screaming to god

One feature of idolatrous worship is to call out to the god through yelling and screaming. This form of worship stems from projecting human characteristics onto god. If god is like man the he might also be distracted, busy or tending to his needs and not notice you without yelling; he might also be asleep or very far away and need the yelling in order to hear you. Such an idea brings god down to a very low and needy level. But which appeals to us by making him a being who responds to us like a parent responds to an infant's cry.

The idea that god would need us to yell is so absurd that Eliyahu used this to mock the prophets of baal.

And it was in the afternoon and Eliyahu started to mock them saying: “call out in a loud voice, if it is a god, maybe he is conversing or thinking, or on a trip, maybe he is asleep and will wake up. (Melachim 1 18:27)

The prophets then took his advice, without realizing that they are now mocking themselves for having a crazy idea of divinity:

And they called out in a loud voice and slashed themselves with swords and spears according to their ritual until [their] blood fell upon them. (ibid 18:28)

They followed their ritual which accepted the premise that god needs yelling in order to hear you and responds to his worshippers causing themselves to suffer and thereby crying out and needing him.

In Judaism we take the exact opposite approach. Screaming and yelling have no place in tefillah. The halacha is that tefillah should not be said in a loud voice, and that to raise ones voice is problematic since it projects physical characteristics onto God.

Unfortunately we have imitated the idolaters in our form of service in many ways and some people have imported the manner of screaming into Jewish practice in responding to kaddish. Thinking that it is meritorious to scream ‘amen yehe shmei rabba…’ and that this will remove evil decrees. Not only is this a misunderstanding of an important halacha but it is also a fundamentally problematic way of relating to God as a psychological force with physical characteristics who responds to mere words if said loud enough.

This practice comes from a misunderstanding of the Gemara (Shabbat 119b) which says:

Anyone who says ‘amen yehe shmei rabba…’ with all of his strength, (God’s) judgment against him will be torn up

In general when there is an authoritative statement which goes against a fundamental principle we must admit that we are misunderstanding that statement and not act in contradiction to our conviction in the more basic idea. Rather we must recognize our ignorance and act according to the basic principle while seeking a correct understanding of the new statement. However in this case the commentators explain the true meaning and do not interpret this to mean yelling at all.

Rashi on the spot explains that ‘with all of his strength’ means ‘with all of his focus’. Tosafot agree with Rashi that the meaning is ‘with all of his focus’ but adds that one should say it “b’kol ram”. This does not mean to yell; but rather to say aloud instead of quietly to oneself [1]. Unlike yelling, which reflects a distorted view of God and prayer, speaking aloud can be supportive of focus in certain situations.

Chazal specifically focused our attention on having superior kavana during this response since it is a statement of accepting the mission of sanctifying God’s name in the world. By focusing on this idea we recommit to living our lives with this goal in mind and guiding all of our thoughts and energy towards achieving this goal. It is appropriate for God to uproot the decree against someone who successfully puts all of his energy into this goal, since he has redirected his whole life towards God.

On the other hand if we yell ‘amen yehe shmei rabba’ without understanding it, not only do we lose out on this benefit but instead it harms us since we are relating to God in an idolatrous manner.

The Torah's view of proper prayer is also
 clearly said daily in Ashrei (Tehilim 145:19), in which we learn that God is close to anyone who calls him truthfully. This is the fundamental principle behind Jewish prayer as it explains that closeness and distance from God is not by being in a special place, or by saying the right words, but rather is exclusively based on the truth of our call and the resulting knowledge of God. Yelling is a denial of this principal making it seem that God is in space and that we affect him by calling out loudly enough.  Only through focus can our prayers bring us close to God.

[1] for example birkat kohanim is also said ‘bekol ram’ and is not yelled but rather said in an audible voice

Women's merit of Torah study

Ravina says: It is certainly the merit of Torah[1], and insofar as she is not commanded[2], while it is true that she isn't commanded with the reward of her bringing her children to learn and waiting for her husband until they come from the study hall[3] does she not deserve to split their reward with them!? (Sota 21a)

This excerpt is from an extended discussion of the kind of merit which would delay the punishment of a sotah. The Gemara had already concluded that the merit must be of Torah (as opposed to other mitzvot) but was bothered since women are not obligated and therefore their reward for Torah should be less. Ravina argues that women are able to merit a high reward for Torah through the effort of bringing their children to school and of allowing their husbands to travel to foreign cities for their learning.

This Gemara is seemingly problematic. The benefit of Torah seems to be knowing the ideas, how does supporting others in their learning attain the same merit as Torah study itself? Of course supporting Torah is a great Mitzvah, but it should be on the level of other Mitzvot, and not the study of Torah.
Furthermore, what is the special significance of letting her husband leave town to learn, why is this the measure of her support?

These questions are based on the premise that the benefit of Torah study is the knowledge which is gained. However that is not the case - the real benefit from Torah and Mitzvot comes from moving our reality principle from being attached to the physical and instead grounding it in the metaphysical. By studying Torah we are valuing the development of knowledge over our physical and psychological needs. The perfection for both men and women comes from developing Ahavat Hashem - the attraction to know God[4], who is beyond the physical.

From this standpoint women are obligated in studying insofar as it allows for ahavat Hashem [5]. However in the process of recognizing a metaphysical reality more significant than the self there is another framework - mesora. Namely recognizing that our study only occurs within a national learning community which spans generations, and ultimately relates back to Sinai. From that standpoint we are not only valuing our own intellectual development but rather we are valuing the maintaining of wisdom within the Jewish community. In the framework of Mesora, men were given the responsibility of study and teaching. Therefore men recognize the superiority of mesora through their commitment to study, while women show it through encouraging those who are obligated. The women who sends her children and husband off to learn is recognizing the greater value of knowledge then her psychological desire for their presence.

This difference is related to a psychological difference between men and women [6]. Men are generally driven by the goal of individual accomplishment, therefore he must overcome that desire, by giving up on individual greatness and contributing to the mesora community. For women the greater desire is for relationships, and specifically she enjoys the attention gained from her husband and children. This attachment to her husband and children is often the strongest drive and therefore this is the area she must overcome her attachments and recognize the greater reality of wisdom[7].  Since this is so she gains the same benefit as a man would from actual study, since both of them have chosen to fulfill their obligation to the mesora community even though it means overcoming their personal desires. Thus both are developing the perfection of realizing the reality of a metaphysical world beyond the self.

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[1] which delays the punishment for the Sota
[2] And one who is not commanded is not as great as one commanded
[3] Specifically when they travel to another city to study (Rashi)
[4] to the degree man can know Him
[5] see hilchot yesodei hatorah 2:1-2, 4:12-13 and hilchot Teshuva ch 10. [also, note that in Yesodei Hatorah 4:13 the Rambam includes women in learning the discussions of Abaye and Rava]
[6] of course there will be exceptions, this is talking about the normal circumstance, as reflected in the different punishments of Adam and Chava in Bereshit 3:16-19
[7] Note this is also a contribution to the mesora community, for a treatment of role of women in the Mesora, see The essay by Rabbi Soloveitchik "The Rebbetzin of Talne"

The deep seated drive of Sexism

And the daughters of Tzlefchad approached - When the daughters of Tzefchad heard that the land would be divided to the men and not the women, they gathered to plan. The said: The God's mercy is not like man's mercy. Man has greater mercy on men than on women; but He who spoke and the world was, is not that way, rather his mercy is on everyone equally, men and women, as it says "God is good to all, and his mercy is on all of his creations. (Sifri Pinchas)

This midrash identifies a very deep bias which we suffer from. Even enlightened men can suffer from an unconscious bias against women. This is important for us to realize since we often think that in our enlightened age we have fully overcome this bias. 

God, of course, does not have this bias, rather He relates to all people as His creatures. By extension His Torah also does not have this bias. The Torah does make distinctions between men and women, but these differences are based upon God's knowledge of the different psychological features of men and women, and assigns them different social roles. The Torah is not biased against any group of people and instead wants to guide all people to perfection. Whenever the Torah seems biased on any issues it means that we have not yet understood it, and we should think about the issues more deeply (including investigating our own biases).

This is why the daughters of Tzlefchad approached, they realized that God would be merciful to them, and the law would take into account their sadness at losing the family portion since their father had died. They would not have minded if they had brothers who could receive the portion, but the loss of the family heritage would be very painful. They recognized that human law might be biased against them as women, but God's law would fully take into account their pain.

Even though the Torah is not biased we must be careful when we interpret the Torah not to let this or any other bias guide the interpretation and instead carefully allow the Torah to communicate God's values, which relate to all people equally as His creatures. Through recognizing our biases we can carefully avoid them governing our thought, and free our minds to understand the Torah correctly.

Accepting the Yoke of Heaven - an agricultural metaphor

Ephraim is a guided calf who loves to thresh, I passed over her good neck; I will ride Ephraim, Yehudah will plow, Yaakov will break clods: You should plant rightness, and you will harvest kindness, furrow a furrow for yourselves; It is time to seek God, until He comes and teaches you rightness: You have plowed evil, you will harvest iniquity; you will eat the fruit of falsehood since you have relied on your ways, on the might of your heroes (Hoshea 10:11-13)

Accepting God's Oneness and His commandments is often characterized as a 'yoke'. Hoshea takes this familiar metaphor and deepens its meaning through reconnecting it to its original agricultural context.

Farming has many stages and demands hard work. It starts with plowing and continues with planting, harvesting and threshing. The yoke guides the ox during the plowing. The ox only 'wants' to thresh, which as the final stage of the process is work with grain available for eating. However the plowing and other stages are necessary for reaching this point.

The purpose of the yoke is to guide the ox to effectively work the fields. Encouraging it to do the work which it otherwise would not do.  The yoke is attached to a heavy plow, but it is not a meaningless burden.

This is the basis of the metaphor of the 'yoke of God's kingship' and the 'yoke of the commandments'. The Torah is a system which guides us to remain on the straight path, and encourages us to do the early steps which we might otherwise ignore in favor of immediate pleasure. Furthermore, like a yoke, the Mitzvot are not a meaningless burden.

This metaphor points to another issue as well. When we plant, we work hard but we must wait patiently for the harvest, which arises from the natural system (rain, sun and the internal potential of the seed). Our service of God must be similar. The ongoing quest of seeking God is the only way to ultimately live a righteous life, but it does not produce immediate results. We must wait patiently for God to teach us the right path, enlightening our souls with knowledge. Study is a necessary prerequisite for knowledge, but ultimately we are not the source, and enlightenment comes from God's kindness, just as the harvest comes as a result of His natural forces.[1]

Living correctly is a necessary prerequisite for redemption, but for this too we must wait patiently and not overly rely on our own power. On the contrary, if we rely on our own might, whether for material blessing or for knowledge, we set up the causes of long term failure. If we ground our actions in falsehood we will ultimately receive the evil consequences of our fantasy of independent power.

In all areas of benefit, we must keep in mind our dependence on divine kindness. While at the same time, follow the guidance of God's Law to achieve all of the necessary prerequisites for receiving His blessing. Once we have done everything we can, we must have the patience to sit and wait.

[1] this does not mean that we are waiting for a miracle, God causes things as the source of the natural system, just like God created the natural systems which cause the plant to grow, so too he caused the systems which cause the mind to apprehend knowledge

Hamapil

Last week we spoke about the Bracha of Elohai Neshama. We normally think of the morning blessings as beginning when we awaken with the blessing of Elohai neshama. But many commentators claim that we actually begin the night before with the blessing of hamapil. [1]

This at first sight seems very strange. How do the blessings connect over 8 hours of sleep? Also, why do we consider a blessing before going to sleep to be the first of the morning blessings, isn't sleep the opposite of awakening?

For most of us, sleep is the well deserved rest after a hard day of work. It is a time to escape from the worries and troubles of the day. As such it is the final action of the day, a reward for a job well done. The Torah demands that we view sleep differently. Sleep is not the last action of the day, but rather the first.

Since the greatest good in life is the pursuit of wisdom, and in sleep we enter a fantasy world, sleep cannot be viewed as a reward, but rather a necessary preparation to regain our strength for the following day; if not for this, sleep would not be good. Therefore, sleep is actually the first action of the day, giving us the energy for a day of pursuing knowledge.[2]

In general the Torah demands that we serve God at all times and in all ways. Night cannot be an escape from divine service. The way we serve God at night is by using it for Torah study and for necessary sleep[3].

This is how hamapil connects to elohai neshama. Together they qualify our sleep as part of our divine service. At night we prepare our sleep to be useful in regenerating our energy for another day of seeking God, and in the morning we immediately start refocusing ourselves from the dream worlds of the night and preparing ourselves to stand before God in Tefillah

Furthermore, in spite of its necessity, sleep is a danger as well. In sleep our imaginations are let loose and we are susceptible to falling into a world of fantasy and false ideas. We must counter this danger to the degree possible by focusing our thoughts on the divine.

This is why we say Shema before going to bed. The Yerushalmi says that we say kriat shema for protection from the demons [lit. damagers]. The Meiri points out (on Brachos 4b) that these ‘damagers’ are false beliefs, since there is nothing more harmful.

Through the Shema, we reflect on God’s oneness and reinforce our attachment to knowledge and avoid falling into a belief in other powers. We recognize the idea of His oneness as the fundamental principle, which everything else depends on and the life of love and knowledge which derives from that.

Lastly, night is a time of fear. The darkness of the night make it dangerous and frightening and raises primal terrors which force us to face our own mortality. 

This is the framework for the Bracha of Hamapil.

First we thank God, who created drowsiness, and gave us sleep as a regenerative mechanism. Sleep refreshes us both physically and psychologically allowing us to awaken refreshed. [4]

Then we ask God to help make our sleep effective, and not allow it to become a source of harm and reattachment to fantasy.

We ask for success in a number of ways. That our sleep be peaceful without psychological disturbance; that it allow us to awaken refreshed and not disturbed by bad dreams; that it not overwhelm us with disturbing imaginations and wishes; that our bed also serve as the place where our sexual drive will be redirected towards having children who will grow up to be wise and righteous.

Finally, we summarize the Blessing by recognizing God, as the source of all enlightenment and flourishing. In this way we face our fear of death, and recognize God as the source of life, both physical life and the life of mind [5].

My brother Josh added an important point, the role of sleep in consolidating knowledge shows that sleep is not the beginning of the day per se, but rather the bridge between one day of avodah and the next.

[1] The technical argument which supports this theory is that all blessings must begin with ‘baruch’ unless they are part of a sequence. Since Elohai Neshama does not begin with Baruch, it would seem to be part of a sequence, but since it is said as one is waking up, the only prior blessing is ‘hamapil’ from the night before.

[2] An interesting corollary is that we do not view the best death as dying in your sleep but rather dying while actively involved in knowledge.

[3] see Hilchot Deot 3:3, note that it isn't only a question of the actions that we do but also our motivation for those actions

[4] In fact sleep is also directly important in the pursuit of knowledge since it allows the unconscious to work through issues of the day and can in many cases provide us new insight into the problems we are thinking about.

[5] Which as we noted in Elohai Neshama finds its ultimate expression upon our physical deaths.

Worshiping Mercury and teaching an unworthy student - breaking people down

One who teaches an unworthy student is like one who throws a rock at Mercury, as the verse states "One who gives a fool honor is like one who wraps a stone in a sling (Mishlei 26:8)", and 'honor' is a reference to Torah as the verse says "the wise will inherit honor (Mishlei  3:35)" (Hilchot Talmud Torah 4:1)

The Rambam is discussing the prerequisites for a person to study Torah. The primary requirement is not intellectual but moral, he must be living on a good path (applying his knowledge), or at least be open to such a life, a person who is on a bad path should not be taught Torah, but rather first must be guided to return to the proper path. However the comparison with Avodah Zarah in general, and Mercury in particular is strange.

Mercury is an unusual form of idolatry since its worship entails throwing stones at it. A person might mistakenly think that throwing rocks at Mercury is a good thing since, objectively, it is disgracing an idol. However the opposite is true. Since its worshipers have redefined the act as a method of worship, they have twisted an act which shows the powerlessness of an idol, into a sign of respect. Therefore by throwing a rock at it you play into their propaganda.

Similarly a teacher might think that teaching Torah to a fool would serve to disprove his wrong ideas. By seeing truth he will turn to the good. The Halacha teaches that the opposite will happen, by teaching him, he will twist the Torah's wisdom into a support for his distorted lifestyle. Instead of disgracing him, the Torah will be used to honor him.

This issue is also the issue in the surrounding verses in Mishlei (26:1-11), we must be careful in how we interact with and respond to fools. Even a logically valid break down of his position can strengthen him since even engaging in dialogue gives him credibility. The only possible way to help such a student is to actively redirect his lifestyle before granting him entrance to the Beit Midrash.

Elohai, Neshama

The first thing we say in the morning is the bracha of ‘Elohai, Neshama’. This short Bracha directly continues our thoughts from the night before, which we expressed in the Bracha of Hamapil - thus immediately starting the transition from the fantasy world of sleep to the real world of thought. In this Bracha we reconsider our self-identity and meditate on God as the source of our ongoing existence.

My God, the life-force[1] which you gave me is pure, you created it, you formed it, you blew it into me and you protect it within me, and you will take it from me in the future, and return it to me in the distant future. As long as the life-force is within me I recognize[2] you Hashem, my God, and the God of my fathers, master of all actions, lord of all life, Blessed are you Hashem the who returns life to dead bodies

My God

First we address God; by entering into a dialogue with Him we are able to rethink our identity in light of His existence and our dependence upon Him.

The life-force which you gave me is pure

The first step of reconceiving ourselves is to identify the Neshama as pure. Note, the neshama is not the metaphysical soul (the Tzelem Elokim), which has actual knowledge. Rather it is the life force which is the biological source of all of our abilities, including thought. This force is pure and allows us to direct it where we will. If we direct it properly it remains pure and becomes guided by ideas. As human beings we are born have free-will and are born with the possibility of following our minds onto any path we choose. We are not predestined for good or evil (by our genes, our environment, the stars or anything else).

You created it, you formed it, you blew it into me and you protect it within me

The second step is to realize that we are created[3]. Psychologically we like believing that we are independently powerful. In reality this is a fantasy and our very existence is a dependent one. All of our actions are transformed when done through the lens of being dependent creatures. Creation is not just a historical fact about the world, but rather is an ongoing reality[4]. Our ongoing existence is also dependent on God.

You will take it from me in the future,

Third is to realize our mortality. In spite of our fantasies, we will not live forever. As material beings we cannot exist eternally. This mentality forces us to ‘seize the day’ since we don’t know when we will die. Our mortality also encourages us to be humble by realizing our limitations.

And return it to me in the distant future

Lastly we reflect on Techiyat hametim. Namely that even though our physical lives are temporal, we partake of eternity insofar as we focus on knowledge. Thereby we truly live and are subject to resurrection[5]. Waking up reminds us of this since sleep is reminiscent of death in that it is a state of inactivity.

In summary, in the first part of this Bracha we define ourselves as dependent and mortal rational, living creatures, who have the ability to become knowing.

As long as the life-force is within me I recognize you Hashem, my God, and the God of my fathers, master of all actions, lord of all life

With this new self-concept we must choose what to do with our lives. In answer we immediately choose to recognize and thank God for giving us existence. The last line of Elohai, neshama takes this focus. We now recognize God as the master of all life, and we recognize the need to live our life with this system in mind.

Blessed are you Hashem the who returns life to dead bodies

Finally we summarize with the idea of techiyat hametim. We recognize that we aren't our body; rather our body is a piece of flesh which is animated by a life-force. Throughout the bracha we were ambiguous about who the ‘I’ is. We naturally tend to think of our bodies as ‘I’, through this reflection we start seeing the flaw of this view and the practical implications of rethinking of ourselves as a harmonious living creature which aspires to develop as a nefesh[6].

This final concept of Techiyat Hametim brings all of the diverse themes together. It emphasizes the idea that God is the creator, and we are therefore created since only the creator could bring the dead back to life. Similarly it points to the true purpose of human existence since evil people don’t participate in techiyat hametim. Only a person whose life is animated by knowledge can be reanimated after the body corrupts and dies [5]. Someone whose whole life was about the physical has nothing left to reanimate since they were their body.

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[1] The meaning of Neshama  is subject to some debate, I am following Rambam in Hilchot Yesodei Hatorah 4:8-9

[2] This could also be translated as “thank”

[3] Note that (as we will see in the conclusion of the Bracha), the neshama is not the ‘I’ who is speaking, through this meditation we transform our sense of the ‘I’ by realizing that the body which I naturally identify as ‘me’ is on its own merely dead flesh, and that the ‘I’ is the harmonious whole of Neshama with a body.

[4] God is not like a carpenter who can make a self-sustaining house, such that even if the carpenter dies the house continues to exist without him.

[5] The righteous even in death are called alive and the wicked even in their lifetimes are called dead (Brachot 18a-b) See Moreh hanevuchim 1:42 and the Rambam's introduction to Chelek

[6] The soul in the metaphysical sense, that which actually perceives knowledge and therefore can survive the death of the body (unlike the neshama)