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May 25, 2012
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Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
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The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
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The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Do thoughts count?
By Rabbi Hillel Goldberg
Intent, action and responsibility
http://www.JewishWorlRreview.com |
In 1976, we spent Passover in Safed, Israel, in a small hotel. Among the guests was a Mr. Weiss, who had come to Israel from Germany in the early 1930s. He told us this story:
Once the leader of religious Zionism, Meir Berlin (later Bar Ilan), found himself in Safed late at night. Safed then was extremely small. There was only one public inn. Berlin entered and asked for a bed.
The innkeeper adamantly refused. He had no space.
Berlin was beside himself. He would have no other place to stay but the street.
He begged the inkeeper, who refused Berlin outright.
Berlin persisted.
Finally, the innkeeper allowed, "I do have one bed, but there is someone else in the room, and you wouldn't want to be with him."
"Who is it?" asked Berlin.
"David Ben Gurion."
Ben Gurion and Berlin were fierce ideological opponents, the one a religious Zionist, a believer in the Torah; and the other a secular Zionist.
"I don't mind at all," Berlin told the innkeeper.
"OK," said the innkeeper, "but just because you don't mind, doesn't mean Ben Gurion won't mind. I must go ask him."
The innkeeper asked Ben Gurion, who said "no problem."
Now the innkeeper was intrigued. He had two of the most important — and contending — leaders of the fledgling Jewish settlement in Israel in his inn. He couldn't imagine the fierce arguments that would occupy them the whole night. He couldn't wait until morning to find out what happened.
Actually, this is what did happen:
Both leaders lay down to sleep. No arguments. No exchanges. Either Ben Gurion or Berlin (I forget which) told the other: It's hot in here. It's unbearably stuffy. Please open the window!
The other replied: No, it's too cool. If I open the window, I'll freeze!
First the window was opened, to accommodate the one who was too hot. Then the other, who could not stand the cold, shut the window. A few minutes later, the other, choking from the heat, opened the window. So it went, open and close, until both finally fell asleep, unhappy but exhausted.
The next morning, the innkeeper asked Ben Gurion and Berlin what they had discussed, and was told this story. Whereupon the innkeeper, whom we may imagined rolling his eyes, replied: "Really? That's the one room in the whole inn whose window frame has no pane."
As pointless as was Ben Gurion's and Berlin's debate over hot and cold is the question as to whether, in Judaism, thoughts count.
Do thoughts count? Of course they do, one might be tempted to say, especially after forgetting an important birthday, then remembering it two weeks later. If the person you forgot is gracious, he or she will say, "It's the thought that counts." Meaning: What really counts is the action, but I'll forgive you since you meant well.
Which counts most, then, thoughts or acts? It's a complicated topic in Judaism.
Saul of Tarsas, propagator of Christianity, thought that Judaism regarded actions above all else. Judaism doesn't care what you think or feel, only what you do, he said. Judaism values the "law." To Saul, this was a biting criticism.
Some 1,700 years later, this was a high compliment, according to Moses Mendelsohn, the founder of the Jewish enlightenment in Western Europe.
Mendelsohn argued that Judaism required only action — and that this was a strength. Mendelsohn wished to adopt European ways of thought and felt he could do so and still remain a good Jew, provided only that he performed Jewish acts — the mitzvos, or commandments. Judaism, he said, was strictly a matter of "legislation." Any Jew was free to think whatever he wanted about G-d and philosophy, just so he observed the laws of the Torah.
Here is a contemporary version of the same approach, heard in certain Orthodox Jewish circles: Homosexuality is wrong, but only to the extent that it expresses itself in an act. The act is wrong, but the thought or "orientation" is not proscribed. Judaism values the "law" only. The circle comes back on itself, from Saul of Tarsas to Mendelsohn to some Orthodox rabbis. Strange bedfellows indeed.
The point is this: Yes, Judaism values acts; yes, Judaism is a religion of acts, of mitzvos; but no, acts do not exhaust Judaism. Far from it. Just as Saul was wrong about Judaism, ignoring the importance that Judaism places on love and other emotions and intentions, so, too, every Jewish thinker who tries to reduce Judaism to deeds alone ignores a pivotal quality of the religion.
This is brought home in this week's Torah portion by the olah sacrifice. It was offered on many occasions, one being this: Having sinful thoughts that are not carried out. Do thoughts count? Indeed they do. The very first sacrifice in Leviticus — the olah — was brought for imagining sin, for thinking unworthy thoughts. One dreamt of sin, nothing more. For this one was obligated to go to the trouble and expense of offering an olah sacrifice in the Temple.
We have no more Temple, but we do have sinful thoughts, and we do have a clear value statement about them in this week's Torah portion. Thoughts count.
Not just sinful thoughts, of course. Judaism, while stressing action, also prescribes states of mind. This topic is explored by Rabbi Bachya ibn Pakuda in his Duties of the Heart ("Chovos Halevavos"), reprinted and translated repeatedly since it was first published a millennium ago.
The most important "duties of the heart" or states of mind are love of G-d and fear of G-d. While love or fear of G-d may be expressed in actions, they may also be pure states of mind, attitudes toward, relationships with, the Creator. Thoughts count.
The Torah asks us to be honest, but also not to think about being dishonest; to utter words of prayer, but also to elevate ourselves through them into a relationship with G-d. The Torah asks us to honor our parents with acts of respect and means of support, and also with attitudes, emotions and demeanor. The Torah asks us to purify our thoughts, and the Psalmist knows our weakness in this area. "G-d knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity."
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik said this about Judaism's laws of mourning: The required framework are the laws of shiva, the formal week of mourning — the sitting on low stools, the covering of the mirrors, the confinement to the house for seven days — but the actual fulfillment of these laws is the inner sense of loss, the emotional grief.
Judaism, to use Rabbi Israel Salanter's term, seeks to mold "the whole person" (adam ha-shalem). In a whole person, acts count. So do thoughts.
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JWR contributor Rabbi Hillel Goldberg is executive editor of the Intermountain Jewish News. To comment, please click here.
© 2009, Rabbi Hillel Goldberg
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