The Etta Kossowsky Fund News Update
Chanuka 5768
Dear Friend,
Can you think of any other treasury where more always remains, never mind
how much you have already found, lifted up and savoured? The number of texts
to be scrutinised in Torah learning may be finite, the knowledge that they
give rise to is not, as the women who have now been learning for years in the
name of my late daughter, Etta Kossowsky, z.l. will testify.
Some of the Study Groups chose texts that require years of study, such as
the Sefer HaMitzvot, or the entire Tractate Berakhot; others delve into
a Book of NaCh or a subject such as the weekly 'parasha' or sections of
Prayer Services. Here are a few details from some of the current learning,
showing the variety:
A. 'Each week we cover a theme in the Parsha and how it relates to
our lives today. Topics we have covered include: Insights into the Etrog,
Sheva Mitzvot B'nai Noach, the Mitzvah of Bikur Cholim, the
Importance of Chevron….we have interactive discussions based on the sources'
B. (Re Samuel,ch. 18)…we went through the metaphor of the 'me'il'
(coat), starting with the 'meil hakatan' (small coat) that Hannah made
for Shmuel - and then discussing Shaul's coat that was ripped as he turned
away from Shmuel, after the Amalek debacle..and followed with David trying on
Shaul's clothing before fighting with Goliath, yet there the 'meil'
didn't fit him yet and then skipped forward to future chapters where David has
an opportunity to kill Shaul, but instead, rips his 'meil' and finally,
to the day before Shaul's death, where he takes off his 'meil' thereby
relinquishing the kingdom…
C. The Gemara group is currently being challenged by Tractate Qiddushin.
The heated discussion on the acquisition and manumission of different
categories of slaves might lead one to think that this is the 'hot' topic of
today's world.
D. In the study of Maimonides' Shemone Perakim, we saw an
interesting comparison between Greek and Jewish thinking. Whereas Greek
philosophy saw the soul, the essence, as either outside of this world of
shadow reflections (Plato), or as the particularised universal - the frogness
in a frog - (Aristotle), the Torah speaks of man's essence as being 'in the
image of G-d' and the Rambam sees this divine image, the essence or 'nefesh'
as being the healthy, the well-balanced, ethical soul which we must strive to
create and reveal within ourselves.
The 23rd of Shevat, Etta's thirteenth Yahrzeit, falls on January
29th of 2008. We very much hope that you will be able to join us for our
evening of learning.
Once again, we thank you most warmly for your support for the Etta
Kossowsky Fund.
Chanuka Sameach
Esther Ehrman
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