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Articles by Francis Nataf
Francis Nataf, at The Blogs
Rabbi Francis Nataf is a Jerusalem-based educator and thinker. He is the author of the Redeeming Relevance series on the Torah and of many articles.
Moshe, Herzl and the Single Genius
Marriage and family occupy a central place in post-Holocaust Judaism. Already ensconced by halakha and tradition, the loss of about one-third of our people in only a few years led to an almost unspoken consensus that we all have a mission to bring as many Jewish children as reasonably possible into the world. It is accordingly extremely rare to find dedicated Jewish singles who don’t see getting married and starting a Jewish family as being at the top of their agendas.
Moshe, Herzl and the Single Genius - Francis Nataf
Marriage and family occupy a central place in post-Holocaust Judaism. Already ensconced by halakha and tradition, the loss of about one-third of our people in only a few years led to an almost unspoken consensus that we all have a mission to bring as many Jewish children as reasonably possible into the world. It is accordingly extremely rare to find dedicated Jewish singles who don’t see getting married and starting a Jewish family as being at the top of their agendas.
Word Prompt – SHTEIG – Francis Nataf
As a Sephardi, I have a great deal of ambivalence towards Yiddish. Because I studied German in high school and college, I understand it better than most of my Ashkenazi friends. Yet its use as an insiders’ language for Jews has kept many Jews like me feeling like outsiders. That said, there are certain Yiddish words that have become so central to yeshiva life that they transcended their origins and became beloved by all who look back fondly on their yeshiva years.
Pesach, AI and the War with Iran
The Art of Living in the Middle of a Story Both as individuals and as communities, people have always wanted to control what happens to them. We have an innate drive to preserve and better ourselves, and doing so often depends on asserting our ability to shape our surroundings. What has changed over the millennia, and especially in the last century, is how much of that desire has been actualized, certainly in those parts of the world where almost all of us Jews live.
Word Prompt - KLAL - Francis Nataf
The word klal may best be understood by its opposite, the perat, the singular thing. When singular things come together in some form of unity, they create a klal. In the Mishna, klal is frequently used to express a general principle that brings together several individual laws. Even in such a dry legal context, however, a klal brings about a certain power that is more than just the sum of its parts. It is well known that, by working together, people can accomplish far more than if they work apart.
Forcing the Dream
At the beginning of the book of Shemot, the Torah tells us that Yosef and his brothers died. The Rabbis (Berachot 55a) interpret this to mean that Yosef died before all of his brothers. And given that he was among the youngest of the brothers, that would seem to mean he died before his time, which the Rabbis interpret to mean that he did something wrong. Obviously not meant to disparage Yosef, the Rabbis sought to carefully examine every action of our greats, the better to learn from them.
The Tanach’s Rugged Individualists
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. –Robert Frost While there are aspects of my American background that I have tried to distance myself from, I am grateful to America for instilling in me my fierce individualism.
Word Prompt - AM YISRAEL - Frances Nataf
There are many ways to refer to our uniquely accomplished, restless and sometimes even outrageous nation, but the name Yisrael (Israel) is by far the most common. Sometimes referred to as Klal Yisrael, Knesset Yisrael or Bnei Yisrael, the first time Am Yisrael comes up in the Torah is ironically when Pharaoh thinks of them as a threat (Shemot 1:9). Yisrael, of course, is the name of (or, at least, one of the names of) our forefather.
When There Are No Halakhic Responses to the Elimination of the Iranian Threat
While no one can prophesy the complete outcome of the latest phase of the war against Israel’s enemies, there is good reason for the joy and optimism spreading across Israel today. Each day, Israel gets stronger, and each day, the Iranian regime that has done the most to threaten Israel over the last twenty years gets weaker and weaker.
Iyar is one of the most perplexing months in the Jewish calendar. It is a month where too many things happen. On the one hand, we remember the death of Rebbe Akiva’s students which took place at this time. On the other hand, we also observe the miraculous events of more recent times commemorated by Yom Ha’atzmaut at the beginning of the month and Yom Yerushalayim at its end. These events seem to be at such variance that it is hard to know how we are supposed to feel.
Remembering My Mentor, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein
In commemoration of my teacher and mentor’s tenth yahrzeit this week, I am republishing what I wrote immediately after he died: The Jewish people lost one of its great lights. Yet, I wonder to what extent the general public, even the general religious public, is aware of that. As son-in-law of the famous Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik and as an outstanding Torah scholar in his own right, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, who passed away on Monday, could not be ignored.
Making Pesach with Our Hands
It is well-known that many great rabbis went out of their way to make physical preparations for Shabbat. Some would involve themselves with food preparation and others with preparing the home. Though lovely anecdotes about the importance of Shabbat, these stories seem counter-intuitive. Wouldn’t these great rabbis have done better to study, pray or meditate to prepare for Shabbat? A similar question exists in our preparations for Pesach.
Why Do People So Dislike Tachanun
I have always been perplexed by the loathing so many people have for the prayer we regularly say (during Shachris and Mincha) after the Amidah, commonly known as Tachanun. All one need say is the word “Tachanun” and the most common response will be, “Do we get to skip it today?” I remember frequently seeing grown men act as if they had just won the lottery when by surprise a guest chatan walked into shul, thereby canceling the requirement to say Tachanun.
Fragmentation, G-d, and the Western Jew
There are many things we encounter that need not be the way they are. Similarly, when we read the Torah, it chooses one resolution out of many possibilities in each case. And, as in general, thinking about why the Torah did not choose any of the other options can be a useful tool for creative thought.
Fragmentation, G-d and the Western Jew
There are many things we encounter that need not be the way they are. Similarly, when we read the Torah, it chooses one resolution out of many possibilities in each case. And, as in general, thinking about why the Torah did not choose any of the other options can be a useful tool for creative thought.
Preparing for a Spring Wedding… to God
While only Nissan is explicitly identified as the month of Spring (Aviv), Rashi (Ta’anit 29a) correctly joins Adar and Nissan together as one extended time of miracles. And, of course, the miracles of Nissan are intimately connected to processes that only find their culmination in Shavuot. In short, the Jewish calendar marks the period from 1 Adar to 6 Sivan as a special time marked by miracles and – judging from the natural world as well as from Jewish history – by rebirth.
Purim and Pesach: The Bulls and Bears Revisited
Author’s Note: The essay below was written in 2009, as stock markets were still trying to recover from catastrophic losses the year before. If we substitute the security situation in Israel for the stock markets, what I wrote then is particularly timely now: I’m sure very few readers remember or know that my very first “Ideas” was born from experiences in the stock market.
Ahava Mekalkel HaShura
In my book on Leviticus, I established the following foundational principles: 1) Sacrificing to God is parallel to the giving of gifts to other human beings; 2) The different reasons for giving gifts to other people parallel the different reasons for giving sacrifices to God.1 As developed so well by R.
The Task of Adar
I have always preferred the human narratives of the book of Bereshit to the grandiose miracle stories in the book of Shemot. I imagine that most people are better able to relate to events that resemble their own life experiences. Thus, no matter how central the splitting of the Reed Sea and the standing at Mount Sinai are to our religious consciousness, it is hard to truly appreciate their description in the Torah.
Higher Fences and Better Cell Phones
One of the most fascinating and perplexing statements of the Rabbis is to be found in Bereshit Rabba 76:9. There, Rabbi Abba Hacohen Bardala tells us that Ya’akov was punished for locking his daughter Deena in a box so as to protect her from the possible advances of her notorious uncle Esav. On the face of it, Yaakov’s intentions are perfectly understandable and completely justified – should he not protect his daughter from harm? The difficulty of this question led R.
Parents, Teachers, and the Image of G-d
Author’s Note: This essay is in memory of my mother, whose yahrzeit is on 19 Shevat The great American writer James Baldwin once wrote how it was actually his public school math teacher who planted the seeds of his creative work. Mr. Porter… soon gave up any attempt to teach me math. I had been born, apparently, with some kind of deformity that resulted in a total inability to count. From arithmetic to geometry, I never passed a single test.
Word Prompt - FATHER-IN-LAW - Francis Nataf
Of all the fathers-in-law in the Bible, only two are singled out as such. The first is Yitro, who is contrasted to Lavan. Just as there are no two more similar stories than the respective exiles of Yaakov and Moshe, it is hard to find two more disparate parallels than the roles of their respective fathers-in-law. Whereas Lavan does something disagreeable at every turn, Yitro does just the opposite, constantly providing help and support to Moshe.
Redeeming Relevance: The Importance of Being Alone
My most recent travels brought me to a community without a regular minyan. This is in stark contrast to my home, where I live within five minutes of one hundred different minyanim a day. Where I live, it is often easier to pray with a minyan than to pray without one. As such, being alone in prayer for several days was something that made me pause. There is no question about the benefits of praying with a minyan, both halachichly and sociologically.
The Subversive Jewish Wisdom Aristotle Would Not Hear
I have always been wary of the approach that sees Judaism as the early and far-sighted source of everything good in the West. One reason is that while I respect many of the moral accomplishments of the West, I believe that Judaism still has much to offer in critique of the West’s many remaining failings. The other is that it often leads to a tendentious and anachronistic understanding of Judaism that is ultimately untenable.
Redeeming Relevance: Beginnings and Ends: Musings about History
As we begin reading the Book of Shemot, we may well wonder what defines it as a separate book. That is to say, why are there not four books of the Torah, with Shemot being the second part of Bereshit (as suggested by Netziv in his introduction to Shemot); alternatively why is the Torah broken up into five books altogether? These questions stand in even stronger relief when we note the media’s predictable attempts to somehow portray the last [25 years] as a distinct period of time.
Redeeming Relevance: Halachic Man and Authentic Man
In our appropriate desire to better ourselves, we look to improve our religious infrastructure, to create a more responsive and user-friendly halachic system and so on and so forth. We respond to our malaise about the religious status quo by pondering its various problems, implicitly assuming that if we could only fix them we would be able to create some sort of Brave New Judaism that would put everything aright.
The Minyan Market
Not long ago, I decided to pay a visit to the Kotel for early morning services, which many people know is not as easy as it might seem. There are usually no scheduled services in the various areas of the Kotel plaza. Rather, it is very much like a shuk, an open-air market. “Vendors” are calling out, trying to sell their minyanim, while “buyers” are trying to get the best deal. For most of those on the buying side, the two most important things to look for are time and nussach.
Rosenzweig and Weil are Dead
Reading the biographies of Franz Rosenzweig (Germany, 1886-1929) and Simone Weil (France 1909-1943), one notices remarkable similarities. Both were highly educated Jews who lived short yet remarkable lives. And both were philosophers of tremendous breadth who had dramatic religious experiences which put G-d into the center of their lives. One very important difference between them was that whereas Rosenzweig returned to Judaism, Weil followed her own personal version of Catholicism.
Word Prompt - REB YEHUDA HANASI - Francis Nataf
By redacting the Mishna, Reb Yehuda HaNasi is one of a handful of figures who forcefully responded to the needs of his time and shaped the way Jews study Torah. Very few realize just how radical – and yet critical – a move this was. (An exception was Rambam, who modeled his own Mishneh Torah on the Mishna.) Most focus on the writing of the corpus of the oral Torah (which may actually not have happened until later).
Redeeming Relevance: Trail Flies and the Human Condition
More immediate for most of us than the problem of evil in the world is the problem of triviality. Many times during an average day our attention is grabbed away by things we know to be of almost no consequence. Thus, when we are finally able to steal a few minutes of time for something of real value, we hold these moments to be almost sacred.
Can the Church Teach the World about Sukkot? - Francis Nataf
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Can the Church Teach the World about Sukkot?
As we celebrate Sukkot, it is a good time to consider the relationship between two of its major themes, almost always viewed in isolation. The themes I have in mind are the Jew’s relationship to property and the Jewish people’s obligation to serve humanity at large. It could well be that these two themes have nothing to do with one another and are simply embedded in the same holiday.
Listening to Others so God Will Listen to Us
One of the most beautiful and inspiring illustrations of the power of prayer is told about King Chizkiyahu (Berakhot 10). Faced with a divine death sentence that Isaiah describes as irrevocable, Chizkiyahu ignores one of the greatest prophets of all time.
Word Prompt - MELECH - Francis Nataf
Rosh Hashana is the most auspicious time to internalize that G-d is King of the world. Of course, this theme runs throughout the entire year for Jews, mentioning it constantly, as we do in the hundred blessings we say every day. Even so, what remains in the background during the rest of the year now comes to the fore. Yet even if we have a theoretical understanding of the sort of mighty and absolute monarch used as a metaphor for G-d, it is very distant from our actual experience.
Redeeming Relevance: The Limits of Torah Legacies
As someone who has taught Torah to thousands and enjoys almost nothing more than seeing my old students passing on the Torah I taught them, the last Rashi in this week’s parsha struck me as bittersweet. Rashi notes that Moshe statement that the Jews will turn against God after he dies (31:29). Yet, pointing to a verse in Shoftim (2:7) which asserts that the Jews served God for the many years that Yehoshua was alive and then some, Rashi wonders how Moshe could have said such a thing.
Redeeming Relevance: Moshe’s Speech to Jews Living Today
At the end of this week’s parsha, Moshe tells the Jews (29:1), “You saw all that God did in front of your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh.” Given that this speech comes at the end of the forty-year trek through the wilderness and that he is primarily addressing the new generation born after the exodus from Egypt, this seems rather strange. Cognizant of this, Rabbi S. R.
Levinas, Ammon, and Moav: On the Neutral Neighbor
In this week’s parsha (23:5), we are given two reasons for not ever marrying Ammonites or Moabites: That they (plural) did not proffer bread and water to the Israelites when they were on the journey from Egypt, and that it (singular, and hence presumably only Moav) hired Bilaam to curse them.
Of Witnesses, Keruvim, and Clones
The Torah’s demand for two witnesses carries many important implications about law, jurisprudence and truth. The most obvious is that the bar for the conviction of criminals is set much higher than in most contemporary systems of law, that accept the testimony of one witness. On one foot, that means that the Torah prefers to let several criminals off, rather than have one innocent man punished.
Ending Poverty, the Torah Way
One of the great challenges of contemporary Judaism is to know what to do with Torah laws no longer practiced. In this category are not only laws such as sacrifices that are presently suspended due to present reality but also laws that were circumvented because of changes in society. Among the latter are the laws of interest and of forgiving loans every seventh year. Concerning the latter, the Torah is aware of its difficulty.
Parshat Eikev: Can the Torah Exaggerate?
One thing that bothers me to no end is when people exaggerate. I find it a cheap and unethical way of getting people’s attention and a dirty trick when competing against those of us who would never think of doing so. The Jewish tradition seems to say that I am right… but also that I am wrong. In this week’s parsha, Moshe uses a phrase (9:1) that accordingly concerned the Sages (Chullin 90b and see Rashi there).
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Ve’etchanan :Why You Don’t Need to Worship Idols
I have always been interested by the Torah’s claim (4:6-8) that when Jews follow its laws, other nations are extremely impressed. But even more interesting than what the Gentiles think of the Jews here, is the implication of what the Jews think about the Gentiles. That is, the Torah seems to clearly posit that Jews will be more motivated to follow the commandments if they think it will impress the Gentiles. Rabbi R. S.
The Torah’s Insists Uganda is for the Ugandans
Abarbanel asks a strong question about the reason given for not attacking Edom, Moav and Ammon. The reason given in the verses (Devarim 2:5, 9, 19) is that God gave Esav and the Children of Lot their countries as an inheritance. About this Abarbanel cites another verse (32:8) and asks, “Did not God give all the nations their territories?” Rashi (2:5) brings a relevant midrash from Bereshit Rabbah (44:23).
Reading Between the Lines
There’s a famous saying in yeshivot, that you don’t die from a kasha (an unresolved difficulty). I would even say that the opposite is often true – the tension created can be very life-giving. For facing such a difficulty, we feel the crisp air of unchartered territory, and intuit the opportunity to make a true contribution. I have had such an issue for years, in the list of the Israelites’ stops on the journey to Israel in this week’s pasha.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Balak: What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You?
This week’s parshah is so unusual that the Talmud refers to it (excluding its last story) as a separate book. In it, we read about a failed plot to curse and thereby stymie the Jewish people’s renewed advance upon the land of Israel. The Talmud reasonably suggests that this was not the only such plan. But how important are failed plans and plots, such that the Torah needs to mention any of them at all?
What to do When Our Decisions Bring Casualties
The episode of Korach’s rebellion is so action-packed that it tends to overshadow other parts of this week’s parsha. Among those sections is the story’s immediate aftermath: The Jews’ protest against Moshe and Aharon for killing “the people of God” and God’s resulting anger – which He communicates to Moshe and eventually translates into a plague after Moshe and Aharon fall on their faces.
When Silence is NOT Golden
It is always interesting when the obvious meaning of verses is not recognized until very late in history. Whatever the reason, this seems to be what happens at the end of the story of the spies. As God dispenses punishments, He concludes with the scouts themselves (14:36-38). At the end of this discussion, he tells us the obvious – that Yehoshua and Calev would not die.
Moshe and the Missing Matriarch
There are many interesting differences between Moshe and the forefathers who preceded him. One such difference is highlighted in Parshat Beha’alotecha, where we are told of the separation that took place between Moshe and his wife. This is certainly in marked contrast to the forefathers, whose wives took a central role in their lives and, as a result, left an indelible mark on the Jewish people.
The Place of the Displaced, the Replaced, and the Misplaced
The Torah can best be understood as a Divine stream of consciousness. It flows from one idea to another, often within the context of one or more larger ideas that form the overarching themes organizing its sections and books. And like with any other stream of consciousness, some connections will be harder to understand than others. Among the most difficult in this regard are Chapters 5 and 6 in Bemidbar. Starting from 5:5, we find three groups of laws that seem out of place.
Why Weren’t the Non-Jews Under the Mountain?
Judging from the sources in the Talmud, there is more than a tinge of ambivalence about the non-Jews being left out of Matan Torah. Though the Talmud was written in the context of a nascent Christianity that preached a gospel to all men, it was likely more than this that prompted the rabbis to justify the Torah being given only to the Jews: If Judaism’s message is directed to all of mankind as many passages in the Bible would indicate, then why shouldn’t the Torah be given to all men?
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