סִנַּנְתִּי מִתּוֹךְ מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר אֶת מִשְׁקַע
הַשִּׁמְחָה הַגַּסַּה
וּמִתּוֹךְ סֵפֶר יִרְמְיָהוּ
אֶת יִלְלַת הַכְּאֵב בַּמֵּעַיִם.
וּמִתּוֹךְ
שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים אֶת הַחִיפּוּשֹ הָאֵין סוֹפִי
אַחַר הָאַהֲבָה
וּמִסֵּפֶר בְּרֵאשִׁית אֶת
הַחֲלוֹמוֹת וְאֶת קַיִן
וּמִתּוֹךְ קֹהֶלֶת אֶת
הֵיֵּאוּשׁ
וּמִתּוֹךְ סֶפֶר אִיּוֹב אֶת אִיּוֹב.
וְהִדְבַּקְתִּי לִי מִן הַשְּׁאֵרֵיּוֹת סֶפֶר תַּנַ”ךְ חָדָשׁ.
אֲנִי חַי מְצֹנְזָר וּמֹדְבָּק וּמֹגְבָּל וּבְשַלְוָה.
אשה אחת שאלה אותי אמש ברחוב
החשוך על שלום אשה אחרת
שמתה לא בעתה ולא בעתו של אף אחד
מתוך עיפות גדולה עניתי לה:
שלומה טוב, שלומה טוב.
Yehudah Amichai
From the Book of Esther I filtered the sediment of vulgar joy,
and from the Book of Jeremiah the howl of pain in the guts.
And from the Song of Songs the endless search for love,
and from Genesis the dreams and Cain,
and from Ecclesiastes the despair,
and from the Book of Job: Job.
And with what was left, I pasted myself a new Bible.
Now I live censored and pasted and limited and in peace.
A woman asked me last night on the dark street
how another woman was who’d already died.
Before her time—and not in anyone else’s time either.
Out of a great weariness I answered,
“She’s fine, she’s fine.”
(ג) ועל זה הוא שאמרו רבותינו ז״ל לא כרת הקדוש ברוך הוא ברית עם ישראל אלא בשביל תורה שבעל פה, וזה לפי שאין מציאות להבנת התורה שבכתב אלא עם תורה שבעל פה. ועוד לפי שאי אפשר שתהיה תורת השם יתברך שלמה באופן שתספיק בכל הזמנים, לפי שהפרטים המתחדשים תמיד בעניני האנשים, במשפטים והדברים הנפעלים הם רבים מאד משיכללם ספר, על כן נתנו למשה בסיני על פה דרכים כוללים נרמזו בתורה בקצרה, כדי שעל ידם יוציאו החכמים שבכל דור ודור הפרטים המתחדשים.
(3) This is why the Rabbis say, God made a covenant with Israel only for the sake of the oral law. This is because the written law can not be understood except with the oral law, and also because the law of God can not be perfect so as to be adequate for all times, because the ever new details of human relations, their customs and their acts, are too numerous to be embraced in a book. Therefore Moses was given orally certain general principles, only briefly alluded to in the Torah, by means of which the wise men in every generation may work out the details as they appear.
Joseph Albo
14-15th century Spanish rabbi and philosopher, disciple of R' Hasdai Crescas and author of "Sefer HaIkkarim" on Jewish philosophy and faith. Albo was one of the participants in the religious disputation in Tortosa, where he successfully defended the Talmud against the attacks of the apostate Joshua HaLurki. He was also proficient in medicine and other sciences.
(ב) זִבְחֵי אֱלֹקִים רוּחַ נִשְׁבָּרָה וגו' (תהלים נא, יט) אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּא בַּר יוּדָן כָּל מַה שֶׁפָּסַל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בִּבְהֵמָה הִכְשִׁיר בְּאָדָם, פָּסַל בִּבְהֵמָה (ויקרא כב, כב): עֲוֶרֶת אוֹ שָׁבוּר אוֹ חָרוּץ אוֹ יַבֶּלֶת, וְהִכְשִׁיר בְּאָדָם (תהלים נא, יט): לֵב נִשְׁבָּר וְנִדְכֶּה. אָמַר רַבִּי אֲלֶכְּסַנְדְּרִי הַהֶדְיוֹט הַזֶּה אִם מְשַׁמֵּשׁ הוּא בְּכֵלִים שְׁבוּרִים גְּנַאי הוּא לוֹ, אֲבָל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא כְּלֵי תַּשְׁמִישׁוֹ שְׁבוּרִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים לד, יט): קָרוֹב יקוק לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי לֵב, (תהלים קמז, ג): הָרוֹפֵא לִשְׁבוּרֵי לֵב, (ישעיה נז, טו): וְאֶת דַּכָּא וּשְׁפַל רוּחַ.
Rabbi Aba bar Yudan taught: All that God prohibited in an animal sacrifice, God accepts in a human being. What is prohibited in an offering? When a person offers, from the herd or the flock, a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord. . . it must, to be acceptable, be without blemish; there must be no defect in it. Anything blind, or broken, or maimed, or with a wart, such you shall not offer to the Lord.”
All these things, which render a sacrifice unfit, God sees as fitting in a human being.
“A crushed and broken heart, God will not despise.” (Psalms 51:19)
Rabbi Alexandri taught: human beings are ashamed and embarrassed to use a vessel that is broken, but not so with God. All God’s vessels are broken.
As it is written God is close to the broken hearted (147:3)
The healer of the broken hearted (Isaiah 57:15), And those who are lowly of spirit will not reject.
ופרשה השנית היא מבעל מום שיוכל להמצא בלבו תרעומות על מדותיו של הקב"ה אחר אשר התנטע בגזע אהרן והיה ראוי להקריב ליקוק ולעבוד אותו, למה ברא בו מום שימנע אותו מזה הקדושה, כי קדושת כהן העובד אין לשער, כמו שנראה שצוה לנו הש"י אכילת מצות כמה קדושה יש בזה האכילה, וכל שכן אכילת קדשי שמים, כמו שמצינו בגמ' (פסחים נ"ז.) שצווחה העזרה יכנס וימלא כריסו מקדשי שמים, נראה מזה איך יקר הוא בעיני יקוק אכילת קדשים, וכ"ש הכהן העובד כמה קדושה ימצא בו בעבודתו ליקוק, ולזה כאשר ימצא מום בכהן יוכל להמצא בו תרעומות, כי אחרי גם אכילת קדשים הותרה לו, אך מעבודת הש"י הוא מרוחק
Grievance
Ishbitzer, Mei Hashiloach
The second passage discusses the physical defects that would render a Cohen unfit to serve in the temple. A Cohen in this state could harbor anger [grievance} against the severe judgment of the Holy One, blessed be He. Why would God plant him among the root of Aharon where he would have been fit to offer sacrifices to God and serve Him? Why then did He create him with a defect that prevents him from this Kedusha (holiness), for the Kedusha of a Cohen’s service is immeasurable? Just as we see how much Kedusha there is in the mitzvah of eating matsah, how much more so when the Cohen eats of the sacrifices, kodshei shamayim, God’s own food, as it were! As we find in the Gemara (Pesachim, 57a), “[how immeasurably awesome it was] when those in the temple would go in and eat of the kodshei shamayim.” We see just how precious eating the sacrifices was in God’s eyes, and all the more so the Kedusha of the Cohen in his service before God. So even just seeing a Cohen who is rendered unfit to serve can cause one to be angry at God. Even though the blemished Cohen may eat of the sacrifices, he is distanced from the actual service.
ושבועות הוא נגד פרשת בעל מום כי במתן תורה נתרפאו כל בעלי מומין ושבועות יורה כי הש"י ירפא הכל שיהיה לטוב.
(cont) Shavuot corresponds to the passage dealing with a Cohen who is unfit for service, for with the giving of the Torah all those who were sick or lame, deficient in any way, were healed, and Shavuot teaches us that God will heal everything.
(ל) מי שיש לו מום בפניו או בידיו כגון שהם בוהקניות או עקומות או עקושות לא ישא את כפיו מפני שהעם מסתכלין בו וה"ה למי שיש מומין ברגליו במקום שעולים לדוכן בלא בתי שוקיים וכן מי שרירו יורד על זקנו או שעיניו זולפים דמעות וכן סומא באחד מעיניו לא ישא את כפיו ואם הי' דש בעירו דהיינו שהם רגילים בו ומכירין הכל שיש בו אותו מום ישא כפיו ואפי' הוא סומא בשתי עיניו וכל ששהא בעיר שלשי' יום מקרי דש בעירו ודוקא בעירו אבל אם הולך באקראי לעיר אחרת ושהא שם שלשים יום לא ואפילו לא בא לדור שם להיות מבני העיר אלא בא להיות שם מלמד או סופר או משרת שנה או חצי שנה חשוב דש בעירו בל' יום:
(30) One who has an deformity on his face or his hands, for example albinism, deformed [fingers], or paralyzed [fingers] should not perform the priestly blessing because the congregation will stare at him. And this is also the rule for one who has an deformity on his feet, in a place where they ascend to the platform without socks. And so it is if he has spittle drooling down his beard, or if his eyes tear up. And similarly, one who is blind in one of his eye should not perform the priestly blessing. However, if he is "Dash" in his city, meaning that they are familiar with him and everyone recognizes that he has this deformity, he may perform the blessing, even if he is blind in both eyes. Anyone who has stayed in the city thirty days is called "Dash" in his city
Halakhah
Author:Joseph Karo
The Shulchan Arukh (“Set Table”) is the most widely accepted code of Jewish law ever written. Compiled in the 16th century by Rabbi Yosef Karo, it is a condensed and simplified version of the Beit Yosef, a commentary that Karo wrote on the Tur.
Plato: “This is the kind of medical provision you should legislate in your state. You should provide treatment for those of your citizens whose physical constitution is good. As for the others, it will be best to leave the unhealthy to die, and to put to death those whose psychological condition is incurably corrupt. This is the best thing to do, both for the individual sufferer and for society.”
If Yitzchak Avinu, Father Isaac, who became legally blind in his old age, were to come into our synagogue and want to daven with us, would we have a large print prayer book available for him?
If Yaakov Avinu, Father Jacob, who was injured in an encounter with a mysterious stranger and limped for the rest of his life as a result, were to come into our synagogue and want an aliyah, would he be able to get up to the bimah here? And if not, if we don’t have a ramp that makes the bimah accessible to the people with disabilities, what would we say to him?
2If Moshe Rabeynu, Moses our teacher, who had a speech defect, were to come into our shul and want to read from the Torah that he gave us, could we handle it without becoming embarrassed if he were to stutter?
אִיקוֹנְיָא מְהַלֶּכֶת לִפְנֵי הָאָדָם וְהַכָּרוֹזוֹת כּוֹרְזִין לְפָנָיו, וּמָה הֵן אוֹמְרִים, תְּנוּ מָקוֹם לָאִיקוּנִין שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. רְאֵה כַּמָּה שׁוֹמְרִין מְשַׁמְּרִין אוֹתְךָ, אֵימָתַי בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאַתְּ מְשַׁמֵּר דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה.
A procession of angels pass before each person, and the heralds go before them declaring, ‘Make way for the image of the Holy Blessed One Be S/he". See how many guards watch over you-- when? When you guard the words of Torah.
Inclusion isn’t just about me, it is about everyone. I have seen the incredible stress my family has endured because of me, and being excluded from our Jewish community, or having to constantly fight to be accepted as part of it, has greatly magnified our stress. After ten years, we finally [found a synagogue] where people smile at me even if I am sometimes too loud or excited and no one stares at me like I am a piece of trash. The kids engage with me even when they are not getting community service credit for doing so. I often wonder how many non-disabled families have the same experience of feeling ignored in their synagogue. The truth is that a shul that welcomes me is a synagogue where everyone can find a place and people will want to join and be engaged and involved.
Sonya Renee Taylor is a New York Times best-selling author, world-renowned activist and thought leader on racial justice, body liberation and transformational change, international award winning artist, and founder of The Body Is Not an Apology (TBINAA), a global digital media and education company exploring the intersections of identity, healing, and social justice through the framework of radical self-love.
Best-Interest vs. Detriment Buying
Divesting from the Body-Shame Profit Complex (BSPC) requires us to imagine what a radical self-love economy might look like. Manifesting such an economy entails observing our personal impact in the worldwide marketplace and asking ourselves, "What kind of consumer am I?” I propose that most of our purchases generally fall into two primary categories; best-interest buying and detriment buying. Best-interest buying is a model that asks us to allow our economic investments, whether they be lattes, lipsticks, neckties, or stock portfolios, to reflect our commitment to radical self-love for our own lives and for the lives of others. Best-interest buying furthers our radical self-love journey by connecting how we spend our resources with what we truly want for our lives, not simply in the short term to avoid feelings of not being “enough.” In this model, we ask ourselves if what we are buying is a desire rooted in radical self- love. Being a best-interest buyer does not happen overnight, and is not a zero-sum proposition. Given how rarely we are in control of how products are sourced and made, it is easy to make purchases that pass muster in regard to our personal motives for buying them while subsequently being a source of harm because of exploitative or unethical practices at the hands of the product makers. These systems of oppression are intricately woven together and will be hard to fully divest from. When we are unable to do no harm, our work is to do as little harm as possible. We do not become best-interest buyers by being judgmental jerks toward ourselves about our purchases or flagellating ourselves for being suckers conned by the BSPC. Instead we continue gently asking ourselves about our motives, intentions, and impact. Radical self-love calls us toward a deeper investigation “Why am I compelled to spend $180 on wrinkle-defying serum?” Posing that question to ourselves is likely a more effective and loving strategy than haranguing ourselves for making said purchase. The act of inquiry serves as a lighthouse on our journey, there to help locate our position in the wild seas of media and BSPC manipulation.
ר' יהושע בן לוי אשכח לאליהו דהוי קיימי אפיתחא דמערתא דרבי שמעון בן יוחאי
אמר ליה אימת אתי משיח אמר ליה זיל שייליה לדידיה והיכא יתיב אפיתחא דקרתא ומאי סימניה יתיב ביני עניי סובלי חלאים וכולן שרו ואסירי בחד זימנא איהו שרי חד ואסיר חד אמר דילמא מבעינא דלא איעכב אזל לגביה אמר ליה שלום עליך רבי ומורי אמר ליה שלום עליך בר ליואי א"ל לאימת אתי מר א"ל היום אתא לגבי אליהו א"ל מאי אמר לך א"ל שלום עליך בר ליואי א"ל אבטחך לך ולאבוך לעלמא דאתי א"ל שקורי קא שקר בי דאמר לי היום אתינא ולא אתא א"ל הכי אמר לך (תהלים צה, ז) היום אם בקולו תשמעו
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi found Elijah the prophet, who was standing at the entrance of the burial cave of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai.
He asked when will the Messiah come? Elijah said to him: Go ask him.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked: And where is he sitting?
Elijah said to him: At the entrance of the city of Rome.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked him: And what is his sign
Elijah answered: He sits among the poor who suffer from illnesses. And all of them untie their bandages and tie them all at once, but the Messiah unties one bandage and ties one at a time. He says: Perhaps I will be needed so I will not be delayed.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi went to the Messiah. He said to the Messiah: Greetings to you, my rabbi and my teacher. The Messiah said to him: Greetings to you, bar Leva’i. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to him: When will the Master come? The Messiah said to him: Today. Sometime later, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi came to Elijah. Elijah said to him: What did the Messiah say to you?
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to Elijah: The Messiah lied to me, as he said to me: I am coming today, and he did not come. Elijah said to him that this is what he said to you: He said that he will come “today, if you will listen to his voice” (Psalms 95:7).
New York Times, Book Review, from 5/28/16
“It is the art of restoring broken pottery with gold so that the fractures are literally illuminated -
a kind of physical expression of the spirit.
As a philosophy kintsukuroi celebrates imperfection as an integral part of the story,
not something to be disguised.
The artists believe that when something has suffered damage and has a history,
it becomes more beautiful.
In kintsukuroi, the true life of an object (or person) begins the moment it breaks and reveals that it is vulnerable.
The gap between once pristine appearance and its visual imperfection deepens its appeal." May the cracks become visible and may a golden light shine.”