Of eating dog's liver

Since arriving in Israel I have processed an incredible amount of information. It's truly amazing what the mind is capable of doing. At the school I am studying at, Mayanot, there are two learning tracks available and I, a complete masochist, chose the Yeshiva track. I'm admittedly not learned enough to be in this classroom and I'm surprised they let me in, but G-d willing I will be able to rise to the occasion. In a sink or swim situation, as Darwin told us and as my own social observations have convinced me, we must do one or the other, sink or swim. Luckily, my earliest childhood memory was being thrown into a body of water by my father who said "Swim"…and so at the moment I am desperately treading (but in a good way).

So what the heck does one do when they are "Studying in Yeshiva?...this is the million dollar question that I once pondered over when first hearing the concept of people spending years of their life studying at these places. Even scarier, a person can study Torah for the rest of their lives and never be finished, and still have more to study. So this blog entry is my attempt to explain what I am in fact doing here…besides eating falafel.

The Yeshiva track means that we are translating, studying, analyzing and deriving meaning from Jewish texts. The texts I am referring to are a combination of the actual Written Torah (known to some as the Old Testament) and the Oral Torah.

Quick and simplified background and vocabulary lesson: We believe that the Oral Torah was also given to Moses at Mt. Sinai and was orally passed down from generation to generation from Moses to Joshua to the Elders to the Prophets and finally to the Men of the Great Assembly (Beit Din) who, out of necessity and the risk of loosing this valuable information, recorded the oral Torah in the 2nd Century into a 63 Volume document known today as the Mishna. During the generations of oral transmission, the Mishnas were recited as concise, easily memorized sentences that are said to a catchy little tune. Nevertheless, these simple sentences were loaded with meaning. The future generations were not as intelligent and couldn't understand the wisdom in the mishna, in response commentary was added to clarify. The commentary is called the Gamara. The Mishna and the Gamara together are referred to as the Talmud. From the Written Torah and these other texts, we derive the laws regarding Jewish observances. These laws are called Halacha.…….still following?

So back to the matter at hand: These texts are studied today in order to understand the reasons behind the Jewish laws that on the surface may seem silly and impractical. To my surprise, the logic behind these rules are actually quite sensible and relevant in everyday life…and whether or not one agrees with the actual Halacha, it's still a fun exercise and springboard for discussion and debate.

With all the background information, let us have a little Talmud class. The topic at hand is Who is obligated to fast during Yom Kuppur…the Jewish holiday coming up next week. I'll do the hard part for you and translate the sentence from Hebrew to English (no worries, it was only the most painful thing I've ever done since it's a combination of ancient Hebrew and an extinct language called Aramaic). When reading the question below, try to derive some type of meaning out of it. The key word is “try”

"If a person is bitten by a rapid dog, can you feed the victim the dog’s liver"

From first glance, I thought to myself…wtf, this is disgusting and dogs aren't even Kosher. Maybe I translated this wrong? But then after reading through the sources, I learned that back in the day, it was common practice that if someone was bitten by a rapid dog, eating the liver of the dog was thought to cure the rabies. This method was very similar to homeopathy's philosophy of treating like with like. So how is this relevant to fasting on Yom Kippur and how is this relevant today when we have something called a rabies shot?

We know that on Yom Kippur we fast; however if a person is sick they are allowed to eat. So the question derived from the above is actually:
“Are you allowed to break the fast in order to treat an illness with a medical remedy that is not proven?” In other words: Is alternative medicine, although not clinically proven, allowed to be administered if a person’s life is at jeopardy if it means breaking the rules of the fast? Although not so intuitive, from this sentence we derive the entire debate about the use of alternative medicines in the Jewish world. This piece of Talmud is cited both for and against the use of clinical cancer treatments, homeopathic medicine, acupuncture and more. The debate still reigns.

If you actually read this entire blog entry, and I am not sure if it was even coherent, you probably want to know the answer to the question of whether or not one can eat the liver of a rapid dog during the fast of Yom Kippur. However I forgot to mention your last vocabulary word of the day: machlochus, which means there are two different Rabbinical opinions on the matter and the debate still reigns. And that, my friends, is the beauty of Talmud. Yes, the laws are important, but what’s most important (at least in my opinion) is the act of engaging in study, exercising the mind, thinking a subject through, making arguments for your case, and taking a stance on a subject because, through your own cognition, you find something to be true.

This may have been confusing and completely uninteresting, but I just wanted to give you a little sample the learning I am doing and introduce the logic behind Talmudic rational. I really like this, I find it fascinating and riveting. I am going to stick it out, heck, I hear it even starts to get easier. Fortunately, my studies are nicely balanced between this type of learning, which connects to my intellect, and another type that feeds my spirituality, connecting to my heart. That’s the really good stuff, that’s the coat your soul with honey and scream Hallelujah stuff, but that is for another day.


* For the Talmudic scholars who receive this blog, please don't flinch at all the information I left out. I am merely trying to paint a broad picture, however I encourage you to supplement with comments.

Genesis: At the Beginning....

First, apologies for falling off the face of the earth for the past 2 months, I literally did exactly that. The trip, as I expected, didn’t happen the way I expected. However it happened exactly the way it was supposed to happen. It was so much fun and I learned a lot about myself, the world, and Pamela (one of the most inspirational women I’ve ever met). The Mediterranean is beautiful, Italian food is delicious, but the novelty of wandering around with all your belongings on your back wears off and wears you out quickly. By the time I arrived in Israel, banging on the gate of my school at 6:00 in the morning, I was broke, dirty, and exhausted.

Although the residue of my trip remains (I am still pealing from the sunburn I got on the sandy beaches on the coast of Valencia and whip lashed from riding a motorcycle through the maze-like alleys in the medieval city of Genoa), I have only a few minutes to share with you and I am so excited about my present situation in life that I will resist bringing you up to speed on my past wanderings, and start from where I
am right now! Please don’t feel gypped that I am withholding all the juicy details of my trip in Europe, I promise I will divulge when I have more time, but I want to talk about Israel.

After 2 years of setting my sights on this, working hard to save my money, and taking the longest travel route…I am finally where I want to be, the Land of Israel. I can hardly believe I am here. My state of mind can only be described as teetering between a state of complete tranquility and sublime ecstasy. I once met someone claiming to be the luckiest person in the world, but I beg to differ, I think it’s me. I arrived at my program on Thursday, September 18 with a reception fit for royalty. That is how everyone at this program is, completely open, welcoming and liberal with their love and affection. Immediately I had thirty new best friends that completely blow my mind with their journeys, insights, and spirituality. The women I am learning with come from all over the world, Florida, Alabama, London, Australia, Colombia, South Africa, etc. and all different stations in life.

1 Day in Israel was really special. It was Chai Elul on the Jewish calendar, which is actually a holiday. Not only is it my Hebrew birthday (a holiday in itself) it’s also the Birthday of two of the greatest Chassidic luminaries. The night was celebrated with a party called a Febregain, which is an amazing invention consisting of singing really loudly, pounding on tables, drinking vodka, eating hummus and cake, and telling stories that rival any New York Times bestseller.

Day 2 was also exceptional. It was Shabbos and spent in the beautiful hills of Jerusalem.

Day 3, as if the previous could be outdone, was spent sitting at the Kotel, Western Wall and wandering through my new hood, the Old City.

Day 4...I should really refrain from recounting the story of creation but lets just say there's been a lot of light, vegitation, animals...and it was all very good.

More about my program: long story short, my classes are really intense. Short story long, I’ve never stretched my mind to such lengths, felt so inspired, felt so awed, felt so intimidated by the breadth of information that lay before me. Every bit I learn unlocks the doors to hundreds of more ideas. I feel infinite and miniscule simultaneously. I am daunted by how much wisdom there is, but at the same time, it’s thrilling to be challenged intellectually and esoterically and to experience the richness of my heritage. I want to share it with you, but find myself limited by my small comprehension of these huge ideas and even more limited by my inability to articulate it clearly and relevantly to you. My mind has been blown open. From here on out, I will do my best give you a glimpse into the world I have just entered…which is completely foreign and different than anything I have ever done. I am in a place I have never been, doing things I have never done, yet it feels so natural as if my essence knew this all along.

Since I don’t even know where to begin, and there is only 1 computer that all 30 women on this program share, I’ll let this blog post serve as both an update letting you know I’m alive (I mean that in many senses of the word) and as the initiation of a dialogue that I intend on carrying out with you, my friends and family, throughout the next year of my journey.

Thank you for being in my life. The love and faith you’ve shared is what propels me forward.