Series Oz

Series Oz
Look at this page if you are ssearching for Series Oz

Learning With Reb Moshe: A Series

"So Why Do We Make A Bracha About A Rooster or Do We?"

Many thanks to my friend Will F., one of the most vocal learners in Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik's class, for utilizing his inquisitive nature to benefit the class as a whole.This past Sunday morning was no exception to the rule.

We experienced a momentary silence. Rabbi Soloveichik-as is his habit-sat ruminating over his response to the previous question before propounding it to the class. It turns out that Will F. had also been ruminating though on a different matter.

"So Why DO we make a bracha (blessing) about a rooster?" My ears perked up. Will F. had asked a serious question but which, I think, might have been phrased differently.

If I may rephrase Will F.'s question to what I believe he meant: "Why did the Sages select the rooster with which to praise G-d in the first of fifteen "brachot" (plural of "bracha") that inaugurate the public part of the morning service (See the "bracha" below. Read from right to left, the portion of the ninth word that I typed in bold font is the key and pronounced "sechvee".)

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם. אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לַשּכְוִי בִינָה לְהַבְחִין בֵּין יום וּבֵין לָיְלָה

My response, which is that of a consummate non-expert, begins by asking another question: "Is there anyone not familiar with the "cock-a-doodle-do" of the rooster?"

A cursory reading of the blessing demonstrates it is not the rooster but its Creator to whom we direct all of our praises. This particular blessing is no exception. It so happens that G-d endowed this particular creature with an innate ability to distinguish between night and light. In other words, the rooster knows instinctually when to "cock-a-doodle-do". I suppose G-d could have selected the hippopotamus, but what good would that have brought people in the countryside? Remember G-d makes each of His decisions "b'chochma", with wisdom.

Here are two slightly different translations of the "bracha": "Blessed are You, Ha Shem, our G-d, King of the Universe, Who gave the rooster understanding to distinguish between day and night." An alternate translation changes only one word: "Blessed are You, Ha Shem, our G-d, King of the Universe, Who gave the heart understanding to distinguish between day and night." Note that "sechvee" can be taken to mean either "rooster" or "heart".

There is, I think though, a deeper message here beyond that of the plain meaning of the words: we need only to look around at our own world, our everyday lives to see the grandeur of what seems at first glance to be the realm of the relatively simple.

At a time in our history before large numbers of Jews left their "shteitlach" (rural villages) for the big cities, the Sons of Jacob arose each day with the crowing of the rooster. It was the "alarm clock"* of the time for folks who lived in the countryside. Think of Tevye the Milkman in Fiddler On The Roof who arose each day with the crowing of the rooster. It was the only "alarm clock" available until 1787 when Levi Hutchins, a twenty-six year old clockmaker of Concord, New Hampshire-whose it habit was to arise at 4:00 o'clock in the morning-invented the first mechanical device to chime when that hour arrived.

It is incumbent that we remember our history because "The Sinai Experience" though of the historical past, remains at the core of our "Jewish now and forever more", but only on condition that we impart it to our children and our children's children, thereby insuring all of of our tomorrows. 

The Jews are the people of "mesorah", an unbroken chain of remembrance that traces our "peoplehood" back to the holy mountain.   

We do not have to gaze into the infinite heavens to discern the majestic handiwork of G-d. Requiring neither telescope nor microscope though they are indispensable tools with which to obtain a greater in-depth understanding of the mechanics of the universe, we need only look with the naked eye to see the sort of thing to which I am referring.

It's not unlike the lesson Dorothy (of The Wizard of Oz) learned after her perilous journey. We needn't look beyond our back (barn) yard to find happiness. So it is with the wonder of G-d's creation, wherein all of His works are majestic.

Are there ascending levels of majesty within His creation? Frankly, I am not sure. Is the rooster any less majestic than are Saturn's rings? Or the phases of the moon more wondrous than the collective productivity of ants.?

We praise all of the works of G-d when we say a bit later in the morning prayer: "How great are Your works, Ha Shem. You make them all with wisdom. The world is full of Your possessions." Herein, I think, lies the answer or, if you prefer, stop by and find out for yourself.

For more information about the synagogue, visit us at www.kessermaariv.org.

*Thank you to R. Eli Dov for his likening the crowing of the rooster to an alarm clock and his clarification of the meaning of "sechvee".

Alan D. Busch
alandbusch@aol.com
01/28/11

 

 

About the Author

Alan D. Busch is an independent writer in Skokie, Illinois, married to Kallah and the father of Benjamin, Z'L, Kimberly and Zac. He has finished a reader's draft of his second book, Between Fathers and Sons, a memoir about the sacred space between a father and his son. Alan enjoys the good fortune of being published in a variety of media in both prose and poetry. His writing is centered upon though not limited to Jewish themes. Reach Alan at alandbusch@aol.com. Please 'google' his name for more details or contact him on Facebook. He is the author of Snapshots In Memory of Ben, Water Forest Press, 2007, a contributing author to Everyone's Got A Story, edited by Ruchama King Feuerman and a community member contributing writer for the Chicago Tribune's Triblocal.com for Skokie, IL. 

We appreciate you looking at our Series Oz information.

You can go back to Pool Cues for even MORE good stuff.

| Tags: au, beecher/keller, oz, series oz, series oz books, series oz cast, series oz download, series oz dvd, slash, tv

« 58 Hardwood Pool Oz

Tube Pool Cue Case »

Comments are closed for this entry.