-
That Is What We Do
May 14, 2013 | 108 comments
-
Shame Old Shame Old From Obama
April 19, 2013 | 101 comments
-
Cut Out the Chase
April 5, 2013 | 83 comments
-
All in the Family
March 26, 2013 | 12 comments
-
Israel in the Tank for Obama
March 21, 2013 | 112 comments
Spectator's Journal
The Seven-Year Rich
The Talmud, outdrawing the Jets and the Giants at the Meadowlands.
It is astonishing to me that I have lived long enough to write these words: Last Wednesday I covered an event in the Meadowlands Sports Complex at which 90,000 Jewish men and women gathered to celebrate a religious-slash-intellectual event. When I was growing up, such a prospect was unimaginable. Forty years later it is a reality, but still an experience which takes some digesting on the part of folks my age.
Let’s begin… way before the beginning. Fifteen hundred years ago, the greatest Jewish scholars of the time, based in Babylon (now Iraq), compiled the massive body of Jewish law – along with a sprinkling of its lore – into a series of volumes known as the Talmud. These laws are not listed one by one in the manner of typical law books. Instead they are presented in the context of a series of legal discussions cleverly designed to establish the legal principles which can be applied forward to any situation which may evolve.
For example, a debate rages for a full page over the question of whether loss of an object creates a presumption of loss of ownership. In the end, it is determined that the property rights of the owner are not vacated until he is aware of the loss and consciously acknowledges that the object’s lack of distinguishing features render the prospect of its return unlikely. Applying this to real situations, if you find loose cash you can keep it because a) people check their cash frequently and we can assume the owner is aware of the loss and b) since there is no wallet or distinctive mark the owner cannot prove he dropped it, so he gives up hope.
There are two thousand, seven hundred pages of discussions like this, divided more or less by subject. The Talmud covers ritual law (i.e. what constitutes a violation of the Sabbath), civil law as we cited above and even criminal law, although the Jewish courts do not practice criminal law in host countries. A rabbi will agree to settle your dispute over who should build the fence between your properties, but he will not stone you for adultery.
In the 1920s, Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin, Poland, conceived the Daf Yomi (literally Daily Page) program. This allows Jews around the world to unite in studying the same page on the same day, traversing the 2,700 pages alongside each other, in an effort to be both religiously inspired and legally knowledgeable. Many busy titans of industry and satraps of commerce accept the strictures of this structure, along with lots of Joe Six-Packs.
August 3rd marked the conclusion of the twelfth such cycle and the community, now much larger than its decimated post-Holocaust numbers, has reached Meadowlands proportions, outdrawing the Jets and the Giants and selling 90,000 or so tickets. All the rabbinic leaders and Yeshiva scholars were sitting at the dais while the event was celebrated in speech and song.
I could not share the achievement with most of these attendees, because frankly I have never had the discipline to undertake this commitment. This time my 21-year-old son is pushing hard to convince me to try doing it on the phone with him from Miami to New York City. The idea of spending an hour a day on the phone with my son has its appeal, but do I have the fortitude at age 54 to make a seven-year pledge?
Looking around me at so many really sincere people, joined in doing something for which there is no pay, no societal support and no public glory, it seems churlish to turn the kid down. Check back in this space in 2700 days and I’ll let you know how I made out… In the meantime, I am proud to have taken part in a huge peaceable demonstration of self-discipline and godliness.
About the Author
Jay D. Homnick, commentator and humorist, is a frequent contributor to The American Spectator. He also writes for Human Events. Here he speaks at the Rally for Religious Freedom in Miami on June 8, 2012.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (12) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Jay D. Homnick
More Articles From Spectator's Journal
http://spectator.org/archives/2012/08/06/the-seven-year-rich
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- A Nation on the Edge
- Self-Righteous Republic
- The (Real) Great Divide
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Appleby| 8.6.12 @ 8:07AM
The Jewish people I know whose families have kept to the Jewish faith have before them the spectre of what happens when they ignore the people who are actively trying to take that faith (by exterminating those who hold it, if no other method works) not only away from them but away from the world. I pray that the Catholic Church will develop this clear vision and my fellow Catholics will start gathering together to understand and discuss exactly what we believe before it and we are exterminated likewise. My church will hold its first Catholic Bible Study this fall, not because the priest wanted it, but because the congregation urged him to offer it. I pray that the idea will spead. God bless you and your son on your journey.
Jack in Wi| 8.6.12 @ 5:38PM
Appleby: I have been taking part in Catholic Bible studies for the last few years. There are some great programs out there by by Jeff Cavins, Scott Hahn and others. Last year we went ecumenical and had a Methodist minister who was working for his PHD in Hebrew scriptures, at a Catholic university, teaching us Genesis. I found out how universal the Book of Genesis is. It truely shows Abraham, Issac, and Jacob as fine people who got along well with their neighbors the Cannanites, Philistines and Egyptians. God wants us to live together in Peace just like these great prophets did, with their near neighbors. The minister thanked me at the end of the 26 week program for helping him in our fine dialoge. He himself had never realized the univeral nature of the Book Of Genesis. Of course Catholic means universal and this book shows us how God wants us to live.
Nick| 8.6.12 @ 9:50PM
Jeff Cavins and Dr. Scott Hahn would tell you to stop being an anti-Semite, Jackboot.
Jack in Wi| 8.7.12 @ 12:38AM
Nick you are a nasty little warmonger. Jesus said Blessed are the Peacemakers and those who live by the sword will die by the sword.. Israel is a nation of haters and warmongers. To be for peace and justice and universal brotherhood is what Jesus, our God, is all about. Stop yor hate Nick and love your fellow man.
Nick| 8.7.12 @ 9:31AM
I love all people, even the greatest sinners. Not of my own doing, of course. By the power of God.
And you are no "Peacemaker," Jackboot!
Nick| 8.6.12 @ 1:53PM
Catholics have kind-of, sort-of the same thing, on the EWTN cable and radio network. Fr. Mitch Pacwa has a show entitled Threshold of Hope, in which he goes page by page though the encyclicals of the pope.
He started the show going through the all the encyclicals of Blessed Pope John Paul II. I believe he is going through those of Benedict XVI, now.
You can listen to them by going to EWTN's website, or, listening on Catholic radio on the web.
Occam's Tool| 8.6.12 @ 3:21PM
Jay: how do we do this on the internet? Some of us are in areas that are low on Jews.
SBGMetsJets| 8.6.12 @ 3:53PM
Try the websites of the Orthodox Union, Aish HaTorah, or Ohr Somayach. They might have the Daf Yomi online in the evenings that you could listen to for free. Also, dafyomi.org has free online recordings of the Daf with explanations.
I completed my first cycle of the Daf Yomi this time around and went to the Siyum HaShas in Metlife Stadium and it was wonderful.
May Hashem bless your journey into the Talmud, and may you achieve much growth and success.
Gary B| 8.6.12 @ 5:57PM
"...self-discipline and godliness."
These traits used to be a lot more prevalent in our society. Nowadays, even the official admonition from the ruling class in DC is sloth and godlessness.
Question: Can someone be called a leader if he leads his flock straight to the zero-discipline, darker side of human nature? After all, who doesn't want a free lunch?
Boaz| 8.7.12 @ 12:54AM
For a 5-7 page summary of the daf of the day, try dafnotes.com.
And to the author, I'm 52 and today is day 4 with 2707 days to go! Give it a shot!
KyMouse| 8.7.12 @ 9:50AM
The Talmud is interesting; but ultimately, it comprises endless arguments—e.g., the questions Rashi’s descendants raised about his writings. Talmudic rules for daily living, endlessly discussed and debated, are considered important for maintaining Jewish community and traditions. But Jews (and gentiles) will be in eternity far longer than in this life, so questions pertaining to salvation and eternal destiny are crucial.
For example, about whom did the prophet speak when he wrote, “…all of us, like sheep, have gone astray… and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:4-6)? (Why are verses 1-12 omitted from the regular synagogue readings?)
And what did Jesus mean when he said (in John 3:14-15, referring to Numbers 21:4-9), “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life”?
What is the “new covenant” foretold in Jeremiah 31:31-34, and how does it differ from previous covenants with God?...
KyMouse| 8.7.12 @ 9:51AM
…The prophets warned against hypocritical sacrifices, but never said blood offerings should cease. If blood sacrifices weren’t necessary, why did they continue right up until the Temple was destroyed?
Jesus and his followers claimed that his death would be the divine blood atonement for the sins of everyone who accepted it (John 3:16-18). What happens if we reject him? Check your life against the Ten Commandments – are you perfect? If not, how will you pay for all of your sins?
More and more people are reading the Brit Hadashah (New Testament) for themselves and making up their own minds about Jesus. “Jews for Jesus” have included British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli; composer Felix Mendelssohn; mystery writer Andrew Klavan; actor David Suchet (“Poirot”); and Vera Schlamm, M.D., who survived the Bergen-Belsen death camp.
Instead going around and around with the arguments of rabbis, straining out gnats while swallowing camels (Matt. 23:24), we should examine the questions that matter most – was Jesus a liar, a lunatic, or Lord? And if you or I were to die today, what would determine whether we go to heaven or hell?