Long Is The Road We Must Travel On Down (John Perry Barlow & Brent Mydland: "I Will Take You Home")

While we watch the Senate vote to acquit and Mitt Romney’s courageous vote to convict, Kirk Douglas, otherwise known as Spartacus to my son passed away at 103. As we watched the news, the first sentences about Kirk Douglas could have been the first sentences about my Grandfather. “Born in 1916 in upstate New York to Russian Jewish Immigrants…”  Both men changed their name, Kirk Douglas changed his name from  Issur Danielovitch, and my grandfather changed the family’s last name from Lifshitz to Lipson.  Yes, my grandfather would have been 103 years old. My grandfather’s parents arrived five years before Kirk’s parents did, but who's counting.  However as I listened to the news about Kirk Douglas’s passing, he was once quoted as saying that the luckiest thing that ever happened to him was the courage his parents had to leave Russia and come to North America. My grandfather (z’l) used to tell me the same thing. While they might not have been the best parents in the world, he always thankful for their courage to leave the miserable life they knew for the unknown possibility of a new life, a life that could be worse or could be better.

                This Shabbat we read from Parsha Beshallach This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Shira (Shabbat of Songs) because of the "songs" or poetry in both the Parsha, Beshallach, and in the Haftarah. In Parsha Beshallach, B'nai Yisroel finally leaves Egypt. Pharaoh sends them out and they hurriedly leave. Three days later, B'nai Yisroel arrives at the Yam Suf, the Reed Sea, which is along the Mediterranean coast. With Pharaoh's army behind them, and the Sea in front, B'nai Yisroel is trapped. Then the sea opens up, B'nai Yisroel crosses through and arrives safely on the other side. The Egyptian army drowns in the sea as the waters come crashing down. Out of joy and relief, B'nai Yisroel composes Shirat HaYam, the Song of the Sea. No sooner are they finished celebrating, then they begin complaining about the lack of water and food. God provides water and Manna. However, B'nai Yisroel is still not safe. Now they are attacked by the indigenous tribe, the Amalekites. B'nai Yisroel must put aside its hunger and thirst and fight for their lives. They do, and they are victorious. The Parsha ends with God commanding Moshe to blot out the very existence of the Amalekites.

                Underlying the miracles and wonders of B’nai Yisroel’s departure from Egypt: the cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night, the splitting of the Yam Suf, and the Manna; is the portrayal of B’nai Yisroel and the damage wrought by centuries of slavery. They cry out when stuck between the Egyptian army and the Yam Suf. They cry out after their song of joy for water and food. They are hesitant to move forward and they actually think that life was better in Egypt than whatever they are about to immediately experience and face in the decades to come. Amid the spiritual, psychological, and emotional damage of centuries of slavery; there are the vestiges of something very different.  B’nai Yisroel displays moments of greatness, profound faith, and trust in God. ChaZaL, the Talmudic Sages, consider the very act of leaving and following Moshe to be an act of profound faith and courage: “R’Eliezer said: When Moshe said to them ‘Arise and Go Forth’, they did not say: ‘How can we go forth into the wilderness when we have no sustenance for the way? But they had faith and followed after Moshe.”  Yes, they complained, groused, expressed skepticism and yearned for Egypt, but when push came to shove, they left, they entered into the water, pitched their tents and they packed it all up.

                Perhaps we, the descendants need to be reminded that it is not a straight line from slavery to freedom. It is not a straight line from leaving Europe to arriving in New York or Toronto and suddenly life was simple and terrific. The courage they are ancestors displayed occurred when doubt crept in when they complained but they didn’t stop moving forward. The same holds us as we embark on the paths of our lives. Our lives are not a straight line. The transition from one phase of life to another is full of fits and starts. However perhaps the less we learn, the less we teach our children is to have the courage to face the future, to face the unknown and keep moving towards it with a supreme faith that we have the tools to deal with the future.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Long Is The Road We MustTravel On Down (John Barlow & Brett Mydland- "I Will Tak You Home"

Our 18 year old just returned from Israel after having studied in Seminary for the year.  Now there are two children, 18 and 17 years of age, living at home constantly badgering me and their mom for the use of a car. Let’s just say that there have been a variety of creative ways in which they have asked for the car. However, among the most creative ways have involved their attempt to utilize the car maintenance approach.  The approach is quite clever. They will say things to me such as “Don’t you want me to be self- reliant and NOT dependent on my boyfriend or my husband? “  Of course their assumption is that I will trust them more because they indicate that they are not only concerned about using our cars but that they are willing to assume responsibility in caring for the cars. So I begin showing them the indicator lights, what things mean. If it is something that can be taken care of with minimal knowledge such as pumping gas or checking the oil or the tires, they drive to the gas station. I can see by the look on their faces that they would prefer to just have their father, or someday their husband do this for them. However, they know that if they learn now and practice, I will be much more willing to lend them the car. So the first thing I make clear to them is to pay attention to the indicator lights. “Never ignore the indicator lights”, I tell them.

This morning we read from Parsha BaHalotcha. This Shabbat we read from Parsha Bahalotcha. For the previous two Parshiot, Bemidbar and Naso, Bnai Yisroel has counted and prepared for their journey from Sinai to Eretz Canaan. This week, the final preparations are ordered and executed and the departure from Sinai begins. Aaron, Moshe’s brother and the Kohen Gadol, lights the lamp for the Mishkan, the entire Levite tribe is purified, offerings made and their service for maintenance of the Mishkan begins. Final instructions for observing Pesach under these new conditions, (they were not leaving Egypt anymore nor had they arrived in the land) were offered, including the case of coming into contact with the deceased and becoming spiritually impure. The narrative tells us the manner in which Bnai Yisroel traveled: sheltered by a cloud during the day and protected by a pillar of fire at night. Then the complaining begins. They complain about the Mannah. They complain about the food. They complain about Moshe’s leadership. Moshe’s sister complains about his wife.

As Bnai Yisroel finally begins its trek from Sinai towards Canaan, the Torah makes the following statement.  Vayehi Binsoah Ha’Aron VaYomer Moshe, Kuma Adoshem VeYaFuTzu Oyavecha, VeYaNuSu Misanecha MiPanecha. U’vNucho Yomar Shuva Adoshem Rivvot Alfei Yisroel – When the Ark would journey, Moshe said: ‘Arise Hashem, and let Your foes be scattered let those who hate You flee from before You. And when it rested, he would say, ‘reside tranquilly, O Hashem, among the myriad thousands of Israel. (Num. 10:35) Today we say the first part of the verse while we take the Torah out from the Aron before we read the Torah, and we say the second part of the statement when we have finished reading from the Torah and are returning it to the Aron.  In the Torah, this verse is enclosed by two brackets. The bracket is really an inverted letter, the letter “Nun”. The Talmud in Shabbat 116a teaches us Mipnei Sh’ Sefer Chashuv Hu Bifnei Atzmo – Because it constituted a book on its own. This is a rather cryptic statement since it suggests that there are more than 5 books comprising the Torah. We normally think that the Torah comprised of 5 Books (Breishit- Genesis, Shmot –Exodus, Vayikra – Leviticus, Bemidbar-Numbers, Devarim-Deuteronomy). Now the Talmud is suggesting that there is another book?

Perhaps the brackets are the indicator lights. The verse within the brackets is the one section of the User’s Manual that will constantly be referred to during this one aspect of the journey. Originally this journey was supposed to be a few weeks or months at the most. Bnai Yisroel had not yet been punished with 40 years of “wandering in the desert’.  Most of the Torah’s instructions were given in anticipation of Bnai Yisroel’s eventual arrival in Canaan. In the meantime, this is the verse that they will need to refer to, this is the section of the user manual that Bnai Yisroel will need in order to survive until their eventual arrival. In reality, this is the “Book” that they would use each day that they traveled and each day that they would temporarily rest. For my daughters, understanding the indicator lights, knowing how to handle some simple aspects of basic car maintenance will help them arrive safely at their destination while remaining independent young women. Of course, once they arrive at their destination, I hope they remember everything else that their mother and I taught them in terms of managing life, expectations and being responsible for their own actions and decisions.  

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Long Is The Road We Must Travel On Down (John Barlow & Brett Mydland- "I Will Take You Home")

I had a chance to spend some time with our 26 year old daughter last week.  She happened to have a few days off so we met and drove to Saratoga, NY to attend a concert of my favorite band. As we drove to the concert site, and began seeing more and more people on the road heading towards the concert, my daughter casually pointed out that it looked like a pilgrimage. For some reason, I have always wanted to share the joy of the music and the “scene” with my children as they grew older.  When we arrived at our seats (actually our seats were on the lawn) there was a family sitting next to us: parents and their two university age kids. The father and I spoke and we both agreed that this was something that we wanted them to share because it was important to us. Interestingly enough, this concert only included three members of the original band. One of the new members of the band, (the lead guitarist and vocalist) is substantially younger than the rest of the band, and his appeal is to a younger generation, my children. However because the youngest member of the band enjoys the music, plays the music exceedingly well, and does so in a respectful manner that pays homage to the legendary leader of the band who wrote the music for so many of the band’s songs and defined the band with his guitar playing and mournful voice; older concert attendees, like myself, see this “re-incarnation” of the original band, as a powerful message regarding the transition of time as a journey.

This Shabbat we read from Parshat Chukkat. The Parsha receives its name from the Chok, (the statute) of the Red Heifer. The Kohen Gadol would take a completely Red Heifer, and offer it on behalf of the people as a form of national atonement. The Parsha resumes with the narrative of B'nai Yisroel’s wandering in the wilderness. However, the narrative is 38 years later, towards the end of B’nai Yisroel’s wandering in the wilderness. Now, the Torah shares the final year of B’nai Yisroel’s journey.  Miriam dies and the water dries up. God commands Moshe and Aharon to speak to the rock in order to draw more water for the people.  However after hearing more complaining, Moshe hits the rock out of frustration. Aaron and Moshe are punished. The journey resumes, battles are fought, faith is tested and sometimes B’nai Yisroel passes these tests and sometimes they fail and are punished. The Parsha ends with B’nai Yisroel on the plains of Moab ready to enter into Eretz Yisroel.

With each trial and tribulation, B’nai Yisroel and its leadership must be able to find the blessings and sanctify God.  Even with the death of Aaron, even the Edomites refusing Moshe’s request to travel through their lands and thereby forcing them around on a longer route, this generation that was born in the freedom of the wilderness still needs a shared common experience with the preceding generation.  VaYishmah Ha’Canaani Melech Arad Yoshev Ha’Negev Ki Ba Yisroel Derech Ha’Atarim VaYilachem B’Yisroel Vayashb Mimenu Shevi – The Canaanite king of Arad, who dwelled in the south, heard that Israel had come by the route of the spies, and he warred against Israel and took a captive from it. VaYidar Yisroel Neder L’Adoshem, VaYomar Im Naton Titen et Ha’Am HaZeh B’Yadi V’HaCharamtie et Areihem – Israel made a vow to Hashem and said, ‘If You will deliver this people into my hand I will consecrate their cities’. Hashem heard the voice of Israel, and He delivered the Canaanite and it consecrated them and their cities. It named the place Horma (Num.21:1-3). The Midrash explains that the Amalekites lived in the Negev, and the Arad was really from the tribe of Amalek. Knowing what happened to Amalek the last time (nearly 40 years before); Arad had his army speak Canaanite even though they were wearing Amalek uniforms. As a result B’nai Yisroel prayed for help against “this nation”. In their vow, Israel wouldn’t keep the spoils but rather dedicated it to the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Rashi points out that the vow wasn’t realized until B’nai Yisroel formally entered the land under Joshua’s leadership. Rashi continues to explain that the verse is here because of the vow of consecration and an acknowledgment that over the passage of time, this generation will ultimately fulfill the vow. Torah doesn’t refer to B’nai Yisroel as “B’nai Yisroel”; instead it refers to them as Yisroel, This vow was the first time that B’nai Yisroel tried to give back to God like their ancestor, Jacob did all those centuries before when he also made a vow to God.

Some journeys are for a nation and a people, they are centuries in the making and require tremendous trials and tribulations. Some journeys are 40 years and require trials and tribulations as a covenant is passed from one generation to the next. Some journeys are between parents and children. Hopefully they don’t require forty years, but the journey does require time. The journey also requires an awareness that the journey itself is important, that an experience is to shared and even if it’s not the exact same experience, it is similar enough to be worthy of replication. No it wasn’t the exact same band that I saw thirty five years ago. No the mournful voice that made a ballad sound so beautiful and so haunting was silent. Maybe I felt it was a rite a passage, or maybe I thought it was a powerful bonding experience. Maybe, as a parent, we want to share important things with our children so that they either understand us better. However, as I watched my daughter smiling, listening to the music, understanding the lyrics and absorbing the scene, maybe she understood me just a bit better.

Peace,

Rav Yitz