Two Modern Holidays

 Q: Why is there a Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) when we already have a Yom Ha-Atzmaut (Israel Independence Day)?

 

A: In 1948 the country of Israel was declared.  For almost two decades the city of Jerusalem remained in Jordanian hands, not part of the Jewish state.

On Iyar 28, May 1967 the Israelis achieved an incredible victory against massive odds weighed against them and regained the long lost privilege to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.  Until then, Jews were stopped by the Arab authorities and thugs from approaching the sacred outer wall of the Temple in the Old City of Jerusalem.  Two thousand years passed since Jews last were able to come to this holy site at will. 

It is said that God is most proximate when praying at this singular place.

 

Prayers for the Ill

 Q: Why do we use the mother’s Hebrew name when saying a prayer for someone ill?

 

A: There are levels of answers to this question.  First, it is assumed that the mother has the greatest concern for the welfare of her children.  Like mother Rachel, she will plead before God for her children.

Also, we have no doubt about the identity of the mother since she gave birth to her offspring and her identity is therefore more assured than that of the father.  

In addition, a mother’s anger is usually temporary.  If the Holy One, blessed be He, is afflicted the ill patient, God’s anger will soon disappear like that of the mother.

Why do Jews cover their heads when they pray?

Q: Why do Jews cover their heads when they pray?

 

A: 

Interestingly, there is no law, halacha, which indicates that one must cover the head.  we find in the medieval work, the Shulchan Aruch, that “it is a custom not to walk outside bareheaded.”  Note the word, “custom.”  In Talmudic times, wearing a head covering was not a universal practice by most rabbis.  Only a very few maintained this custom.

It has been suggested that the wearing of a head covering originated in ancient Rome where it was the sign of a servant to go out with their head covered showing their servility.  Possibly, long after the Roman Empire, the practice of covering the head continued as Jews remembered the idea of being servants…but to God not to any person.

Today the kippah symbolizes devotion and mindfulness to God and is worn in consecrated places or when we pray.  Custom has grown into virtual law as most synagogues would strongly object to not donning a skullcap for a man and in some instances for women.  The kippah is an outward symbol of one’s “Jewishness,” a distinctive trademark.  More often than ever before one sees Jews wearing kippot (yarmulkes in Yiddish) in the street as a sign of pride in their faith

Mourner's Kaddish

Tell me about the Mourner’s Kaddish.  What make it so special?

 

The kaddish, as you know, is not Hebrew, it is Aramaic.  It was put into that language because it was the spoken tongue at the time.  That places it in the post-biblical era.  It was crafted at a time when many Jews no longer fully understood Hebrew despite the fact that they still prayed in that language and despite the fact that Aramaic is a very close relative to Hebrew.

Parts of the prayer are mere renderings of Hebrew into Aramaic.  For example, Yehi Shmay (the refrain after the first paragraph) is a direct translation of Baruch Shem (the line after the Shma).   Originally Baruch Shem, or Yehi Shmay, was the response by the people to hearing the Holy Name of God fully and only pronounced on Yom Kippur.  Hearing the name was so powerful that the people fell on their faces as they shouted this phrase. That is, by the way, why we only say Baruch Shem to this day out loud only on Yom Kippur.  In any event, the Yehi Shmay response is as if we have just beheld the Face of God.  It is a powerful phrase that indicates something far more intimate than most prayers.  It is, by the way, also the line that we state when we use God’s name inappropriately, i.e. when saying the wrong prayer.

There are several kaddishes, as you note.  Some of them are sung and some are recited like the mourner’s kaddish and a few others.  The two kaddishes that are most alike are the kaddish shalem (full Kaddish) and the mourner’s kaddish.  The difference between them is a single line that begins with “titkabel…”.    Titkabel means “receive.” In a state of mourning we do not ask anything of God but accept our prayer.  We do not decry God’s decree, ask that death be reversed or anything else of God when we are mourning.  Our tradition asks us to simply accept the judgment.  That is the essence of the mourner’s kaddish.  

It is probable that the mourner’s kaddish takes its theology from the book of Job.  Job, the man who lost everything, is urged by his companions to atone, consider how he offended God and even repudiate the One that took away all that he loved.  In the end, God speaks to Job stilling his queries by indicating that he will never know the ways of God.  In a rhetorical query, God asks Job, “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?”  In other words, humankind can never fathom God’s ways.

The mourner’s kaddish is then an acceptance of God’s will, knowing that we will never comprehend His ways or understand why death has taken someone we love away.

Implicit in Job’s quandary and explicated by the Talmud is the idea that physical life is finite but life itself is not.  We believe in a life that goes beyond death. That is the underpinning of the mourner’s kaddish: it is the ultimate belief that death is not the end, it is an end.  The soul survives.  For this we thank God for both the life that we shared and the one that endures beyond the physical realm.

We recite the kaddish, as opposed to singing it, because we cannot ignore that fact that we are wounded as we publicly proclaim when we utter the words of the mourner’s kaddish that our faith in God remains firm, unshaken.

Most of the other kaddishes are sung because they extol God’s glory and justice.  Yet when a person is in mourning it is hard to sing, it is enough just to say the words.

Aside from these considerations there is also the sacred notion of continuity.  “Just as my father did for his parent, so I will do for him.”  This idea of traditional passing on what one generation has done to the next takes on a power of its own.  The strength that we gain from saying these holy words alongside others who have suffered similarly is also a comfort.  We are never alone in our pain.

Purim

Q:What are some of the different customs associated with the holiday Purim?

A: We all know one of the observances associated with the holiday is that noise must be made every time evil Haman’s name is mentioned. We make a raucous commotion in order to drown out his name and thus his remembrance.

Another custom is the sending of gifts, also called mishloah manot (aka shalach manos). Food and money are given to friends as well as to the poor.  The purpose is so that every Jew will have the opportunity to fully celebrate the holiday.

The reading of the Megillah takes precedence over most all other mitzvoth. Even tzedakah, caring for the sick and davenning are postponed when the Scroll of Esther is being read.

Will have the practice of giving half a coin, today 1/2 dollar, before the evening reading of the Megillah. We do so to recall the half-shekel that was donated by every Jew to the Temple in the month of Adar many centuries ago.

Finally, we enjoy a seudat Purim, meal on the holiday. Foods like hamantaschen and drink is served to enhance the occasion and feel the joy of freedom.

Swift Davenning

Q: Why does congregational prayer often gallop at speeds we cannot keep up with?

A: The great Jewish minds of the past taught us that a person should pray as carefully as if he were counting pearls.

For most people it is difficult to keep the mind from wandering while praying, especially when the service “gallops.”  Our masters teach us to proceed at a slower pace.  It is better to say fewer prayers with higher devotion than more prayers with a mind fixed on getting the service over and done.

Unveilings on Rosh Hodesh

Q: I have heard that some people will not do an unveiling on Rosh Hodesh. Is this true?  And if so, why?

A: Rosh Hodesh, the New Moon, is treated as a minor festival.  We add psalms of Hallel to our prayers.  Eulogies are not usually given and fasting is forbidden.  While not a full-fledged holiday there are historical indications that at one time it may have been a major celebration.

In Jewish tradition sad events yield to communal rejoicing.  Hence, Shabbat superseded shivah, no burials take place on Yom Tov and one may not self-impose a fast on Rosh Hodesh.

Some individual rabbis discourage unveilings on a Rosh Hodesh for these reasons but it is not forbidden by Jewish law, halacha.