The Big Day

Here is some material posted in advance of שבת הגדול in years past.

We're just a couple of hours from שבת הגדול.  My daughter thought that it was שבת הגדה, which is not that far off, as one of the only minhagim for the day is to say a portion of the Hagada on שבת afternoon.  (It also makes a nice parallel to the commonly misstated שבת תשובה.)  You might also have thought that it got its name from the other minhag - that the Rav (or Gadol) gives a דרשה - a lengthy talk usually divided between lomdus, halacha and hashkafa.  Really it is called שבת הגדול - "the Great Shabbat" - because it is when the great miracles started in Mitzrayim.  That year, the 10th of Nissan, when the Jews took the קרבן פסח into their home while the angry Egyptian could do nothing but watch, was on שבת.
It is curious that we celebrate it on the day of the week (like Thanksgiving or Memorial Day), rather than celebrating the calendar date - like all other significant days in Jewish life.  The באר היטב asks the question, and points us to the חוות יאיר (I assume), which I haven't had a chance to look up yet.  If anyone knows the answer, please let me know.

And a response from Tzipporah Herzfeld:

So I don't know if this is the answer, but I read something that Rabbi Yossi Marcus wrote online that the 10th of Nissan, when we should be celebrating the mitzvah of the korban Pesach, was also the date that Miriam died. So we celebrate the mitzvah of the korban on the Shabbos before Pesach because the 10th of Nissan was established as an unofficial fast day to commemorate Miriam's death, therefore we shouldn't be celebrating anything on that day.

And the post-script:

• On the advice of our lunch guest, I found Tzipporah's answer to Friday's question in the ערוך השולחן.  He also gives another answer:  The splitting of the Yarden, a lesser miracle, also took place on י' ניסן, and we don't want to dilute the celebration of the miracles of מצרים by adding other miracles.  It was apparently quite a day.  It's interesting that we don't find a similar concern for אבילות on Tisha B'av or י"ז תמוז, where we have many reasons for mourning, some more powerful than others.  Even at the ליל הסדר, we associate the night with other historical miracles that occurred through the generations - see ויהי בחצי הלילה.
• An anonymous student also pointed out that the Drasha by the Rabbi (= Gadol) is one of the suggested reasons for the name שבת הגדול.

• Rabbi Zev Rifkin, a local Rosh Kollel spoke about בדיקת חמץ.  He asked, no matter how good a בדיקה we do, it's not fully sufficient - are we re-examining the oven?  So he defended the current "minhag" of doing only a cursory / ceremonial search, and says that once we have spent weeks cleaning and searching for chametz, all of the rooms in our home are בחזקת בדוק, and no longer require בדיקה at all.  If so, how do we justify our ברכה?  Isn't it לבטלה?  Therefore, he said that it is appropriate to leave a small section of your home uncleaned at all  (a cabinet, a knapsack etc.), and do that during בדיקת חמץ, in addition to the charade of finding the 10 pieces of chametz that are set out.  I mean to check with other Rabbanim to see if this is a mainstream view.

 

A Nice Thought on the Parsha

In honor of '90s day during breakfast, there was no Mishmar AM today, so here is an idea about Parshat Tzav from my friend Rabbi Dan Lifschitz.

"Command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'this is the law of the olah-sacrifice...'"  (Lev 6:2)
The midrash on this verse comments:  "Command (tzav) is always a language of encouragement... the Torah had to give extra encouragement here because of the monetary loss involved."  Subsequent commentators have struggled to explain what the midrash had in mind.  Ostensibly, the mitzvah of the olah-sacrifice doesn't stand out as a particularly costly one; why does this mitzvah require more encouragement than everything else?
R' Yosef Shaul Natanson (cited by R' David Silverberg) explains that unlike other sacrifices, the olah had to be burned completely, requiring a large amount of firewood.  The Sages teach that the firewood on the Temple altar was actually unneeded, since G-d would always provide a miraculous flame.  Despite this, the kohanim were commanded to purchase and place it there.  Not only were the kohanim spending a lot of money for firewood to burn the olah-sacrifice, they were spending it on something seemingly superfluous.  That was the uniqueness of this "monetary loss;" unlike the mitzvah of matzah, where unless you buy or bake matzah you won't have it, the expenditures for burning the olah could feel like a waste of money, and that's why the extra encouragement was important here.
There is a general lesson for us to draw from this technical explanation.  In one sense, the firewood on the altar was not needed since G-d would keep the fires burning at any rate.  But in another sense, it was necessary for the kohanim to provide the wood in order to take an active role in sustaining their relationship with the Almighty.  G-d desires to be close to us, but for that to happen we need to put in effort too.  We have to make sacrifices (monetary or otherwise) and play our part.  These sacrifices need encouragement, but they are well worth it in the end.  Shabbat shalom.

This is a beautiful thought, that is particularly relevant to many of us.  People often wonder why Hashem needs our tefillot.  The answer is that He doesn't, but that they are essential anyway.
Have a great Shabbos.

What is so "Gadol" about this Shabbat?

This week is the Shabbat before Pesach. This Shabbat is called "Shabbat HaGadol." It is NOT one of the "arba parshiyot" (this used to confuse me a lot!), meaning that it does not have a special maftir, but it does have a special haftarah. Traditionally, shul rabbis give a lengthy d'rasha in the afternoon (The Shabbat HaGadol Drasha) dealing with some of the halachot of preparing for and observing Pesach.

I have long wondered why this Shabbat is called "HaGadol"; there is no other Shabbat HaGadol before any of the other chagim. One would think, if anything, that the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah would be special The Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah actually passes unremarked. It doesn't even have "m'varchim hachodesh" (blessing the upcoming new month) that all the other months of the year have. Even though Sukkot also requires a great deal of preparation--building a sukkah, buying arba minim-doesn't get its own "Hagadol". (Remember that it used to be very difficult to build a sukkah and even more difficult to obtain an etrog.) It seems that not onlyLeil HaSeder is different from all other nights; why is Chag HaPesach so qualitatively different from all of the other Chagim in the Torah?

I know that there are many answers given. I would like to offer the following thought. Pesach was the first chag. It was the first time that we, as a nation, as people free from any master other than Hashem, were able to celebrate together. It was our "Birthday" so to speak. You don't remember the day you were born. You look back on it, however, every year and celebrate it. You anticipate you birthday. You think about how you will spend it, who will spend it with you, are you going to have a party, are you going to get presents. On the day itself, you can be the center of attention, and the day is punctuated with "happy birthday" wishes, maybe some cake, maybe some presents, but all around, a sense of celebration.

The Shabbat before Pesach begins the countdown, the anticipation for our national Birthday. We are getting excited (and overwhelmed) by what Pesach really means. Pesach is the freedom to practice our religion, have our calendar, serve our G-d, speak our language, use our names, and raise our children as free people to do the same. (Living in America, that freedom is sensed even more, because it is legal and protected by the government.) Even during the depths of all the horrible persecutions Jews have endured throughout history, they have still marked this Birthday and have praised Hashem for it. That really IS a "big deal".

The word "Gadol" refers to magnitude--it can be size, weight, height, numbers or importance. Perhaps this is why this Shabbat, the Shabbat the inaugurates the week of our Birth as a Nation (thank you D. W. Griffith for the title!) really deserves to be called "HaGadol."

Shabbat (HaGadol) Shalom!

Mrs. Leah Herzog

So What's Wrong with Cheating?

A question was asked to the blog: What is wrong with cheating?

I actually thought about this question for a while before I decided to respond. On its face, cheating, especially the more "benign" version that occurs on school-given exams, doesn't seem so terrible. As a matter of fact, one could even see cheating as a form of collaborating or helping. If we encourage group work in class, why not "group work" on exams or other situations where you are expected to do your own work? Who really cares if you cheat in elementary, middle or high school? It isn't going to hurt anyone...

But it does. And on so many levels.

First of all, cheating is theft. You are stealing from whoever is giving the exam, who is assuming that the work that has your name on it is, in fact, yours. In halacha, this is caled "g'neivat da'at". If you and your friend collude (agree) to cheat, you are both stealing from the examiner. You are both partners in crime. If you cheat off an unwilling classmate, not only are you stealing from the examiner, you are stealing from the other person. In American law, that is called intellectual property and lawsuits abound in this realm. It is theft, it is subject to prosecution, and, in this technological era, it is very serious business.

But on a deeper, more profound level, you are stealing from yourself and from the community as a whole. You are putting your name to something that you didn't do. You are taking credit for somthing that is not yours. You are lying to yourself, to your teacher and to everyone in your class. You are breaking a rule. Like them or not, rules are necessary to keep society functioning. There is a great children's book called "No Rules for Michael." Michael hates rules, so one day, his teacher decides that there should be no rules in the classroom or on the playground. At first, Michael is thrilled--he can take whatever he wants. But so can everyone else--he gets pushed off the swing, the tricycle, gets cut in line and ends up just as miserable as when there were rules. No one likes to be told 'that's the rule", especially when the rule doesn't work in your favor. But the rules that protect others also protect you. If you steal from someone else, then whey shoudln't they steal from you? That's what a society of "chamas" (like during Noach's time or Ninveh at the time of Yonah) is: a society where there is no respect for things (including spouses, property and lives) of anyone else.

I know, I know--cheating is not murder or adultery or even grand theft. Or is it? It has come out that Bernie Madoff starting cheating--and getting away with it--in high school. The Gemara talks about what happens when one does an aveira, even the most seemingly benign one: the first time you feel terrible, the second time you can rationalize and by the third time "na'aseh lo k'heter." So by the third time you cheat (or allow someone to cheat off you) it no longer seems like a big deal It no longer seems wrong. "Everybody does it." And until your spot on a team or in a college is taken by another cheater, it isn't. Until you are treated by a doctor or lawyer or other professional who has cheated through school, it isn't. Until you buy what you think is the "real deal" and then realize that it isn't, it doesn't matter.

Finally, this is what I tell my own children and my students: At the end of each day, the only one you have to answer to is yourself. You have to be at peace with the you in the mirror. If you can look at yourself in the mirror, look at who you are and what you've done that day, and can honestly say that you have done your best that day, then you can go to sleep content with yourself. If you feel that you haven't done your best, then you can strive to do better tomorrow. So if you can go to bed at night knowing that you have cheated, that you have taken credit for something that isn't yours, knowing that you'd be okay with having something of yours taken or taken credit for, then you can go to sleep.

If you can't, then strive to do better.

For the record, I have never cheated in my life. I can say that honestly. I make many, many mistakes every day and have made many, many, many over my life, but cheating is not one of them. I am proud of that.

Shabbat Shalom.

Mrs. Leah Herzog

Pesach on Youtube

Let's start with one that I love and post every year:

Aish makes a lot of videos - this one is particularly well done:

Here's one that was going around last year:

And one more on the symbolism of chametz an matza:

Hope these start to get you into the mood.

Congratulations!!! 25,000 Page Views

At some point over the weekend, we had our 25,000th page view.  To be fair, it's a lot more than that - they started counting about 5 months in, and those were some of the biggest months that we had around here.  Hope to re-post another of our greatest hits soon, as well as some pre-Pesach material.  Thanks to all of the contributors, and most importantly to you readers out there, and here's hoping we hit 50.000 a little faster.

More on Starbucks

Seeing Mrs. Block's post on Starbucks, and especially in light of the fascination my Freshman Gemara class with my own coffee habits, I wanted to chime in.  On the other hand, there are still two juniors who are doing their project for Hilchot Kashrut class on this exact topic, so I don't want to do all of their homework for them.  Here are some sources for further review:

• The CRC out of Chicago recommends avoiding almost all products at full service Starbucks stores, but is lenient regarding kiosk-type stores.
• Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz is more lenient regarding the full service stores, but listen for details.  A quick word on this and other of his shiurim: Rabbi Lebowitz has a series of ten-minute shiurim on a wealth of topics that allows you to gain a real (if second hand and somewhat superficial) understanding for the minimal investment of just ten minutes - highly recommended.
• I found a website devoted to the kashrus status of Starbucks.  It allows you to enter in your kashrut criteria, which you should get from your own posek, and then adapts it to the facts as they are in Starbucks.  I can't vouch for their reliability, but at first glance it seems like they know what they are talking about.
• My understanding after a conversation with the OU a while back is that it depends on different types of dishwashers in different stores, but I need to refresh my memory before restating it authoritatively.

In the end, happy drinking and be careful out there.

Starbucks

An anonymous student asks "what exactly is kosher at Starbucks?"


Just like most things, it definitely depends who you ask. The Star-K (one of the major kashrus organizations in America) recently published an article and chart discussing this issue after having conducted their own research.

This is the link- www.star-k.org/Starbuckschart.pdf to the chart and from there you can click on their article.

I would ask you LOR, since I'm not sure everyone agrees with the Star-K's conclusions.

Screen Smasher

Rabbi Meir Orlian (Mrs. Orlian's brother in law), publishes a weekly column about practical חושן משפט (money & business) issues.  I often find them as part of a pamphlet that is distributed in some local shuls.  It is a very readable presentation of the rules working off of realistic, contemporary stories starring his hero, Rabbi Dayan.  Here is this week's installation about someone who caused his friend to damage his own laptop screen.  I think you'll enjoy it.

Size Doesn't Matter--Why Shavuot is Short

Ilana Techer, from the yellow (Regalim) team, asks:

Why is Shavuot so short compared with Pesach and Sukkot? This is especially puzzling since Shavuot celebrates our getting the Torah.

In the style of the Gemara, let me deal with the second question first. Shavuot actually does not celebrate Matan Torah. We do not know the exact date of Matan Torah, as it is not explicitly mentioned in the Chumash. What we do know is the Bnei Yisrael arrived at Har Sinai on Rosh Chodesh Sivan (see Shmot 19:1) and that Moshe went up on the mountain to speak with Hashem. There is a debate in the Gemara as to how many times Moshe went up and down, and whether each time he went up it was a separate day. Furthermore, Hashem tells Bnai Yisrael to prepare for "three days" and to be prepared for "the third day" (see Shmot 19). It therefore emerges that Matan Torah could have been the 5th or 6th of Sivan. Then it seems that Moshe added another day of his own; thus, Matan Torah was either the 6th or the 7th of Sivan. It is never explicitly mentioned. (Why this is so is a separate topic.)

Shavuot, on the other hand, is clearly the 50th day after the first day of Pesach (see Vayikra 23:15). In the Torah, Shavuot is a harvest festival, culminating the period when the an Omer (specified measurement) is waved and a Karban Omer is brought. It signifies the end of the spring harvest and it is celebrated as Mikra Kodesh (no m'lacha), with the regulatory karbanot. In addition, Bikurim, the first and choicest "fruits" of the harvest, are brought to the Kohen, who recites a special t'filla over them. We celebrate Shavuot to thank Hashem for a successful harvest and to publicly proclaim our dependence on Him for our survival. There are many parallels between Sukkot and Shavuot, as well as between Pesach and Shavuot. Some opinions see Shavuot as the culmination of Pesach. Some see Shmini Atzeret and Shavuot (also called Atzeret) as parallel.

There may be a practical reason why Shavuot is only one day: it is the middle of the busy spring/early summer harvesting and plowing seasons. The barley harvest is done and the wheat is being planted. Pesach is at the end of the winter, and Sukkot is at the end of the harvest. In both cases, we have the seven days to celebrate. Hashem is careful with the kavod of His nation, so Shavuot is only one day.

Finally, we know that in the Torah, size doesn't matter. It is quality rather than quantity that matters. A one day chag is not less kadosh that a seven day chag.

Go Regalim! (And Shabbat and Yamim Noraim!)

Mrs. Herzog

מלחמת הצבעים II

Two years ago we had Color War at a similar time, and I noted how ויקהל - פקודי were appropriate Parshiyot for it.  Here's the highlight:

 I once saw (I can't remember where) a nice explanation about why the main cloth colors were red, blue & purple.  He pointed out that red represents humanity, and blue symbolizes Hashem.  The purple is the combination of the two - the areas where we meet.  There is much rich Torah content to our next couple of days, highlighted of course by our 5th (now 7th!) annual  Chazara Bowl.  

Is it permissible to teach non-Jews Torah?

Everyone agrees that for the possibility of conversion it is mutar. L'shem learning,
Tosafot says that it is always assur. Rambam and Meiri write that it is only assur when the non-Jew is using it to start a new religion. The Seridei Eish has famous teshuvah where he relies on this view to allow Torah lectures in university to non-Jewish students. The Midrash Tanchuma Parshat Noach suggests that only Torah Shebe'al peh is assur because of the covenental relationship between Hashem and Klal yisrael, but Torah She'bichtav is mutar.

Adar Madness: A Postscript

A really nice article on the final game of the tournament.  Some highlights:

When someone peddles the script of Mirwis, Zach Yoshor and Isaac Buchine's run, they'll be asked to change the ending to something happier. The team that stood up for the Sabbath — and religious tolerance — the one that wouldn't stop believing even after it was told it would have to forfeit twice cannot get all the way to championship game and then lose, can it? 

No one in TV or the movies is ever going to accept this.

But in some ways, it's an even more perfect ending. For this was never about winning it all. It was about getting the chance to compete...

          My 6- and 4-year-old sons will likely never be regulars at a synagogue.

But I would have loved for them to see this Beren Stars team.
In victory. And even more in defeat.
Even as they wrestle with the emotions of falling just short in the big game, Mirwis and Co. could not be more complimentary to Abilene and its "stifling defense" and "great players."

Once again, yasher koach.  As a probably too big sports fan, it's nice to see a real kiddush Hashem on the court.

Bayamim Hahem, Bazman Hazeh - Update on the Beren Academy Basketball Team

They can play!  This is a wonderful resolution to the story, now they just have to win it.

And thanks Rachel for the passionate & insightful comment (see below).  I guess that's what happens when I don't edit my own writing, but I certainly did not mean to minimize the magnitude of what they did.  It's a great and inspiring story.

Go Stars!

Tamar Berger (Maayanot '11) on the Parsha

This week’s Parsha is Parshas Tetzaveh. In this Parsha it says, “You shall command Bnei Yisroel that they should take for you pure olive oil pressed for illumination.” (27:20). The question on this Pasuk is why would the Torah say “For You” instead of saying “For Me” (for HaShem). Maschechect Menachos 86B (Gemara) says that this Pasuk makes complete sense and that the way the Pasuk is written is that way for a specific reason.  The reason being that the Menorah is for YOU not for HaShem! That the light of the menorah is for YOU and NOT for HaShem!

            It says in Mishlei that the mitzvot are shining lamps and that the Torah is light. Therefore just like HaShem says that the Menorah should be for our purpose and not His. So too should the Torah be for our purpose and not His. HaShem wants us to use the Mitzvos for our benefit. He wants us to use the mitzvos to get the most we can out of life.

There are two questions I have on this though. The first question I would like to ask is what does it mean that the Torah is for OUR purpose? I think this means that Torah is a present for us. This means that everything that HaShem gives us is a present. Therefore we can never be angry at Him or upset with Him and not follow His Torah because of how we feel towards HaShem. This is true because if we did not follow HaShem, HaShem would not love us less and He would not stop offering His present and asking us to take it but rather WE would not receive His present because we would say “No thank you” to it.

Last year Ma’ayanot brought in Rebbetzin Chana Reichman before Purim to speak about the chag. She said that the epitome of Amalek verses Klal Yisroel is the word Mikrah. She says that this word is of major significance because it can be read as Mikrah, coincidence, or Rak M’HaShem, only from HaShem. If we look at the Mitzvos as something that is a “coincidence” and boring we can be like Amalek but if we recognize that everything is a present from HaShem we will be able to receive that present and treat it as if it is a true gift. The gematria for Amalek is doubt and if we treat the Mitzvos as a coincidence and something that is not holy and something that is not special we will have more doubt and it will be harder for us to accept the Present. But if we recognize that the Mitzvos are a truly special gift. This will not be the case and we will truly serve HaShem to the best of our ability because we will recognize it is all for us.

My last question though is how do we look at Mitzvos in this way? What tools are we supposed to use to relate to Mitzvos as gifts. That I believe the second part of the Pasuk says. I believe that when the Pasuk says “Olive oil pressed for illumination” this also has a greater meaning. In the book Peninim on the Torah by Rabbi A.L Schneibaum, it says that the oil for the menorah was pressed in a light and delicate manner. As previously stated the Menorah is the Torah. This Sefer says that the reason why the oil was pressed delicately is because that is how we have to treat our students and their learning. We can’t just shove it down their throats, make them memorize, or make them abide by the laws that we wish them to abide by but rather we must present the material to them in a level headed manner. We must show them the preciousness of the Torah and with that hopefully they will truly learn the beauty of the Torah. We must show them the Torah is a gift and that the Mitzvos are for us!

Chevi Garfinkel says, HaShem can never love you more or less then he does but your relationship can be strained and your relationship can be weakened. HaShem is never going to take away the gift of His Torah. He is going to present it to us and we are going to decide if we want to accept it. He wants us to accept it more than anything but it is our gift and it is up to us what we want to do with it. We have to decide if we want the gift. We have to decide if we want to be close with our father.

Good Shabbos,

Tamar Berger

Why Command?

The beginning of this week's parasha presents and interesting juxtaposition with the beginning of last week's parasha. The parasha begins with the words "Ve'ata t'tzaveh et Bnai Yisrael v'yikchu eilecha..." (And you will command Bnai Yisrael and they will take for you...) Last week's parasha began as follows: "Daber el Bnai Yisrael, v'yikchu li trumah" (Speak to Bnai Yisrael and they will take for Me a contribution.) Last week's parasha talks about gathering supplies for and the dimensions of the Mishkan; this week's focuses on the priestly vessels and garments. Last week's parasha focused on the general population, while this week's focuses on the Kohanim. Therefore, why does this week's parasha begin with commanding and last week's begins with speaking and volunteering? Shouldn't it be the opposite? Wouldn't you think that it is Bnai Yisrael that have to be commanded to give a contribution from their gold, silver, copper mirror, linens, silks and other goods, as well as their skills? They had just left Mitzrayim and faced an uncertain future; wouldn't they want to hold onto whatever commodities they now possessed? Yet we are told that they gave willingly; in fact, Moshe had to tell them to stop at one point. On the other hand, wouldn't you think that anything related to the kohanim and to the avodah would involve love and fervor? And even though the first pasuk is directed at Bnai Yisrael and not Aharon, it still sets a tone for the whole parasha. Furthermore, a few p'sukim later Hashem says "hakreiv et Aharon..." ("Bring Aharon near..") The word "hakreiv" is in in hiphil--the causative form. It implies that Moshe had to do something to Aharon to cause Aharon to come near. Wouldn't you think that Aharon, who is referred to a "rodeif shalom" (one who pursued peace) would be running to Moshe, pursuing his mission to be the holiest servant of Hashem and the leader of the avodat hamishkan?

There is a concept in the Gemara "gadol ha'm'tzuveh v'oseh mi'she'eino m'tzuveh v'oseh" (the one who is commanded and does is greater than the one who is not commanded and does.) This is a concept that I have always pondered. Wouldn't you think that the one who volunteers is greater? The one who gives of her time. money, talent, skill WITHOUT being asked? Isn't altruism one of the greatest traits that a person can possess? Yet this concept is explained as follows: when one is commanded to do something, there is an automatic yeitzer to NOT do what has been asked. Being commanded violates our ultimate drive for control and our belief that we are each the masters of our destiny. So if Hashem commands something, and we STILL fulfill the command, we are both doing His will and pushing our own yeitzer away. It is a double act.

So who was greater--the Kohanim or Bnai Yisrael? Is a gift greater than a tax? Food for thought: tzedakah is actually a mitzvah. G'millut chasadim is rewarded. Are we really altruistic?

Shabbat Shalom

Mrs. Herzog

Pre-Purim Reading Material

• First and Fohrmost, as many of you already know, last year I read what I consider by far the best analysis of the megila that I've read (my memory is poor enough that I now need to reread it), The Queen You Thought You Knew by Rabbi David Fohrman (it's cheaper on the OU website).  Just read it.
• The year before, I really enjoyed Yoram Hazony's "The Dawn: Political Teachings of the Book of Esther."  As you can guess from the title, it is a political analysis of the story.
•   Finally (for now at least), YU's Purim To Go is generally a good read.

Just like you wouldn't want to take a test without studying, your Purim experience will be far richer if you take the time to  prepare for it.  Happy learning.

Adar Madness

We often hear stories of people of our grandparents  and great-grandparents generation who gave up jobs and faced real economic hardship to keep Shabbat.  In modern-day America these concerns have, thank God,  all but evaporated.  With that in mind, it was surprising but interesting to read about a Yeshiva high school in Houston who is missing its playoffs because it insists that they won't play on Shabbat.

The Robert M. Beren Academy, an Orthodox Jewish day school in Houston, won its regional championship to advance to the boys basketball state semifinals this weekend in Dallas. But the team will not make the trip.
Beren Academy's basketball team had hoped to travel to Dallas early and play its semifinal game before sundown on Friday.
The Beren Academy players observe the Sabbath and do not play from sundown on Fridays to sundown on Saturdays. Their semifinal game is scheduled for 9 p.m. Friday.
“The sacred mission will trump excellence in the secular world,” Rabbi Harry Sinoff, Beren’s head of school, said Monday in a telephone interview.

I don't think anyone is doing anything particularly evil or heroic here.  I would like to think that in a similar situation other Yeshivot would reach a similar decision.  And while we have gotten used to larger organizations accommodating our special religious needs (SATs, universities, most workplaces), in many instances they aren't obligated to.  Still, while I feel bad for the players to be missing out on the opportunity that they worked so hard for, in a way they got an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and demonstrate the kind of religious commitment to Shabbat that for the rest of us is just theoretical.  Yasher koach to the whole school (especially Rabbi & Dr. Pollack - a Ma'ayanot connection!  Keep up the great work.)

Chagiga Time!

Thoughts on the Parsha with Tamar Berger (Maayanot '11)

This week’s Parsha is Parshat Truma. In this Parsha it speaks about the building of the Mishkan and the structure of how to build the Mishkan. This Parsha is one that truly shows us the proper actions we must take in order to fulfill HaShem’s command and the process in fulfilling HaShem’s command. I would like to share with you four actions I feel we all should remember when trying to fulfill HaShem’s command.

#1- Love Mitzvos- “And let them take for Me a portion, from every man whose heart motivates him.” (25:2). Many Mefarshim comment on this Pasuk and ask the question, what does it mean that we should “take for Me a portion”? Shouldn’t it be give?

Rav Dessler says in his SeferMictavM’Eliyahu that a person that gives will love more. A person that invests in something will love the item more than the person who takes from something. This is like a mother and child relationship in which the mother gives and the child takes. In this relationship the mother loves the child more than the child loves the mother because the mother gives more to the child than the child gives to the mother.

This concept is also true to the Mishkan and to all Mitzvos. If we invest ourselves into the Mitzvos, than they will mean more to us instead of us just taking from HaShem. If we invest in our relationship to HaShem, then our relationship to HaShem will then mean more to us.

That is why Rav Schlessinger explains that when it says “Take for me a portion” it truly means take even though the person would be giving. This is because the true form of taking is to give and our relationship only becomes stronger if we give rather than if we take.       

#2- Inspiration- The context of the Pasuk above is that it was said, according to some Mefarshim, right after Na’aseh V’Nishma (24:7) was said.

The Baal Shem Tov says that this is extremely important to recognize. This is because right after we said to HaShem that “we will do and we will listen” (which by the way I love because it is not that we will listen and then do, notice the order, we must follow HaShem regardless of our own feelings towards a Mitzvah) we followed what we said and we did exactly that. We built a home for HaShem, a place that is filled with such Kedusha.

This is important because we acted with zrizus. We took our inspiration and ran with it. We realized that we were inspired and we listened to that inspiration and followed HaShem’s commands. We acted immediately. We took action.

#3- Help from HaShem- “You shall make a Menorah of pure gold, hammered out shall the menorah be made, its base, its shaft, its cups, its knobs and its blossoms shall be hammered from it.” (25:31)

Rashi comments on this Pasuk, which begins “You shall make a menorah” and ends with “shall the menorah be made”, and says that this is because HaShem asked Moshe to do something that was impossible for man to do. HaShem asked Moshe to make the Menorah all together. God instructed Moshe to put it in the fire and the Menorah through this emerged into the correct form. This is because HaShem made it that way.

HaShem saw it was impossible and therefore HaShem helped Moshe and told Moshe that if Moshe put it in the fire HaShem would form it to be a Menorah. HaShem knew that Moshe was not going to be able to do it and therefore HaShem finished the product. Moshe went the first half and HaShem finished him off.

#4- Build a House for HaShem- “They shall make a sanctuary for me, so that I shall dwell among them.” “Va’asu Li Mikdash V’SchnatiB’Tochem” (25:8)

Shelah HaKodesh says that this Pasuk truly means within them. He says that B’ means within and therefore this Pasuk is saying HaShem shall dwell within them.

Each person MUST have a Mikdash Ma’at (small temple) in themselves. We must each have that place, that home, for HaKadoshBaurch Hu within us and we must reach and nurture that place.

I think that the previous 3 actions help us do that. With the love that we have from doing Mitzvos and taking the responsibility of doing the Mitzvah, from the inspiration we get to put forth and do Mitzvos, and from our help from HaShem we really can build and nurture that Mikdash inside of us and have it blossom.

May we all merit seeing the coming of the Beis HaMikdash through the building of our Mikdashim inside of all of us.

Good Shabbos,

Tamar Berger

The Amazing (but assur?) Race: Reality TV & Halacha

Rav Shlomo Aviner argued that an Israeli couple's participation in "The Amazing Race II" violated Jewish Law.  I clicked on the article sympathetic to the sentiment, but curious exactly what the issur involved is.

"The exposure in itself isn't modest. A man must be modest and humble; he shouldn't have a video camera follow him and see what he does." 

"We're not that modest, and sometimes we take pride and behave in such a certain way as to make an impression. We're not okay and may God have mercy on us," the rabbi said. "But here we see a man who invited the television crews on purpose and they follow him and his every move...that's the opposite of being modest." 

Very interesting.  We keep talking about how Tzniut is more than skirt lengths & necklines, and here is a perfect example.  We have become somewhat desensitized with our webcam mentality, but isn't there something inherently immodest of broadcasting one's every move to any audience member who cares to tune in?  What do you think?

Why-aanot's Greatest Hits - Choosing a College

On Friday I stumbled into a conversation among a group of Sophomores in the hallway about choosing a college.  Setting aside the peripheral issues with this story (Doesn't anyone go to class?  Why are you worrying about this in 10th grade?), it of course reminded me of some of the glory days of this modest blog, which I'll now re-post for this new generation of Maayanoters.  Enjoy:

It started with a long post by Mrs. Knoll about the advantages and disadvantages of  Stern as compared to other college campuses.  Mrs. Sinensky followed up with a response.  Then the students started getting involved.  Jennifer Herskowitz made a passionate defense of her decision to apply to Stern, but then Rachel Friedman immediately responded to all of the Stern love, playing devil's advocate (I would be fascinated to hear, now that they are both where they thought they would be, if they would amend any of their comments.  Interested in a follow up).  Ms. Appel (who chose to go to Penn) and Ms. Wolf (who switched from Stern to Barnard) added their unique perspectives. I then piped in as "the only one in the discussion who couldn't have gotten into Stern,"  and promptly brought an end to the conversation.  Hope you find the discussion helpful even if it ultimately complicates your decision making process.  Good luck (and enjoy the vacation).

What Inspires Me - Zisse Hanfling

A while ago we introduced the "What Inspires Me" program, in which we will be sharing our personal inspirations and hopefully inspire others as well.  I started by reading a  passage from Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau's newly translated memoir, "Out of the Depths" (go here and search inside the book for Naboth - go back to page 162 and read the story about his Rebbi Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach).

Here is our second installment - Zisse shared this with the school after tefilla last week but agreed to write it up for the blog.  Yasher koach.

This video is of Ayelet who was two years old and was diagnosed with a rare bone marrow disorder.

I got the idea to show this video to you because a friend of mine from who did a really special act. She took an initiative.... she went to ayelets shiva, and I was so impressed how she was so moved by ayelets story and I thought if this one girl can make a diffence and an impact on me that she took this step of kindness -Maayanot as a school can make a diffence together.

I'm going to read a part of the article that I found written by the Rabbi from the Harvard Hillel about Ayelet Z''l, its to your benefit to listen:

The loss of Ayelet is not just the loss of one beautiful little girl. It is not just the loss of the potential for her life and all that she might have accomplished. It is both of those things but also so much more. Sanhedrin teaches us that the loss of a single life is as if an entire world was lost forever. There are generations of descendants from Ayelet the world will never know. There are countless people who would have been touched by her life who will not have that experience. In chaos theory there exists a concept called the butterfly effect in which one small change can bring about tremendous results that would be impossible to anticipate. The loss of Ayelet is not just a small change to the world, it is an enormous change, and the impact that she would have brought to her family, her people and the rest of humanity, will never be known.

Yet, the Mishnah also teaches us the converse as well. One who saves a life is as if she or he saved the entire world. And there is no doubt that the heart wrenching struggle for life waged by Ayelet and her family, broadcast to the world has brought about so much good. One often wonders how much they can truly impact the world. What difference can I really have in a global community of over seven billion people? The story of Ayelet is the loudest protest possible against the proposition that our lives do not and cannot matter. Each one of us can make such a tremendous difference.

Countless cheek swabbing drives to add people to the bone marrow registry.... Because of those cheek swabbing drives, when Ayelet tragically left this world on Monday morning, 21 people had found their lives saved through the bone marrow registry and the registration of all those new people. Twenty one people in this world owe their lives to the good will of complete strangers who were inspired at the very deepest levels to act because of Ayelet Galena zt”l. In other words, because of Ayelet there now exists another twenty one worlds of human life and meaning.

This is the impact of one person. -

Anytime you feel your life does not matter, anytime you are confident that the world would be no worse or better with or without you, remember Ayelet. The struggle of one small child restored life to twenty one people. Ponder and reflect on that because you never know how and in what way you will make that difference.

Each one of us can make a difference

I say we dedicate our learning on Februray 9th in memory of Ayelet Galena. 

There are countless people whom I'm sure have done so much for her, and Maayanot can do that to! It might not be money and it might not be saving a life, but as a Yeshiva is shows that highschool girls can take an initiative.

This special girl and her family impacted me in ways I couldn't have realized before.

There grace and humor through this hard struggle is what made me want to this share this with you. To look at life through a positive light is so much more fulfilling than anything in the world. There small positive outlook on their young child even reached celebrities. I believe whole heartily ou can make a difference to the girl sitting next to you…just by being the awesome you- and as a growing teenage girl you should never forget that…

My step of standing up here is not what is going to change your life. But me standing up here telling you that you can change someone elses life is what im hoping to accomplish. Maayanot feeds us the skills to grow into a adult throughout high school- and as adult women going out into the world soon- we all matter and we all can make a difference- if a two year old can do it i'm sure we can all to!

Are You Going?

Something Fishy (or Wormy)

Back to the NYT for a true example Toraha U'mada:

Just so you know: Canned sardines are kosher.

This judgment would appear to be definitive, based on DNA evidence. Genetic testing by a parasitologist at the American Museum of Natural History has confirmed that the recent discovery of small worms in canned sardines does not render them treyf, or unkosher. It may render them unappetizing, but that judgment is up to the consumer (more on that later).
The museum got involved last March when rabbis from the Orthodox Union, which certifies as kosher hundreds of thousands of products across the world, sought scientific help in resolving a question that arose when they began finding the worms, or nematodes, in cans of sardines.

The Lonely Man of Lin

There have been many interesting articles on the phenomenon that is Jeremy Lin.  There are so ma y remarkable things about what he is doing - making the Knicks interesting is as impressive as any.  Here is a fascinating perspective from the generally though-provoking David Brooks in the New York Times.  I'll quote some of the highlights below:

Ascent in the sports universe is a straight shot. You set your goal, and you climb toward greatness. But ascent in the religious universe often proceeds by a series of inversions: You have to be willing to lose yourself in order to find yourself; to gain everything you have to be willing to give up everything; the last shall be first; it’s not about you.
For many religious teachers, humility is the primary virtue. You achieve loftiness of spirit by performing the most menial services. (That’s why shepherds are perpetually becoming kings in the Bible.) You achieve your identity through self-effacement. You achieve strength by acknowledging your weaknesses. You lead most boldly when you consider yourself an instrument of a larger cause.

But then check out his big finish!

 The odds are that Lin will never figure it out because the two moral universes are not reconcilable. Our best teacher on these matters is Joseph Soloveitchik, the great Jewish theologian. In his essays “The Lonely Man of Faith” and “Majesty and Humility” he argues that people have two natures. First, there is “Adam the First,” the part of us that creates, discovers, competes and is involved in building the world. Then, there is “Adam the Second,” the spiritual individual who is awed and humbled by the universe as a spectator and a worshipper
Soloveitchik plays off the text that humans are products of God’s breath and the dust of the earth, and these two natures have different moral qualities, which he calls the morality of majesty and the morality of humility. They exist in creative tension with each other and the religious person shuttles between them, feeling lonely and slightly out of place in both experiences.
Jeremy Lin is now living this creative contradiction. Much of the anger that arises when religion mixes with sport or with politics comes from people who want to deny that this contradiction exists and who want to live in a world in which there is only one morality, one set of qualities and where everything is easy, untragic and clean. Life and religion are more complicated than that.

Why is Mishpatim HERE?

"Yeish mukdam u'm'uchar ba'Torah oh ein mukdam u'm'uchar ba'Torah?" This is a debate that begins in the Gemara, but really finds its footing in parshanut. The fundamental question is whether or not the Torah is arranged in strict chronological order. Ramban consistently adheres to the former (the Torah follows along chronologically) and Rashi agrees with the latter (the Torah does not necessarily follow chronology). Regardless of where one falls in this debate, the beginning of this week's parasha indicates that it is, in some fundamental way, connected to last week's.

"V'eileh ha'mishpatim"-- And these are the laws. The "vav" that begins that parasha is not a "vav ha'hipuch" because "eileh" is not a verb to be transformed from one tense to the other. Rather, it is a "vav ha'chibur"--a connecting vav. So the first question that must be asked is: What is the connection of this wek's parasha to last week's parasha? Is it that this is the next set of laws that Moshe received from Hashem? If so, was he still on Har Sinai when these were spoken? These questions begin a whole line of questions as to what was said on Har Sinai, what wasn't, what was said at this moment, what was said later, and what Moshe was taught by Hashem during which stint on Har Sinai.

Which brings up another s'michut question: What is the connection between the dibrot, how the mizbei'ach is to be built (with a ramp, not stairs so that the privates of the kohein are not revealed as he walks up) and the laws of Eved Ivri? If the point that the Torah is trying to make is to show that all halacha is, in effect, "bein adam l'makom", then why pick these two to follow the Dibrot? If the mizbeach is parallel to the first five dibrot, then why end the parsha there?

Regardless of where one stands on the yeish/ein mukdam argument, an interesting question arises. In beginning this parasha, the first set of laws discussed are the laws of Hebrew slaves. Bnai Yisrael had just left slavery; the first dibrah forever reminds us that Hashem is the Power that took us out of Egypt "from the house of slavery." Why would slavery even be permitted in Judaism? And why would it be (almost) the first law mentioned after the Aseret HaDibrot?

Finally, if we are all "avadim" only to Hashem, then why does a parasha that is primarily about civil law begin with permission for us not only to own other humans, but other Jews?

Shabbat Shalom!

Mrs. Herzog

Kabed et avicha v'et imecha

Victor Frankl (1905-1997), author of Man's Search for Meaning and founder of logotherapy, a field of psychotherapy based on finding meaning in life, writes about his encounter with this mitzvah just before World War II.

Having just gotten word that his visa to leave war-stricken Europe had arrived, Frankl found himself torn between taking the opportunity and staying to care for his older parents. Very much stressed by the decision, he decided to put it on hold and wait some sort of sign from Above for guidance.

When he got home that day he saw his father sitting at the table and noticed a big block of stone resting on the table. "What's that?", he asked. His father told him he found it at the site of a nearby shul that had been destroyed by the Nazis. "It has on it", his father told him, "a reference to one of the 10 commandments". Victor asked his father which one. "The 5th one, to honor one's parents".

He had found his sign.


His book is difficult to read, as all Holocaust books are, and is really insightful.

It's Groundhog Day

Yahoo reports that "This morning, "Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Philemerged from his lair to "see" his shadow on Thursday, in the process predicting six more weeks of winter."


This "holiday"  (HEC, where are you) is a harmless if silly American tradition, but it is the back drop for one of the more thought-provoking and religiously / philosophically interesting movies that I've ever seen (by the same name).


Below is the beginning (not too much in terms of spoilers) of the Wikipedia plot summary.  If you're ever looking for something to watch, this comes highly recommended.

Self-centered and sour TV meteorologist Phil Connors (Bill Murray), news producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman Larry (Chris Elliott) from fictional Pittsburgh television station WPBH-TV9 travel to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Dayfestivities with Punxsutawney Phil. Having grown tired of this assignment, Phil grudgingly gives his report and attempts to return to Pittsburgh when a blizzard shuts down the roads. Phil and his team are forced to return to Punxsutawney and stay in town overnight.

Phil wakes up to find that he is reliving February 2. The day plays out exactly as it did before, with no one else aware of the time loop, and only Phil aware of past events. At first he is confused, but, when the phenomenon continues on subsequent days, he decides to take advantage of the situation with no fear of long-term consequences: he learns secrets from the town's residents, seduces women, steals money, drives recklessly, and gets thrown in jail. However, his attempts to get closer to Rita repeatedly fail.
Eventually, Phil becomes despondent and tries more and more drastically to end the time loop; he gives ridiculous and offensive reports on the festival, abuses residents, eventually kidnaps Punxsutawney Phil and, after a police chase, drives into a quarry, evidently killing both himself and the groundhog. However, Phil wakes up and finds that nothing has changed; further attempts at suicide are just as fruitless as he continues to find himself awaking at six o'clock on the morning of February 2 with the clock radio on his nightstand playing "I Got You, Babe" by Sonny & Cher, as on each previous day.

Racism Towards Muslims in Israel? Exposed with Hidden Cameras

This is the headline I saw on the video forwarded to me by my sister.  I had the same feeling I've had occasionally, when someone Jewish does something that embarrasses the rest of us.  The power of a chillul Hashem is enormous, and all of us feel it.  More so when it is done ostensibly in the name of religion (I feel the shame of Beit Shemesh & Baruch Goldstein far more than Bernie Madoff - a criminal who happens to be Jewish).  Then I watched the video - check it out for yourself.

Thoughts on the Parsha

Even though we're on vacation, a couple of thoughts.  First an old one from the first month on the blog three years ago:

Reviewing the Parsha with my head already on vacation, I was struck by a certain passage. When defending themselves to Paro, the heroic midwives defend themselves with a statement that would serve us well to remember as we head to our various exotic & less exotic destinations: כִּי לא כַנָּשִׁים הַמִּצְרִיּת הָעִבְרִיּת - The Jewish women are not like the Egyptian women. As integrated as we are into our American culture, with all of the benefits - of all types - that we get from it, it's important to keep in mind that we are different, and that should be evident for all to see.

Since that was last week's Parsha, I'll give over a nice dvar Torah I received from my neighbor, Rabbi Dan Lifshitz:

"This was the Aaron and Moshe to whom G-d said take the Children of Israel out of Egypt.... This was Moshe and Aaron."  (Exodus 6:26-27)
Rashi explains that the transposition of the names between the first verse and second verse indicates that the two brothers were equal in status.  The Shelah asks a fairly obvious question on this explanation.  The Torah later tells us "there never again arose a prophet in Israel like Moshe (Deut 34:10)."  If so, how does Rashi tell us that Aaron was his equal?  The Shelah answers that Moshe developed over time.  When he first went with Aaron to speak with Pharaoh, the two of them were on par, but by the time Moshe went up on Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, he had become the greatest of the prophets.

The Ktav Sofer suggests a reason for Moshe's "promotion."  Moshe was known for his humility.  When he was a simple shepherd tending Yitro's sheep in the desert, it was easy for him to be humble.  When he first approached Pharaoh's palace together with his brother, it was still relatively easy.  But after Moshe brought plagues upon the Egyptians, after he stood up to Pharaoh, after he became "very great in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of Pharaoh's servants and the people (Exo. 11:3)," most people would have become prideful to some extent.  To Moshe's credit, his head never got bigger, even as his accomplishments grew more and more impressive.  By maintaining his humility in the face of his rise to greatness, Moshe earned the position of the "master of the prophets."  Humility is not the most celebrated trait in today's world, but in G-d's eyes, it is cherished indeed.  Shabbat Shalom

MLK Day

Here is a post from a previous year on Martin Luther King Day:

This morning on my way in to school, I heard Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech, almost in its entirety.  Aside from how great and powerful a speaker he was, what struck me was that virtually all of his dreams for the future; all of the aspirations for America that he demanded have pretty much been fulfilled, and then some.  All of his fantasies, that at the time must have seemed as absurd as the cell phone or the internet, every last one of them is now so much a part of the American culture, that dissent is (appropriately) not tolerated in polite company.  While bigotry of all kinds (he references Jews and  gentiles joining hands at the end) is not dead in America, I think it is relegated to the fringes of society in a way that would have been virtually unimaginable just a generation ago.

On Rosh Chodesh Iyar, we spoke the idea that I heard from a Rebbe in Israel that אייר stands for אברהם, יצחק, יעקב, רחל, and that while the אבות each have the מידה that they represent, רחל represents the כח החלום.  Today is a day that to continue to learn this lesson of the power of dreams, of seeing slightly beyond what seems realistic.  There is a lesson here for us all when it comes to our own personal growth.  We have spoken before about how we should always try to have personal goals that we strive for.  We can think about these similar to college applications.  First, you want to make sure that you have your "safety school" - so take something that you are currently proud of, and commit yourself to maintaining that level of achievement (I'm davening well, I've been very sensitive to the needs of my friends or family, I have been making strong, mature decisions lately, I learn some Torah lishma, I volunteer my free time to help others etc.).  Next, you have your target schools that you aspire to, here you are looking slightly beyond where you are now, but these are very doable, realistic goals.  This category is the bread and butter of growth, as almost all progress is gradual, and there is nothing to be gained by setting yourself up for failure.  The message that I see in Martin Luther King Day, is to also also have your "reach" school - to set a longer term goal right now seem to be way out of  range, but approach it with a blend of anxious patience.  Both as individuals and societies, people have a tendency to prove predictions wrong, and to be capable of growing far faster than anyone, or almost anyone dreamed we would.

Mrs. Kahan's Reading List

In addition to the books, articles, and movies that have already appeared on other teachers' reading lists, here are a few more favorites:
1. By Faith Alone: The Story of Rabbi Yehuda Amital by Elyashiv Reichner. This book, which I found very inspiring, describes Rav Amital's thought and his approach to avodat Hashem.
2. "The Source of Faith is Faith Itself" by Rav Lichtenstein. This is a short article, which highlights the importance of relationships and experience in developing faith in Hashem.
3. Rabbi Shalom Carmy's articles in Tradition, and particularly "The House I Lived In: A Taste of Gooseflesh" in the Summer 2011 volume.
4. "The Commonsense Rebellion Against Torah Authority" by Rav Soloveitchik. This article, which you may read in eleventh grade Chumash, gives a (to me) compelling explanation of the value of halakhic ritual and of submitting to halakhic authority.
5. Fear No Evil, Natan Sharansky's autobiography.
6. Two movies, both produced by Menachem Daum. The first is "Hiding and Seeking" (this also appears on Ms. Wolf's list), which is a documentary that explores faith and tolerance after the Holocaust. The second is "A Life Apart," a documentary about Chasidic life that I find moving, partly because it is reminiscent of my own experience when I lived in a Chasidic community.

Amazing Story about Timmy Tebow

Check out this story.

I've come to believe in Tim Tebow, but not for what he does on a football field, which is still three parts Dr. Jekyll and two parts Mr. Hyde.

No, I've come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off a football field, which is represent the best parts of us, the parts I want to be and so rarely am.

Who among us is this selfless?

Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster's), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts.

Home or road, win or lose, hero or goat.

Remember last week, when the world was pulling its hair out in the hour after Tebow had stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers with an 80-yard OT touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in the playoffs? And Twitter was exploding with 9,420 tweets about Tebow per second? When an ESPN poll was naming him the most popular athlete in America?

Tebow was spending that hour talking to 16-year-old Bailey Knaub about her 73 surgeries so far and what TV shows she likes.

MORE FROM TIM TEBOW

For Tim Tebow's take on being named America's most popular athlete, click here.

"Here he'd just played the game of his life," recalls Bailey's mother, Kathy, of Loveland, Colo., "and the first thing he does after his press conference is come find Bailey and ask, 'Did you get anything to eat?' He acted like what he'd just done wasn't anything, like it was all about Bailey."

More than that, Tebow kept corralling people into the room for Bailey to meet. Hey, Demaryius, come in here a minute. Hey, Mr. Elway. Hey, Coach Fox.

Even though sometimes-fatal Wegener's granulomatosis has left Bailey with only one lung, the attention took her breath away.

"It was the best day of my life," she emailed. "It was a bright star among very gloomy and difficult days. Tim Tebow gave me the greatest gift I could ever imagine. He gave me the strength for the future. I know now that I can face any obstacle placed in front of me. Tim taught me to never give up because at the end of the day, today might seem bleak but it can't rain forever and tomorrow is a new day, with new promises."

I read that email to Tebow, and he was honestly floored.

"Why me? Why should I inspire her?" he said. "I just don't feel, I don't know, adequate. Really, hearing her story inspires me."

It's not just NFL defenses that get Tebowed. It's high school girls who don't know whether they'll ever go to a prom. It's adults who can hardly stand. It's kids who will die soon.

For the game at Buffalo, it was Charlottesville, Va., blue-chip high school QB Jacob Rainey, who lost his leg after a freak tackle in a scrimmage. Tebow threw three interceptions in that Buffalo game and the Broncos were crushed 40-14.

"He walked in and took a big sigh and said, 'Well, that didn't go as planned,'" Rainey remembers. "Where I'm from, people wonder how sincere and genuine he is. But I think he's the most genuine person I've ever met."

There's not an ounce of artifice or phoniness or Hollywood in this kid Tebow, and I've looked everywhere for it.

Take 9-year-old Zac Taylor, a child who lives in constant pain. Immediately after Tebow shocked the Chicago Bears with a 13-10 comeback win, Tebow spent an hour with Zac and his family. At one point, Zac, who has 10 doctors, asked Tebow whether he has a secret prayer for hospital visits. Tebow whispered it in his ear. And because Tebow still needed to be checked out by the Broncos' team doctor, he took Zac in with him, but only after they had whispered it together.

And it's not always kids. Tom Driscoll, a 55-year-old who is dying of brain cancer at a hospice in Denver, was Tebow's guest for the Cincinnati game. "The doctors took some of my brain," Driscoll says, "so my short-term memory is kind of shot. But that day I'll never forget. Tim is such a good man."

This whole thing makes no football sense, of course. Most NFL players hardly talk to teammates before a game, much less visit with the sick and dying.

Isn't that a huge distraction?


Not everything Tim Tebow does on one knee is controversial. Ask Zac Taylor.
"Just the opposite," Tebow says. "It's by far the best thing I do to get myself ready. Here you are, about to play a game that the world says is the most important thing in the world. Win and they praise you. Lose and they crush you. And here I have a chance to talk to the coolest, most courageous people. It puts it all into perspective. The game doesn't really matter. I mean, I'll give 100 percent of my heart to win it, but in the end, the thing I most want to do is not win championships or make a lot of money, it's to invest in people's lives, to make a difference."

So that's it. I've given up giving up on him. I'm a 100 percent believer. Not in his arm. Not in his skills. I believe in his heart, his there-will-definitely-be-a-pony-under-the-tree optimism, the way his love pours into people, right up to their eyeballs, until they believe they can master the hopeless comeback, too.

Remember the QB who lost his leg, Jacob Rainey? He got his prosthetic leg a few weeks ago, and he wants to play high school football next season. Yes, tackle football. He'd be the first to do that on an above-the-knee amputation.

Hmmm. Wonder where he got that crazy idea?

"Tim told me to keep fighting, no matter what," Rainey says. "I am."

A Personal Favorite

Has anyone read Life of Pi, by Yann Martel?

It's not a math book, it's about faith, man and G-d. (Pi is the protagonist's name). I found it to be very compelling. The book is almost all a mashal which is fun to read, telling the story of a boy and a tiger and their unexpected friendship. After reading it I debated the take-home message at the end of the book with friends and would love to hear what other people's thoughts are!

I also second The Chosen appearance on a couple of people's lists. It's a real classic, so very rich with themes for thinking Jews.