Crash Course in Basic Judaism Companion Guide PDF

 CRASH COURSE IN BASIC JUDAISM COMPANION GUIDE C...

 CRASH COURSE IN BASIC JUDAISM COMPANION GUIDE Crash Course in Basic Judaism Companion Guide Exploring Judais m can be an exciting, s timulating and ins piring adventure. W e s alute you for taking thes e firs t s teps and coming to the National Jewish Outreach Program National Jewis h Outreach Program’s Cras h Cours e in Bas ic Judais m. In the cours e of the next five lectures , we will explore Judais m’s 989 Sixth Avenue, 10th Floor views on Belief in G-d, Prayer, the Sabbath, Jewis h Obs ervance, and Sexuality. W hile we can only begin to s cratch the s urface of thes e topics in New York, NY 10018 the one hour lecture format, NJOP hopes to encourage you to continue to www.njop.org explore thos e lecture points which interes t you. As you know, Judais m loves ques tions , s o it is important and productive to as k ques tions about concepts that intrigue or confus e you. Mos t of all, as you learn more, make For more information about the CCBJ, or any of the following an effort to inves t yours elf in your Judais m and make it your own. NJOP programs: A s part of NJOP’s effort to help you get the mos t out of our five lecture s eries , we proudly pres ent this companion guide to the Cras h Cours e in Bas ic Judais m. This handbook is des igned to be an outs ide Hebrew Reading Crash Course reading res ource for you to us e in conjunction with the lecture s eries. The material provided is s pecifically meant to provoke more thoughts about Level II Hebrew Reading Crash Course Jewis h life, philos ophy and practice. Through the additional reference Read Hebrew America/Canada works lis ted at the end of each chapter, you can learn more about the bas ic topics and about particular details relating to them. Turn Friday Night Into Shabbat Us ing an as s ortment of es s ays , ideas and humor, the CCBJ Shabbat Across America/Canada Companion Guide is here to s upplement the lecture s eries at your leis ure. W hether you read it before or after clas s , or months later, NJOP hopes that Shabbat Beginners Services it will provide you with new ins ights into the beauty of our Jewis h heritage. High Holiday Beginners Services Before we begin, however, it may be helpful to review the bas ic tenets of Judais m: The Ten Commandments : Contact us at: 1-800-44-TORAH or [email protected] Crash Course in Basic Judaism Beginners Guide - © 2002 1  CRASH COURSE IN BASIC JUDAISM COMPANION GUIDE Crash Course in Basic Judaism Companion Guide Exploring Judais m can be an exciting, s timulating and ins piring adventure. W e s alute you for taking thes e firs t s teps and coming to the National Jewish Outreach Program National Jewis h Outreach Program’s Cras h Cours e in Bas ic Judais m. In the cours e of the next five lectures , we will explore Judais m’s 989 Sixth Avenue, 10th Floor views on Belief in G-d, Prayer, the Sabbath, Jewis h Obs ervance, and Sexuality. W hile we can only begin to s cratch the s urface of thes e topics in New York, NY 10018 the one hour lecture format, NJOP hopes to encourage you to continue to www.njop.org explore thos e lecture points which interes t you. As you know, Judais m loves ques tions , s o it is important and productive to as k ques tions about concepts that intrigue or confus e you. Mos t of all, as you learn more, make For more information about the CCBJ, or any of the following an effort to inves t yours elf in your Judais m and make it your own. NJOP programs: A s part of NJOP’s effort to help you get the mos t out of our five lecture s eries , we proudly pres ent this companion guide to the Cras h Cours e in Bas ic Judais m. This handbook is des igned to be an outs ide Hebrew Reading Crash Course reading res ource for you to us e in conjunction with the lecture s eries. The material provided is s pecifically meant to provoke more thoughts about Level II Hebrew Reading Crash Course Jewis h life, philos ophy and practice. Through the additional reference Read Hebrew America/Canada works lis ted at the end of each chapter, you can learn more about the bas ic topics and about particular details relating to them. Turn Friday Night Into Shabbat Us ing an as s ortment of es s ays , ideas and humor, the CCBJ Shabbat Across America/Canada Companion Guide is here to s upplement the lecture s eries at your leis ure. W hether you read it before or after clas s , or months later, NJOP hopes that Shabbat Beginners Services it will provide you with new ins ights into the beauty of our Jewis h heritage. High Holiday Beginners Services Before we begin, however, it may be helpful to review the bas ic tenets of Judais m: The Ten Commandments : Contact us at: 1-800-44-TORAH or [email protected] Crash Course in Basic Judaism Beginners Guide - © 2002 1  Sabado Shabbat  The Belief in G-d (according to s ome commentators , the very firs t of the Ten Commandments ) is the foundation of Judais m and is enunciated in the Shema prayer, which Jews are commanded to recite twice a day. Hear O’ Israel the Lord is our G-d the Lord is one. sjt ‘v ubvuk-t ‘v ktrah gna Shema Yisrael Ad-onai E-lo-heinu, Ad-onai echad. Belief in G-d M ore than jus t a prayer, the Shema is the Jewis h creed. Often the words of the Shema were the las t, powerful words uttered by Jewis h martyrs ; and, it is often the firs t prayer a child learns. For s ome, the Shema is the one prayer that they remember. W hen the Nazis came to power, many Jewis h parents hid their children with non-Jewis h neighbors and in Chris tian orphanages , hoping to reclaim them when the danger had pas s ed. M os t of thes e parents peris hed in the Holocaus t, and many of thes e hidden children no longer remembered their parents or their former lives. A fter the war, when rabbis and relatives tried to reclaim the Jewis h children from orphanages throughout Europe, they often met a wall of res is tance, particularly from pries ts and nuns who ran the ins titutions , who ins is ted that none of their wards were Jewis h. In May, 1945, Rabbi Eliezer Silver from the United States and Dayan Grunfeld from England were sent as chaplains to liberate some of the death camps. While there, they were told that many Jewish children had been placed in a monastery in Alsace-Lorraine. The rabbis went there to reclaim them. When they approached the priest in charge, they asked that the Jewish children be released into the rabbis' care. "I'm sorry," the priest responded, "but there is no way of knowing which children here came from Jewish families. You must have documentation if you wish me to do what you ask." 5  The Belief in G-d (according to some commentators, the very first of the Ten Commandments) is the foundation of Judaism and is enunciated in the Shema prayer, which Jews are commanded to recite twice a day. Hear O’ Israel the Lord is our G-d the Lord is one. sjt v ubvuk-t v ktrah gna Shema Yisrael Ad-onai E-lo-heinu, Ad-onai echad. More than just a prayer, the Shema is the Jewish creed. Often the words of the Shema were the last, powerful words uttered by Jewish martyrs; and, it is often the first prayer a child learns. For some, the Shema is the one prayer that they remember. When the Nazis came to power, many Jewish parents hid their children with non-Jewish neighbors and in Christian orphanages, hoping to reclaim them when the danger had passed. Most of these parents perished in the Holocaust, and many of these hidden children no longer remembered their parents or their former lives. After the war, when rabbis and relatives tried to reclaim the Jewish children from orphanages throughout Europe, they often met a wall of resistance, particularly from priests and nuns who ran the institutions, who insisted that none of their wards were Jewish. In May, 1945, Rabbi Eliezer Silver from the United States and Dayan Grunfeld from England were sent as chaplains to liberate some of the death camps. While there, they were told that many Jewish children had been placed in a monastery in Alsace-Lorraine. The rabbis went there to reclaim them. When they approached the priest in charge, they asked that the Jewish children be released into the rabbis' care. "I'm sorry," the priest responded, "but there is no way of knowing which children here came from Jewish families. You must have documentation if you wish me to do what you ask." 5  Of course, the kind of documentation that the priest wanted was Inherent in the Belief in G-d is the belief that G-d is actively unobtainable at the end of the war. The rabbis asked to see the list of involved in the world. It is for this reas on that the commandment s ays , names of children who were in the monastery. As the rabbis read the list, “I am the Lord your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt,” and they pointed to those that belonged to Jewish children. "I'm sorry," the not, “I am the Lord your G-d who created the world.” The Is raelites at priest insisted, "but the names that you pointed to could be either Jewish M ount Sinai could not relate to the creation of the world in the intimate or Gentile. Miller is a German name, and Markovich is a Russian name, manner in which they unders tood being taken out of Egypt. and Swersky is a Polish name. You can't prove that these are Jewish “I am the Lord your G-d” requires a belief in an active, children. If you can't prove which children are Jewish, and do it very omnipres ent G-d. Some people feel the need to s ee open miracles and quickly, you will have to leave." revelations , but Judais m’s concept of Divine intervention can be s een One of the rabbis had a brilliant idea. "We'd like to come back by looking at s ubtle “coincidences ” becaus e G-d us es the natural way again this evening when you are putting the children to sleep." The priest reluctantly agreed. of the world for His purpos es. That evening the rabbis came to the dormitory, where row upon Think about “coincidences ” in your life. Have you ever row of little beds were arranged. The children, many of whom had been in mis s ed your us ual bus and, when you got on the later one, you ran into the monastery since the war started in 1939, were going to sleep. The s omeone you needed to s peak to or a long los t friend? Have you ever rabbis walked through the aisles of beds, calling out, "Shema Yisrael - found a phone number or a letter that you hadn’t thought about for a Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One!" One by one, children long time, and then needed it that day? Things don’t just happen. burst into tears and shrieked, "Mommy!" "Maman!" "Momma!" By looking at life and s eeing thes e “coincidences ,” one is "Mamushka!" in each of their native tongues. better able to s ee the active hand of G-d in the world. This knowledge The priests had succeeded in teaching these precious Jewish of G-d’s active exis tence has given Jews the fortitude to carry on in souls about the Trinity, the Gospel, and the Christian savior. Each child good times and bad. G-d is compared to a parent becaus e no matter knew how to say Mass. But the priest did not succeed in erasing these how near or far one’s child is , a parent is always looking out for children's memories of their Jewish mothers, now murdered, putting them him/her. to bed every night with the Shema on their lips (Thanks to Miriam A n excellent and humourous example of s eeing the good hand Swerdlov for the story). of G-d is related in this parable: The Hidden Beauty of the Shema by Lisa Aiken, with permission from T argum Press A King in Africa was out hunting. His companion and gun- bearer was a person whose attitude towards life was: “Everything is for How powerful are the s ix words of the Shema that they the good. Things couldn’t be better.” While on a hunt, the gun-bearer awakened the s leeping s ouls of thes e children. The awes ome nature of erred in loading the King’s rifle, causing a misfire, which blew off the the prayer lies in the fact that Jews believe “The Lord is our G-d, the King’s thumb. After the accident, the gun-bearer exclaimed as was his Lord is one.” The Jewis h belief in one active G-d binds the link of custom, “This is for the good.” generations , even when the generations are torn apart. The King replied angrily, “No, it’s not!” and had the gun-bearer thrown in jail. A year passed, and the King was once again hunting. This time A N A CTIVE G-D he was captured by cannibals. They were ready to cook the King and serve him for dinner, when they noticed the missing thumb. Being Lis t three events that s eemed to be coincidences that happened superstitious, the cannibals refused to eat a person who was less than to you in the las t year... whole. So they let the King go! Immediately, the King went to the prison to free his gun-bearer. 1.______________________________________________________ “You were right,” said the King, “This was for the good! I am so terribly 2.______________________________________________________ sorry that I sent you to jail.” 3.______________________________________________________ 7  Of course, the kind of documentation that the priest wanted was Inherent in the Belief in G-d is the belief that G-d is actively unobtainable at the end of the war. The rabbis asked to see the list of involved in the world. It is for this reas on that the commandment s ays , names of children who were in the monastery. As the rabbis read the list, “I am the Lord your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt,” and they pointed to those that belonged to Jewish children. "I'm sorry," the not, “I am the Lord your G-d who created the world.” The Is raelites at priest insisted, "but the names that you pointed to could be either Jewish M ount Sinai could not relate to the creation of the world in the intimate or Gentile. Miller is a German name, and Markovich is a Russian name, manner in which they unders tood being taken out of Egypt. and Swersky is a Polish name. You can't prove that these are Jewish “I am the Lord your G-d” requires a belief in an active, children. If you can't prove which children are Jewish, and do it very omnipres ent G-d. Some people feel the need to s ee open miracles and quickly, you will have to leave." revelations , but Judais m’s concept of Divine intervention can be s een One of the rabbis had a brilliant idea. "We'd like to come back by looking at s ubtle “coincidences ” becaus e G-d us es the natural way again this evening when you are putting the children to sleep." The priest reluctantly agreed. of the world for His purpos es. That evening the rabbis came to the dormitory, where row upon Think about “coincidences ” in your life. Have you ever row of little beds were arranged. The children, many of whom had been in mis s ed your us ual bus and, when you got on the later one, you ran into the monastery since the war started in 1939, were going to sleep. The s omeone you needed to s peak to or a long los t friend? Have you ever rabbis walked through the aisles of beds, calling out, "Shema Yisrael - found a phone number or a letter that you hadn’t thought about for a Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One!" One by one, children long time, and then needed it that day? Things don’t just happen. burst into tears and shrieked, "Mommy!" "Maman!" "Momma!" By looking at life and s eeing thes e “coincidences ,” one is "Mamushka!" in each of their native tongues. better able to s ee the active hand of G-d in the world. This knowledge The priests had succeeded in teaching these precious Jewish of G-d’s active exis tence has given Jews the fortitude to carry on in souls about the Trinity, the Gospel, and the Christian savior. Each child good times and bad. G-d is compared to a parent becaus e no matter knew how to say Mass. But the priest did not succeed in erasing these how near or far one’s child is , a parent is always looking out for children's memories of their Jewish mothers, now murdered, putting them him/her. to bed every night with the Shema on their lips (Thanks to Miriam A n excellent and humourous example of s eeing the good hand Swerdlov for the story). of G-d is related in this parable: The Hidden Beauty of the Shema by Lisa Aiken, with permission from T argum Press A King in Africa was out hunting. His companion and gun- bearer was a person whose attitude towards life was: “Everything is for How powerful are the s ix words of the Shema that they the good. Things couldn’t be better.” While on a hunt, the gun-bearer awakened the s leeping s ouls of thes e children. The awes ome nature of erred in loading the King’s rifle, causing a misfire, which blew off the the prayer lies in the fact that Jews believe “The Lord is our G-d, the King’s thumb. After the accident, the gun-bearer exclaimed as was his Lord is one.” The Jewis h belief in one active G-d binds the link of custom, “This is for the good.” generations , even when the generations are torn apart. The King replied angrily, “No, it’s not!” and had the gun-bearer thrown in jail. A year passed, and the King was once again hunting. This time A N A CTIVE G-D he was captured by cannibals. They were ready to cook the King and serve him for dinner, when they noticed the missing thumb. Being Lis t three events that s eemed to be coincidences that happened superstitious, the cannibals refused to eat a person who was less than to you in the las t year... whole. So they let the King go! Immediately, the King went to the prison to free his gun-bearer. 1.______________________________________________________ “You were right,” said the King, “This was for the good! I am so terribly 2.______________________________________________________ sorry that I sent you to jail.” 3.______________________________________________________ 7  “No,” replied the gun-bearer, “Being in jail was also for the never be unders tood, but it is precis ely what is neces s ary. In the times of good.” the Temple there was an offering known as the k etoret, the incens e “What do you mean? Look how you have suffered,” said the King. offering. M ixed with all the s weet-s melling s pices us ed to create the “Yes,” responded the gun-bearer, “But if I wasn’t in jail...I would k etoret was a s pice called chelbena, galbanum, which had a foul s mell. have been with you!” W ithout this apparently foul s melling s pice, the entire mixture of Aish HaT orah’s Shabbat Shalom Fax, by Rabbi Kalman s weetnes s is worthles s as a s acrifice. From the chelbena it can be Packouz. Subscriptions available at Shabbatshalom.org unders tood that s ometimes the ‘bad’ mus t be part of life in order to make life ‘good.’ W hile a pers on may not be able to unders tand why life takes Jus t as one s ees acts of G-d in the “pos itive,” s uch as finding an the cours e it does , for the pos itive and for the negative, the Jewis h belief old friend, one mus t als o recognize that G-d creates the “negative” as in one active G-d is a cons tant reminder that life is a tapes try whos e well. W hile we may be unable to unders tand why bad things happen, G- greater picture one pers on cannot s ee. d is viewing a much larger plan than we are, and G-d mus t decide when things will go agains t a pers on’s des ire. Illus trating this high level of emunah, faith, is Yehudah Belief In G-d Recommended Reading List W achs man. On October 9, 1994, a young Is raeli s oldier named Nachs hon W achs man hitched a ride with what he thought were a couple Title Author of religious youths. The terroris ts had dis guis ed thems elves with s uch detail that they had even res ted a volume of the Talmud on the das hboard. If You W ere G-d A ryeh Kaplan For one week, Nachs hon was held hos tage while his captors demanded the releas e of 200 terroris ts. The entire nation mobilized in prayer. The Nine Ques tions People A s k A bout Judais m Hundreds of thous ands of people came to the W es tern W all to pray for Dennis Prager/ Jos eph Nachs hon. Throughout Is rael, men s topped to put on tefillin Telus hkin (phylacteries ) and s ay a prayer, some for the firs t time. A t the behes t of Nachs hon’s mother, women acros s the country lit Shabbat candles. On Permis s ion to Believe Lawrence Kelemen Friday night, October 15th, Nachs hon W achs man was killed during a raid trying to s et him free. In a time when anger and anguis h were expected, This Is M y G-d Herman W ouk Nachs hon’s parents , Yehuda and Es ther, were pillars of s trength. Des cribing his feelings , Yehuda W achs man s aid: I have asked HaKadosh Baruch Hu (The Holy One Blessed Be He) for so much. I have suffered from a disease since I was sixteen. I asked the Creator to let me raise a family and the answer was ‘Yes.’ I asked for good, successful children and the answer was ‘Yes.’ I asked for good health and the answer was ‘Yes.’ So, when people ask me how it is that I, and hundreds of others, prayed for Nachshon and were not answered, my response is that we did receive an answer. The answer was ‘No.’ A father has the right to tell his child, ‘No.’ W hat mankind views as good or bad is all the will of G-d. It may be many, many years before the good is unders tood – or it may 9  “No,” replied the gun-bearer, “Being in jail was also for the never be unders tood, but it is precis ely what is neces s ary. In the times of good.” the Temple there was an offering known as the k etoret, the incens e “What do you mean? Look how you have suffered,” said the King. offering. M ixed with all the s weet-s melling s pices us ed to create the “Yes,” responded the gun-bearer, “But if I wasn’t in jail...I would k etoret was a s pice called chelbena, galbanum, which had a foul s mell. have been with you!” W ithout this apparently foul s melling s pice, the entire mixture of Aish HaT orah’s Shabbat Shalom Fax, by Rabbi Kalman s weetnes s is worthles s as a s acrifice. From the chelbena it can be Packouz. Subscriptions available at Shabbatshalom.org unders tood that s ometimes the ‘bad’ mus t be part of life in order to make life ‘good.’ W hile a pers on may not be able to unders tand why life takes Jus t as one s ees acts of G-d in the “pos itive,” s uch as finding an the cours e it does , for the pos itive and for the negative, the Jewis h belief old friend, one mus t als o recognize that G-d creates the “negative” as in one active G-d is a cons tant reminder that life is a tapes try whos e well. W hile we may be unable to unders tand why bad things happen, G- greater picture one pers on cannot s ee. d is viewing a much larger plan than we are, and G-d mus t decide when things will go agains t a pers on’s des ire. Illus trating this high level of emunah, faith, is Yehudah Belief In G-d Recommended Reading List W achs man. On October 9, 1994, a young Is raeli s oldier named Nachs hon W achs man hitched a ride with what he thought were a couple Title Author of religious youths. The terroris ts had dis guis ed thems elves with s uch detail that they had even res ted a volume of the Talmud on the das hboard. If You W ere G-d A ryeh Kaplan For one week, Nachs hon was held hos tage while his captors demanded the releas e of 200 terroris ts. The entire nation mobilized in prayer. The Nine Ques tions People A s k A bout Judais m Hundreds of thous ands of people came to the W es tern W all to pray for Dennis Prager/ Jos eph Nachs hon. Throughout Is rael, men s topped to put on tefillin Telus hkin (phylacteries ) and s ay a prayer, some for the firs t time. A t the behes t of Nachs hon’s mother, women acros s the country lit Shabbat candles. On Permis s ion to Believe Lawrence Kelemen Friday night, October 15th, Nachs hon W achs man was killed during a raid trying to s et him free. In a time when anger and anguis h were expected, This Is M y G-d Herman W ouk Nachs hon’s parents , Yehuda and Es ther, were pillars of s trength. Des cribing his feelings , Yehuda W achs man s aid: I have asked HaKadosh Baruch Hu (The Holy One Blessed Be He) for so much. I have suffered from a disease since I was sixteen. I asked the Creator to let me raise a family and the answer was ‘Yes.’ I asked for good, successful children and the answer was ‘Yes.’ I asked for good health and the answer was ‘Yes.’ So, when people ask me how it is that I, and hundreds of others, prayed for Nachshon and were not answered, my response is that we did receive an answer. The answer was ‘No.’ A father has the right to tell his child, ‘No.’ W hat mankind views as good or bad is all the will of G-d. It may be many, many years before the good is unders tood – or it may 9  The President of the United States is in Jerusalem on an official visit. In the Chief Rabbi's chambers he sees an unusually fancy phone on a side table. "What is that phone for?" he ask s. "It's my direct line to the G-d." The President is sk eptical; but the Chief Rabbi explains that this phone connects him directly to G-d so that he can properly answer all of the questions that are brought to him. When he sees that the President is still unconvinced, the Chief Rabbi insists that the President try it out, and, indeed, he is connected to G-d. The President holds a lengthy discussion with the Almighty. After hanging up, the President says: "Thank you very much. This is great! But listen, I want to pay for my phone charges." Smiling, the Chief Rabbi tells him that he cannot accept payment from the President. Not wanting to cross any ethical lines by receiving gifts, the President is insistent. He demands to be told how much the call costs. The Chief Rabbi finally concedes and tells the President that the charge for the call is five cents. PRAYER “After all,” he says, “It's a local call." It’s an old joke, but one that holds a lot of truth. Judais m believes that everyone has a direct line to G-d, all (s )he has to do is to pick up that phone -- to open his /her lips and pray. There is no need for any long dis tance connection or any intermediary, there is only a need for the des ire to communicate with G-d. Jewis h prayer has three main components : prais e, reques t and thanks. Each category expres s es a different element of our relations hip with G-d. Take a moment and lis t three things for each category that you would include in your prayers : Prais e:_______________________________________ Reques t:______________________________________ Thanks :______________________________________ Ideally, prayer s hould be s pontaneous , and cons tant. The Rabbis recognized, however, that true s pontaneous prayer was difficult to achieve. Too often and too eas ily, s pontaneous prayer becomes “s elfis h” prayer, s aid only when there is an imminent need or s omething particular for which to be thankful. The Rabbis , therefore, 11  The President of the United States is in Jerusalem on an official visit. In the Chief Rabbi's chambers he sees an unusually fancy phone on a side table. "What is that phone for?" he ask s. "It's my direct line to the G-d." The President is sk eptical; but the Chief Rabbi explains that this phone connects him directly to G-d so that he can properly answer all of the questions that are brought to him. When he sees that the President is still unconvinced, the Chief Rabbi insists that the President try it out, and, indeed, he is connected to G-d. The President holds a lengthy discussion with the Almighty. After hanging up, the President says: "Thank you very much. This is great! But listen, I want to pay for my phone charges." Smiling, the Chief Rabbi tells him that he cannot accept payment from the President. Not wanting to cross any ethical lines by receiving gifts, the President is insistent. He demands to be told how much the call costs. The Chief Rabbi finally concedes and tells the President that the charge for the call is five cents. PRAYER “After all,” he says, “It's a local call." It’s an old joke, but one that holds a lot of truth. Judais m believes that everyone has a direct line to G-d, all (s )he has to do is to pick up that phone -- to open his /her lips and pray. There is no need for any long dis tance connection or any intermediary, there is only a need for the des ire to communicate with G-d. Jewis h prayer has three main components : prais e, reques t and thanks. Each category expres s es a different element of our relations hip with G-d. Take a moment and lis t three things for each category that you would include in your prayers : Prais e:_______________________________________ Reques t:______________________________________ Thanks :______________________________________ Ideally, prayer s hould be s pontaneous , and cons tant. The Rabbis recognized, however, that true s pontaneous prayer was difficult to achieve. Too often and too eas ily, s pontaneous prayer becomes “s elfis h” prayer, s aid only when there is an imminent need or s omething particular for which to be thankful. The Rabbis , therefore, 11 tell us when to pray (morning, afternoon, evening), where to pray to understand the appropriateness of this short prayer. Pathophysiology (preferably in a s ynagogue, with a quorum), and how to pray (in Hebrew, brought home to me the terrible consequences of even minor aberrations in us ing a fixed liturgy). the structure and function of the human body. At the very least, I began to no Three times a day, Jews pray. W hile the s ervices may have longer take for granted the normalcy of my trips to the bathroom. Instead, I s ome variations , they all center around the s ilent prayer, known as the started to realize how many things had to operate just right for these minor Shemona Esrei or the Amidah. This prayer, compos ed of 19 interruptions of my daily routine to run smoothly. I thought of Abayei and his blessing, and, after seeing patients benedictions , is all inclus ive – taking into cons ideration all pos s ible whose lives revolved around their dialysis machines, and others with prais es , reques ts and thanks. The firs t three bles s ings prais e G-d by colostomies and urinary catheters, I realized how wise the rabbi had been. acknowledging G-d’s love and protection of the Jewis h people, G-d’s And then it happened: I began to recite the Abayei bracha. At first I power over “nature” and G-d’s holines s. The middle thirteen prayers had to go back to my siddur, the Jewish prayer book, to get the text right. make up the reques t s ection. The reques ts are all made for “us ,” the With repetition–and there were many opportunities for a novice to get to entirety of the Jewis h people, but there are points at which one can ins ert know this blessing well–I could recite it fluently and with sincerity and pers onalized petitions. The final three bles s ings thank G-d and expres s understanding. gratitude for the goodnes s G-d bes tows. Over the years, reciting the asher yatzar has become an opportunity The mos t common type of prayer is the reques t: going into a job for me to offer thanks not just for the proper functioning of my excretory interview, one prays for s ucces s ; going to the doctor, one prays that organs, but for my overall good health. The text, after all, refers to everything will be alright; or even when playing a game, one may pray to catastrophic consequences of the rupture or obstruction of any bodily win. A ppreciating what one has and thanking G-d are moment to structure, not only those of the urinary or gastrointestinal tract. moment elements in Jewis h life. Jews s ay a bles s ing of appreciation for There was one unforgettable patient whose story reinforced the their food before they eat and make a thanks giving bles s ing after they eat. truth and beauty of the asher yatzar for me forever. Josh, a 20-year-old There is even a bles s ing after one us es the res troom: student, sustained an unstable fracture of his third and fourth cervical vertebrae in a motor vehicle crash. He nearly died from his injury and required emergency intubation and ventilatory support. He was initially For Everything A Bles s ing totally quadriplegic but for weak flexion of his right biceps. by Kenneth M. Prager, MD When I was an elementary school student in a Yeshiva (Jewish A long and difficult period of stabilization and rehabilitation parochial school), my classmates and I used to find amusing a sign that was followed. There were promising signs of neurological recovery over the first posted just outside the bathroom. It was an ancient Jewish blessing, few months that came suddenly and unexpectedly: movement of a finger here, commonly referred to as the asher yatzar benediction, that was supposed to flexion of a toe there, return of sensation here, adduction of a muscle group be recited after one relieved oneself. For grade school children, there could there. With incredible courage, hard work, and an excellent physical be nothing more strange or ridiculous than to link the acts of micturition and therapist, Josh improved day by day. In time, and after what seemed like a defecation with holy words that mentioned G-d’s name. Blessings were miracle, he was able to walk slowly with a leg brace and a cane. reserved for prayers, for holy days, or for thanking G-d for food or for some But Josh continued to require intermittent catheterization. I knew act of deliverance, but surely not for a bodily function that evoked smirks and only too well the problems and perils this young man would face for the rest giggles. of his life because of a neurogenic bladder. The urologists were very This blessing, composed by Abayei, a fourth century Babylonian pessimistic about his chances for not requiring catheterization. They had not rabbi, is contained in the Talmud. On page 120 (Brachot 60b) of the ancient seen this occur after a spinal cord injury of this severity. text it is written: “Abayei said, when one comes out of a privy he should say: Then the impossible happened. I was there the day Josh no longer Blessed is He who has formed man in wisdom and created in him many required a urinary catheter. I thought of Abayei’s asher yatzar prayer. orifices and many cavities. It is obvious and known before Your throne of Pointing out that I could not imagine a more meaningful scenario for its glory that if one of them were to be ruptured or one of them blocked, it would recitation, I suggested to Josh, who was also a Yeshiva graduate, that he say be impossible for a man to survive and stand before You. Blessed are You that heals all flesh and does wonders.” It was not until my second year of medical school that I first began 13 tell us when to pray (morning, afternoon, evening), where to pray to understand the appropriateness of this short prayer. Pathophysiology (preferably in a s ynagogue, with a quorum), and how to pray (in Hebrew, brought home to me the terrible consequences of even minor aberrations in us ing a fixed liturgy). the structure and function of the human body. At the very least, I began to no Three times a day, Jews pray. W hile the s ervices may have longer take for granted the normalcy of my trips to the bathroom. Instead, I s ome variations , they all center around the s ilent prayer, known as the started to realize how many things had to operate just right for these minor Shemona Esrei or the Amidah. This prayer, compos ed of 19 interruptions of my daily routine to run smoothly. I thought of Abayei and his blessing, and, after seeing patients benedictions , is all inclus ive – taking into cons ideration all pos s ible whose lives revolved around their dialysis machines, and others with prais es , reques ts and thanks. The firs t three bles s ings prais e G-d by colostomies and urinary catheters, I realized how wise the rabbi had been. acknowledging G-d’s love and protection of the Jewis h people, G-d’s And then it happened: I began to recite the Abayei bracha. At first I power over “nature” and G-d’s holines s. The middle thirteen prayers had to go back to my siddur, the Jewish prayer book, to get the text right. make up the reques t s ection. The reques ts are all made for “us ,” the With repetition–and there were many opportunities for a novice to get to entirety of the Jewis h people, but there are points at which one can ins ert know this blessing well–I could recite it fluently and with sincerity and pers onalized petitions. The final three bles s ings thank G-d and expres s understanding. gratitude for the goodnes s G-d bes tows. Over the years, reciting the asher yatzar has become an opportunity The mos t common type of prayer is the reques t: going into a job for me to offer thanks not just for the proper functioning of my excretory interview, one prays for s ucces s ; going to the doctor, one prays that organs, but for my overall good health. The text, after all, refers to everything will be alright; or even when playing a game, one may pray to catastrophic consequences of the rupture or obstruction of any bodily win. A ppreciating what one has and thanking G-d are moment to structure, not only those of the urinary or gastrointestinal tract. moment elements in Jewis h life. Jews s ay a bles s ing of appreciation for There was one unforgettable patient whose story reinforced the their food before they eat and make a thanks giving bles s ing after they eat. truth and beauty of the asher yatzar for me forever. Josh, a 20-year-old There is even a bles s ing after one us es the res troom: student, sustained an unstable fracture of his third and fourth cervical vertebrae in a motor vehicle crash. He nearly died from his injury and required emergency intubation and ventilatory support. He was initially For Everything A Bles s ing totally quadriplegic but for weak flexion of his right biceps. by Kenneth M. Prager, MD When I was an elementary school student in a Yeshiva (Jewish A long and difficult period of stabilization and rehabilitation parochial school), my classmates and I used to find amusing a sign that was followed. There were promising signs of neurological recovery over the first posted just outside the bathroom. It was an ancient Jewish blessing, few months that came suddenly and unexpectedly: movement of a finger here, commonly referred to as the asher yatzar benediction, that was supposed to flexion of a toe there, return of sensation here, adduction of a muscle group be recited after one relieved oneself. For grade school children, there could there. With incredible courage, hard work, and an excellent physical be nothing more strange or ridiculous than to link the acts of micturition and therapist, Josh improved day by day. In time, and after what seemed like a defecation with holy words that mentioned G-d’s name. Blessings were miracle, he was able to walk slowly with a leg brace and a cane. reserved for prayers, for holy days, or for thanking G-d for food or for some But Josh continued to require intermittent catheterization. I knew act of deliverance, but surely not for a bodily function that evoked smirks and only too well the problems and perils this young man would face for the rest giggles. of his life because of a neurogenic bladder. The urologists were very This blessing, composed by Abayei, a fourth century Babylonian pessimistic about his chances for not requiring catheterization. They had not rabbi, is contained in the Talmud. On page 120 (Brachot 60b) of the ancient seen this occur after a spinal cord injury of this severity. text it is written: “Abayei said, when one comes out of a privy he should say: Then the impossible happened. I was there the day Josh no longer Blessed is He who has formed man in wisdom and created in him many required a urinary catheter. I thought of Abayei’s asher yatzar prayer. orifices and many cavities. It is obvious and known before Your throne of Pointing out that I could not imagine a more meaningful scenario for its glory that if one of them were to be ruptured or one of them blocked, it would recitation, I suggested to Josh, who was also a Yeshiva graduate, that he say be impossible for a man to survive and stand before You. Blessed are You that heals all flesh and does wonders.” It was not until my second year of medical school that I first began 13 the prayer. He agreed. As he recited the ancient bracha, tears welled in my Mincha, the afternoon s ervice, was firs t s aid by Is aac, eyes. A braham’s s on. Is aac’s dominant character trait was gevurah, inner- Josh is my son. s trength. W hile A braham was ins pired and externally motivated by the T his article first appeared in the Journal of the world he s aw around him, Is aac’s trait is internal. The bus ines s of the American Medical Association. day, the mundane activities of life, all had the potential to dis tract him, thus forcing him to s top and relate to G-d from within. Is aac, therefore, Prayer is a powerful tool. It is our vehicle of communication is linked to the prayer s aid in the heat of the day, when it is mos t likely with G-d. But why does G-d des ire our prayers ? W hat benefit could He that one would overlook a relations hip with G-d. derive from them? In Hebrew, to pray is l’hitpallel. The root word is Maariv, the evening s ervice, was firs t s aid by Jacob, Is aac’s s on. pallel (kkp) which means to judge, clarify, differentiate or decide. In Jacob’s dominant character trait was emet, truth. Jacob is the fus ion of the verb conjugation that creates the word l’hitpallel, the definition the external chesed and the internal gevurah – the combination of zeal becomes reflexive, meaning that the s ubject acts upon him/hers elf. and ins piration with s trength and phys ical reality. He is the bridge to the Prayer, therefore, is about s elf-definition and es tablis hing s ome level of future becaus e he combines the two initial character traits. Jacob s ought inner clarity. During prayer, one is able to clarify his /her relations hip to to s erve G-d at the end of the day, when he had experienced both G-d and to the world, thus opening up a channel of communication with moments of ins pired unders tanding and moments of deep concentration. the Divine. The evening s ervice is an opportunity to review the day and look to the future. W HEN DO JEW S PRA Y: The heart of all three s ervices is the Shemona Esrei, the Silent W hen, in your opinion, is the ideal time for prayer? A midah. Each prayer, however, has within it a different s ource of W hile s pontaneous prayer may be s aid at any time during the s piritual potential. The important ques tion then becomes : How does one day, there are three s et weekday prayers : shacharit (morning prayers ), acces s this potential? mincha (afternoon prayer) and maariv (evening payers ). In this way, Kavannah, often trans lated as concentration, is the emotional Jews are able to participate in “constant day-long prayer...Upon rising in energy which one inves ts in prayer, and is crucial to making prayer the morning, we thank G-d for restoring our souls, in the middle of the meaningful. work day, when we are about to consummate that ‘big deal,’ we stop to True k avannah in prayer, however, is difficult. People s pend thank G-d, and before entrusting our souls into His hands while we sleep, their whole lives working to reach higher levels of k avannah. In fact, the we once again thank G-d for sustaining us.” Rabbis even call prayer avodah she’balev, work in (of) the heart, becaus e Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, Introduction to NJOP’s Edition of the Artscroll Siddur it takes tremendous effort to reach a level of complete focus and s piritual concentration. In the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewis h Law Our s ages teach us that each of the three daily prayer s ervices (compiled by Rabbi Jos eph Karo in the 16th century), three es s ential were initiated by one of the patriarchs and reflect the character trait of ingredients are given for k avannah: that patriarch: 1) Focus On The M eaning: Praying is convers ing with G-d and Shacharit, the morning s ervice, was firs t s aid by A braham. opening your heart to make a Divine connection. In order to do s o, a A braham is characterized by the trait of chesed, loving kindnes s. He was pers on mus t be aware of what they are communicating. For this reas on ins pired by G-d and reflects the zeal or fres hnes s of the morning. The the s ages ruled that if a pers on does not know Hebrew, then (s )he s hould trait of chesed is filled with emotional outpouring and ins piration. pray in a language (s )he unders tands. A braham s o loved s erving G-d that as s oon as he awoke he wanted to 2) Believe You A re Standing Before A King: W hile it may be thank and prais e G-d. The morning s ervice is an attempt to mimic this difficult to conceptualize s tanding before a king, es pecially in a country zeal as it s tarts the day with words of prais e and thanks. that does not have royalty, it is important to remember that G-d is the King of Kings. Before s tarting the Silent A midah, one takes three s teps 15 the prayer. He agreed. As he recited the ancient bracha, tears welled in my Mincha, the afternoon s ervice, was firs t s aid by Is aac, eyes. A braham’s s on. Is aac’s dominant character trait was gevurah, inner- Josh is my son. s trength. W hile A braham was ins pired and externally motivated by the T his article first appeared in the Journal of the world he s aw around him, Is aac’s trait is internal. The bus ines s of the American Medical Association. day, the mundane activities of life, all had the potential to dis tract him, thus forcing him to s top and relate to G-d from within. Is aac, therefore, Prayer is a powerful tool. It is our vehicle of communication is linked to the prayer s aid in the heat of the day, when it is mos t likely with G-d. But why does G-d des ire our prayers ? W hat benefit could He that one would overlook a relations hip with G-d. derive from them? In Hebrew, to pray is l’hitpallel. The root word is Maariv, the evening s ervice, was firs t s aid by Jacob, Is aac’s s on. pallel (kkp) which means to judge, clarify, differentiate or decide. In Jacob’s dominant character trait was emet, truth. Jacob is the fus ion of the verb conjugation that creates the word l’hitpallel, the definition the external chesed and the internal gevurah – the combination of zeal becomes reflexive, meaning that the s ubject acts upon him/hers elf. and ins piration with s trength and phys ical reality. He is the bridge to the Prayer, therefore, is about s elf-definition and es tablis hing s ome level of future becaus e he combines the two initial character traits. Jacob s ought inner clarity. During prayer, one is able to clarify his /her relations hip to to s erve G-d at the end of the day, when he had experienced both G-d and to the world, thus opening up a channel of communication with moments of ins pired unders tanding and moments of deep concentration. the Divine. The evening s ervice is an opportunity to review the day and look to the future. W HEN DO JEW S PRA Y: The heart of all three s ervices is the Shemona Esrei, the Silent W hen, in your opinion, is the ideal time for prayer? A midah. Each prayer, however, has within it a different s ource of W hile s pontaneous prayer may be s aid at any time during the s piritual potential. The important ques tion then becomes : How does one day, there are three s et weekday prayers : shacharit (morning prayers ), acces s this potential? mincha (afternoon prayer) and maariv (evening payers ). In this way, Kavannah, often trans lated as concentration, is the emotional Jews are able to participate in “constant day-long prayer...Upon rising in energy which one inves ts in prayer, and is crucial to making prayer the morning, we thank G-d for restoring our souls, in the middle of the meaningful. work day, when we are about to consummate that ‘big deal,’ we stop to True k avannah in prayer, however, is difficult. People s pend thank G-d, and before entrusting our souls into His hands while we sleep, their whole lives working to reach higher levels of k avannah. In fact, the we once again thank G-d for sustaining us.” Rabbis even call prayer avodah she’balev, work in (of) the heart, becaus e Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, Introduction to NJOP’s Edition of the Artscroll Siddur it takes tremendous effort to reach a level of complete focus and s piritual concentration. In the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewis h Law Our s ages teach us that each of the three daily prayer s ervices (compiled by Rabbi Jos eph Karo in the 16th century), three es s ential were initiated by one of the patriarchs and reflect the character trait of ingredients are given for k avannah: that patriarch: 1) Focus On The M eaning: Praying is convers ing with G-d and Shacharit, the morning s ervice, was firs t s aid by A braham. opening your heart to make a Divine connection. In order to do s o, a A braham is characterized by the trait of chesed, loving kindnes s. He was pers on mus t be aware of what they are communicating. For this reas on ins pired by G-d and reflects the zeal or fres hnes s of the morning. The the s ages ruled that if a pers on does not know Hebrew, then (s )he s hould trait of chesed is filled with emotional outpouring and ins piration. pray in a language (s )he unders tands. A braham s o loved s erving G-d that as s oon as he awoke he wanted to 2) Believe You A re Standing Before A King: W hile it may be thank and prais e G-d. The morning s ervice is an attempt to mimic this difficult to conceptualize s tanding before a king, es pecially in a country zeal as it s tarts the day with words of prais e and thanks. that does not have royalty, it is important to remember that G-d is the King of Kings. Before s tarting the Silent A midah, one takes three s teps 15 back, removing one’s s elf from all the hubbub of life and then three s teps Prayer Recommended Reading List forward into the court of the King. Likewis e, at the end of the Silent A midah, one takes three s teps back, leaving the court of the King, and Title Author then three s teps forward to return to the mundane. 3) Remove A ll Outs ide Dis tractions : Perhaps the mos t difficult The A rts croll Siddur (Prayerbook) as pect of building k avannah is removing all the dis tractions. W ith all the pres s ures of daily life, it is difficult to not think about feeding the baby, Jewis h M editation A ryeh Kaplan the ups and downs of the s tock market, returning a phone call or the s tack of bills piled on the des k, but prayer is a time to focus on a deeper Powerful Prayers Larry King and connection to G-d and on the s piritual s ide of life. Irwin Kats of Thes e s ugges tions are interdependent. Through unders tanding the words , one can more eas ily block dis tractions and focus on the s ens e The A rt of Jewis h Prayer Yitzchok Kirzner and of awe and res pect neces s ary when s tanding before a king. Recognizing Lis a A iken, Ph.D. G-d with awe and res pect becomes the firs t s tep in building a relations hip with G-d. Learning to pray is a proces s , requiring growth in W orld of Prayer Eliyahu M unk unders tanding one’s s elf and one’s relations hip to G-d. Throughout the liturgy, G-d is often referred to as “Our Father, A Guide to Jewis h Prayer Is aiah W olgemuth Our King.” Father and king are both titles which reflect relations hips : to be a father one mus t have children and to be a king one mus t have s ubjects. Sometimes one approaches G-d as a father, s eeking forgivenes s or expres s ing gratitude. Sometimes one approaches G-d as a king, s eeking protection or expres s ing prais e. Sometimes one approaches G-d as both father and king. There are infinite ways one can relate to G-d. From whichever pers pective one s eeks G-d, building a relations hip with G-d is es s ential, and prayer is the vehicle for achieving s uch a bond. 17 back, removing one’s s elf from all the hubbub of life and then three s teps Prayer Recommended Reading List forward into the court of the King. Likewis e, at the end of the Silent A midah, one takes three s teps back, leaving the court of the King, and Title Author then three s teps forward to return to the mundane. 3) Remove A ll Outs ide Dis tractions : Perhaps the mos t difficult The A rts croll Siddur (Prayerbook) as pect of building k avannah is removing all the dis tractions. W ith all the pres s ures of daily life, it is difficult to not think about feeding the baby, Jewis h M editation A ryeh Kaplan the ups and downs of the s tock market, returning a phone call or the s tack of bills piled on the des k, but prayer is a time to focus on a deeper Powerful Prayers Larry King and connection to G-d and on the s piritual s ide of life. Irwin Kats of Thes e s ugges tions are interdependent. Through unders tanding the words , one can more eas ily block dis tractions and focus on the s ens e The A rt of Jewis h Prayer Yitzchok Kirzner and of awe and res pect neces s ary when s tanding before a king. Recognizing Lis a A iken, Ph.D. G-d with awe and res pect becomes the firs t s tep in building a relations hip with G-d. Learning to pray is a proces s , requiring growth in W orld of Prayer Eliyahu M unk unders tanding one’s s elf and one’s relations hip to G-d. Throughout the liturgy, G-d is often referred to as “Our Father, A Guide to Jewis h Prayer Is aiah W olgemuth Our King.” Father and king are both titles which reflect relations hips : to be a father one mus t have children and to be a king one mus t have s ubjects. Sometimes one approaches G-d as a father, s eeking forgivenes s or expres s ing gratitude. Sometimes one approaches G-d as a king, s eeking protection or expres s ing prais e. Sometimes one approaches G-d as both father and king. There are infinite ways one can relate to G-d. From whichever pers pective one s eeks G-d, building a relations hip with G-d is es s ential, and prayer is the vehicle for achieving s uch a bond. 17  The Sabbath is the “day of res t.” Shabbat, however, is s o much more than a day of res t -- it is a day of family, of communicating with G-d, of s eparating one’s s elf from the mundane, and of s piritual rejuvenation. On Shabbat, Jews acros s the world s top working, turn off their televis ions and cell phones , and gather together in s ynagogue and at the Shabbat table. In a world where humankind has built towering cities , conquered ferocious dis eas es , and created machines that think, taking time out of a bus y s chedule is often unfathomable. Days off from work are filled with errands and entertainment. Between cell phones and e- mail, virtually everybody is reachable at any time. W ith each dis covery, s cientis ts declare that they have found a new clue to regulating nature. The world today is in a cons tant s tate of do, do, do, in order to control the cons tant fluctuation in people’s lives. Shabbat, however, is a day on which Jews remove thems elves from this buzzing pace of life. On Shabbat, priorities change. It is time to focus on one’s relations hip with the world -- not what the world can do for him/her, but what one’s relations hip is to the Creator of the world. SHABBAT How does Shabbat, a day on which many of the mitzvot (commandments ) cannot even be performed (s uch as giving charity or wearing tefillin), bring humankind clos er to relating to G-d? To unders tand the relations hip of G-d and Shabbat – the day of res t, it is neces s ary to look at what Shabbat truly is : In Exodus 20:8-11, G-d commands the Jewis h people: “REMEMB ER the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for the Lord your G-d. On it, you shall do no work... For in six days G-d made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, G-d blessed the seventh day and He sanctified it.” In Deuteronomy 5:12-15, however, when the Ten Commandments are res tated, the 4th commandment reads : “GU A R D the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your G-d has commanded you. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is Shabbat for the Lord your G-d. On it, you shall do no work... And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and G-d brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, G-d commanded you to keep the Sabbath.” 19  The Sabbath is the “day of res t.” Shabbat, however, is s o much more than a day of res t -- it is a day of family, of communicating with G-d, of s eparating one’s s elf from the mundane, and of s piritual rejuvenation. On Shabbat, Jews acros s the world s top working, turn off their televis ions and cell phones , and gather together in s ynagogue and at the Shabbat table. In a world where humankind has built towering cities , conquered ferocious dis eas es , and created machines that think, taking time out of a bus y s chedule is often unfathomable. Days off from work are filled with errands and entertainment. Between cell phones and e- mail, virtually everybody is reachable at any time. W ith each dis covery, s cientis ts declare that they have found a new clue to regulating nature. The world today is in a cons tant s tate of do, do, do, in order to control the cons tant fluctuation in people’s lives. Shabbat, however, is a day on which Jews remove thems elves from this buzzing pace of life. On Shabbat, priorities change. It is time to focus on one’s relations hip with the world -- not what the world can do for him/her, but what one’s relations hip is to the Creator of the world. SHABBAT How does Shabbat, a day on which many of the mitzvot (commandments ) cannot even be performed (s uch as giving charity or wearing tefillin), bring humankind clos er to relating to G-d? To unders tand the relations hip of G-d and Shabbat – the day of res t, it is neces s ary to look at what Shabbat truly is : In Exodus 20:8-11, G-d commands the Jewis h people: “REMEMB ER the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for the Lord your G-d. On it, you shall do no work... For in six days G-d made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, G-d blessed the seventh day and He sanctified it.” In Deuteronomy 5:12-15, however, when the Ten Commandments are res tated, the 4th commandment reads : “GU A R D the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your G-d has commanded you. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is Shabbat for the Lord your G-d. On it, you shall do no work... And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and G-d brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, G-d commanded you to keep the Sabbath.” 19  A s dis cus s ed in the Cras h Cours e in Bas ic Judais m lecture, the A CTIONS: two commandments of Shabbat are really one commandment detailing 1-Taping together a piece of paper 4-Turning on the light how to fully keep Shabbat. 2-Stirring food on a flame 5-Blowing out a match Remember the Sabbath, zachor, refers to the pos itive 3-A rranging a flower bouquet 6-Swatting flies commandments : making Kiddus h (the bles s ing over the wine), having 7-Picking a flower three meals , lighting the candles , etc. Remembering Shabbat als o refers to the cons tant focus on Shabbat - repres ented in the fact that the days of A NSW ERS: the week are called Day1 in Shabbat, Day 2 in Shabbat, Day 3 in 1-Taping is a form of s ewing. Two s ides of an object or two Shabbat....Shabbat. The days count up to Shabbat, jus t as Jews s pend s eparate objects are being attached to one another. their week looking forward to and preparing for Shabbat. 2-Stirring food on a flame is a form of baking. A nything that Guard the Sabbath, shamor, refers to the negative changes the phys ical s tate of a s ubs tance by heating it is defined as commandments , the prohibited acts which s erve to make s ure that the day baking. remains holy. 3-A rranging a flower bouquet is a form of gathering or s heaf On Shabbat, Jews do not do melacha, which is often defined as making. Gathering is collecting natural produce into a bundle. work. Melacha, however, has a much more s pecific definition: creative 4-Turning on the light is cons idered the las t act in making an work. The only other place in the Torah where this word is us ed is in the object us able (#38), which is actually referred to as “the final hammer preparation of the Tabernacle and, therefore, the oral law tells us that blow.” W hen the s witch is flipped on, the circuit is completed and the what is prohibited on Shabbat is any type of labor which was us ed to light becomes functional and illuminates. build the Tabernacle. Called the 39 melachot, thes e “creative works ” are 5-Blowing out a match is extinguis hing. actually categories for determining whether an activity is allowed or not. 6-Swatting flies is cons idered s laughtering. This melacha The 39 melachot are: prohibits the s hortening of the life of any living creature. 7-Picking a flower is a form of harves ting. Even though one 1.Ploughing 14.Combing raw materials 29.Scraping pelts would not eat the flower, harves ting is the act of detaching a plant from 2.Sowing 15.Dyeing 30.M arking out its s ource in the ground. 3.Reaping 16.Spinning 31.Cutting to shape ***** 4.Gathering 17, 18, 19 Weaving operations The holines s of Shabbat emanates from humankind 5.Threshing 20.Separating into threads 32.Writing acknowledging its relations hip with G-d. W hether through agriculture or 6.Winnowing 21.Tying a knot 33.Erasing commerce, humanity s truggles daily to control the world. In the 7.Selecting 22.Untying a knot 34.Building 8.Sifting 23.Sewing 35.Demolishing twentieth century, humankind has been, by and large, very s ucces s ful at 9.Grinding 24.Tearing 36.Kindling a fire governing nature - mighty rivers have been redirected and the hardes t 10.Kneading 25.Trapping/Hunting 37.Extinguishing s ubs tances on earth have been cut to humankind’s will. W e have even 11.Baking 26.Slaughtering 38.Finishing an object created new chemical elements. This overpowering of nature als o tends to 12.Sheep-shearing 27.Skinning 39.Carrying between give humankind the s ens e of complete independence from any “greater 13.Bleaching 28.Tanning private and public areas power.” It is eas y to forget that G-d actually controls the many minute details that make wheat grow and copper bend. A bs tention from the 39 A lthough at firs t glance it may not look like it, the Shabbat melachot reminds us , weekly, that G-d controls the world. Six days of prohibitions do effect the twentieth-century urban Jew. Look at the the week are filled with “doing,” Shabbat is for “being.” following 7 actions and try to place each action into its proper melacha category firs t, then look at the correct ans wers. 21  A s dis cus s ed in the Cras h Cours e in Bas ic Judais m lecture, the A CTIONS: two commandments of Shabbat are really one commandment detailing 1-Taping together a piece of paper 4-Turning on the light how to fully keep Shabbat. 2-Stirring food on a flame 5-Blowing out a match Remember the Sabbath, zachor, refers to the pos itive 3-A rranging a flower bouquet 6-Swatting flies commandments : making Kiddus h (the bles s ing over the wine), having 7-Picking a flower three meals , lighting the candles , etc. Remembering Shabbat als o refers to the cons tant focus on Shabbat - repres ented in the fact that the days of A NSW ERS: the week are called Day1 in Shabbat, Day 2 in Shabbat, Day 3 in 1-Taping is a form of s ewing. Two s ides of an object or two Shabbat....Shabbat. The days count up to Shabbat, jus t as Jews s pend s eparate objects are being attached to one another. their week looking forward to and preparing for Shabbat. 2-Stirring food on a flame is a form of baking. A nything that Guard the Sabbath, shamor, refers to the negative changes the phys ical s tate of a s ubs tance by heating it is defined as commandments , the prohibited acts which s erve to make s ure that the day baking. remains holy. 3-A rranging a flower bouquet is a form of gathering or s heaf On Shabbat, Jews do not do melacha, which is often defined as making. Gathering is collecting natural produce into a bundle. work. Melacha, however, has a much more s pecific definition: creative 4-Turning on the light is cons idered the las t act in making an work. The only other place in the Torah where this word is us ed is in the object us able (#38), which is actually referred to as “the final hammer preparation of the Tabernacle and, therefore, the oral law tells us that blow.” W hen the s witch is flipped on, the circuit is completed and the what is prohibited on Shabbat is any type of labor which was us ed to light becomes functional and illuminates. build the Tabernacle. Called the 39 melachot, thes e “creative works ” are 5-Blowing out a match is extinguis hing. actually categories for determining whether an activity is allowed or not. 6-Swatting flies is cons idered s laughtering. This melacha The 39 melachot are: prohibits the s hortening of the life of any living creature. 7-Picking a flower is a form of harves ting. Even though one 1.Ploughing 14.Combing raw materials 29.Scraping pelts would not eat the flower, harves ting is the act of detaching a plant from 2.Sowing 15.Dyeing 30.M arking out its s ource in the ground. 3.Reaping 16.Spinning 31.Cutting to shape ***** 4.Gathering 17, 18, 19 Weaving operations The holines s of Shabbat emanates from humankind 5.Threshing 20.Separating into threads 32.Writing acknowledging its relations hip with G-d. W hether through agriculture or 6.Winnowing 21.Tying a knot 33.Erasing commerce, humanity s truggles daily to control the world. In the 7.Selecting 22.Untying a knot 34.Building 8.Sifting 23.Sewing 35.Demolishing twentieth century, humankind has been, by and large, very s ucces s ful at 9.Grinding 24.Tearing 36.Kindling a fire governing nature - mighty rivers have been redirected and the hardes t 10.Kneading 25.Trapping/Hunting 37.Extinguishing s ubs tances on earth have been cut to humankind’s will. W e have even 11.Baking 26.Slaughtering 38.Finishing an object created new chemical elements. This overpowering of nature als o tends to 12.Sheep-shearing 27.Skinning 39.Carrying between give humankind the s ens e of complete independence from any “greater 13.Bleaching 28.Tanning private and public areas power.” It is eas y to forget that G-d actually controls the many minute details that make wheat grow and copper bend. A bs tention from the 39 A lthough at firs t glance it may not look like it, the Shabbat melachot reminds us , weekly, that G-d controls the world. Six days of prohibitions do effect the twentieth-century urban Jew. Look at the the week are filled with “doing,” Shabbat is for “being.” following 7 actions and try to place each action into its proper melacha category firs t, then look at the correct ans wers. 21 LIVING SHA BBA T trans formed into flour, which is baked into bread. A ll from a s mall Judais m believes that one of the bes t ways to s erve G-d is to kernel of wheat. The bles s ing over bread on Shabbat, in contras t to celebrate the wonders of His creation. Shabbat is a time for private during the week, is s aid with two complete loaves as a reminder that in meditation, but it is als o a day of delightful enjoyment. The ‘rituals of the wildernes s G-d provided manna every day except Shabbat. Shabbat’ s erve to elevate the mundane and remind humanity of G-d’s Throughout the week, the Is raelites collected only enough manna for one kindnes s. day, but on Fridays they collected a double portion to las t through The magic of Shabbat begins with candle-lighting, us ually Shabbat. eighteen minutes before s uns et. It is cus tomary for the woman of the The Shabbat meal is a s pecial time for parents , children, friends hous e to light the candles and s ay the bles s ing. If a man is alone, and extended family. A traditional (A s hkenazi) meal with gefilte fis h, however, he s hould make the bles s ing over the candles. chicken s oup, chicken and kugels may be s erved, however, there is no The two candles of Shabbat repres ent Shamor and Zachor, mandatory menu except to s erve s omething enjoyable. A Shabbat table is Guarding and Remembering, the two Shabbat commandments. often filled with zemirot, s ongs of Shabbat, and dis cus s ions on the weekly By lighting the candles , the holy light of Shabbat is brought Torah portion, which is read in the s ynagogue. into the home. Shabbat dinner concludes , as do all meals in which bread was A fter s ynagogue, where Kabbalat Shabbat, the s ervice welcoming the eaten, with Bentching/Birk at HaMazon, the Grace A fter M eals. A s it s ays Shabbat, and Maariv, the evening s ervice, are s aid, everyone returns in Deuteronomy 8:10: “A nd you s hall eat, and you s hall be s atis fied, and home, or to their hos t’s home, for Shabbat dinner. you s hall bles s the Lord, your G-d...” A s already noted in the prayer A feas t unto its elf, Shabbat dinner is a buffet of delightful foods and s ection, all bles s ings may be s aid in Englis h, if neces s ary. meaningful rituals. Shabbat morning begins with prayer s ervices. The reading of Kiddush, which means s anctification, is the prayer s aid over the weekly Torah portion divides the Shabbat morning s ervice and wine or grape juice. Reciting or hearing Kiddush is a Shabbat Mussaf, the additional s ervice which is s aid in lieu of the additional obligation for all adult Jews. The Friday night Kiddush contains offering brought on Shabbat during the Temple s ervice. vers es from Genes is des cribing the Sabbath of Creation, followed A fter s ervices , all return home, or to their hos t’s home, for by the bles s ing over wine, and clos es with a bles s ing s anctifying Shabbat. Shabbat lunch. Like Friday night dinner, the meal begins again The wine or grape juice may be dis tributed and drunk s o that everyone with Kiddush, was hing and HaMotzei with two challahs. The fulfills the obligation. Shabbat daytime Kiddush contains another Biblical reference to A fter Kiddush, the celebrants was h their hands. This is not Shabbat, Exodus 31:16-17. It is s horter than the evening Kiddus h and the meant to be a hygienic was hing of one’s hands with s oap and water, but only bles s ing recited is over the wine its elf. rather a ritual was hing, a s anctification, if you will. A cup is filled with The highlight of many Shabbat lunch tables is cholent, a hot water which is poured twice over the right hand then twice over the left s tew which s immers overnight in a crockpot or on the s tove. Known als o hand. The entire hand, with all jewelry removed, s hould be rins ed, then a as chamim by many Sephardim, cholent is eaten as a s ign that thos e bles s ing is recited as the hands are dried. There s hould be no talking eating it believe in both the written and oral law. During the Roman between the was hing of hands and eating bread, the next s tep of the meal, empire there was a s ect of Jews called Saduccees who denied the becaus e one was hes in order to eat bread and there s hould be no authority of the oral law. They s tated that the Torah declared that one interruption between the related actions. could not burn a fire in one’s hous e on Shabbat; whereas the oral law Two complete loaves of bread, called Challah, are us ed for explained that one cannot light a fire on Shabbat, but one may have a fire HaMotzei, the bles s ing over the bread. Bread holds s pecial burning throughout Shabbat as long as it is lit before Shabbat. In order to s ignificance in Judais m. Bread repres ents the great demons trate belief in the full Torah, both oral and written, the Rabbis potential that G-d put in the world. Bread begins as a s eed, grows to encouraged the eating of hot food on Shabbat. Since the food had to be wheat (which is s till inedible), is winnowed and ground before it is cooked before Shabbat, but mus t remain tas ty almos t 16-20 hours later, 23 LIVING SHA BBA T trans forme