SONSINO'S BLOG: THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

SONSINO'S BLOG: THE PROBLEM OF EVIL: Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D. The problem of evil is a recognition that it is impossible to explain how an all-powerful, all-knowing and all-go...

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

The problem of evil is a recognition that it is impossible to explain how an all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good God allows suffering to exist. This is the greatest challenge to the belief in a theistically conceived God who appears, in the Bible or rabbinic literature, just as it is present in Christianity and Islam, as a caring, loving, responding God. The prophet Jeremiah gave voice to this question when he stated, “ Why does the way of the wicked prosper?” (Jer. 12:1). Similarly ,the Psalmist had to admit this unfortunate state when he stated, “I saw the wicked at ease.” (73:3).

The Greek philosopher Epicurus (3^rd cent. BCE) had already recognized this dilemma  stating that if  evil exists in the world – and it does in the form of suffering of the innocent- it must be because God is either not all-good, or not all-powerful to eliminate it.  But that goes against the view of God in many of the western  religions. In our time, after the Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews and after the attack on Israel in Oct. 2023 when more than a thousand Israelis were butchered by Hamas criminals out of Gaza it is difficult to talk about a God who is viewed as caring and loving. A modern writer puts the problem thusly: “If God is God, He is not good. If God is good, He is not God” (MacLeish, J.B. p.11)

What do the defenders of theism say about this dilemma? Some argue that free will makes it necessary for  evil to exist. Others take refuge in a definition that evil is simply the negation of good. Some even  claim that in the world to come there will be no evil, much to the despair of the sufferers in this world for actions they did not commit. And there are others who give up and say that God is suffering along his creatures. But this is hardly a consolation to the people who are in pain for nothing. One ancient Rabbi (Yannai, 3^rd cent. CE) gave up and stated, “It is not in our power to explain the wellbeing of the wicked or the suffering of the righteous” (PA: 4: 1).

I prefer to deal with this problem by asserting, like the 17^th century Jewish philosopher Spinoza who taught  that evil cannot be ascribed to God.  God stands for the only substance that exists, and that is nature which is neutral.  If something goes wrong with us ,it is because we are in the wrong place and in the wrong time, and also because we don’t always know how nature really operates. We are still discovering its foibles. There must be a physical reason for evil . It is not caused by God who acts not with free will but with necessity.  God does not cause you to be sick. It is simply because we are  imperfect human beings who are limited by the conditions of our being.

I can live with that. Can you?

TEXTUAL PROBLEMS OF LEVITICUS 1:1

The Book of Leviticus, the third book of the Pentateuch, deals primarily with priests and animal sacrifices. The book contains some of the most obscure and irrelevant (for our times) texts in the Hebrew Bible, while featuring many of the loftiest ethical teachings like Lev.19. 

The first chapter begins with a verb, Vayikra “He called.” The verse literally reads, “He called Moses, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting …when any of you present  an offering (of cattle ” (Lev.1:1). The syntax is unusual. From the rest of the verse we learn that the one who called was God. Furthermore, the letter ALEF at the end of the first word, vayikra , is often written in a smaller size than the other letters. The reason is not known. According to Samuel D  Luzzatto (19^th cent.) , when the last letter  of a word (for ex. Alef in vayikra ) is the same letter found at the beginning of the next word (el , Alef and Lamed “to”), one character often serves for both. This interpretation ,however, does not solve the problem, because the letter Alef still appears in both words, even though the first is smaller. On the other hand, Rabbenu Asher ben Yehiel (14^th cent. Toledo), in his commentary, offers a midrashic solution saying that the small size of the letter reflects the humility of Moses. If he was one, so should we be. ( On the other hand, the large ALEF at the beginning of the word ADAM in I Chr.1:1, is seen as Adam’s arrogance). 

During the medieval times, commentators were puzzled by the unusual form of this opening. In fact, Rashbam (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, 12th cent. CE, France) suggested that this verse really follows Ex.40:35, found in the last chapter of the Book of Exodus, where Moses, we are told, could not enter the Tent of Meeting because of the divine cloud that had settled upon it. 

Furthermore, we do not know the original purpose of animal sacrifices in the ancient Near East. Often, the animal was slaughtered and burned on an altar,  and the meat was given to the priests to eat it. Some say, this was a means of feeding the gods who smelled the vapors emanating from the burned animal ; others stress the value of propitiation or reverence. The consumption of the flesh of the animal somehow created a communion between the divinity and human beings. When the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, a rabbinic Mitzvah (“commandment”) system, along with prayers, replaced the old sacrificial cult. 

We also do not know exactly what this “Tent of Meeting” (ohel moed) looked like. There are various biblical traditions about it. In the book of Exodus, chapter 33, it is described as a tent placed outside of the Israelite encampment. In other priestly texts it receives a much wider description as an enclosed courtyard that contained an altar of burn offering. 

“The Lord called to Moses” (Lev. 1:1): Using this text as a prompter, Rabbi Akiba (2^nd cent. CE) taught a lesson of morality. He said: Better that they should tell you to go up, than they should tell you to go down (Lev. Rabba 1:5-6).  That is wisdom applicable to all. 

HUMOR IN THE BIBLE

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

The Bible is a revered book, and many think that it is strictly serious. Yet, a critical analysis of the text shows that some “biblical writing may have been intended primarily to entertain the reader” (The Anchor Bible Dict.3/325). It is not easy to translate humor from one culture to another, and old texts like the Bible emerged in a social environment that is very different from ours. Still, we find many biblical passages that are humorous and off handed. Here below are some examples:

The patriarch Abraham is a trickster when in Egypt he passes his wife  as his sister (Gen. 12:13).

IN Gen. 18, the matriarch Sarah overhears  an angel (or God)  telling Abraham , 100 years old, that his elderly wife of 90 will bear a child, and Sarah “laughs” (v. 12) at this absurdity. 

We find sarcasm in Gen. 37 when it states that the brothers of Joseph pointed at him saying, “here comes the dreamer” (v. 19).

In Ex. 32, when Moses returns from the mountain and catches the Israelites worshiping  an idol, he demands an explanation from Aaron, his brother ,who said that people gave him gold, and he threw it into the fire, and “ out of it came this calf!” (v.24). 

In Numbers 22, Balaam, a gentile prophet and diviner,  has a donkey that speaks, saying to his master , “Look, I am the ass that you have been riding all along until this day!(v. 30).

In Judg. 3, Ehud, an assassin, visits the obese king Eglon of Moab. Ehud stabs the king’s enormous belly with his sword that disappears  inside him. Ehud escapes and  the servants saw that the doors of the upper chamber were locked and assumed that he is “relieving himself in the cool chamber.” (v.24).

There is ridicule in  I K 18, when it states that in facing the prophets of Baal, the Israelite prophet Elijah  openly mocked them  saying, “shout louder! After all, he is a god. He may be in conversation, he may be detained, or he may be on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and will wake up” (JPS, v. 27). 

WE find humor even in wisdom literature, such as, “ Like a gold ring in a snout of a pig is a beautiful woman bereft of sense” (JPS, v. 11:22).

The book of Esther is a funny political satire, a farce:  Ahasuerus is a clueless king; Haman , the villain, is a buffoon; Esther is a manipulative queen; Mordecai is a courageous fool.  

Biblical writers did have a sense of humor , and they entertained their readers just as they instructed them about God and religion. 

What is your favorite humorous episode in the Bible? 

 

 

CHANGES IN JEWISH IDENTITY IN AMERICA; A PERSONAL OBSERVATION

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

As I survey the changes that have taken place in Jewish identity  today, I note the following:

1.        80 % of world Jewry lives either in the USA (about 7.3 million, out of 349 +million in 2026) or in Israel (about 7.5 million, out of the total population of about 10 million).  NY State has the largest Jewish community in the USA (c.1.7 million).

2.        A recent poll taken about American Jews showed that only 40 % are affiliated with a synagogue. The rest identify themselves simply as “ethnic” Jews. The rate of affiliation is higher among Orthodox Jews. The Jewish Conservative movement in America is on the decline. On the other hand, some Reform congregations are thriving because of good programing for the young and old. There is a lack of rabbinic candidates in all the Jewish seminaries. 

3.        In many Reform congregations in the USA, there is now a tendency to observe more traditional rituals, and to revive long discarded beliefs, such as resurrection (see the popular use of “who revives the dead” in the liturgy ) or the ready acceptance of  miracles, even though both are often interpreted allegorically. 

4.        With regard to the belief in God, many Reform Jews continue to uphold the traditional theistic view of God ( as , father,  redeemer etc.) , whereas a strong but vocal minority (me included) strongly defends a non-theistic and naturalistic  theology where God is viewed as the energy of the universe that does not answer prayers and does not intervene in human affairs. See, our book, A God we Can Believe In (2022). 

5.        The recent rise of antisemitism around the world has shocked Jews who have witnessed attacks on synagogues and other Jewish institutions ,and now many shun the display of Jewish symbols on themselves fearing assault by crazy people. Many blame local Jews for Israel’ s role in Gaza, West bank , and Iran.

6.        Though most Jews enthusiastically support Israel as a legitimate homeland for Jews, other  Jews are uncomfortable with its right-wing government that appeases the “haredim” (the extreme Orthodox Jews in Israel) and keeps legalizing new settlements in the West Bank. 

7.        There is a strong commitment to social action and a greater acceptance of diversity among Reform Jews who welcome gays, lesbians and trans, more than any other ethnic group in America.

As times go by, I trust new identities will emerge and new alliances will appear within the Jewish community.  For, I maintain, “Am Yisrael Hay, “the people of Israel is alive and well, and will find its own way in the future. 

 

Your thoughts?

RABBINIC GEMS ON THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

The biblical book of Leviticus deals mostly with legal instructions about priestly matters and animal sacrifices. It probably reflects the practices of the second temple of Jerusalem built after the Israelites returned from exile in Babylon in the 6^th cent. BCE. It is not a book that reads easily or one that we can relate to with our contemporary mindset.  However, the ancient Rabbis, by means of interpretation, were able to derive from these laws many  moral teachings that we can all emulate today. Here below are two examples:

In Lev. 25:35, the law states that “ if your kinsman becomes poor and comes under your authority,,,,let him live by your side” (Lev. 25:35). As Rabbi J.H.Hertz points out in his modern commentary, “This is in strongest contrast to the treatment of the impoverished debtor in ancient Rome“ (p. 536). Ancient Rabbis went even further and taught us a lesson of empathy when they stated that “anyone who visits the ill, they subtract one -sixtieth of his illness.” Namely, in their opinion ,the mitzvah of visiting the sick (bikur holim in Hebrew) is very important , for it considerably helps the infirm because of the care shown by the visitor. Thus the Rabbis encouraged everyone  to spend quality time with the ill as a religious obligation.(Lev. Rabba 34:1). Modern psychology approves. 

Similarly, commenting on the same law, they remind us of the practice by Hillel, the elder, the great sage of the first century CE, who would tell his students that he was going to carry out a mitzvah (religious obligation)  by taking a bath. Puzzled, the students asked him, is this a real mitzvah? So, Hillel, responded: “ If the statues of the kings that are placed in theatres and circuses, are washed…, should not I not, who has been created in the image of God, as it is said in the Bible, “In the image of God, He made man” (Gen. 9:6) , take care of myself by washing my body? (Lev. Rabba 34: 3). Thus the Rabbis converted  the  simple act of cleanliness into a high religious obligation. We need to take care of ourselves , they said, because we have been created in the divine image. What a great teaching!!

 

JEWISH HOUSES OF WORSHIP-A BRIEF HISTORY

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

Throughout history Jews used various structures for worship purposes. 

1.        THE TABERNACLE

In pre-monarchical times, the biblical Israelites used a tabernacle called Mishkan in Hebrew. (P calls it miqdash, “sacred place”, see Ex. 25:8). This was a portable tent sanctuary also known as ohel moed, (“the tent of meeting”) or mishkan ha-edut (“the tent of testimony”). It was located in various places, such as Gilgal, Nob, Gibeon and Shilo. Though the details are not clear, the structure  was about 10 cubits high (about 15 feet), 20 cubits long and 8 cubits wide. It contained a few objects such as the “ark of the covenant” (namely, the box containing the ten commandments), an incense altar , a table, a seven branch candelabra and an eternal light. ( see Ex.26). In the past, some scholars doubted that such a tent ever existed but today most biblical critics, based on comparative religious texts, accept the validity of such a structure, even if the specifics  remain controversial. 

According to 1 K 8: 4, the tabernacle was brought to the temple  of Jerusalem at the time of its dedication. 

 

2.        THE TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM

According to the biblical text, a temple was built  by king Solomon in the 10^h century BCE. called bet hamikdash  (“house of sanctum”). It was 60 cubits long (about 90 feet), 20 cubits wide and 40 cubits high (I K 6:2). It contained three interior rooms: the porch, the Holy Place (main room) and the Holy of Holies, housing the Ark of the Covenant, a jar of Manna and Aaron’s staff.  The main room had the golden Menorah, the table of Showbread and the altar of incense. In addition to prayers and songs, various animals were sacrificed on its main altar in the courtyard by designated priests.  

For a while this temple existed alongside of other local sanctuaries. But king Josiah of Judah (648 BCE-609 BCE) centralized the cult in Jerusalem by destroying all the other houses of worship in the rest of the country. This Jerusalem temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon in 586 king of Babylon , in 586 BCE. After the exiles returned to Judea  from Babylonia , under the leadership of Zerubbabel in 516 BCE, the Israelites built a second temple In Jerusalem which was later enhanced by king Herod  around 18 BCE. It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. 

 

3.        THE SYNAGOGUE

This house of worship (from the koine Greek, meaning, “assembly” ) , found throughout Israel, eventually replaced the temple of Jerusalem. However, even during the existence of the second temple, there were Jewish houses of worship outside of Jerusalem  called synagogues. Many of these were excavated in places such as Gamla, Masada, Magdala, Herodium, Modiin, Qiryat sefer or Khan Diab. According to the New Testament, Jesus spoke in various synagogues (Mark 1: 30, John. 18:20) throughout the Galilee. The Jewish historian Josephus (died c. 100 CE) mentions them also (see, for example, the famous synagogue in Antioch, Wars, 7.3.3.), as places for reading and teaching the Torah  (Antiquities 16.43), as well as locations for communal meetings.

When the second temple was destroyed by the Roman general Titus in 70 CE, the synagogue became the main house of worship for all Jews. For a short period of time, there was an attempt to offer sacrifices on the temple mount in Jerusalem during the revolt against Rome by Bar Kohba but it came to an end when the revolt failed in 135 CE. The ancient Rabbis then set up a new system of worship in the synagogues primarily based on prayers and Torah study instead of sacrifices. 

 

WHERE IS GOD?

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

Recently, I logged in to a Friday night service in NYC where the Rabbi was discussing the issue of where is God? Where is God to be found? The ancient Rabbis imagined that God is dwelling in the heavens above (“avinu she-bashamayim, our God who is in heaven) , watching over us. Her answer  was that we experience God in the acts of goodness we perform. For her, doing good deeds means acting in accordance with God’s character, which is suffused with love.  

That answer made me feel good, but, after reflection, I started to question the veracity of the statement. The proposition sounded nourishing and cozy, but I felt it was without any substance regarding the essence of God. For, right after that sermon, I happened to watch a program about the Holocaust where the question became more acute. Where was God during this unspeakable tragedy?   To say that we do not know or that God was suffering along with the victims made God irrelevant to me, for I do not need a God who is incapable of action when it was desperately needed. Besides, how does she know that God is experienced in the actions we perform? Simply to state that this is so, does not convince me of its correctness. 

For me, God is the energy that sustains the universe. It is not good or bad. It simply is. And it stands for the way in which nature operates irrespective of the people who are involved in the process. When a person carries out deeds of lovingkindness, the reward is found in the act itself, not because God approves it.  On the other hand, when evil prevails in society, it is because people act without concern for the wellbeing of humanity and not because of God’s punishment. God does not interfere in human acts. As the ancient Rabbis say it, olam keminhago noheg, “the universe goes according to its own mandate.” (Avodah Zara 54b).

 

DO WE HAVE FREE WILL? MY ER EXPERIENCE

Rabbi RiFat Sonsino, Ph. D 

Recently, I published a blog on free will and argued that , even though most of our activities are predetermined by our physical constitution and social environment,  we still have a few choices of our own in a very limited way. Let me apply this idea to an episode I had last week. 

In early February 2026, I ended up in the ER suffering from shortness of breath because of pneumonia and blood clots in my legs and lungs. So, I experienced in a very personal way the reality of free will, or the lack of it.

I first went to Marlborough hospital (MA) and then to Worcester hospital (MA) where I received great service. The staff was caring and professional. But I quickly lost my ability to act on my own for a few days. At the ICU, I was immediately hooked up to various machines. I was poked repeatedly, my arms bearing various small iv’s . Medicine was pumped into me at odd times of the day or night. I became  totally depended on my nurses to do anything I needed. I had to call in for help for every movement I made. One technician/medical student drew blood from the wrong artery, so another one had to come in to rectify the situation. Getting information about my condition took a long time. There was no privacy whatsoever. Even going to the bathroom became a whole production. I had to call one of the nurses to unhook me from all the devices and then accompany me to the John. Nurses even tried to clean me up. I firmly rejected their well-intended actions. 

After 3 days in the ICU, in the middle of the night, while I was deeply at sleep, I was moved to a regular room in the hospital. There, too, they had to get all my vitals again  (I thought they were in the computer), take more blood, and connect me  to different machines which left me once again at the mercy and care of the medical help that changed daily , with the difference that at the ICU the nurses dealt with fewer patients whereas in the regular room, I became part of a large  group of sick people who waited much longer for any medical response. After a week in the hospital, I was told that I could leave to become part of the hospital at home program. 

Do we have free will?  Hardly at the hospital. There must be another way.

I now realize that all of this was done for my well-being, but I was sorry to lose my independence, dignity  and  freedom of action. I’m glad I came to the ER but I hope I will never return. 

Your thoughts or experiences?

 

DO WE HAVE FREE WILL?

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

The idea that we have free will is at the core of our ethical system. How can we be held responsible, if we are predetermined? On the other hand, If God is all-knowing and knows ahead of time how will we act, how can we be free to chose?

Throughout the years, Judaism had to struggle with this dilemma and came out with a variety and , at times, even conflicting answers.

The Hebrew Bible seems to promote the idea of free will when it urges us to “choose life” (Deut. 30:19, see Hertz, The Pentateuch, p. 882), and yet, it acknowledges that, at times, we don’t seem to have any choice in our actions. For example, In the Book of Exodus, we are told that God “will harden Pharaoh’s heart” (7:3), and thus deprive him of his freedom of action.

In the Mishnah, 2nd cent. CE, both assertions are made and, consequently, the problem is left unsolved: “Everything is foreseen, yet, freedom of choice  is granted” ( Pirke Avot 3: 15).

During the medieval times, some Jewish philosophers promoted the idea of free will, whereas others denied it. Thus, for example, Maimonides, the great Jewish Aristotelian who lived in the  12th  century Spain , defended the idea of free will by saying that “Man’s conduct is in his own hands” (Mishneh Torah, Knowledge, 3:2) based on the assumption  that  there is no resemblance between our knowledge and God’s knowledge. We do not know how God knows. Whereas Malbim, the 19th century Ukrainian Jewish bible commentator, denied that we can have freedom of choice based on the belief that “ God must have immutable foreknowledge of everything and so man has neither choice nor free will  and should not be responsible  for his actions” (On Job. 10:6:1).

Others , echoing the Talmudic statement that “everything is in the hands of heaven , except for the fear of heaven” (Ber. 33b), kept a middle position on this subject. For example, Gersonides, the 13th century French-Jewish philosopher, argued that God knows the choices which we will make but does not know the specific actions we actually carry out.

I follow the middle position and maintain that most of our deeds are predetermined by our physical constitution and our social condition, yet, we do have a few free choices among the alternatives presented before us.

What do you think?

Who is the suffering servant?

WHO WAS THE SUFFERING SERVANT?

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

Recently, a friend asked me, who is the “suffering servant’ in the prophecies of Isaiah? 

Here is my answer: 

Second Isaiah, was an anonymous prophet who lived just before or after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. His writings (chapt.40-55) have been added to those of the First Isaiah who lived in ancient Israel in the 8^th cent. BCE. Chapters 56-66 are usually ascribed to a group of unknown authors called Third Isaiah. 

The chapters assigned by critics to  Second Isaiah include four  “Servant Songs” that seem to form a literary unity, even though they are spread within  chapters 40-55.  It is not clear who was the author of these songs. In  53: 3, he describes the servant as an individual who is “despised, shunned by men; a man of suffering, familiar with disease.” Hence, the reference to a “suffering servant.”

The question is : whom did the prophet have in mind when he wrote these lines? As the Jewish  Study Bible puts it, this is “one of the most difficult and contested passage in the Bible” (p. 890). As expected, throughout the centuries, various opinions have been advanced in order to solve this problem. We can break them down to three different types of suggestions: 

A.       A collective interpretation: according to some critics the reference is to the people of Israel.

B.       An individual interpretation: according to others, the reference is to an historic personality of the past. Some argued that it referred to Moses , or king Jehoiachin, or the prophet Jeremiah or even the prophet himself.  

C.      A theological/mythological  interpretation: The New Testament says that Isaiah’s prophecies were fulfilled in the life of  Jesus. (See, the Letter to the Hebrews, chp. 5)  Others, including some medieval Rabbis and the Aramaic Targum,  maintain that it refers to an idealized king or to a future Messiah. 

In reality, it must be admitted, as Boadt did, that “we may never know all that Second Isaiah actually intended by his servant” (Reading the OT, p. 429).

 

 Who is a mamzer ?

WHO IS A MAMZER?

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

In Yiddish or even in Ladino the Hebrew word MAMZER means a bad guy, a real SOB. Hitler was a mamzer. Mussolini was a mamzer. Videla was a mamzer. What does it mean in the Bible and Jewish law? 

One thing is clear: In Jewish law the word, often translated as bastard, does not refer to a child born out of wedlock. 

The term MAMZER occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible: 
The first comes from Deut. 23: 3: “No MAMZER shall be admitted into the congregation of the Lord .” That is, he will not be able to marry an Israelite even in the tenth generation. The second, in an enigmatic passage in  Zech 9:6: “A MAMZER shall settle in Ashdod”. It is not clear what this word means in either case. Von Rad, in his commentary to the book of Deuteronomy, clearly states, “We do not know what is meant precisely by bastard (mamzer)” (p. 146.)

The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (cir. 250 BCE), says it means, the son of a prostitute. The Jewish Publication Society renders the word as “misbegotten.” The Jerusalem Bible has it as bastard, with a note saying that the word possibly refers to the offspring of a mixed marriage between the Hebrews and the Philistines. The Catholic Bible translates it as: “a child of an incestuous union.” 

In rabbinic times, the term began to assume a more concrete meaning. The Mishnah (cir. 200 CE), quoting Rabbi Akiva, maintains that the word MAMZER refers to the offspring of any marriage of near of kin (Yeb. 4:13). In other word, a person born out of an incestuous marriage. The Babylonian Talmud (cir. 600 CE) agrees with it and expands its meaning. (Yeb.76b and others). A good summary of the rabbinic position on this subject is found in The Spirit of Jewish Law, by G. Horowitz who writes that a MAMZER is “the offspring of a father and mother  between whom there could be , in law, no binding betrothal, the issue of either an adulterous connection between a married woman and a man not her husband , or of an incestuous  union within the forbidden  degrees defined in Lev. 18 and 20” (p. 264).  According to Jewish law a MAMZER has full civil rights but can only marry another MAMZER or a convert.

In my professional life I have had to deal with one or two people who caused me headaches,  but I managed to outlive them, for which I am  grateful. 

THE RABBIS AND CHESEBURGERS

RABBI RIFAT SONSINO, PH.D

According to the ancient Rabbis, a Jew cannot eat something like a cheeseburger. Why? It is based on a biblical law that states “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk (ba-halev imo)” (Deut. 14: 21). The law is repeated in Ex. 23:19 and 34:26 but not in the list of prohibited food items in Lev. 11. Furthermore, the text is not clear, and no rationale is given. Biblical scholars have not found any written document about this topic in any of the writings of the ancient Near East. 

According to Maimonides, a famous Jewish philosopher and legal scholar who lived in the medieval times , this prohibition is based on a pagan custom (Guide, 3:48). Some modern critics think that the law shows sensitivity towards mothers. Others , reading helev (“fat”) instead of halav (“milk”), argue that the law prohibits boiling a kid in its mother’s fat, thus avoiding the economic loss of slaughtering two animals, one of which could still bear more young kids. Mendelssohn (d. 1786), the German Jewish philosopher,  simply gives up and writes, “The benefit arising from the many inexplicable laws of God is in their practice, and not in the understanding of their motives.”

 The ancient Rabbis forbade mixing meat and milk based on this law. In fact, the Mishnah, a second cent. CE text of Jewish law, clearly states, ““Every kind of flesh (of cattle, wild beast and fowl) is prohibited to cook in milk” (Hullin, 8:1, Neusner). They also add that in order to eat dairy products one must wait 6 hours after eating meat. But, according to many rabbinic sources, after eating cheese one can eat meat immediately thereafter. In other words, no cheeseburgers! That understanding is confirmed by Onkelos (2^nd cent CE) who, in his Aramaic translation of the Pentateuch, clearly writes, “you shall not eat meat and milk." Similarly, The Aramaic Targum Jonathan (perhaps 4th cent. CE) states, "no mixing meat and milk."

Christianity abrogated the Jewish dietary laws. In fact, in the Epistle of Barnabas (2^nd cent CE), the author tells us that the Torah’s dietary laws are symbolic   and are not meant to be literally observed. 

Islam has food that is either halal (“lawful”) or haram (“unlawful”), and that includes alcohol, pork and animals that died due to illness.

In Judaism, Orthodox and Conservative Jews observe the rabbinic dietary laws and do not mix meat and milk products. Most Reform Jews do not, arguing as they did in the Pittsburgh platform of 1885, that “all such Mosaic and rabbinical laws as regulate diet, priestly purity and dress originated in ages and under the influence of ideas entirely foreign to our present mental and spiritual state.”. 

In my case, I do eat crustaceans like shrimp but refuse to eat any pork products. 

 

KING DAVID AND THE RABBIS

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

In the Hebrew Bible, King David is portrayed as a military man, a national hero who killed the giant Goliath and went from being a simple shepherd to becoming the second king of Israel (10^th cent. BCE), but suffered personal tragedies and had a few moral failings.

In contrast, the ancient Rabbis had an idealized view of King David that was unrealistic. For example, we are told that a harp hung above David’s couch. When midnight arrived, it would swing. David would then rise and occupy himself with Torah study until dawn  (Ber. 3h). David was very modest. He would say, “I seek the honor of heaven and put aside my own honor” (Num R. 4:20). Absalom, David’s son, fell into evil ways, because his father refrained from chastising him for his disobedience (Ex. R. 1:1). Another Rabbi stated that in his army, David had 400 young squires who rode on golden chariots (Kid. 76b). God actually forgave David after he committed adultery with Batsheba (Shab.30a). King David is considered to be the author of the book of Psalms (BB 14b). In the distant future, say the rabbis , when the Messiah arrives to redeem all Jews, he will be a descendent of king David. Orthodox Jews still wait for the Messiah. Reform Jews do not, and use the term “messianic age,” to indicate a hope for an idealized society where true justice and peace will finally reign. 

 New Testament claims that Jesus was a descendent of David by adoption through Joseph and by blood through Mary (Rom. 1:3). In the Quran, David is considered a prophet ,a  messenger of Allah and the divinely anointed king of Israel as well as the author of the Zabur (Psalms). 

In reality, we have no archeological or textual proof that King David ever existed. However, given his prominence in the Bible, it is highly unlikely that he was only a literary figure. The only text we have that could possibly refer to  David as a person is the Tel Dan Stele, an Aramaic inscription written in the 9^th cent. BCE.  It mentions BTDVD, namely, Bet David, meaning, “the house of David.” Now, if there was a “house of David” it is assumed that there must have been a David at the beginning of the line. That’s all we have. 

 

TO MY VIEWERS

According to my blog, I am amazed that I have over a million viewers. I would very much like to know if you like what I write, or not; if you agree with my positions, or not; also where are you located? Any suggestions for future blogs? 

 To support my work, can you send me just $1  by mailing it to: 

I Lyman Street, Westborough, MA. 01581, USA

I look forward to hearing your comments. 

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

rifatsonsino@gmail.com

MUSIC IN JUDAISM

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

In the Ancient Near East, music played a major role in the religious and secular life of the individuals. In fact, in Egypt and Babylonia, the leader was expected to master it. Israel, being part of the same milieu, gave music a great prominence in many life settings.

According to the Bible, Jubal was “the father of all who play the lyre and pipe” (Gen.4:21). Moses sang ( or, better, a song was attributed to Moses) at  the parting of the legendary sea (Ex.15) .  Miriam, Moses’ sister, led the Israelite women in singing “with tambourines and dancing” (Ex. 15: 20-21). A song was attributed to Deborah and Barak (Judg.5). When Jephthah returned  from battle, his daughter met him with  timbrel and dance (Judg. 11:34). David was considered to be “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (II Sam. 23:1) and credited with writing about half of the 150 Psalms in the Bible. Many of the individual psalms are directed to someone called menatseah, probably ,a choir master. Several psalms are  called “songs” (shir) (for ex. Ps. 108). Ps. 150 mentions the horn, harp and lyre, timbrel, lute and pipe and cymbals. 

During the temple period there were a number of musical guilds , such as ”the sons of Asaf” or “the sons of Korah” that functioned during sacred occasions. Music was used during coronations (I K 1:39), events at the royal court (II Sam.19: 36), and feasts (Isa. 5:12). Priests and prophets often used music in their respective work. An entire book called The Song of Songs, attributed to King Solomon, was included in the Hebrew Bible. Even though they are beautiful secular love songs, the ancient Rabbis considered them as an allegory of the love between God and the people of Israel. 

After the destruction of the second temple of Jerusalem in 70 CE, the Rabbis forbade listening to music as a sign of mourning (Git. 7a) but they allowed and even encouraged  it during festive occasions such as during Purim and other happy events like weddings. It is customary for the Torah to be chanted in the synagogue, either following the Ashkenazic or Sefardic style of singing. 

In more recent years, most liberal synagogues , like many churches, featured an organ that was played during religious services. In the early 60’s at the chapel of the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, my alma mater, there was an organ in the balcony. Nowadays, it is the cantor or the guitar playing song leader that plays a major role in the religious services of the synagogue as well as during weddings and funerals.

I am very impressed by congregational singing and maintain that the congregation that sings together stays together. 

 

 

 

SHOULD ONE HONOR AN ABUSIVE PARENT

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

I could not believe my eyes when I recently read in the local papers that Travis Decker was being sought for the murder of his three daughters, ages, 9,8 and 5. What kind of a monster does that, I asked myself .Similarly, In early March, the Boston Globe reported that a Connecticut woman was accused of holding her step son captive for two decades. As a norm, parents love their children  and cherish them. But there are some bad apples there too.

The question is what is the obligation of a child vi-a-vis an abusive parent in Jewish law?

Rabbinic literature does recognize that some parents can be abusive and condemns it. According to the Talmud (Moed Katan 17a), if you see a man beating up his grown-up son, that parent should be placed under a ban, because he transgressed the admonition of the Torah that states, “Before the blind, you shall not place a stumbling block” (Lev. 19:16).

A few years ago, when I was active in my congregation, in the greater Boston area, I once met with a congregant who had a dilemma. She told me that her father was severely ill and wanted to know what her obligation towards him was. That is not difficult,  I said. You have to take care of him. But, Rabbi, she replied, that man was an abusing parent! Well, I said, the Decalogue tells us to “honor” our parents, not necessarily to “love” them. If you cannot do that yourself, pay someone else to do it, I concluded. Jewish law is on my side. According to the Shulhan Arukh, the Code of Jewish law, “Even if one’s parent is an evil-doer and a violator of the law, one must honor and show reverence for that parent” (Yore Dea, 240:18).

That is not easy to do, I agree. The Bible has few examples of how to honor our parents. The Rabbinic literature has a long list in Kid. 31b, such as feeding them and taking them out for all the household needs.

In our time, honoring an older parent should include making sure their bills are paid on time, that they are taken to doctors’ appointments, that they live in a safe and secure place, that there is good communication between them and the children and grandchildren. If there is love between them, that is even better.  

. 

 

 

SONSINO'S BLOG: A beautiful Sabbath song by Itay Benda

SONSINO'S BLOG: A beautiful Sabbath song by Itay Benda: