As this past week unfolded, I couldn’t help but be
aware of the confluence of events and commemorations. First has been the ongoing tension between
Putin’s Russia and the West (Europe and the United States and Canada) amid the
backdrop of commemorating the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI.
Simultaneously, Israel and Hamas were fighting a war in Gaza. As Israel
destroyed the last tunnel and pulled its forces out of Gaza and back into
Israel, Jews throughout the world couldn’t help but be aware of these events
amid the backdrop of Tisha B’ Av, the national day of mourning for the
commemoration of the destruction of the First and Second Temples. In its desire
to keep things nice, neat, and morally relative, the ill- informed chastised
and berated Israel and soon berated the Jewish people. Of course most of these
people forget that Hamas was happily celebrating when the twin Towers fell on
9/11. Over this past week, I have
explained to my son, why the world struggles with mixed feeling for the Jewish
People and Israel. During my explanation I was reminded of a famous quote about
the Jewish People: “If the statistics are
right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a
nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the
Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of.
He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance
is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His
contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art,
music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also way out of proportion
to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in
all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain
of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the
Persian rose, filled the planet with the sound and splendor, then faded to
dream stuff and passed away. The Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast
noise, and they are gone. Other peoples have sprung up and held their torch
high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have
vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was,
exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no
slowing of his energies, and no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All
things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass but he remains. What is
the secret of his immortality? (Mark Twain, “Concerning the Jews” Harper’s
Magazine, 1898).
This week’s Parsha is V’Etchanan. The Parshah begins
with Moshe's recounting his experience of pleading to God to allow him into the
Land. Moshe explained to this new generation that because of the previous
generation's whining and complaining, he lost patience and failed to adhere to
God's command. Moshe explain that this is why he cannot cross into the land as
well as Joshua becoming the leader. Moshe then recounts his experience and his
generation's experience of revelation at Sinai. However instead of just stating
the facts, Moshe adds his own editorial comments. "For the Lord your God
is a merciful, He will not abandon you or destroy you, He will not forget the
covenant of your forefathers that he swore to them" (Deut. 4:31). Moshe is
offering hope, suggesting that no matter what happens to this people, they must
always know and believe that we always have the capacity for T'shuvah for
return or repentance to God, and that we will always be accepted. Moshe then
begins recounting the giving of the Aseret HaDibrot, The Ten Commandments.
Moshe again reminds B’nai Yisroel to never participate in Avodah Zarah (idolatry),
and avoid it at all costs. He implores us to pass this information, and to
teach these traditions and these laws to the next generation.
Throughout this Parsha, the secrets to our survival
are revealed in large broad statements as well as the use of certain words. One
secret to our survival is the “Aseret Dibrot” -The Ten Commandments (Deut.
5:6-19). Another secret to our survival is perhaps the one theologically
dogmatic statement in Torah: Shmah
Yisroel Adoshem Elokeinu, Adoshem Echad – Hear O Yisroel O Lord Our God, the Lord is One. (Deut. 6:4).
Certainly the “Shmah” contributes to the secret of our survival. Moshe’s
re-iteration of God’s nature also contributes to the secret of our
success. Ki Eil Kanah Adoshem Elokecha B’kirbecha Pen Yechreh Af Adoshem
Elokecha Bach Y’Hismidcha Mei’Al Pnei
Ha’Adamah- For a jealous God is the
Lord your God, among you lest the wrath of the Lord your God will flare against
you and He destroy you from upon the face of the earth…(Deut. 6:15-19).
Certainly these powerful explicit statements of theology, universal moral
guidelines, and our fear of retribution contribute to the secret of our
survival.
The essence of our survival is our sense of purpose
and our sense of existence. Our purpose is to live according to these laws.
“You shall be careful to act as the Lord your God commanded you, you shall not
stray to the right or left. B’chol
Ha’derech Asher Tzivah Adoshem Elokeichem Etchem Teileichu L’ma’an Tishyun
V’Tov Lachem v’haractem Yamim – On
the entire way that the Lord your God, commanded you shall you go, so that you
shall live and it will be good for you, and you shall prolong your days…(Deut.6:29-30). We live according to Torah so that our lives
will go well, so that our lives will have more meaning, so that the quality of
our lives determines length. We learn that living a long life is not about
length it is about quality. Our sense of purpose is to achieve this quality.
Besides “purpose” we must have a sense of our existence. Our sense of existence
is our acceptance of our place. There were generations that came before us and,
G-d willing, generations will follow us. Ki
Yishalcha Vincha Machar Leimor Mah Ha’eidot vHa’chukim v’Hamishpatim Asher
Tzivah Adoshem Elokeinu Etchem – If
your child asks you tomorrow saying; What are the testimonies and the decrees
and the ordinances that the Lord your G-d commanded you V’Amarta L’Vincha
Avadim Ha’yinu l’Faroh B’Mitzrayim – You
shall say to your child, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt…(Deut.
6:20-21). Our sense of purpose is of that of transmitter between the older
generation and the younger generation, between the past and the future. Survival is
dependent upon the ability to transmit this sense of purpose and sense of
existence to the next generation. All of which assumes that there is hope for a better tomorrow for the next generation.
This code of conduct and the profound need to transmit to
the next generation is not only the secret to immortality of the Jewish People,
it is also the secret as to the importance of Israel and the Jewish People for
the rest of the world. Like the canary in the mine that is first aware of impending
danger, Israel and the Jewish people are vital for the same reason. For it is
Judaism and Israel that is aware of the injustices of the weak and the oppressed,
it is Judaism and Israel that is aware of the mistreatment of “the Stranger”.
It is Judaism and Israel that is designed to co-exist peacefully with the other.
Rather than infusing the younger generation with hopelessness in tomorrow in order to
justify a culture of death and
martyrdom, Judaism and Israel strive to
pass down the opportunity for a better tomorrow by teaching its young people that
a “purpose” driven life assumes a purposeful tomorrow. What is that purpose? Ask Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and any Arab
country that is not yet a failed state. They now understand what Mark Twain
spoke about. Israel and the Jewish people will survival in order to remain a
beacon of light against the darkness of hatred, death, and rise of this Islamic
fanaticism.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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