Why do we light a Yizkor Candle?
Yizkor Derasha, Pesach 5758
It has only been about two weeks since we were shocked to find out about the tragic deaths of Rabbi Jake and Debbie Rubinstein of Scarsdale New York. One particularly horrific aspect of this tragedy is the cause of death. They died through fire. There was no illness, no period of waiting to allow them to in some sense come to terms with their deaths. There was just a sudden, unexpected, overwhelming, overpowering and utterly destructive fire.
What strikes me on this Yizkor morning two weeks later, the first Yizkor after their deaths as their family and community are just going through the initial stages of grieving is the way in which we will memorialize them and all of our departed loved ones. Besides reciting Yizkor, we do one act. Most of us did it last night as Yom Tov came in. We light a candle, a little fire. Most of us have candles lit at home and if look in the back of the sanctuary you will see hundreds of little electric candles that were lit by our lamplighters in memory of Beth Sholom members who are no longer with us. And my question this morning is very simple; Why? Why do we take the fire, which can be and was so destructive just two weeks ago and has killed so many jews throughout the ages; Why do we take the destructive force and use it to memorialize our loved ones?
In order to answer this question, I think we need to take a step back and understand the significance of fire in the Torah.In the Torah, Fire is present at almost every important communication between God and the Jewish People. At the brit bein habetarim, God is represented by a לפיד אש – a flaming torch which blazed through animals that Avraham had cut in two. And how does God first appear to Moshe? At a bush set on fire. At the revelation at Sinai, the mountain is said to be full of smoke because God descended upon it in Fire. Finally, God leads Israel through the desert for 40 years with an עמוד אש a pillar of fire.
So if it is true that Fire is present at almost every important moment in Jewish History, then why is it missing during the most holy day of the week. We all know that there are 39 categories of prohibited work on shabbat. But the only prohibition that is explicitly mentioned in the Torah is לא תבערו אש בכל משבתיכם ביום השבת – Do not light a fire in all of your dwelling places on shabbat. Shabbat is sandwiched between fire. We light a fire right before shabbat with the Shabbat candles and we light a fire right after shabbat (Havdalah).But on shabbat itself there is no fire. If fire is so holy and Shabbat is the holiest time, then the absence of fire on Shabbat is glaring.
Perhaps we can offer the following thought which will help explain the nature of fire and Shabbat. Everyone knows that without Fire, there is no civilization. Fire is necessary for light, for cooking, for fuel, for building. Fire is therefore understood as the symbol of creativity and ingenuity. This is the reason that at almost every important moment in the Jewish people’s historical relationship with God, fire is present. When God appears to Abraham, he is asking Abraham to be the builder of a new nation. It is about holy building, fire is therefore present. At Har Sinai, the Jewish People are given the Torah. The Torah is meant to be used as a blueprint for the jewish people to create a state and build a home in the land of Israel. It is all about holy creating, fire is therefore present. But then it comes to shabbat and the point of shabbat is to stop creating. To turn inward, to catch our spiritual breath and gain an inner balance. Fire is therefore absent on shabbat.
There is a very important idea in Judaism which I think is applicable to our understanding of fire. Judaism teaches us that anything that has tremendous power for good (כח לטוב), also has potential to be very bad, very destructive (כח לרע). That is why the same fire which creates, which provides food, which builds, also has the power to destroy. The same power which brings so much joy also brings pain and suffering. Fire is either really good or really bad. It is never pareve, never neutral.
To some extent, the same can be said of relationships with parents and close relatives. I never heard of someone who had a pareve relationship with their parents. I never heard someone say, “My parents, they are alright. It is ok to spend time with them, nothing special, but it is alright. At times, you are so drawn to your parents like a candle which provides light and warmth. But at other times, the relationship might be difficult and then it is like a fire which is overwhelming and overpowering; you need to be away.
Perhaps that is why we light a yizkor candle. The fire is contained but it has a bright glow. The candle represents the neshama of a person because fire represents the life force, the creativity. And now during yizkor we remember the loved one during those times when their light was a guide providing warmth and comfort.
I would like to conclude with a fascinating halakhic dispute concerning the lighting of the Yizkor candle and it has to do with when and how you light the candle. When did you light the yizkor candle? Most of us probably lit the candle last night right after we lit the Yom Tov candles. The problem is that there is actually a halakhic problem with lighting the yizkor candle. This is because even though it is permitted to kindle a light on Yom Tov (from an existing flame), it is only permitted if we need the fire for cooking, for warmth or for light. But if just light it for the sake of lighting a candle, it is called a נר של בטלה a light that serves no purpose and it is forbidden to light this kind of candle on Yom Tov, even from an existing flame. Therefore the question about whether one may light a yizkor candle on Yom Tov was raised in the beginning of the 19th century and it was actually the subject of a debate.
Rabbi Meir Eisenshtat was asked whether or not a yizkor candle may be lit and he said that it is forbidden. Ironically, the name of the book that records this prohibition of kindling the Yizkor candle on Yom Tov is called אמרי אש which means The Sayings of Fire. So the Imrei Eish would have told all of us last night that we should not light our yizkor candles.
But then a few years later in the middle of the 19th century, Rabbi Abraham Sofer, the son of the famous Chatam Sofer was asked the same question. And I think that he understood the spiritual and emotional need of children to light the Yizkor candle for their parents. But he also knew the law. And the law said that if a candle was not going to be used to enhance the simcha of Yom Tov that it could not be kindled on Yom Tov even if it was for a memorial. He therefore he came up with the following compromise. He said that the Yizkor candle could be kindled on Yom Tov. But that it needs to be placed on the table where people would eat or read and thereby use the candle to enhance the simcha of Yom Tov. I think that some of us might be taken aback by Rabbi Abraham Sofer’s suggestion. We should use the Yizkor candle? Doesn’t it represent the soul of our departed loved ones? Isn’t it holy?
But I think the suggestion is beautiful. It teaches us that we need to take the light which represents the soul, the life and creative force of our parents and grandparents and use it to provide light in our own lives.
In this vein, I would like to offer a possible ritual that we can adopt which will not only make our lighting of the Yizkor candle conform with halakha, it will also provide a powerful ritual in the spirit of Yizkor. This afternoon, take a few minutes and open up a Jewish text or a book that your parents or grandparents thought was very important. Maybe a parsha from chumash, the shema or a favorite Psalm or Prayer, maybe a mishna from Avot or even something from secular literature. Sit down next to the yizkor light and use the flame that represents their neshama and learn the text. And as your learning, imagine that they are there with you and learning with you BeChavruta – in partnership. What kinds of questions would they ask about the text? What kinds of insights would they derive from the text and take this as an opportunity to allow their light to still shine in the world and to help guide you in your life today.
My berakha to us all on this Yizkor morning is that the lessons that we have learned and continue to learn from our parents and grandparents be passed down to our children, grandchildren and all of the Jewish people for many generations to come. And if that happens, the light of their souls will always burn. Chag Sameach.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Seder Seminar class #2 - "Mah Nishtanah: The Four Questions"
The "Mah Nishtana" is always an enjoyable part of the seder because it is often recited by our young children. In this class we will examine the "ma nishtana" and come to realize that many of us are really missing the point in forcing our children to memorize "the four questions."
To listen to the class, click here
To download the source sheet, click here
To listen to the class, click here
To download the source sheet, click here
Monday, March 24, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Is the Law immutable? (Purim Sermon 5758)
For the first 20 or 30 years of the Reform Movement, in the early 19th century, most of the movement’s reforms were relatively minor, from a halakhic perspective. They included; a sermon in the vernacular, a mixed male and female choir accompanied by an organ, and a combination of Hebrew and German prayers. From the point of view of Jewish law, these reforms were relatively small in scale.
Yet one rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Sofer (commonly knows as the Chatam Sofer) fought these reforms with all of his energy. His most famous anti-reform slogan was “Chadash Assur Min Hatorah” – which means anything new, any innovation whatsoever (even one that was a minor halakhic change) is 100% forbidden. To put it another way, for the Chatam Sofer, Change = Transgression and Jewish Law never changed and never should change.
The Chatam Sofer had his reasons for using this slogan and employing this strategy in combating reform. But it is interesting to ask whether or not the slogan is true from an historical perspective. Is it the case that from the moment that the Jews received the Torah at Mount Sinai, Jewish Law has never changed?
Since today is Shushan Purim, I would like to analyze this question in light of Megilat Esther.
There is a tiny word, just 2 letters that is the most common and most important word in Megillat Esther. The word is Dat (דת). It is a word that is used in Israel today to distinguish between the religious and the secular. The word for one who is secular is חלוני and the word for one who is religious is דתי. But דתי and דת means more than just religious. It means a religious law. Under the Chupah, the chatan says to the kallah, הרי את מקודשת לי בטבעת זו – With this ring, you are betrothed to me, כדת משה וישראל according to the religious Law of Moshe and Israel.
The megilah depicts an Ancient Persia that is obsessed with דת ודין. – with laws
There is a law for everything: There is a law telling you what happens to Vashti when she refuses to show up upon the king’s request. There is a law concerning how much makeup and perfume a woman must wear before she appears before the king. There is even a law telling you how much alcohol you must drink at the King’s party.
But ancient Persia is not unique because it had many laws. It is unique because these laws were immutable. In the language of the Megilah, these laws were לא יעבר – they could not change.
Much of the Megillah is satire. It is satire in the sense that it makes fun of many of the practices of Ahasuerus’ royal court; the drinking, the corruption, the rash way that decisions are made.
I would argue that the aspect of Ahasuerus’ court that is most ridiculed by the Megilah is the idea that laws cannot be revoked, they are immutable.
This theme runs through the Megilah. In the beginning of the story, Ahasuerus gets upset at his wife Vashti and he makes a decree that she shall never again appear before him. Of course after he calms down and sobers up he realizes that he loves and misses her and he wants her back. This shouldn’t be a problem. He should have been able to simply change his mind and forgive her. The problem was that his decree was לא יעבר. It could not be revoked; it was immutable. He therefore tragically loses his wife forever.
The story continues. Haman convinces Ahasuerus to allow him to issue a genocidal decree against the Jews. On the 13 of the month of Adar, the non-jews were to get up and kill all of the Jews; men, women and children.
We all know what happens. Esther invited Ahasuerus and Haman to a party and “outs” Haman as the one who is trying to kill her people. Ahasuerus orders that Haman be killed and then Esther asks Ahasuerus to revoke the decree of Genocide against her people. And here Ahasuerus does something very strange. Instead of revoking the original decree of genocide, he issues a second decree which allows the Jews to get up and defend themselves. And why doesn’t Ahasuerus just revoke the first decree? Because he cannot כי כתב אשר נכתב בשם המלך...אין להשיב – a decree issued by the King cannot be revoked. The law is immutable. And therefore a second decree permitting the Jews to defend themselves must be issued. And what is the result of this silly provision which doesn’t allow the king to revoke his own decree after he changes his mind? In the process of defending themselves, the Jews had to kill 75,000 people. 75,000 people are killed because a law cannot be changed. This is satire but I have to say, it isn’t funny. When laws are immutable, tragedy occurs.
So if Megillat Esther makes fun of Ahasuerus and Ancient Persia for having immutable laws, why is the common perception that Halakha, or the Jewish Legal system is immutable?
So here is the controversial statement that is the crux of my talk: It is a mistake to say that Halakah has never changed. The History of Halakha is a history of innovation and change. It is true that there is a body of law that is immutable. That goes back to Mount Sinai. These laws are known as Halakha L”Moshe M’Sina. Laws of Moshe which go back To Sinai. But the Rambam, in his introduction to his Legal Work, the Mishna Torah teaches us that besides for those laws which goes back to Sinai there is an even larger body of laws that “were not received from Moses but rather were innovated in every generation using the 13 principles of Biblical Exegesis.
For the Rambam, it is very important for us to believe that a core group of laws go all the way back to Sinai. This gives us stability, authenticity and it anchors us in a direct line going all the way back to Moses and the giving of the Torah. But that is not sufficient. Because if the law remains immutable then it is not a Torat Chayim, a Living Breathing Torah which is relevant to people in every generation regardless of changes that are taking place in the world. Therefore, again using the term of the Rambam, the rabbis of each generation are מחדש – they innovate laws for their time.
How does the law change? When can it change? Who can make it change? These are all important questions and I hope to teach on this topic in the future. But for this morning, I think that the following statement is sufficient. One of our obligations on Purim is to recognize the major difference between Ancient Persian culture and Judaism. Both cultures are centered on law. But for the Persians, Law is immutable and for the Jews, the Law is a Torat Chayim; an expanding, adapting, living, breathing organism.
I would like to conclude with a rather famous passage from the Talmud which I now understand in a new light. The Talmud teaches us that when the Jewish people originally received the Torah, G-d picked up Mount Sinai like an inverted barrel and said to us, “if you accept the Torah fine but if not your burial will be there.” In other words, the Torah was coerced upon us. It was an immutable Law forced upon us that will never change. And there is this tremendous moment of tension in the Talmud. For if the Torah was forced upon us then we never willingly accepted it and the deal is off.
But then Rava, the great Talmudic Sage saves the day. He quotes a verse from Megilat Esther that says קימו וקבלו. The Jews reaccept the Torah at the time of Ahasuerus and this time they do it willingly, out of love. Because the Torah the Jews accept on Purim is contrasted with the Law of Persia. It is a living Torah; One that adapts, lives and breathes and is accepted by all of Israel willingly as a guide for life.
I hope that on this Purim we can all reaccept the Torah as a Torat Chayim; a torah which is meaningful and relevant to every aspect of our lives.
Shabbat Shalom and Shushan Purim Sameach!
Yet one rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Sofer (commonly knows as the Chatam Sofer) fought these reforms with all of his energy. His most famous anti-reform slogan was “Chadash Assur Min Hatorah” – which means anything new, any innovation whatsoever (even one that was a minor halakhic change) is 100% forbidden. To put it another way, for the Chatam Sofer, Change = Transgression and Jewish Law never changed and never should change.
The Chatam Sofer had his reasons for using this slogan and employing this strategy in combating reform. But it is interesting to ask whether or not the slogan is true from an historical perspective. Is it the case that from the moment that the Jews received the Torah at Mount Sinai, Jewish Law has never changed?
Since today is Shushan Purim, I would like to analyze this question in light of Megilat Esther.
There is a tiny word, just 2 letters that is the most common and most important word in Megillat Esther. The word is Dat (דת). It is a word that is used in Israel today to distinguish between the religious and the secular. The word for one who is secular is חלוני and the word for one who is religious is דתי. But דתי and דת means more than just religious. It means a religious law. Under the Chupah, the chatan says to the kallah, הרי את מקודשת לי בטבעת זו – With this ring, you are betrothed to me, כדת משה וישראל according to the religious Law of Moshe and Israel.
The megilah depicts an Ancient Persia that is obsessed with דת ודין. – with laws
There is a law for everything: There is a law telling you what happens to Vashti when she refuses to show up upon the king’s request. There is a law concerning how much makeup and perfume a woman must wear before she appears before the king. There is even a law telling you how much alcohol you must drink at the King’s party.
But ancient Persia is not unique because it had many laws. It is unique because these laws were immutable. In the language of the Megilah, these laws were לא יעבר – they could not change.
Much of the Megillah is satire. It is satire in the sense that it makes fun of many of the practices of Ahasuerus’ royal court; the drinking, the corruption, the rash way that decisions are made.
I would argue that the aspect of Ahasuerus’ court that is most ridiculed by the Megilah is the idea that laws cannot be revoked, they are immutable.
This theme runs through the Megilah. In the beginning of the story, Ahasuerus gets upset at his wife Vashti and he makes a decree that she shall never again appear before him. Of course after he calms down and sobers up he realizes that he loves and misses her and he wants her back. This shouldn’t be a problem. He should have been able to simply change his mind and forgive her. The problem was that his decree was לא יעבר. It could not be revoked; it was immutable. He therefore tragically loses his wife forever.
The story continues. Haman convinces Ahasuerus to allow him to issue a genocidal decree against the Jews. On the 13 of the month of Adar, the non-jews were to get up and kill all of the Jews; men, women and children.
We all know what happens. Esther invited Ahasuerus and Haman to a party and “outs” Haman as the one who is trying to kill her people. Ahasuerus orders that Haman be killed and then Esther asks Ahasuerus to revoke the decree of Genocide against her people. And here Ahasuerus does something very strange. Instead of revoking the original decree of genocide, he issues a second decree which allows the Jews to get up and defend themselves. And why doesn’t Ahasuerus just revoke the first decree? Because he cannot כי כתב אשר נכתב בשם המלך...אין להשיב – a decree issued by the King cannot be revoked. The law is immutable. And therefore a second decree permitting the Jews to defend themselves must be issued. And what is the result of this silly provision which doesn’t allow the king to revoke his own decree after he changes his mind? In the process of defending themselves, the Jews had to kill 75,000 people. 75,000 people are killed because a law cannot be changed. This is satire but I have to say, it isn’t funny. When laws are immutable, tragedy occurs.
So if Megillat Esther makes fun of Ahasuerus and Ancient Persia for having immutable laws, why is the common perception that Halakha, or the Jewish Legal system is immutable?
So here is the controversial statement that is the crux of my talk: It is a mistake to say that Halakah has never changed. The History of Halakha is a history of innovation and change. It is true that there is a body of law that is immutable. That goes back to Mount Sinai. These laws are known as Halakha L”Moshe M’Sina. Laws of Moshe which go back To Sinai. But the Rambam, in his introduction to his Legal Work, the Mishna Torah teaches us that besides for those laws which goes back to Sinai there is an even larger body of laws that “were not received from Moses but rather were innovated in every generation using the 13 principles of Biblical Exegesis.
For the Rambam, it is very important for us to believe that a core group of laws go all the way back to Sinai. This gives us stability, authenticity and it anchors us in a direct line going all the way back to Moses and the giving of the Torah. But that is not sufficient. Because if the law remains immutable then it is not a Torat Chayim, a Living Breathing Torah which is relevant to people in every generation regardless of changes that are taking place in the world. Therefore, again using the term of the Rambam, the rabbis of each generation are מחדש – they innovate laws for their time.
How does the law change? When can it change? Who can make it change? These are all important questions and I hope to teach on this topic in the future. But for this morning, I think that the following statement is sufficient. One of our obligations on Purim is to recognize the major difference between Ancient Persian culture and Judaism. Both cultures are centered on law. But for the Persians, Law is immutable and for the Jews, the Law is a Torat Chayim; an expanding, adapting, living, breathing organism.
I would like to conclude with a rather famous passage from the Talmud which I now understand in a new light. The Talmud teaches us that when the Jewish people originally received the Torah, G-d picked up Mount Sinai like an inverted barrel and said to us, “if you accept the Torah fine but if not your burial will be there.” In other words, the Torah was coerced upon us. It was an immutable Law forced upon us that will never change. And there is this tremendous moment of tension in the Talmud. For if the Torah was forced upon us then we never willingly accepted it and the deal is off.
But then Rava, the great Talmudic Sage saves the day. He quotes a verse from Megilat Esther that says קימו וקבלו. The Jews reaccept the Torah at the time of Ahasuerus and this time they do it willingly, out of love. Because the Torah the Jews accept on Purim is contrasted with the Law of Persia. It is a living Torah; One that adapts, lives and breathes and is accepted by all of Israel willingly as a guide for life.
I hope that on this Purim we can all reaccept the Torah as a Torat Chayim; a torah which is meaningful and relevant to every aspect of our lives.
Shabbat Shalom and Shushan Purim Sameach!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Maimonides Class - Essay on Resurrection
To Listen to the Lecture Click Here
To download the source sheet Click Here
The Essay on Resurrection is the Rambam's response to accusations that had been made against him that he did not believe in Resurrection of the Dead. It deals with the nature of the Resurrection, the world to come, reward and punishment and miracles. It is a fascinating letter because, at points, the rambam shows his personal frustration and pain over being accused of heresy.
To download the source sheet Click Here
The Essay on Resurrection is the Rambam's response to accusations that had been made against him that he did not believe in Resurrection of the Dead. It deals with the nature of the Resurrection, the world to come, reward and punishment and miracles. It is a fascinating letter because, at points, the rambam shows his personal frustration and pain over being accused of heresy.
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