Decadence and Grace: A Reading of Avodah Zarah 65a The Text The Talmud in Avodah Zarah 65a presents a perplexing narrative: Rava sent a gift to Bar Sheishach on the day of his idolatrous festival, a practice that is forbidden in the Mishnah. The other Sages saw this and were astonished. Rava defended his action, stating: "I know of him that he does not worship idolatry." Rava went and found Bar Sheishach sitting up to his neck in rosewater, with nude prostitutes standing before him. Bar Sheishach said to him: "Do you have anything like this in the World to Come?" Rava replied: "Ours is much greater than this." Bar Sheishach retorted: "Can there be anything greater than this?" Rava answered: "You have the fear of the government upon you; we will have no fear of the government upon us." Bar Sheishach boasted: "As for me, what fear of the government do I have?" At that very moment, a royal officer arrived and said to Bar Sheishac...

What does He ask of you? In this week’s portion, Moses pleads: מה ה’ אלקיך שואל מעמך, כי אם ליראה את ה’ אלקיך “What does the Lord your God ask of you? Only to fear Him.” (Deuteronomy 10:12) Only to fear. That’s the scriptural demand. The Talmud asks: וכי יראה מילתא זוטרתא היא? אין, לגבי משה מילתא זוטרתא היא. “Is fear of Heaven a minor matter? The answer: Yes. For Moses, it is indeed a minor matter.” (Berachot 33b; Megillah 25a) For Moses, who dwelled in the presence of the Divine and attained heights most of us cannot imagine, simple fear was indeed a minor thing. Fear was merely a natural aspect of his being. But when Moses speaks to us, to those who do not dwell in that extraordinary light, what does “only to fear” mean? How are we to approach a demand that seems so difficult to attain? The verse itself does not stop at fear. Moses piles it on: love Him, walk in His ways, cling to Him. There is nothing minimal here. Each verb evokes action, commitment, intimacy. Yet the Talm...

  What is Tu B'av? 1.  The Mishnah אָמַר רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל: לֹא הָיוּ יָמִים טוֹבִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל כַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בְּאָב וּכְיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים, שֶׁבָּהֶן בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַיִם יוֹצְאוֹת בִּכְלֵי לָבָן שְׁאוּלִין — שֶׁלֹּא לְבַיֵּישׁ אֶת מִי שֶׁאֵין לוֹ. כׇּל הַכֵּלִים טְעוּנִין טְבִילָה.וּבְנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַיִם יוֹצְאוֹת וְחוֹלוֹת בַּכְּרָמִים. וּמָה הָיוּ אוֹמְרוֹת: בָּחוּר, שָׂא נָא עֵינֶיךָ וּרְאֵה מָה אַתָּה בּוֹרֵר לָךְ. אַל תִּתֵּן עֵינֶיךָ בַּנּוֹי, תֵּן עֵינֶיךָ בַּמִּשְׁפָּחָה. ״שֶׁקֶר הַחֵן וְהֶבֶל הַיֹּפִי אִשָּׁה יִרְאַת ה׳ הִיא תִתְהַלָּל״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״תְּנוּ לָהּ מִפְּרִי יָדֶיהָ וִיהַלְלוּהָ בַשְּׁעָרִים מַעֲשֶׂיהָ״. The Mishnah in Taanit (26b) opens with a striking proclamation: No holidays were as great for Israel as the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur. This bold assertion invites us to explore what makes Tu B’Av uniquely joyous and significant. 2. The Mishnah’s Description: The Suitors’ Pitch The Mishnah then vividly describes young maidens o...