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