introduction

I am a Jewish, mitzvah practicing jew in Long Island that has gone through the yeshiva system all my life including a two and half year program in a black hat yeshiva in Israel(Kol Torah).My stay in Israel also included six month's working on a kibbutz(be'erot yitzchak). I am very far from a traditional black hat yeshiva bochor. I am currently married(going through a messy divorce)with three beautiful sons.I love to learn especially machshava trying to find meaning and substance to both our religion and life. I will use this blog to escape from the day to day noise of life and try to use it as a form of meditation and as tool to re energize and to refocus.

I believe that we have a beautiful religion that was designed to challenge its followers to seek out and search for G-D by studying the world he created, understanding how he runs his world and then trying to emulate his actions resulting in a better place to live. I don't believe that we can change G-d or use G-d for our own selfish needs. I believe that it is our goal to change ourselves by understanding and then trying to emulate G-D "by going in his ways". In this blog I will be laying out thoughts that occur to me whether on the parsha,navi,daf or just plain machshava that comes to me during my lifetime

The beauty of a blog is the ability to communicate thoughts to the world and then have them analyzed and critiqued. It also forces the author to develop thoughts and learning so that it can withstand the challenge of any criticism. I hope that this is what this blog will do for me. Thank you in advance for reading and I hope you enjoy-alex

Out of slavery

1.  Slaves lose their self identity. They become completely subservient to their master/s. No decision is made unless the master benefits and gives his ok. In return the servant is given shelter, food and protection. In many ways the slave master and the idols/false G-D's play the same role to the servant/worshiper. There is a real fear by the slave/worshiper, that if he stops serving his master/G-D; then the food, shelter and protection would be seriously at risk.

Judaism introduced a revolutionary concept; that man is free from all forms of slavery; whether it is under man or whether it is bribing a G-D or whether it is even being a slave to one's own desires and thoughts.
Judaism doesn't want us  to be subservient to even a King; unless of course because of our given freedoms, we demand one. Even then, the chosen king has limited power. He is not allowed to amass wealth, horses(army) or wives. He is limited in his power by playing a role of a judge, with Torah constantly placed on his arm.
Even with our own worship of G-D, we are to do so, by improving ourselves and our relationship with our fellow man; in order to achieve closeness to G-D. Our sacrifices are not designed to bribe G-D but instead are to channel our drive to be mastered, into something productive. A sacrifice must be brought in a central location where all of the nation gathers with a goal of forming a community, mass education and a unified focus on the fundamental principles of our religion; with the central pillar being the idea of a non physical "first cause", that abhors slavery in all it's forms.
In the location of the sacrifices we have our supreme court, a gathering of the most educated and an economic system that is designed to help the less fortunate without reliance on an intrusive govt.
Even after G-D gave us the Torah he gave us the freedom to take control of his law and make it our own. That is the fantastic concept that the Rabbis have taught us,
 תורה לא בשמים היא.   
 
It took forty years of wandering in a desert for the Jewish people to understand this foundation of Judaism and the worship of the true G-D.
Like a drug addict it could not happen instantly but had to happen very slowly via weaning the Jewish people off the addiction of being mastered. That is why the ענן, באר and the מן was a necessity during this education process; just like a Heroin addict that is  given dangerous drugs to wean him off his even more dangerous addiction.
When finally entering Israel, the next generation of the desert was fully educated on what Judaism expected from them; complete freedom and self empowerment. They understood that they were not  to abandon the ability to control their lives/destiny to slave masters, Govt or even G-D.
It is G-D himself that tells us that we are given free will to choose between good and evil.  We are told by G-D to throw off the yolk of all forms of slavery and to move on to make the best of ourselves and the world around us. The nation of Israel is to be an example to the world, of what true freedom is supposed to look like. All the greatest Democracies in the world today, were developed as a result of this Judaic concept of freedom; that was first introduced to the world when the Jews left Egypt.
This pasuk in this weeks Parsha say all of this in twelve words.

 שמות טו: וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, מַה-תִּצְעַק אֵלָי; דַּבֵּר
אֶל-בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִסָּעוּ.

 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward

Thoughts on the Daf- Berachot 31


Knowing that Samuel was a descendant of Korach (who rebelled against Moshe), it is always a beautiful idea that in contrast to his great grandfather, he gave up his own power, in order to appoint the first Jewish kings(Saul and David). In a similar manner, when Moses was told by G-D that he would destroy the Jewish people and rebuild a new nation from Moses; the response from Moses was a plea to save the Jewish people(by the golden calf).

In todays Daf(Berachot 31) both ideas are  repeated, once by discussing how Eli accused Samuel of Moreh halacha biphnei raboh(a form of rebellion). This reminds us of the potential of rebellion that Samuel inherited. As a result of Samuel's rebellion,
Eli threatened to kill Samuel. Eli promises חנה, that if allowed to punish Samuel, he would pray that G-d grant's חנה even a greater son than Samuel. חנה refuses and demands that Eli have mercy on Samuel.

Here is the Gemara-

״אֶל הַנַּעַר הַזֶּה הִתְפַּלָּלְתִּי״. אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: שְׁמוּאֵל מוֹרֵה הֲלָכָה לִפְנֵי רַבּוֹ הָיָה. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיִּשְׁחֲטוּ אֶת הַפָּר וַיָּבִיאוּ אֶת הַנַּעַר אֶל עֵלִי״. מִשּׁוּם דְּ״וַיִּשְׁחֲטוּ אֶת הַפָּר״ הֵבִיאוּ הַנַּעַר אֶל עֵלִי?

אֶלָּא, אָמַר לָהֶן עֵלִי: קִרְאוּ כֹּהֵן, לֵיתֵי וְלִשְׁחוֹט. חֲזַנְהוּ שְׁמוּאֵל דַּהֲווֹ מְהַדְּרִי בָּתַר כֹּהֵן לְמִישְׁחַט, אֲמַר לְהוּ: לְמָה לְכוּ לְאַהְדּוֹרֵי בָּתַר כֹּהֵן לְמִישְׁחַט? שְׁחִיטָה בְּזָר כְּשֵׁרָה! אַיְיתוּהוּ לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּעֵלִי. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מְנָא לָךְ הָא? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מִי כְּתִיב ״וְשָׁחַט הַכֹּהֵן״?! ״וְהִקְרִיבוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים״ כְּתִיב, מִקַּבָּלָה וְאֵילָךְ מִצְוַת כְּהוּנָּה, מִכָּאן לַשְּׁחִיטָה שֶׁכְּשֵׁרָה בְּזָר.

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מֵימָר שַׁפִּיר קָא אָמְרַתְּ, מִיהוּ מוֹרֶה הֲלָכָה בִּפְנֵי רַבָּךְ אַתְּ, וְכׇל הַמּוֹרֶה הֲלָכָה בִּפְנֵי רַבּוֹ חַיָּיב מִיתָה. אָתְיָא חַנָּה וְקָא צָוְוחָה קַמֵּיהּ: ״אֲנִי הָאִשָּׁה הַנִּצֶּבֶת עִמְּכָה בָּזֶה״ וְגוֹ׳. אֲמַר לַהּ: שִׁבְקִי לִי דְּאֶעֶנְשֵׁיהּ, וּבְעֵינָא רַחֲמֵי, וְיָהֵיב לָךְ רַבָּא מִינֵּיהּ. אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: ״אֶל הַנַּעַר הַזֶּה הִתְפַּלָּלְתִּי״.

Additionally, Hannah’s emphasis in speaking to Eli, “for this youth I prayed” (I Samuel 1:27), indicates that she came to protect him from danger. As Rabbi Elazar said: Samuel was one who taught halakha in the presence of his teacher. Hannah wanted to pray that he not be punished by death at the hand of Heaven for his transgression, as it is stated: “And they slaughtered the cow and they brought the youth to Eli” (I Samuel 1:25). This verse is puzzling. Because they slaughtered the cow, therefore, they brought the youth to Eli? What does one have to do with the next?

Rather, this is what happened: Eli said to those who brought the offering: Call a priest; he will come and slaughter the offering. Samuel saw them looking for a priest to slaughter the animal. He said to them: Why do you need to look for a priest to slaughter it? Slaughter of an offering performed by a non-priest is valid. They brought him before Eli to clarify his statement. Eli said to him: How do you know this? Samuel said to him: Is it written in the Torah: And the priest shall slaughter indicating that the offering may only be slaughtered by a priest? It is written: “And the priests shall offer,” only from the stage of receiving the blood in the bowls and onward is it a mitzva incumbent upon priests alone. From here the halakha that slaughter by a non-priest is acceptable is derived.

Eli said to Samuel: You have spoken well and your statement is correct, but nevertheless, you are one who issued a halakhic ruling in the presence of your teacher, and anyone who issues a halakhic ruling in the presence of his teacher, even if the particular halakha is correct, is liable for death at the hand of Heaven for showing contempt for his teacher. Hannah came and shouted before him: “I am the woman who stood here with you to pray to the Lord;” do not punish the child who was born of my prayers. He said to her: Let me punish him, and I will pray for mercy, that the Holy One, Blessed be He, will grant you a son who will be greater than this one. She said to him: “For this youth I prayed” and I want no other.