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This Week’s Torah Reading

Mishpatim

Mishpatim are rules and Judaism does focus on the rules of life. We begin with rules regulating slavery. We review three capital offenses: murder, the abuse of parents, and kidnapping. The laws of personal injury are summarized including the famous "eye for an eye…" formulation, known also as lex talionis, [law of retaliation or retributive justice]. The laws of theft, crop damage by unsupervised animals or fires, and the laws of guardianship are covered. Marriage is not mentioned but the legal implications of a seduction are. Sorcery, bestiality, and apostasy are prohibited. Kindness to the stranger, widow, orphan, and debtors is mandated. You must give God His due. Justice must be impartial. The land deserves a rest from production once every seven years. The three festivals—Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot—are covered. God assures the people that He will send an angel to guard them on the road to the Promised Land. Moses reads the laws to the people who willingly accept them. He dashes blood upon the people thus confirming the covenant between them and God. Moses, Aaron, Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, and 70 elders see God. Moses ascends the mountain where he will be given stone tablets upon which God has written the law. He ascends and stays there for forty days and forty nights.

A SHABBAT THOUGHT

Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.

~~ Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ~~

WEB OF THE WEEK

http://www.walktheland.org/israel_video

A beautiful video on Israel—maybe we’ll walk the land together too?

AURAL TORAH

Justice, An Elusive Value
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LOVE BOAT

Dear CyberRav,

Can you think of a Jewish way to name a boat? I finally launched a little rowboat I have been building for a couple years, and I got all three kids in it! I thought I'd have a little naming for it next time I take it out. Any ideas? In a siddur I found the following blessings, which might apply to the occasion: ... she'asa et hayam hagadol ("who has made the great ocean," to be said upon seeing a sea) or, hatov v'hameitiv ("who is good and who does good things," to be said on a happy occasion).

Maybe there's something involving a journey. I realize launching and naming a boat is not a mitzvah, but there must be some way to give thanks and to tie it in to our traditions.

I have also heard of a tradition (I think Native American) of taking wood shavings from the wood used to the build the boat and throwing them into the water to recognize the trees that were used to make the boat.

A Proud Papa and an Aspiring Popeye

THE ANSWER

Dear A Proud Papa and an Aspiring Popeye,

I do apologize for my tardiness in answering this letter. The problem in responding was that basically, no such formula for naming or launching a boat exists. When we name a baby, for example, it is to bring that baby into the brit or covenant of Abraham. And so, that ceremony doesn’t pose a good paradigm for naming a boat. And Jews, though wanderers, were not heavily into sailing. I used to have a congregant who was a great Hebraic scholar by the name of Dr. Elijah Bortniker. And Dr. Bortniker's claim to fame, among others, was that he translated Moby Dick into Hebrew. You can imagine what a feat that was! He told me that he had the devil of a time translating the nautical terminology into Hebrew because basically, no such terminology existed. He effectively helped build the nautical vocabulary of the Hebrew language.

On the other hand, we live in a period when we are finding new times in which to sanctify the presence of God in our lives and I think that is what you are trying to do. So an answer like, "Sorry, no such ceremony exists," just won’t due. Your question required further thought. And so, here goes--

The berakhah for gazing upon the sea would be a good one to recite. Why not recite that when we first launch into the sound, the bay, or the ocean itself? Then again, there is a prayer for travel, tefilat haderekh, which with minimal modification, I think would work. We might also invoke the name of the tribe that, in fact, was into sailing, and that is Zebulun. In Genesis 49:13, "Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore; He shall be a haven for ships, And his flank shall rest on Sidon." With Zebulun's ocean-front property, it is safe to assume that their members dabbled more in sailing than others.

"May this boat be as sturdy as those of our ancestors' Zebulun, whose boats set sail far and wide and were destined to safely return to their port of departure."

There is also a phrase that would not apply to everybody, but certainly in your case, where you so adeptly crafted the boat, one could say--

May the favor of the Lord be upon us;

Let the work of our hands prosper, O prosper the work of our hands. (Palm 90:17)

And since food must be a part of every bonda fide Jewish ceremony, we ought to pass around a sea-worthy salty sailor snack--what could that be? Spinach is sort of a Popeye thing--but will the kids buy (or perhaps better--bite) into this? Maybe something green to reflect the sea, like a stalk of celery salted? Then there are Chips Ahoy--who can resist a cookie? How about some dried fruit, which probably was taken on long sea voyages due to their long shelf life?

This isn't much of an answer to your question, but maybe it will inspire some new ways of thinking about launching a boat. I'd love to talk with you about it more.

Be well and Shalom--

THE SEA-QUEL TO THE LOVE BOAT STORY

Dear Cyber Rav,

My boat naming ceremony went well. Thanks for the suggestions. I especially liked the blessing you created. Interestingly, the ceremony was held on Columbus Day (or the day before). The boat's name is PRELUDE. May it be the first of many boats!

By the way, you can see the first outing of all three kids in the boat in WoodenBoat magazine! We made it in the "Launchings..." section, which shows pictures of readers' home-built wooden boats.

I did include Chips Ahoy, as you suggested, and we brought our etrog along (citrus, to prevent scurvy), and various other snacks. Here is the order of events of the ceremony:

1) I started with a blessing that you say when you see the sea.

2) I recited a passage from the Torah (Genesis 49:13) that talks about how the tribe of Zebulun lives by the sea (they were the ocean-going ones).

3) I recited your blessing:

"May this boat be as sturdy as those of our ancestors' Zebulun, whose boats set sail far and wide and were destined to safely return to their port of departure."

4) I recited a passage from Psalm 90, which pertains to the fact that I built the boat:

May the favor of the Lord be upon us;

Let the work of our hands prosper,

O propser the work of our hands.

5) I recited the prayer for traveling.

6) I threw some shavings of wood that the boat was made out of into the water and then mentioned the name of the boat.

7) Then we got in the boat and rowed away! And threw more wood shavings in the water later on. It was a great day

A Proud Papa and an Aspiring Popeye

Shabbat Shalom and Aye-Aye, Everyone!!

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