Minyan

Q: What happens when we cannot get a minyan (ten adult Jews) to pray?

A: We have the custom, which comes from the Torah, that ten adult Jews make a minyan.  The genesis of this practice is based in the Torah episode of the spies.  Ten of them were called a “congregation.”  From this we learn that ten is the minimum number needed to form a community.

Yet, at times it is difficult to assemble ten.  We may only achieve nine. In our congregation we accede to counting ten and number among us, God, as the final member of our minyan.  This is based on the word, v‘aron (and the ark) (vav, aleph, resh, vav, nun) are an acrostic for the words V'Echad Ro'eh V'eino Nereh, One who sees but cannot be seen. This obviously refers to God.

Yahrzeit

Q: Why do we observe the anniversary of the death of parents (yahrzeit) each year?

A: There are a few reasons why we recall our dead on their yahrzeit.  The most obvious of them is the idea of remembrance.  The yahrzeit forces us to remember their life, going over our moments spent together.  We recall the things they gave to us – life, education, clothes, morals….

A lesser-known reason for the yahrzeit rests on the belief that the souls of the dead are judged by the Heavenly Tribunal.  As their souls come before judgment, they are either permitted to ascend or are denied.

Children of the deceased thus pray for their loved ones.  The living can acquit the dead.

On the yahrzeit we vow to undertake acts of tzedaka on their behalf.  If one believes in memory as the primary motivating factor behind prayers, then tzedaka is practicing the morals the dead taught us.  As their soul so judged our charity pleads to tip the scales in their favor.

Test Your Hebrew Vocabulary

Some Basic Hebrew Vocabulary that Every Jew Should Know:

Ehad,  one

Shma,  Listen

Amar,  said

Amein,  Amen

Atah,  you

Barukh, bless

Avot, Fathers

Ben, son

Bat, daughter

Gadol, big

Hallel, Halleluya, praise, praise God (same root)

Hayim, life

Tov, Good

Yisrael, Israel

Yerushalyim, Jerusalem

Yom, day

Rishon, first

Shabbat, Sabbath

Shalom, Peace, Hello, Goodbye

k’vod, honor

Melekh, King

Layla, night

Torah, Torah

Shem, name

Mayim, water

Olam, world or universe

Am, people

tzedaka, charity

tzedek, righteous

kodesh, holy

rachamim, mercy

Elohim, God

Elohaynu, our God

Tov, good

Zachor, remember

Kohen, priest

Levi, Levite

Greeting on the High Holy Days

Q: What are we supposed to say on the High Holy Days to one another?  There are so many expressions!

A: On all holy days, including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it is permissible to say, “Gute yontif” (also Americanized as Good Yom Tov).  Yom Tov literally means “good day.”

More specific, less generic, are the following four expressions:

L’Shana Tovah Teekatayvu, “May you be inscribed for a good year.”

L’shanah tovah tikateyvu v’teihateimu, “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.”

K’teeva v’hatimah Tovah, “May you merit a good inscription and sealing.”  This is the phrase most frequently used as it can be used on Rosh Hashanah and the days leading up to and including Yom Kippur.

G’mar hatimah tovah, “May you have a favorable sealing.”  This is generally just reserved for the holy day of Yom Kippur as it reflects the final judgment.

What is Halacha?

Q: What is halacha?  I have heard mush about it but do not understand what it is.

A: In short, Jewish law is halacha.  It is Hebrew and literally means, “the way.”

Since the birth of Christianity, the church has built incredible soaring edifices throughout the world.  They testify to the power, influence and importance of that faith.  The church found an expression through the media of art and architecture.

Judaism, on the other hand, has pushed the boundaries of intellectual inquiry as a form of its artistic expression.  One scholar of modernity said, “Prayer is how we speak to God.  Study is how God speaks to us.”  That idea coupled with our living in diaspora for so many centuries has made the study hall the most prominent feature – other than prayer - for outward expression.

What has been handed down to u is an intricate tapestry with known for its elaborate picture but seldom understood.  Each thread of the tapestry must be woven in harmony with the entire picture so that it forms one cohesive fabric and picture.  Every single thread that is woven into this ever-widening picture is called halacha.  Just as the weaver must choose the correct color to blend in with the entire picture, so too the halachist must carefully select the proper method of interpretation, the methodology as well as the result, to be compatible with the entirety of Jewish Law.

When we gaze from a distance at the framework we are dazzled by its sheer bulk.  After all, this picture has been in development since Mt. Sinai!  The enormity of this literature is breathtaking.  As the millennia have come and gone, the halacha continues to be molded by each successive generation interpreting it in the light of their time but never tearing down what has already been added by prior generations.  With time, the halachic tapestry becomes more intricate and expands as the needs of the time dictate.  To this day, scholars continue to study and expand the girth of this remarkable guide to life.