Michael el Chayil

"Wow!" you are thinking, "I always wanted to know about the details of how tuma can be transmitted and especially how earthenware vessels are different!  At last I can take all the worry and stress I have suffered because of this hole in my knowledge off my plate!"  Or maybe not.  None the less, I am interested because I am once again learning the mishnayos of masechta keilim.  (Since I have asked for participation in learning mishnayos l'zecher nishmas Aaron Dovid ben Yitzchak, a"h, I decided to act quickly to get one of the fun ones before they all got snapped up.  If you hurry, I am sure you can still find something you'll enjoy; just click here and let the good times roll!)  I chose keilim because it's not one the more popular masechtos (it is long and complicated).  I figured this way I'd get the better part of a year to go through it carefully and get some understanding. The word "keilim" in lashon ha'kodesh is quite flexib...

I don't use the expression, "I'll never forget ...", because umm... well... darn, I had a good reason; really!  But if I did  use it, I would certainly apply it to a conversation I heard between my dad and a new-ish uncle (ie, he had recently-ish married my step-aunt).  He had gotten his MBA and was being invited into his (new-ish) father-in-law's business; a very successful shoe store.  My uncle wanted to make all sorts of changes based on his deep understanding of business, as evidenced by the fact he had earned an MBA.  My father suggested he might want to learn why his father-in-law did things the way he did, based on the fact that the store was successful. I have tried to apply that lesson to my daily life ever since.  The brilliance of that simple idea was never more evident than when I was recently called upon to give a eulogy for my late father-in-law, Aaron Dovid ben Yitzchak, a"h.  We had had many disagreements in the 38 years I had known h...

One of the perks of writing down a thought or two each day is that is helps me to crystalize that thought and give it a permanence in my my psyche.  It also helps me to keep focus when listening to a shiur, because when I hear an interesting idea I immediately think about how to condense it into a paragraph or two.  I discovered a downside to that process this morning, when I started listening to a set of shiurim from R' Efraim Twerski of Khal Chasidim  on t'fila.  The downside is that during the time it takes to contemplate how to best express an interesting chidush, three more interesting chidushim have been expressed.  Oh well... I'll try my best. T'fila, notes R' Twerski, is the defining attribute being human.  Animals communicate; animals even talk.  Only humans pray.  One would think, therefore, that prayer would be among those things in which we take most pride.  Yet, Chazal tell us and experience confirms, prayer is largely taken fo...

There is very little that can compare to the nachas of walking with an einikl (oh yeah? so you figure out how to transliterate the yiddish word for grandchild) to shul.  Beyond that, of course, it is also important chinuch for the child.  I regularly daven k'vasikin (when I wake up in time) and my grandchildren live in communities that don't have a vasikin minyan.  That means I daven early on Shabbos and Yom Tov, then just need to get to shul for k'rias ha'torah and mussaf.  As a consequence, I have the opportunity take my darling einiklach (that's plural) at a younger age than usual, since we can leave later than daddy and tati who need to get there for shacharis. On this last Thursday/Friday/Shabbos yontif, I walked with my granddaughter and a bag of books to shul Thursday morning.  We had a fascinating conversation about snozberries; into which she had put a surprising amount of thought.  Thursday afternoon she asked me if the next day was Yom Tov agai...

When I first took college physics, I had wonderful professor: Mr. Work.  (No, really, his name was Lloyd Work; great name for a physics teacher, no?)  I learned a lot from Mr. Work.  I went to his office once to ask some questions, which lead to a more advanced discussion, and he pulled out a quantum mechanics text to elucidate his point.  I looked at the pictures and said I got most of it, but was confused by certain details.  (Not really important for my point here, but I was confused by the meaning of the quantum mechanical electron cloud and how that related to electron shells  that I knew from chemistry.)  Mr. Work got a whimsical smile on his face and said, "The only difference between you and me is that I get confused on a higher level than you do, and Feynman  (gadol ha'dor in modern physics; died 1988) gets confused at a higher level than I do."  I am not sure if his intent was to humble me or to inspire me, but it did both.  I...

One of the things you are allowed to learn in Tisha b'Av is Iyov.  I wish my reaction to that halacha was more than a sardonic "yay".  Having just heard 46 extremely elucidating shiurim from R' Yisoel Belsky on how to answer very fundamental challenges from apikorsim, I was happy to see shiurim from R' Belsky on Iyov.  I was less happy when I saw it was only on chapters 25 through 31.  However, beggars can't be choosers, so I took the plunge.  Imagine my surprise to hear R' Belsky saying on the first shiur that since he was taking over the shiur at the 25th chapter, he would give a basis overview of the sefer.  JACKPOT! Aside: I was already impressed by R' Belsky's depth and breadth of knowledge on so many topics.  (I know a more physics than he does, but he knows more biology than I do... and I started as a pre-med.)  Realizing, though, that he could "just take over" a shiur on Iyov like I could take over a shiur on algebra was another...

Finding an intelligent atheist is not as hard as it may seem.  On the one hand, you might think it's a contradiction to be both intelligent and an atheist; something akin to finding someone who doesn't believe in air or viruses because he can't see them.  However, the inclination to want a free lunch (that is, to live a life of "if it feels good, do it") is so powerful that even the most rational mind can turn a blind eye to that incongruity.  When you find one, therefore, you have found a treasure trove of (See, for example, how atheists tailor make a god whose existence they can deny .)  So when you do find one, you have found a treasure trove of absurdities that is easily mined. How about this one?  "Well, " the atheist will say with all do pomposity, "religion is a crutch, so you have to admire someone (ie, himself) who doesn't need that crutch."  No, I replied in all innocence, I don't feel at all compelled to admire someone wit...

Chazal say you should know how to answer an apikorus.  Anyone who has learned a daf or two of gemara knows that they following diyuk (precise dissection) is accurate: "know how to answer", indeed; "actually go out and answer", avoid.  Anyone who has had a minute or two of conversation with an apikorus feels deeply the wisdom of that advice.  However, it can't always be avoided. I was in a sukkah with a very nice and intelligent goy with no particular religious leanings.  He asked me, "I heard this Reform rabbi say that so-and-so is certainly in a high place in heaven.  Can they just do that... make up anything they want and state it as Jewish belief?  What is the Jewish belief of heaven and hell?"  I mean, come on, this non-religious but well educated goy has noticed that Reform rabbis just say whatever comes into there minds and asks me for affirmation and the real explanation... no one could possibly expect me to let that go.  What ensued was ...

When I first heard about the  The Shabbos Project , I was not impressed.  The idea was presented to me as, "We must go out and show Jews the beauty of Shabbos!"  In other words (the words into which I translated that in my head, that is), "Let's market holiness."  Eyew.  I worked for a marketing company for nine miserable years.  Why miserable?  Because marketing means lying to get people to buy your product; I don't do lying well.   Besides, the Torah is not merchandise that needs to be sold. In fact, I had a very bad taste in my mouth from dabbling in showing the beauty of Shabbos to non--observant Jews.  I had once invite a couple for Shabbos -- a complete, beautiful Shabbos experience.  We planned it for the summer so they wouldn't have to leave work early in Friday.  We were completely open and up front that it had to be an entire, 25 hour, experience.  They were game.  We had a beautiful Friday night, and a nice Sh...

When I first heard about the idea of putting cameras on phones, I thought is had about as much merit as putting cassette tape players on refrigerators.  However, since having grandchildren who live in different states than I do, I have recanted.  (On the phone/camera thing, not on the refrigerator/cassette thing.)  I woke up this morning to see a picture of my three year old grandson reading to his one year (and change) old sister.  I spoke to my daughter not long after and got the whole story: the younger sister loves to have someone read to her, her brother saw her looking at the books and said, "Do you want me to read to you?"  They sat down and the picture was snapped. There are several old jokes regarding the relationship between grandchildren and grandparents; most of them are true in one way or another.  One is: If I'd known having grandchildren was so much fun, I would had them first.  The irony of the joke, of course, is that you can't have ...

Separate but equal has a really, really bad reputation in the US.  In truth, much of its putrid reputation  in this country is well deserved given its application in the last century.  The idea itself is not so bad, but it has been so badly abused that it has suffered from the ideological analog of racial profiling.  Using it to explain the role of women in Torah Judaism (something I have been wont to do), is an uphill battle at best; and usually a losing one.  Having recently heard a shiur from R' Yisroel Belsky on the topic and upon reconsideration, I think it really was a mistake.  The roles of women, men, kohanim, leviim, rabbonim, etc are not equal. The mashal/allegory R' Belsky gives is to consider two businesses: General Motors vs Joe's Bar and Grill.  Suppose the head design engineer of GM walks into the CEOs office and says he'd like to start spending two hours a day sweeping floors.  He really needs that to feel fulfilled as a human b...

There are two good reasons I went into theoretical physics instead of experimental physics.  The first reason is that experimental physics is really, really hard!  You have to deal with all sorts of real problems, such as electrical connectors, big metal frames of equipment that has to be bolted together, and worst of all: real data.  Recently, for example, researchers needed to make an iron wire that was one atom thick and three atoms wide (You read that right... atoms) to study a theoretically predicted particle know as a  "Majorana fermion"; basically particle that is its own antiparticle.  (Not as much fun as as being your own grandfather; unless, of course, you are a physicist.)  That took approximately two years of "painstaking work" (that's a quote).  I'll say. The second problem is that I am just not very good with all those little details of the real world.  I have enough trouble thinking things through without having to worry about if ...

In ma'amar 3, paragraph 21, the Chacham explains to the Kuzari king the order of our brachos in shmone esrei.  I always like to find new insights into shmone esrei, as it helps me to keep some semblance of focus on my davening.  I also found this interesting because the ordering seems so logical that I can have it in mind while davening... helping me to remember where I am, how I got here, and where I am headed. The first three brachos are simply (hah! simply, he says) to get our attention as we realize before Whom we are standing and making our petitions.  Then we are ready to make our supplications. Our purpose of being in this world is to establish, strengthen, and deepen our relationship with the Ein Sof -- the One who presents Himself as HaShem/Elokim/HaKodosh Baruch Hu in this world.  That relationship is built and mediated by our seichel (intelligence/common sense), so the first supplication is for intelligence, understanding, and knowledge (chonein ha'da'...

How old is the universe?  It is 5775 years and change.  If you ask google, however, you will get this answer: In physical cosmology, the age of the universe is the time elapsed since the Big Bang. The current measurement of the age of the universe is 13.798±0.037 billion years  How does one reconcile the current scientific "measurement" with the our knowledge that the number the Torah gives us is true? One way is to dismiss the scientific "measurement".  You can first question the use of the word "measurement".  Measuring is an activity that involves actually observing a phenomenon or object and comparing its size/weight/temperature/spectrum/density/etc with known standards.  (Please note my precise use of words: all scientific measurements are made by comparing to a standard.  More on that later.  Of course, it can't be too much later, I only have three or four paragraphs to spend.)  We therefore cannot actually measure the age of the u...

I saw a call from my daughter yesterday morning (strange time, but always welcome); I "picked up the phone" (yeah, yeah... no one has picked up a receiver to answer a call in years) and it was not my daughter, but her son.  I heard my three year old grandson saying calmly, but tearfully, "Zeidy... Mommy is being mean to me."  It did not evoke the emotion he hoped, but I tried to answer him in all seriousness. That's cute because he's three.  If he doesn't get exactly what he wants exactly when he asks for it, then whoever is preventing his immediate gratification is mean and he'll look for someone who is bigger to rectify the situation.  We don't expect that of an adult.  We expect a maturing to take place, for the totally selfish and self-involved baby  to turn into an adam ha'shaleim.  That is minimally what you can expect any civilized society to want of its way of life.  At work we call that the "smell test"... does this solut...

The Torah says we are not allowed to learn about other religions to do them.  Rashi comments that it is forbidden to learn about foreign religions to do them, but you are allowed to learn about them just to know their history and development.  So I asked R' Fuerst if that was l'ma'aseh; he responded, "Yes, as soon as you've mastered Shas and poskim."  Ah.  As it turns out, though, that's not the end of the story for me; R' Yisroel Belsky (who has mastered Shas and poskim, as well as almost everything else as far as I can tell) has some very interesting insights on the development of the most successful (in terms of membership, at the very least) of the Reform Jewish religions: Christianity.  Three points in particular I found interesting: origin of the person around whom the religion is built, how did he get rocketed to infamy, and why does the mother occupy such a central role (at least in the original Roman version). First there is the conception, ...

Continuing in his description of the Torah Jew, the Chacham tells the Khuzari (Ma'amar 3, 11-17) that the fully developed Torah Jew lives a life that is always  "עריב" -- pleasant/engaged/involved.  I find that word decidedly difficult to translate into English, but we say it at least thrice daily after shmone esrei: v'ar'va la'Shem minchas Yehuda v'Yerushalayim, ki'mei olam u'ch'shanim kadmonios -- HaShem should find pleasant/be interested in the mincha offering of Yehuda and Yerushalayim.  In any case, it does not mean pleasant in the sense of always running around with a silly grin on your face.  Rather, it means a life filled with meaning and importance, being engaged and interested every single moment. How does he do that?  First, he looks around the world.  He observes and studies the incredible balance, structure, and inter-dependencies of the ecosystem.  Two examples he gives is that the fly is food for the spider and the rabbit for b...

The Torah tells us, "See!  I have set before you today (ie, as clear as day) life and good, death and evil."  (D'varim 30:15)  Seems reasonably straightforward: do good and get rewarded with life, do evil and earn death.  Standard fare for any religion, the bread and butter of morality, so to speak.  Except for a few problems.  First, lots of people do bad stuff and are still alive, and the opposite is also glaringly true.  Beside that problem -- which all the religions of the world address in one way or another, usually with a double portion of gobbledegook (I just looked that up, it is spelled correctly), we have a much bigger problem: our saves throughout the ages have not  explained it that way. Rashi comments, "each depends on the other: if you do good, you have life, do evil and you have death; as the Torah goes on to explain".  Rashi says that life and good are interlinked, like two sides of one coin; and similarly for death and evil...

I heard a shiur where R' Yisroel Belsky was asked, "If G-d doesn't need anything, then why did he create the world?"  It's actually another one of those questions we used to discuss in the college dorm when we wanted to ridicule religion.  Basically same category, though more subtle than, "If HaShem can do anything, can he create a rock he can't lift?"  It's more subtle because even people who grew up religious can get caught up thinking that it's an interesting and/or deep question.  In fact, it is neither.  It is based on a mistake made by the immature personality. I don't know if mothers ever actually say this anymore, but we are all familiar with: How can you waste food like that?  Don't you know there are starving children in ?!  My answer was, "So send it to them; then we'll both be happy."  R' Belsky said that he contemplated that question for years (ie, kindergarten and first grade) and even asked his class...

I thought I was downloading a shiur entitled " Dah Mah Shetashiv LeApekoris " (know what to answer an apikorus) by R' Yisroel Belsky, ztz"l.  As it turned out, though, I was not downloading one shiur... I was downloading a zip file of 48 shiurim!  Taking about striking it rich!  It the first time I have heard shiurim from R' Belsky and I am amazed by the depth of knowledge he has in science.  Although he didn't actually present any equations, it was clear from his concise and penetrating analysis that he knew exactly how the calculations are performed. Just to give you an example of his approach: R' Belsky needed a new water heater.  The plumber who installed it told him that it heats water so fast that he'll never run out of hot water.  R' Belsky asked him how much water it held, at what rate it heated water, and how much water was used when taking a shower.  The first two were answered by from the documentation, but he didn't know how to a...