Latest Essays

• Ayeka - Where Are You?

  Jun 8, 2025 Admin 0 Comments

  This is Part 2; please read Part 1 before proceeding with the content below.
  
  Recently, I heard a thought about Adam HaRishon and his eating of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, as when one associates oneself with that sin, it limits one's growth. It is a nice idea, but please allow me to approach this from a different angle.
  
  In Parashat Bereshit 3:9-11, says: "וַיִּקְרָ֛א יה׳ אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ אַיֶּֽכָּה׃ - G-d Hashem called out to the Human and said to him, "Where are you?" 
  
  וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אֶת־קֹלְךָ֥ שָׁמַ֖עְתִּי בַּגָּ֑ן וָאִירָ֛א כִּֽי־עֵירֹ֥ם אָנֹ֖כִי וָאֵחָבֵֽא׃ - He replied, I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.
  
  וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מִ֚י הִגִּ֣יד לְךָ֔ כִּ֥י עֵירֹ֖ם אָ֑תָּה הֲמִן־הָעֵ֗ץ אֲשֶׁ֧ר צִוִּיתִ֛יךָ לְבִלְתִּ֥י אֲכׇל־מִמֶּ֖נּוּ אָכָֽלְתָּ׃  - Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?"
  
  Let's stop here. As always, everything that is about to follow is just my two cents, my opinion, may be something to ponder about.
  
  So, what happened here?
  
  Adam ate the fruit, and Hashem is looking for him? I don't believe it's that simple; there must be more to it. Hashem knows where everyone is, and especially He knows where His creation is, right there in the Garden. By asking Ayeka - Where are you? I believe, Hashem meant something else. 
  
  If you read part 1, in my opinion, Rabbi Akiva ate the fruits from the Tree of Knowledge, and this propelled him to become one of the greatest teachers we have ever had, a person who taught the next generation of rabbis, who have passed on the Torah as we know it Today. 
  
  Similarly, Adam, by eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, gained knowledge of the Torah and its laws - halachot, which is why he was hiding, since the law says that one can't be naked out in the open. 
  
  But there's a problem. There was no Torah given to him yet. 
  
  So, in 3:21, "וַיַּ֩עַשׂ֩ ייה׳ אֱלֹהִ֖ים לְאָדָ֧ם וּלְאִשְׁתּ֛וֹ כׇּתְנ֥וֹת ע֖וֹר וַיַּלְבִּשֵֽׁם׃ - And G-d made garments of skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them." And drove them out of the Garden of Eden. 
  
  But let's further develop this idea, because I feel we're on to something huge!
  
  In Talmud Bava Metzia 59a, we have an interesting story.
  
  The story begins with a halakhic dispute regarding an oven called "Tanur shel Akhnai" or "The Oven of Akhnai." This oven was constructed from separate tiles with sand placed between each tile. The main question was whether this oven, when disassembled and reassembled, retained its original status or became a new entity. This distinction was crucial for matters of ritual purity.
  
  Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurcanus argued that the oven lost its status, meaning that if it had been ritually defiled, it would lose that impure status.
  
  The majority of the sages ruled that it retained its original status throughout the disassembly and reassembly process.
  
  On that day, when they were discussing this matter, Rabbi Eliezer gave all possible answers to support his view, but the Rabbis disagreed with him. After he could not convince the Rabbis, Rabbi Eliezer said to them:
  
  If the law is according to my opinion, 'This carob tree will prove it'. The carob tree has uprooted itself and moved from its place one hundred cubits, and some say four hundred cubits. The Rabbis said to him: One does not bring halakhic proof from the carob tree. 
  
  Rabbi Eliezer then said to them, 'If the halakha is according to my opinion, the stream will prove it.' The water in the stream turned backward and began flowing in the opposite direction. They said to him, 'One does not bring halakhic proof from a stream.' 
  
  Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is according to my opinion, 'The walls of the study hall will prove it'. The walls of the study hall leaned inward and began to fall. Rabbi Yehoshua scolded the walls and said to them: 'If Torah scholars are arguing with each other in matters of halakha, what is the nature of your involvement in this dispute?' The Gemara says: The walls did not fall because of the respect due Rabbi Yehoshua, but they did not straighten because of the respect due Rabbi Eliezer, and they remained leaning. 
  
  Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha agrees with my opinion, 'Heaven will prove it'. A Divine Voice, Bat Kol emerged from Heaven and said: 'Why are you arguing with Rabbi Eliezer, as the halakha does agree with his opinion in every place that he expresses an opinion?' 
  
  In response to the Divine proclamation, Rabbi Yehoshua rose to his feet and quoted Deuteronomy 30:12, declaring "Lo BaShamayim He" – "It [the Torah] is not in Heaven." This bold statement asserted that once G-d gave the Torah at Mount Sinai, its interpretation was entrusted to human scholars rather than through Divine revelation.
  
  Rabbi Yirmiyah explained this principle further, stating that since the Torah was already given at Mount Sinai, Jews are instructed to "follow the majority" in legal matters. This establishes the principle that halakhic decisions are made through human deliberation and majority rule, rather than through miraculous signs or Divine voices. After this incident, Rabbi Eliezer was boycotted or put in cherem.
  
  When Hashem came to Adam, and said: Ayeka - Where are you? G-d meant, Adam, where are you, in the Garden of Eden - in the upper world, or down there in the lower world? Your knowledge of Torah and its laws, the halachot, is not for the spiritual world in the Garden of Eden, but it is for the lower world of physicality - the Earth. 
  
  This is one of the reasons why Hashem gave the Torah to Moshe Rabbenu in Parashat Yitro, as angels cannot fulfill it because they lack parents and cannot show them respect, and are unable to keep hundreds of other commandments that only us, the humans can fulfill on Earth, down here in the physical realm.
  
  The Sages teach us that when the baby is conceived, an angel teaches the entire Torah to a fetus in the womb. Then, just before he is born, the angel taps him on his upper lip (which leaves an indentation right under the nose). The baby forgets what he had learned, as it says in the Talmud Niddah 30b. I would also assume that the angel has given a tap on Adam's upper lip as well, so he should forget the Torah that he acquired by eating the fruit or by "using a shortcut."
  
  But what is this thing called: law or halacha? 
  
  This is the Word of G-d, which is interpreted and explained by the rabbis of each generation and passed on to the next. You can find it in the pages of the Talmud and the written works of the rabbis of each generation, which make up the Oral Torah. 
  
  Welcome to Orthodox Judaism, which is the Word of G-d. It is not in Heaven, but down here on planet Earth - interpreted, explained, accepted, and embraced by the millions. 
  
  When Rabbi Nathan encountered the prophet Eliyahu, and asked what G-d's reaction was to the argument of The Oven of Akhnai. The Prophet Eliyahu said that G-d smiled and said, "My children have defeated Me, My children have defeated Me," (Talmud Bava Metzia 59b), showing Divine pleasure in human interpretive authority.
  
  So, if what you have read so far makes sense, and since the law is made and changed by the majority, and if the majority of the Sages agree with me that Adam haRishon was hiding since he knew the halacha that one cannot be naked out in the open. And Ayeka - Where are you? - is Hashem's question to Adam, in which world is he - Upper or the Lower, and that the law can be practiced only in the Lower world and not in the Upper. 
  
  And if the majority of the Sages have agreed to my opinion above, then may I have the authority just for a second, to call upon the Sages of our Times, to release Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurcanus forever from the cherem/boycott and set him free, so that he may be allowed to seat in the Yeshivah Shel Malaa or The Bet Midrash in Heaven, together with the colleagues of the yesteryears. And just like it was in the olden days, may he state the law as equal, and go head to head with the Mighty of the Upper Worlds. 
  
  So, my friend, grab a book and learn the laws of Orthodox Judaism - The Shulchan Aruch. The laws that have been analyzed, debated, agreed upon, accepted, and embraced by millions throughout the history of the Jewish people. We have a lot of catching up to do. Since by learning the laws, we join the millions around the world who are living day-to-day by the Word of the Living G-d. 
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• The Power of The Constant Drip

  May 22, 2025 Admin 0 Comments

  I am sure all of you have heard the story of Rabbi Akiva. I want to touch on just a small part of it.
  
  After Akiva learned the basic knowledge of the Torah, he and his wife agreed that he was to go to the academy of the great scholars of those days, headed by Rabbi Eliezer, to devote 12 years to intensive study. Thus, the two parted, and for 12 long years, Rachel worked hard to support herself, while her husband grew to become one of the most learned men that ever lived. At the end of 12 years, Rabbi Akiva returned to his wife, as he had promised. When he came to his house, and before he opened the door, he heard a conversation between his wife and a neighbor taunting Rachel for being foolish enough to wait and slave for her husband, who had left her to study Torah. 
  
  "As for me, he could stay away another 12 years at the Yeshivah to acquire more knowledge," was Rachel's reply.
  
  When Rabbi Akiva heard this from his wife, he turned around and did as Rachel wanted - he went back to Yeshivah.
  
  At the end of 24 years, Rabbi Akiva became the most famous living scholar. Youth came from all over Israel to study under his guidance. Rabbi Akiva was the rabbi of 24,000 scholars.
  
  Accompanied by them, Rabbi Akiva returned home in a triumphant journey from city to city, welcomed everywhere by the highest nobility.
  
  My question would be, how come Rabbi Akiva didn't even come to the house or say hello to his wife?
  
  Below, as always, is just my opinion.
  
  I believe that just like the young Yosef was atoning for Kayin, Rabbi Akiva has taken it upon himself to atone for Yaakov Avinu. 
  
  Why would Yaakov Avinu need an atonement for, you may ask? 
  
  Parashat Vayetzeh 29:18-30 says Yaakov came to Lavan and agreed to work for Rachel for seven years. Seven years had passed, and on the night of the wedding, Lavan switched the sisters, and Yaakov married Leah. Indignant, but determined to marry Rachel, Yaakov agrees to work another seven years for Rachel. So at the end of 14 years, Yaakov leaves Lavan's house with four wives, 12 children, and lots of livestock. Yaakov Avinu has become rich.
  
  But during this time, he concentrated on his work; "he worked hard," as it says in Vayetzeh 31:6. One thing lacking in this effort was the study of Torah. I am sure he learned in his free time, but most of this free time was dedicated to diligently delivering work to Lavan, his employer. 
  
  So, centuries later, Rabbi Akiva comes and amasses many students. He fills the gaps that Yaakov Avinu left, where no Torah was learned. Rabbi Akiva has filled them with his years of learning, no matter the time and effort it took; thus, he has become the greatest sage with fame and fortune.
  
  When Rabbi Akiva was a 40-year-old shepherd, he saw drops of water falling on a huge stone – drip, drop – and directly where the drops were falling, there was a deep hole in the stone.
  
  "What mighty power there is in a drop of water," thought the shepherd. "Could my stony heart ever be softened up that way? Look what the little drops of water did to the rock. Suppose I began to study the Torah, little by little, drop by drop, perhaps my mind would soften up?"
  
  This motivated him to study Torah and become the greatest Torah sage.
  
  How about you? Are you still looking for your rock with a hole made by water drips to motivate or convince you to study Torah?
  
  Many have "used" Rabbi Akiva's rock and reached the heights in Torah and holiness.
  
  Drip, drop.. drip, drop.. Let’s..reach those heights!!

  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• For Out of Zion Shall Go Forth The Torah

  May 5, 2025 Admin 0 Comments

  There's a story in Masechet Chagiga 14b, "The Rabbis taught: Four Sages entered the Pardes or the orchard - the highest spiritual elevation, as explained by Rashi. They were Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Elisha ben Avuya, and Rabbi Akiva.”
  
  The consequences of this journey were as follows:
  
  - Ben Azzai: He gazed upon the Divine Presence and died.
  - Ben Zoma: He glimpsed the Divine Presence and was harmed by losing his mind.
  - Elisha ben Avuyah: He became a heretic and was thus called Acher.
  - Rabbi Akiva: He entered and exited the Pardes safely.
  
  With your permission, I would like to examine why Rabbi Akiva exited safely. Was he safe after he came back? 
  
  Below are some ideas, and are only my opinion.
  
  If you look at his students' names, they are not the same people who went with him to Pardes. His students are: Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, Rabbi Yossei ben Halafta, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua.
  
  He took with him a different group of people. His students were not on the level to travel with him into those realms, but the ones who went with him were on the same level as him to travel that far.
  
  After the journey, the other three rabbis met their fate, but Rabbi Akiva seems to be fine, as the Gemara above says, but why?
  
  Because after Rabbi Akiva buried 24,000 students, no Torah teacher was left in this world capable of transmitting the Torah to the next generation. So, Hashem has given a Master Teacher time to teach the next generation of Rabbis, who taught the five luminaries that have revived the Torah. After he had accomplished this goal and left the teachers behind, Rabbi Akiva was executed by the Romans.
  
  But what is this place, Pardes?
  

  It is a Paradise or an orchard, "a place of fruit trees".
  
  In Parashat Bereshit, we read that after G-d created man and woman, he placed them in the Garden of Eden. Adam was instructed that he could eat anything in the Garden except the fruit of one tree—the Tree of Knowledge.
  
  But Adam and Eve ate from that tree, and G-d punished them. Since then, we have been banished from the Garden for thousands of years. This act alone prevented us from understanding Torah and appreciating its depth.
  
  If you break down the word PARDES by letters it stands for four levels of understanding Torah: P'shat (straight, direct, literal), Remez (hinted-at), D'rash (inquire, seek) and Sod (secret, mysterious). 
  
  So, maybe one day when the time is right, we will be able to travel to Pardes and partake in all the fruits in the Garden of Eden, and even from the Tree of Knowledge—and this time, be ready and fit to understand Torah on all four levels - deep and wide, feel its sweet flavor ourselves, love it, appreciate it, and be able to share it with others.
  
  As the prophet Yeshayhu 2:3 says: "Ki MiTzion Tetze Torah uD’var Hashem Me’Yerushalayim - For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of Hashem from Jerusalem."
  
  Imagine what a wonderful world it would be!!
  
  Click here to go to Part 2 of this essay.
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• The Few versus The Many

  May 2, 2025 Admin 0 Comments

  What sin led to the destruction of Rabbi Akiva's students? The Talmud (Yevamot 62b) states that the students died because they did not treat each other with respect.
  
  A quick look in the dictionary shows the following:
  
  What is respect? When one admires (someone or something) deeply, as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements.
  
  What is disrespect? To disrespect someone is to act in an insulting way toward them. When you disrespect people, you think very little of them. Disrespect is all about not showing respect. It's about showing the opposite of respect, by acting rude, impolite, and offensive.
  
  The Talmud says that 24,000 died in an epidemic called by the Aramaic word "askara." What is askara? Some translators translate it as croup, and others call it diphtheria.
  
  But what led to this catastrophe? What sin did they commit that triggered this epidemic?
  
  Below is only my opinion. 
  
  Rabbi Akiva's students were great at Torah, but as is usually the case, some knew less and some knew more. 
  
  When you disrespect people, you think very little of them. But why would someone disrespect another human being, especially another student in the class? Only if the other one knows more than he does, which opens the door for one of the heaviest sins - lashon hara, driven by some internal and unconfronted character traits. 
  
  They have talked. All 24,000 of them have spoken. And I bet no matter what Rabbi Akiva has said, he could not get through to any of them, and the heavy consequences of the lashon hara eventually caught up to all of them.
  
  After burying 24,000 students, Rabbi Akiva understood one simple rule. It is better to have quality rather than quantity. It is better to have the few that truly follow Torah, its laws, and truly fear G-d, instead of thousands that you have no control over, who may know Torah and its rules, but do not keep them, or allow themselves to break the laws as they see fit. 
  
  These are the names of his five students: Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, Rabbi Yossei ben Halafta, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua—the luminaries of yesteryears. The Torah we have today is from these five students. But the Torah of the 24,000 is forgotten and not recorded at all. 
  
  The simple questions arise: 
  
  Where do we stand? Do we follow in the footsteps of the five or 24,000 students? Which camp do we belong to? Each of us does what he does, and Hashem keeps the score, and eventually the consequences of us breaking the Torah laws will catch up to us as well. 
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• Divine Justice

  Apr 25, 2025 Admin 0 Comments

  In Parashat Shemini 9:23 it says: "וַיָּבֹ֨א מֹשֶׁ֤ה וְאַהֲרֹן֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וַיֵּ֣צְא֔וּ וַֽיְבָרְכ֖וּ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיֵּרָ֥א כְבוֹד־ה׳ אֶל־כׇּל־הָעָֽם׃ - Moses and Aaron then went inside the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the Presence of Hashem appeared to all the people."
  
  On the words: ויבא משה ואהרן - And Moshe and Aharon came, Rashi says the following: That after doing all the sacrifices, and seeing that Hashem's presence was not revealed. Aharon became upset and asked Moshe, in my opinion, a very logical question: "My brother Moshe, was I not correct when I said that I did not want to enter services and offer sacrifices? I was concerned because of the Golden Calf. Now that I have begun, I am humiliated. The Divine Presence is not here certainly because of my sin. G-d is still mad at me because of the Golden Calf."
  
  And this, my reader, is a very good question. Why is there a delay? How come Hashem's presence was not revealed immediately, and was revealed later? Why make Aharon HaCohen go through humiliation?
  
  With your permission, I would like to offer an explanation that may be an answer to this question.
  
  Remember, in Parashat Bereshit 4:4-8, when Kayin came up with the idea of bringing sacrifices to Hashem. Kayin, the farmer, brought an offering, which was not the best of what he had grown, so Hashem did not accept it. And when Hevel, the shepherd, saw it, liked the idea, and brought from what he had to offer - the best of his flock - Hashem brought down the fire and accepted his offering. 
  
  It says that this has upset Kayin to the point that he was unable to deal with his emotions, so he has killed Hevel.
  
  And now, in Parashat Shemini, we have Aharon HaCohen, who has made all the preparations to bring down the Presence of G-d, but nothing has happened after all the work has been completed.
  
  Hashem is awesome at what He does best - vengeance!!
    
  The Holy Book of Zohar says that Moshe Rabbenu is a gilgul or reincarnation of Hevel. But if I may add, I believe that Aharon HaCohen is the reincarnation of Kayin. And like in the past, both brothers are at it again.
   

  So, back to our question: Why Aharon HaCohen was humiliated in front of the whole nation? 

  
  Shame is a form of death, and since no atonement was made for Hevel's death, Hashem humiliates Aharon HaCohen, as if He is killing Kayin at that moment, for the sin he has committed in another reincarnation, and makes it possible for the incident of Korach to occur at a later date. After the atonement is made and Divine Justice is served, Hashem's Presence joins the Nation.
  
  Kayin didn't walk away innocent, nor did the billions after him. So, shout out to all those who are next in line. Patience...slowly but surely, Hashem is coming for you.
  
  Shmuel Katanov
  
  

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