Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

This was one my best games against a very strong chess program played on Friday before Shabbat that is rated higher than Bobby Fischer.

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.03.30"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "Arasan 11.6"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO ""]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Nf3
Bd7 8. a4 Qa5 9. Bd2 Nbc6 10. Be2 c4 11. O-O O-O 12. Ne1 Nc8 13. f4
Nb6 14. g4 Ne7 15. Ng2 Nxa4 16. Rf3 Kh8 17. Qe1 h6 18. Ne3 Qc7 19. f5
exf5 20. gxf5 f6 21. e6 Bc6 22. Qh4 b5 23. Rh3 Rg8 24. Rf1 Nb2
25. Ng4 Qf4 26. Rxf4 Kh7 27. Nxh6 gxh6+ 28. Kf1 Nxf5 29. Rxf5 Rg1+ Continue Reading

Here are a couple of preliminary readings of the new book–mind you, the book has yet to be released.

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“A book to stimulate the mind and energise the scholar.  It should become a friendly companion for Genesis students -  easy to navigate and accessible for all those with a love of Torah.”

Rob Nothman, London Sports Broadcaster

Have you ever wondered about the beginning of Genesis in the context of the three thousand years of pondering prompted by these seminal three chapters? It is hard to imagine a more enjoyable use of time than to join the “Timeless Theological Conversation” (subtitle) of Michael Samuel in his engagement with the likes of everyone from Plato through Pelagius and Augustine up to philosopher Derrida and literary theorist Bahktin—and countless more.

This magnificent interdisciplinary work will prompt, will compel, its reader to consider fundamental issues of the dynamic among text, self, and others within the context of cultures and time. These 439 pages (plus indices) deal superbly with  nothing less than everyone’s journey of “Birth and Rebirth” (title), a dialectic of visiting, re-visiting, and adding to the insights of any classic text.

Paul Borgman, Author of Genesis: The Story We Haven’t Heard

Children have an unusual ability when it comes to confronting our spiritual hypocrisy as parents and as adults; very often they get to the essence of the problem as they perceive things. Frequently, as parents, we often fail to hear the questions our young people ask of us; often we overreact whenever we feel that our beliefs and values are being questioned or attacked. Rather than listening with an inner ear, as parents, we often react with harshness and anger.

Sometimes we wish our children were more respectful and compliant, or at least, “mind their place” at the Seder table and not misbehave or draw undue attention to themselves. As any Woody Allen fan certainly knows, passionate family discussions always have been a part of Jewish life since ancient times. Unanimity never has been the goal of any kind of discussion wherever you have two or more Jews together engaged in dialogue.

Passover is no exception to this rule.

During Passover, this thought finds expression in the question of the “Rasha” (better known to most of us as the “wicked child”). Without his presence and participation, the entire Seder would be a dull experience. Here is a literal translation of the controversial passage we read in the Passover Hagadah:

“The wicked child, what does that he say? ‘What is this service to you?’ Note the Torah says, to you, but not to him; because he has excluded himself from the community. He has denied a basic teaching of the faith. Therefore you shall smack his teeth and tell him, It is because of this that God wrought for me in my going out of Egypt (Exod. 13:8). . . . ‘For me--but not him. Had he been there, he would not have been redeemed.”

As a parent, I often have wondered how anyone could call their child “wicked.” The glaring meaning of “Rasha” is arguably offensive. If we are to choose a less offensive title, let us describe him or her as a “Wayward Child,” or perhaps more accurately a “Rebellious Child.”At any rate, our “Rasha” is a person who is a young person who stands perilously close to the edge of his/her Judaism. Without a proper pedagogical response, the “Rasha” may grow up  to disaffiliate as a Jew. So we wonder: Why does the “Rasha” strike such a visceral note? The anger of the father deserves special attention. Why does he get so upset? How could a simple question push a parent to act so violently at the family Seder? Clearly, the “Rasha” has touched a raw nerve in his father.

If my conjecture is correct, the “Rasha’s” question now begins to make more sense, for she/he may be a child who is dissatisfied with superficial answers. The father may love tradition, but he lacks the ability to articulate to his rebellious adolescent child what it means to be a Jew, especially in a modern age. Of all the children who are present at the Seder table, the “Rasha” is asking the best question of them all. Continue Reading

This thread continues our earlier discussion regarding the possible existence of UFOs and extraterrestrial life and its implications for the faith community in general, and with respect to Judaism in particular.

Over the last decade, scientist discovered the presence of microbial life living within the plumbing of deep-sea mud volcanoes in the Gulf of Mexico where conditions may resemble those in extraterrestrial environments as well as an early Earth; this finding has excited scientists about the resiliency of life and its ability to thrive even in the most hostile environment. Could such a phenomena exist also on other worlds as well? Professor Paul Davies, a physicist from Arizona State University, asserts that instead of scanning the skies, we  should probe inhospitable areas such as deserts for signs of ‘weird’ microbes that might belong to a ‘shadow biosphere. Pretty interesting stuff, no?

It gets even better–space missions there have shown all of Saturn’s major moons are active worlds filled with even water, liquid water, water vapor, organics and ammonia in these huge plumes extending more than 250 miles into space.

Earlier Discussions

The universe is a mysterious place, and the wisdom of Epicurus (340-270 B.C.E.) still makes considerable sense when he wrote, “There are infinite world both like and unlike this world of ours. For the atoms out of which a world might arise, or by which a world might be formed, have not all been expended on one world or a finite number of worlds, whether like or unlike this one. Hence there will be nothing to hinder an infinity of worlds. . . .We must believe that in all worlds there are living creatures and plants and other things we see in this world.” [1]

Centuries before the discovery of extrasolar planets, Giordano Bruno (ca. 16th century) exclaimed, “There are countless suns and countless earths all rotating around their suns in exactly the same way as the seven planets of our system.  We see only the suns because they are the largest bodies and are luminous, but their planets remain invisible to us because they are smaller and non-luminous. The countless worlds in the universe are no worse and no less inhabited than our Earth.” [2] He was burnt at the stake for espousing this and other controversial “heresies.”

Well, as they say, “Better late, than never!” A year ago the Vatican had a convention of theologians and scientists to discuss the very issue Bruno was burned at the stake for, and guess what? Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the commission governing Vatican City, told the participants that “truth from research cannot make us afraid; what is to be feared is error. “Science opens up the human mind to new knowledge and contributes toward the fulfillment of humankind,” the cardinal said, according to Father Funes.[3] The soul of Bruno must be saying, “See, I TOLD you so!”

Early Judaic Reflections on Parallel Earths

But what are the theological implications of sentient and intelligent life? Would such life-forms invalidate the commonly held biblical notion that humankind and this world are the most important creation in the cosmos?

L. Ginzberg cites a number of early medieval views from midrashic sources, which bear witness to the early rabbinic discussions on the subject:

“Corresponding to the seven heavens, God created seven earths, each separated from the next by five layers. Over the lowest earth, the seventh, called Ereẓ, lie in succession the abyss, the Tohu, the Bohu, a sea, and waters. Then the sixth earth is reached, the Adamah, the scene of the magnificence of God. In the same way the Adamah is separated from the fifth earth, the Arḳa, which contains Gehenna, and Shaʿare Mawet, and Shaʿare Ẓalmawet, and Beër Shaḥat, and Ṭiy ha-Yawen, and Abaddon, and Sheol, and there the souls of the wicked are guarded by the Angels of Destruction. In the same way Arḳa is followed by Ḥarabah, the dry, the place of brooks and streams in spite of its name, as the next, called Yabbashah, the mainland, contains the rivers and the springs. Tebel, the second earth, is the first mainland inhabited by living creatures, three hundred and sixty-five species, all essentially different from those of our own earth. Some have human heads set on the body of a lion, or a serpent, or an ox; others have human bodies topped by the head of one of these animals. Besides, Tebel is inhabited by human beings with two heads and four hands and feet, in fact with all their organs doubled excepting only the trunk. It happens sometimes that the parts of these double persons quarrel with each other, especially while eating and drinking, when each claims the best and largest portions for himself. This species of mankind is distinguished for great piety, another difference between it and the inhabitants of our earth.” [4]

Needless to say, Jay Leno could do some great parodies on this midrash, but if nothing else, the ancients truly wondered whether this world is truly unique in all the universe, evidently their fantasies about extraterrestrial life were not much different from our own.

Early Judaic  Theological Discussions on the Uniqueness of the Earth

Jewish tradition has already wrestled with this inquiry in the past. Following in the footsteps of Ptolemaic science, the great 10th Century Jewish philosopher Saadia Gaon was convinced that entire universe revolved around the earth. Humankind was seen as THE goal of ALL creation—without him the universe could NOT exist—everything would be devoid of meaning. Just as the kernel is lodged in the center of the fruit, just as the yolk is at the center of the egg, so too this planet earth is at the center of the universe. God created the entire  universe existed for the benefit of humankind. Continue Reading

I came across another article about the high cost of Passover products. In Atlanta, a can of tuna costing $16.99, a $5 jar of jelly, and a $6 box of cereal . . . $24 for a box of matzah. The writer of the article quipped, “I felt like I was in a foreign country with rampant hyperinflation. Is this really in dollars? Maybe I’m supposed to convert the currency. . . . It seems we should add another question to the traditional four associated with Passover: Why is this food so darn expensive?” I guess the political photo-op has expended its shelf-life. That’s too bad.

Another friend writes from New York, “The concern I will share today is most definitely not a new one, but it is an issue that comes up every year, and we have yet to find an answer to this dilemma. Why in the world is Pesach food so expensive? The prices of Pesach food products are outrageous. These kosher-for-Passover items, from ketchup, to mayonnaise, to cakes, candies and dairy products are all so much more expensive than these foodstuffs are during the year. Is there any good reason that a box of a handful of chocolate leaves costs the kosher consumer over 7 dollars? Is there a good reason why a bottle of kosher l’Pesach ketchup cost over a dollar more than it does during the year? Why do I have to pay close to ten dollars for a box of sorry tasting kosher l’Pesach sponge cake? Why do we continue to allow food companies to fleece us – yes, fleece us – every year Pesach time?”

Oh, I could add to the stories from the Chicago area. A small package of cream cheese costs $6, a three pound kosher brisket 20% more, Houston, I think we have a problem here. Kosher slaughter houses are kosher for Passover all year round; they are not four star restaurants one could order a prime rib at. When the kosher companies like Streits, Manishegetz, and others charge such exorbitant sums, one must wonder for when kashrut businesses steal from the public, ask yourself an important but obvious question: Why should I rely upon their hechser (Kosher approval), if they are so darn unethical? Dear friends, the Kosher Emperor has no clothes. Another good friend of mine in New York told me that her family once spent $15,000 a week at a Passover certified hotel–where the food was rotten! I went to a once formerly 5 star restaurant where the food was fit for a Doggie Diner. Continue Reading

This past week, the subject of UFOs and the Bible came up in conversation. The recent British declassification of its UFO archives in 2008 marks one of the more important events in the history of British journalism.The U.S. government’s reluctance to release these files for Americans might suggest a conspiracy to cover up the case studies.

I have often wondered whether the US government’s silence might in part be due to the fear and shock this disclosure would have in virtually every area of American social life–especially in the faith community. It is easy to imagine scenarios resulting in widespread psychological disintegration and social chaos. On the other hand, it would prove to be the greatest discovery of human history.

Have There Been Past UFO Encounters in Antiquity?

One must wonder: Let us assume (1) the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life is real  and (2) the presence of UFOs does have a scientific basis in fact, then two questions arise: Have such visitations occurred in the past? If they have occurred, then is there any literary or physical evidence that UFOs have  been here long before?

When Erich von Däniken wrote a best-selling book, “Chariots of the Gods,” in 1968, he tried to argue that many of the ancient mythologies of the world contain primitive records of extraterrestrial visitations from space travelers who were welcomed as gods. Historians and scientists have pointed out the numerous weaknesses of the book, but Hollywood’s Stargate SG1 and Marvel Comic’s “The Eternals,” carry out the modern mythologizations of von Däniken. X-Files and Fringe are two more popular cinematic shows that explore this kind of question. Even Carl Sagan, in one of his most memorable books, “Contact,” makes the argument that it is nearly impossible for other intelligent life not to exist in the universe.

Did Ezekiel Have a Close Encounter?

Among von Däniken’s more novel theories is the idea that Ezekiel had a close encounter with an alien spaceship. Yes, the story is quite interesting from a modern perspective. Of course, altered states of consciousness such as visionary experiences, dreams, and so on, cannot be logically ruled out–especially since prophecy in general is usually related to dream-like trances and experiences (Maimonides).  Nevertheless, Ezekiel 1 is fascinating and invites speculation. On the surface, this theory would seem to have some merit, or at the very least, it could generate some interesting conversations about the biblical text that could last for hours.

Just imagine how an ancient Israelite would have viewed a modern day space ship. How would he describe it? In the beginning of Ezekiel’s prophecy, he has what could be described as a “close encounter” with a spacecraft. Though this too is not the simple meaning of the text, it is nevertheless an intriguing interpretation ‑‑especially if we were to imagine how an ancient person might write about a visitation with an extraterrestrial space ship. Here is a partial description from Ezekiel 1:

“As I looked, a stormy wind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire (enveloped in brightness), from the midst of which (the midst of the fire) something gleamed like electrum. Within it were figures resembling four living creatures that looked like this: their form was human,  but each had four faces and four wings. . . . . In among the living creatures something like burning coals of fire could be seen; they seemed like torches, moving to and fro among the living creatures. The fire gleamed, and from it came forth flashes of lightning. As I looked at the living creatures, I saw wheels on the ground, one beside each of the four living creatures. The wheels had the sparkling appearance of chrysolite, and all four of them looked the same: they were constructed as though one wheel were within another. They could move in any of the four directions they faced, without veering as they moved.  The four of them had rims, and I saw that their rims were full of eyes all around. When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved with them; and when the living creatures were raised from the ground, the wheels also were raised. Wherever the spirit wished to go, there the wheels went, and they were raised together with the living creatures; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels . . . .” Continue Reading

The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular…The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within—Mohandus Gandhi.

When Familiarity Breeds Contempt . . .

This past week or so, we heard a most remarkable statement from Vice President Biden that is a sobering reminder of the kind of animus the U.S. State Department has always maintained for the last several decades regarding Israel. Biden went on record sayng, “What you’re doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace. . . .” Frankly, I don’t know why he didn’t blame George Bush.

When Biden was  asked by American and Israeli newspaper reporters to clarify his statement, guess what? Biden refused to elaborate on his earlier remarks. This was no surprise. The Obama administration did not want to polarize the Jewish community at the recent AIPAC convention. Obama fears the political repercussions. Obama has no love for the Jews, they are only a political means to a presidential end. The political opportunist extraordinaire Jesse Jackson warned that Obama would take care of Israel–and he was right.

Even some of my liberal Jewish friends are starting to wonder as they experience their first revelation of cognitive dissonance: Is this a way to treat a loyal ally?

Swing Your Partner Round and Round . . .

Permit me to draw a parallel to Biden’s behavior to a peculiar custom known in Jewish tradition as “Shlug Kaparas” (“swinging of the chickens”). Here is how the ritual goes. On the eve of Yom Kippur, Hasidic and other Orthodox men take a rooster, while women must take a hen. The person taking the rooster in the right hand then announces: “This is my exchange, this is my salvation, this is my atonement. This rooster shall go to its death, while I will enter and proceed to a good long life, and to peace.”

The tradition then prescribes that the “swinger” (this was the obvious meaning of the original term) revolves the chicken around his head. Some authorities say that this should be done three times others say once is sufficient. If you are an expecting mother, it is customary to use two chickens for atonement–one for the mother and one for the child. One last note:  The ritual demands that the chicken must be alive; a dead chicken will not atone for sins–only a live one will suffice.

If I did not know better, I would say that Biden seems to have been quite familiar with this ritual, but instead of using a live chicken, he decided to  use Israel instead. Abraham Foxman commented at a Jerusalem Post interview, [Biden's remark]  “smacks of blaming the Jews for everything . . .  This is probably one of the most serious charges that we have ever heard.” Of course Foxman is correct.

All this political fanfare begs the obvious question: Why now? It would appear that Obama is trying to show the Arab world that they now have a friend who thinks, speaks, behaves, and negotiates just like Yasar Arafat.

And What of Jerusalem?

Obama, Biden and especially Hillary Clinton are experts in double-speak. The neighborhood is in Jerusalem, and the 2009 Netanyahu-Obama agreement was for a 10-month freeze on West Bank settlements excluding Jerusalem. Like a mentsch, Netanyahu apologized to Biden for the embarrassment. When Biden left Israel on March 11, the apology was officially accepted and the issue was diplomatically laid to rest–or so we thought. . . Enter Hillary–a woman whose political aspirations knows no bounds–or political etiquette.

Looking for an evanescent opportunity to boost her public image, Hillary demonstrated once again why she has an almost magical penchant for making little problems exponentially greater. A good diplomat knows when to hold her tongue. Even the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon made it clear this past week that the Jerusalem issue is to be discussed in final status talks. Hillary Clinton’s reaction is inexcusable and irresponsible.

Caroline Glick’s comments sum up calculated Obama’s reaction best:

“First, Israel must cancel the approval of the housing units in Ramat Shlomo. Second, Israel must prohibit all construction for Jews in Jerusalem neighborhoods built since 1967. Third, Israel must make a gesture to the Palestinians to show them we want peace. The US suggests releasing hundreds of Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons. Fourth, Israel must agree to negotiate all substantive issues, including the partition of Jerusalem (including the Jewish neighborhoods constructed since 1967 that are now home to more than a half million Israelis) and the immigration of millions of hostile foreign Arabs to Continue Reading

The ancient biblical writers believed that the kidneys were the seat of desire and emotions. For this reason, the kidneys are frequently mentioned in conjunction with the heart (Psa. 7:9; 26:2; 139:13; Jer. 11:20; 17:10). The kidneys were also regarded as the center of  the rational and moral faculties (Psa. 16:7; Jer. 12:2).

The reason the kidneys are associated with the person’s innermost being is probably because when an animal is dismembered, the kidneys are the last organ to be reached.  Hence, kidneys are a symbol of the innermost being and self-consciousness. Parallels to the biblical references may be found in the Ras Shamra texts, “his kidneys instruct him,” which incidentally has a parallel in the Talmudic concept that “one kidney prompts a man to do good and the other prompts him to do evil.” [1]

Did the rabbis really believe the kidneys “instruct,” a person  in a literal or metaphorical sense? This question is unclear. Based on their lack of scientific knowledge, the rabbis probably thought that the kidneys functioned like the brain—at least to some degree. On the other hand, a case could be made that they were speaking merely metaphorically. Most people have what is commonly called, “a gut feeling,” or a “gut reaction,” whenever one is confronted by a situation requiring a quick judgment and decision.

While we typically associate these traits with the brain, it is important to bear in mind that Biblical Hebrew is a visceral kind of language; abstract words like “theology,” or. “theory,”  “philosophy,” or even “religion” do not exist, unlike Koine Greek.  Rather, there is a concreteness that characterizes the language. A living faith impacts the total person.

In terms of a biblical psychology, the human mind is more often associated with the heart, while judgment is associated also with the kidneys; emotions are associated with one’s bowels (cf. Isa. 63:15). Physical strength is associated with the term “horn,” while the “bones,” represent the self. In fact, the medieval Hebrew term atzmut means essence, for once the body is removed of all its guts, all that remains are the bones (atsamut)–the essence of the once viable person.  These expressions are visceral and primal because the human being acts not just on the cerebral level, but also with one’s entire body.

Modern science seems to suggest that a person’s gut feelings are actually connected to the brain via a complex network of neurons derived from the lining of the guts. In fact, scientists refer to this network as a “second brain.” These neural tissues are filled with important neurotransmitters that perform more than just biological functions such as digestion or produce anxiety. A deeper understanding of this mass of neural tissue, filled with important neurotransmitters, is revealing that it does much more than merely handle digestion or inflict the occasional nervous pang. The little brain in our innards, in connection with the big one in our skulls, partly determines our mental state and plays key roles in certain diseases throughout the body, influencing a person’s moods and stress level. Continue Reading

As people get ready for Passover, everyone runs around trying to find suitable foods for the holiday. Over the last several years, I have returned to an old Sephardi custom of my family that goes back literally hundreds of years–I now eat rice and beans during the holiday!

For the greater part of early rabbinic history, rice and legumes used to be considered staple foods for Passover, but when did the change occur? More importantly, why did so many Ashkenazi communities give up on eating rice and legumes? Granted, this may not be the most interesting topic. True, many people could care less about the pedantic discussions regarding the Passover status of rice and legumes.

Nevertheless, the history of this old rabbinic controversy reveals something interesting about the psychology of the forbidding mind that continues to shape the attitudes of many observant Jews who are unaware of this custom’s history and controversy. From a psychoanalytical perspective, the human compulsion to forbid the permitted is what really fascinates me. Understanding the evolution of a community’s mindset can be as exciting as reading a good Sherlock Holmes mystery.

The Talmud mentions how Rav Pappi once gave permission to the Resh Galuta’s bakers to thicken a pot with flour made from hasissi (“oven-dried grain”—Rashi). Tosfot  considers Rashi’s insight to be a no-brainer and suggests that hasissi refers to lentil flour; ordinarily, this kind of flour does not become chametz—leavened. [1]. But even this interpretation is unclear. Why was lentil flour forbidden? Tosfot does not really offer a logical explanation. Could the appearance of anything that rises–even if it derives from vegetable flour be the reason for the custom to avoid  eating legumes during Passover?

One of the subsequent Tosfot scholars named Rabbi Yitschak of Corbeil (13th century) offers an explanation in his SeMaK (Sefer Mitzvot Katan). He claims that the prohibition was by no means a “new custom,” but had already existed for many generations. The rabbis of early medieval times feared that the grains of rice or legumes might get commingled with wheat, millet, barley, rye, and spelt. “Supposedly,” argued R. Yitzchak, “people used to place their grains in any sack container that was available for storage.” Perhaps the lentil flower became commingled with a bit of wheat flour. A person might easily think he was eating lentil bread, not realizing that some of the forbidden grains might also be a part of the bread. [2]

R. Yosef Caro (author of the Code of Jewish Law) writes in his Beit Yosef commentary to the Tur, that some scholars felt that the average person might not be able to distinguish between the unripened kernels of grain and legumes since they resemble one another.[3] In practice, R. Yosef Caro (in his Beit Yosef) disregards this fear, whereas the Ashkenazi Jews follow the more stringent view and abstain from eating rice and legumes during Passover. Once canonized as “tradition,” people tend to think this is the way it has always been, but it ain’t so! Early Ashkenazi rabbis objected to this stringency for many reasons.

Some rabbinic scholars considered the special Passover proscription as a “mistaken custom,” while R. Yerucham brusquely called  it a “foolish  custom.”  One might wonder, “Why perpetuate a custom that is logically absurd?” Evidently, the champions of common sense ran into a proverbial brick wall. We may derive solace knowing that not all the medieval Ashkenazi rabbis blindly followed this custom. The real reason why beans became forbidden was because beans were the standard food of mourners, and mourning is forbidden during the holidays! The medieval rabbis had forgotten this simple truth, hence the confusion.

There are other reasons why rice and legumes ought to be used for Passover:

• There are not a lot of Passover foods to choose from.

• Rabbinic certification traditionally charges exorbitant prices for their “kosher” supervision. Once again, the public gets taken advantage by the shepherds who are supposed to be concerned with their welfare (cf. Eze. 34ff).

• Halachic stringency sometimes creates a “Holier-than-Thou” type of mentality that trivializes the holiday’s spiritual importance.
• Food affects mood. Eating rice and legumes are healthier for a more balanced diet, and are also arguably preferable to the heavy animal proteins people imbibe during the holiday. A healthier diet makes one feel lighter and less weighed down–perfect metaphors for the spiritual lightness we ought to feel during this special time of the year. Complex carbohydrates are good for mind and energizing for the body!

Continue Reading