You Told Me Goodbye, How Was I To Know You Meant Please Don't Let Me Go (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia "High Time")

My sister and I have friends in Squirrel Hill, a primarily Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburgh. My sister lived there for nearly ten years.  So my family and I listened for the names of those 11 souls that were murdered last Shabbat at the Tree of Life shul in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. No, we didn’t know the 11 Jews, ages 56-97. However, these men, women, husbands, wives, brothers were also mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers,  great grandfathers, and great-grandmothers. Children, grandchildren and great children will be mourning the loss of these 11 souls.

This Week we read from Parsha Chayei Sarah. This Shabbat we read from Parsha Chayei Sarah, “the Life of Sara”. It is a rather odd name for a Parsha that discusses’ Sarah’s death, and Avraham’s funeral preparations including a eulogy, crying, and the purchase of land for burial. The focus then shifts from Sarah’s death and Avraham’s caring for her to Avraham’s son Yitzchak and getting on with his life. Avraham instructs his servant to find a wife for Yitzchak from among his ancestors. The servant head back to Avraham’s homeland, he asks’ God for a sign so that he knows which girl is the right one for his master’s son. He finds the girl, convinces her to return with him, the girl leaves home and heads back with the servant to meet her new husband and her father-in-law. They get married. Avraham takes a wife and lives quietly in retirement. The Parsha concludes with Avraham’s death and the death of his eldest son Ishmael.

Sandwiched between the deaths of Sarah, at the beginning of the Parsha, and Avraham Avinu, at the conclusion of the Parsha, we read about Yitzchak’s mourning the death of his mother. His Aveilut, mourning, comes at the time when he marries Rivkah. VaYavieha Yitzchak HaOhela Sarah Imo VaYiKach et Rivkah VaT’Hi Lo L’Isha VaYe’Ehaveha VaYinachem Yitzchak Acharei Imo – And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother; he married Rebecca, she became his wife, and he loved her; and thus was Isaac consoled after his mother [‘s death] (Gen. 24:67. What is significant about the Torah telling us that he Yitzchak brought Rivka to his mother’s tent and not just telling us that Yitzchak married Rebecca, took her has his wife and loved her. Why does the verse begin with going into his mother’s tent and conclude with his being consoled about his mother’s death? Rashi, the 11th-century French commentator comments: As long as Sarah was alive, a lamp burned in her tent from one Sabbath eve to the next, her dough was blessed and a cloud signifying the Divine Presence hung over Sarah’s tent. When Sarah died, these blessings ceased, but when Rebecca entered the tent they resumed.

Last Shabbat, 11 lamps were extinguished, and as the children, grandchildren, and Jews of Pittsburgh begin sitting Shivah, the lights will remain extinguished. It must seem that the cloud signifying the Shechina, God’s Divine Presence, has abandoned these 11 souls. Yet we learn that Yitzchak found consolation in the support and love from his wife, Rebecca. Love, embodied in his wife; love provided Isaac consolation, allowed the lamp to be lit and remain lit from Shabbat to Shabbat. Love lights the darkness and love will help bring consolation to the children and grandchildren mourning the loss of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents in Pittsburgh. Love will allow the mourners and a community to sense that God’s presence embodied in the Divine Cloud never really left but remains a source of continued consolation and solidarity.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

But If You Don't Face Straight Ahead You Could Not Stand The Shock (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Gomorrah")

I felt very blessed this week. Our eldest daughter called. This is an incredibly busy time with about 10 days left before Election Day and early voting has already commenced. She explained that she was in between meetings and had a few minutes now and knew that she would be busy the rest of the day. Usually when she calls me; she needs to vent. Sometimes she calls to ask for advice. There was a calm in this particular call. I asked her how the campaign was going. She said that she felt positive.  I asked why and she gave the oddest most counter-intuitive reply. The opposing campaign just released a series of negative ads. She explained that her opponents have no good ideas for the future, and how to solve problems. Instead, he can only look backward and point to problems with my daughter’s candidate. My daughter’s campaign was to make sure her candidate continues looking forward, inspiring others that together, problems can be solved, lives can be improved and life in the district can be better.  I ask if she doesn’t want to respond to the negative ads with something to disqualifying or diminishing? She laughed and said of course she does, that’s why she calls me. She needed to vent.

This Shabbat we read from Parsha VaYeira. The narrative and adventures of Avraham the Patriarch continue. While healing from his ritual circumcision, he fulfills the mitzvah of Hachnasat Orchim, hospitality. He negotiates with God and reduces the number of righteous people that must be found in Sodom and Gomorrah in order to prevent its destruction. The narrative of Avraham is interrupted as we read the narrative of Lot, the two Angels (the same two that had visited Avraham at the beginning of the Parsha), the destruction of the city, and the impure relationship that results when the survivors think that world has been destroyed. The narrative returns to Avraham as its focus and he and his wife Sarah give birth to a son (Yitzchak), the banishment of Hagar and Ishmael (Avraham’s firstborn son from his concubine) and the final test of his belief, the Akeidat Yitzchak – the Offering of Isaac.

                During these adventures, during these tests, it is fascinating to watch Avraham deal with each new issue, each new tension and arrive at solutions. Avraham always looks forward. Avraham looked forward towards Sodom and Gomorrah while God talked to Avraham about his intention to destroy those cities. When he is commanded to banish Hagar and Ishmael, Avraham looks forward toward where they will be going and gives them food and water in order to survive the journey. When asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac, Avraham doesn’t look back, he looks forward, towards the mountain where the sacrifice will supposedly occur. Compare this with Lot and his family (Gen 19:12-26).  Three times the angels tell Lot it’s time to leave. The first time,  Lot tells his children to leave, although there is no indication that Lot and his wife intend to go. The second time, the two angels lead Lot, his wife and children out, but Lot still can’t just leave! VaYitmama – still he lingered (Gen 19:16). Even when God’s messengers grab Lot, his wife, and his daughters by the hands and lead them out of the city VaYomer saying to them: Himaleit Al Nafshecha Al Tabit Acharecha v’Al Taamod B’Chol HaKikar Hahara Himaleit Pen Tisafeh- Flee for your life! Do not look behind you nor stop anywhere in all the plain; flee to the mount lest you be swept away (Gen 19:17). Lot can’t just move on. He chooses to remain; he thinks he can reason and negotiate. He assumes, if necessary, that he can flee to a nearby city.  Finally, they begin making their way towards the alternative destination,  VeTabeit Ishto M’Acharav Vathi  Ntziv Melach  But His wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26) Ramban explains that she looked back to make sure her daughters were following. What parent would flee and have the children (little or young adult) behind them? A parent would either have the children in front of them or be holding their hand while fleeing. So what other reason was there to turn around. Like her husband, who had such a difficult time to move forward, Lot’s wife wanted to turn around one last time in order to see the life and the world she was leaving. She was merely emulating Lot. However, she did it “one more time”. From the Angels' perspective, enough was enough

                Sometimes moving forward can be very difficult. It can be especially difficult if there is a lack of commitment to move forward. Sometimes even with a strong commitment to move forward, the obstacles are too overwhelming. Sometimes it can be scary to go forward by oneself even if the person knows that it is the correct path. Sometimes moving forward means sacrificing a job, or power, or popularity. Sometimes moving forward is so emotionally paralyzing because it opens a whole new series of unanticipated consequences or even anticipated consequences with unacceptable solutions. Certainly, it is important to understand the past since it helps to deal with the future. However, one must avoid being enslaved by the past.  For Lot, as well as his wife, their sense of purpose was linked to life in the city: Sodom, or any city, it didn’t matter. Unlike Avraham and Sarai who “didn’t look back” but had enough faith in God and the future to look forward; Lot and his wife lacked that faith and were unable to steadfastly look forward. My daughter thanked me for listening and said that sometimes its hard to keep looking forward; it takes a lot of faith and a sense that tomorrow can really be better than today. I reminded that she needs to keep everybody pointing towards tomorrow and convince all those people who get scared by the negative ads need not be scared of the future.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

And If You Go, No-One May Follow, That Path Is For Your Steps Alone

While watching the excitement of the baseball playoffs and the chilling news story about the Washington Post journalist who was murdered in the Saudi Embassy in Turkey and the President’s attempt to cover for the Saudi Royal Family, our son came downstairs with his computer in hand and made a stunning statement. The statement was so important he picked up the remote, turned down the volume and began speaking. He explained that now that he was in High School and the high school as an “Honors List” and a “Dean’s List” he was committing himself to the goal of making the Honors list each semester. I was so shocked, I turned off the television and I asked him if he was sure that was willing to put in all the work, all the sacrifice necessary for the reward at the end of this journey. Until now, he would do only enough work, put forth only enough effort to get by with a decent grade; but he never did the extra little bit more required for the missing 3-5 points on each and every test. I wouldn’t call it lazy, just satisfied with mediocrity. Now instead of his mother and me hocking him and reminding him to study; he wanted to do it himself. He was entirely self-motivated.

This week's Parsha is Lech Lecha. In it, God commands Abram to leave his father, his homeland and everything he has ever known and go to a place where God will show him later. Abram does. He heads down towards Egypt because of a famine. Eventually, Abram leaves Egypt with money, flocks, servants, and wealth. Lot, Abram's nephew, and Abram decide to part ways since each their respective flocks not only become intermingled but their hired hands fight among each other. Abram then fights against several kings in an attempt to protect Lot. Then his wife Sarai, who is barren, tells Abram to make Hagar (the maidservant) the surrogate mother. Abram listens and Hagar has a son named Ishmael. She runs away and then returns. God tells Abram a prophecy. Abram will become the father of a great nation, and that nation will become enslaved for several centuries and then will return to the land that God promised Abram. Then God instructs Abram to circumcise himself, his son Ishmael and all the males of his household. All these events are linked together by the theme of "Lech Lecha" of going, of traveling, of a journey both of a physical and spiritual nature.

            The Zohar, the rabbinic book of mysticism, comments upon the first verse "Lech Lecha Mei'Artzecha uMimoladtcha, U'mibeit Avicha El Ha'Aretz Acher Areka- Go for yourself from your land, from your relatives, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you (Gen 12:1). Instead of a physical journey, the Zohar explains that Abram was commanded to embark upon a spiritual journey. The soul, while residing in the World to Come, exists in close proximity to God. Because of the spiritual clarity and intensity revealed there, no free will and no chance for spiritual growth and advancement can occur. Like the angels, the soul in the World to Come is called an Omaid, a standee. In this World, however, we know that a person has Free Will. This means that we all have the opportunity to advance spiritually as long as we remain in this World. The soul in this world is called a Holiach, a walker, someone who goes, and much like Abram went.

            Like Abram, we are all commanded to Lech Lecha. We are all commanded to journey. Sometimes we are very aware of the journey. We, or our children, leave home and travel, or go off to school, or move to a new place because of a job. Sometimes we are aware that we are about to begin a new phase or a new chapter of our respective lives, our respective journey. It seems that we often forget that we journey for our own sake, for our own self- improvement, for our own destiny.  Of our four children, it is the youngest one, the only son, who made it explicitly clear that was willing to do everything he could to make the Honors Roll or the Dean’s List. He wanted to do this for himself.  His self-motivation is evident in his effort and efficiency in which he studies. His self-motivation is evident in his courage and tenaciousness to ask for help and do the work until it is done well. Maybe he is really growing up and understands that he has a journey that is only for his steps alone.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Wake Of The Flood, Laughing Water, Forty Nine; Get Out The Pans, Don't Just Stand There Dreaming (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia "Wake Of The Flood")

Now that school has resumed and there are no more holiday interruptions for the 8-9 weeks, our son realizes that all the work, all the quizzes, and the tests will begin to appear on his calendar and task planner. He sensed, realized and even anticipates that all these assignments, quizzes and test are about to happen in waves and bunches. For the first time since he began high school, he understood that high school is very different than middle school. So our came downstairs and asked me a few homework questions as he was preparing for a couple of quizzes. While he asked and I answered; the news was on and reporting a Hurricane Michael in the Gulf of Mexico and the fact that it went from a Category 2 to a Category 4 overnight, and was making landfall in Panama City, Florida on Wednesday. As we were trying to understand and answer his question, he expressed his concern over the fact that so many people went to bed thinking that this hurricane was a Category 2 but had unexpectedly become much more serious and much more dangerous. Then he made an interesting comment. The lack of information or the lack of timely information can contribute to the chaos. He pointed out that he has started to realize that if he doesn’t stay on top of his workload, if he doesn’t stay organized and plan accordingly, then he anticipates that he might feel overwhelmed and that his school life will become chaotic. My jaw dropped and I told him to always remember that the key to fighting chaos is information and organization.

This Shabbat we read from Parshat Noach. Comprised of two distinct narratives; both deal with the theology of chaos and confused boundaries. First we read the story of  Noach, God’s disenchantment with creation and mankind’s behavior, the instruction to build the Teva (the Ark), the Flood as punishment for mankind’s unethical behavior, the covenant made between God and Noach and the resulting offering to God, and then an odd story about Noach’s drunkenness and one’s sons inappropriate behavior. The second distinct narrative is also about chaos and confused boundaries. This time mankind confuses boundaries and trying to build a tower up to the heavens. The result is that God scatters mankind across the earth by making mankind speak numerous languages and making communication difficult.

While both narratives can conceivably stand alone; both narratives are related. As manifested in the previous Parsha, God is a god of creation and order. Therefore, in order for God to destroy, Order must be removed or chaos must become firmly entrenched.  Meivi et HaMabul Mayim AL HaAretz L’Shacheit Kol Basar Asher Bo Ruach Chayim Mitachat HaShamayim Kol Asher Ba’Aretz Yigvah – I will bring the flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh, in which is the breath of life from under heaven, and everything that is on earth shall die. Clearly from the text, there must be other kinds of floods besides water, otherwise, we do not need to be told that this particular flood is one that involves water. The message is that God will punish creation by instituting chaos for a period of time. Later in Chapter 11 as mankind begins building a tower up to heaven God becomes disappointed again. Vayomer Adoshem  Hain Am Echad V’Safah Achat L’Chulam V’zeh Hachilam La’Asot V’aAtah Lo Yibatzeir Mei’hem Kol Asher Yazmu La’Asot – Behold the people is one, and they have all one language, and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be withheld from them which they have schemed to do. Hava Neirdah V’Navlah Sham Sfatam Sher lo Yishmu Ish Sfat Rei’eihu – Come let us go down and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. Instead of the flood of water, God created the flood of language and confusion the flood of a cacophony.

The flood of chaos and the struggle to handle chaos is part of our human condition. The first narrative, the Noach narrative, teaches that chaos is now part of creation and in a sense a type of punishment. The second narrative, the Tower of Bavel, teaches us that chaos is part of everyday human life. It is part of our task as human beings as we struggle to elevate ourselves from the animal aspect of our existence to the spiritual aspect of our existence that we create order from chaos. To do so is a Godly endeavor. To do so allows us to transcend the physical world. As our son watched the news about the chaos being inflicted by Hurrican Michael, and the anxiety he was feeling as his own work piled up; our son, began to understand something very important. The world can exhibit lots of chaos. Our son now understands that our response to chaotic conditions can contribute to chaos and make it worse, or we can determine that which we can control and create order from it. No, it may not eliminate all the chaos around us, but by doing so, we prevent ourselves from drowning amid chaotic conditions.  I just hope that our son remembers our discussion during Hurricane Michael, as he grows older realizes just how chaotic life can be.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Once In A While You Get Shown The Light In The Strangest Of Places If You Look At It Right (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Scarlet Begonias")

Like so many millions of people, we had have been following the news regarding the Supreme Court nominee hearings. For our son, it has been a valuable lesson in learning what is and is not acceptable behavior in regards to drinking, and girls. For our daughters, it has been a valuable lesson in having a strong voice and learning to speak up for oneself. For all of us, we watched, we listened and we talked about the qualities and characteristics that are required for a person to judge other people. As we watched, listened and read, we were all keenly aware that for the past six weeks, the Jewish People have been dealing with God as a Judge. As we marked the conclusion of the Jewish Holidays, we were keenly aware that the Jewish People begin another cycle of Torah reading. I suggested to my children that perhaps we can determine the requisite qualities for a Judge by looking at the Torah. 

          This week’s Parsha is Breishit. It is the first Parsha of the first Book of the Torah. For all intents and purposes, it is the beginning of the Torah. In Breishit, we read the story of Creation, (The Beginning); Adam and Chava’s banishment from Paradise (Gan Eden), and the fratricide of Cain and Abel. We begin however with God.  We see what God does when God has no one or nothing to interact with. We see God create, then we see God evaluate or the Judge.  We read the words: V’yivrah Elohim Et Ha’Adam b’Tzalmo, B’Tzelem Elohim Barah Oto Zachar u’Nekeivah Barah Otam. “And God created man in His own image. In the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them. (1:27). So, what is the image of God?

 Well, the two fundamental activities that God engages in the story of Creation is to create something and then evaluate or judge it upon completion. As we talked about the qualities required to be a judge; I suggested to my children that they take a look at the commentary by Rashi and understand the two references to God (Yod Keh Vav Key) and Lord (“Elokim”) in the first two chapters of Creation “Elokim” and Hashem (Yod Keh Vav Key). Rashi, the great 11th-century French commentator explains that Elokim is the term that denotes the divine attribute of Justice (Midat Ha’Din), ruler, lawgiver, and Judge of the world. This was the term used exclusively in the first chapter of Breishit, where God only Judges. However, in the second chapter, the Torah uses the HaShem (Yod, Keh Vav Keh) which denotes the attribute of Mercy. In the second chapter, God doesn’t Judge, rather he creates Ha’Adam  Afar Min Ha’Adama VaYipach B’Apav Nishmat Chayim VaYehi Ha’Adam L’Nefesh Chaya- from the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the soul of life and man became a living being (Gen.2:7). There was no judgment, no evaluation just the mercy required to take something from the dust of the earth and elevate it in holiness by breathing into it. So it seems that the image of God is to Judge, and to have knowledge of the law. The other image of God is to demonstrate Mercy and to have the ability to empathize, the ability to see the image of God in each and every person.

            So as we continued to discuss the necessary qualities of a Judge, let alone the Supreme Court Judge, our children began to understand that the ability to Judge is not just a human endeavor, it is a holy and certainly a Godly endeavor. Both Knowledge and Mercy, IQ and EQ, intellectual intelligence and emotional intelligence, are equally necessary. Acquiring knowledge and an honest desire to discover Truth is a Godly endeavor. Being able to empathize, to see the Ruach HaKodesh, the divine aspect in each person is also a Godly endeavor. While I doubt our kids will be nominated for the Supreme Court, I hope that they will strive to acquire both knowledge and empathy in order to have the judicial temperament and lead a spiritually enlightened life. After all, to be created in the image of God is to possess both knowledge and empathy.

Peace,

Rav Yitz