משנה מסכת תמיד פרק ב משנה ג

החלו מעלין בגיזרין לסדר אש המערכה וכי כל העצים כשרים למערכה הין כל העצים כשרין למערכה חוץ משל זית ושל גפן אבל באלו רגילין במרביות של תאנה ושל אגוז ושל עץ שמן:

Mishna Tamid, 2:3,

Ellos [los sacerdotes] luego comenzaron a recogerleñas para hacer un fuego. Eran todos los tipos de madera adecuados para el fuego? Todos los tipos de madera eran adecuados para el fuego, excepto la vid y el olivo. Lo que más utilizaban, sin embargo, eran ramas de higueras y de nogales y de arboles de aceite.

תלמוד בבלי מסכת תמיד דף כט עמוד ב

חוץ משל זית ומשל גפן [וכו']. הני מ"ט? רב פפא אמר: משום דקטרי, רב אחא בר יעקב אמר: משום ישוב דארץ ישראל… רבי אליעזר מוסיף: אף של מייש, ושל אלון, ושל דקל, ושל חרוב, ושל שקמה. בשלמא למאן דאמר משום דקטרי בהא קמיפלגי: דמר סבר אף על גב דלא קטרי מגואי כיון דקטרי מבראי – לא מייתינן, ומר סבר כיון דלא קטרי מגואי אע"ג דמבראי קטרי – מייתינן. אלא למאן דאמר משום ישוב דארץ ישראל, דקל מי לית ביה משום ישוב דארץ ישראל? אמר לך: וליטעמיך, תאנה לית בה משום ישוב דארץ ישראל? אלא מאי אית לך למימר – בתאנה דלא עבידא פירא, דקל נמי – בדלא עביד פירא. ומי איכא תאנה דלא עבדא פירא? אין, כדרחבה .

Talmud Babilónico, Tamid 29b, traduccion adaptada de Judaic Classics Library translation.

Exepto el olivo y la vid [cita de la Mishná].¿Por qué esta excepción? – Rav Papa dijo: Porque tienen nudos. Rav Ajá barra de Iaacov dijo: Debido al asentamiento de la Tierra de Israel … Rabí Eleazar añade [como no apto]: también la madera del matish[1]y el roble y el árbol de datiles y el algarrobo y el sicomoro. Sin embargo, para quien dice, "es a causa del asentamiento de la Tierra de Israel, 'podemos objetar, Acaso el arbol de datiles no contribuye a las comodidades de la Tierra de Israel? – Él puede responder a usted: según el mismo razonamiento, acaso la higuera no contribuye a las comodidades de la Tierra de Israel? Pero, ¿qué respondemos a esto? Que hablamos de una higuera que no produce fruto. Del mismo modo, hablamos de un árbol de dátiles que no produce fruto. Pero hay higueras que no produzcan fruto? Sí, según lo declarado por Rahabah …

מפרש מסכת תמיד דף כט עמוד ב

רב אחא בר יעקב אמר משום ישוב ארץ ישראל – …ודאי טעמא קאמר דמשום קשרים הם פסולים אלא אפי' בלא טעם קשרים בשביל דבר אחר היו מניחין ואיזהו משום ישוב ארץ ישראל שאם ישרפו הזיתים והגפנים לא ימצאו יין לשתות ושמן לסוך ותחרב ארץ ישראל…

Mefaresh, un Rishon no identificado (escribe entre el año 1000 y 1400 E.C) que aparece en lugar de Rashi, a Tratado Tamid, 29b

Ciertamente, la razón es como se menciona porque los nudos [éstas maderas] no son válidas, pero incluso sin la razón de los nudos, por una razón diferente desistirían [de su uso.] ¿Por qué? Debido a "el asentamiento de la Tierra de Israel". Ya que si quemaran los olivos y las vides, no encontrarían vino para beber o aceite para ungir, y la tierra de Israel sería destruida …

רמב"ם הלכות איסורי מזבח פרק ז הלכה ג

כל העצים החדשים כשרים למערכה, ולא היו מביאין משל זית ולא משל גפן משום ישוב

ארץ ישראל

Rambam, Hiljot Isurei Mizbe'aj, 7:3

Toda la madera nueva es apta para la pila arreglada [de madera sobre el altar en el Templo] y ellos no deben traer de olivos o viñedos, debido al asentamiento de la tierra de Israel.

[1] Una especie desconocida de árbol de madera dura.

Let’s pay it back, let’s take care of this precious land that Hashem gave to us with such love and kindness, otherwise we would be ungrateful, we would be wasting the bracha (blessing) and the power of the nevuah’s (prophecy) fulfillment. Take a step. Be part of this global change.

The reason I did not write last month’s blog is because I was pretty busy preparing for one of the most important steps in my life: I made aliyah! Just before Pesach. I came back to Israel just for aviv-spring time, the time of blooming. Being honest, one of the hard things of leaving Chile, was to leave its natural wonders (just to mention an example, from my window, I could enjoy the view of the Andes every single day). That’s why I feel so blessed for getting here just in time for experiencing the colorful Israeli spring. It’s true, nature in Chile is huge and awesome, but I just feel that in Israel nature is more real, more blessed, more holly and definitely more related to us. It’s as if G-d is saying to us: look at this beautiful color that I just created for you”. Actually we have a blessing to say on chodesh (month) Nissan: Birkat Hailanot, the blessing on the trees. We need to find two fruit trees blooming and then bless G-d “for nothing lacking in His universe, and He created in it good creatures and good trees, to cause mankind pleasure in them”. Before my aliyah, I went back to Chile for three months (I was living in Israel before, for almost a year). And you know what? I was so exited to be able to enjoy again the view from my window, those overwhelming mountains, but something was missing. I know that this is also G-d’s creation, but the sense of holiness just was not there, as clear as it could be while experiencing sunset in Tzfat, facing the hills of Meron, or anywhere else in this holly land.

Next week we are living Iom Hatzmahut, Israel’s Independence Day. On this day, most of the population go out on outdoor activities, mostly barbeques. It means that our parks could end up being cover by garbage. Thus, I invite you all, all of us in Israel(or if you live overseas, you could take and implement this message in the merit of Eretz Israel, by taking care of your local parks), to increase our awareness next Tuesday on our outdoor behaviors. Think twice before throwing garbage to the floor and please spread the message, helping us to enjoy a clean “Eretz Israel sheli yafa vegam porachat”.

Shabat Shalom

Every situation that we live has a meaning, an underline message. Of course there is no way to understand why that specific family (Z.L) from Itamar was brutally killed, or why the victims of the terrorist attack at the bus stop were there, but still, we must ask ourselves, what our Creator wants from us, what’s the message here for Am Israel. In other words, what do we have to do in order to repair this, to live in peace. Everywhere around the globe the message is the same; rabbi’s speeches, Facebook posts, e-mails that I got from friends in Israel… We all agree that the most important thing to do is to increase our unity, to become closer to each other, to love and help our fellow jew.

Our sages teach us that the second Beis Hamikdash (Temple) was destroyed because of Sinas Chinam (free hatred), so the only way to do our tikkun (reparation) is throught Ahavas Chinam (free love) and Achdus (unity). And every time that Am Israel suffer, since then, is part of the same thing, the same galus (excile). Thus, when we experience this kind of national disasters, instead of keep asking why for thousand of times, we should realize that the best thing we could do is to increase our unity as a nation, to focus more on our similarities rather than our differences.

And that’s exactly what Jewcology is all about. We all come from different corners of the globe, from different backgrounds, different politic views and different ways of living our Judaism. But beyond all that, we are united by a common vision, by a collective dream: to share and learn and educate about our Jewish responsibility to protect the environment. We all come together in this virtual space because we believe that by joining our efforts, we could make this world a better place. Jewcology is a living example of unity, and thus, I encourage all of us, to take this model to our daily life, getting closer to each other and loving our fellows despite the differences.

B'H

With some friends we hold an “after Tu B'Shvat” celebration, in my home town, Santiago de Chile. After having a picnic, I taught a shiur (class) on the topic. After studying about trees in Judaism, we ended up having a long discussion about the use/abuse of disposable items. Half of the group argued that if you use it for a holly purpose, like having many guests on Shabbos, it should not be considered as Bal Tashchit (“Do not destroy”, a biblical commandment which root is not to destroy a fruit tree on war time; it was extended by our sages, considering any kind of useless destruction as Bal Tashchit, or wasting anything that could be reused). Even though I will try to host as many guests as I could on Shabbos , G-d willing, without using disposable dishes, I get their point. But a completely different story is when it’s not Shabbos, and you don’t have guests, and you don’t have a huge family. Then is either an act of laziness or of ignorance. That situation brings me back to my first month at my seminar (a year ago), in Jerusalem. The day I got there, I almost cried, because EVERYTHING was disposable: plates, cutlery, cups, tablecloth, water bottles… the amount of waste produced per day was enormous! In a seminar dorm, every girl is responsible for her own items, which means that washing the dishes required one minute! Therefore, this situation was due to laziness and ignorance. Being a doer, instead of sitting, complaining, and judging my new roommates, I started doing small changes and spreading the message. My first move was to hang a big bag to recycle all the plastic bottles. Then, I convinced them that it was much cheaper to buy a filter jar than buying all those bottles. So we did, no more bottles! Meanwhile, we found real cups and glasses in the shelves and started using them. Later, with a friend we bought real dishes. Soon after, another friend bought real cutlery. Afterwards I bought a thick plastic tablecloth, and so on, our house ended up being a home instead of a camping site.

Even though one of the girls after all kept using disposable dishes at the dorm, I never measured the impact I could generate on them, until one the girls told me, days before her wedding: “you know Daffy, before I met you I had stupid thoughts, I wanted to have everything disposable at my house, since I did not know a thing about this. And now I bought real stuff for everything. Thank you so much”. This time I almost cried again, but this time were happy tears.

But this story is not about me, is about all of us! You have no idea how powerful our actions are in terms of teaching, we should take it seriously, and live as a live example! It works!

Tras de una pequeña caminata, se realizó una actividad experiencial para tomar conciencia de nuestra relación con los árboles. Luego se desarrolló una sesión de estudio de textos, sobre los “preceptos ecológicos” básicos que encontramos en la Torá y el Talmud. Tras el estudio se retomó la caminata, teniendo la oportunidad de encontrarse con un árbol de algarrobo y comer de sus frutos (tal como se alimentó Rabi Shimon Bar Yojai por trece años). Luego las participantes escucharon un Dvar Tora (palabras de Torá) sobre la tefilá (rezo) en la naturaleza, que las preparó para realizar la tefilá de minjá (el rezo de la tarde) en medio del bosque. Finalmente, al volver a su midrasha (lugar de estudios), las chicas participaron de una clase introductoria sobre el medioambiente en el judaísmo, concluyendo así la jornada.

A pesar del frío, fue una experiencia increíble, llena de aprendizaje y de experienciar la naturaleza en profundidad. Las chicas de Midreshet Chail estaban viviendo en Har Nof, y no tenían idea que existía ese enorme bosque, a solo diez minutos caminando de sus casas.

Por otro lado, la mayoría de los participantes nunca habían pensado que en la Torá y otras fuentes judías podemos encontrar una ética medioambiental.

Pero más allá de cada experiencia individual, este seminario fue una excelente manera de inaugurar el área hispana de Jewish Eco Seminars, lo que según mí, marca un hito en las comunidades judías de habla hispana, en las que en general (salvo ciertos casos particulares) se sabe muy poco sobre el tema del medioambiente en la Torá y casi no se aborda en absoluto.

Gracias a D’s, hace algunos meses nos ganamos una subvención de ROI para expandir nuestros programas a organizaciones de habla hispana con sede en Israel. Por lo mismo tenemos una gran responsabilidad, siendo los portavoces de un cambio de conciencia dentro del mundo hispano.

No enseñamos nada nuevo, simplemente presentamos una sabiduría milenaria, de la cual podemos aprender cómo hacer frente a los desafíos medioambientales de hoy en día.

Si quieres averiguar sobre nuestros programas, o ayudarnos de alguna forma, visítanos en www.jewishecoseminars.com

¡Shabat Shalom a todos!

After a short walk, the girls participated in an experiential activity to raise awareness on our relationship with trees. Later, they were involved in a text study session on the basic "ecological commandments" found in Torah and the Talmud.

After the study session, the group resumed the hike, taking the opportunity to meet a carob tree and eat its fruits (same as Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai did for thirteen years). Afterwards, the participants heard a Dvar Torah on tefillah (prayer) in nature, that prepared themselves for davening Mincha (the afternoon prayer) in the forest. Later on, returning to their midrasha (study location), the girls participated in an introductory class on the environment in Judaism, concluding the day that way.

Despite the cold, it was an amazing experience, full of learning and learning in deep from the nature. Midreshet Chail girls were living in Har Nof, and had no idea that such a huge forest existed just ten minutes walking from home! On the other hand, most of the participants never thought that an environmental ethic could be found in Torah and other Jewish sources.

Beyond any personal experience, it was a great way of launching the Jewish Eco Seminars Spanish programs which, according to me, sets a before and after in Spanish-speaking Jewish communities, which in general (except in certain special cases) little is known about environmental issues in Torah and it is almost not discussed at all.

Thanks G-d, we recently received a grant from ROI to expand our programs to Spanish-speaking organizations based in Israel. For this reason, we have a great responsibility being the spokesmen of a consciousness shift within the Latinamerican world. We do not teach anything new. We just bring in an ancient wisdom from which we could learn how to deal with the current environmental challenges.

If you want to find out about our programs or you want to help us in any way, please visit www.jewishecoseminars.com

Shabat Shalom to you all!

Jewish people have a special relationship with the rain. Unlike other countries where G-d created vast rivers and freshwater lakes, in Israel we depend on rain water. The blessing of our production depends on rainfall, which fills the streams and groundwater sources. Our production — therefore our livelihood, economy, and life itself — depends on G-d’s goodness. Since our water supply comes from above, and it’s not out there for whenever we want it but for whenever He does, it’s all about Emunah (faith), about creating a relationship with our Creator and realizing that everything relies on him.We pray for rain three times a day,all year long.Hashem wants us to ask for it! In the second paragraph of the Kyriat Shmah we read: “And it will be that if you continually hearken to my commandments that I command You today, to love Hashem,your G-d, and to serve Him, with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will provide rain for your land in its proper time…” (Deuteronomy 11:13). Therefore, It´s also related to the way we behave, if we love Hashem and follow His ways, He will bless us with rain.

Yesterday we started living a tragedy. Up north in Israel there is an unstoppable fire: 20,000 dunams consumed; 13,000 evacuated; 41 dead… The fact that it expands so fast is for sure associated with the drought. I feel that G-d is telling us “you thought you were praying enough for rain,now pray for real!”. I ask you all to pray for a Hanukkah miracle, to beg Hashem to send us a massive rainfall to put out the fire! Also think what could we do better in order to make this world a better place, how could I bring rain with my actions. Water is life,water is Torah.

May Hashem help us overcome this tragedy, to have a rainy year, and to be enlightened with the Hanukkah light!

Shabbat Shalom