Andre Verissimo
O Pensamento de Nietzsche, em conformidade com todo o pensamento do Ocidente é metafísica. Como diz o filósofo alemão Heidegger (2000) “a metafisica é a verdade do ente enquanto tal na sua totalidade”. [ A metafísica, enquanto verdade do ente pertence ao ser, e não é nunca em primeiro lugar a visão e o juízo de um ser humano, nunca somente um edifício doutrinal e a expressão da sua época. Tudo isto também o é, mas também como consequência posterior e na sua face externa. O modo, em contrapartida, no qual quem está avocado a salvaguardar a verdade no pensar assume a rara disposição, fundamentação, comunicação e preservação da verdade no antecipador projecto existencial-extático, delimita o que se chamará a posição metafísica fundamental de um pensador. ] (Heidegger,2000)
O sujeito filosófico surpreende-se assim cativo da gesta do ser que o avoca na representação ou no nome, no signo do que Heidegger diz que pertence à história do ser mesmo com o nome de um pensador. Isto quer dizer que a posse ou característica distintiva desses pensadores como personalidade da criação cultural é a denominação do que os pensadores são na medida em que a verdade do ser se lhes confiou para que digam o ser, quer dizer, no interior da metafísica, o ser do ente. ( Cfr. M. Heidegger, 2000). Todo o sistema metafísico é, desde a perspectiva hermenêutica, a expressão de uma concepção violenta do ser, posto que assenta num princípio absoluto e fundamentador –archè - cuja função é homóloga da que possui “D-us” nas diferentes religiões. A filosofia enquanto metafísica é a busca desse fundamento último. Segundo Heidegger, o pathos próprio da filosofia é o assombro, que enquanto arché, não determinou só o início, mas o que domina todo o seu curso.”El asombro es así la dis-posición en la que y para la que, se abre al Ser del ente” (Heidegger, M., Qué es eso de filosofía? :65). Assombro e amor são do mesmo modo fundamentos, porém não possuem a violência do fundamento metafísico, mas como conotações por excelencia do ab-grund heideggeriano. Em termos rortyanos seria tal consigna uma conversação contínua e mais além do fundamento silenciante do nada e do egoísmo, na medida em que a interpretação é a figura da continuidade. “A ética hermenenêutica da continuidade é, pois, o postulado para colocar as experiencias isoladas dentro de uma rede de conexões que parece orientada no sentido da dissolução do ser, quer dizer, da redução da imposição da presença.” (Váttimo, G., 1995:82). Esta espécie de contaminação entre hermenêutica e religião entre o nihilismo e a encarnação tem matizes complexos na sua semântica. A experiência hermenêutica contamina, suja, tocando, também a crença na idade post-metafísica, secularizando o acto de acreditar. Vattimo exprime esta fé secularizada e contaminada na figura do meio crente. Em Credere di credere define o cristão post-metafísico como uma espécie de “anarquista não violento”, um “desconstrutor irónico” de toda a ordem que se queira única. ( Rorty, R., 1991:28 e ss. Quando os centros caem, quando os fundamentos já nada sustêm, quando D-us, deixa de ser o referente de todo o pensamento e da acção, as palavras começam a apodrecer na boca como fungos amargos de que falava Hofmannsthal. (W. LANGENBUCHER, 1969 : 220-228). Que fazer com a linguagem quando morre o D-us-gramática? Onde ir buscar a “fonte de sentido” – se é que continuam importando os sentidos umas vez desaparecido o fundamento? O mesmo sentido de amor humano integral vemos, por exemplo, em António Joaquim Oliveira em O Teu Nome (Folio Ed, 2006, p. 65) : - As Palavras não estão gastas: (...) “O meu amor não escreve palavras submissas pelo pudor/O meu amor escreve palavras a transbordar incêndios/ espasmos que sobrevivem na base do amor/ O meu amor não escreve palavras de água a correr/ o meu amor escreve o olhar nítido da perfeição/ que trespassa pontes depuradas de medos”.
A caracterização Nietzscheana de monotono-teísmo dos sistemas metafísico-morais tende a pôr em evidência a necessidade humana de gerar arquitecturas conceptuais nas quais um princípio cumpra as funções de archè ( fundamento) de pensar télos (fim) da acção e instaure um nómos (lei) que reja a casa (oikos) do saber de maneira unilateral (quer dizer, com uma economia unidimensional, que sempre parte de e remonta a D-us-fundamento ( Schürmann, R., 1982: 11 e ss. ). O fundamento legitima a linguagem; a linguagem, que se configura como a mediação entre tal fundamento e o mundo: o meio humano para expressar o digno de ser dito. Na medida em que tudo dever ser reconduzido ao fundamento, a dispersão o jogo e a multiplicidade das formas simbólicas, cumpre-se. E uma das formas de conjugá-la, evitando a queda na desagregação que distancia do centro, consiste em adjudicar às forças dispersantes o carácter de formas corruptas de acesso ou expressão do D-us-Fundamento. De modo que a metáfora, os símbolos, os produtos imaginativos, sejam considerados como excedências de sentido que devem ser traduzidas ou reconduzidas ao âmbito da unicidade de sentido e da racionalidade. A ruptura do fundamento é semelhante desse féretro que sonhou Zaratustra, quando era guardião do castelo da morte: desde os ataúdes de cristal a vida olhava vencida até que um vento forte arrasou com eles, e emergiram crianças, risos, borboletas, anjos,... Haverá que pôr algo em lugar dos velhos fundamentos, ou haverá que deixar o terreno vazio, deserto de desertos, por um tempo? D-us-fundamento morreu e continuamos abrigando os seus as meta-valorações, perdido o ambiente religioso... Secularizamos princípios e transformamo-los em estandartes dos nossos novos ideais, geramos transmundos que não parecem tais porque alimentam ideias modernas: razão, história, progresso, e D-us-sombra continua aleteando/passeando sobre eles.
A tradição irracionalista é sem dúvida menos contínua que a que assenta na tradição racional-cartesiana. A virulência de tal suposto tem em Nietzsche um apologista extraordinário. Apesar do carácter fragmentário Nietzsche assume a veia sarcática e radical. Mantendo o carácter puramente fenoménico igualmente do mundo interior, tudo o que nos faz consciente, é de um extremo a outro, previamente regulado, simplificado, esquematizado, interpretado – o processo real da “ percepção interna”, o encadeamento causal entre os pensamentos, os sentimentos, as aparências, com o que há entre o sujeito e o objecto, ocultam-se-nos absolutamente.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Prima e Irmã Rufina
Querido Family, Friends, Primos,
During these days before the High Holy days, we are bidden to e
xamine our interactions of the previous year and remember the times we may have spoken in anger or criticized with or without intention, or for "loshen hora" (speaking about others even if true).
Most interactions are with people whose private pain is unknown to us and we cannot be sure that we have not added to their distress. There is no way to eradicate the hurtful mistakes of our past, but repentance for our actions, both those of intent or without, can cause the miraculous process of teshuva, of fixing the past as well as the future. However, this can only happen if we admit the harm we may have done and feel regret for any damage or pain we may have caused.
Honor, respect, dignity and love are due to each and every one of us, not because of our achievements, but because we are home to a soul, and no one created their own soul. Everyone has been gifted with a rare essence, simply because we are the handiwork of Hashem. We deserve to honor ourselves -- and each other --not because of our greatness-- but because of our soulful essence that is a gift from G-d. (in His image).
The key to forgiveness lies in restoring balance to our relationships both personal and professional. When we are motivated to take action and move ahead, it is essential we understand the direction for proceeding. It helps us to feel secure when we know that the path is clearly laid-out. To reconcile, we need to provide both the desired destination as well as the "road-map" for getting there.
Two millennia ago our great sage Hillel taught: "If not now, when?"
Who knows if we will have another chance.
In humility and love I ask all my acquaintances, friends, primas, primos, brothers & sisters to forgive me for any hurt, damage or pain I may have caused them..... May we start the new year in true repentance for the wrongs committed and may we all be inscribed for a healthy & good year in the Book of Life.
Abraços, your irma, prima e amiga
Rufina
During these days before the High Holy days, we are bidden to e
xamine our interactions of the previous year and remember the times we may have spoken in anger or criticized with or without intention, or for "loshen hora" (speaking about others even if true).
Most interactions are with people whose private pain is unknown to us and we cannot be sure that we have not added to their distress. There is no way to eradicate the hurtful mistakes of our past, but repentance for our actions, both those of intent or without, can cause the miraculous process of teshuva, of fixing the past as well as the future. However, this can only happen if we admit the harm we may have done and feel regret for any damage or pain we may have caused.
Honor, respect, dignity and love are due to each and every one of us, not because of our achievements, but because we are home to a soul, and no one created their own soul. Everyone has been gifted with a rare essence, simply because we are the handiwork of Hashem. We deserve to honor ourselves -- and each other --not because of our greatness-- but because of our soulful essence that is a gift from G-d. (in His image).
The key to forgiveness lies in restoring balance to our relationships both personal and professional. When we are motivated to take action and move ahead, it is essential we understand the direction for proceeding. It helps us to feel secure when we know that the path is clearly laid-out. To reconcile, we need to provide both the desired destination as well as the "road-map" for getting there.
Two millennia ago our great sage Hillel taught: "If not now, when?"
Who knows if we will have another chance.
In humility and love I ask all my acquaintances, friends, primas, primos, brothers & sisters to forgive me for any hurt, damage or pain I may have caused them..... May we start the new year in true repentance for the wrongs committed and may we all be inscribed for a healthy & good year in the Book of Life.
Abraços, your irma, prima e amiga
Rufina
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
MEGUILAH de ESTER
Shalóm Javerím!,
Jag Purím Sameaj para todos Aún con atraso, dentro mismo de la felicísima festividad de Purím, quiero compartir con ustedes dos obsequios de especial importancia.El primero, para quienes no hayan podido concurrir a un beit-kneset a atender la lectura de Meguilát Ester, tenemos la lectura que hizo anoche Rav Kaniel en el Beit-Hakneset HaMerkazí del barrio Rabin en nuestra querida ciudad de Carmiel, en el corazón del Galil. Para escucharla, basta con oprimir aquí mismo el botón de "Play": En segundo término: hubiéramos querido organizar con antelación un shiur sobre Purím en nuestro Beit-Midrásh virtual, en el que compartir los riquísimos significados íntimos de este día, señalado para la reversión de todo mal; como no pudimos llevarlo a cabo, decidimos hoy, en el propio día de Purim, consagrar parte de la noche y de la mañana a grabar para ustedes un shiur que, no por largo, será menos sabroso . Se trata de un recorrido explicado a lo largo de toda la Meguiláh, incluyendo midrashím y proyecciones del relato a nuestras propias vidas, que espero será luz amable y buena y fuente de regocijo para todo quien apetezca los significados dulces y profundos entrañados en cada detalle de la tradición sagrada de Israel.Para atender al "Recorrido guiado por Meguilát Ester" basta, también, con oprimir "Play" a continuación: Espero que les sea grato y de disfrute, y que cada uno de nosotros tenga hoy un Purim lleno de alegría reflexiva, de esa que nos permite contemplar hacia lo Alto, advertir la bendición que se atreve hacia nosotros, y tomarla a manos llenas, para producir otra vez más el "Venahafój Hú" de la Meguiláh: la reversión de todo mal en bien, de toda oscuridad en luz, de toda tristeza en felicidad, de todo frío en calidez, de todo luto en celebración, de todo deseo de bien en satisfacción plena y Redención completa, con el Mashíaj entre nosotros muy pronto, ya en nuestros días, Amén.un abrazo y mis brajót,
daniEl GINERMANN
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Israeli fruit hybrid lowers cholesterol
Israeli study shows red grapefruit lowers cholesterol, fights heart disease
By David Brinn
February 19, 2006
Hebrew University
American Heart Month
Less risk of heart attack for beer drinkers
A grapefruit a day - particularly the red variety - can help keep heart disease at bay, according to a new study by Israeli researchers. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States, and February has been designated as American Heart Month.
The research team led by Hebrew University of Jerusalem Dr. Shela Gorinstein, found patients who ate the equivalent of one grapefruit a day had lower cholesterol levels than those who did not - due to the antioxidants in the fruit. Chronic high blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease.
Gorinstein of the university's Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, collaborated in the study with her long-time research partner Prof. Abraham Caspi, head of the Institute of Cardiology at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot, as well as scientists from Poland and Singapore who participated in laboratory work connected with the project.
"For over 25 years, I've worked researching different foods and diets and their effects on cholesterol. I've done studies on beer, persimmons, hybrids like the pomelit, as well as traditional fruits like apples and pears - all with the goal of finding a diet that will decrease cholesterol," Gorinstein told ISRAEL21c.
The grapefruit study, which strengthens a growing body of evidence supporting the heart-healthy benefits of eating citrus fruit, was published on the website of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and will appear in the journal's March print issue.
"I'm very proud of this study, because it included Israeli scientists, Israel grapefruit and Israeli patients," said Gorinstein.
The study included 57 patients at Kaplan Hospital, both men and women, with hyperlipidemia (high blood cholesterol) who recently had coronary bypass surgery and did not take statin drugs during the study period. According to Gorinstein, statins are commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol.
The patients, equally divided into three treatment groups, were given either a single serving of fresh red grapefruit, white (blond) grapefruit or no grapefruit, along with regular, balanced meals for 30 consecutive days. Israeli Jaffa red Star Ruby and white grapefruit varieties - also available in the US - were used in the study.
This study was very similar to the study that we conducted on the pomelit. But in this case, we used three groups ? Two experimental and one control group," Gorinstein said.
The patients who received either red or white grapefruit showed significant decreases in blood lipid levels, whereas the patients that did not eat grapefruit showed no changes in lipid levels, according to the researchers. Red grapefruit was more effective than white in lowering lipids, particularly blood triglycerides, a type of cholesterol whose elevated levels are often associated with heart problems, Gorinstein reported.
"In both experimental groups, the level of cholesterol was lowered. In addition, the triglyceride level ? Which is a very important factor in arteriosclerosis ? Decreased, considerably more in the group that ate the red grapefruit," she said.
"It is likely that antioxidants in the grapefruits are responsible for their health benefits," says Gorinstein, adding that the red variety generally has higher antioxidants than the white.
"But, perhaps in addition to antioxidants, there may be some other important compounds in red grapefruit which could be influencing the decrease of the triglyceride levels. Future research is very important."
Both the fresh fruit and the juice are believed to be equally beneficial, Gorinstein and her associates say. One cup of fresh grapefruit is roughly equivalent to half a cup of juice.
Grapefruit is known to interact with certain medications - sometimes adversely - so the researchers caution people on prescription medication to consult with their doctor or pharmacist to determine whether their medicine will interact before consuming grapefruit products.
"But, if you can lower cholesterol with natural products instead of medication, then it will be our victory," said Gorinstein.
Refusing to rest on her laurels, the effervescent Gorinstein is already enthusiastically looking ahead to her team's next challenge.
"The next project will be very interesting. We're going to study the effects of exotic fruit on cholesterol."
By David Brinn
February 19, 2006
Hebrew University
American Heart Month
Less risk of heart attack for beer drinkers
A grapefruit a day - particularly the red variety - can help keep heart disease at bay, according to a new study by Israeli researchers. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States, and February has been designated as American Heart Month.
The research team led by Hebrew University of Jerusalem Dr. Shela Gorinstein, found patients who ate the equivalent of one grapefruit a day had lower cholesterol levels than those who did not - due to the antioxidants in the fruit. Chronic high blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease.
Gorinstein of the university's Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, collaborated in the study with her long-time research partner Prof. Abraham Caspi, head of the Institute of Cardiology at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot, as well as scientists from Poland and Singapore who participated in laboratory work connected with the project.
"For over 25 years, I've worked researching different foods and diets and their effects on cholesterol. I've done studies on beer, persimmons, hybrids like the pomelit, as well as traditional fruits like apples and pears - all with the goal of finding a diet that will decrease cholesterol," Gorinstein told ISRAEL21c.
The grapefruit study, which strengthens a growing body of evidence supporting the heart-healthy benefits of eating citrus fruit, was published on the website of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and will appear in the journal's March print issue.
"I'm very proud of this study, because it included Israeli scientists, Israel grapefruit and Israeli patients," said Gorinstein.
The study included 57 patients at Kaplan Hospital, both men and women, with hyperlipidemia (high blood cholesterol) who recently had coronary bypass surgery and did not take statin drugs during the study period. According to Gorinstein, statins are commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol.
The patients, equally divided into three treatment groups, were given either a single serving of fresh red grapefruit, white (blond) grapefruit or no grapefruit, along with regular, balanced meals for 30 consecutive days. Israeli Jaffa red Star Ruby and white grapefruit varieties - also available in the US - were used in the study.
This study was very similar to the study that we conducted on the pomelit. But in this case, we used three groups ? Two experimental and one control group," Gorinstein said.
The patients who received either red or white grapefruit showed significant decreases in blood lipid levels, whereas the patients that did not eat grapefruit showed no changes in lipid levels, according to the researchers. Red grapefruit was more effective than white in lowering lipids, particularly blood triglycerides, a type of cholesterol whose elevated levels are often associated with heart problems, Gorinstein reported.
"In both experimental groups, the level of cholesterol was lowered. In addition, the triglyceride level ? Which is a very important factor in arteriosclerosis ? Decreased, considerably more in the group that ate the red grapefruit," she said.
"It is likely that antioxidants in the grapefruits are responsible for their health benefits," says Gorinstein, adding that the red variety generally has higher antioxidants than the white.
"But, perhaps in addition to antioxidants, there may be some other important compounds in red grapefruit which could be influencing the decrease of the triglyceride levels. Future research is very important."
Both the fresh fruit and the juice are believed to be equally beneficial, Gorinstein and her associates say. One cup of fresh grapefruit is roughly equivalent to half a cup of juice.
Grapefruit is known to interact with certain medications - sometimes adversely - so the researchers caution people on prescription medication to consult with their doctor or pharmacist to determine whether their medicine will interact before consuming grapefruit products.
"But, if you can lower cholesterol with natural products instead of medication, then it will be our victory," said Gorinstein.
Refusing to rest on her laurels, the effervescent Gorinstein is already enthusiastically looking ahead to her team's next challenge.
"The next project will be very interesting. We're going to study the effects of exotic fruit on cholesterol."
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Parashá Trumah
GOOD MORNING!
RABINO KALMAN PACKOUZ
The story is told of a woman called her husband on his cell phone. She said, "Darling, please be careful on your way home. I just heard on the radio that some nut is driving in the wrong direction on the freeway!" Her husband responds with a frustrated, angered edge in his voice, "What do you mean 'some nut'? There are HUNDREDS of nuts driving the wrong way!"
It is good to have confidence in oneself and to have a positive self-image, but we need reality checks in life to make sure that we're not just being arrogant. Therefore, this week's edition is devoted to reality checks ... to humility ... which allow a person to interact with others, seek truth and to know truth.
Q & A: WHAT IS HUMILITY AND WHY DO WE NEED IT?
The Torah tells us that, "... Moses was very humble, more than any person on the face of the earth." The classic question is: Moses wrote down the words of the Torah; how is it possible for him to be humble after the Almighty tells him that he is the most humble man in the world?
The answer lies in the definition of humility. Humility is not being a nebikh - meek, unassertive, a pitiful, downcast loser; humility is knowing exactly what your talents and capabilities are - and recognizing that they and everything else is a gift from the Almighty. Moses understood that he was the only prophet to ever speak "face to face" with the Almighty; he also understood that this level of prophesy was a gift from God. Humility is understanding who you are and what are your capabilities ... and also understanding that your capabilities are a gift from God.
Humility is a requisite for learning Torah. Torah is compared to water -life-giving wisdom which flows to "low places." If one is humble, there is room for Torah to enter; if one is too full of himself, there is little room for anything else.
When one realizes his smallness in comparison with the entire universe and the power of the Almighty, one will have humility. When one realizes the vast amount of knowledge that one is missing and the mistakes that he has already made, he will have humility. When one realizes the frailty of the human body and how even the strongest person eventually becomes weak and dies, one will have humility. The only way to have arrogance is to lack awareness of the total picture of reality. Moses had the highest level of awareness of reality and therefore was the most humble of all men.
Why does a person need humility? A person with true humility will learn from others, will ask questions when he has doubts, and will be open to criticism. When one has humility, he does not feel a need to gain power over others or to feel above them by focusing on their faults. He will not act upon slights and escalate quarrels; he will ask for forgiveness and not blame others. He can see the good in others and therefore, love them. (Love is the emotion of pleasure one feels when focusing on the good in others.)
An arrogant person demands that everything should be exactly as he wishes. He lacks patience and this causes him much frustration and suffering. A person with humility finds it easy to accept things not being the way he would have wished them to be. He focuses on the positive in each situation and circumstance. He has more joy in living.
The humble man stands up for truth and righteousness, unaffected by the opinion of others. He understands the reality of what is important --God, Torah, truth - and not his ego.
Torah Portion of the Week
Trumah
This week's Torah reading is an architect's or interior designer's dream portion. It begins with the Almighty commanding Moses to tell the Jewish people to bring an offering of the materials necessary for the construction of the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary.
The Torah continues with the details for constructing the Ark, the Table, the Menorah, the Tabernacle (the central area of worship containing the Ark, the Menorah, the Incense Altar, and the Table), the Beams composing the walls of the Tabernacle, the Cloth partition (separating the Holy of Holies where the Ark rested from the remaining Sanctuary part of the Tabernacle), the Altar and the Enclosure for the Tabernacle (surrounding curtains forming a rectangle within which was a large area approximately 15x larger than the Tabernacle).
Dvar Torah
The Aron or Ark was made of wood covered on the inside and the outside with gold. The Ark contained the broken tablets as well as the second set of Ten Commandments, the Torah that Moshe wrote and a jar of the manneh. The cover of the Ark was made out of pure gold and had two Cherubs hammered out of the same piece of gold. The Torah states that:
"The Cherubs shall be with wings spread upward, sheltering the Cover with their wings with their faces toward one another; toward the Cover shall be the faces of the Cherubs."
(Exodus 25:20)
Everything that is written in the Torah is coming to teach us lessons for living. What lessons do we learn from the Cherubs?
According to Rabbi Ovadia Seforno, the 15th century Italian commentator, the upward spread wings teach us that the goal of life is to ascend in our spiritual and intellectual quest to understand God and how He interacts with us. The faces of the Cherubs inclined downward toward the Ark which held the Torah to teach us that the means to understand God is through understanding His Torah. The Cherubs faced each other to teach that we must interact with other human beings to both share and clarify the wisdom of the Torah; additionally , we must be responsible to treat each other with respect and responsibility for each other -- to think not only of oneself, but also for others.
Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin comments that the Cherubs were in the form of young children to teach that childhood education should be grounded in the Torah. Just as the cherubs were hammered out of the same block of gold as the Ark cover itself (i.e., they were "one" with the Torah), the young children's education should be based in the Torah. This will give them the values and perspectives they need in order to live as Jews and to want to be a part of the Jewish people and the Jewish future.
CANDLE LIGHTING - March 3
Jerusalem 5:03Guatemala 5:57 Hong Kong 6:09 Honolulu 6:18J'Burg 6:18 Porto 5:26 Los Angeles 5:33Melbourne 7:40 Mexico City 6:24 Miami 6:06New York 5:31 Singapore 7:03 Toronto 5:50
RABINO KALMAN PACKOUZ
The story is told of a woman called her husband on his cell phone. She said, "Darling, please be careful on your way home. I just heard on the radio that some nut is driving in the wrong direction on the freeway!" Her husband responds with a frustrated, angered edge in his voice, "What do you mean 'some nut'? There are HUNDREDS of nuts driving the wrong way!"
It is good to have confidence in oneself and to have a positive self-image, but we need reality checks in life to make sure that we're not just being arrogant. Therefore, this week's edition is devoted to reality checks ... to humility ... which allow a person to interact with others, seek truth and to know truth.
Q & A: WHAT IS HUMILITY AND WHY DO WE NEED IT?
The Torah tells us that, "... Moses was very humble, more than any person on the face of the earth." The classic question is: Moses wrote down the words of the Torah; how is it possible for him to be humble after the Almighty tells him that he is the most humble man in the world?
The answer lies in the definition of humility. Humility is not being a nebikh - meek, unassertive, a pitiful, downcast loser; humility is knowing exactly what your talents and capabilities are - and recognizing that they and everything else is a gift from the Almighty. Moses understood that he was the only prophet to ever speak "face to face" with the Almighty; he also understood that this level of prophesy was a gift from God. Humility is understanding who you are and what are your capabilities ... and also understanding that your capabilities are a gift from God.
Humility is a requisite for learning Torah. Torah is compared to water -life-giving wisdom which flows to "low places." If one is humble, there is room for Torah to enter; if one is too full of himself, there is little room for anything else.
When one realizes his smallness in comparison with the entire universe and the power of the Almighty, one will have humility. When one realizes the vast amount of knowledge that one is missing and the mistakes that he has already made, he will have humility. When one realizes the frailty of the human body and how even the strongest person eventually becomes weak and dies, one will have humility. The only way to have arrogance is to lack awareness of the total picture of reality. Moses had the highest level of awareness of reality and therefore was the most humble of all men.
Why does a person need humility? A person with true humility will learn from others, will ask questions when he has doubts, and will be open to criticism. When one has humility, he does not feel a need to gain power over others or to feel above them by focusing on their faults. He will not act upon slights and escalate quarrels; he will ask for forgiveness and not blame others. He can see the good in others and therefore, love them. (Love is the emotion of pleasure one feels when focusing on the good in others.)
An arrogant person demands that everything should be exactly as he wishes. He lacks patience and this causes him much frustration and suffering. A person with humility finds it easy to accept things not being the way he would have wished them to be. He focuses on the positive in each situation and circumstance. He has more joy in living.
The humble man stands up for truth and righteousness, unaffected by the opinion of others. He understands the reality of what is important --God, Torah, truth - and not his ego.
Torah Portion of the Week
Trumah
This week's Torah reading is an architect's or interior designer's dream portion. It begins with the Almighty commanding Moses to tell the Jewish people to bring an offering of the materials necessary for the construction of the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary.
The Torah continues with the details for constructing the Ark, the Table, the Menorah, the Tabernacle (the central area of worship containing the Ark, the Menorah, the Incense Altar, and the Table), the Beams composing the walls of the Tabernacle, the Cloth partition (separating the Holy of Holies where the Ark rested from the remaining Sanctuary part of the Tabernacle), the Altar and the Enclosure for the Tabernacle (surrounding curtains forming a rectangle within which was a large area approximately 15x larger than the Tabernacle).
Dvar Torah
The Aron or Ark was made of wood covered on the inside and the outside with gold. The Ark contained the broken tablets as well as the second set of Ten Commandments, the Torah that Moshe wrote and a jar of the manneh. The cover of the Ark was made out of pure gold and had two Cherubs hammered out of the same piece of gold. The Torah states that:
"The Cherubs shall be with wings spread upward, sheltering the Cover with their wings with their faces toward one another; toward the Cover shall be the faces of the Cherubs."
(Exodus 25:20)
Everything that is written in the Torah is coming to teach us lessons for living. What lessons do we learn from the Cherubs?
According to Rabbi Ovadia Seforno, the 15th century Italian commentator, the upward spread wings teach us that the goal of life is to ascend in our spiritual and intellectual quest to understand God and how He interacts with us. The faces of the Cherubs inclined downward toward the Ark which held the Torah to teach us that the means to understand God is through understanding His Torah. The Cherubs faced each other to teach that we must interact with other human beings to both share and clarify the wisdom of the Torah; additionally , we must be responsible to treat each other with respect and responsibility for each other -- to think not only of oneself, but also for others.
Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin comments that the Cherubs were in the form of young children to teach that childhood education should be grounded in the Torah. Just as the cherubs were hammered out of the same block of gold as the Ark cover itself (i.e., they were "one" with the Torah), the young children's education should be based in the Torah. This will give them the values and perspectives they need in order to live as Jews and to want to be a part of the Jewish people and the Jewish future.
CANDLE LIGHTING - March 3
Jerusalem 5:03Guatemala 5:57 Hong Kong 6:09 Honolulu 6:18J'Burg 6:18 Porto 5:26 Los Angeles 5:33Melbourne 7:40 Mexico City 6:24 Miami 6:06New York 5:31 Singapore 7:03 Toronto 5:50
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
