Saturday

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I wish I could develop the intuitive grasp for the grammar that Dani has but cannot explain.

The Torah-study group has gotten to the beginning of Tazria, the part of Leviticus about various impurities caused by various emissions. I really pity kids who get Tazria for a bar-mitzvah portion.

Our assistant rabbi has a commentary he's fond of (the editor's name is Milgram; I don't have more), but I disagree with some of the stuff he was reading from that on Saturday. I ended up being more challenging than usual, and essentially sent him off with questions for further study. That's not how that's supposed to work. :-) (My rabbi had already had to leave by then. I'd be interested in hearing his take on some of this. Perhaps next week.)

For instance, ( squick alert )

At one point the rabbi said something like "of course, you do all realize this is all academic now anyway, right?". He asserted that because we don't have the temple, there is no way for people to become tahor (ritually purified), so we're all impure, and we're stuck. I disagree, at least until he shows a source. Isn't that what the mikvah is for? Isn't that why women visit the mikvah monthly, and some men visit at least weekly, before Shabbat?

If we are all tamei anyway, then why does anyone worry about becoming tamei? There are not greater and lesser degrees of impurity; you are or you aren't. It's a toggle, not a matter of degree. Yet I see people in the traditional movements who are quite clearly concerned with these matters, which means they at least think it's not a lost cause.

(In contrast, sinning is not not a toggle. For example, if you violate Shabbat by lighting a fire, and then later by harvesting your grain, and then later by baking bread, you have sinned three times (or more), not once. The manifestation of this is that, when the temple stood, you were liable for an offering (a "chatat", or sin-offering) for each offense. But there is not a corresponding idea with ritual impurity; you don't have to go to the mikvah once for each thing that made you impure.)

Odd trivia of the week: after a woman gives birth, she is required (well, when the temple stood) to bring a chatat, a sin-offering. Why a sin-offering? What sin is involved in childbirth? The answer, according to unnamed sages (that is, I'm sure they're named, but they weren't cited to me) is that sometime during labor she may well have said some inappropriate things due to the pain, and this is "just in case".

short takes

We went to a new (to me) restaurant today, Atria on Rt. 19 (Dormont? Mt. Lebanon?). There's one near where Dani works. I had a very good tuna salad -- grilled? tuna with lettuce, apples, dried cherries, walnuts, and a tasty dressing that I couldn't identify. It's one of their seasonal specials, though, not part of the regular menu. (The regular menu seemed to be short on things I can eat, but I could find something there when this salad goes away. And I've got to remember to find out once and for all if catfish is kosher; I've been told both that it is and that it isn't, and I need to remember to just ask my rabbi.)

Last night we went to Serena's 60th-birthday party. We saw Thaddeus, who I haven't seen since his wedding about a year ago. He's doing well, and is trying to make a business of glasswork. (He makes beads and jewelry and similar small items. He's good, from what I've seen. I wonder how you build a market in that area.)

I have leftover cookies. It was my turn to bake for the kiddush Saturday, and I took some to Serena's party. I wonder what the best way is to dispose of the rest without eating them myself. I've been good so far; it would be a shame for that to stop. :-) (Maybe I'll take them to work.)

It appears to be impossible to buy a matching desk (not computer desk) and hutch from a single supplier. I think I should just give up and mount the bracket-style shelves above a plain desk. Sigh.

Seth and Karen should be happily married by now. Mazel tov!