I am sending you my notes that I used to for the class. The notes contain more detail then

I was able to give over in the one hour time slot but I thought that it would be beneficial

as a review or for those of you who were unable to attend.

If you have any questions, comments or queries please do not hesitate to call me or to you

may email me questions that you may have. Please contact me at 416-829-1761 or by

email at torontojs@rogers.com I am in the process of getting the classes on line so that

you can review or listen to classes you missed.

Power of Prayer

According to the Gemarah tractate Taanit 2a, Tefillah is a Mitzvah D’oreita (Biblical

command): "You shall serve God with your whole heart Devarim- What service is

performed with the heart? This is Tefillah".

The power of Teffilah is so great it can even change nature, save people from life

threatening dangers, and abolish a bad decree that was declared upon a person.

The Tefiilot are therefore referred to as Avodah sheba-Lev (service from in the heart).

Rambam, Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon (1135-Cordoba, Spain –1204 Fostat, Egypt,) was a

Rabbi, physician, philosopher, during the Middle Ages. It is said of Rambam From

Moshe Rabbeinu to Moshe (Rambam ) there was none like Moshe.

In his premier work Mishnei Torah: Laws of Prayer 1:1) likewise categorizes tefillah as a

mitzvah min Hatorah, a mitzvah d’oreita (a Biblical command), but states that the

number of teffilot or their times are not. A women is not obligated in Mitzvot that are

time bound, however, she is obligated to daven at minimum once a day. It is best that she

daven Shacharit. This statement is relied upon by the authorities that hold that women,

while being required to daven , only need to daven once a day (preferably in the

morning), though they can, if they wish, they can daven all three daily tefillot prayers.

Some Halachik authorities disagree and suggest that tefillah is mitzvah D’rabbanan, a

mitzvah instituted by the Rabbi’s.

All agree, however, that the text of, and the specific times designated for teffilah were

established by the Chachamim of the Anshei Kenesset Hagedolah –The Men of the Great

Assembly- A body of one hundred twenty sages and prophets who lived during the time

of the Second Beit Hamikdash.

The Anshei Knesset Hagedolah set up the Seder Tefillah, (the order of tefillah), Dinei

Venusach Hatifillah, (the laws and text of tefillot), Kaddish, Barchu, Kedushah,

Shemonah Esrei, Tefillah B’Tzibur, the communal tefillah, Berachot, Blessings, Kiddush

and Havdalah.

What we say during our tefillot is not as important as what we think during them. This

idea is implied itself in the word teffilah itself. The Maharal of Prague (Rabbi Yehuda

Loew Ben Betzalel (1512-1609) writes in his sefer Be’er Hagolah p. 52

The word tefillah comes from the word pl”lail which Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchak

1040-1105) explains means thought, because teffillah requires Kavanah (concentration)

and thought. (There is a concept in Jewish Halacjic thought that certain Mitzvot cannot

be accomplished without express intention -Mitzvot Trichot Kavanah e.g. The recitation

of Shema,).

It is interesting that Avudraham (Rabbi David Ben Yosef Avudraham 14th century) writes

that the gematria, (numerical value) of the word tefillah is 515 identical to the gematria of

the words Kavanat halev-with concentration of the heart.

Letter Number Equivalent

Alef 1

Bet (Vet) 2

Gimel 3

Dalet 4

Hey 5

Vav 6

Zain 7

kHet 8

Tet 9

Yud, Yod 10

Kaf (Haf) 20

Lamed 30

Mem 40

Nun 50

Sameh 60

Ain 70

Pey (Fey) 80

Tzadi 90

Kuf 100

Reish 200

Shin (Sin) 300

Tav 400

One may ask: What need is there for Tefillah? Does Hashem not know what ails us and

what our needs are?

The root word of tefillah is p’lail-to judge, to differentiate, to clarify, and to decide.

Tefillah is the souls yearning to define what truly matters. Tefillah is a process of self

evaluation, self judgment; a process of removing oneself from the tumult of life to a little

corner of truth and refastening the bonds the tie one to the purpose of life.

The Mishna in Gemarrah Bava Kama 2a, uses the word Maveh as a synonym to describe

man. The root word of of maveh is bveh to daven. So the Gemarrah defines man as the

creature that davens. Furthermore, the Gemarrah in Berachot teaches that “Nefesh” the

soul is defined as tefillah. We further see this by the definition of Tefillah “Avodah she

Balev” service of the heart. If tefillah was designed to make request or demands from

Hashem it would be referred to as “Avodah She ba Peh” or service of the mouth.

We are the only creatures on earth that have the capacity for Tefillah, no other creature

has the possibility to connect with Hashem as we do. The Torah tells us in Beresheit,

That Hashem breathed life into Adam and he became “Nefesh Chayah”, Onkelos

(Onkelos is the name of a famous convert, (c.35-120 CE). He is considered to be the

author of the famous Targum Onkelos (c.110 CE). Translates this as “Ruach Mamlallah”

a speaking spirit. So we see that man’s ability to interact with society is through thought

and expressed through speech.

The use of Hebrew as the language to convey Tefillah may seem somewhat perplexing.

Doesn’t Hashem know what’s in my heart, who cares if I use English, French or Spanish,

isn’t it the message that counts. The sages allow for prayer in any of the Seventy

languages and a person fulfills his obligation of tefillah however they recommend that we

daven in “Lashon Hakodesh” The Holy Tongue. Ramban (1194-c1270) was a Rabbi ,

philosopher, physician, Kabbalist and Torah commentator. Rabbi Moshe Ben Nahman in

Sefer Shemot shows that Hebrew is the language that Hashem used in creating the

universe and the language of Prophecy, that he explains is why it is called the Holy

Tongue. That is why the Teffilot have greater sanctity when they are uttered in Hebrew.

The sages note that no translation can capture all the nuances of the Teffilot, or the

prophetic words of Hashem or the Holy compositions of the Great Men of the Anshei

Kenesset Hagedolah.

If a person davens in another language besides Hebrew, he does not fulfill his obligation

unless he understands whatever he is saying,, but if he davens in Hebrew he fullfils his

obligation even if he does not understand.

Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch (1704/1710 (?) – 1772 was a disciple of Rabbi Yisrael

Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hassidic movement and largely seen as his successor.

Rabbi Dov Ber is regarded as the first proponent and exponent of Hassidism and one of

its most important propagators. It is known in Kabbalistic literature that the letters of the

Aleph Beit were created first. Thereafter, by the use of the letters Hashem created all the

worlds. This thought is hidden in the words “Berisheit bara elokim et” That is the first act

of Hashem was create the letters from Aleph to tet.

This explains why Adam’s first demonstration of greatness came when Hashem asked

him to give names to all the creatures of the new universe.

When Adam said that the “Ari”, lion should be called “Ari” and the “Yona” dove should

be “Yona”, he was saying that the spiritual forces expressed by those letters , in the

formula signified by those unique arrangements of letters and vowels , were translated by

Hashem into nerve, sinew, skin, shape, and strength or fierceness or the Lion and the

passivity and gentleness of the dove.

The Chida, Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Ben Isaac Zerachia Azulai (1724-1807) was a

rabbinical scholar and a noted Torah commentator. Ask a brilliant question.

Why is it necessary to articulate prescribed text of the tefillot,-Doesn’t Hashem Know

what’s in our hearts? Wouldn’t it be a greater sanctification of Hashem’s name if He

were able to fulfill unspoken human desires?

The Chida explains that the combination of letters as formulated by the A.K.H. who

composed the tefillot , have the power to arouse forces beyond our imagination. Thereby

new spiritual lights can be created through the agency of Human beings. To accomplish

this we must articulate the teffilot. This causes the sacred letters to arouse the spiritual

roots. It brings about a totally unprecedented combination. The interaction of the Aleph

Beit is combined the respective prayer and the particular circumstances prevailing on

earth at that instant the words are uttered.

Adam and eve sin- creating notzatot that descend into this world and get trapped, through

tefillot and Brachot we release these shards back into their spiritual realm.

The Talmud in Berachot relates a famous story:

Rav Yismael Kohen Gadol was in the Holies of Holies on Yom Kippour, Hashem asked

him for a bracha. He replied: May it be your will the your mercy conquer Your anger,

that your mercy overshadow Your attributes, that behave toward your children with the

attribute of mercy, and that for their sake You go beyond the boundary of judgment.

This story is astounding for both for what it says and for what it does not. Why did

Hashem need R’Yishmael’s blessing? Why didn’t Yishamel comply by blessing

Hashem? How does a request that Hashem treat Bnei Yisrael kindly constitute a blessing

to Hashem? What do we give Hashem when we bless him?

Yismael knew that Hashem is blessed when man is secure, because then all man can

come to recognize that service of Hashem lies in success.

Even personal tefillot are not necessarily selfish, we see in Tehilim “I am with him in his

distress, I will show him his salvation”

So to pray in plural is is zenith but invidual prayer is also accepted.

The A.K.H. had the ability through Nevoah to combine letters, verses and ideas in ways

that unlock the gates of heaven.

We see that that the act of tefillah can be tantamount to the act of creation, which it is so

important not to deviate from their language and formulation

So now let’s look at the make up of Sanhedrin.

According to Jewish tradition the Great Assembly or Anshei Knesset HaGedolah was

an assembly of 72 scribes, sages, and prophets, later expanded to 120 in the period from

the end of the prophets up to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism or

Ta’naim, marking a transition from an era of prophets to an era of Rabbis. They were in a

period of about two generations.

The Men of the Great Assembly -- in Hebrew, Anshei Knesset HaGedolah -- was an

unusual group of Jewish personalities who assumed the reigns of Jewish leadership

between 410 BCE and 310 BCE. This time period follows the destruction of the First

Temple, and includes the early decades of the Second Temple, up until the invasion of

the Greeks, led by Alexander the Great.

Realizing that the Jewish people were growing weaker spiritually, a group of wise leaders

came together -- expanding the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court, from 70 to 120

members -- with a special aim of strengthening Judaism. Initially gathered together by

Ezra, they defined Judaism in this tumultuous time when prophecy and kingship were all

but gone from the Jewish people.

Among them we count the last of the prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, as well as

the sages Mordechai, (of the Purim story), Yehoshua, (the High Priest), Nechemia (the

chief architect of rebuilding of Jerusalem), Shimon HaTzaddik (also a High Priest).

Keep in mind that at this time the Talmud has not yet been compiled. Knowing how to

live a Jewish life depends on knowing the commandments of the Torah and their

interpretations and applications which have been passed down orally -- in short, knowing

what is known as the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, both of which date back to

Moses' teachings at Sinai.

ACCURATE TRANSMISSION

The destruction of the first Beit Hamikdash and ensuing exile were incredibly traumatic

experiences for the Jewish people: The Beit Hamikdash and its daily service were gone

as was the monarchy. The Jews found themselves in an alien land with none of the

normative institutions fundamental to Judaism. (Ironically, the Jewish world is still in the

same situation. The difference is that after 2,500 years the exile is so comfortable that

what is really an abnormal situation is now accepted as totally normal) As the Jewish

people struggle with the aftermath of exile, accurate transmission of this oral tradition

becomes essential. And here is where the Men of the Great Assembly make the greatest

contribution.

As we see in history, to the extent that the Jews stop living according to Jewish law and

tradition (i.e. that which makes them Jewish), to that extent they assimilate and disappear.

Therefore, the contributions of these men can be said to account to a large measure for

Jewish survival.

The Mishna pays them great homage:

Moses received the Torah from Sinai and conveyed to Joshua, Joshua to the Elders, the

Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly ... Shimon

HaTzaddik was one of the remnants of the Great Assembly. He used to say, "The world

stands on three things: on the Torah; on the service of God, and upon acts of loving-

kindness..." (Ethics of the Fathers, 1:1)

THE CONTENTS OF THE BIBLE

In addition to insuring the accurate transmission of the Oral Torah, the Men of the Great

Assembly decide which of the multitude of Jewish holy writings should be in the Bible.

The Jewish people have produced hundreds of thousands of prophets (both men and

women). Which of their writings should be preserved for future generations and which

had limited applicability?

The Men of the Great Assembly make this decision and give us what is known as the

Tanach. (Tanach is a Hebrew acronym which stands for Torah, Prophets, Writings.)

The Hebrew Bible consists of the five books of the Torah, eight books of the prophets

(the last of which consists of twelve short books) and 11 books of various writings, which

include the Psalms (largely attributed to King David), the writings of King Solomon

(Song of Songs, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes), the books of Job, Ruth, Esther and Daniel etc.

PRAYER

The last thing that the Men of the Great Assembly do is formalize prayer. They actually

begin a process which is not finished until the 2nd century CE, after the destruction of the

Second Temple, but they lay down the key principles and basic structure of formalized

prayer.(2)

During the First Temple period, there was no need for formalized Jewish prayer liturgy,

because God's presence was more manifest. It was much easier for the individual to have

a close, intense, personal relationship with God. Additionally, a great deal of what is now

the object of prayer was formally accomplished through the offering of sacrifices and the

Temple service. Of course, when the Second Temple was rebuilt, sacrifices resumed, but

most of the Jews had not returned to the land of Israel and therefore had no access to this

medium of connecting to God via the Temple. In addition, as mentioned previously, even

with the Temple rebuilt, the connection during the Second temple period was much

weaker.

Therefore, the times of the formalized prayer are designed to correspond to times when

things were done in the Temple: the morning prayer is designed to correspond to the

Shacharit Service in the Temple; the afternoon prayer corresponds to the Mincha Service;

a the evening prayer, Ma'ariv, corresponds to the nightly duties (as there were no

sacrifices as night).

The centerpiece of each selection of prayers (repeated three times a day) is the Shmonei

Esrai, "The Eighteen Blessings." Each "blessing" is stated in the plural, to underscore the

interdependency of the Jewish people, and each blessing is rooted in Torah and

Kabbalah.

The mystical depth of this prayer -- a masterpiece of writing by the Great Assembly -- is

astounding. For example, the blessing for healing is composed of 27 words,

corresponding to the 27 words in the verse in the Torah (Exodus 15:26) where God

promises to be the Healer of the Jewish people. It is said (Nefesh HaChaim 2:13) written

by Rabbi Chaim Volozhin (1749-1821), one of the primary students of the Vilna Gaon,

and the father of the Lithuanian Yeshivah Movement, that the text of the Shmonei Esrai

is so spiritually powerful that even when recited without intention, feeling or

understanding, its words have a great impact on the world.

Through Divine inspiration and sheer genius the Men of the Great Assembly were able to

create out of the ashes of a physically destroyed nation, a spiritually thriving people.

Their work defined and anchored Jewish religious and national identity and created

focus, unity and uniformity for the Jewish people, no matter where in the world they

might be scattered.

The last surviving member of the Great Assembly was Shimon HaTzaddik. Under him,

according to the ancient historian Josephus (Contra Apion 1:197), the Jews of Israel

prospered and Jewish population in the land reached 350,000.

It helped the Jews physically (if not spiritually) that the Persians were such benevolent

dictators. But the picture was about the change with the growing power of the Greek

Empire looming on the horizon.

The Greek empire is on the At this time Mordechai leaves his home and stature as a

judge of the A.K.H. and initiates a self imposed exile to Babylon (Bavel). It is his through

his guidance that Esther is installed as queen and saves the Jewish People from

destruction by the Hand of Haman. Through her union with Achashverosh they have a

child “Darius the Great” who in turn allows Daniel and Ezra to return to Jerusalem and

complete construction of the Second Beit Hamikdash allowing one of the golden eras of

the Jewish people.

The 4th century BCE has been eventful for the Jewish people:

* Exiled to Babylon, they witness the fall of a mighty empire before their very eyes as

the Persians invade.

* Permitted to return to the land of Israel by the Persian emperor Cyrus in 370 BCE,

they reluctantly take up the offer, with only 42,000 of their number actually returning.

* The returnees' attempts to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem are aborted early as their

angry neighbors, the not-so-good Samaritans complain to the emperor.

* In Persia, Haman, the chief minister to King Achashverosh, hatches a plot to

annihilate the Jews. But Queen Esther (who is secretly Jewish) comes to the rescue in 355

BCE.

* The next Persian monarch, Darius II, Esther's son, allows the rebuilding of the

Temple in 347 BCE.

* The Jewish people living in the land of Israel are re-energized spiritually thanks to

the leadership of Ezra and the Men of the Great Assembly.

It is now 312 BCE and the last of the Men of the Great Assembly, Shimon HaTzaddik, is

High Priest. On the other side of Mediterranean, a new threat is looming. It is called

Greece.

THE RISE OF THE GREEK EMPIRE

The origins of Greece are shrouded in mystery and date back to the time of Abraham,

18th century BCE, or perhaps even earlier. Historians disagree as to where the Greeks

came from. They could have been people migrating down from Asia down through

Europe and settling in the Greek Isles, or they could have been seafaring people who

settled along the coast.

Whoever they were, the earliest inhabitants of mainland Greece (called Mycenaean’s

after excavations found at Mycenae) developed an advanced culture. But, around 1100

BCE, the Mycenaean’s were invaded by barbarians called Dorians and all their

civilization disappeared. Greece went into a "Dark Age" to re-emerge hundreds of years

later.

The classical Greek period begins as early as 7th century BCE, though we tend to be

more familiar with its history in the 5th century when Greece consists of a group of

constantly warring city-states, the most famous being Athens and Sparta. The Greek

victory at the Marathon (490 BCE),(1) the destruction of the Persian fleet at Salamis (480

BCE) and the victory at Plataea (479 BCE) brought and end to the Persian Empire's

attempts to conquer Greece. During the last three decades of the 5th century, Athens and

Sparta waged a devastating war (Peloponnesian War 431-404 BCE) which culminated in

the surrender of Athens. More inter-Greek fighting followed in the 4th century but later

in that century all of Greece would succumb to Phillip II of Macedon, who paves way for

his son, Alexander the Great, to spread the Greek civilization across the world.

The late 5th and the 4th century are as eventful for the Greeks as it has for the Jews.

Despite constant warfare, this is also the golden age of classical Greek culture -- the birth

of democracy, the time of Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato.

GREEK IN HUMANITY

While admiring the Greek contributions to civilization -- its politics, philosophy, art and

architecture - it is easy to forget what Greek society was really like.

For example, we've heard of the "Spartan lifestyle," but what did that mean in practice?

Well, for starters, at the age of seven, Spartan boys were separated from their parents;

they lived in military barracks where they were beaten, and not even given minimal food

to encourage them to steal. To be Spartan meant to be tough.

The Athenians, not as tough as the Spartans, were not what you'd describe as "soft"

either. For example, they thought nothing of killing infants (a common practice in all

ancient civilizations even the "elevated" ones). One of the most influential thinkers in

Western intellectual history -- none other than Aristotle- - argued in his Politics (VII.16)

that killing children was essential to the functioning of society. He wrote:

"There must be a law that no imperfect or maimed child shall be brought up. And to

avoid an excess in population, some children must be exposed [i.e. thrown on the trash

heap or left out in the woods to die]. For a limit must be fixed to the population of the

state."

Note the tone of his statement. Aristotle isn't saying "I like killing babies," but he is

making a cold, rational calculation: over-population is dangerous; this is the most

expedient way to keep it in check.

In warfare, the Greeks invented the "pitched battle" -- with thousands of foot soldiers

colliding with the enemy, slaughtering and being slaughtered as they advanced. (The 80

pounds of armor and weaponry carried by the average Greek hoplite (infantry man) also

necessitated a pitched battle since after about 30 to 45 minutes the soldiers were all

exhausted) While we tend to think today of the Greeks as cultured and noble, it is

shocking to learn how brutal their civilization (like all ancient civilizations) could be.

The other great Greek innovation was the phalanx. Instead of the undisciplined," free for

all" combat common in ancient warfare, the Greeks fought in disciplined battle lines;

infantry advanced with shields "locked" together and spears pointing straight ahead. A

well-disciplined phalanx created a formidable wall of shields and spears which was used

with deadly efficiency.

The one who took the Greek conquests to new heights was, of course, Alexander the

Great.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

Alexander, born in 356BCE, was the son of Phillip II (382-336BCE), the King of

Macedonia in northern Greece. (And considered a barbarian by the southern Greek city

states). Phillip created a powerful, professional army which forcibly united the fractious

Greek city-states into one empire. From an early age, Alexander, displayed tremendous

military talent and was appointed as a commander in his father's army at the age of

eighteen. Having conquered all of Greece Phillip was about to embark on a campaign to

invade Greece's arch-enemy, the Persian Empire. Before he could invade Persia he was

assassinated, possibly by Alexander, who then became king in 336BCE. Two years in

334 BCE he crossed the Hellspont (in modern-day Turkey) with 45,000 men and invaded

the Persian Empire.

The backbone of Alexander's Macedonian army was his infantry. They carried extremely

long pikes (spears which may have been as long as 21 feet/ 3 meters.) These pikemen

moved in giant squares called a phalanx, shields locked together, 16 men across and 16

deep-the first five rows of pikes pointed straight ahead creating a lethal wall of spear

heads.

In three Colossal battles, Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, that took place between 334

and 331 Alexander brilliantly (and often recklessly) led his army to victory against

Persian armies that may have outnumbered his own as much as ten to one. His chief

tactics were to always be on the offense and always do the unexpected. In battle he would

lead his Campanion Cavalry right at the strongest (rather than the weakest) point of the

enemy line. When he fights the Persians, for example, he goes for the most heavily

protected point of the Persian force surrounding the Persian Emperor, aiming to destroy

the leadership. When the Persian emperor Darius flees at the battle the Persian army

collapses. By 331 BCE the Persian Empire was defeated, the Persian Emperor Darius was

dead, and Alexander was the undisputed rival of the Mediterranean. His military

campaign lasted 12 years and took him and his army 10,000 miles to the Indus River in

India. Only the weariness of his men and his untimely death in 323BCE at the age of 32

ended the Greek conquest of the known world. It is said that when Alexander looked at

his empire he wept for there was nothing more to conquer.

At its largest, Alexander's empire stretched from Egypt to India. He built six Greek cities

in his empire, named Alexandria. (Today the best known is the city of Alexandria in

Egypt at the Nile delta.) These cities and the Greeks who settle in them brought Greek

culture to the center of the oldest civilizations of Mesopotamia.

HELLENISM

The Greeks were not only military imperialist but also cultural imperialist. Greek soldiers

and settlers brought their way of life: their language, art, architecture, literature, and

philosophy, to Middle East. When Greek culture merged with the culture of the Middle

East it created a new cultural hybrid-Hellenism (Hellas is the Greek word for Greece)

whose impact would be far greater and last for far longer than the brief period of

Alexander's empire. Whether through the idea of the pitched battle, art, architecture or

philosophy, Hellenism's influence on the Roman Empire, Christianity, and the West was

monumental.

The Greeks showcased all human talents - literature, drama, poetry, music architecture,

sculpture, etc. They glorified the beauty of the human body, displaying athletic prowess

in the Olympics. Nothing regarding the human body was considered embarrassing, in

need of hiding, or private for that matter.

(Athletic competitions performed in the nude were the norm in Greece. Our modern word

"gymnasium" is derived from the Greek word "gumnos" which means naked. Public

toilets often consisted of a bench on main street with holes in it; people sat there and did

their business as others walked by.)

Naturally, human passions were venerated and this meant there were few sexual taboos --

even pedophilia and pederasty. Indeed, the sexual initiation of a young boy by an older

man was considered the highest form of love and vital part of a boys education. Plato

wrote of this in his Symposium (178C):

"I, for my part, am at a loss to say what greater blessing a man can have in earliest youth

than an honorable [older] lover ..."

Even Greek gods were described in human terms and were often bested by human beings

in Greek mythology; with time, it became the style of intellectual Greeks to denigrate

their gods and speak of them with biting cynicism and disrespect.

In short, the Greeks introduced into human consciousness an idea which is going to come

into play as one of the most powerful intellectual forces in modern history - humanism.

The human being is the center of all things. The human mind and its ability to understand

and observe and comprehend things rationally is the be-all-and-end-all. That's an idea

which comes from the Greeks.

Above all, the Greeks thought that this was enlightenment, the highest level of

civilization. They had a strong sense of destiny and believed that their culture was

ordained to become the universal culture of humanity.

The Jews had a different vision. The Jews believed that a world united in the belief in one

God and ascribing to one absolute standard of moral values -- including respect for life,

peace, justice, and social responsibility for the weak and poor -- was the ultimate future

of the human race.

This Jewish ideology was wedded to an extreme, uncompromising exclusivity of worship

(as demanded by the belief in one God) and a complete intolerance of polytheistic

religious beliefs or practices. There was only one God and so only one God could be

worshipped, end of story.

To the Jews, human beings were created in the image of God. To the Greeks, gods were

made in the image of human beings. To the Jews, the physical world was something to be

perfected and elevated spiritually. To the Greeks the physical world was perfect. In short,

to Greeks, what was beautiful was holy; to the Jews what was holy was beautiful.

Such disparate views were bound to clash, sooner or later.

THE GREEKS VS. THE JEWS

During his military campaign against Persia, Alexander takes a detour to the south,

conquering Tyre and then Egypt via what is today Israel. Alexander is planning to

destroy the Temple, egged on by the Samaritans who hate the Jews There is a fascinating

story about Alexander's first encounter with the Jews of Israel. (Who were until that time

subjects of the Persian Empire).

The narrative concerning Alexander's first interaction with the Jews is recorded in both

the Talmud (Yoma 69a and in the Jewish historian Josephus's book Antiquities XI, 321-

47.) In both accounts the High Priest of the Temple (in the Talmudic narrative he is

Shimon HaTzaddik -- the last surviving member of the Men of the Great Assembly) in

Jerusalem, fearing that Alexander would destroy the city, goes out to meet him before he

arrives at the city. The narrative then describes how Alexander, upon seeing the High

Priest dismounts and bows to him. (Alexander rarely, if ever, bowed to anyone.) In

Josephus's account, when asked by his general, Parmerio, to explain his actions he

answered: "I did not bow before him but before that God who has honored him with the

high Priesthood; for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very apparel."

Alexander interpreted the vision of the High Priest as a good omen and thus spared

Jerusalem and peacefully absorbed the Land of Israel into his growing empire. As tribute

to his benign conquest the Rabbis decreed that the Jewish firstborn of that time be named

Alexander (which is a Jewish name until today) and date of the meeting (25th of Teves)

was declared a minor holiday.

So Alexander the Great does not destroy the Temple. And he listens when Shimon

HaTzaddik tells him that the Jews are not enemies of the Greeks but the Samaritans are.

The Talmud relates the interaction between Alexander and the Jewish delegation

They (the Jews led by Shimon HaTzaddik) answered, "Is it possible that these idol

worshippers should fool you into destroying the House where prayers are offered for you

and your kingdom that it should never be destroyed!" Alexander said to them, "What idol

worshippers do you mean?" They replied, "We are referring to the Samaritans who are

standing before you now." Said Alexander, "I am handing them over to you to do with

them as you please.

As a result, the Jews are given free rein to go trash the Samaritans, which they promptly

go out and do. And Israel and Jerusalem are peacefully absorbed into the Greek Empire.

At first, the Greek authorities preserve the rights of the local Jewish population and do

not attempt to interfere with Jewish religious practice. The Jews continue to flourish as a

separate and distinct entity for 165 years - a rare phenomenon in the Hellenistic world.

THE BEIT HAMIKDASH AS THE BLUEPRINT OF OUR TEFILLOT

I will take you on a tour of the Beit Hamikdash and how the teffillot corresponds to daily

life in the Beit Hamikdash.

The Chachamim instituted these tefillot instead of leaving them up to the individual may

be as follows:

The Gemarrah in Sanhendrin 64a tells us that the A.K.H. eradicated the yetzer hara, (the

evil inclination) of idol worship throught the power of their collective teffillot. Idol

worship is rampant during this time. We find constant reference and admonishments in

the Torah:

Starting with the 10 commandments: “You shall have no other G-ds”.

In the Shema: “Beware for yourselves, lest your heart be seduced and you turn astray

and serve g-ds of others”

We cannot fathom how difficult it must have been. You just have to look at the exhibits

in the Museum of Cairo. This Yetzer Hara is eradicated prior to the building of the

Second Beit Hamikdash.

The Vilan Gaon Eliyahu Ben Shlomo Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon, (also the

Gaon of Vilna or "The Gra" — from the Hebrew acronym "Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu"), (

1720-1797), was one of the most outstanding Rabbis in recent centuries. He was an

exceptional Talmudist, Halachist and Kabbalist, and was the foremost leader of non-

hasidic Jewry. He is commonly referred to in Hebrew as ha'Gaon ha'Chasid mi'Vilna,

"the saintly genius from Vilna.”

The Yetzer Hara of Idolatry was related to the “Power of Prophecy” and once the Y.H.

for Idol worship was eliminated so too was the ability for prophecy.

The Gemarrah in Megillah 14a, tells us numerous prophets arouse from Israel twice as

many that left egypt. 600,000 men left Egypt so a rough estimate is 1.2 million. The

average maid servant that was freed from Egypt had stronger Nevuah, prophecy than the

the Men of A.K.H. So it is no wonder that tefillah was left up to the individual prior to

this. An example of this is the Mitzvah to thank Hashem for the food we eat. The Torah

says “Veaclta, Vesavavtah, Uberachta, You shall eat, be satiated and bless” However no

B’racaha, blessing is provided. However, even with the power of Nevuah, Moshe

rabbeinu institutes the first B’eracha (hazan), the second B’eracha Yehoshua instituted

(Ha’aretz) and Kind David instituted the Beracha of rebuilding Jerusalem.

Its amazing how they had the insight to set up the teffillot prior to the cessation of

Nevuah and we still use these teffilot today!!!

Mordechai one of the last official members of the A.K.H. leaves Israel prior to the

destruction of the 1st Beit Hamikdash and establishes himself in Babylon in order that the

people will not be lost and that the Transmission of Torah continues.

To sit on the A.K.H. you need to have the following criteria:

1. Experience.

2. Wisdom.

3. The Ability to speak and comprehend the seventy languages of the world’s

nations.

The Chazon Ish: Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz, (1878-1953), popularly known by the

name of his magnum opus Chazon Ish, writes in his sefer, book “Kovetz Igros” “The

fact that we do not have the Yetzer Hara for Idolatry does not make us greater than our

forefathers who possessed this trait, on the contrary. It makes us lesser individuals”

The A.K.H establishes all its concepts for Israel based on three criteria:

1. Havei Matunim Badin, Be deliberate in judgment

With the cessation of Nevuah, a judge’s ability to discern the truth about a case was lost.

They had to listen to testimony in the defendant’s language directly. Jewish Biblical Law

did not allow for intermediaries. Transmission had to be direct.

2. Hamidu Torah Harbei, Develop many disciples

Prior to the removal of Koach Hanevuah, the transmission of Torah was through Rebbi to

talmid, to one student. However, now more than ever, it became quantity as opposed to

quality. One in a thousand would become a Talmid Chacham, a wise sage. So it became

an imperative to teach as many as possible to produce that one sage.

3. Siyag L’torah, Erect Barriers

Prior to the removal of Koach Hanevuah, the average person could identify what it meant

to be shomer shabbat, shomer Mitzvot, they knew the halachot and could determine on

their own if they felt it was necessary to take action or not. For example, doing business

on the shabbat is a prohibition of the Rabbi’s in order not to write on the shabbat. So the

sages imposed these barriers to protect us because we have forgotten how to discern what

is proper and what is improper.

With this introduction we can now look at how the teffilot were set up.

The Tefillot were instituted to correspond to the daily tamid sacrifice. So our teffillot

makes it possible to come close to Hashem just as a scarifice, Korban, which comes from

the word in Hebrew Karov, close.

The Vilna Gaon ask the obvious question, we close our tefillot Ye he Ratzon……may it

be your will….that the Holy temple be built speedily in our days…and we may serve You

with reverence as in the days of old and is in former years. This means that for now we

are using our tefillot as a means to come close to Hashem, but we daven that eventually

we may be able to resume the avodah (service) in the Beit Hamikdash . What superior

quality does the korban have that teffillah does not possess? The answer given by the

Vilan Gaon, is that while teffilah makes it possible to obtain selichah (forgiveness) ,

mechilah (pardon), and kapparah (atonement) and e can indeed come very close to

Hashem, nevertheless, the wrongs which we have done are still exist. However, the

korban causes the wrong doing to disappear. This is what we call a re’yach nichoach

L’hashem, a pleasing odor to Hashem.

We are therefore, not surprised that the teffilot follow closely the architecture of the Beit

Hamikdash. To begin with the entrance of the Beit Hamikdash was through the Ezrat

Nashim, were people would gather prior to the doors opening. These avdei (servents)

Hashem were gathered the Ezrat Nashim in the early predawn hours in early anticipation

of the opening of the Hechal doors. In short it was a gathering place of general assembly.

See diagram 1. This place of general assembly corresponds to the part of our siddur

which precedes the actual Shachrit. See page 12 of the RCA siddur. Adon Olam, Birchat

Nitlat Yadayim, Aher Yatzar and Elokei Neshema.

It is also striking that corresponding to the fifteen steps that lead up to the Ezrat Nashim

to the Israelite court we find fifteen brachot Hashachar see page 18 RCA

The Brachot start with “Who gave the heart understanding”, and ending with “Who

bestows beneficent kindnesses on His people Israel”. This last blessing corresponds to

our arrival at the Israel courtyard, access which is limited to the Jewish people.

We are now at the Gates of Nikanor

SHA'AR NIKANOR

Each of the two doors that made up this gate measured five amos wide by twenty high.

That's pretty big. Unlike the other doors in the Temple (which, as the Jews gained

wealth, were covered in gold), these were left in their original form; solid copper.

Nikanor was a Jew charged with traveling to Alexandria, Egypt to buy doors for the main

entrance to the main courtyard. On his return boat voyage, there was a fierce storm. The

sailors threw out the first of the massive doors to try to lighten the load, but the ship was

still in danger.

When they came for the second door, Nikanor embraced it, begging the sailors that, if the

door had to go, he should go with it. A miracle occurred and the storm subsided. Nikanor

was terribly upset about the loss of the first door - that is, until the ship arrived safely in

port and they all saw the heavy copper door floating along beside the ship. In honor of the

miracle, the doors were never covered in gold.

In out tefillot we allude to the gates by saying, “Master of all worlds”, (page 24 RCA) we

conclude here with “But we are your people” (page 26 RCA). We say the “Shema” page

28 RCA. We are now in the courtyard of the Israelites, a place that only Jews could be in.

The final Beracha ends with “Blessed are you, Hashem, Who sanctifies Your Name

among the multitudes”. See number 2 on the diagram.

Continuing forward we reach the courtyard of the Cohanim, see diagram #3, this area is

for Cohanim and Levim only. We reach an area distinguishable by three steps known as

the “Duchan”.

At this point we say the threefold Beracha of the Cohanim, which is then followed by

Mishnah “These are the precepts that have no prescribed measure etc. With this we have

accomplished a precept established by the Torah, every man is required to learn three

things on a daily basis. Mikra, Mishnah and Gemara.

Directly ahead lies the Mizbayach, the Altar, see diagram #4, it is here that we say the

“Parshat Hatamid” the portion of the Torah regarding the daily Korban offerings, and

the Mishna chapter “What is the location”page 42 RCA.

Further on, beyond the Mizbeyach is an area called “between the Ulam Hall and the

Mizbe’ach .

Ulam

The Ulam Antichamber is on a higher level of holiness and you will notice in the model it

is elevated. There are 12 steps leading up to the Ulam. It is at this point we say the Breita

of Rabbi Yishmael “Through Thirteen Rules is the Torah Elucidated” page 48 RCA.

We are now at the Antechamber leading up to the Heichal. In the Yehi Kavod we find

alluded to the two crowns one for the Melech Hamashiyah and the Kohen Gadol.

We are introduced to the Ulam at Baruch Sheamar, which corresponds to the Ulam itself.

At the conclusion of the Pesukei Dzimrah we symbolically leave the Ulam by saying

Yishtabach. We symbolically arrive at the Pesach He’ehal Page 82 RCA.

We now enter the “Holy Palace” on our right we find the Shulchan, on the left the

Menorah. These are represented by the two Brachot of Kriyat Shema. First “who forms

light and created darkness”, which represents the material revelation of Hashem in our

lives page 84 RCA, second “with abundant love” which asks for understanding Torah,

corresponding to the Torah, page 88 RCA.

We now reach the Mizbayach Haketores, the purpose is to produce, “a pleasant odor to

Hashem”symbolizing pure love for Hashem. At this point we say the Shema. Page 90

RCA. It encompasses the pasuk, phrase, “You shall love Hashem, your G-d, with all your

heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources.

We now advance to the parochet, curtain, adjacent to the Kodesh Hakedoshim, the Holies

of Holy; this is symbolized by the tefillah of Geulah. Page 96 RCA

Finally we are in the Kodesh Hakedoshim alone with Hashem, we say the Shmoneh

Esrei, when the silent prayer is completed we take three steps backward:back to the

Heichal, back to the Ulam, back to to the Azarah. It is here we repeat the the Shmoneh

Esrei in the place where the congreagation first gathered in the Ezrat Nashim.

With this introduction let us start to explain our tefillot. We will look at “Adon Haolam”.

Wednesday January 23, 2008 at BAGEL HAVEN KOSHER DAIRY RESTAURANT,

800 STEELES AVENUE WEST, BATHURST & STEELES (FOOD BASIC'S MALL)