Spark of Jewish Experience

Everybody is Affected by Everybody

August 20, 2013 Rabbi Avi Matmon Chessed/ Acts of Kindness No comments

Rabbi Baruch Dopelt who quotes the Bet Halevi.

We learned Noach was a Tzadik in his generation. What would Noach be, though, in comparison to our forefather, Avraham, a generation later? Since Noach’s Generation was so corrupt, maybe his status would have been considered an average Joe. Or, perhaps, he was a tzadik in such a degenerate society, then for sure he would have been angelic in the time of Avraham.

We learn a fundamental concept from the Bet Halevi, that when one sins, it gives KOACH – strength – to the power of evil. It follows, then if one does a good deed, then he strengthens the power of good in the world.

The question is asked, why were the animals destroyed by the flood? Why did they get punished? Did they sin? Animals don’t have freedom of choice; the poor cow. Perhaps, one can say they were no longer necessary once man is gone. They are here, as we know, to serve us, humans.

Rav Yisrael Salantar adds, if someone in Queens is learning Torah, his learning triggers a guy in Paris, France to contemplate whether to keep Shabbat for the first time. In other words, my positive action affects the world for the better, and the opposite is true as well.

The generation of the flood was so corrupt and evil, they were so immersed in sexual misconduct, that even the animals were effected, because the power of evil spreads. The animals’ natural tendencies gravitated to sexual misconduct as well. An Elephant was cross-breeding with a hippopotamus, etc.

Noach, through divine intervention, picked the good animals; the ones that were not so affected in a negative way and congregated them all in the ark. The ark’s purpose was to shut off itself from the rest. A new world was formed in the ark. The KOACH HARAH – the evil powers – were diminished greatly in the ark. This was a new environment. This was a place to fix the damage caused by the generation.

Noach catered to the animals day in and day out. One can say the ultimate form of CHESED – kindness – the exact opposite of the thievery that the world was famous for. They, the rest of the world, practiced that everything belongs to me. Here, Noach was the ultimate giver. Physical relations between the couples were forbidden for twelve months as long as they were in the teiva (ark). This was in contrast to the sexual circus, with no restraints, that was being conducted in the world.

We are a product of our environment; that’s scary stuff. If someone in Honolulu gets depressed, it might be perhaps because a fellow in Brooklyn ate pork. Perhaps, we have to be more intuitive to what’s happening in the world and try to make it a better place because ultimately it affects us.

Parshat Noach

August 20, 2013 Rabbi Avi Matmon Highlights on the Weekly Parsha No comments

First Portion

* They must have been pretty bad, for G-d to say “THAT’S IT, I’VE HAD IT!! I’M DESTROYING THE WORLD!”

* G-d gave Noach 120 years to build the ark to give people a chance to repent and join Him.

* Why is the flood called MAY NOACH – the waters of Noach, the flood of Noach? In other words, why is his name attached to it? It was Noach that G-d empowered the gift and ability to sway others into repentance. Unfortunately, he didn’t step up to the plate. So he takes the responsibility for other’s misdeeds. It’s important to realize that we to have a responsibility for our brethren and not take the deaf-ear New York approach and mind my own business. Some of us have tremendous capabilities and could influence others.

* G-d asked Noach to build the ark himself. Why weren’t others involved? Why didn’t he contract the work to the Mexicans?….cheaper labor. The Torah teaches a very important concept; when someone creates something himself, the creation is an embodiment of himself; his essence, his merits are found in the creation. He was the Tzadik in his generation and G-d found favor in Noach. That favor carries a lot of weight. Maybe now one can understand the controversy, in Israel, many years ago, with playing the music of the composer Wagner, a member of the Nazi German regime. Music is very penetrating and when listening to it, one absorbs the essence, character of the composer. One must be careful listening to some Rock n Roll songs composed by drugged out, suicidal, angry, depressed individuals. Maybe now, one can have a better understanding of copy-caters who mimic what the songs suggests. Another important note, we also find on Pesach; many eat MATZOH-SHMURAH baked by a Jew. There is no soul in machine matzohs. It is all circuits and wires. Matzoh has to be made by a Jew, and every Jew has the status of pure kedusha (holiness), no matter what level he is at. Matzoh is such an important commandment; it should be baked by a Jewish soul. Deep down, every Jew has a pure soul.

* Stealing was common; swapping wives was the norm; they would have two wives, one for pleasure…..so what else is new? We see that in our society today. What do you think a mistress does, bake cakes? In addition to what we have mentioned, it would be quite common where they would perform marriages between humans and animals; cross breeding was the norm. That society would crave for any pleasure. There would be no rules, unlimited access.

Second Portion

* Noach was 600 years old when entering the ark. He was joined by Na’ama, his wife, and his three sons and their wives.

* Controversy whether Na’ama was the same person, who was the granddaughter of Kayin. Apparently, there are those that say all of mankind stems from the third son of Adam, Shet.

* Na’ama was an innovator, creating voice singing.

* Cham, one of the sons of Noach, breached the law of abstaining from cohabiting in the ark. The Torah hints, relationships were forbidden, by listing men and women separately. Cham’s wife gave birth to the giant Sichon while in the ark. In truth, Sichon had been fathered by Shamchazael (one of the angels who, before the mabul, descended to earth, to live there as human beings.) Cham came to his wife to save her face. For this deed, which was perpetrated in the dark, Cham was repaid measure for measure; he emerged from the ark dark skinned and all his descendants are also black forever.

* Apparently, Noach only entered the ark when the waters were rising. Commentaries say this was the result lack of belief in G-d.

Third Portion

* Why did the animals die? They didn’t have freedom of choice to do wrong. (See article)

* Only the fish survived because they had not sinned like the other creatures.

* G-d closed the fountain of the earth and sent a wind to disperse the water. Only three hot fountains continued flowing in memory of the flood. One of them is the well-known hot springs of Tiberias in Israel.

* The raven and the dog were the others who cohabited in the ark.

Fourth Portion

*The righteous Noach didn’t emerge from the ark until G-d gave him permission to do so.

*A fundamental change which occurred after the flood was between man and beast. Before the flood, man was promised control over the animals. However, after the flood there was no longer that promise. Instead, the decree was, as long as man is true to his G-dly image, he will not be afraid of them. G-d also put fear of man in animals. Furthermore, as a reward for taking care of the animals, man was given permission to eat them.

Fifth Portion

* A rainbow is a covenant that G-d will not destroy the world again. The rainbow didn’t appear in two generations. One of which was the time of Chizkiyahu where the Jewish nation was known to be righteous. So they didn’t need that protection.

Sixth portion

* Why was Cham blamed for castrating Noach? It was his son, Cana’an, who actually performed the despicable act. Cham merely told his brothers about his father’s nakedness. Why was he at fault? Apparently it was the way he told his brothers. He told them in a derogatory fashion with the eyes rolling, a giggle, and a sly “hey, look at our drunken father”, while Cana’an heard their conversation from afar. The reaction by Cham triggered Cana’an to look down and lose total respect for his grandfather which permitted him to perform the audacity. Cham paved the way by ridiculing his father and figuratively put the knife in his hand.

Seventh Portion

* Why did G-d disperse the unity of the tower of Bavel? Doesn’t he like unity more than anything? We know they plotted against G-d; however, UNITY IS SPECIAL!! Apparently, it wasn’t a sincere unity. They were united for the sake of the goal, for the sake of the organization. You had to be a company man. One has to sacrifice for the company. If a brick falls, they all mourn. However, if a fellow worker, company man slips, falls and gets killed, apparently, they didn’t care as long as he was replaced efficiently.

Are We the Same Person When We Travel?

August 20, 2013 Rabbi Avi Matmon Jewish Values No comments

How many readers out there like to travel? Some people consider it fun. In fact, the word “vacation” means ‘to vacate one’s premises’. The idea of a vacation is to have a change of pace. A different scenario from our everyday, sometimes, monotonous life could be very therapeutic. When one returns from a vacation he should be refreshed and ready to continue his consistent, habitual existence. But traveling could be a bit overwhelming; packing and unpacking is a chore. One of the best comedy routines (and it was clean) of the famous comedian of the 70’s, George Carlin, was about ‘stuff”, in which the entire meaning of life is to find a place for your stuff. He makes fun of how one goes traveling and is a little frantic taking stuff from one place to another. His reaction plays on our fears of traveling.

We read in this week’s parasha the detailed description of where our ancestors traveled in the desert. Rabbi Noach Olbaum asks ‘why is it necessary to go through every juncture of their travel routes?” The Torah is not a history book nor is it a GPS. Presumably, there must be a lesson to be learned for the Torah to emphasize their travel itinerary.

If one thinks about it for a moment, one would realize how difficult it must have been for our ancestors to schlep all their bags, tents, belongings, and let’s not forget, some had small children. Moshe’s instructions to the Israelites were to move immediately when the clouds of glory moved. There was no warning in advance; sometimes they camped at a certain destination for months; sometimes the cloud of glory would move after only two days. It was very unpredictable; this kind of tours would drive anybody nuts.

Apparently, with all the Israelite’s inconveniences, we do not find any mention in the Torah and the sages, that they complained; there was not one utter of displeasure; that’s incredible! We should be proud of our ancestors for not moaning and groaning and rolling their eyes and screaming ‘again?!’, every time the clouds move.

The children of Israel showed great restraint and a very strong belief in G-d, and it is no wonder why they’re called the greatest generation that ever lived. We should learn a lesson and be very proud of their tremendous sacrifice of going on the spur of the moment when they were instructed and not losing their cool.

One of the fates in which our people inevitably fall into is ‘the wandering Jew’. We must be careful with our journeys because sometimes traveling makes us forget who we are. Our values are compromised because we get frantic of our new temporary environment, the new people that we meet and the pressure of constantly watching over our belongings. The schlep can make us develop thin skin and intolerance. It’s important to stop and take a deep breath and focus briefly on our principles. The Torah is trying to teach us to be yourself outside of your home and not to lose sight of what we build as respectable Jews. This is an important lesson that we should learn from this week’s parasha.

Do You Get Angry Often?

August 20, 2013 Rabbi Avi Matmon Jewish Values No comments

Anger is terrible; anger is horrifying! Our Sages described countless times in our holy scriptures the shortcomings and the consequences suffered by a person who becomes angry or enraged. Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt’l believes the most striking and eye-raising effect of anger is that one loses all of ones’ wisdom and spiritual stature, an example we find in this week’s parsha, where Moshe forgot the law as a result of being angry (bamidbar31,14). The Or Hachaim explains that Moshe had known the laws of mourning just minutes before he became angry, and then forgot them. This aspect of the effect of anger is puzzling. We can readily understand how anger affects a person so that after the fact he is of a lesser stature and wisdom then before. But how does anger make one’s previously acquired knowledge disappear? A minute ago he gave over a lesson teaching two plus two equals four, how can he now forget it? How does one lose wisdom which he already possesses?

The answer is that the mechanics of Torah wisdom works differently than other wisdoms. Other forms of wisdom do not relate to the personality or character of its possessor. A person may be wicked or obnoxious, and yet retain a storehouse of knowledge and wisdom. Not so with Torah wisdom. Torah is based on character development and it feeds the individual the sensitivity towards others and towards himself, hovering around the person until he internalizes it. Everyone hears the same message, but it doesn’t come through the pipes the same way to each. Apparently, the message received is tailor-made for that individual’s understanding and unique personality.

Dr. Goldman, the psychologist of Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim, says a fundamental aspect of life is intellectual growth; however not by feeding a computer. We are not some logical emotionless Vulcan circuit machine, like Mr. Spock, who will solve and rattle off any difficult equations backwards and forwards. Apparently, one should focus more on how to control his emotional nature and to be ready for every situation he’s confronted; this is a sign of strong character. By working on himself, a person’s internal vessel can hold and absorb the Torah with the proper character traits, which he developed through Torah study.

However, when there is a flaw in the personality, like anger, it chases away the Torah wisdom and spirituality. A person who becomes unfit to retain Torah, loses it; even the knowledge he already acquired leaves him. It’s not the knowledge itself that is affected but rather the individual that ceases to posses it.

Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz says, we can explain this further by drawing a parallel from the acquisition of prophesy to the acquisition of Torah. When Eliyahu, the prophet, ascended to the heavens in a fiery chariot, his disciples came to Elisha (who was very close to Eliyahu) and suggested that they search for the missing Eliyahu. Rashi (one of the mainstream commentaries) asks, ‘is it possible that these same prophets, who had foretold that Eliyahu would be taken, would forget as to his whereabouts? This teaches us that from the day Eliyahu was taken, spirituality left them. Rashi asks how did they forget that which they already knew? The answer is, a person must be a prophet in order to know these things. If he falls in stature, he no longer knows these facts of which he was aware only yesterday.

This is true of prophecy and it is true of Torah as well. It is the knowledge that must be integrated into itself into a person. But if a character becomes blemished, his Torah will vanish as well.

Man’s Word Should Be As Good As Gold

August 20, 2013 Rabbi Avi Matmon The Gift of Speech No comments

This article was constructed with the help of Dr. Robert Goldman-Psychologist at Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim and Rabbi Yitzchak Aminov

Guy is driving in suburban Jerusalem when he sees a sign: “talking dog for sale”. “WOW!” he says “I gotta see this!”

The man rings the bell. The owner directs the man to the back yard where the dog is lounging, sipping on a pina colada.

The man asks, “so you can talk?” The dog answers “yep.” “So tell me your story” the man asks. The dog answers “well, I discovered I can talk when I was very young and I wanted to use my abilities to help others out. So I informed the Mosaad agency (Israeli intelligence) about my gift. I was working in no time. I was sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders and suspected terrorists. Because No one realized a dog can eavesdrop, I was one of their most valuable agents for eight years.

However it was exhausting work; it really tired me out. I knew I wasn’t getting any younger and wanted to settle down. So I signed up for a less stressful job at Ben-Gurian Airport to do some under cover security work. I was wondering near suspicious characters and listening in. During this period of time I got married and had a mess of puppies, so now I’m just retired.”

Guy was amazed!!

He asked the owner how much he wants for the dog.

The answer was $10.

The man was astonished “why so cheap?”

The owner answers back, “the dog is a liar; he never worked for the Mossad.”

We should ask ourselves, are we careful when we speak to people?

How many of us really keep our word?

How many of us will grow big noses if the Pinocchio concept holds truth?

This week one of the subjects discussed in the parshiot are vows.

Perhaps it will be interesting to explore the reasons why man makes vows. And more importantly, how will he be able to keep his vows.

If one only knew the importance of keeping a vow he would be a little more careful.

We all learned about the famous dream that our forefather Yaakov had. There were a set of Angels going up and a set of Angels were going down a later. When he woke up he realized the importance of the place he was in and that G-d is sending him a message. Yaakov responded by telling G-d “I will do your will but please protect and sustain me. Then I will make a covenant on this very ground”.

Many years past and Yaakov weathered many storms. He survived his dangerous brother, Eisav, who hated him and survived the evil Lavan, his father in law. Yaakov entered the land of Israel and settled there for a while. He even passed “the place”; however no covenant was made.

Yaakov’s quite and tranquil time ended abruptly where he encountered the rape of his daughter, Dina, and the disappearance of his son, Yosef. Our sages tell us this was due partially because he didn’t keep his word and make the covenant. G-d had to give Yaakov a reminder; HELLO!! And order him to make the covenant.

How can our forefather, Yaakov forget?

Many people who make vows mean well and intend to keep them. However situations change and many find it difficult to keep.

Let us examine what transpires when a person makes a vow and what occurs after that one has a change of heart.

There was a man by the name of Palti ben Laish who was forced to marry the beautiful Michal, King Shaul’s daughter. One may say this is a dream come true, to marry the King of Israel’s daughter; he’s set for life. However, there was an underlying problem; the King tried to annul Michal’s first marriage to one named David ben Ishai whom Shaul despised.

The first marriage was valid, nevertheless the king decreed she is no longer married to David. Now, who has the nerve to argue with the king?

What is Palti to do?

SHE’S A MARRIED WOMAN!!

The punishment is Sevier.

When Palti and Michal came to their honeymoon suite, Palti did something profound. He stuck his sword right in the middle of the bed and proclaimed “I do not touch a married woman!! No one shall remove it!!”

Rav Chaim Shmulevitz asks, “that’s beautiful, hey, a dramatic pause please!! Nevertheless when time passes and the couple warms up to each other, do you really think a dead idle sword will stand in the way of PASSION?!

Rav Chaim answers, “he stuck the sword there purposely. It will always remind him of the definitive strong emotions he had when stating, without a doubt, she is forbidden!! SHE IS NOT HIS!! And that reminder will enable him to stop.

Dr. Goldman points out when one makes a vow, at that moment, he’s enthusiastic and emotionally exited about making the statement. However as time goes on, chances are the enthusiasm will decrease. It is not the same. Therefore the absent of the feeling causes him to be forgetful or think it’s difficult to keep.

Rav Aminov says a person can go to a Rav and annul his vow petach atara on the grounds that it is too difficult. However, one should know swearing and making vows, especially using G-d’s name should not be taken lightly; it’s a stringent Torah law.

There was an outcast warrior among the Jews by the name of Yiftach. The Jews had no choice but to choose him. He was their only chance to win the war.

When the Jews were victorious Yiftach said something foolishly. In his enthusiasm and love for G-d, he vowed “the first thing that comes out of my house I will sacrifice to HAKADOSH-BARUCH-HUE. Of course he had in mine an ox or a sheep. However, this Cinderrella story took a different and nasty turn. When he returned from the battlefield, his daughter came out. Unfortunately, Yiftach took his vows pretty seriously and fully intended to take his daughter to the slaughter.

Yiftach could have annulled the vow, but instead he rationalized it was beneath his dignity to go to the high priest, Pinchas to ask for the annulment. His ego failed his daughter; so much for priorities. Apparently she did not die however she was considered HEKDESH-changed status therefore not permitted to marry. She withered away like an old maid.

We see from the Torah that vows were taken very seriously. Yosef went through painstaking efforts to honor his father’s request to be buried in Israel. Before leaving Egypt, Moshe, the leader of the Israelites searched through all of Egypt to find Yosef’s bones to be transferred to the promised land.

Astonishingly the sea split when it saw Yossef’s bones. The reason was because of Yossef’s merits, though also, because of Moshe’s ability to keep a vow.

Vows were meant to make us better human beings. However sometimes it seems like one takes upon himself too much. We read in our evening prayer “take away the Satan (evil inclination) from before us and from behind us.” It makes sense that the satan is in front of us; He puts many enticing thing in front of our eyes. But what is meant by the satan enticing us from behind?

The Sages answer that he comes up behind us and pushes us forward and says “hey, you can do it; you’re ready”. The problem is, you’re really not ready yet. This is perhaps dangerous because if one stumbles and falls he might have a very hard time getting up. Sometimes one never can recover.

So a man makes a vow to improve his status as a Jew, as a human being. However, at times, due to the evil inclination he over-reacts because of his enthusiasm.

I find the joke about the talking dog a bit humorous. When I read it a second time it occurred to me, that even though it’s just a joke, the dog’s value plummeted because he lied. The same goes for mankind; a person’s value decreases if one doesn’t keep his word. It’s an important lesson everyone should take to heart and be sensitive to, including yours truly.

Now That’s Deli!

August 20, 2013 Rabbi Avi Matmon Brachos, Mitzvot and Traditions, Uncategorized No comments

There was a period on Shabbat morning, where I used to pray at the Yeshiva Chafetz Chaim. It was a beautiful, quite inspiring service. I got to know and eventually became good friends with a Rabbinical student named Noam Abramchic. One Shabbat morning, our conversation centered around food. Perhaps the reason the conversation gravitated toward food was because it’s at the end of the prayer services and everybody is hungry. Or perhaps those who know me understand it’s a predictable part of my nature to talk about food. The topic was deli. “I know of the best delicatessen that would beat any of New York’s establishments”, he ranted. “There’s a place in Chicago called Romanian and it’s out of this world.” I did not take Noam seriously, considering I’ve been eating fine deli since I was in diapers. “Do you really think any place on earth will compare to a New York deli?” I said to him. Soon after visiting his parents for the holidays, he brought me packaged pastrami from Romanian Delicatessen. “Try this” he said proudly. So I came home and I tried it. WOW! It’s amazing! This is really, really good pastrami.

A few years ago a friend David Bodenhiem said he received Romanian’s famous hotdogs (there are four kinds) from a pal coming back from Chicago. David said numerous friends of his in the Five Towns get packages through friends from Romanian for their special occasions. It reminds me of a particular popular 1970’s TV episode of M*A*S*H. The show takes place in Korea during the war in the 1950’s. The characters are doctors in a medical unit. The main character, Hawkeye gets a craving for “Adams Ribs” located – out of all places – in Chicago, and throughout the half hour episode goes through a lot of red tape to get this anticipated delivery. Finally, the package arrives. He and his companions are in the mess tent anxiously and triumphal opening and smelling the aroma of the food. The final scene has Hawkeye nervously going through the delivery bags in frustration. “What’s wrong Hawkeye?” one of the colleagues asked. Hawkeye replied, “They forgot the coleslaw!”

If we appreciate what G-d has done for us and are committed in acknowledging Him before we eat, then we should do it right. We have to try to give the proper blessing. We know if we have pastrami on club or rye, the blessing is Hamotzi lechem min hararetz. Bread is the most significant blessing you can recite. But what about sandwich wraps? One should know, this too is the blessing of hamotzi as well. Even though content of some wraps is mezonot, since you have the intention of having a meal as opposed to a snack, one would require to wash and recite al netilat yadayim and then hamotzi.

Bread and mezonot are considered in the category of important foods. The Torah attributes significance to the mezonot grain, wheat, and barley (INCLUDED IN WHEAT IS SPELT, INCLUDED IN BARLEY IS OATS AND RYE). These grains have an intrinsic importance because of their role in sustaining human life. There are rare times where one would eat bread and not recite hamotzi. These examples require the understanding of the concept in Jewish law called Ikar-main food and Tofel–secondary. Let’s say I’m sampling a taste of hot chili, one eats a bit of bread for no reason other than to soothe the harsh taste in his throat. Since the bread was not eaten to satisfy his hunger nor for his enjoyable taste, he is not required to make a hamotzi on the bread. The bread is included in the ha’adama blessing made on the chili.

Another example is with ice cream. Most people eat ice cream cones to enhance the taste of the ice cream. Therefore, the ice cream would require a shehakol and the cone (even though it is tofel) will require a mezonot. However, if one were to use an ice cream cone merely in place of a cup rather than enjoy the flavor, the cone will not require a separate blessing.

The mechanics of ikar and tofel are: Even though the tofel is subordinate to the ikar, the tofel is not considered to be so insignificant as to not require a bracha. Rather, we consider the bracha made on the ikar to extend to ‘cover’ the tofel as well. According to this approach, when a blessing of the ikar cannot be applied to cover the tofel, a separate bracha on the tofel will be required.

There is an art in the preparation of certain deli meats. Who out there remembers Bernstein’s on the Lower East Side? I would always put sweet red peppers on my big shmulk which consisted of four different kinds of meats on club or rye and, in addition, potato salad and coleslaw as sides. We always had a certain pride going to Bernstein’s because it was named, one year by the New York Times, as the best deli in the city. New Yorkers as well as Chicagoans take their deli very seriously.

The Charismatic Genius

August 19, 2013 Rabbi Avi Matmon Spreading Torah No comments

G-d chose a very special person to construct the Mishkan, the holy Tabernacle. Betzalel was chosen not just because of the self-sacrifice merit of his grandfather, who gave up his life for G-d. One can properly label Betzalel as a gifted young man who had precise knowledge in many areas. He knew science, mathematics, engineering and all the kabalistic knowledge of the soul and creation. In his breath of knowledge, he surpassed his contemporaries at a very young age. Unlike some craftsmen who are experts in one field and not so in others, he was on top of his game in all areas of expertise. He was a genius, a wonder boy! One could appreciate Betzalel’s gifts by what the Ibn Ezra, Abarbanel, and the Chasam Sofer point out.

Often, one finds, when very wise men focus on certain issues, their grasp of the practical world weakens and they become fools in worldly matters. It’s easy to sell an egghead the Brooklyn Bridge. Many cultures have a character “the absent-minded professor”, highly intelligent but socially awkward. They’re not able to relate to the average Joe. They possess one attribute or the other but not usually both. Those blessed with great intelligence have poor motor skills and the opposite. Great athletes most often never become successful managers. Betzalel had no deficiencies. He was able to master both sides of the spectrum. Because of this universal appeal, the most important contribution Betzalel made and the greatest gift he possessed by far – according to the commentaries above – was that he knew how to teach all those skills to others, a natural communicator. That showed true greatness!

We read every day before Shema, in morning prayers, “Lilmode Ulelamed”, to learn and to teach others. Rav Daner says one does not get full credit of learning Torah unless he conveys what he learns to others, thus getting a half-mitzvah. It’s not enough to forward an email, although I wouldn’t mind. One has to deliver the message himself. So if one learns something in a shiur, in order to receive his brownie points he must share it the next morning on the subway, at the office, or at every avenue of communication with his fellow Jew. Some people, despite their great wisdom, are not good teachers. The ability to teach is a unique gift. The Or Hachaim says, “Besides talent, you need a generous spirit.” We are all responsible for one another and we show it by being kind and considerate to each other. But the biggest kindness is sharing knowledge, especially of our holy Torah. Out of all the gifts Betzalel possessed, teaching was the most crucial and essential part of his work. “Observe! G-d selected Betzalel.” What a rare wonder he must have been!

Bribing the Judge

August 18, 2013 Rabbi Avi Matmon Honesty No comments

This article was constructed with the help of Rabbis Baruch Dopelt and Jay Shapiro.

FAIR? IS THE GAME FAIR? ARE YOU PLAYING A FAIR GAME? HOW OBJECTIVE ARE YOU ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE? ABOUT YOURSELF? ABOUT LIFE? DID YOU EVER TAKE A BRIBE? DID YOU EVER OFFER A BRIBE?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN OUR JUDICIAL COURT SYSTEM?

DO YOU THINK IN THIS DAY AND AGE JUDGES JUDGE FAIR?

IS BRIBING THE BUYER AT WORK CONSIDERED A CRIME?

…and you shall not accept a bribe, for the bribe will blind the eyes of the wise and make just words crooked.(16:19)

We learn something fascinating in the Talmud:
Rava asked: What is the reason for the prohibition against taking bribes even if the judge is sincerely trying to render a fair judgment?

Because once a person receives a gift from somebody he establishes a bond, and the giver becomes like him, and no one ever finds fault with himself. What is the meaning of the word SHOCHAD, “BRIBE”? SHO-HU-CHAD the recipient and the giver are like one person.” (Ketubot) Approximately, 150 years ago lived a young Rabbi, Rav Chaim Halberstam, who auditioned for an esteem pulpit position in one particular town. In his later years, he rose to prominence by writing a master piece book called “Divrai Chaim”.
There were many notable rabbis who were vying for this position. However, one of the highly regarded and wealthy congregant who was on the board of directors took a strong liking toward the young Rabbi Halberstam and campaigned for him vigorously to win the position. The businessman was relentless in his quest to secure Rav Chaim to be” thee Rabbi” and eventually he succeeded.
However, after a few months the Rabbi was put in an awkward situation to say the least when someone approached him claiming that the same wealthy businessman who singled handily got him the position, owed him money. He intended on taking him to Bet Din-Jewish court.
It was Rav Chaim responsibility, since he was the chief Rabbi, to customarily send a messenger to the defendant and order him to court to face charges. Although the rich businessman helped him tremendously nevertheless Rav Chaim proceeded with the necessary protocol.
The messenger, though, returned and answered the Rav with a respond of “he is too busy to come”.
The Rav sent the messenger again and that he should insist that the businessman should come right away; it’s a matter of urgency!
However, once again the response from the businessman was “I do not have time to come, my apologies.”
Rav Chaim send the messenger again with a very stern message “I am following proper protocol and asking you for the third and last time; it is in your best interest to come. If you do not honor us with your presence I would have no choice but to put you in CHEREM-banishment.
The businessman realized that Rav Chaim was dead serious in his threats, had no choice but to came to court.
Rav Chaim asked both the accuser and the businessman to rise as he read the complaint. Rabbi Halberstam then suggested a fast day for himself the accuser and the defendant and each one should pray that the outcome should be a fair one. He then asked the businessman about the charges.
The response was “there are no charges. Everyone looked at each other. The people in the Judge’s chambers were bewildered by the businessman’s response. “I hired this man, the accuser to voice his grievance against me to see if you will honor the Torah and hold true to the court of law or perhaps you will be weak and be too embarrassed to act with me in the proper way, because you owed me a debt of gratitude. However, I see now that I was correct in pursuing you and insisting you to be the Rabbi. You held your grounds, were not impartial, and have proven to be the right choice.

To be a judge and perform your duties correctly is not a simple task. Many times judges are faced with bribes, and have to carefully dance around the temptation of accepting it.

This lesson can be applied instantaneously in our everyday life. We too are judges and have to make decisions on a daily basis. Some of those decisions are not only daily business decisions but also deeply philosophical religious ones whose outcome are affecting our lives at present and will affect the lives of our children.

Evil holds the biggest poker chip, the biggest bribe of all and that is the notion that we are free to do whatever we want in this life. Evil would like us to believe we don’t have to answer to anyone.

A precious psalm that was created by Adam, the first man, and is recited at the Friday night Shabbat services Mizmor shir l’yom hashabat, has a profound line pertaining to our subject matter:

“Mah gadelu ma’secha HASHEM, me’d ameku machshehvotecha”

How great are your deeds G-d, exceedingly profound are your thoughts.

What thoughts is Adam taking about that is profound?

Let us not forget, Adam said this just hours after sinning. He was licking his wounds, resting. This praise was said, while under the protection of the Shabbat.

It’s a bittersweet statement:

Adam was impressed by the thought put in and the clever way G-d was able to use evil to create a self deception in man that he should wonder if G-d exists and if the Torah is true.

IT’S SO OBVIOUS OF G-D POWER, JUST LOOK AROUND!! and yet there’s is a mechanism in us to doubt.

G-d gave evil a weapon. The ability to bribe man that if he denies him he can be free to do whatever he pleases.

That is the ultimate bribe we have to reject.

Decisions for a judge can be difficult.

These are a few pitfalls one might face. Although it seems obvious, it’s very prevalent.

*He must not be sympathetic with a poor person just because the other party is rich

*He should not favor the rich, and say I’ll declare him victorious just not to embarrass him and in private I will tell him he should really compensate the other party

*He should not hear one testimony with the other not present. Human nature is one favors the undisputed first testimony he hears.

ONE HAS TO REALIZE A VERY IMPORTANT LESSON ABOUT MAN

Rabbi Shmuel Shtrasson, otherwise known as the RASHASH, who has a commentary on the Talmud, once lend a large amount of money to an individual. The loan was for 6 months. The man promptly came to re-pay the loan when it was due, however, Rav Shmuel who was known to delve deeply and entrance himself in his studies, received the money for the loan while he was very involved in his learning. He forgetfully placed it in one of his books after the individual left. The man didn’t want to disturb the Rabbi studying so he did not ask him for a signature that he returned the money.

A few days later Rav Shmuel looks at his ledger and realizes that this person did not repay the loan. However, the person said he returned the money a few days ago when the Rav approached him. “I don’t remember you doing so” the Rabbi said. For the next week, he searched all over his house but no envelope with the money was found.

The Rabbi had no choice but to take this man to Bet Din.

In front of Bet Din the man swears that he returned the money. Yet there was no document to prove the money was returned.

Rabbi Shtrassonn rationalized since this person, who was a trusted upstanding citizen, would swear under oath that he returned the money, then it must be that he did. So in court the Rav forgave the loan. Nevertheless when the towns people got word that the Rabbi forgave the loan even though there was no evidence that he returned the money, they rationalized that this man was dishonest in dealing with the Rav. Soon the entire town knew about this incident; people did not want to do business with him; his business plummeted where he had no choice but to close up shop. His reputation was ruined. Nobody wanted to marry his children. The rabbi’s plea to the townspeople to let the incident pass was to no avail. The person was forced to move out of town.

One day The Rabbi was cleaning for Pesach and low and be hold he finds the envelope with the money in the book. He immediately locates the person and pleads to him to move back. “I’ll make an announcement that I found the money” the Rabbi said. The person replied “they’ll never believe you. You’ll be looked upon as a tzadik trying one last ditch effort to rectify the situation.”

The Rabbi thought and came up with a solution. “If our children agree I would like to have my child marry yours. This is the only way the world would realize that you gave back the loan. They would say he would never give his child to marry his if there was any sort of ill feelings.

There is a very valuable lesson we learn from this story. People, even the smartest and most prominent, make mistakes. No one is immune from forgetfulness or from reading a person incorrectly; we are human after all.

To whom does the negative commandment of bribery apply to?

In my old industry bribery was not only random it was mandatory. The buyers of companies, banking officials, post office workers would all get compensated, some very nicely, at the end of the year.

Is that considered a bribe?

Although bribing some of the mentioned above is not considered the negative commandment of bribery, some may argue that it is considered though as steeling. This is because the buyer might buy a better deal from another vender, yet due to your nice gift, they’re buying from you. They are not supplying the best product for their company.

The negative commandment of bribery is only when bribing Judges.

It seems like G-d passes down a big responsibility to the leaders and Judges of his Jewish people. They have to act in a dignified manor because they become a representative of HIM. They have to earn the respect of the people. In essence when one bribes a judge he becomes an extension of the one who gave the bribe as we mentioned earlier. In other words he, the one who bribes, is judging himself. This is unfair and it makes a mockery of the judicial system. G-d is embarrassed of an unfair court because it demeans his authority; it demeans justice. without justice society inevitably will break down.

So what starts with a mere small payoff to the judge can lead to severe ramifications down the road

Vitamins

August 18, 2013 Rabbi Avi Matmon Kashrut, Your Health No comments

Americans are well aware and well educated in what foods are healthy and are not. However, as the saying goes, ‘ I’d pick the pastrami sandwich over the granola bar, any day of the week. I’ll just pop a pill or take some vitamins and I’ll be okay’. In this fine country in which we are guests, we have tremendous resources; everything and anything is in arms reach. Because of the accessibility of particular foods which some of us overindulge, there tends to be a lack of nutrition and causes an imbalance in the diet. Therefore, we consume vitamins to compensate. The guiltier we are, the more vitamins we consume. It’s becoming a tremendous huge industry. However, one may ask, are vitamins kosher? If yes; which ones?

Ideally, one should take kosher certified vitamins. Kashrut organizations like the Star K and OU, currently certify several vitamin companies. Many kosher brands of vitamins are available anywhere in the United States through local multi-level marketers and distributors who market their product through various means including toll-free hotlines. However, in the event that a specific vitamin nutritional supplement is not available, the following guidelines apply.

Multi vitamins often contain non-kosher ingredients that are not listed on the label. In particular, natural vitamin A and D may come from non-kosher sources. In addition, vitamin E beta carotene and natural or synthetic vitamins A and D may be mixed with non-kosher gelatin. A kosher brand is recommended. Under normal circumstances, one may not take a chewable, non-certified multi vitamin. Prenatal vitamins are a type of multi-vitamin taken by pregnant women. As previously indicated, multi vitamins may contain non-kosher vitamin components. Fortunately, numerous kosher pre-natal vitamins are now available. Single vitamin (e.g. vitamin C) or supplemental tablets should ideally be kosher certified. If one determines that the component and inactive ingredients are kosher; the product may be taken without certification.

3 Week Makeover for a Better Verdict on Rosh Hashanah

August 18, 2013 Rabbi Avi Matmon Rosh Hashana No comments

We have three weeks to go before we enter the period of judgment. If the reader has any fear of the days of awe and would like to increase his or her chances for a better and successful year, presumably it seems like a percentage game and we have to do whatever we can to improve our chances. It’s a well-known fact, in Psychology 101, that once a person knows the problem, that’s half the solution. Let’s clarify and expand a bit on that statement by introducing one of the classic self-improvement books in Jewish literature, Mesilat Yesharim (Path of the Just), written so eloquently by Rav Moshe Chaim Lutzato.

In his famous introduction, he writes, ‘Most of the material which is in my book, one already knows. The human mind absorbs quite a bit of information in a lifetime but it tends to shift or maybe the right word is gravitating to the back of his mind, rarely to be recognized again. The job of this book is to rediscover those important points that if it would be fresh and known in the front of our minds therefore we’ll be better prepared with those tools resulting in us being in a better position in life.’

The Mesilat Yesharim says a few chapters later, ‘It’s very important to keep a diary’. Every night one should review the positive and negative occurrences that happened to him and how he dealt with them. When something is written, there is a better chance of it remaining fresh, and comprehension of it will be easily attained. One should also keep in mind that if any of those occurrences happen again, he would be better prepared to confront the issues. A person should seek through his diary what good deed he has done on daily basis and encourage himself to increase them. When self-improvement actions are written, it causes the fresh mind to practice self-control, preventing unnecessary disastrous explosions by individuals, which could have occurred. Many times we walk on eggshells, where one wrong move, one remark said out of instinct could have a negative lasting effect. What a diary accomplishes is it creates a certain order of thoughts. There is a certain sense of control, a self-awareness of G-d and of ones brethren that is vital in making you a better person.

Rabbi Jay Shapiro says that the diary should be kept similarly to one’s business accounting ledger. If one makes sales and doesn’t write them in the ledger, he’ll be out of business in a short time.

When I first learned this concept of ‘diary’ in Mesilat Yesharim, I wasn’t impressed but I did it anyway. However, after a few months I began to see a tremendous improvement in my life; it’s worth trying!!!

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