[net.religion.jewish] A tangential/new discussion

de@moscom.UUCP (Dave Esan) (01/06/85)

(quote at the end of the article)

In our recent interchange about the state of Israel and saying Hallel on
its Independance Day (a subject never really resolved, but beaten to death),
there was a side issue that was touched on and never discussed.  The subject
was the observance of Shabbat;  whether the spirit of the law or the letter
of the law is important.  The question centered on whether a Jew (particularly
an Israeli) who seperates the day from the rest of the week is not is a
sense observing Jewish law (this is a basically biased synopsis, sorry Eliyahu).

I have seen too many "good", Torah observant Jews violate the spirit of the law,
the very spirit of Judaism that I begin to wonder what they have learned, and
what they believe.  Someone posted to the net about making sure to say Avraham
correctly,"a warn to speed daveners".  Speed daveners??? (to daven is the 
Yiddish to pray).  Is the saying of a prayer so important or is the
understanding of the prayer, saying it with "kavanah" important?  A speed 
davener obeys the letter of the law (saying all his prayers), but does he obey 
the spirit of prayer?  Does saying all the prayers in two hours constitute
prayer or bored repitition??  Is it better to say all your prayers or just
one with meaning?

I was taught that once a conversion is done, one should never mention the
fact again (assuming it was a kosher conversion -- not a debate point here).
One should accept the person as if all their previous generations were as
Jewish as yours.  And yet I hear the very pious say:  She's wonderful, she's
a ger(convert), you know.

Shabbes is a day that is seperated from the rest of the week.  It should
be a time of holiness, but also of rest.  If one chooses to rest by the
TV or the radio, does that cause to that person to labelled as a non-observant
Jew, or is this the case of two paths to Judaism?  Are the rules the
important part or is it rather the spirit of the day?


					David Esan (moscom!de)

>  Also, not opening a refrigerator door is as much a question of Shabbat 
>  and its essence as is not working. Actually, the
>  essence of Shabbat according to the Ramban on the Torah ( Vayikra, I don't
>  remember the exact location ) is to deal in spiritual endeavors, to learn
>  Torah, and the such. He says that if a person sleeps all day on shabbat he
>  has not desecrated it but he has not fulfilled the essence of shabbat ( I
>  wrote this when we were discussing electricity and shabbat ). Another thing 
>  about shabbat. The g'mara considers one who desecrates the shabbat publicly
>  a non-Jew ( for certain laws ). A pretty strong statement. So violation
>  of the shabbat cannot be brush off with a simple "and that is the essence of
>  shabbes" .
>