Michael el Chayil

Please bear with me, this really is a d'var torah kind of thought. We all know how to play chess, at least the basic rules. Moreover, we have seen different size boards, different colors, different shape pieces. I have even seen a Star Wars chess game with wookies and darth vader and whatnot. It's all still chess; as odd as the pieces and board may look: every version has all the same types of pieces recognizable by how they move and they have the same goal. Let's invent a couple of new games. First game: same board, pieces, and moves, but lets remove the inequality between the king and the queen. The game ends whenever either the king or queen is captured, the king can move the same as the queen. Oh, and we don't let pawns become queens (or anything else) when they reach the other side of the board. We'll call this Egalitarian Chess. Second game: this time we feel that it is very unfair that pawns cannot move backward. We also don't like that piece...

Yes, Virginia, There Really is Good and Evil I think this is a question that nags at all of us: Do you think that a basic knowledge of good vs. evil is inherent in our psyche (in a sort of Jungian way)? Or is it something we learn? I guess a question I have always had since childhood is how do you know if what you are doing is actually good? The Rabbis tell us (Eruvin 100b): אמר רבי יוחנן אילמלא לא ניתנה תורה היינו למידין צניעות מחתול וגזל מנמלה ועריות מיונ R' Yochanan says, had the Torah not been given, we could learn modesty from the cat, [not to] steal from the ant, and fidelity from the dove. Why wouldn't we learn not to be modest from a dog, stealing from ravens, and infidelity from the cat? On first glance, then, it seems like we *do* have some inner moral compass. We may not be able say what is good and evil, but we recognize it when we see it. As is often the case, first impressions are misleading. First, the Torah *has* been given and it could very well b...

Before continuing with the narrative, I'd like to reflect a bit on what had just happened. I had grown up believing I was Jewish. I had often done a show and tell about Judaism in school, usually around Chanuka time. The teachers made a point of allowing me to work on "winter holiday" projects according to my (ie, the Jewish) calendar. I always knew I would only marry a Jewish girl and rear a Jewish family. I now had my children enrolled in a Jewish school and going to an authentic, Orthodox Jewish synagogue. And now I wasn't Jewish. I didn't buy into the whole "only the orthodox won't accept you" nonsense. I had grown up believing I was Jewish and being proud of being Jewish and making a point of letting others know that I was Jewish. And now I wasn't Jewish. It goes without saying that this was a blow to how I viewed myself and who I was. That, in fact, is an issue with which I struggle even now. But this was absolutely the death kne...

Why Reconciling Torah and Science is a Non-issue I was asked recently by a long lost and recently rediscovered family member: How do you reconcile your faith and what you believe to be true as a scientist? I liked the phrasing of the question. Not, "How do you reconcile your faith with current scientific theories?"; something I certainly cannot do and to not even believe is possible. Rather, "How do you reconcile your faith and what you believe to be true as a scientist?"; that is something I can do, but even believe is essential. To that end, I make the following assertions: First bold statement: There is no scientific data that contradicts the Torah view of how we got to where we are. Not in general, and not even in the details. That includes origin of species, age of the universe, development of civilization; all of it. Second bold statement: Given a reasonable criterion for acceptance, it will be found that the Torah view is the most consistent with the evi...

The blame for this next step up in observance lays squarely on my wife's shoulders (hi, honey!). One small step in education, one giant leap in hashkafa (outlook). When my oldest daughter was about to start 2nd grade, my job moved us to Dallas, Texas. I was working on the Superconducting Super Collider (RIP) project, and it had finally been decided to locate the lab south of Dallas. It just so happened (yeah, right...) that my wife mentioned the impending move to Dallas at a Sisterhood function and one of the lady's there just happened to have a sister in Dallas who just happened to be visiting for Thanksgiving. That sister called my wife to tell her about the Dallas Jewish community and to invite us for a Shabbos when we came down to look for a house. It came up that there was a Jewish day school in Dallas; then and there my wife decided we needed to take our children out of public school and take advantage of having a Jewish day school for them. Her decision was largely...

So I ask you. Have you kept the 10 commandments perfectly your whole life? This question was sent to me by an old colleague who has recently decided to try to point out the error in my ways to to come over to his avoda zara known as xtianity. I keep pointing out how far off he is, and be keeps coming back to try to "explain things to me". I felt that my response to this particular question was worth sharing on this week before Rosh HaShannah. There is *no* such thing as "The 10 Commandments" in our scripture. That translation is a pure fabrication. However, to answer the intent of your question: Yes, I do keep G-d's commandments; all of them. I also sin. The two are not in contradiction to each other. G-d, because of His infinite love for us and because of our infinite devotion and love for Him, made an unbreakable covenant with us to be His holy people and a nation of priests. Our receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai was the formal "signing" of ...

Please note the following article: Man declared dead, says he feels 'pretty good' And after you've digested that, check out this article from New Scientist a couple of years ago: Not brain-dead, but ripe for transplan t So in spite of the fact "brain dead" patients sometimes come "back to life" (ie, they were never dead in the first place), they are even contemplating making it easier to declare someone dead just to "increase the pool" of available organs. My favorite quote from that article: "Doctors are very pragmatic," says Christopher Doig, a critical care specialist at Canada's Foothills Hospital in Calgary, Alberta. "But there is something inherently bothersome about changing the way we are going to determine death so that we can increase the numbers of organs for donation." Isn' t that inspiring? At least Mr. Doig feels it is "bothersome" to murder people to harvest their organs.

Stress is not something that happens to us; stress is our reaction to what happens to us. The title of this web article is "Why you should stop complaining"; but to me it presents a nice technique for reducing stress by getting yourself to be able to more calmly and effectively deal with life's frustrations. If there are no frustrations in your life, you will probably not find this article interesting. On the other, if you have no frustrations, then you probably aren't alive... :) read more | digg story

Synopsis Having rejected the arguments of the philosopher/scientist, the king of Kuzar turns toward the "organized religion" -- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He rejects Judaism immediately because is practitioners are few and despised. The king decides to start with the Christian scholar and gets a quick overview: G-d revealed Himself to the Jews and gave them His Torah. On this point there is no argument; it is an accepted historical fact. At some point G-d decided to put Himself into human form and masquerade as a prophet; this was the messiah. Most of the Jews rebelled against the messiah, so G-d rejected them; leaving the messiah with only twelve followers. Those twelve followers became the replacement for the twelve tribes. Now everyone who follows after the messiah and his original followers are the real Children of Israel, even though none of them are actually descendants of Jacob. And even though we call G-d three, He is really one. The king has a very...

These are my notes on learning the Kuzari. This is not a translation nor even a commentary, simply my notes and thoughts. Synopsis The Kuzari begins by giving a background story. The king of the Kuzars had dedicated himself to exacting service to G-d according to the strict dictates of his religion. One night an angel came to him in a dream to tell him that G-d was pleased with the king's intentions, but not with his actions. The dreams were persistent, and eventually the king decided that he would have to seek the true path to service of G-d. With that as a background, the king first turns to a scientist/philosopher. (In those days anyone who pursued a career that was not involved in day to day living was called a philosopher. That eventually divided into natural philosophy -- which became science -- and supernatural philosophy. Hence, my use of the term scientist/philosopher.) The scientist tells him that of course there is a creator; but the creator is not involved i...

I can do anything! In the very first few moments of Yom Kippur we proudly announce with raised voice, "Baruch Shem Kavod Malchoso l'Olam va'Ed!" -- Blessed be the glory of His Kingdom for ever and ever! This statement is usually said quietly, in an undertone, for only the angels dare make this proclamation aloud. But on Yom Kippur, we -- klal Yisrael -- achieve that lofty status and are also permitted to proclaim aloud the glory and eternity of the Kingdom of Heaven. And we achieve that from the very onset of Yom Kippur. All night and all day, we fast in order that our prayers should be uninterrupted with the needs of the physical body. We make ourselves as spiritual as possible and show ourselves and our bodies who is boss. HaShem is our King and we are His faithful servants. For more than 25 hours we dedicate ourselves to His service. In the last moments of this most holy of days we escort the Sh'china -- HaShem's Holy Presence -- up through the s...

Suppose someone gave you $10,000 each and every day. A wealthy benefactor who asks for nothing in return. I would think that at the very least, one ought to feel and expression his appreciation. But this benefactor doesn't even expect that in exchange for your daily allowance. Pretty good deal, don't you think? Now, if he stops giving you that allowance one day, could you possibly have any complaints? Does it enter your mind to have complaints? What about if you were rude to his children, took his stuff without asking and used it for things he didn't like. And he *still* kept giving you the allowance? Maybe after a few years he drops the allowance to $9,500 per day. Not out of spite, but just in hopes you will stop the damage... and, of course, that $500 a day doesn't come close to covering the expenses to clean up after your messes. Now you are thinking, "No one is going to give me $10,000 a day; no one is even going to give me $10 a day for nothing,...

In the parsha of "trumas hadeshen" (removing the ashes from the altar), the kohein is told to change his clothes before continuing with the rest of his daily duties (Vayikra 6:4). Rashi comments, "This is not an obligation, rather it is derech eretz ; that he shouldn't wear his normal working clothes and get them dirty while taking out the ashes. The clothing in which one cooks the food for his master is not the same clothing one wears when serving wine to his master." Rashi's comment is difficult for at least two reasons. First, if it is not an obligation, then why does the Torah command it? Second, if the the reasoning is as clear as the example, then why would Torah need to mention something so obvious? The first question we can answer from a Rashi in Eruvin, 104b. The mishna there says that a cohein is allowed to put a bandage on a wound on his hand while working in the mikdash on shabbos. This is another example of "ein shvus b'mikdas...

Attitude of the Giver and Attitude of the Receiver The Sifsei Chaim notes that the Chovos ha'l'Lavos seems to have contradictory statements regarding his impression of both givers and receivers of chesed. "I am amazed", says the Chovos ha'l'Lavos, "by those who expect gratitude for doing a chesed for someone." The Chovos ha'l'Lavos has explained that no one can damage or benefit another by even a mustard seed worth of value, for "hakol bidei shamayim" -- everything is in the hands of heaven. So that means that that the receiver is not really obligated to be grateful to someone who only carried out the Will of the Creator and brought His decree to fruition, right? Continues the Chovos ha'l'Lavos, "I am amazed by those people who do not have hakaras hatov for others who try to benefit them, even if they are not able to carry out their good intentions." Hmmm... and to make matters even worse, the Chovos ha'l...

Life after that first conversion was not much different quantitatively, but there had been a shift in direction. I had been forced to choose to be Jewish, and I would never again take my Jewishness for granted. I wouldn't say that it was constantly on my mind, but it was certainly always at the back of my mind. A lot happened in our personal lives over those next few years. We had to find a level of observance that was comfortable and livable. Comfortable regarding how are personal level of commitment jived with our actions. Livable regarding balancing both our level of commitment as individuals and our commitment as a couple. There was also the commitment to each other. I think last component is not always given the attention is needs. We tried to make everything we did a mutual decision. For example, for a long time we kept kosher in the house but ate out in restaurants. At this point I want to stress that I am not making any recommendations; I am simply recording what w...

Our second wedding was really a very small affair. On the other hand, it had the fanciest k'suva (you are welcome to see it if you like). Besides being fancy, it has two cute deficiencies. First, one of the witnesses is a woman; which renders it pusul. Even better though... it has the wrong date on it! In the Rabbi's office I mentioned that Debbie and I would probably always be arguing about which anniversary to celebrate, the first wedding or this one. "No problem", said one of the authorities present, "we'll just date it Aug 7; it doesn't really matter anyway." How right he was; I should have realized something was wrong at that point. Oh well...

Modeh -- Saying thank you and admitting the truth. More from The Sifsei Chaim in Midos v'Avodas HaShem, as filtered by me. The word "modeh" in lashon hakodesh can mean either "gratitude" or "admission". In fact, it really expresses a concept that means both. The midrash, in fact, makes a seemingly strange connection: Leah was a ba'alas ho'da'ah and produced children who were ba'alei ho'da'ah. Leah expressed ho'da'ah when her fourth son was born and so named him Yehuda, Yehuda expressed ho'da'ah when he admitted (was modeh) that Tamar was innocent and he was guilty. The midrash is comparing the ho'da'ah which was thanks and praise, to the ho'da'ah of Yehudah which was an admission of guilt -- a very public and embarrassing admission of guilt, in fact. What relation is there between those feelings of love and enthusiasm for being blessed with a fourth son have to do with the the feelings of a t...

I never really did convince the Rabbi that I needed a real conversion, but I did have the support of the (Conservative Jewish) cantor, a few other friends, and my wife. So now all I needed was to "do the deed", so to speak. A real conversion requires three things for a man (two, as will be obvious, of a woman). Acceptance of the mitzvos in front of a Bais Din (Jewish Tribunal) Mikveh (Ritual Immersion) Bris Mila (circumcision for the sake of being Jewish) or (if one is already circumcised) Hatafas Dam (literally, "a drop of blood" We all decided that the acceptance of mitvos part was taken care of my by Bar Mitzvah. We only needed mikveh and hatafas dam. In case it wasn't obvious, by the way, not any drop of blood would do; it had to be blood from the same place it would come in case of a full circumcision. Of course, being as this was Salt Lake City we had neither mohel nor mikveh. But we did have a Jewish urologist who did all the circumcisions for bris ...

In the parasha, "Va'yeitei", when Rochel Imeinu finally becomes pregnant and gives birth, the Torah quotes her as declaring, "Elokim has removed my shame." (B'reishis 30:23). Rashi quoting chazal explains her to be referring to the following idea: As long as a women does not have a son, she has no one on whom to blame her mistakes. One she has a son, she can blame him. "Who broke this dish?" "Your son." "Who ate the figs?" "Your son." Is it possible not to be shocked by these words?  Rashi says that the simple, plain meaning of these words and the revealed reason that Rochel Imeinu -- who has waited years to have a child, constantly davening and working on her midos -- is to have someone to blame?!?  And she even names her first son as a memorial to that idea! "Sichos Mussar" (R' Chaim Shmulevitz), explains that this showed the great importance that the Avos haK'doshim gave to Shalom Bayis. ...

Hakaras haTov -- How far? Another interesting ha'ara from the Sifsei Chaim, Midos v'Avodas haShem. After the burning bush incident, where Moshe Rabbeinu was told in a direct navu'a from haShem to go to Mitzrayim to bring out Klal Yisrael (and all the back and forth there), we have pasuk 4:18: Moshe left and returned to Yeser his father-in-law, etc. Rashi brings the M'chilta on that verse that says that Moshe was asking to leave because he had promised his father-in-law not leave Midian without permission. The medrash explains that Moshe had made the promise because of his hakaras hatov to Yisro. Now wait a minute... the entire klal yisrael is languishing in Mitzrayim, it is time for them to be redeemed, and Moshe is the chosen redeemer. Yet Moshe Rabbeinu needs his father-in-law's permission? And just what was the chesed that Yisro had done for Moshe? Yisro had invited Moshe in for a meal. And why did Yisro invite Moshe in for a meal? Because Moshe had just ...