Free Parsha Tip

For those of you who read the questions below, the first & last ones highlight a secret to learning the Parsha.  Don't just start at the beginning.  If you do, you often join in mid-story.  Be sure to check the end of the previous Parsha before trying to figure out what's going on in the one your learning.

Parsha Questions - Lech-Lecha

A bit of a late start this week, but a thought provoking Parsha.  I'll get it started.

• While Avram is told by Hashem to leave בית אביך, many meforshim note that in fact, Terach had already begun the Aliya to Canaan at the end of last week's Parsha.  If so, what is the legacy of Terach?  We all think of him as the idolatrous foil in the Midrashic story of young Avram's scheme to highlight the folly of עבודה זרה, where he claims that the head idol "killed" the other ones. Did he discover Hashem before his death?  I once saw (I wish I could quote it, but I don't remember where) the suggestion that sefer bereishit is the story of the children of Terach, which explains the detail of genealogy for the families of Nachor and Lavan, beyond the daughters who married into Avraham's family.  Is he the hidden Patriarch of the Torah?
• A few questions that stretch into next week as well:
• What to make of Lot?  What an enigmatic character.  Is he a good guy?  A bad guy?  just kind of there?
• In this Parsha we find Avram and Sara traveling to Mitzrayim, and Paro takes Sara captive until he is inflicted by Makot.  Next week we find an almost identical story with Avimelech and Plishtim.  Why the need for the rerun?
• A short note on that same story, from a Maase avot Siman L'banim, I always thought that Avram and Sara both represented Bnei Yisrael and their eventual captivity in Egypt.  This morning I noticed that it seems more like Avram is playing the role of Hashem, with Sara as Bnei Yisrael - Avram is never taken.  We are often compared to Hashem's wife, but apparently for some reason in between the foreshadowing here in Lech-Lecha, and the real slavery, the metaphor shifted to "בני בכורי ישראל".  Not sure why, but open to ideas.
• Finally, at the end of the Parsha (we're skipping some interesting, important stuff), Hashem tells Avraham about the coming birth of Yitzchak.  Avraham responds with laughter.  You remember that at the beginning of next week's Parsha, the Malachim tell Sarah about Yitzchak, and when she laughs, Hashem gets upset.
• Why does Hashem get angry at Sarah for laughing but not Avraham?
• Why doesn't Avraham tell Sarah what Hashem had told him?
• Why does Hashem have to tell them altogether?  Why couldn't they just figure it out the way everyone else does?

OK, there they are.  Looking for some real feedback from you guys this week.  And this time, don't just approach me in the hallway - write it up & send it in.

Parsha at Your Fingertips in the NYT

Check this out.  It's an article about Rabbi Yael Buechler, a teacher at the Solomon Schechter of Westchester who started  a Midrash & Manicures club where she paints pictures from the Parsha on her students' nails.  Here's a quote:

“Re-envisioning education is what this is all about,” said Rabbi Buechler, 25, who was ordained in May by the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary and is the middle school student life coordinator at Schechter. “If I said come to a Midrash course, I’d have five or six students. But Midrash Manicures? Twenty plus.”…

The real beauty, she added, is this: “You can’t possibly come up with a meaningful design for your nails until you have read and analyzed the text.”

Better Late Than...

A slightly outdated (or really, really early) question from Liat Clark:

Although Yom Kippur has just passed and the selichot-saying days are over, I was wondering: why is it that selichot are said specifically late at night or very early in the morning, rather than together with maariv or after shacharit?


Thanks and great question.  In fact, so good a question that Gabrielle Hiller asked it last year and we re-ran it earlier this year (don't worry, you just got here & have a good excuse to having seen it).  Does that fully answer your question?

A Rabbi and a Senator Walk Into an Auditorium...

Here is a video of a public conversation between Senator (and once Vice -Presidential candidate) Joseph Leiberman (I, Conn.) and Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik partially about the Senator's new book about שבת, but also covering many aspects of Mr. Leiberman's unique and fascinating career as the most prominent observant Jewish American politician ever.

I was at the event and it was terrific; really interesting stuff about balancing his duties as a public servant and as a private eved Hashem.  Of note to us in light of our recent "Turn it Off Tuesday", he said that the the most difficult moment he has each week is turning off his Blackberry before Shabbat (appently RIGHT before Shabbat), and being forced to acknowledge that for all of his prominence and the important role that he plays in the world, that world can survive without him for 25 hours.  He also said that the next moment was his best of the week, as he would feel all of the stresses and difficulties of the week melt away with this one action of turning off his phone.  Rabbi Soloveichik was a little more aggressive with his questioning than I would have guessed, and it made for a truly enlightening and entertaining hour.  You should watch the whole thing.

It was particularly enjoyable to see so many Maayanot alumni who made the trip up from Stern to participate in the program.

I also got to participate in a reception before the program - here's a picture.

This was the first in a series of conversations Rabbi Soloveichik will be doing.  The second one is taking place tomorrow morning (10:00am, I have a conflict) at YU where he will be interviewing Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of England.  Promises to be great and I'll post it BN if it gets to YouTube so stay tuned.

Redecorating, Take 2

After pretty unanimous negative feedback for the Riddler-style background, we went back to the virtual drawing board.  Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Another Question on Parshat Noach

Cut Him Some Slack!

When Noach and his family finally enter the teiva, we are told they do so “מִפְּנֵי, מֵי הַמַּבּוּל,” because of the rising flood waters, (7:7). Rashi points out that these words imply that Noach was lacking complete emmuna, and that he only went into the teiva after the waters of the impeding flood compelled him to do so.

It is not necessarily Noach’s apparent lack of emmuna that should bother us, (although in reality it should), after all, that is one of the enduring questions in all of Tanach- how is it that those with such a direct connection to Hashem, especially those who witness His open miracles, can fail to believe in Him, or even worse, betray him for other gods! What should bother us though, is that this is being said about a man who spent 120 years of his life building teiva but for the his belief in Hashem, despite the constant taunting and ridicule of those around him! This much we do know, Noach did have emmuna, and this is clear from his behavior in the years preceding the flood.

If this is so, how might we help explain Rashi’s "harsh" words about Noach?

Question #1 on Parshat Noach

The following question on Parshat Noach is from the commentary of the Abravanel on the Torah, (R’ Don Yitzchak Abravanel, 1437-1508):

Already at the end of Parshat Breishit we are told that Noach was 500 years old when Shem, Cham and Yafeth were born to him, ( 5:32),

וַיְהִי-נֹחַ, בֶּן-חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה; וַיּוֹלֶד נֹחַ, אֶת-שֵׁם אֶת-חָם וְאֶת-יָפֶת

Why then are we told this for a second time at the beginning of Parshat Noach, ( 6:9-10):

אֵלֶּה, תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ--נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה, בְּדֹרֹתָיו: אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים, הִתְהַלֶּךְ-נֹחַ. וַיּוֹלֶד נֹחַ, שְׁלֹשָׁהבָנִים--אֶת-שֵׁם, אֶת- חָם וְאֶת-יָפֶת

The Ramban explains that the lineage of Noach is repeated, as an indication that these were his only sons. Unlike Noach’s ancestors, who bore sons and daughters other than those mentioned explicitly in the Torah, Noach bore only these sons and no other children. The Abravanel, however, is not satisfied by this explanation; He points out that the Torah explicitly states over there ",וַיּוֹלֶד בָּנִים, וּבָנוֹת " indicating that they had other children as well. Since no such phrase is found by Noach, argues the Abravanel, there must be another reason why his three sons are mentioned a second time.

Can you think of a reason why???

Why Joshua?

At lunch on Simchat Torah, my wife and I were asking our kids questions about the day, and the haftara came up - the very beginning of ספר יהשוע.  She asked why we choose this haftara, and we discovered that we both had always assumed different reasons for it.  I thought that it was because after completing the Torah and reading at the end of V'zot Habracha about the death of Moshe Rabbeinu and the subsequent leadership of Yehoshua, we continue the story at the beginning of Nevi'im.  My wife thought that it was to parallel the reading of the beginning of the Torah with Bereishit.

After שבת last night, she found this article by Rabbi Meir Soloveichik discussing the question.  Great minds...

Pidyon Shvuyim in the NYT

Check out this interesting article for a perspective on the halachik issues behind the deal for Gilad Shalit.  A friend told me that a local Rabbi who never talks politics or current events gave his drasha on Shmini Atzeret about this topic.  He defended the deal, despite the gemara's instructions not to redeem captives for excessive prices by noting that the gemara allows paying any price for an extremely important person.  Considering what Gilad has come to represent to the Jewish world, he certainly qualifies.

Redecorating

As you can probably tell, we did some redesign, please let us know what you think in the comments.

Learning About the Details of Mitzvot

Doreet Wiesel asks:
Why do we learn all of the details of what we do in Judaism? I realize that we need to fully understand in order to fully appreciate what the mitzvot are, but the more one adds on to their common knowledge, the greater the chance of them not understanding is. If we want our mitzvot to be done to the fullest extent, then why do we make it harder to comprehend what we know and love to do?

This is a very interesting question and one about which different people might have very different perspectives. The way I understand your question is that you are suggesting that sometimes our focus on learning the details of halakhot might undermine our intuitive, natural appreciation for the meaning of the mitzvot. In other words, perhaps a strong emphasis on the letter of the law might detract from our appreciation and fulfillment of the spirit of the law. (If I’m misunderstanding your question, please let me know!)

I agree that there is a risk of losing sight of the meaning of mitzvot by becoming excessively detail-oriented in our approach to learning about them. However, I think there is a far greater risk in the other direction. If we don’t continuously learn more about mitzvot, then not only do we risk not being able to fulfill the mitzvot correctly, but we also run the risk of relating to the Torah on a simplistic level. For example, a person may have an inherent love for the mitzvah of sukkah, because it’s such an enjoyable mitzvah and one that often brings back many happy memories and associations. However, if a person’s appreciation and understanding of the mitzvah of sukkah remain at that level, then her experience of the mitzvah remains static throughout her life. By contrast, if she continues to learn more about the halakhot and symbolism of sukkah, then her knowledge and love of the mitzvah have the potential to grow throughout her life. I think that it’s important for a person’s Torah knowledge to grow with the person—as the individual grows in thoughtfulness and depth, her Torah knowledge should expand in the same way. If this doesn’t happen, there is a risk that the Torah might gradually feel less compelling and relevant to her.

I hope that this answer is meaningful to you. Please stop by if you’d like to talk about it more!

Why is Rosh Hashana before Yom Kippur?

Ariana Brody asks: If Yom Kippur is all about getting rid of your sins, then why doesn't Yom Kippur come before Rosh Hashanah? Wouldn't you want to start your new year with a fresh start and no sins on your shoulders?

Good question. I think that the reason that Rosh Hashana comes before Yom Kippur, even though one might think that it would make more sense to achieve atonement first and enter Rosh Hashana with a clean slate, is that the teshuva of Yom Kippur is dependent upon the relationship that is established on Rosh Hashana. Before asking for Hashem’s forgiveness on Yom Kippur, we first need to establish a relationship to Hashem that is based on awe and reverence. Asking forgiveness before building that relationship would be premature; the gift of divine forgiveness is dependent on our recognition of Hashem’s malkhut and presence in our lives. In other words, if we tried to do teshuva before establishing an appropriate reverence for Hashem, it wouldn’t work—it would be like trying to make our sins go away without solving the problem that led us to sin in the first place.

Rav Shlomo Wolbe (a 20^th-century rav who lived in Eretz Yisrael and wrote works of mussar including his best-known sefer Alei Shur), develops an idea about personal growth that I think is relevant to this topic. Rav Wolbe wrote a sefer about childrearing called Zeriah U-Vinyan BeHinuch. The thesis of his sefer is that national and personal growth is based on the dual dynamic of zeriah (planting) and binyan (building). On the one hand, a person builds himself into a better individual through concerted action—through focusing on the performance of mitzvot and maasim tovim. On the other hand, a person grows in more subtle, organic, gradual ways as well. For example, a parent teaches a child about Judaism in practical ways, by teaching her Humash and halakhot and other areas of Torah. Equally importantly, however, a parent educates a child in Judaism by surrounding her with Jewish concepts and beliefs and experiences. In Rav Wolbe’s terminology, the active, practical type of education and personal growth is called binyan, and the subtle, organic type is called zeriah.

Rav Wolbe associates Rosh Hashana with zeriah, and Yom Kippur with binyan. On Rosh Hashana, we internalize the nature of our relationship with God by accepting His sovereignty, and on Yom Kippur we work actively toward admitting our sins and changing the way we behave. While Rav Wolbe does not explicitly address the question of why Rosh Hashana comes before Yom Kippur, I think that his idea about zeriah and binyan sheds light on the answer. I think it makes intuitive sense that teshuva would begin with zeriah and proceed to binyan, so that our resolutions for the future are built on the solid foundation of a meaningful, personal relationship with Hashem.

More on the Release of Gilad Shalit

From Temima Kanarfogel:

These past fews years as Gilad Shalit has been held captive by Chamas, many Jewish communities have organized rallies, recited perukim of Tehillim, and raised awareness of the importance of his release. To be honest, I had a hard time even agreeing with the idea that he should be released. Many questions swarmed in my mind: How can Israel trade a relatively large amount of Chamas terrorists for only one of our own soldiers? Is it really worth it to expose put so many more lives in danger to save one? And won’t this prompt Hamas to capture even more soldiers when they see we are willing to pay any price for our captives? Luckily, there are several Halachic sources that answer these questions:

            The importance of redeeming a captive is emphasized both by the Rambam and the Shulchan Aruch. The Rambam writes about this in Hilchot Matnot Aniym, “Indeed, there is no religious duty more meritorious than the ransoming of captives, for not only is the captive included in the generality of the hungry, the thirsty, and the naked, his very life is in jeopardy.” The situation that a captive is in is considered worst than most, because he is experiencing multiple sufferings. Therefore we need to treat this matter more seriously. Additionally in the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 252:3 this idea is further emphasized, “Every moment that one delays in freeing captives, where it is possible, is considered tantamount to murder.”

            The Talmud Bavli, Gittin 45a that teach us a captive cannot be redeemed for more than what he is “worth”. These were originally made in order to prevent Jewish societies from experiencing more emprisonments. If a captive is redeemed with an excessive amount of money, other nations or societies may take advantage of this and capture more people. The situation we are dealing with, however, is an exception that enables us to trade even an exorbitant amount of terrorists for Gilad Shalit. A well known Talmudic principle states, “Bari V’Shema, Bari Adif: A certainty and doubtful, the certain takes precedence.” His mortal danger is one of which we are certain. Even though it is not far-fetched to assume that if the terrorists are released, they may threaten lives in the future, it is not for sure. Their release presents a potential risk to many lives, but it is not as definite as the danger that Shalit faces.

            Ultimately, Gilad Shalit is part of Klal Yisrael. It is our obligation to return him to his family, and restore his life. Even though the price appears impossible to pay, we must do it. We do not have control over what harm these terrorists may do, but we can save somoene who is in their captivity. The only left to do is daven to HaShem that no significant damage will result from this trade, and bring Gilad Shalit home.

Gilad Shalit

With all the news surrounding (iy"H) Gilad Shalit's release, I found this blog post by a rabbi from Montreal especially moving and worth reading, no matter what your thoughts may be on the prisoner exchange (on which there is definitely much to discuss). Chag Sameach and hopefully we will be welcoming Gilad home soon!

Divrei Chizuk from Tali Spier

Yesterday, Thursday October 6^th, I had an extremely unique experience while davening Mincha. I chose to stand near the wall in my classroom to daven shmonah esreh and as I began to daven, I noticed something that transformed my shmonah esreh and led to me to really think about the next few days coming ahead of us. I was standing right next to the clock on the wall, and if you stand close enough, the ticking on those Staples clocks are extremely loud. When I say loud, I mean that every single time a second passes, you are starkly reminded of the fact that another second has passed.

Davening shmonah esreh next to this clock was eye opening. Here I was, on erev erev yom kippur, starting to say shmonah esreh like I would every other day. I had the intent of trying to add a little more kavanah because it’s the aseret yemei teshuva and trying to look out for the 5 things that I needed to add, but overall it would be the same.

And then I noticed the clock, after all it was beating harshly in my head; there was no way I could ignore it.

Tic toc. Tic toc. Tic toc. Tic toc. 

TIC  Hashiveinu avinu letoratecha TOC.

TIC Bring us back, our Father, to Your Torah TOC.

TIC Slach lanu avinu ki chatanu TOC.

TIC Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned TOC.

TIC Re’ah nah beanyeinu TOC.

TIC Behold our affliction, take up our grievance TOC.

TIC vegoaleinu mehira lemaan shemecha TOC.

TIC Redeem us speedily for your name’s sake TOC.

TIC Refaeinu Hashem veneirafe TOC.

TIC Heal us, Hashem- then we will be healed TOC.

TIC Barech aleinu Hashem Elokeinu TOC.

TIC Bless on our behalf- O Hashem, our G-d TOC.

TIC Teka beshofar gadol lecheiruteinu TOC.

TIC Sound the great shofar for our freedom TOC.

TIC Viliyerushalayim ircha berachamim tashuv TOC.

TIC To Jerusalem, Your city, may You return in compassion TOC.

TIC Shema Koleinu Hashem Elokeinu TOC.

TIC Hear our voice, Hashem our G-d TOC.

Tic toc. Tic toc. Tic toc. Tic toc.  YOM KIPPUR IS COMING- how are we spending these precious moments leading up to the Yom Hadin?

Time is passing, are we preparing?

Time is running out and its time for us to take action.

It is time for us to beg out to Hashem.

Time is passing.

Hashem, bring us back, allow us to do teshuva.

Hashem, forgive us because we know that we have sinned.

Hashem, please bring mashiach; we need redemption.

Hashem, bring us back to Yerushalayim.

Hashem, heal all those who are sick.

Hashem, bless us with a good and sweet new year.

Hashem, please hear our begging.

We are reliant on You and we need YOUR help.

Let's all use our TIME wisely so that Mashiach can really come this year! 

May this Yom Kippur be meaningful for all of us and may Hashem fully forgive us all.

May all of our tefilos be answered l’tova.

Gmar Chasima Tova,

Tali Spier 

A Great Speech

Especially in light of our recent "Turn it Off Tuesday", here is a wonderful drasha that Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner, a rabbi in Toronto (who writes at the blog "the Rebbetzin's Husband") gave on Rosh Hashana.  You should read the whole thing, but I'll quote some of my favorite passages:

• "When I stand in Shemoneh Esreih, I count birds," said one.
  "I count the bricks in the wall!" said another
  "I'm grateful for my head, because when I arrive at Modim it bows on its own", even if I'm not thinking about the words! said a third.
  No, these weren't answers to a shul poll – all of these lines came from amoraim, sages of the gemara, in a Yerushalmi.
  Some chachamim have offered alternative, less indicting ways to read this gemara, but as Tosafos said, the bottom line is that even our greatest sages had trouble concentrating.
• Do you know that voice someone gets when he's talking to you but he's also scrolling through his email? The longer-than-expected pauses, the repeating of the last words you said while his conscious mind catches up with his subconscious? It's not just when we're checking email, either; we hold too many goals in our minds.
•  And here's an experiment which may sound a little odd, but it has worked for me: During davening on a weekday, or during telephone calls, or while learning with a chavrusa, keep a piece of paper and pencil nearby. As extraneous topics come to mind, jot them down - not during Shemoneh Esreih, of course. This will tell us what is occupying our minds.
• A message we write to ourselves in our siddur, "Are you still focussed?" or "This part is important." I write all over my siddur.

גמר חתימה טובה.

In Tribute to Steve Jobs - A Reflection for the New Year and Yom Kippur

Here are some inspiring words from Michal & Adina's Dad - I think you will enjoy them.
Building a Better Apple
I know you might not think of your iPhone or iPad as holy, but perhaps we can become better people by reflecting on their creation.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s former CEO failed better than anyone else in
Silicon Valley and perhaps in corporate America. Like most great entrepreneurs, he learned from his failures.

We think of Jobs as the genius who created iTunes, iPhone and Mac books, but think about what else he did. First, though, he designed Apple I and Apple II, which originally only sold in the hundreds. He introduced Lisa, a computer in the early 1980′s, which was deemed an epic failure.

Job’s future success was built on his ability to transcend one failure after another. Steve Jobs reminds us that failure is a good and necessary part of growth.

What were our “failures” from last year? Are we afraid to take risks for fear of failure?

Take a few minutes today to record three challenging experiences from this past year. Reflect on their meaning for your future. How can we build from them?

At the beginning of the Jewish New Year, we dipped apples into honey. Perhaps Steve Jobs gives new meaning to this custom.  The tradition reminds us that sometimes the greatest glories are born of catastrophe and, like Jobs, we can turn our Apples into sweetness for the coming year.

May G-d grant the Jobs family comfort and may Steve Jobs memory be a source of blessing and inspiration in the new year.

Rabbi Daniel Cohen

From the Archives - Yom Kippur

Here's some old material from previous Teshuva seasons:

• From me in 2009 - I hope you all saw the inaugural edition of this year's Maayanei Torah, under the new leadership of Mrs. Shapiro and Talia Friedman. It was a great issue, highlighted by two consecutive essays about the connection between Purim and Yom Kippur (Yom kiPurim). Some other answers that I like are the following: Generally, Jewish holidays are split between Torah and prayer on one hand, and festive celebration, expressed by eating and drinking on the other. Purim and Yom Kippur split the two days, where we have Taanit Esther preceding Purim, and a mitzva to eat on erevYom Kippur. My favorite approach is that just as on Purim we where masks & costumes to symbolize that our bodies are also fake coverings that mask our true selves, our souls. That is why we (not you!) drink, because the wine reveals the true individual (נכנס יין יצא סוד). So too on YomKippur, we dress and act like angels, but our message to Hashem is that today is not the day of charades - this is the true us. Really, at our core, we are pure (אלקי נשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא). It is the rest of the year that we masquerade as sinners due to the difficulties that we encounter revealing this true self, but our essence is the Yom Kippur version.
• This is from 2010, though the question just came up again in one of my 11th grade Gemara classes -  

Selichot Timing
A timely question from alumna Gabrielle Hiller:

I have a question about the technicalities of Selichot: I see shuls have all different Selichot times, whether 10 PM, 12:45 AM, or before Shacharit. What's the support behind all these opinions and is there a preferred time?

Hi Gabrielle, it was so great to see you and so many of your classmates at the Yom Iyun - your grade continues to leave your mark on the school.  
The best time is at the very end of the night, right before dawn.  Also good is late at night, after חצות (close to 1 am - this is customary for the first night of selichot).  The problem with these, is that they are very hard; it means either going to sleep very late or waking up very early, which leaves you really tired the next day.  Therefore, many people are lenient and say it before their regular minyan in the morning, whenever that is.  Kabbalistically, the absolute worst time to say selichot is at night before chatzot.  Night is a time of harsh דין, and an inopportune time to plead our case for mercy.  Rav Moshe Feinstein allowed this if needed, but the 10:00 pm Selichot is certainly not ideal.

• And note that this just happened again this year:  

Today was the end of a trivia question.  Last year at Chazara Bowl during Color War, one of the questions was, "when do you read the Torah for 5 consecutive days wthout ever saying Hallel?".  The answer, as two of our students knew (Daniella and Avital, right?) was when Rosh Hashana falls out on Thursday and Friday, Tzom Gedalia is observed a day late on Sunday, and we lain on שבת and Monday as usual.  Today was the first day since erev Rosh Hashana that we did not read the Torah.

We want Mashiach...now?

A student wrote:
When I was in Israel this past summer, I spent a lot of time thinking about kibbutz galuyot and the days of Mashiach. However, I cannot help but wonder: how can we truly want and yearn for Mashiach when we have so many other things that we are busy with and things we look forward to? For instance, do we really want Mashiach to come when a sibling is getting married in a month? Or, on a lighter note, when the baseball playoff races are just heating up? Can we want Mashiach to come, but only at a convenient time when we don't have anything planned? My main question is: while we are all learning Torah and the ideal is to do this in Israel in the times of Mashiach, what will happen to all of what we have prepared and look forward to in this world?

This is a question which used to bother me a great deal. Is Mashiach going to come right after I graduate college, just at the right time for me to join all of klal yisrael on the eagle's wings on the date that I had planned to fly with Nefesh b'Nefesh? And, on the flipside, what if it doesn't? If it comes earlier, will I ever go to college? And if it comes later...?

The question has a basic assumption which is important to point out and break down: what is actually going to happen when Mashiach comes? What's that time period going to be like? How do we know?

The navi talks about the time that the wolf and the sheep will get along and play with each other, and that has become the most brilliant example of the peace which yemot hamashiach will bring about. But...what does that mean? Does it mean all nations will be at peace with each other? I hope so. Does it also mean the food chain stop and we'll all be vegetarians? Maybe. Does it mean every day will have perfect weather and we'll never need raincoats and umbrellas and somehow at the same time crops will grow beautiful produce? I don't see how that could be...

The Rambam doesn't like the idea of everything natural being suspended. He interprets the psukim in the navi which seem to indicate that as being allegorical. World peace between nations, yes. Peace between the wolves and the sheep? No.

What do you think about the Rambam's understanding, anonymous asker?
Do you agree with the Rambam's understanding?
In your view, will there be a playoff season?

Great Minds...

After Rabbi Schacter's talk last week, Ayala Carl and I had a conversation in which she advanced the theory that Avraham had failed the nisayon of the akeida, in that he should have refused to slaughter Yitzchak.  I responded that while I don't find it convincing (difficult from both a peshat and hashkafa perspective), I recalled that a prominent Rabbi had made the argument and that she was in good company.

In responding to Mrs. Herzog's question I (re)discovered that Rabbi Shlomo Riskin was the one who argued that Avraham failed, and Rabbi Mayer was also unconvinced (see below).

So what do you think?  Did Avraham pass the ultimate (or penultimate) test?  Do you agree with me & Rabbi Mayer or Rabbi Riskin and Ayala?