United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston Newsletter, April 1991 Page: 2 of 25
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Hidden Selections of Houston’s African American and Jewish Heritage and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Rice University Woodson Research Center.
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sentences from the Torah or verses from
l a
How
yet, in the Talmud we find how when
We are not supposed to rely on
the Psalms to cure our illness,
certain great rabbi got sick he said Tehilim. He recited Psalms.
is this possible? We have a clear Halacha which says that we are not
allowed to do this and he did it. The answer the Talmud gives is that
this Rabbi did not say Tehillim in order to be cured from his disease
but in order to keep away the evil spirits. Evil spirits is the Talmud's
way of saying depression. When we get a disease we get two diseases.
(Contd. inside last page)
FROM THE RABBI*S DESK - Contd.
On these stones were engraved the names of the tribes and also on the
breastplate were inscribed the names Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaacov. The
names of all the tribes do not contain all the letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
Also, even including the three fathers, the letter Tet was still missing,
so also inscribed on the breastplate were the words Shiftay Yeshurun,
the tribes of Yeshurun. After a question was asked the appropriate letters
would flash. Only the head of the Sanhedrin, the king, or the high priest
could address a question to the Ureem and Tumeem. The head of the Sanhedrin
or the king would relay the question to the high priest who would ask
the question, or the high priest would ask his own question and the letters
on the Ureem and Tumeem would flash the answer. The appropriate letters
would light up.
However, this would still not be enough in order to get a proper answer.
The rabbis say that in order to interpret what these letters meant the
high priest or others would have to have Ruach Hakodesh, would have to
be endowed with spiritual insight. They tell the story about how when
Chana, Shmuel’s mother, went to pray at the tabernacle at Shiloh, Eli
saw her silent and shaking with only her lips moving. He consulted the
Ureem and Tumeem to find out what kind of woman she was. The Shin Kuf
Raysh Hay began to glow. He read these letters are Shikra, which in Hebrew
means drunk. When he accused Chana of being drunk she immediately retorted
by saying that he had lost his Ruach Hakodesh, his spiritual insight.
He should have read these letters as Ksora, like Sara, or Keshaira, a
kosher one, a fit one. You can know all the facts but still know nothing.
You can have all the details down pat and still arrive at a false conclusion.
We saw this on CNN throughout the Gulf War. Unfortunately, the way the
problems in the Middle East have been viewed is the way Eli looked at
Chana. The problem is not the Palestinians. The problem has always been
that the Arab states will not make peace with Israel. If the Arab states
would make peace with Israel, the Palestinian problem could be solved
overnight.
Many times in life we put the cart before the horse. We do not put things
in proper perspective and, therefore, we come to false conclusions. There
is a Jewish law which says that if we have a wound or a sickness we are
not allowed to say Pezukim from the Torah or Tehillim, verses from the
Psalms, over it to cure it. What we are supposed to do is go to a doctor.
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United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston. United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston Newsletter, April 1991, periodical, April 1991; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1439986/m1/2/?q=%22Social+Life+and+Customs%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.