Two More Suggested Reading Lists

This is it from the old ones, but let's see if anyone wants to give a new one or update their old one.

Mrs. Appel's Reading & Movie List

• Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go
• For an interesting dialog about contemporary (or at least, 1990s) Orthodoxy: Haym Soloveitchik, "Rupture and Recontstruction: The Transformation of Contemporary Orthodoxy", in Tradition 28:4 (1994) -- along with Dr. Isaac Chavel's response and Dr. Soloveitchik's response to Dr. Chavel, the latter two published in Torah U-Madda, January 1, 1997
• Heschel, The Sabbath
• The poetry of Leah Goldberg
• Chaim Potok, The Chosen
• Thornton Wilder, Our Town
• Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
• David Ben-Gurion's speech declaring Israel's idependence, recording:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJObtrw_E6g&feature=related

Movies:

• Schindler's List
• Life is Beautiful

Mrs. Kraft's Reading List

For thinking about Judaism on a deeper level and to be inspired at the same time:
1. Living Inspired by Rabbi Akiva Tatz
2. World Mask by Rabbi Akiva Tatz
3. The Thinking Jewish Teenager's Guide to Life by Rabbi Akiva Tatz

For the very intellectually sophisticated reader dealing with issues of faith in G-d:
1. Forgive Us, Father-in-Law, for We Know Not What to Think: Letter to a Philosophical Dropout from Orthodoxy by Rabbi Shalom Carmy
2. Faith and Doubt by Rabbi Norman Lamm

On why bad things happen to good people:
Kol Dodi Dofek (Hebrew) or Fate and Destiny (English translation) by Rav Solovetichik

Just good and enjoyable (and secular) reading on having the correct perspective and being productive, etc.:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey

For Inspiration:
Just One Word. Amen by Esther Stern

To increase your kavanah in tefila:
Pathway to Prayer by Rabbi Mayer Birnbaum
The Art of Jewish Prayer by Rabbi Yitzchok Kirzner
Rav Schwab on Prayer by Rabbi Shimon Schwab

Shabbat Reading

I'm also in the middle of reading the parsha essay by Rabbi Eitan Mayer (Menahel Chinuchi at Midreshet Moriah and guest speaker at Mishmover).

In general, if you are looking for some good reading material on the parsha, his essays are a good stop.  On theme he keeps reverting to in this weeks piece are the unavoidable connections between the beginnings of שיעבוד מצרים and the Holocaust, which had already caught my attention just reviewing the Parsha while reading Rabbi Lau's book, but Rabbi Mayer's analysis and application are well worth the read.

Even More Reading Suggestions

Rabbi Prince's Reading List

• All books by Rabbi David Aaron
• All Books by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
• All Books by Nechama Lebowitz
• Discover by Rabbi Dov Moshe Lipman
• By His Light – Essays of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein
• Ner Uziel - By Rabbi Uziel Milevsky
• Off the Derech – by Faranack Margolese
• תורה לדעת – Rabbi Matis Blum
• הררי קדם - "Harerei Kedem I & II" by Michal Zalman Shurkin
• On Repentance: The Thought and Oral Discourses of Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveitchik
• A Student's Obligation: Advice from the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto
• The Promise – Chaim Potok

Mrs. Sinensky's Reading, Movie, Game & Activity List

• The Matrix (movie)
• Redemption, Prayer, Torah Study in Tradition 17:2, R' Soloveitchik (my favorite Rav Solovetchik article)
• Wit, Margaret Edson (play that's fun to analyze)
• Halachos of Brachos, R' Forst (super-practical, well organized, clear, comprehensive book about Brachot. Great to learn with a friend!)
• Set (the game-great for sharpening your Gemara skills. Someone once told me that it should be renamed the "tzad hashaveh" game!)
• Watch your favorite T.V. show and write down all the "hidden" messages that you can pick up on
• Abraham's Journey, R' Soloveitchik (Essays about the life and character of Avraham Avinue. I read it on Pesach and couldn't put it down!)
• The Sabbath, Heschel (A book that will change your perspective on and appreciation of Shabbat and Chagim)

Ms. Gordon's List

• As a Driven Leaf - Milton Steinberg
• Jewish Matters - Articles by different authors on different topics (God, Faith, Tzniut, Prayer etc.)
• Exodus or Mila 18 - Leon Uris
• O Jerusalem - Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre
• Anything by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Chief Rabbi of England)
• Anything by Rav Aharon Lichtenstein (Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion and Posek of Maayanot)
• Lonely Man of Faith - Rav Yosef Dov Soloveichik
• The Modest Way - Rav Ellensohn's book on Tzniut. Has all opinions and sources with English translations.
• Jewish Literacy - Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Movie: Hiding & Seeking

Rabbi Besser's List

I think I'm going to enter my list piecemeal, to allow me to give it some more thought, and talk a bit about why I'm recommending the books that I do, without having a post so long that no one reads it. I'll start with four.

• As a Driven Leaf (Milton Steinberg) - I add my vote to the others but attach a warning: What makes the book so wonderful (in addition to the issues of faith & doubt highlighted by Mrs. Goldberg) is what scares me a bit too. It is the fictionalized story of a real historic figure -Elisha ben Avuyah (Acher) - a Tana who became a heretic. For the first half of the book, the primary characters are Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Meir, Bruriah, Ben Azzai etc. Many of the Talmudic figures we study every day, and getting to know them in a real-life way is thrilling. And much of the story is based on legitimate sources. The disclaimer is, that it's not real-life. The gaps filled in by the author dwarf the actual historic content, making the finished product truly fictional. That said, the glimpse into their lives, the very readable style, the big issues raised in an intriguing but not ponderous way, and just the wonderful drama make this a book you will love.
• A Return to Modesty (Wendy Shalit) - This is unlike any other "Tzniut" book you'll ever read. Ms. Shalit's story makes the book so unique. She grew up non-observant, and what drew her to Orthodoxy was the appeal of the rules of tzniut. Therefore, with no pre-existing agenda, she lived the secular system, straight through the typicalUniversity campus and found it wanting, and found what was missing in classic Judaism's halachik and philosophical view of women. Using all sorts of data (very much including womens' magazines), she makes the case that modern sensibilities about gender relationships are doing major damage to women, and that the formula to repair that damage lies in the roots of our tradition. You can disagree with her at the end, but her perspective is eye-opening. (Disclaimer: I'm not endorsing the cover, which was not chosen by the author, and was removed from my copy).
• Turbulent Souls (Stephen Dubner) - The memoir of a successful journalist, raised as a fervent Christian, who lapsed into a secular adulthood tracing his Jewish roots.
• The Geography of Bliss (Eric Weiner) - I read it on Ms. Socken's advice, and though it took me a bit to get in to, I ended up enjoying it a lot. A reporter for NPR travels to the happiest and least happy countries on Earth to see what lessons about happiness he can learn. The chapters that spoke most to me (though I doubt many of you will choose the same ones) were Iceland (which contains what I consider to be the single most important line of the book - I won't give it away) & Thailand.

I'll give some more a different time, but I have midterms to grade. Please let us know what you think of the blog so far, submit questions you would like to see addressed or helpful suggestions at questions@maayanot.org.

2012 me talking for a second:  For now I'll make one addition to my list - the book I'm in the middle of right now.  Out of the Depths: The Story of a Child of Buchenwald Who Returned Home at Last By Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau.  Read the article, but his story is truly remarkable, and the book is very uplifting, even though it's very much a Holocaust book.

Ms. Bieler's Reading List

• Articles from the Tradition journal
• Articles from the Journal of Halakha & Contemporary Society
• The Phantom Tollbooth, Juster & Feiffer

Ms. Wolf's Reading & Movie List

• Hiding and Seeking (movie)
• The Lonely Man of Faith, R' Soloveitchik
• As A Driven Leaf, Milton Steinberg (historical fiction based on the Gemara)
• Exodus, Leon Uris (historical fiction about Israel)
• Mila 18, Leon Uris

More Reading Suggestions

Let's stay in the Tanach department with:

Mrs. Cohen's Reading & Movie List

• Awakenings (inspirational movie)
• My Left Foot (inspirational movie)
• Kol Dodi Dofek, ed. Woolf (one of Rav Soloveitchik's most famous articles--must read!)

and

Mrs. Schapiro's Reading List

• Orthodox Forum Series (several books on timely topics such as feminism, relating to non-Jews, relating to non-traditional Jews, etc. Sometimes the Enlish is difficult but there's always http://www.dictionary.com/)
• Me'am Lo'ez, translated by Aryeh Kaplan (Enlish translation of pesukim and various midrashim on Tanach)
• If You Were God, Aryeh Kaplan

Happy Birthday to Us!!!

Three years ago today were the first real posts on this blog and the day that we truly opened for business.  Continued thanks to Mrs. Sinensky who was a real driving force towards getting it off the ground and building it into something substantial - it didn't start counting visitors until that summer, six months later, and we are already close to 600 posts and over 22,500 page views.  In celebration, I will re-post some of the early material, including our kick-off - suggested reading lists from your faculty / administration as we head into vacation.

Let's start with Ms. F - 

• The Source, James Michener (historical fiction about the Crusades)
• Sabbath Shiurim, Rabbi M. Miller
• Shiurei HaRav, Epstein (lectures of Rav Soloveitchik)
• http://www.tanach.org/ (awesome Parsha material from R' Menachem Leibtag)
• http://www.vbm-torah.org/ (more awesome Parsha material from Yershiva Har Etzion a.k.a "Gush")
• A Return to Modesty, Wendy Shalit (discussion of Tzniut from a secular perspective)
• The Magic Touch, Gila Manolson (about negiah)

Parsha Questions - Shemot

I think there are still questions coming from someone else, but just to get it going, here's something that caught my eye this year and maybe some of you who are learning / teaching Shemot, or did it in years past can help me out.

When Moshe first encounters the סנה (burning bush) it says וַיֵּרָא מַלְאַךְ יְקֹוָק אֵלָיו בְּלַבַּת אֵשׁ מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה סְּנֶה בֹּעֵר בָּאֵשׁ וְהַסְּנֶה אֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל:  The Malach appears to him, he then responds, and then Hashem Himself repies back.  Who or what is this malach?  Was there an angel there, and if so, what did it do?  I can't remember if I saw this anywhere, but I'm inclined to believe that malach over here doesn't mean angel but agent of Hashem, in this case referring to the סנה itself.

In general, it's interesting to keep your eye on who is doing the talking in all instances of prophecy - Hashem or a malach, and why.  Maybe I'll follow up on this one day.

Keep 'Em Separated

Rachel Klar & Mairav Linzer asked (on our Facebook page): Is a person allowed to buy an already planted orchard of hybrid fruit?"

I think (I had to double check with my chavruta) that it depends what kind of כלאים is the concern.  For regular hybrid crops, כלאי זרעים, the prohibition is just to plant them so that would be OK.  If one of the crops is a vine of grapes, כלאי הכרם, then there is an איסור הנאה that would also likely prohibit maintaining the hybrid.

Thanks for asking this question - not typical for our blog at all!

Kol Hamevaser - Maayanot Nachat

Two of my favorite things are talking Jewish education and seeing Maayanot alumni doing great things, so it was an unusual pleasure to see this, the latest issue of Kol Hamevaser (when I was in college it was just "Hamevaser" - inflation?), Yeshiva University's journal on Jewish thought.  This issue is dedicated almost entirely to topics in Jewish education.

First, the introduction to the magazine is written by the Associate Editor and Maayanot alum, (inaugural bekiut champion and blog contributor) Gabrielle Hiller.  Additionally, Rachel Weber (blog contributor and current Tefilla Workshop leader) has a great article relevant to us all called "Single-Sex Education: Still Le-ka-tehillah."  I remember the day she came to interview Mrs. Kahan for the piece (she is quoted extensively).  It's a great read and a compelling case.  I was reminded of this other great moment of Maayanot history in Jewish journals.

Finally, a relevant article written by Hannah Dreyfus (don't know where she went to school) about tefila in schools (Teaching Prayer: Obstacles, Goals, and Strategies) was very interesting.  I'm on the outside during Shacharit, but does this ring true?

Titters and giggles are clearly audible from the back row. The teacher prowls alertly up and down the aisles of the small synagogue, rushing over angrily to squash the small rebellions that sporadically break out as the minutes of obligatory silence creep by. Creases in the siddur expertly shield cell phones from view. Some students settle for a more passive approach, staring sleepily into space, siddurim opened laxly to any arbitrary page. Some mutter the words, eyes focused absently, uncomprehendingly. The lone, pious few close their eyes tightly, swaying back and forth, trying to concentrate, battling an overwhelming tide of disregard, apathy, and open resentment. The all-too-familiar picture of a tefillah classroom.

I hope not, but you would know better than I would.  She has some interesting thoughts, but in the end she acknowledges many of the challenges that we are all familiar with.  Again, a good read.  Check it out, there's a lot of other good stuff too.

What a True Chareidi Leader Says

Much has been written about the harassment of young girls on their way to school in Ramat Beit Shemesh. See this letter by one of the rabbinic leaders of the Passaic community, which tells the story of a Chareidi leader of yesteryear and how he responded to the sight of children walking in the street in a way the leader did not approve of.

In case you didn't get to the end of the story, R. Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld, one of the leading anti-Zionist rabbis of his time, showered blessings on the heads of the Zionist children who walked in front of him. May all leaders find the strength of character to do the same.

After 1500 years, an index for the Talmud

Check out this great article about a lawyer who just wrote his own index to the Talmud: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/nyregion/an-index-for-the-talmud-after-1500-years.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Are Any Made out of Clay?

Check this out - as extensive a dreidel collection as I can imagine.

Bye-Bye Birdie

In honor of the Ma'ayanot musical production of Bye-Bye Birdie, here is a review of the laws of שילוח הקן.  Hope everyone enjoyed the show.

Jealousy & Hatred - or the Other Way Around

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One more question on Vayeshev before we move forward:  I found it surprising that as Yosef was getting the כתונת פסים and relaying his dreams to his brothers the Torah tells us repeatedly that they hated him and hated him more and more.  Only at the end of the story, after he is rebuked by Yaakov does it say that the brothers were jealous of him.  Wouldn't you think that the emotions would go in the reverse, that jealousy would lead to the hatred?  Any thoughts?  Guidance team?

My Brothers do I Seek

One of the enduring questions which arises when learning about Yosef’s sale to Mitzrayim, and his rise to power within the Egyptian government, is his lack of communication with his father. Why didn’t he use his position and considerable influence to contact his father at all during the 22 years they were separated? Would it have been too much to let him know that he was alive and well? How hard would it have been for Yosef to send a messenger with the good news to his father, after all, weren’t there caravans and merchants travelling back and forth between Mitzrayim and Cana’an all the time?

Rav Yoel Bin-Nun offers a well-known, and somewhat controversial, response to this problem, http://www.vbm-torah.org/parsha.61/11vayiga.htm. He suggests that the reason Yosef did not reach out to his father was because he genuinely thought that his father was in on it with his brothers and that Yaakov gave the go ahead to have him exiled. Yosef had no idea that his brothers dipped his coat in blood and lied to their father about it; after all, how could he have known? As a result, he reached the only conclusion that made any sense to him- my father hates me too! All those years that Yaakov presumed Yosef was dead, suggests Rav Bin-Nun, Yosef was wondering why his father had not contacted him. (Readers might be interested in reading Rav Ya’akov Medan’s critique of Rav Bin-Nun’s thesis here, http://www.vbm-torah.org/parsha.61/12vayechi.htm).

If Yosef’s brothers were able to convince their father to exile Yosef, it wouldn’t have been the first time a member of his family had done such a thing, and Yosef knew that. After all, didn’t Sarah convince Avraham to get rid of Yishmael? Didn’t Rivka force Yitzchak’s hand into choosing Yaakov over Eisav? They all acted l’sheim shomayim thought Yosef- What if Leah and my brothers convinced my father that getting rid of me was also the right thing to do?

Perhaps the strongest argument for this hypothesis, argues Rav Bin-Nun, is the fact that Yaakov sent Yosef to check up (spy) on his brothers in Shechem. Why would Yaakov do such a thing? Didn’t he know that the brothers would not take kindly to Yosef checking up on them? Whatever one’s feeling is about Rav Bin-Nun’s supposition, if you look at the beginning of this week’s parsha you have to admit that Yaakov’s behavior is difficult to explain: Yaakov sends Yosef to Shechem on the pretext that his brothers needed to be watched over, (37:12-14 and Rashi on 37:12). We are told that Yosef ‘s brothers hated him (37:4,8), that they were jealous of him (37:11), and that he had a habit of reporting on their indiscretions to their father (37:2). What good could Yaakov possibly have thought would come from sending Yosef? Did Yaakov send Yosef because he wanted there to be a confrontation between Yosef and his brothers?

It is interesting to note, that in possuk 37:2, we are told that Yosef would bring evil reports back to his father about his brothers and then immediately following this, in 37:3, it say “ ‘v’Yisrael,’ And Yisrael loved Yosef more than all his sons since he was his ben-zekunim…” The word “v’Yisrael” implies that there might be a connection between Yaakov’s love for Yosef and the evil reports he brought back to his father. But why would this be? Was it perhaps for the same reason he sent him to look after them in the pasture on that fateful day?

Raw Vayeshev Thoughts

Today at Parsha Club we discussed a couple of semi-isolated points that I'm hoping will one day become the building blocks of an actual idea, but I'll share them here & see if any of you can help put together the puzzle.

• Note that Yosef's dreams are actually the two ends of his father Yaakov's dream - or that Yaakov's ladder is the bridge between Yosef's two dreams - one about the land and the other about the sky.  In a bizarre twist, about 12 hours after I shared this with my chavruta trying to pick his brain on the subject, he e-mailed me this article by Rabbi Schachter which quoted Rav Aharon Soloveitchik pointing this out and defending his brother, the Rav.  Baruch shkivanti, at least a bit.
• The two dreams also seem to almost parallel the metaphors that Hashem used to promise Avraham that he would grow to be a great nation - as numerous as the sand and the stars.  Again we see the ground and the constellation, but sand is not grain and Yosef's dream expanded to include the sun and moon too.
• Chani Dubin had an interesting and promising thought.  The original vision of the sand and stars were an egalitarian model - almost Korach-esque - of כל העדה כולם קדושים.  Yosef's dreams, in the first generation where this actually became relevant with multiple members of the covenant, illustrates that among the people there needs to be leadership.  This is a chiddush to the brothers, and a potentially offensive one.  Until now they may have thought that they would live as a nation of equals.  If so the dreams set off the chain of events where the brothers vying for the leadership they now know is out there make mistakes that end up doing great damage to themselves and others.
• This wouldn't explain the shift from sand to wheat, except for the logistical problem of having stalks of grain bow.
• My preliminary thought is a lot less ambitious.  Maybe Yosef's dreams took the general symbols of the previous ברכות and transformed them from empty symbolic objects like sand and stars into items of great practical utility like food (wheat), heat and light (the sun).  This ability to draw productivity from what had been mere theory or art is what has everyone else bowing to him.

I know that there isn't much here yet, but that's where you come in.  Thoughts?

A Real Kiddush Hashem

Check this out in the NYT.

Mishmover Schedule

5:30-6:15:        Choice of Vayishlach Shiur:

-A Chasidic Perspective with Rabbi Prince (BK)

-“Everything is Dust in the Wind”

                        -A Modern Approach with Rabbi Besser (MPR)

                                    -“What’s Wrong with Reuven? What’s the Deal with Dina?”

6:15-6:45:        Dinner (MPR)

6:45-8:00:      Challah Making & a Shiur on Hafrashat Challah with Mrs. Schiowitz (MPR)

7:15-7:45:        Chesed Project (MPR-While the dough rises)     

8:00-9:00:      Shiur with Rabbi Eitan Mayer (Menahel Chinuchi, Midreshet Moriah) (BK)  - “Is the Oral Torah Really From Sinai?”

OR:

8:00-9:00:      Material Girls:  An Interactive Demonstration on Sha’atnez

-with Josh Rossman (MPR)

9:00-10:00:     Panel Q&A Discussion with Rabbi Blanchard, Rabbi Cohen, Mrs. Kahan, Rabbi Marder,Rabbi Schiowitz & Rabbi Wolff (BK)

10:00-10:45:    Semi-Formal Schmoozes:

            -Being and Becoming a Yoetzet Halacha            

-With Mrs. Samuels  (MPR-couches)

-If Israel is so Important, What are we Doing Here?

–With Ms. Gordon & Mrs. Cohen (107)

            -The Gilad Shalit Deal

                        -With Rabbi Prince & Rabbi Goldstein (BK)

            -Being Modern Orthodox: Not as Easy as it Looks

                        -With Rabbi Besser (Beit Midrash)

10:45-11:00:     Ice Cream Party – (MPR)

11:00-12:00:     Senior Chaburot – Titles to come

12:00-1:00:      Ms. F’s Famous Midnight Shiur (127)

1:00:    Getting Ready for Bed

            -Allison Alt’s Skype Shiur: Live From the Holy Land (127)

            -Hockey

2:00:    Layla Tov - Curfew

Making Us Proud

A member of the Maayanot family is featured in the Yeshiva University alumni newsletter.  It's a nice write-up, yasher koach.

Parsha Questions - Vayishlach

This Parsha is so packed it's hard to know where to start.

• Take a look at the dialogue between Yaakov and Esav.  What word they seem to be negotiating over?  How does Rashi translate that word?  Is that how you would have translated it?  What happens to that word in the end of the story?  Is that possible?
• The story of Yaakov and Esav's encounter is famously used as a model for dealing with the non-Jewish world in any formal capacity.  Jewish leaders who would go deal with the government or other powerful individuals would review this passage.  In fact, there is a custom to read it every מוצאי שבת to help us deal with the cold reality of חול.  Is this entire line of tradition still relevant in modern day America?  Is there an עשו in our lives?
• The גמרא says that anyone who claims that ראובן sinned is a טועה - mistaken.  This implies that he did not do what the פסוק says he did (וישכב ראובן את בלהה פלגש אביו).  If so, why does the Torah say that he did?

Just Kidding!

So remember when we said that Mishmover was being postponed for reasons of Awesomeness Maximization?  Well, it's not.  We determined that the way to truly maximize its awesomeness is to keep it where it was, December 8 - one week from tonight!  So start get excited now, and bring in the money for the PJ flannels.

Parsha Questions - Vayetze

Sorry so late:

• The well scene with Yaakov and Rachel is telling.  
• First, it is a prime example of the general rule that in the Torah, our heroes are strong and our heroines are beautiful.  Why is that?  Aren't we supposed to focus on the internal?
• Also, note the reversal from Rivka's scene, where she diligently serves not only Eliezer but his camels.  Over here, Yaakov not only serves Rachel and her sheep, but provides a service to the rest of the shepards as well.
• This is a great example of the necessity of תורה שבעל פה.  In a sefer Torah, which has no nekudot, the fascinating if difficult to understand kiss between Yaakov and Rachel could be nothing more than him serving her water (וישק).
• The מלאכים that appear for the first time in Yaakov's dream, are a turn to the supernatural which is somewhat unusual, though not totally unheard of, for ספר בראשית.  Note that they seem to resurface a few more times - at the end of the parsha (32:2) and into the beginning of וישלח, and are referenced famously in Yaakov's ברכה to מנשה and אפרים.  Why did Yaakov need / merit this miraculous protection more than Avraham or Yitzchak?  When does Hashem protect us directly and when does he use an angelic intermediary?

29th of November

Here's a great video about the significance of the 29th of November. Enjoy!



Another fun fact - in Israel, this day is considered so important in Zionist history that there are streets named after it - like this one in Katamon:

Thanksgiving and Torah Values

In the NY Times Health section yesterday, there was an interesting article about how gratitude actually makes people healthier, how exactly to define gratitude, and strategies for cultivating "an attitude of gratitude" (including religion). A lot of what the article says is in line with classical Torah values as expressed in ma'amarei Chazal. Check out the article. What do you think?

Means and Ends

To me, one of the most inspiring things about our Torah is that it does not hide the flaws of its heroes. Quite the contrary: it seems to emphasize them. What is so inspiring is that these flawed humans are our heroes, our role models and our tzadikkim not only in spite of their flaws, but perhaps even because of them. We cannot use the excuse, "I'm only human! What does Hashem expect of me?" We are only human, we make mistakes. But that doesn't exempt us from aspiring to being like our Avot and Imahot. They too were human. If they could be tzadikim, then what is our excuse?

In Parashat Toldot, we find two episodes that are very troubling on many levels: Ya'akov's obtaining of his b'chorah from Eisav and his obtaining the brachah of the b'chor from Yitzchak. The former seems to involve some level of inappropriate pressure, while the latter seems to involve deception.

In the case of the b'chorah sale, I have always wondered more about Eisav and the omniscient narrator (Hashem as author) than about Ya'akov. Eisav comes in from the field and says to Ya'akov:"Hal'iteini na min ha'adom ha'adom hazeh ki ayeif anochi," and then the Torah states, "al kein kara shmo Edom."

Here are some questions for thought and discussion:

1. The word "na" seems out of character for Eisav. Eisav is an "ish sadeh"; this means not only literally an "outdoors" kind of person, but someone who is very rough, without the polish and manners of someone who is like Ya'akov "ish tam". He is more likely to demand than to say, more likely to declare "Gimme! Now!" than "Please ladle out for me." It is this character inconsistency that leads some to understand the word "na" as "raw" (another translation) and to say that Eisav was so uncouth that he would rather eat raw soup than wait until it's ready. But what if Eisav really did say "Please"? How does this affect our perspective of him?

2. Why does Eisav repeat the word "ha'adom"? Eisav is saying "Give me (please?) that soup that soup." What is it about "ha'adom" that requires emphasis by the text? Is it just that he's very very hungry, or is there something more significant about the repetition?

3. When Eisav is born it states: "Va'yeitzei harishon admoni, kulo k'aderet sei'ar"--he is identified as red from the moment of his birth. Why is he called "Edom" because of his request for soup rather than because of his coloring? In addition, why is Eisav so connected with the color red?

4. Finally, I will refer to a shiur that I once heard fom Dr. Aviva Zornberg, a very noted Tanach scholar. She asserted that what we learn from Ya'akov (and Yoseif) is that sometimes it IS okay to lie. (You have to be at the level of Ya'akov to know WHEN.) What do you think--do the ends (fulfilling a nevu'ah, fulfilling the legacy of Avraham) ever justify the means (deception)?

Happy thinking and discussing!

Shabbat Shalom!

Mrs. Leah Herzog

Is Turkey Kosher?

Here, Rabbi Ari Z. Zivotofsky (who many of you remember from the article of his that we read about Women and zimun in halacha class) explains the surprising story of the kashrut of turkey.