#RaMCHaL

[todaysjewishholiday]

26 Iyyar 5784 (2-3 June 2024)

Once again, we have a yahrzeit of two influential teachers centuries apart who shaped Judaism and demonstrate Jewish diversity and adaptability.

Saadia ben Yosef, Gaon of Sura, was born on the banks of the Nile in 4652, roughly 200 years after the Islamic conquest. Thus, rather than the Greco-Roman and Persian cultures of the Tannaim and Amoraim, he grew up in an Arabic speaking world shaped by a rival Abrahamic tradition. He was the first Jewish scholar to write primarily in Judeo-Arabic, the language later adopted by the Rambam Moshe ben Maimon. At the age of 20, Saadia began compiling a Hebrew dictionary. He soon went to eretz yisroel for further study, and after ten years there moved to Babylonia where he became a member of yeshiva of Sura, which had been in continuous operation from the time of the Amoraim. Within two years the Jewish exilarch appointed Saadia as Gaon of the academy.

From the start, Saadia’s career was shaped by disputation and sharp debate with those whose stances he found theologically or socially objectionable. The tenor of those disputes was shaped not only by Jewish tradition, but by the open conflict between Mutazilite and Mutakallamist scholars of Islam, who in Saadia’s time remained in dispute about whether the Quranuc text was a created object like other creations, or co-eternal with G-d and fundamental to the divine essence. Parallel debates about the Torah have raged in Judaism, but Saadia borrowed the shape of the qadi’s arguments rather than their content, engaging in sharp disputes about the proper way to calculate the Hebrew calendar and striving to defend rabbinic Judaism in fiery exchanges with Karaite scholars who accepted only the written Torah and rejected the oral traditions central to rabbinic practice. Saadia’s fiery temper and forceful personality soon put him at odds with his benefactor the Exilarch, and they spent several years in bitter conflict, each going so far as to issue cherem against the other. Their eventual reconciliation allowed Saadia to return to his position as head of the yeshiva of Sura, a position which carried great weight of authority for Jews throughout the Islamic world.

A prolific scholar, he composed numerous translations, publishing much of the Tanakh in Arabic translation, numerous linguistic texts on the Hebrew language, works of halakha, theology, and Jewish mysticism, and a large number of polemics against his various ideological opponents. He died in Sura in the year 4702 at the age of sixty, reportedly of severe depression from his many conflicts with the exilarch and others.

Moshe Chaim Luzzatto was born just over eight hundred years late than Saadia, in 5467, in the Venetian Ghetto (the first Jewish quarter to be called by that odious name). He received a wide Jewish and secular education, and may have attended the university of Padua. In his teens he began to compose poetry, including his own collection of 150 Hebrew psalms in full biblical style, and study Jewish mysticism. At the age of twenty he claimed he had been visited by a Malakh and began writing down mystical lessons from this heavenly mentor. This claim of divine tutelage shocked and offended the Venetian rabbinical establishment, and he was only saved by cherem by agreeing to cease his writing and teaching of mysticism. He then emigrated to Amsterdam where he continued his mystical explorations while working as a diamond cutter, thus following closely in the footsteps of a controversial Jew from a century before, Baruch Spinoza. Disappointed by the difficulties of life in Amsterdam, he traveled to eretz yisroel with his family three years before his death and established a shul in Acre. He died during a plague outbreak in Acre at the age of 39, leaving behind an immense body of poetry, drama, and theological, ethical, and mystical instruction despite the seizure and destruction of much of his early work by the Venetian Jewish authorities. His works were soon praised by the Vilna Gaon and became central to the Mussar movement, and his Hebrew poetry and blending of secular and Torah learning and literature became a major inspiration to the Haskalah. For his rabbinic teachings he is known by the acronym RaMCHaL, for Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto.

The twenty-sixth of Iyyar is also the sixth night of the sixth week of the Omer count. Yesterday was the fortieth day of the Omer. After tonight’s count, 8 days remain before Shavuot.

[rabbishlomonachman]

https://rumble.com/v3lm7wv-elucidated-derech-hashem-with-rabbi-shlomo-nachman.html The Elucidated Derech HaShem with Rabbi Shlomo Nachman, BeitEmunah.org. ALL are welcome! Visit BeitEmunah.org for links and more. Thursdays, Noon Eastern

judaism #torah #derechhashem #way #way_of_god #beitemunah #jewish #ramchal

[furrywithfourlegs]

YES. This is legitimately the philosophical foundation of Judaism. There's the HOW (halacha, law, mussar, practice), and the WHY.

When you ask "Okay, but why?" enough times you dig down to the deepest layer, which is: G-d created the world to do good and have good be done - and we lucky humans were created to DO and RECEIVE the good.

The rest of Judaism's practice is built out of the new question... "Okay, but how?" And that's where the various pathways diverge.

Personally, my favorite exploration of this deconstruction/reconstruction is Derech Hashem (The Way of G-d) by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato (Ramchal).

I like to argue about Judaism as much as the next Jew, but that debate is not the most important part of Judaism.

You know what is?-- Living a good, Jewish life.

And what is a Jewish life? What is required of us?

The prophet Micah said this: "You have been told what is good: only to do justice, to love goodness, and to walk modestly." (Micah 6:8)

The Rabbi Hillel put it this way: "That which is hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the whole Torah, the rest its interpretation, now go study." (Talmud, Shabbat 31a:6)

In other words--Be a mentsh! Be a good person! You can debate about how to observe Shabbat all you want but at your core what is most important is not hurting others.

Don't be a putz. Be a mentsh. That's it.

[naanaach]

#nnnnm #nanach #na_nach #na_nach_nachma_nachman_mayuman #nanachnachmanachmanmayuman #rabbinachman #nachman #nachmanism #hippie #RabbiAkiva #ramchal #ifyourehappyandyouknowit #foundation #tzadik #roots #powerhouse #tradition #spiritualpath #spiritualpajamas #spiritualparadise #tiberias

[itamarbdor]

http://TorahThinking.com R' Mendel Kessin The Method Methodology of Learning 11/10/2013 The first mishna in brochos is completed. R' Mendel Kessin, Methodology of learning 11/10/2013

[yidquotes]

This idea that human kindness can generate divine mercy is applicable not only to the collective unit of Klal Yisrael, but to individuals as well. Chazal comment in different places that one who acts with compassion is judged more favorably. "One who is merciful with others is shown divine mercy" (Shabbos 151b.) "One who relinquishes his measure of retribution (ma'avir al midosav), the heavenly tribunal overlooks all of his sins" (Yoma 87b.) "Whose transgression does Hashem pardon? One who overlooks sin committed against him" (Rosh Hashana 17a.) The Ramchal (Mesilas Yesharim 19) explains that by strict legal standards, no one would receive a favorable heavenly judgement. But by acting with kindness and sensitivity toward others, a person can merit a merciful judgement because even if Hashem follows the strict rule of law, one who acts with kindness should be judged with the same measure of kindness. Therefore, the more compassionate a person is with others, the more compassion he will be shown in the heavenly court. - Rabbi Eliakim Koenigsberg

[queenie435]

Lilith in the Zohar Book

Although she isn’t mentioned explicitly in the Hebrew Bible, Kabbalah teaches us of the existence of Lilith; the first woman who existed before Eve and was Adam’s first wife. The Kabbalistic literature, describes Lilith as having fallen out with Adam and subsequently vanishing from the Garden of Eden by speaking the secret name of God. It is only after this point that God creates Eve.

Lilith is described as an evil, unchaste, demonic figure working with the Satan. In more recent times feminist writers have embraced the figure of Lilith as a symbol of the struggle against patriarchy. However, to properly understand who Lilith is, its crucial to understand what is really meant by the terms good and evil.

Good and Evil in the Kabbalah

According to a traditional Jewish understanding the best way to grasp the essential meaning of an idea is to see where it first appears in the Torah. The word tovmeaning good first appears in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 1:4, where we are told that the light is good. What are we supposed to understand from that?

The Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto, teaches that goodness is “giving of one’s self to another”. The reason that light is described as good is because it adds something of itself to everything it comes into contact with and in doing so vastly alters the situation for the better. This is what it means to be good.

The Problem of Evil

The Ramchal teaches that goodness is the reason that God created the world, to give of His goodness to another. This is based in part on logical derivation of various Jewish teachings. According to this way of thinking, God needs nothing; He is complete and since there is no benefit to God from the creation the only meaningful alternative is to say that the beneficiaries of the creation are the creatures themselves.

Yet if G-d wanted to give of Himself to another, a question which arises is why God created a world in which evil exists? Philosophically, this is known as the problem of evil and it’s a question posed to all monotheistic religions. Jewish tradition has a unique answer and its most clearly explained by the Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto (the Ramchal), in his book “The Way of God”.

The Ramchal states that since God is the source of his own goodness, the only way He can give His good to another is if that other also has the potential to be the source of their own goodness and must create it themselves.

If we are given this potential to be the source of our own goodness, we must also have the potential to be evil.  According to this view, evil is not a power over which we have no control but rather an inclination to be overcome. Indeed the Hebrew word for Satan translates as adversary.

The presence of both good and evil are necessary. If there weren’t two inclinations or we couldn’t exercise free will to do good, then we wouldn’t be the source of our own goodness. God would not have given His good but another lower type of good.

So evil in the Jewish tradition is seen as the absence of good. This may sound like a weak statement when one considers the damage that is caused by evil acts such as murder or child abuse, yet this is not a correct understanding. Just as the presence of something can bring great benefits so its absence can have catastrophic consequences. Just as drought isn’t merely the absence of rain, but also the terrible effects of starvation, death and the suffering of hunger, so the absence of goodness has awful consequences.

Lilith and Evil

So what does it mean to say that Lilith symbolizes evil? It means that Lilith is representative of the inner struggle we have to be the source of our good; the inclination which is to be overcome. Perhaps that is why Lilith is also strongly associated with sexuality because the sexual drive is one of our strongest urges and this serves as metaphor which is easily understood by almost everyone.

Remember, according to the Zohar, Adam argued with Lilith and what is argument other than two forces confronting one another. The sages teach that the source of the arguments between Adam and Lilith was that Lilith had absolute standards. Since she demanded adherence to absolutes, she couldn’t help Adam because she refused to accommodate his failings. It’s no wonder their marriage didn’t work out!

[mykingdavidkabbalah]

The Light of Ein Sof | Sefer Haklalim of the Ramchal

kabbalah of the Ramchal the esoteric understanding of light of Ein Sof,  come to https://kingdavidkabbalah.com/courses...  and get A complete course of introductions to the Kabbalah of the Ramchal. The Ramchal's holy book of The Eilan Hakadosh, is a unique essay, it is actually a summary of the Ramchal's for the entire system of the worlds. from the beginning of time to the reality that we are working within. The Ramchal's genius is shown in that fact he managed to put so much wisdom into ten short episodes. This is probably the best summary we have of the structure of the worlds of the Kabbalah. https://kingdavidkabbalah.com/crash-c... also a little story about the Great Kabbalist Moses Chaim Luzzatto (RaMCHaL)  is a succinct laying-out of the fundamentals of the structure of the worlds touching upon deep kabbalistic insights in this world and its relations to God.

[4andrewmorris]

A little sleep, a little slumber, a litle folding of the hands in order to rest - and your poverty will arrive as suddenly as one who walks hurriedly, and your deficiency as fast as the man who shields his king when at war (Mishlei 6:10-11). For the indolent person, even though he does no harm actively, nonetheless harms himself through his passivity. And Shlomo said: "One who is lax in his work is a brother to the master of destruction (Mishlei 18:9)." Even though he is not the destructive agent who directly commited the evil, there is not much difference between them. In reality, he is his brother, and they are equally harmful

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Messilas Yesharim 6:4, The Virtue of Alacrity

[rickwhite]

Redeeming Mashiach

There is a Yom Kippur prayer called Az Milifnei Vereshit that has been used in synagogues for centuries.

The piyyut (poem) can be found in volume two of the famous Machzor Kol Bo, it says:

“Then, prior to creation, �he established the Temple and Yinnon.

The Talpiot above from the beginning, �he prepared before any people or language.

He decided to let his presence reside there, �to guide the mistaken in straight paths.

If the wicked are reddened (by sin), �let them wash and be cleansed beforehand.

If (G-d’s) fierce wrath is incited, �the Holy One will not awaken his full rage.

So far, our wealth has depleted, �but our Rock has not touched us.

Our righteous Messiah has turned away from us [1]; we have acted foolishly and there is no one to justify us.

Our iniquities and the yoke of our transgressions he bears, and he is pierced [2] for our transgressions.

He carries our sins on his shoulder, �to find forgiveness for our iniquities.

By his wounds we are healed, �forever a new creation; the time of his creation. [3]

Bring him up from the circle [4]; �lift him out of Seir.

To summon us to the mount of Lebanon �a second time through Yinnon [5].”

Commentary:

1. He has been “torn” away from us (Israel). Someone or something (or both), a system etc has ripped Mashiach Tzidkenu away from his people.

2. “He has been desecrated because of our sins.” The Mashiach has become profaned because of our sins.

3. Create him anew❓Create the Mashiach anew❓it seems that everything we think we know about Mashiach has been lacking and wanting. We must reengage him again, like new.

4. Bring him (Mashiach) from the circle of the Nations (of the Gentiles). Mashiach is among the nations, in the Galut (exile) suffering along with the Jewish people and the Shekhinah. But where is he❓Raise him up from the nations, it’s time to bring him home ✡️ 🇮🇱.

5. “Lift him out of Seir.” Mt. Seir is synonymous with Mt Edom, Edom comes from Esav. From Edom came the Roman’s and they are connected. It’s like this: Esav = Seir/Edom = Rome = Christianity. This is how the Sages and the Kabbalist have explained it to us. So to answer the previous question of from where is he among the nations? Mashiach is imprisoned, bound with chains at the gates of Rome. The Ramchal explains that the “gates” refers to prison. He is imprisoned in Seir. Whose job is to release Mashiach from the Nations/Gentiles, well it’s all our jobs collectively but it is a huge mission of the Jews. We read about it here:

“Let my lord (Esav) pass on ahead of his servant (Yaakov), and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

~ (Genesis 33.14)

This has a been a slow process and hence why this last exile (the exile of Rome) has taken over 2000 years!

5. This whole ordeal has been part of the divine Providence of HaShem since the foundation of the world.

“…(see Genesis 22:7; Psalms 69:28)

B”H

[profound-boro]

Whether to be guarded against the coronavirus?

Whether to be fearful of the Satan?

Shalom, Rav Reuven! May I ask you, does it make sense to wash everything like that, isolate myself and beware of the coronavirus? Or will those people who should get sick get sick? Excuse for troubling! Your opinion is very important.

Everything that happens in this world happens only by the will of God, therefore, undoubtedly, those about whom the Creator decreed at the Heavenly Judgment that they are destined to get sick will get sick. However, the question remains: against whom was such a decision made? It is quite possible that this will happen to the one who will not be guarded to the extent required. Let me explain.

"The Lord has decreed that there should be an accuser at Heavenly Court - this is Satan, use of which is to bring before a court. And when it brings a claim, Judges takes up a case. <...> Although the sins of every sinner are revealed before the Creator, one of the manifestations of the Quality of the Kindness¹ of the Almighty is that a person will not be prosecuted until the accuser pleads against him.”²

The thing to know about is that the powers of the accuser are restricted and it cannot bring charges any time it choose - it has been given the power to do this only at some point in time.³ One of those moments, for example, when there is a danger.⁴

Therefore, a man who does not make sufficient efforts to avoid danger, commits a great sin that might attract the punishment. Rebbe Yannai says⁵: “May a man never imperil his life in hopes that Heaven will bring miracle for his sake, wherefore it can happen that they will not bring miracle for the sake of him. And, moreover, even if a miracle will wrought to save him from harm, it will have been deducted from his account of merits⁶.”

[1] Hesed

[2] Derech HaShem: The Way of God [section 2, Divine Providence: chapter 6, The order of Providence] by Italian kabbalist and philosopher Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (RamChaL), 1730s

[3] Cf. Midrash Tanna'im, Deuteronomy, 23:10, “He set the laws on the accusations of the accuser and established the order of how and when it will take place.”

[4] “Satan accuses only in time of danger” (B'reshith Rabbah, 91:9)

[5] Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat, 32a:4

[6] Cf. Skt. पुण्य, IAST: puṇya, the accumulated potential of positive energy which, depending on many secondary factors, can balance and overcome the destructive forces of the disease (for more merits: Tibetan Buddhism)

translated from Russian & annotated: April, 2020

[rabbishlomonachman]

https://rumble.com/v32pp5s-elucidated-derech-hashem-with-rabbi-shlomo-nachman.html Weekly Derech Tanach (Way of the Tanach) with Gavi David and and friends. Visit BeitEmunah.org for links and more. Wednesdays, Noon Eastern

tanach #torah #Derech_HaShem #Judaism #beitemunah #online_shul #Ramchal

[naanaach]

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[yidquotes]

Ideas should be freely and dispassionately considered on their own merits, since after all, one generation’s heretic is another generation’s hero. Mystics like the Ramchal disagreed with rationalists like the Rambam on what exactly is the highest mode of being. The Rambam believed that the ultimate existence is purely spiritual, in Olam HaBah, while the Ramchal believed it to be corporeal resurrection in this world. In his time, the Ramchal was labeled a heretic and had his works burned by fellow Jews, but nevertheless lives on today as one of the most respected Jewish philosophers in history. The Rambam before him suffered the same fate, not just for his views on the afterlife, in which corporeal resurrection only played a minor role, but also for his “radical” belief that God does not have a body. It seems possible that his debate may find a sister in modern times: I would not be surprised if future generations view the figurative nature of Olam HaBah with the same certainty as modern Jews now view the Rambam’s “heresy” about the nature of God. Because frankly, these Talmudic passages make no sense unless viewed as metaphor, and the Rambam provides a kind of Rabbinic precedent to do so. It is precisely the same dialectic: as our scientific view of reality expands and sharpens, our religious teachings must evolve and conform. If the evidence confirms a literal reading, then so be it. If it refutes it, then so be it. Truth is truth, and we must cherish our integrity just as we cherish as our faith.

Shmuel Pernicone

[mykingdavidkabbalah]

Remanence of the Light the beginning of Creation |Rashimu 2 |Sefer Klalim Rishonim , Basic concepts of kabbalah from  Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Hebrew: משה חיים לוצאטו, also Moses Chaim, Moses Hayyim, also Luzzato) (1707 – 16 May 1746 (26 Iyar 5506)), also known by the Hebrew acronym RaMCHaL (or RaMHaL, רמח"ל), was a prominent Italian Jewish rabbi, & kabbalist,

[eretzyisrael]

He who walks in his world without reflecting whether his path is good or not is like a blind man walking along a river

 Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato zt'l)