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Torah Portion and Spotlight on Nature: Yitro

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A Griffon Vulture at the Hai Bar Nature Reserve near Haifa

 

“I Lifted you up on the Wings of the Nesher and brought you to me.” (Exodus 19:4)

In this week’s Torah Portion we discuss Moses going up Mount Sinai where the Eternal tells Moses to tell the Jewish People their divine purpose; to be a holy nation. He tells Moses to tell the Jewish people that he carried them on the wings of a bird called, in Hebrew, the Nesher.

Why I have n’t translated ‘Nesher’

The King James Bible translates ‘Nesher’ as eagle. This is mostly based in a European tradition identifying the Eagle as ‘The King of Birds’, the Eagle was the symbol of the Roman Empire and the Russian Empire. There is some zoological evidence to suggest that members of the Eagle family carry their children, though generally birds do not do this. However this identification does not fit other Biblical requirements. For instance, the Nesher, according to Micah 1:16 is supposed to be bald. Eagles (except for the American Bald Eagle which is not native to Israel an is not technically bald) do not tend to be bald, Vultures are. Vultures in Ancient Near Eastern folk tradition were associated with kingship. Vultures are also far larger than Eagles and have a larger ability to ‘pick stuff up’. One species, the Lammergeier or ‘Lamb Carrier’ in German, was even rumoured to carry away children.

Symbolism

The Symbolism of the Nesher is that its large wings are supposed to symbolise the eternal protection of the Eternal, know in Hebrew as the Shechinah.

For a more extensive explanation I encourage you to read Rabbi Natan Slifkin’s article on the subject.

 

Torah Portion / Spotlight on Nature and an Interesting Announcement

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“You Shall take a bunch of Hyssop dip it in the blood in the basket and put it on the Doorpost”

(Shmot / Exodus 12:22)

 This Weeks Torah Portion discusses the last of the ten plagues sent against Pharaoh so that the Jewish People could be saved from bondage. The commandment above was set in the context of the plague of the killing of the first born. The Israelites were to smear blood in this manner so that the Angel of Death would pass over their houses.

Why Hyssop ?

According to the description of the purity ritual used to resolve Zara’at (translated by the King James incorrectly as leprosy) hyssop was also used. According to Rashi (see just about every post that I’ve made before to find out who he is), Hyssop is the lowliest of plants. So Hyssop is both a symbol of lowliness and purity.

The merit with which the Israelites were saved

The Rabbis tell us that the Israelites were submerged in 49 levels of ritual impurity when they were saved from Egypt. They also tell us that it was in the merit of their forefathers that they were rescued from slavery. The hyssop warns the Israelites not to think that it is by their own merit that they are being saved but by that of their forefathers. Hyssop is also a symbol of the new status of purity which they will aquire.

Other News….

I have not written for a while because I became engaged.

The Torah taught in this post is for the Health of Zlata bat Sima

 

Succot in the Sun

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My Succah

 On any tour of Jerusalem for the next week, the week of Succot / Tabernacles (for instance if you were to book a Chol HaMoed Tour here) you will see many interesting little booths topped with leaves or bamboo canes and decorated with streamers and pictures (such as the one above). This custom derives from a commandment in the Bible (Leviticus 23: 42 – 43) that the Israelites should live in booths (Succot) for seven days. There is a deeper Kabbalistic reason for the custom which is apparent when one asks the question, why also on Succot do Jews read Kohelet / Ecclesiates?

A Book Focused on the Sun

One of the first verses in Kohelet says:

‘The Sun rises and the Sun sets  – then to its place it is pulled and it shines again ‘ (Kohelet 1: 4)

In fact the book seems to have a pre – occupation with the Sun, it mentions the Sun many times.  The Sun is a representation of Din; divine law and propriety. It fits a set programme which does not later at all, commanded by God to do what it does and not alter a tiny bit. Compared to rain, which seems fickle (and is a representation of Chesed, loving kindness), the Sun is a fixed thing.

A Protection against Din / Judgement

A Succah is a protection against the Sun, it shields the dweller from the Sun’s harmful rays, any Succah that fails to do so is not Kosher. Succot is supposed to be a time where we are protected from harsh divine Judegment, from Din. There is a phrase in Jewish liturgy;

‘On Rosh Hashanah (New Year) we consider how Judgement is made, on Yom Kippur it is sealed’

A Further Chasidic idea suggests that the final judgment is served on the last day of Succot and all the time from Yom Kippur to this day the judgement is suspended so as to give the person who was sentenced time to appeal. We have just finnished being judged a week ago on Yom Kippur  being judged and the whole period of Succot is a period of being protected from Din, from harsh judgement.

The Succah is a representation of divine Chesed (loving kindness); protection against the harsh divine judgement made on Yom Kippur.

 

Dedicated to the health of Zlata bat Sima

To Learn more about Succot, join Yossi on a Chol HaMoed Tour

 

 

Torah Portion Ki Tavo – Where to stay ?

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This week’s Torah Reading describes an obligation for all Jew’s to the bring first fruits of their produce in the Land of Israel to the Temple at three times in the year.  The picture above is an artist’s impression of what one of the Gates to the Temple (Robinson’s arch) would have looked like. One can well imagine thousands of Jews crowding these steps waiting to present their first fruits. A good question to ask would be; if all the Jews in ancient Israel came here, where would they stay?

Visit the Davidson Centre

A guided tour in the Davidson Archeological Centre would answer this question. At the bottom of the park their are a series of excavations where the remains of massive structures were unearthed. It is thought that these massive structures dating back to the Herodian period were hostels for pilgrims.

Free Room and Board

In the light of certain aspects of Jewish law (See Tosefta Maaser Sheni 1:12) where renting rooms in Jerusalem was forbidden,  it seems possible that there was not only a Hostel for a large number of people, but it  was a a free hostel. There is a source where one Rabbi Elazar ben Zaddok even restricts the rental of linen or beds (see Ahron Horovitz’s book Jerusalem: Footsteps Through Time).

Come and See it for Yourself !

The Jews would come and present the first fruits every Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost) and Succot (Tabernacles). It is still a tradition to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at these times of year. If you want to see some tour ideas click here !

To book your trip click here ! 

Torah Portion: What are the Tassles on the corners of my Clothes for ?

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“You Shall Make Tassles on the Corners of your garments” (Deuteronomy 22:12)

Twice this week I was asked by a traveller on one of my tours what the funny Tassels (one of which is pictured above) was for.

Its something that I forget when guiding is that some of the basic facts about Judaism are also interesting to someone visiting Israel for the first time.

The Commandment to Wear Tsitsit

Twice in the Bible (the source above and Numbers  / Bamidbar 15:37 -41) the Jewish people are commanded to put tassels on the corner of their garments. In the instance in the book of Badmidbar / Numbers the Jewish people are told to wear distinctive blue tassels made out of a die found in the blood of a certain snail. The Rabbis interpreted that this commandment was only applicable for men and only during the day.

What’s the Reason?

According to the section in Badmidbar / Numbers  the reason that Jews wear such tassels is to be constantly reminded about the commandments and not come to err.

Being a Moral Agent in one’s personal Deeds

The next verse is the start of a law concerning marital impropriety. The juxtaposition of these two concepts teaches that one could think that one wears Tsitsit in public so a person can be easily recognised as a religious Jew and then forced to behave in a proper manner due to social pressure. This time teaches that when only the individual himself can see his Tsitsit he is forced to act in a proper manner due to the  meaning he himself places  on these tassels.

 

 

Haftarah for this Week: ‘Like a booth in a field of Gourds’.

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A Shomera in Wadi Jinan near road 443 (Watch this space, I am going to upload a better picture of a Shomera that I saw)

“The Daughter of Zion is left like a (sucah) booth in a vineyard, like a (melunah) shed  in a field of gourds” (Isaiah Chapter 1:8)

This week is part for the 9 days of mourning leading up to the 9th of Av which commemorates the destruction of both Temples and the various tradgedies of the Diaspora. There is a tradition to read on the Sabbath before the 9th of Av from the first prophecy of Isaiah. In his prophecy he predicts the downfall of Judah and anthropomorphises her and explains how she is abandoned like a special type of building described as a ‘booth’ (a sucah) or some kind of lodging place (a melunah). Both are types of ‘Shomera’ which is a concept which has existed since ancient times and is used in arab agriculture.

The Shomera

A Shomera is used as a watchman’s booth in harvest time. During the harvest the harvester lives in a little hut next to his field until he has finished his harvesting and no longer has any more produce to protect.

So What’s So Bad about being abandoned like a Shomera?

A few weeks ago I was hiking in the beautiful hills of Sataf, which is an old abandoned village just West of Jerusalem. There is a wonderful trail that I can recommend called the ‘trail of the Shomerot’. Where you follow a trail of such booths up the hillside. It was just after midday and incredibly hot, my companions and I were forced to seek refuge inside an ancient Shomera. It certainly is not luxury accommodation, its a dank crampt little stone hut that you hide in from the scolding midday sun.

A mixture of Protection and Abandonment

The image here is stark, the ‘daughter of Zion’ is fleeing from the Sun; the harsh judgement that has been meted out to her and her only protection is a dank hut on a mountainside. Yet she does have some protection even though it is rickety and unsafe. The Shomera is a symbol of both the oppressive situation of the Jewish people and their ability to ‘cling on’ and survive in the oppressive heat of history. It is not the ideal situation but it is survival.

(These words of Torah are dedicated to the speedy recovery of Zlata bat Sima, please include her in your prayers)

Haftorah for Torah Portion: Matot – Jeremiah’s Northern Prophecy

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Stearn Family Tour - Pointing North

Stearn Family Tour – Pointing North by YossiTourGuide

‘And the word came to me a second time and he said;

“what do you see?”

I said; ” A bubbling pot and its face its pointing North.”

The eternal said;

“From the North shall spout forth evil on to all of the inhabitants of the land.”‘ (Jeremiah 1: 13 – 14)

This week’s reading of the Prophets (Hafarah) is from the Book of Jeremiah. It is part of a series of Haftarot leading up to the ninth of Av, the day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples and subsequent Diaspora of the Jews.  In it God speaks to him telling him that “From the North Shall spout forth Evil”.

Trouble Up North

 

Historically Jerusalem was invaded from the North. In the period of history before, when Isaiah was prophesying, Sennacharib, the King of Assyria invaded (unsuccessfully) from the North. During Jeremiah’s time Nebuchadnezzar conquered from the North, as did the Romans and when the Crusaders invaded Israel they came from Lebanon and Syria. In recent history, in 1948, the Jordanians shelled the City from the North and East. Though, counter to our rule, the Israeli paratroopers, in 1967, entered the Lions Gate in the North to conquer the Old City. Seemingly most conquests Jerusalem come from the North.

The Meaning of North

 

In tactical terms we can say that conquests typically come from the North because that is where the highest ground is; from the Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus. However there is a more spiritual reason to do with the meaning of the word North. In Hebrew North is:

צפון – Zafon

 

As we learnt in the Torah Portion of Balak, words in Hebrew have ‘root’ letters which tell us about their meaning. We can make a number of words from the root letters of Zafon:

A Zofe in Hebrew is a scout.

Lizpot is to forsee

Mazpen is a compass

Mazpun is a conscience

The word North is to do with looking forward, forseeing and looking with an agenda in mind.

 

Negative Prophecies

 

Not all looking with an intent is negative, without an ability to foresee certain actions and their  moral consequences we would not have a conscience. There is a type of prophecy that is always negative, this is the type that is common amongst people with depression. It consists of statements such as:

‘I always make mistake X’

‘I will never succeed

‘This type of thing is always happening to me.’

These over generalisations plague our speech and harm our lives, and become true, not by virtue of an innate truth of these statements, but by the belief of the person stating them.

It was God that told Jeremiah to look North, normally it would have been a really bad idea to make such a negative prophecy. In fact if we look at the text it took two prophecies, one with a almond tree stick and the other more disturbing image of a bubbling cauldron. Surely one warning was enough?

The lesson that we learn by the doubling of the prophecy and the harshness of the imagery is that it was not a normal matter, rather it excels in abnormality. The prophecy is the exception that proves the rule:

that a person should not become the prophet of his own downfall.


Spotlight on Nature: Coypu the Fuzzy Invader

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httpv://youtu.be/o2Ajqoqs-es

This is the South American Coypu, what is it doing in the Hula valley in Northern Israel?

So the story goes…

A number of years ago an enterprising Israeli farmer wanted to start a fur farming business. The problem is that mink and ermine do n’t do too well in the hot winters in the middle east. So he found this charming South American rodent that produces wonderfully thick fur every winter.

There was but one snag…

Israeli winters are not cold enough for these little fellas. So what did he do … he released them into the wild.

Big Mistake!

These fellas eat up the roots of plants and do a great job at messing up the local attempts to re – invigorate the wetlands by eating through irrigation pipes and messing up canals.

I think they are very cute and look forward to the day when we will be able to live side by side with these fuzzy invaders.

Torah Portion: Pinchas (Phineas)

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Elijah went a days walk in the desert and sat under a Rotem Bush (1 Kings 19:4)

This weeks Haftarah (reading of the Prophets that accompanies the Torah Reading) is
from the part of the Book of Kings. It describes how the Prophet Elijah was being persecuted by the Evil King
Ahab and his wife Jezebel. So he ran to the wilderness and sat in despair under a Rotem Bush (pictured above).

So the Question might be:
Why sit under specifically a Rotem bush?

So here’s where the hiking comes in. When I go on a hike the picture above is normally the last thing that I expect to see. What I normally see is a spindly little bush with no leaves.In fact the Rotem bush is well known for having no leaves andcarrying out photosynthesis through its branches.

The meaning of this is that Elijah felt depressed and abandoned and so he sat under a Bush with No Leaves.

Leaves are a symbol of Chesed, lovingkindess.

In the next scene God catches on and sends him an angel who brings him food.

The Rotem Bush is a metaphor for a lack of lovingkindess and God responds with kindness.