Spirituality Tips Guides

The Talmud cited the following incident: There was once a food shortage in Nehardea. All the people sold their mansions. Eventually, wheat arrived and Rav Nachman told them that the law is that the mansions must be returned to their original owners.

The Talmud notes that the reason why sales are void is because they were made in error, since it became known that the ship carrying the wheat was waiting in the port at the time the mansions were sold.

The Talmud in the daf yomi adds that this would explain the following conversation: Rami bar Shmuel said to Rav Nachman, if you rule like this, you will cause them trouble in the future. Rav Nachman replied that a food shortage is not common, and therefore we need not worry about the next one. Rami bar Shmuel retorted that a food shortage in Nehardea is indeed a common occurrence!

There are many legal issues that this Talmud is used to resolve.

Reuben desperately needed an operation and he desired a certain expert doctor to perform the surgery. The hospital told him that he presently was outside of the country, and will only be returning the following week. Reuben vowed an enormous amount of money to charity if the surgeon would return earlier than he originally intended. As soon as he uttered those words, the doctor was standing by his bedside. He told Reuben that he had decided to shorten his vacation. The question was asked - was Reuben obligated to fulfill his vow? Perhaps, he was not required to give the money to charity, for at the time that he pronounced the vow, the doctor was already in the country.

There was a certain city where a terrible edict was issued against the residents. They sent a message to a well-known Rabbi, who was famous for delivering miracles through his prayer. The Tzadik agreed, but requested of them to send a certain amount of money that he would be able to distribute to the widows and orphans residing in his city. A short amount of time after they sent the money, they received a letter that the decree had been cancelled. The city was overjoyed. However, one resident sent a letter to the Maharsham saying that perhaps, they should get their money back because he noticed that the date on the letter stating that the decree had been cancelled was before they actually sent the money. It appears that the giving of the money was erroneous.

Reuben and Simon bought two lottery tickets together. They made up that they each would share the winnings of each ticket. The reason for this decision was based on the Talmud in Bava Metzia that states that the mazal of two people together is better than one. After the lottery numbers were chosen, Reuben went to Shimon attempting to switch the deal. He said, let us each keep the winnings of our own individual ticket. Reuben did this because he already knew that the ticket that he was holding was chosen and he would receive fifty thousand dollars. Simon agreed to this new deal. The reason that Simon agreed was because the ticket that he was holding was chosen, and he would now receive the full share of a two hundred million dollars. Can Reuben now retract from the second deal?

Based on the decision of the Talmud, in all three cases it would seem, the money does not transfer when a deal was made after the circumstances causing deal are no longer prevalent.

Billy Kite is a researcher writing on behalf of the source for Gemara Brachos - Shema Tefilla and
Daf Yomi review.

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) was a Dutch Jew born in Amsterdam. He is more commonly referred to by the Latin version of his name: Benedict de Spinoza.
Early in life he acquired a deep interest in the philosophy of Rene Descartes and other ideas that conflicted with Judaism.

He was formally excommunicated from his Synagogue at the age of 24. He became leader of a small circle of philosophers and he supported himself with a “day job” grinding and polishing lenses.

In perhaps his most famous writing, Tractatus Theologica Politicus (published in 1670) he made the fundamental error that is characteristic of modernism. This error was to divide faith from reason. Spinoza thus broke with the leading authority of medieval Jewish thought, the famous rabbi, Maimonides (1135-1204).

Maimonides correctly asserted that faith and reason are compatible. Spinoza’s rejection of the compatibility of faith and reason set the stage for the rejection of faith by the Jewish intellectuals and philosophers who would follow him.

This division of faith from reason is a false dichotomy. It has led to the modernist error that claims that science and philosophy are rational but divine revelation is mere superstition. The Bible, however, is a book of faith based on rational proof. The Bible is the record of God speaking to humanity.

God backed His words with signs, wonders, miracles and predictive prophecy. The Bible is a record of real miraculous events that occurred among real people in real history. It is not a mere list of commands and philosophical statements to be apprehended only by faith.

Miracles occurred in ancient times in the lives of Abraham, Moses, Elijah and others. We have their written testimony. One major category of miracle that we can rationally apprehend in our own time is predictive prophecy. The Bible contains over two thousand predictive prophecies.

Some of these prophecies were fulfilled in ancient times and their fulfillments are recorded in history. Other prophecies were fulfilled in postbiblical times and some Bible prophecies are being fulfilled in current events in our own time.

One example of prophetic fulfillment is the restoration of the Jews to the land of Israel which is the fulfillment of a number of Bible prophecies. Predictive prophecy is like God’s signature on the Bible.

Christians claim that over three hundred Bible prophecies were fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth whom Christians believe to be the promised Messiah.

No other holy book of any other faith has any thing like the Bible’s record of predictive prophecy. The Bible stands alone in its accuracy of predictive prophecy.

Predictive prophecies and other signs and wonders give powerful reasonable, rational proof that God is indeed speaking through the pages of the Bible. It is on this solid rational foundation that the heart can respond by faith to believe and obey God. Faith and reason are not contradictory.

By contradicting Maimonides, Spinoza did the same damage to Judaism that Gentile modernist philosophers did to Christianity. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) contradicted the synthesis of faith and reason espoused by Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) with the same devastating results.

The denial of the rational basis for Judaism and Christianity led to the abandonment of these faiths by the intellectual classes. The abandonment of the faith ultimately led to the abandonment of morality. The mass murder of millions under communism and fascism is the legacy of modern secularism.

Interestingly, Spinoza, in his final work Ethica (1677), details a complex philosophy with strong monistic (pantheistic) overtones similar to Hinduism. His life therefore is a picture of the progression from Torah Judaism to modernist reason to eastern pantheism. Many Jews in recent times have made that same tragic journey.

So towering a figure is Spinoza that much of Jewish religious thought and philosophy since can be understood as a series of responses to his writings. Spinoza’s influence on Abraham Geiger and Reform Judaism is undeniable.

Other Jewish thinkers such as Samson Raphael Hirsch, Zecharias Frankel, Hermann Cohen, Leo Baeck, Jewish existentialist philosopher Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Mordecai Kaplan and Abraham Heschel all felt Spinoza’s influence.

(A major source for this article is Prof. David B. Ruderman’s lecture series Jewish Intellectual History 16th to 20th Century.)

Bill Nugent has written many articles on Christianity, philosophy and science. He has also written books that give Bible based teaching on sanctification and that caution against the error of legalism. His books are available at his website www.gracelawandsonship.com.

The 7-branch menorah is one of the oldest symbols of the Jewish faith. It is found mostly in temples and synagogues, often up front as an item by itself, and also as a design in stained glass windows, ceilings & wall murals, paintings, sculptures, and more. Interestingly, increasingly some churches also have seven branch menorahs in their sanctuaries to remind them of the menorah that once stood in the Temple in Jerusalem. Although, this should not be such a surprise bearing in mind the menorah’s place in the Hebrew scriptures and the role of the Old Testament in the life of the church & Christian.

In addition, menorahs are popular as display items in both Jewish & Christian homes, and can also be found in schools, museums, art galleries just to mention a few. Unlike the 9-branch hanukkah menorah, the 7-branch menorah has no Shamash (servant), and it has just seven branches; that is because the purpose of the 9-branch hanukkah menorah is to remember the miracle of the oil at hanukkah, whereas the 7-branch menorah is a symbol of the Jewish faith and was always present in the Temple when it stood in Jerusalem.

The 7-branch menorah is made according to the commandment in Exodus 25:31-40. Priests would light it every evening and clean it every morning. Jewish sages teach that this menorah was the vessel that G-d used to blend the spiritual life that is to come with the physical life of this world. Ultimately, the purpose of this menorah is not to illuminate the temple but to spread its light throughout the world. It is a symbol of the nation of Israel and it is a physical reminder of the commandment in Isaiah 42:6 to be a light to the nations. This commandment, given originally to the people of Israel, is often used by Christians to justify the requirement upon them to spread their faith and the gospel, hence, again, the significance of the menorah for them again.

The 7-branch menorah can be of any size. For example, one of the largest menorahs stands in front of the gates to the Knesset building in Jerusalem. It was erected as a reminder of the indestructibility of the Jewish people; a truth that has borne true time and time again despite persecution, wars, and even assimilation. It was the 7-branch menorah that was lit after the Maccabees had their victory and rededicated the Temple, and the oil they found that was only enough to burn for one day actually lasted for eight while more oil was being made and consecrated.

The seven branch menorahs found today can be lit with oil or candles (special glass oil containers with special wics are required for oil burning), and there are even some that are electric; in addition, they can be of any size, ranging from 4″ to over 4 feet. There are various styles of menorahs, with the more popular being the “Large Cups Menorah” which is considered closest to that found in the Temple long ago, the “12 Tribes Menorah” which carries the symbols of each of the 12 tribes of Israel, and various contemporary designs. Many of these menorahs are made in India, so ask before you buy because there is a big difference in quality, weight, and how they are made!

Adam Barnett works for Studio Shofar Judaica & Gifts, and hopes to help educate the judaica market to better understand judaica products in general. Visit us to learn more about seven branch menorahsand other judaica items at www.studioshofar.com/menorahs.html

Shabbat, blessing or bother? Take the time to learn a little about this often ignored concept, invest in a few salient pieces of judaica to enhance your experience, and sit back and experience something that can transform your life!

The most important commandment in the Torah is to observe and keep the Shabbat, the Sabbath Day. The commandment was first alluded to in Genesis 2:1-3 and then officially given to the Israelites in Exodus 20:8-11. The Hebrew word “Shabbat” literally means “seven,” and the LORD commanded Israel and all future generations to observe Shabbat (the seventh day) and keep it holy, which means from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

Traditionally, Jewish families who observe Shabbat will light two candles on Friday evening just before the sun goes down. The woman of the home will light the candles, move her hands over the lit candles three times, then cover her eyes as she says the b’racha (blessing) that welcomes the Shabbat into the home:

“Baruch ata adonai, eloheynu melech ha-olam, asher kidd’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu l’hadleek ner shel Shabbat.”
Blessed art thou, O L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us by thy commandments and has commanded us to light the sabbath lights.

Once the b’racha has been said, the woman can take her hands from her eyes and look at the lit candles, then say, “Shabbat Shalom!” This reason for this specific ceremony, repeated all over the world in Jewish homes every Friday night, is often unknown by the woman doing it! In Judaism, one must always say a b’racha (blessing) before doing an action, and so, before the candles are lit the Shabbat b’racha must be said. However, once the b’racha has been said it is Shabbat, and it is not allowed to light the candles, since lighting a fire is considered “work.” How to get around this? The woman of the home lights the candles, covers her eyes so that she cannot see them, says the b’racha to welcome in the Shabbat, and then, voila, removes her eyes to see the candles which are wonderfully lit!

After the candle-lighting there are readings and songs, as well as a b’racha over a kiddush cup of wine, followed by a b’racha over two plaited loaves of bread, called challah, which is broken and eaten during the ceremony. Challah is special because it is made with an egg in addition to water and flour. It often rests on a special challah plate or tray and is covered with a challah cloth which can come in many different designs. There are two loaves of challah to remember that the Israelites, after they were freed from Egypt by HaShem, were fed by manna in the wilderness each day, but on the sixth day there was a double portion given so that they would not have to work to gather food on the seventh.

Following are the blessings over the wine and the challah:
“Baruch ata adonai, eloheynu melech ha-olam, borey p’ree ha-gafen”
Blessed art thou, O L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

“Baruch ata adonai, eloheynu melech ha-olam, ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz.”
Blessed art thou, O L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the ground.

The Shabbat ceremony is then followed by a Shabbat meal, which is normally a good meal with a nice tablecloth and the best tableware/flatware. It is also considered a “mitzvah,” a blessing, to have guests to stay for Shabbat dinner.

As Shabbat draws to a close at dusk on Saturday, the havdalah ceremony commences. During this ceremony, the father of the family lights a havdalah candle with multiple wicks. He then places his hands on either side of the flames so that there is light on his palms and darkness on the backs of his hands. He praises G-d for the separateness between the light and the dark, the Jewish people and the other nations, and Shabbat and the other six working days of the week. He says a b’racha over the candle, a b’racha over a kiddush cup of wine, and a b’racha over a spice box filled with sweet-smelling spices. To conclude the Havdalah ceremony, the candle is doused in the cup of wine and everyone says, Shavuah Tov! Have a good week!

To help you celebrate Shabbat there are many beautiful judaica items available online. Take a few minutes to browse through challah covers, challah plates, Shabbat candlesticks, kiddush/wine cups, havdalah sets, candlelighting artwork and so much more. Plus, there is wonderful music to enrich your experience by gifted musicians bringing spiritual songs such as L’cha Dodi, Barchu, Shema, and Shalom Aleichem, just to mention a few, into your home.

Adam Barnett works for Studio Shofar Judaica & Gifts, and hopes to help educate the judaica market to better understand judaica products in general. Visit his website to learn more about shabbat and other judaica items at www.studioshofar.com/shabbat.html

A shofar is a natural instrument made from a ram’s horn (ashkenazi shofar) or an African antelope yemenite shofar). In ancient times, it was blown during religious ceremonies as well as a signal for battle. Today, shofars are blown during the high holiday services, during Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur. Sometimes educators will bring a shofar into school to teach on the ancient traditions, and increasingly more and more Christians are using shofars during their worship times. Besides these regular uses, a shofar makes a great gift for bar or bat mitzvah, birthday, anniversary, marriage and more, because it helps reinforce Jewish heritage, and the values of Judaism, and many a home has a shofar on display.

Shofars in general measure from about 7″ to 52″, measured along the curve. The sound is affected by the length of the shofar along the curve, the size of the mouthpiece, thickness of the shofar, size of the twist/curve, and, of course, the person playing it. In general, the larger the shofar, the easier it is to blow, the deeper the sound you’ll get from it, and the more tones, but this does not always hold true and sometimes there are radical exceptions to the rule!

One thing to note is that many shofars have a distinctive odor, particularly the yemenite shofars which are more difficult to clean. If the smell is bothersome, it can be cleaned with a mixture of sand, vinegar and water, which should be shaken around inside, then rinsed and dried off. It is strongly recommended that no form of lacquer or other permanent substance be poured down the inside of the shofar, since this can cause irreversible damage.

A quality shofar will produce a good sound without an additional mouthpiece, and it is not recommended to put a mouthpiece into a shofar since it is a natural animal product and it’s sound and variance in tones are all part of its distinction. In addition, because it is a natural animal product, all shofars have some form of nicks, dents, and/or scratches; remember, it has been knocked around by an animal for a long time before you ever saw it! The only thing that is not acceptable is a crack going through to the inside of the mouthpiece, since this can stop it being played properly.

When you decide to purchase a shofar, make sure you buy it from a company that’s willing to provide customized service. For instance, you may want a very large, fully polished shofar that will be used primarily as a display, or you may want one that gives the most number of tones and/or highest volume for a synagogue. You may want the shofar for a young child, so it must be easy to blow and produce sound, or you may want one for yourself that has a specific tone to it.

A good shofar seller will work with their customers individually to find the perfect shofar for each person, and will even encourage them to call or email if they have any questions at all about their shofar purchase. Not all shofars are created equal and come from quality manufacturers, so don’t be shy to ask questions before you buy!

Adam Barnett works for Studio Shofar Judaica & Gifts and hopes to help educate the judaica market to better understand judaica products in general. To discover more about the wonders of shofars first hand, visit the shofar shop at Studio Shofar Judaica & Gifts.

Children, as well as adults, love to play the Dreidel Game during Hanukkah (also spelt Chanukah), and a wide range of dreidels can easily be purchased online at judaica shops. The selection and variation of styles available can be overwhelming, but the game played with them is always the same!

A dreidel (also spelt draydel and draydle) is a four-sided top or any shaped spinning item with four Hebrew symbols on it. The symbols are each a different Hebrew letter: nun, gimel, heh, and shin. These four letters stand for the words: nes, gadol, hayah, and sham. The translation of these four words is: “A Great Miracle Happened There.” In Israel, the last letter on the dreidel is peh instead of shin. This last letter stands for the word poh, which changes the meaning to: “A Great Miracle Happened Here.”

To play the Dreidel Game, you start with a “pot” in the middle. The “pot” can be made of candy, coins, chocolate gelt, or any other small thing of value, although most times children play with gelt. Gelt is the Yiddish word for “money,” but in this context, gelt often refers to chocolate coins widely available during Hanukkah. Each player is given a certain amount of gelt and puts one piece into the center to start the “pot.” The players then take turns spinning the dreidel, and whichever side faces up (or whichever Hebrew letter is pointed to) when it stops spinning determines what you do:

If the letter NUN is facing up, you do NOTHING.
If the letter SHIN is facing up, you PUT ONE piece of gelt into the pot.
If the letter HEH is facing up, you TAKE HALF the gelt from the pot.
If the letter GIMEL is facing up, you TAKE ALL the gelt from the pot.
If ever the pot is empty, each player puts one piece of gelt into the center. When a player runs out of gelt, he or she is out of the game! The winner is the last one left in.

Some dreidels are hollow and can be filled with candy or chocolate. Some play music when they spin. And still others can be stacked on top of one another as they spin. They are made from many different materials, including plastic, wood, ceramic, glass, gold, and silver. The plastic versions cost as little as ten cents, but gold and silver dreidels can cost in the hundreds of dollars. Even though dreidels are mostly enjoyed by children, no matter how young or old, many adults collect ornate and beautiful dreidels, and display them in china or curio cabinets.

“L’dor l’dor” means “from generation to generation,” and it refers to the importance of passing down traditions and religious practices to your children. Hanukkah is one of best times to pass down your Jewish traditions to your kids because of how many resources there are, and how much fun the holiday is.

Fortunately, it’s easy to help your kids enjoy and understand the Hanukkah season, and to get them involved in Hanukkah activities. Of course, most popular is the dreidel game. If your kids don’t have dreidels, buy at least one for each of them and teach them how to play. If you want to encourage their artistic side, you can get dreidels your kids can color and decorate themselves, or even ones that they can build themselves such as the new clay dreidel that can be molded, dried and then painted before it is played with.

Other activities during the Hanukkah season include reading Hanukkah books, eating candy and gelt, coloring, putting together puzzles, sending out Hanukkah cards, making cookies with Hanukkah cookie cutters, playing with Hanukkah stickers, and more. Kids can even get Hanukkah yo-yos that play traditional songs like The Dreidel Song, which begins, “I have a little dreidel.”

It is common for each child in the family to have their own Hanukkah menorah to light. But if you have kids who are too young to light candles, then you may want to consider some of the kid-friendly menorahs available today. For instance, there are stuffed menorahs with flames that Velcro on, and thin plastic ones that stick to the window and have separate plastic flames that can be attached.

Because the Hanukkah season is so festive, there are big parties and family gatherings. Many families give their children a present each night of Chanukah and decorate their homes with blue and white festive decorations and electric lights, often shaped like dreidels. Gifts run the gamut from gelt to clothing, from hanukkah toys and crafts to video games.

Some families choose to get and fill Hanukkah bags for their kids so they don’t feel left out when their non-Jewish friends receive gifts and candy in stockings. Again, all of these wonderful items are easily available online as you shop from your armchair, and you can shop to your heart’s content as you plan on making this a hanukkah for your kids to remember with hanukkah toys, activities, dreidels, puzzles, cookie cutters, menorahs, and more.

Adam Barnett works for Studio Shofar Judaica & Gifts, and hopes to help educate the judaica market to better understand judaica products in general. Visit his website to learn more about hanukkah, hanukkah toys, crafts, games & more at www.studioshofar.com/hanukkah.html