1.18: And הקהילו ('hi•qә•hil′ u; they congregated) all of העדה (hâ-eidâh; the convocation), on the first of Secondmonth, ויתילדו (wa-yit•ya•lәd•u′ they established their genealogical registries) for their families according to their father's households; with the number of names (from twenty years of age, and up) by head count.
Secondmonth, on the Judaic calendar, became known after the Babylonian captivity by its Babylonian (assimilated) name—Iyar. The first day of a month is more often called ראש חדש. This year, ראש חדש Secondmonth falls on the secular calendar the day after this Shabât, 2000.06.04.
Either you're in the X-generation (ages 22-34), the Y-generation (ages 21-22), or probably closely related to someone who is. Certainly the world you wake up to each morning, and decisions you make daily, are heavily impacted by the influences of the X & Y generations.
According to Jane Rinzler Buckingham, owner of Youth Intelligence and publisher of the C*assandra Report (annual corporate subscription $20,000) and Student Monitor ($20,000/copy—and you thought NHM was expensive? No, I didn't obtain a copy of the C*assandra Report), the X+Y generations total about 85 million, with the Y generation market alone estimated at around $300 billion/yr.—which explains her ability to command the hefty pricetags for her unique information (hâ-Ârëtz newspaper magazine, 2k.05.26, p. 20ff). (If a trend report is worth $20,000, isn't NHM, the exclusive extant source containing the authentic teachings of Ribi Yәhoshua, a treasure worth more than that?)
With these kinds of numbers, no matter what religious geezer-tutions (geezer institutions) are doing, the Nәtzârim must always remain relevant—not necessarily trendy when a trend is air-headed, as trends often are, but relevant—to the great markets like the X & Y generations. It's no less critical for the Nәtzârim to remain relevant to these large numbers of people than it is for IBM, General Motors or Marks & Spencer who are willing to pay $20,000 a pop for insights into these markets. Too many synagogues in the U.S., for example, are turning out their lights and locking their doors for the last time like the last episode of a TV series which has been cancelled. They haven't kept relevant. The outgoings by death is a constant. With no incomings—which is dependent upon relevancy to the X and Y generations, outgoings eventually reduce these congregations to below critical mass, and they can no longer survive.
Therefore, while one might, from personal taste or at first glance, ordinarily dismiss such fashions and trends, the Nәtzârim take them S-E-R-I-O-U-S-L-Y. Moreover, better than reading about 'in,' is being at the cutting edge of 'in.'
In intellectuality, research and the philosophical arena, no one else is even in sight. Some of the vernacular you read here is original. Can you discern which is which? When you have to explain a term to an X-gen or Y-gen, smile patiently. Most of these 'in' terms were culled from trendy usage uncovered by JR (Buckingham).
X/Y-genners are anxious learners, hungry to discover what they don't already know about being 'in,' and you'll have established that, in some ways at least, you're more 'in' as they are. So don't be (or remain) an intellectual geezer. Granted, physically younger is widely regarded as more attractive. But the biggest reason young is 'in' is because they're thinking isn't yet set in concrete! 'In' is more about thinking than about one's inexorably fleeting appearance.
So what is 'hot' to X-gens & Y-gens, at least according to the highly paid JR?
It's no surprise to find that technodgets (techno-gadgets) head the list: computers, the Web, Talkabouts (or cell phones) and palm organizers. Today's trendy food is Indian. Funny, I obtained my authentic Indian curry recipes from an authentic Indian who lived in the penthouse next to mine in Toronto back in the early 70s. Been there. Moved on. Since then, I've added Teimani-Jewish cuisine (and still enjoying curry). I've been eating authentic curry, not the store-bought and restaurant stuff, for 3 decades. So the X/Y-gens are, in reality, s-l-o-o-o-w in getting in on what's 'in.'
"Hip-hop music is dearly beloved of the trendsetters. But tomorrow rock'n'roll is coming back big." That's news_beMidbar That's about as earth-shaking as predicting that Impressionist paintings will become popular again. Shades of Monet! For these obvious nuggets, corporations shell out the big bucks_beMidbar ROTFL! (Web forum abbreviation: rolling on the floor laughing. Fill yourself in on Web vernacular—like PIRC, parents in room careful—yeah, it may be more relevant to parents than you thought—at www.chatdictionary.com) "What the trendsetters like to do for a good time is to wander around the city." (That's what lost people, the homeless, and those with no place to go do. Analyzing who she interviews for these trends, the odd balls who are different, whom she regards as 'trend setters,' that's not so far-fetched. $20,000 for this advice?!?) "But the next thing is going to be dinners at home-sweet-home' Along with cruising the Web, they will avoid shopping malls and will prefer shops that sell locally made items."
"In the streets of New York, you can hardly miss those bags that are carried diagonally across the bodies of (mostly) pubescent girls. But if you want to stay in (and are of the right age and pubescence), start thinking about getting a body belt of the kind that used to to be in fashion and that many Yisrâ•eilis get for trips abroad." Big news. Fashion and trends eventually manage to track what's intelligent and sensible—usually by an agonizingly circuitous path—as 'in.' The biggest difference in trends today is that X-gens and Y-gens are more technically proficient, educated, globally-connected, as well as not yet set in concrete. Hence, they're quicker than those with ideas set in concrete to figure new things out.
"Goods that are not mass-produced and ethnic pride are the coming things' Small shops instead of monster stores. In fact, Buckingham says, personal and intimate is making a comeback. 'At a time like this, friends and family become important again.' People want to do things at home instead of going out. 'An ideal weekend is an intimate gathering with friends around the table, not a raucous club.'" New trend this isn't! "What we are seeing in high-tech will spread to other fields and in a big way."
But here's what most relates to this week's pâ•râsh•âh′ : "The major phenomenon forecast by the latest C*assandra Report is' a 'sexplosion.' After years in which the X generation was anxious and reserved about sex because of the AIDS epidemic, 'sex is coming back. And that's only the beginning,' Buckingham predicts. In the meantime, the Y generation are trying to understand who they are and what they are through their sexuality.' They are into TV shows like 'Sex and the City,' they talk a lot about sex, 'sometimes more than they actually do it. And they are more optimistic. They believe a cure for AIDS will be found and that you can avoid getting it by using protection.' The economic implications of this vision are familiar enough: Sex sells. And now it's going to sell even better."
What primarily propelled Rav Shmuli Botei•akh ("Boteach") to celebrity status was his book about the relevancy of Halâkhâh to sex—'Kosher Sex.' Sex does sell. Even in religious circles. Contrary to Victorian perspectives, Tana"kh has always been one of the sexiest books ever published. Not prurient lewd. Romantic and genuine love sexy. I still remember with fondness as a high school teen in Orlando my first sweetheart communicated lovenotes to me by citing passages from Shir ha-Shirim. Anyone who's ever read Shir ha-Shirim, and has any flicker of romance in them, can hardly miss the sexy romanticism which permeates the book. Usually only when one gets older does (s)he begin to appreciate the symbolic parallels to the relationship between י--ה and His Bride—Yisrâ•eil. In the Beit ha-Kәnësët, Teimânim recite the entire book of Shir ha-Shirim to introduce the Minkhâh service preceding every Qabalat Shabat. The romance and intimacy between Yisrâ•eil and י--ה is something indescribable; compared to which romance, marriage, and even marital intimacy are mere shadows.
Modern translations of the Tana"kh, particularly Christian "OT," besides Christianizing the text in their translations, perpetuate Victorian attitudes toward sex which were unknown, and would have been considered bizarre and alien, in Judaism of the 1st century and previously.
Ya•aqov described Râkheil not as kbd>נאוה (nâw•ëh′ ; suitable, comely) nor קדושה (qә•dosh•âh′ ; holy or saintly), nor even יפה (yâph•ëh′ ; pretty, beautiful, attractive). Rather, Ya•aqov described her saying (bә-Reishit 29.17) "Leiah has soft eyes, but Râkheil had a יפת (yәph•at′ ; beautiful of…) - תאר (to′ ar; sight)—"fine form!"; literally a beautiful figure, a great body, good-looking, hot), ויפת (('wi-yәph•at′ ; and beautiful of…) מראה (marëh; looking, looks, appearance)! Ya•aqov saw Râkheil as 'Whoa baby' sexy! As a modern Yisrâ•eili might say: !יש (yeish!; There [it is]!, There [is]…); roughly equivalent to "Yes!" or "Wow!"
But while 'Sex and the City' and other—more subtle and insidious—TV sitcoms of the superficial trend chasers desensitize their viewers to homosexuality, casual sex, conspicuous hedonism, and sex that is empty of its romance, intimacy and especially its sanctity, Halâkhâh injects deeper meaning and purpose into sex, elevating sex to a vehicle of sanctity and holiness through which we can sanctify ourselves, our spouses, and our resulting children produced from a sanctified union, as yet another form of service to י--ה.
 Kәtubâh |
From Biblical times, Judaism has provided a legal framework for love, in a statement of law called theכתבה (kә•tub•âh′ ). This term derives from the verb כתב (kâ•tav′ ; he wrote). In analyzing the kә•tub•âh′ one can begin to recognize Tana"kh as the kә•tub•âh′ that accompanies the ברית of marriage given by י--ה to His כלה (kal•âh′ ; bride)—Yisrâ•eil.
"The kә•tub•âh′ is a unilateral agreement drawn by witnesses in accordance with Jewish civil law, in which they testify that the husband guarantees to his wife that he will meet certain minimum human and financial conditions of marriage, 'as Jewish husbands are wont to do' "—Maurice Lamm, "The Jewish Way in Love & Marriage" (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1980, p. 197). "It is not a ceremonial document of scripture or prayer. That is why it is written in Aramaic, the technical legal language of talmudic law, rather than in Hebrew, the language of [Shir ha-Shirim]. Neither is it a state document establishing the new relationship of man and woman. It makes no mention of the confirmation of [Ëlohim] or of society. It is not an instrument of the privileged class, as in ancient societies, but one obligatory on every person. It is also not an affirmation of perpetual love. It is a statement of law that provides the framework of love" (ibid.). As a framework within which to better understand love, young lovers would do well do study the כתבה before making impulsive decisions that will impact upon them, and their potential children, forever.
Similarly, theכתבה (kә•tub•âh′ ) provides the framework of love, paralleling Torâh itself, between Yisrâ•eil and י--ה. To understand the prospective relationship one is contemplating with י--ה, an understanding of the כתבה is essential.
Theכתבה (kә•tub•âh′ ) restates the fundamental conditions that are imposed by the Torâh upon the husband, such as providing his wife with food, clothing, and conjugal rights, which are inseparable from marriage. It includes the husband's guarantees to pay a certain sum in the event of divorce, and inheritance rights obligatory upon his heirs in case he dies before his wife" (ibid.). While the last clause isn't applicable to י--ה (since י--ה isn't mortal), all of the other conditions likely have parallels in the relationship between י--ה and His כלה, Yisrâ•eil.
Significantly, "It is not a mutual agreement; the wife agrees only to accept the husband's proposal of marriage. It is assuredly not a bill of sale; the man does not purchase the bride. In fact, theכתבה (kә•tub•âh′ ) represents the witnesses rather than husband or wife. Through this instrument they attest to the groom's actions, promises, and statements, and to the bride's willing acceptance of the marriage proposal.
"It is a charter of woman's rights in marriage and of man's duties. The כתבה kә•tub•âh′ is designed for woman's protection, and every legal nuance in this matter was developed so that her husband shall not regard it as easy to divorce her. In a male-oriented society, the woman always needed more defense against the violation of personal rights than the man" (ibid.). How much more so between mortals and י--ה!
The one thing which a כלה does bring, and is then recorded in theכתבה (kә•tub•âh′ ), is her נדוניא (nәdunyâ; dowry [Aramaic]). "The נדוניא is included in the כתבה, and is the property of the כלה, technically 'leased' to the groom for the duration of the marriage" (ibid.).
In our relationship with י--ה, all of our talent and ability and all that we own are "leased" to י--ה for us to use in furthering the work of אישי (for which, see the Haphtârâh).
With respect to determining the amount of theכתבה (kә•tub•âh′ ), as well as resolving disputes of adultery and paternity, "From the beginning of Jewish history, the ascertainment of an Yisra•eili's yikhus, i.e., genealogy or pedigree, was considered of utmost importance, as is evidenced in Scripture (bә-Midbar 1.2, 18 and Rashi ad loc.; Ëzrâ 2.59-63; 8.1)" ("Yuhasin," Ency. Jud., 16.891). It is in this week's pâ•râsh•âh′ that we find (as rendered in Artscroll) the origin: "they established their genealogy." Talmud records (Mishnâh Masëkët Qidushin 69a-b) that geirim legitimately recognized by the Beit-Din were included in the yukhasin and, therefore, within greater Yisrâ•eil. Legitimate geirim (only), those who have been properly recognized by a Pәrushim-heritage (Orthodox) Beit-Din, are thusly included in thisכתבה (kә•tub•âh′ ). The essential nature of the yukhasin, as opposed to self-proclamation or a pretend Hellenist counterfeit, is also recorded in Nәkhëmyâh 7.63.
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