The Next Step

I had great pleasure studying Gevurat Hashem by Rabbi Yehuda Loewe in preparation for Pesach and have decided to set myself a challenge to research the life and works of R' Saadia Gaon over the next seven weeks with specific focus on his Book of Beliefs & Opinions, one of the first Jewish philosophical works.

In addition I will be studying the tractate of Sotah from the Babylonian Talmud as is customary between Pesach and Shavuot.

I hope to bring some insights and tidbits as my studies progress.

An interesting point from todays Sotah (3b): A woman's infidelity has a more corrosive effect on the family than that of a mans.

In a book titled 'Female Infidelity and Paternal Uncertainty: Evolutionary Perspectives on Male Anti-Cuckoldry Tactics' it argues that since women can always be sure that their children are genetically theirs whereas men do not have that certainty without testing, fathers invest more time and effort in their children when they are certain of paternity.

This would imply that even the prospect of female infidelity can destabilise a family, how much more so in a case of actual adultary.

The Fifth Question?

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The Maharal asks why there is not a fifth question to the Mah Nishtana, why do we drink four cups of wine?

One of his answers is that it is not strange to drink that much wine at the dinner table.

Bread of Poverty

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From the Maharal:

Q: Why is the Matza pointedly described by the Torah and quoted at the very start of the Seder as “Lechem oni, the bread of poverty”?

A: Various commentaries have suggested a number of reasons for the name “Lechem oni”. One explanation is that Matza does not rise like regular bread and therefore symbolizes poverty, much as a pauper feels lowly when contrasted with a rich person who feels pride or fulfillment (having ‘risen’ in society). A further answer is that since Matza is slow to digest, it made excellent slave-food for the Egyptians to feed their Jewish slaves.

However, we are forced to dismiss these explanations. They cannot carry the true meaning to the Mazta’s description, “Lechem oni”, for after all, we are gathered tonight to celebrate our freedom which is our greatest wealth. There is certainly no room for the bread of poverty! Quite the contrary, the reason given by the Torah for our obligation to consume Mazta, as well as for the description of “Lechem oni” is: “You shall not consume any leaven; seven days you shall eat Mazta, Lechem Oni; - for you left Egypt in haste” (Devarim 16:3). Matza, in other words, is a physical reflection of our Freedom.

There must be a deeper explanation! Just as a pauper has nothing but himself, no money, property, etc., likewise this bread has no added ingredients, such as yeast, honey, oil, or other liquids etc. added – just ‘itself’, flour and water. True, the Matza is not ‘rich’ in flavors, yet since it is itself, not joined and dependant on external things, it is essentially free! All one tastes in Matza is the essential Matza itself, for it is ‘free from added flavors’.

We can eat regular bread and challah made with eggs, poppy seeds, etc. Yet when it comes to the festival of freedom, when we accept the spiritual force of redemption, we specifically eat the ‘bread of poverty’, - true freedom. For it was on this night that we were redeemed through a Divine intervention that stemmed from a lofty level of pure (and therefore uncomplicated, ‘simple’) level of divinity.

England v Ukraine

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One of the frustrating aspects of following the England team is the collective denial of the commentariat of how incompetent we are as a team.

Even though we managed to scrape a victory tonight which reflects a significant improvement from the McClaren era when we probably would have only got a draw, nevertheless, it is obvious that we are incapable of challenging beyond a quarter final place in a competition.

We just beat a team that had no attacking ambition and hardly troubled our defence.

I didn't notice Lampard was playing and Gerard was absent the whole second half. Rooney was the most industrious player but showed huge lack of vision to not play in Crouch on one occasion and not to pull it back for Lampard on another.

In the end we had to rely on a Beckham free kick to get us out of trouble. Some things never change.

Tomorrow's papers will probably be full of praise and then wonder why we will fail at the first real hurdle in South Africa.

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