The fifth volumes of the Shulkhan Arukh

The legal code known as Shulkhan Arukh, compiled by the great Sephardic rabbi Joseph Karo in the mid-1500s, is still the standard legal code of Judaism. When rabbis, particularly if they are Orthodox, are asked to rule on a question of Jewish law, the first volume they consult generally is the Shulkhan Arukh.

The Shulkhan Arukh is divided into four volumes: Orakh Hayyim, Yoreh Deah, Even Hazer, and Khoshen Mishpat.

A popular Jewish folktale tells of a young student who came to a prominent rabbi to be tested for ordination. The rabbi's first question was "Name the five volumes of the Shulkhan Arukh."

The student, thinking that the rabbi had made a slip of the tongue, named the four volumes, but the rabbi asked him to name the fifth.

"There is o fifth volume." the student said.

"There is indeed," the rabbi said. "Common sense is the fifth volume, and if you don't have it, all your rulings will be of no use, even if you know the other four volumes by heart".

Source: Jewish Literacy, R. Telushkin.

Time of Divine Favor

The Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner, of blessed memory, is quoted in his Pachad Yitzchak (in the section on the night of Hoshana Rabbah):

The Jewish people are accustomed to turn to Sefer Tehillim, the Book of Psalms, during times of distress and sorrow. Therefore, people think that prayer and the saying of Tehillim are essentially the same thing. This is not so. Tehillim are zemirot, songs of praise. more than a prayer. The difference between them is that while prayer should be recited at a time of Divine favor, the saying of Tehillim has the power to create a time of Divine favor, an Eit Ratzon. In prayer, the content has to be tailored to the need, while in Tehillim, the saying of any part creates an Eit Ratzon. And when there is a condition of Eit Ratzon, troubles depart.

Source: The Foreword in Tehillim Eit Ratzon, Feldheim Publishers

A Prayer For Every Need

A PRAYER FOR EVERY NEED

Following is a list of Psalms which are recited on special occasions:

To find a mate (Shidduch)	32, 38, 70, 71, 72, 82, 121, 124
On the day of a wedding	The entire Sefer Tehillin should be recited
For healthy childbirth	4, 5, 8, 20, 35, 57, 93, 108, 142
On the day of a Bris (circumcision)	12
For recovery from illness	6, 13, 20, 22, 23, 30, 32, 38, 41, 51, 86, 88, 91, 102, 103, 121, 130, 142, 143
For livelihood	23, 34, 36, 62, 65, 67, 85, 67, 85, 104, 121, 136, 144, 145
For peace	46, 91
For success	22, 38, 112, 121, 144
For thanksgiving	9, 21, 57, 95, 100, 116, 138
For divine guidance	139
For repentance	51, 90
For help in troublesome times	20, 38, 85, 86, 102, 130, 142
Prayer recited when traveling	91
Psalm of thanksgiving for a miracle	18
Psalm of thanksgiving upon being rescued	124
In a house of mourning	49
At a gravesite or on Yahrzeit	16, 17, 33, 72, 91, 104, 130
At the dedication of a monument	1
Prayer before meal	24
Prayer before bentching	Weekdays 137 on Shabbos 126
On day of Bar Mitzva	2
Prayer at the Western Wall	2, 6, 11, 12, 13, 22, 38, 42, 43, 44, 48, 65, 66, 84, 85, 87, 91, 122, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134
Tikkun Haklali	16, 32, 41, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137, 150

The main point is when you say Tehillim with the proper intentions, namely to understand the simple meaning of the words, it is granted that your prayers will reach the highest heights of heaven. No matter how low you may feel never give up. God always listens to your prayers so stay strong and its never late to return to him.

Source: 

TehillimOnline.com

Tikkun Haklali

The 10 Most Amazing Jewish Thoughts

10. Man thinks, God laughs

An old Yiddish proverb says, "Men tracht un Got lacht." Freely translated, it means "the best way to make God laugh is to tell Him your plans." Like many Yiddish proverbs, it has its funny side, but there's an edge to it. It recognizes that the universe is still in many ways impenetrable. We can chart the structure of the genome; we can chart the courses of the stars; but we can't come close to mapping out the future. We make our plans; we strategize and build and set up structures of meaning, and then life comes along and blows a hole in them.

One of the things I like about this proverb is its essential humility about the way the world works. Distilled in its words is the wisdom of a people used to the vicissitudes of life; they know that its twists and turns are unpredictable and you should never be surprised when things turn out differently than you thought they would. There's also an essential humility about God. Nobody can read God's mind, the proverb suggests. Nobody really has a handle on what God's plan is. Best not to get too carried away with your own sense of importance. You're not as smart as you think you are, and eventually the universe will prove that to you.

9. Prayer, Doctors and Rabbi Salanter

Doctors recently conducted an unusual experiment:

In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that having people pray for heart bypass surgery patients had no effect on their recovery. In fact, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications.

Researchers emphasized that their work can't address whether G-d exists or answers prayers made on another's behalf. The study can only look for an effect from prayers offered as part of the research, they said.

The doctors seem to have made two mistakes:

1. They confused prayer with magic. Prayer is a request--and 'no' is also an answer.

2. They are not familiar with Rabbi Yisroel Salanter--

The story is told about Rabbi Salanter that he was at an inn he frequented. He noticed that unlike previously, the innkeeper was serving treif. He asked the innkeeper why. 

The innkeeper responded that a guest had come in and say he could prove that G-d did not exist--the guest took a piece of treif meat and said that if he eats it and G-d strikes him down dead, that proves that He exists; if however the guest could eat the treif with impunity, that would prove that G-d did not exist.

The guest ate the treif, and nothing happened--and the innkeeper said he had concluded that G-d did not exist and there was no reason not to serve treif.

As he was speaking, innkeeper's daughter ran into the room telling him that she had just received a certificat in recognition of her achievements as a pianist. Rabbi Salanter called the girl over, saying that a certificate was nice, but he would like for her to prove to him how good she was.

The girl refused, saying that the certificate was proof of her expertise and she did not have to prove anything to anybody. She had already established her abilities and it was unfair to require her to demonstrate her expertise for just anyone who asks.

Rabbi Salanter replied to the innkeeper that his daughter was right--and G-d could well answer him the same way. After He redeemed us from slavery, split the sea for us, performed countless miracles for us day in and day out, is it necessary for G-d to prove Himself for every ignoramus like that guest who wanted to eat treif?

So too, G-d does not need to prove Himself, or anything, to the doctors for their study. As Jews, we know that--unlike doctors-- G-d still makes housecalls.

8. Getting There

One day, a visitor arrived at the home of Rabbi DovBer, the Maggid of Mezeritch. The visitor was an old friend of Rabbi DovBer's, who had studied with him in their youth. With great interest he observed the behavior of his former study-partner, who had since become a follower of the founder of Chassidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, and had assumed the leadership of the Chassidic community upon the latter's passing.

The visitor was particularly struck by the amount of time that the Chassidic master devoted to his prayers. He himself was no stranger to reflective prayer: when he and Rabbi DovBer had studied together, they had pored over the mystical teachings of the Kabbalists and would pray with the prescribed meditations, or kavanot, outlined in the writings of Kabbalah. But never in his experience had prayer warranted such long hours.

"I don't understand," he said to Rabbi DovBer, "I, too, pray with all the kavanot of the mystics. But still, my prayers do not take nearly as much time as yours do."

Rabbi DovBer's visitor was a dedicated scholar. His wife ran the family business so that he could devote all his time to Torah study. Only once a year was he forced to break from his studies for a few weeks: his wife would give him a list of the merchandise she needed and he would travel to the fair in Leipzig to wheel and deal.

"Listen," said Rabbi DovBer to his visitor, "I have an idea for you. Why must you waste precious weeks of study every year? This year, sit at home. Envision the journey to Leipzig in your mind's eye: picture every station along the way, every crossroads, every wayside inn. Then, imagine that you are at the fair, making your rounds at the booths. Call to mind the merchants that you deal with, reinvent the usual haggling and bargaining that follows. Now, load your imaginary purchases upon your imaginary cart and make the return journey. The entire operation should not take more than a couple of hours and then you can return to your beloved books!"

"That is all fine and well," replied Rabbi DovBer's friend, "but there remains one slight problem: I need the merchandise."

"The same is true with prayer and its kavanot," said Rabbi DovBer. "To envision a particular attribute of G-d in its prescribed section of the prayers, or to refer to a certain nuance of emotion in your heart at a particular passage, is all fine and well. But you see, I need the merchandise...."

7.  When it's good to be a heretic

"Everything in God's creation has a purpose," a Hasidic rebbe once told his followers.

"In that case," asked a disciple, "what is the purpose of apikorsus [heresy], of denying that God exists ?"

"Apikorsus is indeed purposeful," the rebbe replied. "For when you are confronted by another who is in need, you should imagine that there is no God to help, but that you alone can meet the man's needs."

6. Partner in Creation

A famous passage in the Midrash Tanchuma relates a debate between Rabi Akiba and Tinneus Rufus, the Roman governor. 

Rufus decided to summon Akiba - a rabbi known for his wisdom - less to learn from him than to outwit him and prove the superiority of his own values.

"Akiba," challenged the Roman, "whose deeds are finer? God's or those of flesh-and-blood humans?"

Tinneius Rufus assumed the rabbi would say that God's deeds are finer. But, sensing the gambit, Rabbi Akiba replied, "The deeds of humans are finer."

"Behold the heavens and the earth!" Tinneius Rufus countered. "Can man create the likes of them?" 

"Don't speak to me of things over which we have no control," Akiba responded. "Speak rather in terms of a human scale."

"Well then, why are you circumcised?" Tinneius Rufus asked the rabbi.

"I knew this was really what you wanted to know," said Akiba. "Hence my previous response: that human deeds are finer than God's."

Rabbi Akiba brought Tinneius Rufus wheat stalks and cakes, flax and fine linen. "The wheat and the flax are God's handiwork," he said, "and the cakes and the linen are man's. Are not the cakes and the linen, the finished product, finer than the plain stalks, the raw material? Even you, Tinneius Rufus, cannot miss the clear analogy: We are born incomplete and perfect ourselves through following God's law."

"But if God had intended man to be circumcised," Tinneius Rufus argued, "why wasn't Adam created circumcised? Why doesn't every newborn male emerge from the womb that way?"

"You see," Akiba explained, "everything created during the six days of creation needs perfecting [tikkun]: Mustard needs sweetening, wheat needs grinding, and even man needs perfecting. This 'perfection' or purification is achieved not according to our whims but by following divinely ordained commandments."

5. Simple Prayer

This is a classical Chassidic story. One Yom Kippur, the Baal Shem Tov (founder of Chasidism) was praying together with his students in a small Polish village. Through his spiritual vision, the Baal Shem Tov had detected that harsh heavenly judgments had been decreed against the Jewish people, and he and his students were trying with all the sincerity they could muster to cry out to G-d and implore Him to rescind these decrees and grant the Jews a year of blessing.

This deep feeling took hold of all the inhabitants of the village and everyone opened his heart in deepfelt prayer.

Among the inhabitants of the village was a simple shepherd boy. He did not know how to read; indeed, he could barely read the letters of the alef-beit, the Hebrew alphabet. As the intensity of feeling in the synagogue began to mount, he decided that he also wanted to pray. But he did not know how. He could not read the words of the prayer book or mimic the prayers of the other congregants. He opened the prayer book to the first page and began to recite the letters: alef, beit, gimmel... reading the entire alphabet. He then called out to G-d: "This is all I can do. G-d, You know how the prayers should be pronounced. Please, arrange the letters in the proper way."

This simple, genuine prayer resounded powerfully within the Heavenly court. G-d rescinded all the harsh decrees and granted the Jews blessing and good fortune.

4. How to tie your shoes

Some people thinks this must be the craziest thing in the whole Code of Jewish law. According to the Shulchan Aruch, you are supposed to put your right shoe on before the left shoe, and then you have to tie the left shoelace before the right shoelace. And when taking them off  it's the opposite: untie the right then the left, take off the left then the right. And a lefty does it all the other way around.

This custom is based on the belief that we have to balance our internal forces as part of our constant struggle to spiritual perfection. The shape of the human body reflects the contours of the human soul. Our body has two sides, right and left, because the soul has two distinct powers. On the one hand there is the power to give, be outward and expressive; on the other hand is the power to hold back, be inward and restrained. These are the two sides of the soul, the side of kindness and the side of discipline, that correspond to the two sides of the body, the right side and the left.

Both powers are essential. The secret to a healthy life and successful relationships is knowing how to balance these two forces -- when to be assertive and when to submit; when to be strict and when to be lenient; when to let yourself go and when to just say no. 

The following story is of Rabbi Leib ben Sarah who learned this from his master, Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezeritch. 

Rabbi Leib explained to his disciples that he did not undertake the long and hazardous journey to Mezeritch merely to hear his master's sermon on the Torah. "Instead, I went to watch him tie his shoes", said Rabbi Leib.

"Tie his shoes?" the puzzled student repeated. "Rabbi, I do not understand."

"The wisdom of the Maggid," Rabbi Leib explained, "lay not only in his insights and interpretations of the Torah but in the many ways by which he expressed that understanding through every little thing he did. His every gesture, his every word, his every bearing articulated his love for God and man. And so it must be for us all. The Torah encompasses all. To the man of God, therefore, knowing how to tie your shoes is a great accomplishment."

3. My children have defeated Me

Several astonishing rabbinic accounts describe for us how God surrendered Himself in certain halakhic matters to the authority of the Sages of Israel. The most well known story – and also the most amazing – relates to the oven of Aknai. Rabbi Eliezer and the Sages disagreed about a certain type of oven, whether or not it can contract ritual impurity:

It was taught in a Baraita: On that day, Rabbi Eliezer used all the arguments in the world, but they did not accept them from him. 

He said to them: "If the Halakha is in accordance with me, let this carob tree prove it." The carob tree was uprooted from its place one hundred cubits, and some say four hundred cubits. They said to him: "One does not bring proof from a carob tree." 

He then said to them: "If the Halakha is in accordance with me, let the channel of water prove it." The channel of water turned backward. They said to him: "One does not bring proof from a channel of water." 

He then said to them: "If the Halakha is in accordance with me, let the walls of the House of Study prove it." The walls of the House of Study leaned to fall. Rabbi Yehoshua rebuked [the walls], saying: "If the Sages argue with one another about the Halakha, what affair is it of yours?" They did not fall, out of respect for Rabbi Yehoshua; but they did not straighten, out of respect for Rabbi Eliezer. 

[Rabbi Eliezer] then said to them: "If the Halakha is in accordance with me, let it be proved from Heaven." A heavenly voice went forth and said: "Why are you disputing with Rabbi Eliezer, for the Halakha is in accordance with him everywhere?" Rabbi Yehoshua rose to his feet and said: "It is not in Heaven." What does "it is not in Heaven" mean? Rabbi Yirmiya said: That the Torah was already given on Mount Sinai, and we do not pay attention to a heavenly voice, for You already wrote in the Torah at Mount Sinai: "After the majority to incline." (Bava Metzia 59b)

What does mainstream Judaism think of the myth of the Oven of Aknai? The Soncino edition of the Talmud, the traditional English language source, describes the response of the sages to God's voice in the story as a "remarkable assertion of the independence of human reasoning". The recent Schottenstein edition of the Talmud suggests that God's intervention at Aknai was simply God's test of the determination of the sages to hold their position even against God himself. In other words, the rejection of God's attempt to intervene at Aknai is celebrated in modern Judaism as a kind of declaration of Man's Independence.

That independence is the humanist message of the Aknai story. For at Aknai, Man–human reason and power–become the measure of all things. The sages have come to their decision by argument, although their arguments are not supported by nature or by God. Trees, streams, walls and the voice of Heaven oppose their position. Nevertheless, the sages insist that they are right and by virtue of their numbers, they prevail.

R. Nathan met [the prophet] Elijah and asked him, "What did the Holy One do at that moment?" Elijah: "He laughed [with joy], saying, 'My children have defeated Me, My children have defeated Me.'"

2. God's prayer

Remarkably, the tradition addresses the notion that it is not only we who pray. We can read in the Talmud (Berachot 7a):  "R. Yochanan said in the name of R. Yose, 'How do we know that the Holy One, Blessed be He, says prayers? Because it is written (Isaiah 56:7), 'I will bring them to My holy mountain and I will gladden them in My house of prayer.' It does not say the house of 'their prayer,' but beit tefillati, lit. 'the house of My prayer'; therefore we see that the Holy One, Blessed be He, says prayers.' "

 

The Gemara asks, "What does He pray?' R. Zutra b. Tobi said in the name of Rab, 'May it be My will that My mercy suppress My anger and that My mercy prevail over My other attributes, so that I deal with My children according to the attribute of mercy and, on their behalf, go 'lifnim mishurat ha'din - stopping short of the limit of strict justice, namely, mercifully, beyond the letter of the law' [in forgiving them their transgressions].' "

1. Trial of God

The Jewish people has suffered numerous persecution throughout history, yet their faith remains unshakeable. The following story is the ultimate proof.

At the young age of fifteen, Elie Wiesel lived in a horrible place called Auschwitz. In his memoirs about this “hell on earth,” Wiesel tells a fascinating story about a Talmud teacher who befriended the young Elie, took him to his barracks, and told him that he would witness one of the greatest trials in all of world history: The Trial of God. Three rabbis, all prisoners in Auschwitz and witnesses to the daily death machine of the Nazis, decided that it was time to place God on trial.

They formed a rabbinic court (Bet Din), and conducted the trial completely in accordance with Halakha (Jewish Law). They gathered evidence against God, building a strong case against the “Holy One Blessed Be He.” The trial lasted several days, with the judges giving all those who wished a chance to speak their minds. Witnesses were heard, painful personal testimonies were given, and in the end, young Elie remarked in amazement how none of the witnesses even remotely defended God.

It was time to issue a ruling, and the rabbinic court pronounced a unanimous verdict: “The Lord God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth – guilty of crimes against creation, against humanity and against His own Chosen People of Israel.” Soon after this painful judgment was pronounced, followed by a reaction from the people that Wiesel describes as an “infinity of silence,” the rabbi presiding over the rabbinic court looked up to the sky, saw that the sun had set, and that the darkness of night was upon the world. This rabbi, who had just indicted God and pronounced Him guilty of crimes, looked towards the silenced crowd and said “Come, my friends, it is time to pray the evening prayer.”

Compiled from various sources

Jerusalem: The Eye of the Universe

by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

An important question is why God chose the Land of Israel as the chosen land; and in particular, why He chose Jerusalem's as its spiritual focus...

If you look at a map, you'll see that the geographical location of the Land of Israel is virtually guaranteed that it would play a key role in the tides of civilization. The Old World consisted of two great land masses, Eurasia (Europe and Asia) and Africa. It was impossible to travel from Eurasia to Africa without passing through the Holy Land. Therefore, every conqueror, every civilization that passed from one continent to the other, had to pass through the Holy Land and come in contact with the Jew. The Land of Israel thus interacted with virtually every great civilization, and all of them were, to some degree, influenced by the teachings of the Torah.

Besides being a gateway between North and South, the Holy Land is part of the keystone link between East and West. There are mountains in Israel where a cup of water spilled on the western slope will eventually flow into the Atlantic Ocean, while one spilled on the eastern slope will flow into the Pacific. Today, these oceans are linked by the Suez Canal, but in the past, most caravan routes linking the Atlantic and Pacific passed directly through the Holy Land.

The Land of Israel was therefore literally the crossroads of civilization. Its capital and spiritual center, Jerusalem, was the focus of a process where the Jew would interact with all peoples, absorbing all the wisdom of the ancient world, while at the same time touching every great civilization with the wisdom of the Torah. It was thus taught that "Jerusalem is the center of the world" (Midrash Tanchuma). God also told His prophet, "This is Jerusalem, I have set her in the midst of nations, and countries are around her" (Ezekiel 5:5). Considering both the centrality of its location and its spiritual influence, it is not at all surprising that Jerusalem today is a sacred city to the majority of the world's population.

Even today, when land routes are no longer as important as they were in the past, Jerusalem is still a center of human concern. One need only to think of how Providence placed the major portion of the world's supply of oil -- the main source of transportation energy -- within a stone's throw of Jerusalem. The world would otherwise not give the Holy City a second thought, except perhaps as an ancient sacred shrine. As it is, decisions made in Jerusalem today can influence even the greatest world powers. Jerusalem thus still occupies an important role in the councils of nations. All this is certainly more than mere coincidence.

On a much deeper level, however, we see Jerusalem not only as a center of civilization but also as the very center of creation. The most important single object in Jerusalem was the Ark, containing the Tablets and the Original Torah. This stood in the Holy of Holies on an outcrop of bedrock known as the Evven Shetiyah, literally, the Foundation Stone. The Talmud states that it is called the "Foundation Stone" because it was the foundation of the universe. As the Talmud (Yoma 54b) explains, this is because it was the very first point at which God began the act of creation.

This is based on the teaching that creation began at a single point, and from this point, the universe unfolded until God decreed that it should stop. This is the significance of Shadai, which is one of God's names. It comes from the word "Dai," meaning "enough," and it indicates the Attribute through which God stopped the expansion of creation at a certain stage.

Here we must seek to understand why creation had to begin in a single point, and what is the significance of this point. Why could creation not have been brought into existence all at once? Why did it all have to emanate from a single point in space?

The answer to these questions involves an understanding of the entire concept of the spiritual and physical, as well as the difference between the two. There are numerous discussions regarding the difference between the physical and spiritual, but this difference is often not spelled out precisely. Very closely related is the question of why God created a physical world in the first place. God himself is certainly spiritual, as is the ultimate purpose of creation. It is therefore somewhat difficult to understand the need for a physical world all.

With all little insight, the difference between the spiritual and physical is readily apparent. In the physical realm, there is a concept of physical space; while in the spiritual, this concept is totally absent. All that exists in the spiritual realm is conceptual space. Two things that are similar are said to be close, while things that are different are said to be far from one another. While in the physical world it is possible two push to different things together, this is impossible in the spiritual realm.

We see a good example of this in the case of the teachings involving angels. It is taught that one angel cannot have two missions, while two angels cannot share the same mission. There's no special concept unifying an angel. Therefore, if an angel had two missions, by definition it would become two angels. On the other hand, if two angels had the same mission, there could be no physical space separating them, and by definition they would be a single angel.

We now begin to see why a physical world is needed. If only a spiritual world existed, there would be no way in which two different things could be brought together. Because they're different, by definition they're separated, and there would be no physical space in which they could be "pushed" together.

Spiritual entities, however, can be bound to physical objects, very much as the soul is bound to the body. The only way, then, in which two different spiritual entities or forces can be brought together is when they are bound to the same physical thing, or to two physical things which themselves are brought together.

A good example of this involves the impulses for good and evil in man, respectively known as the Yetzer Tov and the Yetzer Hara. In a purely spiritual sense, good and evil are opposites, which can never be brought together. Without man's physical body, they could not be brought together in a single entity; indeed, in angels, which are purely spiritual, good and evil cannot coexist. It is only in a physical body that good and evil can be brought together, and man therefore had to be created with such a body before he could have within himself the combination of good and evil that would allow him to have free will and free choice.

God created many different spiritual concepts, forces and entities with which to create and direct the universe. Spiritual concepts can consist of such opposites as good and evil, or justice and mercy; as well as the basic concepts of giving and receiving, which are the spiritual roots of masculinity and femininity. There are also countless angels and spiritual potentials, all interacting to bring about the processes through which the universe is directed and guided.

All these are different, and in some cases opposite, and there would be no way for them to come together so that they could act in concert. The only way in which all spiritual forces can be brought together is for all of them to be associated with a single physical point. This point is the Evven Shetiyah -- the Foundation Stone of all creation.

Jerusalem's original name was Shalem (Salem), coming from the same route as Shalom, meaning peace. One of the main concepts of Jerusalem is peace, as it is written, "seek Jerusalem's peace" (Psalms 122:6). But, as the Zohar explains, this peace is not only in the physical world; it also implies peace in the spiritual world. The meaning of this is that all spiritual forces are brought together so that they can act in concert and in harmony.

The act of creation involved all these spiritual forces acting in concert. Before they could do so, however, a physical point had to be created, which would serve as a focus for all these forces. This was the Foundation Stone, the first point of creation. Since it was the focus of all spiritual forces, it brought them all into play in the creation of the physical universe. It is therefore not surprising to find that the very first word in the Torah -- Bereishit -- contains an allusion to the spot that was the focus of creation.

It was in this same place that God created man. When God was about to create man, the Torah relates that He said, "Let us make man in our image" (Genesis 1:26). The meaning of this is that God was speaking to all the spiritual forces that He had created, bringing them all into the creation of man, the final goal of His creation. In order to bring all these forces to bear upon the creation of man, God created him in the very place where all these forces are focused.

In a dynamic sense, all these forces are actually concentrated in man himself, and this is the meaning of the teaching that man is a microcosm (Avot d'Rebbi Noson 31:3). But man would multiply and become many, while these forces would have to be focused on a single stationary place. Jerusalem, and particularly the Foundation Stone, is therefore a place of gathering, first only for the Jewish people, but ultimately for all mankind. As all men return to their spiritual source, they tend to strengthen the spiritual connection in this place.

The Sages teach that God created man from the place of the Great Altar, the place of his atonement. The meaning of this is that the sacrifices, brought on the Altar, would ultimately atone for man's sins. This, however, can also be understood in light of the above. The entire concept of sin is one of spiritual separation, where spiritual forces are separated from each other, and where man is thus separated from God. The concept of sacrifice, on the other hand, is to reunite these forces, thus bringing man back to God.

Indeed, for this reason, the Hebrew word for sacrifice, Korbon, come from the root Karav, meaning to "be close." But sacrifice and atonement would be accomplished primarily in close proximity to this Foundation Stone, which is the one point that unifies and brings together all spiritual forces. Indeed, the primary purpose of the entire Temple Service was to rectify and strengthen the bond between these forces.

Upon this Foundation Stone stood the Ark, containing the Two Tablets upon which God had written the Ten Commandments, as well as the Original Torah written by Moses. This was to underscore the fact that all creation is sustained by the Covenant of the Torah, as God said, "If not for my covenant day and night, I would not have appointed the decrees of heaven and earth" (Jeremiah 33:25). All creation was contingent upon this covenant, which was made when Israel accepted the Torah from God. The fact that the Ark stood on the Foundation Stone of creation means that all creation is infused with the power of the Torah.

Since this spot is where all spiritual forces come together to influence the physical world, this is indeed the "Gate of Heaven." It is from this spot -- between the two Cherubim on the Ark -- that prophecy emanates, and through there all prayers are channeled. This spot is the focus of all spiritual forces, and all communication that we have with these forces is through this location. It is thus taught that spiritual channels emanate from the Foundation Stone, bringing spiritual sustenance to all the world.

This also explains the meaning of Jacob's dream, where he saw "A ladder standing on the earth, with its head reaching the heaven" (Genesis 28:12). The concept of a ladder is that of a single entity in which many steps are united. There are many steps on a ladder, but they're all connected by the body of the ladder itself. The same is true of the Foundation Stone, the place where Jacob slept. This too was a single entity to which all spiritual levels are attached.

Since the Foundation Stone unites all spiritual forces, there must be a realm in the spiritual domain where all these forces come together. In the words of our Sages, this realm is called "Jerusalem on High," and it is said to parallel the physical Jerusalem. This supernal Jerusalem is the realm where all spiritual forces are brought together to interact. In the words of some of our Sages, this "Jerusalem on High" is called Shalem, from the root Shalom, since this is where even opposing spiritual forces exist together in harmony.

As Creator of all spiritual forces, God Himself is infinitely higher than even the highest of them. The difference between God and any created entity, even the highest, is infinitely greater than the difference between even the very highest and very lowest things in creation. God is the Creator, while everything else is created, and there can be no greater fundamental difference than this.

This, however, presents some very serious difficulties. If God is utterly different from all spiritual forces, how can they have any association with Him? We know that God constantly acts upon these forces, this being the entire mechanism of Divine Providence. Furthermore, like everything else, these constantly depend on God for existence itself -- if God did not constantly infuse them with His creative force, they would instantly cease to exist. But if both God and these forces are spiritual and different, then they are separated to the ultimate degree. It would only be through a physical entity that the two could be united.

In many places, when speaking of the Chosen City, the Torah calls it, "The place that God will choose to make His Name dwell there" (Deut 12:11). To the extent that we can understand it, this means that God associates Himself with this place. This is very difficult for the human mind to comprehend, and indeed, Solomon, the wisest of all men, found it impossible to understand. He thus said to God, "Behold, the heavens and the heavens of Heaven cannot contain you, how much less this House that I have built" (1-Kings 8:27). Yet, he knew that God had somehow associated Himself with this place, as God Himself had proclaimed in His Torah.

But if both God and the entire array of spiritual forces are associated with this spot -- the Foundation Stone -- then they can indeed interact. Thus, it is by associating with the Temple and this Stone that God also associates with all the spiritual forces that He created, sustaining and directing them. As mentioned above, however, the array of spiritual forces is called "Jerusalem on High."

We thus see that God does not associate with "Jerusalem on High" until He does so with the physical Jerusalem. This is the meaning of the Talmudic teaching (Taanit 5), "God swore that He would not enter Jerusalem on High until He enters Jerusalem down below." 

This is also the meaning of the fact that God Himself appeared at the top of the ladder in Jacob's dream. This is the concept of unification, not only affecting all spiritual levels, but also attaching them to God Himself.

The entire purpose of the Temple Service was to strengthen this bond between God and the spiritual forces, thus enhancing them and giving them a greater power to elevate the physical world. For example, on the festival of Sukkot, 70 sacrifices were brought, one for each of the 70 archetypal nations of the world. Through this, the directing angels overseeing these nations would be elevated, and, as a result, the nations themselves would be brought to a higher spiritual level.

In a similar manner, other aspects of the Temple Service served to enhance other spiritual aspects of humanity. Since the time that the Temple was destroyed, these spiritual aspects also diminished.

This also explains why all our prayers are directed toward the Foundation Stone, the place of the Ark. We do not pray to any spiritual force or entity, even the highest, but only to God alone. The content of our prayer, however, is to rectify the various spiritual forces, bringing God's light to shine upon them. Since the main connection between God and the spiritual forces is the place of the Ark, we focus our prayers' toward this spot.

Through this we can understand another very difficult Talmudic teaching (Brachot 7a):

Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosi (ben Zimra): How do we know that God prays? It is written, "I will bring them to My Holy Mountain, and make them rejoice in the House of My prayer, [for My house is a house of prayer for all nations]" (Isaiah 56:7). The scripture does not say, "their prayer," but "My prayer." We thus see that God prays.

And what is His prayer? Rav Zutra bar Tovia said in the name of Rav: It is, "May it be My will that My mercy should overcome My anger, and that My mercy dominate My Attributes. May I act toward My children with the Attribute of Mercy, and go beyond the requirements of the law."

At first thought, this appears beyond all comprehension. How can we say that God prays? And if He does, to whom does He pray? And what is the precise meaning of His prayer?

But if we look carefully at the basic concept of prayer, this becomes somewhat easier to understand. When we pray, the object of our prayer is to bring God's spiritual Light to bear on the spiritual forces, so that they in turn should enhance the world in which we live. Prayer is therefore the enhancement and elevation of the spiritual forces. Of course, the One who enhances these forces is none other than God Himself, infusing them with His Light and creative force. When God acts upon these forces in this manner, He is said to be "praying."

This also explains the content of God's prayer. The concept of God's anger and His Attribute of Justice is essentially when He withdraws His Light from the spiritual forces, allowing them to function on their own. These forces then function almost automatically, dispensing justice according to a strict rule, in an almost mechanical fashion. This is the idea of God "hiding His face."

The concept of God's Mercy, on the other hand, is when God makes His Light shine on these forces, taking complete control of them, as it were. Thus, when God prays that His Mercy should dominate His Attributes, it means that He is infusing these Attributes with His Light and creative force. This is the concept of God praying.

It is important to note that God's prayer is associated with the Temple in Jerusalem -- "for My house is the house of My prayer." According to what we have said earlier, however, the reason for this is obvious. God's prayer refers to His infusing all Attributes and spiritual forces with His Light, which takes place through the Foundation Stone, the focus of all prayer.

It is also very significant to know the ending of this verse, "for My house is a house of prayer for all nations." Here again, at first thought, it is difficult to see what connection this has to God's prayer. Why is the verse that teaches the concept of God's prayer associated with that of the Temple being a place of prayer for all peoples?

We must realize that the main reason there is distinction between Jews and other nations is because of the withholding of God's Light. As a result of the sins of Adam, of the generation of the Flood, and of the builders of the Tower of Babel, God gradually withdrew His Light from the world, restricting it to one people, the Jews, who would inhabit Jerusalem and serve God there. Therefore, there are directing angels over the nations, but they are on a lower level than the spiritual forces associated with Israel.

The concept of God's prayer, however, is that His Light should shine through all spiritual forces with its full intensity, and thus, to all mankind as well. Therefore when God's house is the "house of His prayer," it is then also "a house of prayer for all nations."

This again brings us to the location of the Foundation Stone, the focus of all spiritual forces. It was set on the crossroads of civilization, so that all peoples should interact with these forces, and throughout history be influenced by them. In this manner, all mankind is gradually elevated by these forces, paving the way for the ultimate rectification of the world. This will be realized in the Messianic Age, when Jerusalem becomes a center for God's teaching for all mankind, [as Isaiah the prophet said]: "Out of Zion shall come forth the Torah, and God's word from Jerusalem."

Concern For All Mankind

Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of the righteous memory, simply known as The Rebbe, is the latest leader of Lubavitch Hasidim movement (also known as Chabad).

The Rebbe's counsel was sought by national and international government officials of all levels.

After one such meeting with US Senator Patrick Moynihan, the Rebbe asked if he could request a favor from the Senator.

"Here it comes", the Senator thought to himself. "Now the Rebbe is looking for the payoff."

The Rebbe continued: "There is a growing community in Chinatown. These people are quiet, reserved, hard-working and law-abiding - the type of citizens most countries would treasure. But because Amercians are so outgoing and the Chinese are, by nature, so reserved, they are often overlooked. Thus they miss out benefitting from government programs. I suggest that as US Senator from New York, you concern yourself with their needs."

"I was overwhelmed," the Senator said afterwards. "The Rebbe has a community of thousands in New York City and institutions all over the State that could benefit from government programs. I am in a position to help secure funding for them. The Rebbe didn't ask about that. Instead, he was concerned with the Chinese in Chinatown. I don't think he has ever been there, and I'm certain that most people there don't know who he is, but he cares about them..."

Source: The Rebbe, an appreciation booklet by Lubavitch Manchester

The Ten Most Influential Jews

1. Moses (1392 BCE – 1272 BCE) 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moshe

Undisputedly Moses is the most influential Jew throughout history. Along with God, he is the figure who dominates the Torah. Acting at God's behest, it is he who leads the Jews out of slavery, unleashes the Ten Plagues against Egypt, guides the freed slaves for forty years in the wilderness, carries down the law from Mount Sinai, and prepares the Jews to enter the land of Canaan. Without Moses, there would be little apart from laws to write about in the last four books of the Torah.

Moses is born during the Jewish enslavement in Egypt, during a terrible period when Pharaoh decrees that all male Hebrew infants are to be drowned at birth. His mother, Yocheved, desperate to prolong his life, floats him in a basket in the Nile. Hearing the crying child as she walks by, Pharaoh's daughter pities the crying infant and adopts him (Exodus 2:1-10). It surely is no coincidence that the Jews' future liberator is raised as an Egyptian prince. Had Moses grown up in slavery with his fellow Hebrews, he probably would not have developed the pride, vision, and courage to lead a revolt.

After the leading the Exodus, Moses went up to Mount Sinai and spent 40 days listening to God talking to him, dictating to him the 613 commandments of the Torah (which are encapsulated in Ten Statements, the so-called "Ten Commandments") and also the principles how to apply these commandments (which are referred to as the Oral Law).

Although the Torah -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy -- are called the Five Books of Moses, Moses was not the author. Moses was the scribe -- the ultimate scribe. God dictated to Moses. And the Torah is considered a direct dictation, which is why the Five Book of Moses have a unique position among all holy books of the Jewish people and a unique authority in the Jewish world.

In this list, Moses is the only prophet who made it to the Top Ten. And it's very clear, the Bible says over and over again, that Moses was unique among all prophets.

And there arose no prophet in Israel like Moses whom the Lord knew face to face.(Deut. 34:10)

2. Rabbi Yochanan Ben-Zakkai (30 BCE - 90 CE)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yochanan_ben_Zakai

Rabbi Yochanan Ben-Zakkai was Av Beit Din of the Sanhedrin which was exiled from Jerusalem to Yavneh forty years before the Destruction of the Second Temple. He was one of the youngest disciples of Hillel.

He is especially noted for the part he played in directly negotiating with the Roman general Vespasian during the siege of Jerusalem, while the militant fanatics killed anyone attempting to leave Jerusalem. Rabbi Yochanan was determined to find a way out of the besieged city. He foresaw that the Romans would soon defeat the rebel forces and destroy Jerusalem, even the Temple – thereby threating Judaism’s very survival. Rabbi Yochanan finally made his way out by pretending to be death and buried in a cemetery outside the city. After foretelling Vespasian that he would be a Caesar, he was granted a request to have the city of Yavneh and its scholars unmarred, thus saving Torah in Holy Land.

When the catastrophic defeat occurred, and both Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed, many Jews fell into the deepest depression but not Rabbi Yochanan. He was too busy establishing a new center of Jewish life in Yavneh. When a disciple expressed despair that the Temple’s destruction made it impossible to bring sacrifices and atone for sins, Rabbi Yochanan consoled him: “My son, be not grieved, We have another atonement as effective as this. And what is it? It is acts of loving-kindness, as it is said ‘For I desire mercy and not sacrifice’.” (Hosea 6:6).

Rabbi Yochanan’s academy of Jewish learning in Yavneh soon became a worthy successor to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. More than any figure, he must be credited with establishing a model of a Judaism that could survive without a Temple, without sacrifices, and even without a state.

This placement may surprise many people. I put him surpassing Ezra because of his bravery and brilliance acts to make a breakthrough to save the nation while his contemporary sages acted more passively. Interestingly, Rabbi Yochanan is the only non-Biblical figures that reaches the top five.

3. Ezra (c. 458 BCE – 347 BCE)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra

Ezra, along with Nehemiah, are the two most influential figures in the Jewish return to Israel after the Babylonian Exile. After defeating Babylon in 539 BCE., the Persian king Cyrus The Great wrote an edict that permitted the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple. When Zerubabel led the first batch of Jews to return to the land of Israel, Ezra had to stay behind taking care his aged teacher, Baruch Ben-Neriah. He joined the returnees almost a century later, after his teacher died.

He came home with extra-ordinary power from the king to regulate Jewish affairs in Judea. Soon after his arrival Ezra was compelled to take strenuous measures against marriage with non-Jewish women (which had become common even among men of high standing), and he insisted in a very dramatic manner upon the dismissal of such wives. He then convened an enormous gathering in Jerusalem that lasted for several days, which at the conclusion of which all the Jews who are present pledge not to intermarry, not to do business on the Sabbath, and to give the charity to support the Temple in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 10:31ff).

Jewish tradition regards Ezra as having saved the Jewish people from extinction. His public reading of the Torah democratized the holy document, making it as much a possesion of the commonest Jewish laborers as of the priests. As harsh as Ezra’s measure against intermarriage were, had they not been carried out there might be not Jews today, they probably would simply have assimilated into the religions and lifestyles of their neighbors.

Ezra led the Men of Great Assembly – in Hebrew, Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, which consists of the greatest Jewish men at that time, including the prophets and non-prophets (i.e. Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Nehemiah, Mordechai, etc). They regulated, fixed and formalized all the phases of Torah life to ensure its being a completely organized, self-enforced and self-functioning entity. It therefore:

·         Closed the Scriptures

·         Completed all the chief Takonnot.

·         Formulated and formalized the text of the prayers.

·         Formalized the language of the Oral Law in its exact and permanent form.

So great is the contribution of Ezra to Judaism and the Jewish people, that the Talmud declares: “Ezra would have been worthy of receiving the Torah for Israel had not Moses preceded him” (Sanhedrin 21b).

Thus it is difficult for me not to place him in the second place after Moses. However, comparing to Rabbi Yochanan, firstly Ezra did not joined the return at first place and acted as the initiator of the whole process, secondly he did not have to work single-handedly as there were many contemporary leaders supporting behind him, and thirdly, his life was never in constant danger as in the case of Rabbi Yochanan. In short, if he was not there, there were always other great men who could take his place.

4. Abraham (1812 BCE to 1637 BCE)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham

It is so naturally that the father of the Jewish people could secure his place in this list. The story of the Jewish people does not start from Exodus. In the first book of the Torah we trace Israel’s story from the life of Abraham and Sarah until their offspring develop into a family and then a nation. If Abraham did not accept his mission, there would be unlikely a Jewish nation on earth, even the fate of whole humanity was at stake after they joined Nimrod’s rebellion, resulting in the Great Dispersion. It is said in Mishnah: “There were ten generations from Noah to Abraham. This demonstrates how patient God is, for all the generations kept provoking Him, until the Patriach Abraham came and received the reward of them all” (Avot 5:2).

In fact, it’s noteworthy to state that at least two other major religions agree and acknowledge him as the original founding founder. However if the reason I list Abraham is solely because of the popularity of being the Patriach, I could end up sharing this trophy with Issac and Jacob, and the four matriach as well.

But Abraham deserves this position because the fact that he is the man who introduced (or more accurately: re-introduced) the concept of monotheism to the world, and by the fact that monotheism has been spreaded and practiced throughout the world. According to traditional view, monotheism had existed since the beginning of creation, as the religion of Adam and Eve. Polytheism, on the other hand, was a later development, a consequence of human corruption and sin. On his days, Abraham was not the only man unmoved by idolatry – Noah and Shem were still alive at that time. However, he became the first person that rediscovered this monotheistic belief and took action on spreading the message, while the others failed to do. It is believed that during his journey, Abraham ran a missionary campaign to convert people to faith in one God (Gen 12:5).

Although Abraham has brought one of the greatest revolution to the world, I could not position him into higher rank. Had it not been Moses who institutionalized it some 400 years later, I am not sure if his belief still remains as of today.

5. King David (1037 BCE– 967 BCE)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_David

The Bible offers several accounts of David’s ascent to the throne. The David of the Book of Samuel – a brave handsome youth, Goliath’s slayer, captain in the king’s army, skillfull musician, and who maintained a deep friendship with Jonathan, the king’s heir – fed the imagination of future generations and is typical of popular epics. The long centuries during which the people of Israel were ruled by the House of David most likely embellishes these stories with heroic touches.

David was elected king of all the tribes of Israel after winning the civil war against Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth. During his 40-year reign he extended the borders of his kingdom and brought peace and unity to the nation (known as the First Jewish Commonwealth). With the conquest of Jerusalem from the Jebusites, on the border between the tribes of the south and those of the center and the north, David created a capital for his kingdom and a spiritual center for the entire nation of Israel – a revolution which would influence thousands of years of Jewish history.

David had wanted to build the Holy Temple but a divine edict, however, had forbidden him from doing so. Nonetheless he still leaves a remarkable legacy. Being a skillfull musician, David wrotes hundreds of psalms and songs for use in temple rituals, and to these days they are still the backbone of Jewish prayers. Jewish tradition attributes authorship of the Book of Psalms to David. His merits also reward him a privilege that Mashiach will come only from his descendants.

I put King David in #5 because of the long-lasting legacy he made that affect Jewish people for centuries.

6. Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi (c.135-220)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehuda_Ha-Nasi

Rabbi Judah is widely accepted as the compiler of Mishnah. He possesed maximum wisdom and grandeur as it is said in Talmud: “Since the days of Moses, we have not seen either Torah scholarship or grandeur exclusively in one man, until Rebbi appeared.” (Gittin 59a). Besides he also possessed wealth, capital and widespread dominion, it is claimed that: “Rabbi’s stable-man was wealthier than Shabur the king of Persia” (Bava Metsia 85a). He had a close friendship with "Antoninus", possibly the Roman Emperor Caracalla, who would consult Rabbi Judah on various worldly and spiritual matters.

He used this wealth to aid men of wisdom and its seekers, and spread Torah knowledge throughout Israel. He compiled the laws, the words of the sages, and the disagreements which arise ever since the day of Moses till his own days. And he, himself, was one of the transmitter of the Tradition because he was born into a family which had hold the Nasi office for two centuries, hence he got the title Ha-Nasi.

I list Rabbi Judah because his combined possession of wisdom, wealth and influence had him capable to complete the compilation and documentation of the Oral Law. For centuries, the Oral Law has been preserved by each of tradition chains, i.e. teacher-students, father-sons, in many different academies and different families. There were attemps to compile the Oral Law into a single body of document since the day of Ezra, but with no success. His success should also be noted that he had no opposition from the Babylonian Jewry which at that time had already kept their own tradition. His works later became the foundation of Talmud, another major document which defines Judaism.

7. Maimonides (1135-1204)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maimonides

Maimonides (Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon, also known by his Hebrew acronym “Rambam”) was the most illustrious figure in Judaism since the talmudic era. His influence on the future development of Judaism was incalculable. The writings and achievements of this medieval Jewish sage seem to cover an impossibly large number of activities. Maimonides was the first person to write a systematic code of all Jewish laws, the “Mishneh Torah”. He produced one of the great philosophic statements of Judaism, “The Guide to the Perplexed”. He also served as physician to the sultan of Egypt and wrote numerous books on medicine. And in his “spare time” he served as leader of Egyptian Jewish community.

Maimonides’s major contribution to Jewish life remains the Mishneh Torah, his code of Jewish law. His intention was to make the entire Oral Law accessible to the commonest people; replacing the Talmud, the study of which should henceforth be reserved only to the intellectual people. Despite sometimes intense opposition, the Mishneh Torah later became a standard guide to Jewish practice and served as a model for the future “Shulchan Aruch” (it still failed to replace the Talmud though). Maimonides also formulated a credo of Judaism expressed in thirteen articles of faith which is universally accepted in Jewish world.

During his lifetime, he received many opposition that reacted to his philosophical works and his rationalist view. In the long run, however, Maimonides remained a hero and his influence spreaded from Spain to Yemen. He is one of the few Jewish thinkers whose teachings also influenced the non-Jewish world; much of his philosophical writings in the Guide were about God and other theological issues of general, not exclusively Jewish, interest. As a popular Jewish expression of the Middle Ages declares: “From Moses [of the Torah] to Moses [Maimonides] there was none like Moses”.

8. Rashi (1040-1105)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashi

One of the greatest of Rishonim (the medieval Jewish scholars) is undoubtedly the French-Jewish sage Rashi. His full name is Rabbi Shlomo ben Issac, of which Rashi is the acronym.

Since his death almost a millenium ago, Jews who study either the Torah or the Talmud, Judaism’s two most important works, invariably do so with the help of his commentary. Almost every Talmud editions that have been printed has come out with this French sage’s glosses. In fact, had Rashi not written a Talmud commentary that explained its difficult Aramaic words and guided students through its intricate and often confusing forms of logic, the Talmud might have become a largely forgotten work.

In every printed edition of the Talmud, opposite Rashi’s commentary, is another commentary known as Tosafot. The Tosafot commentary is a creation put together over the two centuries, dominated by five of Rashi’s descendants – two sons-in-law and three grandson. One of the grandsons, Rabbi Jacob Tam (known as Rabbenu Tam), became the leader of French-Jewish community. Rashi and his descendants’s sphere of influence also shaped the world of Ashkenazic Jewry.

The most difficult decision to rank in this list is when comparing Maimonides and Rashi. To this day, Maimonides and Rashi are the most widely studied Jewish scholars. Although Maimonides is regarded as Judaism’s greatest philosopher, Rashi is its greatest commentator. The leadership and scholarship of both men were inherited to their descendants. But while Rashi’s sphere of influence in his lifetime seemed to be limited in French and Germany, Maimonides’s reaches out from Spain to Yemen, including both Sephardic and Askhenazic Jewry and probably extends to the non-Jewish world (Arab and Mediterranean kingdoms). Therefore, I give Maimonides more credits and place him above Rashi.

9. Rabbi Joseph Karo (1488-1575)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Karo

The legal code known as the Shulchan Aruch, compiled by the great Sephardic rabbi Joseph Karo in the mid-1500s, is still the standard legal code of Judaism. When rabbis, particularly if they are Orthodox, are asked to rule on a question of Jewish law, the first volume they consult generally is the Shulchan Aruch. A major reason for its universal acceptance is that it was the first code to list the differing customs and laws of both Sephardic and Askhenazic Jewry. This unique feature was not intended by Joseph Karo, but came through a happy coincidence. At the very time that Karo was compiling his code, a similar undertaking was being planned by Rabbi Moses Isserles of Poland. Isserles, known by his acronym the Rama, was thrown into some despair when he first heard about Karo’s work, for he knew Karo to be the greater scholar than himself. Nonetheless, he soon realized that both Karo’s legal code and his own would not by themselves meet the needs of all Jews. Thus, the Shulchan Aruch was published with Karo’s ruling listed first and Isserles’s dissents and addenda included in italics.

To list Rabbi Joseph Karo and neglect the contribution of the Rama is almost impossible. In reality, we agree to admit that the contribution of Rabbi Joseph Karo is still much greater than the Rama’s. So I pick Rabbi Joseph Karo and leave the Rama in the “Other Most Influential Jews” at the bottom.

10. Israel Baal Shem Tov (c.1700-1760)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal_Shem_Tov

In the eighteenth century East European Jewry witnessed a great religious awakening. The upheaval following the collapse of the Shabbatean movement, the spread of kabbalistic mysticism among the scholars, as well as popular traditions of mass enthuasism, provided the background for the emergence of a new spiritual movement: Hasidism (from hasidut, meaning “piety”).

The founder of Hasidism was a rabbi from Poland – Israel Baal Shem Tov, also known as Besht by his acronym. A miracle-worker and a healer, an ecstatic mystic and a charismatic leader, the man drew followers and admirers from among kabbalists, rabbis and common people. One of the main teaching of Besht is that the Tzaddik (the religious leader of Hasidim) should serve as a model of how to lead a religious life. After his death, he was suceeded by Dov Baer of Mezhirech (1704-1772), who spread the teaching of the master and transformed the small community into a real movement. Within a few decadeds, numerous new Hasidic groups were formed, each with its own Tzaddik, referred to as a rebbe. The belief in the power and greatness of the Tzaddik became one of Hasidim’s strongest – and most controversial – ideas.

From its very early stages, the movement encountered internal opposition from some traditional rabbi elite labeled as the Mitnagdim (“opponents”). The Mitnagdim feared that the Hasidic movement would become another heretical sect, similar to that of Shabbetai Zevi. However the rivalry between the two groups finally ended when they have to face the same enemy, the European Haskalah movement.

Nonetheless, the Hasidic approach to Judaism significantly differs from that of the Mitnagdim. Hasidism generally places a much greater stress on simcha shel mitzvah – the joy of performing a commandment.

Now Hasidism is widespread around the world. The best known group of Hasidim in the world are the Lubavitcher (also known as Chabad), who are headquartered in Brooklyn, United States. The group is so well-known and popular by their various outreach programs. 

Other Most Influential Jews

(the order is when they arrive in history and their direct/indirect contributions)

King Solomon, First Temple establishment

Elijah/Pinchas, Prophet, Priest, Torah transmitter

Mordechai, the miracle of Purim

Nehemiah, Ezra’s contemporary, Second Temple establishment

Mattathias the Hasmonean, the second commonwealth, the miracle of Hanukkah, Jewish population increasing

Hillel, Talmudic era leading sage, hermeneutic rules 

Onkelos, authoritative Targum Torah translation

Rabbi Akiva, Talmudic era leading sage, textual interpretation method

Hillel II, Jewish fixed lunar calendar system

Rav Ashi, Babylonian Talmud completion

...together with his uncle, Ravina (Bava Metsia 16b), disciple of Rava (Eruvin 66b). However the Talmud was not actually sealed until seventy three years later.

Aaron ben Moses Ben-Asher, the last of Masoretes scholar

Rama, the Askhenazi leading poskim

Rabbi Jacob ben Hayyim, his printed Bible became "textus receptus" version both in Jewish and Xtians world

Rabbi Issac Luria, the school founder of Jewish mysticism

Shabbetai Zevi, false Messiah

Eliezer ben Yehuda, the revival of Hebrew

Albert Einstein, theory of relativity 

David Ben-Gurion, modern Israel state, the third commonwealth (?)

This list is made for fun only to exercise my Jewish literacy skill and I would not expect that everyone will agree with my ranking. If you have your own reasoning to correct my ranking, or you would like to suggest another influential Jewish person, I welcome you to write your comments on this blog.

Source: Jewish Literacy (R. Telushkin), A Historical Atlas of The Jewish People (Eli Barnavi), Introduction to Mishneh Torah (Maimonides), Wikipedia