With Our Thought Jewels Polished And Gleaming (Robert Hunter & Phil Lesh - "The Eleven")

           In between the Jewish Holidays, and playoff baseball games, I have tried to keep up today with the approaching midterm elections in the United States. I have watched excerpts of numerous debates between Democrats and Republicans, between those who believe that the events of January 6th were the equivalent of a domestic terrorist attack and those who continue to deny the results of the 2020 Presidential election, between those who believe who fundamentally believe in individual rights of choice and those who believe that only the state mandate and thereby revoke rights that had existed for over 50 years. As a father blessed with three daughters, all of whom study and work in the United States, all of whom are U.S. citizens, and all of whom are eligible to vote, I watched, I listened and needless to say, I am fearful about the future of democracy in the United States. I fear that my daughter's right to choose is at risk. I am also savvy enough and aware that when one group's rights begin to be revoked, those who believe they have the power to revoke,  continue to revoke other rights of other people. All of a sudden a democracy which guarantees individual rights and liberties soon ceases being a democracy and evolves into the first vestiges of fascism.  As we marked the conclusion of the Jewish Holidays, the Jewish People begin another cycle of Torah reading.  Since so many of those Republicans enjoy invoking God and religion as justification for revoking others' rights, I wish they would take a closer look at the Genesis narrative (Breishit),  the two different names/references to God, “Elokim” and Hashem (Yod Keh Vav Key) and the commentary as to what we learn from these two references to God.

          This week’s Parsha is Breishit. It is the first Parsha of the first Book of the Torah. For all intents and purposes, it is the beginning of the Torah. In Breishit, we read the story of Creation, (The Beginning); Adam and Chava’s banishment from Paradise (Gan Eden), and the fratricide of Cain and Abel. We begin however with God. God is the Creator, the ultimate power. If knowledge is power, then God is the ultimate source of knowledge. We accept this as part of our Jewish theology. God is all-knowing and all-powerful. We read the words: V’yivrah Elohim et Ha’Adam b’Tzalmo, B’Tzelem Elohim Barah Oto Zachar u’Nekeivah Barah Otam. “And God created man in His own image. In the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them. (1:27). The question, therefore, is: What is the image of God? Obviously part of that image is the power to create, the power to create life. We surmise this because, in the next verse, God commands Adam and Chava to be fruitful and multiply, to create life just like God had created. Another image of God is Power. God’s purpose in creating humanity was that they “should have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle, and over all the earth…” (1:26) In today’s vernacular “dominion” is Power. However the ability to create, and the ability to exercise power sagaciously, and judiciously, requires IQ and EQ – intellectual intelligence and emotional intelligence. Perhaps that is our greatest gift. We have the ability to learn, reason, and discern between right and wrong. We also have the ability to empathize.  Exercising both allows us to express our Holiness and demonstrate that we are created in God’s image.

        In the Babylonian Talmudic tractate entitled Chagigah (14b), there is an Aggadah, a legend, which illustrates the notion that attaining knowledge and understanding how to attain knowledge is a holy endeavor. Four of the leading sages of their generation entered PaRDes (literally the “orchard” or Paradise). They were Ben Assai, Ben Zoma, Elisha ben Abuyah, and Rabbi Akiva. They entered PaRDeS and came into contact with pure power, pure knowledge, and complete perfection. They came into contact with God. As a result, one sage died immediately. One sage went insane. One became a heretic, who would now be referred to as Acher (the other).  Only Rabbi Akiva emerged unscathed. The commentators of this Aggadah explain that PaRDeS is an acronym for four methods of Torah inquiry: P’shat (the simple literal meaning), Remez (understanding the meaning based upon hint and intimation), Drash (derive meaning based upon interpretation), and Sod( deriving meaning based upon uncovering secret meanings). Imagine that? Our tradition explains that PaRDeS otherwise known as  Paradise can only be achieved through Torah study and investigating the deeper meaning utilizing these four different methods of interpretation. Relying only on the literal meaning of the text, or even relying only on one method of interpretation limits intellectual and spiritual growth. However incorporating each aspect, and understanding when to utilize one or more methods of interpretation to determine meaning is what allowed Rabbi Akiva to leave PaRDeS unscathed. In a sense our sages are absolutely correct, PaRDeS is studying Torah for the sake of intellectual, emotional growth and enlightenment so that one can judge and empathize.

          The attainment of knowledge and Truth is a Godly endeavor. The use of such knowledge judiciously, wisely, and empathetically for creative purposes represents the notion that we are indeed created in God’s image. Not only is knowledge power, but understanding how to attain and use that knowledge and empathy is the key to a spiritually enlightened life and a democracy that upholds the rights of its citizens.

 

Peace,
Rav Yitz

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

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

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

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

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

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Thought He'd Call It Planet Earth (Weir- One More Saturday Night)

As an American living in Toronto, I always find it entertaining listening to Canadians talk to me about American Politics. Among the most entertaining aspects of the discussion occurs when the discussion veers towards the level of ignorance of the American electorate. Canadians are shocked when I agree with the assessment that the American electorate is essentially uninformed, remarkable unscientific, and proud of their ignorance. Even worse than the American electorate's pride in its ignorance is the pride of many officials who seem genuinely proud of their own ignorance. I am not at all proud of this long tradition of anti-intellectualism in the United States. Nowhere is this more evident than in the underlying debate within the Republican Party. One of the candidates is adamant about teaching Creationism in the school as a viable alternative to evolution, suggesting that evolution is not conclusive. Several weeks ago there was an editorial cartoon about the state of Texas teaching “Creationism” in the schools as an alternative to evolution. There was a picture of girl sitting at a table. With a pencil in her hand and paper on the desk; she was clearly taking notes. A book was open, and on the spine of the book it said “Holy Bible” and there was a cross next those words. Clearly the girl looked as if she had a Bible assignment. Her father is walking out the door and says the following, “Gee, I would really love to help you with your SCIENCE homework, but I am not familiar with your new science textbook.” Quite clearly, there is a natural tension between the scientific explanation mankind’s origins and the biblical explanation of mankind’s origins. This issue, of course, is merely symbolic of the role that science plays among the most socially right wing members of the American electorate. One of the candidates has even criticized the Republican Party suggesting that their “anti-scientific” fear mongering will cost them the election.

This Shabbat we read from Parshat Breishit. It is the first Parsha of the first book of the Torah with the same name, Breishit. In the course of five chapters we encounter numerous narratives some of which seem unrelated and some of which seem contradictory and all of which seem to be at odds with our scientific understanding of the beginning of life here on earth. In the first chapter we read of a creation narrative that begins with nothing and culminates in the creation of mankind. In the second chapter we read a narrative that begins with the creation of Mankind. In the third chapter we read a narrative about the serpent convincing Adam v’ Chava to eat from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge and the resulting expulsion from Gan Eden. In the fourth chapter we read a narrative about the next generation, Cain and Abel, sibling rivalry and fratricide. The parsha concludes with the genealogical listing of the ten generations between Adam and Noach.

While the narratives seem distinct and unconnected; they are all bound by one significant theme. Each narrative reminds us of why there is no tension between these narratives and science. Each narrative deals with the nascent awareness of God’s presence within the world and within human life. Science is not concerned with mankind’s awareness of God’s presence within human life. In the first chapter we read Vayivarech Otam Elokim Vayomer Lahem Pru u’Rvu UMilu et Ha’Aretz – And God blessed them and he said to them, “Be Fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Gen.1:28). When receiving a blessing, the receiver is keenly aware that there is something more powerful. In the second chapter we read the verse, Vayipach B’Apav Nishmat Chayim Vayehi Ha’Adam L’Nefesh Chayah- And breathe into his [man’s] nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Gen 2:7). From this text we learn that creation is not a necessarily a physical concept but rather a spiritual concept. God infused mankind with a soul, a godly aspect that is very different than the purely physical aspect or scientific aspect. In the third chapter we read of Adam v’ Chava’s explicit awareness of God’s presence, Vayishmu et Kol Adoshem Elokim mit’haleich BaGan L’Ruach Ha’Yom – and they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day…(Gen 3:8). One could only “hear the voice of God walking” if one already possessed some type of spiritual awareness. Once Adam and Chava ate from the tree of Knowledge, the souls they were infused with were now “turned on”. Finally in chapter 4, we read Va’Yavei Kayin Mipri Ha’Adama Mincha La’Adoshem. V’Hevel Heivi Gam Hu Mib’Chorot Tzono – Kayin brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the Lord. And Avel, he also brought of the firstling of his flock (Gen. 4:3-4) God’s presence is not only felt, but by the end of the Parsha, mankind is reaching out to God.

Creation is the story of our awareness of God’s presence. It is a story of spiritual enlightenment in its most primitive sense. As we celebrate the first Shabbat of the new cycle of Torah, we have an opportunity to experience creation again. We have the opportunity to participate in creation, to renew our relationship and to improve our awareness of God’s presence in our lives.

Peace,

Rav Yitz