See Here How Everything Lead Up To This Day (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Black Peter")

          Our family received some sad news this week. My 98 year old grandfather, suffering from severe dementia over the last several years of his life, passed away peacefully and quietly today.  For these past few years, when I have visited him, I tried to see past this shell of a man and instead focus upon the spirit, the essence of this man that was not only my grandfather but “father once –removed”.  Among the powerful memories I have of my grandfather occurred on a golf course. My father, my grandfather and I went out on a Sunday afternoon in August. After a particularly crummy tee shot, I muttered something about my swing, about my shot lying in the rough and that I was playing as badly as my then 85 year old grandfather.  Of course if I was 85 I would be happy with the result, however at 36, I had hoped to have been somewhat more competent. In any case, when I finished muttering and getting into the cart next to my grandfather, he looked at me and said “You know, you do have a choice. You can stay upset about your crummy tee shot,  which means that you will miss out this gorgeous day and the blessing you are experiencing by playing a round of golf with your dad and your grandfather, or you can let go of the crummy golf shot and appreciate the blessing you are experiencing by playing a round of golf with your father and grandfather.~ I asked him which would he do. Without hesitating he said he has put many crummy golf shots out of his mind and celebrated the moment he was blessed to experience.  He added that he never had regret about any decision he made since he always was able to see the blessing. Finally he added that he is so blessed that he could die tomorrow at peace with no regrets. Well, it is thirteen years later, my grandfather died at peace, peace with himself, his choices, and the life he led. As a result he was always able to appreciate life's blessings.

          This week’s Parsha is Re'eh. In the first few Parshiot of Sefer Devarim, Moshe offered B'nai Yisroel a history lesson. In Parsha Re'eh, Moshe Rabeinu shifts his focus away from the history lesson and concentrates on reminding this generation of their sacred task upon entry into the land. This sacred task is highlighted by observing Hashem’s Mitzvot. These Mitzvot are wide ranging: including dietary restrictions, offerings, Pilgrimage Festivals, False prophet, leading people astray and away from Mitzvot, how to deal with a city or a community that fails to observe these Mitzvot, as well as the sanctity of Eretz Canaan. Moshe also reminds them that following Mitzvot will result in blessings and close proximity to God. Failure to observe the Mitzvot will result in a curse and a growing distance from God .

          The genius of Moshe Rabeinu was the way he presented the plea to observe Mitzvot. He presented his case in the form of a choice. Re’eh, See Anochi Notein Lifneichem HaYom Bracha U’Klala – I present before you today a blessing and a curse. Implied in this statement is that Moshe is giving the people a choice. The only command is to Look, to see what choices exist and to be thoughtful, responsible and wise enough to make a choice. Clearly one choice will carry a vast amount of regret and one choice will carry a sense of accomplishment and a purposeful life. Also, Moshe seems to be demonstrating that the Mitzvot, contains, within in it, a degree of empirical data. Malbim,19^th century Russian Rabbi who served as chief Rabbi in Bucharest, explains that the blessing are there for all to see because those who observe have a spiritual fulfillment and meaning within their lives.  From Moshe’s perspective, this choice is not really a choice because a rational person would want a life that had meaning and purpose. 

          My grandfather was not a particularly observant man. However he understood  that if life was purposeful, if life was meaningful, then that life is indeed blessed. For my grandfather,  choosing a life without meaning and without purpose  is not logical and it certainly would not create an environment that allows for the next generation to succeed.  Rather, the more meaning one could find within life, meant the more blessing one would find as well. Needless to say not only did my grandfather have a meaningful and purposeful life with no regrets, he intuitively understood that he would be able to find and appreciate the numerous blessing of life. VaYitzror Bitzror HaChayim et Nishmato, May his soul be bound up in the bond of life.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

I'm Dumping my Trash in Your Back Yard (John Barlow, Brett Mydland - "We Can Run")

I admit it I am a bit of a clean freak. I am sure that it drives my wife a bit crazy. When I see stuff strewn around the house, or when I see my kids finish eating and just get up from the table and not carry in their dishes, or when something is that belongs to my wife or one of my children remains on the stairs with the owner walking by the item six to ten times a day; well, I get a bit exasperated. My personal favorite moments usually occur when I ask my children to clear their dinner plate, put away something of theirs that is on the floor or lying around in the family. First they respond, “In a minute” or “As soon as I’m done with this.” Then they get up and leave their dinner plate or their item right where it is not supposed to be. The attitude is unmistakable. Each one, in his or her own individual way, thinks that they don’t need to pick up after themselves because the cleaning lady would do it. I can hear my mother rhetorically asking me and my sister, “You think Mary Poppins’ just shows up and picks up after you?” Or I think of the time I spent with my grandfather on a trip to Japan about twenty six years ago. While in Tokyo he met with the corporate directors of a company that he had been dealing with for fifteen years. He had a very close relationship with the owner and all the big shots in this Japanese sportswear company. They spoke to my grandfather with such reverence. They spoke to me about my grandfather with words of awe and respect. They paid such close attention to his words. I was incredibly impressed because this was a side of my grandfather that I had never seen. I joked with my grandfather that as impressed as I was with the esteem in which he was held; it was hard for me to accept. After all this was the same man whom my grandmother “hocked” to throw out the garbage, which he did.

This week’s Parsha is Tzav. It is also Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat that immediately precedes Chag HaPesach, the Passover Holyday. Like last week’s Parsha, Parsha Tzav focuses upon Korbonot (offerings). While last week we read of God’s commanding Moshe to tell Aaron and his sons, this week we read of Moshe actually telling Aaron and his sons. This week we read about the actual sacrificing, the actual sprinkling, the actual burning and the actual donning of appropriate clothing. The Parshah concludes with instructions for Aaron and his sons to remain outside of the camp for seven days. These are the seven days required for spiritual and to some degree, physical preparation. The Priests must remain outside of the camp because they are in the process of purifying themselves for this extremely sacred and vital position, Kohen Gadol.

Besides Moshe, the Kohen Gadol was the most vital role within Israelite society. It was the Kohen Gadol that served as a vehicle for the common person to draw closer to God. When the common person or the king needed to atone, they would bring a sacrifice to God. However it was the Priest that had to check for blemishes. It was the priest that had to slaughter the animal in a very precise way. It was the priest that had to sprinkle the blood. Later on it was the priest who became the “spiritual advisor” to the king. Unlike any other position, the priesthood was based upon lineage and was promised by God to Aaron for eternity (or as long as there was a Temple). Yet as important as this was for the welfare of B’nai Yisroel’s relationship to God, the Priest was eternally reminded of the importance of humility within a leader. V’hotzi et a Hadeshen el Michutz La’Machaneh el Makom Tahor-“and he shall bring the ashes to the outside of the camp, to pure place (Lev 6:4).” Here is arguably the most important position within the community and he has to shlep the ashes out of the Mishkan. What’s even more amazing is what the Talmudic tractate Yoma teaches. The Talmud explains that the priests were so anxious to take out the ashes that a lottery system had to be introduced to pacify all those who wanted this “honor”. Anyone could have been commanded to take out the ashes. Why the Kohanim (the Priests)? Like all other aspects of the sacrificial process, the priests’ sole concern was the Temple and everything about the Temple. No task was below the priest. No aspect of the Temple remained untouched or unaffected by the Priest. The Sefer HaChinuch, a thirteenth century work enumerating and explaining all 613 Mitzvot explains that Terumat HaDeshen is a positive commandment. The priest removes these ashes daily, and in doing so, he is enhancing the Mizbeach (the altar) and beautifying it to the best of his ability. Rashi adds that the priest would wear old clothes and nice his daily Priestly Vestments or his Holiday Vestments to do this type of menial work. All agree that the Kohen was never thought to be too important for such a lowly task.

So what can we learn from Parsha Tzav, and the Priest’s most menial of tasks? First we learn just how vital it is for leadership, of any kind, to roll of its shirtsleeves and do some of the dirty work. After all, if leadership is unwilling to “to get dirty” for a greater purpose, then the purpose is not so great. Also if the leadership is unwilling “to get dirty”, why should anyone else “get dirty”? Effective leadership is not only about convincing others to act; it is about one’s observance of the same rule. No matter how important we think we are, we always should be reminded to take out the ashes. We need humility in order to remind us of where we fit in, and who we are. Possessing this humility gives us credibility when dealing with anyone. Possessing this humility reminds us of how we should treat others as well as how we wish to be treated. As make our final preparations for Pesach, as we rid our homes of chometz, as we cook, clean and make all the preparations for a festive and Kosher Pesach, we should be aware that we are not only preparing our homes, we are preparing ourselves. If we participate in the preparations, we appreciate the Pesach. If we participate in the preparations, we will invariably rid ourselves of our own chometz, our own arrogance. If we participate in the preparations, we remind ourselves that Judaism is about the individual fitting into something larger, the community, the Jewish people and our ancestors. Let us all remember that none of us are so important that we can’t throw out the trash. Hopefully my kids will begin to appreciate the importance of throwing out the garbage.

Peace & Chag Kasher v’ Sameach,

Rav Yitz