One Torah for All

5771

Shabbat Shuvah

In Awe of the Days of Awe, 5771

Teeter tottering in the pool of our sins,

Will we find the humility to regret where we’ve been?

Be it paranoia, obsession, or whim-

Can we repent the unethical, the corners we trim?

And if for forgiveness, repentance we seek,

Will those we invite in, to forgive, agree to make peace?

 

 

Sukkot, Wind, and Sun – 5771

adele

I sit in our Sukkah while watching through the door.

Who will come for a meal, shake the lulav, and more?

What stories will be told of the brave and the bold,

Of the joys of the past, and the hopes of the old?

What harvest have we achieved in the year that has passed?

What now stands yet to be received before this year reaches its last?

 

Our Sukkah is UP despites the first day of 25 mph winds.  First time ever in Chino Valley for me that the wind did not blow the sukkah down!

SO I invite all of you to honored guests in our Sukkah even if only virtually through your meditating on the pictures I include below…  May this Season of Joy be Truly Joyful for you and yours – May we go from strength to strength as once again we start the cycle of reading the Torah on Friday, Simchat Torah, with the story of creation.  And May we all go forward with a sense of cooperation towards our common goals, towards love and harmony, towards peace and community well being!

B'reishit

10/2/10

Still looking for copy....

NO'AH  10/9/10

With the creation stories done, we now find ourselves wondering about how HaShem could possibly view it to be okay to wipe out all animal life on earth save for what was saved in Noach's ark? Were the animals as wicked as the men that they, too, needed to be wiped out?

Yet afterwards we learn that HaShem regretted having caused such devastation and loss of life, promising through the rainbow never to do such a flood again. Does that mean that there might be another fit of temper or disappointment that will result in a devastation through some other means?

Does that mean that even as we hope humankind will become more humane, more menschlich, as time goes on- so, too, Hashem grows and matures? Certainly we will hear more reaffirmations of the grief HaShem has over the loss of his creations such as when he is sorrowed over the loss of the host of Pharoah and the beasts of burden with them.

So we are left with confusion and wonder: Does the nature of HaShem get depicted differently as time goes on through the five books of Moses? Let us keep our eyes and ears open to the answers for this question as we once again embark on the yearly journey through the Torah. Who knows what mysteries we may uncover?

Lech Lecha  10/16/10

Food for thought along the way:

Avram is told to leave his native land and to leave his father's dwelling place. Yet at the end of the last portion, Avram and his father had already left their native land in the Ur of the Chaldees.

When he leaves his father's dwelling, Avram is reported to be 75 years old. Yet Sarai is still said to be very beautiful. What is the age difference between Avram and Sarai likely to be? Does this play into the fact that she is barren as mentioned at the end of last portion and again in this portion?

How do we view someone today who reports that Hashem is telling him where to go and what to do? Why?

These and many other questions and reflections fill our plate this weekend. May it be a weekend of true Shabbat peace.

10/23/10
Why Does it seem that Men rarely ask Hashem for Miracles?

This week's Torah and Haftorah portions describe various dilemmas women might experience and how they prayed for and received miraculous remedies to these problems.  From the barrenness of Sarai and the Shunamite woman to the abject poverty of  a prophet's daughter-in-law, from the despair of Hagar fearing her son's death to the panic of the Shunamite over what seemed to be the death of her long awaited son, the words of these portions describe women with faith that their prayers could be answered.  Okay- so Sarai laughed, but her faith was such that she did name her son even as she was told to.  Nonetheless, all the miracles they asked for did occur.

On the other hand, Abraham seemed to prefer bargaining with HaShem in order to save at least Lot and his family, misrepresenting the truth with respect to being married to Sarai, practicing military might and diplomacy,or just holding his peace and waiting to see what the future would be as he did when Hagar was sent away or when Isaac was bound to the altar. Not once did he pray for a miracle.  Was it that he had total confidence and faith in HaShem?  Was it because he believed that HaShem would tell him anything of importance that would happen?

Certainly Avraham can not be considered a typical man in all of these cases.   Or can he?

Why do we not have examples of men going to the Prophets and the Priests to beg for miracles?  What difference is there between men and women, then and now, that leads to this difference in approach to miracles?

May we all discover the miracles of everyday life soon and always!

10/30/10 Chayei Sarah
For What are We Remembered?

This week we have a portion called the 'Life of Sarah'.  Yet, as is evident to all, the portion starts with the death of Sarah.  So we are compelled to ask:  What is it that we remember of the Life of Sarah?  If we take our direction of thought from the portion, it seems that the Life of Sarah was defined by the lives of her sons Ishmael and Isaac.  Although adopted by the contemporary acceptance of surrogacy by handmaid, Ishmael is described not only as a son, but also as a son with the blessing of also being the father of a great nation through his sons and following generations.

So we are brought to the question:  are we still living now through our children or are we remembered for what we do in our lives?  If so, what are we remembered for?  Are men and women remembered for different things now as in the past?

Nonetheless, Judaism has a core concept of M'dor L'dor, from generation to generation.  This concept supports the idea that our lives are remembered through the acts of our children with the hope that the lessons we have tried to impart unto them have been taken to heart.  Unfortunately, that is becoming ever more difficult in modern times.  So we ask:  what can we do about it?

What will we be remembered for?

These and many other questions and reflections fill our plate this weekend.  May it be a weekend of true Shabbat peace.

Toldot

 

Toldot Commentary.....by Ellie Goldberg

This week's Parsha [Torah Portion] tells of the rivalry between Jacob and Esau for their parents' affection and attention. At one point Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentils. Later in the Parsha we read of Isaac's blessings for Jacob (dressed as Esau) and for Esau (as himself). Only after threats of bodily harm against Jacob by Esau does Jacob become compelled finally to take leave of his parents and seek out a bride at his uncle's as per his parents' directive. His leaving was also attributed to the bitterness his parents felt over Esau's marrying two Hittite women. Which of these acts came first? How well did their parents know these sons and anticipate the hotheaded responses that occurred? How much did this influence Rifka's decision to push Jacob to doing what needed to be done to get the inheritance blessing? Based on their knowledge of their sons, did Isaac really get fooled by the fake hairy arms and the gamey smell? To some it may seem that there was a divine plan determined that Jacob, not Esau, should receive the blessing. Does this mean that Jacob was a Jew not only in heart but also in practice as well? With belief alone we cannot accomplish the mission of revealing G-dliness to this world. Only through actually practicing Torah and mitzvot can this goal be visibly achieved. Is this the lesson we can draw from this Parsha's clear statement that it is okay for the most suited person to get the role of leadership, that seniority does not make a person necessarily more suited for a job?
VaYeitzei  approx. 11/13/10
 

What goes around?

Earlier in Bereishit [Genesis] we saw how Abraham treated his nephew, Lot, with respect, concern, and maybe even tenderness. He did everything in his power to keep the relationship healthy. When his nephew was in trouble, Abraham went to his rescue either with his ‘army’ or through diplomatic negotiations [with HaShem]. Perhaps Abraham was protective towards him because he thought that Lot might be his heir. More likely, given the description of how the family left Ur with his father and many family members, Abraham’s concern was one of family watching out for family. This behavior is consistent with the behavior ideal that is valued in the Middle East even unto this day: first protect family, then community, then the strangers in your midst.

However we all know that dysfunction can plague families. Certainly jealousy and sibling rivalry have appeared throughout our stories side by side with cooperation, honorable [?] deceptions, intense love, and wise diplomacy. We are told that the strength to go forward was reinforced by the growing close relationship between HaShem and Abraham along with his descendents.

So now we come to the life of Jacob in this week’s parasha [portion] of VaYetzei. We see clearly that his life did not really start until he left his parents’ home – even as Abraham’s did not start until he left his father’s home [in Lech Lecha]. Once again we see the dynamics between an uncle and his nephew. However the relationship appears to be quite different from the one shared by Abraham and Lot. While Abraham seemed to be selflessly concerned with Lot’s wellbeing, Laban sees Jacob as a source of free labor, one to be used [and abused] without remorse. Laban is a man consumed by his own powerful status, corrupted to the point that he no longer treasures the protection of his family over the gain of further wealth.

It is then no surprise that towards the end of this portion, his daughters and Jacob feared him. They feared that the greed he has expressed and that was reflected in the greed of his sons might lead them to kill even family in order to gain more wealth. The struggle for over 14 years had been one of jealousy over the successes of Jacob’s husbandry even in the face of unfair and abusive conditions in the work agreement required by Laban versus what we are told was ‘magical’ influencing of the flock to bear speckled and spotted offspring [but which was most likely just good, rational observation and practical animal husbandry].

Yet Hashem, the Holy One, had also spoken with Jacob and promised the land and many descendants even as had been promised to Abraham and Isaac. Did this strengthen Jacob to go forward? Or did he just have chutspa enough to stand up for himself and his loved ones? Certainly Rachel had a good bit of chutspa when she took her father’s teraphim [household idols] to sit upon, knowing that her father would take no action against Jacob without consulting them.

Therefore, in the end, Laban felt forced to sue for peace and made a pact with Jacob to stay each on their respective side of the decided boundary. There would have been a lot less drama and angst had Laban been of the stature of Abraham, had he been able to say that he had enough wealth of his own and welcomed Jacob’s leaving so as to have enough water and pasture for their flocks – even as Abraham had separated from Lot, each to go in the opposite direction from the other, but without the need for a peace treaty. In the next portion we will read that Jacob, too, has learned to use diplomacy even as his grandfather had so successfully. Did he gain that wisdom from the adversity he experienced living with Laban? Or did that talent come from education by his parents and the family stories?

May this Shabbat hail a weekend of true Shabbat peace.

11/20/10 VaYishlach

VaYishlach, Jacob goes back to Canaan

The story of Jacob continues to unfold in this week’s portion. However, in fact, the generations of both Esau and Jacob are included in this portion [ch. 35 and 36]. Although not a major character, Esau appears repeatedly. On the face of it, Esau does nothing that should have caused Jacob to fear. Whether it was guilt or uncertainty, Jacob approached his brother with considerable distrust and fear for himself and his family despite HaShem’s promise to him at BethEl that he would be the father of a great nation.

Some have suggested that Esau was always volatile and dangerous to Jacob and hence Jacob was justified in fearing him. However, Esau is not described as being a danger. On the contrary, he repeatedly refused Jacob’s gift offerings and only after much persuasion did he accept the gifts [eg. 33:9]. Is this a parallel to Abraham paying for the family burial cave? That might be a stretch for a comparison. After all, no deeds are being bought nor transferred.

So why did Esau come with 400 men [ch.32:7]? Perhaps he had heard that his brother was travelling the long distance with many women, children, livestock and their young, not to mention the many servants who helped with the needs of the journey. To offer the weary travelers help was considered major politeness within the family tradition not to mention that the travelers were family. Also there was a need to build temporary dwellings in Succoth so that they could rest after their long journey [33:17], a task that neighbors often offer to help with. Some would still argue that it is not clear.

Interestingly enough we have outside explanatory and corroborating material we can turn to. Josephus in Ch20 of his “Antiquities of the Jews” states: “When Jacob understood that his brother was near, he ordered his wives to go before, each by herself, with the handmaids, that they might see the action of the men as they were fighting, if Esau were so disposed. He then went up to his brother Esau, and bowed down to him, who had no evil design upon him, but saluted him; and asked him about the company of the children and the women; and desired, when he had understood all he wanted to know about them, that he would go along with them to their father; but with Jacob pretending that the cattle were weary, Esau returned to Seir…named…roughness, from his [Esau’s] own hairy roughness.

Prudence or paranoia? We may never know. We also remind ourselves that Josephus, while predating our available sources from historians and commentators, was nonetheless from only a couple thousand years ago.

In this portion we also read about Jacob’s visions and two versions of his name change to Israel. Was he a prophet as the Muslims would have us believe? Are his visions being reported fully in this portion? Many of us have commented on how we feel that we are just getting the cliff-notes. Perhaps some of the fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls [circa 2^nd century BCE] can offer a glimpse at additional information that did not end up as chosen for our present day liturgy.

In Genesis 28:11, there is a description [citing] of the vision of the ladder to heaven as we know it. There is an elaboration of what then followed in a segment called ‘The Vision of Jacob’. In it, an angel/messenger descends holding seven tablets containing the history of the life of Jacob. Jacob reads the tablets and learns that, contrary to his desire to have the Temple built at BethEl, the Temple will be built elsewhere [Jerusalem] according to the specifications inscribed on the tablet he was reading. While this sounds like a later written justification of the choice of Jerusalem for the Temple site, it was apparently the widely accepted historical understanding of that time period. This is also evidenced in the very popular [at that time] Book of Jubilees of which parts of 13-16 copies were found scattered in five of the Qumran caves of Dead Sea Scrolls. This book describes a similar vision in a narrative where an angel is telling Moses about the events.

It seems clear that throughout the ages, there is no neutrally presented version of history. How then will we ever be able to fill in the blanks? Or will we ever? Does it matter?

Let us not let the quandary disturb us from having a wonderful Shabbat, a wonderful day of rest. Shabbat Shalom!

VaYeshev 11/27/10
VaYeshev – Sibling Rivalry

Sibling rivalry is something all of us can probably relate to.  Isn’t it comforting to know that throughout the ages people are consistent in behaviours?  We have an extreme example of sibling rivalry in this week’s parasha [portion].  Antagonism and jealousy have gotten out of hand with brothers arguing to murder their brother or alternatively sell him into slavery.  Admittedly, Joseph was probably not the most likeable kid.  Spoiled by his father and boasting of his dreams, he had yet to learn of diplomacy and just plain getting along. [Bereishit CH. 37]

Still the thought that someone could contemplate killing their brother is abhorrent to many of us.  Yet this is not the first time we hear of such threats.  Esau threatened to kill Jacob over his loss of the birthright and the inheritance.  He did not carry through on his threat, but it makes for a more exciting story to have the threat hanging over Jacob’s head.  In this week’s portion, the brothers also do not carry through on the threat to kill Joseph.  However by the time they reached that decision over lunch, Joseph had disappeared from the pit they had thrown him in.

The remorse and guilt perhaps were part of what helped them mature to the tribal leaders they became.  Nonetheless, the story of Tamar [Bereishit Ch 38] needing to trick Judah into providing the levirate child is clear indication that wisdom was not necessarily part of that maturation.  We will read more about the characters of the brothers in next week’s portion.

In contemplating the sibling rivalry of the chapter, we are led to wonder if sibling rivalry is a blessing helping the family mature and move forward successfully or is it a curse to be fought at every turn?  Is it a  behaviour found in functional as well as dysfunctional families?  If it is to be opposed, how then can we do so?  Or is it just a fact of life mankind has always and will always need to accept?

Certainly this portion opens up discussions that may never reach any conclusions.  Maybe that contemplation of the uncertainties in life and the appreciation of what each of us is blessed with is the whole purpose of this week’s portion.

A Shabbat Shalom to all with thanks for our many blessings that have brought us to this day!

12/4/10

Guest Commentary for this week:

Dreamworks

-adapted from Laibl Wolf, Dean, Spiritgrow -
The Josef Kryss Wholistic Centre, Australia

Each day we experience a unique phenomenon. It changes behaviour, alters body function, and shifts consciousness states. It eludes understanding, is experientially unprecedented, and is truly mystical. It is called ‘awakening’.

Beyond the walls of sleep lies a higher reality. Dreams are a tantalizing hint of higher reality. Sleep, dreams, and awakening – a journey from nowhere into the drama of somewhere.

Josef’s dreams reflected future reality. Pharaoh’s dreams saved his nation from famine. The prophets' dreams guided the Israelite nation to profound destiny. The dreams of the Maccabees defeated the overwhelming might of the Greek army.

Where are when we sleep? Why enter a place that is here but not here?

Kabbalah explains sleep as the partial dislocation of the soul from the body. There are various degrees of such dislodgement. Tiredness signals a slight separation, the body being temporarily deprived of its capacity to fully assimilate the soul-energy. Illness creates an even greater dissonance between soul and body. Sleep is even more profoundly a body/soul split. Unconsciousness indicates the momentary (or permanent) compromise of the physical body to the degree that the soul flows but weakly through it. Death is the profound removal of soul from body.

Sleep provides a respite for the soul to re-energize at its ‘watering hole’ in the higher realms. Dreams are said to be a translation of the soul’s experiences at these sublime levels, but imperfectly transmitted through the partially functional body. Ironically, in this state, the body becomes both the source of distortion of higher reality as well as the conduit of higher insights. Indeed there are rare moments when a higher truth is beamed through this conduit illuminating consciousness with a taste of profundity. Most of the time, however, the dream stream is a statement of mere illusion.

The return into the seemingly mundane is inevitable. It seems to be the very purpose of creation – to elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary. Awakening provides the opportunity.

May your dreams ring true and your sleep refreshes the soul.

VaYigash 12/11/10
this week's commentary:

Continuing Re-Dedication to Our Chosen Path

This week the saga of Joseph continues without any acts of vengeance or retribution against his brothers who had been so cruel to him in his youth.  Quite the contrary:  Joseph tearfully [Bereshit 45:2] reveals himself to them.   There was great joy in the Egyptian court that Joseph’s family had come to join him [Bereshit 45:16].

Throughout all this drama, Joseph never lost sight of his chosen path [or perhaps it was chosen for him? Bereshit 45:8].  He constantly worked to prevent the worst ravages of the famine and also to maintain the ethical inheritance he had from his family.

He faced challenge after challenge: from being sold to the Egyptians to being thrown in jail on the word of a lewd, dishonest mistress and so on.  After each setback, he continued to seemingly re-dedicate himself to his path of service to the people around him and to HaShem, the Holy One.

Our modern lives are similarly filled with challenges upon challenges.  Do we face them with resolve to go forward as Joseph did?  Do we continually rededicate ourselves  to pursue our chosen paths despite the lumps and bumps of our experiences?  If so, how did we even get to understand what our chosen path is?  For without having a clue as to what our chosen path is, how can we focus on the direction needed for going forward?

May we all go forward to embrace our paths and our futures filled with mitzvot and Tikun Olam!  Shabbat Shalom!

12/18/10
VaYechi - Ethical Wills

This week’s parasha [portion], VaYechi, finishes off the first book of Torah, Bereishit [Genesis].  It also presents us with one of the earliest Ethical Wills known to Jewish history through the blessings of Jacob’s sons and his grandsons through Joseph.  Although verbal at that time, the tradition of ethical wills continued through the ages.  Starting with Sanhedrin times we have records of written ethical wills.  They appear to be prompted, in part, by the section in the Babylonian Talmud [Berachot 28b] that states that those who are reflective and articulate have the responsibility to hand on ethical testaments to posterity.

As we see in this week’s portion and as is generally true, ethical wills are usually written/delivered when the writer/speaker is contemplating mortality.  We also saw this before with the blessings by Isaac of his sons.

Further, as we read this week’s portion let us see if we can find the elements that have become associated with the general structure of Ethical Wills:  exhortation to fear and obey HaShem, to live honestly and forgivingly, to avoid the disgraceful and demoralizing, and to remember all that was taught by the writer/speaker.  In a sense, the Ethical Will is a way to present continued speech from the grave, a moralistic discourse as an inheritance to the living.

We also need to keep in mind that every Ethical Will is likely to show the superstitions, fears, cultural bigotries, and special requests of the writer/speaker.  These, too, are things we should look out for as we read this week’s portion.  Examples of such over the ages include directives on how to treat women [eg do not allow them into the schul/temple] or on how to prominently display and make available important Jewish books for ease of constant study [eg permanently place a bench in the hallway with such books on them].

It is interesting to note that “The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs” from the 3rd century BCE tells that the sons of Jacob all confessed some transgression for which they repented and admonished their children to avoid sin, beware of deceit and envy, keep the Laws of HaShem, fear HaShem, and love their neighbors.  The last two points were considered particularly important as it was felt that if both could be followed, then the evil inclination could not take hold of such a person.  As we read this week’s portion let us see if we can figure out what sin[s] we think each would have repented over.

Lastly, let us contemplate what we think our parents would write in an Ethical Will to us and what we think we would include in our own Ethical Wills for posterity.  Clearly such contemplations are a challenge for lifelong self-awareness with answers that may be continually changing as we go through life.  May we hold such thoughts dear to us always.  May we also remember the words of the Sages that we are always students as well as teachers.

Shabbat Shalom!

Shemot  12/25/10
Commentary:

Saving of Souls, Pikuach Nefesh

As we all know, a core precept of Judaism is Pikuach Nefesh, the Saving of Souls.  With the start of the 2nd book of Torah, Exodus [Shemot], we are reminded that Pikuach Nefesh was practiced by some of our ancestors in many ways.  These ancestors are to be admired and emulated.  For instance, in Genesis Abraham bargained for the survival of Lot and his family.

Now in Shemot [Exodus] we read that Jacob took his entire family to Egypt in order to save them.  The narrative continues that many years later, the Egyptian midwives Shifra and Puah refused to drown the baby boys of the Hebrews.  Further, in the family of Amram, the Hebrew Priest, we are told that his wife, Yochevet, decided to try to save her son.  Miriam, their daughter, watched over her brother’s ark to make sure he was safe.  Batya [Thermuthis], the Egyptian Princess, chose to save the baby in the ark and according to Josephus, called him “saved out of the water” [water= mo – uses=saved out of].

His mother’s and step-mother’s examples of watching out for others may have led Moses to be similarly caring for others.  This would explain why Moses felt the need to protect the slaves against abuse by the Egyptians overseers.  It would also explain why he helped the Midianite women get water for their flocks.

Yet all of these examples are ones where physical well-being of others is at stake.  This leads us to ask:  When does protection of self take precedence over protection of others?  Can protection of spiritual well-being qualify as Pikuach Nefesh?  Are there times when death can rightfully be chosen over life and still be in accord with Pikuach Nefesh?

Key questions these are, perhaps with no firm answers.  Nonetheless, they are important to discuss if we ever will be able to truly understand Pikuach Nefesh.

With deep reflections, let us seek a Shabbat of true rest and Peace…  Shabbat Shalom!

VaEra 1/1/11
Destruction Everywhere - or are they Plagues?

Tons of iron oxide were discharged into the rivers, killing the fish and looking as though the waters were bloodied.  Without fish or other predators to eat them, frog eggs in great numbers hatched, but without food to eat on the land died thereafter in equally great numbers.  The acidic ash and  dust in the air caused the people to itch as though they had lice.  Invertebrates, insects, snakes and rodents who could hide the initial devastations of the land eventually had to come out to seek water and food.  How strange they appeared to the remaining inhabitants when they, too, acted peculiarly from exposure to the acidic dust, from hunger, and from thirst!  After prolonged breathing the acidic ash, the livestock perished as did the people who had been working outdoors.  The prolonged exposure of the people to that acidic ash and dust caused severe skin irritations like boils.  Then the fiery hail, the brimstone, began to fall.  It burned everything it touched, smashed trees, and brought with it thunder and lightning in the turbulence of the huge, dark cloud that carried it.

Sounds like the plagues we read about this week?  Sure does: blood, frogs, lice, pests [eg flies], murrain [wasting of livestock/animals], boils, and fiery hail respectively. Not only does the Torah recount these plagues, but there are corroborating non-biblical writings that describe these events in the Ipuwar Papyrus: the Admonition of Egyptian Sage and in the Papyrus of Anatisu IV as well as in the Midrash Pisikta Raboti.  The first two were written contemporaneously with events.

Yet descriptions like these have been reported from other events even within memory.  Iron oxide spewed forth from the volcanic explosion at Krakatau, killing the fish and giving the water a bloody appearance.  Both gray pumice of volcanoes and dead fish cause a mighty stink as was noticed after Mount St. Helens erupted!  The acidic dust put many people in hospital with skin irritations, rashes, and boils even as far away as five hundred miles from Mt. St. Helens.  Huge swarms of flying ants descended on sugar plantations and workers after the Mount Pelee eruptions in 1851 and 1902, destroying crops and even killing some people [in Martinique in the West Indies].  Livestock died or needed to be put down after prolonged exposure to the acidic dust in the wake of Mount St. Helen's eruption.  Pellet sized volcanic debri fell like hail, fiery pumice set fires to all on the ground, and both destroyed trees and houses accompanied by thunder and lightning generated by the tremendous turbulence inside the volcanic cloud over the Sumatra coast in the wake of the Krakatau eruption.

A volcano?!?  Could be.  About 1500 BCE a volcano on the Mediterranean island of Thera [now Santorini] exploded with a force estimated at over twenty times the force of the Mt. St. Helen's eruption.  The coast of Egypt is less than 500 miles from Thera/Santorini.  Pumice samples from the seabed indicate that the prevailing winds were towards Egypt.  Hence the resultant volcanic cloud would have covered much of the country.

Could this be just a horrific disaster?  Or could they be miraculous plagues nonetheless?  Who is to say that HaShem might or might not use natural phenomena, natural laws, to cause events to turn in a desired fashion?  Certainly not I.  Yet this is the core of faith:  are these just the violent nature of life on this earth or do these events hold more meaningful, more purposeful, and more intentional aspects that beg us to research and understand on all levels of existence?

Certainly this week's portion opens the door to many deeply reflective discussions not only this week, but also for weeks to come.  So with these thoughts, Shabbat Shalom wishes to all!

Bo 1/8/11
COMMENTARY:
 
Darkness
Darkness covered the face of the universe before light was created…

Darkness enveloped Jacob during his vision of the heavenly ladder…

Darkness marked the time frame for Israel’s struggle with the stranger and led to his name change…

Darkness, in this week’s portion of Bo, heralds fear and panic and was understood at the time to be a plague on mankind…

What kinds of darkness plague mankind?  Certainly the great plume of volcanic ash in the wake of the massive Thera volcanic explosion plagued a vast expanse of territory.  What fears and panics must have swirled in the minds of the creatures enveloped in this palpable, heavy, terrifying cloud!  They, too, were plagues of darkness.  Such darkness of spirit and of soul led to the strife and discord during the journey that followed, the exodus to what the survivors hoped would be a better life!  Yet the survivors took in that darkness and did not let it overwhelm them.  Somehow they were able eventually to rebuild their lives into a healthier and more productive community.

Even today darkness plagues us all with fears and doubts, with post-traumatic stress from a myriad of insults and injuries, with meanness of spirit and unbridled bigotries.  Darkness of mind does not let us access our common sense to think problems through reasonably.  Darkness of soul blinds us from accessing the spiritual joys available to us if only we could see.  Darkness upon our hearts prevents us from feeling the pain of others and reaching to them to comfort them – for we do not see them in the darkness…

How can we see the darkness within ourselves?  How can we learn to handle the darkness and prevent it from poisoning us into oblivion?  We know that these darknesses will not be over in 3 or 7 or even 9 days, but rather they will be our constant companions throughout life.  So if nothing else, we should all feel the urgent need to bring light into our darknesses.

May our Shabbat be one of Light and Peace, unblemished by Darkness!  Shabbat Shalom!

BeShalach  1/15/11
The Darkness Within Continues

     Even as we discussed darkness last week, darkness was unfolding in Tucson.  Darkness of spirit and darkness of soul led a 22 year old to murder and maim 20 people most of whom were gathered to share hopes and dreams.  Those who remain alive will always need to live with the darkness of nightmares and fears, replays of the horror that enveloped them that day.  The shooter, too, is among the maimed for in moments of clarity he will realize what he has done and will sense the enormity of the darkness.

     So, too, our Torah and Haftorah portions describe the darknesses that draw us into conflicts or allow us to be victims of those enveloped by them.  Pharoah's heart is once more hardened in darkness to his undoing.  In his rush to seek revenge, in his arrogance and bravado, he heeded the darkness within and took his soldiers with their relatively newly received horses and chariots in pursuit. We read that he and his host were drowned.  This is further described in the Egyptian Papyrus of El-Arish in which Pharoah Thom is reported to have drowned at PiHiroti, apparently part of an extensive and complex  irrigation canal system.  Darkness within led the mixed multitude fleeing Egypt to be insecure and complain a lot, even to be rebellious at times. Darkness also led outsiders to prey upon the weak and elderly.  So our portion tells us in the strongest of language to wipe out the darkness, to stop the AMALEKITES.

     The stories of Deborah and Yael in the Haftorah are part of the continuing fight against Darkness.  Sometimes we succeed as they did...but sometimes...sometimes the Darkness wins a battle as it did this past Shabbat in Tucson.  May we have the strength, the courage and the wisdom to prevail against the Darkness today and everyday.  May darkness not throw its shadow upon the beauty and peace of Shabbat.

Yitro 1/22/11

Yithro Commentary
 from Leah
            Everyone knows about the Ten Commandments, it is what many would say is the core of Judaism.   There is the iconic image from the movie of the same name, (though there is very little in that movie that is actually about the Ten Commandments), still there is Charlton Heston standing alone in front of a pillar of fire as the words are spoken only to him and the even more iconic image of Moses on the mountainside holding two stone tablets bringing the words of Hashem to the people.  This is what most people think about when they imagine what it must have been like.  Yet here in Yithro it clearly states that while the people couldn’t set forth on the mountain, Hashem wanted to be heard by the masses. Chap.19: verse 9 in Yithro – And Adonai said to Moses, ‘I will come to you in a thick cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.’

            The fact that Hashem spoke these words unto us and not just to Moses is probably why the Ten Commandments have become such an esteemed part of Judeo-Christian culture.  And it is a very important and defining moment.  I certainly think the words of the commandments are important, of course ‘thou shall not kill’ is a rule I wish all could live by.  But, as integral as the Commandments are I think the main point that should be taken from Yithro is that Adonai spoke to the people directly. 

            In today’s modern world of smart phones and Fast Food, it is hard to comprehend the idea of a present god.  A god who not only visibly affects massive miracles that lead to freedom of a whole people from bondage, but goes so far to actually speak to them.  There were no speakers to boom the voice of Hashem to the people, there wasn’t the special effects technology to fake billowing dark clouds and no reverb to make (19:19) the blare of the horn grow louder and louder.  In today’s world Adonai is seemingly silent.  Perhaps the constant buzzing of ringtones and listening to music too loud has in essence deafened us to God’s words, or perhaps we haven’t found a prophet like Moses to be the mouthpiece.  I think, that it may simply be a matter of taking a moment to stop and listen.

Tu B'Shvat 5771
Leafless trees await the gentle breeze,
The warmth of moments within each freeze
That promise hope for springtime weather,
With blooms and blossoms within the heather,
And awakens thoughts of rebuilding lives
So that communities and spirits thrive...

Mishpatim 1/29/11
Commentary:

Mishpatim: 53 Rules on the Way to a Good Life

The Torah has taken us thus far through a history of our people before a specific code of conduct was explained to us. Now, in this week’s portion of Mishpatim [Rules- exodus 21:1-24:18], we are given some of the specific terms of the contract with Hashem that we have signed onto as Jews.

23 "positive" rules of conduct to do and 30 "negative" rules of conduct not to do are presented. Which of these rules [mitzvot, good deeds] are the easiest to observe?

Some say that avoiding temptation is very difficult, constantly challenging us to restrain ourselves from doing that which we should not. We need to maintain the conscious intent not to cross the line. At times we grow lax and brush it off saying we can always repent and make amends later. At times we are corrupted by the outside culture around us and figure it is okay if we can get away with it uncaught. Still, if we do care to do so, we do manage to resist temptation.

At first glance we might think it is harder to follow the positive commandments/ mitzvot. After all, we need to intentionally act to do the mitzvah…or do we? If we start out doing our daily morning prayers or keeping Shabbat, the routine may become automatic or we may do so because of social pressure or a desire to be part of a social group. What value is there to performing a mitzvah by rote or without the appropriate Kavanah, intent to do what is right and proper?

Perhaps to ease the pangs of guilt over lack of good intentions, some religious leaders have told us that the act of doing the good deed, with or without the good intention, counts as a point on the plus side of the scales of judgement. The good intent only adds to the weight of the point and might be expressed more frequently the more we do the mitzvah. Do we really believe that intent behind our actions is not required?

What is harder for each of us to do: observe the positive or the negative rules? Why?

May we all have a wonderful Shabbat filled with all the best of intentions!

Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbat Terumah, Rosh Chodesh Adar, 2/5/11

Commentary:

Terumah- Donations to Our Tabernacle

Terumah is a portion that describes the voluntary contributions people made to the building of the Tabernacle and how those contributions were used according to the specifications given in this parashah.  It is a description of pageantry foreign to us all.  We no longer have a Tabernacle to adorn and maintain - or do we?

What is our modern day equivalent to the Holy Tabernacle and the ARK it contained?

Is the ark in our houses of prayer an equivalent with the Torah replacing the tablets as the Holy Words of HaShem?  We are taught that HaShem is everywhere, so a focus on the local arks is acceptable.  Yet we can take a Torah scroll outside and do a service under the heavenly bodies.  Would the whole world then become the Holy Tabernacle?

With this understanding, do we really need physical objects to represent the Tabernacle and the ark containing the Holy words?  Can we each build non-tangible spiritual arks containing the Holy words?  Or do we need a 'perfect' copy of the words nearby as our memories and humanity are naturally flawed and recall imperfectly?  Are there 'perfect' copies of the Holy words in existence?  Can we ever build, let alone maintain, a Spiritual Tabernacle in this world filled with discrepancies and imperfections?  Do we need a Tabernacle?

Lots of lofty questions to perplex us stem from this week's portion.  Maybe that is why the Rambam wrote a treatise/book entitled:  "A Guide to the Perplexed"!

May we all have a Shabbat of Rest and Peace even if we continue to be perplexed!
Shabbat Shalom!

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Tetzaveh 71, 2/12/11

Descriptions of the pomp and glitter associated with the priestly garb and the sacrifices, as in this parasha, seems to cause a difficulty for finding a related discussion topic.  The practices seem totally foreign to us not to mention meaningless.  How then can we feel comfortable discussing the Torah and Haftorah portions for this week?

Perhaps we can look at the underlying need of the people for decorative presentations by the priests.  The surrounding cultures worshipped idols made of precious metals and jewels or elaborately carved and placed in lavish surroundings.  Their priests and priestesses dressed for the occassion as representatives of these lavishly adorned "gods".

So it is not surprising that the Hebrews also wanted lavish adornment and pomp in their worship ceremonies.  Perhaps it was a keep up with the Joneses- or in this case, the Hittites and Hurrites.  Perhaps it was a remnant of the practices people had been doing in Egypt where forced monotheistic worship of the sun god Ra was attempted.

Today we don't have Hittites as neighbors.  We have not been worshipping someone else's sun god.  So the question arises:  do we still need lavish surroundings and pomp in ceremony to feel that we are fulfilling the mitzvot of prayer and keeping the Holy Days?
Do we feel the need to dress in fine clothing and jewelry when we go to services?  Does that enhance our spiritual enrichment?
Or do we dress up to show off to the neighbors in our [wanna be] social club of the Beit Kneset, the Temple or schul or synagogue?

Do we need lavish pomp in our religious observances?

So these questions are food for thought until next we meet and maybe even discuss them at depth.  May this week be one of blessings heralding a Shabbat of Peace and Love.

Shabbat Shalom!
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Ki Tisa, 2/19/11

Are Valentine's Day and Halloween Golden Calves?

Even among the Rabbis of this modern age there is no agreement as to whether or not the American Jew can celebrate these holidays with pagan or christian origins without violating "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" . We read the words of Rabbi Maroof for our first Halloween season, words that clearly say we should not celebrate these days for it can be seen as practicing other religions regardless of our intent [excerpts]:

"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. ...we must have the courage to be honest and forthright about elements of contemporary culture that are incompatible with Jewish principles and values.

 "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 1st (All Saints Day). ...

 "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. .."

It is clear from Rabbi Maroof that all of these types of holidays are not appropriate for Jews to participate in.  He feels we should educate all about the history and meaning of these holidays and focus on Jewish practices for our fun.  However a contrary view is presented by Rabbi Jonathan Ginsberg, Sr Rabbi of Ezra-HaBonim in Skokie, IL. While he agrees that we should focus on Jewish practices instead of those of the goyisha world, such as observing the 15th of Av, Tu B'Av, instead of Valentine's Day, he presents a different practical view of the issue.  Excerpts from his recent newsletter:

"What is the Jewish view on celebrating "saint or spirit based" days like Halloween or the upcoming Valentines Day? By now they are more commercial than pagan. Is there a problem in either Jewish law or custom?

Yes, there is a problem. We are called upon not to celebrate the holidays of other faiths. This is for several reasons. First, of course, we should not engage in foreign, forbidden worship. ....Celebrating a holiday can constitute a form of worship. Second, even if our celebrations don't constitute worshipping false gods, we should do nothing to suggest that we are doing that. ... because it may raise incorrect but plausible suspicions of improper activity. Third, even if neither of these concerns is implicated, we should not "imitate the practices of the gentiles." (See Leviticus 18:1-3) We should celebrate Jewish holidays - not those of the other peoples among whom we live. We should seek to be thoroughly at home in the Jewish tradition, and within Jewish culture - and not find our spiritual homes elsewhere.
 
Having said all that, is it really that problematic to go trick or treating, or to send a Valentine's Day card to your sweetheart? Isn't it possible that, as your question implies, our society has in fact created a new category of secular holidays? If no one today "remembers" the pagan or religious origins of these holidays, if those origins have nothing to do with the reasons that people are drawn today to celebrate them, are the concerns raised above still relevant?
 
That's a good question! My own response may sound equivocal: it depends. Theoretically, it is problematic to go trick-or-treating, or to send a Valentine's Day card to a sweetheart. But when my kids were young and Halloween came around, I found trick-or-treating to be a wonderful community-building experience for the family and the neighborhood. I found the notion that somehow I was honoring paganism absurd. Similarly, although I am not at all attracted by the historical background of St. Valentine's Day, it has occurred to me on more than one occasion to bring my wife flowers on that day. These practices, it seems to me, have evolved far beyond their origins. "Observing" them no longer symbolizes what it once did.
 
As Mordecai Kaplan once wrote, American Jews live with one foot in American culture and one foot in Jewish culture. So long as that Jewish foot is firmly anchored, I wouldn't be too worried about Jews partaking in these rather benign secular experiences."
 
So are these holidays Golden Calves being worshipped at the foot of Mt. Sinai or are they diverse community celebrations of togetherness and good will?  Can we live in a Jewish ghetto? OR Must we live, hopefully amicably, with all of the nations of the world represented in our diverse communities, all the while attempting to to maintain our Jewish Identity, the untainted fragrance of the Holy?
Here's looking forward to our next Shabbat Torah study when we will address these questions.
Shabbat Shalom!

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VaYakhel, 2/26/11

VaYakhel this week:
What a busy week!  It certainly felt as though there had been a fire lit under all of us to keep us running from task to task, nearly breathless, without even a moment to spare for our own TLC.  So certainly this week's portion has special meaning to us when we read that on Shabbat we are to light no fire.

Without a fire lit under us, we can relax and immerse ourselves into the enlightenment of Shabbat, the light of a day of rest, and we can listen to the words of Torah.  Effectively by not lighting a fire we can bring more light into our lives than when many fires are lit all around us.  We can take stock of where we are, what we have accomplished, every week so that we can understand where next we need to go.

 On Shabbat, how many of us really do resist lighting those fires of run, run, run?  Would you benefit from not lighting a fire on Shabbat?

 How many fires are there that you light during the week?  Of all the meanings of 'lighting a fire', are there any permitted on Shabbat?  Which meanings are good and which are bad?

 May we all enjoy the warmth and light of Shabbat even though we don't 'light a fire' as directed in this week's portion!
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Pekudei, Shabbat Shekalim, 3/5/11

The Many Faces of Charity, Shabbat Shekalim

This week is Shabbat Shekalim.  We read about the half shekel donations given to the Levites and to the construction of the Tabernacle.  Apparently these donations were willingly given by the donors. 

At this time, too, we are preparing for Purim on Sunday the 20th of March.  Along with reading the story of Esther, eating a festive meal, and celebrating other aspects of Purim, it is rabbinic tradition that we also collect charity for the needy and donations to maintain the congregation.  This is the time we start to plan for meeting the needs of the community with clothes and matzah for Passover/Pesach.  This leads to the question of how best can we provide charity to the needy?

According to Maimonides, there are Eight Levels of Charity
[Mishneh Torah, Laws of Charity, 10:7-14] each greater than the next. From greatest to least so they are:

[1] The greatest level is to support a fellow Jew by with a gift or loan,  a partnership or employment, so that [s]/he need no longer  depend on others...

[2] The next level of charity is to give to the poor with neither the giver nor the recipient know who the other is. Giving to a trustworthy charity fund is a form of this kind of charity.

[3] The third level of charity is when the giver knows who the recipient is, but the recipient does not know the benefactor. It is said that sages used to secretly put coins in the doors of the poor. This seems liked a good alternative when the 'charities' do not seem trustworthy.

[4] The fourth level of charity is when the giver does not know the recipient, but the recipient does know the benefactor. It is said that other sages used to throw coins behind their backs so that the poor could pick the coins up unseen and unembarrassed.

[5] The fifth level is giving to the needy directly before being asked.

[6] The sixth level is giving to the needy after being asked.

[7] The seventh level is gladly giving with a smile albeit inadequately.

[8] The least level of the eight is giving unwillingly.

What ways of giving charity are you comfortable with?  Why? 
How do these ways contribute to the betterment of the needy and to the maintenance of the community/congregation?  In view of Maimonides levels of charity, will you be changing the ways you give charity?

May we all be charitable in thought as well as by our hands.  May this Shabbat, the day before the new month of Adar II starts, herald a time when the needs of all can be met in a timely and non-embarrassing fashion.  Shabbat Shalom!

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VaYikra, 3/12/11
VaYikra, Leviticus, How the Levites and Cohanim Led Worship

Sacrifice as worship and as prayer

As we start the Book of Leviticus, we realize that the forms of worship and prayer in the days of the Levites and Cohanim were very different from what we know in modern days.  Yet the purposes of worship at the time of the Cohanim are clearly the same as in our modern day forms of worship.

We seek blessings to be granted bounty, fertility, and good lives.  We give thanks for the blessings we have received.  We ask for relief, forgiveness for guilt we carry over things we have or have not done, for thoughts we have harbored within.  We beg to atone, to be exculpated with forgiveness that will wipe away the sins we have committed.  We glorify and sanctify HaShem with praise for the miracles in our lives as well as those in our history that without which we could not have survived or existed.  We are grateful for the comfort and security of our designated cycles of times, of life, of existence.

Still the sensibilities of our times and the existing modern fads are very different than those of Temple times.  Our cultures and understandings allow us to see the world very differently...even to the point that sometimes we no longer can understand the way worship used to be done.

Could we embrace animal sacrifice today?  We no longer live in a society where active participation in slaughter of animals was esssential to provide food.  The sacrifices were not done just for the sake of taking life and returning the life energy to the Holy Presence.  The sacrifices were cooked and fed not only to the Levites and the Cohanim, but also to the needy of the city [at least when the system was working properly]. 

In this sense, donations to the maintenance of the congregation were also used as charity for the needy.  Who is to say that the needy were not better cared for then than now?  Nonetheless, the community needs remain the same now as then; the ways to address the needs have changed [modernized].

How do we now meet these needs?...............
1- the need for forgiveness,
2- the need to give thanks and praise,
3- the need to atone for sins,
4- the need to care for the less fortunate, and
5- the need to maintain the functioning of our religious organizations.

These questions can provide fodder for discussions throughout the year yet never get to any final, definitive answers!   Yet we will do our best this next Shabbat to at least start to discover the answers.  Until then we should all be blessed with a wonderful week and then...a Shabbat Shalom!
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Tzav, Shabbat Zachor, 3/19/11
I Samuel 15:1-34

The Sabbath for remembering, remembering to oppose Amalek [all evil], to wipe out Amalek...


We sure seem to have messed up on that one.  How else did five members of a family get chopped to pieces in Itamar on Erev Shabbat [Friday evening last]?- including a 3 month old sleeping baby?

Or does Amalek get reborn all of the time?  Is vigilance against Amalek a never ending task, one which can never fully be accomplished?

How insidious the propaganda of Amalek that there is no world outcry against such atrocities?  Which of these silent partners to atrocities will next turn to committing such atrocities themselves?

There are no obvious answers, only turmoil seething within including the question, "Why?" repeated over and over and over.  So while we discuss opposing Amalek this Shabbat, don't be surprised if we find no answers and no amelioration to our pain over Itamar.

Remember.

Remember Amalek.

Still, as much as we can remember, we will also remember to embrace the joy and peace, the rest and enrichment, of Shabbat.

May we all be blessed with a Shabbat Shalom free of Amalek unlike last Shabbat in Itamar...
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Shemini, Shabbat Parah, 3/26/11

Shabbat Parah/ Shemini

Strange Fire

                This week’s portion talks about events after  Aaron and his sons spent a week of atonement and purification rituals to make themselves worthy of being the caretakers of the tabernacle and the rituals associated with it.  On the eighth day, that is the day after completing atonement and purification, the two older sons of Aaron, Nadav and Abihu, were consumed by ”strange fire”.  Their brothers were told to remove their bodies from the tent of meeting with cautions to not have loose hair nor torn clothing since they were well anointed with holy oil.  In other words their hair and skin was to be covered up well  [to reduce flammability].  They were also told not drink of wine or spirits in the tent and not to exit regularly but to back out of the tent.  Also they were told to remove the deceased by their clothing, for the clothing was apparently fairly intact but the oil anointed skin and hair was apparently very damaged from the burning.  All this seems to be a realistic approach to better fire safety controls.

                Some would say that this incident can be interpreted as a warning to all to never turn one’s back on the Holy Presence nor to loose control from drunkenness.  Others would say that this was just a horrific accident so etched into the minds of the people that it was recorded in the annals of our history.

                Regardless of how we interpret it, “strange fire” in biblical terms does not seem to really speak to modern folk.  Some prefer to look for a meaningful metaphor.  So some think that strange fire is that fire burning within each of us that guides us or tempts us to diligently pursue a path forward come what may.  For those who believe there is oversight in our lives, this strange fire is Yad HaShem, the “guiding hand” of the Holy Presence.  If we have faith and choose to follow it, then in truth there is no way we will know where will be from year to year or even from week to week.

                For instance, a friend of mine has been continuing his search for a more meaningful Jewish life.  He does not want to get into a routine but to be constantly expanding his horizons.  As a result he has gone through many important steps and continues to find more and different challenges that constantly change his path, hopefully for the better.  In his own words:

“My journey started with my retirement that ignited my need to regain my Judaism I somehow had lost so many years ago. My family was not observant in the traditional sense. However from a cultural and social perspective, Jewish ethics and education were everpresent.  My father went to synagogue for the High Holy Days and I recall visiting relatives for the Passover seder, Chanukah, Bar Mitzvahs,weddings etc.. Yet I still managed to drift away.”

Moving from a store front meeting place to studies with Chabad Rabbis, his journey continued adding step upon step. During the journey he has since had the privilege of laying tefillin in what was de facto his adult Bar Mitzvah.  With avid reading and guidance in Judaic practices from a knowledgeable friend, he continued his journey.  Yet he still craves for more but must choose among what is available within an environment of demands and expectations from others not used to his newly reborn Judaism.  Will he follow his inner strange fire and find the path of the guiding hand or will he end up on a compromised path influenced by the pulls and pushes of the world around him?  Time will tell or, at least, so we hope.

                Not everyone expands their horizons when listening to their inner fire.  Another fellow I know has struggled with one family discord after another, unsure of which way to turn on many parts of his life.  So the fire within him has had him retreat to the two things that bring him the most joy:  his children and his discipline and teachings of meditative self-defense techniques.

                Two years ago, none of us would have had a clue as to where we would be now.  Our best guesses then seem now to be wild fantasy or wishful thinking.  That strange fire unique to each of us has spurred us onto our variously sometimes divergent and sometimes convergent paths.  We can only pray that these paths we have chosen are the right ones for us.  Beyond our own comforts, though, I hope we are also praying that these paths will help in the task all of us should embrace, according to Jewish teachings: paths to helping make the world a better place for all of HaShem’s creatures and creations to exist and live in, in other words Tikun Olam, Repair of the World.

                What a wonderful time to try to incorporate this precious teaching into our paths as we now head towards Pesach [Passover]!  How many things can we do towards Tikun Olam?  One thought is that perhaps in some small way, we each can do something to help all who wish to have a full Pesach experience be able to do so.

May we all succeed in our endeavors on that path.  Shabbat Shalom!

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Tazria, 4/2/11

Is there always someone to blame?

Our portion for this week, Tazria [VaYikra (Leviticus) 12:1-13:59], talks of many ways a person could become ‘unclean’ and need ritual purification.  Yet, what was the biblical concept of becoming impure?  The source of disease was not understood.  Many other things were not understood as well.  So in fact, all occurrences that were not understood were attributed to the feelings of the gods or god, rewards and punishments from them for things the people had or had not done.  Similarly for the Hebrews, all mysterious events would have been attributed to HaShem, the Holy One:  the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; our liberator from bondage in Egypt.

                Why would childbirth be a source of impurity [VaYikra, Ch. 12]?  Why does impurity last longer after birth of a daughter as compared to the birth of a son?  One modern view would say that the hormonal  balance takes longer to return after a daughter is born.  Some would think that without hormonal balance, a woman cannot focus on pure thoughts.  Does that imply that distraction from pure thoughts focused on HaShem is to be considered an impurity in the distracted person?

                Certainly we all feel  less focused on any tasks we want to do when we are ill, after childbirth, in fact during any kind of major stress or trauma.  Is that what being impure is?

                In that case, the distractions of everyday life would make us impure at all times except when we are focused on prayers, on mitzvoth [good deeds], on religious ritual, or on Holy Day observances.  Could this be the reason or one of the reasons why we are instructed in the Torah to observe the Sabbath, the Festivals, and other Holy Days?  Are they doorways for us to purity?... purity of spirit, purity of soul, purity of existence?...

                Yet this need for us to feel pure, to feel worthy of blessings, seems to stem from our fears that HaShem is to blame for everything that happens to us.  If we are pure and worthy, it then follows that all that will happen to us will be good.  Hence our actions to purify ourselves to make ourselves worthy are measures of our trying to control HaShem, to control the outcomes rather than leave them in the hands of HaShem, to prevent things happening to us that we do not like.

                On the other hand, if we do not blame Hashem for all that happens, who are we to blame?  Or is there any need to blame anyone?

                So many questions remain for discussion:

1-       Are we impure when not in prayer, doing mitzvoth, or observing Holy Days?

2-      Is HaShem the cause of everything that happens?

3-      When things happen that we don’t like, is there anyone we should blame?

May we all have a blameless observance of Shabbat with peace and purity for a respite from the everyday week!  Shabbat Shalom!

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Metzora, 4/9/11

Does Doing Mitzvot Purify Us?

 

Again, this week, we read a parasha [the portion of Metzora] about some physical states or actions making a person impure.  Certainly contact with or having unpleasant bodily emissions may disgust some and be distracting, but menstruating women?  For that matter, how would anyone know unless told so by the woman or though intimate contact?  Perhaps that is the meaning of the Torah’s use of the term ‘contact’:  actual contact with the emission from the person regardless of the cause of that emission.  Yet contact with the person albeit not the emission might be considered like contact with the dead.  The dead are unclean.  Accordingly, the people with emissions would therefore also be unclean.  Contact with the unclean would make the contacting person unclean as well… or so the common interpretation of the passages goes.

Culturally, times may be very different now.  Women are out and about in society.  Accidental casual contact is a likelihood.  Yet we would not consider those who had accidental contact to be in need of purification.

Then what would cause a need for purification according to modern sensibilities?  For that matter, how can we get purified in our modern world?

For orthodox men, contact of any sort with any women, other than a wife who is not ‘unclean’, is avoided.  If something happens that makes them unclean, life is put on hold until purification in a mikva or body of flowing water can be achieved.  [Kind of like standing a long time in a very hot shower???]

For non-orthodox modern Jews, purity and the state of “unclean” are concepts most often associated with the ethical qualities of our actions and, perhaps, even of our thoughts.  Were we to feel in need of purification, we no longer have [nor, for many of us, desire to have] animal and meal sacrifices with which to atone or to become purer.  We no longer have red heifers for ashes of purification.

For many, prayer has replaced these sacrifices and rituals.  Yet prayer only seems to deal with impurities that are matters between individuals and HaShem [the Holy One].

If we continue to feel impure from our thoughts and our actions, how can we regain a state of purity?  What will provide us a means of purification?

For some, myself included, focus on service to the community, on performance of mitzvot [good deeds], provides a path to purification and greater purity.  Can such a focus succeed?  If not, what other ways are there for achieving purification?

May we constantly seek and achieve ways to purification as we now focus on embracing yet another Shabbat – a Shabbat that we hope will be one of peace, of rest, and of enlightenment.  Shabbat Shalom!

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Acharei Mot, Shabbat HaGadol, 4/16/11
Acharei Mot 71

Recovering from Grief or Being Spiritually Ready for Pesach [Passover]
The title of this week’s portion [parasha], Acharei Mot, implies that this is what happened after the deaths of Aaron’s 2 sons, Nadav and Abihu, from “strange fire”.   Did Aaron feel responsible for their deaths, that maybe he had not taught them properly how to serve HAShem?  We can not know since when these deaths occurred [as related a couple weeks ago in parashat Shemini] Aaron was instructed to let the nation grieve for his sons, but to continue in his own duties.
Nonetheless, this week’s portion indicates that Aaron went through another cycle of self-purification, of re-sanctification, and then continued with his priestly duties.  Was the re-purification instead of grieving for him?  Was he kept busy so as to not feel the depths of his grief?  Perhaps.  It certainly is a technique commonly used even today with which to deal with grief and loss.
Were the atonement rituals described in this portion in response to Aaron’s perceived need to atone for the deaths of his sons?  Was the day for Yom Kippur chosen as an anniversary of Aaron’s re-purification?  We may never know.
However dealing with grief is something we all know.  How many were lost during the bondage in Egypt?  During the plagues?  During the exodus?
How many have been lost since the exodus?  More recently many have been lost in the Inquisition, the Holocaust, and the Russian gulag – many of them still within recent memory.  Yet do we mourn and wail over these losses or do we find ways to use these losses to improve the world and build a better future?
Passover is a prime example.  Rather than observe a day of mourning over our losses, we celebrate our gaining of Freedom despite our losses.  In fact, we celebrate for a week with rituals that recall the suffering we went through as well as our achieving freedom from the Egyptian tyranny.  Only on the eighth day , the day after our week of purification through lack of chometz, do we take time to remember those who have passed on before us, whether from natural or from unnatural causes.
How then do we use Passover to “improve the world and build a better future”?  Perhaps in recalling the Freedom we achieved from the exodus, we are able to resolve to pursue and maintain freedom for all who are oppressed.
From a review of different types of Haggadot [booklets telling the story of the exodus for use at seders], it seems that throughout the generations since the exodus, that is exactly what has been done.  There are Haggadot that recall the plight of the Refusniks in the USSR.  Others are dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust.  The most commonly used Haggadah, a la the Maxwell House variety, recalls the oppression by the Romans and the Rabbinic opposition to that oppression.  Different cultures include their own trials and tribulations in relating the exodus story such as is seen in the Haggadot of the Jews of Ethiopia.
The Russian Jews are now free.  Ethiopian Jews are now free.  The State of Israel exists.  So today we are faced therefore with the challenge of how to help build a better world given the memories we share this Passover season and the geopolitical realities of our modern world.

Where shall we go?  What shall we do to continue the spiritual trek of this season to do Tikun Olam [Repair of the World] and to embrace the struggle for Freedoms on all fronts?
Shabbat Shalom!
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Shabbat Pesach, 4/23/11
Sweet Season '71 Sweet Pesach is upon us already No matter if we finished our cleaning... What was done is enough or so must it be. Time now to focus on how we can be FREE! All chometz is sold until after the Chag. That's also the time we can get started to jog- Jog or Clog, swim or tai chi, dance or prance... Feeling free to remove pounds at any chance! So don't pass over Pesach during this year! Let us ALL enjoy sharing Passover cheer! A Sweet, Joyous Passover to all!

Hope this Season finds all of you Friends and Family in good health and enjoying life, family, and fun... and if not, may it be the best Pesach Season possible! ==================================
Kedoshim, 4/30/11

Being Holy – Kedoshim 71

We are to be Holy.

At least that is what this week’s portion tells us. This year it so happens that we have just finished a week of remembrance and purification, the week of seders and matzah, pesach. So can we now better embrace the long list of do’s and don’ts that this week’s portion, parasha, presents?

Once again we read some of the ten terms of our first reported contract with HaShem: One Holy Being; no idols, no adultery, keep the Sabbath, no stealing, no bearing false witness, no profaning the Holy name, revere your parents… Covetting and murder do not make an obvious entrance while greater details and explanations appear for the others.

We get rules about sacrifices, about harvesting, about charity for the needy, about avoiding xenophobia, about dealing honestly, about protecting the less fortunate and the stranger, about fairness and honesty in all things, and lots about improper sexual contacts and about avoiding all forms of idolatry such as and including ancestor worship. Are these rules for wandering nomads in the desert or for city centered lifestyles with local agriculture and herders? Are these words from HaShem or inspired by HaShem as seen through the eyes of flawed people?

Yes, these are deep questions for discussion. Yet it seems [at least to me] there is only one main new lesson in Kedoshim: Remember you were a stranger in a strange land, so treat all strangers as you wanted then to be treated… a true legacy of the Passover we just observed!

Shabbat Shalom!

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Emor, 5/7/11

Emor:  are our Laws the same for all Jews???

This week’s portion once again gives special instructions specific to Priests.  Apparently the leaders of the people were held to a different  standard of conduct – a higher standard as measured by the perceptions of the times.  The Priests needed to be ‘purer, unblemished, more ethical.

Is it any different in our modern times?  Certainly there is a part of the population that feels it is a right of the masses to dictate to others how to behave, how to act.  How many times have we heard of scandals of infidelity or sexual misconduct among our leaders – be they religious or political?  Yet these acts of ‘misconduct’ are usually glossed over or ignored when involving the locals who are not already in the limelight of ‘fame’.

Further, the punishments meted out by public wrath [or amusement] are capricious at best:  the adulterer allowed to continue as a Rabbi albeit not in the same congregation;  one politician hounded out of office for sexual misconduct, another censured, yet another known for the misconduct basically left alone to conduct business as usual; years of hiding abuses of children by priests.  Often no action is ever taken unless Law Enforcement gets involved. 

What determines the harshness of the public response to any given violation of ethics or law, or of our trust or of our expectations no matter how irrational they may be?  Do we have the right to have different standards of conduct for our leaders when they are standards we ourselves are not willing to follow?  Can our Laws ever be the same for all Jews?

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BeHar 5/14/11
B'Har

While last week's portion focussed on how the Priests were to conduct themselves to keep themselves clean and pure, to lead during Sabbaths and Festivals, and with regard to the enforcement of the laws for strangers and landsmen equally. So while no one was forced to worship Hashem, no one was allowed to blaspheme or preach against HaShem.

This week takes a different approach entirely with a discussion of the laws of property: land, homes and servants. The first line purports that all these laws were given to Moses at Mt. Sinai to be given to the Children of Israel [apparently when needed after they become land owners as well as home and servant masters.] How to treat the land with laws of shmita and jubilee and the servants well is a large portion of the parasha. Yet it still deals with materialism and the accumulation of wealth, preferably in a compassionate and ethical manner.

On one hand these are practical concerns of everyday life. On the other hand one might feel compelled to ask if this focus on material wealth might not encourage materialism for in fact this is a guidebook on how to gain wealth while following the laws and thereby paying for the right to possess the property.

Where is the boundary between treating the world with chesed, with the Compassion of HaShem, and the crass pursuit of wealth and property? How can we meet our physical needs without falling into the trap of materialism? Is becoming attached to possessions and valuing them highly a natural tendency of people? If so, are these laws helping or hindering that natural tendency?

Let us ponder these questions as we prepare for the rest of this coming Shabbat. May this Shabbat truly be a Shabbat of Rest and Peace.
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BeChukotai, 5/21/11

 

B’Chukotai 5771

Free Will and Community Support of Religious Institutions

                As we finish the Book of Leviticus [VaYikra], it is as if a footnote to all the rules, regulations, laws and decrees of the previous portions [parashot].  Knowing that people are flawed and never perfect, perhaps the leaders wanted to reassure the people, to keep them from eating themselves up with guilt over not being able to perfectly observe all the previously given decrees of HaShem.

                So in this portion we are given a code for being Holy.  We are told that we have choices and free will.  Yet there will always be consequences to our choices:  Rewards for choosing well; punishments for choosing poorly [ch. 26].  Even so, there is an oath by HaShem [26:44-46] that no matter the depth of improper choices that have been made, HaShem will not “utterly destroy” the people of the Covenant, the Covenant with our ancestors brought out of Egypt as was seen by the nations of that time.

                This portion, and hence this Book, concludes with the description of a means to financially maintain the sanctuary through voluntary contributions to devote or to redeem [and thereby protect through association with the sanctuary] the individuals and the possessions of the people [Ch. 27].  If we take this model into modern terms, perhaps the lesson is that all Jews should be able to associate with the Jewish Community or Congregation of their choice if they want to, regardless of what their financial status is.  As in the past, a maximum individual requested donation is set, but not required.  In cases of limited means during ancient times, the Priests decided in private the valuation of each person according to his/her means [27:8, 12-14]. 

                We no longer have Priests to do so.  Yet with this model, we should strive to provide a privately decided alternative valuation without embarrassment to those who want to be associated with the community.  No person should be estranged from the community based on their limitations, neither financial, nor by extension, physical. 

                Only then, when klal Yisrael, the Community of Israel, has embraced all who wish to be included can our choices of inclusion lead to maximal rewards through strength of unity and purpose.  Therefore:  May we all pursue embracing all who wish to join us without placing barriers before them.  May we all seek enrichment in diversity within our ranks.  Hence, in doing so, we can be enriched through sharing our diversity this Shabbat and every Shabbat.

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BaMidbar, 5/28/11

Shabbat Bamidbar
When has the World ever Loved the Children of Israel?

Haftorah Hosea 2:1-22 contains these well known words.  Do you know why they are well known?  

21. And I will betroth you to Me forever, and I will betroth you to Me with righteousness and with justice and with loving-kindness and with mercy.           כא.
22. And I will betroth you to Me with faith, and you shall know the Lord.           כב.

     These words along with the assurance by HaShem from last week's portion that we will never be utterly destroyed despite our bad choices summarize what we should do in our choices:  be righteous, just, and act with loving-kindness and mercy.  I do not see this happening among most Jews, especially those in high places.  Take for instance the events of the last 2 weeks in preparation for UN activity on a 2 state plan and a 'Palestinian' state [from the Hebrew word defining the Philistines as 'invaders'... yes, Palestinian means invading/ invaders!] .

      I find it amazing how people see or hear what they want to or what they fear in the speeches and reports that are presented. This picking and choosing only reinforces pre-existing views of what is or what is not happening. Perhaps a good sign of a good speech in politics is that everyone disagrees with it for different reasons.
 
     Yet I have to ask: Weren't the '67 borders ALWAYS the starting point in US government eyes for territory negotiations since '67? Is there anything new in the speech? Has there been any change in the US policy? A careful reading of history and the speech answers: yes, no, no.
     Does anyone really think that the Arabs will recognize Israel?   I, for one, don't see it happening and therefore don't see any chance for any peace negotiations. So it really is irrelevant what is said about the well known starting points for negotiations. The only change I see is the rhetoric, the way the position is re-stated................... probably to make it more palatable to other government leaders.
     Perhaps a look at the broader picture of trying to affect the positions of other governments in the UN sheds some light on the goals of the speech. However I still think the US is heading for another veto in the UN this week - at least as it presently seems to be stacking up.
 
and one thing I will always remember very clearly [as long as my brain is working]: Israel received statehood through the approval of a two-state partition plan in the UN by the US blackmailing a half dozen countries [most if not all Latin American] to vote for after being 'pressured' [ie blackmailed] by certain knowledgeable Jewish survivors who knew lots of dirt on the cooperation with the Nazi's by the marvelous anti-Jews in government and OSS of that time. Why in heavens name should we think that the world loves us now any better than then? Our PR has been pretty awful in the scheme of things.

Yet we can strive to act with righteousness, justice, loving kindness and mercy.  Shabbat WILL be coming again soon.  So.... Shabbat Shalom!

afterthought:  some say it is not appropriate to have these thoughts all out in the open.  so much for government transparency.  some say that there is a change by specifying that the land swaps must be equivalent.  others that the equivalency principle was obvious.  some hear only what they want to hear so that both supporters of Israel and supporters of the West Bank and Gaza arabs are all unhappy.  yet the most important point is being missed.  It is not what you disagree with that is important.  It is what you do agree with that provides the starting point for discussions.  The public has made poor efforts towards that end.  Why should the governments be any different?
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Naso, 6/4/11

Naso Commentary

We are taught that Hashem is everywhere.  Yet how often in our lives are we aware of the Holy Presence?  Is there anything we can do that will increase awareness of the Holy One both in ourselves and in others?

Last week the Haftorah Portion of Hosea, Chapter 2, implied to us the need to pursue righteousness, justice, compassion, and loving-kindness.  If we pursue these ways to act, can we influence the world around us?  Perhaps so if others understand we are doing such in order to help the light of HaShem become more visible, in essence to reveal HaShem to the world as in “Modern Day Revelation”.

This week we read the Priestly Benediction during which we ask for the blessings of being protected, blessed with peace and allowed to perceive the face of HaShem through the realization of these blessings.  Do we feel entitled to these blessings?  Do we have the right to ask for these blessings?  If we have resolved to follow the wisdom of Hosea and live according to the mizvot, especially according to the qualities studied last week, then it seems likely the answer is yes.

If others understand what we do as being virtuous, perhaps that can give them a glimpse of HaShem.  Hence we can impress others, who see us acting humanely, with the appreciation of goodness and hence godliness demonstrated in the world.

Are all mitzvot understandable by others as mitzvot?  If not, which are and which are not?

Are there other ways to reveal HaShem to the world?

Much to ponder and maybe even to put into action as we now take time to relish Shabbat and the closer feeling to HaShem that comes with a day of rest………………………Shabbat Shalom!

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SHAVUOT PILGRIMAGE, 5771

We’ve been through the Lag with haircuts, sadness, and joy.

We’ve been through Memorial Day painfully recalling each girl and each boy

Who paid the price chosen by our government heads.

Now we arrive at our Festival of Weeks, Day of First Fruits, Law as our bread,

Torah from Sinai to guide us in world repair.

This is a Season for our deep study of acceptance, tolerance, and care.

Shavuot greetings then to each of you I send

With prayers and blessings for good health and fulfillment, joy and peace without end.

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BeHalotecha, 6/11/11

Shabbat BaHalotecha

Ethical Dilemmas of this Season

Is it an ethical dilemma to have writer’s block when one is obligated to write a weekly commentary? It sure feels like it although I can not explain why. So here on the day before Shabbat, I will try to do my best to raise pertinent questions about our seasonal dilemmas.

During the Omer is the harvest season when we are supposed to leave part of our fields unharvested for the needy to gather food for themselves. Yet the vast majority of us nowadays do not till fields and have no harvest to leave uncollected at the edges. What do we do at this season instead of this mitzvah [good deed]? Are we obligated to do something equivalent? If we don’t, are we ethically compromised?

For instance, is it equivalent to leave cans of food for the needy on the picnic tables at Granite Creek Park or in the bins at the supermarkets? What other acts of kindness might be equivalent?

The Laws we read in the Torah tell us that each of us should minimally provide 10% of our produce and specified sacrifices. If we do not have such wherewithal, we are supposed to be evaluated by a Kohane [Priest] as to what we are worth and what we each can afford to provide for the needy. We are also supposed to bring first fruits of our grain to the Temple after counting 7 weeks from the start of the barley harvest when we bring the first sheaves of barley to the Priests and are allowed to eat bread again after Pesach [Passover]. The counting continues through the end of the wheat harvest when we are supposed to bring two loaves of the first fruits of those grains to the Temple. That end of counting and bringing of first fruits to the Temple is known as our Festival of Shavuot.

In present times we have no Priests to make those determinations. So we are left with several ethical dilemmas: 1- How much charity should be given?, 2- What ways can that charity be given?, and 3- Who decides our worth in order to determine how much should be given?

May we devote this Shabbat to pondering these dilemmas and praying for enlightenment to lead us to the answers we seek. Shabbat Shalom!

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Shelach, 6/18/11

Gathering Intelligence

Shlach Lecha, send yourself out...

Send yourself out to gather information about where you are going and how you are going to get there.  This week's Torah portion describes how twelve men, one representing each tribe, were sent out to check out the land and the inhabitants living there.  The information they gathered was awesome to them, but each understood the information in his own way.  So when they returned, 10 of the twelve were fearful to continue into the land.  They not only provided a negative report, but also tried to discourage the people from wanting to go into the land.

The other two of the twelve were more optimistic about going forward into the land.  Yet their voices were not heeded given that they were in the minority and the people backed the fearful ten.

So, too, for us today.   We are constantly trying to figure out which way we are going to go.  In order to do so effectively, we need to gather all relevant information in order to make an informed decision, to send ourselves out for intelligence gathering.

If our goal is to find the best path to being of service to our community and the world [doing tikun olam, Repair of the World], then we will list the possible tasks we could attempt to do, the resources we would need to complete each one, and the pros and cons of each one given our own personal situations.  Nonetheless, attitude may color our decisions from fear, faith, gut feeling, pessimism, optimism, and so forth.  As we all know, our attitudes often stem from our past experiences. 

So too the attitudes of the biblical twelve who checked out the land.  Coming from a past of extreme caution to avoid the wrath of the Egyptian overlords, fearfulness was to be expected of the older ones.  We don't know much about the ages of these men, but they were leaders of their tribes and likely to be older rather than younger. 

However, there is reason to believe that Joshua was young if not the youngest.  He was reported to have been a personal assistant to Moses for the forty years of wandering from a very young age [Josephus].  So at the time of being sent out to check out the land, he was quite young given that the consequence of the negative reports was to have the Children of Israel wander the desert until all the generation of Egypt [generation of leaders of the people in Egypt?] was gone. [Nearly all as Joshua took over, but Joshua had not been a leader in Egypt.] 

Was Joshua's closeness to Moses the source of his faith in HaShem?  Did it make him more optimistic about the future?  It certainly allowed Moses to groom him for leadership and later choose him to take over.   Perhaps Joshua was naturally optimistic and hence Moses chose him as his assistant.  Perhaps both.

So too, we can try to surround ourselves with good people, people who can teach us how to best go forward in the world to do Mitzvot, work on Tikun Olam, and bring joy to others.  This is perhaps the definition of the nourishing community we want to be a part of.  May we be blessed with finding, building, and maintaining such a community for the betterment of ourselves and the world around us.
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Korach,, 6/25/11

Who Authorizes the “Authorized Religious Leaders”?

Korach, this week’s portion’s namesake, was a religious leader [a Levite] among the escapees from Egypt. Moses led the children of Israel and the mixed multitude away from the plagues and Egyptian tyranny. Included within that multitude were many who were used to being leaders of the local and community levels. Some were reluctant to give up their power. Dathan and Abiram of the tribe of Reuven aspired to regain the primacy of their tribe as the firstborn of Israel. Korach was apparently jealous of the power held by Aaron and his family. Hence it was easy for these three to conspire against the leadership of Moses and Aaron.

It seemed to them that Moses’ leadership was folly. Perhaps based on the general unrest, perhaps in view of the majority [10/12] of the scouts rejecting the ideas of taking over the land of “milk and honey”, they felt they had a mandate to overthrow Moses.

In this case, it seems that the decision as to who was the authorized leader was decided by divine authority. The Reuvenite mutineers were swallowed up by the earth along with their families and possessions. The 250 Levites following Korach were devoured by fire as they rallied by the Tent of Meeting with their fire pans. This was followed by a plague among the discontented people which did not stop until Aaron made atonement for them. From this point on it was decided that HaShem had chosen Moses as leader and the Levites under Aaron as the Priests and tenders of the tabernacle sanctuary.

Modern religious leaders can not be chosen this way. We have resorted to congregational boards selecting religious leaders to do their bidding. Alternatively, the boards might be composed of Jewishly knowledgeable people who choose a religious leader to lead them in religious matters. Sometimes in relatively closed communities, Rabbinic dynasties spring up and maintain leadership power for generations. A cornerstone of Conservative Judaism is that, at least in theory, a community of religiously educated individuals would decide together whom they want to appoint to be their “authorized religious leader”, a person whose religious decisions they are willing to accept and follow. There are also other ways to select religious leaders. All of these dynamics have been seen for thousands of years in one permutation or another.

Which way do you think is the healthiest way to choose religious leaders? How can we best provide “authorized leadership” for our community? On what basis can we recognize those who are best qualified to be our “authorized religious leaders”?

These are not easy questions to grapple with. The answers seem to be constantly changing. One book that may provide interesting perspectives on the issues is “The New Rabbi” by Stephen Fried. This Shabbat we will try to address some of these and related issues during our study discussion. Here’s hoping we all have a wonderful week culminating in an inspiring Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom!
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Chukat, 7/2/11

 

Does Changing Leadership Lead to Changing Ethics?

                Last week in the parasha [portion] of Korach, we were told that a change in leadership was avoided by divine intervention.  The status quo, the ethics of Moses and Aaron stayed intact.

                This week in Parashat Chukat, the leadership is dying off.  When Aaron dies, his garb and his priestly duties are passed to his son, Eleazar.  When Miriam dies, she is not replaced.  Her dowsing duties fall to Moses who is not as good at the job.

                As we read of battles with peoples who did not want to let the refugees from Egypt pass through their lands.  The description of these battles of the slaughter of all of the inhabitants is not an easy one to explain or understand from a modern perspective.  Often it is not discussed because of the uneasiness the topic raises.

                We read in our Haftorah portion [Judges 11:1-33] of a similar battle forced upon Israel 3 centuries later.  Apparently Israel had grown soft.  So the leaders called upon a person they had exiled and forced to become an outlaw to lead them.  In agreeing to relinquish power to this outcast, they agreed to change from the rules they had been following to those of their new leader, Jephthah.  This war, though, was a war primarily between men not against women and children.  It was a war of self-defense and of liberation of other oppressed peoples.

                Still we should not be smug to think that the morality of the leaders had improved.  If we read further through the end of the chapter, we discover that this former outlaw of a leader promised HaShem to sacrifice the first living creature who greeted him upon his victorious return.  He did so even though it was his only child, his daughter, who greeted him with timbrel and dance.

                What a contrast to Abraham and Isaac and the story of the akeida, the near sacrifice of Isaac!  Even the people were apparently appalled at that time for we are told that the women of Israel annually recalled the anniversary of this horror with four days of lamenting.  Yet he was the top leader and, custom dictated, could not have been opposed.

                For a moment let us think in the motif of modern days.  Do we still have such variance in ethics among our leaders?  Will changing leadership change community morality?

                Perhaps our key is to think in terms of each of us individually always improving our ethics and morality especially in our approaches to resolving issues of contention.  Aaaah…but what are the ethics that we should be following?  At least one point we agree on:  to keep the Sabbath.  Yet then the ethics come in the interpretation of what keeping the Sabbath means!  Much to discuss and much to disagree upon, yet perchance small tidbits of agreement may yet come out of such discussions…

                With hope that we can all come to basic agreements on morality and ethics….Shabbat Shalom!

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Balak, 7/9/11

Speak NO Evil

                This week’s portion, Parashat Balak, contains the wonderful story about Bilaam, a non-Jewish prophet of HaShem.  He is a man so connected to HaShem that he can only speak the truth.  Such a man was widely known and believed since it was known he could only speak the truth.

                What a dilemma was presented then to Bilaam when the local king, Balak, insisted that Bilaam curse the encampment of the Israelites!  It did not seem that Bilaam had much of a choice…

                If Bilaam succeeded in cursing the Israelites, then all would believe that such a curse came from HaShem and that it would then be okay to obliterate the Israelites.  On the other hand, if Bilaam could only speak the truth and was unable to curse the Israelites, then Balak would be sorely displeased and would severely punish if not kill Bilaam.

                The choice: to speak evil and maybe cause many deaths OR to speak the truth and die for it!

                Bilaam was a true prophet and could only speak the truth.  Today we no longer have recognized prophets.  Yet, in theory, we all strive to be true to HaShem, to tell the truths of HaShem, to speak no evil.

                Nonetheless, to speak no evil as well as to avoid Lashon HaRah [the Evil Tongue] in both speaking and hearing seems to be the most difficult lesson to incorporate into our lives.  There are people who still manipulate the truth for their own benefit.  Some seek gain of material wealth, some seek power, and some seek acclaim.  Others act on negative emotions such as hate and revenge.  They attempt to destroy their targets through defaming and disparaging lies and gossip.  Yet their targets are people to be respected, each representing a rich world of diversity.  Whether or not we agree with such people, no person deserves being defamed and disparaged.

                It seems that we all agree that the hateful stereotypes of all groups are the worst kind of Lashon HaRah, that the Nazi and modern Arab anti-Jewish stereotypes led and lead to mass destructions, and that the stereotyping of Hispanics leading to carding and incarceration may also lead to needless destruction of people.  If true, how can we then allow ourselves to embrace Lashon HaRah in our everyday lives?

                How many of us speak the truth like Bilaam?  Ow many of us change the “truth” to our own benefit?  How many of us even care whether or not we speak the truth? 

                All the riches in the world could not force Bilaam to not speak the truth.  What payment or gain could cause each of us to not speak the truth?  How many of us truly embrace: “Speak NO Evil”?

In all sincerity and truth, here’s wishing you all a great upcoming Shabbat Shalom!

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Pinchas, 7/16/11

When Should we call for Capital Punishment, if ever?

It has beeen a difficult week and a tragic one in New York for one small child and his family. Many people are angry. Some have read parts of a murder confession and see only revenge before themselves. Others proclaim the murderer to be a psychopath and still want him put to death for the crime. Many think his story does not ring true and there is perhaps a much more sordid untold part. Yet do we have the right to call for the death penalty at this stage? In Israel there is no death penalty except for war and terrorism crimes. The same questions arise when we look at this week's portion of Pinchas in which we are given considerable detail to the act that closed last week's portion: the act of Pinchas skewering a 'Prince' of Israel publicly cavorting somehow with a Princess of the neighboring Moabites... and on the approach path to the Tent of Meeting and the Tabernacle. Yet regardless of the reasons given as to the need for stopping an undescribed plague and so forth, it was still murder and murder without a trial and without warnings as far we know. Was it correct for Pinchas to murder two people under those circumstances? Would we now ask for so severe a penalty for desecration of a Holy Place? Is it okay for us now to act with vengeance and ask for the death penalty of a child killer? We are in pain and often times it is not good to make decisions when we are in pain. Given that our views on the matter may change with time as our pain becomes less raw, perhaps it is wisest to ponder the matter slowly and focus now on having a wonderful, enriching Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom to all!
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Matot, 7/23/11
excerpt from Leiby's parents in lieu of commentary:

Shabbat Shalom! We all agree that materialism has limited and specific values, so rather than discuss it and this portions land grabbing, I present this heartfelt message from bereaved parents...adele for Beit Torah

We pray that none of you should ever have to live through what we did. But if any tragedy is to ever befall any of you, G‑d forbid, you should be blessed with a community and public as supportive as ours. We feel that through Leiby we’ve become family wi th you all.

Many of you have asked us what you can do now in Leiby’s memory, and how you can help us find comfort. Looking back at Leiby’s all-too-short years among us, here are a few ideas:

Acts of unity and lovingkindness. Let us perpetuate the feeling of collective responsibility and love expressed during the search for Leiby. An additional act of kindness toward your neighbor, or to those less fortunate than you, can go a long, long way toward perfecting our world. Putting a couple of coins into a charity box daily is one way of tangibly expressing that lovingkindness.

Gratitude. Leiby deeply cherished his siddur, his prayerbook, and praying to G‑d meant the world to him. He was known by his teachers for his concentration in prayer, always being the last to finish. In Leiby’s memory, when you wake up each morning take a few moments to pray and reflect and thank G‑d for giving us life (“ Modeh Ani ” in the prayerbook).

Light. Every Friday evening our family sits down together for Shabbat dinner to the light of the Shabbat candles. A candle shines for each of our children—and Leiby’s candle will always be included. On Friday evening, please give a few coins to charity and light the candles before sunset with our beloved Leiby in mind.

Memorial fund. Together with Rabbi Binyamin Eisenberger, we have established a memorial fund to help people in dire need ( www.leibykletzkymemorialfund.com ), to channel the lovingkindness shown to us and our dear Leiby toward many, many others in need. We welcome your participation.

From the deepest place in our hearts, we thank you all for your help, your support and your prayers. May Leiby’s soul live on as a blessing inside each and every one of you.

Sincerely,
Nachman and Itta Kletzky

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Masei, 7/30/11

Communication and Cooperation – or Not

Masei…5771

This week we finish the Book of Numbers with the Parasha [Portion] of Mas’ei. This is the portion that lists all the places the Children of Israel have encamped at. This is the portion that warns them of allowing idolaters to live among them. This is the portion that reiterates how the land was to be divided up among the tribes minus the original inhabitants.

Cities of refuge are set up for the manslaughterers and the unintentional killers. However the most disturbing part of all seems to some to be the restriction of women’s rights to inherit despite the landmark decision by Moses that they could.

Sound like modern politics? Unfortunately, yes. Yet there is a far more pressing topic of numbers for discussion this week: the numbers of the innocent dead resulting from a failure in society’s ability to teach people to get along, to speak with each other, to listen to each other, to cooperate, to compromise, to work honestly to solve the problems presented in what should be our common goal to live in safety and security, with adequate shelter, food, clothes, respect, dignity, and access to health care.

So Mao Tse Tung killed 45 million through neglect [eg starvation] and war. 9/11 happened. Most recently, Norway felt the sting of societal dysfunction. The numbers of the slaughtered innocent are still being counted.

Yet how many of us have made any effort to improve communications and understandings with others even now? If governments are dysfunctional, are they not a reflection of the dysfunction of their constituents? If so, should Norway have expected and been prepared to deal with the violent right wing extremists within it?

It has been a painful week. May we find respite in Shabbat and a week to come of healing and progress forward. Shabbat Shalom!

============================================
Devarim, Shabbat Chazon, 8/6/11

Reflections on Shabbat Chazone upcoming
Shabbat Chazon: adapted by Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg from the commentary found in the Artscroll Stone Chumash

The Shabbat before Tisha B'Av, is called Shabbat Chazon - the Shabbat of foretelling - as we read the Haftara portion from the prophecy of Isaiah (1:1-27), as the final of the "three of affliction," readings.

Rabbi Mendel Hirsch points out, the prophet does not lament because the Bet HaMikdash (The Temple in Jerusalem) was destroyed; rather he laments over the underlying causes of that destruction.

This annual lesson must serve to focus the national mourning of Tisha B'Av not to the past, but to the present.

It is not enough to bemoan the great loss suffered by our people with the destruction of our Land, our Holy City, and our Holy Temple. We must use our mourning as a way of initiating an examination of our present-day feelings, thoughts and deeds.

What have we done to eliminate the attitudes and practices that thousands of years ago sent our ancestors into exile - not once, but twice?

How have we improved our approach to the divine service as a way of life, a life devoted to duty rather that a substitute for it?

Are our verbal offerings, like the animal-offerings described by the prophet merely perfunctorily performed rituals, never internalized, never spoken from the heart, just from the lips and outward?

And, as Rabbi Hirsch puts it, "is our Jewish contemporary present already so deeply imbued with the Jewish spirit, so filled with the Jewish way of thinking, with knowledge of the all-comprising and deep contents of the torah that it could form a worthy environment for a temple of G-d to be erected in our midst? does not the gulf between Israel and its G-d yawn perhaps wider than ever?"
==============================================

FROM PAIN TO SHARING, 9TH aV 5771
adele jay
It hurts so much to take a deep look at terrors of our past,
   the depths of our depravity:
Such horrors we suffered, those horrors we caused,
        the hurtful decisions of such gravity
That we now wonder if ever we can truly achieve
   a constructive path of caring
To bring folk together in common cause to build our future
   without discord, with just sharing...
 
May our path from the tears of Tisha B'Av to the renewal of the New Year be one of wonderful discovery and insights into how we all can contribute to making our world a better place for all to live in!
*********************************8

Ve'Etchanan, Shabbat Nachamu, 8/13/11

Comfort and Good Tidings

VaEtchanan 5771

We have successfully passed the 9th of Av and the memories of generations of horrors mankind has perpetuated upon humanity throughout the ages.  We hope that the remembrance of that continuing inhumanity will better spur us to face the challenges of Tikun Olam, Repair of the World… or at least of ourselves and our own back yards.  This will at least start us along the path of consolation towards the New Year, Rosh HaShanah.  We have seven weeks in which to reflect on and repair the flaws we find within ourselves until we once again reach the Day of Atonement.

To help us start on that trek, this week’s portion reiterates the 10 terms of our contract with HaShem, the Holy One, and gives us the “good tidings” of the watchword of our people:  the Shema.  We are promised that if we sincerely work towards keeping the mitzvot, good deeds, that we will be blessed with our needs being met.  Also the Haftorah is intended to help us along our way with the starting words of, “Comfort, Comfort-“ [Nachamu, nachamu…].  We are told effectively that no matter how grim things are, they will get better.

This week many of us have faced unexpected challenges.  Yet we know that we will survive these challenges and work toward thriving even so.  Regardless of whether the challenges are bureaucratic red tape, health problems, transportation problems, work glitches, boredom, and so forth; we know that they are all transient, ephemeral, and will be gone given enough time to work them through.  So let us take this opportunity before the High Holy Days to tie up loose ends, make peace with all who are willing to make peace, offer the olive branch to those who are not, and take steps the best we can to improve ourselves in order to better improve the world around us.

With deep reflections on heat and drought, on the deficits of our spirits, and on the beauty of the Shabbat we are about to participate in:  SHABBAT SHALOM!
=========================================
Ekev, 8/20/11

 

What Do We Remember?

                Moses is exasperated.  He has given the people the Laws to be followed only to find out that they seem to be easily distracted and forgetful.  In Deuteronomy [Dvarim] he is trying to reiterate and summarize those rules to live by.  Yet how can he get the Israelites to remember?...to remember their promise to do and to learn the Laws?

                  This week’s portion, Eikev, tells us that if we stray, we lose our well-being, our livelihoods: livestock, agriculture, etc.  If we do not stray, we are promised unrealistic promises:  100% fertility of all people and livestock, abundant harvests, perfect health, and no plagues.  In fact, the people are promised that plagues will be inflicted upon their enemies as they were upon the Egyptians. [ch 7] These enemies would be delivered up to the Israelites and the Israelites are then obligated to destroy their idols.

                The people are cautioned against the arrogance of thinking that they themselves have created their own bounty rather than giving credit to HaShem, the Holy One.  They are reminded of their iniquities with the building of the Golden Calf and consequent breaking of the first 2 tablets.  Yet Moses reminds them that he intervened with HaShem who relented and allowed him to get a second copy of tablets.

                Yet what do we REALLY remember? How many of us could recite what was carved on the two tablets of the Laws?  How many of us never gossip, never use Lashon HaRah?   How many of us are careful to be modest?  How many of us daily acknowledge HaShem as the source of all?  How many of us chase power and wealth?

                For that matter, how much has been forgotten and left out of our biblical accounts of events?  Perhaps a good example is a brief troubling event recorded in Pinchas.  We are told that Pinchas skewered Zimri and Cozbi for lewd behaviour before the tabernacle.  We are also told that Cozbi was a Midianite Princess.  With only that, modern eyes question:  what could they have done so evil that they were executed without trial or discussion?

                Josephus, a Jewish Historian in Roman times, gives us an extensive account of events leading up to their deaths.  Philo also records an extended account of the event.  Were they recording the unrecorded ‘forgotten’ history or were they trying to fill in details to allay our own discomfort?  We do not know, but this is part of what Josephus reported:

                Zimri was the head of the tribe if Shimon.  Cozbi, his wife by Midianite custom, was the daughter of Sur, a Midianite of authority.  They offered sacrifices according to both Midianite and Israelite customs.  In response, Moses made a general request that all not abandon their customs and do sacrifices only according to Israelite custom.  Hence he tried to gently remind all of their heritage and thereby correct their ways.  Zimri, though, publicly challenged Moses, called him a tyrant, admitted to sacrificing to foreign gods, and called for a polling of the people as to whether they felt they could worship as they wanted.  A rebellion started to brew led by Zimri.  Pinchas went to Zimri’s tent to try to stop him and ended up killing both Zimri and Cozbi IN THEIR TENT.  A plague ensued to rid the Israelites of the remaining rebels.  These events are said to be the reason Moses was provoked to send an army against the Midianites [his in-laws?].

                Such an extensive account of a biblical event is rare and calls for deep scrutiny.  Does it record what we need to remember but have forgotten?

                Several months ago, Time Magazine had an issue devoted to how even in a single lifetime our memories get embellished and/or changed by our desires, hopes, fears, etc – our emotions.  For instance, an accident resulting in an ER visit to set a broken arm could be remembered as an extended hospital stay for multiple injuries.

                So what do we really remember?...and will it be accurate enough to allow us to live honorable lives based on the real lessons of history?  Perhaps this is a topic for deep contemplation this Shabbat.  Shabbat Shalom!

================================================
Re'ih, 8/27/11

Recognizing and Choosing the Blessings
    In this week’s parasha, portion, Moses tells us to choose the blessings from observing the Holy Days and feasts at their proper times and places to keeping others from idolatry to following the dietary laws.  He tells us to avoid the curses from worshipping other gods, from eating blood, and from damaging ourselves needlessly such as out of grief over a major loss.
    Sounds straightforward?  Well maybe… Observing Holy Days appropriately seems obvious, but keeping others from idolatry?  That is one open to many interpretations!  Not eating blood seems straightforward, but following the dietary laws?  Whose interpretation of kosher is the “right” one?  Do body piercings and tattoos equate to damaging ourselves?  Certainly burning, cutting, and lashing ourselves do damage us…or do they?
    What are the blessings in the modern world that we need to recognize and pursue?  What are the modern curses we need to avoid?  Do we even have the wisdom to recognize the differences?  For this Shabbat of many questions and many choices, Shabbat Shalom!
===============================================
Shoftim, 9/3/11

Shoftim 5771
Justice ?  Rosh Chodesh Elul was yesterday!  We are now in the month dedicated to making amends with those on this earth whom we may have harmed.  Yet how many of us realize that it is not only people with whom we need to make amends but also all creatures [pets, livestock, wildlife, etc.] and even the earth itself!  Can we truly judge ourselves adequately to identify those we may have harmed and make the appropriate efforts to make amends and foster peace- without speaking evil of any of them or others?

I, for one, pray that if I have harmed you in any way, intentional or non-intentional, that you will find it in your hearts to forgive me.  Shabbat Shalom! 
Adele for Beit Torah, 237-0390

Below is a letter from my friend Evonne that speaks eloquently to thisvery topic:
Dear Friends,
Today is Rosh Chodesh Elul, the beginning of our time of repentance and return in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah. (Rosh Hashanah begins the evening of September 28.)
In the last months, many of us have experienced financial and environmental turbulence on a larger scale than we've ever seen in our lifetimes. Relatively speaking, we got off easy. We may be tempted to go back to our routines without reflecting on what we've just experienced.

Yet war, destruction and starvation - in many cases related directly to environmental crises - are intensifying worldwide. Scientists warn us that more intense and frequent storms, along with civil unrest related to scarce resources, are likely if we continue down our current path. Our society is living unsustainably. We must change our actions, and also - perhaps more importantly - our way of looking at the world.

I first learned about Rosh Hashanah as a young child in Hebrew School. I remember being so inspired by the opportunity for personal growth presented by the holiday. What lessons from the past year will we take with us into the coming year? What patterns will we end? What sins will we commit to never repeat?
We also can apply this principle of learning from our mistakes and trying to do better to how we interact with the world around us. In this moment of environmental and societal turbulence, what lessons will we learn? What will we do differently?
Many environmental organizations focus on addressing specific environmental issues, but Canfei Nesharim looks deeper. We recognize that environmental change must be cultural and values-based. Our Jewish tradition offers ancient wisdom to help us think differently about the challenges we are facing.

As you prepare for Rosh Hashanah, you may be interested in the following resources on Canfei Nesharim's website:
•    Rosh Hashana, Personal Change, and the Future of the Planet by Rabbi Yonatan Neril
•    Our Gift for Earth's Birthday by Rachel Teitz
•    Optimism in a Time of Teshuva by Candace Nachman

Wishing you a happy, healthy, sustainable and sweet new year.
Sincerely,
Evonne Marzouk, Executive Director  
Please consider donating to a Jewish environmental protection group this Rosh HaShanah…

==============================================
Ki Teitzei, 9/10/11

Ki Tetzei 5771

Parallels between teachings in Ki Tetzei and common prayers

Ki Teyzei 5771

Parallels between the teachings of Ki Tetzei and common prayers

Where do our prayers come from?  What is the purpose of those prayers?  Do we need prayers to remind us of how to live honorable, dignified lives pursuing the improvement of the world around us?  If not, what will remind us to do so?

The first question seems pretty straightforward.  The Torah contains our ethical and moral compass.  Hence it seems obvious that we would base our prayers on the teachings of the Torah.  We have seen this before in the last few portions of Deuteronomy [Dvarim]:  the Shema statement and the following two paragraphs are taken directly from Torah.  Yet this week we see not a verbatim use but rather the incorporation of the concepts, the teachings, into our daily prayer books.  Has the purpose changed when we use summations of the Torah precepts in our prayers?  Probably not.  However the frustration we all feel periodically that people need to be frequently reminded to act with menschlikite may be a frustration true in all ages.  Hence the compilers of the prayer books likely wanted to include the most important lessons of Torah as daily reminders rather than have people wait a whole year [or three] before reading those lessons again during weekly Torah study.

One prayer often discussed that appears in many Jewish prayer books recites a list of deeds that should be done by all such as honoring parents, assuring proper burial of the deceased, assuring that all brides are properly attired, providing for the less fortunate, etc.  It then states that the study of Torah exceeds all the mentioned good deeds collectively.  This is de facto the summary we just described.  All the listed good deeds [mitzvot] and many more appear in the Torah.  Therefore, Torah study will give you the entire list and much more.

Some of the topics covered in this week’s parasha [portion] include family life, burial of the deceased [ch.  21:23], property laws, the humane treatment of animals; providing for the poor, the widow and the orphan [ch 24:19-21]; fair labour practices, and proper economic transactions.  Clearly the portion could well be the source for at least part of the list of good deeds found in the above noted prayer!

Still these reminders only work for people who actually do the daily prayers [even at least once a week for Shabbat].  For people who do not regularly pray with such a prayerbook, what reminds them how to “live honorable, dignified lives pursuing the improvement of the world around us”?  Beyond that, even if we do pray, how many of us take these prayers to heart and listen to them every time we read them?  All this brings us back to the question that crops up all of the time:  How can we best effect Tikun Olam, Repair of the World, through our actions in our lifetimes and after????

=============================================
Ki Tavo, 9/17/11

 Commentary:
Guest commentary from Rabbi Laibl Wolf , Psychologist and Kabbalist in Australia.  Very thought provoking! Enjoy!

Personality Transplant
Every so many years, every single body part is essentially reconstructed anew. The body’s wear and tear is rejuvenated by a self-repair mechanism that replaces every single molecule of the body, creating new versions of the old. There is not one single molecule in your body that existed there fifteen years ago, and in some organs of the body this replacement takes place in mere days. You are essentially a new person several times in one lifetime. If so, how come you are still the same person? How does the new  ‘remember’ the old?

Complex theories are posited postulating genetic ‘predispositions’ and genetic ‘templates’, and the like. But most biochemists will admit that at the core lies a great mystery – the interface of the physical and the ‘unknown’ - the ‘spiritual’.

Sci-fi and theology alike have speculated about heart and even brain transplants. Speculative fiction produces the Frankensteinian personality whose former placid nature transforms into that of an ogre through the ‘change of heart’. Some theologies, on the other hand, wonder aloud whether it might not be blasphemous to play G-d with the body and might therefore forbid the transplant procedure.

Kabbala does not display any of these anxieties. The physical body is the ‘container’ (keili) for the animating flow of ‘creative energy’ (ohr). The creative energy possesses the spiritual disposition of sight that flows through the mechanism of ‘eye’; the capacity of hearing flows through the machine called ‘ear’; and the animating nature of blood flows through the physiological pump known as ‘heart’.

An individual’s personality is certainly affected by the quality and nature of the ‘body parts (the ‘containers’) – down to the micro ‘container’s of the genes. But these only provide the nature of the ‘obstacle course’ for the flow of the soul. It is the soul-flow that ultimately expresses the core personality.

Personality, according to the spiritual teachings, is an evolving balance of all the spiritual forces of soul, but mediated by the dispositions created by the physical body (containers). And if this complexity is of itself not enough, there is a higher soul level of Willpower that is the artist of the end product. Willpower is the soul’s painter’s brush on the canvas of biology.  And like the true artist, it possesses the creativity to remodel and refashion the genetic tendencies – i.e. reshape the ‘container’ – even alter the genes! (Read The Biology of Belief, by former Professor of genetics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Bruce H. Lipton).

In more contemporary language the terminology oscillates between ‘mind over matter’, ‘mind/body’, ‘self healing’, and ‘body mastery’.  All these terms describe the malleability of the body through the exercise of the soul.

A heart transplant cannot change one’s emotional profile.  Certainly the experience of a transplant can of itself be psychologically dramatic and even traumatic – but these a psychologically induced changes, not mystical substitutions of personality through a ‘change of heart’.

Emotional intelligence is achievable through insight, mastery and practice.  Good care of the heart through nutritional, motional, and mindful practices enhances life and longevity giving you more time to practice the art of living wisely. These are not mysterious processes. They are the product of conscious mastery of the body through the soul.

If a body part wears out, by all means trade it in for a new one – if the natural growth of the substitute is too long in the natural making. But you can’t trade in your personality – your soul.  You can, however, enhance its capacity to express optimally through wisdom and mastery.

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

Nitzavim/ VaYelech, 9/24/11

Shabbat Nitzavim/ VaYelech
Guest commentary from Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg, Chicago.  Can't top it...

Reflections on unanswered questions implied in the beginning of this week's readings:     Nitzavim Deuteronomy 29:9 - 30:20

 

9 You stand this day,

(not tomorrow, not yesterday, TODAY)

all of you, before the Lord your God - your tribal heads, your elders and your officials, all the men of Israel, 10 your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to waterdrawer - 11 to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is concluding with you this day, with its sanctions; 12 to the end that He may establish you this day as His people and be your God, as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 13 I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, 14 but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the Lord our God and with those who are not with us here this day...


Q Why were they not there? Too lazy? Watching tv? shopping? Or did they mean us, born later who are part of the brit signed of on 3000 years ago? OR Having babies?  Caring for children? Infirm or elderly?

Later on it continues
"
11 Surely, this Instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. 12 It is not in the heavens, that you should say, "Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?" 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?" 14 No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.

15 See, I set before you this day life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16 For I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His laws, and His rules, that you may thrive and increase, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land that you are about to enter and possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you give no heed, and are lured into the worship and service of other gods, 18 I declare to you this day that you shall certainly perish; you shall not long endure on the soil that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life - if you and your offspring would live - 20 by loving the Lord your God, heeding His commands, and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure upon the soil that the Lord swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them.


My only comment-it does not get better, more meaningful, more clear, more powerful, than that, in all of the words in the universe ever written!
==================================================

The following are repeats of the last several commentaries in their originally posted forms.  Apologies for the any inaccuracies that may have crept in during reconstruction of the commentaries...  Still looking for Bereishit...

Eikev

What Do We Remember?

                Moses is exasperated.  He has given the people the Laws to be followed only to find out that they seem to be easily distracted and forgetful.  In Deuteronomy [Dvarim] he is trying to reiterate and summarize those rules to live by.  Yet how can he get the Israelites to remember?...to remember their promise to do and to learn the Laws?

                  This week’s portion, Eikev, tells us that if we stray, we lose our well-being, our livelihoods: livestock, agriculture, etc.  If we do not stray, we are promised unrealistic promises:  100% fertility of all people and livestock, abundant harvests, perfect health, and no plagues.  In fact, the people are promised that plagues will be inflicted upon their enemies as they were upon the Egyptians. [ch 7] These enemies would be delivered up to the Israelites and the Israelites are then obligated to destroy their idols.

                The people are cautioned against the arrogance of thinking that they themselves have created their own bounty rather than giving credit to HaShem, the Holy One.  They are reminded of their iniquities with the building of the Golden Calf and consequent breaking of the first 2 tablets.  Yet Moses reminds them that he intervened with HaShem who relented and allowed him to get a second copy of tablets.

                Yet what do we REALLY remember? How many of us could recite what was carved on the two tablets of the Laws?  How many of us never gossip, never use Lashon HaRah?   How many of us are careful to be modest?  How many of us daily acknowledge HaShem as the source of all?  How many of us chase power and wealth?

                For that matter, how much has been forgotten and left out of our biblical accounts of events?  Perhaps a good example is a brief troubling event recorded in Pinchas.  We are told that Pinchas skewered Zimri and Cozbi for lewd behaviour before the tabernacle.  We are also told that Cozbi was a Midianite Princess.  With only that, modern eyes question:  what could they have done so evil that they were executed without trial or discussion?

                Josephus, a Jewish Historian in Roman times, gives us an extensive account of events leading up to their deaths.  Philo also records an extended account of the event.  Were they recording the unrecorded ‘forgotten’ history or were they trying to fill in details to allay our own discomfort?  We do not know, but this is part of what Josephus reported:

                Zimri was the head of the tribe if Shimon.  Cozbi, his wife by Midianite custom, was the daughter of Sur, a Midianite of authority.  They offered sacrifices according to both Midianite and Israelite customs.  In response, Moses made a general request that all not abandon their customs and do sacrifices only according to Israelite custom.  Hence he tried to gently remind all of their heritage and thereby correct their ways.  Zimri, though, publicly challenged Moses, called him a tyrant, admitted to sacrificing to foreign gods, and called for a polling of the people as to whether they felt they could worship as they wanted.  A rebellion started to brew led by Zimri.  Pinchas went to Zimri’s tent to try to stop him and ended up killing both Zimri and Cozbi IN THEIR TENT.  A plague ensued to rid the Israelites of the remaining rebels.  These events are said to be the reason Moses was provoked to send an army against the Midianites [his in-laws?].

                Such an extensive account of a biblical event is rare and calls for deep scrutiny.  Does it record what we need to remember but have forgotten?

                Several months ago, Time Magazine had an issue devoted to how even in a single lifetime our memories get embellished and/or changed by our desires, hopes, fears, etc – our emotions.  For instance, an accident resulting in an ER visit to set a broken arm could be remembered as an extended hospital stay for multiple injuries.

                So what do we really remember?...and will it be accurate enough to allow us to live honorable lives based on the real lessons of history?  Perhaps this is a topic for deep contemplation this Shabbat.  Shabbat Shalom!

Shoftim 5771

Justice ?  Rosh Chodesh Elul was yesterday!  We are now in the month dedicated to making amends with those on this earth whom we may have harmed.  Yet how many of us realize that it is not only people with whom we need to make amends but also all creatures [pets, livestock, wildlife, etc.] and even the earth itself!  Can we truly judge ourselves adequately to identify those we may have harmed and make the appropriate efforts to make amends and foster peace- without speaking evil of any of them or others?

I, for one, pray that if I have harmed you in any way, intentional or non-intentional, that you will find it in your hearts to forgive me.  Shabbat Shalom!

Below is a letter from my friend Evonne that speaks eloquently to thisvery topic:
Dear Friends,
Today is Rosh Chodesh Elul, the beginning of our time of repentance and return in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah. (Rosh Hashanah begins the evening of September 28.)
In the last months, many of us have experienced financial and environmental turbulence on a larger scale than we've ever seen in our lifetimes. Relatively speaking, we got off easy. We may be tempted to go back to our routines without reflecting on what we've just experienced.

Yet war, destruction and starvation - in many cases related directly to environmental crises - are intensifying worldwide. Scientists warn us that more intense and frequent storms, along with civil unrest related to scarce resources, are likely if we continue down our current path. Our society is living unsustainably. We must change our actions, and also - perhaps more importantly - our way of looking at the world.

I first learned about Rosh Hashanah as a young child in Hebrew School. I remember being so inspired by the opportunity for personal growth presented by the holiday. What lessons from the past year will we take with us into the coming year? What patterns will we end? What sins will we commit to never repeat?
We also can apply this principle of learning from our mistakes and trying to do better to how we interact with the world around us. In this moment of environmental and societal turbulence, what lessons will we learn? What will we do differently?
Many environmental organizations focus on addressing specific environmental issues, but Canfei Nesharim looks deeper. We recognize that environmental change must be cultural and values-based. Our Jewish tradition offers ancient wisdom to help us think differently about the challenges we are facing.

As you prepare for Rosh Hashanah, you may be interested in the following resources on Canfei Nesharim's website:
•    Rosh Hashana, Personal Change, and the Future of the Planet by Rabbi Yonatan Neril
•    Our Gift for Earth's Birthday by Rachel Teitz
•    Optimism in a Time of Teshuva by Candace Nachman

Wishing you a happy, healthy, sustainable and sweet new year.
Sincerely,
Evonne Marzouk, Executive Director   
Please consider donating to a Jewish environmental protection group this Rosh HaShanah… such as at: http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=44jxv7bab&et=1107390622757&s=1682&e=00141JI3CzOYGktdzjCl7p5HMblOYB6rHA1rlXb115X7sWbtLNl8FKcgi5ERGijfoc_6IurtjnyeQKZUZLTQTaRLZ5ce-3sMr7IklzFYYjGlN4LVTlk2shZBQccYqKnARhEhNTGRB8iH4Y=

Please enjoy this lovely piece by Psychologist and Kabbalist Laibl Wolf... and have a wonderful Shabbat this week!

Personality Transplant

Rabbi Laibl Wolf
Dean - Spiritgrow Josef Kryss Wholistic Centre & Library

Every so many years, every single body part is essentially reconstructed anew. The body’s wear and tear is rejuvenated by a self-repair mechanism that replaces every single molecule of the body, creating new versions of the old. There is not one single molecule in your body that existed there fifteen years ago, and in some organs of the body this replacement takes place in mere days. You are essentially a new person several times in one lifetime. If so, how come you are still the same person? How does the new ‘remember’ the old?

Complex theories are posited postulating genetic ‘predispositions’ and genetic ‘templates’, and the like. But most biochemists will admit that at the core lies a great mystery – the interface of the physical and the ‘unknown’ - the ‘spiritual’.

Sci-fi and theology alike have speculated about heart and even brain transplants. Speculative fiction produces the Frankensteinian personality whose former placid nature transforms into that of an ogre through the ‘change of heart’. Some theologies, on the other hand, wonder aloud whether it might not be blasphemous to play G-d with the body and might therefore forbid the transplant procedure.

Kabbala does not display any of these anxieties. The physical body is the ‘container’ (keili) for the animating flow of ‘creative energy’ (ohr). The creative energy possesses the spiritual disposition of sight that flows through the mechanism of ‘eye’; the capacity of hearing flows through the machine called ‘ear’; and the animating nature of blood flows through the physiological pump known as ‘heart’.

An individual’s personality is certainly affected by the quality and nature of the ‘body parts (the ‘containers’) – down to the micro ‘container’s of the genes. But these only provide the nature of the ‘obstacle course’ for the flow of the soul. It is the soul-flow that ultimately expresses the core personality.

Personality, according to the spiritual teachings, is an evolving balance of all the spiritual forces of soul, but mediated by the dispositions created by the physical body (containers). And if this complexity is of itself not enough, there is a higher soul level of Willpower that is the artist of the end product. Willpower is the soul’s painter’s brush on the canvas of biology.  And like the true artist, it possesses the creativity to remodel and refashion the genetic tendencies – i.e. reshape the ‘container’ – even alter the genes! (Read The Biology of Belief, by former Professor of genetics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Bruce H. Lipton).

In more contemporary language the terminology oscillates between ‘mind over matter’, ‘mind/body’, ‘self healing’, and ‘body mastery’.  All these terms describe the malleability of the body through the exercise of the soul.

A heart transplant cannot change one’s emotional profile.  Certainly the experience of a transplant can of itself be psychologically dramatic and even traumatic – but these a psychologically induced changes, not mystical substitutions of personality through a ‘change of heart’.

Emotional intelligence is achievable through insight, mastery and practice.  Good care of the heart through nutritional, motional, and mindful practices enhances life and longevity giving you more time to practice the art of living wisely. These are not mysterious processes. They are the product of conscious mastery of the body through the soul.

If a body part wears out, by all means trade it in for a new one – if the natural growth of the substitute is too long in the natural making. But you can’t trade in your personality – your soul.  You can, however, enhance its capacity to express optimally through wisdom and mastery.

Guest commentary by Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg, Chicago

No way I could do better!...a

Nitzavim Deuteronomy 29:9 - 30:20

 

This translation was taken from the JPS Tanakh

9 You stand this day,

(not tomorrow, not yesterday, TODAY)

all of you, before the Lord your God - your tribal heads, your elders and your officials, all the men of Israel, 10 your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to waterdrawer - 11 to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is concluding with you this day, with its sanctions; 12 to the end that He may establish you this day as His people and be your God, as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 13 I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, 14 but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the Lord our God and with those who are not with us here this day...

Q why were they not there? Too lazy? Watching tv? shopping? Or did they mean us, born later who are part of the brit signed of on 3000 years ago?

 

Later on it continues

 

"

11 Surely, this Instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. 12 It is not in the heavens, that you should say, "Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?" 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?" 14 No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.

15 See, I set before you this day life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16 For I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His laws, and His rules, that you may thrive and increase, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land that you are about to enter and possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you give no heed, and are lured into the worship and service of other gods, 18 I declare to you this day that you shall certainly perish; you shall not long endure on the soil that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life - if you and your offspring would live - 20 by loving the Lord your God, heeding His commands, and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure upon the soil that the Lord swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them.