Newspaper Page Text
Beth Jacob rabbis to offer
course for adult beginners
Congregation Beth Jacob has
announced the initiation of an
Adult Beginners' Service starting
Saturday, March 15, at 9:30 a m.
under the direction of Beth Jacob
Rabbis Emanuel and llan D.
Feldman. The service aims to
attract adults with little or no
Jewish background who have not
felt comfortable attending a
traditional Shabbat service.
“We know there are many
people out there who are quite
interested in participating in a
traditional service, but feel
overwhelmed by the Hebrew, and
by what appears to be the
complexity of the service," says
Rabbi llan Feldman, Beth Jacob’s
assistant rabbi. “By offering this
service, we are saying to them that
we know you’re there, we are
interested in making you com
fortable and in helping you
become familiar enough with
Shabbat services so that you can
eventually function independently
along with those who are more
informed.”
The service will begin every Sat
urday morning at 9:30 and will run
for about two hours. There will be
heavy emphasis on English read
ings, group singing and chanting,
informal discussions about various
sections of the prayerbook, and
English review of the weekly Torah
Portion. “Everything is subject to
discussion in this service,” says
Rabbi Feldman. “The point of the
service is for people to be able to
come with their questions without
feeling second class because of
limited background.”
In conjunction with the service,
Beth Jacob is offering a free crash
course in Hebrew reading. In addi
tion. Shabbat hospitality is being
offered by Beth Jacob families to
anyone who would like to share in
all or part of Shabbat in their
home. These opportunities are
open to members and non
members alike. For further infor
mation, call the Beth Jacob office,
633-0551.
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Toral
i tl
hougf
its
Conscious and subconscious
Adapted from the works of Rabbi Menachem \1
Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe. by Rabbi
Yossi New. C'habad of Georgia
You ask me about my refer
ence to Maimonides and where it
contains in substance, though in
different terms, the concepts of the
“conscience” and “subconscience”
of modern psychology. 1 had in
mind a passage in Hilchos Geru-
shin, end of Chapter Two, in the
Rambam’s (Maimonides) Opus
Magnum, “Yad Hachazakah." A
gist of that passage is as follows:
There are certain matters in Jew
ish Law, the performance of which
requires free volition, no coercion.
However, where the Jewish Law
requires specific performance, it is
permitted to use coercive measures
until the reluctant party declares “I
am willing," and his performance
is still valid and considered vol
untary. There seems here an
obvious contradiction: If it is per
mitted to compel performance,
why is it necessary that the person
should declare himself “willing.”
And if compulsory performance is
not valid, what good is it if the
person declares himself “willing”
under compulsion?
And here comes the essential
point of the Rambam’s expla
nation:
Every Jew, regardless of his sta
tus and station, is essentially wil
ling to do all that he is commanded
to do by our Torah. However,
sometimes the Yetzer Hara (evil
inclination) prevails over his better
judgment and prevents him from
doing what he has to do in accord
ance with the Torah. When,
therefore, the Jewish Court com
pels a Jew to do something, it is not
with a view of creating in him a
new desire, but rather to release
him from the compulsion which
had paralyzed his desire, thus ena
bling him to express his true self.
Under these circumstances, when
he declares “I am willing," it is an
authentic declaration.
To put the above in contempor
ary terminology: The conscious
state of a Jew can be affected by
external factors to the extent of
inducing states of mind and even
behavior which is contrary to his
subconscious, which is the Jew’s
essential nature. When the exter
nal pressures are removed, it does
not constitute a change or trans-
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formation of his essential nature,
but, on the contrary, merely the
reassertion of his innate and true
character.
It is unnecessary to point out
that nothing in the above can be
construed as a confirmation of
general aspects of the Freudian
theory to the effect that man’s
psyche is primarily governed by
libido, the sex drive, etc. For these
ideas are contrary to those of the
Torah, whose view is that the
human being is essentially good (as
in the Rambam, above). The only
similarity is in the general idea
that human nature is a composite
of a substratum and various layers,
especially insofar as the Jew is con
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PAGE 11 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE March 14, 1986