Category Archives: Personal Reflections

Vayeitzei – The Purity Principle

Yaakov and Leah had their first (perhaps only) argument on the morning after the wedding feast. He had expected Rachel to join him in his abode that night but, unknown to him until morning’s light, “behold, it was Leah” (Beraishis 29:25).

Midrash Rabbah (ibid) recounts how our forefather exclaimed “Deceiver, daughter of deceiver! Did I not call out ‘Rachel’ and you answered me?”

Leah well parried the thrust: “Is there a barber without apprentices? Did your father not call out ‘Esav’ and you answered?”

Touché.

But the Torah isn’t a drama presentation. And the Torah doesn’t criticize either subterfuge. What are we to glean about our lives from that comeback? On the most simple level, I think it conveys something about how we – whether we are teachers, parents or just people (because all of us are examples to those around us) – convey less (if anything) with words than we do with our actions.

I learned that lesson well, if a bit embarrassingly, many years ago, when I was typing away on a keyboard and my four-year-old son sat down on the floor near my desk with a pegs-and-holes toy, which his imagination had apparently repurposed into a word processor (this was B.C. – Before Computers), and proceeded to imitate me.

It was very cute, and I smiled. Until, that is, his little sister crawled over and tugged at him. Showing annoyance, he turned to her and said, loudly and tersely, “Will you please stop? Can’t you see I’m working?” Yes, he was, as they say in the theater, inhabiting his character.

One of the answers to the Chanukah question of why the cohanim needed to find a sealed flask of oil despite the fact that tum’a hutra b’tzibbur – ritually defiled entities are permitted in many cases for public use – is attributed to the Kotzker Rebbe. He explained that that principle does not apply when a crucial, new era is being initiated, which was the case when the Chashmonaim rededicated the Bais Hamikdash. At so important a time, purity cannot be compromised.

The term for “initiation” is chinuch. And it is also used to mean “education.” When we educate others, especially the young, we do well to ensure that our actions are pure.

Whatever

Dear Reader,

I’ll get to the “whatever” a bit below.

But first: You may not realize it but, if you’re part of the American Jewish community, especially if you’re part of the Orthodox world, you have benefitted from the work of Agudath Israel.

From protection of religious rights to promotion of Jewish values and Torah study, from fighting antisemitism to ensuring that Jewish citizens can live as Jews where they wish, from obtaining permitted funding for Jewish schools to advocating for the defense of Israel, Agudath Israel has been, and remains, at the forefront of shtadlanus – legislative, diplomatic and political activism – in Congressional halls and court chambers, as well as in ongoing interaction with elected officials.

It has been my deep privilege to have been a cog in the well-oiled and constantly humming Agudah machine for some 30 years now. The legendary Rabbi Moshe Sherer, z”l, recruited me and it was a great honor for me to have been able to work alongside him for four years until the end of his amazing life. And it has been a great honor, from that time on, to have worked with people like Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Rabbi Abba Cohen and so many others who tirelessly advocate for the community.

Above all, it is humbling to continue working for a Jewish organization that takes its direction from a body like the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. Agudath Israel is truly unique.

And it is currently poised to launch a drive to ensure that it can continue its work into the future without hindrance or pause.

If you know enough about the Agudah to cherish it (and if you don’t, please spend some time at https://agudah.org/ ), or if you just want to show appreciation for the articles that I produce (whether for the Agudah or, independently, for various media, which the organization gives me rein to do), please visit:

https://charidy.com/agudahnational/AShafran

Now, to the “whatever.” Please offer whatever you can, no matter how little, to help further the cause. If you can sign on to a recurring donation, click on the relevant button after “donate.” Please do what you can, but know that no donation whatsoever is too small to say: “I appreciate the Agudah.”

And I appreciate you for that.

Avi Shafran

The Vote’s in the Mail

Voting by mail is a thing these days; so is controversy about it.

To read about the extent of fraud in remote voting, please click here.

The countercultural joys of a big family

And an essay I wrote about the joys of large families was published by Religion News Service last week. It’s here.

Beware Phony Frumkeit

When describing the camel and pig, animals that lack either of the two signs required for their species to be considered consumable by Jews, the Torah’s wording is odd.

Kosher species require cud-chewing and split hooves, yet the camel, the text states, is forbidden “because it chews its cud, but does not have a [completely] split hoof”; and the pig, “because it has a cloven hoof that is completely split, but will not regurgitate its cud.” The “becauses” are seemingly misplaced, since the reason for the species’ forbiddance is for the lack of one kosher sign, not the presence of one.

Similar wording is used regarding the two other “one sign only” species mentioned, the hyrax and the hare.

The Kli Yakar perceives something poignant in the placement of the kosher signs after the “becauses.” He writes that “their pure sign adds extra impurity to their impurity, as we find that Chazal compared Esov to a pig that sticks out its hoofs when it lies down to make it appear as if it is kosher, but its inside is full of deceit. This represents anyone whose inside is not like his outside, in the manner of the hypocrites … Therefore, the pig’s split hoof is a sign of impurity because the split hoof can deceive people and make it appear as if it is kosher.”

The Chashmonai king Yannai, before he died, told his wife “Don’t be afraid of the Perushim [Torah-faithful Jews] or of those who are not Perushim, only of the hypocrites who present themselves as Perushim, for their actions are those of Zimri while they ask for reward like Pinchas received” (Sotah 22b).

Presenting oneself as a better version than that of one’s reality, Rav Yaakov Weinberg, zt”l, once told me, isn’t wrong – if one aspires to that better version. As the Chinuch put it, “what is on the outside can awaken the inside.”

But pretension for the sake of pretension is being, well, piggish.

An Ugly Law of Human Nature

Long ago, I wrote an essay “The Beauty of Anti-Semitism.”

If you’re intrigued by what I meant by that provocative phrase (and it’s something most timely today), please click here.

I Liked It!

One of our granddaughters told me she is reading my book “Migrant Soul”, which was published back in 1992. It spurred me to read it myself, for the first time in more than two decades. I liked it! It’s out of its original publisher’s print but, if you’re interested, it can be ordered print on demand or in a Kindle version here.

Mikeitz – Something Bad in our Bloodline

Many years ago, a wise rebbe of mine, addressing instances of financial finagling by some members of the tribe, explained that the forefathers of us Jews whom we revere are Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, and we are to strive to emulate their rectitude and integrity. But, he continued, our bloodline also includes the cheater Lavan. And sometimes, regrettably, his genes, so to speak, can express themselves in some Jews’ inclinations, and even behavior.

At the end of the parsha, Yosef, still “undercover” as the Egyptian viceroy, plants a royal goblet in Binyamin’s knapsack. When the chalice, which Yosef indicates was used for telling the future, is “found” there, he says to his brothers, “Don’t you know that a person like me practices divination?”

Divination, or kishuf, is forbidden by the Torah. Yosef received his ability to interpret dreams directly from Heaven, not through any magical means. And that is clearly why he avoids lying outright, not claiming that he himself uses the goblet for divination purposes but, rather, that it is so used by “a person like me” – referring to Par’oh, not himself.

The halachos of what constitutes kishuf are complex. There are occasions when an omen may be taken seriously but, generally speaking, acting on the “revelation” of an omen, or relying on seemingly magical means to make one’s plans, constitutes a forbidden act.

There are, unfortunately, practices that have found footholds in some otherwise observant Jewish circles that seem clearly to be straddling, if not crossing, the line between legitimate “omen recognizing” and outright, forbidden occultism. I won’t venture into citing particular practices. As the same wise rebbe quoted above would say about controversial things, “Go ask your local Orthodox rabbi.” But when faced with the option of utilizing a seemingly questionable segulah, one needs to weigh the possibility that doing so may be an issur d’Oraysa, a Torah prohibition.

Back in parshas Vayeitzei, we find Lavan telling Yaakov, that “I have learned by divination that Hashem has blessed me on your account” (Beraishis 30:27).

Once again, Lavan is in our ancestry. But we have free will, and are charged to do our best to squelch whatever inclinations we may have that are born of that ancestor’s influence.

And How Are You Today?

Years ago, I learned the meaning of a Talmudic statement about stealing from a poor person. You can read about it here.

A Request

I have the great privilege of serving as public affairs director of Agudath Israel of America for nearly 30 years. I joined the staff at the invitation of Rabbi Moshe Sherer, a”h, and am honored to have worked under him, as I am under the Agudah’s current executive vice president, Rabbi Zwiebel.

And then there are my colleagues. It is gratifying to work alongside some of the most dedicated and effective protectors of religious rights, providers of social services, promoters of Torah study and observance, and standard bearers of Judaism.

Above all, it is humbling to work for a Jewish organization that takes its direction from a body like the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. Agudath Israel is truly a unique movement.

And it is poised to launch a drive to ensure that it can continue its great work into the future without hindrance .

If you know enough about the Agudah to cherish it (and if you don’t, please spend some time at https://agudah.org/ ), or if you just want to show appreciation for the articles that I produce (whether for the Agudah or for various media, which the organization gives me rein to do), please visit