Chukat - Not by Might, Nor by Power

ויפנו ויעלו דרך הבשן, ויצא עוג מלך-הבשן לקראתם הוא וכל-עמו, למלחמה אדרעי. ויאמר יהוה אל-משה, אל-תירא אתו, כי בידך נתתי אתו ואת-כל-עמו, ואת-ארצו; ועשית לו כאשר עשית לסיחן מלך האמרי, אשר יושב בחשבון

(במדבר כ"א, ל"ג-ל"ד)

At the end of parashat Chukat the conquest of the Promised Land begins. Finally, after almost 40 years of wanderings in the desert, the people of Israel under the leadership of Moshe begin fulfilling the divine promise by conquering the eastern part of Eretz Israel (what is today Jordan).

After defeating Sichon, king of the Emorites, the people of Israel are faced with a new threat: Og, king of Bashan, deploys his army and ventures out to meet this nomadic people that dared challenge his land. And this is how the Torah tells it:

And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. And God said unto Moses: "Fear him not; for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon."

(BaMidbar, 21, 34-35)

How surprising. Moshe, who is well awaer of God's promise to give the land to the people of Israel and who has just defeated an enemy no less powerful than Og, is so afraid of the upcoming battle that God needs to reassure him that all will be well? We would have expected the people, perhaps following in the footsteps of the ten spies, to fear the army of Og, but Moshe? What is it in Og specifically that scares Moshe so?

The Midrash tells us that Og, the giant, had special merits. He survived the flood (by hanging onto Noah's ark), but more importantly, he is the palit (refugee) that alerted Avraham and told him about the capture of Lot in Soddom. This brute king is not just another enemy. Moshe, knowing his history, is afraid that Og's good deeds in the past will work in his favour and is therefore afraid of losing this battle. Hence the reassurances from God's side.

The same Midrash continues and tells us of how the actual "battle" was fought. Og picked up a mountain the size of the encampment of Israel, and threatened Moshe with it. Moshe and Israel prayed to God and small bugs ate up the mountain from the inside, causing it to crumble on top of Og, thus trapping the giant. Moshe then fell the giant with a one precise hit aimed at his ankle (I guess this the Jewish version of Achille's Heel...).

If we look at this story not literally but symbolically, Og was beaten not by military force but by spiritual force. It was by the prayer of Israel that Og's might (the mountain) was destroyed from within. Moshe had to deal with whatever merits Og had by fighting back with superior merits, the force of true prayer. The lesson learnt here is that the war fought against the inhabitants of the Land of Israel cannot be won by sheer force. However strong Israel's army might be, if it does not attain and maintain higher moral and spiritual standards compared with the enemy, it will not win. Once these higher standards are reached, then, and only then, can the use of force be successful. In the words of the prophet: "Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, said the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah, 4, 6).

May this lesson of Moshe's fight against Og be a lesson for our generation as well.

Toulouse, France

This was a busy travelling week. On one of the days I had breakfast alone in Frankfurt, lunch with a customer in Lisbon and dinner with a friend in London.

I also spent a day in Toulouse for a meeting at Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer that has recently run into trouble following the announcement of delays in the new "super jumbo" (A-380) delivery. I saw the A-380 take off and land a couple of times at Toulouse and it's a veritable monster. I find it difficult to understand who would want to travel together with more than 500 people. Surely the waiting time for boarding or collecting baggage will be insufferable.

Anyway, despite my very short stay-over in "Airbusville" (as Newsweek called Toulouse this week), I had a few hours' spare time to take a stroll around the city. Toulouse is apparently the 4th largest city in France and is famous for the pinkish hue of its buildings. I came across the St. Etienne cathedral and ventured inside, thinking it would be just another cathedral. The entrance did not look too impressive, but the inside turned out to be quite interesting. Unlike other cathedrals, this one is a collection of several buildings built in different periods, so it is not as symmetric and well-proportioned as others. Standing in the middle of this huge edifice gives a nice perspective into the different building styles.

Another impressive landmark in Toulouse is the main square, the "Capitole". The building, which serves as the city hall, is magnificient, as are the proportions of the square itself. The game between Italy and Australia just ended and a few Italian fans filled the square, brandishing huge tri-colour flags and being generally very loud about their team's triumph. I refrained from reminding them that they only barely won in the last few seconds of the game, and that only thanks to an penalty kick for a foul that never happened. Something told me they were not in the mood for a dose of truth...

The weather was rather hot, but as the day was waning, it cooled off and the streets filled up with people. Suprisingly (this being France) most people were smiling and seemed rather friendly. Which reminded me of an incident a few weeks ago in Paris. I was having dinner with three distinguished businessmen from a company we work with, together with my boss (an Israeli-American). As the wine flowed and the conversation veered off business, my boss mentioned that he once took a holiday in France. And then he said: "actually, when I was driving around France, the people were very nice and friendly, unlike in Paris!" There was an awkward silence before he realized what he had said in the company of three Parisians... Just as with the Italian fans mentioned above, this was another example of a situation where one should remain silent rather than blurt out the truth.

Praying for Gilad Shalit

Together with everyone in Israel I am praying for the swift return home of Gilad Shalit ben Aviva, who was kidnapped this morning by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.

May God keep him safe and healthy and return him to his family soon.

Nihilistic Soccer

I guess I need to post something about the World Cup, a.k.a. Mondial. But I'm not prepared to write more than a few sentences on the subject.

So I refer you to this piece from The Daily Standard, which aptly summarises my feelings about the game.

PS - I'm guessing that this team will win. However, the team that should win is this one.

Difference Between Women and Men

Why go through the effort of reading the verbose "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" to understand the differences between men and women, when you can get to the bottom of things by watching two and half minutes on Saudi TV ?

Flag-Gate

Never mind the daily rocket attacks on Sderot. Never mind the quasi-civil war raging in the Gaza strip. Never mind the thousands of Palestinians on the brink of starvation as a result of their intransigent government's policies. Foremost on the daily agenda of the media in most of the Arab-Muslim world is none of the above. It is John Painstil, the Ghanian soccer player that dared wave the Israeli flag after his team scored against the Czech Republic. Painstil plays for a soccer team in Tel Aviv and said he did it to please his friends and fans back in Israel.

The uproar was such that Painstil later apologized for his misdeed. The spokesperson for the Ghana team said the gesture was "based on sheer naivety" and added that Painstil is being offered special therapy to ensure he "overcame his current state of mind"...

Israelis (and Jews worldwide) reacted to the admittedly exaggerated reaction in the Arab world with nothing but contempt and disdain. I'm wondering how these "shocked" observers would have reacted had Painstil waved a Palestinian flag instead of an Israeli one.

I have a different take on this "flag-gate" episode. Call me cynical, but perhaps this whole gesture was nothing but a shameless self-promoting marketing tactic, designed to boost Painstil's standing in the eyes of his Israeli employer? You see, the flag Painstil waved is one of millions issued on occasion of Israel's independence day last month by Israel's leading bank, the HaPoalim bank. The team Painstill plays for is HaPoel Tel Aviv. Need I elaborate further on this "apparent" coincidence? I dare not.

Shelach - The Will of God (cont.)

Last year, I posted this thought for parashat Shelach. That post generated a small debate with Jameel today - see the comment section there.

More interestingly, this shabbat I read a commentary by rabbi Avigdor Neventzal ("rabbi of the old city of Jerusalem") for Shelach that was surprisingly similar to the one I heard a couple of years ago from rabbi Amnon Bazak. Surprisingly, because rabbi Neventzal is known for his hard-line right-wing approach, and yet does not hesitate to pose questions regarding the interpretation of "the will of God" in the story of the meragelim and the applicability to today's political debate.

(This would be a good place to recommend rabbi Neventzal's "talks" on the weekly parasha, published in a five-book set.)

Voodoo Judaism

Those who know me, know how much disdain I have for "voodoo Judaism", regrettably so rampant in Israel today: incessant dippings in the mikveh, frequent trips to graves, red strings tied around the wrist, "holy" water, amulets to ward off the evil eye, chairs to "cure" barren women, kabbalah seminars, and so on and so forth.

My sister forwarded me an email today linking to this PowerPoint presentation. As it is in Hebrew, I will summarise it here.

In August 2001, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a fast food restaurant in central Jerusalem, killing 15 and wounding more than 150. Shortly thereafter, followers of the Breslov Hasidic movment printed a miraculous story in the Tikkun HaClali - a booklet containing some psalms and prayers which, if recited daily, they believe will cleanse them of their sins (specifically the sin of masturbation).

The story in the booklet goes like this: minutes before the bombing, the cashier at the restaurant told everyone that the resturant is full and a few customers decided to leave. Among them was this American woman. After the bombing, the woman sought out the cashier and found her in a hospital. Grateful for being saved, she left the girl her phone number in New York telling her to call her if in need. Some time later the cashier called and they agreed to meet in NYC. On the day, the woman left her office at the Twin Towers to go meet the visitor from Israel. You guessed right, the date was September 11, 2001 and thus the American woman was saved once again from certain death by the cashier.

And it just so happens that the cashier had a copy of the Tikkun HaClali next to her when working at the restaurant. Not only did the booklet save her life; it managed to save the American woman's life, twice. Sounds amazing, right? Surely enough to make anyone religious on the spot, joining the dancing Breslov nutcases in busy street intersections, no? Well, not so fast.

The family of the cashier heard about this "miraculous story" and could not believe their ears. Because, you see, the cashier, 19-year-old Tehilah Maoz, died in the bombing. She is buried in Jerusalem. The story was made up in order to shamelessly promote the voodoo booklet by a bunch of so-called believers. Rabbi Nachman must be turning in his grave knowing his name is used by such lowlifes.

This is just one small story and were it representative of the pervasiveness of this "voodoo Judaism" it would not be so interesting. Sadly, rather than dealing with the demanding task of keeping mitzvot, many prefer to wallow in the imaginary comfort of magical instant gratification. Avodah zarah was and remains an easy way out for errant souls.

Punctual Delays

As I write these words (which I will post later, as I am not connected right now), I'm sitting on an ICE train from Koeln to Hannover. But the train is not moving; we've been stuck at Hamm station for the past 15 minutes and the forecast right now is that we won't be departing for
another 15.

And this is by all means not a first for me. In the past few months I have witnessed train delays in Germany at least half a dozen times. A couple of them were delays of more than 30 minutes and on one occasion almost 1.5 hours! In my four and a half years in Japan I recall only one delay and that one was for only a few minutes. And I travelled by train almost every day in Japan...

True, the Japanese might at times take their punctuality to extremes, but they've left the "punctual" Germans eons behind. I pity those football fans who paid hundreds of Euros for their ticket and will be late to the game because of Deutsche Bahn.

[Update: the delay turned out to be 1 hour...]

Double Standards

One of the more irritating traits of "leftists" in Israel (and perhaps everywhere) is their inability to admit to their double standards.

After Rabin's assassination in 1995, they cried foul about the incitement that preceded the murder and produced, as they would have it, the appropriate "environment" for the murderer to act. Images of right-wing demonstrations with placards reading "Rabin is a traitor" and "Rabin is a murderer" were brought as examples of this incitement.

Yet yesterday, in a left-wing demonstration outside the Chief of Staff's home in Tel Aviv (which made headlines mostly due to the participation of the Prime Minister's daughter), the demonstrators called Dan Halutz a "murderer" and a "killer of children". This reminded me of the "mother of all demonstrations" - the 1982 Tel Aviv demonstration following the Sabra & Shatila massacre during the Lebanon war - where Ariel Sharon (later to become darling of the "leftists") was also labelled as a "murderer".

Now, how would your average "leftist" react when you dare mention that perhaps calling the Chief of Staff a "killer of children" might also qualify as incitement?

Rhetorical question. I guess incitement, like pornography, is a question of geography.

World's Funniest Joke

Officially, this is the world's funniest joke. You judge.

Two hunters are out in the woods in New Jersey when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed.

The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps 'My friend is dead! What can I do?' The operator says: 'Calm down, I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead.'

There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says 'OK, now what?'

Sumo in Israel

This week, a Sumo stable from Japan - the Sadogatake Beya - is visiting Israel.

This is a rare happening, as Sumo wrestlers (rikishi) seldom leave Japan. They were hosted by the president and various other officials, "trained" children on Tel Aviv beach and visited a children's hospital (where I accidentally bumped into them yesterday morning on my way to work; fortunately, not literally bumped).

Last night they conducted a friendly tournament in Caesarea, at the ancient Roman open-air amphitheatre. I was pleasantly surprised, both by the almost-full attendance and by how well the whole thing was organized, complete with running commentary by Motti Dichne, who provided much useful information about the sport.

The "competition" was won by Koto-Oshu (a.k.a. Mahlyanov Kaloyan Stefanov), a Bulgarian who is currently no. 3 in Japan. His parents flew in from Bulgaria for the event. Increasingly, non-Japanese are excelling in Sumo; the current champion (yokozuna), Asa Sho Ryu, is from Mongolia.

I will not bore you with lengthy explanations about this exceptional sport (see link above for that); instead, here are some pictures from the event (click on pictures to enlarge):

Dohyou - the arena, made of clay and sand

Fat, but extremly flexible and agile

The Israeli "children Sumo club" take on Koto Oshu

Koto Oshu gets his hair done; each wrestler has a distinctive hairdo

A favourite gimmick in Sumo fights: giant holding baby

Tsuridashi - lifting opponent by mawashi (a.k.a "the diaper")

Koto Oshu and the cup

In short: At an amphitheatre in an ancient Roman city in the Jewish state of Israel, a bunch of Japanese wrestlers got their asses kicked by a Bulgarian.

A Bridge To Nowhere

It must be difficult to admit failure after 36 years of activity around a central idea. Yet this is exactly what Rabbi Dr. Danier Tropper did today in an interview published in Haaretz (Hebrew).

Tropper founded and managed Gesher ("bridge" in Hebrew), an organization that works to promote mutual understanding among Israelis of all backgrounds, specifically religious and secular, through joint seminars, movie productions, etc. It is funded partly by the government and partly by donations (mostly from the US).

Tropper resigned his post recently and these are his observations about the outcome of Gesher's efforts after more than three and a half decades of activity:

• Religious Zionism has marginalised itself to the point of irrelevance by concentrating its efforts around the issue of Greater Israel
• On the other hand, secular Israelis are nothing more than "Hebrew-speaking gentiles" (unsurprisingly this generated the most inflammatory comments from readers)
• What destroyed Judaism in Israel is the politisation of religion (yet he does not reach the obvious conclusion that separation of state and church is necessary)

These are not great insights to anyone who lives here, but hearing these things from someone who dedicated his life to trying to bridge the gaps in Israeli society and make Israel a better place, is both sad and disheartening.

The Perfect Woman

Last Friday was the holiday of Shavu’ot (Pentacost) and, as is customary, one stays up all night to study Torah. At 3AM I heard an interesting talk from Rabbi Yuval Sherlo which I enjoyed very much. It was based on things said by Rabbi Yaakov Medan (co-head of Har Etzion yeshivah). I will try to reconstruct it from memory.

Every Friday evening, after returning from the synagogue and before dinner, the husband recites the concluding 22 verses of the book of Mishlei (Proverbs), known as Eshet Chayil. The translation of the Hebrew word chayil into English is not simple; some translate it as valour, others as accomplished or competent – hence “woman of valour” or “accomplished woman”.

From the context of the text, it is clear that the eshet chayil is an extremely resourceful woman: she provides for the home, she gets up before dawn, she feeds the poor, she makes and sells things and she is wise and kind. It is not suprising that the expression eshet chayil has become synonymous with a most fine woman, a woman to marry. This acrostic hymn is recited by the husband to symbolize his gratitude for having such a great wife. The Midrash attributes eshet chayil to Abraham, who composed it as a eulogy for his wife Sarah.

But turning back to the book of Mishlei, who is this woman of valour? Was there a historic figure that was the “original” eshet chayil?

Chapter 31 of Mishlei opens with “The words of king Lemuel, the burden with which his mother corrected him”, and continues with the mother’s king chastising her son for consorting with the wrong kind of women and for being drunk. She tells him not to forget his duty as king, which is to judge righteously and plead the cause of the poor and needy. And later in the chapter (verse 23) the husband of the eshet chayil is described as someone who is “known at the gates, where he sits among the elders”. As we know from the Bible, the Judges of Israel sat at the gates of the city, so as to be available to the public. In other words, the husband is none other than the king of Israel, who is by nature of his job also a judge.

[Some commentators went as far as to identify Lemuel as king Shlomo (Solomon), and the whole monologue by his mother taking place on the morning of the day of the consecration of the Temple. Shlomo is late in waking up after a night of excessive drinking and inappropriate consorting, no less...]

So, if the husband is Shlomo, who is the eshet chayil? Is Shlomo’s mother describing a real woman? It seems not. She scolds her son for his present wives and concubines and then launches into the long hymn of Eshet Chayil to describe the woman her son should have married. She gives him the “blueprint” for the woman he should be looking for, the woman of valour that will take care of the poor that he will judge, that will make sure the household is taken care of while he serves the people at the gates.

And now for the interesting part. If we search the Bible we find only one woman who is described in the words “eshet chayil”: Ruth, the Moabite widow who decided to become Jewish and follow her destitute mother-in-law to Israel. After her husband-to-be Boaz finds her sleeping at his feet in the field and hears her story, he cries out “for you are an eshet chayil!” (Ruth 3, 11). Ruth is the archetype of all women of valour; she symbolizes what every man, certainly a king, should aspire to find in the woman he marries. And it is on Shavu'ot that we read the story of Ruth.

Shlomo’s mother is not making up an imaginary woman. She reminds her son where he comes from, what his roots are. Remember, she tells him, "charm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears God shall be praised" (verse 30). She asks him to look to his great-great-grandmother, Ruth, in order to find the model for the woman he should marry – the eshet chayil.

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Here is the hymn of Eshet Chayil (Mishlei 31, 10-31) in Hebrew transliteration and English:

Eshet chayil mi yimtza v'rachok mip'ninim michrah
An accomplished woman, who can find? Her value is far beyond pearls.

Batach bah lev ba'lah v'shalal lo yechsar
Her husband's heart relies on her and he shall lack no fortune.

G'malathu tov v'lo ra kol y'mei chayeiha
She does him good and not evil, all the days of her life.

Darshah tzemer ufishtim vata'as b'chefetz kapeiha
She seeks wool and flax, and works with her hands willingly.

Haitah ka'oniyot socher mimerchak tavi lachmah
She is like the merchant ships, she brings her bread from afar.

Vatakom b'od lailah vatiten teref l'vetah v'chok l'na'aroteiha
She arises while it is still night, and gives food to her household and a portion to her maidservants.

Zam'mah sadeh vatikachehu mip'ri chapeiha nat'ah karem
She plans for a field, and buys it. With the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

Chagrah b'oz motneiha vat'ametz zro'oteiha
She girds her loins in strength, and makes her arms strong.

Ta'amah ki tov sachrah lo yichbeh balailah nerah
She knows that her merchandise is good. Her candle does not go out at night.

Yadeha shilchah bakishor v'chapeiha tamchu falech
She sets her hands to the distaff, and holds the spindle in her hands.

Kapah parsah le'ani v'yadeiha shil'chah la'evyon
She extends her hands to the poor, and reaches out her hand to the needy.

Lo tira l'vetah mishaleg ki chol betah lavush shanim
She fears not for her household because of snow, because her whole household is warmly dressed.

Marvadim astah lah shesh v'argaman l'vushah
She makes covers for herself, her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Noda bash'arim ba'lah b'shivto im ziknei aretz
Her husband is known at the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.

Sadin astah vatimkor vachagor natnah lak'na'ani
She makes a cloak and sells it, and she delivers aprons to the merchant.

Oz v'hadar l'vushah vatischak l'yom acharon
Strength and honor are her clothing, she smiles at the future.

Piha patchah b'chochma v'torat chesed al l'shonah
She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the lesson of kindness is on her tongue.

Tzofi'ah halichot betah v'lechem atzlut lo tochel
She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Kamu vaneha vay'ash'ruha ba'lah vay'hal'lah
Her children rise and praise her, her husband lauds her.

Rabot banot asu chayil v'at alit al kulanah
Many women have done worthily, but you surpass them all.

Sheker hachen v'hevel hayofi ishah yir'at Hashem hi tit'halal
Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears God shall be praised.

T'nu lah mip'ri yadeiha vihal'luha vash'arim ma'aseha
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

"We Are Like Donkeys"

Those studying the Daf Yomi have this week come across (one version) of the story about Pinchas Ben Yair's donkey, a story brought by the Talmud to support the saying: "If the rishonim (the sages of early ages) were like men, then we are like donkeys". This saying is oft quoted to illustrate the concept of the "decline of the generations" (yeridat ha-dorot), the decline of Torah scholarship across generations.

First the story about the donkey, then some short thoughts about the notion of the "decline of the generations".

The Yerushalmi in Shekalim 13, tells us about the donkey of Pinchas Ben Yair, one of the early chassidim (not the chassidim of today, but a group of righteous people who were known for their good deeds and close relationship to God). This donkey was stolen and for three days, while in captivity, refused to eat anything. Not wanting a dead donkey on their hands, the thieves released it. The donkey found its way back and stood outside Pinchas Ben Yair's home, braying for attention. Hearing her (for the donkey was a "she", a jennet) Pinchas Ben Yair ordered for food to be brought, but when barley was put before the donkey, again it refused to eat. When told about this, Ben Yair inquired whether tithe was given from this barley, and the answer was positive. He then asked whether tithe was given from the demai (a more strict tithe, we won't go into the details) and the answer was that this was not necessary as the law does not require tithe from demai when the produce is used to feed animals. Pinchas Ben Yair smiled and said: "what can I do if my donkey is so righteous that it won't eat demai without tithing!". He tithed the barley and the donkey finally started eating.

The Talmud tells us the bottom line: yes, it is true we are "like donkeys", but we are not even at the level of Pinchas Ben Yair's donkey...

The notion of yeridat ha-dorot is perfectly understandable with regards to the level of scholarship of the average person in our generation. I am continuously in awe of Rashi, his breadth of knowledge and his capability to generate such a consistent commentary over thousands of Torah and Talmud pages. I am humbled every time I read the Rambam, who managed to codify the entire Jewish Law, write ground-breaking books about Jewish theology and at the same time work as full-time doctor. There is no question about the greatness of the rishonim.

But when applied to the area of halacha and Torah study, this notion is somewhat problematic. Must a modern-day scholar be forced to go against his reasoning simply because it contradicts an earlier, and conflicting, opinion? Surely the quest for halachic truth cannot be muted in mere subservience to past generations. So long as the proper guidelines of Torah study are kept, one must assume that there is for innovation and progress in the area of Torah scholarship.

In fact, the very rule set down by the Sanhedrin - that a court of law (bet din) greater in wisdom and number may reverse the ruling of a previous court of law - presupposes that a later generation's opinion may indeed be superior! The donkey may yet become man once again, so to speak. I fear that while the notion of "generational decline" is correct, it has been interpreted in ways that contributed to the stagnation of Jewish halacha in the last couple of centuries. Respect for previous generations and humbleness before their genius must not stifle the continuity of Jewish thought.