Earlier
this week, I woke up turned on my favorite morning news show, sipped my coffee
and for the first time in my life I felt torn between my being American and
being Jewish. No, my rights, as an American citizen, were not somehow being
restricted because I am Jewish. I am still free to practice my religion.
However, for the first time, I felt my allegiance being pulled between the
American part of me and the Zionist part of me. The Iran Nuclear Agreement scares me. I have always
believed under the current Iranian regime, that a nuclear Iran poses an
existential threat to Israel, (and a strategic threat to the North America). So
while the West, and particularly the United States negotiated a deal base on
strategic issues, Israel always had a very legitimate concern that Iran poses
an existential threat. Yet, this
agreement, these words, these series of vows, oaths, promises and covenants
mean that we, the West, and (therefore Israel) will now know with greater
certainty than before, what the Iranians are doing with their nuclear program.
Admittedly, that doesn’t make me feel much better, no does it assuage my
concerns for Israel. Why? Like many in Congress, and certainly like many Jews
and for that matter may Sunnis including Saudi Arabia, I don’t trust the
Iranian Regime. Since there is no trust that the current Regime will keep its
word, then the vows, the oaths, the promises don’t mean very much. The sanctity
of words, the sanctity of a vow and oath is based entirely upon trust. This agreement,
like many agreements of this kind, the 1985 agreement between the U.S. under
Reagan’s administration and the former Soviet Union on Gorbachev was based upon
Reagan’s idea of “Trust but Verify”. However “Trust but Verify” seems to
undermine the importance and the sanctity of the spoken/ written word, vow,
oath, and covenant.
This
Shabbat, we read from the final two Parshiot in Sefer Bemidbar (Book of
Numbers): Matot and Masei. This double
parsha begins with the laws of Nedarim (Vows), and then Bnai Yisroel fights
against the Midianites. Moshe rebukes his officers for their collective failure
to deal with the Midianite woman since they were the cause of Bnai Yisroel’s
plague in the first place. Bnai Yisroel then begins the process of dividing the
spoils of this battle. Two tribes, Reuben and Gad request to settle in land
east of the Jordan River and not the land promised by Hashem. Moshe expresses
his anger over the request and the two tribes amend their request. Moshe adds a
condition and an agreement is reached. The Torah recounts the various stops
that Bnai Yisroel made on their journey to Eretz Canaan, the boundaries of
Eretz Canaan are clarified, the new leadership is introduced and the cities of
refuge of explained and established. Finally, Sefer Bemidbar concludes with a
reminder of the laws for tribal inheritance. With all those loose ends neatly
sewn up; Bnai Yisroel now sits on the eastern bank of the Jordan River waiting
to enter Eretz Canaan. As we conclude the reading, we say Chazak Chazak v’ NitChazeik –
From strength to strength we shall go forward in strength.
The
beginning of the Parsha, with its focus upon Nedarim v’Shvuot Vows and Oaths,
we are being reminded of two vital concepts. First we are reminded of the
Aseret Dibrot, of the Ten Commandments and specifically invoking God’s name in
vain. Ish Ki Yidor Neder L’adoshem When
a man takes a vow to Hashem (Num.
30:3). Part of the process by which one makes a vow is to invoke God name. Therefore,
a failure to keep the vow or the oath means that one has used God’s name in
vain. The repercussions of which are extremely serious. Second, we learned in Sefer Breishit (Book of
Genesis) that speech is holy. Speech is part of the God’s creative process; Vayomer Elokim, Yehi Or, VaYahi Or- And God said: Let there be Light; and there
was light. In a sense, speech is perhaps one of the only actions available
to us that allows us to emulate God. When we make a vow or an oath, we are acting
similar to God. A Neder is a pledge to prohibit oneself from something that
that the Torah permits. Or a Neder can be obligating oneself to something that
the Torah considers to be optional. Obligating one’s self to contribute to a specific
charity would be an example of "obligating that which is optional". Refraining
from apples would be an example of prohibiting something that is originally
acceptable. In either case the individual is truly acting like God. The
individual is creating Halacha and making his vow and or oath becomes tantamount
to Torah. Clearly this cannot be taken lightly. After all, the severity of the
language is a function of the fact that one makes this vow, pledge or oath to
God and not to ones self or to another. Fundamental
to our vows with God is a trust in the relationship, trust that it exists,
trust that it is desired by both and trust that is must be treated as sacred.
Like
B’nai Yisroel recounting where they have been to arrive at this point in
history, I look back and recount where the relationship between Israel and the United
States has been and I wonder how we arrived at this point, a point where Trust
and Verify has taken on a completely different meaning. In the world of “Trust
but Verify” lies the fact that the side that does the verifying trusts that the
side being verified will do everything it can to not keep its oaths, its vows
and its promises. If there was truly mutual trust, then obviously there is no
need to verify since the word, the vow, the oath is sacred since it is the
embodiment of a Godly action: speech. So
now I have to trust that my government will keep its longstanding vow to
Israel, to stand with Israel, to protect Israel, to “have Israel’s back” as the
President said. I wish there was a way that we could trust but verify those words,
those vows and those oaths. Maybe then Israel and the United States can Chazak v’Chazak Nitchazeik – from
strength to strength go forward in strength.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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