Pray for the well-being* of Jerusalem;

May those who love you be in peace.

May there be peace between your ramparts,

Peace in your citadels.

(Psalms 122:6,7)

 

 

"Salem became His abode; Zion, His den".

(Psalms 76:3)

 

Salem - This is Yerushalayim; perhaps it was so called because it is completely [Shalem means complete-Trans.] facing the Gate to Heaven, or because it is deserving of being in peace, or it was so called as a form of prayer, such as "Pray for the peace of Yerushalayim".

(Ibn Ezra, Psalms 76:3)

 

Beloved is peace, for in return of all Abraham's good deeds, the only reward given him by God was peace, as is written "And you shall join your fathers in peace" (Bereishit 15:15). And so we find our father Yaakov requesting of God only peace, as is written "And I return to my father's home in peace" (Ibid., 28:21). And similarly Aharon's praise before God was only peace, as is written "I had with him a covenant of life and peace" (Malachi 2:5). And so you find God rewarding Pinchas only with peace, as is written "Behold I give him my covenant of peace" (Bemidbar 25:12).

And so we find that the Torah is compared only to peace, as is written, "and all her paths are peace" (Proverbs, 3:17). [And so you see that the Almighty rewards Torah study only with peace, as is written, "Those who love Your teaching enjoy peace" (Psalm 118:165). And so the reward God gives to the righteous is peace, as is written," For the work of righteousness shall be peace" (Isaiah 32:17). And similarly you find that Yerushalayim is compared only to peace, as is written ""May there be peace within your ramparts" (Psalms 122:7). And so you find that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, will in the future comfort Jerusalem only with peace, as is written "And my people shall dwell in peaceful homes" (Isaiah 32:18). And you find that the Almighty will establish the kingdom of the House of David only in peace, as is written, "In token of abundant authority and of peace without limit: (Ibid, 9:6). And so you find that God punished the Ammonites and the Moabites only by denying them peace, as is written "You shall not seek their well-being" (Devarim 23:7).

(Sifri Zuta, Psikta 6)

 

*The original Hebrew is shalom- commonly translated "peace"- may also mean "well-being."

 

 

 

Speak sparingly - do much

Gabriel Weil

In memory of my son-in-law Dror Meyuhas, of blessed memory,

"Listens and acts"

"Loves peace and makes peace"

Most of Parashat Bemidbar is concerned with the census of the Children of Israel, as dictated by God:

"Count the heads of all the community of the Israelites by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male by their heads.("Bemidbar 1:2)

Different explanations have been offered as to the purpose of the repeated census and of its minute detailing. We shall focus upon the question of the sums: Excepting the Tribe of Levi, it seems that the Tribe of Benjamin is numerically the smallest of the tribes, and seems to have remained so for generations: For example, Saul says: "But I am only a Benjaminite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel" (I Samuel, 9:21)

This smallness combines with the attribute of silence and modesty to create a unique characteristic of the Tribe of Benjamin. Rabbi Shelomo Gotel remarks (in his book "Following Me in the Desert") that "there is a tradition of the power of silence which passes from Rachel until the last representative, Esther" as per the selection in Midrash Esther Rabba (6:12):

Rachel made silence her duty. All of her great descendents maintained silence. Rachel made silence her duty when she saw her betrothal gifts in her sister's hands and remained silent. Benjamin remained silent. Know that his representative stone in the priestly breastplate was yoshfe [jasper], to inform that he was aware of the selling of Joseph, but he maintained silence - yoshpe may be read yesh po ['he is here'] but he was silent. Saul her grandson (I Samuel 10:16) "but he did not tell him anything of what Samuel had said about the kinship".and so with Esther, "But Esther did not reveal her people or her kindred".

According to this Midrash there is a tradition of silence stretching from our Mother Rachel, through Benjamin, until Queen Esther; "the power of silence" appears also as modesty. Maharal notes "the paucity of revealing things indicates modesty, as though the language itself was modest, "So all his actions in secret and in modesty (Netiv Hateshukah, Chap.1.) Midrash Shocher Tov also interprets the passage "Whose tongue is not given to evil" (Psalms 15:3) as referring to Benjamin, "Who knew about Joseph's being sold, yet did not reveal to his father."

The virtue of silence is so glorified that the Zohar notes that the virtue of silence leads to the Holy Spirit. In the ability to remain silent is a special power which demands great self-control, as the laws of Lashon Harah [speaking evil of others] repeatedly emphasize. Does this suffice to bring on the Holy Spirit?

Rav Charlop claims that silence prevents "self-inflation" and minimizes the sense of honor and pride which become obstacles to sincere searching for the truth; but the very silence, such as when silencing the sense of speech and desires and all other senses make way for wisdom which pursues and searches a place where it can settle and rest" (Maaynei Hayeshua 173)

Only through the self-abnegation which comes with silence does Man achieve full divine inspiration.

"he silence which fills life gathers the majesty of wisdom into itself. The spiritual and practical world reveals itself in sharp resolution, in all its detail, in all the most exact lines to the great wise being whose vineyards are fenced around by a barrier of that silence which befits the wise."(Orot HaKodesh III, page 1)

He who listens carefully is able to open himself to others and can thereby attain wisdom and, so it seems, also the highest wisdom. What is the connection between silence and action? Shammai said (Avot 1:15) "Say little and do much". This is one aspect of the matter. Positive action is preferable to much talk. And so have we learned (Ibid. 1:17) "And study is not the important thing but practice, and whoever talks too much brings sin."

Similarly:

One whose knowledge surpasses his actions, to what may he be compared? To a tree with many branches but few roots, and the wind uproots it and flips it over. One whose actions surpass his knowledge to what may he be compared? To a tree whose branches are few and his roots plentiful, even all the winds of the world cannot move it from its place. (Ibid., 3:17)

Or, as Rabbi Akiva phrased it: "A wall around wisdom is silence." (Avot 3:13).

When you belong to a small tribe, when you are the last born, as was Benyamin, know your place and weigh your words carefully...

In a world marked by communication full of endless babble, which is no more that empty air, one must remember the power of silence. Man is defined as a chai-medaber - a speaking animal, and Chazal place strong emphasis on the importance which should given to every word, as is illustrated, for example, by the laws of vows; there is no such thing as 'just' talk - one should strive for significant speech.

In the world there is no small number of people with inflated egos, narcissistic and full of self-importance, for whom chronic blather is their routine nourishment, and the media provide them with a stage.

Perhaps "Choice Pearls", ascribed to Shelomo Ibn Gvirol (edited by Yehuda Eisenberg) can supply proper inspiration:

When I speak I regret.

When I refrain from speech, I regret not.

When I say something - it rules over me.

When I do not say something - I rule over it.

Why should I say something

Which, were it spoken about me, would injure me;

And if not spoken would not benefit me.

The laziness of silence is better than negligent speech.

If once you regret silence,

Many times will you regret a spoken word.

The wise man was asked: Where have you hidden the secret?

He replied: My heart is its grave.

Your secret is your prisoner;

Reveal it, you will be his.

Gabriel Weil is a member of Kfar Maimon, an educational and clinical psychologist

 

When the tabernacle is to be set out, the levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the levites shall set it up; any outsider who encroaches shall be put to death. The israelites shall encamp troop by troop, each man with this division and each under his standard. But the levites shall encamp around the tabernacle of the pact, that wrath not strike the israelite community; the levites shall stand guard around the tabernacle of the pact.

(Bamidbar 1:51-53)

 

Another story is told of a gentile who was passing behind the House of Study and overheard the voice of a scribe reciting [the verse] These are the garments which they shall make: the Hoshen and the Ephod. He said: "To whom were these instructions given?" They answered him: "To the High Priest." The gentile said: "I shall go and convert myself so that they appoint me High Priest."

He came before Shammai. He said to him: "Convert me on condition that you appoint me High Priest." He pushed him away with the builder's cubit he was holding.

He came before Hillel, who converted him. Hillel said to him: "Is it not so that only one acquainted with the conventions of monarchy is appointed king?" The convert went and studied. When he reached the passage And the stranger who comes near shall die he asked: "To whom does this passage refer?" He replied: "Even to David, King of Israel."

The gentile analyzed his situation with a kal va'chomer. "If Israel, who are called Sons of the Omnipresent, and because of His love for them he called them Israel, My firstborn son, are nonetheless subject to [the law of] And the stranger who comes near shall die - a convert who comes but with his stick and pack, all the more so!"

He came before Shammai: He said to him: "In your estimation, am I worthy of being a High Priest? Does it not say in the Torah: And the stranger who comes near shall die?"

He came before Hillel. He said to him: "Hillel the humble, may blessings be heaped upon your head, for you brought me beneath the wings of the Divine Presence."

One day, the three of them happened to meet. The convert said: "Shammai's strictness sought to drive us from the world; Hillel's humility gathered us under the wings of the Divine Presence."

(Shabbat 31a)

 

 READERS RESPOND:

While we concurred with most of Debbie Weissman's essay on Shmini (5771), we would like to take issue with her last point. Dr. Weissman embraces those who would expand the commandment of kashrut to include adherence to social standards of employer-employee relations and making restaurants accessible to those with physical disabilities. While we heartily agree with the encouragement of such practices and their publicity by Ma'aglei Tzedek, we think that linking this to kashrut is problematic for two reasons:

 (1) Expanding prohibitions is problematic and possibly forbidden by the halakha "not to add" áì úÉñÅó Deut 13:1.

(2)  The notion of linking kashrut to non-food factors is quite problematic and can even open the door to unwanted consequences. An example of this is the recently publicized case in which wedding halls were unavailable to couples seeking to celebrate same-gender weddings due to fear of losing their kashrut certification.

These higher standards can be grounded in the verse "Do what is right and good in the sight of the Eternal "úòùä äèåá åäéùø (Deut 6:18), but not likened to kashrut.

Sara and Ophir Yarden, Jerusalem

 

Thanks to Sara and Ofir Yarden for their response.

It is possible that the discussion is merely semantic. The question is what we mean when we discuss Kashrut.

Are we discussing only the prohibition against eating unclean animals, blood and fat, carcasses and improperly slaughtered animal, meat and milk? Or perhaps we can define as "Kasher" everything that is permissible and appropriate to eat, to the exclusion of things which are not appropriate to be eaten because of other reasons (such as, foods forbidden because their preparation involved violation of the injunction against "tsaar baalei chayim" [animal suffering], such as force-feeding geese, etc)? Therefore, I would not speak here about "bal tosef'- [the prohibition against adding laws to the Torah] because the prohibition against causing animals pain is considered to be a Torah prohibition. Furthermore, the Sages are empowered to promulgate decrees to distance one from sin, and, as long as these are clearly issued by the Sages, they are certainly not in the category of "bal tosef".

Your second point obligates serious consideration. Clearly "hechsherim" which rabbis or public figures issue or remove will be influenced by values (either true values or political considerations). Most places in Israel will not issue Kashrut certificates to non-Shabbat observers. There are, however, places in Galilee, which have a supervision certificate for weekdays with a note to the effect that on Shabbat other cooking equipment is used, and that the place is then not under rabbinic supervision. So we see that criteria for issuing hechsherim are - because of both halachic and public/political considerations - quite complex.

Pinchas Leiser, Editor

 

Jerusalem hope day

Following the Six Day War, another special day was added to the Jewish-Israeli calendar, the 28th of Iyar. I recall how, shortly after the war, the different suggestions for a name reflected the lack of consensus regarding its character and essence. Some called it "The Day Jerusalem Was Captured", others spoke about "Jerusalem Freedom Day", and until today there are those who call it "Jerusalem Reunification Day".

It can be taken for granted that the most accepted name is "Jerusalem Day". Similar to the amorphous "Rock of Israel" in the Scroll of Independence this name enables each individual and various groups to ascribe to this day the significance which he sees as correct and suitable, and to express through it his personal vision.

Is the city "captured"? Is it "freed"? Is it "united"?

Immediately after the war, most of us, if not all, thought that the city had been united and that the physical wall would be a site for touring and a location of joining together the different parts of the city.

Naomi Shemer, in her song "Jerusalem of Gold" paraphrased a passage from the Scroll of Lamentations and wrote: "The city which dwells alone and in her heart a wall." There is a tangible wall between the Old City and the New City, but perhaps the heart of the city is also divided, therefore in her heart is a wall.

It seems that walls cannot be knocked down by war. Perhaps there is a need for other steps in order to speak to the heart of a city and to the hearts of its dwellers, and to truly unite the city. Perhaps there is reason for concern for those quarters which are neglected, and for the welfare of its inhabitants.

The Talmud (Shabbat 21b) relates that Chanukah was established as a holyday only after "a later year". It may be that the reference is not to a calendar year but rather after it was possible to evaluate and to determine the significance and importance of the event for future generations.

There exist in the halachic tradition precedents for establishing significant and festive days in Jewish history as days on which eulogy and fasting are forbidden (Megillat Taanit). But historical developments led to "the abolition of Megillat Taanit", and therefore, perhaps it is too soon to determine the changing significance of this day for future generations. Perhaps a more suitable name which would aptly describe 28^th of Iyar is: "Yom Tikvat Yerushalayim" - Jerusalem's Day of Hope. May it be His will that in our time we be privileged to see "a city knit together" become a city which "makes all its inhabitants friends."

Pinchas Leiser, editor

 

 

 

 

 

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About us

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom is a movement dedicated to the advancement of a civil society in Israel. It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts that have always been central to Jewish tradition and law.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom shares a deep attachment to the land of Israel and it no less views peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have both the religious and the national obligation to support the pursuit of peace. It maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an imperative.

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