May 13, 2013 | 11:22 pm

Shavuot 2013 - We all stand at Sinai

Posted by Salvador Litvak

Follow JewishJournal.com on

The sound of the shofar draws near. 48 days ago, G-d took us out of the house of slavery in Egypt. Only one day remains to prepare. G-d will descend onto Mount Sinai on the third day - Wednesday morning. What does it mean to stand as a people in the presence of G-d? Are we standing there now? An Accidental Talmudist moment of Torah with Rabbi Shlomo Schwartz, a.k.a. "Schwartzie."

________________________________________________________________

To receive a notice when Accidental Talmudist posts something new, click here

Exchange ideas with Sal and other students of Jewish wisdom at Facebook.com/AccidentalTalmudist (and please "LIKE" the page to help enlarge our community)

Salvador Litvak wrote & directed the Passover comedy and cult hit, When Do We Eat? His new film, Saving Lincoln, explores Abraham Lincoln's fiery trial as Commander-in-Chief through the eyes of his closest friend and bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon.

March 9, 2013 | 10:23 pm

I am proud to be Litvish

Posted by Salvador Litvak

The Legacy, by Rabbis Warren Goldstein and Berel Wein is a phenomenal book that reconnected me with my heritage, and makes me proud to be a Litvak.

This is a phenomenal book. Since I began my journey back to Judaism, I have been blessed to learn from so many Chassidic masters that I often joke I'm a Litvak who's not so Litvish. Perhaps I should I've realized I'm pretty Litvish when I "accidentally" encountered the Talmud on day one of Daf Yomi, embarked on the voyage, and stayed with it for 7.5 years.

Litvaks are basically Jews descended from the vibrant and influential Jewish community  that existed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until the 20th Century. Litvaks and Chassids often held opposing viewpoints on the finer points of Torah and Talmud, much like the students of Hillel and Shammai, but they agree on the basics.

Now, at last, I'm starting to understand what a Litvak is. The wisdom of our tribe was almost wiped out in the Shoah. Stalin multiplied the carnage. 90% of our leaders and teachers were lost. This book, The Legacy, by Rabbis Warren Goldstein and Berel Wein, captures the essence of our tribe's teachings, and I'll be sharing some highlights here on the Accidental Talmudist blog.  Here's the first...

We must seek the ways of pleasantness. Actions and thoughts that lead to anger, abruptness, sharpness of tongue, dismissiveness, or Heaven forbid, humiliation of another individual, are wrong. Those are the ways of evil. Actions and thoughts that lead to serenity and simcha in the company of others are the ways of Torah. And so the Lithuanian master always taught. Shavuah Tov.

To learn more about the book, click here

To receive a notice when Accidental Talmudist posts something new, click here

Exchange ideas with Sal and other students of Jewish wisdom at Facebook.com/AccidentalTalmudist (and please "LIKE" the page to help enlarge our community)

Salvador Litvak wrote & directed the Passover comedy and cult hit, When Do We Eat? His new film, Saving Lincoln, explores Abraham Lincoln's fiery trial as Commander-in-Chief through the eyes of his closest friend and bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon.

0 Comments — Leave your comment

January 9, 2013 | 6:44 pm

Day 59 - Why Say a Blessing?

Posted by Salvador Litvak

The story is told of a young prince who cries because someone stepped on his house of sticks. His father, the King, laughs because He knows the child is destined for infinite blessings in the future, though the poor boy cannot see it now. Photo by Hesoto, Wiki Commons.

Rav Huna said that Rav said that Rabbi Meir said; and so it was taught in the name of Rabbi Akiva: One must always accustom oneself to say, “Everything that G-d does, He does for the best.” (Berakhot 60b, Koren Talmud Bavli)

Was Rabbi Akiva an irrational optimist? He sounds a bit like Voltaire’s Dr. Pangloss, who would chirp “It’s all for the best in this, the best of all possible worlds,” as tragedy befell his companions. And yet, three Sages reinforce Rabbi Akiva’s teaching. Why are they all so committed to a rosy worldview? It’s especially odd when we recall that Rabbi Akiva died a horrific death at the hands of Roman captors, because he continued teaching Torah after they banned it.

R’ Akiva’s words appear in the first tractate of the Talmud: Berakhot, i.e. Blessings. The Sages made it the first of 63 tractates because blessings are CRUCIAL. We recite them on countless occasions, and R’ Akiva’s teaching follows a long list of morning blessings. What is the connection between these formulaic blessings and accustoming ourselves to say that everything G-d does is for the best?

Like this [incident,] when Rabbi Akiva was walking along the road and came to a certain city. He inquired for lodging and they did not give him [any]. He said, “Everything that G-d does, He does for the best.” (Berakhot 60b con’t, Koren Talmud Bavli)

My close friend, Rabbi Shlomo Schwartz, says that every blessing has two components: a body and a soul, or a revealed truth and a hidden truth. The revealed truth about blessings is: G-d created the universe, so everything in it belongs to Him, and when we partake of His goodness, we ought to request permission and give thanks. Failing that, we act like boors and interlopers.

[Rabbi Akiva] went and slept in a field and he had with him a rooster, a donkey and a candle. A gust of wind came and extinguished the candle; a cat came and ate the rooster; and a lion came and ate the donkey. He said, “Everything that G-d does, He does for the best.” (Berakhot 60b con’t, Koren Talmud Bavli)

The hidden truth goes much deeper. Nearly all blessings begin Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, Sovereign of the Universe, or in Hebrew, “Baruch Atah Adoshem, Elokeinu Melech Ha’Olam…” (I altered the Holy Names in the traditional way, so that we do not speak them in vain when we are merely discussing them). Most of us run past these six words without really hearing them, because they are so familiar, and that is a big mistake.

The first word is Baruch. Blessed. Now, G-d doesn’t need us to declare that He is blessed - all blessing flows from G-d. So why do we bless Him? The hidden truth is that every blessing is an opportunity to experience the Divine flow of blessing. Baruch derives from the same Hebrew root as berech, or knee. Thus, blessing is related to kneeling. We don’t kneel to some far away, unknowable G-d – we kneel in the presence of our G-d.

He went and slept in a field and he had with him a rooster, a donkey and a candle. A gust of wind came and extinguished the candle; a cat came and ate the rooster; and a lion came and ate the donkey. He said, “Everything that G-d does, He does for the best.” (Berakhot 60b con’t, Koren Talmud Bavli)

We recite blessings to remind ourselves that we are in G-d’s presence at all times. The great gift we are receiving when we make a Kiddush is not the wine in the Kiddush cup, but rather the Divine energy which is already flowing through us, joining the Infinite to the finite through the only substance that partakes of both worlds: our souls.

That night, an army came and took the city into captivity. [It turned out that Rabbi Akiva alone, who was not in the city and had no lit candle, noisy rooster or donkey to give away his location, was saved.] He said to them,”Didn’t I tell you? Everything that G-d does, He does for the best.” (Berakhot 60b con’t, Koren Talmud Bavli)

Now we can begin to understand the connection between Rabbi Akiva’s faith in G-d’s beneficence and the long list of everyday blessings. Rabbi Meir says we should utter 100 blessings a day (Menachot 43b). That sounds like a chore, but in fact every blessing is an opportunity to experience the Divine flow.

Rabbi Akiva had faith in the night and was rewarded in the morning. But what if the reward doesn’t come in the morning? What do we do when the night goes on and on? The answer is, keep saying blessings. They strengthen our faith that the morning is coming. Moreover, blessings can make the night less painful. For example…

These days, I find myself veering erratically between joy and terror. My new film, Saving Lincoln, is complete and will soon appear in theaters. We’re launching its release on a new platform called Kickstarter, which allows people to support the film, rather than simply consume it. Every time a new backer comes aboard, I get an email and a thrill: “We have an audience! People believe in me! My career is soaring!” Then a few hours go by without activity: “Oh, we peaked. No one really cares about Lincoln. I’ll have to find a new career at the worst possible time…”

It’s all insanity, of course - the truth is perpetually in the middle, and success can only accrue step by step, commensurate with the opportunities G-d gives me, and the work I’ve put into this over many years. Blessings help me remember that. Blessings keep me sane when life gets crazy.

So, here’s the way I approach them. When I say a blessing, over a piece of bread for example, I focus on that first word, Baruch. I remember that the divine flow is emanating from the Infinite into this world through my soul, right now. Full stop. I open myself to experiencing that.

From there, it is natural to enjoy the piece of bread, and to appreciate all the people who helped make it and bring it to me. Moreover, I intend to transform the calories within that bread into work that benefits others: family, community, etc.

0 Comments — Leave your comment

December 14, 2012 | 1:02 pm

The Secret to Chanukah

Posted by Salvador Litvak

Chanukah, 1943, Westerbork, Holland. By a Jewish inmate, Rudolf Werner Breslauer, probably in early 1943. These people were later deported to death camps in Poland. From the Yad Vashem Photo Archive

Rosh Chodesh Chanukah, 5773 (2012)

I wrote the Secret to Chanukah late last night on Facebook.com/AccidentalTalmudist, where I post short pieces almost everyday, and we discuss Torah, Talmud and other matters. Between then and now, I heard the horrific news coming out of Newtown, CT, where a mass murder occurred in an Elementary School. I pray for the healing of those who survived, and strength to the grieving. And may the souls of the victims find comfort in the Presence of HaShem. My heart breaks for those families.

I don't know if it's the right thing to do, but I'm going to share the Chanukah post here because it's the only power I have to counteract the evil which shattered so many lives this morning. 

------------------------------

Last night I asked my kids if they still used any of the gifts they received for Chanukah two years ago. They said no. I told them tonight I'm going to give them a gift that will last forever: the Secret to Chanukah.

The secret to Chanukah is that we count eight days while the month changes - the only extended holiday that does so. As the month changes, so we can change one thing about ourselves that we've been trying to change. One repair that will make this holiday a true gift to ourselves and the people around us. It could be as small as the serving size of late night ice cream, or as profound as the holy pause button when anger flashes, but we change.

The secret to Chanukah is that we make this change secretly. We don't say a word. We just make the change. When it is accomplished, others will notice without being told.

The secret to Chanukah is to confide in G-d, because G-d wants that change and will help us achieve it. Ask G-d for help and you will be strengthened to make it happen.

Two nights left. Pick the change. Look into the candles when you kindle them. See yourself in them, changed. Pray for help, and change.

Tikkun. I pray for your success.

------------------------------------------------------------------

To receive a notice when Accidental Talmudist posts something new, click here

Exchange ideas with Sal and other students of Jewish wisdom at Facebook.com/AccidentalTalmudist (and please "LIKE" the page to help enlarge our community)

Salvador Litvak wrote & directed the Passover comedy and cult hit, When Do We Eat? His upcoming film, Saving Lincoln, explores Abraham Lincoln's fiery trial as Commander-in-Chief through the eyes of his closest friend and bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon.

1 Comments — Leave your comment

November 12, 2012 | 2:24 pm

Veterans Day Tribute

Posted by Salvador Litvak

Happy Veterans Day. In honor of all who serve, I made this tribute to the men and women who fought and sacrificed in the Civil War. The facial hair may have changed, but the eyes are as familiar as our friends and familiy. I wish we had photgraphs of our Sages, as I think they'd look equally familiar.

Enjoy and please share!

3 Comments — Leave your comment

November 8, 2012 | 9:01 am

Day 85 - Why I’m Reading the Whole Talmud… Again

Posted by Salvador Litvak

The Talmud on my shelf.

I have been struggling to write a post since I came down from the Mt. Sinai-like high of the Siyum HaShas at MetLife Stadium, when we completed the seven and a half year cycle of reading the Talmud (click here for my Jewish Journal cover story about that experience).

I have kept up with the page-a-day schedule of the new Daf Yomi cycle, but my writer’s block arose from the fear of actually committing to another seven and a half years of Talmud study.

During the first cycle, my learning curve was nearly vertical. In most areas, my newfound knowledge remains superficial to be sure, yet there is no substitute for that all-encompassing view which an ant obtains the first time it climbs a tree and sees the entire world in which it lives. The experience transformed me in a fundamental way, for which I thank G-d. Deepening and reinforcing that experience would thus seem like the obvious next step.

Three reasons immediately presented themselves, however, for moving on from the Talmud. Number one, I did it! After running the NYC Marathon years ago I felt like I’d run two marathons – my first and last. Check! And now that I, a non-Yeshiva boy, have merited to read the whole Talmud, dayenu!

Number two, it is hard to keep this going for anyone, but especially someone who does not attend synagogue every morning, and who is not a full-time Torah scholar. I’m a director, and I’ve just made an independent film in a unique and unprecedented manner (see Saving Lincoln). My family’s livelihood depends on connecting this film with its audience, a huge undertaking in itself. I am stressed and obsessed. Extra time, I do not have.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Talmud marathon often felt like it was cutting into my time with G-d. Yes, I was transformed, and I know that Torah study is the highest form of service, but my prayer practice used to feel more spiritual because I had more time. The Talmud journey surely augmented my prayer, but I was looking forward to extending my prayer-time because it grounds me, and orients my life. And yet, I couldn’t bear to stop reading the Talmud.

Today, I realized why. I went to my Talmud class this morning and two profound things happened. It is no coincidence they happened on the same day. The first arose from the Talmud itself:

Rava said: It is obvious to me that if a poor person lacks the funds to purchase both the oil for kindling a Sabbath light for his house and the oil for a Chanukah light…the light for his house is preferable, on account of the peace it brings to his home, [for otherwise his family would be sitting and eating in the dark.] It is also obvious that if he cannot afford to purchase both the oil for the Sabbath light… and the wine for sanctification [Kiddush] of the Sabbath day… the light for his house is preferable, on account of the peace it brings to his house. (Shabbat 23b, translation mostly by Rabbi Steinsaltz)

In fact, neither statement is obvious and the great teacher Rava knew it. The rationale for choosing the Sabbath light over the Chanukah light ought to arise from the well-established Talmudic principle that frequent mitzvahs take precedence over infrequent mitzvahs (Zevachim 89a). It is counter-intuitive for most, but Shabbat is a more important holiday than Rosh Hashanah precisely because it happens every week rather than once a year.

The second statement implies that candle lighting, a Rabbinic decree, overrides Kiddush, a Biblical decree. Commentators have argued that Rava’s choice is justified by the fact that Kiddush could be made over bread, or simply included in the Maariv prayer of Friday night, but clearly the superior way to make Kiddush is with wine. So when the chips are really down, and the impoverished man is most anxious to beseech G-d, it would seem that Kiddush should prevail. Why does Rava tell him to choose the Sabbath light instead? Because peace in the home is paramount.

My teacher Rabbi Blau adds, if for the sake of peace in the home we sacrifice such a beloved mitzvah as kindling the Chanukah light, and what’s more, we sacrifice even the more revered and frequent mitzvah of making Kiddush over wine, then how much more must we sacrifice the ego – an opportunity which arises every day – for the sake of the peace in the house!

That is Talmud in practice. Talmud that brings G-d's love into my home. Talmud that blesses my family. Talmud I need.

And then we prayed Shacharit. Rather than try to keep up with the morning service around me, I sank into the opening blessings. Blessings are the first thing we read about in the Talmud, occupying the opening two months of the Daf Yomi cycle. Reading those pages again was completely different. I absorbed much more because the Talmud’s language, style, conceptual approach and connection-making were no longer a mystery. I’m still an amateur, of course, but I’m no longer a beginner.

Praying the morning blessings today, a portal opened. We’re supposed to say hundred blessings a day. It sounds like an onerous chore, but when the portal opened I realized each blessing is an opportunity to experience G-d’s Presence, and it only takes a few more seconds than rushing through the utterance.

More about that in my next post.

To receive a notice when Accidental Talmudist posts something new, click here

Exchange ideas with Salvador Litvak and other Talmudists at Facebook.com/AccidentalTalmudist (and please "LIKE" the page to help enlarge our community)

Salvador Litvak wrote & directed the Passover comedy and cult hit, When Do We Eat? His upcoming film, Saving Lincoln, explores Abraham Lincoln's fiery trial as Commander-in-Chief through the eyes of his closest friend and bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon.

3 Comments — Leave your comment

August 5, 2012 | 8:23 pm

Day 2711 - Siyum HaShas: The Talmud Ends, The Talmud Begins

Posted by Salvador Litvak

Left to right: Salvador Litvak (Accidental Talmudist), Dr. David Litvak, Avi Litvak, and Lionel Leventhal

Whoever learns halachos every day is assured that he will be a citizen of the World to Come. For it is stated: The ways (halichos) of the world are His. Do not read halichos, but halachos. (Niddah 73a)

After seven and a half years of daily study, my voyage through the sea of Talmud ended with these words, as 92,000 Jews filled every seat of Metlife Stadium in New Jersey to celebrate the completion of Daf Yomi in an event called The 12th Siyum HaShas. My voyage began with a miracle, and ended in transformation.

On March 2, 2005, I ventured into 613 The Mitzvah Store on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. I’d been there a few times, but it was not a regular stop. I grew up proud to be Jewish, I had a Bar Mitzvah, and I always considered myself a spiritual person with a rational belief in G-d, i.e. it made more sense to me that G-d created the world than that it just happened.

I sought out spirituality in many places and traditions, but I was never satisfied. Then my grandmother of blessed memory, Magdalena Miselbach, passed away in September 1997, and I felt a deep pull to explore my own backyard. I did not realize then, nor until the very moment of writing this paragraph, that her passing coincided with the 10th completion of the Daf Yomi cycle.

In 1997, I simply started going to synagogue, not because I was supposed to, but because I wanted to. I soon became a student of Rabbi Mordecai Finley - a brilliant teacher of Chassidus and the transformative power of our tradition. Learning from him and other great teachers like Rabbis Shlomo Schwartz, David Wolpe, Mark Blazer, David Seidenberg, and Jonathan Omer-Man, I drank in all the Torah I could, and I embarked upon the path described by Reb Springsteen: a time comes when you need to start being the man you aim to become.

Along the way, I often heard about the Talmud. I knew the word, but I never attended a Yeshiva, and I had no real sense of what it meant. On previous visits to the bookstore on Pico, I would look over at the long shelves of Talmud and shake my head. Those volumes seemed like bricks in a wall separating the super-religious from everyone else.

After seven and a half years of learning, however, I had a new thought. Why be intimidated? OK, so each set of Talmud looks like three Encyclopedia Britannicas. But I was an English major in college, and they’re just books! There must be a book one. I’ll get that and see what it’s like. I found Berachos 1, and took it to the counter.

The kid at the register said, “So, you’re doing Daf Yomi.”

I said, “What’s Daf Yomi?”

Looking at me strangely, he answered, “It’s a worldwide program for learning Talmud. Everyone reads one page a day on the same schedule, it takes seven and a half years to read the whole thing, and today is day one.”

There are 2,711 pages in the Talmud. I could’ve bought that book on any one of those days. As a spiritual rationalist, the odds against this “coincidence” did not escape me.

“OK, G-d, I get the message. I’m doing Daf Yomi.”

Many times I thought I would fail. It has been called the world’s longest marathon. I have a family and a high-pressure occupation. Could there be enough hours in the day? Well, if G-d was so generous as to arrange a miracle for me to commence Daf Yomi, I figured He would also give me the strength to finish.

After seven and a half years of learning Talmud, much of it under the wise and gentle guidance of Rabbi Mechie Blau, I reached the long awaited day at Metlife Stadium. Metlife Stadium? Are you kidding me? I grew up in New York. I’m a rabid Giants fan. And last Wednesday I joined 92,000 Jews to fill every seat of Giants Stadium for a Talmud event? Unbelievable!

Accompanying me were my son, Avi, 7, my brother David and my old friend, Lionel Leventhal. Avi has never known me not to be a Talmud student. David is a cardiologist in Boston who pulled multiple favors to attend. Lionel says he was inspired by me to commence the Daf Yomi in the new cycle. My father unfortunately could not attend due to a knee surgery, but his ticket went to Bryan Bridges, whom I met through my Accidental Talmudist page on facebook. He too is now embarking upon the Daf. I was prepared for a wonderful night, but the reality exceeded the expectation.

If one attends a college for four years, takes all the required classes, and hands in her assignments, has she not completed the endeavor? Does the graduation itself really matter? One possible answer may be found in the Talmud.

Tractate Shabbos lists 39 categories of work from which we must abstain on the Sabbath. These laws are derived from the kinds of work needed to build the Tabernacle. Examples include planting, plowing, grinding, kneading, slaughtering, tanning, writing, etc. The 38th category, however, is a bit surprising: makeh b’patish, or striking the final blow.

Writing a story is work. Writing the last word of the story ought to be the same sort of work, but it’s not. When you strike the final blow, the story becomes a story, the brisket becomes a brisket, and in my case, the talmudist becomes a talmudist. Not an expert. Not even a competent talmudist. But at least a person who can be described as such without speaking falsely.

The final blow was not what I thought it would be. Our Team Siyum arrived early - very early. Along with my partners, Eric Chaikin and Nat Rubin, I am producing a documentary about the Talmud and the people who learn it. The idea only came up in the last few months as the Siyum approached, and my role in it thus far has been mostly as a participant because I am so busy completing my film, Saving Lincoln.

We reached the stadium at 3. It rained all day. The afternoon prayers, or Mincha,  began at 7:30. As the lights came up, the rain went away, and the stadium became silent: a roaring silence of people focused on G-d. When we reached Kaddish, and the prayer leader completed the first section, 92,000 answered in unison: Y’hay shmay rabbah m’varach l’olam ul’al’may al’mayah! (May His great Name be blessed forever and to all eternity!) May we all merit to hear such a great gathering of Jews praying together again and again. There is nothing like it.

The Daf Yomi cycle was proposed in 1923 my R’ Meir Shapiro. Could he have imagined such a realization of his dream? Giants Stadium became a temple, linked to dozens of venues around the world, including the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in LA, where the Oscars are held, all for the sake of Talmud.

Butchers once filled stadiums to celebrate their plans for annihilating our people. Now we filled the stadium.

Speeches followed, praising the teachers and students who made this moment possible. During one of them, Lionel turned to me and said, “More than the 2,711 pages, I’m proud of you for the person you’ve become.”

“The person I’ve become?”

“Sal, I’ve known you for 29 years. You’re different now. Not that you weren’t a nice guy before, but I would now hold you up against anyone in terms of respectfulness and kindness to others. It’s in the way you speak to you wife and kids, and everyone. It has to be because of this.”

I was speechless. I knew I was doing a good thing learning for all those years. I felt the hours of study would bring me closer to G-d, as I strove to understand His laws and the wisdom of my people. But there were SO many days when I was just slogging through complex ideas, and retaining precious little. In what way could that change me? And do I really treat people differently?

The night reached its apex: I pulled out Tractate Niddah. All his life Avi watched me proceed from one volume to the next, and this was the moment of reading the final words of the final book. We read them, and then the stadium erupted! Dancing, jumping, singing at the top of our lungs. Avi, David, Lionel, Bryan, Eric, Nat - we were all exhilarated! Avi said, “Now that’s a Jewish party!”

There was more to the night, including commencing the Talmud again with Berachos 1, as I had so many years and pages ago. Yet it was neither the last page nor the first page that constituted the final blow.

Two days later, Avi and I drove up to a family reunion. This particular branch of the family had often suffered from painful arguments because every member had a different approach to religion. All were dreading the next Shabbat, when the final eruption was sure to occur, thanks to an argument that happened while Avi and I were away. Hearing about it during the drive back, I remembered what Lionel had said to me, and I remembered a phrase we often read in the Talmud: Torah scholars increase peace in the world.

I approached each family member individually. I asked them what the argument was really about. So much of Talmud study is just that: piercing the veil of words to decipher exactly where viewpoints differ. What is at stake, and is there really a contradiction? I explained to each what I had heard the others say, and proposed a way, a halicha, by which we might navigate this fragile situation.

And it worked! Shabbat was a joy! That is why we study halachos, per the final words of the Talmud. So we can find a halicha.

The 39th and final category of work is hotza’ah: carrying from domain to domain. May we all merit to learn and to teach, to come nearer to G-d than we were a moment ago, and to carry that knowledge to another domain.

To receive a notice when Accidental Talmudist posts something new, click here

Exchange ideas with Salvador Litvak and other Talmudists at facebook.com/accidentaltalmudist (and please LIKE the page to help enlarge our community)

Follow twitter.com/ATalmudist

Salvador Litvak wrote and directed the Passover comedy and cult hit “When Do We Eat?” His current film, “Saving Lincoln”, explores Abraham Lincoln’s fiery trial as Commander-in-Chief through the eyes of his dear friend and bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon.

6 Comments — Leave your comment

July 25, 2012 | 1:20 pm

Day 2704 - What is a Soul?

Posted by Salvador Litvak

Courtesy Library of Congress

One week to go. After seven and a half years of reading Talmud, only seven days and seven pages remain until the Daf Yomi cycle renews. G-d willing, I will attend the massive celebration called Siyum HaShas at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey next week, along with nearly 100,000 other Jews. I can scarcely believe it.

Naturally, this event coincides with the absolute busiest, most intense, and most critical days of my career as we complete post-production on Saving Lincoln, and commence production on the Talmud documentary. Thank you, G-d, for having sufficient faith in me to hand me this plate. And as we near the end of the Talmud’s final tractate, Niddah, and the beginning of its first tractate, Berachos, we discover a wonderful connection between the two, and the perfect way to complete the circle.

Here is the Torah’s most basic commandment, repeated twice daily in the verses of the Shema: “And you shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” We say it so often, that unless we really think about it, the prayer ends up meaning, “You should love G-d a lot!” We can learn quite a bit, however, from taking a closer look at these words, in particular the middle phrase, “with all your soul.”

R’ Simlai expounded… Throughout one’s life on Earth, there are no days more blissful than those in the womb. (Niddah 30b)

I can get a handle on “With all your heart.” In the ancient world, the heart was thought to be the seat of intelligence as well as emotion. Thus, “with all your heart” means, at least in part, that one ought to love G-d by choosing good over evil, thus submitting to G-d’s will. Proof is in the Shema itself, where we are also admonished not to stray after our hearts and our eyes, in that order. I believe this means we must not use our intelligence to rationalize the pursuit of unpermitted pleasures. Rather we must use our seichel to creatively and consistently do good.

And they teach the unborn child the entire Torah… (Niddah 30b)

“With all your might” is understood to mean with all your wealth. In other words, dedicate all your resources to the pursuit of good (see Berachos 54a). An alternative interpretation from the same source: whatever the L-rd metes out to you, good or bad, thank Him.

Loving G-d with all one’s heart and might are thus relatively straightforward, at least in terms of understanding what is demanded of us. Performing these commandments is of course another matter, but the middle verse is mysterious even in its demand: what does it mean to love G-d “with all your soul?”

But as soon as the child emerges into the air of the world, an angel comes and strikes him on his mouth, causing him to forget the entire Torah. (Niddah 30b)

The most famous interpretation of “with all your soul” comes from Rabbi Akiva. This great teacher and tzadik interpreted this mysterious phrase to mean that you shall love G-d even if he takes your soul from you - in other words, even if that love costs you your life. Though he uttered it twice a day all his life, Akiva was troubled that he would never have the opportunity to fulfill this commandment.

Tragically, his opportunity came. As Rome pressed down upon Israel, the teaching of Torah was outlawed, and Akiva continued to teach. He was arrested and sentenced to a grisly death. As the torture proceeded, Akiva recited the Shema. His grieving students asked, “Our teacher, even to this extent?” Yes. And he died saying, “Hear O Israel, The L-rd Our G-d, The L-rd is One.” And the echo of a voice emanated from Heaven, proclaiming, “Fortunate are you, Rabbi Akiva” for you have already gained your place in the World to Come. (Berachos 61b)

Ever since, Jews have remembered Akiva and followed his example when the choice was idolatry or death. Fortunate are we who have never faced such a choice. But in the absence of such calamity, are we unable to love G-d with all our souls?

To fashion an answer, we must fathom what a soul is.

The child does not leave the womb before it is made to swear allegiance to G-d and His precepts. (Niddah 30b)

A soul is capable of apprehending the entire Torah while still in the womb. It is a spark of G-d, entrusted to an individual, and sent forth into this world to make a life.

While still in the presence of G-d, my soul can grasp the entire Torah at once, but as I separate, that wisdom becomes muddy and then forgotten. I venture into the world unarmed with the knowledge I most need - knowledge of my Creator’s will. Why?

At night, I dream. My soul returns to its Source, and I grasp huge ideas in an instant. Then I awake, and again I forget. Why?

And what is the content of the oath that is administered to the unborn child? He is told as follows: “Become a righteous person and not a wicked one…” (Niddah 30b)

If my soul remained connected to its Source, it would be nullified in G-d’s perfect Oneness. My soul could not choose…anything. It would simply be. Instead, G-d entrusts me with a spark of the Oneness and lets me live my own life. What is asked in return? That I employ it wisely, righteously, lovingly. As I would want my child to be employed.

Be aware that the Holy One, Blessed is He, is pure, and His heavenly servants are pure, and the soul that He placed within you is also pure. If during your sojourn on Earth you guard it in purity, fine and well. But if not, I shall take it back from you.” (Niddah 30b)

Open a Jewish prayer book. Upon awaking we are to say, “Thank you for restoring my soul to me. Your faithfulness is great.” What is G-d’s faithfulness? As my friend, Naftali Rubin reminded me, it is faith in us that we will perform what is expected of us.

We study Torah in order to learn the instructions of life - to know what is expected. Perhaps even more, we study Torah because through the very act of studying we connect with the Source of our souls.

A few pages later in the prayer book we read, “My God, the soul which you have placed within me is pure. You have created it, you have formed, you have breathed it into me, and you preserve it within me. Eventually, You will take it from me, and restore it to me in the World to Come. So long as the Soul is within me, I offer thanks to You, L-rd my G-d and G-d of my ancestors.”

Thank you, G-d, for entrusting me with this precious gift. May I merit to make good on Your faith in me.

To receive a notice when Accidental Talmudist posts something new, click here

Exchange ideas with Salvador Litvak and other Talmudists at facebook.com/accidentaltalmudist (and please LIKE the page to help enlarge our community)

Follow twitter.com/ATalmudist

Salvador Litvak wrote and directed the Passover comedy and cult hit “When Do We Eat?” His current film, “Saving Lincoln”, explores Abraham Lincoln’s fiery trial as Commander-in-Chief through the eyes of his dear friend and bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon.

2 Comments — Leave your comment