Rabbi Norman Lamm, of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, who was in India for three weeks studying the problems of the Indian Jewry, seems to be dissatisfied with the state of religious education in our community. “The condition of Jewish education among our people in India is extremely poor,” he remarked when I met him to get his impressions of his tour in this country.During the early twenties of this century our community in India was visited by promi-nent Jews such as Israel Cohen, Dr. Alexander Goldstein, Madame Bella Pevesner and a few others on behalf of Keren Kayemeth Lelsrael (Jewish National Fund) with a view to raise funds. The Jews of India did contribute their mite to the cause - indeed insignificant in comparison with the contribution of affluent Jews abroad-but it only proved that the spark of love for Israel was not altogether extinct from the Jewish heart wherever it was. Before the visit of these persons the Bombay community had merely heard of Theodor Herzl’s pamphlet “Jewish State’’ and read about the conferences held at various places in newspapers. These visitors aroused our community from its lethargy and we tried to learn more about Zionism and a few Zionist Associa-tions were also formed in bigger towns in India.Later in the forties and onwards, communities in India were visited by men like Dr. Immanuel Olsvanger and others whose main interest in us lay in inspiring at least some of us to migrate and help in the great task of re-building Israel.When later on it was found that a large proportion of tht emigrants could not prove useful due to lack of knowledge of the Hebrew language, the Jewish Agency (Hasokhnuth Heyehudith) started sending Hebrew teachers to this country, not with a view to help us study Torah but to train would-be emigrants in the study of modern Hebrew, so that the task of Israeli Government would be consider-ably lightened when these emigrants landed on the soil of Israel. In fact in a note by the Head…

In the letters addressed to us regarding the Mebasser, some of our readers have sent five–page treatises, while others have limited their comment to just five lines. Some consider it “magnificent” and “fine,” some consider it otherwise. Rabbi Norman Lamm and Mr. S. M. Benjamin, Solicitor, orally warned us that even though our remarks may be correct, we should nevertheless practice restraint in our expression. Our valued reader Mr. B. J. Israel, M.A., feels that our “notes seem more biting than they need have been,” while our friend Mr. S. I. Solomon, B.A., LL.B., criticised us for having developed a knack for making enemies. We shall not quarrel with our well–intentioned readers and friends about their honest expression of opinions. In fact, we are grateful to them for having expressed their sincere reaction, and plead guilty to all the charges levelled by them against us. All we shall say in our defence is that the Mebasser never did, nor ever shall, initiate an attack. It merely acted – and will act in future – with vigour only when attempts are made to spread false propaganda about the objects of the U.O.J.C.I., and more especially about some of its office–bearers. We solemnly affirm that, if left to ourselves, our future issues will contain nothing but articles and discussions on religious topics as they affect our community. Edited by Mr. I. D. Jhirad and printed by Mr. A. D. Jhirad at Om Printing Press, Wylie Street, Agripada, Bombay 11, and published by him for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of India at 8, Morland Road, Bombay 11.

Does Judaism believe in "metempsychosis" – the doctrine that the soul makes many voyages in this world, each in a different guise? This is the kind of question that was asked of me after almost every one of the more than thirty lectures I delivered in early 1961, when I visited the Indian Jews on behalf of the U.O.J.C.A. It indicates both the similarities and the differences between the Bene Israel and our Westernized Ashkenazic Jews. On the one hand, there is a deep loyalty to Torah and a love of all our people. On the other, the Indian Jews, in their long winter of isolation, have absorbed many of the superstitions of their pagan environment. A casual American Jewish visitor would not recognize anything specifically "Jewish" in the appearance of the Bene Israel, of which there are some 16,000 in Bombay and who form the majority of India's 22,000 Jews. Their color ranges from almost-white through shades of brawn to near-black. They have lived in the area, according to their tradition, for some two thousand years since their fourteen ancestors survived a shipwreck whilst voyaging from Palestine in the days of the Macabbean revolt. Their mother tongue Is Marathi, one of India's many languages. They read Hebrew, but hardly any of them understand the language. They are devoted to Torah and the nd tzvot to the best of their ability — their extreme poverty prevents them from observing some of our basic commandments. Despite their lack of Jewish education, they are most anxious to improve their lot. That is why they asked me, as I mentioned at the beginning, If some of their cherished beliefs, obviously taken over from their Hindu neighbors, are compatible with Jewish thought. Many of them actively believe in ghosts, use amulets to ward off evil, and even exorcise dybbuks. (In this they are not much different from the Iraqi Jews in India.) The Bene Israel women generally dress the sane as their Indian neighbors — sari, etc•, but without the typical Hindu red spot on the …

The problem of “mixed pews” versus “separate pews” in the synagogue is one which has engaged the attention of the Jewish public for a number of years. The mechitzah (the physical partition between the men’s and women’s pews) has become, in effect, a symbol in the struggle between two competing ideological groups. The Law: The separation of the sexes at services is not a “mere custom reflecting the mores of a bygone age.” It is a law, a halakhah. Its origin is in the Talmud (Sukkah, 51b) where we are told that at certain festive occasions which took place at the Temple in Jerusalem great crowds gathered to witness the service. The Sages were concerned lest there occur a commingling of the sexes, for the solemnity and sanctity of the services could not be maintained in such an environment. Hence, although the sexes were already originally separated, and despite the reluctance to add to the structure of the Temple, it was ruled that a special balcony be built for the women in that section called the *ezrat nashim* (Women’s Court) in order to reduce the possibility of frivolousness at these special occasions. The same principle which applied to the Sanctuary in Jerusalem applies to the synagogue (Megillah, 29a; Tur and Sh. Arukh, Or. Ch., 151; Sefer Yereim, 324), the *mikdash me'at* (miniature Sanctuary), and the mixing of the sexes is therefore proscribed. The main concern in this essay is to demonstrate that the separation of the sexes at religious services makes good sense, and that if there were no law requiring a *mechitzah*, we should have to propose such a law—for good, cogent reasons.**The Equality of the Sexes**Separate seating, we are told, reveals an underlying belief that women are inferior, and only when men and women are allowed to mix freely in the synagogue is the equality of the sexes acknowledged. To this rallying call to “chivalry” we must respond first with a demand for consistency. If the non-Orthodox movements are, in this matter, the champions of…

A thousand years ago, the great Rabbi Saadia Gaon thought that our Torah is reasonable and that the human intellect, by itself, can ultimately discover the great truths taught in Scripture. As an example of how reason can provide us with these principles, he offers: gratitude. The very first thing our reason tells us is that one ought to be grateful. Hence, from this principle of gratitude, we learn that a man ought to pray. It is reasonable that we pray to G-d out of gratitude to Him.Intelligent people should not be ingrates. That is why Jews recite the Modeh Ani immedi-ately upon arising, why they say the Modim as part of their prayer, why they recite the Birkhat ha-Mazon after eating. It is the first dictate of human reason.It is all the more amazing, therefore, to learn of a remarkable comment of our Rabbis on the Bible’s narrative concerning the birth of Leah’s fourth son. She called him Yehudah (Judah) because “this time I shall thank the Lord” (Gen. 29:35). Our Sages say, “from the day G-d created the world no one had thanked Him until Leah came and thanked Him upon giving birth to Judah, as it is said, ‘this time I shall thank the Lord’” (Berakhot 7). Noah, Shem, Eber, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob—the founders of the true religion—were they so callous and indifferent that they never acknowledged G-d’s gifts to them ? Were they, then, unfeeling, unthinking ingrates ?Indeed not. For a deeper understanding of gratitude reveals that there are two levels of gratitude. Gratefulness can be understood as courtesy—or as conscience; as a social gesture —or as sacred grace; as a way of talking—or as a state of the soul; as an aspect of personality —or as a part of character.

The most illustrious example of this nobler kind of gratitude, “thankfulness", is our Mother Leah. Her life’s greatest ambition was to marry Jacob and to be sincerely loved by him. When our Torah tells us that “the eyes of Leah were rakkot," dull or weak (Gen. 29:17), the Rabbis ask: what does rakkot mean? Rav says, literally dull; and this is not meant to discredit Leah but is said in praise of her. For she had heard people saying that Rebecca has two sons and Laban has two daughters, the older will marry the older (that is, Esau will marry Leah) and the younger will marry the younger (Jacob will marry Rachel). She went about inquiring: what are the characters of these men ? She was told that Esau is a wild and evil man. Jacob is a decent, respectable, scholarly young man. And she, therefore, was slated to marry the despicable but successful thief! As a result, she wept so much and so bitterly and so loudly that her eyes dulled, until her eyelashes fell off because of her many tears ! Her red, dull, uncomely eyes were beautiful indeed, for they had become so out of protest against being mated to Esau IHow pathetic is Leah’s story! Her love of Jacob is so great that she even submits to her father’s nefarious plan to substitute her for her sister Rachel, whom Jacob dearly loves, deceiving Jacob thereby. She is even willing to go to the huppah, and throughout life, playing second fiddle to a more vivacious, dazzling, beautiful sister, married to the same husband. And when she finally is married to him—how tragic her frustration, the blow to her selfesteem !Pathetic indeed—yet Leah does not give up hope. Her desire for Jacob’s love and respect is too precious to yield so quickly. She has a son and feels that now he will love her, so she calls the child Reuven, adding: “now my husband will surely love me." But he does not. A second child comes, and she calls him Simeon, “for G-d has seen how despised I am" and will make Jacob love me. And then a third child, Levi—“Now …

It is here that the greatness of Leah shines forth in all its glory: her fourth child is born – and she calls him Yehudah. Why? – “For this time I shall thank the Lord.” This time, when I realize and accept the fact that the greatest, most overwhelming desire of my life will not be granted to me by God – this time I will thank Him! Despite all my failures and disappointments – I thank God! Ha-paam – “this time” – for the first time in history, a great soul reached into the heights of the spirit and recognized that thankfulness is more than thanksgiving, that it is a way of reacting to God’s very Presence and not merely paying a debt for His favors. Ha-paam – “this time,” though my hopes are doomed, my love unrequited, my ambitions dashed – I am yet grateful. I do have a great husband nonetheless. I do have wonderful children. I do have the Lord’s promise to be the matriarch of a great people.Let me know if you’d like a more formal version or if this is meant for publication. This was not the thanksgiving of Compensation but the thankfulness of Consecration. This was not Leah’s social gesture, but her spiritual ascent. Would that all of us in our affuent society learn that even if we do not get all we want—and who does ?—yet there is so very much to be thankful for. We ought to be grateful al nishmotenu ha-pekudot lakh, for the religious freedom we Jews enjoy in our beloved America. Compare our situation with those of our brothers in Russia, where the Jewish neshamah is stifled cruelly. We ought be grateful al nisekha she’be’khol yom imanu, for life, health, family, friends. In our Nishmat prayer we speak of thanks al ahat me’elef alfei ribei revavot pe’amim—thousands and millions of thanks. For in this prayer, mentioned in the Talmud, wethank G-d for rain—indeed for every single raindrop! And it is not only things that we thank G d for. Gratitude is a state of mind, a psychological attunement to G-d, a climate of conscience, a cast of character, a matter not so muc…

Ultimately, the ability to achieve this higher form of gratitude is an integral aspect of character – it requires a humility based upon deep insight. That insight is – our own weakness and inadequacy in the presence of Almighty God. When we are grateful to Him, we are cognizant of the infinite distance between our moral failings and His exalted spirituality. Basically, gratitude to God means acknowledging our dependence upon Him. We confess our need of Him – our inability to get along without Him. No wonder that in Hebrew, the words for “I thank” – Modeh ani – also mean: “I confess.” I confess my need of You; I thank You for coming to my assistance! The Modeh prayer we recite upon arising each morning means not only “Thank You, God, for returning my soul to me” – it means also, “I confess, O God, that without You, I would never wake up alive!”This gratitude, the kind we have called thankfulness rather than mere thanksgiving, is what we Jews have not only been taught by our Tradition, but what we bear as a message to the world by our very names. The concept and the practice are deeply ingrained in the very texture of the Jewish soul, and this is reflected in the name “Jew.” For the word “Jew” comes from “Judah,” which is the English for Yehudah—meaning “thank G-d.” This is the name of Leah’s fourth son, at whose birth Mother Leah reached the heights of sublimity in fashioning, for the first time, an expression of thankfulness issuing from a profoundly religious personality. “Jew” is a name that we ought, therefore, bear with great pride and a sense of responsibility.We conclude with the words of David : Hodu la-Shem ki tov, ki le’olam hasdo. Usually this is translated, “Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, for His love lasts forever.” I would paraphrase that, in a manner that is consistent with the syntax of the Hebrew verse : “Give thanks to the Lord, for it is good,” i.e. it is good for the heart and soul of the thankful person to be grateful, “for His love i…

The festival of Lag Ba'Omer, which we celebrate this year on May 12, is traditionally observed as both the birthday and yahrzeit of one of the greatest Rabbis of all time, R. Simeon bar Yochai (2nd century). It is concerning his death that the Zohar relates an incident of profound symbolic significance for all time. R. Simeon's friends and disciples gathered in his house to bid him farewell. Raising his head and noticing that the house was full, he wept and said, "Once before when I was ill and I thought the end was near, only one person came to see me—R. Phineas b. Yair. Though he was only one man, he was enveloped in a holy flame which never left him. Now, the house is full—but the fire is gone."R. Simeon's observation certainly has contemporary relevance. We live in an age when everything is measured, when statistics have become a kind of scientific sacrament. Politicians will declare themselves candidates only if a poll will show they can win. Government often develops policy on the basis of the popularity of a proposed plan—thus, in effect, abandoning its educative and leadership function. Religion too is usually measured by its success with the crowd. The validity of faith is deemed dependent upon the numbers who declare themselves affiliated. The value of a mitzvah is judged by its popularity. As a result, big temples pock-mark the Jewish scene, cavernous sanctuaries where at times—High Holidays, a Bar Mitzvah, a social event—the house is full. But the fire is gone. A dismal draught chills the hearts of those huddled within. For warmth and zeal do not always follow the crowds. The fire of G-d is kindled by inspired souls, not by impressive statistics. One Phineas b. Yair can mean more than a hundred cold, vacuous people.Loyal Jews need not be distressed by self-declared prophets who, in their blindness, predict doom for Torah. Size has never been a true criterion of substance. A genuine Jewish commitment holds untold surprises for those who swear by the supe…

Rabbi Gotthold is a native of Germany and has studied at Yeshivoth in Poland and United States of America. He was ordained at the Rabbi Issac Elhanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University, New York. He is a graduate of New School for Social Research, New York. He has served as a Rabbi for many years in U.S.A, and Canada. The distingueshed Rabbi has taught Rabbinics Talmud and other subjects at various Yeshivoth in U.S.A. and Israel. He has contributed to scholarly papers in the fields of Talmud, History, Music and Sociology. He is a regular contributor to the monthly journal published by the Chief Chaplain of the Israeli Armed Forces, Tradition, etc. Among others, he has translated into English "Meditations on the Torah" which is a Religious best seller in America. He is also a lecturer on Religion at the Afro-Asian Institute for labour studies and co-operation.The Rabbi has come to India (on 27th May 1963) at the invitation of the Orthodox...TO BE A JEW1It was never easy to be a Jew. But it was never as hard as it is to day. I do not refer to the restrictions and prohibitions that limit the activities of the observant Jew. For the Jew who believes, these practical regulations are a joy, an expression of love. Nor do I mean the exposed political position of the Jew in modern society, a role that has, to some extent, become even more difficult for him in the Diaspora because of the State of Israel. For the Jew who chooses to identify himself with his people, these obstacles are all part of the unfolding of the great and long-awaited drama of redemption.I mean, rather, that it is hard to feel like a Jew, to experience the depth of Jewish religious emotion that scans the spectrum from fear and awe to love and joy. It becomes more and more difficult seriously to engage G-d in a dialogue which will lift us above the commonplace and the pedestrian *to a new level of vision and purity. Our hearts have run dry. The spirit is parched. The soul is over-laden with the dr…