Divrei ben Abuya

In the Babylonian Talmud, Elisha ben Abuya was a great sage who lost his faith in God. So great was he that his and subsequent generations continued learning from him - to the extent that the authors of the Talmud needed to create a story that would serve to legitimise his teachings despite his apostasy. His lesson is a lesson for us all: that great stature is not contingent upon blind faith, nor high learning upon the observation of Torah precepts.

June 06, 2006

A Time For Everything

לכל זמן ועת לכל־חפץ תחת השמים
עת ללדת ועת למות
עת לטעת ועת לעקור נטוע
עת להרוג ועת לרפוא
עת לפרוץ ועת לבנות
עת לבכות ועת לשחוק
עת ספוד ועת רקוד
עת להשליך אבנים ועת כנוס אבנים
עת לחבוק ועת לרחק מחבק
עת לבקש ועת לאבד
עת לשמור ועת להשליך
עת לקרוע ועת לתפור
עת לחשות ועת לדבר
עת לאהב ועת לשנא
עת מלחמה ועת שלום

Ecc 3:1-8


A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven:
A time for being born and a time for dying,
A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted;
A time for slaying and a time for healing,
A time for tearing down and a time for building up;
A time for weeping and a time for laughing,
A time for wailing and a time for dancing;
A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces;
A time for seeking and a time for losing,
A time for keeping and a time for discarding;
A time for ripping and a time for sewing,
A time for silence and a time for speaking;
A time for loving and a time for hating,
A time for war and a time for peace

(JPS)

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