The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Kiddushin 17a relates a story where Rav Acha at a wedding took the bride on his shoulders and danced with her. His somewhat perplexed rabbinic colleagues, while understanding of the mitzvah to bring joy to the bride and groom could not quite reconcile how he could have a woman on his shoulders given the distinct possibility for sexual stimulation this act could enjoin. They asked whether such Dionysian Mitzvah performance was permitted them as well and he responded, ”If your experience of her is like a beam of wood then fine but if not no.” Here we see that in the eyes of Rav Acha what the Halakha is in this particular instance is relativistic: it depends on the level of the person. It is also interesting that Rav Acha left the matter to their independent self-awareness and honesty and did not ask them to surrender their autonomy in this matter to an outside authority.

Another example found in the Babylonian Talmud tractate Shabbat 13a regards Ulla who, when coming home from the house of study, according to one version would kiss his sister on her chest and in another tradition her hands.  The Talmud as a lead-in to this anecdote is discussing what is the appropriate distance and boundaries between persons who are sexually forbidden to each other. The Talmudic direction is generally of the view that distance and abstention from physical contact is both necessary and appropriate. The case of Ulla’s actions are brought to bear as part of the dissenting school of Rabbi Pedat. In his view the issue is not physical contact or proximity per see but rather romantic or sexual intent that accompanies such physical contact and proximity. Of interest is that attributed to Ulla himself, is a teaching that states that any physical contact with a person sexually forbidden one is prohibited!

Tosafot, in his commentary on this anecdote (s.v. Upliga Adiydeh Adiydeh), explains that Ulla was known to be a righteous person and he knew himself well enough to know that this loving physical contact with his sister would not lead to inappropriate sexual stimulation. Tosafot references as proof our story of Rav Acha dancing with a bride on his shoulders, perhaps even more sexually stimulating in potential, as proof that such close physical contact is possible without inappropriate sexual intentions by a man of purity and attainment. In light of this teaching in Ulla’s name, the restriction of physical contact must be regarded as being applicable for those who have not attained this level of loving and pure intent and we have a second example where Halakha is relativistic. The spiritual level of the person involved dictates what the Halakha is.  It should be pointed out that the 16^th century codification of Jewish law, the Shulchan Arukh, does not retain this relativistic bent and sees as forbidden and problematic all such contact between siblings. (Even Ha’Ezer 21:7 and Chelkak Mechokek note

Moving on from these Talmudic anecdotes, there is as well in Rabbinic Halakha an established concept called Halakha Ve’Ain Morin Kain, ”It is the Halakha but we do not instruct it [to the public].” In these limited instances, a Torah scholar or learned person is permitted certain behavior the Halakha allows but these permissive rulings are not to be given or modeled to the public, lest it lead to undesirable results in the form of sin due to the possibility of the ill-applied implementation of the ruling. (see Encyclopedia Talmudit Vol. 9 Halakha Ve’in Morin Kain)

One relevant example of this regards wearing Teffilin (Phylacteries) in the evening. The Halakha is that this is permitted if one donned them prior to the evening but this Halakha is not to be taught lest a person fall asleep and lose control of their body processes while they are on which is forbidden by Halakha. (see Shulchan Arukh Orach Chaim 30:2) The Talmud records an incident where Rav Ashi was wearing Teffilin in the evening and when asked about this said this was only to guard against their being lost. This was a white lie to prevent the onlooker from doing the practice himself and potentially disregarding the Halakha of falling asleep in them. (see Talmud Menachot 36b and Shitah Mekubetzet ad loc. for a more complex read of this Talmudic debate and anecdote)

We also in Rabbinic Halakha have a concept of an Istinis: a sensitive or delicate person who is permitted certain leniencies others are not. Thus the Mishna in Berachot 2:6 records that Rabbi Gamliel washed himself in warm water on the night that his wife died which was understood to be forbidden. When respectfully questioned by his students he replied, ”I am not like everyone else I am a sensitive person.”

While in general Halakha is not relativistic I believe there are some lessons we can abstract from the above precedents.

One lesson that we can learn from the Talmudic precedents that deal with physical contact is to know who one is and not to be inhibited by social convention and expectations. Rav Acha in taking the bride upon his shoulders was in his spontaneity expressing his authentic and pure joy and was able to do so while maintaining a clear intent. How often do we interrupt ourselves from doing what we are called to do because of what others might say or think? How much do we live through the eyes of the other instead of in our own experience?

One lesson we can learn from the principle of, ”It is the Halakha but we do not instruct it [to the public]” is that we need to concern ourselves with how our actions that we model will be applied by others. One of the lessons learned in the cross-fertilization of the 60’s and Hassdisim was that not everything that is theoretically, according to some opinions, permitted by the Halakha with regards to sexual relationships should be done. At times various Hassidim followed the example of their Rebbe in this regard and it led to tragically broken marriages, destroyed reputations and disillusioned souls.

In the example of Rabbi Gamliel washing himself in warm water on the night of his wife’s death due to his sensitive disposition this leniency being an exception in his view to the general Halakah. While we cannot indiscriminately apply this across the Halakhic board, I do find a value in considering in what ways do we need to know what our sensitivities are in relation to Halakhic observance and its demands and finding ways within Halakha to work with them. There is ample rabbinic concern about the counter-productivity of Halakhic stringency voiced in the rabbinic phrase, ”It is a stringency that leads to a leniency.” (Talmud Bavli Pesachim 48b,Yevamot 30b, Bava Kama 11a and Niddah 24b) The rabbis understood that sometimes the insistence on halakhic stringency will drive an individual or group to sin euphemistically termed a “Leniency”. This is a concern that our generation and those committed to Halakha would be well advised to consider.

Ultimately these examples reflect a rabbinic regard for individuality and autonomy and in this they are distinctly resonant with modernity. It is not learning Torah or observance of the Halakha that leads to the obscuration of the individual but rather it is who one learns Torah from that potentially is the concern. Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, known as the Kotzker rebbe, was once asked who was his greatest teacher. He replied, ”The person who taught me the Aleph Bet! Every other teacher taught me what to think; this one taught me this is an Aleph and this is a Bet [the foundations with which I could think].”

Updated Editor’s Note: Stan Kreis, a regular BJN contributor, took video of this Limmud Colorado panel with Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder, Rabbi Marc Soloway, and Rabbi Josh Rose, which we link to below.  BJN appreciates Rabbi Soloway’s introductory remarks as well!

Thanks, Stan!

Editor’s Note: One of the participants at Limmud Colorado “live-blogged” the morning discussion among Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder, Rabbi Marc Soloway, and Rabbi Josh Rose.

We are certain this is not the last we’ve heard in this engaging discussion. However, we are most appreciative to Chaviva Galatz for her diligence in capturing the discussion.  Check it out on her blog, The Kvetching Editor.

If you haven’t met her yet, learn a little about her in this video from Ignite Chanukah. Thanks, Chaviva!

It will perhaps then come as a modest surprise to the student of Judaism that the Classical and Hassidic Rabbis held a more complex and nuanced view of sin that paints a less than black and white image and understanding of this religious category. To be clear, the Classical and Hassidic Rabbis as one would imagine did not promote sin; this notoriety would be left to the 17^th century manic- depressive false messiah Shabtai Zvi who developed a pseudo-kabbalistic doctrine of “Redemption through Sin”. In this doctrine, certain sparks of holiness enveloped within evil, due to the primordial mythic shattering of the Divine Vessels, the antecedents of physical creation, could only be redeemed through sin. (see Redemption Through Sin in The Messianic Idea in Judaism by Professor Gershom Scholem) Nevertheless, the classical Rabbis did have some teachings that are sufficiently provocative that they deserve our attention and are required input if we are to understand what a broad Judaic view on the subject encompasses.

The first rabbinic concept we need to acquaint ourselves with is that of a, “Sin for the Sake of Heaven”. The meaning of this rabbinic terminology is — doing something that is clearly wrong (A Sin) but with good intention (For the Sake of Heaven).  The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Nazir 23b explores this concept and quotes Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak as stating that, ”Greater is a Sin done for the Sake of Heaven than a Mitzvah done not for the Sake of Heaven.” This teaching however brings to the surface a different rabbinic teaching, that of Rav who stated that, ”A person should always engage in the study of Torah and the performance of Mitzvot even when they are done not for the Sake of Heaven, for out of their being done not for the Sake of Heaven one will come to do them for the Sake of Heaven.” This counter teaching, which sees insincere Mitzvah observance and Torah study as having greater potential than a Sin for the Sake of Heaven, leads the rabbis of the Talmud to conclude that, ”A Sin for the Sake of Heaven is equal to a Mitzvah done not for the Sake of Heaven.”

In explanation, Sin for the Sake of Heaven has the virtue of pure intent and the liability of a sinful deed. Whereas a Mitzvah done not for the Sake of Heaven has the merit of a virtuous deed but the liability of a deficient intent, albeit one that can ultimately lead to a more sincere intent. It is worth noting that the upward spiritual mobility that the rabbis saw in a Mitzvah done not for the Sake of Heaven did not inspire them to value such an insincere Mitzvah as being of greater spiritual worth than a Sin committed for the Sake of Heaven.

One example that the classical Rabbis see as emblematic of Sinning for the Sake of Heaven is that of the Biblical heroine Yael. When Sisera, commander of the Canaanite army, was defeated in Battle he fled and hid in Yael’s tent. (Judges 4:17) Yael seduced Sisera and engaged in a quite heated evening of adultery. This for the purpose of weakening Sisera in what turned out to be in the Talmudic mind an exceptionally busy evening. (Nazir 23b) Then while Sisera naively slept in utter exhaustion, Yael killed him in her incarnation as a religious fem fatale. (Judges 4:22)

This rabbinic teaching on a Sin for the Sake of Heaven recognizes that sinning may at times be necessary and that if done with sincere intent it has legitimacy. True, it is not what Judaism is pointing to as an ideal, which would be sincere intent coupled with a clear cut virtuous deed, but Sin for the Sake of Heaven is as well not a priori rejected as an option. It is also worth noting that the methodology of studying Torah and doing Mitzvot insincerely with the assumption that they will lead to sincere religious life was not universally accepted and was specifically rejected by 19^th century Polish Hassidic Masters such as Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Przysucha and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk when it did not truly motivate the person to raise their level of intention. (see The Quest for Authenticity: The Thought of Reb Simcha Bunim by Rabbi Dr. Michael Rosen z’l pg. 155)

When we further explore classical Rabbinic teachings on sin we also find a vein of both limited accommodation to sin and as well a policy of damage control. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Kiddushin 40a begins with a teaching of Rabbi Chanina that, ”It is preferable for a person to commit a sin in private and not desecrate the name of Heaven in public.” The Talmud then quotes a teaching of Rabbi Elai the Elder, ”If a person sees that their inclination is overcoming them they should go to a place where they are not known and wear and cover themselves with black clothes and do what their heart desires and not desecrate the name of Heaven in public.“ The Talmud soon clarifies that this teaching is speaking about an individual that is truly unable to contain themselves and thus it is better that the reverberations of the sin be minimal. Here we have a rabbinic teaching that while not condoning sin seeks to work with human frailty in a way that we do not see reflected in Biblical literature. Many classic rabbinic authorities (Rabbeinu Channanel, Ritva, Meiri) presumably astonished by this tolerance for overwhelming impulsivity seek to read this teaching in a way that takes a step back from the accommodation to human eros it represents, but others (Tosafot Toch and Tosafot HaRosh) acknowledge that this indeed is what these rabbis espoused. (see Steinsaltz Iyunim on Kiddushin 40a ad. loc)

We also find a classical rabbinic teaching that sanctions the performing of a minor sin by a more educated and committed Jew (Chaver) so as to avoid a major sin by a less educated and devout fellow (Am Ha’aretz). Some rabbinic authorities define a “Minor Sin” as a violation of Rabbinic Law (Mishne La’Melekh on Hilkhot Terumot 3:17) whereas others see it as permitting even a Biblical violation of lesser stature and weight (Gittin 30b and Tosafot Yevamot 93b s.v. Ela). The source for this teaching is in the Babylonian Talmud tractate Eruvin 32b which records the halakhic view of Rabbi Judah the Prince, ”It is in the interest of a Chaver to commit a minor sin so that an Am Ha’aretz does not commit a major sin.” This view despite the prominence of its author as the compiler of the Mishna does not go unchallenged by no less than his father Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel. He opines that, “It would be in the interest of a Chaver for an Am Ha’aretz to do a major sin and he not commit even a minor sin.” We have here a profound debate as to what extent if any can a person compromise their own spiritual integrity to serve another’s spiritual integrity.

Lest our imagination run wild, the case in which this principle of Rabbi Judah the Prince emerges is dealing with Biblically mandated tithes where he holds that a Chaver could tithe in a less than appropriate fashion i.e. not in the location of the crop (Minor Sin) in order to prevent the Am Ha’aretz from eating produce (that he provided the Am Ha’aretz) that would go without being tithed at all (Major Sin).  This view of Rabbi Judah the Prince does find itself being utilized in the halakhic responsa literature as a viable halakhic principle well beyond the issue of tithes. (see Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef’s Yabia Omer Part 4 Even Ha’Ezer Siman 4 for one contemporary example within the Ultra-Orthodox Sefardic community)

In this classical rabbinic teaching of Rabbi Judah the Prince we see that our responsibility for our fellow Jew and Jewess may under certain circumstances potentially call those of greater education and devotion to be willing to diminish their own potential conformity to the Halakha in its purist expression in order to mitigate against a greater damage to the religious life of a fellow Jew and Jewess. This could be called by analogy the path of a Halakhic Bhodisattva.

The classical rabbis also recognize what we would define as a lesser of two evils approach in relation to sin where the rabbis would prefer people to sin in ignorance rather than inform them of the wrongdoing and have them transgress willfully — assuming of course this is the probable result. The latter, willful transgression, is seen as the greater wrong and is to be avoided. In rabbinic terminology, ”It is better that they be unintentional sinners and not intentional ones.” (Talmud Bavli Shabbat 148b)

There is as well a willingness on the part of the classical rabbis at times to permit something that ordinarily would be forbidden, or look the other way in order to prevent an individual from transgressing in that matter in its forbidden state! In rabbinic terminology, ”It is better that Israel eat meat from an animal that is on its way to death that is slaughtered [in the halakhic procedure] and they not eat meat from an animal that has already died.”(Talmud Bavli Kiddushin 21b) In explanation, Halakha forbids the consumption of an animal that would die from mortal wounds or specific illnesses even if the animal had been properly slaughtered by a ritual slaughterer. Halakha also forbids eating a Kosher species of animal that died naturally absent ritual slaughter. (Mishne Torah Hilkhot Ma’acholot Assurot 4:1, 4:7-9) What this teaching is informing us is that the classical rabbis felt that eating the meat of an animal that died on its own is a more severe sin than eating the meat of an animal that would die but nevertheless was slaughtered.

The rabbis derive this principle of preferential sin from the Torah’s granting of an Israelite soldier permission in time of war to take even a married Gentile woman captive and essentially convert her and marry her — I will spare you the debate regarding when he is permitted to have sexual relations with her. (Deuteronomy 21:10-14 and Steinsaltz Iyunim of Kiddushin 21A) We will need to bracket the issue at present of the rather belated Geneva Conventions and their relation to Biblical morality and laws pertaining to war. Thus we see that the classical rabbis did not at all times and under all circumstances see the Torah as a zero sum game where either one lives in an ideal manner or not at all and they were even willing in limited circumstances to allow Halakha to be turned into somewhat of a pretzel to help Israel avoid sin. This Talmudic principle and analogous ones like it, for instance, ”It is better that they eat the gravy [of the forbidden fat] and not the forbidden fat itself” were adopted by later rabbinic authorities in concert with other halakhic considerations for leniency to as well permit the otherwise forbidden. (see Responsa of the Rambam Pear Ha’Dor Siman 132 for a case regarding Conversion)

The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Menachot 44a tells a rather wild story that while overtly seems to stress the reward in this world for the Mitzvah of Tzitzit (and Mitzvot in general), on a more subtle level tells us as well something about how the classical rabbis viewed sin in some circumstances. The story goes that there was a wealthy man who was very fastidious about observing the commandment of Tzitzit. Nonetheless, he was highly vulnerable to his libidinal urges and developed an active interest in illicit relations with prostitutes. The man hears of a highly expensive Gentile prostitute in a rather far away locale within the Roman empire and sends her fee of 400 Gold Dinars in advance, perhaps hoping that you get what you pay for. He arrives and is led to an erotic set up of seven beds one on top of the other –the first six of silver and the last of gold, all with fine linens with the prostitute laying naked on the top bed. He disrobes and begins his ascent and the Tzitzit begin to pelt him in the face. It is not clear whether this is meant literally as a magical episode or metaphorically as meaning that they aroused his conscience. He comes down from the ladders connecting the beds and sits down and the woman as well comes down and sits besides him. She is astonished and expresses a desire to know what he found wrong with her. He poignantly shares with her that she is the most beautiful woman he has even seen (apparently this was not his first such visit), it’s just that in this instance his Tzitzit reminded him of his accountability in this world and the next and simply deflated his ardor. The woman demands his name, the name of his city, rabbi and house of study and she bids him goodbye. She then proceeds to divide her possessions and treks to her failed paramour’s hometown and seeks an appointment with his rabbi. She asks to convert and explains the story of what inspired her and her request is granted. The rabbi in his parting words encouraged her to marry the lustful but conscience ridden student and the rabbis observe, ”Those fine linens that she prepared for him illicitly she may now prepare for him with halakhic sanction.”

This is quite a strange story even on a surface level as it is employed to demonstrate the “reward” for the Mitzvot, in this case Tzitzit. The lustful man is rewarded with the ability to now marry and have a permanent, sanctified and more cost-effective relationship with the most beautiful woman he has ever beheld.   For our purposes the relevance of the story points to a rabbinic view that sees the outcome of the intention to sin, and for that matter a lifestyle of sin itself, as having at times a rebound effect where a greater good can result from the trajectory of sin embarked on. In the words of Dr. Claudio Naranjo, a Fourth Way Psychologist quoting a popular wisdom teaching, ”The Devil knows not for whom he works.” (Character and Neurosis: An Integrative View-Introduction) Many people on the spiritual path can relate to the notion that if they had not gone through certain blind alleys, dead ends and misguided life choices they may never have arrived at a place of greater spiritual maturation.  It is sometimes out of our greatest personal darkness that we eventually reveal and experience our greatest light.

Let us now turn our attention to select Hassidic masters within the 19^th century Polish school of Hasidism.

The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Gittin 43a debates the issue of whether a half-freed slave-woman can be betrothed. The sage Rabah is initially inclined to say no and after hearing the reasoning of his colleague Rav Chisdah reverses his opinion and considers himself in error in his original position. He then after quoting a verse in scripture where the Torah is referred to as a stumbling block (Isaiah 3:6) states, ”A man does not establish himself in Torah unless he stumbles in it first.” (Ain Adam Omed Al Divrie Torah Ela Im Ken Nichshal Bahen Techilah). The plain meaning of this rabbinic statement is referring to issuing halakhic rulings in Torah and the inevitable errors of logic and interpretation that are part of the process of learning for a rabbi. When the sage errs and is corrected by his colleagues this advances his learning process. (see Rashi s.v. Ve’Hamchshalah)

In the Hassidic teachings of Rav Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin this teaching takes on a much broader application and he sees this pathway of error and stumbling as being relevant to a person’s struggle for spiritual attainment in Divine Service and understanding of the Torah. He writes, ”That in truth so established the blessed God for by means of a person’s efforts and actions they will attain all the spiritual levels and therefore even though in the beginning this draws one to stumbling, nevertheless by means of this stumbling they reach and establish themselves on the words of the Torah.”(Likutie Ma’amarim Amud 13)

Professor Moshe Idel in his work Kabbalah: New Perspectives describes Hassidism as, ”The Psychologization of Kabbalah” here we have Hassidism as the, ”Psychologization of the Talmud.” What in the Talmud is an observation about the process of issuing Halakhic rulings, in Rav Tzadok’s spiritual hand becomes a guide for the personal journey of the spiritual aspirant. We learn by mistakes, by at times committing sins but if we are sincere these sins teach us and we come to an eventual place of spiritual integrity. Here we see that sin can have a constructive contribution to spiritual development. We need not seek sin out as we are reliable to find it without effort — it is part of the human condition.

We will conclude with what is by far the most radical teaching within the 19th century Polish Hassidic tradition in relation to sin — the notion that sinning can at times be God’s will. Paradoxical as this sounds, as conventionally we would consider sin to be the opposite of God’s will, in the antinomian mind of Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica, not so.

In his work Mei Hashiloah redacted by his grandson it states, ”With regards to certain things in the Holy Torah, when it is clear to a person that now is the time for the Lord to work, as Elijah did on Mt. Carmel, then it is necessary to overturn the general principles of the Holy Torah and act only in accord with the understanding [binah] that God infuses to man. Rabbi Nathan says that when the understanding is not present, the person is required to conduct himself in accord with the manifested general rules of the Torah without transgressing the bounds of the Halakha.  Rabbi Nathan further says, when a person’s heart strives after the will of God and he removes from himself all personal attachments, God summons him to do an act which seems to him to transgress the principles of the Torah, heaven forbid. It is concerning this case that Rabbi Nathan said that a person whose heart strives after the Lord and has removed from himself all personal gain can be certain that it will not be counted as a sin, heaven forbid. He can be certain that it was a time for the Lord to work. (All is in the Hands of Heaven: The Teachings of Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica by Dr. Morris Fairstein pg. 38)

The Mai Hashiloah does teach elsewhere that this teaching is not intended for casual application and is intended for a ”Holy man”. (Mei Hashiloah, Volume I Parashat Kedoshim s.v. Ish Imo Ve’aviv.) I would also point out that when one considers what we know of the life of Rabbi Mordechai Yosef it would seem that the most radical actions he ever took perhaps in fulfillment of this teaching were to break from the Kotzker rebbe who was his teacher and perhaps to pray one of the three formal prayers at a later time than prescribed by Halakha! So we need to be circumspect in applying this teaching if at all.

By way of explanation of this teaching there is a verse in Psalms 119:126 that reads, ”It is a time to act for God they have made void your Torah.” (Et La’asot La’Hashem Heyfiru Toratecha) in the piece quoted above the author translates the verse, ”It’s a time for the Lord to work…” Regardless, this verse in Psalms was utilized by the classical rabbis to underpin the Torah’s granting emergency powers on a temporal basis to set aside Torah law with the rarest of commandments excluded from this permission. (see the author’s essay Emergency Halakha in the Rabbinic Tradition in Millin Chavivin Rabbinic Journal of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah) Rabbi Moderchai Yosef Leiner is taking a teaching that generally was seen as only to be utilized by Prophets and establishment rabbinic authorities and in general for the collective benefit of Israel, the Torah or a specific Jewish community and is applying it to the spiritual life of a holy man i.e. a true Hasid. The notion that in however limited circumstances in the life of the individual what would by convention be considered a sin is in fact God’s will is a teaching that while certainly invigorating in its radical nature is also deeply concerning in regards to an individual’s ability to make responsible use of it absent the natural human proclivity towards rationalization. I believe this teaching is the appropriate climax of our studies and I will close with some brief remarks that hopefully serve in the capacity of spiritual brakes for those however few who may be in need of them.

The intention of this essay is to share with the student of Judaism a broader understanding of the religious category of sin as related to by the Classical and Hassidic Rabbis. The life process, spiritual journey and human beings are often not simple and it would be a shame for people to have a sense that the rabbis of our tradition saw sin, which as it is has such heavy and today Christian intonations, in black and white terms. These teachings as a whole clearly portray a more nuanced and sophisticated view of sin than what some might have expected.  The depth of thought that these teachings point to hopefully will garner additional respect for the Rabbinic and Hassidic tradition. I feel it only responsible to add that the Rabbinic tradition is more complex that what this brief essay can reflect and in order to gain a fuller understanding of how sin was viewed we would need to attend to other more conservative teachings that seem to go in a different direction. Teachings that require our understanding and potential reconciliation are ones that express concern and rejection of, ”A Mitzvah that comes about through Sin.” (Talmud Bavli Berachot 47b and Succah 30a) and the rhetorical rabbinic question to be answered in the negative ,”Do we say to a person sin so your friend can merit?” (Talmud Bavli Shabbat 4a) It should also be mentioned that the Izbica Hassidic work Mei Hashiloah failed to garner an approbation from a single Hassidic Rebbe of its time. It is the author’s hope that this essay stimulates the reader’s interest in the depths of Rabbinic and Hassidic thought and as King Solomon says, ”If you quest for it as silver and seek it as hidden treasure then you will understand the awe of God and attain knowledge of the Divine.”(Proverbs 2:4-5)

8th graders taking Confronting Anti-Semitism talked about their first Jewish memories and comments their friends have made about their being Jewish. Our eight 11th graders participating in this summer’s Israel Study Tour (IST) began their first real class together by getting their journals and discussing their ideas about the most important events in Israel’s history. Additional classes this trimester include World Religions, Star in Your Own Purim Shpiel, Express Your Jewish Identity Through Art and We are the 1% – Jewish Global Citizenship.

In addition to our regular classes, we have a special Tu B’Shevat program coming up, Tu B’Shevat Cafe Night at Hebrew High! On Wednesday, February 8th, from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm, Boulder Hebrew High will be holding a special hour long class dedicated to the New Year of the Trees. Unlike your typical Tu B’shevat Seder with dried fruits, Hebrew High will be exploring many aspects of the holiday through fun and games. Topics will include the laws of tithing, arguments between Hillel and Shammai, the texts from the Torah, why Tu B’Shevat is still such an important holiday, and more! This program is open to all students in 8th through 10th grade, not just those registered in Hebrew High.

Also on Wednesday, February 8th, from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm, in conjunction with JTeen and Collegiate Crossings, we are offering a FREE seminar: Planning for College: What To Do and When To Do It. A presentation for 11th and 12th grade students and parents by Sara Zessar, high school counselor and college planner for Collegiate Crossings. Topics will include: factors to consider in your college search; how colleges make decisions about applicants; scholarships and financial aid and much more.

Come to either program to check us out for FREE. It’s never too late to join Hebrew High Boulder. New students are starting all the time. For more information about any of these programs or to check us out please contact Shauna Sadow, Hebrew High Boulder Principal at ssadow@caje-co.org or 303-819-8237 or visit our website www.caje-co.org/hhb.

What might it mean to connect cosmic moments to ordinary life, in which routine actions express spiritual reality? As Jews, we have been given mitzvot to provide a system of cosmic-daily life connection. Learn about the mitzvah of kashrut and our relationship with food, specifically meat, over millennia.  We will explore holy eating in Torah, Talmud, and other texts and provide an overview of contemporary kosher meat abbatoirs and meat producers. Knowledge of Hebrew helpful but not required.

The workshop will run from 10:00 am – 12 noon, with no charge, at the HEA Library, Hebrew Education Alliance, 3600 Ivanhoe, Denver, CO. For info, call 303-758-9400 and RSVP to Naomi Kirshner.

Chaplain Nalini Indorf Kaplan is Chief Marketing Officer and cofounder of EcoGlatt Inc. Nalini lives in Boulder, CO, is studying to be a rabbi and shochet and serves as a chaplain at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora. She is also a member of Hazon and Farm Forward.
Rabbi Elisheva Brenner is CEO and cofounder of EcoGlatt Inc. Rabbi Elisheva is on the rabbinical council of Hazon, the largest Jewish environmental movement in the world.

JLI Fall Class held at Chabad of NW Metro Denver

Chabad of NW Metro Denver is a week away from beginning one of JLI’s (Jewish Learning Institute) most exciting courses, Money Matters.

This six session course is really important to anyone who is looking for a Jewish compass into so many of the fundamental issues that define us as a society.

• What does the Torah have to say about your salary? Do you have a right to earn as much as possible? The answer may surprise you.
• Is it ever ethical to borrow without repaying? What about bankruptcy? What’s the Jewish legal perspective?
• What does Jewish law have to say about unions, collective bargaining, and strikes? Does the type of industry make a difference?
• What about freeloading? Is it wrong to take the time of a shopkeeper or salesperson if you have no intention of buying? Can you move to more expensive vacant seats at a ball-game?

In typical JLI fashion each lesson is presented using clear and well laid out student text books and cutting-edge power point presentations.

Still not convinced that this course will change the way you see the world? Come to the first lesson at no cost and only pay only if you choose to continue the course.

The course begins Wednesday January 25th from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm and will take place at Chabad of NW Metro Denver, 4505 W 112th Ave in Westminster and continues for the following five Wednesdays at the same time.

For more info or to register for the entire course follow this link.

To register for just the first lesson follow this link

We are so fortunate now in Boulder, to be able to experience Spiritual Eldering programs based on Reb Zalman’s book “From Age-ing to Sage-ing.” One of this programs is Joy of Sage-ing – Acquiring a Heart of Wisdom that will be offered at the end of this month. So search in your heart and see if you want to change the way you perceive your growing old, embrace life and live your elder years more consciously, more joyfully, and more compassionately.

This program is appropriate for all who want to gain deep meaning in the aging process, people of all ages, professionals working with elders, and clergy for their own eldering and for those they serve.

Seven Sundays, 4:30 pm  – 6:30 pm, beginning January 29 to March 11, 2012
To find out about location and price, E-mail: ori.har@comcast.net or call 303-440-1024
www.center-for-spiritual-friendship.org

The program is led by Rabbi Ori Har DiGennaro and is co-sponsored by Center for Spiritual Friendship, Haver Rabbinical Council, Boulder JCC’s Maimonedes Wellness Center and Fully Alive Medicine – A Holistic Wellness Center.

CU’s 2012 Holocaust Awareness Week will also adopt the UN’s theme this year which will focus on the “Children and the Holocaust.” Some children managed to survive in hiding, others fled to safe havens before it was too late, while many others suffered medical experiments or were sent to the gas chambers immediately upon arriving at the death camps. Highlighting the impact of mass violence on children, this theme has important implications for the 21st century. CU’s keynote lecture, “Hidden Children of the Holocaust” on Thursday, January 26 at 7:00 pm in the University Memorial Center room 235 features University of California Davis professor and author Diane Wolf.

Anne Frank has largely shaped the image of the Jewish child hiding from the Nazis, yet her experience was not the norm. Wolf’s keynote lecture is based on her book “Beyond Anne Frank: Hidden Children and Postwar Families in Holland” in which she draws on interviews with seventy Jewish men and women who, as children, were placed in non-Jewish families during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Wolf analyzes the experiences of these Holocaust survivors, which were diametrically opposed to those who suffered in concentration camps. Although the war years were tolerable for most of these children, it was the end of the war that marked the beginning of a traumatic time, especially if parents survived, leading many of those interviewed to remark, “My war began after the war.”

Diane Wolf, professor of Sociology and director of Jewish Studies at UC Davis

Diane Wolf is professor of Sociology and director of Jewish Studies at the University of California, Davis. She has authored “Beyond Anne Frank: Hidden Children and Postwar Families in Holland,” “From Auschwitz to Ithaca: The Transnational Journey of Jake Geldwert” and “Factory Daughters“. She edited “Feminist Dilemmas in Fieldwork” and co-edited “Sociology Confronts the Holocaust: Memories and Identities in Jewish Diasporas“. Her current research focuses on American cultural memory of the Holocaust, children of Holocaust survivors, and comparing the religious practices of secular Jews in both Israel and the U.S.

CU’s 28th Annual Holocaust Awareness Week includes film screenings, presentations  and testimonies from survivors. The schedule of events begins Tuesday, January 24:

Tuesday, January 24 at 7:00 pm
Film screening of “Mephisto”
Boulder JCC, 3800 Kalmia Avenue
$10 at the door**
This Oscar-winning political drama is based on Klaus Mann’s 1936 novel of the same name. In early 1930s Germany, ambitious actor Hendrik Hofgen cares little for politics and lives only for his art. But when the Nazis rise to power, Hofgen seizes the opportunity to perform propaganda plays for the Reich, gaining popularity and fame. But can he survive in a world where the ideology of evil is the ultimate drama?
**Presented by Menorah: Arts, Culture and Education at the Boulder Jewish Community Center. Visit www.boulderjcc.org for details.

The House on August Street by Aylelet Bargur

Wednesday, January 25 at 7:00 pm
“The House on August Street” with post-film discussion by Diane Wolf, professor of Sociology and director of Jewish Studies at UC Davis
University of Colorado Boulder, Atlas Building Room 100
**Free and open to the public, RSVPs are required as space is limited, email Nicholas.Underwood@colorado.edu or call 303.492.7143
From award-winning director Aylelet Bargur, “The House on August Street” tells the remarkable, unknown story of Beate Berger, a German Jew who single-handedly and with great resolve and vision rescued over 100 children during the Holocaust, smuggling them from Berlin to Palestine in the 1930s. Berger, founder of the House of Love Children’s Home (Beith Ahawah Kinderheim), Berlin’s first home for poor Jewish children, was quick to recognize the Nazi threat and resolved to protect the 120 children under her care. Raising the funds and making all the clandestine arrangements, Berger brought groups of children into Palestine from Germany from 1934 to 1939. The Beit Ahava orphanage in Haifa remains open today.

Thursday, January 26 at 7:00 pm
Keynote lecture “Hidden Children of the Holocaust” with Diane Wolf, author and professor of Sociology and director of Jewish Studies at UC Davis
University of Colorado Boulder, University Memorial Center room 235
Anne Frank largely shaped the image of the Jewish child hiding from the Nazis, yet her experience was not the norm. Drawing on interviews with seventy Jewish men and women who, as children, were placed in non-Jewish families during the Nazi occupation of Holland, Wolf analyzes the experiences of these Holocaust survivors which were diametrically opposed to the those who suffered in concentration camps. Although the war years were tolerable for most of these children, it was the end of the war that marked the beginning of a traumatic time, especially if parents survived, leading many of those interviewed here to remark, “My war began after the war.”

Friday, January 27 at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm
Reading of the names and survivor testimonies
University of Colorado Boulder
University Memorial Center room 235
CU’s Holocaust Awareness Week concludes with the reading of Holocaust victims’ names called the Litany of the Martyrs which will begin at 10:00 am in the UMC. Testimonies from local Holocaust survivors will be at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm.

A complete schedule of events can be found at www.hillelcolorado.org and http://jewishstudies.colorado.edu.

Holocaust Awareness Week is presented by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Hillel and co-sponsored by the Program in Jewish Studies at CU, Menorah: Arts, Culture and Education at the Boulder JCC, the Cultural Events Board at CU, and Movers: Art and Conscience community collaborative series.

Diane Wolf’s visit has been made possible by generous donors to CU’s Hillel, the Program in Jewish Studies and the Legacy Heritage Jewish Studies Project, directed by the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS). Support for the Legacy Heritage Jewish Studies Project is generously provided by Legacy Heritage Fund Limited.