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In This Issue:raying for others 1, 2

Adam's longevity 1, 3

Who is happy? 1

s the brain, the soul? 2

Does god create evil? 3

Reader: Dear Mesora, I once heardunsure of the original source) that ifne prays for another person sufferinghe same ailment or having the sameesire (example: wanting children) as

neself, then the person will be grantedy Hashem the very thing they askedor the another person. 1. Have youver heard of such a notion (itsource)? 2. If not, what do you thinkbout this? I have some problems witht as it doesn't make sense to me thatHashem should decide to give youomething you want should you davenor another with the same bakasha. I would appreciate your insight

nto this, as I was asked to do this (and

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Who is Happy?

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Since youth we have read storiesfrom Genesis, sometimes with muchamazement. Of the personalitiesmentioned in Genesis what is strikingis their longevity. Adam lived to theage of 930, and others lived until 1000years. Currently, most of us do notexceed 100 years of age, so 1000 years

seems unreal. These ages were real,however there are discussions amongour Rabbis as to who lived that longaside from those named.

The Ramban's argument against theMaimonides, recorded by the Rambanin Genesis 5:4. The Ramban's reasonfor Adam's longevity is due to hisbeing the "Handiwork of the HolyOne". He was created in "absoluteperfection as regards beauty, strengthand might." The Ramban explains thatbecause of man's sin andenvironmental changes after the floodand the dispersion, did man's lifespandecrease. The Ramban holds that all ofmankind shared this longevity, and allmankind suffered a shorter lifespan.

The Ramban criticizes TheMaimonides' opinion:

"Now what the Rabbi has written inthe Moreh Nevuchim does not seemright to me, namely that the longevitywas only in those individualsmentioned, while the rest of the peoplein those generations lived lives ofordinary natural length. He further saidthis exception was due to the mode ofliving and food of such people or byway of miracle. But these words arewithout substance. Why should this

miracle happen to them since theywere neither prophets nor righteous,nor worthy that a miracle be done forthem, especially for generation aftergeneration. And how could a propermode of living and proper foodprolong their years to the extent thatthey are so many times greater thanthat of the entire generation? It ispossible that there were others whoobserved such a mode of living, inwhich case all or most of them should

(continued on page 2) (continued on page 3)

The basic foundations which all Jewsmust know as true. We urge you to read them:

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Praying for Othersrabbi moshe ben-chaim

Suggested Readings:see these and other articles at our site

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch states in Horeb: "It is not how little or how much you hamakes you small or great but how little or how great you are with what you have." This convery difficult to put into practice, especially when we desire to possess what our neighborsWe often measure our own happiness in life by looking at what we don't have. Does itmatter if our neighbor has a bigger house or better car or more things to fill their house or anelse for that matter? Bigger and better just means more responsibility and worry - and itemporary "false" happiness, not long lasting "real" happiness. The minute we see our newith something that we think we must have, then what we already possess seems empty. Itwe desire and don't have that appears so much more attractive. Everything you don't have yoand whatever you do have seems unattractive. So the cycle continues and the fantasies fcycle. The more time and energy a person spends in acquiring possessions the more unhperson becomes, because there is no real value in pursuing "possessions." The only thiacquire from endless "possessions" is endless responsibility. And the responsibility does bendless and futile and takes a person away from their real purpose in life, the purpose thamakes a person happy.

We've all heard people say they feel unhappy because they want but don't have what other- and yet what they do have, they take for granted. "If I only had more money, I know I'd rehappy!" Everything that one already has that made one happy originally, was given by Gwhy unhappiness now? Hasn't God provided you with everything you need, and each timobtained a new thing you were happy? Now you are unhappy and so you blame GodRambam says: "The numerous evils to which individual persons are exposed are due to the dexisting in the persons themselves. We complain and seek relief from our own faults; wefrom the evils which we by our own free will, inflict on ourselves, and then ascribe them towho is far from being connected to them!" (Guide for the Perplexed, Chapter XII pg. 267).

God set up the world so that we all can be happy by doing the good, the good is thhappiness not the pleasures that we imagine is real happiness. How does a person continueway to a happier life? By involving oneself in Torah study, learning about and doing good and directing one's life towards the middle path. Happiness in doing good begins when a spends as much time as possible thinking and learning. Acquiring ideas and wisdom thpassed on to one's family and friends. This real "acquisition" and investment in life is what person strength and contentment to continue in the right direction. A person will feel satisfithey are spending their time acquiring "thought." After a while you will see that redirectinlife this way gives you more peace of mind and less worry. You will want to continue in this dthis way. You'll want to share your thoughts and ideas with your family and neighbor/frienyou may influence them to be introspective about their own life. This is all positive and parpurpose of the commandment to "Love your neighbor as yourself All the good that youdirection brings, you will want for your neighbor too. This is what creates peace between and pulls us away from the evils of envy and jealousy, which began in the first place becauwanted and thought you needed to have what your neighbor has. "Who is happy? One happy with their lot." Psalms 119:99

Adam's Longevityrabbi moshe ben-chaim

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Maimonides' 13PRINCIPLES

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Maimonides' 13PRINCIPLES

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"Would it be that My people listen to me, if Israel would go in My ways,I would subdue their enemies in a instant, and turn My hand against their foes

King David, Psalm 81

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m very tempted to do it myself) but doot want to err philosophically. Thankou.

Mesora: You are quoting a Rashi in

Beraishis; 21:1, and a gemara in BabaKama 92a . It states that if one praysor another person (to have children)

while he needs that himself, he isnswered (by G-d) first.

It occurred to me after writing myesponse below, that this area can serves a good example in general ofeaching the method for discoveringnswers to one's questions.

In this example, one who prays fornother is entitled to an answer moreeadily than if he prays for himself.

That is the unique fact displayed byhis statement of the Rabbis. Whenever

efining an area, one must determinewhat is unique about the specific areat hand. Therefore, the way topproach this problem is to first honen on the specific trait displayed by thene praying. One may then ask theollowing to direct himself towards

where the answer lies: "What is it inne's praying for others which entitlesim to be answered?" Asking thisuestion more precisely, one may ask,What perfection exists in a person

when he is less personal in prayer?" Iay "perfection" as G-d responds moreeadily to one more perfected, and I sayless personal" since he prays for

nother person's needs before his own.The answer now stares us in the face:When one is less personal, in otherwords, "objective" about the needs ofeople, even before his own needs, heisplays that which G-d desires, i.e., anbjective embrace of the ideas of the

Torah per se, as opposed to reacting tois own personal needs. G-d answersim because he is attached to the truth,nd not attached to what is importantnly for himself.To answer the question more fully,

when one has a need, but prays fornother person first, he is relating to the

eed objectively and not out of aersonal desire. One can either pray forhildren to satisfy a personal longing,r she can pray for children with anbjective perspective, viewing havinghildren as a proper involvement in as

much as it is G-d's will. The lattereing the proper outlook. Sheemonstrates that she is not personallyttached to that need, and views theesired good as something which sheeels no more worthy to have, thanomeone else with the very same need.

As her request for others follows anobjective and more realistic view of theTorah's ideals, G-d takes note, andresponds to her first.

This is what is meant that she will beanswered by G-d before the otherperson. G-d responding to her firstdemonstrates that her request was moreappropriate. This does not mean thatthe other person's request was improperand will go unanswered. All the Rabbis

intended to illustrate with thisstatement was the perfection found inone who prays for another beforeherself.

We see that when Channa prayed fora child to devote him to the templeunder Eli's tutelage, she was respondedto by G-d, and she bore Samuel theprophet. She too desired a child for thetrue purpose.

Perhaps G-d withheld children fromall of the matriarchs as a method forperfecting their attachment to theirchildren. As the Rabbis teach, "G-dwithheld their children as G-d desires

the prayers of the righteous." G-ddesired the Jewish nation have leaderswho were of the utmost perfection. Itcould very well be that G-d's will wasthat the means by which one becomesperfected has much to do with therelationship their parents have withthem. As G-d withheld children fromSarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah,these mothers then introspected,discovering what ways to perfectthemselves, and perhaps saw an unfitattachment to having children.Theyobserved this and perfectedthemselves, and were then grantedchildren. As they raised these children,the forefathers of the Jewish nation,these children were raised with suchobjectivity from their perfected parents,being given the proper foundation fromyouth which G-d deemed essential totheir characters.

It should be noted however that thisis not a game, that is, one cannot expectto be answered first if he or she isreally praying for another with his ownselfish motives in the back of his mind.It is only the true, honest, objectiveprayer for another which raises one tothe level in which G-d admires hisobjectivity, and that G-d will in fact

answer his prayer first.Again, our eyes are opened to the

wisdom of Chazal only by using ourminds to unravel their secrets. As KingSolomon stated at the commencementof Proverbs, one purpose in writing thatbook was to impart to us theunderstanding for solving the riddles ofthe Rabbis. Taking the sayings of theRabbis literally or blindly, is a practiceobserved by too many. The Rabbisintended to disclose ideas to those of uswho desire the truth, and seek it out

through deep study, not casual reading.As King Solomon wrote, "if you seek it(Torah) as silver, and search it out as aburied treasure, then you willunderstand the fear of God, and theknowledge of God will you find".Learning then, is an intense endeavor,involving exertion, and not simplisticand superficial page turning. These areKing Solomon's words.

The ideas of the Rabbis will not be

discovered without vigor, patience,intelligence, and humility.

Reader: I know that we must believein the World to Come - that after deathwe will be ressurected in a future stateof THIS world.Mesora: This is disputed:

Nachmanides holds the next world is

here on Earth. Maimonides holds it is anon-physical state of being.

Reader: Yet is the concept of the"soul" as a independent mind, afundamental principle of the Torah? Isthis included in Maimonides' 13principles, the literature of the Rishonimor any of our primary sacred texts?

Mesora: This concept is not one ofthe thirteen principles per se. But wehave two areas of proof: 1) Scripture, 2)Reason.

Scripture states, Gen. 1:27, "...in theform of God he created them (man)..."

God is not physical, as all matterrequires creation, and God cannot becreated. Understand, He cannot becontrolled by laws of creation which Hedesigned! The Governor cannot also bethe governed. Before anything existed,and matter had yet to be created, therewas God alone - Who performed all ofcreation. By definition, everything musthave been created by That which Itselfwas not - is not - physical matter. Godnot being physical, and God then sayingthat man was created in God's form,means that man shares some non-physical element. This is not the fleshybrain, but the metaphysical soul.

Reason also leads us to the conclusion

that man must have a non-physicalelement: Can a rock, a plant, an animalcompute 2+2=4? Can they formulateideas of justice? No, they cannot,because they all lack a faculty ofintelligence. Intelligence emanates fromthe same "substance" as that which itperceives, I mean, it is metaphysical, asis all knowledge. You cannot point to anidea, as it takes up no space, it weighsnothing, and it cannot be seen. An ideais not physical. Laws are equally non-physical. All we see are the effects of

natural laws, not the laws themsOne cannot see the ruling law of gbut only objects in motion. Gravityexample, is a law. Where are thesand these ideas? Nowhere. Reallyexist, but not in a physicgeographical plane. They have no no color, no physical attrwhatsoever. Just as math, science alaws are not physical in substancare metaphysical, anything

apprehends these laws must be same nature. This is why plants, anand raw elements cannot "percThese objects are composed of ematerials wihh no addimetaphysical elements. Man perceives. Man alone apprehendCreator. Man alone has a substanpar with the Creator: The metaphsoul.

Other beings with brains - berintelligence - proves that brain doequal soul. Some may argue, "loosmart that dolphin is, or how clevmonkey is". You must understan

these are all projections. We assuthese beasts copy us, they partasome level of intelligence. But thnot. They are simply functioning oprogrammed set of emotions, justcomputer. Yes, they have emotionemotions too, do not equal intelliSome animals are designed to mthis is for some purpose ocontinuation of their species, as reason for all elements in their nBut do not let the parrots anmonkeys - who copy our speech anactions - lead you to believeunderstand. They merely do this oconditioning of their emotionsPavlov's dog. Once they emotiassociate food with ringing a bmimicking us, it only seems they "khow to accomplish. But they are mreacting to an emotion which is animal.Reader: Some philosophers

scientists believe that our mindidentical with our brains, ie. identity theory etc. Can one accewithin the confines of Judaismreject the notion of a heavenly where we exist as some sodisembodied consciousness? Thand have a good Shavuot.

Mesora: You mix two issuWhether belief that the brain is this within the confines of Jprinciples, 2) Man's existence metaphysical state subsequent to dhave addressed the former. Regardilatter, see my every first response aand research both authorities quotedwill see this is a fundamental princis true, and it forms a paMaimonides' 13 Principles. discussed in Talmud Sanhedrinbeginning of chapter eleven.

P

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Praying for Othersrabbi moshe ben-chaim

Is the Brain, the Soul?rabbi moshe ben-chaim

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P

ave attained similar longevity. And how did

happen that enough of the wisdomncerning this good mode of living did notme down to just one of all the sons ofoah after the flood (to enable him to match

e longevity of his ancestors), for there wasmong them a little wisdom of theircestors even though it steadily decreased

om generation to generation?"The Rabbis stated, "The purpose of

arning is svara (definition)." Man finds histimate goal in study when he "defines"hat he perceives as the completeniqueness of a given phenomena, law ory area of knowledge. That perception of aew" previously not encountered

henomena means we perceived somethingew" and are closer to our understanding ofod's wisdom.Studying the wisdom of the universe was

ntral to Adam's purpose and longevity.ongevity represents the amount ofnowledge available to man. Man can live1000 years and barely scratch the surface.

erhaps this is one of the reasons manitially was blessed with such long life. Toartake in the essence of study, one definese area at hand by seeking out "svara" ine opinion of the Maimonides and Ramban.aimonides held that only those peopleentioned in Scripture enjoyed longevity.he Ramban held all men sustained suchuration of life. My understanding of therses leads me to an additional reason foran's longevity, in accordance withaimonides' theory that only those men

entioned actually lived that long.The verses describing the lives of Adam

nd about ten of his direct descendantspeatedly follow 3 verses focusing on angular idea. An example is this verse seriesund in Genesis 5:6-8: 5:6 And Seth

Adam's son) lived 105 years and borenosh. 5:7 And Seth lived after havingore Enosh 807 years and he bore sons andaughters. 5:8 And all the days of Enoshere 912 years and he died. (This verseries repeats for about ten more men, onlyeir age changes with their first son's birthd their total years lived.)In this example, it is Seth's life that is

entioned due to his involvement inocreation. We read of Seth's age at therth of his first son, and his years during hisany offspring, and finally his age at hisath. What is the significance ofentioning the first child, and that it isale? I believe it teaches us that Sethsired offspring and so he procreated. The

rst child mentioned teaches that Seth'sarticipation in procreation establishes theorld. A male child was considered ailestone. Since the male controls life it'sgnificant that it be mentioned. Without

male participation in intercourse, there areno offspring. In the second verse withconnection to Seth, he lived many years andhad many offspring. Perhaps teaching theconnection between lifespan andprocreation. As procreation is God's will,Seth and others are granted longevity.

This theory would answer Ramban'scritique of Maimonides: Maimonides thusholds that this miracle of longevity was notbestowed based on man's particular merits.

Rather, God grants long life as He desiresworld population, and these men procreated.Procreation was their focus and we do notread about anything else in connection withthe men listed here. According toMaimonides, all other members of mankindnot mentioned during the beginninggenerations lived until 70 or 80 years.

An interesting insight into miracles isderived. Maimonides holds that Godperforms miracles to achieve a 'desired goal'.Although certain members of mankindbenefited from this miracle of longevity,Maimonides holds that personal perfectionis not necessarily a consideration when God

renders miracles. What determinedlongevity was procreation. Rambandisagrees and says only perfected peoplecould benefit from God's miracles.Therefore, the Ramban holds that mankindto have this longevity is due only to design.(Rashi says that initially man had 2 wives,one for procreation and one for sexualintercourse.) This teaches us that there weretwo distinct institutions then. Man couldhave selected both or one. This mightcorroborate Maimonides' theory that not allmen merited longevity unless they selectedprocreation.

It was discussed that longevitycontributed to man's self aggrandizementwhich ultimately drove him to sin againstothers through robbery and sexualpromiscuity. By removing factorscontributing to man's downfall is God's wayof assisting man. Man's lifespan wasdecreased by God to assist man byremoving man's focus on himself. Hisenergies could be redirected towards theworld of wisdom.

In summary, longevity was initially ablessing given to those who according toMaimonides procreated and according to theRamban, those who were perfected. Thisalso teaches that man can engage andcontent himself in study for many years.

Since the knowledge available to man isendless even if he lived 1000 years.

Reader: I need some help understandingRambam's analysis of Isa. 45:7. ("Guide forthe Perplexed," Chapter 10, Pages 265-267,

Dover Publications.) Is Rambam saying thatsince G-d can only create good that evilexists only because of His creation of goodas an opposite? Thus, G-d can only beattributed as the Creator of evil in an indirectway? Since all of G-d's creations are onlypositive in form, and evil is a negative, thenevil can come about only because of theabsence of good? Sort of rambling, but Ithink you may get my understanding of thesubject or lack of? Shalom.

Mesora: When we hear such questions,we sometimes feel qualified to offer ouropinion. But without consulting God'sknowledge graciously revealed through theTorah's words, we most assuredly miss themark. It is crucial that our knowledge beformed and continuously guided by reason.This is the purpose of both the content andstructure of the Torah. Not only regardingthe knowledge of true and false, but ourmoral system is objectified by the Torah,without which, there would be no objective"right" and "wrong". We see then howessential it is that we consult God's Torah inour attempt to arrive at absolute truth.

Maimonides approaches the question of"Does God create evil", as he does allquestions; with a careful analysis of theTorah's choice words. You must follow hisline of reasoning. Although a little technical,it will illuminate this topic.

Different definitions of "Create": Priorto reviewing the Torah's text, Maimonidesclarifies a misconception of the word"create". He quotes the sect ofMutakallemim who viewed blindness anddeafness as positive properties, therebyconsidering them actual creations of God.Maimonides demonstrates their error viaanalogy: One who removes an obstacle toanother's motion, is in some effect "creating"motion. Similarly, one who removes abuilding's supporting pillar, in some way"creates" the cieling's downwards motion.Although in both cases, the person's actionwas applied to the obstacle and the beamrespectively, and not to "motion".Nonetheless, we say that the person actingon the obstacle and beam is a "creator" ofthe resulting movement. In the same way,one who removes light from a room, is saidto have created darkness, although darknessis not something real, as is light. Darkness ismerely that which is leftover when the lightis removed. One may be called the creator ofdarkness in this sense, although nothing

positive was created, as darkness has nopositive existence.

Having shown this clear and validdistinction between two types of creation,i.e., real creation of a positive entity, and'termed' creation of things such as darkness,Maimonides continues to examine a Torahpassage dealing with this issue: Isaiah 45:7states, "I form the light and create (boray)darkness, I make (oseh) peace and create(boray) evil..." Maimonides points to thedistinction of the different words applied tolight and darkness, peace and evil.

Regarding light, the word used is "yotwhich means to form one thing already, existing matter. The sun was from a material already in existtherefore the term "yotzare" is empHowever, when describing the "creatiodarkness and evil, the word used by G"boray", which refers to actingnothingness, as in "In the beginningcreated (boray) heaven and Earth". too, God was creating our world

nothingness, so the word "boray" is uteach just this point. The rule is that God relates to nothingness, the term "bis used.

When this passage says God cr"boray" darkness and evil, it meacreated it in the following sense: He cause of darkness and evil only in as as He created light and peace which cremoved - leaving darkness and evilfact that God does not create darknesscreates an object is clear: He only cpositive entities. Creation per se meaffect a real object in some way. Whenis an object, it can be spoken of as h

been created. But darkness and evil apositive entities, how then can one athat which is not positive, but merprivation? Creation is a force which csomething new to emanate as a poentity, such as creation of the Earth, thor any other real, object. But darknessan object, and therefore it cannot be cr

"Evil" has no real existMaimonides then moves on to demonwhat "evil" is. He shows all evprivations, and not positive entities. Etermed as that which is lacking - it positive. For example, it is an evil thais poor, or hungry, or blind, or ignoranin all these cases, the evil is where manot achieved financial success, he heaten, he lost his sight, or he never bewise. The evil in all these cases deprivation of some real, positive oTherefore, these evils were not crbecause evils are not really in exisThey are terms denoting the lack opositive entities as food, wisdom, or wFor this very reason, Maimonides tethat the term "and it was good" is uGenesis in reference to creation onday. God only produces real existenceall existence is good. All God's waygood. God cannot create evil, as it cpossibly be created.

I assume many might have expectanswer to take a much different cperhaps more debative of the possibiviciousness in God. However, wguided by Maimonides' truthful analythe very terms "create" and "evil", anpassage noted, until he elucidates themeanings. We conclude that God canthe creator of evil.

The problematic theory that God cevil vanishes, leaving a void - a voi"created", but descriptive of a place wthere once stood our question.

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Adam's Longevityrabbi moshe ben-chaim

Does God Create

EVIL?rabbi moshe ben-chaim

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