The WebYeshiva Blog

Material success & spiritual failures

By Rabbi Johnny Solomon Parshat Behar (see Vayikra 25:35-36) is one of the many parshiot in the Torah where the prohibition of taking interest is listed. Yet beyond addressing the clear concern that taking interest from someone in need is not a ‘kind’ or ‘fair’ thing to do, Rabbi Hirsch adds that taking interest from others highlights a deep misunderstanding of our relationship towards God, money and materialism: ‘God is the Master of the material goods.. [and] possessions do not belong to the possessor… Therefore, every Jew who accepts interest.. denies, in so doing, that wealth really belongs to God, and [in so doing] commits idolatry and apostasy.’ (Horeb, paragraph 567) As should be evident, this remark is not limited to the topic of interest, with numerous other laws mentioned in Parshat Behar, such as the law of Shemitta, further emphasising the message that God is ultimately the Master of the world and all material goods. Interestingly, the focus of the latest edition of Tradition is ‘Material Success and its Challenges’, and in his essay titled ‘The Religious Perils of Materialism’ (which can be read here) Rabbi Jeremy Wieder notes that: ‘An individual who understands that, on a moral level, his money does not truly belong to him but rather is a trust over which he has been designated as a trustee, behaves very particularly in how he uses it. On the other hand, one who operates under the presumption of “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me” (Deuteronomy 8:17), and regards his accumulated wealth as completely his own, in the spirit of “what’s mine is mine; what’s yours is yours” (Avot 5:10) behaves quite differently. This spiritual failure damages three distinct areas—the broader community, the children being raised in such a milieu, and the person him or herself.’ I would strongly encourage all those interested in this topic to read the rest of Rabbi Wieder’s essay where he presents a range of insights and examples about the devastating spiritual effects which we are seeing today among those who truly believe that their money and their possessions belong to them. Ultimately, as he concludes, ‘As individuals and as a community we must find ways to shift our focus away from the obsession with the material and orient ourselves in the direction of that which truly matters… to set aside our fleeting desires and pursue a life of enduring value.’ Shabbat Shalom!

By Rabbi Johnny Solomon When it comes to the Omer, Parshat Emor states that we should count 50 days (see Vayikra 23:16). In contrast, later on in the Torah we are told to count seven weeks (see Devarim 16:9). As Abaye explains (in Chagigah 17b), from here we learn that ‘there is a commandment to count days, and there is a commandment to count weeks’ – from which we learn that counting days is different from counting weeks, and that when it comes to Sefirat HaOmer we need to count both. But how should we relate differently to the counting of the days and the weeks of the Omer? Rabbi Meir Horowitz of Dzikov (1819-1877) explains in his ‘Imrei Noam’ commentary that the concept of ‘day’ refers to intellectual clarity (because the day is bright and clear), while ‘week’ refers to our values which give us a life of meaning and our character traits which thereby express our values. Put simply, day refers to מוח (mind), while week refers to מידות (character traits). Understood this way, the process of counting both the days and the weeks of the Omer teaches us about the importance of both nurturing our thoughts and perfecting our values and character traits to be worthy to receive the Torah which we receive on Shavuot. Shabbat Shalom!

Respect for the elderly By Rabbi Johnny Solomon Among the various mitzvot listed in Parshat Kedoshim is the requirement to stand up and show respect for the elderly (see Vayikra 19:32). Significantly, this verse concludes with the words, “and you should revere your God; I am the Lord” (ibid.) which prompts our Sages (see Kiddushin 32b) to wonder what additional point is being made here? They answer by explaining that this additional phrase refers to those who wish to close their eyes to avoid seeing an elder approaching them and thereby avoid the need to revere them. Instead, as Rashi explains, such an individual ‘should have feared the Creator who knows your thoughts [and who is aware of how you are] seeking strategies to become exempt from his commandments.’

In halacha

In terms of halacha, the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 244:3) firmly rules that, ‘it is forbidden to close one’s eyes prior to coming within four amot [of an elderly person] in order to avoid the need to stand up for them [and show respect towards them]’. However, as Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman explains in his recently published ‘Letter and Spirit: Evasion, Avoidance and Workarounds in the Halakhic System’ (Maggid, 2024), this law serves as an example of how we shouldn’t avoid or evade the performance of mitzvot. At the same time, as Rabbi Feldman explains throughout his book, there have been times when certain workarounds have been justified to avoid or evade the fullfilment of certain laws. Given this, why – specifically – are our Sages so insistent that we not avoid this particular law?

Increasing love of Torah

Rabbi Feldman answers by quoting Rabbi Yosef Shaul Nathanson (Responsa Shoel U’Meishiv, telita’ah I No. 120) who explains that ‘this commandment is specifically centered on increasing the love one has for the Torah and its scholars, and accordingly, actively embracing the opportunity is a part of its directive’ (Letter and Spirit p. 12). Overall, what this teaches us is that while we should strive to fulfil all the commandments, though some may be side-stepped in certain situations, some – which go to the core of our values and beliefs – may not. Shabbat Shalom!

Mind and Body By Rabbi Johnny Solomon In his commentary to Parshat Tazria, the Netziv (Haemek Davar on Vayikra 13:44) explains that ‘the reasons for contracting Tzora’at on the body are not the same as those associated with Tzora’at on the head. Tzora’at on the body arises from the sins of desire (i.e. lust) that leads the body astray, while Tzora’at on the head comes for sins of the mind (i.e. heretical ideas).’ Having stated this distinction between body and head, the Netziv then explains that the reason why the Torah makes specific reference to cases of Tzora’at both on the back and the front of the head (see Vayikra 13:40-43) is because people come to heretical conclusions because of two very different reasons. One is in response to confused philosophical analysis which then leads to errors in belief. According to the Netziv, this occurs in the front of the brain. However, a further way is through the absence of philosophical analysis which leads a person to develop their own faulty ideas about God and Judaism which, according to the Netziv, occurs in the back of the brain. Having made this point, the Netziv explains that because the Torah first speaks about Tzora’at on the back of the head, it comes to teach us that ‘errors in emuna [stemming from confusion] are much more common, and much worse, than mistakes resulting from erroneous intellectual analysis.’ As #theVirtualRabbi, I often find that clients who experience a spiritual crisis do so when their beliefs about God do not align with their personal life experience. However, all too often it becomes clear that their beliefs about God are very confused due to the fact that they have had little serious exposure to Jewish philosophy. And so the way I support these clients is by teaching them Jewish sources which address Jewish belief which thereby help them resolve some of the confusing beliefs which they have been holding onto. To find out more, and to book a free spiritual coaching discovery call, visit https://webyeshiva.org/about-virtual-rabbi.

Total Inner Withdrawal By Rabbi Johnny Solomon Beyond the inauguration of the Mishkan, Parshat Shmini also describes the sudden death of Aharon’s two sons. Yet notwithstanding this incredible loss, Aharon is instructed not to adopt the classic mourning rituals of growing his hair or tearing his clothes. As Rav Soloveitchik explains in his essay ‘Catharsis’, ‘Aharon belonged to no one, not even to himself… Therefore he was not even free to give himself over to the grief precipitated by the loss of his two sons.’ Of course, this was an incredibly tough ask of Aharon during such a difficult moment in his life. Yet the point which Rav Soloveitchik is making here is that there are times when we all need to practically or emotionally restrain ourselves for the sake of adhering to religious rules. As he writes: ‘Once man enters the service of God, be it as high-priest, be it as an ordinary humble person… he is subject to the divine call for total inner withdrawal. Here the halacha intervenes frequently in the most intimate and personal phases of our lives and makes demands upon us which often impress the uninitiated as overly rigid and formal.’ Overall, what this means is that keeping halacha can be hard and that the observance of halacha can often require significant self-sacrifice. This is why, as we are told in Brachot 32b, so many of the core foundations of Jewish living - such as Torah study, good deeds, prayer and even earning a livelihood - require chizuk (encouragement), because even those already committed to Jewish practice can sometimes find things hard. As you may know, I provide online spiritual coaching and halachic consultation services as #theVirtualRabbi exclusively through WebYeshiva, and many of the sessions I have with clients touch on topics such as this. To find out more, and to book a free discovery call, visit https://webyeshiva.org/about-virtual-rabbi/