LSJS reinstates female lecturer who lost teaching role over rabba ordination timesofisrael.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofisrael.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Our sages famously proclaim
ma’aseh avot siman le-banim that the deeds of, or events surrounding, our ancestors are a signpost for their descendants. In other words, we should expect similar occurrences as those experienced by our illustrious forebears to manifest repeatedly.
Does that mean that history is inevitably and irrevocably destined to repeat itself?
Here perhaps we should distinguish between the broad, panoramic sweep of Jewish history regarding which G-D has His masterplan and human free choice
(bekhira) on an individual level.
As individuals (save in exceptional circumstances), human beings are granted free moral choice. We can choose to learn from our ancestors’ trailblazing achievements or not as the case may be.
Eilu devarim …
These are matters whose fruits a person enjoys in this world while the principal remains intact for the World-to-Come; honouring parents, acts of kindness, early attendance at the Bet Midrash …, hospitality, sick-visitation, dowering a bride, escorting the dead, devotion in prayer, making peace between friends; but Torah study equals them all!! (Shabbat 127a; daily morning service p 16 ArtScroll Siddur).
This seemingly indiscriminate melange of man-man and man-G-D
mitsvot is deliberate. Coming as it does in the wake of the three blessings over the Torah, it was selected as the token piece of Talmud to fulfil our bare-minimum daily learning obligation precisely because it showcases a combination of ‘heavenly’ and ‘earthly’ precepts. Fitting then that reward accrues for us both in this world and the next!
GLADSTONE TRAIN Due to the weather, we have made all Premium features available to all users. Pls get latest version of the app to get the full experience. (07:44 AM)
(sent Thu 02/18/21) Due to pending snowstorm, we have unlocked all Premium features. Logout/Login to take full advantage. See our blog for more details. (03:28 PM)
(sent Sun 01/31/21) The Exclusive Bus Lane (XBL) to NY is planned to close at 8:40 am due to the low volume of traffic. (08:35 AM)
(sent Tue 01/26/21) The Exclusive Bus Lane (XBL) to NY is planned to close at 9:15 am due to the low volume of traffic. (09:00 AM)