Sponsored by Sharona and Josh Halickman in Honor of their 20th
Wedding Anniversary!
In Parshat Balak (Bamidbar 23:23) Bilam declares: “Ki lo
nachash b’Yaakov v’lo kesem b’Yisrael”, “There is no divination in Yaakov and
no sorcery in Yisrael.”
In Vayikra 19:26 we are commanded: “You shall not eat over
the blood; you shall not indulge in divination and you shall not believe in
lucky times.”
Is it true that Jewish people do not practice divination?
On Rosh HaShana, it is customary to conduct a seder with
symbolic foods, reciting a symbolic prayer for each food. Apples and honey are
sweet tasting and when we eat them we pray for a sweet new year. Pomegranates
allude to abundance and we focus on an increase in
Gourds, fenugreek, leeks, beets and dates are specifically mentioned in the
Gemara in Kritot 6a as good omens to be eaten on Rosh HaShana.
Can the Rosh HaShana seder be considered to be divination?
According to the Maharsha the omens at the Rosh HaShana
seder are good omens so there is no concern of divination.
The Mordechai states that a “Yehi Ratzon”, “May it be Your
will” blessing should be recited when we eat each food at the Rosh HaShana
seder. The Meiri explains that these special blessings prevent the omens from
being a form of divination as they are there to help us focus on our prayers.
Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon of JobKatif explains that according to
the Maharal, Chayei Adam and the Ramban (Breisheet 21:6), the symbols help us
create reality.
When Avraham passed through the
he was setting the scene for the time when B’nai Yisrael would eventually take
possession of the land. In Breisheet 12:7, God made the promise to Avram: “To
your offspring I will give this land” and then immediately in sentence 8 we see
that Avram pitched his tent between Bei El and Ai. This would later be the
place that Yehoshua would conquer first in battle (Yehoshua 8) which turned
Avraham’s symbolic “camping” into the reality of Jewish possession of the
According to Rav Rimon, the Rosh HaShana symbols are the
opposite of divination. In divination one sees a sign and acts upon it. The
simanim of Rosh HaShana on the other hand help create the reality. When we see
and do good things we create positive energy. When we eat good things and say
the accompanying blessings we are creating a positive atmosphere. This is not
considered divination, rather this is doing our part to have kavana (intent)
that good things should happen to us.
Rav Rimon’s positive attitude has helped many Israelis who
were evacuated from their homes in Gush Katif ten years ago. Instead of
lamenting the terrible tragedy that occurred he has helped many of these
families find new jobs and start their lives anew. As we are about to
commemorate the evacuation of Israelis from their homes during the summer of
2005 we must appreciate our leaders like Rav Rimon who with a positive attitude
helped those families move on. After seeing the failure of the plan and the
fact that the
strip is now in worse shape than ever we must use a positive attitude to make
sure that mistakes like that are not made in the future. We must continue to
travel throughout the
and show our love and appreciation for it.
