We are pleased to present a guest Dvar Torah from Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman,
who was an inspiration for the start of Alef Beit House while he and his family were living in Denver. He shares with us his thoughts on the contrast between Jewish spirituality and Greek culture. We end with a question about the Hebrew words for questions.

Greece, in Hebrew,Yavan (Yud-Vav-Nun)
Lev Lawrence commented that the Hebrew letters for Yavan are all like columns. In fact
each succeeding letter is longer that the previous, alluding to a logical progression of thought. The Hebrew word for logic, that which the Greeks were known for, is hegayon (Heh-Gimel-Yod -Vav-Nun). That is, the Greeks possesed the last part of the letters for hegayon, logic and not the first two, the Heh and Gimel. These two letters (Heh and Gimel)
equal eight, the number associated with not only Chanukah but with a state
of consciousness above logic and reason, a level of supraconsciousness.

According to Rav Ginsburgh, the essential battle between Greece and Israel was
between two world views and how one deals with paradox. Greek linear
thought, which has been transmuted to Western thought, could not handle
paradox; either something was right or wrong, you can't have the typical
Jewish response: "These and these are the words of the living G-d." The
entire Tamud is based on teaching the secret of seeing points of truth in
all sides of an argument. The fact that we choose one side as the Halacha
does not brand opposing opinions wrong, they are just not the chosen path by
which we as a people conduct our selves. Therefore the Talmud meticulously
records all opinions. This is the secret of the teaching that in this world
we go by Beit Hillel while in the world to come we go by Beit Shammai. Beit
Shammai was not wrong, his opinions though were not prefered for the present
state of reality. The Greeks could not handle this type of thought, or any
that superceeded the bounds of the physical world.

The Torah states that "the beauty of Yavan should dwell in the tents of
Shem" (the son of Noah from whom the Jewish people descend). There is
nothing wrong with the beauty of logic or the beauty of the physical world
or the senses, but they are meant to dwell within the tents of a higher
spiritual wisdom, named Torah, which encompasses like G-d all paradox.

The word for Zion is Tzion;(Tzadi-Yod-Vav-Nun). The last three letters
are identical to Yavan, yet now a Tzadi preeceds it. The Tzadi represents
the Tzaddik, a righteous, holy person who through learning Torah and
performing good deeds can enlist pure logic to his or her cause and then
uplift it and combine it with a higher spiritual view of life that can unite
both the physical and the spiritual. In this way the beauty of Yavan dwells
within the tents of Zion.

Ma'du'ah & Lamah

Last week we noted the contrast between the Greeks and the Jewish people in
several areas. The wisdom of the Greeks focused on aesthetics, nature, and
fate, while the wisdom of the Jewish people, the wisdom of Torah focuses on G-
d, spirituality and morality. The way that the Greeks looked at nature was
with a scientific eye. They wanted to know how and why the world worked the way it
did. "Why?" was the question with which the Greeks grappled. Interestingly,
in Hebrew, there are two different words for the question "why." One is
"Ma'du'ah?" (Mem-Dalet-Vav-AYIN) and the second is "Lamah?" (Lamed-Mem-Hey).

In a search throughout all of Ta'NaCh (Torah, Prophets, and Wrtings) there are
only 61 times when the word "ma'du'ah?" is used. Of those 61 times, only 8 of
them are in the Five Books of Torah, and 5 of the 8 are in the Book of Shemot
(Exodus). This is compared to the other word for "why," "Lamah," which occurs
145 times throughout TaNaCh. What is the difference between these two "whys"
and does the letter AYIN, which is in the word Ma'du'ah, help us understand
more fully what these two "whys" mean?

In modern Hebrew the word for science is "Madah," (Mem-Dalet-AYIN) which is
related to the word "Maduah." What does Maduah ask? Next week we begin
the book of Shemot and three of the five times that this kind of why is asked
occur in the first Parsha of Shemot . We can look at the cases where this question
is asked to help us come closer to understanding what this "why" means.

The first time we see "Maduah?' is when Pharoah questions the midwives whom
he has ordered to kill the newborn Jewish babies (Exodus 1:18). He doesn't understand their
not carrying out his command. His experience is that when he issues an order,
it's done. Why aren't they doing what they were ordered to do? They respond
with a logistical answer about the Jewish women being like animals, who give
birth naturally ......

The next time we see "Maduah?" in this parsha appears
when Yitro questions his daughters' early return from the well. It usually
took them longer to water the flock( Exodus 2:18).

The third and final time the question "Maduah?" is when Moshe wonders why the
bush is burning, but it is not being consumed ( EXodus 3:3). His question appears to be one
of scientific inquiry -- why is this happening like this? This isn't what
usually happens when things are on fire.

The more typical Lamah appears at the climax of this week's Parsha, when Moshe turns and questions G-d's purpose in sending him to Pharoh. "Why have You made it worse, Why have you sent me?" pleads Moshe (EXodus 5:22).