The Value of Sitting

Although it is hard to find common ground with the Muslim world these days when it comes to Israel, but there is one thing that is somewhat similar. An Arab child who wants to learn Islam goes to a Madrassa. A Jewish one who wants to learn goes to a Beis Midrash, a house of study.  Not surprisingly, the Arab word madrassa comes from the Hebrew word midrash which means to look deeper, to seek and inquire. But that is where the similarity ends.  The Jews didn’t adopt the term Beis Midrash to describe the institution where children go to study like the Muslims did; rather, Jewish children go to yeshiva.  

 The root of the word yeshiva means to sit, yoshev.  If I were to describe the essence of what goes on at a yeshiva, I wouldn’t say it is to sit. That may be the position we adopt when we study, but so too do people in an office. And in fact, it used to be the custom that out of respect for learning, a person stood when he learned until the generation became spiritually weaker and allowed for sitting. This further strengthens the question of why Jews adopted this term to describe our educational system. 

The problem is with our definition of the word to yoshev.  Granted, it can mean to sit, but there is a deeper understanding that is highlighted by Rashi.  It says in this weeks parsha that after a woman gives birth, she needs ‘to sit in her blood of purity for 33 days’. Lest we take a simplistic and unrefined understanding of the verse which sounds like she needs to sit in actual blood, Rashi explains that sitting is not a physical act but a description of her state of being- she is not moving forward, she is holding herself back from going to certain places of high level holiness temporarily. 

With this is mind the world of yeshivas starts to make sense. The idea of Yeshiva is to hold back and get to know yourself and morality first before you move forward.  Don’t run into the world without an idea of how to act ethically in the world. That is the other idea of Yeshiva- it is a settlement, a yishuv. It teaches a person the proper character traits needed in order to settle the world.  We live in a world that is in a tremendous rush; things are fast paced and patience is a commodity.  When moving at high speeds, the possibility of an accident becomes all the greater.  At the very least, to minimize our chances of a spiritual accident, a little time to hold back and gather our moral bearings is not a bad idea.

Purim- Have a Drink!

                The name of one of our main protagonists in the Purim event is Ester, which comes from a language of hiddenness.  Through her actions, a level of Divine Providence became revealed that led to our beloved holiday of Purim.  But if we look at it there is a great irony in this.  The person, who is ‘revealing’ G-d, is the person whose essence is to hide.  How does hiding actually reveal?  

To answer this question we have to analyze two systems of desire.  Thirst and hunger represent two systems of desire that are related to our triumph on Purim. People say that if you want to lose weight, drink lots of water. There is a simple reason for this.  More often than not, when we think we are hungry, it turns out we are thirsty.  With a small cup of water, our hunger is satiated without the calories.  Why the confusion? 

                Many have experienced that feeling at the end of a long, multicourse meal where we slouch down at the table and swear off food for the night only to be disturbed by the divine smell of chocolate cake. A hitherto unknown pocket of space opens up in our midsection and before we realize it we are on our second bite of cake. After that, the second round of regret really sets in.  Now, this only happens in the realm of food.  We are able to be seduced by the external temptations and what was once desirable quickly turns into disgust.  We realize it is totally foreign to us, not at all what we need. 

 On the other hand, if we are not thirsty, no amount of external arousal will cause us to drink water. If we are thirsty we drink, if not, not.[1]  The difference is that thirst is a more intrinsic need than food.  We can only go three days without liquid, but at least three weeks without food.  Relative to drinking, food is a more external desire so it can be awakened in us from an external source, drinks less so.

                However, when we have a need, it is not always clear to us how to fulfill it.  The way to extract our true need is to hide all external temptations so that we know conclusively that our need is coming from inside and not a result of an external stimulation. This is the process on Purim.  Jews thought their needs could be fulfilled by joining in with Persian Society so G-d hid himself and the society rudely turned on its guests. Once the externals weren’t so inviting the Jews realized what their real needs were- a connection to each other and a connection to G-d.

               

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[1] We are talking about water not hot chocolate