The fast of the Tenth of Tebet

This coming Sunday December 23rd, 2012, we will observe the Tenth of Tebet, a fast day, which reminds us of three tragic events. 

1. The main event we remember in this day is the onset of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuḥadnezzar, the King of Babylonia. The siege of the city signaled the beginning of the battle that ultimately destroyed Yerushalayim and the first Bet haMiqdash in the year 586 BCE. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed or sent as captives to the Babylonian exile. The date of the Tenth of Tebet was recorded by the prophet Yeḥezqel, who was already in Babylonia, with the first group of Jews exiled by Nebuḥadnezzar, eleven years earlier than the actual destruction of the Temple.

2. On this day we also remember the death of Ezra haSofer (=the Scribe).  Approximately in the year 516 BCE a group of Jews (roughly forty thousand) came back to Ereṣ Israel with the blessing of the Persian Emperor Cyrus. They were led by Neḥemia and Ezra the Scribe. Ezra had the responsibility to reeducate the Jews who, after more than two generations in exile, had forgotten their language, the Tora and its laws and adopted many customs and values from the Babylonian culture. In the absence of a King or any other political institution, Ezra formed the Anshe Keneset haGedola, the first "Jewish Congress", composed of 120 scholars and prophets. They established many rulings to maintain and retrieve Jewish values. For example, the days of Tora reading, the text of the Amida (main prayer), many decrees to prevent intermarriage and much more. Ezra was considered by the Rabbis as the historic link between the written Tora and the oral Tora. Together with Neḥemia, they began the building of the second Bet haMiqdash. Ezra died on a 9th of Tebet. He was regarded by our Rabbis as second to Moshe Rabbenu.

(To be continued...)  

Click here to read 

Talking to your kids about the Connecticut school shooting.

by Yvette Alt Miller, from Aish

TEFILA: Opening the eyes of the blind

ברוך אתה ה´ אלוקינו מלך העולם, פוקח עורים.

As we explained last week, the Birkot haShaḥar are the blessings which we say following the different daily events that we experience as we wake up in the morning. These berakhot help us identifying these occurrences and seeing them as miracles that we witness every day.  

Previously (see this), we talked about awakening from sleep, which the rabbis described  as a sort of resuscitation or revival (consciousness),  and listening to the rooster (hearing), appreciating its God-given ability to differentiate between nocturnal and diurnal cycles (see here).   

Today we will examine the third blessing, poqeaḥ ivrim, which was originally established to be said when we open our eyes for the first time in the morning (sight). The berakha says: "Blessed are You, HaShem, our God, King of the Universe, Who opens (the eyes of) the blinds". 

When we are asleep our sense of sight does not function. We don't see not because our eyes are closed. Actually, many people might sleep with their eyes open and they still won't see. The rabbis understood then that during sleep we are "virtually" blind, and in the morning, we recover our sense of sight. Upon realizing this "miracle" we say the blessing, poqeaḥ ivrim, acknowledging that God has equipped our bodies with these amazing abilities.    

This berakha also helps us to value the preciousness of our sense of sight. Normally, we take for granted that we see.  Unless we have a problem with our eyes, we don't stop every day to think (and thank!) for the privilege of seeing.    This berakha, when said with the proper kavana or understanding, inspires us to value what we have while we have it. Moreover, by acknowledging God (and not just nature) as the One responsible for our sight, this berakha enables us to discover and acknowledge HaShem's Presence behind this daily routinely events, keeping our minds more focused on Him.

If Good and evil exists, God exists.  

 by Peter Kreeft, 

Professor of Philosophy at Boston College 

(from Prager University). 

THE KETUBA: The husband's financial obligations

The Ketuba is the document that records the obligations of the Jewish husband toward his wife. In previous weeks we explained the general duties that the Tora stipulates for the husband (see here) while married.  Today we will begin to examine the financial obligations that the husband undertakes towards his wife. Particularly the monetary compensation that the wife would eventually receive in case, God forbid, of dissolution of the marriage.  

The value of this compensation is calculated according to three elements.

1. Iqar Ketuba or the "main" sum of the Ketuba

2. Nedunya, or dowry

3. Tosefet/tosafot, or addition/s.

1. The "main" Ketuba specifies the amount of money determined by Jewish law as the minimum compensation that the wife is entitled to receive from her husband or his estate in case of  dissolution of the marriage.  There is a discussion among the rabbis if this compensation is a Biblical (Rashi) or a Rabbinical (Maimonides) duty. This amount, also called mohar, consists of two hundred zuzim.  Although the present monetary value of these two hundred zuzim is a matter of discussion among scholars, in the times of the  Talmud  two hundred zuzim was the amount a person needed to maintain himself during a year (food, clothing), i.e., a minimum year's salary.    

1a. In many communities, the husband also adds to this minimum amount an extra sum ("tosefet ketuba") , which is an increment to the mandatory basic financial obligation. The amount of this increment is set at will or following the local customs. This is done as a gesture of love and appreciation from the husband to the wife. 

Again, the sum of money mentioned in the Ketuba is not related to any transaction or any money the husband actually pays to the wife or her family. It is a marriage insurance. The wife eventually collects the Ketuba if the marriage is dissolved by divorce or by death of the husband.  The man therefore, states that he accepts these financial obligations upon himself- in case of divorce- and upon his heirs - if he dies.

(To be continued...)

A hero in Connecticut 

by Rabbi Shraga Simmons, 

from Aish