Shabbat Gathering: Keeping our mouths shut.

Gud Shabbos Khaveyrim, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 883 8469 4181
Password: 822665
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

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Here we go.

People I study with know they will always get a rise out of me by dropping the word “superstition” or such into our discussion. That really gets me going and here’s why.

Back in California at my previous synagogue, I was in Torah Study and we got to a certain point and my rabbi (who I love) said, “Of course, those Jews were superstitious.” And that set me off.

My contribution to our discussion was that calling someone superstitious was ...

Demeaning
A slippery slope.

Play nice.

I don’t think it’s nice to discredit someone’s religious beliefs because Jews have been victims of that forever. Besides, it was Hillel who said in Talmud, “Don’t do unto others what you would not want done to you – that is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary” (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbos 31a) Within Jewish beliefs there's a specific sin called lashon hara which means not speaking ill of people and that if you do it is as bad as murder.

In other cases, I find our folk lore / superstitions hysterically funny such as this midrash. Mel Brooks would interpret so very well.

Just to get a little Ecclesiastical about it: There’s a time to talk and a time to keep our mouths shut. It is said that the Ba’al Shem Tov believed that saying something out loud gave it huge power, especially for ill words. He is reported to say, “From thoughts we move on to words, beginning with a light dusting of evil speech, another thing that engages us every day. From speech we turn, God forbid, to deeds.” (from Speaking Torah, R.Arthur Green, et. al.)

I plan on keeping a little bit quieter.

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!

Mit vareme grusn,
(With warm regards,)

All my love,
brian.