Rabbi Michael Samuel

The principle of annulment for failed marriages has been used throughout Jewish history since the days of Late Antiquity.

In one Responsa of the Rashbam, he writes:

The correct rationale for all Talmudic statements that “the Rabbis annul this marriage” is that the court has the authority to expropriate the money used to effect the marriage, since the law recognizes the principle of hefker bet din hefker (i.e., the court has the right to declare privately-owned money or property “ownerless”). This being so, the money does not belong to him [the groom]—and thus he did not marry her with his money, and she is not married at all.

If so, we may expand this principle to cover a communal enactment, since the community may expropriate the property of any of its members, and all courts in every generation have the power to expropriate private property because “Jephthah in his generation is equal to Samuel in his generation.” …

Consequently, a community that adopts an enactment to the effect that any marriage not having the consent of the communal leaders is invalid has thereby taken the property away from the man and transferred it to the woman on condition that the man shall have no right to it. Since it did not belong to him, he gave her nothing of his own; what she obtained from him was ownerless property that had been taken away from him. She is [therefore] not married at all.

The community may do this as a protective measure to prevent an unworthy man from coming forward to entice a girl from a distinguished family and marry her in secret. If it is an earlier enactment [before the man moved into the town], then everyone implicitly consented to it, and the matter is even simpler.

(Cited from Jewish Law : History, Sources, Principles = Ha-mishpat ha-Ivri, p. 840.)

Unfortunately, the Orthodox and Haredi communities refuse to utilize such a measure because it involves a biblical issur. However, the loophole exists and this issue needs to be reappraised. Rav Moshe Feinstein utilized numerous Halachic arguments to annul marriages that occurred on a variety of different issues, e.g., the failure to disclose vital personal history, and so on. It is obvious that under normal circumstances a get would be required, but the Halacha sanctions a more extraordinary approach-when the situation calls for it, i.e., when the woman is subject to the threat of extortion from an estranged husband. Ultimately, today’s modern leaders will have to eventually answer God for their stubbornness and stupidity in World of Eternity. Such rabbinic corruption and anarchy must be confronted.

Government discussions come and go; often people seldom care what is being discussed; political channels like C-Span are not known for their high ratings. However, in Israel, government discussions at the Knesset are often the kind of material that a Jay Leno or a Saturday Night Live or Mad T.V. comedy writing team would definitely consider using as a part of their programming. Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?

The defacto Health Minister, MK Rabbi Yakov Litzman, went on public record saying that the “Swine Flu” would be from here on in referred to as “Mexico Flu,” as pork is non-kosher and considered unclean under Jewish law. Was he being serious? Of course! We need not look at Saudi Arabia or Iran for religious or pontifical declarations—all we need to do is look in our very own backyard!

According to an editorial in the Ha’Aretz News, ‘Haredi government minister gone wild’ comment that makes for great office banter, the truth is that it’s just one more in a series of state-sanctioned declarations by a government official that serves only to further humiliate Israel in the eyes of the world.” Yes, let’s give our kudos to Netanyahu—that’s what happens when religious fanatics are allowed to be a part of the government.

Politics and religion is a lot like meat and milk in the Torah; each one by itself is permitted, but when mixed, they become a forbidden mixture! Politics and religion functions much the same way. By itself, religion is fine as is politics (when the politicians behave themselves!), but when we mix religion and politics-we end up with a draconian combination that only serves to oppress the people! And the writer further explains:

Such is the system that produces a government where a party representing a community whose media cannot print the word sex, airbrushes women out of photos, and binds them into a strict second-class status, can be put in charge of the Health Ministry, a ministry legally bound to protect the well-being of all Israelis, regardless of gender, race or religion …. How can a man whose usage of the Hebrew language is governed by his own interpretation of Jewish law deal with issues like teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, or post-natal care for women?

As I read the article, I found myself laughing at the Rabbi’s lack of wisdom. Nowhere in the Torah does it say that swine is “treif” (attacked by an animal of prey); it is simply “ta’me” (”unclean”) and even this kind of designation does not make it an evil creature. The ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Israel once had a similar reaction once when they found out they were getting porcine insulin that derives from pork derivatives.

Actually, pigs and humans seem to have a profound anatomical relationship; modern medical technology has been using pigskin for human skin on victims for many years. In fact, next to the chimp and certain types of mice (the rhesus macaques), the pig may be our next closest anatomical cousin.

Human skin and pig skin is so similar that pig skin is used for skin grafts on human burn victims until their own skin can heal. Portions of a pig’s eye have been used for human eye transplants. Even the valves in a pig’s heart have been used to save human lives (my old Rabbi emeritus used to joke about his special pig valve that kept him alive for many years and Rav Moshe permits it in his responsa).

Furthermore, the pig is the only mammal that will voluntarily drink alcohol and for that reason is often studied by scientists who wish to better understand the effects of human alcoholism.

Humans and pigs are the only species affected adversely by the web-like evolution of influenza strains. Interestingly, pigs are being modified with human genes so that the organs of their offspring can be transplanted into humans to hopefully better combat certain types of diseases.

Indeed, the relationship between pigs and humans is very interesting from a zoological and anthropological perspective—not to mention from the religious perspective as well.

The bottom line: rabbis should refrain from making disparaging remarks on their anatomical cousins! We have more in common with the pig than most of us ever imagined possible. I think we ought to blame Rabbi Litzman’s behavior on “Mad Rabbi’s Disease” and now you know the rest of the story ….

Postscript: Pressure from the pork industry has recently forced politicians to give the “Swine Flu” a new name since the “Swine Flu” has resulted in a loss of business, as one of my congregants, who happens to be a pig farmer has told me. Hence the new name is now H1N1. Maybe Rabbi Litzman will have the last laugh after all. However, in the final analysis, there is nothing “Kosher” a flu-whether it comes from swine, or ducks and cows!

On a positive note, Israelis, Jordanians, Egyptians, and Palestinians are working on ways to minimize the pandemic nature of this new strain of flu. Perhaps something meaningful may come from this potentially dangerous disease!

* See “Pigs and Humans: 10,000 Years of Interaction” by Umberto Albarella, Keith Dobney, Anton Ervynck, Peter Rowley-Conwy (New York: Oxford UP, 2008).

Q. I read recently in the Jerusalem Post about a funeral that took place in the Yavneh cemetery, where the women were prohibited from walking near the graves, and one of the reasons given was because it “damages their wombs.” Another Orthodox woman said, “Due to the high rate of deaths of young people in Yavneh, the community undertook a vow not to approach the grave during a burial - and that would be the tikkun (healing) of Yavneh.”

A woman defending the custom, explained:

We implored the woman from the cemetery. We argued with her and amongst ourselves. In the meantime, some men were already returning from the burial. As they passed near us, they said we could approach the grave now since the burial had been completed. Yet the cemetery woman still refused and said, “It is not good for the departed. Don’t you understand? You are sinning against the dead. You are harming his soul” and with that she silenced us. She overwhelmed us. The father of my departed cousin is religious and some of the women said he might want us to obey these shocking orders. We did not want to endanger him or his son in any way in the world to come. So we stopped trying …) [Jerusalem Post, March 12, 2009]

What is the reason for this antiquated custom? Why is there an association between a woman’s menstruation and death? Can a woman serve as a pallbearer?

A. Great questions!

The Talmud in BT Sanhedrin 20a discusses funeral etiquette:

“Our Rabbis taught: Wherever it is customary for women to follow the bier, they may do so; to precede it, they may do so likewise. R. Judah said: Women must always precede the bier, for we find that David followed the coffin of Abner, as it is written, “And King David followed the bier” (2 Sam. 3:31). They the Rabbis said to him: ‘That was only to appease the people, and they were indeed appeased, for David went to and fro, from the men to the women and back from the women to the men, as it is written, So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner’ ( 2 Sam. 3:37).

Ba’ale Tosfot cites two views from the Jerusalem Talmud regarding this Talmudic passage: one approach suggests the reason why women should not lead a funeral procession, because it was Eve, who introduced death to the world.[1] However, others contend that because of modesty, it became customary for men to lead the procession (which is contrary to the view expressed by R. Judah cited above).

There is a big difference whether the custom of women following the bier is because of modesty or whether it is attributed to Eve’s sin.

Now, the Zohar (ca. 12th century) complicates the discussion and adds an entirely new wrinkle to the above Talmudic discussion.

R. Simeon further said: ‘I swear to you that the majority of people do not die before their time, but only those who know not how to take heed to themselves. For at the time when a dead body is taken from the house to the place of burial the Angel of Death haunts the abodes of the women. Why of the women? Because that has been his habit since the time that he seduced Eve, through whom he brought death upon the world. Hence, when he takes a man’s life, and the males are accompanying the dead body, he mingles himself on the way among the women, and he has then the power to take the life of the sons of men. He looks on the way at the faces of those who come within his sight, from the time they carry the dead body out from his house to the place of burial until they return to their homes. It is on their account that he brings about the untimely death of many people. Regarding this it is written: “But there is that is swept away without justice” (Prov. 13:23). For he, the Angel of Death, ascends and brings accusations and recounts man’s sins before the Holy One, blessed be He, so that the man is brought to judgment for those sins, and is removed from the world before his time.

The Zohar now offers its own view of proper funeral etiquette:

What is the remedy against this? When the dead body is carried to the place of burial, a man should turn his face in another direction, and leave the women behind him. Should the latter pass in front he should turn round so as not to face them. Similarly, when they return from the place of burial he should not return by the way where the women are standing, and he should not look at them at all, but should turn a different way. It is because the sons of men do not know of this, and do not observe this, that the majority of people are brought up for judgment and are taken away before their time..[2]

The Zohar’s position ought to be fairly clear: all women must atone for Eve’s sin. The connection between menstruation and death has long been a part of Western religion, for among the punishments Eve receives in Genesis 3, according to rabbinic folklore, was the beginning of her menstrual cycle—all this is subsumed under the penalty “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing” (Gen. 3:16) as noted by Seforno and Malbim in their biblical commentaries. Women are thus viewed in early rabbinic tradition as being responsible for the presence of death in the world, and the menstrual cycle is a collective punishment all women must bear for a substantial part of their lives.

Kabbalists sometimes cite another verse in Scriptures that associates women with death, “Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave” (Proverbs 5:11)-as an allusion to Eve! For this reason, women are forbidden to serve as pallbearers among the Orthodox. Non-Orthodox brands of Judaism allow women to serve in this capacity.

R. Joseph Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch rules that women should not participate in the procession to the grave, lest they bring harm to the world.[3] Rabbinical scholars like the Kabbalist R. Isaac Luria[4], as well as the Vilna Gaon, urge women not to even enter a cemetery until they have gone to the mikveh (a ritual bath for purification).[5] According to Luria, the law applies no less to men who had sexual relations or a seminal emission as well, for they too, must immerse themselves in the mikveh since the demonic forces of evil are believed to cling to an individual who has not immersed.

The Kabbalah influences the Jewish legal system known as “Halachah” more than most people realize. Halachic authorities are divided whether this applies when the woman is counting her “seven clean days” after her menstrual bleeding has ceased. As a side note, some rabbis believe that a woman should not go to a synagogue while she is bleeding, but most authorities think it is permitted during her seven clean days.

As mentioned above, nowhere in the Talmud is there any mention at all of this custom. Jewish mysticism modifies the Christian doctrine of Original Sin, and redirects the blame-to the women [men have been blaming women for the ills of the world since ancient times], who are believed to represent the incarnation of Eve. These mystics influenced the tradition, and that would explain why the incident in Yavneh created a ruckus. Of course, this law, like many others, is rooted in classical misogyny. To our regret, sexism retains an honored place in the Zohar and for those who admire the study of the Kabbalah, it is imperative we realize that its authors had feet of clay, and were indeed men of their age. The Zohar is far from being an inerrant work of religious literature.

In the spirit of speculation, I would add that customs, such as this one, may have a basis in something tragic that occurred in a Jewish community long ago. Perhaps a pregnant woman attended a funeral one day, and she miscarried while she was standing in front of a grave. The horror of such an awful experience might have left the community in a state of trauma, and as Kabbalists and rabbis tried to find a connection between the events (the funeral and the miscarriage).[6]

Lastly, the term “kever” (that typically means “grave”), but may also signify uterus and womb.[7] This could partially explain basis for the Zohar and subsequent Lurianic custom about women not entering a cemetery in a funeral procession.

Q. What is the meaning of the “goodly fruit” of Lev. 23:40? Does it really refer to the citron as the rabbis teach? I have friend who is a Horticulture at Southern Florida College, who doubts this association.

“The “etrog” of the Jews, used in the Feast of Tabernacles, is not mentioned in the Bible. It probably did not reach Palestine until after the time of Alexander the Great, and was not used by the Jews in fulfilling the prescriptions as given in Lev. 23:40. One historian, Immanuel Löwe stated that its use had been recorded from the time of Alexander Jannaeus (107-78 BCE).”

So, its use is quite old, but not nearly as old as the passage in Leviticus. Is he correct?

A. Great question. For those who are unfamiliar with the subject, here is the biblical verse in question:

“On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.” (Lev. 23.40)

Your scholarly friend is most likely correct. The association of the “goodly fruit” with the citron (Citrus medica) is of a relatively late origin. The Mishnah, the Talmud and Onkelos, as you know, assumes the citron is was one of four species of plants used in the Feast of Tabernacles. (TB Sukkah 35a) Josephus Ant. xiii.13.5 [372] recorded that infuriated Jews threw citrons at Alexander Janneus while he served at the altar during this feast. A similar tradition is mentioned in the Tosefta of Tractate Sukkot 4:9;. The reference is probably to the Citrus medica var lageriformis Roem., which may have been imported from Babylon by returning exiles.

Interestingly, the word “etrog” is derived from the Persian word “torong”. Now in Hebrew, the prosthetic aleph is often added to many words to make it easier to pronounce. Y. Felix suggests that it may also come from the Sanskrit word “suranga,” meaning “beautifully colored.” The shrub-like citron tree is only about ten feet in height with thick, straggly branches. Although a native of India, the citron tree has been cultivated in ancient Judea for approximately 2200 years.

Contrarian traditions to the traditional rabbinical view of the above, can be clearly seen in the Book of Jubilees. . In chapter 16 of that book, Abraham is said to observe the very first Feast of Tabernacles at Beersheba. As part of his observance, he took “branches of leaves and willow from the stream …… branches of palm trees and fruit of good trees” (Jub. 16:30––31). Thus, the author of Jubilees understood at least one and perhaps two of the elements of the “four kinds” differently from rabbinic Judaism. The “citron” is conspicuous by its absence, being replaced by “fruit of good trees”

My good Karaite friend Chacham Avraham Qani, argues that the rabbinite interpretation is based on a grammatical misreading of the verse. Instead of translating the verse as the fruit of the “Hadar trees”, he translates it instead as “the produce of the majestic tree (for similar use of peri as produce, see Isa 3:10 Jer 17:10 21:14 32:19 Mic 7:13; Amos 6:12 passim) e.g., which is defined the verse i.e., “branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook.”

Any produce can be referred to as “pri”, leaves, fruits, vegetables, pri does not necessarily the seed-bearing part of the plant. That is one type, but not the only type. It is ironic in a sense that Chachm’s Quani’s explanation makes use of one of the rabbinical methods of interpretation, K’llal and preat a specific inference which is derived from a general inference. Majestic tree that is full of leaves which is used for s’chach. How could you cover a Sukkah with fruit. At any rate, from this perspective, the Torah actually speaks of the Three types ” minim,” and not “four” as is maintained by the rabbinical tradition. In addition, the verses in the Book of Nehemiah 8:15 ,also seem to suggest that these species were used for the construction of the Sukkah itself.

They found it written in the law prescribed by the LORD through Moses that the Israelites must dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month; and that they should have this proclamation made throughout their cities and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring in branches of olive trees, oleasters, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees, to make booths, as the law prescribes.” – Neh. 8:14-15

Whether this reading is any more compelling, I leave this to you to decide. Personally, I think once something is defined by Tradition, the identification of the “goodly fruit” becomes as if it were taught explicitly in the Torah. Traditions may not always be rational or even logical, but there is a degree of canonicity that must be respected by the faith community that embraces it.

Yours,

Rabbi Dr. Michael Samuel

Q. I am doing my PhD. in the field of Jewish Studies. In this connection I am interested in the history of Jews in masonic lodges. As - according to my knowledge - there is at least in the higher degrees of the Scottish Rite quite a lot of Christian symbolism, I wonder, if there is any halachic ruling concerning the membership of Jews in masonic lodges. Could you help me here?

A. Good question. Until now, I never really researched the significance of Freemasonry, but I must confess, that my father was a Mason, as were many of his Jewish friends. I was surprised to see that a number of my present synagogue’s congregants are also Masons. Even more remarkable is the existence of an Orthodox Synagogue in Westchester named Rosh Pina, whose membership consists of Jewish masons. Masonic lodges tended to help support the local businesses, and this was probably one of the main reasons these fraternies were so popular. The name Rosh Pina is based on the Biblical verse found in the Psalms: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22).

Despite the popularity of this international fraternity, there is no official or formal definition regarding what is a Freemason. Much of its history is shrouded in legend and ambiguity. Many of its members trace back its symbolism to the original builders of the Egyptian pyramids or Solomon’s Temple. The working tools of the Masons became a system of symbols for personal morality and initiation.

Most folks know the Masons are a charitable organization which has secret rites and symbols.
In religious terms, their behavior and traditions strikes one as an American civil religion. Tthe fraternity believes in rendering homage to the Creator, which they regard as the duty of each of its members. Although Freemasonry only began as an institution in the seventeenth century, it has generated a mythology, or legendary history, according to which its followers claims dates back to the biblical reign of Solomon and the building of the Temple.

Many of this country’s founding fathers were Masons. In this country and in Europe, Freemasonry was linked to various programs of political and religious reform, programs that emphasized freedom of thought, worship, association, and the press and contributed considerably to the French and American revolutions.

Some Masonic lodges found it hard to give up their old prejudices with respect to the Jews.. In Germany and Austria, Masonic lodges barred Jews from belonging. There is also another dark history to masonry. In the 19th century, American Freemasons, along with others of like mind, created the Know-Nothing party in the 1850s, the Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War and again from 1915 onward, and the American Protective Association in the latter 1880s and early 1890s. All were even more anti-Catholic than they were anti-black or xenophobic, in addition to being anti-Semitic. In defense of the Masonic movement, these splinter groups did not reflect the values of the Masonic philosophy.

At any rate, Jews found the Masonic lodges to be open in a time when discrimination was rampant in Western society. The Masonic constitution held that any good or honest person, regardless of his denomination or persuasion, was to be admitted. The constitution obliged the member only to hold “to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves,” a declaration of religious tolerance based on the current Deist trend, which postulated a Supreme Being who could be conceived of by any rational being. It remains a mystery whether Jews may have influenced the wording of the Masonic constitution, but its liberal doctrines made it easy for Jews to belong. A Jewish lodge, the Lodge of Israel, was established in London in 1793, and the Knights of Aphesis to this day, is a Jewish lodge in the Masonic movement. Indeed, I am told that there are many Jewish Masonic lodges all around the world.

Concerning Masonic lodges in the land of Israel had as many as 64 lodges with over 3500 active members consisting of Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Druze. The activities of the Grand Lodge and its several lodges include: a mutual insurance fund; the Masonic old age home at Nahariyyah; Masonic temples all over the country; and a museum and library. (Encyclopedia Judaica) . Israeli Masonic Lodges show the kind of healing power Freemasonry can produce in a society that is religiously divided. In fact there is a Jewish Masonic synagogue in New York called B’nai Boneh – Children of the Builders!

With respect to the rest of your questions, I would like to briefly examine some of the Masonic teachings and rituals.

Curiously, many of its rituals and symbolism draw its roots from the Kabbalah. In the Kabbalah, the interest in a knowledge of sounds, written letters, and words was intensified. Each sign was given a magical value that had a religious meaning and a numerical relationship. For example, the Hebrew letter alef became the symbol of mankind and the abstract principle of material objects.

Most importantly, Freemasonry taught that they are building a spiritual temple in heaven. Each member regardless of his religion must fashion himself into a perfect living stone to fit into the spiritual temple of God. Indeed, this idea bears considerable similarity to the Tikkun Olam “Repairing the world” which the Kabbalists stress, is every human being’s duty. This concept is reffered to as the “Common Gavel.” The common gavel serves as a metaphor for the breaking off the rough and superfluous parts of the stone, so as to be fit for the Supreme Architect’s use. Accepted Masons, are taught to make use of it for the more noble and glorious purpose of divesting their hearts and consciences of all the vices and superfluities of life: thereby fitting the Mason’s minds as living stones for that spiritual building. The Mason thus, makes himself fit for heaven by bettering himself through eliminating unwanted qualities. This spiritual lesson holds true for any Mason, regardless of his god or religious persuasion.

The Kabbalists also refer to this same process as “etcafiyah” – bending the material impulses to the service of the Divine.

Another one of the building instruments Masons use involves a trowel, which they use to spread cement. Here too, the symbolism represents spreading the cement of brotherly love and affection; that cement which unites people into one sacred band or society of friends and brothers, among whom no contention should exist, so that all people may work and exist in perfect harmony.

None of the rituals that I have seen violate any tenant of Judaism, and in fact reflects values that are healthy for any sane society. Since some of the lodges reflect more the religious tenets of that given faith, I would encourage you to join a Jewish lodge to avoid any possible Halachic problems pertaining to the role of Jesus, the incarnation etc.

Let me conclude with the following passage from the Talmudic tractrate Berachot 64a:

R. Eleazar said in the name of R. Hanina: The disciples of the wise increase peace in the world, as it says, All your children shall be taught by the Lord,and great shall be the prosperity of your children (Isa. 54:11) Read not banayik [your children] but bonayik [your builders]. Great peace have they that love Your Torah, and there is no stumbling for them. (Psa. 119:65)

Yours,

Rabbi Dr. Michael Samuel