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Pirkei Avot
Biblical Faith – with Shmuel “Sam” Peak
Weekly series with new shows available every Tuesday.
The Three Pillars Personified
The forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov were the foundations of the Torah world. They personally embodied the three foundations of the world: Torah, service and kindness. Kind deeds were the outstanding characteristic of Avraham, who is noted for his hospitality to guests. Yitzchak, who willing approached the sacrificial altar, exemplifies the service of HaShem. Scripture associates the Torah nation with Yaakov, as it says, “Moshe commanded to us the Torah, the inheritance of their congregation of Yaakov” (Devarim 33:4).
The mussar of the Men of the Great Assembly and of Shimon HaTzaddik consists of three components, as do many of the statements in this tractate. This is because three elements embrace the total perspective: Everything has two opposite extremes and a middle that unifies those extremes into a whole. For example, the pillars of existence are: the animal sacrifices of the Temple service and its opposite, kindness, and Torah that binds them into a total, balanced system.
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Shmuel “Sam” Peak teachings are now available in mp3 audio files, and can be accessed through i Tunes.
Biblical Faith – with Shmuel “Sam” Peak
Weekly series with new shows available every Tuesday.
“Torah Study, the service to HaShem, and kind deeds
Torah study provides personal worth. The study of Torah builds spiritual, eternal beings out of mortals. The physical body is finite; it must come to an end. In contrast, Torah imbues a person with conceptual attributes: values and morals: principal and reason. Since these are not physical, they are not finite and never come to an end.
Personal worth comes through internalizing the values and principles of Torah and in no other way. It is in this way that Torah is a pillar of existence, for it molds us into whole and worthy beings.
The service of HaShem refers primarily to the Temple service of sacrifices, but it includes the service of HaShem through the performance of all mitzvous. The service of HaShem is a pillar of the world’s existence; it gives worth and wholeness to human existence in the context of the relationship with the Creator. Since the only existence is that of HaShem, everything else must relate back to His own existence, and provide that linkage through the service of HaShem.
Kind deeds, the third pillar, correspond to the third dimension of life: being integrated with others and good to them. To perform as act of kindness, without personal gain, is the highest degree of pure and enduring human worth. Kind deeds between one person and another induce a corresponding flow of kindness from HaShem that sustains the world.
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Shmuel “Sam” Peak teachings are now available in mp3 audio files, and can be accessed through i Tunes.
Biblical Faith – with Shmuel “Sam” Peak
Weekly series with new shows available every Tuesday.
The Significance of the Number “Three”
It seems superfluous for the Mishnah to count how many things were said; after all, we can easily count them ourselves. The Mishnah states “There are three things” to teach that the remedy consists of precisely three parts. No less would be adequate and no more required.
The number three is characteristic of a complete entity. An entity consists of three parts: two opposite extremes and an intermediate part that joins with those extremes to form a unified whole.
Consider a house. Inside is a haven of refuge and tranquility; outside lays the danger and the harsh elements; and the structure joins these extremes. We can fortify a house in all three dimensions. We can protect it from outside forces with a windbreaker and good water drainage. We can protect the inside by eliminating fire hazards, and we can brace the structure the house itself. All of those areas must be fortified, and there is no other area available for improvement.
To contact Biblical Faith, please click here
Shmuel “Sam” Peak teachings are now available in mp3 audio files, and can be accessed through i Tunes.
This program is dedicated to Madra Polk in her loving memory.
Biblical Faith – with Shmuel “Sam” Peak
Weekly series with new shows available every Tuesday.
The Men of the Great Assembly flourished prior to the Second Temple and in early days. The “things” that they said are mussar (advise). Mussar is distinct from Torah, which is a system of law, and it is different from mitzvos, which are the practice of Torah law. It is advice that supports both the study and the practice of Torah. Mussar strengthens the ability of mere human beings to live within a Divine system.
During the thousand years in which the Torah was transmitted from Moshe to the Men of the Great Assembly, none of these bearers and transmitters of Torah gave the mussar to the nation. The pronouncements they issue were restatements of Torah, not the advice of mussar. What prompted the Men of the Great Assembly to dispense mussar?
In the time of the Men of the Great Assembly, persecution and exile had taken their toll on scholarship and the intellectual fabric of the nation was starting to wear thin. Intellect, sechel (translated as intellect), had declined with regard to the power of its presence and influence. Since Torah is conceptual in nature, the gasp of Torah was weakening and was in need of reinforcement. From that time on, rabbinical leaders found it necessary to give advice on how to deal with the changes that were taking place in society.
To contact Biblical Faith, please click here
Shmuel “Sam” Peak teachings are now available in mp3 audio files, and can be accessed through i Tunes.
This program is dedicated to Madra Polk in her loving memory.
Biblical Faith – with Shmuel “Sam” Peak
Weekly series with new shows available every Tuesday.
“Handbook of the jewish thoughts”
The Oral Torah was handed down by word of mouth from Moshe to Joshua, then to the Elders, the Prophets, and the Great Assembly. The Great Assembly was the Sanhedrin led by Ezra, at the beginning of the time of the second Temple, which undertook to enact legislation that would make Judaism viable in the Diaspora.
The Great Assembly codified much of the Oral Torah in a form that could be memorized by the students. This codification was known as the Mishnah (משנה). One reason for this name was that it was meant to be reviewed (shanah, שנה, to repeat) over and over until memorized. The word also denoted that the Mishnah was secondary (sheni, שני) to the written Torah.
It was required that the oral tradition be handed down word for word, exactly as it had been taught. The sages who taught the fist Mishnah were known as Tannaim (תנאים), Tanna (תנא) in the singular. This word comes from the Aramaic word tanna (תנא) equivalent to the Hebrew shanah (שנה), meaning to repeat.
Although the Oral Torah was meant to be transmitted by word of mouth, it was permissible to keep personal records. Therefore, many individuals would write down personal notes of what was taught in the academics. This was especially true of teachings that were not often reviewed. Many also added marginal notes to the Biblical scrolls which they used to study.
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Shmuel “Sam” Peak teachings are now available in mp3 audio files, and can be accessed through i Tunes.
Biblical Faith – with Shmuel “Sam” Peak
Weekly series with new shows available every Tuesday.
Elements of Maharal’s Philosophy
The study of Maharal cultivates a deep, intense and immediate awareness of HaShem, as Maharal presents the systematic study of the principles and structure of existence as it flows from HaShem, to mankind and to all creation. Derech Chaim (Way of Life), and indeed all of Maharal’s works, will be better understood with the following explanations of Maharal’s principles. The Hebrew terms will be included as a reference vocabulary for those who wish to pursue Maharal’s writings in the original.
Maharal introduces the basic elements of an ontological system by comparing Creation to building a house. There are four elements in the construction of a house: a builder (po’eil); physical materials (chomer) such as bricks and mortar; the architect’s vision of what the house will look like (tzurah) and the purpose (tachilis) for which the house is built. The house would not be built if even one of these factors were absent.
To contact Biblical Faith, please click here
Shmuel “Sam” Peak teachings are now available in mp3 audio files, and can be accessed through i Tunes.
Biblical Faith – with Shmuel “Sam” Peak
Weekly series with new shows available every Tuesday.
Torah is primarily law. In contrast, Pirkei Avot is a compilation of rabbinical wisdom and practical advice. Why begin it by chronicling the transmission of Torah?
In truth, it is precisely because this tractate deals with advice directed towards each generation’s needs, and not with absolute law, that the Mishnah begins with the history of Torah leadership. As we will see, this opening Mishnah establishes the right and the responsibility of the sages to give advice, and our responsibility to heed it.
Avot, which means fathers, begins with the chain of those who provided the world with spiritual life. They taught the love and the practice of Torah and enriched the world with its wisdom and values. They prepared successors to be the leaders who would guide the next generation. These people were truly the fathers of Torah society, and for this reason the tractate is called Avot.
As fathers of the nation, they must provide guidance for the survival and the success of the nation. Scripture teaches about this relationship in Mishlei 1:8, “Listen, my son, to your ‘father’s advice,’ and do not forsake the Torah of your mother.”
This passage implies that it is both the father’s right and responsibility to provide guidance. Moreover, the verse says that we must not only listen to but moreover heed the advice of our fathers.
To contact Biblical Faith, please click here
Shmuel “Sam” Peak teachings are now available in mp3 audio files, and can be accessed through i Tunes.