February Lecture Schedule

Here is a list of my forthcoming lectures that are open to the public:

NEW YORK:

Shabbos February 4th: Beth Sholom, Cedarhurst
Friday-8PM: “One People, Two Worlds: Rationalists & Mystics”
Shabbos morning-11AM: “Battle for Beit Shemesh: The Evolution of Chareidim”
5PM: “The Animal Kingdom in Jewish Thought

Sunday February 5th:
12pm - "The Challenge of Dinosaurs" - at the YU Sefarim Sale.

2:30 pm - "The Evolution of Orthodoxy: From Chasam Sofer to the Battles of Bet Shemesh"
3:45 pm - "Beasts of Prey: Bears, Hawks and Other Predators in Jewish Thought"
Washington Heights Congregation, 815 West 179th Street
Entrance Donation: $10 for one lecture, $15 for both
Download flyer with details here 

Monday February 6th:
7pm - "How (not) to Become a Heretic: What Must a Jew Believe?"
Drisha Institute of Jewish Education
37 West 65th Street, 5th Floor, New York
Tuition: $18; June and July Immersion Program alumni no charge; $10 suggested donation for college students.

BALTIMORE:

Wednesday February 8th:
7pm at Beth Tfiloh’s Epstein Chapel: “Were the Rabbis always Right.” Free admission.

Thursday February 9th:
8pm - "Shaking the Heavens: Rabbinic Responses to Astronomical Revolutions" at Shomrei Emunah. Entrance donation $10. Download flyer here.

Shabbos February 11th: Suburban Orthodox

WASHINGTON:

Sunday February 12th:
9am - The Challenge of Creation - at Beth Sholom
10.30am - Sacred Monsters - at Beth Sholom
2-5pm - The Torah Tour of the National Zoo. Download flyer with details here.
7:30pm - "The Evolution of Orthodoxy and the Making of Charedim" - Kesher Israel. No admission fee, but RSVP required - see www.tinyurl.com/KIZooRabbi.

RIDES REQUEST:

If anyone can give me a ride from Philadelphia to NY (preferably the 5 Towns) on the afternoon or evening of Monday Feb. 13th, please be in touch!

The Zoo Torah Experience

Are you going to be in Israel this Sukkot (or any other time)? Are you looking for something to do with your family? Why schlep to a public attraction where you'll be hot and squashed? Experience the wonders of the animal kingdom, with a Torah perspective, in Ramat Bet Shemesh, with the Zoo Torah Experience!

. Encounter some extraordinary exotic animals - hands-on!

. Try out the world's most unusual shofars!

. Discover a variety of prehistoric fossils!

. Put your head in the jaws of a shark! (Body of shark not attached)

. And much, much more!

The Zoo Torah Experience is an educational and entertaining hands-on presentation, under the guidance of the Zoo Rabbi, Natan Slifkin, in his private collection at his home. You and your family will learn so much about Torah and wildlife, and you'll have a terrific time too! The price per group (up to twelve people, for a one-hour session) is $100; the deluxe two-hour experience is $180. For reservations, write to zoorabbi@zootorah.com or call 077-332-0678.

"I would like to personally recommend Rav Slifkin's Zoo Torah Family Experience. Rav Slifkin leads your family or group on an outdoor and indoor tour of his amazing collection of animals. All my children, ranging in age from toddler to 16 were captivated by Rav Slifkin's explanations and were thrilled to be able to handle some of the critters. Normally, on such a tour, my kids would huddle somewhere on the side, unwilling to push forward for a closer look, but the tours are private, so my kids were front and center the entire time. Rav Slifkin's collection of shofarot is stunning; you are unlikely to encounter such a collection anywhere else. There is plenty of time for questions, the tour is right here in RBS, and, quite frankly, we loved it!" - Gina Fishman, RBS resident

Wildlife of Ramat Bet Shemesh

Ramat Bet Shemesh, where I live, is home to many immigrants from the US who are often terrified at reports of wildlife entering the city from the adjacent hills at night. Fear not! The only dangerous intruders are of the two-legged variety.

If you see any of the local fauna making a visit, count yourself lucky to have such a special experience! There are foxes, jackals, hedgehogs and mongooses that come in frequently, and I once came across a (dead) striped hyena just outside Ramat Bet Shemesh. All these animals are entirely harmless (unless rabid) and are usually terrified of people. Snakes and scorpions can be deadly, but they make every effort to avoid people. Lizards are entirely harmless, and easy to identify - slow moving lizards with bulging eyes are chameleons, and the pale lizards barking and scampering on the walls at night are geckos.

There are also the four deer situated on the traffic circle outside Beis Tefilah, affectionately named Prancer, Dancer, Dasher and Rudolph by the locals. In fact, these are not reindeer, and nor are they the Israeli deer (Mesopotamian fallow deer); rather, they are European red deer, similar to the American elk. I don't know why they are in Ramat Bet Shemesh.

The most exotic wildlife can be found in the Pinat Chai in my garden. People are welcome to peer in by climbing on the wall along the steps connecting Nachal Shimshon to Nachal Raziel. Look out for Billy Bob and Mary Jane, my two huge iguanas, generously sponsored for the benefit of the community by Paul Shaviv of Toronto and other people (please let me know if you'd like to be named). There's more wildlife and wonders inside my house, but for that, you'll have to reserve the Zoo Torah Family Experience - $100 for one hour for groups of up to twelve people.

Yoda Bat Discovered

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1318093/Bat-resembling-Star-Wars-Yoda-discovered-Papua-New-Guinea-rainforest.html

New Iguana!

Thanks to the generosity of two readers, I was finally able to get a mate for my iguana! At nearly four feet in length, he is almost (but not quite) full grown. Next time you are in Ramat Bet Shemesh, walk past my garden and take a look!

Kapparos

(Extracted from my book Man & Beast)

On the days preceding Yom Kippur, some have a custom to designate a chicken as a scapegoat for their own sins. They recite a statement designating it as such while passing it around their head, and the bird is then slaughtered. Many have the custom of then giving the chicken to the poor. (Some have the custom to use money for the procedure instead.)

Two of the early authorities, Rashba[1] and Ramban,[2] strongly protest against this custom, considering it to fall under the prohibition of “following the ways of the Emorites.” The Shulchan Aruch likewise disapproves of this custom.[3] However, Rabbi Moshe Isserliss, in his glosses to the Shulchan Aruch, notes that since this is an ancient custom that has widespread support, one should not dissuade people from it.

But what of the aspect of causing suffering to the birds? There is no real reason why it should be any different to any case of slaughtering a chicken to eat. Passing a bird around one’s head can certainly be done in a way that does not cause undue distress, although unfortunately inexperienced people may not know how to handle it in such a way.

The bigger problem lies in how the entire process is commonly facilitated nowadays. In pre-war Europe, a person would simply take a chicken from his yard, or from the local farmer. Today, the chickens are packed en masse into crates and shipped to city centers where they wait for people to take their turn in performing the kapparos process. This commonly results in the birds being kept in horrifically cramped conditions without food, water or shade.

While it is permitted to cause suffering to animals for material or spiritual benefit, the suffering in this case is quite needless. It would seem that causing needless suffering to animals is a Biblical prohibition that far outweighs the value of a custom. Furthermore, it would seem to fundamentally negate much of the significance of the kapparos ritual. The Tur states that after slaughtering the chicken, there is a custom to throw its innards on the roof for birds to eat. Taz[4] and Aruch haShulchan[5] state that the reason for this is to show compassion for other creatures and thereby to earn Divine compassion.[6] On the eve of the Day of Judgment, when there is a special need to earn Divine mercy, it is surely counterproductive to inflict needless suffering upon creatures.

Fortunately, in recent years, people have gradually become sensitive to this issue, and positive steps are slowly being taken to rectify this situation.


NOTES

[1] Shailos U’Teshuvos HaRashba 1:395.

[2] Cited in Orchos Chaim, hilchos erev yom hakipurim 1.

[3] Orach Chaim 605:1. Several other objections to this custom are given in other works, such as that the great volume of birds being slaughtered under rushed conditions is likely to lead in disqualifications in the slaughtering process.

[4] Orach Chaim 605:4.

[5] Orach Chaim 605:4.

[6] Others say that it is because the chicken may have benefited from stolen foods and therefore we must limit our benefit from it.

The Incredible Axolotl

Here is a photo of my latest and weirdest pet: A GFP leucistic axolotl. Behind all that jargon is a fascinating story. The axolotl is a larval form of a certain salamander. Just like frogs have larval forms of tadpoles, and butterflies have larval forms of caterpillars, salamanders have larval forms which are aquatic creatures with feathery gills, a finned tail, and no eyelids. But axolotls are unique in that they are able to breed while in larval form; in fact, under normal conditions, they never metamorphose into adults.

This particular axolotl is a leucistic variety, which means that it is a mutation that lacks pigment (wild colored axolotls are dark in color). But there's something even more unusual about it. It is from a variety that has been genetically combined with GFP, a Fluorescent Green Protein from a jellyfish, which makes it glow bright green under ultraviolet light, as you can see in this picture.



Why were axolotls genetically modified in this way? It wasn't for the shtick of it. Instead, it relates to yet another amazing aspect of them. My axolotl had one his legs eaten by his tankmate. But within a few days, he had grown a new one that looked indistinguishable from the others. Axolotls were modified with the GFP protein in order that parts of GFP axolotls can be transplanted onto other axolotls and researchers can use ultraviolet light to track cellular generation - read this article for the full story.

Amazing! That's why I love the animal kingdom - there always something incredible to discover.