As the forefathers of the 12 tribes, the lives and personalities of each of the sons of Jacob impacted upon the history and behavior of the tribe that was to descend from them.
According to tradition, Judah earned for his descendants the right to kingship because of his ability to acknowledge his own mistakes, accept responsibility for his actions and alter his course of action. The kingship of David, the most famous descendant of this tribe, was the beginning of a dynasty that would outlast the kingdom itself, as the Messiah is destined to come from this line. Even before David, however, the tribe of Judah, which was the largest of the tribes, provided Israel with leaders, men of strong will and solid judgment (indeed, the very first of the Judges, Othniel, was from the tribe of Judah).
As the tribe of leadership, Judah was the first tribe in the marching order in the Wilderness, as well as the first tribe to enter Canaan and conquer its own land. Their strength in battle fulfilled Moses' prayer for them (Deuteronomy. 33:7): "Listen, God, to Judah's voice, and return him to his people; may his hands fight his grievance and may You be a Helper against his enemies."
Judah's natural quality of leadership was also reflected by other members of the tribe of Judah such as Nachshon the son of Amminadab, and Caleb the son of Yephunneh. Nachshon led the Israelites into the Sea of Reeds when they hesitated in fear. With the Egyptian army behind them, the water before them, and only his faith in God, Nachshon walked into the water. When he was nose deep, the waters tore themselves apart and the children of Israel followed Nachshon on dry land.
Caleb represented the tribe of Judah when Moses sent a man from each tribe to scout the Promised Land. When they returned, ten of the scouts reported that the land's inhabitants were fierce and unconquerable. Caleb and Joshua the son of Nun refuted these claims and tried to rally the people to keep the faith. After all, God had promised the land to them, so it must be that with God's help they would be able to conquer it. Caleb was later given the area of Hebron, which he had personally scouted 39 years earlier.
Copyright © 2013 NJOP. All rights reserved.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Weights and Measures
The last century has seen the rise, fall and transformation of several major economic-political philosophies (socialism, communism, capitalism). The primary economic philosophy of the Torah is, fundamentally, ethical fairness. If one works hard and becomes rich, wonderful--just don’t forget those less fortunate.
Jewish business ethics are derived directly from the Torah. For instance, “You shall do no injustice in judgment, in length, in weight, or in measure” (Leviticus 19:35). Common sense would certainly assume that every society abides by a rule such as this. After all, no one wants to be cheated. And yet the desire to cheat is quite tantalizing. We read about crooked business dealings all the time.
In fact, in the 14th century, Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher (“Ba’al Ha’turim,” Spain, 1270 - c.1340) wrote, in the business section of his legal code Arba’ah Turim, that a community is required to appoint people to examine all public scales and measures and to oversee the community’s businesses. These officials, he instructed, must have the ability to fine or punish (Choshen Mishpat 231:2).
People will always look for ways to “get ahead.” But, in truth, any success they have through such immoral measures is counter-balanced on the heavenly scale. In fact, the sages in the Talmud Baba Batra, declared that “Punishment for [false] measures is more severe than the punishment for illicit sexual relations" (88b). Why? Because you can cease doing and repent from illicit relations. In order to fully repent from false measures, however, one must be able to make financial restitution to those who were cheated, and that is often very hard to do, especially when stealing from the public.
This Treat was last posted on December 28, 2009.
Copyright © 2013 NJOP. All rights reserved.
Jewish business ethics are derived directly from the Torah. For instance, “You shall do no injustice in judgment, in length, in weight, or in measure” (Leviticus 19:35). Common sense would certainly assume that every society abides by a rule such as this. After all, no one wants to be cheated. And yet the desire to cheat is quite tantalizing. We read about crooked business dealings all the time.
People will always look for ways to “get ahead.” But, in truth, any success they have through such immoral measures is counter-balanced on the heavenly scale. In fact, the sages in the Talmud Baba Batra, declared that “Punishment for [false] measures is more severe than the punishment for illicit sexual relations" (88b). Why? Because you can cease doing and repent from illicit relations. In order to fully repent from false measures, however, one must be able to make financial restitution to those who were cheated, and that is often very hard to do, especially when stealing from the public.
This Treat was last posted on December 28, 2009.
Copyright © 2013 NJOP. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Or The Egg
For those starting the study of kashrut (Jewish dietary laws), the status of eggs is almost always one of the first issues encountered. Since an egg comes from a chicken (or other kosher bird) which is considered meat, does an egg also have the status of meat?
The simple answer is that eggs are pareve (neither meat nor dairy). This is because Jewish law actually distinguishes between fully-formed eggs and eggs that are still connected by veins to the animal. The former are pareve, the latter are “meat” because they are seen as an extension of the chicken’s body. Today, however, since chickens are kept entirely separate from roosters, it is extremely rare that one encounter a “meaty egg.”
The pareve/meat status is not the only kashrut question related to eggs. Blood spots are also an issue to consider. “If there was found on it a spot of blood, the blood must be thrown away and the rest [of the egg] may be eaten...Dashai, the father of Aptoriki, taught ‘this rule applies only if [the spot of blood] was found on the white, but if found on the yolk, the whole egg is forbidden” (Talmud Chullin 64b).
Because most eggs today come from hen houses and are thus unfertilized, blood spots are also quite rare.* And while most rabbis agree that a blood spot can simply be removed, it is, nevertheless, customary before use, to crack each egg into a clear container to check for blood spots. Additionally, when a blood spot is found, most consumers discard the entire egg.
In the case of boiled eggs, it is customary to prepare a minimum of three eggs at a time so that an unnoticed blood spot would be nullified by the majority and not render the pot unkosher.
*Brown eggs and fresh farm eggs have a significantly higher percentage of blood spots.
Copyright © 2013 NJOP. All rights reserved.
The simple answer is that eggs are pareve (neither meat nor dairy). This is because Jewish law actually distinguishes between fully-formed eggs and eggs that are still connected by veins to the animal. The former are pareve, the latter are “meat” because they are seen as an extension of the chicken’s body. Today, however, since chickens are kept entirely separate from roosters, it is extremely rare that one encounter a “meaty egg.”
The pareve/meat status is not the only kashrut question related to eggs. Blood spots are also an issue to consider. “If there was found on it a spot of blood, the blood must be thrown away and the rest [of the egg] may be eaten...Dashai, the father of Aptoriki, taught ‘this rule applies only if [the spot of blood] was found on the white, but if found on the yolk, the whole egg is forbidden” (Talmud Chullin 64b).
Because most eggs today come from hen houses and are thus unfertilized, blood spots are also quite rare.* And while most rabbis agree that a blood spot can simply be removed, it is, nevertheless, customary before use, to crack each egg into a clear container to check for blood spots. Additionally, when a blood spot is found, most consumers discard the entire egg.
In the case of boiled eggs, it is customary to prepare a minimum of three eggs at a time so that an unnoticed blood spot would be nullified by the majority and not render the pot unkosher.
*Brown eggs and fresh farm eggs have a significantly higher percentage of blood spots.
Copyright © 2013 NJOP. All rights reserved.
Related Jewish Treats
Taking Care
Eating a healthy and well balanced diet is part of the mitzvah
of taking care of one's body.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Marvelous Manna
“Foodies” everywhere might appreciate the fact that some people see the exceptionally wide variety of textures and flavors that are found in food as proof of God’s desire for humankind to not only live in the world, but to enjoy it as well.
One can see this unique form of compassion in God’s treatment of the Israelites in the Wilderness. When the Children of Israel complained that they did not have any food in the Wilderness (and that they prefer to go back to Egypt), God could have simply taken away the sensation of hunger or provided them with simple bread and water. Instead, despite the peoples’ complaints, God provided the Israelites with this gift of “manna.”
Physically, the manna is described as being “a fine, scale-like thing, fine as the hoar-frost on the ground” (Exodus 16:14) that lay just under the morning dew upon the Wilderness each morning (except on Shabbat). Furthermore, it is described as being “like coriander seed, white” (Exodus 16:31).
Exodus 16:31 states that the raw manna tasted “like wafers made with honey,” and Numbers 11 records that when it was ground and made into cakes, “the taste of it was as the taste of a cake baked with oil” (11:8). According to Jewish tradition, however, the manna was an extraordinary food to eat because it tasted like whatever a person desired*. This tradition is based on the statement in Midrash Exodus Rabbah 5:9:: “Rabbi Jose ben Hanina says: ... the manna that descended with a taste varying according to the needs of each individual Israelite. The young men, eating it as bread...the old, as wafers made with honey...to the babes, it tasted like the milk from their mothers’ breasts...to the sick, it was like fine flour mingled with honey.”
It is interesting to note, that long before the peoples’ complaints, God was already prepared to provide food in the wilderness. It is recorded in Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers, that the manna was one of the ten things created by God at twilight on the eve of the first Shabbat” (5:9).
*According to Rashi, quoting Midrash Sifri, Manna could taste like any food except the cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions, and garlic because these foods might be harmful to nursing mothers.
Copyright © 2013 NJOP. All rights reserved.
One can see this unique form of compassion in God’s treatment of the Israelites in the Wilderness. When the Children of Israel complained that they did not have any food in the Wilderness (and that they prefer to go back to Egypt), God could have simply taken away the sensation of hunger or provided them with simple bread and water. Instead, despite the peoples’ complaints, God provided the Israelites with this gift of “manna.”
Physically, the manna is described as being “a fine, scale-like thing, fine as the hoar-frost on the ground” (Exodus 16:14) that lay just under the morning dew upon the Wilderness each morning (except on Shabbat). Furthermore, it is described as being “like coriander seed, white” (Exodus 16:31).
Exodus 16:31 states that the raw manna tasted “like wafers made with honey,” and Numbers 11 records that when it was ground and made into cakes, “the taste of it was as the taste of a cake baked with oil” (11:8). According to Jewish tradition, however, the manna was an extraordinary food to eat because it tasted like whatever a person desired*. This tradition is based on the statement in Midrash Exodus Rabbah 5:9:: “Rabbi Jose ben Hanina says: ... the manna that descended with a taste varying according to the needs of each individual Israelite. The young men, eating it as bread...the old, as wafers made with honey...to the babes, it tasted like the milk from their mothers’ breasts...to the sick, it was like fine flour mingled with honey.”
It is interesting to note, that long before the peoples’ complaints, God was already prepared to provide food in the wilderness. It is recorded in Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers, that the manna was one of the ten things created by God at twilight on the eve of the first Shabbat” (5:9).
*According to Rashi, quoting Midrash Sifri, Manna could taste like any food except the cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions, and garlic because these foods might be harmful to nursing mothers.
Copyright © 2013 NJOP. All rights reserved.
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