William Ury, founder of the Harvard Program of Negotiation, tells a marvellous story in one of his books.[1] A young American, living in Japan to study aikido, was sitting one afternoon in a train in the suburbs of Tokyo. The carriage was half empty. There were some mothers with children, and elderly people going shopping. Then at one of the…
Behind Jewish belief in Torah she-be-al Peh, the “Oral Law”, lies a fundamental truth. The meaning of a text is not given by the text itself. Between a text and its meaning lies the act of interpretation – and this depends on who is interpreting, in what context, and with what beliefs. Without an authoritative tradition of interpretation – in Judaism,…
Among the many legal provisions of this week’s sedra is one stated briefly and unemphatically, yet it has far-reaching implications as well as subtlety and moral beauty: “If you see your enemy’s ass sagging under its burden, you shall not pass by. You shall surely release it with him.” Ex. 23:5 The principle is simple. Your enemy is also a…
…they share a vision, an aspiration, a set of ideals. This is the meaning of edah, a congregation. Edah is related to the word ed, a witness. Edot (as opposed to chukim and mishpatim) are the commands that testify to Jewish belief – as Shabbat testifies to creation, Pesach to the divine involvement in history; and so on. An edah…
…(the numerical value of the Hebrew word yad is fourteen ). The books are: 1. Knowledge (Madda) 2. Love (Ahavah) 3. Times (Zemanim) 4. Women (Nashim) 5. Sanctity (Kedushah) 6. “Expression” (Hafla’ah) 7. Seeds (Zeraim) 8. Service (Avodah) 9. Sacrifices (Korbanot) 10. Purity (Tohorah) 11. Damages (Nezikin) 12. Acquisition (Kinyan) 13. Judgment (Mishpatim) 14. Judges (Shofetim) In his introduction to…
…things we can do together that none of us can do alone. MISHPATIM: If you seek to change anyone’s behaviour, you have to enter into their mindset, and then say the word or do the deed that speaks to their emotions, not yours. TERUMAH: The effort you put into something does not just change the object: it changes you. The…
…of edah, congregation. Edah is related to the word ed, witness. Edot (as opposed to chukim and mishpatim) are the commands that testify to Jewish belief – as Shabbat testifies to creation, Passover to the Divine involvement in history, and so on. An edah is not a defensive formation but a creative one. People join together to do what none…
…cannot aspire to the kind of cosmic wisdom that would allow us to see its point and purpose. Or perhaps, as Rav Saadia Gaon put it, it is a command issued for no other reason than to reward us for obeying it.[1] The Sages recognised that whereas Gentiles might understand Jewish laws based on social justice (mishpatim) or historical memory…
…revolutionary: the supreme power intervenes in history in defence of the powerless. Shemot Vaera Bo Beshallach Yitro Mishpatim Terumah Tetzaveh Ki Tissa Vayakhel Pekudei Vayikra (Leviticus) In Vayikra, the book of Leviticus, God sets out the mystery and majesty of holiness, summoning the people with whom He covenanted to a life driven by its energy, lit by its radiance, transformed…
…role and impact of mitzvot in Judaism in general and in the thought of Rabbi Sacks in particular Understand the difference between the three categories of mitzvot: Mishpatim, Chukim, and Edot Consider examples from these three categories in order to explore them further Consider whether Judaism is a religion of thought and faith primarily or action and ritual The ‘Ten Paths to God’ curriculum project has…