Spontaneous Generation and Techiyas Hameisim

The Gemara in Sanhedrin brings an example of spontaneous generation. I am not addressing the issue as a whole in this article but rather as it pertains to this Gemara.

א"ל קיסר לרבן גמליאל אמריתו דשכבי חיי הא הוו עפרא ועפרא מי קא חיי

דף צא,א גמרא  אמרה ליה ברתיה שבקיה ואנא מהדרנא ליה שני יוצרים יש בעירנו אחד יוצר מן המים ואחד יוצר מן הטיט איזה מהן משובח א"ל זה שיוצר מן המים א"ל מן המים צר מן הטיט לא כל שכן דבי ר' ישמעאל תנא ק"ו מכלי זכוכית מה כלי זכוכית שעמלן ברוח בשר ודם נשברו יש להן תקנה בשר ודם שברוחו של הקב"ה על אחת כמה וכמה א"ל ההוא מינא לר' אמי אמריתו דשכבי חיי והא הוו עפרא ועפרא מי קא חיי א"ל אמשול לך משל למה הדבר דומה למלך בשר ודם שאמר לעבדיו לכו ובנו לי פלטרין גדולים במקום שאין מים ועפר הלכו ובנו אותו לימים נפלו אמר להם חזרו ובנו אותו במקום שיש עפר ומים אמרו לו אין אנו יכולין כעס עליהם ואמר להן במקום שאין מים ועפר בניתם עכשיו שיש מים ועפר על אחת כמה וכמה ואם אי אתה מאמין צא לבקעה וראה עכבר שהיום חציו בשר וחציו אדמה למחר השריץ ונעשה כלו בשר

First we have Caesar asking  רבן גמליאל about Techiyas Hameisim and how is it possible. He answers what he answers. We then have an exact identical question being asked by the "Min" to Rabbi Ami using the exact same words. Rabbi Ami must have known Rabbi Gamliels answer (it is in the gemara as part of the "mesorah") however he answers it totally different. The obvious reason is that every generation and every culture has a different point of departure and thought process. Every generation has its philosophical perspective and must be spoken to in their terms. Rabbi Ami's answer is that if spontaneous generation is possible why can't Techiyas Hameisim be possible. One doesn't have to necessarily believe in spontaneous generation and for that matter Rabbi Ami himself doesn't necessarily have to believe in spontaneous generation to understand his point. Rabbi Ami was answering that philosopher by stating that just as you believe in the process of spontaneous generation you can also believe in Techiyas Hameisim. The proof is that Rabbi Ami didn't answer as Rabban Gamliel did only because he was addressing that "Min" and his mindset

My Proposed Charity Moratorium

If I had the power:

I would impose a moratorium on Tzedaka giving for a certain limited amount of time. Sounds harsh. However, before any criticism, I would like to undertake a cost benefit analysis .

In a normal healthy society where people understand that they have to take care of themselves and personal responsibility is a given you will end up with a normal bell-curve distribution of wealth. The majority of people will make a living, some won't and others will make a lot more than they need. Lets assume a typical normal expected distribution. Approximately 80% will earn enough to support themselves and their families. What will be left is 10% wealthy and 10% in poverty.

The Torah mandates that one give 10% of their earnings to Tzedaka. It is fair to assume that if, as a group, a nation followed the Torah prescription society would function at an optimal level and all needs of society would be taken care of for the most part (assuming a fair and equitable distribution network).


We are not living in a normal and healthy society. Many people don't feel the need to be responsible for themselves for various reasons. The reasons might  range from ideological to laziness, from feeling entitled to perceived religious prohibitions. On the other end of the spectrum many business people are toiling away dishonestly at worst or just overworking themselves (and others) at best and justifying their lives and lifestyles by all the people that they support and all the charity they give. Organizations that needn't exist in a normal healthy functioning society need to exist because of the ill health of the society. These organizations are competing for the same limited amount of dollars with the unhealthy individual charity receivers. Institutions such as schools that service both the wealthy and the poor that, in a normal healthy society should be able to cover their budgets with their service fees, cannot due to the imbalance of the non payers and the payers. The payers are giving their charity away to other services that needn't exist and demand that the individual charity receivers pay their "fair share" (tuition) for the services provided as they do not want to be mandated to subsidize those non-payers. Bottom line, its all topsy-turvy.

A moratorium on charity, as harsh as it sounds, would accomplish many things. It would force the wealthy to have to look in the proverbial mirror every morning and justify their existence. They will not be able to say to themselves that they have to run out every day morning to night and be part of the rat race because so many others need them. They will have to spend time with their families and not ignore them and allow their families to grow up in healthier environments. They would have to use their wealth to actually pay tuition and other expenses for services provided to them rather than run around the world looking for causes that make them feel good. The more egregious dishonest business people will not be able to justify the means by the purported 'ends" because there will be no "ends".  The self serving arrogance of the philanthropists will be a strangled to death. People will have to start measuring their self worth by their actual deeds and not by their ability to drown out their wickedness in seas of philanthropy. One will have to try very hard to justify his staying late in the office to "make another dollar" if he already had enough to cover his own expenses. Maybe at that point he goes out to do something that can actually benefit his soul.

It would force the needy-by-choice to become more responsible. We know desperation to be the mother of innovation. Maybe it can soon become the mother of personal responsibility. Religious or ideological values notwithstanding it will become incumbent upon the one with those values to fund their own lifestyle and not make it a burden of society. We all feel somewhat entitled but we also all have to eat. If one has to work hard to finance his religious lifestyle of his choosing he will come to appreciate that lifestyle so much more. This will increase the diligince of that idealogical/religous lifestyle not diminish it.

The cost will be heavy. There are many people that fall through the cracks for no fault of their own. How will they survive the moratorium? There are many worthwhile organizations that need  and deserve funding that may not be able to survive the moratorium period. However the ones that survive will emerge stronger.

Is the cost worth the long term benefit? I say yes. You might disagree but at least we are looking at things rationally.

Chochmas Hagoyim Vs. Chochmas Hatorah

This is a nice and interesting thought from Rav Hutner. (I expanded and changed much of it using poetic license but in essence this is my understanding of Rav Hutner's idea.

The Gemara in Brachot states:  

ת"ר הרואה חכמי ישראל אומר ברוך שחלק מחכמתו ליראיו חכמי עובדי כוכבים {אומות העולם} אומר ברוך שנתן מחכמתו לבריותיו

Why is the bracha for Chacmei Umos Ha'olam rather than for Chachmas Ha'amim. Why if that Chacham is a Yisrael but his chachma is in science, physics, or mathematics do we seem to not make a bracha? The Bracha should  be about the material and it should not matter who the owner of that material is. Understood that a Umos Ha'olem will not justify a bracha for his knowledge of Torah but why does a Yisrael not get a bracha for other chachmos?

Rav Hutner expounds about the fundamental difference between "Chachmas Hatora" and "Sha'ar Chachmos". Other Chachmos are all in the mode of discovery. The world exists. Science is busy discovering the secrets of the universe. There is no creativity (creation) per se. Torah, on the other hand is "Creation" One is not discovering the secrets of the Torah but when a Yisrael learns he is creating. Kudsha Brichu, Yisrael, Ve'oraysa, chad hu. Yisrael is a partner with Kudsha Brichu in creation. The Torah is part of creation and a partner in creation. As a Yisrael learns Torah he is creating Torah and creating the world around him. "ShivimPanim Le'Torah", there are seventy different ways to correctly study Torah. Every individual is an artist who is creating art with Torah as he is studying the Torah and understanding it using his own God given tools. The learner is the creator. The studier of all other Chachmos is a discoverer. 

Yisrael was created to further create and help finish God's job by creating through God-given tools namely Torah and his own abilities. Umos Ha'olam were created to continuously serve the worlds purpose by discovering, uncovering and utilizing all of God's creations for the betterment of man. There is no creating in that process.

The halacha by Bircas Besamim is that if a flower or fruit is used primarily as a food rather than specifically for its scent one does not make a bracha of Boreir Minei Besamim even if one is just utilizing it for its scent. The question is that since the Bracha is a Bircas Hanehenin why does it matter what the primary purpose of the object is since you are gaining pleasure from that particular aspect of the object. It seems that even though one is making a Bircas Hanehenin one still has to take into account the source of the pleasure and consider what is its primary consideration. The Bracha is not only on deriving pleasure from an object but also on the object itself and its primary purpose.

When a Yisrael studies Chachmas Ha'amim he is in fact engaging in the same study as a non-Yisrael. However, just as in a good smelling fruit one does not make a bracha of Besamim because that fruit has a higher purpose so to a Yisrael has a higher purpose namely studying Torah which is intrincly different than other Chachmos in that it is a creative study rather than a discovering/uncovering discipline. Hence  only when meeting non-Yisrael that is a Chacham in Chachmei Umos Ha'olam does one make a bracha "Shenatan Mi'Chachmato" and not when meeting a Yisrael with the same qualifications.

Chanuka is the essential Holiday of the victory of Yisrael over the Hellinists, or the victory of Chachmas Hatorah over the nation which is considered the father of all non-Torah chachmos. We are celebrating the special bond that Yisrael has with Chachmas Hatorah over Chachmas Ha'amim. 

We say on Chanuka in the prayer of "Haneiros Hallalu" that we can only look at the light but we cannot use the light. This symbolizes the difference between Chachmas HaTorah and other Chachmos. The Torah is the "Ner" itself, the source of the light, and we can and should see it and enjoy it. The light radiating from the Ner which is a byproduct of the flame symbolizes the other Chachmos which already exist. The Ner gives man the ability to discover/uncover the beauty of the world but Yisrael is involved in a much greater purpose, creating that light. Others can enjoy all that that light reveals but Yisrael must continue providing that light.

Avraham's Recognition of Sarah's Beauty

As Avraham was on his way down to Mitzraim it says in the passuk: 

 וַיֹּאמֶר, אֶל-שָׂרַי אִשְׁתּוֹ הִנֵּה-נָא יָדַעְתִּי, כִּי אִשָּׁה יְפַת-מַרְאֶה אָת

Rashi states:
"הנה נא ידעתי" - מ"א עד עכשיו לא הכיר בה מתוך צניעות שבשניהם ועכשיו הכיר בה ע"י מעשה

How can we understand that Avraham actually did not know, because of his and Sarah's modesty, that she was a beautiful woman?

I believe that of course Avraham knew and always appreciated Sarah's beauty. It would be foolish to think otherwise. Especially in light of the Gemara's statement that it is forbidden to marry a woman sight unseen as this will lead to a man not appreciating his wife. However, Avraham always appreciated Sarah for what she meant to him as opposed to appreciating her for what other's might think. He never thought of her as a "good catch" or "trophy wife" and actually never even considered what others might think about his wife. The ultimate modesty is being a totally internal. Meaning that you are focused on yourself, bettering yourself, doing the right thing vis-a-vis your relationship with God and not letting others have any effect on your motives. Modesty and humbleness go hand in hand. I need to become the best person I can become. Others have no bearing on what I am and what I can be. Life is a contest between man and his potential not man and other's potential. The Ramban writes in his ethical letter to his son "Iggeres Haramban" to always assume that others that he interacts with are better than he. Even if it is obvious that they aren't, they have probably achieved more of their potential than he has.

Thus, for the first time in his life, on his way down to Egypt, Avraham was forced to consider what other's might think of his wife's great beauty. This because he needed to protect her (and himself) from a potential kidnapping. Here Avraham states הנה נא ידעתי, now for the first time in his married life he realizes that others might consider her beautiful too. Avraham was so great that he never stopped for even one second to think how other people would perceive his wife's beauty. That is real modesty. 

The Tanchuma adds that ע"י מעשה was that when Avraham and Sarah came to Mitzraim they came across a river and Avraham saw Sarah's reflection and saw her beauty through the reflection and that is when he realized her great beauty. What is this Midrash telling us? why reflection? 

As we stated above, the pshat in the "reflection" is that the Midrash is meaning to show us that Avraham saw Sarah from a different perspective. The reflection is referring to an outside perspective. Now Avraham was focused on how others would perceive Sarah's beauty and when he saw her reflection he exclaimed הִנֵּה-נָא יָדַעְתִּי!