Take Me To The Reaper Man, To Pay Back What Was Loaned ( Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Mason's Children"

     This past Monday, Toronto experienced something that cities like New York, Boston, Paris, London, Jerusalem have all experienced. Toronto experienced a random act of violence that was designed to call to attention the perpetrator’s anger, disillusionment, and alienation. The recent tragic event that occurred on Yonge Street in North York might not considered to be an act of terrorism, that is to say, the politically/religiously motivated terrorism that we have all seen occur in other locales; driving down a side walk in a van and purposefully hitting pedestrians in a wanton act of random violence because the driver was angry, alienated, disillusioned and misguided still caused terror in the all those in the area at that time. His senseless act of violence caused terror in an entire city until he was apprehended.  Like all the other cities that have experienced wanton mass murder, whether by gun, bomb or car; I am always intrigued by how cities and its citizens respond. As a family, we went to the spontaneous memorials that have popped up along Yonge Street between Finch and Sheppard. As a family we have noticed something different after the deaths of these Ten innocent people who were walking along Yonge Street on a beautiful spring day.

      This Shabbat, we read the double portion of Acharei Mot/Kedoshim. The Torah resumes its narrative following the death of Aaron’s two eldest son’s in Shemini (two Shabbatot ago). The narrative appeared interrupted with a presentation of the laws of purity and impurity found in Tazria/Metzorah. The Parsha begins with Moshe telling Aaron about the procedure the Kohen must undergo in preparation for atonement: both personal and communal. Essentially, this is the section of Torah that discusses the details of the Yom Kippur service, the scapegoat offering, the fasting, and sprinkling of blood. The Torah reminds us of the sanctity of blood; blood is life and as a result, we are prohibited from eating the blood of an animal. Following the presentation of of the Yom Kippur offerings and the sanctity of blood, the Torah spends the rest of Acharei Mot reminding us of those relationships that are considered to be sacred and those that are considered to be categorically unholy. Kedoshim which literally means “Holy”, continues the theme that Acharei Mot introduced. There are sacred/holy relationships and unholy relationships. In every instance when the holy and the unholy presents itself, Moshe tells us to choose the holy relationship. Every seemingly mundane activity including: the treatment of employees, the treatment of customers, idolatry, every human relationship is distilled to the most common element. Every mundane act, every mundane human interaction has the potential for achieving a degree of Holiness.

     No commandment within the Torah indicates the tension between base primitive emotions (human instinct) and holiness (Godly instinct) more than the idea of revenge. Lo TiKom V’Lo TiTor et Bnai Amecha – You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against member of your people (Lev. 19:18). V’Ahavta L’Rei’acha K’Mocha Ani Adoshem – you shall love your fellow as yourself – I am Hashem (Lev. 19:18). Revenge is a primary instinct. Someone hurts us or our loved ones, we want to return the hurt. Someone insults us, we want to return the insult. A young man who has been described as socially awkward, who was disillusioned and alienated decides to rent a van and drive it on a sidewalk for the sole purpose of killing as many people as possible. Our children were amazed that the policeman didn’t shoot the man even though he repeatedly made threatening motions with what turned out to be a cell phone. Our son sacastically commented that if we were back in the States, the police officer would have shot him, especially if he was a man of color.  No doubt some would have hailed that policeman as a hero. Even after his arrest and arraignment, we can all appreciate any family member or friend of the ten who were murdered and the fifteen who were injured wanting this murderer to suffer, and eventually die. I have no doubt that in the moment the murderer told the cop to shoot, there were those who felt the policemen should have obliged him, and killed the man on the spot. Revenge probably would have left us with a sense of closure, ‘that he got what he deserved”. Yet the Torah tells us that we are supposed to figure out a means by which we rise above our basest human emotions (even if those emotions are justifiable). The point is that emotions are human.  What makes us holy is our actions and behavior. Acting on our emotions without thought, without concern, with out some type of check or balance makes us comparable to animals. We are supposed to strive to be be better than the animals. Better than the four legged variety or the two legged variety who doesn’t know how to channel or deal with his emotions.

     Our son pointed out the difficulty of Judaism. Judaism recognizes basic human emotions. However, to be Holy to be Kodesh, to be separate and distinct means to separating emotions from deed and action.  Yes, it is easy to separate one day of the week from six days. Yes, for some it is easy to separate milk and meat.  No one would disagree that treating those who are most needy in our community with dignity and respect demonstrates a degree of holiness and decency for that matter. Yet such a person has not caused harm or brought terror to us. So how do we elevated ourselves when dealing with terror, anger, fear, and death? Our children felt something when we went to the memorials. They found a sense of comfort. While nothing brings back the deceased, we found solace on Yonge Street. We discovered that a community and a society has within it, the ability to strive towards holiness Acherei Mot – after death.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Now The Shore-Lights Beckon, Yeah There's A Price For Being Free ( John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Lost Sailor")

          The Middle East was a busy place this week. Israel celebrated its 70^thyear of being an independent country. Palestinians marked the day with what is known as Nakba – The Catastrophe. The leader of nearby Syria, Bashir Al Assad used chemical weapons upon his own people yet again.  England, France and the United States, despite Russian pressure to ignore Assad’s use of chemical weapons, bombed several sights as a warning that the West would not tolerate a dictator’s use of chemical weapons upon his own people. As our children watched the news, read the Tweets, I was asked why a leader would want to kill his/her own people, let alone kill them with an illegal weapon. For them, this was the first time that they paid attention enough to follow the news and ask the question. I reminded them that this was not the first time, and sadly it won’t be the last. In a recent speech to the European Parliament warned of the rising fascism with “antidemocratic and illiberal ideas, the deadly tendency which might lead our continent to the abyss, nationalism, giving up of freedom.” (NY Times Editorial Board April 18,2018). Macron didn’t mention anyone nor any country by name: not Hungary, not Poland, not Russia, not Turkey, nor any leader enthralled with strong armed dictators nor the populist movement that these types of leaders claim to represent. What seemed so fascinating was the way Macron spoke about it, an impurity that infects the soul of individuals, leaders and nations.

This week we combine two Parshiot: Tazriah and Metzorah. God tells Moshe the laws of purity and impurity as it relates to birth. God instructs Moshe about the appropriate korbanot (sacrifices) that a mother should make as she re-enters the camp. God also instructs Moshe about Tza'arat, or for lack of a good translation; leprosy. Throughout the rest of Tazria and Metzora, we are told all about Tzaarat. We are told what it is. We are told how it is diagnosed. We are told how it is treated. We are told how it spreads. We are told what to do in case it spreads. Basically, Tazriah is a type of Tza'arat, a type of skin ailment which is commonly thought of as leprosy. However this skin ailment is not treated by the resident dermatologist. Even if they had dermatologists in the Torah, we would not bring someone suffering from Tazriah to the dermatologists. Why? The skin ailment was not a symptom of any type of physical malady. Since the person with the skin ailment appears before the Priest, the Kohen, we know that the skin condition must be spiritual malady and not a physical one. Adam Ki Yiheyeh V'Or B'Saro S'Eit O Sapachat O Va'Heret V'Hayah V; Or B'Saroh L'Negah Tzara'at V'Huvah El Aharon H'Kohen O el Achad Mi'Banav Ha'Kohanim- If a person will have on the sin of his flesh a swelling, a rash, or a discoloration and it will become a scaly affliction on the skin of his flesh; he shall be brought to Aaron the Kohen, or to one of his sons the Kohanim(Lev. 13:2-3). The rest of the Parsha teaches us the appropriate protocol for treatment. The Kohen checks again to determine if that person has become ritually impure. If so, they must be sent out of the camp in order to avoid the risk of the skin ailment spreading to others. The quarantine would last for seven days. Afterwards, the Priest would check again, if there was no contamination the person was brought back into the camp, However if the contamination remained, then the quarantine would continue for another seven days. Then the process would begin all over again. We also learn that if this contamination spread to the clothes or vessels; then everything would be burned and destroyed.

In the Talmudic Tractate of Arichin, which primarily focuses upon the laws of valuations; we learn that the skin ailment is a punishment for the sins of bloodshed, false oaths, sexual immorality, pride, robbery, and selfishness (Arichin 16a). All of these physical occurrences are accompanied by a spiritual component. These occurrences all demonstrate the offender's failure to empathize with the needs of others. It is fascinating to think that in an ideal community, we are not only concerned with our own well-being. We should also be concerned about others as well. Our failure to do so leads to a spiritual sickness including: petty jealousy, alienation, and a further erosion of community and society. All of which diminish the holiness within the individual and the holiness within the community. By removing the contaminated offender from the community two positive results occur. First the welfare, integrity and holiness of the community is spared from spiritual sickness. This is the primary concern since we fear that God will cease dwelling in a community that becomes spiritually sickened or spiritually dysfunctional. The second positive result is that the contaminated offender has experienced the isolation and concern from others. This is exactly what he/she wrought upon the community with such behavior.

            Certainly we can understand that power be a source of impurity. When leaders and their political parties focus so much on obtaining power and do everything possible to remain in power; leaders, political parties, and a society’s values become corrupt. That corruption leads to cynicism which eventually destroys the purpose of power: a tool, a mechanism to help those who need help, bring relief to those in need, and bring those who are alienated and in the dark back into the light.  The Torah reminds us that our spiritual shortcomings can also affect our physical well-being.  Our psychological well-being, our spiritual well-being, and our physical well-being, according to Tazriah/Metzorah must reflect life. Just as important, we need to have life affirming rituals that we can engage in when we are confronted with things that threat our life affirming existence. Each act of kindness reaffirms the idea that freedom and democracy are the only viable means by which one can to strive towards Kedushah (holiness) and Chesed (kindness).

Peace,

Rav Yitz

You Say It's A Living, We All Gotta Eat (Robert Hunter & Mickey Hart- "Fire On The Mountain")

The holiday of Passover has passed over and our kitchen has returned to normal. Perhaps the happiest person was our 10th-grade daughter who has been experimenting with vegetarianism. Her commitment to this additional dietary restriction created some difficulties for her during Pesach. Obviously, there was no regular pasta. Even though there is a Matza based pasta on the market, she did not like it. There was no such thing as a Kosher For Passover vege-burger. There was no Tofu on Passover as soybean (and all beans for that matter) are considered kitniyot (legumes) and we hold by that restriction during the Passover festival. She ate lots of quinoa and lots of fish, eggs and cheese. Throughout the entire week, her mother and I constantly worried about her getting enough protein in her diet. I even told her that it was time she acknowledges her rightful place atop the food chain and enjoys her mother’s chicken and brisket. While our daughter smiled at my joke, she will not be persuaded to begin eating meat. So whenever we do eat meat, we always make sure that she has a “vegetarian option. Despite the inconvenience for the one cooking and our perpetual anxiety about her protein intake, I actually admire her discipline.

This week’s Parsha is Shemini. It is comprised of three chapters. The first chapter tells us how sacrificial offering is supposed to work. While receiving instructions from Moshe, Aharon, his brother, and the High Priest, makes sacrificial offerings on behalf of the people. Following every instruction down to the minutest detail, and remaining in the highest state of spiritual purity, Aharon slaughters the animal, sprinkles the blood, and burns the animal. Once finished, Moshe and Aharon leave the Mishkan and come out to bless the people. V’yeirah Kavod Adonai El Kol Ha’Am-“And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people” (Lev 9:23). Obviously, we can see how sacrifices are supposed to work. We see how God’s pleasure is displayed and the people's response to witnessing such glory. They bow their heads. This chapter essentially explains God’s response to the sacrifices. When everything is appropriate and in the proper spirit, God accepts our approach. The second chapter concentrates much more on the priests and what happens when things are not appropriate or not conducted in the proper spirit. Aharon’s eldest sons die for their inappropriate approach toward God. Moshe reminds Aharon and his remaining sons that one must be physically and spiritually pure when offering sacrifices both on their own behalf and on B’nai Yisroel’s behalf. However, what do either of these chapters half to do with Kashrut?

The discussion of Kashrut is confined to the last chapter of the Parsha, chapter 11. In it, we read a list of animals that we are forbidden to eat. Some of which I probably would not eat even if it was kosher. However the answer to why we keep kosher is provided “For I am Adonai your God-you are to sanctify yourselves and you shall become holy, and you shall not contaminate yourselves…For I am Adonai who elevates you from the land of Egypt to be a God unto; you shall be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the animal, the bird, every living creature that swarms in the water, and for every creature that teems on the ground; to distinguish between the impure and the pure, and between the creature that may be eaten and the creature that may not be eaten.” Kashrut is merely a physical expression of our purity. God accepts offerings of all kinds. Priests purify themselves in order to make offerings acceptable to God. What about the rest of us? What everyday activity do we engage in which allows us to demonstrate our sense of purity and our own sense of holiness?  We eat! We separate animals as acceptable for consumption and unacceptable for consumption. We separate milk from meat. We separate the time from when we eat by the time when we do not eat with a blessing. We remind ourselves every day of our own sense of holiness and our relationship to God through Kashrut.

How wonderful! Parsha Shemini teaches that we all have a means to approach God. Priests make sacrifices, and the rest of us eat. By engaging in such physical activity in a manner that consists of limits to that physical activity, we remind ourselves of our relationship with God.  We are reminded that our natural state of existence is entirely physical, only when we infuse our existence with spirituality are we able to embody the sacred. However, the object is to be able to elevate every aspect of our physical existence and infuse it with holiness, even something as physical as eating. Just like God was able to make things holy, so too, are we able to make things holy as well.

Peace, 

Rav Yitz

Wade In The Water And Never Get Wet (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Doin' That Rag")

During the winter months, we encourage our son to engage in some kind of Sunday activity, preferably of the physical variety. Whether he took snowboard lessons (which he did two winters ago), or played basketball (several winter seasons ago); we didn’t really care. We just wanted him to be doing something rather than sitting around all day. Our son always enjoyed swimming; this past winter he also grew intrigued by the idea of military operations that dealt with search and rescue missions. Whether the U.S. military or TzaHaL (the Israeli Army); he liked watching and reading about this types of missions. So I wasn’t terribly surprised when he asked to sign up for swim classes that would prepare him for ultimately becoming a life guard through the Canadian Red Cross.  Because of his age, he is still not eligible to sign up for the actual Life Guard course. Undeterred, he decided to take the Pre-Life Guard courses. He completed the Bronze Star and the Bronze Medallion courses. The latter course he finished a couple of weeks before Pesach. Now, in the midst of Pesach and in the middle of his Pesach vacation, our son has been reminding me to sign him up for the next level of Pre-Life Guard courses: Bronze Cross.  When I told him to remind me after Pesach, he grew quite irritated with me. First, he pointed out that I am always reminding him of the Talmud Tractate Kiddushin 29a which and the four obligations a father has in terms of raising a son. One of those obligations is teaching his son to swim (since it might save his life). Impressed that my son had actually listened, I began to answer him. However he quickly cut me off and reminded that nothing would be more appropriate than to sign him up as Pesach drew to an end and we read Shirat HaYam – the story of the Kriyat Yam Suf (the Crossing of the Reed Sea).

The Seventh Day of Pesach, we continued the narrative of the Exodus, and read of the miracle of Kriat Yam Suf (the Crossing of the Reed Sea). Already out of Egypt and now pursued by the Pharoah’s army; B’nai Yisroel finds itself stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place. Before them lies the Reed Sea and behind them is the Egyptian Army and it all of its chariots. These former slaves are panicked and thinking that they are about to die. Moshe, too, appears at wit’s end and, unsure of how to proceed, begins to pray on both his and the people’s behalf. VaYomer HaShem El Moshe -  God says to Moshe  Mah Titzahk Eilai Dabeir El B’nai Yisroel V’Yisau – speak to the Children of Israel and let them journey forth (Ex. 14:15). Eventually, B’nai Yisroel musters enough courage and they cross the sea. Upon their successful arrival to the other side, Moshe and B’nai Yisroel break out into song praising God’s strength, love, and protection.

The Talmudic Sages in the Talmud Sotah 36a credit the great- great- grandson of Judah, Nachshon Ben Aminadav, Aaron’s brother in law, as the first one into the Sea. However, the Sea did not open when Nachshon put his foot into the water. Nor did the sea part when he was knee deep, thigh deep or waist deep into the water. Undeterred, and apparently full of a profound and simple faith in God, Nachshon continued to wade into the water. The water covered his chest, his shoulders, his neck, chin, face and soon he was completely submerged. In the moment he was to sink or float, the waters open up. B’nai Yisroel followed and they made their way across. While the Midrash doesn’t suggest that Nachshon actually swam at all, certainly he was the ultimate lifeguard, risking his life to save B’nai Yisroel from their own spiritual paralysis.

                Nachshon’s courage in the Midrash, teaches a valuable lesson about faith and freedom. No matter the difficulty, no matter the pain, sadness and grief, there is a path across the Yam Suf. That is not to say that we may not be bruised, scarred, or damaged in some way. It only means that crossing our own sea gives us an opportunity for a future. Staying back, remaining paralyzed, succumbing to our fears, guarantees no future and remaining enslaved. Indeed, freedom is all about a sense of tomorrow, the future and possibilities. How could I deny my son’s pleading and his reasoning? I signed him up just before these last days of the Pesach. I signed him up knowing that he doesn’t suffer from any spiritual paralysis. I signed him up knowing that his positive outlook is a manifestation of his deep faith in God and in the words we sang at the Seder table: Dayeinu. Whatever we have in our lives, it is good enough.

Peace,

Rav Yitz