Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld
Aug 2-3, 2024 • 28 Tamuz 5784 • Matos-Maasei (Num 32-36).
In memory of my father Dovid ben Eliezer z''l whose 19th yahrzeit was observed this week.
An actual exchange on a Whatsapp group the other day:
— Going to Israel next week - any recommendations for berachos from Rebbes for my family?
— Get a berachah from any serving soldier!
What's this idea of going to a Rebbe to get a berachah (blessing)?
It's a long-standing tradition (going back to the Torah actually) that certain people have the "power of blessing". That their blessings are effective.
There is much anecdotal evidence of this power, and while it may be confirmation bias, who cares?
Which leads to an interesting question for your table: Would you want to be one of those people who have a reputation for effective blessings?
Let's perhaps describe the kind of person has this power. Rabbi? Maybe, but not a pulpit rabbi. Pulpit rabbis are too much in the limelight. When you're the star of the show and everyone is coming to listen to your wisdom, it's practically impossible to cultivate the humility necessary to channel God's blessings.
Actually, the power of blessing doesn't require you to be a rabbi at all, not even a scholar. Doesn't even require a beard, let alone a long one.
Here's how it works: if a person is 100 percent careful about keeping his or her word, then their words of blessing will be effective. Because a person who keeps their words 100 percent is the epitome of Truth.
But if the words that come out of a person's mouth are not 100 percent truthful, then Heaven will not honor their words of blessing.
I know what you're thinking: "Hey, I'm a truthful person, I don't lie."
Not so fast. Did you ever say, "I'll be there in half an hour" but you arrived 35 minutes later? So your words were not 100 percent truthful, were they?
"But, I didn't mean precisely half an hour, everyone knows that."
So everyone knows that your words are imprecise, which is totally fine because you're not any less precise than anyone else. Which is why few if any of your friends have the power of blessing either.
Now, you could have said, "About half an hour," but you did not. So your imprecise words are going to give you at best the power of imprecise blessings.
(And I know that I'm being generous because many, many people are so habitually late that a mere five minutes would be for them as if on time!)
If that sounds like too high a bar, it's only because of habit. If you want to, you can indeed change that habit and become a person who's word is gold. And perhaps you'll be rewarded with the power of blessing.
In Jewish thought, our speech is what most defines us as human. It's a precious gift.
My father pursued this ideal — if he said he would do something, he did it. And if he forgot that he said it, all that you had to do was remind him and he would happily own up to the commitment. That's a man of Truth.
Shabbat Shalom
— Going to Israel next week - any recommendations for berachos from Rebbes for my family?
— Get a berachah from any serving soldier!
What's this idea of going to a Rebbe to get a berachah (blessing)?
It's a long-standing tradition (going back to the Torah actually) that certain people have the "power of blessing". That their blessings are effective.
There is much anecdotal evidence of this power, and while it may be confirmation bias, who cares?
Which leads to an interesting question for your table: Would you want to be one of those people who have a reputation for effective blessings?
Let's perhaps describe the kind of person has this power. Rabbi? Maybe, but not a pulpit rabbi. Pulpit rabbis are too much in the limelight. When you're the star of the show and everyone is coming to listen to your wisdom, it's practically impossible to cultivate the humility necessary to channel God's blessings.
Actually, the power of blessing doesn't require you to be a rabbi at all, not even a scholar. Doesn't even require a beard, let alone a long one.
Here's how it works: if a person is 100 percent careful about keeping his or her word, then their words of blessing will be effective. Because a person who keeps their words 100 percent is the epitome of Truth.
But if the words that come out of a person's mouth are not 100 percent truthful, then Heaven will not honor their words of blessing.
I know what you're thinking: "Hey, I'm a truthful person, I don't lie."
Not so fast. Did you ever say, "I'll be there in half an hour" but you arrived 35 minutes later? So your words were not 100 percent truthful, were they?
"But, I didn't mean precisely half an hour, everyone knows that."
So everyone knows that your words are imprecise, which is totally fine because you're not any less precise than anyone else. Which is why few if any of your friends have the power of blessing either.
Now, you could have said, "About half an hour," but you did not. So your imprecise words are going to give you at best the power of imprecise blessings.
(And I know that I'm being generous because many, many people are so habitually late that a mere five minutes would be for them as if on time!)
If that sounds like too high a bar, it's only because of habit. If you want to, you can indeed change that habit and become a person who's word is gold. And perhaps you'll be rewarded with the power of blessing.
In Jewish thought, our speech is what most defines us as human. It's a precious gift.
My father pursued this ideal — if he said he would do something, he did it. And if he forgot that he said it, all that you had to do was remind him and he would happily own up to the commitment. That's a man of Truth.
His words are gone, but his memory is vivid, and may that memory be a blessing.
Shabbat Shalom
PS - Yes, the image is always clickable!
This week's Table Talk also appears online at blogs.timesofisrael.com.
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