Al Reguel Ajat

The Mishnah, the first written work of Jewish oral tradition, contains in its fourth book, «Nezikin,» which means «damages,» everything related to civil and commercial law. In the Talmud, ten tractates comment on the topics discussed in Nezikin. And for civil law alone, three of those ten were required. These tractates are: Bava Kamma, which means «the first gate,» deals with damages to persons and their property, loans and interest, and stolen goods; Bava Metzia, «the middle gate,» deals with lost and recovered property, fraud, usury, buying and selling, leasing, and the rights of wage earners; and Bava Batra, «the last gate,» deals with real estate, possessions, inheritances, partnerships, evidence, and testimony.

The Shulchan Aruch, the most widely used code of laws and precepts in Judaism, codifies in its fourth and final book, Choshen Mishpat, «Body of Judgment,» the laws of public, criminal, and private law discussed by our sages in Nezikin and its ten tractates in the Talmud. Choshen Mishpat is the least known of the four books of the Shulchan Aruch, for the simple fact that it is rarely used in daily Jewish practice. In most cases, when a legal matter arises, these are resolved within the laws of the country of residence.

Jewish civil law is a rather complicated subject. Not so much because of the number of laws it comprises, which are many, but because of its moral undertones. People are very zealous in defending their property. But this defense cannot be seen in isolation from the general moral code that governs the well-being of the entire society. Jewish law seeks, in a just and practical way, to strike a balance between the well-being of society at large and the property rights of an individual. This is the ethical foundation of civil law, as set forth by our sages.

Where do these commandments come from? From verses in the Torah, such as Exodus 22:9: «In every kind of fraud, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, garments, or anything lost, of which it may be said, ‘This is it,’ the case of both shall be brought before the judges; and whoever the judges find guilty shall pay double to his neighbor.” Some scholars, such as Frankel, believe that most of the legal cases dealt with in Talmudic law are similar to those in the Roman code. It should be remembered that the Mishnah was compiled during the time of Roman rule. But there is an important difference between the two codes: the Roman method seeks a single universal legal principle, while the Talmud is distinguished by legal promulgations based on specific cases, presented with precision and creativity, but with an ethical foundation.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: The Jewish Encyclopedia, The Steinzalt edition of the Talmud, and other sources.

“It is customary to blame secular science and anti-religious philosophy for the eclipse of religion in modern society. It would be more honest to blame religion for its own defeats. Religion declined not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant, boring, stifling, insipid. When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendor of the past; when faith becomes a relic instead of a living spring; when religion speaks only in the name of authority instead of with the voice of compassion, its message is meaningless.” Thus begins Abraham Joshua Heschel his book, “God in Search of Man.”

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) was born in Poland to a Hasidic family. He was descended from a prominent line of rabbis, on both his father’s and mother’s sides. He was educated in the traditional Orthodox manner, for which he received the title of rabbi, Smicha. He later earned his doctorate from the University of Berlin and was ordained as a liberal rabbi at the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, where he studied with Chanoch Albeck, Ismar Elbogen, and Leo Baeck.

In October 1938, he was arrested in Frankfurt by the Gestapo and deported to Poland. Six weeks before the German invasion, Heschel managed to reach London with the help of Julian Morgenstern, president of the Hebrew Union College. Unfortunately, his entire family perished in the Holocaust. Back in the United States, in 1940, he began teaching at the Reform seminary in Cincinnati and in 1946 accepted a position as professor of Jewish ethics and mysticism at the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary, where he worked until his death.

In addition to writing a series of works that greatly influenced Jewish theology, Heschel was an activist in major social movements. He marched in Salem with Martin Luther King Jr., advocating for the rights of people of color. He said that walking with King, «it seemed as if his legs were praying.» He said that «racism is man’s gravest threat to man: the greatest hatred for the least reason.» He also actively opposed the Vietnam War. He represented the American Jewish community at the Second Vatican Council, where he successfully eliminated ancient discriminatory prayers and practices of the Catholic Church regarding the Jewish people. He argued that no religious community could claim a monopoly on religious truth. For him, «the opposite of goodness was not evil, but indifference.»

In his book «The Sabbath,» Heschel distinguishes between the «kingdom of space» and the «kingdom of time.» He argues that in our daily lives, we first attend to what our eyes perceive, what our fingers touch. Reality is translated into objects that occupy space. Time, on the other hand, is not perceived by the eyes nor can it be touched by the fingers. Many religions believe their deity resides in space, in cathedrals, rivers, or mountains. In the realm of space, one has power over things, but in the realm of time, one is oneself. The highest goal of spiritual life is not the accumulation of things, but sacred moments. What God first designated as sacred was not a thing or a place, but a time: the Sabbath. Judaism, says Heschel, teaches us to appreciate the sanctity of time. For Heschel, Jewish cathedrals are palaces in time, not in space.

By Marcos Gojman:

Bibliography: Abraham Joshua Heschel: “God in Search of Man,” “The Sabbath,” and other sources.

Reform Judaism was founded in Germany in the early 19th century, as a result of the Emancipation that brought Jews out of the ghetto and gave them equal rights. The first Reform synagogue was founded in Seesen, Germany, in 1810, and in the United States, it was founded in Charleston in 1836.

From its beginnings, classical Reform Judaism eliminated the mandatory observance of the commandments. It views Judaism as a constantly evolving revelation, where its ethical aspects are more important than its rituals. It places greater importance on its members having a personal spiritual experience than on adhering to a set of established beliefs and rites. Reform Jews engage in dialogue with tradition, listen to it, and then practice their Judaism in their own way. This highly individualistic stance resulted in a lack of clear principles governing the general conduct of its members, which allowed for a great diversity of rituals in their temples.

They introduced unison prayer in the country’s language, the use of the organ and a choir, weekly sermons, the attire of the rabbi and the chazzan that imitated Christian pastors, and encouraged Friday night services to allow their members to continue with their work on the Sabbath. They consider the teachings of the biblical prophets to be central to Judaism, so Tikkun Olam, the betterment of the world, is central to their community activity. They rejected the concept of Judaism as a people and considered themselves citizens of the Jewish religion, thus opposing the Zionist movement.

In the wake of the tragedy of the Holocaust, the establishment of the State of Israel, the situation of Soviet Jewry at the time, and especially the effect that the Six-Day War had on the entire Jewish world, the movement changed. The new Reform Judaism now accepts that they are part of a global Jewish community, and therefore participates in and supports Israel in all areas. They also propose a «return to tradition,» reintroducing customs that held sentimental value, such as the Bar Mitzvah ceremony or using more Hebrew in prayer, although their members and congregations have the final say. They promote complete equality in terms of gender and sexual preference. Their Outreach program seeks to attract mixed marriages, with the goal of integrating non-Jewish couples. In 1983, they recognized that Judaism could be transmitted through both the mother and the father, as long as the children receive a Jewish education. Their pluralistic stance attracted new members, making it the largest Jewish movement in the United States.

In 1999, they adopted the «Declaration of Principles of Reform Judaism» in Pittsburgh, which was approved after heated discussion among delegates. Even so, each community and each member of Reform Judaism is free to follow these principles or not. The recommendations of the governing bodies of the Reform movement are not binding. Eugene Borowitz tells us: “Reform Jews can choose for themselves not only what they believe but also how they should act as Jews. This freedom of choice is unusual in religion, because most religions emphasize discipline and obedience.” In the Reform movement, everyone can design their own Judaism like a custom-made suit.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Explaining Reform Judaism, by Eugene B. Borowitz and Naomi Patz, and other sources.

The rabbis’ great achievement after the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) and the failed Bar Kokhva rebellion (132 CE) was to adapt Judaism so that it was no longer tied to the Temple and now based its existence on portable elements, such as the Torah, prayer, and halakha, among other things. The rabbis sought to ensure that people everywhere could learn about Judaism in a simple way, for which they wrote midrashim, short writings that sought to explain religious rules (Midrash Halakha) or non-normative topics (Midrash Agadah).

The Agadah, which in Hebrew means to relate, covers a wide range of topics. They range from interpretations of biblical texts, legends that do not appear in the Bible, stories developed about biblical characters and their achievements, sermons that were given in ancient synagogues, fragments of popular folklore, anecdotes about the lives of the wise men and their times, and all rabbinic thought in general, such as their ideas about God, creation, the reason for the commandments, etc., in addition to popular topics about magic, angels, demons, folk medicine, astrology, and others.

The rabbis wrote these midrashim from the late Second Temple period until after the 11th century CE, and they can be found in a large number of texts, such as the Midrash Tanhuma, written between the 7th and 10th centuries CE, which in its section Pekudei 3 tells us: “Before a human being begins to form in his mother’s womb, God decrees what he will ultimately become: male or female, weak or strong, poor or rich, short or tall, lanky or handsome, skinny or fat, humble or daring… But God does not decide whether a person will be righteous or wicked, a matter that He leaves to man. Then He orders the angel in charge of souls in Paradise to bring Him a particular soul and asks it to enter the drop of semen the angel holds in his hand. The soul resists, saying… Why do you want me, who am pure and holy, to enter that drop?” fetid? God answers: The world I am about to bring you into will be more beautiful than the one in which you have lived. The soul enters the drop and the angel leads it to the mother’s womb. Once inside, the angel lights a lamp so that the new being can see the world from one end to the other. The angel then leads her to the Garden of Eden, where he shows her the righteous seated in glory with crowns on their heads. Do you know who they are, the angel asks? No, my lord. In the beginning, all these you see were formed like you in the mother’s womb. Then they went out into the world and fulfilled the precepts of the Torah, which is why they earned the merit of being here. Just so you know, said the angel, in the end you too will leave this world.”

In this small section alone (the Midrash is much longer) we find a wealth of concepts and values ​​that, as Maimonides said, must be approached metaphorically, not literally. This narrative is not found in the Bible. It comes from the creativity of one of our sages. They were interested in understanding all facets of the world and, in the case of this midrash, explaining what it takes to be a righteous man. Studying midrashim is embarking on an extraordinary journey that leads us to the profound values ​​of Judaism.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Sefer Ha Aggadah, by Chaim Nachman Bialik and Yehoshua Hana Ravnitzky, and other sources.

Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern religious movement based on the ideas developed by Mordechai Kaplan (1881-1983). Its beginnings date back to 1922, when Kaplan founded the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, a synagogue in New York City where he brought together a group of Jews dissatisfied with other congregations and who committed themselves to «reconstructing» Judaism.

Kaplan rejected the belief that the Torah and the Talmud had been revealed by God at Mount Sinai, so that observance of the commandments of halacha was not obligatory. Reconstructionism understands Judaism as a religious civilization that has progressively evolved and changed throughout its existence. The faith of the ancient Israelites during the time of Solomon’s Temple is not the same as that of the early rabbis of the Mishnah, and both are different from the faith of Western Jewry today.

This civilization is more than just a religion. For them, the Jewish people share a memory and a historical destiny, a homeland, a language, a culture, ethics, a philosophy, customs, literature, and art, in addition to a religion. They believe that the Jewish people must actively participate in this continuous evolutionary movement of Judaism. They reject the classical concept of God and redefine it as the sum of all natural forces and processes that allow humanity to self-realize and improve morally. They also do not accept the idea of ​​the chosen people, considering it a morally unsustainable concept. They affirm that Judaism is indeed unique, but that does not imply superiority over other peoples.

They consider halacha to be a valuable cultural heritage that must be preserved, unless there is a compelling reason to change it. Reconstructionism promotes many traditional Jewish practices, such as using Hebrew in prayer, wearing the kippah, tallit, and tefillin, observing the holidays, and studying the Torah, although it does not consider these to be commandments but rather customs with historical value. It is a completely gender-egalitarian movement and recognizes a person as Jewish whether they are descended from a Jewish mother or father, as well as those who have converted by choice. They do not accept the traditional concept of the Messiah or the resurrection of the dead at the end of time.

Kaplan did not see the need to create another movement within Judaism, but his followers realized that this was the only way to realize their vision. In 1940, they established the Reconstructionist Foundation, in 1954 the Federation of Reconstructionist Congregations, and in 1968 the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. Reconstructionism uses the foundations and bricks inherited from the past, rearranging them and adding new elements to adapt them to the needs, values, and tastes of current generations, but without undermining their richness or altering them beyond recognition. Reconstructionists give the past a vote, but not a veto.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Material from the Federation of Reconstructionist Congregations and other sources.

No one questions that the Seder is the central ritual of the Passover holiday. It is written in Exodus 13:8: “Thus you shall recount to your son on that day, because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.” From this verse comes the commandment to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt on the night before the 15th of Nissan.

Initially, the Torah clearly indicated that Passover was to be celebrated by eating a roast lamb, matzah, and bitter herbs. People arrived in Jerusalem, and the Temple was the only place where lambs were sacrificed and roasted. But this changed when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple, and the sacrifices were canceled. The first mention of a Seder service for Passover night is in the Mishnah’s tractate Pesachim, chapter 10. In it, the sages specify several commandments: one must wait until nightfall to eat the roast lamb, one must drink four cups of wine, one must eat a vegetable soaked in water before eating the matza, and then one must eat a mixture of apples, walnuts, and wine. When pouring the second cup, the son must ask the father why this night is different from the others, why only unleavened bread (matza) is eaten, why bitter herbs are eaten, why only roasted meat is eaten, and why vegetables are soaked twice. The Mishnah then mentions that Rabban Gamliel, head of the Sanhedrin in 90 CE, said: «He who has not mentioned these three words: Passover, Matza, and Maror, has not fulfilled his duty.» Finally, the last two cups must be drunk with the meal. An important change to what was specified in tractate Pesachim was the prohibition of eating roast lamb, as this could not be done due to the lack of a Temple to sacrifice the animal. For the same reason, the third question was changed, and now the question is raised about why we eat reclining.

But where do all the elaborate rituals we practice today at the Seder come from? Some scholars argue that the Seder rituals are based on Greco-Roman customs. Siegfried Stein, in particular, argues that the rituals were borrowed from the Hellenistic banquet or symposium, albeit with a change in content. While the Greeks and Romans discussed beauty and love while eating, the sages spoke of the Exodus from Egypt and Divine redemption.

The Passover Haggadah is not a book in the classical sense of the term. It is a collection of literary works from different periods. It contains biblical passages, psalms, hymns, blessings, rituals, prayers, explanations of rituals, stories, dialogues, and rabbinic literature.

Some explain that celebrating the Seder is the true reason God brought the Israelites out of Egypt: so that the story could be told every year. David Hartman argues that the Haggadah turns parents into storytellers. It is parents who connect their children with their historical roots. By retelling the Exodus, we learn to commemorate moments of family and national crisis and to celebrate with gratitude our transition to a better life. The Haggadah is undoubtedly much more than just telling a story.

By Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: Articles by David Golinkin, Siegfried Stein, David Hartman, and others.

King David is credited with establishing the first Hebrew orchestra and choir. Most of the musicians and singers were from the tribe of Levi. It is recorded in Chronicles 1:15 that David asked the Levites to appoint singers from among them to sing joyful songs accompanied by musical instruments such as the lyre, harp, and cymbals. The Mishnah (Ar. 2:6) states that, in the Second Temple in Jerusalem, «there were never fewer than twelve Levites on the platform [as a choir], but there was no limit to the maximum number of singers.» After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the sacrificial rite was canceled, and with it the music that accompanied it.

Even though the core elements of Jewish tradition survived the destruction, the musical culture of the Levites was lost. Yet Jews always longed for the sounds of a choir in religious services. Even Maimonides, the great Jewish philosopher of the 12th century, permitted a choir to sing God’s praise in the synagogue and on religious holidays. In the Middle Ages, some Ashkenazi services included two singers alongside the cantor, providing musical support with chords, rhythm, and harmony. The first choirs in a synagogue were established in the 16th century. Choirs of six to eight members sang prayers such as «Aleinu,» «Ein Keloheinu,» and «Adon Olam.» Some opposed this practice, but Solomon Hazzan of Metz, in his manual for cantors, stated that, «just as it is impossible for the earth to exist without wind, a chazan cannot exist without choristers.»

The most celebrated composer for synagogue choirs of this period was Salamone Rossi (1570–1630), court musician to the Dukes of Mantua. Rossi published a collection of thirty-three Jewish motets, in the style of late Italian Renaissance music. However, it was not until the 19th century, with the emancipation and enlightenment of European Jews, that choral singing became a regular feature of the synagogue.

Soon, composers of religious music emerged, such as Solomon Sulzer (1804–1890) and Louis Lewandowski (1823–1894). Male a cappella choirs were also formed in Orthodox synagogues, such as that of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888) in Frankfurt. The first choir in the United States was organized in 1818, in New York City, at Congregation Shearith Israel. In 1897, the Reform movement published its first collection of music, comprising 129 hymns for four-part choir. At the end of the 19th century, secular Jewish choirs emerged that were not affiliated with a synagogue. They sought to express Jewish cultural identity. The first was the Hazomir, founded in 1899 in Lodz.

From its beginning, the Reform Jewish movement promoted male and female choirs. In contrast, the Orthodox movement does not allow mixed choirs, based on an interpretation by the Sage Shmuel in Berachot 24a, which considers a woman’s voice as «nakedness.» He relies on the Song of Songs 2:14, which says: «Let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet.» This position is questioned by many scholars. Salomon Sulzer argued that synagogue service needed to be restored without losing its historical foundations.

The original forms of the liturgy had to be rediscovered and the demand for music in prayer met without losing its Jewish character. Music has always been part of the religious service. If not, ask King David.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Articles by Jonathan L. Friedmann, Rabbi Raymond Apple, and other sources.

The Shield of David, or Magen David in Hebrew, is a six-pointed star formed by two equilateral triangles with the same center and facing opposite each other, forming a hexagon inside. This figure has been used as an ornament and also as an amulet since the Bronze Age, in places as far away as Mesopotamia, Great Britain, and India. Its use was very common in the Middle East and North Africa. It occasionally appears in Jewish designs, such as a stone relief in the synagogue of Capernaum, dating from the 4th century CE, but it was only an ornamental element. At that time, the closest thing to a symbol representing Judaism was the Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum.

Among the most common talismans people wore were the 5-pointed star and the 6-pointed star. For a long time, both were known by a single name: «Solomon’s Seal» (Jotham Shlomo). But in the 13th century, a legend became popular according to which King David wielded a shield engraved with the «Great Name» (a combination of sacred names that protected him from his enemies). The Great Name on the Shield of David gradually replaced the Seal of Solomon, but in such a way that the stylized lines of its text followed the design of the 6-pointed star. The 5-pointed star continued to be called «Solomon’s Seal,» and the 6-pointed star «Magen David,» the Shield of David.

In 1354, the Jewish community of Prague, with the permission of Emperor Charles IV, was the first to include the Magen David on its official flag. That flag flies to this day at the Altneuschul, Prague’s oldest synagogue. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Jewish communities in Bohemia, Moravia, Austria, and southern Germany used the Star of David as their seal. The symbol appears on tombstones and synagogues, in the same sense that the Church used the cross. At the beginning of the 19th century, its use spread from Central Europe to Poland and Russia.

In the Middle Ages, Jews were required to wear an identifying badge, but the closest thing to the six-pointed star was an asterisk-shaped insignia. In the 19th century, the Star of David was adopted as its symbol by the Zionist movement at its 1897 congress, giving it a presence throughout the Jewish world. In the 20th century, unfortunately, the Star of David became even more entrenched as a symbol of Judaism when the Germans used it as an identifying badge, forcing them to wear the yellow star on their clothing. After the Holocaust, the Star of David became part of the flag of the nascent State of Israel.

The Star of David is the symbol most associated with Judaism today, although, like its symbol, it is relatively new. It supposedly represents the shape of David’s shield, but there is no evidence to prove this. Furthermore, the Star of David is not mentioned at all in the Bible or the Talmud. It is very rare to find it in an illustrated book from ancient times. Scholars have tried to find some religious significance in it, but in reality, it has none.

The Star of David as a design is very old, but, like the quintessential symbol of Judaism, it is relatively recent.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Encyclopaedia Judaica and other sources.

The beginning of a new month, Rosh Chodesh in Hebrew, was determined in ancient times by observation. The beginning of a new month was marked by the appearance of the new moon or crescent moon. Observers would report their sighting to the Sanhedrin, and after verifying this with two witnesses, the Sanhedrin would proclaim the beginning of the new month. This was very important, as it served as the basis for celebrating the other festivals of the Hebrew calendar. The Sanhedrin would send messengers to announce when the month had begun. The appearance of the moon was announced the next day with the sound of the shofar and was celebrated with family feasts.

It is written in Exodus 12:1-2: “And God spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ‘This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it shall be the first month of the year for you.’” This verse indicates, for the first time, that the year is divided into months. And Numbers 10:10 says, “On the great occasions, at the festivals and on the days of the new moon, you shall blow the trumpet over your offerings and your fellowship sacrifices; and this shall be for you as a reminder before your God.” Aside from the blowing of the trumpets and the sacrifice, the Torah does not establish any other rituals or commandments for celebrating Rosh Chodesh, which was the Jewish response to the pagan festival of the moon god, a very common celebration in that ancient time.

Today, “Birkat HaChodesh,” “the blessing of the new moon,” is a ritual widely observed in synagogues around the world. On the last Shabbat of the Hebrew month, the cantor raises the Torah scroll and announces the day of the week on which the new moon, Rosh Chodesh, will fall. Another ritual, «Birkat Halevanah,» involves going outdoors, contemplating the crescent moon at the beginning of the month, and blessing and praising God for the new moon (Sanhedrin 41b).

In the Talmud (Hagigah 18a), Rosh Chodesh is mentioned as a holiday on which work is permitted, unlike other holidays, such as Shabbat. However, elsewhere in the Talmud (Megilah 22b), they comment that Rosh Chodesh is a holiday on which people do not work and that they could therefore remain in the synagogue longer. This contradiction was resolved by medieval Talmudic commentators, such as Rashi and the Tosafot, explaining that men could work, but women could not. The Shulchan Aruch, in its laws of Rosh Chodesh, section 1, states that work is permitted, but that it is a «good» custom for women not to work. There is a legend that tells that when the Israelites were about to create the golden calf, the men asked the women for all their jewelry and gold to melt it down. The women refused to give them their jewelry, and God rewarded them with a special holiday: Rosh Chodesh.

Today, women who do not work on Rosh Chodesh form groups that gather to celebrate the holiday through prayer, ritual, study, song, and discussion of topics relevant to women. It’s like a Shabbat exclusively for women.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Material from the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, Women of the Wall, and other sources.