Ten Minutes of Torah

with

Rabbi Chaim Weiner

Emor – 5767

ויקרא פרק כג

(מג) לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ דֹרֹתֵיכֶם כִּי בַסֻּכּוֹת הוֹשַׁבְתִּי אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם …:

Leviticus 23:43

In order that future generations may know that I caused the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I the LORD your God.

Safra:

Rabbi Eliezer says: these were real Succot (booths). Rabbi Akiva says: These were the clouds of God’s glory. [i.e. Succot in a metaphysical sense – they were protected by God.]

Rashi:

I caused the Israelite people live in booths. The clouds of God’s Glory.

QUESTION

Why does Rashi choose Rabbi Akiva’s explanation, instead of the simple meaning – that Succot means booths Rashi usually adopts the simple meaning?

ANSWER TO LAST WEEK’S QUESTION:

Why does the Sifra bring three examples. How are they different from each other? Explain the order in which they are brought.

The way a person it misled, and the motivation, is different in each example.

The first example - a lie is told to enable a person to marry the women he loves. The person misleading derives no benefit – he is only trying to help.

The second example - A person gives bad advice with the aim of harming his fellow.

The third example – a person gives bad advice with the aim of taking advantage and benefiting from his fellow’s mistakes. Here the intention is malicious.

The order is according to the intention, which is increasingly evil.

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Ten Minutes of Torah was prepared by Rabbi Chaim Weiner, based on the methods of Prof. Nechama Leibowitz. Rabbi Weiner studied and corresponded with Prof. Leibowitz for several years.

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HIDDEN BOOKS

In the early 1980 ‘s, the municipality of Girona decided to restore archives that dated back hundreds of years. When restoring the old bindings they found pages from Jewish books that had been placed there centuries earlier. One page (shown above), almost 700 years old, belonged to a child learning to write the letter Alef !

Join me One Day Special trip to Girona, and learn about this and much more!

Girona - One Day Special

15 July, 2007

The Programme

Nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains, on the border between Spain and France, the beautiful city of Girona was one of the most important centres of Jewish life in the Middle Ages. It has left a lasting mark on Jewish life to this day. Looking at the back of my Talmud, I once discovered that almost all of the commentaries were written in Girona. This was the home of Ramban - Nachmanides - who wrote an important commentary on the Torah, hundreds of Responsa, profound commentaries on the Talmud and was also an important Kabbalist.

Girona was the northern most Jewish community in Spain, and it sat on the cultural border between the Ashkenazi and Sephardic worlds. This is where Spanish and Ashkenazi Jews first met each other, with surprising results.

We will walk the narrows lanes of the old city where the Jewish quarter is preserved, visit the home of Ramban, walk the walls of the city, and open Girona's secrets through its sites and literature. This short trip will whet your appetite and leave you wanting more.

Cost: Only £60.00 pp + flights. This includes all transportation in Spain, one Kosher meal and all entrance fees, sessions and programmes.

CHECK IT OUT AT: www.jewishjourneys.supanet.com