Search For Where The Rivers Ends Or Where The River Starts (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- "Foolish Heart")

          There is a tradition that the Yeshivot in Israel begin their programs at the beginning of Elul. The Sages and the Mystics considered Elul a time of spiritual preparation for the Yamim Noraim, and after a year of drifting away from God, Elul provides the perfect opportunity to spiritually begin the process of returning to God. Well, with Elul beginning this Shabbat, this will be our son’s last Shabbat with us. He departs for Yeshiva this Monday.  Ironically, it is also his Bar Mitzvah Parsha.  Five years ago, when he became a Bar Mitzvah he took the first steps towards adulthood when he became Mechayeiv - obligated to fulfill the mitzvot. Now he takes another huge step towards adulthood by moving away from home, living on his own, and learning for the sake of learning instead of learning for a grade or transcript. This is also the last Shabbat that my wife and I have Shabbat with children living in our house. From now on, when we are blessed to have our children home with us for Shabbat, they will only be visiting us. Indeed this Shabbat is very emotional as our family prepares to enter a new phase of development.

           This week's Parsha is Re'eh. Moshe continues his discourse. He has already explained the Mitzvot, and he continues to do that. Moshe has alluded to the blessings of life if B'nai Yisroel follows God's commandments. He has and continues to allude to the curses that will befall B'nai Yisroel if they violate the most important commandment-idolatry. "See I present before you today a blessing and a curse" (Deut.11:26). V'haklalah Im Lo Tishm'u el Mitzvot Adonai Eloheichem V'sartem Min Ha'Derech Asher Anochi M'taveh Etchem Ha'yom La'lechet Acharei Elohim Acheirim Asher Lo Y'Datem-"And the curse: if you do not hearken to the commandments of the Lord your God, and you stray from the path that I command you today, to follow gods of others, that you did know." (Deut. 11:28) Moshe presents B'nai Yisroel with two pictures, a world when B'nai Yisroel lives up to its covenant with God and one in which they don't.  He reminds B'nai Yisroel of the sanctity of Eretz Yisroel (the Land of Israel), the consumption of foods that are consecrated to the Kohanim and he warns B'nai Yisroel to avoid imitating the Rituals and Rites of the Egyptians and the Canaanites. Moshe reminds B'nai Yisroel to be careful of false prophets, avoid non-kosher foods, not live in wayward cities, forgive loans after seven years, care for the less fortunate, and celebrate the three pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot.

          Moshe reminds B'nai Israel Ki Im El HaMakom Asher Yivchar Adoshem Eloheichem miKol Shivteichem LaSum et Shmo Sham L’Shichno Tidreshu Uvata SHama – Rather, only at the place that Hashem, your God, will choose from among all your tribes to place His Name shall you seek out his Presence, his dwelling, and come there. Certainly, this is reminiscent of God, at the time of the Akeida, telling Avraham that he will show him where to go with his son Yitzchak. Its reminiscent of Avraham as a much younger man, leaving his home and going to a place that God would show him., Certainly we could understand Moshe’s words as a  reminder for B’nai Yisroel that “sanctity”. Holiness, Kedusha is central to  Israel, Torah, and Jewish identity. The Sfas Emet (The Gerrer Rebbe from about 1870-1905) reminds us that God’s choice is not revealed until B’nai Yisroel “seeks”.  We only find answers when we seek, when we look, and when we investigate. Because we are commanded to seek Shechino, his divine aspects that dwell among us, we are tasked to seek holiness. Holiness is in Time and Space. Holiness is in our  Neshama, Holiness is in our choices, and in our words, our deeds, and the way we live our lives. That is the constant choice we are commanded to make HaYom Today –  a choice that we make each and every day and each and every moment. 

           While raising our children in North America, we consciously chose to raise them in vibrant Jewish communities and with day school education through high school. In doing so, we wanted them to learn how to experience God dwelling among us in each community we have lived. We also made sure that they would have the opportunity to experience God while they dwelled in Eretz Yisroel. Yes, it's different, powerfully meaningful, and provided our three older daughters with a firm foundation for the life choices that confronted them while in University and in life after University. It is my sincere hope that our youngest child, our son, will have a similar experience of making his upcoming ten months in Israel, ten months of HaYom- ten months of full and meaningful days;  full of experiencing God in his learning and daily life in Israel.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Once We Grew Into Our Shoes; We Told Them Where To Go (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia: "Days Between ")

           One of the indicators that summer is drawing towards its inevitable conclusion is the return of my wife and children from summer camp. My wife, our twenty-year-old daughter, and eighteen-year-old son returned this week. I have lost track of loads of laundry we have done and the loads of laundry that still need to be done. While my daughter was unpacking and we were loading the washer, she began to unpack all her shoes and showed me a pair of sneakers that were falling apart. She smiled and said that she needs to a new pair of sneakers; I smiled and wondered aloud why she had brought the old ruined ones home in the first place.  Seven weeks of camp and he had completely destroyed a new pair of sneakers. 

           This Shabbat we read from Parshat Eikev. This week’s Parsha is Eikev. Here in his second discourse, Moshe explains to the new generation how the second set of tablets that contain the Aseret Dibrot (Ten Commandments) came into being. He describes how God forgave their parents for their idolatrous behavior in regards to the Eigel Zahav (Golden Calf), Moshe explains that B’nai Yisroel’s essential task is to refrain from Idolatry, serve God, worship God, and the nation will be rewarded with water, grass and quality lives. Moshe also reminds B’nai Yisroel that they have nothing to fear when they enter Canaan and conquer the land even though they may be outnumbered. God has already and will continue to protect his people. He did so during the Yetziat Mitzrayim (Exodus from Egypt). He did so when B’nai Yisroel defeated Og and Bashan. As long as B’nai Yisroel keeps its side of the Brit, God will continue to protect his people.

           While Moshe recounts the experience at Mt. Sinai, now known as Mt. Horeb, he explains that the misfortunes that befell B’nai Yisroel were L’Nastocha LD’aat et Asher Bilvavecha HaTishmor Mitzvotav Im Lo – tests, to know what is in your heart whether you would observe His commandments or not (Deut. 8:2). While Moshe explains B’nai Yisroel’s recent history in terms of a Divine Test, he makes an odd statement as he cites some of the miracles that B’nai Yisroel may have overlooked or taken for granted. Simlatcha lo Valtah Mei’Alecha, V’Raglecha Lo VaTzeika Zeh Arbaim Shana- Your garments did not wear out upon you and your foot did not swell these forty years (Deut.8:4). Forty years of living in the Wilderness and no one outgrew their clothing nor wore out their clothing or their sandals. Certainly, their clothing and sandals were not made with the same high-quality material as our daughter’s.  Rashi, the great 11th-century French commentator, offers an explanation base on a literal understanding of the verse. Anenei Kavod Hayu SHafin Bichsutam –The Clouds of Glory would rub their clothes U’MGaHaTzim Otam- and press them, Kmin Keilim M’Guhatzim – like freshly pressed garments. V’Af Ketaneihem Kmo Hayu Gdeilim Haya Gadeil Levushan Imahem – and their young too, as they would grow, their clothing grew with them, K’Lvush HaZeh shel Chomet Sh’Gdeil Imo – like the clothing (shell) of a snail which grows with it. This is not the kind of miracle that one notices and has an awe-inspiring moment. Rather this is the type of miracle that one becomes aware of after the fact. Maybe this type of miracle is unnoticeable on a day-to-day basis but over the course of years and decades, looking back, one realizes what took place.  However, a more figurative way to understand Moshe’s statement is that the clothes are God’s teachings, God’s commandments, and God’s Torah. Torah, and Moshe’s teachings, by design, are supposed to grow with the person and never become old, worn out, or obsolete.

           I suppose sneaker manufacturers and brands would hate the idea that a pair of tennis, running, or basketball sneakers are synonymous with Torah. After all, Torah is designed to withstand time and space. Clothing manufacturers need children to outgrow their clothes and wear out their shoes. Otherwise, there would be no need to buy more sneakers and jeans. I became very aware of this as I closely inspected our daughter’s shredded sneaker.  As we drove back to Toronto, we passed an outlet mall on the New York State Thruway and bought him another pair of sneakers. I know that his foot hasn’t stopped growing, so we will have to buy more sneakers in another 9-12 months. I told him that I did not want to buy him another pair because he wore them out so quickly but rather because he outgrew them. Maybe he should read and study more since one doesn’t outgrow or wear out his knowledge base like he does with his clothes and his sneakers.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Judge Decreed It; The Clerk He Wrote It (Noah Lewis- "Viola Lee Blues")

           As my daughter continues to heal from knee surgery, we have had some wonderful father/daughter bonding. While watching the news this past week, we learned that a legally issued search warrant was obtained by the FBI in order to conduct a search for documents that were removed from the White House and stored in Donald Trump’s Mara Lago home.  Documents in the White House belong to the people, not to a President. According to The Federal Records Act, The Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, and The Presidential Records Act,  all documents of an outgoing president belong to the National Archives and ultimately the American People. Also, the law re-enforces a fundamental truth in democracies, the president and for that matter, an outgoing president is not above the law, but rather bound by it. Breaking the law has consequences.

          This Shabbat is Parsha V’Etchanan; it is also known as Shabbat Nachamu (Shabbat of Comfort). Parsha V’Etchanan is always the Parsha that immediately follows Tisha B’Av (the Ninth of Av), the day on which we commemorate the destruction of both the First and Second Temple. V’Etchanan is a continuation of Moshe Rabeinu’s lecture to Bnai Yisroel.  Moshe urges and cajoles Bnai Yisroel to learn from their hardships. Moshe reiterates the Ten Commandments and his experience at Sinai. Then Moshe explains that while he can speak of the Ten Commandments and share his experience, Bnai Yisroel will now have to pass this information and these commandments in a very different way than sharing a firsthand experience of the revelation of Sinai. Instead, this generation, the generation that did not stand at Sinai, will have to teach the meaning of these words, ideas, and commandments, to their children and live by them.

          The Parsha begins with Moshe Rabeinu, the soon-to-be outgoing leader of the Jewish people, explaining that he wasn’t above the rules. V’Etchanan El Adoshem B’Eit Ha’Hee Leimor -I implored Hashem at that time saying: E’Ebrah Nat V’Ereh et Ha’Aretz HaTova Let me now cross and see the good Land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon (Deut. 3:23). Moshe recounts his desire to enter into Eretz Canaan, God’s anger because he failed to heed God’s commandment to speak to the rock and the resulting punishment. VaYitaber Adoshem Bi L’Manchem V’Lo Shama Eilai VaYomer  Adoshem Eilai Rav Lach Al Tosef Daber Eilai Od B’Davar HaZeh - But God became angry with me because of you, and He did not listen to me; God said to me ‘It is too much for you! Do not continue to speak to Me further about this matter. (Deut. 3:25-26). Despite blaming B’nei Israel's behavior as the reason why Moshe lost his temper and hit the rock instead of speaking to the rock as God had commanded, God didn’t want to hear any more about it. Moshe was going to be punished and Moshe needed to accept the punishment.

           Leaders have responsibilities, they are bound by certain rules given the role of leadership. Moshe is described as the most humble servant of God, and the greatest prophet. Within Jewish tradition, Moshe is considered one of, if not the greatest leader of the Jewish people. Yet, he violated a commandment and suffered the consequences. He was removed from his role as leader and he was forbidden to enter the Promised Land. Instead, he had to settle to look out upon it from a hilltop on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Democracies are based upon Laws.  The United StatesAttorney General Merrick Garland is Jewish. He is well versed in the fundamental sanctity of Torah and law. He reminded the world that in a  democracy, a society that is grounded in law, that no one is above the law.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

With Its Words Of A Life That Could Almost Be True (John Barlow & Bob Weir- "Black Throated Wind")

          One of the voices of my childhood passed away this week. Vin Sculley, the voice of the Brooklyn and then Los Angeles Dodgers passed away. He was well into his nineties. He was the voice of the Dodgers for 67 years. When I was a little boy, during baseball season I used to listen to the games on my transistor radio. I only listened at night, and only after my parents “tucked me in” for the night. On a clear night, growing up in upstate New York, I could hear radio broadcasts from the northeast including Boston and  New York, and as far west as Chicago. I could get games from as far north as Montreal and as far south as Baltimore. Because I was a Yankees fan, I grew up listening to the radio broadcasters of the 1970s. However, on an especially clear night, if the Dodgers happen to be playing the Chicago Cubs or the New York Mets, or the Montreal Expos, I would hear Vin Sculley. No, I did not like the Dodgers, I grew up a Yankees fan, and continue to be a Yankees fan. However, when I heard Vin Sculley speak when I heard his “folksy” description of the field, the crowd, the batter, the pitch, and the way he suggested "to pull up a chair”, allowed me to see the game while I listened on my transistor radio. Through the use of spoken language, he painted a glorious picture and I didn’t even like the team! 

          This week’s Parsha is Devarim, which is the first Parsha of the Book of Deuteronomy or Sefer Devarim. Moshe recounts in very wide brushstrokes, the experience of the generation that fled Egypt. Very few details are given. In fact, Moshe begins the story at the foot of Sinai; however, the name is changed from Sinai to Horev. In his recounting, Moshe speaks as a participant in this national experience not in the third person, as was presented in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. This is quite different from the Moshe we have seen. Until now he spoke as a prophet. God spoke to him and he spoke to B'nai Yisroel. Now Moshe displays a certain amount of freedom as he shares the experiences of the past from his perspective. Parsha Devarim is the introductory Parsha to Moshe’s formal teaching of the Torah to this new generation. Moshe begins with a history lesson beginning with the most recent events and working backward to the Exodus. Moshe Rabeinu, now only a few weeks from the moment of his death, imparts his teaching and his wisdom upon B’nai Yisroel like a dying grandparent or parent would to his/her children.  This re-telling or repetition of history and laws to a new generation inspired the Talmudic Sages to call Sefer Devarim (The Book of Words- Deuteronomy) the Mishnah Torah or the repetition of the Torah.

            Both the Parsha and the Book of Devarim begin with a narrative statement.  Eilah HaDevarim Asher Diber Moshe El B’nai Yisroel B’Eiver Yarden-These are the words that Moshe spoke to all of Israel, on the other side of the Jordan…(Deut. 1:1) For the next 5 verses, the Torah’s text is in the third person narrative form in which a time and place are clarified. Finally, beginning with verse 6, the third person narrative shifts to Moshe’s words.  What follows in Moshe's teaching and Moshe’s repetition of the Torah embodies tradition. Moshe’s teaching and his repetition of the Torah, exemplify every parent’s responsibility to strengthen the child’s connection to Judaism, to Torah, and to God. Why do we need to be told that for five verses, Moses’ words will be arriving shortly? Since there are no wasted words in Torah, why don’t the words Eilah Devarim appear immediately before Moshe begins speaking? The Or HaChaim, Chaim Ibn Attar (1696-1743), was a leading Moroccan Rabbinic Commentator of his day, explained that the word Eilah implies “only” and is therefore restrictive and separates that which came before from that which follows. The words that came before this are God’s words and the words that follow  Eilah (These) are Moshe’s words spoken of his own volition.  Citing the Talmud in Tractate Megillah 31, we are reminded that Moshe personally recorded the curses and admonitions in this book and even the legislation which he repeats he does so voluntarily; not because he was commanded to do so.  The first five narrative verses clarify time and space as Moshe’s words are about to follow because we might conclude that just as Moshe felt free to say what he wants here in Devarim, he might have felt free to say what he wanted in the previous books of the Torah. “Only these words” that Moshe spoke of his own volition. Here was Moshe Rabeinu, the elder statesman, the individual that unquestionably had a close relationship with God, speaking before the younger generation. He speaks to them about their connection to their past, he speaks to them about their ancestors, their heroic deeds, and their backsliding. He speaks to them about a covenant, he speaks to them about inheriting the land of Canaan.  Moshe begins the process, with his words, to connect the present generation to past generations and to connect this present generation to the original covenant that God made with the Patriarchs, Moshe, and B’nai Yisroel at Sinai.

  The Torah constantly reminds us of the Holiness of words. After all, the Torah begins with a narrative of God engaging in the creative process. It is the only moment where God is alone, and not dealing with human beings. At that moment when God is alone and creating, God does so through speech. As the Sefer Bemidbar, the Book of Numbers concluded, Moseh taught Bnai Yisroel the sanctity of “vows and oaths” (Num.30:2-17) In Sefer VaYikra, we learned that spiritual impurity is a function of “gossip” or “impure speech” (Lev. 14:1-20). In Sefer Shmot, when the Ten Commandments are given, one had to do with “bearing false witness” ( Ex.20:13). Words are, perhaps, the one activity that comes closest to engaging in a Godly, or holy activity. Words can bring a community together and words can be used to so division and hatred. Words can create a common shared experience and common purpose. All of “these words” can transcend differences and make individuals part of something much bigger and more meaningful. Sometimes “all these words” can allow a little boy to close his eyes and see the exact same thing as millions of others who are listening to the same broadcast. 

Peace,
Rav Yitz