#Yosef Karo

[hiddurmitzvah]

Yosef Karo on his way to write down the Shulchan Aruch

[todaysjewishholiday]

2 Elul 5784 (4-5 September 2024)

The invention of the moveable type printing press in the fifty third century of the Hebrew calendar set off far reaching transformations in numerous human endeavors, with the study of halakha being no exception. Prior to mechanical printing, each copy of any book had to be laboriously and meticulously copied by hand, with the result being that most people simply did not own books. For many centuries after the Talmud was first put into writing rather than being transmitted entirely as an oral tradition through repetition and memorization, most Jewish study was still performed collectively, with hand-copied seforim being discussed and commented on collectively in batei midrash. Hand-made copies had to be very carefully checked to ensure a text remained the same through multiple copyings and variants were still often introduced. And most Jews would not have owned any books personally, with the exception of especially erudite scholars. The printing press made mass production, and thus mass ownership of books, possible. The result was not just more books, but different kinds of books. Most halakhic seforim prior to the invention of printing assumed a high level of expertise from their readers— they were written not for the average Jew but for scholars engaged in the multigenerational process of halakhic rulings, and assumed a high level of familiarity with the entirety of the Tanakh and Talmud and participation in the pandiasporic community of Torah scholarship and halakhic analysis. Those who weren’t already experts in these subjects were assumed to have teachers and colleagues who would guide them as they interacted with halakhic texts. Rather than reading commentaries directly, Jews who weren’t engaged in the lifelong pursuit of Torah learning were expected to consult somebody with that expertise on any practical matter in which they needed guidance.

The printing press, by giving non-experts access to private book ownership, created demand for introductory texts for a general audience without a thorough background in thousands of years of halakhic debate. One of the most legendary texts to meet this demand was the Shulkhan Arukh, a halakhic compendium by Yosef Karo, which was first printed on the second of Elul 5325.

Karo was born into a Sephardi family in Toledo four years prior to the edict of expulsion issued by Ferdinand and Isabella. His family journeyed through a full range of the potential refuges found by Sephardi emigrants, spending five years in Portugal before that monarchy followed suit in expelling Jewish subjects, followed by years in Morocco, Nikopolis, Adrianopolis, Thessaloniki, Istanbul, and finally Tzfat in the Galilee. These travels introduced Karo to a wide range of Torah scholars and communal minhagim, and he began to harbor hopes of creating a halakhic code which would serve to unify Jewish practices throughout the diaspora. Karo’s main text, Beit Yosef, sought not only to state halakhic conclusions in an encyclopedic manner but to provide detailed examinations of the generations of debates behind those conclusions. The Shulkhan Arukh was a reference text which presented only the halakhic conclusions, without the details of the logic by which those conclusions were reached. While the book’s author and a majority of rabbinical sages of the time considered it insufficient for drawing conclusions about halakha due to its simplicity and far from traditional univocality, the book proved hugely popular with the Jewish masses, who wanted a reference text they could keep at home which would offer answers to daily practical questions. It was precisely what Karo and his contemporaries saw as the book’s oversimplification of a gloriously rich and varied tradition that made it approachable and beloved.

Karo himself realized during the process of composing his magnum opus, Beit Yosef, that his youthful hopes for bringing about global uniformity in halakhic practice were misguided. In his later years he spoke out against attempts to use his works to pressure communities with distinct minhagim or who chose to hold by other poskim to adopt his conclusions, emphasizing that Judaism was the process of engaging with halakhic reasoning and debate and should be defined by variety, not an insistence on adherence to any one set of halakhic rulings. And in fact his landmark code, which harmonized generations of Sephardi tradition, was soon joined by a commentary by one of Karo’s contemporaries, Moshe Isserles, which delineated the distinct Ashkenazi minhagim which differed from Karo. This text came to be known as the Mappah, or tablecloth, to the Shulkhan Arukh, or set table, and has been printed as an integrated part of the text beginning twelve years after its first printing. Other integrated commentaries followed as well, injecting the multivocality of Jewish tradition back into Karo’s simplified halakhic compendium. To this day, the Shulkhan Arukh remains the most influential and widely consulted single halakhic code ever compiled.

[oriel-deimos]

" Вошло вино - вышел секрет "

Человек в алкогольном опьянении может сказать все , что у него на уме . Так не давай алкоголю овладеть собой

©️ Иосеф Каро

🕸️

"The wine went in, the secret came out"

A person intoxicated can say whatever is on his mind. So don't let alcohol take over you

©️ Yosef Karo

[power-chords]

“You know I have this, uh, recurring dream. I'm sitting at this big banquet table and all of the victims of all the murders I've ever worked are sitting at this table, and they're staring at me with these black eyeballs... ‘cause they got eight ball hemorrhages from the head wounds. And there they are, these big balloon people, because I found them two weeks after they’d been under the bed. The neighbors reported the smell. And there they are, all of them, just sitting there.”

The order of the ritual is paramount in importance because it lends a sense of continuity to a culture. A ritual is both able to regulate society's order through its own order, as well as serve as a means of reestablishing that order when the normative patterns of a society have collapsed. This is part of the reason the "correct" method of enacting a ritual is so important and why a set of behaviors meant to unify a community can often lead to its dissolution or fragmenting. In addition to regulating a society’s order, ritual can be used to define a spatial area. In this way a ritual should be conceived of as “first and foremost, a mode of paying attention.” [...] Thus, if the ritual can be said to have a message, it “is less an idea to be taught and more a reality to be repeatedly experienced.” [...]

Offerings to gods are usually ritual offerings, able to take the role of any of the three basic types of ritual, and must be proffered in a precise way in order for them to be acceptable. [...] There is no denying that by far the most important form of offering was that of animal sacrifice. For “as sacrifice was the raison d’etre of the archaic temple…a temple or altar without sacrifice is a mere monument.” [...] Two major forms of sacrifice can be readily identified, that of gift and that of substitute. [B]oth are marked by the idea that they will either reify the existing world or reinstate a broken or completely destroyed reality (in the line of restoration or maintenance rituals). Ritual offerings are a means of reconciliation with the gods.

—Amy M. Fisher, "Pour Forth the Sparkling Chalice: An Examination of Libation Practices in the Levant," 2007

The Shulchan Arukh (“Set Table”) is the most widely accepted code of Jewish law ever written. Compiled in the 16th century by Rabbi Yosef Karo, it is a condensed and simplified version of the Beit Yosef, a commentary that Karo wrote on the Tur.

The vessels appear in the list of items to be constructed for the table within the Tabernacle. Setting a table for the gods with the foods of kings was a common ritual in both Mesopotamia and Egypt. A set table was “a mark of affluence and status.” The importance of a set table for God is confirmed by the need for one not only in the Tabernacle, but also in both Solomon's temple and Ezekiel's plans for a temple. This need did not end with the exile, as First Maccabees attests to a table in the post-exilic temple, and the Arch of Titus clearly depicts a table with a goblet perched upon it being carted off with the other spoils from the temple. Unlike the set tables of other religions, this one lacked a feast. It only held empty vessels[...] (Fisher, 2007.)

[yonadave]

A Quick Guide for Writing Comics with Kabbalah - Don’t

A few months ago, Louise Simonson and Kireon Gileon compared the Phoniex’s White Room as the Jewish Kabbalah term Tiferet - תפארת. I was quite surprised, not just because I didn’t remember that was the title of Al Ewing’s Defenders Beyond issue 3, but also because it didn’t make sense. So after some comments on Twitter led me to read that issue, I still didn’t get why the White Room would be associated with Tifferet, of all the sefirot. This is not the first time that happened to me.

I was always confused when hearing X-fans talking about some common knowledge regarding how Morrison used Kabbalah to explain the Phoenix. Now, it’s been some time since I’ve read that run (which I did read again before writing this) so I must  have missed it. But you’d think I would remember something like that. The same thing happened with The Resurrection of Mangeto Issue 01, where others online noticed the Kabbalistic elements in the story while I didn’t. Obviously, many of the people I follow on social media and/or read and listen to their articles and podcasts are more fluent in X-Men comics than I am, but I can confidently say that I am more fluent in Kabbalah than they are. So how come I keep missing it?

The answer was clear once I read a thread about the Resurrection of Magneto and the symbolgies shown in the issue. The thread, by @arakkosuperstar made a lot of sense when it came down to explaining Ewing’s storytelling. But it didn’t make a lick of sense when it came down to Kabbalah. This makes sense, since I don’t think Ewing is even fluent in Hebrew and the 3 dialects of Aramaic that are needed just to understand basic Kabbalistic texts.

So let’s start with what Kabbalah is. Kabbalah is a general name for several Jewish mystic traditions. It literally means “being received” as those traditions are supposed to be moved on from Rabbi to student throughout the generations. But when we say the word Kabbalah today it is most likely referring to the teachings of Ha’Ari - Rabbi Issac Luria who was active in 16th century Safed (Tzfat) and, alongside Rabbi Yosef Karo, reshaped all of Judaism in modern times.In his teaching you will find terminology like The Tree of life, Sefirot, Ein Sof and others that come up in western culture (and Anime for some reason). If you ask most religious Jews they will tell you that you are not supposed to study Kabbalah until you are 40. But that is a rather late tradition that came as a response to two connected messianic cults in Europe. Before that, most traditions suggest learning it  only after you are 25, married, or “filled your belly with Talmud”. 

The main subject of Kabbalah is trying to study and maybe understand the divine as a religious act of warship. Some, Like Ha'Ari, took it to the worlds of theology, while others took it to the world of ethical codes of conduct. The Hasidic movement, founded by Rabbi Israel Ba’al Shem-Tov popularized the theological aspects of Kabbalah and applied them to the realms of human psychology. While trying to understand the decision making behind the use of Kabbalah in modern comics, I was introduced to the term Kabbalah magic, which is not a thing. The closest thing we have is “applied Kabbalah'' which comes down to amulets or invoking a specific aspect of the divine. A nice way to describe it is that the world was programmed and built using the Hebrew language and that is why we can input cheat codes. Yes, we are breaking the rules of the game, but only because the divine programmer put those options in the first place. 

The more I looked into the “Kabbalah” origins of these ideas I found out more and more about Hermetic Qabalah and how much it’s not Kabbalah. I found out about terms like Sefirot-Shakras-Tarot as if those things are the same. Since the religious act of worshiping  in Kabbalah is to study and seek to understand the divine, mixing these terms so bluntly is not only not accurate - it’s offensive. Using an outside, non-Jewish tradition in order to better understand Kabbalah is one thing, but mixing these religions up is just a brutal act of cultural appropriation.In that aspect, I actually liked that Exodus is the character that ‘explains’ the White Room as Tiferet, it makes absolute sense that a christian zealot from the middle ages will appropriate Jewish texts without understanding it. 

Other than being offended, I couldn’t stop thinking about how obvious it was that Ewing chose the wrong sefira. I mean, Keter (crown) the first sefira is right there. And once you choose the “correct” one, you could do so much more with it than just to use its name as a reference. What did we, as readers, get from using the term Tiferet? Does it expand the phoenix mythos in any meaningful way? No, because it’s a shallow use of something that I happen to hold very dear. But Keter? There is so much to do with it. You could call the white room the first spark of creation, which is a creative translation that goes really well with the fact we are talking about an emotional bird made of fire. It can explain why the white room is white, just like white light will become the entire color spectrum.

And then we have The Resurrection of Magneto issue 02, which in my opinion is one of the more Jewish comics I’ve read from a mainstream outlet in a long time. And it’s the same writer who failed before in doing the same thing - incorporating Jewish traditions into his texts… And I do think that it all starts from the choice of text. Instead of going to Kabbalah - an esoteric text that even most Jews aren’t familiar with, he uses basic, well known texts such as the Torah and Pirkei Avot from the Mishna. This choice also works from a narrative point of view since Magneto may have left the Jewish world as a child, but these are texts he would probably know. The sources are not name dropped, like Tiferet was used back in Defenders Beyond and Immortal X-Men/Jean Grey. Instead, we are left with the actual meaning of the words instead of the “cool factor” that Kabbalah has had in the last few decades.

[avirosenthal]

Bava Batra 36b

Three cheers for Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak of amud b here. Unlike HaRav Yosef Karo, he didn't just count noses.

[eretzyisrael]

How a 500 Year Old Book Shaped Jewish Practice | The Jewish Story | Unpacked

At the dawn of the 16th century, both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews relied on oral traditions of Jewish law - Halakha.  Both groups passed down their own unique customs. However, after the Spanish Inquisition’s mass expulsion, Sephardic Jews found themselves living alongside the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe. This led to confusion over which traditions and laws to follow. Though they would never meet, Rabbi Yosef Karo and Rabbi Moses Isserles (AKA the “Rema”) worked together to create a book that would continue to shape Jewish practice for the next 500 years and counting. 

Unpacked

[antifa-agrippa]

Nobody:

Not a fucking soul:

Rabbi Yosef Karo, writing the Shulchan Aruch: This is how you can poop in a God-honoring way ... 

[torahafterdark]

Tzoah Rotachat Explained

Tzoah Rotachat (Hebrew: צוֹאָה רוֹתֵחַת, tsoah rothachath – "boiling excrement") in the Talmud and Zohar is a location in Gehenna (Gehinnom) where the souls of Jews who committed certain sins are sent for punishment. This form of punishment is cited as being of extreme nature, if not the most extreme, in the sense that those individuals sentenced there are not given relief even on Shabbat, and are not released after the standard twelve-month period.

Babylonian Talmud

The Babylonian Talmud lists the cause for a Jew being sent to Tzoah Rotachat as "all who scoff at the words of the wise men (i.e., Chazal) is judged in Tzoah Rotachat". The Talmud Bavli also hints that the punishment has more of a physical implication to it. Rashi writes that he who engages in "excessive scoffing" (the exegesis here involves switching the "ה" of "להג" and replacing it with a "ע", as they both are one of the five guttural sounds) (the former part of the verse) is met with the second part of the same "straining of the flesh", essentially being judged excessively (straining) of his body.[1]

The presence of Jesus the Nazarene in boiling excrement is one of the disputed references to Jesus in the Talmud.[2] Onkelos raises up Yeshu by necromancy,[3] and asks him about his punishment in Gehinnom.[4] [5] Jesus replies that he is in "boiling excrement.

Commentaries

Rabbi Yosef Karo

Joseph ben Ephraim Karo of Toledo (1488–1575), in his Kabbalistic work Maggid Meisharim ("Sermonizer on Ethics"), explains that just as in the human digestive order the liver, heart and other organs receive their sustaining nutrients from the ingested foods and whatever is of no need and "unworkable" is excreted to give fertility to works of low value (Sitra Achra "other side"), so too in heavenly judgment this soul is sent to the spiritual level equivalent of excrement and those that derive benefit thereof. As to the concept of boiling Rabbi Yosef relays as to imply during the time of heat and anger of that level (i.e. when the oven is hot), the soul is put there. Rabbi Yosef goes on to compare the idol worship of Peor as giving sustenance to this specific level of Sitra Achra.

Rabbi Yehuda Lowe's explanation

Judah Loew ben Bezalel of Prague (c.1520–1609), in his work Netzach Yisroel ("Eternity of Israel"), provides an in-depth analysis as to this seemingly unconnected sequence of action and punishment. Rabbi Lowe explains, as a rule of thumb, that the logic of Chazal is of an unrelated plane to that of common human intellect. Thus, one who scoffs at it is judged in the opposite of this higher plane, i.e. Tzoah Rotachat, which is considered a matter of irrelation to the relatively superior human body (since it is released as waste) and the antithesis of godly knowledge and presence (as is brought in Talmud Sukka p. 42b that one is obligated to distance himself from the excrement of a child who has the ability of speech since this excrement produces an intense odor comparative to infant who cannot yet speak). Rabbi Lowe concludes that excrement is the polar opposite of refined godly intellect and worship and is thus the natural consequence of the scoffer thereof and of the Jew who chooses idol worship and Shituf.

[rickwhite]

The Ascent of Humanity: Part 1

Is Torah relevant to non-Jews? The world is one large global village. The world marketplace of ideas is brash and irrepressible. Is the Torah a fortress into which we should lock ourselves, hiding from the winds of the world? Or can it become a lighthouse for all humanity?

On the surface, the Torah is a solely Jewish issue. But we strive for a world in which everyone will serve God “with one shoulder.” How can we bridge the gap between the Jewish exclusivity over the Torah and the rectification of the entire world? This is the special challenge of our generation.

Throughout history, our eternal Torah has weathered great revolutions: Rabbi Yehudah Hanassi transcribed the Oral Torah into writing so that it would not be forgotten. Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Code of Jewish Law, ensured the continuity of the Torah world when he deemed it permissible to receive payment for the study and teaching of Torah. Jewish Torah scholars in the previous generation instituted Torah study for women, to foster the continuity of Jewish education.

Each of these revolutions was born of necessity, but also bore fruit; a new challenge that infused Torah study with freshness, effervescence and renewal. In our generation, the time has come for the Fourth Revolution: Teaching the Torah to the nations of the world. This is our challenge! It is necessary to arouse all humanity to service of God – and no less important – to attract those Jews who connect only to universal Torah. Similar to the previous revolutions, this necessary revolution will bring great blessing to the Jewish People and to the entire world.

Over the past years, Rabbi Ginsburgh has skillfully outlined the structure of the four revolutions and how our generation can raise a ladder of ascent for all humanity.

From Sons of Adam to Sons of Noah

The topic of the Fourth Revolution—Torah for non-Jews—has aroused much interest. We can see that this concept is taking root. True, it has not yet reached a critical mass and has not reached everyone in the world, but we hope that soon, it will. The destiny of the Jewish people is to be “a light unto the nations”[1] bringing the world to the fulfillment of the goal of “serving Him [God] with one shoulder.”[2]

We usually call those non-Jews who keep the seven commandments given to Noah “Sons of Noah,” or “Noahides.” Adam was commanded to keep six commandments, while Noah received an additional commandment, the prohibition against eating a part of a living animal.[3] Actually, we would have expected that a non-Jew who is influenced by the spirit of Judaism would be called a Son of Abraham. Abraham, who was blessed to be, “the father of a multitude of nations,”[4] is the true spiritual father of all non-Jews. Thus, a non-Jew who is inspired by Abraham to recognize and believe that God is one, can be identified as a “son of Abraham.” However, it is customary today that only when a non-Jew actually converts to Judaism, is he called a Son of Abraham.[5]

Still, the fact that the Torah refers to Abraham as “a father of a multitude of nations” designates Abraham as the father of non-Jews before they convert. The multitude of nations will belong to the House of Abraham and he will teach them in the spirit of the people of his household, as the Torah writes, “For I [God] know him…to safeguard the path of God…to do righteousness and justice.”[6] The path of Abraham is already higher than the path followed by Noah.[7] When a non-Jew identifies with Abraham, he has already ascended to a level above keeping the seven Noahide Commandments.

Why isn’t a righteous non-Jew called a Son of Abraham? After all, this is how the Torah defines the relationship between the first Jew (Abraham) and the nations of the world. We need to better define the status of a non-Jew who is above being a Noahide but is not yet a convert to Judaism.

First, a Son of Adam

We can fine-tune this question even more and suggest that on the surface, it would have been enough to call righteous non-Jews the Sons of Adam. Adam was commanded to keep six commandments, and only one more commandment was added for Noah. The six commandments of Adam include all the principles of human morality: Not to worship idols, not to curse the Creator, not to murder, not to steal, not to act promiscuously, and to institute a justice system. Adam received all the principles of a rectified society. If the non-Jews of the world would safeguard these six laws, even without the addition of the prohibition against eating a limb from a live animal (which is the non-Jewish version of the dietary laws of keeping kosher) they would apparently be very righteous. Perhaps it is enough for a non-Jew to simply be a good person, a Son of Adam?

A Jew also has to be a Son of Adam, a good person, often called “a mentsch.” Our sages teach that “Proper moral conduct precedes the Torah.”[8] A good person, a Son of Adam, conducts himself morally. Everyone in the world first has to be a Son of Adam. He can then ascend to the level of being a Son of Noah and then to the level of being a Son of Abraham. He can then continue his ascent. But to where does one continue one’s journey after the level of being a Son of Abraham? This question will also help us clarify what stage of the Fourth Revolution we are currently in.

When God created the world, its inhabitants were initially non-Jews. This includes Abraham, who, before he became the patriarch of the Jewish people by means of the ten trials that he overcame, was not Jewish. God wants us all to be in a state of constant ascent.

Click here for Part 2 of this article

* Based on a class given by Harav Ginsburgh on the 7th of Shevat 5782 (Jan. 9, 2022) in memory of his mother, Braina Malkah Ginsburgh o.b.m.

[1] Abarbanel to Isaiah 49.

[2] Zephania 3:9.

[3] Maimonides, Laws of Kings 9:1.

[4] Genesis 17:5.

[5] Maimonides, Laws of First Fruits 4:3.

[6] Genesis 18:19.

[7]. Explained in length in our series of classes on Faith and Confidence. In short, Noah’s path is to walk with God (Genesis 6:9), while God commanded Abraham to walk before Him (Ibid. 17:1).

[8] Vayikra Rabah 9:3;, Tana D’vei Eliyahu Rabah, ch.1.

[anantabangun]

RP Karolus OFMCap diabadikan bersama pembaca setia Ralinggungi di Paroki Tiga Binanga (Sumber; Betlehem Ketaren)

Kehadiran media dalam pelayanan pastoral dapat menjembatani saluran informasi maupun katekese-katekese singkat. Pastor Ignatius Simbolon, OFMCap ketika menjadi Parochus di Paroki St. Fransiskus Assisi, Berastagi, Medan pada tahun 2008, menyadari peran tersebut dalam upaya pengembangan komunitas basis Gereja.

Setahun kemudian ide muncul ide untuk membuat buletin paroki. Usul ini pun disambut dengan sangat antusias. Tak lama setelah itu, buletin paroki pun terbit. Bentuk cetakan pertama buletin itu terdiri dari dua lembar folio yang difotokopi. Buletin awal ini diberi nama Gema Paroki.

  Bahasa Ibu

Awalnya Gema Paroki dikerjakan bersama oleh Sekretaris Dewan Pastoral Paroki Harian Paroki St. Fransiskus Assisi Berastagi, Medan Betlehem Ketaren bersama Pastor Paulus Silalahi, OFMCap (yang saat itu menjalani tahun orientasi Pastoral) dan Pastor Ignatius. Tema-tema tentang katekese mendominasi tulisan-tulisan awal buletin. Untuk menggarap tema katekese, Pastor Paulus menuangkannya dalam rubrik “Cerita, Pesan dan Katekese Singkat”. Sedangkan Pastor Ignatius bertanggung jawab atas rubrik “Sapaan Pastor Paroki.”

Pada penerbitan kedua di bulan Agustus, Betlehem ditugaskan oleh Pastor Ignatius untuk membuat majalah dalam bahasa Karo. Bahasa ini digunakan oleh suku Karo yang yang mendiami Dataran Tinggi Karo (Kabupaten Karo), Langkat, Deli Serdang, Dairi, Medan, hingga ke Aceh Tenggara di Indonesia.

Hal ini mengingat pesan Uskup Emeritus Agung Medan, Mgr. Anicetus B. Sinaga OFM Cap. Sang Uskup melihat perlunya disediakan bacaan-bacaan rohani yang ditulis dalam bahasa Karo. Dia melihat perkembangan umat Katolik di Keuskupan Agung Medan (KAM) sungguh signifikan. Perkembangan ini terjadi juga di kalangan umat berbahasa Karo.

Betlehem menjelaskan, beberapa daerah yang mengalami pertambahan umat di antaranya ada di Lawe Desky, Lau Baleng dan Deli Tua. Daerah ini mayoritas umat Katolik berbahasa Karo. Dia mengatakan, tanpa pendekatan dan peneguhan yang terus-menerus, ini bisa menjadi bumerang, mereka bisa saja ‘pindah ke lain hati’. “Di titik ini lah hendaknya media turut menampilkan perannya,” ujarnya.

Akhirnya Gema Paroki pun ditulis dalam bahasa Karo. Dengan perubahan ini, maka namanya pun diganti menjadi Ralinggungi, yang berarti ‘menggemakan’. Nama ini dipilih karena dekat dengan umat dan menjadi corong pewartaan dari Paroki Berastagi. Betlehem menjelaskan, perubahan nama media ini juga diiringi perubahan bentuk cetakan menjadi majalah dengan jumlah halaman lebih banyak (28 halaman).

Dengan beban yang semakin banyak, maka Redaksi Ralinggungi juga memerlukan lebih banyak tenaga. Beberapa anggota baru pun direkrut. Mereka berasal dari Seksi Katekese, Seksi Liturgi, Seksi Kitab Suci dan sebagian dari Anggota Dewan Paroki Berastagi.

Ralinggungi diterbitkan hingga sekitar 500 sampai 750 eksemplar setiap kali terbit. Sejak Pastor Ignatius diangkat menjadi Vikaris Episkopal St. Yakobus Rasul Kabanjahe pada 12 Juni 2011, cakupan edar Ralinggungi semakin luas.

Pada masa itu peredarannya mencakup sembilan paroki yang umatnya berbahasa Karo. Selain Paroki Berastagi, Ralinggungi beredar juga di Paroki Bandar Baru, Paroki Santa Perawan Maria Kabanjahe, Paroki Santo Petrus-Paulus Kabanjahe, Paroki Sta. Monika Tiganderket, Paroki St Fransiskus Assisi Saribudolog, Paroki St. Damian Lau Baleng, dan Paroki St. Yosef Lawe Desky.

Sebagai media dengan karakter pewartaan Gereja Katolik, Ralinggungi mewartakan ajaran-ajaran pokok Gereja. Ralinggungi menawarkan rubrik berupa tema liturgi tahunan serta liputan ragam peristiwa seputar Gereja KAM. Beberapa rubrik pun bertambah dengan rubrik Pulungen Tawar (Tips Kesehatan), Bahan Perpulungen (Bahan Doa Lingkungan), dan Jambur Kilajar (Balai Budaya). Setiap pesan dari Uskup Agung Medan juga tak pernah lupa menjadi tema yang ditampilkan.

Tetap Naik Cetak

Media cetak memang menghadapi tantangan berat dengan hadirnya media digital. Ralinggungi pun mengalami jatuh bangun. Bentuk pewartaan dalam bahasa Karo ini sempat pernah tidak terbit selama enam bulan. Senjakala tersebut disebabkan terganjalnya bahan tulisan dan dana cetak. Betlehem mengakui, bahwa selama periode Ralinggungi tidak terbit, tidak sedikit umat yang komplain ataupun bersungut-sungut.

Kewalahan memenuhi kuota tulisan maupun liputan untuk setiap edisi pun dirasakan Redaksi Ralinggungi. “Tak dipungkiri, bahwa Redaksi Ralinggungi membutuhkan partisipasi seluruh umat Katolik di KAM dan nasional untuk memenuhi jatah minimal penerbitan konten per bulannya,” imbuhnya.

Betlehem tidak menutupi, bahwa kalangan umat anak muda kurang menaruh minat dengan berpartisipasi terhadap Ralinggungi. “Mereka bilang, majalahnya kok berbahasa untuk orang-orang tua,” kata Betlehem menirukan komentar dari beberapa anak muda. Dari lontaran komentar itu, awak Redaksi Ralinggungi merencanakan memasukkan juga tulisan dalam bahasa Indonesia untuk edisi ke depan. “Langkah ini tentu baik, agar generasi muda tidak meninggalkan budaya asalnya,” ujar Betlehem.

Bagi Betlehem, harapan terbesar dari penerbitan Ralinggungi dalam bahasa Karo adalah agar masyarakat setempat bisa lebih memahami tentang pewartaan yang ingin disampaikan. Ada dua tujuan yang ingin dicapai Ralinggungi, yaitu untuk menggemakan ajaran Gereja Katolik ke tengah masyarakat. Tujuan kedua, Ralinggungi adalah satu bentuk inkulturasi Gereja terhadap budaya dan bahasa Karo.

Pada tahun 2016, Pastor Karolus Sembiring OFM Cap menggantikan Pastor Ignatius sebagai Vikep St. Yakobus Rasul Kabanjahe (red — hingga 2018). Saat itu, kesempatan bagi peredaran Ralinggungi diperluas. Cara yang ditempuh agar terus naik cetak adalah memasukkan Ralinggungi ke dalam program kerja Komisi Evangelisasi  KAM yang diketuai oleh Pastor Karolus. Ralinggungi pun menjadi majalah Keuskupan Agung Medan berbahasa Karo.

Dengan terobosan tersebut, Ralinggung mendapat subsidi dari KAM dan berlaku selama lima tahun. Setiap tahunnya dana subsidi dikurangi. “Harapannya setelah lima tahun disubsidi, Ralinggungi bisa menjadi majalah yang mandiri,” kata Betlehem.

Sekarang, Ralinggungi telah rutin terbit setiap bulan. Jumlah eksemplar meningkat. Teranyar, oplah majalah ini sudah dicetak hingga 1.000 eksemplar. Ralinggungi berhasil menggaet sebanyak 700 pelanggan tetap. Berdasarkan data yang dimiliki redaksi, selain pengiriman ke paroki-paroki di Kevikepan St. Yakobus Rasul Kabanjahe, Ralinggungi juga dikirim ke para pembaca baik di Medan, Delitua, Binjai, Pekanbaru, Jakarta, Bandung maupun Yogyakarta.

Menurut Betlehem, komunitas umat Katolik berbahasa Karo sangat mengapresiasi Ralinggungi. “Media ini dinilai sangat penting sebagai media pewartaan, karena membantu para pengurus menambah wacana pemikiran, khotbah, dan berkatekese dalam bahasa Karo,” tuturnya.

  Ananta Bangun

///// ditulis untuk majalah HIDUP edisi 38, tahun ke-73, 22 September 2019

Redaksi Ralinggungi diabadikan bersama Vikep Karo RP Karolus Sembiring dan Narasumber

Betlehem Ketaren tengah menyunting majalah Ralinggungi (Copyright: Komsos KAM)

cuplikan profil majalah Ralinggungi di majalah HIDUP

Majalah Ralinggungi, “Bukan Perwartaan Biasa” Kehadiran media dalam pelayanan pastoral dapat menjembatani saluran informasi maupun katekese-katekese singkat. Pastor Ignatius Simbolon, OFMCap ketika menjadi Parochus di Paroki St.

[daemoniatweets]

Rabbi Yosef Karo was born in 1488. What a year.

Rabbi Yosef Karo was born in 1488. What a year.

Rabbi Yosef Karo was born in 1488. What a year.

— Daemonia (@DaemoniaSaves) August 3, 2019

from Twitter https://twitter.com/DaemoniaSaves http://twitter.com/DaemoniaSaves/status/1157667374629359617

[cmuguiaministerio]

Una Guía al cuarto episodio del Ministerio Del Tiempo: Los Rabinos de España

En el cuarto episodio de la serie, el público ve con repetición la brutalización de un rabino se llama Abraham Levi. Su historia demuestra la persecución sistemática de personas semíticas que siguió la reconquista de la península ibérica por los católicos. Desafortunadamente, aunque Abraham Levi fue, en realidad, un rabino español durante la inquisición, su representación en el episodio reduce sus contribuciones culturales a un texto no hasta escrito por judíos, sino egipcios. Además, Levi fue una figura minor en la historia de los judíos. Había muchos ejemplos de rabinos en el tiempo de Levi con un impacto más grande en las historia.

  Para expandir en el episodio, he proveído la historia general de rabinos en la península ibérica y destacado dos de los judíos más influyentes de sobre la época:

  Rabinos de España y Portugal

  Judíos han estado viviendo en la península ibérica desde la derrota del Segundo Gran Templo cerca 205 AEC. Sin una sede central, los judíos del mundo perdieron una estructura de liderazgo singular. En su lugar, las comunidades judías de Europa establecieron una serie de jerarquías locales. Así nació el papel del “rabino,” un líder con una responsabilidad espiritual a su comunidad, pero rara vez al judaísmo en conjunto.

  Antes del reinado musulmán, judíos vivía bajo los romanos, los visigodos, y el Sacro Imperio Romano. Bajo los visigodos, había un tiempo breve de tolerancia con respeto a los judíos. Pero, después de poco tiempo, los visigodos se convirtieron a cristianismo y adoptó muchas de las reglas antiguas y romanas sobre el (mal) tratamiento de judíos. Finalmente, bajo el Sacro Imperio Romano, apareció la práctica de Criptojudaísmo. Ser judío en una manera pública era una acción peligrosa y unas veces criminal bajo el imperio. Reyes Sacros Romanos como los Toledos creó 80 leyes específicamente hechas para hacer la vida en más difícil por judíos, especialmente rabinos quien se enfrentaba encarcelamiento por hacer cosas como bendecir comidas kosheres o planear comidas comunales. Entonces, muchos judíos se convirtieron a cristianismo públicamente, pero continuaban practicando judaísmo en la privacidad de sus hogares.

  Durante el reinado de los musulmanes (siglos VIII - XI), la vida judía mejoraba en casi cada medido. Los Muros dio a los judíos el título de <<dhimmi>>, un tipo de protección legal que, mientras no la ciudadanía completa, garantizó el derecho de rabinos de hacer investigación literaria y científica, y dirigir sus comunidades en el rezo. Los Rabinos eran imprescindibles en traducir textos griegos y latinos al árabe, español, y portugués. Sin embargo, esta época no existía sin violencia contra judíos. Especialmente durante los años finales del reinado musulmán, cuando los lideres Muros cambiaron su enfoco de proteger ciudadanos a luchar cristianos castellanos, el monto atracos contra comunidades judíos en Toledo y Grenada se creció.

  Cuando, en los 1490 's, católicos retomaron la península, la violencia contra judíos y el enjuiciamiento de rabinos se hicieron en común y fueron apoyados por el gobierno castellano. Esto es lo que se ve en el episodio.

  Fuentes y más lectura:

The Jews of Iberia: a Short History. 978-1537118147

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/spain-virtual-jewish-history-tour

  Nachmanides (1195 - 1270)

Nacido Moshe Ben Nahman, su obra causaba ondas en los campos de la medicina, el misticismo, y la teología. Originalmente de Catalonia, Nachmanides llegó a ser conocido como uno de los médicos más efectivos y lucrativos en la península. 

  Como erudito de Torah, él se hizo famoso por su énfasis en una relación personal con Dios, y la capacidad de fuerzas universales y místicos de tener impacto en la vida cotidiana. Su tipo específico de misticismo se convirtió en la base de un tipo de judaísmo que continúa a este día: la Kabbalah. Estudiantes de la Kabbalah, siguiendo el ejemplo de Nachmanides y otros rabinos con ideas afines, investigan, por erudición y ritual, la esencia pura de Dios. Las escrituras de Nachmanides también tienen que ver con el derecho de judíos de reinterpretar la Torah para servir las necesidades del tiempo. 

  Él era una figura polémica entre los cristianos y los musulmanes como resultado de sus debates públicos contra sacerdotes de ambas religiones. Por ejemplo, el rey cristiano Jaime I de Aragón, después de oír sobre el talento retórico de Nachmanides, le invitó para discutir el valor del nuevo testamento. Nachmanides fue tan exitoso en estos debates, y tan severo contra los cristianos, que fue expulsado de España.

  Vivía las últimas partes de su vida en Israel. Aunque la tierra estaba en desorden como resultado de las cruzadas, Nachmanides sentía un amor fuerte por la región, y su escritura sobre la importancia de una presencia judía en el país formó los el principio del movimiento Sionismo.

  Entonces, se puede ver la importancia de Nachmanides en la historia. ¿Pero cómo se conecta él al episodio? Ambos Nachmanides y Abraham Levi tienen una relación mística con la Torah. Los dos también tuvieron problemas con la iglesia en una exposición sumamente pública. Además (y yo opino que esto es el <<kicker>>) ambos hombres trabajan con literatura que forma la base de un cuerpo gubernamental.

  Abraham Levi

Nachmanides

  Fuentes y más lectura:

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/moshe-ben-nachman-nachmanides-ramban

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nahmanides

Ministerio del Tiempo temporada 1, Capítulo 4. Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. 2015.

  Yosef Karo (1488 - 1575)

Por los judíos del mundo, y especialmente los judíos europeos, Yosef Karo es visto como mezcla de Adam Smith, John Locke, Louis XIV, y Warren Burger todo en una persona. Como Locke o Smith y sus influencias en la cultura del oeste, la escritura de Karo se considera la filosofía más central a la cultura del judaísmo moderno. Como Louis XIV, el comportamiento de Yosef Karo se convirtió en la norma para todos en su comunidad. Como Warren Burger, sus opiniones legales permanecen autoritarias a este día. Sin su erudición religiosa, no habría Hasidim, ni reconstruccionismo, ni un entendimiento moderno del Talmud (un compendio de leyes, tradiciones, y comentarios rabínicos. Muchos judíos consideran este texto segundo solamente a la Torah).

  Nacido Yosef Efraím Qaro, él era niñito cuando empezó la gran inquisición. En algún punto de su niñez, se mudó a Turquía. Pasaba su juventud haciéndose en un erudito de Torah formidable. Para cuando se mudó a Israel en 1536, había escrito libros en español, arameo, y hebreo, cada uno una obra clásica de teología. Él era tan prolífico que ganó el nombre <<Maran,>> arameo por <<nuestro maestro.>> Su obra más famosa debe ser Bet Yosef (Casa de Yosef), un libro de proporciones bíblicas que analiza y critica leyes judías. En el libro, Karo directamente declara que el mal tratamiento de los judíos por los castellanos ha puesto a riesgo todo el judaísmo. Continúa por decir que es necesario que tengan todos judios del mundo un vocabulario compartido para discutir el Talmud, aun si no pueden ponerse de acuerdo en cómo seguir los leyes.

  La violencia que ve Abraham Levi en el episodio es la misma violencia que incitó al trabajo de Karo. Pero las conexiones no paran allí. Una de las imágenes más fuertes del episodio es la muerte de Levi por estar quemado en la estaca. Yosef Karo vio a su colaborador cercano y mentor, Solomon Mulcho, estar quemado en la estaca. Este evento traumático se atribuye con convencer a Karo la necesidad de unir a los judíos del mundo para codificar su cultura como acto de protección contra sociedades no amables.

  Abraham Levi a la estaca, como Molcho

Yoseph Karo

  Fuentes y más lectura:

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/joseph-karo

  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-ben-Ephraim-Karo

  CARO, JOSEPH B. EPHRAIM por Louis GInzberg, profesor de estudios talmúdicos a Jewish Theological Seminary of America, http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4065-caro-joseph-b-ephraim#668

  Ministerio del Tiempo temporada 1, Capítulo 4. Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. 2015.

  ¿Y qué?

Es importante ver un episodio sobre un choque entre culturas en un contexto histórico. En el episodio cuatro, un entendimiento de los logros y vidas de rabinos ibérica ayudará al espectador a comprender lo que está en juego por Levi y su comunidad. Cuando la tropa trabaja para salvarle a Levi, en realidad están intentando preservar la tradición de rabinos como Nachmanides y Karo.

[jyungar]

The Secret of Schechina Be-Galuta

The Divine feminine, Lost in the world of reality Drowning in the mathematical precision of Halacha And the black and white world of (teva) nature. The Lost Princess remains swooned in the water castle Awaiting the Zaddik who knows the healing powers of the ten pulses.

And those addictions that pull me down, For work, the use of time, the obsessions of the heart, the rage; The Degel tells me, are happening to her too, Mirrored in my soul. Does this raise the stakes?.... or comfort me? How to live life with this gnosis? As if, my troubled life, in fact all tragedy Is but her screaming for attention.

The doubting Thomas, this familiar Kritik in the head Pulls me further down into the blotte The rational mind used to be so certain But not so lately. Who is She after all? I know of her as mother but beyond? In Her absence only is the gaping hole in my heart And indicator of her lasting power. Has she joined Her? What does that mean for me?

Mother is no more And Her absence points me to the eternal Mother She incarnated, And the pain is unbearable. Surprised by my level of grief, I turn to the texts of comfort And the rituals of mourning Hoping for an insight Even if non logical A hint a feeling, a Wordsworthian intuition

Embedded in a millennium of wisdom The twists and turns of minhag Envelop me in discussions of behavior The expression of grief socially, All the while allowing me the inner freedom to grieve And await insight as I pass through the rites of separation and loss.

My mother, Larger than life Who nurtured me inside her body Bore me, Trained me, Prepared the life path for me Albeit kicking and screaming, but in the end I had no other choice, No other path anyway like familiar To the difficult sometimes impossible road She set me on.

She was harder on herself But that was little solace For the little brown-skinned whiny kid Whose romantic fantasies controlled His waking life.

In these vale of tears Things become clearer slowly Understanding deepens And death looms larger As it takes more and more of my beloved.

Is it because death is inevitable? In the face of such finality Where all is levelled No matter who No matter what has been accomplished No matter how pious How beloved? A new perspective evolves Molded from the pain.

The remains of the day, What is left in the gaping loss? In the vacuum she left behind Unwillingly taken from this world Is her life’s motivation, Her drive, Her uncompromising demands, Her self-critique,

Of all those who connected to her She held me to the greatest standard Demanded most from me But was most loyal to me. I tried not to disappoint But she would never let on Always demanding more.

If Yosef Karo has his muse, it was his mother Who drove him in Maggid Mesharim If Reb Chayim Shumlevits ran to Kever Rachel It was crying “mama, mama Chaikel is du” If the Lelover Rebbe’s eyes rolled up By his Shabbes tish, he could be heard mumbling “mamale mamale”

Now I must take my place With those who have lost the living presence of the great mother And settle for the memories reflections and loss. In this haze I must divine what she might want How she would react What she would ask of me. It comes easily now But for how long?

In memory we will now meet again In the heart of pain, we will converse In the sorrow of loss, I will continue to love She who bore me Nurtured me Demanded so much.

With mum now part of Her, The stakes are raised Possibly too high for me For now all pain is her’s too And my task in rescuing the Schechina Becomes more urgent. There is no time to waste All she demanded becomes more urgent I’m not getting younger There is so much to accomplish In these tears In the unbearable pain I am being summoned By her, by Her.

The secret Those ten pulses The healing Of the Lost Princess.

[ipzl]

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[sounds-likeconfusion-blog]

Hanukkah Academic Hints and Resources

Some cutting edge researchers contend that the lord was mediating in an inward thoughtful war between the Maccabean Jews and the Hellenized Jews in Jerusalem.

These contended fiercely finished who might be the High Priest, with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like Onias challenging with Hellenizing High Priests with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. Specifically, Jason's Hellenistic changes would end up being a conclusive factor prompting inevitable clash inside the positions of Judaism. Different creators point to conceivable financial reasons notwithstanding the religious purposes for the common war.

Also check this out Halloween Pumpkin Carving Ideas & Patterns 2017

What started in many regards as a common war raised when the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria agreed with the Hellenizing Jews in their contention with the traditionalists. As the contention heightened, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by denying the religious practices the traditionalists had revived around. This may clarify why the lord, in an aggregate takeoff from Seleucid hone in every single other place and times, prohibited a customary religion.

The wonder of the oil is broadly viewed as a legend and its realness has been addressed since the Middle Ages. Notwithstanding, given the renowned inquiry Rabbi Yosef Karo postured concerning why Hanukkah is commended for eight days when the supernatural occurrence was just for seven days (since there was sufficient oil for one day), plainly he trusted it was an authentic occasion. This conviction has been received by a large portion of Orthodox Judaism, in as much as Rabbi Karo's Shulchan Aruch is a fundamental Code of Jewish Law.