|
|
I have been avoiding writing original material directly on the Torah Parsha (the weekly portion of Torah which is publicly read in shul each shabbos) for some very specific reasons. One simple reason has to do with the fact that there is always a great deal of written information from various sources which can readily be found on the web which highlight different things.
An additional reason is that if I lead with my strongest ideas; which are uniquely my own personal take and understanding of any given Torah portion, then there is always the possibility that I may have understood something incorrectly. By understanding something incorrectly and then actually publishing the piece right here on this web site, then I may run the risk of misleading someone. There is a prohibition in the Torah which states that one may not throw stumbling blocks in front of the blind. This prohibition can be both understood literally as well as extended into areas where one could mislead someone even in such things as learning.
At the place where I have been doing the most of my Torah learning during the week, we have been learning form a sefer called Siftei Chaim by Rabbi Chaim Friedlander. Now please understand that i would be happy to share more information about this particular sefer (book) and its author, however I usually have to track down this information on the web. I have just now learned that the late Rabbi Chaim Friedlander, (Zichrona L’Bracha) has already brought forth some important and accurate Hebrew translations of another Torah Giant: Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, The Ramchal. I have included a brief blurb about the author of the Siftei Chaim, which was taken directly from a website which I have visited before: http://www.azamra.org/TempleSecrets/Ramchal.htm
Mesilat Yesharim has long been readily available but until relatively recently the few other works of Ramchal that were brought to press were often hard to find and poorly printed. Since the 1970’s a series of fine, accurate Hebrew editions of many of Ramchal’s most important works have been published through the efforts of the late Rabbi Chaim Friedlander ז”ל and a number of other scholars, bringing them within easy reach of growing numbers of students. In addition Ramchal is now accessible to those who do not know Hebrew through the translations of “The Path of the Just”, “The Way of God” and “The Knowing Heart” as well as some of his works on logic and reasoning
A link to the source where I found this information about how it was R. Chaim Friedlander who had only recently published some accurate renditions of important works of The Ramchal: Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto who according to another Torah giant “The Gaon of Vilna said he would have walked all the way to Italy just to sit at the feet of Ramchal. The Gaon said that Ramchal was the only sage since the ARI who truly understood the Kabbalah.
All of the above is by way of introduction to some of the the other works which were written by the author which our small chevrah (friends) have been learning from for at least the past month.
The thing we have been kicking around for what seems to be dozens of hours is how the essential ingredient that truly makes Chanukah, Chanukah is that it is about Torah Shebal Peh (the Oral Law). Why it takes so long to get to this, is truly beyond my current level of understanding however, I can say this: When you have been dancing around an issue for such a long time, it does seem particularly satisfying to finally at least feel a if you finally are on the right track to answer the essential question, and understand the meaning of the answer in at least some of its subtle complexities.
The biographical information has been included to show you that the source of the information which our small chevrah at Passaic Torah Institute: http://www.ptiweb.org/ has been studying for at least several months, is certainly an extremely credible and reliable.
There is a saying which has been out there for a long time, that states: “As one door closes, another one opens”. The idea is used to tell you that when things dont go your way, it is okay because maybe something good is about to happen. One wonders if there might be any hidden danger in acccepting these comforting rationilizations just about anytime when things go wrong in our lives. The problem with such ideas is that depending on the actual events of your life, and how much comfort one dervives from such rationilizations, it could lead an individual to complacently accept various misfortunes.
There is no doubt that various doors in my life, have sometimes seem to shut in front of my face in slow motion. It is hard to even recognize things like this because they do happen in such slow motion. For example, someone might be living their life, and are in their late 20’s or early 30’s. During these years they have plenty of business ideas, altruistic goals, and plans on getting married, having children, and living happily ever after. Then after time (which could be measured in months, then later in years) one starts to notice, “hey these things that I want do, do not seem to be happening”. If one did not afford the themselves the comforting rationilizations which just about everyone is happy to offer every time something does not go your way, then maybe they could simply stand up and tell themeselves; “It looks, I have failed in my attempt at xyz.”
In reality, I would say that this rarely ever happens. If it did happen, and it was because a person put forth an honest effort, did their due diligence and failed to obtain his goal, then that could be viewed as an honest attempt which simply failed to produce the desired result. Some of the major obstacles that an individual may face in achieving self actualization may indeed be cultural. This is where I would like to suggest that a paradigm shift might be taking place right now even as we speak.
One of the easiest paradigms to take on is that the little sayings that come out of the mouths of our friends and family are typically meant to encourage us. I would like to suggest that this may not be true. For example when you miss out on a great opportunity, people will typically say, I guess it was not meant to be. Perhaps a better approach would be for the other person to try to find out what the opportunity was. It is quite possible that the opportunity is still out there, and that door is not yet closed.
We are our own worst enemies. Becoming successful at something means letting go of connecting with being a failure. The biggest problem associated with becoming successful is change. Additionally the vocabulary which is so often repeated when one is seeking to obtain their goals or achieve self actualization is really badly in need of a major overhaul.
Ideas are always great, when you first get them. It is during the process when one contemplates the enactment of these ideas, that they all seem so possible and grand. Finally it is when you open your mouth, and first begin to tell someone your idea, that one needs to be ready for just about anything. In reality however it is very rare that a single person would ever be likely to share your enthusiasm.
The problem is, all kinds of people have great ideas, every day. It is normal to want to share an idea with someone. It is also very likely that others would be extremely likely to criticize your idea. So I came up with a new way to make sure that my various plans, goal, and ideas get completed and/or implemented. I came up with this idea when I realized what the date was, and then I had a clear signal that it is okay to begin the countdown. Get ready, because the countdown to completion has begun: 11/10/9.
So when you tell someone your idea, and they of course begin to tell you why it could not possibly work, instead of getting on the defensive, just let them know that you have a time frame for its completion, and you will be sure to let them know when it arrives so you can hear their arguments then. As for now, you truly appreciate their insights, and will take them into consideration, when the time for implementation, or action gets closer.
This way, you can let the world know what you are trying to do, in case someone truly wants to assist you, and at the same protect your precious idea, while it develops and grows. Try it out, with someone you know, or perhaps even just an acquaintance of yours. Make up some kind of idea if you like, just so you do not put your real idea at risk. If the people ever follow up, you then realize that they were actually listening and that they might even care. These are the kind of people who perhaps could really help in the future.
The idea that I am grappling with here is a concept which I learned long ago by listening to a Napoleon Hill tape on goal setting. There are two types of goals according to Napoleon Hill:
A give up goal. This type of goal according to Hill is one that you should tell everyone, like, oh, I am cutting down on carbs, or giving up smokling. Then People will be happy to help hold you to it.
The other type of goal is about something you want to do, or accomplish. His advice is to tell no one, because their negativity will tend to bring you away from your resolve to accomplish this goal. It is the idea of keeping a good idea quiet, that I am taking issue with. I am looking to develop a better understanding, of how to proceed with a a goal where I can actually accomplish several ideas, possibly even simultaneously.
Who leads a normal life? It sounds like a great question, when you approach a belief where everyone feels that their situation is so unique, that it is clearly different from everyone else’s. The question does not consider that it is entirely possible that there are countless millions of individuals out there who simply feel that they are just another one in a crowd of many.
These kind of questions, or ideas may come up when one considers what makes a writer want to write? Attitudes about writing could easily develop early in life when children are required to complete writing assignments for their teachers. My writing emerged in my late teens and early twenties. First it could be best described as stream of consciousness or poetry without rhyme or meter. This kind of writing later became concrete ideas expressed by me, for me about my own particular understanding of events in my life. One could describe these kind of writings perhaps as self therapy.
Tortured idealism might be a very apt phrase to describe what the essence of all these writings were about. Over a period of several years while attending college, the tortured idealism themes were turned into poems, some that rhymed and some that did not. Also, these particular type of poems seemed to very easily lend themselves to being turned into songs. Meanwhile, while all these various creations continued to take their various forms, my life was running in the background.
If you stayed with this series so far you may probably have already realized that the essence of this story is very much about how I got to the point that I am at today. Of course it is also about the idea as a whole, but quite honestly if I just put it all out there right now, it probably would not have as much as much meaning as it would if it unfolds just the way it is doing right here, and right now.
I also realize that the twists and turns in the story line, may in some ways detract from some of the momentum which I never really seem to gain, as well as possibly add to the frustration level of my reader who may not really have the kind of time and patience which I would hope that my readers would have.
So, for example; if I start telling you about how when I was in child in grade school from kindergarten through 2nd grade and was reading Richie Rich comic books, about this kid Richie Rich, who was so wealthy that he had a butler, and this maid who was made of iron, who ironically enough was called Irona. Also I have some kind or razor sharp memory for both events as well as images from my childhood, that I could perhaps even tell you word for word both what I said, as well as what others said or did. I even remember a little panel from the Richie Rich comic book that taught me two things: One; that have things on either side of you meant that there were things on both sides of you, as opposed to one side or the other. Also that the word several did not mean seven which is what I had originally thought before looking at the comic book panel, but that it meant 3 or 4. In the case of that specific comic panel, I believe it was four.
The last two (or three, perhaps several) stories from this time period that seem to go here about these early childhood years are:
Stephen Sanders invents Lotto at the tender age of seven!
Very simply I had initiated a very simple scheme which was a sure fire way to make money. I asked the family members, who were my captive customers, to buy lottery tickets. The lottery tickets cost a quarter. The potential market for these tickets was every single adult who was over our house for one of the holiday meals, it may have been Thanksgiving, but that is not important.
The adult line up if I remember correctly was; Grandpa, Grandma (x 2) Harvey and Elizabeth Sanders (aunt and uncle), Mom, Dad, and possibly cousin Ross. The cost of the lottery ticket was 25 cents, and I assured them that every one had an equal opportunity to win the grand prize payout of one dollar! (I had not thought about marketing the idea of increasing the odds by buying more than one ticket, ooops, another lost opportunity to maximize profit). What were my costs, nothing! All I needed was some scraps of paper, where I wrote the same number twice, and when they gave me a their quarter, I gave them their half, and placed the other half in a hat.
Naturally my family was overjoyed to see me develop an entrepreneurial spirit at such a young age. Also I did indeed get 100% participation. Not having enough the change was also not an acceptable excuse, because after I got a few quarters from my from first few customers, making change was simple. Not a bad way way to make a quick buck for a kid!
The other stories from this time that come to mind have to do with my grandfather on my father’s side. Grandpa Irving was a very quiet man of few words. I remember he did buy a lottery ticket very enthusiastically from me ( he may have been my first customer). One time Grandpa Irving and I took a walk to Larchmont Park (we lived in Union NJ on 1065 Kensington Terrace) I had this helmet with some kind of visor that was called “Monkey Patrol” and I had this plastic mess kit which was part of the set. With these important items I went with Grandpa Irving into the wooded part of the park, and I showed him “Frankenstein’s Grave” which I guess really was nothing more than a large shallow big pit surrounded by some trees in the on the edge of the playground area. Then I remember that I could not seem to find my way back out of the woods, back home. It was then that Grandpa Irving showed me that he had been carrying a little pocket knife, and was making little marks on the trees so that he knew how to get us back home, back to safety. I really have no clue to this day if he was really doing this, or if he just wanted me to think that he did, as a nice little gesture to make not feel incompetent as our guide. The woods were really not very thick, but I was not the one usually leading the way to “Frankenstein’s Grave” and I was pretty happy to somehow be able to find it and show it to my Grandpa.
The other little story which might seem to be so obvious to anyone reading this, really has never really found its proper place in my psyche. Don’t get make wrong, its not something that bothers me at all, its just that i never got was he may have been trying to tell me or if he was actually trying to tell me anything at all. We did not see my Grandparents on my father’s side as often as those from my mother’s side because they lived in Florida, and only drove up to NJ, to visit us on the Holiday weekends. Of course coming from Florida they usually brought huge bags of oranges and or grapefruits, but one time they brought us pogo sticks! One for me, and one for my brother Jeff. It was on one of these trips that my Grandfather found this ball of wool that my mom kept in the drawer of this little table.
My Grandfather took out this little black ball of wool and said “Bah bah, black sheep” I don’t remember if he knew the whole little poem or tale, or if he told me the whole thing. I just remember him, holding the ball of wool, in one hand perhaps motioning with it and saying “Bah bah, black sheep”. Now it at this point if one were to go Freudian with this, I am sure that we could dredge up something. However, with this kind yet simple quiet, seemingly wise man, there is simply nowhere to go with this.
In many ways, some of my Grandfather’s traits are my own. At my core I am very much an introspective type, and I am not typically talking a mile a minute like I see so many other people try to do. The interesting thing is that when you find yourself having individual quality time with such a person, you might end up remembering so many details, because the entire experience is beyond some conversation. Nobody would say that my Grandfather had accomplished any great thing. However he did have a simple, peaceful, kind and yes I feel (intuitively) wise way about him.
As a child and into my early and even later teens, i was always gravitating towards these books which back in the day were simply collectively referred to as self help. Certain themes ran through these books so when I state the principle, it could have come from (and would be repeated) in almost any and/or all of these books and that was:
Be like the person who says little and does much.
When I attended Santa Monica College, I had somehow got caught up in the whole student government scene. I bring that up now not to tell that whole story here, but rather to point out that I had attended various government type hearings, not just at our school but at actually California Legislative hearings on various issues. Invariably the person who always caught my intention amongst the various members of the board, was not typically the fellow speaking at every chance he had into the microphone. nor was it the fellow presiding over and chairing the meeting, with gavel in hand. No, the most interesting person to focus my eyes upon was the fellow who was actively listening to what all the other people were saying.
Some people might be reading this and thinking, how could you tell. I honestly believe there is nothing quite like getting directly involved in governmental affairs. Yes, actually going to some board meeting where perhaps some controversial measure which you feel strongly about is actually being discussed and acted upon. I can tell you one thing without hesitation, that when you as a citizen actually takes the time to show up at some committee or board meeting, the people sitting up there with their microphones, and glasses of water, will notice your presence. Why is that you might ask? Because it is rare for a citizen at large to ever attend these type of meetings which often by law must be open to participation from the public. Usually the only people ever to show up for these hearings are the ones proposing the project who stand to gain monetarily, or the paid lobbyists who are paid to try to persuade the politicians to vote in a way that benefits their employer.
Typically out of of a typical board or committee of say between 10-15 people, you might be surprised to find that there is actually one, who is simply sitting in his chair, and listening. Yes at times, his head might be back in the high portion of his high back reclining leather seat. Yes his hands may be behind his head, and he seems to be glancing upwards at the ceiling. It might not seem like he is constantly hanging on to every word of every expert witness and paid lobbyist who is rattling off fact after fact that is relevant to the case at hand. However you might notice that he is not constantly fighting for control of the procedural issues. He probably will not be constantly jotting notes down notes (or doodling) and leaning over the microphone to point out a procedural rule or regulation, or to make a motion to table, or to send to a committee.
However the thing to do is to watch how this fellow reacts (and there always seems to be one) when someone from the community at large gets up in front of the board, and begins to speak from his own personal experience of the issue at hand.
It will be then that you see this person, literally straighten up in his seat. His eyes will be looking right at the person speaking, and not at the other board members. You can bet your last dollar that if a yellow pad and pen comes out, it will be write down something that this citizen at large has just said, so that he can directly ask him a question, or cite the speaker’s comment, and not some doodle, or reminder to himself to pick up his dry cleaning. All this I am explaining to share my experience with you how good and empowering it feels to know that someone is actively listening to what you are saying.
Aharon Moshe (Stephen C.) Sanders written 10/26/09 and edited 10/27/09 to be continued…
Hey, what’s the big idea? We have all heard this expression, usually of course of it is more of an exclamation we make when someone does something to us that we do not like. However, in my life, I have had much time to come up with all kinds of big ideas, so now I decided it is time to share at least one (maybe several) of these ideas.
By way of introduction, I just wanted to mention that my father, Donald Sanders (he should rest in peace) was always talking about business ideas with his brother (my uncle) Harvey Sanders (he should rest in peace).
Now I used to be lucky enough to listen to so many of these various schemes. I got the idea that the two of them really enjoyed thoroughly discussing the idea from every conceivable angle. However no matter how great the idea may have seemed upon its initial introduction, usually by the end of the discussion, it was decided, that one simply could not make any money with it.
Now I could also tell you that it was usually one person, typically my uncle, who believed in the idea, while it was my father Donald, the eternal pragmatist, who usually had a ready made arsenal of reasons conveniently at his disposal ready to shoot down the idea, as most as quickly as it could be expressed. Now I have to tell you that on some level this process was like a well choreographed song and dance routine. Everyone knew their lines, and the appropriate gestures.
One time I developed this idea that I would photograph kids playing soccer at the park with a telephoto lens (I was in my mid teens at the time, an avid photographer with Nikons and extra lenses) and come back and later try to sell the photos to the parents of the kids. When I told my Dad this idea, he came back with a pad of paper which had:
From the Desk of Don Sanders
written on the top, with a little drawing of a pen and paper. My father then went through a series of questions mainly concerning costs, and proceeded to start a little tally:
Cost of film………………$3.35
Cost of developer………$4.58 (good for 15 rolls of flim)
Photographic Paper…….$12.65 (for 100 4×5 sheets)
Etc…………………….
As you may have already guessed, by the time we got around to what I would charge the parents (it was something around five or seven dollars, my father had figured out that there was no way to make a profit.
It may have been the capitol outlay required to by the telephoto lens, that doomed the entire business plan to failure. However I was planning on buying a 200mm f 4.0 Nikkor telephoto lens anyway. The lens I really wanted was the 180mm 2.8, because the extra wideness of its maximum aperture was a great help when shooting pictures in low light, which was what I was aways dealing with when photographing rock concerts. So, lets just say, I did not bother ever going to weekend soccer games to take live action photographs of the kids at play and then try to sell them them to their parents the following week.
Lets move a little further forward in my life, to a time where I was graduating Santa Monica College. My uncle Harvey, perhaps sensing correctly that I needed to develop a new focus (pun intentional), now that was about to graduate had a few suggestions for me. One of them was that Santa Monica College had a special program in conjunction with UCLA Hospital where one could be trained to become a respiratory therapist. He had actually told me this idea a year prior to my graduation, because I did follow his suggestion, and took the prerequisite: Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Microbiology, and Organic Chemistry classes which were required courses before taking classes along with clinical in service training at UCLA Hospital. Without getting into too much greater detail, lets just say for the record, that the program was maybe about 25% of what you would have to accomplish if one were to go to medical school.
Another suggestion my uncle Harvey had for me was to go into the army, which I of course immediately rejected. Another thing that Harvey provided me with was cassette tape that I could listen to in my car about goal setting from Napoleon Hill, an author perhaps best know for his book: “Think and Grow Rich”.
Now my uncle Harvey, was a great guy. He really went out of his way to help me and give me ideas, and to be there for me.
(This Wysiwyg (What You See Is What You Get) Graphical User Interface, is not allowing me to place text below Harvey’s Picture, so I will continue this post in part II).
Aharon Moshe (Stephen) Sanders, October, 25, 2009…Big Idea (Part I)
Here is what I really wanted to write about. I went to Barnes and Noble last night and picked up a couple of books to read (and maybe buy), while my daughter and her friend were looking for books to read together (and maybe buy). As I now reflect on if it is okay to end a sentence with a parenthetical statement, I also reflected last night on our world is changing which is how the world changing is probably a good thing. I noticed a table with a few books on it about writing, and how to write your first novel, and a particular book entitled “The Constant Art of Being a Writer” by N.M. Kelly-Writers’s Digest Books, 2009.
I also noticed a book by an author who I have previously read, John Kotter and a book entitled “Our Iceberg Is Melting”, John Kotter, St. Matin’s Press, 2005. The Iceberg Is Meltinng, appears on the surface to be a children’s book, however it has quite a lot of depth to it. One of the charachters is intorduced, is a penguin (they are all penguins livning on the same iceberg) who is introduced as being somewhat aloof from society. This penguin notices (yes you guessed it) that the iceberg is melting.
Noah was righteous in his generation. There are many sources one can go to which explains what this is really saying. The typical comparison is made to Abraham our father, and that Noah might not have been considered as righteous or as a Tzadik in the time of Abraham. Typically sources would point out that Noah did not do a good enough job in his day to bring the people of his generation to repent. Additionally the sources would say that the flood waters were called “the waters of Noah” as a way to point a negative aspect in his character. Yes, the above is perhaps an oversimplification, yet it may contain the seed of the idea.
However, that may not be what brought me here to my keyboard to write about today. It is in some of the esoteric teachings of Torah which speaks of the “Lamed Vav” tzadikim (36 righteous people) who are on this earth at any given time. There are those who say that by their merit the entire world is saved from destruction. These people are believed to be hidden. so that one would not ever be able to approach one of these individual and ask “Hey, what are we supposed to do about:___________, __________ and ________? What do you think about, so and and so? Whats going to be with the economy? Should I invest in __________, _________, or ___________?”…
It kind of sounds like a good thing that these people are hidden. However the first obvious question should be, what about the generation of Noah? Where were these 36 righteous people then? One reading this might recall, the way Abraham “negotiated” with Hashem (G-d) to try to save Sodom and Gomorrah. In this example Abraham did not stop at 36, and ask Hashem to save Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of the 36 tzadikim, because Avraham knew that the 36 tzadikim never all live in the same particular location, at the same time. (No source, pure speculation, and idea that I just made up and believe). No, in this case Abraham stopped at 10. So now we have another valid question which could be, how come Noah did not think to negotiate (or daven-pray) to G-d, not to destroy the earth, and all of its animals and plants? Well now that is exactly the point, the explainers or commentators (meforshim) tell us that Noah was righteous in his generation.
We all have choices. You can choose who you will marry, where you will live, what you will do to earn money, and how you will live your life. There seems to be choices you make just once (or maybe twice, or more) choices you make and then can change later. There are choices you make, and maybe can not simply undue. Good choices, bad choices, well thought out choices, haphazard choices, random choices, choices you make under pressure and choices you make under duress. Choices you may think real hard about, and the maybe somehow make the wrong choices. Or choices you may think about for just a moment, and somehow make the right choice. Choose not to, or choose to do, but choose you must.
What sort of choices did the first created being have?
According to Kabbalistic sources we can learn some of the acts of G-d’s creation of the universe before the first man arrives on the scene. According to Talmudic sources specifically in GEMARA in the tractate (book) Chagigah daf (page) 11, maybe later in 12, we get some explanation of the Hebrew words Tohu and Vohu. Somewhere within these pages I also recall some elaboration on how we should not seek to specifically teach more than one person about some of these esoteric explanations regarding the creation of the cosmos prior to man’s existence.
Here is an excerpt from Chagigah page 12 which will be linked below to comply the request of the site developer:
Hashem created the world with ten forces (which presumably match the ten creations mentioned above. In any case, they certainly correspond to the ten Sefiros, and also correspond to what Chazal had in mind when they said that the world was created with ten commands – see Agados Maharsha). The ten forces are: Chochmah, Tevunah and Da’as, Ko’ach, Ga’arah (scolding) and Gevurah.
What are the remaining four?
REVIEW QUESTIONS ON GEMARA AND RASHI
prepared by Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler
Kollel Iyun Hadaf, Jerusalem
For further information on
subscriptions, archives and sponsorships,
contact Kollel Iyun Hadaf,
daf@shemayisrael.co.il
Now, for those who are still here (more excerpts from Chagigah daf 12 from the same source:
(b) Rav Yehudah Amar Rav lists ten things that were created on the first day of the creation. Hashem created heaven and earth, Tohu and Vohu, light and darkness.
What are the remaining four?
Lets read the text and give it a try. For the purposes of this lets stick with the 1st 52 Hebrew words of our Holy Torah. The 1st word is Bereishis (In The Beginning) and the last two words (of the 52) are Yom Echod (Day One).
Answers from our sources website=
The last four:
wind and water, day and night.
(c) ‘Tohu’ was a green line that encircled the earth, and ‘Vohu’, the wet stones that were sunk into the bowels of the earth. From …
1. … ‘Kav Tohu’ – Hashem created darkness.
2. … ‘Avnei Vohu’ – water.
ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
prepared by Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler
Kollel Iyun Hadaf, Jerusalem
For further information on
subscriptions, archives and sponsorships,
contact Kollel Iyun Hadaf,
daf@shemayisrael.co.il
Okay, enough of the sources for now, lets move on to the ideas which I am trying to explain in this article:
Within the 1st 52 words of Genesis we have Hashem seeing that the light was good and then separates the light from the darkness. When Hashem names the light, the Hebrew word which is used is Vayikra. Pasuk Hey (5th sentence of Genesis) transliterated:
Vayikra Elokim L’Or Yom V’L'Hoshech K’Rah Lailah Vayihi Erev Vayihi Boker Yom Echod.
Called G-d to the Light Day To the Darkness called out Night there was night there was day Day One
Below are results to be found by using the transliterated form of the hebrew word which is in our Holy Torah as Kuf Reish Aleph, the Reish aleph being the root word transliterated here as Rah, meaning Evil. Kuf Reish Aleph means to call out- see below. However the letters which follow the Kuf (kabbalah points out this hebrew letter is the only letter which goes below the line)
The Hebrew Letters
Kuf: Omnipresence – Redemption of Fallen Sparks
This link is to an explanation of kabbalah of the hebrew letter Kuf, going below the line
The word is spelled with an Aleph at the end — from the root Kuf-Reish-Aleph (meaning to call out). There is no doubt that the intent of the pasuk is that …
www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5762/kiseitzei.html
As for the word ‘evil‘ – the Hebrew word translated into the English word ‘evil‘ most often is the Old Covenant word ‘RA.’ There are also some other English …
assemblyoftrueisrael.com/Questions/Thewordevil.htm
By the way, the word translated into “evil” in Isaiah 45:7 is the Hebrew word ra, and it is the very same word translated hundreds and hundreds and hundreds …
www.readthewriting.com/post/tag/hebrew-word/
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Mar 15, 2009 … This word “evil” is the Hebrew word rah. It is also used throughout the book of Job, most notably in. Job’s confession of 2:11
“Who makes shalom and creates evil” – The Hebrew word for evil is rah, and as Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch teaches, it is related to the Hebrew word rah‘u’ah
{
As mentioned above, the KJV (King James Version) does correctly translate this verse and render the Hebrew word rah as “evil.” …
www.outreachjudaism.org/satan.html
Perhaps you can imagine that such extensive documentation is needed because the hebrew letters, and their meaning is indeed taken into consideration when trying to understand the nuance of meaning that can be gleaned from the words of Torah. When examining the hebrew words of Torah with a group of friends or chevrim (singular chevrusah) one may find that people are willing to go all out to make various connections to the ideas which are being expounded upon or developed. The idea is being driven home because it contains one of the three central elements of this essay. That idea is that the creation of evil (the entire philosophical concept of what evil truly is may need to fully explained separately) was the first creation of Hashem Elokim, and out of necessity preceded the creation of every other single entity that now exists, ever exists, and ever will exist outside of Hashem.
The intuitive flash of understanding which may come upon the individual who meditates upon the cosmos with his mortal eyes as he peers into space trying to fathom the mysteries of creation, in context with its creator, are the basic building blocks of the body of knowledge known as kabbalah. One can not simply grasp these subtleties without deep reflection or intuition. However once one has obtained the understanding of some of the central principles which govern the universe and all of its living and non living constituents, it simply becomes impossible to go back to looking at the cosmic mysteries in some of mundane and simplistic way.
In order to create the entire universe and all of it’s living and non living components, Hashem Elokim had to first withdraw a portion of himself, to allow space for these components to exist outside of G-d Elokim himself.
This initial act of creation, precedes all of creation itself, just like an artist would need to purchase a blank canvas before starting to create his image. Or, prior to building a house, first a suitable lot would need to be obtained, and in this example the builder would need to remove, or excavate the dirt, in order to create an empty space where the creation of the foundation could begin. Or, in order to create an apple orchard, a suitable tract of land would be obtained, and individual seeds would need to be placed into into the earth, and then there would be an extensive waiting period before these trees would be able to yield fruit.
The thing that often will simply call evil, really is an essential preliminary act of creation, because Hashem is endless, and without limits, so therefore by definition, would need to withdraw a portion of himself in order to allow the universe with all of is living and non living objects to exist, outside of Hashem, the creator of the universe.
However this artificial device which Hashem employed simply to make room for living things to exist and make choices of their own, was really only a temporary measure. Even at the very instant of the original Tzimtzum (or restriction) where G-d Elokim constricted a tiny portion of himself to allow for creation to exist independent of G-d himself, there also began to flow what has been called a thin ray or line of light, which originated from G-d, and flowed downward into the lowest worlds of the universe, as an endless and uninterrupted the flow of divine energy flowing from the creator to his created entities.
Editor’s Note: There is a flaw in the Author’s explanation of the meaning of the Hebrew root words in the following pasuk from the Torah:
Called G-d to the Light Day To the Darkness called out Night there was night there was day Day One.
The author states:
…using the transliterated form of the hebrew word which is in our Holy Torah as Kuf Reish Aleph, the Reish Aleph being the root word transliterated here as Rah, meaning Evil. Kuf Reish Aleph means to call out…
The author then later brings in sources using the English letters Rah to explain that Rah means evil. However in the Hebrew text, the letters Kuf Resih Aleph are used when G-d calls or names the (choshech) darkness, Night. It was from the two letters that followed the Kuf, the Reish Aleph, from which the author was attempting to derive the Hebrew root word for evil. However in truth the Hebrew root for evil is Rah, however the Hebrew letters for this Hebrew root word is the Reish Ayin, and not the Reis Aleph.
The Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and is silent but usually has the same sound as the short a in the English alphabet. The Ayin in the Hebrew alphabet also usually has the short a sound, howwever the Ayin has a different shape than the Aleph.
Some explanations and a good graphic representation of the Hebrew letter Ayin
Information available on the Web about the Hebrew letter Aleph
Information from Jewish sources on all of the Hebrew letters
Admin
 Looking Into A Place Where Stars Are Born. Finding a starting point to begin any kind of explanation on the book of of Genesis from our Holy Torah is indeed a challenge. An obvious choice would be to start at the very beginning; at the first Hebrew letter of Torah. The only problem with that idea is that there is so much out there, even about such a seemingly small concept such as asking: Why does the Torah begin with the letter Beis (the second letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet) instead of Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet would take an enormous amount of words and entire set of additional terms most closely associated with Kabbalah.
I distinctly remember asking that very question at a shabbos table when my daughter and I were just starting on the derech (path) to becoming orthodox Jews. I remember distinctly being greeted with the “Ah” yes what a question. Later I found out that there was a nice story book reason being given which was also an authoritative and valid with sources provided in the midrash.
Question 3.24: What is a Midrash?
What is a Midrash?
FAQ: What is a Midrash? Click Here.
Now, I have previously given over some of what I have learned regarding my 1st question and therefore I provide a link to a blog I wrote back in September 2007. Please forgive any spelling (or other) errors which I may have neglected to go back and fix.
Click Here for btorah.blogspot.com The Beis of Creation
Okay, so this essay is really a continuation of the one below (not necessarily a continuation of the blog above) .
- Three ideas from Genesis and what can we do with these ideas today.
- How do the oldest stars in the universe exert their influence on us today?
- How are we to understand the concept of The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?
Before I go on now to tell you that I am not truly planning on discussing the second topic (at least not right here and not right now) other than the fact I just love the way the phrase sounds, and realize it kind of more sounds like astrology than philosophy. Also; while choosing three things to discuss and then introducing them, then providing details and then concluding how they are indeed significant, may be an accepted style in the writing of various articles, it is not a particular style which is well suited to the creative process I employ, when I write.
Then one might realize that in the introductory portion of this writing (stalling for time while I keep thinking about what I came here to write about tonight-I mean this morning) I was actually getting some ideas out there which may or may not be discussed later (promoting some of my other websites and or blogs, and seeking to demonstrate that I really can put text, pictures and links into my own url which exclusively at least now, hosts only my writings) and only decided to change my font to bold and italics, when I truly believed that I had came up with the winning topic, the topic that I somehow figured out that I really wanted to write about in the first place.
Of course all the being said, and now that I have found my starting point, I actually feel the need to take a break, and really hope that I can force myself to look into this matter with the same level of inspiration that I am feeling now.
Aharon Moshe (Stephen) Sanders
|
|
