I don't smoke. I have never smoked. I never had any desire to smoke. I think I dodged that bullet due to my naiveté and also due to the aspect of my personality that others label as "black and white". In my youth I was wont to unquestioningly believe any statement of science (that's the naiveté). I therefore believed all the statements about the dangers of smoking. I put smoking cigarettes in the same category as cyanide pills and rat poison. There was no temptation at all.
I was privileged to participate once again in Shas For Shidduchim. (There are lots of pictures here; please note the wide spectrum of those learning.) Last year was the first year and I learned only two daf. This year the "buy in" was raised; so I took the day off work and learned a total of six daf. Having never been to yeshiva, this is the first opportunity I had to just sit and learn for six hours straight. I could get used to that.
R' Fuerst, shilta, spoke at the siyum dinner, said over a powerful lesson regarding learning and living Torah. The gemara (Brachos 61b) relates that R' Akiva was teaching Torah in public in spite of the threat of death by the ruling government to anyone caught doing so. When asked why he was taking this risk, R' Akiva responded with a parable. The gist of the parable is that a fox sees the fish darting to and fro in a river as the are constantly on the run (ok, "on the swim") from nets and hooks. The fox suggests they come up on dry land where there is neither hooks nor nets, where they can all live together as their ancestors did. The fish answered that they don't know why the fox is considered to be so smart; he is really a fool. If they are fearful for their lives in the environment that supports their life, how much more so they would be fearful in an environment that is deadly to them.
R' Fuerst asked, what is this whole story about? Who cares that they are fearful of the nets? Why is that relevant? Just say that a Jew can't live without Torah; that's R' Akiva's message, right? R' Gifter answers that R' Akiva is saying something more: Water is very constraining. (Editor's note: every try running in water?) The fish on the shore are having the time of their lives! They are even dancing! You can't do that in the water, now can you? The dry land is so freeing; air is so light. Why do we need all the burdens and constraints of the heavy and viscous water?
The air, of course, specifically because it is so light and thin is actually a vicious and deadly environment. They are not having the time of their lives, they are having the time of their deaths. No, the don't die right away, but the will die if they don't get back to the water. So too, a Jew who leaves the Torah may very well feel free and vibrant; but it is short lived, as it is the freedom from life itself.
Obviously I am naive about smoking; I really just don't and never have seen the attraction. I did not grow up as a Torah observant Jew. Once I started questioning what I was being told by society, however, I found so much hypocrisy and delusion that I was as repulsed by it as I am by a cigarette. I found one and only one source of Truth. My naiveté shattered, the so-called "black and white" dimension of my personality kicked in and I have found no choice except the life giving environment of the Torah. That's real freedom; freedom to live and thrive.
I was privileged to participate once again in Shas For Shidduchim. (There are lots of pictures here; please note the wide spectrum of those learning.) Last year was the first year and I learned only two daf. This year the "buy in" was raised; so I took the day off work and learned a total of six daf. Having never been to yeshiva, this is the first opportunity I had to just sit and learn for six hours straight. I could get used to that.
R' Fuerst, shilta, spoke at the siyum dinner, said over a powerful lesson regarding learning and living Torah. The gemara (Brachos 61b) relates that R' Akiva was teaching Torah in public in spite of the threat of death by the ruling government to anyone caught doing so. When asked why he was taking this risk, R' Akiva responded with a parable. The gist of the parable is that a fox sees the fish darting to and fro in a river as the are constantly on the run (ok, "on the swim") from nets and hooks. The fox suggests they come up on dry land where there is neither hooks nor nets, where they can all live together as their ancestors did. The fish answered that they don't know why the fox is considered to be so smart; he is really a fool. If they are fearful for their lives in the environment that supports their life, how much more so they would be fearful in an environment that is deadly to them.
R' Fuerst asked, what is this whole story about? Who cares that they are fearful of the nets? Why is that relevant? Just say that a Jew can't live without Torah; that's R' Akiva's message, right? R' Gifter answers that R' Akiva is saying something more: Water is very constraining. (Editor's note: every try running in water?) The fish on the shore are having the time of their lives! They are even dancing! You can't do that in the water, now can you? The dry land is so freeing; air is so light. Why do we need all the burdens and constraints of the heavy and viscous water?
The air, of course, specifically because it is so light and thin is actually a vicious and deadly environment. They are not having the time of their lives, they are having the time of their deaths. No, the don't die right away, but the will die if they don't get back to the water. So too, a Jew who leaves the Torah may very well feel free and vibrant; but it is short lived, as it is the freedom from life itself.
Obviously I am naive about smoking; I really just don't and never have seen the attraction. I did not grow up as a Torah observant Jew. Once I started questioning what I was being told by society, however, I found so much hypocrisy and delusion that I was as repulsed by it as I am by a cigarette. I found one and only one source of Truth. My naiveté shattered, the so-called "black and white" dimension of my personality kicked in and I have found no choice except the life giving environment of the Torah. That's real freedom; freedom to live and thrive.
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