Posted on Mar 8, 2015 |
Question submitted to “Ask the Rabbi” by: Name: Raymond City: Shawnee, Oklahoma Profession: Retired Full Question: “Was there a specific age required for the Old Testament prophets to begin there prophesy?” Rabbi Tully Bryks responds: A prophet can me male or female and any age is acceptable. That being said, there are many other criteria to be selected as a prophet, some of which could be hard to obtain at a very young age. Some examples of the attributes a person must have include someone who is/has: Very Wise Excellent Character Traits Always Overcomes his/her Evil Inclination Always Focused on Spirituality Although we no longer have prophecy today, it is possible that someone can see a glimpse of the future when they dream. Since this would happen only very rarely, if at all, one should generally disregard the contents of their dreams unless their vision was very scary. If a person was genuinely frightened or terrified by their dream, then it is customary to fast and repent the following day, in the hopes of meriting a positive change, just in case there may have been some truth in...
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Posted on Mar 7, 2015 |
Question submitted to “Ask the Rabbi” by: Name: Herschel Raysman City: Welgemoed, South Africa Profession: Self Employed Full Question: “In Zecharia 4:7, we read in Hebrew ‘mu Atah Har HaGadol’. Various English translations read ‘what are you’ or ‘who are you’. Who or what is this great mountain? I heard that it is possibly another Name for HaShem? This is what I need clarified..” Rabbi Tully Bryks responds: Is G-d referred to by more than one name? It is true that various names are used to refer to Hashem throughout the Torah. Each term has a different definition. Among the benefits of utilizing different names is that it helps to show the context of how Hashem is relating to us at that particular juncture. For example, in the first verse of the Torah, which describes the creation of the world, the name “Elokim” is used, which represents the Divine aspect of strict justice, as nature has very specific rules which cannot be bent. On the other hand, when Hashem gave us the Torah at Mount Sinai, which involves our relationship with Hashem and the various commandments, the name “Hashem” is used, which represents mercy, as His judgement and relationship with us must be tempered with flexibility. With regard to your specific question, I am definitely not an expert on Zecharia. But after a brief glance at the verse, “Har Hagadol” does not appear to be referring to Hashem (G-d). One possibility is that it is referring to the King of Gog, an evil king who will not be able to thwart Hashem’s...
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Posted on Mar 6, 2015 |
Question submitted to “Ask the Rabbi” by: Name: Bill McNiff City: Lancaster, PA Age: 80 Full Question: “When I was a young boy, living in lower Manhattan, I remember a Jewish custom of throwing bread from the New York bridges on one of their holy days. I also recall some of the people threw coins. One of my Jewish pals told me it was to acknowledge past sins, etc. I was sharing this with another friend today, a secular Jew, and he said I was mistaken. Did I make a mistake and did they use only bread, coins or both? If this question is worthy of a reply I would appreciate your input.” Rabbi Tully Bryks responds: From my perspective, all questions are worthy of a reply! Tashlich is customarily performed on the first day of Rosh Hoshanah (unless it coincides with Shabbos), but can be done on any day through Hoshanah Rabbah (roughly three weeks later – on the last day of the Sukkos holiday). The ceremony prayers focus on the 13 attributes of G-d, which highlight His love for us and desire to forgive our sins. There are various customs regarding other prayers, which often include different sections of Tehilim (Psalms), supplications and Kabbalistic prayers. Tashlich should ideally be performed by a natural, flowing body of water, like a river or stream and should contain fish. If no such body of water is accessible, one can still perform the ritual by a well or small pond, even without fish. There is much symbolism to both the water and the fish. Here are just a few examples: Just as fish swim freely and can suddenly be ensnared by a net, we can also be ensnared by our Yetzer Horah (evil inclination) and be led to sin. The water recalls the merit of Akeidas Yitzchak (sacrifice of Issac) as a river blocked the path of Avraham (Abraham) and Yitchak when they were on the way to pass that difficult test. Just like fish procreate, we should have the blessing of children and be fruitful and multiply. Seeing the water and the beauty of G-d’s creations can inspire us to change our ways for the better. What about throwing bread or coins? When standing by the water, we are supposed to shake out our pockets, symbolically throwing away our sins into the water and resolving to be a better person going forward. While it is possible that the people you saw were throwing bread (a fairly common custom) or throwing coins (not a common custom, but could certainly happen if someone was emptying their pockets over the water), neither should be done on Rosh Hoshanah. On Yom Tov (Holidays), we are not allowed to feed animals, unless they depend on us for food (such as our pets), and coins or Muktzah (prohibited to transport). As such, most authorities would only...
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Posted on Feb 22, 2015 |
Question submitted to “Ask the Rabbi” by: Name: J. Levi Full Question: “If good and evil exist because of free will, I would like to know this: Adam and Chavah hadn’t yet eaten from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, yet they chose to eat from it. The Rambam explains they had knowledge of truth and false, other scriptures seem to suggest Adam was created tov me’od. It seems in other scriptures Adam was created more holy and perfect before the fall. But if so.. how could Adam and Chavah have made the wrong choice in the first place? They were good creations, had an intellectual mind (so that adam could name the living beings), knew truth and false but still made a wrong choice. What was the source – what inside their human being drove them to this deed?” Rabbi Tully Bryks responds: Many commentators have grappled with the question of Adam and Eve sinning. After all, unlike you and me, they had just heard G-d speak and He specifically commanded them not to eat from the tree of knowledge. To make matters worse, they ate from the tree just one hour after they had received the prohibition. Furthermore, this was only a temporary law, designed to last a mere 24 hours! If we were in their shoes, wouldn’t we have lasted longer? As you pointed out, G-d attests to the fact that they were VERY good people. And in many respects, moral dilemmas were even easier for them. Prior to their sin, the Yetzer Hora (evil inclination) was an external force, as represented by the snake. As an external force, you are correct that they clearly knew exactly what was right and what was wrong. We, on the other hand, have a Yetzer Hora within us, so it is easier for us to be manipulated and blur the lines of right and wrong. Eating from the tree of knowledge, which they would have been instructed to do the very next day, creates the transformation of internalizing the Yetzer Hora, thereby making free will a much more challenging endeavor. So why would they have done it? One of the answers is that they actually did it because of their desire to get closer to G-d. There is a general principle that the harder a Miztvah (commandment) is to observe, the closer we connect with G-d by observing it, as we have to invest more of ourselves in the relationship. As such, the one downside with all of the clarity in the Garden of Eden was that it wasn’t as challenging to be good. Adam and Eve had such a strong desire to connect to G-d, that they wanted to make His commandments more challenging for themselves. By eating from the tree of knowledge and incorporating the Yetzer Hora into themselves, they hoped to become even closer...
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Posted on Feb 19, 2015 |
Question submitted to “Ask the Rabbi” by: Name: Aliza City: Chicago Age: 17 Full Question: “Hello Rabbi. As a girl who grew up not even knowing who Mashiach was, the idea seems a little far fetched to me. I just don’t understand how to have faith in the fact that he will come. I definitely want him to, it’s just hard for me. Also, I know you’re going to say “well, he will come,” but what happens if he doesn’t? Does the Jewish religion just fall apart? Do the Rabbis come together and redo the math on when he will come? I know there is barely anything in the Torah about Mashiach coming, but I just don’t understand?” Rabbi Tully Bryks responds: As you probably know, there are many things in Judaism that can seem a little far-fetched first glance. Examples might include the splitting of the sea, the 10 plagues, the sun standing still, the miracle of the Chanukah oil, and many more supernatural occurrences, including the Exodus from Egypt itself, which had also been a prophecy, whereby Moshe (Moses) serves as our “Mashiach”. As such, one first needs to answer the most basic and central of questions – “Do I believe that the Torah is the word of G-d?” If the answer is no, then there is room for lots of skepticism. In such a case, I would recommend analyzing the significant evidence that seems to point to the Divine origin of the Torah. One may even want to begin that journey with my article on faith. But for one who already accepts that the entire Torah is the word of G-d, then it becomes irrelevant how “far-fetched” something in the Torah seems, as we know it must be true, even when it appears to contradict our perception of reality. Our challenge and struggle then focus on how to define these concepts and to define our mission as it relates to them. What is Mashiach? Mashiach (Messiah) is the human being who G-d will appoint as a prophet and emissary who will bring about the final redemption along with a lasting peace for all of mankind. This blissful utopia is described as a time where “the lion will lie down with the lamb.” If someone really wanted a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, this is it. The many expectations for post-Messianic life include the genuine embrace of the descendants of Yishmael with the Jewish people. When will Mashicah come? There is the hard way and the easy way. The hard way is if we are not worthy. In such a case, the post-Messianic utopian society will be preceded by the war of “Gog and Magog,” a world war on a magnitude that has never been seen before. In such a scenario, many will not survive to experience the utopian society that follows. During the exodus from Egypt,...
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Posted on Feb 16, 2015 |
Question submitted to “Ask the Rabbi” by: Name: J. Levi Full Question: “In my own words based on some commentary of Rabbi Hirsch Yeshayahu, 45:7 reads: I form ohr (light), and create choshech (darkness); I make shalom (that what is whole), and create rah (that what causes division); I Hashem worketh all these things. The antonym of light seems to be darkness, the antonym of shalom might be in this case rah. But in Bereshit it is said that the antonym of rah is tov. Are shalom and tov synonyms somehow? The Maharal in many places describes tov in terms of existence, and rah in terms of absence. Likewise I read that tov could be determined as functional and rah as dysfunctional. Did HaShem create rah as in ‘He did make it directly’, or did He not make it, but was it created by making shalom or that what we call tov (so that it could exist and HaShem eventually could be called the Creator of it)? Like darkness exist because of the absence of light, and cold exists because the absence of warmth.. could rah be the absence of tov? Like Albert Einstein once said to a professor? Choshech seemed to be there already when HaShem called the light.. how do I need to understand this? And how is it paralleled with the shalom and rah part of this verse? What is rah, and how, why and when was it created? Please help me out with these questions, J.Levi” Rabbi Tully Bryks responds: Like many words in Judaism, the word “Shalom” has multiple meanings, depending on the context. For example, It could mean peace and it could also mean good. Regarding the question as to whether “Choshech” (darkess) is merely the absence of light, you actually answered this question yourself by quoting one of several verses that clearly state that G-d created Choshech. Nothing in this world is here by accident – Everything has a Divine purpose! Along those lines, “rah” (evil) was also created by G-d with intent! One of the greatest gifts that we have is our free will to choose between good and evil. We are faced with these choices every single day. From greeting our neighbor, to conversing with our spouse, to conducting our business affairs, we are commanded to choose life and to make the right decisions. The ability to choose evil makes our good choices that much more valuable. And while this certainly entails some risk, G-d would never give us a challenge that we cannot handle! For a more detailed analysis of this topic, please see my article on free...
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