chapter which contains this week's haftarah even though it is at odds with what precedes it: "The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Go proclaim to Jerusalem: Thus said the Lord: I accounted to your favor the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride – how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of His harvest, all who ate of it were held guilty; disaster befell them – declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 2:1-3) The reader is thus comforted in his or her knowledge that despite whatever failings the nation might have, still, God remembers the loyalty and fealty of Israel's youth when He brought them out of Egypt and they followed Him loyally into the desert as an act of faith.
The inclusion of these verses at the end of last week's message leaves its imprimatur on this week's haftarah. Without this comforting message at its beginning, the harshness of this week's message remains untempered in its severity. Jeremiah accuses the people of abandoning God (2:4;8;17;19), falsely prophesying in the name of Baal (8), idolatry (13,20,23,25,27,28), social injustice (34), and false dependence on foreign nations (18.25.36) The only consolation seems to be that the sages chose Jeremiah's indictment rather than that of Ezekiel who also challenged the people for their sins. Jeremiah attributed the people's sins to foolishness. Ezekiel, on the other hand, accused the people of open rebellion against God. (Ezekiel 2:3-6) What is clear is that both prophets saw their messages as a challenge to the people to repent and mend their societies and their society's relationship with God. (See Y Hoffman, Jeremiah, Mikra L'Yisrael, p. 124)
With the harshness of this message, it is again not surprising, that the sages sought a closing verse for this haftarah to remind their audience of the message of solace removed from the beginning of the haftarah: "Just now you called Me [God], 'Father!' You are the Companion of my youth.'" (Jeremiah 3:4) In in the end, we and all of God's creatures will recognize His truth!
This study piece is offered as a service of the United Synagogue Conservative Yeshiva. It is prepared by Rabbi Mordechai (Mitchell) Silverstein, senior lecturer in Talmud and Midrash at the Conservative Yeshiva. He is a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
With the permission of The United Synagogue Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Rabbi Edward S. Romm - Director of Education
© 2007
Shabbat Shalom,
Henry Ray Wengrow
Ritual Chair, Beth Shalom
(Jeremiah 2:4-28; 3:4)
July 14, 2007
This week's haftarah is the second of the "tlata d'puranuta – the three haftarot of desolation" recited to set the somber tenor of the three week period before Tisha b'Av – the fast marking the destruction of the first and second Temples. The choice of these haftarot prompts a heightened sense of awareness of the Jewish attitude toward these monumental tragedies. The Jewish focus seems to be less on the tragedy itself and more on the perceived reasons for the tragedy. The message of this haftarah is a didactic one; one of correction, awareness and warning.
This week's haftarah is literally a continuation of last week's haftarah. Last week, we read the first chapter of the book of Jeremiah, with Jeremiah's initiation as a prophet and God's warning of the dire consequences of the nation's linking its fate to Egypt when its fatal destruction was likely to come from its northern enemy, the Babylonians. In true rabbinic fashion, the sages were unwilling to end even a haftarah of desolation on a bitter note, so they incorporated at the end of last week's message of rebuke, the positive message found at the beginning of the second chapter which contains this week's haftarah even though it is at odds with what precedes it: "The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Go proclaim to Jerusalem: Thus said the Lord: I accounted to your favor the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride – how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of His harvest, all who ate of it were held guilty; disaster befell them – declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 2:1-3) The reader is thus comforted in his or her knowledge that despite whatever failings the nation might have, still, God remembers the loyalty and fealty of Israel's youth when He brought them out of Egypt and they followed Him loyally into the desert as an act of faith.
The inclusion of these verses at the end of last week's message leaves its imprimatur on this week's haftarah. Without this comforting message at its beginning, the harshness of this week's message remains untempered in its severity. Jeremiah accuses the people of abandoning God (2:4;8;17;19), falsely prophesying in the name of Baal (8), idolatry (13,20,23,25,27,28), social injustice (34), and false dependence on foreign nations (18.25.36) The only consolation seems to be that the sages chose Jeremiah's indictment rather than that of Ezekiel who also challenged the people for their sins. Jeremiah attributed the people's sins to foolishness. Ezekiel, on the other hand, accused the people of open rebellion against God. (Ezekiel 2:3-6) What is clear is that both prophets saw their messages as a challenge to the people to repent and mend their societies and their society's relationship with God. (See Y Hoffman, Jeremiah, Mikra L'Yisrael, p. 124)
With the harshness of this message, it is again not surprising, that the sages sought a closing verse for this haftarah to remind their audience of the message of solace removed from the beginning of the haftarah: "Just now you called Me [God], 'Father!' You are the Companion of my youth.'" (Jeremiah 3:4) In in the end, we and all of God's creatures will recognize His truth!
This study piece is offered as a service of the United Synagogue Conservative Yeshiva. It is prepared by Rabbi Mordechai (Mitchell) Silverstein, senior lecturer in Talmud and Midrash at the Conservative Yeshiva. He is a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
With the permission of The United Synagogue Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Rabbi Edward S. Romm - Director of Education
© 2007
Shabbat Shalom,
Henry Ray Wengrow
Ritual Chair, Beth Shalom
Friday, July 06, 2007
Shabbat Rocks!!
Come and join us
at Beth Shalom Synagogue!
“Shabbat Rocks”
Friday, July 6
6:30 p.m.
Come and join us for a musical service.
at Beth Shalom Synagogue!
“Shabbat Rocks”
Friday, July 6
6:30 p.m.
Come and join us for a musical service.
Followed by a fancy dessert Oneg Shabbat.
Parshat Pinhas
Parshat Pinhas
(Jeremiah 1:1-2:3)
July 7, 2007
This Shabbat begins the first of three special Shabbatot which precede Tisha b'Av. These Shabbatot are known as the "Tlata d'puranuta – the Three of Punishment" because the haftarot for these three Shabbatot speak of impending troubles that will come upon the nation. The tenor of the message in each of these haftarot is a warning that the nation and the people are heading toward their doom because of their disloyalty to God, their immoral behavior, and their injudicious relations with the surrounding powers. The rabbis assigned these particular haftarot to the Shabbatot before Tisha b'Av to give us the sense that actions and behavior have consequences, for good and for bad.
This same theme was taken up by the opening drashah in a collection of drashot called Pesikta d'Rav Kahana. Pesikta d'Rav Kahana is a collection of midrashim, composed in Eretz Yisrael in the 4-5th century C.E., which contains midrashic material for the special liturgical occasions that mark the Jewish year. The opening midrashim of each chapter have a special form known as a petikha (literally, opening) or proem. A petikha, in its form, has a sermonic style. It opens with the interpretation of a verse from outside of the particular liturgical reading and interprets that verse in such a way as to wind its way back at the end to the opening verse of the liturgical reading. Often the opening verse will be obscure, creating literary tension for the reader or listener, who will be curious how the composer will manage to wind his way back to the subject at hand – the Torah reading or haftarah.
In the case of our petikha, it opens with a verse from the book of Isaiah and winds its way back to the opening verse of the haftarah, namely the first verse of the book of Jeremiah, along the way formulating in a creative way the message it wants to leave with its audience: "Rabbi Abba bar Kahana opened his petikha with the verse: 'Cry aloud. O daughter of Gallim (literally the name of a place, here understood to mean 'ocean waves')! Listen, O Laish (name of a place but a word also meaning 'lion'), Answer her [Aniah], O Anathoth (the city where the Jeremiah was born)" (Isaiah 10:30) [This sage then goes on to interpret this verse in creative ways.] 'Cry aloud' – [means:] raise your voice; 'daughters of Gallim' – just as waves stand out in the ocean, so, too, your patriarch stood out in the world; Another interpretation: 'daughters of Gallim' – [when read with different vocalization, these consonants render:] 'daughters of golim (exiles)', namely, the daughters of those who went into exile. For example: 'daughters of Abraham' [who went into exile in Egypt because of famine, 'daughters of Isaac' [who went into exile in Gerar]; 'daughters of Jacob' [who went in to exile in Padan Aram to escape Esau.]; 'Listen' – Hearken to My commandments, hearken to the words of the Torah, hearken to the words of prophecy. And if you do not, 'Laish' – a lion will rise up against you. [Who might that be?] This is Nebuchadnezer. 'Answer her [Aniah] – [changing the vocalization of this word, it can mean 'poor'] – poor in righteous ones, poor in words of the Torah, poor in commandments and good deeds. And if this is the case, then 'Anathoth', namely, a man from Anathoth will come and prophecy against you words of rebuke. This is why Scripture needs to come and say the words of this week's haftarah which open with the words:] There are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth of Benjamin' (Jeremiah 1:1) (adapted from Pesikta d'Rav Kahana 13:1; Mandelbaum ed. pp. 224-5)
The point of this midrash is to illustrate that those who did not heed the earlier prophet, Isaiah, and his warnings concerning the behavior of the people, will be faced with the rebuke and punishment dished out in Jeremiah's prophecy. The Jewish tradition never ceases to remind us to be aware that all things in life bear consequences. The good life requires vigilant regard for this truth.
This study piece is offered as a service of the United Synagogue Conservative Yeshiva. It is prepared by Rabbi Mordechai (Mitchell) Silverstein, senior lecturer in Talmud and Midrash at the Conservative Yeshiva. He is a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
With the permission of The United Synagogue Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Rabbi Edward S. Romm - Director of Education
© 2007
Shabbat Shalom,
Henry Ray Wengrow
Ritual Chair
Beth Shalom
(Jeremiah 1:1-2:3)
July 7, 2007
This Shabbat begins the first of three special Shabbatot which precede Tisha b'Av. These Shabbatot are known as the "Tlata d'puranuta – the Three of Punishment" because the haftarot for these three Shabbatot speak of impending troubles that will come upon the nation. The tenor of the message in each of these haftarot is a warning that the nation and the people are heading toward their doom because of their disloyalty to God, their immoral behavior, and their injudicious relations with the surrounding powers. The rabbis assigned these particular haftarot to the Shabbatot before Tisha b'Av to give us the sense that actions and behavior have consequences, for good and for bad.
This same theme was taken up by the opening drashah in a collection of drashot called Pesikta d'Rav Kahana. Pesikta d'Rav Kahana is a collection of midrashim, composed in Eretz Yisrael in the 4-5th century C.E., which contains midrashic material for the special liturgical occasions that mark the Jewish year. The opening midrashim of each chapter have a special form known as a petikha (literally, opening) or proem. A petikha, in its form, has a sermonic style. It opens with the interpretation of a verse from outside of the particular liturgical reading and interprets that verse in such a way as to wind its way back at the end to the opening verse of the liturgical reading. Often the opening verse will be obscure, creating literary tension for the reader or listener, who will be curious how the composer will manage to wind his way back to the subject at hand – the Torah reading or haftarah.
In the case of our petikha, it opens with a verse from the book of Isaiah and winds its way back to the opening verse of the haftarah, namely the first verse of the book of Jeremiah, along the way formulating in a creative way the message it wants to leave with its audience: "Rabbi Abba bar Kahana opened his petikha with the verse: 'Cry aloud. O daughter of Gallim (literally the name of a place, here understood to mean 'ocean waves')! Listen, O Laish (name of a place but a word also meaning 'lion'), Answer her [Aniah], O Anathoth (the city where the Jeremiah was born)" (Isaiah 10:30) [This sage then goes on to interpret this verse in creative ways.] 'Cry aloud' – [means:] raise your voice; 'daughters of Gallim' – just as waves stand out in the ocean, so, too, your patriarch stood out in the world; Another interpretation: 'daughters of Gallim' – [when read with different vocalization, these consonants render:] 'daughters of golim (exiles)', namely, the daughters of those who went into exile. For example: 'daughters of Abraham' [who went into exile in Egypt because of famine, 'daughters of Isaac' [who went into exile in Gerar]; 'daughters of Jacob' [who went in to exile in Padan Aram to escape Esau.]; 'Listen' – Hearken to My commandments, hearken to the words of the Torah, hearken to the words of prophecy. And if you do not, 'Laish' – a lion will rise up against you. [Who might that be?] This is Nebuchadnezer. 'Answer her [Aniah] – [changing the vocalization of this word, it can mean 'poor'] – poor in righteous ones, poor in words of the Torah, poor in commandments and good deeds. And if this is the case, then 'Anathoth', namely, a man from Anathoth will come and prophecy against you words of rebuke. This is why Scripture needs to come and say the words of this week's haftarah which open with the words:] There are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth of Benjamin' (Jeremiah 1:1) (adapted from Pesikta d'Rav Kahana 13:1; Mandelbaum ed. pp. 224-5)
The point of this midrash is to illustrate that those who did not heed the earlier prophet, Isaiah, and his warnings concerning the behavior of the people, will be faced with the rebuke and punishment dished out in Jeremiah's prophecy. The Jewish tradition never ceases to remind us to be aware that all things in life bear consequences. The good life requires vigilant regard for this truth.
This study piece is offered as a service of the United Synagogue Conservative Yeshiva. It is prepared by Rabbi Mordechai (Mitchell) Silverstein, senior lecturer in Talmud and Midrash at the Conservative Yeshiva. He is a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
With the permission of The United Synagogue Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Rabbi Edward S. Romm - Director of Education
© 2007
Shabbat Shalom,
Henry Ray Wengrow
Ritual Chair
Beth Shalom
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)