Fasting on New Year's Day

Last year, I wrote a blog about the fast of the 10th of Tevet and Friday the 13th as it fell out in 2013, click here to read. This year the fast falls on New Year's Day. For what New Year's Day traditionally means for Jews please click here. But in today's blog post, I want to focus on what this fast really means for us.

The short answer is it was the start of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, 2600 years ago. But if you look a bit deeper the fast actually commemorates 3 things that happened on the 8th, 9th and 10th of Tevet. On the eighth of Tevet during the Second Temple period, Ptolemy, King of Egypt, ordered the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, a work which later became known as the Septuagint. Seventy two sages were placed in solitary confinement and ordered to translate the Torah into Greek. 

The expected outcome would be a multitude of different translations that would then be compared and critiqued by the Greeks as there were some sentences in the bible that could be understood as offensive to pagans if taken wrongly and would obviously need to be changed. This would demonstrate the muddled meanings of the Torah and the divergent opinions of Jewish interpreters. 

Masekhet Megillah  records the event as follows "King Ptolemy once gathered 72 Elders. He placed them in 72 chambers, each of them in a separate one, without revealing to them why they were summoned. He entered each one's room and said: Write for me the Torah of Moshe, your teacher. God put it in the heart of each one to translate identically as all the others did."

The Greeks saw this as a most impressive feat at the time. However, despite this great miracle the various rabbinical sources see this event as a tragedy, a debasement of the divine nature of the Torah, and a subversion of its spiritual qualities. They reasoned that upon translation from the original Hebrew, the Torah's legal codes & deeper layers of meaning would be lost. Many Jewish laws are formulated in terms of specific Hebrew words employed in the Torah; without the original Hebrew code, authenticity of the legal system would be damaged. 

Indeed, our reliance on English translations today can be seen as both a blessing and a curse. A blessing to have the ability to study texts that up until now were only available to Hebrew scholars. And a curse since we rely too heavily on their translations and interpretations without properly studying the Hebrew.

I like to view the 10th of Tevet as the polar opposite of Hanukah. On Hanukah, we celebrate the fact that the Greeks and the Hellenized Jews were defeated by the Torah faithful Jews. However, there were costs involved in our survival and living among the Greeks. Our Holy Torah was translated into Greek and this affected our culture and our very way of life. 

As a child growing up in England, in my teenage years, we would often discuss are we English Jews or are we Jewish Englishmen? To what extent do we value the Western values that enhance our lives and to what extent do they change our views of Judaism? These are the kind of things I ponder this time of year, when the world around us is focusing on Christmas and New Year, we have Hanukah and the fast of Tevet. I think the calendar is designed like this to make us think about our Judaism when it is so much easier to get wrapped up in non-Jewish Holidays instead. 

On the 9th of Tevet Ezra HaSofer who brought the Jews back from Babylon to build the Second Temple died. Some say Nechemia also died. The Tenth itself marks the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians ultimately leading to the destruction of the First Temple. Even though these events took place over a couple of hundred years. I think the message is clear. If we allow ourselves to become totally assimilated into foreign cultures it can lead not only to our spiritual numbness but eventually to even worse scenarios. We should not only celebrate our holidays but also commemorate our fasts and hold dear to what is truly valuable. 

Thursday's  Fast begins at 6:17am and ends at 4:58pm (Seattle Times). Shacharit at SBH is at 8:00am and Minha with Talet and Tefillin is at 3:45pm. 

Chanukah Why is it 8 days long?

Here's the classic and timeless question asked by Rav Yosef Karo in his most prodigious work, Bet Yosef (O.H. 670): A flask with one night’s oil burned for 8 nights. But being that there was oil for one night, the miracle actually lasted only 7 nights. So why is Chanukah 8 nights? 

The simplicity of this 500 year old question has brought about much interest and many different answers. I'd like to bring seven of the more famous answers. Here are three answers  from Rav Karo himself:

1. The Cohanim in charge of preparing the Menorah for lighting knew that it would take eight days until new oil could be obtained. They therefore divided the flask into eight parts, so that at least the Menorah would at least be lit every day. A miracle occurred and the small amount of oil that was placed in the Menorah each day lasted an entire day.

2. On the first night, the contents of the jug was emptied into the Menorah. After filling the entire menorah the oil jug was still full of oil.

3. After the first night, when they entered the sanctuary the next morning to clean the menorah, they found that the cups of the menorah were still full of oil, despite having burned the entire night.

4. The Meiri writes that The Greeks defiled and looted the Temple for many days in search of oil to defile. Despite their superiority in strength and numbers, they missed one flask. The Jews entered the Beit HaMikdash and found the one jar of oil that hadn't been defiled straightaway. 

5. The Peri Hadash explains that the seven days commemorate the miracle of the oil, and one day commemorates the miracle that a few weak Jewish soldiers defeated the mighty Greek legions.

6. Chidushei HaRim explains that they knew that the oil wouldn't last eight days so they made the wicks one-eighth of the normal thickness. Nevertheless, the flames burned just as brightly as if the wicks had been the normal thickness.

7. The Arukh HaShulkhan writes that the Mitzvah of Berit Milah was forbidden under the reign of Antiochus, after the military victory, the Jews were once again able to openly perform the commandment. Since the Berit Milah takes place on the 8th day we celebrate Hanukah for 8 days. 

8. In the Book of the Maccabees, it states that the Jews were unable to celebrate Sukkot that year. So the 8 days of Hanukah was established in lieu of the 8 days of Sukkot. (Thanks David Balint)

חנוכה שמח, Happy Chanukah and Hanukah Allegre!

Women and Hanukah

I gave a class on Shabbat on Women and Hanukah. Click on the source sheet here. This shiur was based on a great article by Rabbi Yaakov Medan co-Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion. His article can be found here on  VBM. 

The class was a discussion on the role of women during the Hanukah period. Were they afflicted by the Greeks as much as the men and since they were beneficiaries of the military miracle they light the Hanukah lights or were they the agentד through which the military miracle took place through the Jewish heroine Yehudit who killed the Greek General Holofernes? Here is the story brought on Chabad.org

Rabbi Medan however, suggests that the texts mentioning the story of Yehudit did not necessarily happen and maybe an amalgamation of a number of stories such as Yael the Kenite who killed Sisera in Sefer Shoftim - the book of judges and stories of Roman persecution in the time of Bar Kochba.

Rabbi Medan concludes his article by suggesting the most likely thing that the Jewish women did in the time of Hanukah was that they were willing to die in order that their sons have Brit Milah (as quoted in the Book of the Macabees) and it was this sacrifice that heralded their male counterparts to start a rebellion under Mattityahu. It could well be that this is hinted at by the fact that Hanukah lasts 8 days aligning to the 8th day when the brit milah takes place.

Happy Hanukah /Hanukah Allegre/חנוכה שמח!

Thanksgiving + Hanukah = Thanksgivukkah?

 As we approach Thanksgiving and Hanukah everyone is busy preparing for these joyous festivals. The question is do we combine them into Thanksgivukkah or not? To clarify for those who thought I was anti-Thanksgiving, I'm very much looking forward to the holiday. As a born and raised Brit I'm excited for a new reason to eat Turkey and all the trimmings. 

So should I have this great feast on Thursday evening or Friday night for Shabbat. Traditionally Jews have saved their Thanksgiving feast to have it with Shabbat. Although some Jews did not always celebrate Thanksgiving see this interesting halakhic piece here.

But with Hanukah this year it might be a shame to push it off. My in-laws are coming on for Thanksgiving but my father-in-law won't be making it till Thursday night so I think we'll probably wait till Friday night. It would be mean to leave him with Turkey sandwiches!

There are many pros such as they have similar themes of Thanksgiving to God. Hanukah for being saved from the Greeks and Thanksgiving for the wondrous gifts that God grants us each year. Some more cynical out there might be thinking that it's a good idea so that you don't have to meet up with relatives more than you need to!

We often associate Hanukah as a fun holiday of lighting candles, eating oily foods and gift giving. But it is a lot deeper than that. The Hanukah story is often portrayed as a struggle for national liberation ― the Jewish revolt against the Greek occupation of Israel. In reality it is much more complicated than that. The real conflict was not physical but intellectual. Hanukah was ultimately an ideological-spiritual war between paganism and Judaism. It was also not a struggle purely between Greeks and Jews. It was first a foremost a civil war of Jew against Jew. The initial impetus for the Greek attack against Judaism came from a certain splinter group of the Jewish people ― the Hellenized Jews.

At this time, we have a small but very vocal and powerful group of Jews, who align with the Greek authorities and who become Hellenized. They do everything the Greeks do. They send their children to the gymnasium, and they reverse their circumcisions ― a very painful operation ― since much of Greek culture is focused on the physical with sports being done naked the Greeks would consider them mutilated otherwise.

The revolt of the Maccabees ― which we celebrate today as Hanukah ― is as much a story of a civil war between Jews as against Greece. It's not a war for national liberation, nor is it a struggle for physical freedom ― it is a struggle of ideas. It is a battle against assimilation. If we celebrate Hanukah and Thanksgiving together we end up watering down the message of Hanukah. 

It isn't a question for me of whether to celebrate these holidays I plan to. I just will be having separate events to mark them. This picture shows there is a small amount of common ground but they are 2 separate holidays. I wonder what the Macabbees would think of some of the Thanksgivukah things going on!

Wishing you all a Happy Hanukah and a Happy Thanksgiving

Removing the Shel

This is my first time writing a blog. In this blog I'd like to answer any questions that people have in Judaism in the form of a She'ela u'teshuva - a question and a developed answer. First up is a question raised on the exact wording of the berakhot recited on the festival Hanukah.

Q: What is the significance of having the word של/shel in the first berakha of lighting the Hanukah candles?

A: There is a disagreement over the text of the first berakha said before lighting the Hanukah lights. Ashkenazi and a minority of Sephardim (Spanish and Portuguese communities, Gibraltar and others) say the berakha is להדליק נר של חנוכה while most Sephardim recite להדליק נר חנוכה. So what's the significance of one little word של meaning of? To light the Hanukah candle or to light the candle of Hanukah? There doesn't seem to be too big a difference in English or in the simple understanding of the Hebrew.

One of my favorite books to look up when it comes to differences in text or custom are the books of Rabbi Shem Tov Gaguine. His set of sefarim are called the Keter Shem Tov and are an encyclopedia of explanations of different texts and minhagim. He writes (volumes 1-2 p.515) that the text in the gemara (Shabbat 23a)  uses the word של and that is followed by the Rambam, Rav Amram Gaon, The Tur and others. Haham Ovadiah Yosef zt"l also adds in Hazon Ovadiah that the Rif and the Rosh follow the text of the gemara.

However, Maran Rav Yosef Caro in Shulkan Arukh brings the berakha without the word של. Rav Gaguine explains why Rav Caro does not follow the gemara and the Rif and the Rambam by explaining that although the text of the Babylonian Talmud uses the word של the Yerushalmi version is על מצות הדלקת נר חנוכה (which no one uses today) and the version in Masekhet Soferim is להדליק נר חנוכה.

So how did the version of Masekhet Soferim which is not the usual source for halakha become the position of the majority of Sephardic communities? Haham Ovadiah writes (Hazon Ovadiah on Hanukah p.125 footnote 1) that Maran Caro bases his position on the words of the Arizal. The reason that the Arizal prefers the berakha without the word של is because the phrase להדליק נר חנוכה can be rearranged to be the abbreviation נח"ל. נח"ל in turn is an abbreviation of נצר חסד לאלפים and נפשנו חכתה לה. 

The Hida in Birkei Yosef gives a beautiful explanation of the significance of not using של. He explains that when we use the word של when lighting Shabbat candles it is because we are using the light and it provides shalom bayit - peace in the home. But on Hanukah we are not permitted to use the light for anything just to look at them. A second reason is that on Shabbat there are other mitzvot like making kiddush and having 3 meals but on Hanukah the lights are the only mitzvah so no connective word is needed.

To add to the Kabbalistic direction there are 13 words without using the word shel which is the gematria for the word אחד meaning Hashem is one. There are also 13 words in the second berakha too. 13+13 = 26 which is the gematria for the name of G0d which is not pronounced. The Maharshal combines the two words to form שלחנוכה in order to keep the best of both worlds of keeping the version of the gemara and also having 13 words for kabbalah.

I ponder to think if before the Arizal all Sephardim said של. But such is the influence of Kabbalah in our liturgy it is hard to imagine a world without it. But it wasn't just the Arizal that brought Kabbalah to our liturgy the Hida had a huge impact. Today with the Iraqi dominance of Sephardic practice, especially in Israel, Sephardic siddurim no longer even mention the word shel. 

Everyone should light the hanukiah in accordance with their tradition. Turkish Jews today do not use the word של while lighting the hanukiah. I hope you all found this illuminating! Special thanks to Yossi Babani for asking the question and Jack Babani for research on this topic.