Al Reguel Ajat

Moses ben Mendel was born in 1729 in Dessau, Germany. His childhood in the ghetto was like that of many poor young men who devoted themselves to the study of the Talmud, hoping to become rabbis, as some of their ancestors had done. He studied in Hebrew and spoke Yiddish at home. In 1743, his teacher, Rabbi David Frankel, was appointed chief rabbi of Berlin and Moses decided to follow him to that city.

With the help of his teacher, Moses was able to stay in Berlin. After a few years of living in poverty and devoting himself to study, he finally managed to become the tutor of the children of Isaac Bernhard, a wealthy silk manufacturer. This allowed him to eat regularly and, most importantly, to develop new circles of friends outside the Jewish community. Within five years, Moses ben Mendel had learned German, French, Greek and Latin. By breaking the language barrier, he had also broken the ghetto mentality.

He began to write about philosophy and soon became prominent in Berlin’s intellectual circles. It was then that he changed his name to Moses Mendelssohn. At that time he entered a philosophical competition organized by the Royal Academy in Berlin, where he won first place. Second place went to Immanuel Kant.

For anyone who came to Berlin, meeting Mendelssohn was a prerequisite for acceptance in intellectual circles. One such newcomer was Johann Kaspar Lavater, a German-speaking Swiss. In 1769, Lavater translated Charles Bonnet’s book “Palingenesis” into German. Lavater dedicated his translation to Mendelssohn, but it was more of a dedication than a challenge. He asked Mendelssohn to read the book and publicly refute the author’s arguments, which basically claimed that Christianity was the only valid religion, and if he could not refute it, he should do what should be the right thing to do: convert to Christianity.

For Mendelssohn, the challenge was a terrible event. It broke one of the paradigms of his life. For him, the way each person approaches God was a private matter and also implied respect for the religion of others. Now he was exposed to the eyes and comments of everyone. Mendelssohn answered him: “There comes a time in a person’s life when he has to decide on some fundamental issues. This happened to me a few years ago in relation to religion. I have read, I have compared, I have reflected and I have made a decision: there is nothing that will make me change my belief in Judaism. I have extraordinary friends who do not profess my faith and at no time have I heard them say that it is a pity that my soul is going to be lost for not belonging to their church.” Without offending Christians, Mendelssohn was true to his convictions.

Mendelssohn not only wisely faced the challenge of Lavater, but also the greater challenge of leaving the ghetto and integrating into civil society, and he did so without losing his Jewish roots at all.

Prepared by Marcos Gojman .

Bibliography: Emancipation by Michael Goldfarb, Encyclopaedia Judaica and other sources.

As Chassidism spread throughout Eastern Europe, its followers encountered a very strong opposition movement from the majority of the more traditional rabbis. They were called the Mitnagdim (contrarians). The leader of the Mitnagdim was undoubtedly Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797), a brilliant scholar. He wrote around 70 works on various religious and secular subjects. Born in Vilna, the capital of Lithuania, the Gaon demonstrated extraordinary talent from childhood. By the age of twenty, rabbis were consulting him to resolve difficult halachic problems. Although he was unable to do so, he did succeed in getting a group of his students to make aliyah and settle in the Land of Israel.

When Chassidism came to Vilna, the Gaon, along with other rabbis, confronted it by issuing a decree of excommunication, “cherem,” against the Chassidim (1777). Bitterness and animosity ran deep in the two camps. Each group attended its own synagogue, had its own teachers, and generally only intermarried.

The Gaon was concerned that the Kabbalistic part of Chassidism would bring about the advent of another false messiah like Shabbetai Zvi. He also resented the Chasidic concept that God is in everything, making everything equally holy. He regarded the exaggerated veneration of the Rebbe or the Tzaddik as idolatry. And he was concerned that they did not devote themselves to deep Torah study. Chassidism was made up mostly of poorly educated Jews, and he feared that scholarship would be replaced by dancing and singing. A religion that for him was the synthesis of heart and mind could become pure heart with no mind at all.

These differences lasted for more than 30 years. Seen from a historical perspective, the battle against the Hasidim was a complete failure. Not only did Hasidism not disappear, but it spread even further throughout Europe. Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, the Gaon’s most prominent disciple, finally admitted that the Hasidim were not heretics and that the differences were more conceptual and in the way of educating. Rabbi Chaim himself founded the Yeshiva of Volozhin in his hometown, which revolutionized the way of studying the Torah. It moved away from the traditional informal way of studying, creating a structured system of learning, with well-prepared teachers. What began as opposing movements ended up sharing the same values.

By: Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: The Jewish Encyclopedia and other sources.

In the 18th century, the Jews of Eastern Europe, mainly in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and other surrounding areas, were in a state of great depression as a result of the massacres of the Cossack Bohdan Khmielnicki, the persecution of the Church, the disillusionment with false messiahs such as Shabbetai Zvi and the negative treatment they received from the oligarchy that presided over the community, made up of rabbis, scholars and the wealthy.

In response to this, groups arose, especially among artisans, who broke away from the rabbinically dominated Kehilot and formed communities with their own synagogues and new forms of religious practices, such as meditation and lyricsless melodies, nigunim, for prayer. There also arose preachers who went from town to town, who did not teach Torah or Talmud, but a kind of popular Kabbalah, using Hasidic tales to convey profound messages with simple stories.

One of them was Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov (Besht) the “Lord of the Good Name” (1698-1760), who soon attracted these masses of poorly educated Jews. He maintained that all men were equal before God, both the ignorant and the great scholars, that purity of heart was more important than study and that devotion in prayer and fulfilling mitzvoth was more important than formal and cold practices. He said that Divine Energy was in everything.

The “Besht” must have been a very charismatic character, because he managed to unite the groups that opposed the rabbis and integrate them into the movement that we now know as Hasidism. Professor Abraham Rubinstein called it “the first great revolution in Judaism since the time of the Second Temple.” The Besht did not write any books and what we know of him is due to his disciples, who wrote down his teachings, despite the teacher’s opposition. After his death, his student Dov Ber of Mezhirich systematized his Hasidic teachings, aligning them with the mysticism of the great Kabbalist Isaac Luria and attracting a large number of followers.

The Besht’s disciples spread throughout the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe and established Hasidic groups that were led by a “Tzadik,” the spiritual leader. The members of these groups faithfully followed their Tzadik. Upon the death of a Tzadik, it was usually his son who succeeded him, thus giving rise to the great Hasidic dynasties, which exist to this day, such as the Satmer, Chabad Lubavich, Gur, Beltz and others.

The rabbis and leaders responded by forming an opposition movement, the Mitnagdim, opposed to the ideas and practices of the Hasidim. For a long time both currents coexisted simultaneously in the same places, each practicing their own style of Judaism. Hasidism had become established as a new way of understanding and practicing Judaism.

By Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: “Yiddish Civilisation” by Paul Kriwaczek, “The Jewish Religion” by Louis Jacobs, The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia and other sources.

The history of Jews in Poland dates back more than a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the center of Jewish culture, thanks to a long period of religious tolerance and social autonomy. From its founding in 1025 until the years of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century, Poland was the most tolerant country in Europe. It had become a refuge for Jews persecuted and expelled from Europe. By the mid-16th century, three-quarters of the world’s Jews lived in Poland.

The first great emigration of Jews from Western Europe occurred at the time of the First Crusade in 1098. In the 13th century, the Polish government encouraged Jewish immigration to colonize the country. Immigrants came from Bohemia-Moravia, Germany, Italy, Spain, and even Crimea. Refugees from Germany brought a dialect mixed with German and Hebrew that eventually became Yiddish, which Polish Jews spoke for centuries.

One factor that encouraged the arrival of Jewish immigrants to Poland was a series of edicts, such as the Magdeburg Law, which granted them certain rights and privileges. For example, they could define their own neighborhoods, mark their economic competition, and even establish monopolies. Another was the Kalisz Statute, which gave Jews freedom of worship, trade, and movement. In 1332 King Casimir II the Great further expanded the statute. Among other things, he established the death penalty for those who kidnapped Jewish children for the purpose of converting them to Christianity.

In 1388-89, Lithuania was merged into the Polish kingdom, extending the same privileges to Lithuanian Jews. In 1492, following the expulsion of Jews from Spain, Poland became a refuge for exiles from Western Europe. This influx of new immigrants, combined with the local Jewish population, made Poland the cultural and spiritual center of the Jewish people. The period of King Zygmunt I (1506-1548) is considered to be the most prosperous period of Polish Jewry. A number of great intellectual figures emerged in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Jewish academies were established in many Polish cities such as Lublin and Krakow. Although not before, by 1551 the Jewish community could elect its own chief rabbi. He could appoint officials and judges. After the merger of Poland with Lithuania, Poland annexed Ukraine and many Jews were sent to colonize the new territories.

Jews became the backbone of the Polish economy. They formed the middle class in a country where the general population was mostly made up of landowners and peasants. From the 16th to the 17th century, Jews enjoyed a form of self-government, the Council of the Four Lands, “Vaad Arva Artzot,” a kind of Jewish parliament. His decrees reflected the spirit of the Torah and its values. After the Land of Israel, Babylon, and Spain, Poland had become the fourth great center of world Jewry.

Prepared by Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: Jewish Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Judaica, and other sources.

The idea that God rewards those who fulfill His commandments and punishes those who do not, is mentioned continuously in the Bible. These mentions are made despite how difficult it is to prove, since in many cases the righteous suffer and the wicked do well. This question is openly raised in the book of Psalms, in Ecclesiastes and especially in the book of Job, which deals with the subject in depth. Despite how difficult it is to find an answer, the basic belief in the concept of reward and punishment did not affect the fact that in many biblical passages it is mentioned that bad behavior affects not only the whole people, but also individuals. In all cases there is talk of reward and punishment here on Earth and in this life.

This changes in the Maccabean era, when men and women were killed for being loyal to the Jewish faith. In view of this clear contradiction, the sages began to address the concept that reward and punishment are not only here and now, but that they will primarily occur in the World to Come, the Olam Hava, where the soul of the person is supposed to arrive upon death. Maimonides emphasizes this point in his writings and incorporates it as one of the basic principles of Judaism. To this change is added the rabbinical concept that what we do in this world is to accumulate points so that our soul will do well in the world to come (Pirkei Avot 4:22).

Many thinkers of the Middle Ages dealt with the subject. Some understood that the ideal is for people to fulfill the commandments out of their own conviction and out of love for God, rather than for reward or punishment, although the latter was still the concept most accepted by the people.

Belief in the principle of reward and punishment was severely questioned by the Holocaust. The phrase “after Auschwitz” became the code for the position that doubts whether God really rewards and punishes. Richard L. Rubinstein, in his work “After Auschwitz,” is categorical in saying that he can no longer believe in the principle of reward and punishment. But on the other hand, Elie Wiesel maintains a position like that of Job, that of maintaining faith in God. The more conservative sectors maintain that we do not have the capacity to understand Divine Justice, that God does reward and punish, even though we often do not understand it that way.

Some thinkers such as Kohler, Kaplan and Buber say that we should not take the principle of reward and punishment literally and that rather than thinking that it applies to the individual, we should think that it applies to the entire social group. The concept of reward and punishment should be seen in the long term, where good actions lead us to a more just society, while the opposite leads us to a world full of evil.

Fulfilling the commandments for their intrinsic value, rather than for the expectation of reward or punishment, is more praiseworthy and attests to a person’s commitment to his or her values. You fulfill them because you are convinced. It’s that simple.

Prepared by Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: “The Jewish Religion, a Companion,” by Louis Jacobs and other sources.

The Yizkor service is commemorated four times a year: on Yom Kippur, on Shemini Atzeret, the second-to-last day of Sukkot, on the last day of Pesach, and on the second day of Shavuot. The main purpose is to remember our deceased by giving tzedakah. The theory is that the good deeds of the living elevate the souls of the dead. Yizkor means “may He remember.”

In the book of Maccabees II (12:43-46) it is told that Yehuda HaMaccabi sent a donation to the Temple in Jerusalem, as an atoning sacrifice so that the soul of the deceased fighters would be absolved of their sins. The oldest source that speaks of Yizkor is the Midrash Tanchuma, which mentions the custom on Yom Kippur of remembering the deceased with a donation. The Ashkenazi custom of also commemorating it on other holidays probably began in the time of the Crusades, when many Jewish communities were wiped off the map as a result of the massacres perpetrated by the Crusaders. The survivors wrote down the names of the deceased in a book, the “Sefer Hazikaron.” The oldest known is from a community in Nuremberg and dates back to 1296. These books were also called “Sefer Hazkarat Neshama,” the book of remembrance of souls. In it, the names of the deceased were written beginning with the phrase “Yizkor Elohim nishmat . . .”, may God remember the soul of …..

There is a superstition in many communities that if someone’s parents are alive, that person must leave the temple during Yizkor, some say so as not to tempt the “evil eye” if one remains seated while the mourners are standing. There is no rule that says that those whose parents are still alive must leave the service. Many rabbis even suggest that everyone stay at Yizkor so that the entire congregation can remember the martyrs of the Jewish people, such as those who died in the Holocaust and in the wars waged by the State of Israel. It is also to give comfort to those who have lost relatives and are especially moved by the Yizkor service.

Commemorating Yizkor presupposes the Jewish concept that the soul is immortal and that although the deceased can no longer perform good deeds, they can benefit from the prayers, donations and other good deeds that those who survive them can perform in their name. The essence of Yizkor is to ask God to remember our relatives and to include them in the bond of life in paradise, alongside our patriarchs, matriarchs and other great figures. In return, we promise to do tzedakah in their name. Yizkor is that special time that helps us remember that loved one who is no longer with us. It is that time when, in community, we console one another. More than needing Him to remember them, we need to not forget them.

Prepared by Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: Articles by Dr. Ron Wolfson, Rabbi Jack Abramowitz and other sources.

Isaac Abravanel was born in Lisbon in 1437. He was the son of Yehuda Abravanel, treasurer at the court of King Alfonso V of Portugal. He was a student of Yosef Hayim, chief rabbi of Portugal. He studied Talmud and secular subjects in his youth and by the age of twenty was already writing about Jewish philosophy. He entered the king’s service at that age and gained his trust. He used his position to help Jews in trouble, such as in Arzilla, Morocco, when the Moors kidnapped a group of Jews and sold them into slavery. Abravanel, with his own money and with the support of others, helped rescue many captives.

Upon the death of Alfonso V, he had to resign from his post under pressure from the new king John II and eventually had to flee to Castile, Spain, to save himself from a false charge of conspiracy that the new king had brought against him. In Toledo, his new home, he devoted himself to commenting on the Bible and within a few months he wrote commentaries on the books of the Torah and the prophets. He soon entered the service of the royal house of Castile, in the personal service of Queen Isabel. He helped the royal army financially in its fight against the Moors. Despite his help in winning the war, he was sadly surprised by the royal edict expelling the Jews from Spain. He did everything possible to have it revoked, even offering the king 30,000 ducats, but it was all in vain. Abravanel was pressured by the Catholic kings to convert to Catholicism so that he could keep his position at court. But he refused to do so.

He left Spain for Naples, where he also soon entered the service of the king. His tranquility was short-lived, as the French took the city and in 1495 he fled with the young King Ferdinand and settled in Venice in 1503. His great diplomatic and financial ability helped to negotiate a trade treaty between Portugal and the Venetian Republic. He died in Venice in 1508.

The importance of Isaac Abravanel, apart from his actions in the field of diplomacy and finance, lies in his commentaries on the Bible, which although not completely original, were written in a very didactic way, so they were very popular, not only among Jewish scholars but also among some Christian scholars. In his introductions to each book of the Bible he explained its character, compared the time in which it was written with his own and explained the intention of its author. He also wrote on the philosophy of religion and was especially a defender of the doctrine of the coming of the Messiah. He deeply felt the hopelessness and despair of his Jewish brothers because of their expulsion from Spain and thought that believing that his arrival was near mitigated their pain.

Isaac Abravanel was a combination of scholar, diplomat, financier, but above all, guardian of the welfare of his people. That is why he is in the hall of fame of Judaism.

Prepared by Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: The Jewish Encyclopedia, Encyclopaedia Judaica and other sources.

1. The formal side. Orthodox and Conservative Jews define being Jewish as being the son of a Jewish mother. Reform Jews accept as Jewish anyone who is the son of a Jewish mother or father. All three accept as Jewish anyone who has converted to Judaism according to the rules of each, although the Orthodox do not accept conversions from the other two. In 1950, the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, enacted the Law of Return, which gives every Jew the right to live in Israel and become a citizen. In 1970, for the purposes of that same law, it defined as Jewish anyone who has a Jewish mother or maternal grandmother, who has Jewish ancestry, such as a Jewish father or grandfather, or who converted to Judaism according to the rules of one of the three denominations, the Orthodox, the Conservative or the Reform. The conversion process of the latter two is only accepted if it was done outside of Israel.

2. The practical side. The practice of Judaism has many facets that are expressed in everyday activities, in doing something with Jewish content in a given place and at a given time. Observing religious commandments and customs is the most obvious. But religious observance is not the only path in the practice of Judaism. Working in Jewish institutions is another path. The study of Jewish philosophy, history, religion and art is also a facet of its practice. Reading, listening to music, appreciating Jewish works of art is also a facet of its practice. Speaking Hebrew, Yiddish or Ladino is also a facet of its practice. Keeping up with the news of what is happening in Israel and in the Jewish world is also a facet of its practice. Participating in activities with Jewish content, such as being part of a choir, a dance group, a study group, is also a facet of its practice. Cooking typical Jewish dishes is also a facet of its practice. Conducting an ethical conduct, according to the principles that the Torah sets for us and performing actions of Tikun Olam, is also practicing Judaism. In short, the list is very long. And each one can choose the type and frequency of his Jewish practice.

3. The sentimental side. Feeling Jewish is the third side of the triangle of identity. It is expressed in our feeling for everything Jewish. It is the happiness that comes from celebrating events such as a brith mila, a wedding, a bat mitzvah, a family seder of Pesach, a Kabbalat Shabbat in community, etc. It is the pain that we feel when there is a war in Israel, a terrorist incident, a condemnation of Israel in international forums, discrimination against Jews of any kind. It is also the feeling of pride that comes from Israel’s technological achievements, those of Jewish scientists and academics around the world, the creativity of Jewish writers, artists and musicians, the performance of Jews in all spheres of human endeavor. And it is also the feeling of shame when a Jew behaves in a reprehensible manner. In short, it is when feeling Jewish becomes that spiritual path that fills your soul.

The triangle is the most solid geometric figure. Well integrated, it is difficult to break it. The same happens with Judaism. Being Jewish by definition, by action and by feeling is the triangle of a solid Jewish identity. If you are missing one side, your Judaism is not stable. Your identity is lost.

By Marcos Gojman, based on the theory of Formal Axiology by Robert S. Hartman.

Jewish tradition requires women to cover their hair as an act of modesty before men and men to cover their heads as an act of humility and reverence before God, even though there is no explicit commandment in the Torah to do so.

In the Talmud’s Nedarim, which addresses the topic of vows, verse 30.b mentions, off-topic, that men sometimes cover their heads and sometimes not, but that women’s hair is always covered and children’s hair is always uncovered. This mention gave the custom of married women covering their hair the status of halacha. Already in the time of the Mishnah it was a universal practice for women’s hair to be covered and failure to respect this custom was grounds for divorce. In the case of men, it was optional whether or not to cover themselves.

It is a hotly debated issue among halacha scholars whether men should cover their heads at all times. Maimonides says that they should cover their heads during prayers or while studying religious texts. In the Middle Ages, French and Spanish rabbis considered covering the head when praying or studying to be a custom and not a commandment, and many of them prayed with their heads uncovered. They considered that only great scholars were required to cover their heads.

Over time, the fact that men should cover their heads became a practice recommended by Ashkenazi rabbis. Although they said that it was only a valuable custom and not a commandment, since there was no rule that prohibited praying with the head uncovered, covering the head was for them a symbol of reverence for God. Others justified this practice, using as a basis the commandment not to copy the customs of other peoples, arguing that Christian men pray with their heads uncovered.

Today, in ultra-Orthodox groups, married women shave their hair and cover their heads with a wig or a scarf. This way they guarantee 100% compliance with the custom of not showing their hair. In other groups, women only cover their hair completely or partially, especially in the synagogue.

Today, head covering has become the way to show whether you belong to an “observant” group or not, as stated in a responsa by the former Sephardic chief rabbi, Ovadia Yosef, who said that men should cover their heads at all times, to show that they belong to the observant religious community. On the other hand, in the 19th century, Rabbi Isaac Wise, leader of Reform Judaism, rejected the wearing of the kippah altogether, although this practice has returned to the Reform movement.

Head covering does not appear as a mitzvah in the list of the 613 mitzvoth. But the evolution of this custom, for both men and women, has made it, for some, as obligatory as a mitzvah of the Torah. But for others, it is not.

Prepared by Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: The Jewish religion. A companion, by Louis Jacobs and other sources.