One Torah for All

Tisha B'Av, the 9th of Av, 5769 - 2009 

As we observe the anniversary of one of our darkest days, repeatedly dark from generation to generation, we often ask, “Why is this day so important to us?”  Do we really care about the destructions of the two Temples?  Certainly this is true and meaningful if we are living in hope of the days of Moshiach and the rebuilding of the Temple.  Certainly this view brings deeper meaning to the reading of Lamentations, of the haunting and graphically described events of those times.

Yet is this the only reason supporting the observance of Tisha B’Av [the 9th of Av] ?  Absolutely not.  From the expulsion of Jews from Spain on Tisha B’Av to the start of WWI with the trigger of an assassination on Tisha B’Av to many other world and personal tragedies that have occurred on Tisha B’Av we can see the broader lesson of this ancient observance.  So in fact we are taking this day to remind ourselves that in every generation, at any time, in any place, horrendous man-made tragedies can occur in events that are beyond our control.  It is not just one event like the Holocaust that can give us this perspective.  We take this opportunity to recognize that man-made tragedy can encroach on our lives even now when we may think we are living in safety.

Nonetheless, we do not stop there and wallow in sadness and utter misery.  We embrace the second lesson of Tisha B’Av as well:  although tragedy strikes, we will prevail.  We will pick up the pieces after tragedy strikes, rebuild, and return to everyday normal lives even as it is seen in the changing of the traditional wailing chant in the beginning of Tisha B’Av to the everyday typical chant in the afternoon prayers and readings.  

How fitting is such an observance ending on a positive note and going forward on a path of hope.  Why?  In just a handful of weeks we will once again be facing the Days of Awe, the High Holy Days.   We need to have with us that hope, that positive outlook that we will be renewed, we will be forgiven, we will be sealed in the Good Books.

To enforce that positive and comforting outlook, we study this week the first Parshah of the Torah Portions of Consolation, of being on the path to renewal., Va-Et-hannan.  This is the first of Moses’ discourses to the people reiterating and reinforcing their miraculous experiences, the Laws they were given by HaShem, and their need to hold fast to them in order to survive successfully.  From Deuteronomy Chapter 5, verse 6 until verse 19 we once more have the opportunity this week to hear the “Ten Commandments” even as we would have during the festival of Shavuot.  So indeed,  this week’s portion appears to me to be the core of who we are and what we need to guard closely so that we can survive as Jews, as righteous and caring people, as a light unto the nations.  This is followed in Chapter six  [verses 4-9] by the Shema and the VeAhavta, the watchword of our people, prayers we include in every service.  

    This week we approach the second portion of consolation, Ekev, in Deuteronomy [Dvarim] 7:12-11:25 and Isaiah 49:14-51:3.  The Torah portion continues with the revisiting of the events at Sinai when the tablets were hewn with the Law.  Again we find that the text includes the source of more of our daily prayers eg 11:13-21, prayers that promise that if we are faithful in observing the Law, we will be rewarded.  Thinking that over, it begs the question:  "Will we be rewarded individually or as a people?"

    Last week we heard the commandment, "YOU WILL NOT  MURDER !"

Yet we seem to be a nation as all other nations, rife with both the best and the worst of what mankind can offer.  So we painfully saw last Saturday evening in Tel Aviv when a gunman opened up with automatic fire on a group of youths gathered at a local community youth center.  Consensus is that this was not an act of Palestinian terror.  It was nonetheless hatred expressed in a most vile and unacceptable behaviour.  Was it a personal grudge?  Maybe.  The working theory though is that it was pure hatred of non-heterosexuals poured out on a group of youths searching for their own identities in what should have been a safe haven with counselors to help them with their difficult individual searches.

    The toll at the moment is 3 dead and over a dozen wounded.  One of the dead was one of the counselors, Nir Katz.  At his funeral, his mother Ayala said during the service, "Nir always had a smile on his face; and endless love for every living creature. He always had respect for himself, his life and those around him."

    Another of the dead was a heterosexual teen who had friends attending the center, Liz Trobishi.  Mourners told of a happy girl who loved to write poetry....

    How have we become a nation with extremists espousing hatred and inciting others to violate the Law we hold so dearly?  When do we really hear the words of this weeks portion [Dvarim 10:12-13] :  "And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God demand of you?  Only this, to revere the Lord your God, to walk only in the One's Paths, to love and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, keeping the Lord's commandments and laws, which I enjoin upon you today, for your good..."  ???  How can we get others to hear these words as well???

    So we continue our trek towards the High Holy Days with heavier hearts and a clearer understanding of the prayer recited over and over again during those days:  "Forgive us for our sin of causeless, senseless hatred..."

    In the third of the Portions of Consolation, Re’eh, Dvarim [Deuteronomy] 11:26-16:17, we see much repetition of the laws of avoiding idol worship, helping the needy, recognizing acceptable food animals for eating and for sacrifice, paying tithes, making vows, and the keeping of the Festival observances: Pesach [Passover],  Shavuot [Festival of Weeks], and Sukkot [Tabernacles or Festival of Booths].  It is interesting to note that here we are introduced to the concept that the Levites are needy and need special consideration along with the widow, the orphan, and the stranger sojourning among us.  We also learn of the seventh year release of contracts except those for indentured servants who need to work six years first before their seventh year at which time they could be released or further contracted for continuing work.

    Sitting alone by itself before the description of acceptable food animals is an oddity.  There is a prohibition at the beginning of chapter 14 against self-injury or immolation.  Does this have any pertinence to how we should treat the animals we will use for food?  It is not clear, but certainly opens a door to an interesting discussion about how we are to hold ourselves to the high standards of the Law and how that affects not only how we treat ourselves and humanity, but also how we treat every living creature.

    All of this comes under the umbrella of choosing a blessing or a curse:  a blessing should the laws be followed and a curse should they not.  The analogy given is the comparison of Mount Gerisim for the blessing and Mount Ebal for the curse. Gerisim and Ebal are two peaks of the Ephraim range of mountains that show a striking contrast in their appearance. Gerisim to the south of the valley of Shechem presents a smiling green slope rising in fruit-covered terraces to its summit.  Ebal on the north side is steep, bare and bleak at about 2,900 ft. high,  only slightly higher than Gerisim. The two mounts lying next to each other form accordingly a most instructive picture of blessing and curse. They both rise on one and the same soil; both are watered by one and the same fall of rain and dew.  The same air flows over both of them.  The same pollen wafts over both of them. Yet Ebal remains in barren bleakness while Gerisim is embellished in vegetation up to its summit. In the same way, blessing and curse are not conditional on external circumstances but on our own inner receptivity for the one or the other, on our behavior towards that which is to bring the blessing or the curse. [This section inspired by Rabbi Akiva Wolff, Director of Environmental Responsibility for the Center for Business Ethics in Jerusalem]

    So yet again we read the oft repeated message that if we follow the Law, good will be our portion.  These constant reminders help set the stage for our needs to repent and beg forgiveness during the High Holy Days, to promise to strive to do better in following the Law.  By receiving hope that we can have improved lives should we follow the Law even better, we are comforted – as we should be during the weeks of consolation.  So, too, our Haftorah for this portion,  Isaiah 54:11-55:5 , emphasizes that our reward will come from our righteousness that will then lead to all our needs being met.

Justice, Justice shall you pursue…  A familiar phrase that few know the source for.  [Deuteronomy, Dvarim 16:20]  Yet it is so obvious that the proper place for such an admonition is in this week’s portion of Shoftim, Judges.  It is as if we have switched gears during these weeks of consolation from being reminded of the Laws we are to follow and how we got them to more practical aspects of how to apply and enforce these Laws while learning a few more.  We are enjoined to establish magistrates and officials, to accept no bribes, to look upon each person who stands before us as equal to every other one.  There are cautions to use at least two reputable witnesses [17:6-7, 19:15-19], unrelated to each other, without anything to gain themselves from the case’s outcome.  

    A particular focus is on how to deal with the taking of another’s life or property, be it intentional or not.  Additional details are given on how to wage a more ‘ethical’ war should the need arise.  Guidelines for how Kings should act are also given in this portion.  This very practical approach to dealing with crime and behaviour, however, stands in juxtaposition with the statement of verse 21 of chapter 19: Nor must you show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.  The code of Hammurabi and the historical developing Law of the Hittites seem to be embraced at the same time that specific deviations from such a view are being spelled out!   

    Clearly the door is opened to many discussions as to where the lines must be drawn.  Is there truly no pity, no leniency in the Judgement making process?  What do we do now that there are no Levitical Priests if the highest Magistrate is too baffled by the case? [17:8-9]  Speaking of Levites, we are once more reminded of the landlessness of the Levites, the need for the people to defer to them on matters of religion and law, to abide by their judgements and rulings, to provide for them anywhere they may be.

    That said, we also find ourselves once again, like in these past few weeks, reminded to be true to the One, to not listen to false prophets and soothsayers [18:.9-13].  Worship of the heavenly bodies and false gods is not to be tolerated [17: 2-5].  Now, though, these prohibitions are interspersed with directives for how to mete out the punishments appropriate to these violations.

    In addition, the focus on the pursuit of blind justice appears to be part of a natural progression towards the High Holy Days.  We soon will be facing Judgement by the Almighty for our actions, deeds, and thoughts of this past year.  We will be pleading our cases for leniency over our misdeeds, for continued probation during which we can continue to try to make amends and fulfill the lofty goals we set for ourselves to achieve.  We will contend that repentance, prayer, and righteous acts should be cause for pity and leniency.  Yet will we be asking for Justice and just Judgements – or will we be asking for pity and leniency?  Then if for pity and leniency, how can we mesh what we pray for with the directives of this Torah Portion/Parshah of Shoftim/Judges?

Ki teitzei
Dvarim [Deuteronomy] 21:10- 25:19

Compassion in our daily lives.

                         by Adele [Jay]

As we continue towards the High Holy Days, we see a progression of growth in the topics of the Torah – from a review of our history, to a review of the core Laws, to guidelines as to how to uphold these Laws and mete out justice.  Last week we posed a question to ourselves:  how can we do an eye for an eye without pity when we ourselves are asking for pity, compassion, and leniency in judgements as we pray for being sealed in the Good Book for another year of life?

This week, the Torah portion seems to be trying to help shed light on this paradox.  We start with directives on how to treat female slaves and wives fairly and with compassion [21:10-17].  The message seems to be that no matter how many negative feelings are held for a wife, the woman is not to be demeaned nor diminished.  In fact extra care is to be given to the “hated” wife.   Does that imply that property and inheritance privileges are equal to or compensate for the “hatred”?  Or are women being thought of as property to be maintained for optimal functioning?

Nonetheless, the elements of pity and compassion are encouraged, contrary to the instructions for court judges.  Children, too, are to be given extra care if they are the offspring of the “hated” wives.  Even the rebellious among children are given extra care by requiring strangers to judge if they are worthy of punishment.  [21:18-22]  The sages write that with this system, no rebellious son was ever put to death.  It was as though this part was included in the Laws in order to scare the rebellious into better behaviour.

Compassion to the dead, irrespective of the crimes they have committed in life, is also included in this chapter [21:22-23].  A similar theme of compassion for family/community members is continued in Chapter 24.  Chapter 22 though is a mixed bag.

Chapter 22 continues with compassion through instruction on how to treat livestock and birds followed by pragmatic safety of how to avoid endangering the lives of others such as by building a safety fence around the perimeter of a roof.  The chapter however changes pace to more severe approaches in cases of inappropriate loss of female virginity and rape.

     Two oddities stick out in this chapter:  the directive to have tsitsis [religious twisted/knotted cords/tassles] on the four corners of the outer covering garment [22:12] AND  the prohibition against cross-dressing [22: 5].  No specifics of interpretation are given and therefore these two verses have been the focus of many discussions as to what they really mean.

Other perplexing verses appear in Chapter 23 as well as some that we would now consider to be examples of horrid discrimination.  Again, these are topics for much debate and discussion.

In Chapter 25, our portion continues with additional directives to judges regarding rulings in certain specific types of cases followed by a caution to always be honest in business dealings.  The Parshah [portion] closes with a reminder to remember Amalek and not to forget to work to make Amalek a distant memory.  It seems to be saying that we should work to wipe out throughout the world, the cruel and horrendous practices of Amalek.  How fitting a goal for us to undertake at this time of the approaching Days of Awe, the High Holy Days!

Ki Tavo – when you come into the land promised to you…
                                                
Dvarim [Deuteronomy] 26:1-29:8

The Parshah [portion] for this week’s Torah reading could easily be viewed as a parent giving his nearly mature, but rebellious, teenager stern words of wisdom before the child sets out alone on the journey to adulthood.   A reminder of where we all come from is followed by a long litany of curses for doing that which is wrong and of blessings for holding steadfast to the laws.  It is a kind of update on the previous set of rules, probably after hands on experience of what worked and what did not from the laws of the original covenant.  So we get more details on which behaviours are not allowed and which are encouraged.  This section also includes the sources for some of our prayers such as a Rosh HaShanah blessing over a fish or lamb’s head to start the year from the head not the tail as seen in 28:13 : “And the Lord will make thee the head and not the tail…”

To enforce this idea of an update on the laws or perhaps an addendum to a contract, we are clearly told in  28:69 : “These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which was made with them at Horeb [Mt. Sinai].”  Two covenants, this one referring back to and expanding upon Leviticus 26, and certainly a topic for interesting discussions!

What then of having the portion be one of consolation as we are told it is?  This is seen far better in the Haftorah, Isaiah LX.  Following the tone of the Torah Parsha, Isaiah gives graphic descriptions of cursings for violations of the Law and blessings for holding fast to the Law.  Unlike the Torah portion though, the Haftorah ends on a very upbeat note.  The last half dozen verses paint a glorious picture of the righteous nation to come [verses 21-22] and promises that “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, desolation nor destruction within thy borders…” [verse 18].  

Yet the Torah portion starts off with reference to the land to be inherited.  SO it seems that that is the most important focus of the Portion:  how to properly treat the land and its inhabitants so that your acts will be deemed righteous by HaShem and the blessings promised can actually come to fruition.

Further, how consistent this is with the season! Not only are we trying to make amends with others and HaShem during the High Holy Days, but also we are following the Days of Awe and Repentance with the Festival of Sukkot [Booths or Tabernacles] and the Rejoicing in the Law, Simchat Torah!  Sukkot celebrates the Land and its fruitfulness, fruitfulness we are told we will not have unless we do follow the Law we adore and celebrate on Simchat Torah!

May we all have a Blessed New Year with the best fruits of our best efforts at Tikun Olam, repair of the world in our relationships with other creatures, with the land, and with God!

additional commentary of interest, with permission to use, at:

http://canfeinesharim.org/community/parshas.php?id=17572&page=17572

Ki Tavo - First Fruits by  Leiba Chaya David

A double portion of Netzavim and Vayelech, Deuteronomy [Dvarim] 29:9-30:20 and 31:1-30
With the last Haftorah of consolation, from Isaiah LXI: 10 – LXIII:9

This week, the last Shabbat before Rosh HaShanah, we are blessed with two portions of Torah for reading and more of the same we have had these last weeks.  Moses once again reminds the nation of that which will bring blessings and that which will bring curses.  Examples from history are given to emphasize his points eg 31:1-4.  Perhaps most memorable is the statement that we are given a choice, to choose between blessings and curses, between life and death – and we are told to choose life. [30:19]

Let us not forget though that this is also where we are told that the book of the Laws, the Torah written by Moses, was entrusted to the Levites and placed in the ark along with the tablets of the covenant to be saved for all posterity to know.  [31:25-27]  We are told this as a lead into the Torah portion that will be read between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, Haazinu, in which Moses will relate his song, the song of his life and that of the people he loved and served, a song of joy and praise of God that Israel survived and is strong despite many disasters along the way.

Yet where is the consolation for this last week before Rosh HaShanah?  In the Haftorah.  This part of Isaiah is most eloquent in praise of God and promises of victory and glory for Zion as well as God’s love.  We have here the description of Israel as a bride in a joyous contract with her spouse, God. [Isaiah LXII : 5]  As a bridegroom, we are told, the Lord will defend and remember his bride.  With this upbeat Haftorah, we can feel confidence and faith that we can be renewed for a better year as we pray during this High Holy Day period.

Nonetheless, we should not loose sight that we are also obligated to extend forgiveness, apologies, and peace to all those we have interacted with this past year.  Who among us will be able to step up to the task?

Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath of Return, is held to be one of the most important Sabbaths to attend services according to Jewish traditions.  It is the only Shabbat between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.  There are those who say that if every Jew were to observe Shabbat Shuvah in a given year, it would bring on the days of Moshiach, the Messianic age.  Others, more tied to our pragmatic realities, point out that if one is truly getting into the repentant spirit of the Days of Awe, then that one should be drawn to observance of Shabbat Shuvah as an important step along the path to complete Atonement and Return to observance of the Law on Yom Kippur.  

Some feel that there are too many holidays at this season and just cancel any Shabbat Shuvah services.  Personally I believe that Shabbat Shuvah should not be ignored.  It is a long and arduous path to truly fulfill the steps of renewal asked of us during the Days of Repentance.   To confess that we are imperfect is easy, a path that Shabbat Shuvah helps in providing a special space for the contemplation of this challenge.  To enumerated how we are imperfect and sinful is harder.  Even harder is to apologize individually to those we have wronged or hurt and to be willing to forgive those who have wronged or hurt us.  Hardest of all is to make amends for the damages we have caused. 

All of these steps need to be completed before the prayers of the Day of Atonement can be received as fully meaningful.  How can we be reborn, renewed, and reinvigorated to embark upon a clean slate of a New Year if we still have not cleaned out the rotting garbage we have accumulated in the past?  How can we fully return to our roots, to being Jewish, if we continue to cling to and justify the misdeeds of our past?  To go forward humbly requires that we seek forgiveness and acceptance from those we interact with and then, in the spirit of cooperation, pursue a goal of working together with each other to build a better future for all.

In that spirit, I continue throughout this Holy Season to extend my wishes for peace to all,  my apologies to all whom I may have offended or hurt, my willingness to enter into discussions and make amends as needed, and my forgiveness to those who have offended and/or hurt me.

http://www.aish.com/tp/b/lp/48969021.html 

 and

V'ZOT HABRACHA - Shmini Aseret and Simchat Torah

2- Honesty is critical to healthy moving forward in life.  Look at the curses received by Adam and Eve as well as their son Cain for their lying…eg  Ch. 3:1-19, 22-24; 4: 9-15
3- If you really prefer to ignore all laws of common decency, then don’t be surprised if you are flooded out of house and home – or worse.  Ch. 6: 5-7 – oops, I am giving you a bit of a preview of the following week: the story of Noach
4- Don’t run around naked unless you are too young to know that you are naked.

Preview of the lessons to come in Noach [the next portion coming up Oct. 24th!] : continuing lessons on how to succeed.

1- Communications are critical to a well functioning Community.  If we babble unintelligently, if we ignore the daily teachings in our prayerbooks on how to think rationally through problems and challenges, if we don’t listen and understand each other, then all we try to build will fall as a Tower of Babel.  [actually although from the next week’s portion of Noach, it fit in here so well…]

Last week:

 A New Year of Challenges, Rebirth to the Better Selves we all are seeking

Anger deprives a sage of his wisdom, a prophet of his vision.
- Rabbi Simeon b. Lakish, Talmud: Pesahim, 66b


Was Avram a sage?  He certainly tried to avoid conflict and warfare by doing spin control over his wife/sister Sarai’s status.  Even more so he tried to avoid conflict with his cousin Lot when he told him to pick a direction of travel so that he, Avram, could go the other way.

Yet did anger did get the best of him when he went to war to free Lot and the other captives of the invaders of Sodom?  Or was it pragmatic take care of your own?  Was it wise or just run-of –the-mill?

Was Avram a prophet?  Despite over a dozen sections in this portion in which Avram is blessed by HaShem, he still did not have the vision to prevent the unpleasantness between Hagar and Sarai, his wives.  Was there anger over Hagar being able to bear his child when his beloved Sarai did not?  Since prophetic visions are said to be merely the expression of the words of HaShem, are the over a dozen blessings and the prediction of 400 years of servitude actually prophecies?

If so, does chapter 17, verse 22 mean that Abraham’s prophetic abilities left him [at least temporarily] at the age of 99 when after he was told to circumcise all the males and that then he would father a son with Sarah, it is written that then Hashem became gone from him?  Since later chapters recount further conversations with HaShem, it seems that HaShem was just taking a bit of a vacation from Abraham [waiting to see if he would actually complete the covenant with HaShem through the act of circumcision?] and Abraham remained a prophet throughout his life.

A comprehensive analysis of why Jews should not celebrate Halloween follows in Rabbi Maroof's letter, copied here in full:

Dear Friends,

I am writing to you about an urgent matter that I hope you will take to heart. Keep in mind that my intention is not to criticize the practices of others. My purpose is to encourage and promote the practice of Torah. Just as our forefather Avraham was not afraid to challenge the beliefs and practices of his community as he proclaimed the oneness of Hashem, so too must we have the courage to be honest and forthright about elements of contemporary culture that are incompatible with Jewish principles and values.

Living in a non-Jewish environment, it is difficult to avoid being swept up in the “holiday spirit” that surrounds us at certain times of year. This is especially true of children, who are subjected to the combined influences of television, radio, internet and peer pressure, all directing them to imitate the practices of American culture and try to fit in. And this is particularly evident on Halloween, which many people mistakenly believe is a secular holiday with no religious meaning.

 In reality, for Jews, to celebrate Halloween is no different than celebrating Christmas or Easter. Because it comes from an idolatrous source, medieval Celtic polytheism and folk religion, trick or treating is absolutely not permitted according to Jewish Law. Moreover, Halloween is in fact a holiday still recognized by the Catholic Church (All Hallows Eve), as is November 1^st (All Saints Day). Halloween falls out on a Saturday this year, and it would be doubly tragic to see Jewish children dressing up on Shabbat, a day of Holiness, in order to participate in a pagan ritual.

I know what you are thinking. Nowadays, most trick-or-treaters are completely unaware of the original religious meaning of the ritual. The celebration of Halloween has become a secular custom, and its significance today is more social than religious. So, is there anything wrong with allowing our children to participate?

 The Torah’s response is a clear and resounding “yes.” We are not permitted to engage in activities that have an idolatrous basis, even after their association with that source has become obsolete. Why is the Torah is so concerned about these seemingly harmless practices, and why, by extension, should we be concerned about them?

The answer is that, by prohibiting “foreign” customs, the Torah draws attention to its own uniqueness. Manmade religions and cultures are primarily designed to satisfy the emotional needs of human beings. Primitive people found themselves in an overwhelming, mysterious and threatening environment in the face of which they felt powerless and vulnerable. They created religious rituals and superstitions as a way of exerting magical influence over the forces of nature that they could not control physically. The religious traditions thus formed reflect the fears, anxieties, hopes, and fantasies of their adherents. They dressed up on Halloween to scare away or hide from evil spirits that they believed returned to haunt them on October 31^st.

What point is there in continuing this kind of a practice? What educational value does it have for our children? How does it help them grow into more mature, knowledgeable, ethical or compassionate Jews or human beings? On the contrary, even many adults “regress” to the level of children on Halloween to enjoy silliness for silliness’ sake. What a shame!

Our Holy Torah is totally and fundamentally different from the kind of belief system that brought us Halloween. Unlike primitive religion that breeds superstition, mysticism and intellectual numbness, the Torah is designed to challenge and educate human beings at the highest level of which they are capable – morally, intellectually and emotionally.

In order to accomplish its objective, the Torah helps us to develop a rigorous and realistic understanding of our world, our Creator and ourselves.  Judaism offers us a comprehensive system of ideas and commandments that must be diligently studied and observed to be appreciated. The laws and concepts of the Torah are so profound and sophisticated that only a scholar who has dedicated him or herself to investigating them for years can even begin to grasp their depth and subtlety.

When we celebrate Jewish holidays, there is always an educational, intellectual and moral component to our celebration – even on Purim! We are continually striving to grow and to promote growth in our children and families, and our mitzvot and holiday observances reflect our values. You will find nothing like this amidst the silly and ultimately meaningless antics of Halloween!

While the idolater seeks protection from the frightening realities that confront him – whether by dressing up in costume or whatever - the committed Jew engages and studies reality, humbly admiring the infinite wisdom of his Creator and constantly uplifting himself in the process.

In order to emphasize these crucial distinctions, the Torah prohibits us from adopting customs that have roots in idolatrous religions. These practices emerged from a worldview that is fundamentally opposed to Judaism and must not be confused or combined with it.

 Rather than sending Jewish children out to trick-or-treat, we should use “Halloween” as an opportunity to teach them about the features of their heritage that make it truly unique.  We should bring them to the synagogue this Shabbat and inspire them with genuine Jewish pride so that they have no need for the superficialities of Halloween. We are so fortunate to have the infinite and beautiful gift of Torah and we should help our children appreciate that fact.

Best Regards,

Rabbi Maroof

In keeping with the theme that the Torah is a guidebook on how to live a good life filled with the good things in the world and with fulfilling our obligation to do Tikun Olam, Repair of the World, we had quite a struggle to find the lessons of this past week. While we could say that the portion showed the need for patience as Abram/Abraham was repeated reassured that he and his offspring would be blessed in the long run, the more obvious lesson is the one that clearly states that to be a part of the covenant with Abraham, all males must be circumcised. [Genesis chapter 17:9-14] Exceptions for high medical risk have always been acknowledged such as in the case of a family history of hemophilia.  So even with this clear obligation upon us, some truly Jewish men may not be circumcised. 

     Nonetheless, barring a high medical risk situation, in order to include children within the Covenant of Abraham, parents are required to have their sons circumcised at eight days or a soon thereafter as is medically safe.  The covenant is not extended to the children of Ishmael even though they are also circumcised [at the age of 13]. [Genesis Chapter 17:20-21]
     Actually it would be far easier on the child than it was on the household of Abraham.  Further it implies that being Jewish, being part of the Covenant, is not a matter of choice for the Jewish baby.  [Genesis 17:14]  So at the end of Lech Lecha, Abraham and all his household enter into the covenant with HaShem.  Only after did Sarah become pregnant with Isaac.

     This brings us to VaYera, the next Torah portion in which we once again read [in greater detail] that a son is predicted to be born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age – and that his name will be Isaac.  Abraham continues to talk with HaShem and his messengers.  He even intercedes on his nephew’s behalf when told that Sodom will be destroyed.  So Lot and his daughters were saved.
     Once again, in some detail, we read that Sarah is introduced as Abraham’s sister to a King:  Abimelech this time instead of Pharoah.  Is this a second version of the same story that says that less than full honesty is acceptable if it is to save a life or lives?  Is this the lesson for living of this portion?
     Or does the lesson reside with the two most troublesome stories of our tradition read not only here but also on Rosh HaShanah:  the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael and the temptation of Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?  A great many discussions and commentaries have been and continue to be written about these stories with no clear conclusion to arrive at.  In the simplest of approaches, one could say that the common lesson of these stories and of the Haftorah stories for this portion is that HaShem will provide even more than we expect if we live according to the Covenant.  However, HaShem is the one who will determine what it is we need to have provided.  We are not the ones to determine what we need nor to pass judgement on that which actually comes to pass.  We merely need to accept what has been provided to us and work with it to do the best for ourselves and for the World around us.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it?  If only that were so…  Yet what would life be if there were no challenges and all just drifted by unremarkably?

 

 PS How could I not have noticed?   There is also a theme of unconditional hospitality and the welcoming of guests. Whereas Pharoah and Abimelech would gladly have killed the husband of a beautiful woman; and the Sodomites would rape travelers; Abra[ha]m and Lot [and the Shunamites from the Haftorah] provided shelter, sustenance, and water without any conditions to the men/messengers/angels that visited with them. In Jewish communities around the world it is commonly understood that the travelers and the needy should always be welcomed as guests at the Shabbat, Festival, Rosh HaShanah table.  Unconditional Community sharing only enriches the spiritual wealth of the community as well as gives a way to provide for the needy without embarrassing them.  What a multi-layered mitzvah!  Such good deeds will be remembered and appreciated for a long time.

Toldot, Generations

From Rabbi YY Jacobson, adapted from THE SANDY PATH TO INSPIRATION

‘Free Plowing’
Back in the ‘40s, a Jewish guy was arrested for smuggling guns into Palestine [now Israel].  He was taken to a British prison. While there, his wife wrote a letter decrying what a shlemazel he was:  “Spring is coming and with you rotting in jail, who will provide?  Who will till the land?  Who will plow the soil?”
    The man reflected on her words and then sent her an urgent reply:  “Please, my dear, whatever you do, don’t touch the field this year.  All my M1 rifles are hidden in the field!”
    Sure enough, the letter was intercepted by the British who took it most seriously.  At 6 am the next morning, 200 armed guards were at the man’s field waiting for the dawn to break.  As the sun rose, they attacked the field with shovels and rakes, leaving no rock unturned.
    When the news got back to the imprisoned Jewish guy,  he wrote another letter to his wife:  ‘My dear, now that they have plowed the field, it is time to plant seeds!”
*******************************************************************************************************************

TOLDOT -
Isaac and his life

The Nuances of Honesty, by Adele

Sister-Wife
Birthright
Blessing
     In the very beginning, the stories of Adam and Eve and of Cain and Abel brought forth a clear lesson of the need for honesty in our dealings.  Yet then the ‘what if’s’ began rearing their heads.  By the time we got to Avram and Sarai visiting the Pharoah in Egypt, we learned that not telling the entire truth was okay if it was to save the life of someone.  Similarly we excuse Abraham and Sarah when they visited in the court of Avimelech with the same less than fully truthful approach.  However, what do we do now with Isaac and Rivka using the same story with people of Gerar and the King Avimelech when they themselves aren’t brother and sister?  [Bereishit, chapter 26:7-11] Does this mean that out and out lying is acceptable in order to save a life?

    It gets much murkier as we look at other parts of this week’s Parsha [portion].  Was it dishonest of Jacob to take advantage of Esau’s hunger to buy the family birthright to be the spiritual leader of the clan?  [Bereishit Chapter 25:29-34] Or was it a challenge to see if Esau valued his birthright and would seek to protect it?  Perhaps they were both too young to really comprehend fully the significance of what they did.  After all they were called growing boys/young men in this section [ch. 25:27].

    Much more troubling is the later account in chapter 27:1-40 of Rivka and Jacob colluding to out and out lie to Isaac in order to get the inheritance blessing for Jacob although such was commonly given to the first born.  Did Isaac know he was part of a deception?  Did he understand the need to make it appear as though he had been deceived in order for the outside world to accept the unconventional passing down of the inheritance?  After all, a similar thing had happened to him when he received the inheritance rather than his older, adopted half-brother.  Further, the deception was critical to carrying out the promises of HaShem who had promised to Rivka that the elder of the twins would serve the younger [Chapter 25:23] and to Isaac [Chapter 26:2-5] that his seed would become as numerous as the stars in heavens and that by his seed all the nations of the earth would bless themselves.  In other words, those descendants would be a light unto the nations.  It is hard to imagine any way that the descendants of Esau could ever be a light unto the nations, especially in view of his taking Canaanite women as wives [ch 26:34].  This was a source of grief to his parents, particularly Rivka [ch 27:46].

    So when Jacob was sent to Laban to flee Esau’s wrath [ch 27:41-45], was it part of a bigger plan of his parents to encourage him to marry more acceptable wives [ch 28:1-7]?  Certainly he was not being punished for what he had done as it was part of being dutiful to his mother.  Yet there are some Rabbis who would say that bitter retribution was exacted from Jacob in later years for having brought his brother to tears [ch 27:38]. 

     Perhaps more importantly, what we see unfolding appears to be a plan by HaShem to fulfill his promises to the Patriarchs and the Matriarchs.  It was as it was supposed to be, even if we do not fully comprehend why.  Hence we are left with the still unanswered questions of when is it all right to be dishonest and how could we ever possibly know where the boundary limits are?…and that imprisoned Jewish guy sure did get his fields plowed…

 

 

 

VaYetzei

Stone Pillars, Piles and Contracts
By Adele

     As we go through Bereshit we find ever more complex challenges to understanding what it means to be honest and to have honest dealings.  We have moved from the simple concept of it being wrong to be dishonest to the complex politics of détente that we see unfold in this week’s portion culminating in a peace treaty between Jacob and his Uncle Laban based on misrepresentation of the facts so that both could save face and seem honorable [Genesis, chapter 31:36-53].  The entire portion is filled with deceptions and misrepresentations:

1- Laban deceives Jacob into marrying Leah.  Was Rachel complicit in this?  Is this a caution about sibling rivalry?

2- Jacob, a good observer of husbandry, offered Laban a deal that his portion would be the streaked and speckled goats and the dark sheep that would be born to the all white flocks of goats and sheep he tended.  [chapter 30:31-43]  Yet he knew that such offspring would be born in these flocks.  He understood the expression of ‘recessive traits’ long before that phrase ever came into use.  Was this dishonest?  Was this deception as Laban and his sons thought? [ch 31:1] Was this taking advantage of the less observant relatives he was forced to serve? –or was this the only way Jacob could get a fair wage given the constantly changing terms Laban imposed upon him not to mention the refusal to let him take his family to return to his parents? [ch. 31:7, 31, 41-42; 30:26-30]

3- Yet despite Laban’s mistreatment of Jacob and his daughters, Leah and Rachel, Jacob agrees to a peace contract that is based on Laban’s contention that all he did and was doing was to protect the safety of his daughters and grandchildren. [ch 31:26-28].

4- That said, Jacob was, probably unknowingly, complicit in the deception of Rachel who stole her father’s idols [ch. 31:32-35].  So it seems he also came to the peace negotiations from a less than honorable position.  After all, the head of an organization is held liable for what everyone else in the organization does with or without his/her knowledge.

     Nonetheless, Jacob and Laban made a covenant to not do each other harm by not passing over the boundary marked by the contract of a pile [heap] of stones and a marker of a pillar [ch.31:51-52].  Even so, Laban insisted on including an exception to the covenant/contract in case his daughters or grandchildren were mistreated. [ch. 31:50]  Each swore their agreement before their own God [not the same one] and it was still considered binding [ch 31:53].

     So we see that piles of stones constructed in a specific manner mark a public contract between parties while a pillar erected could also mark a contract.  A pillar could also signify that a place is holy as we read earlier [ch. 28:16-22] when Jacob erected a pillar at Beit-El after his awesome encounter with the ladder to the skies and his receiving HaShem’s blessings even as his father and grandfather before him had.

     Still these [mis]behaviours do not seem much different from what we experience in modern times.  For instance, it can be seen within different paths of Judaism that this chapter is presented with different interpretation and translations.  

     Some orthodox would have us believe that there is a disagreement between the descriptions of Jacob’s use of stones in 28:11 and 28:18.  They contend that 11 says that some stones were placed under Jacob’s head during his sleep but that 18 clearly states only one.

     On the other hand, some Conservative, some Reform, and even some non-Jewish translations insist that both verses refer only to one stone placed under his head.  The text supports neither translation/interpretation.

     Verse 11 translates to:  “and he came upon a place where he could spend the night since the sun had set; and he took of the stones of that place and put [what he took] in the vicinity of his head; and lay down in that place.”  There is no specification of how many stones.  There is no specification of where exactly what he took was placed.  We do not know at this point if over, under, around, nearby, etc.

     Verse 18 is a clearer verse and is limited to one stone in the vicinity of Jacob’s head, a stone big enough to become a pillar.  To wit:  “and Jacob arose early in the morning and took the stone that he had placed in the vicinity of his head, and set it up as a pillar [matzevah], and poured oil on the top of it.”  Anointing the pillar with oil was a ritual to make it a marker of a holy place rather than just an indicator of a contract.  Nonetheless, as seen in verse 22, it was not only a house of HaShem but also a contract between Jacob and HaShem.   In this contract HaShem promised the land and many descendants to Jacob even as he had promised them to Abraham and Isaac AND Jacob promised/vowed to give back to HaShem a tithe [tenth] of all that HaShem gives him.

     Should we argue and fight and shun each other over the differences of opinions?  Or should we make a covenant agreeing to disagree on one aspect as did Jacob and Laban in order to agree on the more important points that we do agree on:  that no one should come to harm?

     One possible way to satisfy all would be to incorporate the context of how pillars and piles of stones were used in the time of Jacob.  It was common in that age to have household idols to pray to at night to protect the sleepers’ souls [remember the idols that Rachel stole from her father?].  For people who did not worship idols, a household pile/heap of stones [or possibly a pillar] may well have marked a contract between HaShem and the sleepers.  Effectively the contract would say that HaShem would protect the souls of the sleeping and return them to the sleepers upon their waking so that they could continue following the ways of HaShem.  This is totally consistent with our morning prayer upon waking : “ I give thanks before you, HaShem, the Living and Eternal, who has returned to me my soul in [Your] great compassion and faithfulness/reliableness [i.e. HaShem’s great reliable compassion ?].

     In view of this, it is not far fetched that Jacob took of the stones of the Luz area [later renamed Beit-El, the house of HaShem] to make a temporary [household-type] pile/heap as a contract with HaShem to protect him through the night.  Was one of the stones under his head?  Who knows?  Personally I would rather have a blanket under my head and the protective stone[s] at the head of my resting spot.  Sleeping on rocky terrain does not provide the best possible sleep.  I try to clear away all the stones from my resting place when I go camping OR I’ll use a thick air mattress!

Diplomacy, Bribery, Brotherly Love, and Strong Defenses:
VaYishlach
By Adele

We often hear about Shalom Bayit, the keeping of Peace in the home.  We all have experienced the need to compromise in group situations in order to keep the peace and forward whatever the main agenda may be.  We certainly see this happening all of the time in the government, often as an amendment to the detriment of the purpose of the bill it is attached to.  In all of these scenarios, the peace is kept through civil discussions and negotiations.

This is certainly one of the lessons we can glean from this week’s portion: the use of diplomacy to optimize the peace.  Yet Jacob did not only send diplomatic messages to his brother whom he feared would still want to take revenge upon him for getting the inheritance blessing from Isaac, but he also sent much wealth in the form of animals from his flocks and servants [Ch. 32].  Was this a way to bribe his brother into good behaviour?

Beyond this tack, Jacob was constantly praying to HaShem to keep him and his family safe, constantly wrestling with the divine to prevail and not lose himself to disaster.  This wrestling is exemplified by the struggle at night with a man [verse 25] who appeared to be a divine creature and who blessed Jacob with changing his name to Israel [verse 29].  We later see this change in name again in chapter 35:9-15 when Jacob rededicates Beth-El as a Holy Place in gratitude for having escaped the wrath of his brother and when HaShem reiterates to Jacob the promise he made to Abraham and Isaac and earlier to Jacob as he fled originally from Esau.

Nonetheless, Jacob did not depend solely on prayer, faith in HaShem, diplomacy and bribery.  Just in case all else failed, he had a military strategy to preserve at least part of his wealth and his family as seen in chapter 33, a strategy for a strong self-defense if you will.  So although Esau ostensibly met Jacob/Israel with brotherly love and forgiveness, Jacob chose instead to part with him and live separately from him just in case that brotherly love was for show.  In a rare mode of writing, the word for “kissed” used when Esau kissed Jacob/Israel has dots above each letter.  It is believed that this way of writing was like putting quotation marks around a word indicating that maybe the kissing was not intended as kissing was normally understood, perhaps for show, perhaps not genuine.

SO Jacob/Israel bought a parcel of land near Shechem and settled there rather than return to Seir where his brother lived.  How different would our history have been had Jacob gone to Seir?  Would we still have a story about Dinah or would her name have been lost as were those of most of the daughters of the family?  Would Esau have allowed Israel to live and thrive in his own yard?  All in all, Israel’s prudent defense was one of not looking for trouble, not courting the possibility of further nastiness.  Further, we know that the actions Israel took did not estrange him from his brother.  They both came together to bury their father when he died [chapter 35:29].

Once again we find that the portions of the Torah are filled with guidance on how to live a good life not only from the individual perspective, but also as families and communities.  This portion clearly teaches that one must not go forward on faith alone.  Prudent actions are needed in conjunction with prayer to turn events away from potential man-made disasters.  It also cautions us with the story of Dinah and the murder of the men of Shechem that we are not always as wise as perhaps we ought to be in deciding what prudent actions need to be taken.  We are, after all, human beings not divine creatures.

Family interactions are always a challenge as we once again see in this week's portion/Parashah of VaYeishev. Last week we noted that we are all human and, at times, don't make the most prudent or helpful decisions. This question comes up again: was it prudent, proper or ethical of Judah to deny Tamar a child with whom to build a family line for his oldest, deceased son? Unlike last week though when we were left wondering about the righteousness or lack thereof of tricking the men of Shechem into a debilitated state in order to murder them over the rape of Israel's daughter, Dinah, by their Prince, this week we get a clear sense that taking action to oppose unjust actions will be recognized as correct and rewarded. We also note that Tamar tricked her father-in-law only to accomplish a mitzvah, a good deed. There were no thoughts of revenge, anger, or hatred. She only wanted to do what was right.

Unlike Tamar, Joseph was not so clear as to what the right thing to do was when he had dreams of the future. He was young and gifted, but had not yet learned to be diplomatic about his gift as his father had been regarding the differences with Esau, Joseph's uncle, all those years before. Yet just as Joseph did not, perhaps, need to be so blatantly in the face of his brothers about his dreams, so too the actions of his brothers could hardly be called prudent, pure-hearted, or proper. Fratricide? Unthinkable to us! Selling a family member into servitude? Not something Western mentality or Jewish ethics would support. Still there are many poverty areas of the world where this is an accepted way to deal with undesirable or unvalued family members while improving the family finances. Worse yet are the times when family members are kidnapped into servitude to the great distress of the family as well as the kidnappee. Are we to draw lessons against non-voluntary servitude from this portion?

If so, were we try to say that Joseph should not have been sold into servitude because it is not a proper, righteous thing to do to a family member no matter how much we can't stand him, then we are stuck with the realization that had the brothers not been so hot-headed, Joseph would never have been put into the position to use his gift of dream interpretation to save his family from the famine to come. We say HaShem works in mysterious ways, even ways that make no sense to us or seems to be unethical. How then can we tell when HaShem is working in a mysterious way or something is just plain wrong and should be opposed? To my thinking, I can never know for sure. So if it seems according to my Jewish training that a thing is wrong, then I am obligated to find a way to oppose it even as the Maccabbees opposed the Greek/Assyrian invaders who defiled the Temple and tried to deprive us of our religious practices. How well these thoughts mesh with our Torah portion this week, for indeed we start our celebration of Chanukah this year with this parasha. Happy Chanukah to all!

2nd Shabbat Chanukah
Re-Sanctification and Forgiveness
Adele

     It is a rare year that we get to celebrate Shabbat Chanukah twice.  Not generally known is that during Chanukah, a different Maftir portion per day is used on days Haftorah is read. [ Maftir is the Torah reading used just before the recitation of the Haftorah.]  This Shabbat’s maftir includes a description of a gold, 7 branched menorah [Numbers 8:1-4] – clearly the reason why this portion is connected to Chanukah and the re-sanctification of the Temple.

     With one exception, the maftir selections for the rest of the days of Chanukah deal solely with the description of the contributions/donations by the tribes upon the consecration of the Tabernacle by Moses, tribal leader by tribal leader, tribe by tribe.  The interesting part is that each tribe, regardless of size or wealth, contributed exactly the same as every other tribe.   We are told that this gave each tribe equal standing and none would be embarrassed.

     Similarly, this week’s Haftorah [I Kings 7:40-50; one of the shortest], special for Chanukah, is of 11 verses.  It describes the beautiful ornamentation, contributed by the nation [from taxes], used in part in the consecration of King Solomon’s Temple, a Temple architecturally similar to the non-Jewish temple in the Tyre of those days.

     The one exception referred to earlier occurs in Sephardic tradition in which, unlike in Ashkenazic [western] tradition, the first day of Chanukah’s maftir starts with the three-fold Priestly Benediction blessing of the Cohanim [Numbers 6:22-27] given just before the description of the consecration of the Tabernacle and the leaders of the tribes.  These blessings seem to be a sanctification not only of the tribal leaders, but also of the people.  Hence they are so appropriate to the Chanukah Season of Joy, re-Sanctification, and re-Dedication of our spirits and souls to Tikun Olam, Repair of Ourselves and of the World.

     Yet the beauty of this Season would never have happened had Joseph not learned how to interpret dreams, not been given the chance to interpret the Pharoah’s dreams, not risen to viceroy of Egypt, and not forgiven his brothers for having plotted against him.  Indeed these are the miracles of this week’s Parsha [portion] that allowed Joseph to save the children of Israel.  They are part of what allows us to celebrate Chanukah in modern times.  

     Let us all find the courage to forgive others for their misdeeds so that we can all, like Joseph, achieve the ability to save our brethren in this spiritually famished world.  Chag Chanukah Sameach!  Happy Chanukah!

Revival, Relocation, and Reunification
Adele

VaYigash

Relocation and reunification. What a fitting topic for this, the last week of the secular year, and the last week for Beit Torah to be located at the PV House of Karate which is being closed down. This week’s parasha/portion describes the revival of Jacob with the news that Joseph was still alive, the relocation of the children of Israel [all 70 of them] to the land of Goshen in Egypt, and the reunification of the children of Israel with the return of Joseph and his family. This past August, the ailing Beit Torah was revived by the influx of new blood. At the end of this month, Beit Torah will be relocating all its activities to several private homes until such time as another host facility is located. Who knows what 2010 holds for us? Perhaps reunification where needed? Patience and fortitude will accompany us as we mature into the future of secrets to be revealed as time goes on.

So too the children of Israel progressed into their future from wild children matured into leaders of their clans, from guilty consciences for having betrayed their brother to men forgiven for their youthful transgressions, and from children haunted by the deep pain and depression they had caused their father to a family totally reunified with forgiveness and love. All this was under the guidance of HaShem. They did not need to choose patience and fortitude. It was forced upon them by circumstances. Only Joseph might have had a glimpse of the total picture. He might have had to choose patience and fortitude since the predictions he made took many years to come about. When did he realize that he was being guided by HaShem? Was it all 22 years in Egypt before his family came? Perhaps he did not realize it, nor believe it, until the Pharoah brought him from the prison to interpret his dreams. That would have required more than 7 years of patience.

However, if Joseph was like us today, he might not have realized HaShem’s hand in it all until the moment his brothers stood before him, pleading to buy food for their families faced with starvation in rampaging famine. Will we have the vision to see where the path of Beit Torah is leading or will we recognize it only as it unfolds in the future?

 

An End to Genesis, but New Beginnings on Many Fronts
Adele

VaYechi

Patriarchal Blessings and the End of Genesis

     As we come to the end of Genesis, the end of the secular year, and the end of our time meeting in karate studios we recognize that every end signifies a new beginning.  So while Jacob has met the end of his days, the Children of Israel continue on building new lives in Egypt, each according to his blessing by his Father, Israel. [Bereishit, Chapter XLIX]  In the corresponding Haftorah, King David comes to the end of his days; his son Solomon continues on, building the nation according to his blessing by his Father, David. [I Kings 2:1-12]


     Similarly the end of the secular year leads into the beginning of a new secular year.  Every moment of additional time we receive gives us the opportunity to start or to continue with Tikun Olam, the Repair of the World.  We are instructed in Bereishit, Genesis, to do so: to finish and fine-tune the creations of HaShem, to act as partners in preserving, maintaining, and improving the world [Genesis 1:26-28].  Through this effort we may be able to improve ourselves to become more and more truly in the image of HaShem.  So even as each of the Children of Israel needed to live up to his blessing, we also need to live up to our blessing of having been created in the image of HaShem.[see also Psalms 8:5-9]


     This concept of Tikun Olam means that we can never accept the status quo until the perfection of the Messianic Age is upon us.  Whether or not we believe the Messianic Age will actually come, we all can agree that the world is far from perfect.  To sit back and pretend that everything is running smoothly with peace and love, or that everything is the will of HaShem and therefor should not be changed, is to ignore our responsibilities to make the world a better place.  Perhaps that is why we have the custom of making New Year’s resolutions.  We apparently all recognize that we are not living up to our obligations.


     So on a more mundane level we go forward trying to improve the world around us by leaving the discomforts of karate studios to the greater comforts [we hope] of private homes, something we could not have done just a few short months ago.  Nor would we have moved forward so soon in that direction by choice.  Yet apparently Yad HaShem, the hand of the Holy One, has guided us to this point.  For this we are most grateful.


     As we approach new beginnings on many fronts: from Genesis to Exodus, from 2009 to 2010, from a karate studio based group to a Jewish Community based congregation – we pray that we will continue to go from strength to strength guided by HaShem.  So it is said at the end of every book of the Torah:  Chazak, Chazak, v’Nitchazek!    Be strong, be strong, and we shall become even stronger!

 This commentary was inspired by the words of Rabbi Irving Greenberg, Ph.D. in his article "Toward a Covenantal Ethic of Medicine", pp.124-149, Jewish Values in Bioethics, Human Sciences Press, Inc. [1986].

An End to Genesis, but New Beginnings on Many Fronts

by Adele

VaYechi

Patriarchal Blessings and the End of Genesis

     As we come to the end of Genesis, the end of the secular year, and the end of our time meeting in karate studios we recognize that every end signifies a new beginning.  So while Jacob has met the end of his days, the Children of Israel continue on building new lives in Egypt, each according to his blessing by his Father, Israel. [Bereishit, Chapter XLIX]  In the corresponding Haftorah, King David comes to the end of his days; his son Solomon continues on, building the nation according to his blessing by his Father, David. [I Kings 2:1-12]


     Similarly the end of the secular year leads into the beginning of a new secular year.  Every moment of additional time we receive gives us the opportunity to start or to continue with Tikun Olam, the Repair of the World.  We are instructed in Bereishit, Genesis, to do so: to finish and fine-tune the creations of HaShem, to act as partners in preserving, maintaining, and improving the world [Genesis 1:26-28].  Through this effort we may be able to improve ourselves to become more and more truly in the image of HaShem.  So even as each of the Children of Israel needed to live up to his blessing, we also need to live up to our blessing of having been created in the image of HaShem.[see also Psalms 8:5-9]


     This concept of Tikun Olam means that we can never accept the status quo until the perfection of the Messianic Age is upon us.  Whether or not we believe the Messianic Age will actually come, we all can agree that the world is far from perfect.  To sit back and pretend that everything is running smoothly with peace and love, or that everything is the will of HaShem and therefor should not be changed, is to ignore our responsibilities to make the world a better place.  Perhaps that is why we have the custom of making New Year’s resolutions.  We apparently all recognize that we are not living up to our obligations.


     So on a more mundane level we go forward trying to improve the world around us by leaving the discomforts of karate studios to the greater comforts [we hope] of private homes, something we could not have done just a few short months ago.  Nor would we have moved forward so soon in that direction by choice.  Yet apparently Yad HaShem, the hand of the Holy One, has guided us to this point.  For this we are most grateful.


     As we approach new beginnings on many fronts: from Genesis to Exodus, from 2009 to 2010, from a karate studio based group to a Jewish Community based congregation – we pray that we will continue to go from strength to strength guided by HaShem.  So it is said at the end of every book of the Torah:  Chazak, Chazak, v’Nitchazek!    Be strong, be strong, and we shall become even stronger!

 This commentary was inspired by the words of Rabbi Irving Greenberg, Ph.D. in his article "Toward a Covenantal Ethic of Medicine", pp.124-149, Jewish Values in Bioethics, Human Sciences Press, Inc. [1986].

 adapted with permission from Canfei Nesharim
http://canfeinesharim.org/uploads/14031Shemot_printable.pdf

Canfei Nesharim: Parsha Shemot
Produced by Canfei Nesharim as a part of their weekly Parsha series, Eitz Chayim Hee: A Torah Commentary for Environmental Learning and Action. See www.canfeinesharim.org for details.
Parshat Shemot: The Power of Names
By Udi Hammerman
Shemot, the Hebrew title of the Book of Exodus, means “names”, suggesting how significant the
issue of identity will be as the saga of Jewish slavery, redemption and revelation unfolds. Shemot opens with a list of the names of the Children of Israel as they came down to Egypt, counting each individual within those families: “Now all those descended from Jacob were seventy souls, and Joseph, who was in Egypt.”[1] Shortly afterwards, “A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know about Joseph.”[2] This Pharaoh, unaware of the name of the most famous Israelite - in fact, one of the most famous men in all of Egypt - will dedicate his life to eradicating all that the first few verses of Shemot had established. By considering Pharaoh's process of dehumanizing (essentially unnaming) the Children of Israel, we will discover how powerful names are, and how they can help us build a world of greater consciousness and conscientiousness. Shortly afterwards, “A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know about Joseph.” This Pharaoh, unaware of the name of the most famous Israelite - in fact, one of the most famous men in all of Egypt - will dedicate his life to eradicating all that the first few verses of Shemot had established. By considering Pharaoh's process of dehumanizing (essentially un-naming) the Children of Israel, we will discover how powerful names are, and how they can help us build a world of greater consciousness and conscientiousness.
Feeling threatened by the presence of the Children of Israel flourishing in his land, Pharaoh begins a multi-staged plan of isolation and oppression in order to estrange them from Egyptian society. As if anticipating Pharaoh's next move, the Torah sets the stage by describing Israel as if it were a colony of insects: “The Children of Israel were fruitful and swarmed and increased and became very strong, and the land became filled with them.”[3] Viewed in such a light, Israel arouses disgust in the Egyptian people. Viewed in such a light, Israel arouses disgust in the Egyptian people.[4]
This is in strong distinction to the opening of the Shemot, in which each of the tribal heads are
named, and every person, seventy souls, is counted.
Soon after that, “the Egyptians enslaved the Children of Israel with backbreaking labor,” fully
alienating them from Egyptian society. They become a lowly caste of slaves, harshly driven by
their taskmasters. The Midrash says that the excessive toil was designed to wear out the men and keep them from their wives, so that they would not reproduce.[5] Next, Pharaoh tries to get the Hebrew midwives to kill all newly born males. From here it is a small step indeed to the final solution: Pharoah commands his people to drown all male babies in the Nile.[6] Next, Pharaoh tries to get the Hebrew midwives to kill all newly born males. From here it is a small step indeed to the final solution: Pharoah commands his people to drown all male babies in the Nile.
How terribly reminiscent of our people's recent history. First the dehumanization, the terrible
propaganda, that ascribed the name of enemy to an entire people. Friends, neighbors, business
partners, great thinkers - the Germans learned to see all these people as nothing but Jude, Jew.
The alienation brought by such an appelation facilitated their removal from society, an important
stage whose ultimate consequence was concentration camps and the giving of numbers to each
individual, utterly obliterating any sense of name at all. Now, numbered like objects in a
warehouse, the people were so dehumanized their wholesale slaughter seemed perfectly
acceptable.
The significance of names in the Torah is apparent from the beginning. Seeking a helpmate for the first man, G-d brings all of the animals of the world before him, “To see what the man would call them.”[7] Before names, the man is alone. The act of naming opens the potential for relationship.
However, the text does not record the names given by man to any of the animals. When woman,
the one to whom man can truly relate, is created, he says “This is bone from my bones, flesh from my flesh, therefore let her be called Ishah (woman) for she was taken out of Ish (man).”[8] The first name explicated in the Torah is a name of deep, essential connection. Later, the first woman is given an even more specific name - Chava (Eve) - because she is in universal relationship: “the mother of all the living.”[9] Before names, the man is alone. The act of naming opens the potential for relationship. However, the text does not record the names given by man to any of the animals.
When woman, the one to whom man can truly relate, is created, he says “This is bone from my
bones, flesh from my flesh, therefore let her be called (woman) for she was taken out of (man).”
The first name explicated in the Torah is a name of deep, essential connection. Later, the first
woman is given an even more specific name - (Eve) - because she is in universal relationship: “the mother of all the living.”
Our names are our essence. They are meant to describe what we truly are. If there were no
names, what could one person call another? “Hey you: tall guy, smart guy, guy with red hair…” We would have no connection to anyone’s true essence. There could be no real relationship. Why is it that turning people into numbers is such a terrible thought to us? Because removing the name undermines the true nature of humans! Using numbers to tell the difference between one person and another means that I do not care at all about the people I am counting. I just need a way of telling them apart, like apples in a barrel! That is the destruction of individuality, the destruction of personal meaning, and the destruction of relationship. It is relating to human beings only in terms of functionality, in terms of their usefulness to me, and not at all in terms of who they are, of caring, of relationship.
If the removal of names can lead to the destruction of a people, then the appropriate use of names can bring redemption. G-d's desire to liberate the slaves is aroused, in part, by the names with which Shemot opens.[10] By keeping their Hebrew names during the period of enslavement, the Israelites prevented total assimilation into Egyptian culture.[11] G-d teaches Moses various Divine names and their meanings to prepare him for his role as liberator.[12] By keeping their Hebrew names during the period of enslavement, the Israelites prevented total assimilation into Egyptian culture. G-d teaches Moses various Divine names and their meanings to prepare him for his role as liberator.
Humans are brought into the world to give things their essence, their meaning and their place in
the world. When we do this, we truly fulfill our Divine purpose. When we do not, we risk destroying G-d's world. We must constantly be asking ourselves about our relationships. Are they
relationships of love and caring, or are they self-serving and exploitative? How do I relate to those different than me? How do I relate to the world beyond my immediate surroundings, for example, to the rainforests? To the cows at the factory dairy farm whose milk I drink every morning? To the chickens at the industrial poultry shed near my house? When I buy brand new sneakers, do I consider who made them? How was that individual human being treated while he or she made my shoes?
If we deny the names - the unique identity - of other people, of the creatures and plants and places of the earth, we risk becoming like Pharaoh and all the other despots of the world. Threatened by the complexity and variety of the world, they choose to see others as nameless resources, as nothing more than a means towards their own personal goals. Such a path, while often seeming to increase comfort and efficiency in the present, ultimately leads to slavery and oblivion.


Udi Hammerman is currently a third year student at Hebrew University, studying Psychology and
Jewish Philosophy. He also works extensively in outdoor Jewish education with teens and young
adults, guiding trips and as part of the Program and Curriculum Development team for Derech
Hateva, an association connected with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. Udi made Aliyah with his family at the age of 10, was a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces through the Hesder Program at Yeshivat Har-Etzion, and post-army studied for five years at the Bat-Ayin Yeshiva.
_________________________________
[1] Exodus 1:5
[2] Exodus 1:8
[3] Exodus 1:7
[4] Exodus 1:12
[5] Exodus Rabbah 1:12, 9:9
[6] Exodus 1:22. Rashi notes that the verse says “every son who is born,” not “every son who is
born to the Israelites.” Pharoah's mania to destroy Israel was so great that he decreed against his
own people as well.
[7] Genesis 2:18-19
[8] Genesis 2:23
[9] Genesis 3:20. The Hebrew for Eve, Chaya, is connected to the word for living, chai. It is
interesting to note that the first man is not referred to by a proper name, Adam, until after Chava is
named. Until then, he is called haAdam- “the man.”
[10] Exodus Rabbah 1:5: These are the names of the Children of Israel– for the sake of the
redemption are they mentioned here. Reuben, as it says-I have surely seen the affliction of my
people in Egypt. Shimon, as it says- And God heard their cries, etc (quoting Exodus 3:7).
[11] Leviticus Rabbah 32:5
[12] Exodus 3:13-15, 6:2-3

Plagues and Yad HaShem, the Hand of the Holy One

How do Miracles Happen?

food for thought for this portion and next:  check out

http://www.grahamphillips.net/Books/act_new.htm

http://www.grahamphillips.net/Books/act_new2.htm

In these portion we are given a view of some miracles in the form of plagues against Pharoah and the Egyptian people.  Miraculous events are always the source of wonderment in the observers, the readers and the listeners.  How much more so when we take seriously the later instructions to tell the story of the Exodus to all generations and faithfully do so!

Yet, I can not help but constantly wonder:  What makes a Miracle?  When we speak of Yad HaShem, the Hand of the Holy One visible in our own lives, are we not talking about miracles?  Sometimes we note that all the pieces to our miracles existed all along naturally.  Yet the timing and how the pieces come together seem to be the miraculous components.  Are they only because of choices made by people?  If so, has HaShem influenced those choices?  After all we are told that HaSHem fiddled with Pharoah's feelings and 'hardened his heart'.

Nonetheless, some miraculous events have components that are not in any way under the control of people.  If from natural sources, the timing again seems to be the miraculous component.  Since the World and all therein are the creations of HaShem, is it so far fetched that HaShem set his creations up to come together at a specific time to do miraculous things?  So even if we can explain away what some think to be miracles as the results of natural phenomena, does that make those results any less miraculous?

Last questions to ponder:  how can we be attuned to noticing the miracles that happen around us day by day?  Do our daily worries distract us from being observant of our surroundings?  Are our behaviours mean and negative, thereby interfering with our abilities to perceive the good, positive, wondrous, and enriching around us?

Please ponder these thoughts and bring your views on them to our next Shabbat morning study group.

Plagues and Yad HaShem, the Hand of the Holy One

How do Miracles Happen?

food for thought for this portion and next:  check out

http://www.grahamphillips.net/Books/act_new.htm

http://www.grahamphillips.net/Books/act_new2.htm

In these portion we are given a view of some miracles in the form of plagues against Pharoah and the Egyptian people.  Miraculous events are always the source of wonderment in the observers, the readers and the listeners.  How much more so when we take seriously the later instructions to tell the story of the Exodus to all generations and faithfully do so!

Yet, I can not help but constantly wonder:  What makes a Miracle?  When we speak of Yad HaShem, the Hand of the Holy One visible in our own lives, are we not talking about miracles?  Sometimes we note that all the pieces to our miracles existed all along naturally.  Yet the timing and how the pieces come together seem to be the miraculous components.  Are they only because of choices made by people?  If so, has HaShem influenced those choices?  After all we are told that HaSHem fiddled with Pharoah's feelings and 'hardened his heart'.

Nonetheless, some miraculous events have components that are not in any way under the control of people.  If from natural sources, the timing again seems to be the miraculous component.  Since the World and all therein are the creations of HaShem, is it so far fetched that HaShem set his creations up to come together at a specific time to do miraculous things?  So even if we can explain away what some think to be miracles as the results of natural phenomena, does that make those results any less miraculous?

Last questions to ponder:  how can we be attuned to noticing the miracles that happen around us day by day?  Do our daily worries distract us from being observant of our surroundings?  Are our behaviours mean and negative, thereby interfering with our abilities to perceive the good, positive, wondrous, and enriching around us?

 Transliterated copies of the Torah portion are available upon request. 

Song of the Sea = Deserving of Praise or Criticism?

The following is adapted from :
http://www.rabbiwein.com/Jerusalem-Post/2010/01/488.html?print=1

Please go to this website to view the entire original commentary.

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 This Shabat is a doubly memorable one. Aside from the holiness of the Shabat day itself the date also is Tu Bshvat, the fifteenth day of Shvat, and the Shabat is called Shabat Shira – the Shabat of song. In the Torah reading we hear the song of Moshe and Israel at the Red Sea after Pharaoh’s destruction. While we understand the joy over escaping the Egyptians, we can not help but wonder whether we should feel joy over  the deaths of the Egyptian host - man and beast alike.  There is something uncomfortable about contemplating death on such a scale, even as we contemplate the horror that has unfolded in Haiti.

The Haftorah is the lyrical song of the prophetess Deborah in celebration of the defeat of the Canaanite tyrant king and general. Again we have mixed feelings of joy over winning the war but horror over the accompanying deaths.

Tu Bshvat reminds us of our connection to our land and its soil and its produce. It also points out the deep connection that the Torah teaches us exists between the natural world, its ecology and preservation and the Jewish people particularly and humankind generally. We were placed by God on this world to work it and guard it, to use its resources for our benefit but at the same time to safeguard it from ruthless exploitation and man made destructive forces.

One of the prohibitions of the Torah is not to destroy trees, food, produce and the planet generally, needlessly and heedlessly. All of HaShem's creations, including fruits, have a holiness attached to them. When we partake of them on Tu Bshvat we reaffirm our commitment to the preservation of that holiness and our continuing obligations to create a blessed planet for those who will come after us.

Judaism and Jewish values have an important role to play in this committment. Jews are the experts in long term education, commitment, tenacity and sophistication. It is the secret of our survival over these many long millennia. Viewing Tu Bshvat as part of this educational project gives the enterprise a holy tone and an historical backdrop.

It will help guarantee that later generations will also be able to eat new delicious fruits grown from the carefully nurtured soil, especially that of the Land of Israel. “Green” is not and should not be a secular enterprise solely. Torah ideas and Jewish values have much to say about it as well.

In the long exile of the Jewish people from their homeland, Tu Bshvat was always a warm reminder of what once was and what would yet be once more. Jews ate dried and hard carob fruit and thought about Jerusalem and a better world for all.

Reverence for life, all forms of life on our wondrous earth is a keystone of Jewish attitude and thought. So, on Tu Bshvat we should appreciate the deep values that lie behind the delicious fruit that we eat. It is our “Green” holiday – our reminder that we are the custodian and responsible guardian of God’s gifts of nature that have been granted to us.

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Everyone is welcome to join us in celebrating this marvelous holiday this Saturday at 4 pm at Eve's home in Prescott.  Please call Beit Torah 237-0390 for further details and directions or write ansheitorah@cableone.net .  Have a Great Week you all!

Including THE TEN COMMANDMENTS coming soon to a Torah study near you.

Yitro – the first version of The Ten Mitzvot and how to delegate, delegate, delegate

The Name of this parashah comes from a very pragmatic relating of how Yitro, Moses’ father-in-law, reunited Moses with his wife and sons and then directed Moses in how not to be a workaholic, in part it is said so that he could have Shalom Bayit, Peace in the Home.  With a structure of delegation of responsibilities to others, Moses no longer needed to act as the Judge/Priest of a clan for all of the multitude who had come out from Egypt.  

Upon hearing the wonders and miracles that HaShem, the Holy One, had done, Yitro acknowledges HaShem as mightier than all the other gods and offers sacrifices to HaShem.  This reaffirmation of the supremacy of HaShem sets the stage for the next section during which the multitude is given the Ten Mitzvot at the foot of Mount Sinai.

Hence, this parashah is one of the most important in the Torah.  It contains the first version of the The Ten Mitzvot [often known as Commandments] and is so important that even some congregations that usually follow the triennial cycle will read the entire portion so that the 10 can be heard every year.  [They are only heard 2 out of the 3 years in the alternative triennial set up]

As in the other parashot we have read since beginning of Bereishit, most of the events are reported in two ways.  It is possible, according to some biblical historians, that it is because the oral traditions had been passed down in two slightly different versions among the Israelites and the Hebrews [Habiru].  So when they came together to write down the Torah, both had need to be represented so none would feel diminished.

The present version seems shorter and streamlined.  For instance, there is no golden calf in this version.  The people say they will do [na-aseh] the mitzvot in this first take, but in the second version they say they will do the mitzvot and then listen [as to why/study to understand why][na-aseh v’nishmah].

The oddest thing in this portion, or so it seems to me, is the last verse of the portion that says that going to a sacrificial altar should not require going up steps so that the supplicants would not reveal their nakedness.  Hmmm… Reminds me of King David’s behaviour at the celebrations for the dedication of the 2nd Temple that resulted in his being estranged from the Princess, his wife.

Shabbat Shekalim, Parashat Mishpatim

Study and prayer are all good and well for the individual spirit, but good deeds in the service of others and aimed at the improvement of the world surpass them all.  In this week’s portion the basic laws are expanded upon to give a broader basis by which we Jews can live in harmony with others.  At the same time we will be announcing the new month of Adar and explaining how charity can be given in many forms in order not to embarrass the recipient.

As a result, there is an additional Torah reading for this week [Exodus 30:11-16].  It speaks of every person recorded as of at least age 20 needing to pay ½ shekel [20 gerahs] so “that no plague may come upon them”.  This tax is called an expiation tax and is to be assigned to the use of the Tent of Meeting – ostensibly for the upkeep of the Tabernacle and the religious accoutrements used therewith.

After the nomadic wanderings, it was also probably used for the priests.  In the Haftorah for Shekalim, we learn that abuses had come into the system.  The Priest Jehoiada  guided the new 7 year old King Jehoash in the clean up of the Temple, totally wiping out all vestiges of Baal worship that had been prominent.  However, people had made their own shrines for Jewish format sacrifices in many places across the country.  These shrines were allowed to continue so that the worship and sacrifices also continued in a decentralized manner.  Quite possibly these shrines were what enabled the remnants to continue Jewish practices after major invasions, exiles, and/or near annihilations.

In modern times we use Shekalim to announce the coming of Purim in Adar and may take the opportunity to explain what charitable measures are associated with the holiday.  For instance, there is the practice of Shlach Manot, the giving of food baskets to the needy and the not so needy.  Commonly it is said that there should be three types of food requiring 3 types of blessings at a minimum.  Further it is said that at least 3 people should be the recipients of these baskets.  

As an example, one could make up baskets including  grapes or a small bottle of grape juice [borei pri hagefen, thanks for the fruit of the vine], a baked good [hamotzi or borei minei mizonot], and fruit [borei pri haEtz, thanks for the fruit of the trees].  When children are recipients, one favorite used in the baskets is animal crackers/cookies.  Some people put a few small coins in each basket as well.  Of course, the Hamantaschen may be the favorite baked good of the recipients as would be expected on Purim!

Another practice is to pay a half shekel [often represented by half dollar coins] for a congregational specific project.  This would be in addition to the collection of pushka donations for typical charity donations such as to the Israeli National Fund that manages the water and trees in HaAretz [Israel].

Certainly one of the lessons to be taken from this week’s Haftorah is to understand that we always need to be vigilant to prevent financial mismanagement and abuses.  We need accountability, to be able to verify that our donations are actually being used for charitable purposes and not going to line the pockets of the money handlers.  In fact, after 23 years of mismanagement, King Jehoash made it clear that all donations were to go for the maintenance and repair of the Temple, the House of the Lord, EXCEPT those from sin and guilt offerings.  It is also clear from this Haftorah that by the time of Jehoiada, money donations could be used instead of agricultural produce/animals for some of the offerings/sacrifices.  This makes sense given the ever-increasing urbanization of the population during which access to animal and other agricultural products for sacrifice would be less than in earlier times.

In fact, this appears to be an expected intermediate step to what we now have in practice:  no sacrifices of animals or produce, charity in monetary form or in the form of goods such as foodstuffs and clothing.  The one important aspect of charity not addressed in these portions is the one that I feel should be most important to the modern Jew: the giving of oneself in charitable acts.  Whether as a volunteer teacher, a volunteer caregiver for the elderly or severely disabled, a volunteer in preserving the environment and HaShem’s creatures therein, a volunteer in providing support services for end-of-life issues and events, a volunteer cooking for or serving food to the needy, or a volunteer in countless other ways – we all can find meaningful outlets to match our abilities and our schedules.  

Perhaps Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan best expressed the need for us to do this type of mitzvah when he said: “The worship of God, though desirable as an end itself, can somehow never be in the right spirit, unless it impels one to the service of man.”

T’rumah, Donations or How to Build a Holy Site and Spiritual Sanctuaries
by Adele
This week our Torah and Haftorah portions provide great details on how to build and maintain the Tabernacle [Mishkan] and the Temple in order to provide a home for the Shechina, the Presence of HaShem [the Holy One].  For some modern people, it is very difficult to relate to the concept of a single location to house the Holy Presence.  We are taught that our prayers are heard no matter where we are.  We are also taught that each Jewish House of worship has a home for the Holy Presence [e.g. in the ark of the Torah].  Last week we studied the Haftorah of Shekalim in which we learned that the shrines that had sprung up around the country while the Temple was desecrated with Baal worship were approved of by the King and allowed to continue.  It would then follow that they, too, were thought to provide a home for the Holy Presence.

Yet what is a home for the Holy Presence, a Spiritual Sanctuary?  Does it have to be in a material building or other location?  Can we not all, each and every one of us, provide a Spiritual Sanctuary for HaShem?  We are taught that we are all children of Hashem, that we all contain a divine spark.

Some of us need that solid place to touch, to embrace, to be comforted by as representative of the beauty of the Holy Presence.  However, regardless of where we perceive the Spiritual Sanctuaries are, none are of any use to us unless we are opened to the embrace of the Holy Presence through our acts of Mitzvot [good deeds] and gentle thoughts of compassion, respect, caring, and love for all.  Quite possibly the realization of Tikun Olam, the repair of ourselves and our communities and the world, will not be possible unless we come together to cooperate towards that end while under the guidance of the Shechina, the Holy Presence.

We are taught that each of us is to be both student and teacher, to be guided and to guide others who also care about the healing of the wounded souls that fill our communities and the world.  That means all of us, for each of us is one of the walking wounded.  So, we all need healing and to be able to help others heal.  May we all find our Spiritual Sanctuaries and the Shechina in order to go forward in helping with Tikun Olam!

Study questions:

1)  Why were the building materials supposed to be as natural as possible?  
2)  What were the differences in materials between those for the Tabernacle [Mishkan] and the Temple?

Questions to ponder:

1) God instructs Moses how to make a sanctuary for God’s presence. Can you describe different kinds of sanctuaries that are filled with God’s presence?

2) Why is God so precise on the details of constructing the sanctuary and ark and tabernacle? What difference does it make what these look like and how they are made?

3) Describe the most spiritual sanctuary you have visited. What made that sanctuary the most spiritual for you?

4) In the sanctuary, God requests gift offerings of any kind from any person whose heart moves them in a giving way. What kind of gift offerings do you bring God from your heart?

 

Questions to ponder taken from:

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Bible/Weekly_Torah_Portion

Maintaining Spiritual Sanctuarys in the Face of Adversities-

This week has a special Torah reading for Shabbat Zachor in which are commanded to destroy Amalek utterly.  Amalek is adversity that can strike us at any time but particularly when we are fragile or weak.  Even as the Amalekites preyed upon the stragglers of the Israelites, so too now there are those who try to take advantage of us in our modern day moments of vulnerability.

When faced with the challenges of Amalek, how can we maintain our spiritual centers and protect our Spiritual Sanctuaries?  Just ignoring Amalek will not make the adversities miraculously disappear.  Hiding in a corner, perhaps shivering in our boots, will only allow Amalek to continue abusing the people in the world.  How then can we follow this week’s instruction to “blot out the memory of Amalek”?

We have now spent three Shabbatot [Sabbaths] describing how to adorn our tabernacle, temples and shrines to inspire beauty and a spiritual environment without violating prohibitions against idolatry and disrespect to those who are or have been alive.  These places are said to be places that allow the Holy Presence to dwell among us.  For those who contributed to the maintenance and beautification of these places and their caretaker Priests, it is as if they have a vested interest in inviting the Holy Presence to travel with us on our earthly paths.  Although on one level we recognize that the Holy Presence of Hashem is always with us, some of us need to be reminded through the construction of beautiful sites. We seem to use these sites to encourage us to constantly work at opening our hearts to the Holy Presence, the Shechina.  Even as the mezuzot on our doorposts and gates or the tefillin between our eyes remind us of our eternal connection to HaShem, so too the beautiful places for worship bring us closer to letting the Shechina Holy Presence into our hearts.  Still, once we have let that spiritual entry into our hearts happen, we need to hang onto it even when we are not being reminded to do so by sites of worship, mezuzot, or tefillin.

Therefore it is our own resolve to be open to the guidance of HaShem, the Holy One, that will make the difference when we are faced with adversity.  If our places of worship are destroyed or become defiled by Baal worship [like what we read a couple weeks back] or are no longer spiritual homes for whatever reason, we must look to other strengths to see us through the difficult times and to keep us connected to that which is Holy and enriching. 

Hence during the good times we need to reinforce our inner strengths in order to be able to well withstand spiritual attacks by Amalek.  That may mean we need to build alternative sites in which we will be able to feel embraced by the Shechinah of HaShem.  For it to be meaningful we may need to feel invested in such a venture.  We must make a conscious decision to improve our environment, to counter the desecrations of what should have been our Spiritual Sanctuaries, to build a truly functional site as a meaningful Spiritual Sanctuary that succeeds in being a dwelling place for the Shechina.  Just saying we care is not enough.  We must let our actions speak those thoughts through good works: donations of time and/or money, outreach to the needy among us, and perhaps above all – enveloping ourselves in truth and guidance by the Shechina during all we do.

May we all find that inner strength to see us through the days of adversity whenever they might come.  Please share with us your insights on how to weather adversities, this Shabbat, Feb. 27, 10 am at Eve's in Prescott.

Maintaining Spiritual Sanctuaries in the Face of Adversities- continued

How patient do we need to be?  How long will it take to built a spiritual sanctuary?  How do we know we are on the right path?

Ki Tisa

Patience in Building and Maintaining a Spiritual Sanctuary

How much time is enough time to build a Spiritual Sanctuary?  What resources do we need to devote to building our Spiritual Sanctuaries?

Do we need to compare our sacrifices to those of the heathen in order to realize that HaShem is the only Holy One?  We are not Elijah in a contest with the priests of Baal. [Haftorah Ki Tisa]  Neither are we with Ezekiel [Haftorah Parah] where we can be purified by clean waters and promised a good conscience to keep us on the righteous path.  Yet the promise of rebuilding the ruins and making fruitful the desolate land could even be the rebirth of Israel in modern times.

Still the threats from the nations still exist and we must choose ourselves to maintain the righteous path – with or without Holy sites, with or without a homeland.  This is the path to our Spiritual Sanctuary.  Nonetheless, Ezekiel cautions that it will be according to the timing of the Holy One, HaShem, and not by our might alone.  Does that mean that, no matter how patient we are, we may never arrive at our Spiritual Sanctuaries?  That would be consistent with the knowledge that we are human and can not avoid erring.  Yet if we do not feel that at least we have gotten closer to our Spiritual Sanctuaries, why we would be encouraged to keep on trying to follow the righteous path to seek the Holy Presence, the Shechina?

Is it any wonder that we are told to embrace HaShem with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our mights?  

In the Torah portion we find that the people were impatient at the foot of Mt. Sinai.  They were so impatient that they lost faith and insisted that Aaron build them a golden calf to worship.  About 300 were killed on the spot when Moses returned with the Tablets and in anger threw them to the ground.  Although extremely angered, Moses interceded with HaShem to save the remaining Israelites and allowed them to devote future donations to the building of the Tabernacle and all its trappings.

Are we like those people so long ago?  Do we need our material wealth devoted to beautification of Holy sites into which we invite the Holy Presence, the Shechina, to reside?  Or can we successfully welcome the Holy Presence into each and every one of us through walking the righteous path?  Perhaps the answer is somewhere in the middle. Perhaps we are too impatient to always succeed in having the Holy Presence reside within us.  Perhaps we need reminders constantly by HaShem that we need to be constantly re-purified and re-dedicated to the task.  Are those reminders in the material wealth of the Holy sites or in the confluence of events through which our existence travels?  Again, perhaps, a combination of the two is needed.

We are left with the realization that again, perhaps, there is never enough time for an individual to succeed in completing the building of a Spiritual Sanctuary.  Even when many of us get together to build that Spiritual Sanctuary, it never seems to be totally completed.  Patience is forever needed.  Perfection only belongs to the realm of the Holy One.

May we all find that inner strength to see us through the days with patience.  Please share with us your insights on how to weather adversities and to be patient, this Shabbat, March 6th, 10 am at Ellie's in Chino Valley followed by potluck Kiddush.

Are modern idols in the way of our reaching Spiritual Sanctuaries?

This Shabbat comes with two Torah Portions and a special Haftorah to announce the coming of Nissan on Tuesday the 16th so that all will know that Passover is two weeks thereafter.  We even have an extra Torah portion to read that describes how Passover /Pesach should be observed.  [Exodus 12:1-20]

Last Shabbat, KiTisa/ Parah, we actually read that part of the covenant/contract of the Israelites with HaShem is to observe three festivals by everyone gathering together before HaShem.  The 7 day Feast of Unleavened Bread is the first mentioned [Exodus 34:18].  The other two Feasts are the Feast of Weeks [Shavuot-first wheat harvest] and the Feast of Ingathering [the last harvest feast before winter] in verse 34:22.  This is a very peculiar placement of the three pilgrimage festivals during the second account of the receipt of the “Ten Commandments” or the 10 terms of the contract/covenant between HaShem and the Israelites.  After being taken through the story of the golden calf constructed out of the impatience and inconstant devotion of the people, we are told that the contents of the contract Moses has returned with on the tablet include these agricultural instructions!  In fact, the instruction to keep the Sabbath also contains an agricultural reference [34:21].  Yet this is supposed to be during the interaction between Moses and the now nomadic livestock specialists in the desert, long before they returned to any agricultural occupations.

Some say that this second version of receiving the “Ten Commandments” was written down after the Israelites were settled in the Promised Land.  It should be noted that the only contents similar to those in the first version deal with Devotion to one god, HaShem; to the avoidance of idolatry; and to the keeping of the Sabbath.  The keeping of Shabbat actually is repeated throughout the Torah far more than any other Holy Day.  Hence, if repetitions are for emphasis, keeping the Shabbat is far more important than the High Holy Days, Passover/Pesach, or any of the other Holy Days.

This week we continue with the reiteration of the story.  We are again given details of construction of the Mishkan and the clothing of the Priests.  We are told that the Mishkan [tabernacle] was consecrated with oil and the priests purified by washing in water.  The end of the portions and of this book of Exodus [Shemot] tells us that after all the material beautification of the place for prayers and the attendant Priests, the Presence of HaShem entered the Mishkan in the form of a cloud and stayed with the Israelites throughout their journeys.  Thereby, the construction of the Spiritual Sanctuary for the people was complete.

So too, our reading of the book of Exodus is complete.  When the last verses [40:34-38] are read on Shabbat morning, we recite [as we do at the end of each of the five books of the Torah] the Chazak, Chazak, V’nitchazek:  Be Strong, Be Strong, and We should be Strengthened!

Besides getting ready to start the reading of another book of the Torah, we are also starting to gather resources so that all may participate in the observance of Pesach.  Our thoughts have turned from the frivolities of Purim to the charitable works we need to engage in to provide to all the ability to participate in a Passover seder, to have enough to eat, and on Passover, enough of the Passover foods to eat.  

We are reminded of our obligations to provide shelter, food, and clothes for all of the needy.  In being reminded to do all of these mitzvot, we also come to think of other good deeds that we should do, but maybe have not been paying enough attention to do.  Certainly the two mitzvot most emphasized in these latest readings are the keeping of the Shabbat and the keeping of our devotion to the One and only the One HaShem.  So it is appropriate to ask:
Have we separated Shabbat from the rest of the week days?  
Have we made it special and spiritual with the Holy Shechina [Presence of HaShem]?
If not, why not?  
How can we do better?
Are we devoted to HaShem? …. or do we pursue the gods of money and materialism, of wanton physical gratifications, of selfishness?
How can we remove the idols of these false gods from our lives?

For if we do not remove the idols of false gods from our lives, how can we ever truly observe Shabbat, experience the Shechina Holy Presence, and reach the Spiritual Sanctuary we each long for?

In our modern lives, what has taken the place of livestock and agricultural sacrifices used as "sin" or "oops-I-goofed" offerings?

Prayers?  A common explanation given since the destruction of the 2nd Temple and focussed on our own personal needs for forgiveness and expiation.

Taxes?  I note that while not addressed in the pieces below, a major functions of most sacrifices was not only to feed the Cohanim and Levites, but also to set aside approximately 10% for the poor - a soup kitchen if you will.  SO your "bar-b-q" of Rabbi Schein's would have a tenth of the participants as members of the group we would call "the needy".

Charitable acts when they can be done easily?

 I offer these pieces for reflection on the answers to these difficult questions and, perhaps, to help us formulate our own understandings of the meaning of sacrifice:

http://www4.jrf.org/jrfres_PF/showdt_pf.php?rid=460&pid=24 

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Added March 13, 2005

Dr. Ellen Dannin is a Professor of Law, Penn State's Dickinson School of Law and a former member of the Ann Arbor Havurah and Dor Hadash in San Diego.

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 http://jrf.org/showdt&rid=458&pid=24

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Added March 10, 2005

Rabbi Rachel Esserman is the copy editor of The Reporter, Vestal, NY, where this davar first appeared. She is also the Jewish chaplain for Broome Developmental Disabilities Service Office.

http://jrf.org/jrfres_PF/showdt_pf.php?rid=359&pid=24

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Added April 11, 2003

Dr. Jeffrey Schein is Director of the Center for Jewish Education and Professor of Jewish Education of the Siegal College of Judaic Studies in Cleveland. He served as JRF Director of Education and senior consultant for education for many years. He is the co-author of Siddur Kol Ha-Noar: The Voice of Children and other Reconstructionist educational publications.

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How the Prophets View animal Sacrifice [Jeremiah, Malachi]

Adele

Jeremiah makes it clear that animal sacrifice is a means to get closer to HaShem but not the only means and not HaShem's desire in and of itself.  What HaShem wants is adherence to the Laws, the Mitzvot, not sacrifices empty of meaning.

Malachi also focusses on the Mitzvot.  He sees evil practices of all sorts abounding despite the presence of [apparently meaningless] sacrifices.

This continues our exploration of how we can reach our spiritual sanctuaries and whether they need to be in a specific site or with specific rituals such as animal sacrifice.  Indeed the re-occurrence of child sacrifice during the time of some of the Prophets may well have encouraged them to distance themselves from the need of any animal sacrifice.  The temptation to do what the neighbors are doing and the inability of some to distinguish between children and livestock probably brought great anguish to the Prophets of the time.  Was this the start of the process to relinquish animal sacrifice and focus on other means to become closer to HaShem?  Were the shrines, established outside of Jerusalem during the time of Baal worship in the Temple, the forerunners of local temples/synagogues/schuls?

More importantly, how can we relate these contemplations to the coming of Pesach and the recall of the Exodus?  How can the upcoming Pesach seder experience bring us closer to HaShem and our spiritual sanctuaries?

We may never have all the answers, but we sure can have a Happy and Healthy Passover Season.  So may it be for us all!

Do our daily lives show that we are worthy of the gift of Torah?  Or are we impure and in need of continuous purification before we can participate in the benefits therefrom?

Even if we are in need of purification, it is not clear how we in modern times truly are able to become purified.  A complete physical cleaning and dunking may give us clean bodies, but what of the purification of our souls, our intents [kavanot], our desires?

In Jewish writings, the most often mentioned aspect of people that needs constant monitoring, constant cleaning up, constant purification, is Lashon HaRah - the Evil Tongue.   The spreading of lies and slander about others seems to be a common past-time of all peoples.  The willingness to believe the worst about people, people with whom no one-on-one interaction has ever happened, is counter to ALL Jewish teachings.  Lashon HaRah has no other purpose, intentional or unintentional, except to harm the person about whom the speaker is talking. 

Not only is the object of the gossip/slander being harmed, but also the speaker and the listener.  Clearly the speaker is in dire need of spiritual purification to clean away the evil intents behind the use of Lashon HaRah.  Also the listener has been tainted and made unclean as it is taught in Pirkei Avot, The Sayings of the Fathers, Ch 1;  that one should not associated with evil ones as their misdeeds may rub off and the one may learn their evil ways.

As difficult as it may be to purify the speaker and the listener so that they see the error of their ways, how much more difficult to clean away the harmful residue their Lashon HaRah has left on the victim of their gossip/slander!  How does a person so maligned achieve rehabilitation in the views of those who have heard and accepted the slanderous lies passed around with Lashon HaRah?   Once the damage is done, can it truly ever be undone?

This Sunday is Israeli Memorial Day and Monday is Israeli Independence Day.  As with Holocaust Memorial Day [last Sunday], a major theme for all of these days is to remember all those destroyed by the lies of the Nazis and their Arab students and to celebrate the freedom from those lies that we have supposedly achieved through the establishment of the State of Israel.  Nonetheless, given the prevalence of Lashon HaRah, I can not but wonder if we really have escaped the lies and viciousness, the destruction of others including our brethren among the Jewish Community.

May we all have pure and fulfilling observances of the secular and religious holidays dear to us and our fellow Jews.  May we all find ways to purify ourselves and also those we have harmed through Lashon HaRah.  Shabbat Shalom on this Shabbat Tazria-Metzora, the 18th day of the Omer.

==========================

Lose with truth and right rather than gain with falsehood and wrong.- Maimonides, "Tzavaah"

Seek the good in everyone, and reveal it, bring it forth.- Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772-1811), "Likutey Moharan"

Just as we love ourselves despite the faults we know we have, so should we love our neighbors despite the faults we see in them.- Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov

Love unaccompanied by criticism is not love....Peace unaccompanied by reproof is not peace.- Genesis Rabbah 54:3

Dealing Honestly with All in Fairness and Justly
     To be Honest, Fair, and Just we all need to live by rules, by Laws.  Even our leaders need to have the rules of their conduct spelled out so that they can best serve those they lead without offending HaShem.  This week's portion sets out such rules for the leaders of the wandering Israelites, the Priestly clan.  In the aftermath of Aaron's two sons being consumed by strange fire, it was foremost in the minds of the people to not repeat the offense[s] to Hashem that these men were perceived to have done.  So Acharei Mot/Kedushim [After the Death (of Aaron's 2 sons)/ Sanctification] spells out how the Priests could be rededicated to their tasks and set up to serve both HaShem and the people.

     Even today the wisdom of those times holds true.  Our leaders are not above the Laws.  If we say that we all need to be respectful, tolerant, polite, compassionate, caring, and loving towards each other; then how much more so do our Leaders need to be careful to follow those rules?  Our leaders are supposed to inspire others to better themselves.  They are not exempt from trying to be the most menschlich people they could be.  After all, they are as we all are:  flawed human beings who, according to Jewish precepts, should constantly be trying to better themselves, to perform the mitzvot [good deeds] in order to attain Tikun Olam [the Repair of the World.  If they, or for that matter anyone, decide they have become the best people they possibly can, if they give up on any thought of self-improvement, then why should we accept them as our Leaders? 

     Are we so complacent as to ignore when our leaders violate the rules and Laws we hold dear?  If we do so, are we not ourselves complicit in their violations of the laws?  These are questions that constantly need to be asked and reviewed.  For if we do not take it upon ourselves to oppose the offenses of our "Leaders", who will?

Emor

This week's portion, Emor [saying], says more on the rules and responsibilities for the Leaders of the biblical Israelites, the Priestly clan.  Also presented are exhortations to keep the seasons, the Holy Days, and the Sabbath according to their proper times.  Although it may seem as we read the section piecemeal that we, ourselves, are being addressed directly to keep the Holy Days at their appointed times and seasons, the overall context is one of speaking to the Priestly clan.  Hence it is the obligation and duty of the Leaders to remind the people of when the Holy Days are and to teach us what our responsibilities are to observe and celebrate the Holy Days at their appointed times and seasons. 

Unfortunately in this age of creative interpretation of religion, there are some who think that the Leaders no longer have that obligation, that the when's and what's can be determined by popular vote.  In some places, the changes are changes to improve access to the observance of the Holy Day with the thought that better the observance at another, more convenient time than no observance at all.  In other places, the observances are recognizable by outsiders only because they are advertised as the celebration of a specific Holy Day.

This leads to the question[s]:  Are our "Leaders" living up to the broad, general directives of the Torah regarding Leadership? - to the general duties, obligations, and responsibilities spelled out for the Leaders of the Israelites within the Torah? - to the spirit of Leadership envisioned therein?

Now that literacy is widespread, another set of questions comes to the fore.  If we are educated to know what the Torah expects of leaders and when the observances are for the Holy Days, we are far more able now to understand when Leaders are neglecting their obligations or perverting the use of their positions.  What are our responsibilities, duties, and obligations to actively seek Tikun Olam, Repair of the World, by revealing openly the discrepancies between the actions of the "leadership" and that which is expected of Leaders in the Torah?  What are the boundaries of propriety that we need to embrace while revealing such discrepancies?  How can we remain decent and menschlich while seeking Tikun Olam for and about such "Leaders" ?

Sitting in the corner quietly and pretending that such abuses are a temporary anomaly, that no-one will be hurt by them, and that they will blow over DOES NOT WORK.  It did not work to ignore, accept, or put up with the Nazi leadership.  It did not work to ignore, accept, or put up with the Roman leadership.  This understanding of the need to oppose improper or inadequate leadership has been with us and our teachings for a long time. 

On Sunday, May 2nd, we celebrate Lag B'Omer, the 33rd day between the 2nd day of Pesach [Passover] and the start of Shavuot [the Fetival of Weeks].  It is a celebration of the lives of those Rabbis and their students who understood this and opposed the Roman leadership with their bans on Torah study and observances of our religion.  So for a brief while they took bows and arrows and picnic baskets with hidden study materials into the forests.  They set up sentries and they studied.  Many gave up their lives during the plague that ensued and only stopped on the 33rd day of the Omer.  So, we celebrate that some did survive to continue their opposition to improper leadership - at least for a while.  More importantly, we have been given by them, all of them, the lesson that sitting in the corner is not acceptable.  We all have the responsibility to pursue Tikun Olam for ourselves, for our Leaders, and for the World.

May we all find constructive paths with which to achieve such Tikun Olam.

Our Lag B'Omer picnic will be at Leah's in Prescott.  For details please call Beit Torah, 237-0390.

From Generation to Generation
In this week’s double portion we complete the book of Leviticus and its instructions to the Priestly clan on how to prepare the people to live in freedom.  From the generation under slavery to a generation freed from bondage a new set of standards and rules was required.  No longer would the rules and oppressions of the Egyptians be taught.  Instead rules for a free society based on agriculture and landholding is to be taught. Yet the rules maintained vigilance that the society would have renewable resources and safeguards against renewed oppression. The responsibility for teaching those rules was places upon the Priests of the Levites.

Who takes on that responsibility in modern society?  One would hope that the parents would be educated enough to do so and thereby pass on their education to their children.  Yet if they do not, who will?  If they do not, will their children be lost to the temptations and immoralities of the modern world?

As Jews we are taught that we all must be teachers.  Nonetheless we are cautioned that we all must also continuously be students.  So, as the older generation learns more and more, they can teach the following generation more and more.  At least that is the theory.

Does this theory work?  How many of us have abdicated our responsibilities to be teachers?  Worse yet:  how many more of us have abdicated our responsibilities to be life-long students?  What does this mean for a society becoming ever more divided given causeless hatreds, bigotries, and lies?

Each one of us can only control our individual behaviours.  Yet, how much better off would the Community, the World be if we all took up the mantle of responsibilities and studied and taught with all our hearts and all our compassion for others?

From generation to generation – for the next generation must always be our hope for the future, even as our first Bar Mitzvah, Kevin, is part of our hope for the future in Beit Torah.

BaMidbar

How can we keep ourselves and each other invested in the Community?

While travelling through the desert, the Children of Israel in this week’s portion fashioned an orderly camp set-up that gave every tribe responsibilities and status.  Each tribe had its own multiple levels of judges and administrators, again giving them reasons to be invested in the greater community.  In return, the greater community helped resolve issues outside of the individual tribes, provided organization for the common protection, and a center for religious and ethical observances.

In today’s society, it seems we are so dispersed and dissociated from each other that the ideals of community are lost in the swirls of selfishness, temptations, and diversions.  So each congregation or community with a thread of commonality is faced with the question of how to keep people invested in the community enough to participate and contribute at whatever level is comfortable for them.  Certainly having each person understand what the commonalities are would be an obvious place to start.  Yet how does one tell a person that they need to be further educated on such matters?  Who would do the educating?  We no longer have a Priestly clan to educate us.  The obligations fall to the older generation to educate the younger generation.   Parents need to accept the responsibility for educating themselves and passing their education on to their offspring.  Still, how would they do the educating?

In the AA, a common core of needing never again to drink alcohol is understood.  In Judaism, perhaps the core is Na-aseh v’Nishmah, we will follow the precepts and we will be students to further understand them.  This theme is coming up to intense focus soon with the Festival of Shavuot.  For this is what we said when we received the terms of our contract with HaShem, the “Ten Commandments” and all the rest of the rules, regulations and laws.

It is no surprise then that we are taught that we all must always be students and teachers.  So, how can we be taught to be both students and teachers for our entire lives?  Further, will acceptance of this one concept be enough to give the people a feeling of belonging, an investment into the Jewish Community that will be taken seriously?

As we approach Shavuot, we can only hope that this season will remind us all of our promise at Mt. Sinai to be educated and spur us on to try to reach that never-ending goal.  May we all educate ourselves about Jewish values and may we all find ways to pass that knowledge on from generation to generation…

Moadim L'Simchah!  Happy Shavuot, the Festival of Receiving the Law

Some study suggestions from Magen David Sephardic Congregation, Rockville, of selected Proverbs besides the Book of Ruth for Shavuot night study:

8. The Power of Speech
The anger of the fool becomes known the same day, but one who covers up disgrace is clever.
There is one who speaks like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
A clever man conceals knowledge but the heart of fools declares its folly.
A soft response turns away wrath, while a painful word provokes anger.
One who restrains his words possesses knowledge, and the reserved person is a man of
understanding.
Even a fool who is silent will be considered wise, one who closes his lips [will be considered] a
person of understanding.

One who guards his mouth and tongue guards his soul from troubles.
How would you explain the difference between the way the wise man relates to and uses
speech and the way the foolish man relates to and uses speech? Can you identify one key
element that separates the wise from the foolish in this area?
It seems that “silence is golden”. Why is this the case? What is it about the foolish person
that causes him to fail to abide by this principle?

3. Love and Forgiveness

Hatred causes arguments, but love covers up all transgressions.
One who covers up sin seeks love, while one who harps on a matter alienates his friend.

What are these proverbs implying about the nature of disagreements and mistakes and
how we interpret the actions of others? Are they saying the same thing or something
different?

4. Learning from Experience

On the lips of the understanding person wisdom will be found, but a rod is prepared for the back of foolish one.
The wicked man is a substitute for the righteous man; and in place of the upright is the
rebellious.
When the scoffer is punished the simple man becomes wiser, but in explaining to the wise man he acquires knowledge.
One rebuke to a person of understanding is better than striking the fool a hundred times.

What do these proverbs suggest about the differences in how wise and foolish people learn
about the world and make their decisions?

Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

adele

     So now we have 70 Elders to help lead the Children of Israel according to this week's portion.  Yet final authority rests with Moses.  When Moses is gone, will these Elders be able to continue governing with success or will dissension and arguments lead to the splitting of the Israelites into smaller states and groups? 

     Our history speaks clearly to the fact that selfishness, perversion, corruption, and many other evil temptations succeeded at times to disrupt and destroy our people.  Whether in the Holy Land or in the shtetl, people are always faced with the choices between cooperative, ethical, moral behaviour and self-serving divisiveness.  We have never succeeded in being totally righteous.  Were we achieving such a lofty goal, we would not have need for the Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur.  However on the contrary, we are constantly falling along the way.

     So too the sacrificial offerings were understood in such a manner.  The Pesach sacrifice was so important that, as described in this week's portion, a second chance to do the Passover sacrifices was given a month later to those who were unable to participate at the appointed time.  This is not the only instance of extra chances.  Although we know that we can repent at any time, a formal set-up to do so, in part, has developed over the centuries.  We now have a nearly monthly Yom Kippur Katan [just before Rosh Chodesh- the New Month], a 'small' Yom Kippur.  These are days used for additional atonement and as reminders that we must constantly strive to be righteous regardless of whether we can fully achieve such a goal.

     Given our imperfections, it is easy to say, "Why try?"   Trying, though, is the hallmark of following Torah.  To earn self-respect as followers of Torah, we must constantly study with others about the precepts of Torah, we must constantly apply these precepts to our daily lives, and we must constantly strive to be better people for ourselves, our families, our communities, and our world.  How many of us can honestly say that this is the way we live our lives?

May we all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, a wonderful week, and an enriching summer season!

“Pessimism is a luxury that a Jew can never allow himself.”  Golda Meir

Eye of the beholder

     We have often heard quips about glasses half full or half empty, positive vs negative outlooks, and so on.  With as many reminders as we have about keeping a positive attitude, we are given the impression that it must be pretty difficult for many to do so!
     This week’s portion, Shlach L’cha [send out for you], seems to support that observation.  Ten out of twelve men sent to check out the promised land focussed on the potential obstacles, on their fears, and on making others as fearful as they were through spreading of discord and uncertainties among the people.  For this they were cursed with plague and with their generation not entering the promised land.  Yet did they not bring this self-destruction upon themselves through their uncertainties, self-doubt, and lack of faith?
     Still, is that not how a democracy works?  Everyone is entitled to everyone’s own opinions.  What is wrong with taking no action if the consensus is to turn away from taking action?  Yet was that truly the consensus?  A valid consensus can only be reached if every individual is educated on all the pros and cons of a topic.  Then to act or not act is guided by well informed consent.
     Unfortunately, that is not what seemed to happen in this week’s Parsha and not what seems to happen everywhere and everywhen else.  Too many people abdicate their responsibilities to be informed of all views [or maybe have no way to access those views] and prefer to let their ‘leaders’ make all the decisions.  Many go around saying that they do not want to deal with anything controversial or discomfitting. They put their trust in others without any oversight or consequences for what these others might do.  Blinders?  Rose tinted glasses?
     The low level of voter participation in voting seems to support these observations.  Sometimes even less than 30% of the voters can determine how the vast majority must live their lives.  Then although that majority gripes and complains, they have only themselves to blame FOR THEY DID NOT VOTE.  [Unfortunately the ones who voted in the minority, are forced into the suffering as well…]
     No, we aren’t going to get plagues upon the masses, nor is there a ‘Promised Land’ that we will never arrive at, but what unforeseen tragedies will unfold out of our control because we did not care enough to be informed and vote?  The death of the Gulf of Mexico from an uncontainable oil spill?  The extinction of hundreds of species of flora and fauna?  The return of uncontrolled commercial whaling?  Inadequate food supplies?
     The list of potential effects of disasters can go on endlessly.  Only with taking the positive outlooks of Joshua and Caleb might we find ways to prevent the looming disasters, to educate others on how that might be achieved, and in the case of a democratic society, succeed in having the vote go the way of saving ourselves and our world from facing the devastations that could come our way. Will we wallow in self-pity, indecisiveness, isolationism, or other self-defeating approaches to life? - or are we strong enough and determined enough to embrace positive attitudes and constructive lives?

May we all find the way to effective Tikun Olam, a constructive path to the Repair of the World!

The sword comes into the world because of justice delayed and because of justice perverted.

- Ethics of the Fathers 5:8

I was so impressed with the following commentary by Rabbi Wein, that I wanted to share it with

 you for this week.  It is not all how I would view the world, but is still a powerful observation 

on the ease of how one can slip into shameful behaviour in modern society.  Reflect and enjoy!  -a

Shared by the One Jerusalem site, www.OneJerusalem.org : 

 

If Israel Goes Down We All Go Down

In a powerful article in today's Times of London, Jose Maria Aznar, the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996-2004, provides a rousing and eloquent defense of the State of Israel.  Aznar also uses this opportunity to announce the launch of his new organization "Friends of Israel" composed primarily on non-Jewish Europeans and Americans.  President Aznar is to be applauded for standing up for Israel, standing up for what is right.

The article is below:

If Israel goes down, we all go down

Anger over Gaza is a distraction. We cannot forget that Israel is the West's best ally in a turbulent region

By José María Aznar

For far too long now it has been unfashionable in Europe to speak up for Israel. In the wake of the recent incident on board a ship full of anti-Israeli activists in the Mediterranean, it is hard to think of a more unpopular cause to champion.

In an ideal world, the assault by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara would not have ended up with nine dead and a score wounded. In an ideal world, the soldiers would have been peacefully welcomed on to the ship. In an ideal world, no state, let alone a recent ally of Israel such as Turkey, would have sponsored and organized a flotilla whose sole purpose was to create an impossible situation for Israel: making it choose between giving up its security policy and the naval blockade, or risking the wrath of the world.

In our dealings with Israel, we must blow away the red mists of anger that too often cloud our judgment. A reasonable and balanced approach should encapsulate the following realities: first, the state of Israel was created by a decision of the UN. Its legitimacy, therefore, should not be in question. Israel is a nation with deeply rooted democratic institutions. It is a dynamic and open society that has repeatedly excelled in culture, science and technology.

Second, owing to its roots, history, and values, Israel is a fully fledged Western nation. Indeed, it is a normal Western nation, but one confronted by abnormal circumstances.

Uniquely in the West, it is the only democracy whose very existence has been questioned since its inception. In the first instance, it was attacked by its neighbors using the conventional weapons of war. Then it faced terrorism culminating in wave after wave of suicide attacks. Now, at the behest of radical Islamists and their sympathizers, it faces a campaign of delegitimisation through international law and diplomacy.

Sixty-two years after its creation, Israel is still fighting for its very survival. Punished with missiles raining from north and south, threatened with destruction by an Iran aiming to acquire nuclear weapons and pressed upon by friend and foe, Israel, it seems, is never to have a moment's peace.

For years, the focus of Western attention has understandably been on the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. But if Israel is in danger today and the whole region is slipping towards a worryingly problematic future, it is not due to the lack of understanding between the parties on how to solve this conflict. The parameters of any prospective peace agreement are clear, however difficult it may seem for the two sides to make the final push for a settlement.

The real threats to regional stability, however, are to be found in the rise of a radical Islamism which sees Israel's destruction as the fulfillment of its religious destiny and, simultaneously in the case of Iran, as an expression of its ambitions for regional hegemony. Both phenomena are threats that affect not only Israel, but also the wider West and the world at large.

The core of the problem lies in the ambiguous and often erroneous manner in which too many Western countries are now reacting to this situation. It is easy to blame Israel for all the evils in the Middle East. Some even act and talk as if a new understanding with the Muslim world could be achieved if only we were prepared to sacrifice the Jewish state on the altar. This would be folly.

Israel is our first line of defense in a turbulent region that is constantly at risk of descending into chaos; a region vital to our energy security owing to our overdependence on Middle Eastern oil; a region that forms the front line in the fight against extremism. If Israel goes down, we all go down. To defend Israel's right to exist in peace, within secure borders, requires a degree of moral and strategic clarity that too often seems to have disappeared in Europe. The United States shows worrying signs of heading in the same direction.

The West is going through a period of confusion over the shape of the world's future. To a great extent, this confusion is caused by a kind of masochistic self-doubt over our own identity; by the rule of political correctness; by a multiculturalism that forces us to our knees before others; and by a secularism which, irony of ironies, blinds us even when we are confronted by jihadis promoting the most fanatical incarnation of their faith. To abandon Israel to its fate, at this moment of all moments, would merely serve to illustrate how far we have sunk and how inexorable our decline now appears.

This cannot be allowed to happen. Motivated by the need to rebuild our own Western values, expressing deep concern about the wave of aggression against Israel, and mindful that Israel's strength is our strength and Israel's weakness is our weakness, I have decided to promote a new Friends of Israel initiative with the help of some prominent people, including David Trimble, Andrew Roberts, John Bolton, Alejandro Toledo (the former President of Peru), Marcello Pera (philosopher and former President of the Italian Senate), Fiamma Nirenstein (the Italian author and politician), the financier Robert Agostinelli and the Catholic intellectual George Weigel.

It is not our intention to defend any specific policy or any particular Israeli government. The sponsors of this initiative are certain to disagree at times with decisions taken by Jerusalem. We are democrats, and we believe in diversity.

What binds us, however, is our unyielding support for Israel's right to exist and to defend itself. For Western countries to side with those who question Israel's legitimacy, for them to play games in international bodies with Israel's vital security issues, for them to appease those who oppose Western values rather than robustly to stand up in defense of those values, is not only a grave moral mistake, but a strategic error of the first magnitude.

Israel is a fundamental part of the West. The West is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is upturned and Israel is lost, then we are lost too. Whether we like it or not, our fate is inextricably intertwined.

José María Aznar was prime minister of Spain between 1996 and 2004.

     A lovely detailed story appears in this week’s portion of Balak [Numbers 22:2-25:9].  A powerful King, Balak, wants a powerful True Prophet, Bilaam, to curse the Israelites.  Neither gets what they want.  The Prophet can only speak the truth, a truth that the King does not want to hear.  So although enticed by the payment of the King, the Prophet angers the King by speaking the truth of HaShem, the Holy One, who speaks to him even though he is not an Israelite.  The MaTovu prayer, “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob,…” are the words of truth the Prophet had to speak and have lasted to this day as a dear remembrance to us that lies do not make themselves into facts no matter how often they are repeated and passed around such as through Lashon HaRah, the Evil Tongue.  The King wanted those lies to be uttered by a person of stature who would be believed by all.  His plan failed.

     So who was the most sympathetic of characters in this portion, the most honorable of all?

     A donkey!  The Prophet’s donkey who could see the messenger of the Holy One warning the Prophet of the adverse affects that would happen if he actually tried to speak ill of Israelites.  The message was so important that the donkey actually was able to speak with his master, the Prophet.  Yet by then, the Prophet was no longer hearing the Holy messages.  He had sold himself to a man of status.

     The only one left honorable and righteous was a lowly ass.

     Whether we are of status or merely lowly asses, may we all seek to be Honorable and Righteous!

 

Pinchas Commentary

-adele

This portion is a difficult one for me to comment on as it comes usually with the Yahrzeit of my Father, Moshe ben Yaakov v'Dina, Zichrono L'Vracha, May His Memory Be for a Blessing.

The most meaningful part for me is the confirmation that women do have rights in the inheritances of the family and by  generalization extension, in the community as well.  This basic principle along with the core teachings of Judaism have guided me through my life to this point with the firm conviction that all are equal. 

The potential for leadership roles should be open to male and female alike, yet no leader has the right to impose his or her personal view of the world upon others - just as it is also true for the everyday person.  As we have learnt before, we should be students and teachers all.  Our obligations in Judaism go beyond any ego or paranoia.  We need to rein ourselves in with intense efforts to treat all as we would have them treat us, to reach out to include all in the community with understanding and compassion - or at least minimally with tolerance and patience -, to be a light or role model among the nations with our good deeds [mitzvot] towards all: Jews and non-Jews.

There should be no distinction between male and female.  All should be welcomed with friendship and caring.  Neither is there any expectation for earthly return on our good deeds: no payment for being a decent, righteous, humane human being other than the knowledge that mitzvot have been done.  In this world torn with discord, disagreement, strife, horrors and wars - there is a serious lack of leadership bent on the forging of cooperative efforts to achieve peace and tranquility. 

Is this sad state of affairs trickled down to the everyday folk who then act in equally abominable ways?  Or-  is this sad state of affairs a reflection of what already exists at all levels of society? 

More importantly:  how can we break these cycles of violence, immorality, and unethical behaviour?  Do we as Jews obligated to do Tikun Olam, Repair of the World, accept this responsibility and challenge no matter how daunting?  How?

 Shabbat Shalom – a Good Shabbas to all!

The Ethics of Temptation, Oaths, and Honesty

     This week’s first portion talks about the validity of oaths made by women and the difficulties the Israelites had in falling to temptations and not conducting war according to the instructions given by Moses.    The second portion of this double portion week goes over many laws including the ones for the establishment of cities of refuge.  It then closes with restrictions placed upon the inheritance rights of women.  The portion and the entire book of Numbers closes with the statement:

“These are the commandments and the ordinances, which the LORD commanded
by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by
the Jordan at Jericho.”

In the non-orthodox modern view, as well as in many orthodox circles, the described limitations on women are no longer observed.  However the question still remains what makes an oath valid for anyone in modern times?

A more involved discussion stems from how we can act ethically and keep ourselves from temptations.  There are no obvious plagues to be sent upon us for bowing to temptation or for abusing power as the victorious Israelites experienced.  So what keeps us on the ethical path in modern days?  Civil laws?  Jewish Laws?  [Do we even know the Jewish Laws applicable to modern living?]  Or an inner strength developed from caring?  Can we ever really succeed in staying on the ethical pathway?

For us mere humans, what now serves as cities of refuge for those who have committed heinous crimes?  A national sex offenders’ list offers no city of refuge, but does it offer enough of a chance for the person to be redeemed and live a normal life?  Beyond that, what refuge do people who have been ostracized through mob mentality and/or bigotries have?  How can Constitutional Rights and dignity be preserved in the face of deceitful abuse of power and the falling of the erstwhile leaders to the temptation to tyrannize others?

Plenty to discuss, but maybe with few answers to be found in our modern system of living…

May we all be successful in our searches for avoiding temptations and leading a dignified life!  Shabbat Shalom!

D’varim, the terms of our contract with HaShem

As we continue through the three weeks of desolation towards a peak of despair culminating in the Fast of the 9th of Av and the reading of Eicha [Lamentations], we grapple with a repeatedly asked question:  why is it so important to remember the past horrors that our people have suffered?  We are reminded of the oft used adage:  ‘if we do not remember the history, we are doomed to repeat it’.

This is not a cheerful legacy to leave for our children, but it is perhaps one of the most important lessons we can pass on.  Yet in this age of wanting to see only the good in things, of pretending that all the horrors of the world will stay far away from us, and of refusing to see the injustices and immorality that surround us;  how can we get the attention of the next generation?

Moses starts his discourses on the history and the laws of the Israelites in Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah that we start reading this weekend.  This ethical will reiterates the vision he would like to see take hold within the next generation, the generation he can only start on its journey, a journey with an end he will never see.

So, too, we try to pass on the wisdom we have gained over the years in hopes that some part of those who follow us will take heed.  Still, despair sets in as we see how easily people give up trying to get along.  In our country rich with blessings, people vilify anyone who does not think as they do or act as they would demand of them to act.  Tolerance and respect seem to be foreign to the tongues, hearts, and souls of many of the ‘leaders’ – ‘leaders’ who apparently are ‘leaders’ by default since so many people do not want to be involved with politics and do not want to expose themselves to the risks of being the targets of retaliation for expressing their true views publicly.

So we despair now in hopes that the seven weeks of consolation will bring resolutions to the troubles over which we despair.  We despair now not knowing if we will individually survive the tribulations of the times, but confident that at least some of us will survive.  We can not help but ask, though, what legacy will those survivors carry with them into the future?

V'Etchanan, Console,Console, Be Consoled My People

Console,Console, Be Consoled My People

adapted by Adele from excerpts of a 7/23 letter from Rabbi L. Fajnland, VA

This Shabbat is known as "Shabbat Nachamu." It is the first Sabbath after Tisha B'Av, when we commemorated the destruction of the Holy Temple. After the Torah reading, we read the Haftorah which begins, "Nachamu, Nachamu -Console, console yourselves, My people."

Our Sages explain the twofold use of the word "console": "[The Jewish people] committed a twofold sin... received a twofold punishment... and are likewise comforted twofold." Elsewhere our Sages comment, "Because its [the Torah's] commandments are doubled, so too are its consolations doubled."

Why this emphasis on the number two? How can a sin be twofold? And, what is meant by the statement that the commandments are "doubled"?

The terms "twofold" and "double" refer to two different dimensions. Everything in a Jew's life - the Torah and its commandments, the destruction of the Holy Temple and our consolation - reflects this duality, for everything in the world is composed of both a physical and a spiritual component, of both destruction and constructive potentials.

A Jew is a composite of body and spirit which together form a complete being. A Jew is considered whole when both his body and soul are working in tandem to serve G-d. Mitzvot (commandments) are likewise composed of these two dimensions. Every mitzva contains a spiritual component - the intentions behind it - and a physical component - the way the mitzva is performed.

This is what our Sages referred to when stating that the Torah's mitzvot are "doubled"; similarly, the "twofold sin" committed by the Jewish people refers to the physical and spiritual aspects of their sin.

Accordingly, the punishment which followed - the destruction of the Holy Temple - was both spiritual and physical. The destruction was not limited to the stones of the Temple; the Jewish people were chastised with a concealment of G-dliness as well.

So too the consolation that follows is twofold.   For seven weeks we prepare ourselves with the spiritual consolation of the Torah and Haftorah portions AND with the intents to do repentances and promises to do better.  We do so with the understanding that the terms of this new contract with the Holy One will be signed and sealed during the High Holy Days. 

To that end, on the physical level, we try to already crank in the better behaviours and mitzvot we intend to promise to do.  We make preparations to have meaningful get-togethers with family and friends during the month long observances of the High Holy Days, Succot [Festival of Booths], and Simchat Torah [Rejoicing in the Torah].  We also prepare ourselves to seal that new contract with the Holy One through fasting and prayer.

Such is the cycle of Jewish life every year.  Every year we become desolate.  Every year we are consoled.  Every year we are reborn through a new spiritual contract with the Holy One...if only we take seriously to pursue the terms we have agreed to:  to be better people and to seek to repair the world the best we can.

May we all be reborn to do great deeds of loving kindness and wisdom!

Shabbat Shalom!

      This week we mark the anniversary of the murders of young people at a youth center in Tel Aviv, an act of causeless hatred.  In re-reading the commentary from last year's Ekev, it seems amazing that those comments still seem to very much apply to the continuing world situation!  To wit:
    "This week we approach the second portion of consolation, Ekev, in Deuteronomy [Dvarim] 7:12-11:25 and Isaiah 49:14-51:3.  The Torah portion continues with the revisiting of the events at Sinai when the tablets were hewn with the Law.  Again we find that the text includes the source of more of our daily prayers eg 11:13-21, prayers that promise that if we are faithful in observing the Law, we will be rewarded."

    "Last week we heard the commandment, "YOU WILL NOT  MURDER !"

      Yet we seem to be a nation as all other nations, rife with both the best and the worst of what mankind can offer."  ..."    How have we become a nation with extremists espousing hatred and inciting others to violate the Law we hold so dearly?  When do we really hear the words of this weeks portion [Dvarim 10:12-13] :  "And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God demand of you?  Only this, to revere the Lord your God, to walk only in the One's Paths, to love and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, keeping the Lord's commandments and laws, which I enjoin upon you today, for your good..."  ???  How can we get others to hear these words as well???"

     This year we face the religious intolerance within our own sects.  Extremists trying to impose their world view on others by "law" or by violence such as we have seen with women being arrested at the Kotel, Western Wall, for carrying a Torah or wearing a Tallis [prayer shawl].  Since when have 'things' become more important than people?  If a woman carrying a Torah has somehow made the Torah impure, arresting her will not cleanse it.  As for prayer shawls, there are no kosher prayer shawls in existence as we no longer have the blue dye from the now extinct source with which to color the corner fringes!

     Further, on Tisha B'Av we read Isaiah  LVI 1-8[as we do on all fast days] in which we are clearly told that converts are not to be treated as different or separate from the community.  We have that same lesson during Shavuot from the Book of Ruth.  Yet there continue to be those who think they know better than the teachings of the sages.  How can we be consoled in the face of all this senseless hatred and violence?

    So once again,  "we continue our trek towards the High Holy Days with heavier hearts and a clearer understanding of the prayer recited over and over again during those days:  'Forgive us for our sin of causeless, senseless hatred...' "

Reeh
Who is a Jew?

I believe a Jew is a Jew is a Jew.  Isaiah did too when he urged people to welcome the converts into the community as long as they choose to keep the Sabbath and the Commandments and laws such as the dietary laws, the festival observances, and the care for the less fortunate that are reiterated in this week’s portion.  However, apparently the extremists among the orthodox don’t accept that wisdom and are working hard to hijack the entire system of Israeli religious practice to be defined only as how they interpret Judaism. If they succeed, they will disenfranchise the majority of the Israeli population.  [Isn’t that what we criticize the Arab countries for doing with Islam???]

The Rotem conversion bill has caused and continues to cause much consternation among Jews world-wide.  Most recent headlines deal with Chelsea Clinton’s marriage to her long time Jewish beau.  So while we may wonder if Chelsea will ever be Jewish by American standards, we can be pretty sure that she would not be accepted as a Jew in Israel.  The following piece by David Breakstone brings the issue out from the eyes of Israelis - most poignantly.  If you think we in the Diaspora have problems with the conversion issue, just read his story of how much worse it is for Israelis…

Keep Dreaming: When Chelsea wed Marc
By DAVID BREAKSTONE
07/30/2010 15:30

I can’t say I’m thrilled about Chelsea Clinton marrying Marc Mezvinsky this weekend.
 
I can’t say I’m thrilled about Chelsea Clinton marrying Marc Mezvinsky this weekend. I mean, if she’s already marrying someone Jewish, couldn’t she have fallen in love with someone in my family? I don’t really mean that, of course, and not only because I’m delighted that all of our sons are already spoken for.

But I am envious that this interfaith couple doesn’t have to contend with a problem that one of our children has to: living in Israel.

YAIR HAS been going out with Veronica for nearly four years. A few weeks ago, he decided it was time to get engaged, got down on his knee and asked for Veronica’s hand in marriage, ready to place a sparkling diamond on her finger. Her response was more stunning than the ring, and the ring was really stunning.

Veronica told Yair there was something she’d been keeping from him. Since the day they’d met, she told him, she’d been terrified of this moment when she would have to share with him what she was about to.

She prayed he wouldn’t leave her. “I’m kind of not Jewish,” she said, her voice trembling. Yair was stupefied.

Turns out his beloved, born in Russia, had a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother. Having moved here at 12, Veronica later told us, she’d spent the first half of her life hiding the fact that she was Jewish; the next half she spent hiding that she wasn’t. She went to school here, served in the army and lived the Jewish calendar as did all of her nonobservant friends.

She feels herself as Jewish as any of them, completely identifies with Israel as a Jewish state and is proud of her contribution to the Zionist dream. She’s thankful for everything that she and her family have gotten from this country. There’s only one thing she’s still asking for: She wants in.

For years Veronica has yearned to convert, but the demands made upon her by the Chief Rabbinate are far in excess of what she can deliver. She won’t tell them she’s prepared to observe all the commandments.

She won’t promise to send her children to a religious school. They won’t settle for anything less.

Yair can’t imagine anything but a Jewish wedding. He can’t conceive (pardon the pun) of having children who won’t be Jewish.

“What do I do?” he asked me. Suddenly I’d become a statistic. Actually, the statistic became a person, with a beautiful face and a delightful personality.

That amorphous body of 300,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union was no longer just a headline.

It had knocked up against my family and wanted to marry into it.

Cut back to Chelsea and Marc. “What are you going on about?” I imagine them asking me impatiently as they go about the final preparations for their own wedding. “Just tell them to decide what kind of ceremony they want, and do it. Later the kids can choose to be anything they want. Like us.”

The bride’s mom concurs, for real. “Over the years, so many of the barriers that prevented people from getting married, crossing lines of faith or color or ethnicity have just disappeared,” she says, in words quoted on the pages of The Jerusalem Post last week.

“Because what’s important is: ‘Are you making a responsible decision? Have you thought it through? Do you understand the consequences?’ And I think in the world that we’re in today, we need more of that.”

Have they? Do we? Is Chelsea on her way to becoming Jewish? The gossip columns are full of speculation.

“Many non-Jewish spouses are going through sociological conversions rather than rabbinical conversions,” Prof. Steven Cohen, eminent sociologist of American Jewry and personal friend, tells me in another article on the subject that appeared in this paper. “They’re becoming in effect members of the Jewish community without official rabbinical instruction or authorization. Sociological conversions may be the biggest denomination of converts today.”

Now there’s a novel idea. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, MK David Rotem! Sociological conversions.

Outrageous. Heretical. The end of the Jewish people.

Or just the opposite, as that is precisely what’s happening.

Right here. Right now.

FOR TWO decades we’ve prevented many thousands of Jewishly-inclined souls from taking their place under the state-sanctioned huppa, and as that is the only wedding canopy legally recognized in this country, we have effectively done our best to exclude them from joining the family. But Veronica won’t just disappear.

At least I hope not. Does Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman? He claims to speak in her interests and those of his disenfranchised constituency. What does he think will really happen if the Rotem bill on conversion were actually passed into law? Thankfully the Knesset went into summer recess without bringing the proposed legislation to a vote, which means he has at least three months to come up with an answer. But I don’t have that luxury with Yair, whose question I left hanging above.

“It’s really not a problem,” I assured him, “if the two of you are prepared to join the revolution.”

After decades of battling on the front lines dividing religion and state in this country, I could hardly contain my excitement over having two new recruits.

“You and Veronica are going to have to stand up for what you believe in and mount the barricades.

Things are only going to change when enough of you say enough is enough.”

A few days later my wife and I accompany the kids to the offices of the Masorti (Conservative) Movement.

After establishing that the intentions of the bride-tobe are sincere, the rabbis we meet with outline the study, behavior and ritual that stand between her and the pedigree she seeks. The demands are reasonable, the standards commendable and the atmosphere convivial. Veronica actually leaves excited about the opportunity to learn things that our Education Ministry has inexplicably decided to leave out of our children’s course of studies. Like finding your way through the prayer book. Yair will in all likelihood join her. And they will both accompany us to synagogue to ensure that they experience the splendor of our tradition and not merely learn about it.

Yet, at the end of this process, when Veronica emerges from the mikve transformed, this country will still not permit her to marry.

“You’re serious?” Marc asks me incredulously at his and Chelsea’s reception that I’m fantasizing about attending. “Yep,” I confirm, as I grab something off the tray of kosher finger-foods circulating alongside the jumbo shrimp. “Israel recognizes only one sort of Jew,” I explain. “The Orthodox. Veronica’s conversion won’t make her eligible for the marriage registry.”

“I don’t understand,” says Chelsea, who has just joined us, still radiant from the ceremony that as likely as not included recitation of the sheva brachot and the breaking of a wine glass. “I thought when my mom treks around the world demanding recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, she means a state for all the Jews.”

CHELSEA’S NOT the only one confused. Just a few days ago I received a frightening e-mail from my sister in Berkeley, a mainstay of her Conservative synagogue whose devotion to Israel is beyond dispute. “As I was reading about the Rotem bill,” she wrote, “I found myself thinking if it passes, and non-Orthodox Jewry is further disenfranchised, my feelings for Israel might very well change dramatically. In some ways it would be a relief – forget about Israel, stop agonizing over the lack of peace between Israel and the Arabs and whether or not Israel is behaving correctly. Leave all that to the self-righteous, intolerant ultra-Orthodox to deal with, while I go ahead building a vibrant meaningful Judaism here. I was pretty horrified to find myself having these thoughts.”

I’m pretty horrified, too, but it’s a message I’ve been hearing a lot these past few months and I know the fault is ours, not hers. For those who still don’t get it, the conversion bill tabled by MK Rotem will succeed in alienating vast numbers of Diaspora Jews from the Jewish state, whose Judaism will for the first time be etched into Israeli law as illegitimate. It will not even begin to solve Veronica’s problem. The more moderate Orthodox rabbis who would be authorized by the legislation to oversee conversions will continue to set requirements that the vast majority of those who have already gone through Steve’s “sociological conversion” will be unable to meet.

Veronica’s mother knows this too, and when we return from our meeting with the rabbis, my wife gets a very emotional call from her. “I’ve been holding my breath for more than three years,” she says through tears of joy and relief. “You’re a traditional family. I was afraid that when you found out, you would tell Yair to leave her. Instead you’ve opened your arms to us.”

This is the first conversation between the future in-laws.

Now the statistic also has a voice. And feelings.

Had Veronica not come into our lives we might never have heard them.

I share this story at a symposium I am participating in with government ministers and Jewish Agency leadership.

“But if we are not stringent with our requirements,” interjects one of the Orthodox representatives with a reputation for moderation, “my grandchildren won’t be able to marry yours.”

I respond that somehow we have been marrying one another throughout the ages, notwithstanding the lack of a chief rabbi in the Diaspora. He counters that he is wary of opening up the doors, concerned that our youth will rush out. “Perhaps they’ll rush in,” I suggest.

Marc, I surmise, would tend to agree, able to boast that Chelsea attended High Holy Day services with him at the Jewish Theological Seminary without anyone pushing her to do so. “Free-market Judaism,” I can hear this investment banker telling me. “It’s the only way to go. Make it attractive enough, and you’ll pull people in by the droves.” He hands me a glass of champagne.

It is not my first drink of the evening and I am feeling a little befuddled. I don’t respond immediately.

Chelsea and Marc epitomize the American dream. Yes, I envy what it has permitted them, but I also recognize that in some profound sense, it undermines mine.

Veronica and Yair are supposed to epitomize the Zionist dream, but it is in danger of becoming a nightmare.

“You don’t agree?” asks Chelsea, looking as puzzled as I am. I don’t have a quick answer, but before she can press me further, her women friends raise her high on a chair above the crowd, moving her toward Marc who is reaching out toward her with a handkerchief in hand.

The symbolism isn’t lost on me and I swallow hard.

“Just who is reaching out to all of our Veronicas?” I find myself wondering. Out loud, to the happy couple, I say “Mazal tov,” forcing a smile and lifting my glass as the crowd breaks into an energetic round of the hora. Then they disappear back into their dream and I into mine. “See you at Veronica and Yair’s wedding,” I shout after them.

The writer is vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization and a member of the Jewish Agency Executive. keepdreamingjpost@ gmail.com

Shoftim, Judges
Reflections by Adele and by Laibl Wolf

As I am experiencing at the present many unhappy events beyond my control, I turn to seek my center of calm.  What speaks to it?  What strengthens it?  How can I mesh where I am at this moment with the approach to the Days of Awe we are all trying to prepare for?  Can these 7 weeks of consolation truly console us along our way?

Do I judge myself too harshly and thereby deny myself the ability to achieve true forgiveness and harmony with the Holy Spirit?  In pondering these questions, I came across a lovely piece by Laibl Wolf, a Kabbalist and psychologist for who I have enormous respect.  So, I share here some excerpts from his blog with you and ask:  Do these words speak to you?  How do they speak to you? Are they worthy of being shared with others, especially at this time of the year?

Mull these words over and see if they touch your spirit.  If they do, please share with the rest of us your thoughts and feelings, your insights.  Shabbat Shalom to all! -a

"Laibls' Blog:

" In the Beginning Was the World

-     Laibl Wolf, Dean, Spiritgrow -

The Josef Kryss Wholistic Centre, Australia

"Words flow from the quill of the mind. Sounds and vibrations, shapes and spaces, combine in an exquisite manner to enter the consciousness field of the listener and reader. As I write I ask myself : should I enter your domain through the front door of your mind, or the side door, or out of left field? Should the words be a gentle ring of your intellectual door-bell or a blast of wind that sweeps away the cobwebs of complacency and mindless habit?
.....
"Most languages appear to be a Darwinian-like evolutionary process – sounds strung together, a nation identifying the combinations as descriptions of items, processes, people. Not so, however, in the most ancient of languages – Hebrew.
....
"As you read my blogs you are decoding words, but less perfectly than were these to have been written in Hebrew. The best you can do is to recognize my words as your doorways into my mind and heart, allowing you to peer through and sense my soul.  At the same time my words may pry open windows into your soul facilitating for you self-discovery, a process to which there is no end since you too are infinite and mysterious, even unto thyself.

With that multi-paragraph preamble let me write a few words: The flow of time is punctuated by swirling independent energies. In the Hebrew calendar we have just begun the month of Ellul, the month of raw, honest, and penetrating introspection.  Our individual and collective performance on the stage of the year 5770 (2010/11) is being assessed.  But the year has not ended. A goal in extra time can win matches. So this month, watch your words. Enter the gates of others’ privacy with care and compassion. Use words that connect, not words that separate.  Use words that nurture, not words that stunt. Use words that construct, not words that destroy. Use words wisely.

And if you are not sure how, don’t use words at all. Silence may seem empty, but nature abhors a vacuum. Often, in the space of silence, your soul speaks much more effectively and truly than your tongue."

Ki Teitze
Dvarim [Deuteronomy] 21:10- 25:19
 
Ki Teitze- When you go out you should be compassionate in all your dealings. We learn that compassion towards the needy and towards beasts of burden and all creatures are particularly important. Yet how are we to understand the meaning of compassion? What are the ways we can express our compassion? Is there a formula or do we all just need to bumble forward discovering our own techniques to display compassion? Do we even care to be compassionate?

Chapter 22 gives us a clue, describing compassion through instruction on how to treat livestock and birds followed by pragmatic safety of how to avoid endangering the lives of others such as by building a safety fence around the perimeter of a roof.
 
Compassion to the dead, irrespective of the crimes they have committed in life, is also included in this portion [ch21:22-23]. A similar theme of compassion for family/community members is continued in Chapter 24.
 
Unlike the instructions for the judges, the elements of pity and compassion are encouraged in everyday life. Even the rebellious among children are given extra care by requiring strangers to judge if they are worthy of punishment. [21:18-22] The sages write that with this system, no rebellious son was ever put to death. It was as though this part was included in the Laws in order to scare the rebellious into better behaviour.

Other topics touched upon include compassion towards slaves, towards women taken advantage of, towards lepers, in lending money to the poor, towards the strangers, towards the fatherless/orphan, towards the widow, and even towards divorced women...ie the needy and the less fortunate.
Still this portion leaves us with a quandry: how do required tsitsis, a prohibition of cross-dressing, and a reminder to remember Amalek tie into the instructions on being compassionate?

These are the questions we will address in our Torah study this Shabbat...All the best, Adele

The Choice between blessings and curses… Ki Tavo

This week’s portion makes it seem easy to choose between blessings and curses so that we can enjoy our new land of milk and honey.  It is obvious that we want the land to be fruitful; that our families not disappear from the face of the earth; that crime not be widespread.  However, can we always tell what are the blessings and what are the curses in our lives?

If we miss our cross-country bus, we think of it as a curse.  Yet what if that bus later crashes with many fatalities?  What seemed to be a curse was actually a blessing in disguise.

If we win a free cruise, we might think of it as a blessing.  Yet if everyone on the cruise ends up with a hard to cure food poisoning, is it not seeming to be a curse?

Certainly we are all guilty of not looking enough at the big picture or the long-term picture.  We do not have crystal balls with which to see the future results of seemingly innocuous decisions we make today.  For that matter, we might not even try to see the big picture if we get distracted with money or power.  How many government elected officials focus first on serving their constituents before focus turns to re-election?  How many vote themselves extra benefits without concern for the inequalities that might arise or the budget distress that might be caused?

Nor do these distractions happen only among the people we go to the polls to elect.  Every bureaucracy with an ‘elected’ leadership can fall prey to shortsightedness…and shortsightedness can lead to forgetting how to recognize our blessings and avoid our curses.  How many of us even take time to rejoice every day over the blessings we still do have?  How many of us exercise the forbearance to wonder if that which we have rapidly classified as curses might indeed be, instead, blessings in disguise?

This week we discuss our own individual strategies at recognizing blessings and curses. We may also share our methods in determining what to choose and what to reject.  Whatever we end up discussing, one thing we can know for sure:  there will always be more to discuss!

Shabbat Shalom!

Repentance and Forgiveness are two sides of the same coin.  We rarely have one without the other.  So it seems appropriate to review Repentance when contemplating how we can achieve Forgiveness.  Nathan Light's words may help us do just that...a

http://www.tzipiyah.com/2008/09/parshat-nitzavim-repentance.html

Repentance [Nitzavim];  September 25, 2008 ·

Written by: Nathan Light  

 

Of the many ideas discussed in this week’s Torah portion, one particular idea seems to be very fitting for the time of year we find ourselves in. As we know, Rosh Hashannah is just days away and thoughts of repentance and self-examination should be occupying our minds and hearts until the day of judgement comes upon us. Concerning the idea of repentance and returning to God, our parshah tells us:

 

“It will be that when all these things come upon you — the blessing and the curse that I have presented before you — then you will take it to your heart, among all the nations where Hashem, your God, has dispersed you; and you will return unto Hashem, your God, and listen to his voice…” [Deuteronomy: 30: 1-2]

 

In response to our repentance, the subsequent verses describe the acts of kindness that God Himself shall bestow upon us in kind: The verses state that God will “bring you to the land that your forefathers possessed”, “make you numerous” etc. However, after these few verses, the Torah then says: “You shall return and listen to the voice of Hashem…” Why are we returning to the idea of repentance!? The verses already started off depicting our process of repentance! What is the significance of mentioning our repentance again?

 

There are certainly many answers to this question, however I would like to focus on two.

 

The first answer is quite simple. At first, the Torah illustrates how we will be “among all the nations where Hashem, your God, has dispersed you”. Because of our fallen state of exile we recognize our sins and “take it to heart” and eventually we “return unto Hashem, your God”. By demonstrating our regret for past sins and our renewed commitment to God, God rewards us by taking us out of exile etc. But repentance does not end there! Just because we now find ourselves in more favorable circumstances, it is not an indicator that repentance is over! God does not want us to only scream out to Him when times are tough; even when we are living comfortable lives we must still make an effort to bring ourselves closer to Him. Therefore, even after the verses describe how God will “bring you to the land that your forefathers possessed”, we are nevertheless told that “You shall return and listen to the voice of Hashem…”

 

The second answer is also relatively simple. Unfortunately, the term “repentance” is somewhat incorrect. The more accurate translation for the word ובהתש is “return”. ובהתש is a process whereby we regret, anguish over, and abandon our sins and ultimately bring ourselves closer, “return”, to God by following his commandments and way of life. But how can one fully return to God!? God is defined as the infinite and the unknown, how can one ever attach themselves completely to something infinite!? The answer is that we can’t, but it is very important to realize this. Someone can reach the greatest heights of righteousness and “return to God” every day of his life, but he must always realize that because there is no end to God, there is no end to the level of “returning to God’ he can perform.

 

Both of these answers can be highlighted in the first verse we quoted above. The verse states:

 

“It will be that when all these things come upon you — the blessing and the curse that I have presented before you — then you will take it to your heart… and you will return unto Hashem, your God”

 

By including both “blessing” and “curse”, the beginning of the verse implies that it is not enough to cry out to God only when “the curse” is upon us, but so too when “the blessing” is upon us as well. The end of the verse says that we will return “unto” God. A more accurate translation, but a rather strange way of putting it, would have been “until God”. Instead of saying that we return “to” God, the verse specifies that return “until” God in order to convey to us that despite the intense amount of repentance we undergo, we can never fully return “to” God; we can only come as close as being just “until” Him.

 

May we take these messages to heart in these days leading up to Rosh Hashannah and sincerely return to God to the best of our abilities.

Shabbat Shalom!

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