With all due respect Rabbi, I believe the rationalist explanation is that the Jewish people are physically strong like these mighty animals. Not "inspiration". See the blessings of Jacob.
With my expanded scope of studies, I have gained a new appreciation of the animal imagery in the Torah. Obviously, the lamb represents Israel in the Prophets. But why the transformation from lion to lamb? For that, you need to understand the role of the lamb.
It is difficult for visitors to comments sections to discern which conversation a commenter is responding to. Especially in long threads involving many commenters. Better to switch to a more user friendly format.
Excellent post as always, and beautiful application of the midrash to our current situation: to defend against a barbaric enemy we are forced to act with more animal brutality than compassion.
A zoological question about your picture: Naftali is compared a female deer, while your image depicts antlers. Correct me if I'm wrong, that only male deer have antlers, with the exception of reindeer, but they are not native to Israel. Google also informs me that reindeer are the only species of deer that have been domesticated, another reason it's not the best choice as an example here. But otherwise it's a great picture!
I don't understand you. According to dictionary.com, it's "a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one's personal nature". Every dog we have owned (and we're on number 4 now) has had its own traits; I would venture to say even its own personality. Anyone who has owned an animal (well, maybe lizards and frogs don't count) will concur.
Obviously animals have traits, as do humans. The difference is that we humans have the ability to channel and transcend our animalistic traits for spiritual purposes
Human capacity for rationalization is just a fact. I don't know why it presents any more challenge to theism than the fact that people like to kill others for tribal gain. We can use cognition (and pseudo-cognition) for evil just as easily as we can use it for good.
There are lots of ways to look at the purpose of religion that don't involve spiritual transcendence. Here's one: try to do more good stuff than bad stuff because we tend to default to bad stuff even though we have capacity for good stuff. In my personal experience, the use of the world "spiritual" often indicates a euphemism/placeholder for the places where we lack complete clarity about what we are actually achieving.
Ok, so allow me to clarify my understanding: your assertion is not a dismissal of the concept of undertaking actions sanctified and aligned with the divine will of Hashem, nor is it an argument against the inherent superiority of human beings over animals. Rather, you posit that individuals, at times, may engage in actions that deviate from good and resort to rationalization. Is this an accurate interpretation? My apologies that that's not how I initially understood you, you certainly didn't sound like that's what you meant.
I'm asserting that is it easy to mischaracterize rationalization for rationality and that there is a lot more of the former than the latter. Not saying anything about the other topics that you mentioned although that should not be taken to indicate agreement. But what difference does it make what I think?
According to unverified popular wisdom, Eben was chosen for the family name as a Hebrew translation from "Stone," presumably, in turn, an English translation from the family name "Stein."
"Aubster" is the most affection nick-name for Aubrey that any1 can imagine!
I liked how you translate אילה as a deer, as opposed to that being a צבי. Learning יומא דף כט recently convinced me of that as well. Aryeh Kaplan for some reason uses the deer for the Tzvi, based on some ambiguous language in the Septuagint, but in the footnotes cites the obvious sources to say the opposite.
“Levi Eshkol came from a Polish chassidishe home, but kept nothing. When he became excited, however, or in moments of high stress, he would naturally revert to Yiddish. One such moment was when we received reports prior to the 1967 War that the Egyptians were moving poison gas, which they had already used in Yemen, into the Sinai. Eshkol shrieked over the phone to Abba Eban, our foreign minister at the time, who was about to enter the White House to meet with President Johnson: ‘Zug dem goy az mir haben tzu tun mit chayes. Ir hert? Chayes!"
Getzel, please calm WAY down. After my initial revulsion, I always find it amusing to watch how idiotic he sounds. By flailing around like that, you make it sound like you actually take him seriously.
Yeah, he's a nebach. A loser. This is how he assuages his conscience. By responding like that, you're giving him exactly what he's looking for. Ignore him.
I don't think "mystics" understand the midrash any different than "rationalists". Not everything can be pigeonholed into the two little boxes you've created for your universe.
Congrats on the new Hebrew edition, a worthwhile addition to any library.
My eyes glaze over whenever a Mod Ortho rabbi of any type introduces a medrash (usually pronounced as mid-RASH) as "beautiful," "profound," "fascinating," or other Oprah-like superlatives. I think this minhag was initiated by a certain Rabbi Dr. Lord to glorify some inconsequential, or even silly, Rabbinic fairy tales, authored by said rabbis, of ambiguous meaning.
These adjectives, to me, r simply MO propaganda to make practicing Judaism appear to be "fun." "Fun" is an essential selling point of MO, because the outside world competing for young Jews' attention is fairly bursting with "fun," and the reward/punishment axis no longer sells. Further, the totality of living Jewish has way too much non-fun--long boring Shabbat afternoons, learning, and nida.
These wonderful adjectives gloss over the pettiness of most mid-ra-SHIM.
That's right, Shulman. Ask precisely what u would like to know, like a mensch, and get an answer. Do not speculate on whether I am high or any other yeshivish quips.
Nothing more annoying than a card-carrying atheist. They're not even fun to talk to. They're just like "religion is stupid, man, I don't care, I'm not listening to you NANANANANANA 🙉🙉🙉"
The only outfit that successfully sells "observance" on college campuses these days is "Aish," who have conkockted (my portmanteau of concoct and ferkokte) a nice recipe of Jewish fun and an opportunity to socialize and/or hook-up with other educated young Jews (admittedly a very worthy goal). College-campus Chabad is more for the socially awkward and touring Israeli young people out for a free meal. (Like Chabad, I would give the shirt off my back to an IDF vet, or equally for an awkward Jewish teen.)
You are full of hackneyed anti religious slogans and the like. Nothing that you say has any real content.Your'e anti religious diatribe is your baseless opinion based on your personal prejudices and reflecting your antisemitic feelings. We call it self hate.Why are you reading this blog?! Go your way ! We will go ours .To we religious Jews,and non religious, your comments are ignorant and irrelevant .
Yekutiel, though I am a zicher atheist, there r few things I love more than Jews, Judaism, Israel, and Modern Orthodoxy. Why? Because the essence of MO is compromise---and compromise is the only way we humans can survive. I LOVE the concept and reality that Jews can be both people and also citizens of the world! U can have a beard, if u like, and also u can also trim it! U can be frum and politically liberal, if u so desire. Compromise is NOT declaring defeat.
I lose patience with MO leaders only when they gaslight the real negatives of Yiddishkeit instead of dropping them. Ancestor worship discredits rational Judaism.
MO approaches and scholarship is not compromise except to those who favor other approaches to Judaism.You lost your faith. You didn't fight for it.You betrayed your
people when you married a Shiksa. You betrayed yourself. Your kids will be goyim.You went so far because you lost your faith! Sad! Chutzpah for you to comment on this blog. I remember you talked about atheism on this blog.You wavered a bit. But now this! Instead of studying sources and adopting your own religious but acceptable approach you took the easy way out for the Shiksa A__. Shame on you who had some yeshiva education and strayed so far. No Yom Kippur, Chametz on Pesach. הוציא את עצמו מקהל ישראל!
Yekutiel, u may not like this reality, but reality it is: there r many strains of Judaism practiced in the great USA. U may think that some of them r not legitimate, but tough luck! We r here.
Ha! What strain is yours! Strained of everything meaningful! Reform?! Reconstructionism!? Now there you can say strained of significant Jewish performance and Jewish thought! Assimilation and inter -marraige that's your religion!?" Daddy when are you buying the Christmas tree?!"As I told you when you were on your atheist rants you've got nothing and there won't be anything! A significant branch of Reform at their rabbinical graduation declared that they yearn for full assimilation. No more being Jewish. You said ..."We're here".How long do you think that will last!
I do not spend my life trying to engineer the future. People, religions, civilizations, and cultures have come and gone thru-out history. If Judaism dies a natural death 100 years after I die mine, so be it. We had a nice run.
Call me old-fashioned (or an AK), but I am nostalgic for a nice mix of ashky Hebrew and Yiddish. U can have your cha-GIM, but I prefer yontif, (rhymes with Pontiff)!
I am so happy to see the Rabbi in tip top form! We love this stuff.
I also love seeing the Rabbi like this, but I wish he would write more about me.
Well he writes about you plenty. He's obsessed with you animals. He's must be a carnivore.
But eating animals is CRUEL.
He should focus more on plants, veggies, and LETTUCE. Why does he always leave us out???!!!
😭😭😭😭😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😭😭😭😿😿😿😿😿😿😿
👍
Man, this place is going nuts!
This is a very deep article. along the lines of what I tell my congregants every Friday night.
I'd like to add a few different places where we find this exact point.
חיה אינש לבסומי בפוריא- A person must act like an animal on Purim
לא יצא החיה במחטו- A person should not act like an animal, with his brain (The ט is extra, and surely a typographical error)
מי האיש החפץ חיים אוהב ימים-A man who loves animals (plural) also loves the rivers
These are just a few snippets. For the rest you'll have to hire me or the Rabbi as your scholar in residence. Free shipping.
With all due respect Rabbi, I believe the rationalist explanation is that the Jewish people are physically strong like these mighty animals. Not "inspiration". See the blessings of Jacob.
Some Rationalists find the concept of symbolism exceptionally difficult.
With my expanded scope of studies, I have gained a new appreciation of the animal imagery in the Torah. Obviously, the lamb represents Israel in the Prophets. But why the transformation from lion to lamb? For that, you need to understand the role of the lamb.
i like that deep stuf.
Rav. Slifkin,
This format is awful.
It is difficult for visitors to comments sections to discern which conversation a commenter is responding to. Especially in long threads involving many commenters. Better to switch to a more user friendly format.
Agreed. I recommend Disqus, which also has the benefit of much stronger moderation.
It's an issue but substack is still where is at man! It's the most popular blog site in the last like 4 years or something
Excellent post as always, and beautiful application of the midrash to our current situation: to defend against a barbaric enemy we are forced to act with more animal brutality than compassion.
A zoological question about your picture: Naftali is compared a female deer, while your image depicts antlers. Correct me if I'm wrong, that only male deer have antlers, with the exception of reindeer, but they are not native to Israel. Google also informs me that reindeer are the only species of deer that have been domesticated, another reason it's not the best choice as an example here. But otherwise it's a great picture!
Not everything in Judaism is meant to be interpreted rationally, that's a distortion of Judaism. Judaism has many facets that play out simultaneously.
Why do you have a map of the Bronx Zoo as your avatar??
That's hilarious
animals don't have traits they're just animals.
and i'm a human being
I don't understand you. According to dictionary.com, it's "a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one's personal nature". Every dog we have owned (and we're on number 4 now) has had its own traits; I would venture to say even its own personality. Anyone who has owned an animal (well, maybe lizards and frogs don't count) will concur.
Yes, I can confirm this is true of cats also.
And I can confirm it is true of goats also.
Cat's snakes with fur! The suck the breath out of newborn babies!
It's cruel to own animals
Geez. Give the guy a break!
NO
YES!!!😡😡
🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐀🐅🐊🐸🐟🦈🦦🦨🦨🐷🐄🐑🐐🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐊🐸🐟🦈🦦🦨🦨🐷🐄🐑🐐🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐀🐅🐊🐸🐟🦈🦦🦨🦨🐷🐄🐑🐐🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐊🐸🐟🦈🦦🦨🦨🐷🐄🐑🐐🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐀🐅🐊🐸🐟🦈🦦🦨🦨🐷🐄🐑🐐🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐊🐸🐟🦈🦦🦨🦨🐷🐄🐑🐐🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐀🐅🐊🐸🐟🦈🦦🦨🦨🐷🐄🐑🐐🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐈🐶🦁🐀🐅🐊🐸🐟🦈🦦🦨🦨🐷🐄🐑🐐!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
U left out a few
Animals have instincts, not "traits." Lions r not "brave," dogs r not "loyal," snakes r not "vicious."
How do u know this?
Obviously animals have traits, as do humans. The difference is that we humans have the ability to channel and transcend our animalistic traits for spiritual purposes
There's nothing obvious in this world especially about animals
Or at least we can rationalize our actions to appear to ourselves to be transcending our base traits for something more noble...
Hey David, do you want to clear this one up for us? Because your comment sounds like it came from the mouth of a complete atheist.
Human capacity for rationalization is just a fact. I don't know why it presents any more challenge to theism than the fact that people like to kill others for tribal gain. We can use cognition (and pseudo-cognition) for evil just as easily as we can use it for good.
There are lots of ways to look at the purpose of religion that don't involve spiritual transcendence. Here's one: try to do more good stuff than bad stuff because we tend to default to bad stuff even though we have capacity for good stuff. In my personal experience, the use of the world "spiritual" often indicates a euphemism/placeholder for the places where we lack complete clarity about what we are actually achieving.
Ok, so allow me to clarify my understanding: your assertion is not a dismissal of the concept of undertaking actions sanctified and aligned with the divine will of Hashem, nor is it an argument against the inherent superiority of human beings over animals. Rather, you posit that individuals, at times, may engage in actions that deviate from good and resort to rationalization. Is this an accurate interpretation? My apologies that that's not how I initially understood you, you certainly didn't sound like that's what you meant.
I'm asserting that is it easy to mischaracterize rationalization for rationality and that there is a lot more of the former than the latter. Not saying anything about the other topics that you mentioned although that should not be taken to indicate agreement. But what difference does it make what I think?
by the dawn's early lights
Check out my bio
o haha
Huh?
According to unverified popular wisdom, Eben was chosen for the family name as a Hebrew translation from "Stone," presumably, in turn, an English translation from the family name "Stein."
"Aubster" is the most affection nick-name for Aubrey that any1 can imagine!
For this u hate me?
test
I liked how you translate אילה as a deer, as opposed to that being a צבי. Learning יומא דף כט recently convinced me of that as well. Aryeh Kaplan for some reason uses the deer for the Tzvi, based on some ambiguous language in the Septuagint, but in the footnotes cites the obvious sources to say the opposite.
From here:
https://mishpacha.com/prime-ministers/
“Levi Eshkol came from a Polish chassidishe home, but kept nothing. When he became excited, however, or in moments of high stress, he would naturally revert to Yiddish. One such moment was when we received reports prior to the 1967 War that the Egyptians were moving poison gas, which they had already used in Yemen, into the Sinai. Eshkol shrieked over the phone to Abba Eban, our foreign minister at the time, who was about to enter the White House to meet with President Johnson: ‘Zug dem goy az mir haben tzu tun mit chayes. Ir hert? Chayes!"
Shaul, it is unlikely that Aubrey Stone understood Eshkol's Mame Loshon. Maybe he knew a bissel Yinglish.
Abba Eban was born Aubrey Eban.
That detail does not change the essence of my point---that Aubster is unlikely to have been fluent in Yiddish.
Well, you are a horrible person.
I am sorry u feel that way, Nachum, especially since I never did nothing to u. If I hurt your feelings, that was never my intention, and I apologize.
Maybe 1 day we can sit down so I can tell u all the wonderful things I have done and change your mind.
You mock people's names. That's not a nice thing to do.
Getzel, please calm WAY down. After my initial revulsion, I always find it amusing to watch how idiotic he sounds. By flailing around like that, you make it sound like you actually take him seriously.
Yeah, he's a nebach. A loser. This is how he assuages his conscience. By responding like that, you're giving him exactly what he's looking for. Ignore him.
I don't think "mystics" understand the midrash any different than "rationalists". Not everything can be pigeonholed into the two little boxes you've created for your universe.
Congrats on the new Hebrew edition, a worthwhile addition to any library.
A Hebrew edition! Wow! Kol HaKavod. Who is the publisher?
We've gotten your previous Hebrew translation as gifts for Israeli friends. (And for ourselves.) It's a big hit.
And are further volumes on the horizon?
I thought NS said at one point he was 50% finished with the fish and fowl edition. But I could be misremembering.
My eyes glaze over whenever a Mod Ortho rabbi of any type introduces a medrash (usually pronounced as mid-RASH) as "beautiful," "profound," "fascinating," or other Oprah-like superlatives. I think this minhag was initiated by a certain Rabbi Dr. Lord to glorify some inconsequential, or even silly, Rabbinic fairy tales, authored by said rabbis, of ambiguous meaning.
These adjectives, to me, r simply MO propaganda to make practicing Judaism appear to be "fun." "Fun" is an essential selling point of MO, because the outside world competing for young Jews' attention is fairly bursting with "fun," and the reward/punishment axis no longer sells. Further, the totality of living Jewish has way too much non-fun--long boring Shabbat afternoons, learning, and nida.
These wonderful adjectives gloss over the pettiness of most mid-ra-SHIM.
What are you talking about? Are you high?
Hey, Shulman, please lose the MO/quasi-yeshivish lingo. I am not high, off my meds, or have I drank Kool-aid.
sorry i just have no clue what you're going on about. i guess i could've asked nicely if you care to explain
That's right, Shulman. Ask precisely what u would like to know, like a mensch, and get an answer. Do not speculate on whether I am high or any other yeshivish quips.
K please explain from beginning to end what you were going on about before and what it has to do with anything
Asking if someone's high is not a particularly yeshivish thing to do new so maybe you can explain that as well
Sorry I do not have the time to answer u in as much detail as u need.
Give me a break. Go to Hell.
Nothing more annoying than a card-carrying atheist. They're not even fun to talk to. They're just like "religion is stupid, man, I don't care, I'm not listening to you NANANANANANA 🙉🙉🙉"
See u there, Bob! But 1st tell me why I am wrong.
The only outfit that successfully sells "observance" on college campuses these days is "Aish," who have conkockted (my portmanteau of concoct and ferkokte) a nice recipe of Jewish fun and an opportunity to socialize and/or hook-up with other educated young Jews (admittedly a very worthy goal). College-campus Chabad is more for the socially awkward and touring Israeli young people out for a free meal. (Like Chabad, I would give the shirt off my back to an IDF vet, or equally for an awkward Jewish teen.)
I agree, to get young Jews interested in religion, there needs to be a more contemporary message.
What type of "contemporary message" do you mean, pray tell?
You are full of hackneyed anti religious slogans and the like. Nothing that you say has any real content.Your'e anti religious diatribe is your baseless opinion based on your personal prejudices and reflecting your antisemitic feelings. We call it self hate.Why are you reading this blog?! Go your way ! We will go ours .To we religious Jews,and non religious, your comments are ignorant and irrelevant .
Yekutiel, though I am a zicher atheist, there r few things I love more than Jews, Judaism, Israel, and Modern Orthodoxy. Why? Because the essence of MO is compromise---and compromise is the only way we humans can survive. I LOVE the concept and reality that Jews can be both people and also citizens of the world! U can have a beard, if u like, and also u can also trim it! U can be frum and politically liberal, if u so desire. Compromise is NOT declaring defeat.
I lose patience with MO leaders only when they gaslight the real negatives of Yiddishkeit instead of dropping them. Ancestor worship discredits rational Judaism.
MO approaches and scholarship is not compromise except to those who favor other approaches to Judaism.You lost your faith. You didn't fight for it.You betrayed your
people when you married a Shiksa. You betrayed yourself. Your kids will be goyim.You went so far because you lost your faith! Sad! Chutzpah for you to comment on this blog. I remember you talked about atheism on this blog.You wavered a bit. But now this! Instead of studying sources and adopting your own religious but acceptable approach you took the easy way out for the Shiksa A__. Shame on you who had some yeshiva education and strayed so far. No Yom Kippur, Chametz on Pesach. הוציא את עצמו מקהל ישראל!
Yekutiel, u may not like this reality, but reality it is: there r many strains of Judaism practiced in the great USA. U may think that some of them r not legitimate, but tough luck! We r here.
Ha! What strain is yours! Strained of everything meaningful! Reform?! Reconstructionism!? Now there you can say strained of significant Jewish performance and Jewish thought! Assimilation and inter -marraige that's your religion!?" Daddy when are you buying the Christmas tree?!"As I told you when you were on your atheist rants you've got nothing and there won't be anything! A significant branch of Reform at their rabbinical graduation declared that they yearn for full assimilation. No more being Jewish. You said ..."We're here".How long do you think that will last!
I do not spend my life trying to engineer the future. People, religions, civilizations, and cultures have come and gone thru-out history. If Judaism dies a natural death 100 years after I die mine, so be it. We had a nice run.
Call me old-fashioned (or an AK), but I am nostalgic for a nice mix of ashky Hebrew and Yiddish. U can have your cha-GIM, but I prefer yontif, (rhymes with Pontiff)!
Hebrew is a real language with rules, you know. Try to learn them.
This blog is not yours to use to berate people.
Watch it, Getzel. Your multiply repeating rants may get u banned, c"v.