Introducing ...

I would like to introduce my blog readers (yes, all 3 of you) to a really cool new blog, NiPhoto:

http://photo.niphylosoft.com/

The blog was started by Shay, a friend I've known (& sometimes even admired) since we met in Istanbul in 1989. He's an avid photographer and in his blog, he'll share photos, thoughts and well ... uuuuuh ... more photos?
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Black Hat Zionists

Upon witnessing a Haredi man yelling at an Israel Police officer, Rabbi Shach quipped that the man must have become a Zionist. The man was surprised, “What are you talking about?” Rabbi Shach responded, “Would you have dared to yell at a police officer back in Poland?”

From here, courtesy of Dave Curwin
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A Great Finnish

Sami Hyypia, one of the best defenders in Liverpool history, is moving on after a glorious 10 year career with Liverpool.

So long Sami ... YNWA.

The War between Israel & Humus

Courtesy of Bruno:

Health, Part II

This past week, good friends of mine had healthy twins. It wasn’t an easy ride to parenthood, but to hear them so overjoyed and excited at their new arrivals warmed my heart. This story, and those like it, is part of the millions of warming stories of pregnancies. But sadly as we know, this isn’t always the case.

Yesterday, while surfing Facebook, I was left shaken by a status update of one of my friends:

Okay - deep breath. I am not exactly sure how to share this; so here goes. On Jan 21/22nd my wife and I delivered our fourth baby in five years of marriage. The baby had died before we reached the hospital. The cause of death and all the other facts are not the point of this - I want people who know me to know - and I have no real way of writing - over and over again. So - we decided after almost 5 months to sponsor a shiur (Hebrew for "class") on the Jewish approach to death before birth. Every religion has it's process for dealing with death of the living - but what about before "life" … For more sharing just write from your hearts - words from the heart enter the heart.

My heart sunk. I wrote a few words ‘from my heart’ but what could I really say to remotely assuage the pain and loss this family has been suffering for the past half year. Pregnancy is a quite amazing process, a beautiful journey in the creation of life. But one glitch, which we are sadly almost never able to prevent, can bring about pain and sorrow that haunts us for a lifetime. After reading my friend’s harrowing story last night, I spent time looking at my first child, just appreciating the presence and light he’s added to my life (as well as my wife’s too obviously). It’s something many of us don’t reflect on enough due to our busy daily routines …
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Moshe and Aaron's Sin - A Question

One of the questions posed to me with regards to my blog about Moshe & Aaron's sin was about Abarbanel's commentary. Abarbanel explained that the severity of the punishment was due to Aaron's involvement with the Golden Calf and Moshe's sending out of the spies. So the question posed to me was, "How is Moshe to blame for the spies' false report which brought about forty years in the desert for the nation of Israel?"

I found a suitable answer tonight, so let's go to the 'source of the sin':

"Send forth men, if you please, and let them spy out the Land of Canaan that I give to the Children of Israel; one man each from his father's tribe shall you send, every one a leader among them," (Numbers, 13/2)

The implication of those three italicized words seems to be, "You can send spies but the decision to do so is yours." This wasn't a command, but a choice and hence Moshe has to bear some responsibility for the disastrous consequences of the mission. For more on this, I'll quote The Stone Edition Chumash:

As explained by the Sages and Rashi ... the people came to Moses and asked him to dispatch spies to reconnoiter Canaan and report to them. Moses consulted God, Who said, "I have told them the Land is good. [But since they question Me], I will let them test My veracity, at the risk of being misled and losing their chance to enter the Land." Although Moses apparently approved the demand, he actually hoped that his agreement would dissuade the people form pressing the request. The Sages offer a parable: Someone wants to buy a donkey, but says that he must first test it. The seller enthusiastically agrees. "May I take it to both mountains and valleys?" "Of course!" Seeing that the seller is so confident of his animal's prowess, the buyer decides he has nothing to fear and forgoes the test. He buys the donkey and is very satisfied. So, too, Moses thought that his willingness to let the people have their way would convince them that they had nothing to fear.

Interestingly enough, the same attitude (putting faith in the people to make the 'right choice') also cost Aaron his chance to enter the Promised Land. During the Golden Calf debacle, the commentators explain that Aaron took part in the incident only to play for time in hope that the people's enthusiasm would wane or that Moshe return from Mt. Sinai's summit. Despite this, the Torah still says Aaron "fashioned it [the Golden Calf]," (Numbers, 32/4).

Based on the examples expressed above, Abarbanel's commentary seems to hint that both these great individuals seriously erred as leaders. Instead of making decisions that may have been unpopular with the masses (or even result in their death, as per Aaron's worries after seeing Hor murdered - see Rashi's commentary to Numbers, 32/6), both showed bad judgment that caused catastrophic results for the Nation of Israel.
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Meeting the (Rich &) Famous

When I was in high school, my family took a trip down to Texas. One of our stop was in San Antonio. We obviously saw the famous Alamo, and when we left, I saw Charles Barkley & Kevin Johnson approaching us. As an avid fan of the NBA, I quickly told my dad but instead of trying to get an autograph, or even saying hello, I walked by them shyly. The first time I meet someone famous (unless we count Knightrider's Kitt) and I freeze. Oh well, I had a good excuse - I was a shy teenager.

Fast forward to today ...

As I sat in the office, the company's receptionist walked in and started inquiring if any of us had a spare parking pass. Behind her, a bearded man stood quietly. As I focused in on him, I said, "Effie Eitam, you're not going to say hello?" The former MK (Member of Parliament) looked a bit startled, but eventually made his way to most of the office, introducing himself and shaking hands. As we chatted about his new role at IDT (Yes, he's our latest employee - some role in the shale oil project), it just seemed funny that here I was chatting to Eitam as if he was an old friend, joking about his old job and Miluim. Chafif, as they say in Israel.

As Eitam left the office, I asked Zak (the owner of the excellent Parasha Thoughts blog) why he didn't look at all interested. "That was really Effie Eitam?," he asked, "I thought he was just someone you knew from upstairs who looked like Eitam!" Ha ... Oh well, I'm sure we'll run into him again and Zak will be able to say hello and make up for his uncharacteristic shyness!
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Moshe and Aaron's Sin - Take Your Pick

This week's Torah portion, Chukat, is where Moshe & Aaron commit a sin so grave that they are banned from entering the Land of Israel. Let's look at the two lines where this happens (Numbers, 20/10-11):

(10) Moshe and Aaron gathered the congregation before the rock and he said to them, "Listen now, O rebels, shall we bring forth water for you from this rock?" (11) Then Moshe raised his arm and struck the rock with his staff twice; abundant water came forth and the assembly and their animals drank.

So what exactly was his sin? Considering it's been something commentators have delved into - let's look at four possibilities (pointers courtesy of The Stone Edition Chumash) that resulted in the aforementioned punishment:

1) Rashi's explanation of Moshe's sin is straight forward: Moshe was commanded to speak to the rock ("Take the staff and gather together the assembly ... speak to the rock before their eyes and it shall give its waters," Numbers 20/8) and instead of speaking, he struck the rock.

2) Rambam explains that Moshe's sin was getting angry with the people as he tried to quiet them, "Listen now, O rebels." Why was Moshe's angry reaction to the people such a sin? Rambam states in Shemoneh Perakim that Am Yisrael saw Moshe's words as a reflection of Hashem's will and hence, Moshe's angry reaction in fact showed that Hashem was angry with his people. As we don't find anything in the chapter, be it stated or hinted, that Hashem was angry with the request, we can assume that Moshe mislead his people into unnecessary worry and angst. This can be a vital lesson to us - We should try and contemplate how others will react to our actions before acting them out.

3) Rabbeinu Chananel and Ramban key in on "Shall we bring forth water..." as being Moshe's sin. Moshe's statement implies that he and Aaron are responsible for bringing water out of the rock, not Hashem. This could be the reason Hashem reprimanded the brothers by saying, "Because you did not ... sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children," (Numbers, 20/12). Moshe should have said, "Shall Hashem bring forth water" ...

4) Abarbanel, despite agreeing with Rashi about the sin, claims that the reason for the severe punishment was to finally punish Aaron (golden calf) & Moshe (sending the spies) for their past sins gone unpunished. Like the rest of Am Yisrael, Moshe and Aaron were not given the privilege of conquering the Land. When great men like Moshe and Aaron never walked on this land, it makes me appreciate the fact I get to walk around Eretz Yisrael daily even more.

So there you have it ... There are other takes on this sin, so if you want to add another explanation, feel free to do so in the comment section.
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