Parashat Nitzavim

Parashat Nitzavim
Elul 21, 5772 ~ September 15, 2012
by Danielle Elkins

My husband has always asked me, “How does a girl from South Carolina with your background end up here?” The “Here” is always meant as a positive place. The answer I always give him is “Hashem”, and as a Reform Jew, I used the word G‐d. Today, I’m so happy to know the concept, Hashem, because it expresses the compassion of G‐d, which is what I feel Hashem has given me on my journey toward observant Judaism.

This week’s parsha, Nitzavim, means “standing”, and after studying this parsha I understand how I am still standing. Moshe begins the his last speech on earth describing those standing before Hashem on this day to renew the Covenant, and like at Mount Sinai it explains it is not just those living at that time, but the future souls to come.

“Not with you alone do I seal this covenant and this imprecation, but with whoever is here, standing with us today before Hashem, our G‐d, and with whoever is not here with us today.” (29:13)

In my opinion, this is allowing for the individual soul to witness and know in his heart the truth, no matter how far the life of exile and persecution takes him. Hashem is arming each individual soul with the ability to know the truth.

The parsha then goes on to describe how we will stray and be exiled, but it is not the focus, like past parshiot. The emphasis and the beauty are on how we will return to Hashem, no matter how far away we have drifted.

“If your dispersed will be at the ends of heaven, from there Hashem, your G‐d, will gather you in and from there he will take you.” (30:4)

Rashi explains beautifully that the return of the exiles “will come about with so much difficulty as if He Himself must actually hold each and every person with His hands to take Him from His place in the exile.”

Just before possuk 2: “And you will return all the way to G‐d, your G‐d” which Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch explains is not a partial return. He writes, “You will not stop halfway; your return will be so complete that you will come back all the way to G‐d.”

In just the past five years, my life and my family’s life have had so many forks or you could even say stopping points on our path to observant Judaism, but with each challenge or obstacle we were propelled forward toward observance. Something beyond logic moved us forward.

As a child, I knew I was Jewish. With the last name Goldstein, the Christian world that surrounded me knew it too, so my whole life was a target for good meaning Christians trying to save my soul. The first time I was confronted with this idea was when the Baptist minister’s family moved next door. I was only five. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, I could not tell them what being a Jew meant. The ten‐year old daughter of the minister took it upon herself to save my soul from the fires of hell, and she did save me. By making me play a game walking through the fires of hell by day with the crucifix on the wall, it brought the fires of hell to life in my nightmares. I would wake screaming from what seemed real to my young imaginative mind, but I was given the gift of knowing my heart and soul. My soul was Jewish. I had no logical explanation; I just knew it was who I was, if it meant walking through the fires of hell for all eternity, that was my fate. That little girl saved me from ever doubting who I was, no matter what individual or authority questioned the correctness or validity of my identity.

Moshe explains how I could know without specific education. “For this commandment that I command you today‐it is not hidden from you and it is not distant. (30:11) “Rather the matter is very near to you‐in your mouth and in your heart‐perform it.” (30:14) The sages teach in Niddah 30b that the fetus is taught the Torah, but forgets it at birth. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik writes that this can allow a person an innate familiarity with Torah even without formal education.

Hashem has given us the tools to return, but we must take an active role. For me, the best expression of this is Seek your G‐d and you shall live, which is found in numerous ways throughout the Tanakh. It seems so simple but “Seek” is not a passive word. To truly seek you must use every aspect of your mind, heart, soul, and body. Only by doing this can you find the strength to choose “the life and the good”, over “the death and the evil.” To Seek your G‐d is personal and for every person this journey is different, but hopefully in the end we will “SEE” which is the first word in the last paragraph of this Parsha.

It seems perfect that the mnemonic (the numerical value which correlates to a word) for this Parsha means “His Heart”.

Parashat Ki Teitzei

Parashat Ki Teitzei
Elul 14, 5772 ~ Sept 1, 2012
by Alex Hart

She knelt down before her, a movement so seamless, it appeared choreographed as she stepped away from the cast, before blowing her a kiss. In that moment, Laura’s eyes lit up and I could only succumb to the wisdom of the branding; Disney is ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’. From 2 feet off the ground, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is a wonder, the parades magnificent and the fireworks, well, words failed our little people. It all comes down to perception. If you play by the Disney rules you can give in and be merrily transported alongside barriers for pop-up shows, wait, with formally undiscovered reserves of patience, in lines for rides over in an instant and dispense with the vague hope of finding snacks being anything but a short-lived energy shot. The kids didn’t notice and instead, daily since our return, they narrate their mental snapshots of their time away. We hope that these images remain indelibly magical in their memories forever.  

In Parshat Ki Teitzei, the Torah’s perception in its meting out of the punishment for the wayward son, looks many years ahead. The son, presented to the Beth Din, is referred to as a glutton and a drunk by his parents (יח פסוק כא פרק).  The punishment is death by stoning; sekilah; the most severe death penalty. Many pages of explanation are devoted to this halacha. We are to understand the gluttony was to have been the consumption of meat, together with becoming inebriated from drinking wine, in the company of loafers and criminals. Astonishingly, the term ‘Ben Sorer u-Moreh’ refers only to a boy aged between 13 and 13 ¼. Insights into the Talmud, Sanhedrin 68b, delve into the boundaries as to when a boy is fit to be considered a ‘Ben Sorer U’Moreh’. For example, Rav Yehudah advises that punishment is applicable only when the son reaches the strength of an adult; Rashi understands this to be the beginning of adulthood; the Netziv teaches that liability is once the son reaches the age of Bar Mitzvah and Tosfot interprets the Gemara to be referring to the son right after his Bar Mitzvah. It stands to reason that a person of that age would not have the money for such items, unless by theft.  The Talmud (Sanhedrin 71a) teaches that the boy is put to death because of what he will eventually do, rather than what he has done.  In having stolen, the Torah can foresee the natural progression of events. All the more so, the Kotzker Rebbe suggests ‘al shem sofo’ ‘according to his end’ refers to the end of this appellation ‘moreh’. Translated here as ‘rebellious’, the word can also mean ‘teacher’ i.e. that he would lead others to behave likewise; killing him with the most severe form of death would deter others.  Undaunted by the united scolding of his parents (the source of their prerequisites is to be found in Sanhedrin 71a), he would loot once again. Having a taste for delicacies, his appetite could eventually lead the young adult to intricate heists. For a rebellious son’s conviction, he must have been warned in front of 3 witnesses (in this circumstance, a witness could even be a judge). The court could hand down the punishment of lashes. If the wayward behavior were to continue, one could perceive that neither a single experience nor any individual could prevent the son from even murdering for which the penalty is indeed sekilah. With relief I add that the complexities into the requirements to be derived from this passage to secure conviction of a rebellious son are such that none were, nor ever will, be killed. Rav Hirsch suggests that it comes down to chinuch, education. The perception is that with his education, a boy arriving at his Bar Mitzvah should be thrilled at the opportunity to contribute and the potential for increased responsibility. The parents should burst with hope and encouragement, that the novelty and care devoted to unfurling and laying tefillin will never diminish but instead, provide in time the welcome adjunct to the familiar comfort of daily morning Tefillah. 

If we take a moment to assess the make-up our community, it can be noted that a significant percentage of families feed into Beth Jacob singularly because of Gan Mah Tov’s  existence. The preschool is a place where our children’s spirits are nurtured and the mensch in each tot is enhanced. This year marks the 25th since the Gan was founded and the apple tree, just outside its doors, was planted. Hoping that you have now received the order forms for GMT’s Rosh HaShana cards, one of the preschool’s major fundraisers. The chinuch of our kids is a partnership. It is a combination of us as parents ‘Listen my son to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching’, together with Gan Mah Tov’s Morim, promoting gentle civility with the still quiet voice at playground level, providing tender guidance and displaying a kindly outlook that will ensure our community’s longevity. Your support towards the Gan’s programming is warmly welcomed.

כתיבה וחתימה טובה

Parashat Shoftim

Parashat Shoftim
Elul 7, 5772 ~ Aug 125, 2012
by Neska

Hashem

The Soul You Breathed into me is pure.

You Breathed It into me as I was born

You Breathed It into me and I took my first breath

So how can we be separated.

We cannot.

I was so Pure from Your Breath.

So Pure.

And then I grew.  And I made choices -

and more choices

most of them negative

and I was spiralling down....

And then

You saved my life.

You caused me to stop   and look

And one day I heard a Rabbi say

“Judges and Police shall you put at your gates”

Not the city's gates....but your gates.

My gates.  My openings.

And slowly I began to

stop and look and listen and speak

very differently.

I began to notice that when I wanted to say something

the Judges would say 'do you really?' 

And the Police would say 'take action – now.'

Or if I was listening to something unsavory

the Judges would say 'do you really want to listen?' 

And the Police would say 'leave'.

And I understood that there have to be both Judges and Police

at the gateways, at my gateways

because knowing is not enough

Without acting – knowing is not enough

And that's what the Torah teaches me

One has potential and one has actualization.

Adam and Chava.

Justice Justice – you shall pursue.

Just knowing that Justice is what I should pursue

allows me da'at—allows me to know

but without the action

it just sits there.

And of what good is that.             

This is what the Torah teaches.

Knowledge is good.

Action is good.

One without the other is pure potential.

One without the other is insufficient.

We will do  and we will understand.

Judges and Police shall you place at your gates.

Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat Eikev

Parashat Eikev
Av 23, 5772 ~ Aug 11, 2012
by Susan Somerville

Parshat Eikev "follows on the heels" of V'Etchanan, the parashah most intimately connected with G-dliness via both the declaration of the Shema and the first verse of the V'Ahavtah, and also, the reiteration of the Ten Utterances (the Ten Commandments). Midrashically speaking, when we heard the Bat Kol (Voice of HaShem) at Har Sinai, "we were blown away." as in fainting. (Well, that happened after the first two Commandments. Yet, we regained our senses shortly afterwards, thank G-d!) Besides the very first of the Ten Utterances, I would think that it would have been easiest to have remembered the declaratory Shema. But there are people in Israel who do not even know what The Shema - or the utterances for that matter - are.

A reliable friend told me about a survey that was taken in Israel amongst the secular Jews: They were asked to recite the opening declaration of The Shema. Almost 60% of those people surveyed could not do so and/or did not know what The Shema was. My friend found this result so astounding that he conducted his own mini-survey in Berkeley. He questioned a former kibbutznik who said that he never learned about The Shema. My friend also queried two different Israeli women who were his family's guests at two different occasions. One woman knew the first two words, and the other woman said that she had heard The Shema when she was young but that she had forgotten it. Her parents, who were also guests at that meal, remembered The Shema from their youth. However, they could not agree on the order of "HaShem" and "Kelokainu." If this is the situation with Israeli Jews, just imagination how much more problematic the situation is in the US, where the numbers of assimilated Jews keeps increasing! 

What a sad commentary! How can any of us live a day without proclaiming the absolute Oneness of HaShem? Our Neshamas require that we connect to Him and to every other Jew. For me, there is such power in this profound commandment, that I am left with an emptiness if I miss the opportunity - even once in awhile.

I think that we are a tremendously privileged people to have G-dliness bestowed upon us as a daily gift. Through the Shema, HaShem hears our voices and we "hear each other's voices," though not in the ordinary use of the word, to hear. For though we write these words on our hearts, (Which words? All of the words of the Shema, including the three verses of the V'Ahavtah.) they actually enter our hearts with repetition, helping us to become better Jews and a better people. Rashi said that they have a "freshness" when said each day. They give us understanding, and their essence takes on a fresh meaning, making them "beloved" to us. They have a uniting force through the proclamation of Oneness. On top of this, we are reminded to scrupulously observe HaShem's laws and decrees, which also bind us to Him and to each other.

One thing that I find fascinating is the requirement "V'Ahavtah..." (...to Love your G-d...). The question is always asked: "How can G-d command us to love Him?" I think there is an answer to this question. Loving Him is a binding force. It promotes our cleaving to Him, which is what He desires from us; and it promotes the longevity of Klal Yisrael (all Israel). Think about the fact that we are the oldest civilization/people on earth. All other civilizations have folded; except, the Chinese people, who are also ancient, but not as old as we are. (According to Wikipedia, they are celebrating their 4,710^th year at the most, depending on the epoch that they are using. We can trace history back 5,772 years.) We are commanded to be at the highest level on the spectrum of positive outlook and practice. Furthermore, Rashi points out that we are to serve HaShem with all of our heart, which is prayer. To me, it's an amazing Torah blueprint for life. But it is only possible if we "hearken" to HaShem's commandments; and this conditional aspect of how we are to conduct ourselves and the benefits that are reaped as a result of this supreme conduct are emphasized in the second verse of the V'Ahavtah. Interestingly, though, in the third verse, which is not in Parashat Eikev, we are admonished not to chase after our eyes and our hearts. (This topic would make for a fascinating few shiurrim, (classes) as some other time.)

In concluding this mini D'var Torah, I want to add that there is another aspect to the power of The Shema. "V'Shinantem L'Vanaicha..." How many of you remember your parents at your bedside when you were young, telling you that because "G-d is One," we have "to say Shema Israel before going to sleep?" Now, you are doing that for your children, and some of us sit by our grandchildren, following in the same tradition. It stuck with us! To reiterate, we are privileged!

Parashat Va'etchanan

Parashat Va’etchanan
Av 16, 5772 ~ Aug 4, 2012
by Michal Kohane

On December 16, 1932 a fire erupted at the Shirokiya (or Shirakiya) Department Store in Tokyo, Japan. It left 14 people dead and 67 injured. At the time, the store was having a year-end Christmas theme sale, and the interior was extravagantly decorated. A clerk in the toy section witnessed an electrical spark from a light bulb on a Christmas tree. The spark landed on some highly flammable celluloid toys, ignited them, and quickly spread. The open staircase enabled the fire to spread through the staircase to other floors. Some of the saleswomen were forced to go up to the roof; from there they jumped into safety nets held by firemen. Many attempted to escape the building using ropes made from clothing or curtains. About 80 people climbed down from the 7th floor in this manner. Others could not hang on and fell to their deaths.

It is believed that this fire changed fashion customs among Japanese women since kimono-clad women did not wear panties. News spread that during the fire, saleswomen in kimono refused to jump from the roof into safety nets because they were ashamed to be seen from below, and as a result died. It has been alleged that in the aftermath of the fire, department store management ordered saleswomen to wear panties or other short underwear under their kimono, and the trend spread.

Contrary to this belief, Shoichi Inoue, a professor of Japanese customs and architecture at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies found that most people were saved by firemen, and the story of women who preferred to die with their modesty intact was fabricated for the benefit of Westerners. It is what we otherwise call an “urban legend”.

In Parashat Va’etchanan, the Torah warns us lest we come to think of our experience at Sinai as an “urban legend”. Knowing some day we might be tempted or challenged to do so, the text gives us tools how to remind ourselves and others of the validity and criticalness of the Sinai experience. I could copy all of this parasha and especially Deuteronomy chapter 4. Here are only a few gems:

27-29: “And Hashem shall scatter you among the peoples, and you shall be left few in number among the nations, where Hashem lead you away. And there you shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you will seek Hashem your God; and you shall find Him…”

Who is this that can prophesy so accurately into the future, and guarantee not only ours but G-d’s behavior? The text continues: 

32-35: “For if you ask…. whether there has ever been any such thing… Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? Or has God ever come to take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders… according to all that Hashem your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it’s been shown so that you know that Hashem, He is God; there is none else beside Him…” 

Moses, in this last dramatic speech said during the month before his death, is talking to the generation that did not stand at Sinai as adults. He wants to instill a paramount core concept: 

The Jewish People are not an organic creation of time and place. Rather, their birth is a creation of G-d, and just like the first creation of the universe, it is a creation of yesh me’ayin, Ex-nihilo – “out of nothing” so is this People. Each member might not have the same language, specific history, ethnicity or culture as the next one, but they continue to be one extended family with a unique mission. Indeed, it is natural that one nation or another will have great influence on the world but it’s highly unlikely that this nation will be tiny, scattered and persecuted. Yet, this is what is promised here. The Jewish history and life never bends according to the customary laws of nature. 

Why? Over and over we ask this question. Why? Why the Jews? Why us? Why like this?

The text continues:

37-40: “…Because He loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them, and brought you out with His presence, with His great power, out of Egypt… to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day… And you shall keep His statutes, and His commandments… that it may go well with you, and with your children after you…”

What is the reason? Not our great qualities, wisdom, strength, beauty or talent. But love. Why does anyone love any person over another?? We can reason all we want, but at the end of the day, there is no explanation. As if to say, there is an irrational element in this journey that cannot be fully figured out no matter what. Even here is G-d’s fingerprint: It’s just so. And no matter how long we explore, question and wonder, at some point it’s just “so”. 

What’s left for us to do? Just keep “his statutes and His commandments… that it may go well”. The Hebrew says, “asher yitav lecha”, from the word “tov” meaning good. “Good” in the Torah usually does not mean a kind, considerate loving being, but one who fulfills who s/he is. Think of how we say, ‘this is a good table’. We surely don’t mean that this table is embodied with acts of loving kindness. We mean that it does what it supposed to do in the best possible manner. Likewise for us: following G-d’s mitzvot provides us with an opportunity to be better versions of who we are, while reminding those around us that our story is not a legend.

Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat Devarim

Parashat Devarim
Av 9, 5772 ~ July 28, 2012
by Yosef & Benyamin Helwani

Our parasha this week begin with the words “ele hadevarim” – “and these are the words” that Moshe spoke to the people of Israel.  However, the actual meaning of the word “devarim” should be “objects” or “things” and not words. Moshe was about to rebuke the B’nai Israel, but he realized that to rebuke a nation is not that simple.  Therefore, he looked at how leaders among the tribes behaved and rebuked him and how they were punished, like Korach, the son of Kehat and Zimri ben Salu, one of the chief leaders of the tribe of Shimon.

Moshe realized that he needed to ask the B’nai Israel for forgiveness before he could admonish them, so he speaks to them in a soft and gentle manner, reminding them of their travels, and as he speaks to them he reminds them of the sins that they committed.  A question came to my mind.   Is Moshe rebuking the people out of frustration because he was not allowed to enter the land, or to let them know that he will not be able to speak on their behalf when they anger Hashem once they enter the land of Canaan?

 The rabbis tell us that Moshe was a loyal shepherd and watched over the people just as a shepherd, who is responsible for his flock, watches over them so that no harm shall come to them. In the book of Shemot when the Erev Rav committed the sin of the golden calf, Hashem says to Moshe: “Go down because the nation that you took out of Mitzrayim sinned”. How is it possible that all of a sudden it’s Moshe’s people and not Hashem’s?  Because Hashem knew that Moshe cared for every single Jew just as if he or she were his own child.   No father wants his child to stray away, so he talks to them in a gentle and soft manner and tells them that when they are punished it is out of love and not out of anger.

 Anger sometime takes the best out of us. A story is told of the great Hasidic rebbe the Holy Jew of Peshiskha who invited his prized student rabbi Simcha Bunim to a meal.   As they sat at the table the rebbe’s wife started to talk loudly to her husband and then yelled at him.  The rebbe just sat there, not even saying a word. A few minutes later he got up, walked into the kitchen, yelled at his wife and then went back to the dining room to continue his meal with his student.   A few minutes went by.  The rebbe looked at his student and said:  “I know you are trying to figure out what just happened. My wife got angry at me because I have a great responsibility to my people, and sometime she feels that I neglect her.  When she yelled at me I held myself from getting angry but I later realized how sad she was when I did not answer her.  So I went back into the kitchen and yelled at her to let her know that I still love and care for her.”

In Proverbs 15:13 King Solomon said: “An ear that listens to the admonishment will be blessed among the sages”.  The one who accepts admonishment deserves to be called wise.

We live in times that we forget that one day we need to give an accounting for our sins on the Day of Judgment.  We are told that one of the first questions a person is asked on that day is whether he dealt honestly with people around him.  The fast of Tisha b’Av is a punishment for baseless hatred amongst the Jews. We should learn and be cautious about how to behave with each other.  It is very easy to criticize the people who brought this fast day upon us.  Instead, we should learn what to do and what not to do.  Just because Hashem loves and forgives does not give us a free pass. That just because Hashem forgives us, we cannot take things for granted.

Ahavat Israel is the way to bring Mashiah speedily in our days.

          Shabbat Shalom

Parashat Pinchas

Parashat Pinchas

Tammuz 24, 5772 ~ July 14, 2012

by Dan Cohen

Parsha Pinchas: Riffing on Chessed and Gevurah – Kindness & Strength 

What does it mean to balance kindness and strength?   

  

Let’s look at the facts from this week’s parsha (with a helpful dose of last week’s) courtesy of Chabad.org.

1.    Last week's reading concluded with Moabite and Midianite women seducing Jewish men and enticing them to idol worship. 

2.    At that point, Phinehas (Pinchas – Aaron’s grandson) unilaterally executed a Jewish leader along with the Midianite princess with whom he was cohabiting. 

3.    This week's reading opens with G‑d praising Phinehas, and rewarding his bravery by granting priesthood to him and his descendants.

Commentary at the same site continues saying that many Jews, particularly from the tribe of Shimon, were enticed by the Midianite women who descended upon the Israelite camp in the Shittim valley, and were even induced to serve Baal Peor, the pagan god of their consorts. 

When tribunals were set up by Moses to try and punish the idolaters, Zimri, the leader of Shimon, sought to legitimize his tribe's sins by publicly taking a Midianite woman into his tent, before the eyes of Moses and the eyes of the entire community of Israel.

The Prince’s repudiation reminded me of the moment in the Monty Python movie where the hapless guard says “Stop…or I shall yell stop again….”

When the tribunals failed, Pinchas took unilateral action against the leader and killed him and his woman.  But who told him to do it?  Was he authorized?  Is he a zealot or a murderer?

In most of the drashot I saw, Pinchas is the hero.  But what makes him a hero?  Who decides what is zealotry, and what is murder? I liked this explanation posted at meaningfullife.com.

“The true zealot is an utterly selfless individual -- one who is concerned only about the relationship between G-d and His people, with no thought for his own feelings on the matter. The moment his personal prejudices and inclinations are involved, he ceases to be a zealot.”

Pinchas took a very unpopular action but he did so for the highest calling.  He killed a Prince.  He killed a prince who was flouting the law and G-d.  The prince did so with the support of many in his tribe (among others).  Pinchas killed a prince that mocked communal law and Moshe.

So what do we do with this?  How do we make sense of this?

Scholar Adina Roth writing for the American Jewish World Service weekly drash presented this idea. 

“In Jewish mystical thought, there are said to be two polar expressions of G-d’s relationship to the world: chessed—loving-kindness, and gevurah—strength and boundaries. When we emulate G-d’s quality of chessed, we forge open relationships and give of ourselves. In contrast, when we emulate gevurah, we set boundaries, turn away from the influence of others and strengthen our convictions. While many of us see loving-kindness as the optimal trait in social justice work, Parashat Pinchas can teach us a crucial lesson about the importance of setting boundaries in effecting social change.” 

It seems like in of our daily struggles, maybe there is some guidance in asking what are the expectations and boundaries at play?  But it may also make sense to ask what acts of kindness might be open to us if we take them?

I just learned of a story of an IDF general, a secular guy, who oversaw all 71 checkpoints in Judea and Samaria.  I was told that he’d never studied Torah but recently participated in a special program to expose secular Israelis, especially society’s leadership, to Torah study in a non-judgmental way called Kolot.  While the study program is remarkable, what is even more remarkable was what the General did after. 

Not long after participating in the program, he installed water coolers at all checkpoints to offer a cold drink to those waiting in the hot sun.  His idea being that his soldiers should have a rifle in one hand (Gevurah), but kindness (Chessed) in the other.  What an amazing message to send about strength, generosity and responsibility.

G-d’s laws bind us together as a people and humanity.  Moshe knew that and ordered a public tribunal of the wayward Prince – a kinder approach to things.  Pinchas knew that and took unilateral action – perhaps enforcing the outer boundaries of the law. Maybe the guidance from this week is that all Hashem is asking of us is to balance kindness and strength when we relate to each other.