The Shape It Takes Could Be Yours To Choose; What You May Win And What You May Lose (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Till The Morning Comes")

          It seems that there we are living in two different worlds. One world appears more “normal” to me. In this world, the Canada/U.S. border is at least partially completely open. Canadians are still waiting for the U.S. to permit them to drive across the border. Fully vaccinated Americans are allowed to drive across the border subject to covid test results prior to crossing the border. In this "more" normal or "almost normal" world, the Toronto Blue Jays are finally home and I can go to the ballpark, and people dutifully get vaccinated.   In this "almost normal world" or "more normal" world, Ontario is now over 70% fully vaccinated and Canada is now over 60% fully vaccinated, masks are worn in public places and will be worn in schools. In this "almost normal" or "more normal" world, decisions seem to be made thoughtfully, cautiously, with the concern for the public good, and welfare to be the most important criteria.  In the other world, the world on the other side of the border, where my parents live, my wife’s family lives, my sister and her family live, where one daughter lives and works and where two daughters are supposed to attend university,  that world seems to be embroiled in an identity crisis. One part of that world, thankfully the places where my wife’s family, my family, and our daughters live, are similar to the "almost normal" or "more normal" world. Many are vaccinated,  and while there were a few weeks where masks were not required in public places; now public masking indoors is necessary because of the strength of the Delta Variant. Owners of restaurants have determined that they will only permit vaccinated people onto their premises. Attending concerts requires proof of vaccination. Public safety and welfare decisions are made thoughtfully and cautiously based on science, data, and current conditions based on a concern for the welfare of the whole of society and special concern for the most vulnerable.  In this second world, the Delta Variant runs wild,  and hospitals are filled with younger and sicker people. If these states were a combined country,  they would be ground zero for this “Fourth Wave” of the Pandemic. Ironically, one Governor wants the state legislature to revoke its current ban on mask-wearing. Other Governors have dug in their heels and have signed controversial executive orders prohibiting school boards from determining for themselves as to whether to mandate masks. These governors, specifically in Florida and Texas (places with the most outbreaks) use the rhetoric of “personal choice” and “freedom”.  In such places, decisions seem to be made based upon “politics”, rumors, non-scientific data, cowardice, selfishness, and a failure to understand the nature of leadership. 

          This week’s Parsha is Shoftim. Moshe has completed his lecture on the values of monotheism and covenant. Now he begins telling B'nai Yisroel all the nitty-gritty details of living a Jewish life within this community. What a downer! B’nai Yisroel is inspired and ready to enter into Eretz Canaan and begin living the life in the land that God had promised their ancestors. They are now ready to begin fulfilling the dream that allowed them to survive centuries of slavery. So what does Moshe Rabeinu do? He brings them crashing back to reality. Now they will listen and understand laws concerning war, punishments for idolatry, choosing a king, jurisprudence, priestly entitlements, and unsolved murders. Moshe gives B’nai Yisroel a healthy dose of reality by supplying all the details required to uphold the Covenant.

        One of these laws is rather curious yet serves as a reminder of how important it is to maintain a balance between dreams and reality, between the idealism of our youth and the cynicism of age. V’Hayah Ch’shivto Al Kisei Mamlachto V’Chatav Lo Et Mishnei HaTorah Hazot – And it shall be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself two copies of this Torah in a book… V’Haitah Imo V’Kara Vo Kol Yemei Chayav Lema’an Yilmad L’yirah et Adonai Elohav – It shall be with him and he shall read from it all the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear the Lord his God, Lishmor et Kol Divrei HaTorah Ha’Zot V’Et HaChukim Ha’Eilah La’Asotam – to observe all the words of this Torah and these decrees, to perform them so that his heart does not become haughty over his brethren and not turn from the commandment right or left so that he will prolong years over his kingdom, he and his sons amid Israel (Deut. 18:18-20). The king must write and maintain two Torah scrolls. The “personal” Torah must be carried with him wherever he goes: meetings, wars, benefit dinners, etc. The Torah must always remain physically near his heart. However, the second Sefer Torah sits in the treasure room as a pristine copy, as a benchmark. This “benchmark” Torah remains enclosed, protected, and untouched. The king may consult it, but this pristine copy never leaves the sanctuary. How brilliant! The “personal” Torah that is carried around eventually becomes worn, the letters fade, and the parchment may even tear. This would most likely occur unbeknownst to the king. Yearly, the king must lay his “personal” Torah besides the “benchmark” Torah. There, in the inner chamber, the two Torahs are checked against each other. Then if there are any discrepancies in the “Personal” Torah, the king must make the necessary corrections. The king’s “personal” Torah must reflect the purest and highest standards. Through daily wear and tear, through the compromises necessary to manage a kingdom, the king must regularly check to make sure that he has not gradually drifted away from the “Pristine” or “Benchmark” Torah.

        This is the ultimate form of personal “Checks and Balances”!  The king needs to periodically check his “personal Torah” against the “Benchmark Torah”.  We also must check our “Personal Torah” against the “Benchmark Torah”. Certainly, the process may be uncomfortable, and yes, there is the danger of becoming so self-absorbed that we become paralyzed. The process occurs on a regular enough basis that we don’t become too paralyzed that we can’t function. However, what is so empowering is that this “personal Torah” is not confined to the King.  In this regard, we are all kings, we are all royalty. We are all better off making sure that our “personal Torah”, the one we carry with us wherever we go matches up with Torah, the Torah that we learn from, the Torah that we read upon Shabbat and Holidays.  In watching these two different worlds, I wonder about the types of leaders of these two worlds. I wonder about the people in these “two worlds”.  I wonder about the Torah, the behavioral code that leaders in these “two words” carry with them and remain answerable.  

Peace
Rav Yitz

Wake Of The Flood, Laughing Water, Forty Nine; Get Out The Pans, Don't Just Stand There Dreaming (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia "Wake Of The Flood")

Now that school has resumed and there are no more holiday interruptions for the 8-9 weeks, our son realizes that all the work, all the quizzes, and the tests will begin to appear on his calendar and task planner. He sensed, realized and even anticipates that all these assignments, quizzes and test are about to happen in waves and bunches. For the first time since he began high school, he understood that high school is very different than middle school. So our came downstairs and asked me a few homework questions as he was preparing for a couple of quizzes. While he asked and I answered; the news was on and reporting a Hurricane Michael in the Gulf of Mexico and the fact that it went from a Category 2 to a Category 4 overnight, and was making landfall in Panama City, Florida on Wednesday. As we were trying to understand and answer his question, he expressed his concern over the fact that so many people went to bed thinking that this hurricane was a Category 2 but had unexpectedly become much more serious and much more dangerous. Then he made an interesting comment. The lack of information or the lack of timely information can contribute to the chaos. He pointed out that he has started to realize that if he doesn’t stay on top of his workload, if he doesn’t stay organized and plan accordingly, then he anticipates that he might feel overwhelmed and that his school life will become chaotic. My jaw dropped and I told him to always remember that the key to fighting chaos is information and organization.

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 build 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.

While both narratives can conceivably stand alone; both narratives are related. As manifested in the previous Parsha, God is a god of creation and order. Therefore, in order for God to destroy, Order must be removed or chaos must become firmly entrenched.  Meivi et HaMabul Mayim AL HaAretz L’Shacheit Kol Basar Asher Bo Ruach Chayim Mitachat HaShamayim Kol Asher Ba’Aretz Yigvah – I will bring the flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh, in which is the breath of life from under heaven, and everything that is on earth shall die. Clearly from the text, there must be other kinds of floods besides water, otherwise, we do not need to be told that this particular flood is one that involves water. The message is that God will punish creation by instituting chaos for a period of time. Later in Chapter 11 as mankind begins building a tower up to heaven God becomes disappointed again. Vayomer Adoshem  Hain Am Echad V’Safah Achat L’Chulam V’zeh Hachilam La’Asot V’aAtah Lo Yibatzeir Mei’hem Kol Asher Yazmu La’Asot – Behold the people is one, and they have all one language, and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be withheld from them which they have schemed to do. Hava Neirdah V’Navlah Sham Sfatam Sher lo Yishmu Ish Sfat Rei’eihu – Come let us go down and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. Instead of the flood of water, God created the flood of language and confusion the flood of a cacophony.

The flood of chaos and the struggle to handle chaos is part of our human condition. The first narrative, the Noach narrative, teaches that chaos is now part of creation and in a sense a type of punishment. The second narrative, the Tower of Bavel, teaches us that chaos is part of everyday human life. It is part of our task as human beings as we struggle to elevate ourselves from the animal aspect of our existence to the spiritual aspect of our existence that we create order from chaos. To do so is a Godly endeavor. To do so allows us to transcend the physical world. As our son watched the news about the chaos being inflicted by Hurrican Michael, and the anxiety he was feeling as his own work piled up; our son, began to understand something very important. The world can exhibit lots of chaos. Our son now understands that our response to chaotic conditions can contribute to chaos and make it worse, or we can determine that which we can control and create order from it. No, it may not eliminate all the chaos around us, but by doing so, we prevent ourselves from drowning amid chaotic conditions.  I just hope that our son remembers our discussion during Hurricane Michael, as he grows older realizes just how chaotic life can be.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

But You'll Never Find Another Honest Man (robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Loser")

We went and visited our eldest daughter. Thankfully she lives in Florida, so our visit coincided with our desire to be somewhere warm and sunny for a few days. During our visit, I received a special treat. I had a chance to watch our daughter at work. She is the Campaign Manager for a women running for the U.S. House of Representatives in a congressional district in Palm Beach Florida. We went to her office and because her brother and sisters needed community service time for school, they spent a few mornings doing volunteer work for their big sister and the campaign. One of the largest components of a campaign is fundraising. I spoke to our daughter and the candidate and asked if there was ever a time when they felt that the campaign could not accept a “campaign donation” from individuals or a Political Action Committee (PAC). Maybe the donor’s beliefs about other issues were totally at odds with the candidate’s positions. Acceptance of the donation would cost the candidate moral integrity and render the candidate as “a flip-flopper” or “pandering”, or without a discernable moral code.  Both our daughter and her candidate explicitly said that they have refused donations when the cost is a sacrifice of personal integrity and moral code. I gave my daughter a look that she has received from me since she was a little girl. She then explained to me that they before they accept a donation, they research the donor in order to make sure that acceptance of the donation doesn’t necessitate a diminishment of or a compromise of integrity. If the research makes a mistake and they find out, our daughter makes sure that the donation is returned right away.

This Shabbat, we read from Parsha Terumah. In it, Moshe has re-ascended the mountain in order to receive the laws, and the blueprint, if you will, for the construction of the Mishkan, the portable tabernacle that will eventually permit B’nai Yisroel to gather, to make offerings to God and to provide a physical dwelling for God. If you are an architect, or if you are an interior decorator, this Parsha goes into tremendous detail about Mishkan’s construction and decoration. Before all the detail are presented for construction and decoration, God commands Moshe to tell B’nai Yisroel that the funding for this vital public works project will come from each individual V’Yikchu Li Terumah Mei’eit Kol Ish Asher Yidvenu Libo Tikechu et Terumati – They shall take for me a portion, from every man whose heart motivates him, you shall take my portion (Ex. 25:2). The holiest spot within the community, the most sacred area is based upon each and every individual apportioning a percentage of their assets to the construction of, decoration of, and maintenance of the Mishkan. How incredibly equitable! Everyone is involved and everyone has a stake in the outcome. There were no “dues” per se. Rather, each individual had to look within him/herself and be brutally honest. Each individual would give as they saw fit. 

          This was a sacred moment between the individual and God. The object was not to give due to social pressure but rather for the holiest of reasons. However, such a process requires tremendous honesty. Such a process requires us to be sure that our outside matches our inside. Such a process forces the individual to “mean what you say and say what you mean”. Such a process forces the individual to not only “talk the talk” but walk the walk”. This message is subliminally hinted at when we read about the design of the Aron, the Ark that is to hold the Shnei Luchot Ha’Brit – the Two Stone Tablets upon which are written the Ten Commandments. V’Asu Aron Atzei Shitim – they shall make an Ark of acacia wood (Ex.25:10).  V’Tzipitah Oto Zahav Tahor Mibayit U’Michutz T’Tzapenu V’Asita Alav Zeir Zahav Saviv – You shall cover it with pure gold, from within and from without shall you cover it, and you shall make on it a gold crown all around (Ex. 25:11).  It makes sense that the outside of the Ark is covered with gold since that will be viewed by the people. However, what is the reason for lining the arc with pure gold from the inside? Rabeinu Chananel, the 11^th century North African Talmudist, comments that this arrangement symbolized the Talmudic dictum that a Torah scholar must be consistent; his inner character must match his public demeanor, his actions must conform to his professed beliefs. However, there is no reason to limit such sentiment to Torah scholars. Kol Ish Asher Yidvenuy Libo Tikechu et Terumati – every man whose heart motivates him you shall take my portion. Every man should be motivated to be consistent. Every person’s actions should conform to his/her professed beliefs, and his or her beliefs should be expressed by behavior.

            Every day, we face the struggle to keep the pure gold that exists within our insides the same as the pure gold that exists on the outside. The object is to never tarnish that which lies within nor that which lies without. So we should seize every opportunity to express holiness, whether Mitzvot l’Ben Adam L’Chavero (Mitzvot that pertains between people) or Mitzvot L’Hashem (Mitzvot that pertain to God.  If we neglect those opportunities, we tarnish the most precious aspect: our souls’ purity and holiness. When I asked our daughter why she is so rigorous in checking the donors and demands that her staff must be so rigorous in checking the donors; she smiled and reminded me that her father is a Rabbi, that she grew up in an observant home, and, more than anything, she understood that personal integrity is based upon behaviour both in the home and outside the home. We don’t behave in a manner or associate with those who tarnish our integrity, our code, and our “brand”. That is to say, their insides, match their outsides. She continued to explain that this rigor is one the few ways the voters can determine a candidate’s integrity and authenticity. As I listened to my daughter and watched her work, it became clear that she learned this lesson well.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Wake Of The Flood, Laughing Water, Forty Nine (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Here Comes Sunshine")

Until this week, I can’t remember the last time my children or my wife praised Toronto’s weather. Having grown up on the southern side of Lake Ontario, in Rochester, New York; I was used to those very unique spring and fall days in which three even four season appeared within a twenty four hour span. Rochester would be just as cold with twice the snow because of something called “Lake Effect”. However, while every day this week has been sunny and 20/25 C (or for my wife and kids 70/77 F); we have watched the devastation of Hurricane Irma throughout Florida, the destruction it left in the Caribbean, in Cuba, the flooding in Jacksonville, and Charleston, South Carolina. Millions of people are without power, millions have lost homes and their most precious belongings. Of course this comes on the heels of the Hurricane Harvey’s flooding of Houston ten days before Irma struck Florida. Some Synagogues in both Houston and certain parts of Florida have been damaged by flood, some have lost prayer books, and some synagogues will have to find alternative locations since the synagogue building cannot be used.  Synagogues from other parts of the United States and Canada are sending Machzorim, Siddurim, and Chumashim. Otherwise, the High Holidays, which is a normally stressful time for clergy, and Synagogue employees is exponentially worse in those places affected by the recent hurricanes.  

In this week’s double Parsha, Parsha Nitzavim/VaYeilech, Moshe gathers all the people around him one last time. He reminds them that they are a people with a covenant, warns them against idolatry, explains that they descendants will be punished with exile but will eventually return to the Eretz Canaan, and pleads with them to always keep the teachings of the Torah near to them wherever they and their descendants go.   Moshe explains that his death is days away. He completes writing his Sefer Torah, presents it to the Kohanim for safe-keeping. He passes all pertinent information and “state secrets” to Joshua, his successor. Moshe instructs the Kohanim to read the Torah to a gathering of the entire nation every seven years. Then God tells Moshe what will befall the people after his death and after they enter Eretz Canaan.  Moshe listens to God’s words and is instructed to put these words of prophecy into the format of poetry or a song.

As the text ties up the “loose knots”, as Moshe makes the final preparations for his death; there seems to be a foreboding sense that Moshe’s final moments may not be so pleasant and peaceful and the future of the people may not be so bright after all.  Moshe says a lot of rather discouraging things on his “deathbed”.  He explains that later generations will fail to heed the Torah and they will be exiled. He explains that sad things will happen. He explains that bad things will happen.  Moshe does not offer some saccharine type of hope that suggests not worrying and everything will be OK. Rather Moshe offers a type of hope that empowers each and every individual, empowers each and every generation and, just as importantly Moshe tells them the secret to survival. HaMitzvah HaZot Asher Anochi M’Tzavcha HaYom For this commandment that I command you today Lo Nifleit Hee Mimcha It is not hidden from you V’Lo Rechoka Hee and it is not distant. Lo Bashamayim Hee It is not in the heavens… Ki Karov Eilecha HaDavar Me’od B’Ficha U’Vilvavcha La’Asoto  Rather the matter (the word) is very near to you – in your mouth and your heart – perform it (Deut. 30:11-14). Moshe secret was that Torah is not inaccessible. Anyone can do it. You just have to learn it and then do it. Moshe reminded those who were listening that his words, his teachings are not beyond anyone’s capacity.  Sforno, the great Renaissance Rabbi and Commentator explains that Teshuva, repentance, and Torah is within the individual’s and the community’s capacity; there is no need for a prophet to bring heavenly messages if the community behaves the way it is supposed to behave. The only thing that the community needs is someone to teach the community what to do and how to do it. Then the community will be informed enough as to how to behave appropriately. Moshe taught them that Torah was portable. It could go anywhere in the world as long as there was someone to learn it and teach it. 

Yes, the Holidays can be stressful even in ideal circumstances. However the chaos caused by hurricanes, violent winds, and flooding, the physical and emotional chaos cause by these powerful storms suggests a different kind of chaos: a more intense type of chaos, a chaos that leaves people powerless, feeling diminished, exhausted and questioning. Yet for the questions that some may have, the struggle with faith; despite all this; we understand the Torah is close by. We know, or perhaps we need to be reminded, that amid this chaos we are given the opportunity to continue learning, to spiritually prepare for holidays as well as physically prepare.  As chaotic as it seems, Moshe’s re-assuring words that the Torah is designed to be accessible to everyone suggests something even more profound; that amid the chaos, God is just as accessible if not more so.

Peace,

Rav Yitz