Promises Made In The Dark Dissolve By Light Of Day (Robert Hunter & Bob Weir - "Easy Answers")

           With the new year set to begin on Shabbat, there is a wonderful opportunity to look back on the year that was, and hold out hope for the year that will be.  Looking back at the year that was, the tragic loss of life, and the continued spread of Covid, some might question his/her faith in God. In looking forward to the new year, some might put his/her faith in God, in mankind, in both, or in none. Some may question faith. For others, their faith remains firm and unbending.  With two University age daughters home (one on winter break and one online heading into final exams) and our 12th-grade son who cannot wait to go to university, there is a lot of discussion regarding “authority”, “faith”, and there is a lot of questioning “authority” and “faith”. During one discussion with our children, I was reminded of an event that took place several years ago.  A congregant came into my office crying. “Rabbi, Rabbi, I have horrible news and I don’t know what to do!” My thoughts immediately went to the worst-case scenarios: her husband had been stricken with a terminal illness or that she discovered that one of her children was addicted to drugs, or she was deciding to get out of her marriage. Of course, all of my “worst-case scenario” thoughts were particularly troubling because this family was a pillar in the community. They were an extremely generous family, generous with their money and their time. They were in Shul all the time. Each of their two children was a mentsche, smart, Jewishly aware, and observant. I could not imagine what possible could be the crisis that this distraught woman brought into my office. “What is it?” I asked. With a heavy sigh, and eyes welling up in tears she explained that her son, who was a sophomore in college (2nd-year university students for Canadians), called her the other night and he told her that he no longer believed in God. I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “For a minute there some horrible tragedy had occurred in your family. So, Nu? What’s the problem? What’s the crisis?” She could not understand why I was smiling. Her son’s declarative statement expressing disbelief in God, apparently made her feel inadequate as a parent and challenged the foundation of her own belief system. I explained that for an intellectually honest and curious college student to think and express such thoughts is not only healthy and normal but also vital to the process of developing and strengthening faith. Most 19-year-old young men feel neither mortal nor limited. Everything is possible,  and they feel all-powerful as if they can “handle anything”. Under such circumstances and with such an attitude, who needs God? Instead of a belief in God, there is a profound belief in oneself.

           This Shabbat is Parsha V’Eira. In this Parshah, God reassures Moshe after Pharaoh and mocked and dismissed both him and Aharon. God explains the plan to Moshe, that Pharoah’s heart will be hardened after each plague but eventually Pharaoh will capitulate. God explains the various stages of redemption. The plagues begin. We are supposed to understand that each of these first seven plagues is more severe than the previous plague: Blood, Frogs, Lice, Wild Beasts, Animal plague, Boils, Hail. Moshe requests that Pharaoh allows B’nai Yisroel to worship God for three days, Pharaoh sometimes acquiesces sometimes he doesn’t. Sometimes he asks Moshe to pray on his behalf and sometimes he doesn’t. One thing is clear, that whenever Pharaoh gets his way (a plague ceases), something that would clearly indicate the power of God, Pharaoh acts almost like a child. He reverts right back to his nature.

          Hail, the seventh plague, devastates the land. Hail destroyed any living being, person or animal that was outside during the plague. Witnessing the devastation and destruction of land and life; Pharaoh’s belief system appears to have evolved. Rather than dismissing the plague, rather than demonstrating a self-centered attitude in which Pharaoh is all powerful, Pharaoh seems to have acquired a degree of humility.  Vayishlach Paroh Va’Yikrah L’Moshe U’le’Aharon Vayomer Aleihem Chatati HaPa’am Adonay  HaTzaddik v’Ani V’Ami Harsha’im – Pharaoh sent and summoned Moshe and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; Hashem is the Righteous One, and I and my people are the wicked ones (Ex. 9:27). Pharaoh asks Moshe to pray on his behalf to end the plague. He seems to be genuine in his belief. By acknowledging sin, by explicitly calling God the Righteous One, Pharaoh not only acknowledges the fact that God exists but admits that Pharaoh is not a God. Unfortunately, as soon as the plague ends, Pharaoh sins again and refuses to let B’nai Yisroel leave. However, now Pharaoh is choosing to ignore that which he has come to legitimately accept. The Parsha concludes with Pharaoh committing the sin of ignoring God based upon his own willful stubbornness not ignoring based upon the failure of recognition.

           Pharaoh, like the 19-year-old college student, obviously believes he is the center of the world. Time and History begin and end with him. Pharaoh, like the 19-year-old, believes he is immortal and without limitations. At times, it is our process as well. We constantly question and wonder about God. Like Pharaoh, ultimately our belief in God cannot be solely confined to experiencing miracle after miracle. Rather our belief, our complete and devoted faith in God will evolve from the small things in life. Unlike Pharaoh, hopefully that 19-year-old son of my former congregant learned what so many learn as they mature. Hopefully, he has a sense of mortality, hopefully he understands that he is not all powerful, hopefully he has come to learn to rely on on others. Hopefully, he understands that he is not the center of the universe, nor has much control over the universe.  Hopefully, as he developed his own faith, he was able to sense God in the presence of his life and his family’s life.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Yitz

Please Forget You Knew My Name, My Darling, Sugaree (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Sugaree')

            According to the school calendar, winter break began earlier this week.  With my wife and son both off from school, we drove our son to his grandparents in Upstate New York. My wife and I continued our drive to New York City.  We planned to pick up one daughter who was also beginning her semester break from university and visit our other daughter. It was also an opportunity to visit my sister and my wife’s aunt. However, there were some clues that our time in New York City was going to be a bit different. ‘ My niece spent her final days of school attending “online” classes before her winter break. My sister spent her last few days of work online before her winter break. Several Broadway shows were canceled, Saturday Night Live was not live in front of a studio audience, but rather live before a skeleton stage crew. Sporting events were being canceled throughout North America.  As I walked around Manhattan, I noticed a curious sight. I kept seeing lines of people form. No, these lines were not in front of Madison Square Garden or Broadway theatres, these lines were on various street corners.  It turned out that the lines were of people waiting to get tested for Covid. Indeed, with the powerful resurgence of the Delta variant and the new arrival of the Omicron variant, the number of people becoming ill quickly grew and the number of people dying has started to increase as well. During this resurgence, the empirical evidence has been clear. Those who are fully vaccinated with a booster may contract Covid, but their illness is relatively mild with an extremely low chance of hospitalization and death. Those who are unvaccinated suffer a far worse fate with a 20%  increased chance of hospitalization or death. As I walked around New York and saw people standing in line for testing, walking into pharmacies for their vaccinations, I thought about those hundreds of thousands of people who died needlessly because they either waited too long to get vaccinated or they refused to get vaccinated. These people had names. They had families, They had friends. Their lives touched others’ lives.  Yet through ignorance, naivete, hubris, obstinancy, or procrastination, their awful choice turned each of these people into a statistic, into one number of the over 800,000 people who have died from Covid in North America.

           This week we begin the second book of the Torah; the Book of Exodus – Sefer Shmot, literally translated into “The Book of Names”. This second book begins with the Parsha Shmot. The first few verses essentially recount the ending of the Book of Genesis. Shmot re-iterates the names of Jacobs’ sons and the fact that Jacob and his sons came to Egypt. We are reminded that Jacob had already died. We are reminded that the next generation, Jacob’s sons (including Yosef) passed away. A new king assumes the mantle of power and does not know of Yosef’s great deeds. Instead, the new Pharaoh believed that this foreign population was tantamount to a fifth column. Therefore this tribe must be enslaved to prevent their uniting with Egypt’s external enemies. We read about the birth and growth of Moses, and his flight to Midian. We read about his becoming a husband, a shepherd, a father. We learn of his epiphany with the Burning Bush and God’s instructions plan to redeem B’nai Israel from slavery and Moshe’s role in the redemptive process.

          Considering, that this is a completely new Sefer, a new Book of the Torah and that the dominant theme of this new book is redemption from slavery and the national revelation at Mt. Sinai, why should the text be known as a Book of Names and why should it begin with a re-iteration of the names of Jacobs’ sons: V’Eilah Shmot  B’nai Yisroel Ha’Baim Mitzrayaima Eit Yaakov Ish U’Veito Ba’u- And these are the name of the Children of Israel who were coming to Egypt with Jacob, each man, and his household came, Reuven Shimon, Levi, Yehuda; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan Naphtali; Gad and Asher. We don’t normally begin a new book with a conjunction, especially the conjunction “And”.  Instead of beginning the Parsha and the Book of Shmot with Eilah (These), the Parsha begins with V’Eilah (And these).  Based upon the Sefer Breishit's conclusion, the sons, along with Jacob, arrived in Egypt decades before (Gen. 46:8-30). Why do these opening verses repeat the concluding verses of the previous book? RaMBaN, (the great 12th-century Spanish doctor, commentator, and Halachist), and R’ Bachya (late 13th early 14th century Torah commentator), explain that the conjunction which begins the Parsha purposefully connects this new book to the previous book.  “B’nai Yisroel”, the term now used for the extended tribe owes their existence and their future existence to V’Eilah –“and these”…. these sons of Jacob, these sons who were “with Jacob” in his descent into Egypt. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsh (19th Cent. Germany) explains that these twelve sons and their resulting twelve tribal families were intimately attached to Jacob, and this was the secret of Israel’s strength and survival in Egypt. Although each son had his own family, he remained connected and united with Jacob. Implicit to these opening verses we understand that the secret to B’nai Israel’s survival in Egypt as slaves: past, present, and future were connected through values and covenant of the name of Jacobs twelve sons, Jacob, and his father and grandfather, Isaac and Abraham. The strength of those connections, the strength of being connected to the past with an eye towards a hopeful and positive future kept B’nai Israel spiritually free despite physical hardship and bondage.

          The names explicitly mentioned, Jacob and his son’s, stood for something. Implicitly, these names stood for and symbolized a covenantal relationship with God. These names stood for inheriting a land, as well as making a great name for itself. For their descendants, the names gave them an identity, an identity that kept them spiritually free despite their physical bondage. Every one of the over 800,000 deaths due to Covid had a name, a life, and touched others' lives. Yet those who died needlessly because they refused to be vaccinated because they erroneously thought that their personal liberties were the issue, suffered from a form of enslavement.   However, there is another kind of slavery: slavery to misinformation, slavery to obstinancy, naivete, ignorance, that carries with it a very real possibility of becoming an unnecessary statistic, or another unnecessary death. Perhaps all the unavoidable deaths are the greatest tragedy of this Pandemic.  

Peace
Rav Yitz 

I Swear It On My Very Soul; If I Lie May I Fall Down Cold (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Reuben and Cerise")

          Every religion, every society acknowledges the importance of making a vow, or swearing an oath, or “giving one’s word”. To accept a vow, oath, or another person’s “word” was a demonstration of trust, an act of faith that the other person would keep their vow, oath, or word. Without a mechanism for people to trust business would cease to occur, relationships would end,  and anarchy would reign. Where society and religions differ is the premium place upon the vow, oath, or a person’s word. The Judeo-Christian and Muslim cultures and traditions consider vows and oaths tantamount to invoking God’s name and violating an oath or a vow, therefore, is tantamount to “Taking God’s name in vain”. For the less observant or those who don’t affiliate with a religion, a violation of an oath or a vow destroys a sacred trust. In a democratic society, trust is the lubricant,  that allows governments to govern. When the populace doesn’t trust its institutions there is chaos. Certainly, that is what we have watched occur in the United States over the past several years. Sadly, over the past week, once again we witnessed, elected officials who swear an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic…” fail to live up to that oath. A former Chief of Staff and former congressman who swore such an oath decided to protect and defend a former president instead of the Constitution. An entire political party, except for a handful of Congressman and Senator have pledged their fealty to authoritarianism instead of fulfilling their vows and oaths to the Constitution.  

          This morning we read from Parsha Vayechi. This is the final Parsha in the book of Breishit. The Parsha begins with Yaakov calling Yosef and making him swear an oath that he will not be buried in Egypt. He also blesses his grandsons Ephraim and Menashe. He gathers his sons together and offers each son a blessing or a prophecy. Yaakov dies and his sons take him out of Egypt and fulfill their vow. They bury their father in Heron alongside Avraham and Yitzchak and Sarah Rebecca and Leah. Afterward, the brothers fear that Yosef will finally take vengeance for their mistreatment of him. Yosef doesn’t, and the brothers and their families continue to grow and prosper in Goshen. As Yosef prepares for his death, he makes his brothers vow to take his bones out of Egypt and bury his bones in Eretz Canaan. 

          Yaakov’s final dying wish is to be buried in Canaan, in the Caves of the Machpela with his ancestors, Avraham/Sarah, Yitzchak/Rivka, and Leah his wife. Yaakov shares this wish with Yosef. Given his position within Egypt, Yosef would be the most likely of the sons who would be able to arrange this final wish. After sharing his final wish with his beloved son Yosef; Yaakov asks Yosef to swear to him that he will carry out this final wish. To demonstrate one’s “swearing a vow,” Yaakov tells Yosef: Im Nah Matzati Chein M’Einecha If now I have found grace in your eyes Sim Nah Yadcha Tachat Yereichi put, I pray of you, your hand beneath my thigh v’Asita Imadi Chesed v’Emet –,and deal kindly and truthfully with me. However, Yosef does not do as his father asks; Yosef does not put his hand beneath his father’s thigh as an indication of swearing an oath. Rather, Vayomer [Yosef] said, Anochi Eseh Chidvarecha – I personally will do as you said. The text clearly conveys that Yosef did not make a “vow” to Yaakov. Yosef did not put his hand beneath his father’s thigh as an indication of making a vow. Rather his said that he would take care of the matter personally.  Rabeinu Chananel, a tenth-century Egyptian Talmudic commentator, briefly and succinctly explains that the statement: Anochi Eseh M’Atzmi – I will take care of it myself suggests there is no need for swearing an oath. Rav Ovadia Sforno – the 16th Italian Renaissance Torah Commentator adds a more in-depth comment over the fact that Yosef did not at first swear an oath to Yaakov’s final request. Anochi Metzad Atzmi Eseh Kidvarecha B’Chol Chai – As far as I am concerned, I will do as you say with all my power. Yosef’s response suggests a built-in excuse in case he cannot fulfill the dying wish. “I will do everything in my power” suggests that if Yosef entreats Pharaoh to let him bury his father in Canaan, and Pharaoh refuses; then Yosef still fulfilled his father’s final wish since Yosef did everything he could.  Yaakov senses his hesitation and tells Yosef: Hishava Li – Swear to me, Vayishava Lo – and He [Yosef] swore to him [Yaakov]. Yaakov does not want any excuses nor does he want Yosef to have to rely solely upon his own relationship with Pharaoh. Pharaoh will understand a son swearing an oath to his dying father and would never refuse a request of that nature. As a son, as a free person, as the second most powerful person in Egypt, Yosef is only bound by his conscience. He is free to question. The Malbim, the 17th-century commentator explains that Yosef was acting as a son should be bound by filial piety and integrity.

          There are moments where one’s own volition is not enough in fulfilling a final wish. Yaakov makes Yosef swear the oath because he wants Yosef to acknowledge an authority greater than his own. He also wants Yosef to acknowledge an authority greater than Pharaoh. Yaakov wanted Yosef to be completely powerless and act solely on behalf of his father. Under normal circumstances, according to ChaZaL – our Talmudic sages of Blessed Memory, the acceptance of Torah and its commandments are an acknowledgment and acceptance of an external authority greater than ourselves. Intrinsic to that acceptance is a humbling awareness that we are not all that powerful or in control of every aspect of life. As more and more information comes becomes public about the January 6th Capitol Hill attack and attempted coup, it becomes more and more clear, that numerous people who had sworn an oath to the U.S. Constitution, due to political expediency, violated that oath and pledged fealty to authoritarianism. They continue to do so to this day. Unfortunately, history provides many examples from the last century when elected officials violate their oaths, trust wanes, institutions cease to function and authoritarianism wins the day. Hopefully, bringing light and attention to that day will remind elected officials of the importance of their oaths, vows, and keeping their word to support and defend.

Peace 

Rav Yitz

Arabian Nights Our Gods Pursue Their Fights; What Fatal Flowers of Darkness Bloom From Seeds Of Light - Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Blues for Allah"

           This week was the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entrance into WWII when the world was divided between the forces of fascism/authoritarianism and democracy. Ironically, this week President Biden met with the largest democracies in Europe prior to his meeting with Europe’s most authoritarian regime: Russia. Russia has amassed approximately 100,000 soldiers and equipment along its border with Ukraine. It seemed that the President wanted to confront Putin using the language of sanctions and diplomacy, so he needed to know the position of Europe’s largest economies regarding any such diplomatic response. Also, the President responded to another authoritarian regime by announcing a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming winter Olympics in China. On a global diplomatic scale, we witnessed the confrontation or a clash between liberty/democracy and suppression/authoritarianism.

          This week’s Torah portion is VaYigash.  The confrontation between Yosef and his brothers is about to occur. The Parshah begins with Yehudah approaching his brother Yosef, whom he does not recognize, and pleads for Benjamin’s freedom.  Yosef reveals his identity. Then Yosef and his brothers hug and kiss each other. They cry and they forgive each other. Yosef asks about his father’s welfare. The brothers return to their father, Yaakov, and tell him that Yosef is alive. The brothers explain that everyone, the entire clan, should go down to Egypt. So this clan, including Jacob, the brothers, their wives, and children, heads down to Egypt. Yaakov meets Pharaoh. Yosef’s family is given a parcel of land outside of Egypt in a place called Goshen, where they can tend to their flocks. Yaakov is reunited with his beloved Yosef in the land of Goshen.

          For the ChaZaL, the Sages of Blessed Memory, the Sages of the Talmud, the confrontation between Yosef, the second most powerful man in Egypt, and Yehudah, the leader of Yaakov’s sons; the confrontation is much more than just two brothers meeting up after a couple of decades. For ChaZaL, the word VaYiGaSh refers to Yehudah girding himself for war. Remember, Yehudah does not yet know the identity of the man standing before him. For all Yehudah knows, this man, who looks Egyptian, dresses Egyptian, and speaks Egyptian embodies the most powerful empire and the most dominant culture in the world. However, according to the Or HaChayim that is not the plain meaning of the word. The Or HaChayim, Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar an early 16th Century Moroccan Kabbalist and Talmudist,  explains that if Yehudah was “girding himself for war” then he would not have spoken so respectfully and politely to Yosef: Bi Adoni “if it pleases my lord”. Nor would Yehudah be concerned with antagonizing Yosef’s anger. Instead, Yehudah approached  Egypt’s second in command diplomatically, not girded for war with his sword unsheathed or his gun drawn so to speak,  but confidently,  striding powerfully towards Yosef bypassing guards and advisors, and then quietly and privately speaking into the minister’s ear. Make no mistake, when Yehudah tells the minister that he is just like Pharaoh he is not paying the Minister a compliment. Yehuda speaks truth to power,  without subtleties, coldly and brutally honest. However, Yehudah confronts the minister in a  whisper, privately, without causing embarrassment to the second most powerful man in the Egyptian empire.

          For the Talmudic Sages, Yehuda’s approach to this representative of Egypt was not an approach between two men but a clash between two cultures, a clash between idolatry and monotheism, a clash between two diametrically opposite worlds. Most of history, at least European History is a similar clash albeit, between religions or between sects of the same religion. This week, we are reminded that these powerful clashes are not solely confined between religions. These “cosmic” sorts of clashes also occur between the force of democracy and the forces of authoritarianism and tyranny. In either case,  depending on the diplomatic skills of both sides, such “cosmic” clashes can either exacerbate tensions or diminish tensions.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

On The Dreams You Still Believe; Don't Give It Up; You Got An Empty Cup (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Comes A Time")

           I happened to be at the supermarket this week. My wife needed oil, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, and something healthy to offset all the starch and oil of latkes and Chanukkah foods. As I left the supermarket, I saw one of my wife’s book group friends.  After the standard chit chat, she asked me which yeshivot and universities our son hopes to attend?  Which Yeshivot and universities did we prefer? For the next ten minutes, we discussed the merits of various yeshivot and universities in Ontario. She spoke about why her son attended a particular Yeshiva and planned upon attending a particular university as opposed to another. Then she made an interesting comment.  When she and her husband first discussed where they thought their son should attend Yeshiva and university,  their sole consideration was to protect and shield their son from all the shmutz of modern society, all the hedonistic behavior, the drugs, and all the difficult things that young vulnerable adults face. Then they realized that if this was the sole criteria for choosing a Yeshiva and university;  then they were going to be greatly disappointed. She explained that no Yeshiva nor university could protect her son from all the negative aspects of secularism. hedonistic culture. So they adopted a new approach and looked at yeshivot and universities that provided the tools to deal with, and not deny the negative aspects of secularism in our everyday culture. Ultimately, her son would have to decide how much he would assimilate into the dominant culture. She hoped that her son would have enough knowledge and character to make a thoughtful and informed decision. 

           This Shabbat we read from Parsha Mikeitz. Mikeitz always coincides with Chanukah.  The Parsha begins two years from when VaYeishev concluded. Pharaoh has a dream. He is unsatisfied with all attempts to interpret it. Pharaoh's wine chamberlain remembers that Yosef accurately interpreted his dream while in prison. Yosef is released from prison and brought before Pharaoh. He interprets that soon will begin seven years of abundance followed by seven years of severe famine. Pharaoh appoints him as viceroy to oversee the project. Egypt becomes the granary of the world. Yaakov sends his sons to Egypt to buy food. The brothers come before Yosef and bow to him. Yosef recognizes them but they do not recognize him. Without disclosing his identity, Yosef sells food to the brothers;  but he keeps Shimon hostage. Shimon will remain a hostage until they bring their brother Binyamin as proof that they are who they say they are. Yaakov refuses to let Binyamin go to Egypt, but when the famine grows unbearable, he accedes. Yehuda guarantees Binyamin's safety, and the brothers go to Egypt. Yosef welcomes the brothers lavishly as honored guests. When he sees Binyamin he rushes from the room and weeps. Yosef instructs his servants to replace the money in the sacks and to put his goblet inside Binyamin's sack. When the goblet is discovered, Yosef demands Binyamin become his slave as punishment. Yehuda interposes and offers himself instead, but Yosef refuses.

             For the first time, beginning in last week’s Torah portion, VaYeishev and again in Mikeitz, we read about an individual encountering a dominant culture while still retaining his sense of code and morality. Avraham left the dominant culture and encountered it periodically but did so accompanied by his wife. Yitzchak encountered a different culture but had never left home in a spiritual nor a physical sense (he always remained in the land). Even when Yaakov encountered Shechem, he did so accompanied by his sons. However, Yosef was in his late teens, early twenties when arrived in Egypt. He worked for Potifar. He had to stave off the sexual harassment of Potifar’s wife and accept the injustice of prison. At the beginning of Mikeitz, we find Yosef in prison, still referred to as Naar Ivri- Hebrew Youth even though he is 30 (Gen. 41:46).  Even after interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, becoming a Viceroy, wearing Egyptian clothes, looking Egyptian, being clean-shaven like an Egyptian, speaking Egyptian, marrying an Egyptian woman (Asnat) and receiving an Egyptian name (Zaphenat Paneah), and essentially living an Egyptian lifestyle; Yosef somehow manages to maintain his tribal loyalty, his Jewishness, his sense of morality and code. When Pharaoh tells Yosef about his dream and is asked to interpret it; VaYa’An Yosef et Paroh Leimor, Biladai Elohim Ya’Eneh et Shlom Paroh – Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, That is beyond me; it is God who will respond with Pharaoh’s welfare.   The Or HaChaim comments that Biladai  “that is beyond me” is not necessarily an expression of humility. Biladai means “this does not depend on me”. Yosef’s response not only gives credit for his “Dream Telling Gift” to God; Yosef subtly indicates that his code and his theology will not waver within this overbearing and all-encompassing culture. Yosef adds the words Shlom Paroh- literally, the peace of Pharaoh. Yosef is merely a vessel. He isn’t so much interpreting a dream, as he is providing prophecy. As a result, Yosef must speak truth to power and cannot bend or interpret the meaning to satisfy some other agenda or plan except God’s plan.

           Yosef, at the relatively young age of 30 has accepted the fact that his path, is part of God’s plan. Yes, some people are lucky to sense that a plan has been revealed to them. Yosef’s spiritual strength, his unwavering sense of belonging to a covenantal relationship means that no matter the name, no matter the clothes, no matter the culture, he is acutely aware that certain constants will keep him grounded in his relationship with God.  No, I don’t know the path our son or any of our children are supposed to take. We can offer them guidance as they make their way along the path of their lives. Eventually, they will need to make those decisions for themselves. While we light the Chanukah candles, we are reminded of Judaism’s survival within a powerful Hellenistic culture, we are reminded of Yosef surviving within a powerful Egyptian culture.  As our children make their way in the world, their mom and I only hope that we have provided them enough tools, enough education, and enough grounding in values that we deem important so that their decisions are an expression of a moral code and covenant to which they belong.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Inside You're Burning, I Can See Clear Through; Your Eyes Tell More Than You Mean Them To (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Feel Like A Stranger")

           On Thursday, the  United States celebrated Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was always a big deal in my family and hundreds of millions of other families in the U.S. There was always an expectation that our family, wherever we were, would come together for this meal. In an observant Jewish home, a family coming together for a meal happens more than once a year. In fact, it happens once if not twice a week on Shabbat. It happens during the Jewish Holidays. As a kid, our family composed of grandparents, aunt, uncle cousin parents, and sister wasn’t such a big deal. As we grew older and our own lives took us on our own path and our own levels of observance, Thanksgiving was the one Holiday that allowed us to come together, and re-connect. Of course, there are also numerous families that grow distant over the course of a year or even longer, and when they gather for Thanksgiving, the day and the meal are filled with tension and dysfunction. 

          This Shabbat we read from Parsha VaYeishev. The focus of the narrative now shifts from Yaakov (aka. Israel) to his most beloved son Yosef. Contextually, Yaakov is at a point in his life where he has finished his spiritual and personal struggles. He now is at a calm and settled point in his life, hence the name of the Parshah: Vayeishev – and he settled. We learn that Yaakov, like his parents, played favorites. He showered Yosef, Rachel’s son, with a beautiful Kutonet Pasim – Coat of Many Colors.  Despised by his brothers,  they sell Yosef to a passing caravan. Yosef winds up in the home of one of the Pharaoh’s courtiers. As a slave, Yosef proved invaluable to the welfare of the Courtier’s business dealings. Yosef managed everything and the courtier profited greatly. The courtier’s wife however was a bit bored and made a pass at Yosef. Yosef put her off and then was accused of sexual harassment. Yosef was sent to prison. While in prison, Yosef helped the warden manage the prison, and the warden did well. Yosef became known for his ability to interpret dreams.

          The dysfunction within Yaakov’s family is palpable. The Torah tells us that because Jacob demonstrably loved Joseph more and perhaps it was at the expense of Jacob’s other sons, the brothers hated Yosef. VaYiru Echav Ki Oto Ahav Avihem Mikol Echav VaYisnu Oto  V’Lo Yachlu Dabro L’Shalom - His brothers saw that it was he whom their father loved most of all so his brothers hated him, and they could not speak to him peaceably (37:4). The brothers had so much animosity towards Joseph that they couldn’t even be civil to him. Yes, Yosef would tell their father all the bad things that the brothers did (37:2). Certainly, Yosef acted a bit obtuse, lacking self-awareness when he shared the dreams about the sheaves and the constellations. After hearing these dreams the brothers hated Yosef even more, even more than being unable to speak peaceably to him. More than hating Yosef, they were now jealous of Yosef. The next interaction the brothers have with Yosef occurs while tending the flocks. VaYiru Oto M’Rachok U’Vterem Yikra Aleihem Vayitnaklu Oto L’Hamito- They saw him from afar; and when he had not yet approached them, they conspired against him to kill him. (37:18) The Vorker Rebbe (1779-1848) explained that Yosef and the brothers seemed to always keep a distance. The Torah never tells us of any positive interaction between Yosef and his brothers. The brothers never speak to Yosef and Yosef only speaks to them when sharing his dreams of dominion over them. Instead of expressing their pain to their father, and perhaps their anger, they channel it towards Yosef. The distance becomes greater and greater. They never spoke and the brothers’ hatred and jealousy grew by the day. Eventually, they became detached, and Yosef ceased being kin but evolved into “other” instead. “Other” can be dangerous and threatening. So the brothers plotted to kill Yosef.

          It is probably safe to say that Yosef and his brothers did not break bread together. They probably couldn’t remember the last time they shared a meal together where they just talked and laughed. One can imagine a family meal, a Shabbat meal, or a Fesitval meal, fraught with innuendo, harboring the pain of past slights, and finally the meal abruptly concluding with tempers flaring and seething anger. Indeed, the distance that grows among family members is frequently too great to traverse at one meal, even if it is Thanksgiving.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

One Step Done And Another Begun, In I Wonder How Many Miles (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "New Speedway Boogie"

           A few days ago I conducted a funeral. While meeting with the family prior to the Levayah (funeral), I was asked if I believed that people can change. Certainly, Judaism is pretty clear about the possibility of change. Because Judaism is behaviorally based and not dogmatically based, we believe that if the behavior changes, then ultimately the individual will change. Among the most prevalent themes of the Yamim Noraim (High Holidays) is the notion that we are capable of changing our behavior, changing ourselves, improving ourselves, and becoming better versions of ourselves. Certainly, I want to believe that, and as a Rabbi that is my first response. However, I don’t think it is so simple. Changing a personality, changing who we are, changing our core seems a rather daunting task. Several years ago, a book by Stephen Guise entitled Mini Habits: Smaller Habits Bigger Result appeared. Guise’s theory, based upon Lao Tzu’s famous pearl of wisdom “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a small step”, begins with the brutally realistic view of human nature. Guise explains that change is predicated upon two ingredients: intention and over-estimating competence. Big intentions and big ambitions are worthless if they don’t bring results. The lack of intended result harms and defeats the person and then he/she will eventually stop the process. The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias that people generally overestimate their competencies. For Guise, this means that “self-control” ought to be considered as “competency” and, in general, we think we have much more self-control than we really do. This unrealistic evaluation of our self-control also contributes to our inability to change.

          This week we read from Parsha Vayishlach. We read about Yaakov and Esav’s reunion, Yaakov’s wrestling match, and his name change the night before the reunion. We read about Yaakov’s daughter Dina and her unholy tryst with Shechem a member of the Hivvites. We learn of what many consider to be the fanatical response on behalf of her brother Shimon and Levi. Yaakov returns to Bet El, the place where he dreamt of the ladder many years before, builds an altar, and receives the covenant from God. During that process, God changes his name from Yaakov to Yisroel, even though his name was changed prior to the reunion. Rachel dies as well as a wet nurse named Deborah. Finally, we read a list of Yaakov’s children as well as Esav’s. 

          Yaakov’s trepidation prior to his reunion with his brother stems from the one unanswered question. Has Esav really changed? Yaakov just crossed the Yabok River and is unsure as to what to expect from his brother Esav.  VaYaratz Esav Likrato VaiChabkeihu, VaYipol Al Tzavarav Vayishahkeihu Vayivku – Esav ran toward him, embraced him, fell upon his neck, and kissed him; then they wept (Gen. 33:4). Certainly, at first blush, Esav appears to have forgiven his brother. Certainly, it appears that the decades have washed away Esav’s animosity towards his brother.  It appears that Esav has changed. The plain meaning of the text suggests this. However, in the plain text, the simple meaning is focused upon behavior, upon the margins, and not at the core. Imagine not seeing someone for thirty years for fear of your life. Then as you approach; the person runs towards you. Are they a friend or foe? When you embrace, would it be out of the question to wonder if this hug felt more like an assault instead of a loving embrace? What happens when the person falls upon your neck and kisses you on the neck? Is this a kiss of brotherly love or the proverbial “kiss of death”?  All these questions were cause for Yaakov’s trepidation. One thing is clear, however, the narrative concludes with Esav expressing a desire to escort Yaakov and his family to their destination. When Yaakov politely rebuffs Esav’s offer; Esav suggests that some of his armed men should escort Yaakov and his family. Again, wary of his brother, Yaakov politely responds Lamah Zeh Why this (suggestion), Emtzah Chein B’Einei Adoni Let me just have favor in my Lord’s eyes. VaYashav BaYom HaHu Eisav L’Darko Seirah So Esav started back that day on his way toward Seir. V’Yaakov Nasah Sukkotah - but Yaakov traveled to Sukkot (Gen. 33:15-17). The brothers go their separate ways. They don’t hug and kiss each other goodbye, or at least the Torah text doesn’t tell us that they hugged and kissed each other goodbye. Rather there is an offer by Esav to take Yaakov to Seir. Maybe Esav was attempting to be nice,  or perhaps he was trying to lull Yaakov into a trap and planned to wipe out Yaakov and his family later.  Yaakov understood that while his brother’s outward behavior may have changed, it was more realistic to assume that at Esav’s core, big brother Esav hadn’t changed at all. For the sake of the future safety of his family, Yaakov was best served by staying as far away as possible from his brother. 

            Yes, at first blush it was so easy for Yaakov and Esav to hug and kiss each other, to weep together.  Over the course of twenty years, maybe each had marginally softened, perhaps they had become better versions, more honest versions of themselves. However, at their respective cores, Yaakov, ever the spiritual clinger now grasps firmly to Hashem. This is worthy of a new name or an additional name: Israel.  Esav, ever the hunter, would wait for his prey to grow careless then go in for the kill. There is nothing in the text to suggest that Esav is capable of introspection. He hunts. His viewpoint is always external,  focused upon his prey. At the core, he is who is. So do people change? It seems that change is only possible if they are brutally honest and are inclined to embrace the effort required to engage in mini habits with an eye towards big results.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

I Guess That Can't Revoke Your Soul For Trying; Get Out Of The Door, Light Out, and Look All Around (Robert Hunter, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, & Bob Weir- "Truckin'")

           Frequently, our 17-year-old son confides that he can’t wait to finish high school, spend a gap year in Israel and then head off to university preferably out of town. When he tells me this, I smile since I felt the same way many years before. Lately, when we sit down to Shabbat dinner, he will say “this is my last  Shabbat of Parsha such and such before I leave home.” His mother immediately states that she cannot believe it and urges him not to rush away her time with him.  Although he says it in a kind and loving way, he clearly looks forward to moving on to the next chapter of his life. While we would love for our son to remain close by, intellectually we understand the importance of a child leaving home and making his/her way in the world. We find it reassuring that for years now, universities such as Harvard and Yale to name a few, preferred that their incoming freshman take a gap year in order for the student to mature and be more prepared for living away from home.  

          This Shabbat we read from Parsha VaYeitze. The narrative focuses upon Yaakov. For the first time, Yaakov will find out what it means to be alone in the world.  He has left his mother, Rivkah, and his father, Yitzchak, for the first time. In fleeing his brother Esav, Yaakov now embarks on a new phase of his life. For the first time, but certainly not the last time, he will contend with being alone. He will learn to be an independent individual. Yes, Yaakov will meet his future wives, his cousins Leah and Rachel. He will work for his father-in-law, Lavan, and he will have children. The narrative will focus upon Yaakov’s life from young adulthood to becoming a responsible father, earning a living, and all the trials, tribulations, and tensions of career and family. As Yaakov makes his way in life, eventually, he will learn more about himself. With each event, with each adventure, Yaakov has an opportunity to become better connected to himself, and better connected to a covenant that his father bequeathed to him. Through trial and error, Yaakov will figure out to whom he should spiritually cling: Esav, his parents, Lavan, his wives, and God.

          At the conclusion of the previous Parsha, Parsha Toldot, we read that Yitzchak and Rivkah instructed Yaakov to go to Padan- Aram, to the house of Bethuel (Rivkah’s father’s home) and take a wife from there. We would expect Parsha VaYeitze to begin with Yaakov heading to Padan- Aram. Instead, VaYeitze begins: VaYeitze Yaakov M’Beer Sheva VaYeilech Charana – Yaakov departed from Beer Sheva and went toward Charan.  VaYifga BaMakom and he experienced and encounter (Gen 28:10-11) If Yaakov’s ultimate destination is Padan Aram and Rebecca’s family of origin, why does the Torah explain that Yaakov stopped at Charan and experienced an encounter? Did Yaakov stop in Charan intentionally in order to have an “encounter”? Or was his stopover in Charan and the ensuing “encounter”  unintentional. Clearly, if the Torah is taking the time to explain Yaakov’s itinerary and the resulting “encounter” during his stopover, then it must be important. Yaakov has never been away from home. He was supposed to head toward his mother’s family, the same family that Rivkah knew enough to leave when she was younger.  Like his mother, Yaakov must leave his family of origin in order to preserve his life.  However, the reason for Rebecca’s departure and the reason  Yaakov’s departure were very different. In Toldot, Yaakov was described as Ish Tam  Yoshev Ohalim – a simple man [of faith] who dwells in tents (Gen. 19;27) The Talmudic Sages explain that Yaakov’s dwelling in the tent meant that he spent time in his parent’s tents studying and learning. However, no amount of learning would prepare him for what he would contend with when dealing with Rivka’s family and particularly his uncle Lavan.  Rabbi Kamenetsky, (1891-1986), explained that prior to arriving in Paddan Aram, Yaakov stopped in Charan to learn from Shem and Eber. Shem was Noah’s son and Eber from the generation of the Tower of Bavel. Both were considered righteous and wise men who lived in unsavory environments and managed to retain their sense of righteousness. Yaakov sought their practical wisdom prior to his encounter with Lavan, becoming independent, and maturing in an unsavory environment.   As a result of Yaakov’s diversion, Yaakov understands that he must maintain a relationship with God, and he understands that he will need to find his way home when the time is right.

          For Yaakov, he needed to leave his physical home for fear of his physical safety. He was heading towards a place that would test his values and test his ethical code.  Certainly, he took with him the values and the learning that he acquired from his family.  By making a stopover in Haran, by taking time to put into practice the wisdom and the book learning he acquired at home; he had  “an encounter”, that steeled himself for what he would experience with Uncle Lavan.  After the stopover and after the “encounter”, Yaakov took God with him as well as the sense of the land, covenant and a sense of purpose. Certainly, our son has acquired a moral code, a sense of ethics as well as “book learning”. Prior to heading off to four years of university, he understands, appreciates, and looks forward to a gap year, a stopover, to put into practice what he has learned. He looks forward to the “encounter” of studying in Israel, in order to give him a deeper sense of purpose as he continues his intellectual, emotional, and spiritual journey in life. Certainly, our son looks forward to his upcoming departure and I think both my wife and I are comforted knowing that his gap year in Israel will give him the self-confidence and the added focus for dealing with university life.

Peace
Rav Yitz.

Esau Holds A Blessing, Brother Esau Holds A Curse; I Would Say That The Blame Is Mine, I Suspect It's Something Worse (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Brother Esau")

           At age 17, our son is a bit of an idealist. Like so many of his generation, he deals in absolutes. People are good or bad. I try to explain to him that people do good things or bad things.  He also discovered “Classic Rock”. Earlier this week he asked me to listen to a song called “American Pie”. Before he had a chance to play the song for me, I told him who wrote and performed it, the year the song was released, and what the song was about. I also told him that the artist was an abusive husband, and convicted of several misdemeanor domestic abuse charges. My son was shocked. First, he was shocked that his old father actually knew the song. Second, he was now upset to find out that a person who had done some pretty awful things, created such an iconic song. I challenged him by suggesting that perhaps we should not listen to the song anymore. He hesitated because he like the song. I suggested that he read the New York Times Op-Ed by Jennifer Finney Boylan’s “Should Classic Rock Songs Be Toppled Like Confederate Statues” (NY Times Nov 3, 2021). She does what Judaism has always done, acknowledge deeds because people are complex. 

          This week, we read from Parsha is Toldot. We read of the birth of Esav and Yaakov. Even though they were twins, we learn that these boys couldn’t be any more different. Esav is a hunter Ish Sadeh – a man of the field, an outdoorsman, Yaakov is Ish Tam v’Yashav b’Ohalo – a simple man who resides in his tent. Yaakov is concerned with the Birthright, receiving the covenantal blessing, and the spiritual world. Esav is concerned with eating, drinking, hunting, and the physical world. We learn that just like his father, Avraham, who experienced a famine in the land, Yitzchak also experienced a famine in the land. Unlike his father, Yitzchak does not go down to Egypt. Yitzchak remains in the land, grows wealthy, and re-opens the wells that had gone dry in his father’s day. The narrative then re-focuses upon Yitzchak and his family. Yitzchak, sensing his imminent death, wants to bless Esav. Rivka overhears this and tells Yaakov to pose as Esav in order to receive the blessing. Yaakov listens to his mother and dresses as Esav. Yaakov receives Yitzchak’s blessing. As a result, Esav is fit to be tied and threatens to kill Yaakov. The Parsha concludes with Rivka telling Jacob to go to her brother’s home, convincing Yitzchak that Yaakov needs to leave home in order to find a wife. Yaakov receives his father’s blessing, the blessing of the Brit, the Covenant that God made with Avraham and Yitzchak, a blessing that was never intended for Esav.  Yaakov leaves home and Esav moves away as well. He decides to dwell with his uncle Ishmael among the Canaanites.

           The Torah never tells us that Esav is a bad son. Instead, some of his deeds are described in a less than positive light.  Yes, he sells his birthright to his brother because he is “starving to death”.  He marries the wrong girl from the wrong tribe which upsets his parents. However, we should keep in mind he fulfills his father’s request in order to receive his blessing. In fact, the ChaZaL, the Talmudic Sages, ascribe the mitzvah of Kibud Av,  respecting the father, to Esav.  Frequently, Esav would cook and care for his father. Clearly, he was very close to Yitzchak. So when Esav doesn’t receive the blessing: KiShma Esav et Divrei Aviv Yitzchak Tzaaka Gedola U’Mara Ad M’Ode; VaYomer L’Aviv Barcheini Gam Ani Avi When Esav heard his father’s words, he cried out an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me to my Father” (27:34). Four verses later, when it appears that Yitzchak doesn’t have a blessing in reserve for Esav: VaYomer Esav El Aviv HaBracha Achat Hee Lecha Avi, Barcheini Gam Ani Avi VaYisah Esav Kolo VaYeivk – Esav said to his father, “have you but one blessing, my Father? Bless me too my father!” and Esav raised his voice and wept (27:38).  After this big strong strapping sort of man finished crying he then vowed to kill his brother.  For a moment at least, Esav appears sympathetic, his cry is “exceedingly great”; he “raises his voice and weeps”.  What did these cries sound like? After all, not all cries sound the same. Was it the type of cry when one has suffered a sudden loss? Was it the cry of someone who just broke a bone? Was it the cry upon hearing the news of a loved one? Was it the cry of being at the end of one’s emotional rope and feeling helpless in the face of life’s onslaught? The Meforshim (the commentators) are oddly silent about the nature of the “Tzaak Gedola UMara- the great and bitter cry. Perhaps the silence suggests that Esav’s response is legitimately reasonable. Maybe the silence suggests that Esav’s crying is so out of character from the way he has behaved up until this point. Perhaps Esav is changed after the second cry. Regarding the VaYisah Esav Kolo VaYeivk Esav raised his voice and wept;” the Midrash Tanchuma comments that Esav wept only three tears. One from each eye and one that disappeared in the midst of his eye. When God saw that the “wicked one wept over his life only 3 tears”, that small limited moment demonstrated the smallest of regret over the what his life had become and might very well be in the future. For this tiny moment, for this humane cry, God made sure that Esav received a blessing. Maybe not the one that Yaakov received, but this minimal blessing reflects the minimal nature of the crying, weeping.

           Indeed, Esav did some bad things. Time and time again, the Torah records Esav’s deeds. Describing Esav as a hunter doesn’t make him bad. Selling his birthright doesn’t make him bad. Even when distraught over the loss of the blessing, he leaves his parents and goes to his uncle Ishmael and marries the Canaanite woman, the Torah never expresses its disapproval. Only Esav's mother,  Rivkah indicates her disapproval. Only the generations after Yaakov,  the generations living under Roman rule beginning with the Talmudic Sages evaluated Esav’s deeds and categorized him as “bad” as “evil”; all but dismissing his expression of  Kibud Av (respect and reverence for one’s father). Certainly,  Esav is not worthy of receiving the covenantal blessing. Does that mean he is unworthy of receiving a blessing? Is he unworthy of his father’s love even if that love is conditional?. As our son listened to the “American Pie” several more times, he began to understand that the works or the deeds of a person stand alone.  Even more important, he realized the limitations of looking at the world in terms of  “black” and ‘white” and evaluating a  person as either “good” or “bad”. Suddenly, he understood that life has far more gray and people are far more complex. It seems our son is growing up.

Peace,
Rav Yitz 

I Can Hear The Siren's Call It's A Certain Sort Of Sound; And The Rain Falling Down (John Barlow & Bob Weir -"Saint of Circumstance")

           Over the past few weeks, Frances Haugen,  a former data scientist at Facebook, revealed how the company’s algorithm amplifies misinformation, anger, inflammatory divisive speech: all of which ultimately corrodes the foundations of a democratic society. She explained this to newspapers, and with numerous documents that she copied prior to leaving Facebook, she testified to this before a Senate subcommittee. Earlier this week, she appeared before the British Parliament to testify as well. Since she went public with her story and documents, others have and will continue to come forward testifying to the toxic environment that Facebook creates with its algorithm, its disdain for public safety, and its avarice and greed with revenue generation as its only goal. It takes a certain type of person to have the courage, the strength of character, a strong moral code,  to be a whistleblower. I don’t think Ms. Haugen began her career as a data scientist aspiring to become a whistleblower.  Nor do I think that one becomes a whistleblower for selfish reasons. It is a rather selfless and lonely endeavor that illustrates a concern for the greater good and concern for the vulnerable.

        This week's Parsha is Chayei Sarah. The Parsha begins with recounting the years of Sarah's life, Avraham's mourning for his wife, purchasing the land for Sarah's burial, and then burying her. Avraham then tells his servant that he does not want his son, Yitzchak, marrying a Canaanite woman. Instead, his servant must return to Avraham's hometown and look for a woman from Avraham's family/ tribe. The servant wants to know how to determine the appropriate girl for his master's son. Avraham answers that the girl that returns with the servant is the right girl. Armed with treasures, camels, and plenty of wealth for a dowry, the servant sets off and decides that the best place to find a girl is by the local well. There the servant decides that the "right" girl is the girl who would offer him water, as well as offer water to his camels. Sure enough, Rebecca arrives at the well and fulfills the servant's standard. The servant returns with Rebecca to her family convinces the family to let her go, and Rebecca is asked if she wants to return with the servant. Rebecca unhesitatingly responds with a yes. Now Rebecca has fulfilled the servant's requirement as well as Avraham's requirement. Upon her arrival at her new home, she sees her betrothed, and, not knowing who he was, asked the servant. The servant told her and she covered herself. Rebecca and Yitzchak are married. The Parsha concludes with Yitzchak and Ishmael burying their father, and the genealogy of Ishmael's family.

        The story of the Yitzchak and Rebecca's courtship is one of the more unique stories in Torah. Three times we read of the servant’s test or criteria for determining a wife for his master’s son. The first mention occurs when the servant prays to God that a girl offers water to him and his camels. Vayomer Adonai Elohei Adoni Avraham Hakrei Nah Lfanai Hayom V'Asei Chesed Im Adoni Avraham - And he said, " Lord, God of my master Avraham, may you so arrange it for me this day that you do kindness with my master Abraham, See, I stand here by the spring of water and the daughters of the townsmen come out to draw. Let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say 'Please tip over your jug so I may drink', and who replies, 'Drink, and I will even water your camels,'…. (Gen 24:12-14) The second telling of this story is when it actually occurs. (Gen 24:15-21) The third telling of the story occurs when the servant tells it for the first time to Rebecca's family (Gen.24:42-46). These events must be significant if Torah tells us the events in three different contexts, all of which are in the same chapter.

        The servants' criteria are quite eye-opening. A woman that shows kindness to the stranger, a lowly servant, the embodiment of the vulnerable. The woman showed kindness to the stranger by offering him water and then providing water to his camels without having to be asked. Neither demonstrating fear of a stranger, concern for her safety, Rebecca's sole focus was upon the well-being of the “other”, in this case, Avraham’s servant. Such a selfless woman, with a genuine concern for the “other”, must be the right person for his master’s son because similar qualities are manifest in his master’s character. The servant doesn’t worry about looks, her family's character, and behavior, success in school, or anything else. Just one simple act of Gemilut Chasadim, of Loving Kindness, is the sole criteria for choosing a mate. Ms. Haugen must have had role models, perhaps her parents, teachers, or mentors with tremendous character, a powerful moral code, and concern for the welfare of others. Clearly, Ms. Haugen learned those lessons, internalized them, made those qualities part of her character, and when confronted with an injustice, she blew a whistle in an attempt to make the world a bit safer and a bit better than it was before. 

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Like A Child She Is Pure, She Is Not To Blame (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Help Is On The Way"

           With two daughters attending university, a daughter well into her career and supporting herself, and a son in 12th grade filling out university applications, I admit that there are moments that I don’t feel very much like a father of four, that I am “coasting” through fatherhood. After all,  the demands of fatherhood have changed since they were adolescents. However, recently, and all at once, the demands of fatherhood came crashing down upon me. Over the course of 48 hours, I had to spend a few hours helping a daughter with an essay for art history. I had to listen to another daughter share her angst and concern about a relationship and then I had to offer advice. Then later that same night I helped our son with his university application as well as engaged in a heated discussion with him regarding an online class that he was taking for extra credit in which he has procrastinated for months. Then finally, a brief conversation with my eldest daughter about her life. Needless to say, I was emotionally drained. Oh, how I almost yearned for those days when bedtime was early, the homework was simple, and the emotional issues much less fraught.  

           This week’s Parsha is 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 and his concubine), and the final test of his belief, the Akeidat Yitzchak – the Offering of Isaac. While the narrative highlights Avraham’s faith in God, and certainly a man worthy of receiving God’s covenant; the Parsha is replete with a parent’s ill-treatment of a child. Avraham was willing to offer his son Yitzchak as a way of indicating his faith in God. He banished his son Ishmael into the wilderness. Certainly, it is possible to evaluate Avraham’s behavior as a father as a bit negligent, to say the least, and perhaps abusive.

        Yet the Torah struggles with portraying Avraham’s sons as just that, sons. When we read the text, we view Yitzchak and Ishmael as little boys, helpless victims in Avraham’s displays of faith. We easily forget that Yitzchak was thirty-seven years old when Avraham was asked to make him an offering to God. Ishmael’s status changes throughout the Parsha. His status changes within one narrative from verse to verse.  VaYeira HaDavar M’Ode B’Einei Avraham Al Odot B’no. VaYomer Elokim El Avraham Al Yeira B’Einecha AL HaNa’Ar v’Al Amatecha – The matter greatly distressed Avraham regarding his son. So God said to Avraham, “be not distressed over the (HaNa’ar) youth or your slave woman. (21:11-12). VaYitein El Hagar Sam Al Shichmah V’Et HaYeled V’Yishalcheha VaTeileich BaTeita B’Midbar B’Eir Shava -  He placed them on her should along with the Yeled (the boy), and sent her off… (Gen. 21:14).  Why does the text easily and seemingly so arbitrarily switch between the use of (Yeled) the boy and the (Na’Ar)  youth? The Chatam Sofer, Rabbi Moshe Schreiber, a late 18th early 19th-century German commentator and Halachist, points out that the term Na’ar (Youth) is used when Ishmael is home living with Avraham, and the term Yeled (boy/child) is used when Ishmael is in the wilderness cut off from his father’s influence.  A Na’Ar (a youth) was held to the same high standards that Avraham held for himself and his household. This means that as a Na’Ar, Ishmael embodied and lived up to the expectations of Avraham’s teachings. As Yeled (a boy), Ishmael was not held to the same high exacting standard of behavior and belief nor was he capable.

           Parenting is no easy task. Quite often it is thankless. As parents, we are constantly forced to make choices. Some of our choices are true tests in our faith in God. Some of our choices leave us feeling that we are stuck between choosing between “bad” and “worse”. Some of our choices mean that we need to know when the child is ready to transition from one stage of life to the next, from “baby” to “toddler”, from “teen” to “adult”. As parents we have a responsibility to our children, to pass along morals, values, and Torah. As parents, we also have the responsibility to determine how much responsibility our kids can handle as they make their way within the developmental process. As a result, we need to see our children as they are and not how we wish them to be. Only then can we help them transition from one stage of life to the next.

 Peace,
Rav Yitz 

Walk Into Splintered Sunlight Inch Your Way Through Dead Dreams To Another Land (Robert Hunter & Phil Lesh - "Box of Rain")

           Our seventeen-year-old has come down with a sickness that strikes students in their final year of High School. This sickness is extremely prevalent in Canada and The United States. Our son’s U.S.  and Canadian summer camp friends are coming down with this. I remember having an awful case of it when I was 17 and in my last year of high school. The sickness is called “Senior-itis”. Senioritis for students in their final year of high school focuses upon the profound desire to leave home.  In some cases, the desire is so strong that the student will seek a university as far away as possible.  A less severe case might mean that the student only needs to be an hour away. Because the desire to get out of the parents’ home is so powerful,  life with the 12th grader can be quite strained and tense for the rest of the family. Suddenly rules are questioned, parents are considered to be overbearing and impossible to deal with. The 12th grader walks around frequently aggravated and muttering under his/her breath: “I can’t wait to get out of here.” While all this is perfectly normal and natural, it does carry one enormous risk. It is much safer to have Senioritis when the senior has already been accepted to University or at least a gap year program. Why? Senioritis also affects the 12th grader’s attitude towards school. Senioritis is most dangerous when the student has not yet been accepted because there is still the pressure to academically succeed and apply, all the while dealing with the overbearing desire to leave home.  One should keep in mind that depending on the behavior of the 12th grader, the symptoms can spread. Not only to younger siblings but more importantly, it can spread to us parents. The more the 12th grader becomes impossible; the more the parents can’t wait for the child to get accepted, graduate high school, and actually leave. Obviously, some parents may be more affected than others. In our home, for example, I have become quite vulnerable to our 12th grader’s case of senioritis. Like him, I am getting to the point where I cannot wait for him to leave. However, his mother seems completely invulnerable and can’t stand the idea that he wants to leave.

            This week’s Parsha offers an excellent example of the first steps towards independence, the natural need for reassurance, and mutual trust and faith between a parent and child. Many events occur in Parshat Lech Lecha. Included among these are: Abram leaving his birthplace, traveling down to Egypt and becoming wealthy, separating from Lot, his brother’s son and last blood relative, fight in a battle and killing those men responsible for territorial instability, fathering a son by his wife’s handmaid (with his wife’s approval), and finally circumcising himself at age 99 and all the males in his household, including his son Ishmael.

             In this Parsha, so many things happen to Avram. He is forever running ahead of God; He is forever living life and making decisions. Avram is forever wondering if he is indeed “doing the right thing”.  Like any good parent, God allows Avram to “run ahead”, be independent, and still offer the necessary parental reassurance.  Noach’s relationship was very different than Avraham’s. Noach walked with God suggesting an image of a parent holding a baby’s hands as he/she learns to walk.  Regarding Avram, the Torah says: “And the Lord appeared before Avram and said- Ani El Shaddai Hithaleich Lefanai Veheyei Tamim - I am El Shaddai; walk before Me and be perfect (17:1). Avram is spiritually more evolved; he can walk ahead. However, even when we allow our children to run ahead of us, or give them more and more independence, we still reassure them that we are part of their lives, and everything will work itself out. Six times Avram receives fatherly assurance in the form of a covenant. Ironically, the first time we read of this assurance is immediately following Avram’s father’s death. God tells Avram to leave his birthplace and he will become a great nation (12:2).  God reassures Avram a second time while Avram, literally, walks ahead of God and keeps going until God tells him where to stop. God reiterates his covenant to Avram (12:7), thereby reassuring Avram. God reassures Avram after he made the difficult decision of separating from the last vestiges of his family of origin, Lot (his brother’s son). By re-iterating his covenant (13:14), God reassures Avram that although the decision was painful, it was correct. After worrying whether he behaved appropriately by fighting against the five kings, God re-iterates and reassures Avram a fourth time (15:4). Avram receives reassurance for the fifth time after he drives away the birds of prey that ruined the sacrifice he made to God (15:13). Avram’s sixth reassurance occurs after making the difficult decision of sending away his firstborn son Ishmael.       

           Avram walks ahead of God knowing that God is always around to reassure him. Ultimately this type of relationship breeds a strong sense of security, trust, and faith in the parent figure. Faith breeds faith and trust breeds trust. Certainly, our 12th-grade son might think that he is ready to begin his own version of Lech Lecha. Yet about some things, he still needs to walk with his parents and, believe it or not, still wants to walk with his parents. About other things, the frustration and aggravation that he feels towards us is merely an expression of the fact that he wants to walk on ahead of us. In both instances, he is telling us about his level of self-confidence to handle the first steps of the path of his own lifelong journey.  One thing is for sure, as parents, we never stop trying to guide and teach him so when he does walk on ahead, he remains grounded in his values and the lessons that she learned. Hopefully, as he grows older and well on his journey, his aggravation with his parents will diminish. Perhaps he will even begin to appreciate the wisdom that we transmitted to him. I hope. 

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Tonight I Would Be Thankful Lord For Any Dreams At All (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Mission In The Rain")

          This is a very unique weekend for North America. Both Canada and the United States celebrate share a common long weekend. In Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving.  Schools are closed, banks, federal and provincial government buildings are closed. Many stores are closed or have adjusted hours. The summer crops have been harvested, the days are getting shorter, the season has changed and fall is definitely in the air. Thanksgiving in Canada offers a genuine sense of nature, agriculture, the delicate balance of water, light, crop strain, technology, and labour to bring forth a plentiful harvest. Growing up in the U.S., this weekend was known as Columbus Day. Like Canada’s Thanksgiving Day, public schools and private schools were closed. It was a Bank holiday as well as a federal and state government holiday. Unlike Canadian Thanksgiving, every store was open and usually, it was an excuse for a weekend sale of merchandise.  However, one could very well imagine that upon making landfall in the Caribbean, before he realized that he did not find what he originally set out to find, he probably gave thanks for his safe arrival.

          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 construct 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.

          Noach was good at following instructions. He built the Ark-Teva according to God’s specifications. He brought in the animals according to God’s instructions. He and his family boarded the Ark when God told him to. After the flood, after the rains stopped, the water receded and the earth dried, Noach, his family, and the animals disembarked from the Ark only when God told Noach to do so. However, God does not show Noach the rainbow, God does not make any covenant to refrain from bringing another flood, God doesn’t even bless Noach until Noach does something for which he was never commanded. VaYiven Noach Mizbeach L’Adoshem VaYikach Mikol HaBHeima Ha’T’Hora U’Mikol Ha’Of HaTaHor VaYa’Al Olot BaMizbeach - Then Noach built an altar to HaShem and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar (8:20).  Noach built an altar to AdoShem, however, it was Elokim who told him to leave the Ark. Why does the Torah change aspects of God from Elokim to AdoShem? Why do we need to be told that Noach built an Altar and then “offered burnt offerings on the altar”?  How did Noach know to make burnt offerings using only the ritually “clean” beasts and fowl? Chizkuni, the 13th century Rabbi/biblical commentator explains and derives an important lesson from this one verse.  He [Noach] acted similar to the sailors in the story of Jonah, who after having been saved from a great storm and returned to dry land, immediately offered offerings to G-d for their deliverance. (Jonah 2,16). From Chizkuni's comment, we learn that anyone who has been miraculously saved from dangers beyond his control is expected to offer tangible thanksgiving offerings. One offers thanks to the Merciful aspect of God - Adoshem. The expression of gratitude is incredibly personal and only results when one feels the need to express gratitude. Gratitude, real gratitude is expressed wholeheartedly. Using only the “ritually clean beasts and fowl” indicates Noach’s intuitive understanding that his sense of gratitude is pure of heart. The only previous offerings with any detailed narrative are those offered by Cain and Abel. Cain withheld the best of his flock and Abel offered the best of his harvest. God was pleased with Abel’s and less than pleased with Cain’s.  God’s response after Noach makes his pure-hearted, completely voluntary demonstration of gratitude is a covenant, a rainbow, and the 7 Noahide laws.

          There is still a Canadian Thanksgiving, however, in many parts of the United States, Columbus Day has been replaced by Indigenous People’s Day. Despite changing the name of the Federal holiday, it seems that we can understand the importance of offering thanks both for religious purposes and even secular purposes. Perhaps the real lesson is having enough humility and enough perspective to understand that gratitude needs to be expressed. Only by expressing and demonstrating a sense of gratitude does a community and the individual realize greater meaning and purposefulness.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Shaking In The Garden, The Fear Within You Grows (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "When Push Comes To Shove")

            Nearly four weeks ago, the Jewish people began the Jewish Holiday season. A new year was inaugurated, judgment was handed down, atonement was made, forgiveness was received, and thanks was given and we celebrated. Amid the pattern of eating sleeping and praying was the acknowledgment of cycles and seasons. We began these nearly four weeks during summer and concluded them with autumn in the air. We finished reading the Torah and now begin a new Torah reading cycle. I know that some people find transitions to be difficult, a time of angst, where we leave the familiarity of ”what was” to the anxiety of “what will be”. While we have experienced a transition from summer to fall, from the end of the Torah to the beginning of the Torah, from the conclusion of one year to the start of a new year, we have taken the time to ritualize and celebrate these transitions. Ritualizing transitions can be seasonal, “Spring Training” for example and it can also be developmental, a toddler going through “toilet training”, or a child finishing high school choosing and applying to universities. Well, I am too old to be dealing with a child going through “toilet training”. However, our son, our youngest child, is currently in grade 12. This year, with the conclusion of the Jewish Holidays, the season of visiting University campuses begins. So my son and took a drive and looked at a few campuses outside of Toronto. There will be more visits to campuses, in Montreal, upstate New York, New Jersey, and around Washington D.C. As we walked around those first couple of campuses, I forgot how much I enjoyed being on a University campus.     

           This morning we begin the Torah from the very beginning in Parsha Breishit. We are all familiar with the narrative of this Parsha. The first chapter focuses upon the narrative of creation from God’s perspective. The second chapter focuses upon the narrative of creation from a humankind perspective. The third chapter focuses upon Adam and Chava’s disobedience of God, their obedience to the serpent their partaking of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and the resulting consequences. The fourth chapter focuses upon the family’s growth, sibling rivalry as well as fratricide. The fifth chapter focuses upon ten generations of the family’s genealogy beginning with Adam and Chava and concluding with Noach and his sons. In the sixth chapter, God expresses disappointment with mankind’s behavior and God expresses disappointment in his creation.

          There is a moment after Adam and Chava ate from the Tree of Knowledge, and they realized that they had failed to follow directions. VaTipakachna Einei Shneihem VaYeidu Ki Eirumim Heim – then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked. By eating from the Tree of Knowledge, their eyes opened.  They had become enlightened. They had become “aware” of their existence in context. They were not like other aspects of creation.  Despite this enlightenment and this awareness what do they do? VaYitChabei Ha’Adam V’Ishto Mipnei Adoshem Elokim B’Toch Eitz Hagan – and the man and his wife hid from Hashem God among the trees of the garden.  They tried to lose themselves amid the trees. So when God asks Ayeka – Where are you? God knows where they are. The problem is that they do not know where they are. They don’t answer the question.  Et Kolecha Shamati BaGan VaIra Ki Eirom Anochi VaEichavei – I heard the sound of You in the garden and I was afraid because I am naked, so I hid. This answers the question of why did you hide? But the answer to “where are you” is simple. It is an answer that more spiritually mature and aware people will offer. The answer to the question “where are you?” is “here”.   However, the answer “here” assumes that one knows where they were before arriving “here”. On a deeper level, answering “here” suggests that one has arrived at a final destination or at a point along the journey. Such an answer suggests that the person is not so lost. Perhaps the answer to the question “where are you?” is  “I am here now,”. The answer could even be, “I don’ know”. All these answers suggest “enlightenment”.  If Adam is enlightened because he ate from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam’s response is disturbing. He is not as enlightened as his descendent Avraham who will respond “Hineini -Here I am”. Nor is he enlightened to know that he is lost. To be lost suggests at least knowing the destination but not knowing how to get there. Adam can’t answer the question because he doesn’t know where he is going nor does he know from where he comes. He only knows that he is naked and without purpose. 

          As our son walked around the campuses, I could see both a sense of excitement and trepidation in his eyes. We acknowledged these seemingly contradictory feelings, and he understood that it was perfectly normal to be excited by the future and as well as be a bit nervous. Our son also understood where he was coming from, a home, a family, and a community that stressed the importance of higher education. He also realizes that he has intellectual interests as well as career interests all of which are predicated upon attending University. So, where is our son? He is “here”, exactly where is supposed to be in this transitional time, laying the groundwork, and preparing to eventually be “there”.  I find it very reassuring and comforting in the seasonality and developmental transitions.

Peace,
Rav Yitz 

Some Folks Would Be Happy Just To Have One Dream Come True (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- "Mission In The Rain")

          Every year at this time my son and I get to bond while we assemble our Sukkah. As he has grown older, his help evolved from sitting and talking, to tightening bolts on the bottom, to carrying supplies, to tightening bolts above, to helping put up the skach (the sukkah’s roof), and now he as a point where he offers suggestions to improve and expedite the entire operation.  While we were putting the Sukkah together he shared with me something he learned in school. He explained that one of the commandments associated with Sukkot is to be happy. As a brooding, 17-year-old 12th grader who cannot leave high school quick enough,  our son thought that commanding joy and happiness or any emotion for that matter,  violate the idea of “free will”. He suggested that perhaps we can engage in behavior that causes joy and such as those associated with Sukkot: eating in the Sukkah and waving the Lulav and Etrog. He then asked a very poignant question. “Abba how can you be commanded to ‘be happy’ if you are in mourning?” I asked him what he meant. He explained that there must be so many aveilim - mourners since Covid, how can the Aveilim be happy?” I stopped what I was doing and told him that I wonder the same thing. It is hard to be happy when you have suffered a loss. How do we do resolve the tension between how we feel due to a loss and the feeling associated with Chag Sukkot?

          Among the most spiritually difficult texts is Sefer Kohelet the Book of Ecclesiastes. We read it in its entirety once a year on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot, the Intermediate Sabbath of Sukkot. According to the tradition, Shlomo HaMelech, King Solomon, towards the end of his life, wrote this Megillah, this scroll. Tradition has this perspective because the language is not one of optimism but rather realism. This is a person who has “seen it all” – Ein Kol Chadash Tachat HaShemesh – There is nothing new under the sun! And yet there is a certain harsh realism and a certain sense of harsh optimism. The author provides us with a cold, clinical sense of comfort. He does not coddle us. He does not baby us. Rather the author shoves our faces in this “reality” and gives us a perspective on how to deal with a world that is not as wonderful a place as we might have thought of in our youth, or even a few weeks ago. The question that so many of our sages have asked, is why is such a text, a text that does not offer such explicit hope, a text that does not offer explicit comfort, and is universally recognized as a “downer” of a text, why is such a text read on the holiday that is commonly regarded as Zman Simchateinu – the time of our joy?

        In Eretz Yisroel, the Autumn Harvest is complete. We unabashedly celebrate our joy on a physical level because of a successful harvest. We also unabashedly celebrate our joy for having been judged favorably by God, (Rosh HaShanah), having been the recipients of God’s mercy (Yom Kippur). On Sukkot, we are commanded to Samachta b’Chagecha – celebrate in your holiday. Yet, this text seems to diminish our celebration. While the nature of the Sukkot holiday is to celebrate our unrestrained joy in receiving God’s blessing, we also know that very often it is human nature to forget God and celebrate our achievements and ourselves. Kohelet reminds us that, like the fragile nature of the Sukkah itself, not everything is as much in our control as we think. V’Zerach HaShemesh U’Vah HaShemesh – the sun rises and the sun sets- no matter what we do, no matter how much control we may perceive that we have, at the end of the day, we are ultimately powerless. God is the ultimate cause of all things. The sun rises and sets because of God, not mankind. Kohelet helps us maintain our perspective. Kohelet reminds us that we are not the center of the world. Kohelet reminds us that for all the physical pleasures we seek, for all the material comforts we work hard to afford, such things are fleeting.

        So how can such a text offer us comfort? Well if we have the perspective of Kohelet, then we can understand how an elderly person, who has seen everything: man’s goodness, man’s evil, the joy of life, and the futility of life, offers us comfort.  Kohelet reminds us that there is only the Here and Now. The harvest and Thanksgiving that is associated with Sukkot reminds us that there is only the Here and Now.  The next cycle of planting, pruning, and harvesting is not in our control so why bother. Rather we celebrate that we arrived at Now. Yes, we may be scarred. Yes, we might have suffered horrible losses, perhaps devastating types of losses. Be we are here, sitting in the sukkah, shaking a lulav and etrog, and that might be worth celebrating. Being in the Now just might be reason enough to be happy.

          As we finished putting up our Sukkah, I finally figured out an answer for our son. Maybe the lesson of Sukkot and the commandment to be happy, “VeSamachata v’Chagecha”, is to remind ourselves to be happy with what we have, and not focus upon what we don’t have.  Indeed,  so many people have died from Covid, and yes, there are so many people who have mourned this past year and continue to mourn. Perhaps these Aveilim and anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one is supposed to find joy and comfort in the blessings of wonderful memories, and the laughter that results when sharing stories about our loved ones.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

And It Speaks Of A Life That Passes Like Dew (John Barlow & Bob Weir- "Black Throated Wind")

           My wife is from California, and she has family in Los Angeles and San Francisco. So I read about environmental issues faced by the West with a bit of personal interest. At the end of August, there was a troubling article in the New York Times about the drying up of the Colorado River. The Colorado River supplies approximately 40 million people with water. My wife is from California. Lake Meade, the largest man-made reservoir, and the Hoover Dam are part of the infrastructure dating back from 1930 that regulates the supply of water for California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. The reservoir has not been completely filled since 1983. California has been experiencing a drought for the past several years. While California has done yeoman’s work to conserve water, drought has taken its toll. It is dry, it is parched. Several years of above-normal rainfall would be required to alleviate the drought.  Such torrential rains have occurred exactly three times over the past 135 years.   California’s current fires have burned a total acreage the size of New Jersey or the size of Israel. Eventually, the fires will be brought under control, but the drought conditions will continue. The dire need for precipitation will remain.

          This Shabbat, we read Parshat Ha’Azinu. Parshat Ha’Azinu was the “song” or the “Poem” that God had commanded Moshe to compose in the previous Parsha VaYeilech.  The content of this “song” is not very cheerful. Moshe invokes the heavens and the earth to witness these words that he gives to B’nai Yisroel. Moshe reminds B’nai Yisroel of their covenant with God. Moshe reminds B’nai Yisroel of their spiritual shortcomings and the ensuing punishment. He reminded B'nai Yisroel that despite all of these shortcomings, despite the idolatry, despite wavering from the covenant, we can still engage in T’shuvah, we can still return to God and know that God will welcome us back.

          In the poem, during the introduction, Moshe not only invokes Heaven to listen to these words as a testament to the prophecy offered to his people, but Moshe also hopes Ya’Arof KaMatar Likchi Tizal Katal Imrati Kisirim Alei Desheh Uch’revivim Aley Eisev – May my teaching drop like the rain, may my utterance flow like the dew; like storm winds upon vegetation and like raindrops upon blades of grass (Deut. 32:2). The word “teachings” in this verse comes from the verb LaKaCh or Take. The idea, of course, is a two-way street. Moshe’s words, his wisdom his teachings are offered to B'nai Yisroel. Moshe offers his teachings as a source of spiritual nourishment. His words, like water, are a life-sustaining force. The other half of the equation, of course, is B’nai Yisroel. B’nai Yisroel must drink in the teaching,  they must "take in" the words of wisdom, the nourishment, and the water that Moshe continues to provide up until his death, and make it part of their lives. When rain falls and it is not absorbed it pools together it forms a puddle. However, when water is absorbed, it nourishes, it maintains life it sustains vegetation, and it sustains our physical existence. Moshe’s words, in fact, all the words of the book of Deuteronomy are Moshe’s words. Moshe makes his final plea to B’nai Yisroel to listen to the wise words of an old and dying man. Moshe makes a final plea to B'nai Yisroel to “take” his words to heart, to drink them in, and incorporate them into life. For the Rabbis, a draught was not only a physical condition due to lack of water. A draught was a spiritual condition caused by a lack of Torah. After all, Torah is alluded to as “Mayim Chayim” living waters. Rain is categorized as Mayim Chaim. Mayim Chayim sustains physical life as well as spiritual life. Torah sustains our spiritual life.

          Moshe makes his last plea prior to his death. Like the land can be subjected to drought; so it is with the Jewish People. Without our “water supply”, without our heavenly rains, and gentle dew, we can suffer through spiritual drought, our souls dry up and we became empty. Torah, like the rain, comes from the heavens. From Moshe’s perspective, it is a limitless supply of spiritual Mayim Chayim, Living Waters. We need only study it, learn it, incorporate it into our lives and we will have a limitless supply of spiritual water, water that nourishes our soul, allowing it to grow in holiness.

Peace,  
Rav Yitz

Hoping Love Would Not Forsake The Days That Lie Between (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Days Between")

           This Shabbat, September 11th, marks the 20th Yartzeit of the September 11th attacks. Since those attacks, the world has been a very different place. For the survivors and for the families of the victims, life became very different. For a generation of young men and women, they have grown up in the shadows of war. For many others, we certainly remember where we were, perhaps we knew someone who had perished, but for the most part, over the course of twenty years, people mourned, many adjusted to the new normal and some did not. Having just celebrated Rosh HaShanah, having just stood before God in judgment, the days leading up to Yom Kippur are known as Aseret Yemai Tshuvah, Ten Days of Repentance. It is a time in which we seek forgiveness from our fellow man ultimately leading up to Yom Kippur in which we seek forgiveness from God. The idea of Teshuvah, of repentance, is derived from the Hebrew word Shuv or return. When seeking forgiveness from our fellow man, and from God, we are returning to the purest most divine aspects of our souls. The Talmudic Sages explains that one should engage in TeShuva before one dies. Since we don’t know when that will happen, we therefore should engage in TeShuvah every day. As a result, the Aseret Yemai TeShuvah and it focus upon Repentance and returning to God requires that we strive towards spiritual clarity, a state of being in which we learn that no matter the pain, anguish, and emptiness our souls can remain content and able to always focus upon the goodness in life. 

        On this Shabbat, known as Shabbat Shuvah, we read from Parsha Yeileich. Moshe experiences, perhaps for the last time, a moment of clarity. However, of all the moments of clarity including the Burning Bush, the Revelation at Sinai, the Personal Revelation when he saw the back of God while defending B’nai Yisroel following the episode of the Golden Calf; it is the moment of death to which we can all relate. It is at the moment of impending death that Moshe has perfect clarity. He sees and understands the anguish that his children will experience as they drift towards and away from their Covenant with God. He sees all that his life has been and he recognizes that while his life will be no more, there will be closure. Ki Yadati Acharei Motie Ki Hashcheit Tashchitun v’Sartem Min HaDerech Asher Tziviti Etchem V’Karat Etchem Ha’Ra’Ah B’Acharit Hayamim Ki Ta’Asu et Ha’Rah B’Einei Adoshem L’Hachiso B’Ma’Asei Y’deichem – For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly, and you will surely act corruptly, and you will stray from the path that I have commanded you, and evil will befall you at the end of days, if you do what is evil in the eyes of HaShem, to anger Him through your handiwork (Deut.31:29). We should note that closure does not necessarily mean that the content of the closure will be positive, however, the process of closure is always positive.

          Our sages are adamant about the vital importance of closure. When a person engages in Tshuvah, a spiritual return to God,  to re-engage with the holy presence, or Vidui, the confession immediately prior to death; these actions are tantamount to a person who has returned to living a life of Mitzvot. In moments of clarity, certainly, such a moment exists at death, Moshe has the opportunity to make that moment holy, sanctified, an un-wasted moment. For the survivors, such moments of clarity come at a funeral or a life cycle event that normally would have been shared with a loved one. Sometimes, clarity occurs during the unveiling, when the survivor can look back over the course of the year and see how far he/she has come from the devastating loss of that day a year ago. Sometimes, clarity comes at one's impending death. Sometimes clarity comes at a yartzeit, twenty years later.

Peace,
Rabbi Lipson

Just Want To Have A Little Peace To Die And A Friend Or Two I Love At Hand (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Black Peter")

          Late last week, while  Americans and allied forces prepared to leave Afghanistan, and airlifting Afghanis who were able to get to the airport and had the necessary papers to leave, a suicide bomber killed over 100 Afghan civilians 13 U.S. service members: 11 Marines, one from the Army and one from the  U.S Navy. With 4 days before pulling out of Afghanistan, these 13 Service members, 12 of whom were between the ages of 20-23, and one was 31 lost were days away from going home, their families were days away from being reunited with loved ones. Not one of those 13 service members had a chance to prepare for their own deaths, to gather loved ones around them, tell them that he/she loved them.  So I watched 13 coffins arrive at Andrews Airforce base, 13 coffins treated with the dignity and the respect that the deceased should always be treated, and ultimately escorted to their families for burial. Each coffin was saluted by the President, the First Lady, the Secretary of the Defense, and other military brass.It was a somber moment and a powerful reminder of the importance of closure when dealing with the death of a loved one.

            This week’s Parsha is the Parsha Nitzavim. According to the Aggadah, this is the recounting of Moshe Rabeinu’s last day of life. Unafraid of his imminent death, he gathers his family: Rosheichem, Shivteichem, Zikneichem, v’Shotreichem, Kol Ish Yisroel, Topchem N’Sheichem V’Geircha Asher B’Kerev Machanecha Meichotev Eitzecha Ad Sho’eiv Meimecha – The heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Yisroel; your children, your women, and the stranger who is in the midst of our camp, from the woodchopper to the one who draws water (Deut. 29:9-10). Moshe imparts his last vestiges of wisdom to his children, his people. Moshe wants to make sure that everything is in order when he dies and Joshua takes over. Moshe truly has been blessed. He has had the blessing of old age, and here God has granted him the gift of saying goodbye. God has commanded Moshe to say his goodbyes and impart the final vestiges of wisdom.

            We are taught that death is a part of life. Yet many of us are afraid of death. Many of us believe that we should shield our children from death, sadness and loss. However, when we read Parshat Nitzavim, we learn that while impending death is sad, death in the manner of Moshe’s can take on an aura of holiness – of Kedushah. It is in holiness that we attain the highest level of life, a life that is directly connected to God. When death comes like this, from God, with an opportunity to say Goodbye- with an opportunity to impart wisdom to one’s children, death is not mundane, death is not ordinary, but rather holy and part of life, the final expression of holiness in a very physical endeavor. When we talk of strength, we, unfortunately, think of the person who lifts a lot of weight. We think of the person who doesn’t cry, who remains stoic if he/she is all torn up inside. At this time of year, from Elul through Sukkot, when we recite the 27th Psalm and conclude with the words Chazak v’Ya’Ameitz Libecha, v’Kavei El Adoshem – Strengthen yourself, and he will give you courage; and hope to HaShem!, we now understand what it means to strengthen oneself.  Moshe had that kind of strength. To be aware of the end of life, to prepare for it, to draw loved ones toward and tell them how we feel is the epitome of courage.

         One of the service members was a 23-year-old Marine from California, Sgt Nicole Gee. Days before the attack, while helping Afghans get through the myriad of obstacles that separate them from freedom, she posted a picture of her cradling a little baby. She posted the picture on her social media account with the caption saying that this is why she loved her job. Amid a war zone, amid the chaos of an airlift and the stress of an enemy waiting for America and its allies to leave before they do whatever they want to Afghan citizens, Sgt, Nicole Gee was able to re-affirm life in a place and a moment where life was cheap and death seemingly close by. Sargent Gee, with that poignant picture, reminds us to reaffirm life no matter how difficult, no matter how troubling. The Jewish People are less than a week from celebrating Rosh HaShanah, (Jewish New Year). Rosh HaShanah is also known as Yom HaDin (Judgment Day). So while there is joy at arriving on the brink of a new year, perhaps there is a bit of anxiety while awaiting Judgment. The tragic deaths of those 13 service members should remind us that if we have that we should seize the opportunity to tell our loved ones, that we love them so that there is always closure.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

 there is always closure.

Peace,

Rav Yitz