For Ki Tavo
Not yet available on the Nishma website
The presentation in the Insight is not intended to explain how we are able to perceive the Divine cause-and-effect in response to our actions. This is still a challenge beyond our understanding. What the brachot and klallot do inform us, though, is that we are to absolutely perceive this Divine cause-and-effect within our lives and to see God in all that occurs to us, specifically in response to our behaviour. In this manner, we clearly see life differently. We may not know the specifics of why what occurs to us does occur to us but recognizing this involvement of the Divine in our lives is of great significance. We are always to see the involvement of God in our lives and learn from this to the extent that we can.
Friday, August 31, 2018
Friday, August 24, 2018
INSIGHT 5778 - #42 - MORES
For Ki Teitzei
Not yet available on the Nishma website
I hope that no one thinks that I am in any way presenting, with the words of this Insight, an argument for an allowance for promiscuity . Clearly, for many halachic reasons, the view of Torah is that sexual expression should only occur within marriage. My point, though, is that it must be recognized that the underlying Torah morality that we are to, in fact, learn from the Torah restrictions in this regard can reflect different value constructs than those that foster any similar viewpoints in the general world.
This is also so with many other ethical/moral stands within life; for example, the Torah view of tzniut is vastly different that calls within the world for sexual modesty. While in many ways the resultant behaviour may often be similar, the underlying moral construct advocating for this behaviour may actually be vastly different. What we can thus also find are situations where advocates of behaviour clearly contrary to that demanded by Torah actually present certain Torah values in their arguments as they challenge values presented against their viewpoint which actually are contrary to Torah. That is the case here in that the Christian sexual ethic is vastly different than the Torah ethic in this regard in many ways.
An important example of this would be the niddah laws which clearly indicate that Torah sexual morality is not just tied to marriage. In fact, these laws indicate that proper sexuality is not a black-and-white condition when it is always either permitted or not. In a value system based solely on marriage, sexuality between a couple is either always permitted or always not, depending on whether the couple is married or not. Pursuant to the niddah laws -- which, it can be argued, is a more fundamental construct within the Torah sexual ethical system than marriage -- it is clear, though, that proper sexual expression must be a development of the couple's expression within a more fluid environment. This, obviously, reflect a different understanding of sexuality including a significance to sexual expression when guided by these principles and expressed in its proper time.
Rabbi Ben Hecht .
Not yet available on the Nishma website
I hope that no one thinks that I am in any way presenting, with the words of this Insight, an argument for an allowance for promiscuity . Clearly, for many halachic reasons, the view of Torah is that sexual expression should only occur within marriage. My point, though, is that it must be recognized that the underlying Torah morality that we are to, in fact, learn from the Torah restrictions in this regard can reflect different value constructs than those that foster any similar viewpoints in the general world.
This is also so with many other ethical/moral stands within life; for example, the Torah view of tzniut is vastly different that calls within the world for sexual modesty. While in many ways the resultant behaviour may often be similar, the underlying moral construct advocating for this behaviour may actually be vastly different. What we can thus also find are situations where advocates of behaviour clearly contrary to that demanded by Torah actually present certain Torah values in their arguments as they challenge values presented against their viewpoint which actually are contrary to Torah. That is the case here in that the Christian sexual ethic is vastly different than the Torah ethic in this regard in many ways.
An important example of this would be the niddah laws which clearly indicate that Torah sexual morality is not just tied to marriage. In fact, these laws indicate that proper sexuality is not a black-and-white condition when it is always either permitted or not. In a value system based solely on marriage, sexuality between a couple is either always permitted or always not, depending on whether the couple is married or not. Pursuant to the niddah laws -- which, it can be argued, is a more fundamental construct within the Torah sexual ethical system than marriage -- it is clear, though, that proper sexual expression must be a development of the couple's expression within a more fluid environment. This, obviously, reflect a different understanding of sexuality including a significance to sexual expression when guided by these principles and expressed in its proper time.
Rabbi Ben Hecht .
Friday, August 17, 2018
INSIGHT 5778 - #41: EVALUATING ONE’S OWN THOUGHTS
For Shoftim
Not yet available on the Nishma website
Not yet available on the Nishma website
Friday, August 10, 2018
Friday, August 3, 2018
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