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Talmud
Bavli Tractate Shabbat 31a
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A
would-be Jewish convert asked Hillel the Elder to teach him the
entire Torah "on one foot."
Hillel replied, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.
This is the entire Torah. The rest is commentary. Go and
study."
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Talmud
Bavli Tractate
Yoma 9b
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Why
was the First Temple destroyed?
Because there was idolatry, promiscuity and murder.
But the Second Temple...at which time they were occupied in Torah,
mitzvoth and charity... why was it destroyed?
Because there was baseless hatred between them.
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Talmud
Bavli Tractate
Arachin 15a
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Malicious
talk kills three people: the speaker, the listener, and the one who
is spoken of.
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Talmud
Bavli Tractate Berachot 40a
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Said
Rabbi Judah in the name of Rav:
A person is forbidden to eat before he feeds his animals, for it
is written (in Deuteronomy 11:15), "I will send grass in your
fields for your cattle" and only after that, that you may eat and
be sated"
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Talmud
Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin 37a
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Whoever
saves a single life, is as though he saved an entire world.
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Talmud
Tractate Sotah 10b
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One
should cast himself into a fiery furnace rather than shame his
fellow in public.
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Click Here to Order Rabbi Arthur
Segal's Books:
The
Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal:
A
Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew
A
Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the
Torah
and Talmud
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Let's Talk Torah and
Talmud
A Holiday Message From Rabbi Arthur Segal's Jewish Spiritual
Renewal
October 2010
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Shalom
In last month's message I
wrote of the myriad September Jewish Holidays; the last being
Simchat Torah, or, Celebration of Torah.
So chag Samaiech Simchat Torah, and of course, a L'shana
Tova.
It began on the eve of September 30 and continues through the first
day of October.
As it is October's only Jewish Holiday, this month I have an
opportunity to answer questions about Torah and other Holy
Scriptures.
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Years ago I set out on a journey to reclaim my Judaism.
Along that path, I discovered that the reason I'd "lost" it was
that I hadn't been understanding much Judaism at all...and I didn't
even know it!
To not leave you utterly confused, I need to explain the difference
between Hebraism, also known as the religion of the Sadducees, and
Rabbinic Judaism, known as the religion of the
Pharisees. |
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Judaism or
Hebraism? That is the Question.
The word Sadducee comes from the
name of Solomon's Temple's High Priest Zadok. They believed in the
Torah, priestly intercessors, animal and grain sacrifices, and a
G!d Who punishes in this lifetime.
The word Pharisee, comes from the word "perushim" which means to
separate. Pharisees believed in prayer with no intercessors,
afterlife in corporal resurrection, a messiah, and the entire
Jewish Bible including the TaNaK, the Talmud, Midrash, and other
Jewish texts.
Their leaders today are called Rabbi (my master), a word derived
from the Aramaic, "Rav," which means "master."
A Rav is one who has mastered the Jewish texts and has been granted
semicha ordination by his Rabbi. A non-ordained teacher is called
Moreh or Morah.
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The Talmud's explanation of Judaism
begins with the destruction of Solomon's Temple in 586 B.C.E. and
Ezra's Temple in 70 C.E.
We are traditionally taught that the Talmud - called oral Torah -
was given to Moses at the same time that he received the written
Torah on Mt. Sinai 3,300 years ago.
With the Temples destroyed the Hebrews had no way to continue their
Hebraic worship. They needed a new way to worship and a new life
philosophy. So the Rabbinate and Judaism evolved during their
Babylonian captivity.
They weren't about to negate the entire Torah, but they did
reinterpret it into Talmudic Rabbinic Judaism.
For example, the Talmud teaches us the Jewish way to celebrate
Passover, which is quite different from what is outlined for
Hebrews in the Torah.
The Talmudic teaching of the rabbis is what we know as Judaism
today, and it is a faith of a G!d of love, forgiveness, kindness,
mercy and peace, and Who wishes for us to treat our fellows that
way.
All of Torah is about kindness, or "chesed." The Talmud teaches
that Torah is about loving our fellow. The rest is commentary and
we must "go and study."
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The Jewish Bible is the TaNaK, an
acronym standing for the first letters of Torah, Nevi'im and
Ketuvim. It contains the Five Books of Moses, the Prophets and the
Writings.
The Oral Torah was originally the Mishna, which comes from the
Hebrew word for "repeat," as in,the Oral Torah was repeated
orally.
It is written in the Hebrew language, but the Rabbinic commentary
on Mishna - Gemara - is written in Aramaic. Gemara comes from
"mara," which means to learn or study.
The Mishna is succinct. The Gemara is lengthy, often moving off
topic.Together, they were put to writing as the Talmud circa 500
C.E.
Midrash are parables that fill in gaps in the TaNaK, for example,
what was life like on Noah's Ark. Like the TaNaK, the Talmud and
Midrash teach ethical and spiritual lessons.
I give you a more fully exacting explanation in the
introduction to my book, A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium
to the Torah and Talmud.
I invite you to go and study.
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Many Blessings,
Rabbi Arthur Segal
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The Torah and
Talmud
A Modern Interpretation
In my years of
Rabbinic Counseling I've noticed that many modern Jews are not as
familiar with the Torah and the Talmud as they might be.
They find it difficult to understand and interpret in a way that
makes sense and has relevance to their lives in the modern
world.
The spiritual disconnection that this causes inspired me to write
a second book, A Spiritual and
Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud.
 This
book instills Jewish values and an understanding of the Torah and
Talmud's teachings in plain English and from a modern point of
view.
The Talmud teaches
that the Torah is about loving our fellow man and that we are to
''go and study.'' The rest is commentary.
A Spiritual and
Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud clarifies the commentary and allows one to
study the Torah and the Talmud to learn the Judaic ideals of love,
forgiveness, kindness, mercy and peace.
A Spiritual and
Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud is only $24.99 (plus
S&H) when you purchase your copy from my online
bookstore.
That's a $5.00 savings from the Amazon price,
and certainly a small
amount to pay for the priceless wisdom contained within the Torah
and the Talmud.
Click
the link below to order.
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