If A Man Among You Got No Sin Upon His Hand; Let Him Cast A Stone At Me For Playing In The Band (Robert Hunter, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart- ("Playing In The Band")

               It was a particularly odd week. On one hand, we prepared for and celebrated Purim. We organized Mishloach Manot, my wife baked Hamentashen, we went to a Seudah and we celebrated “the Jews victory over Haman”. On the other hand, we watched as Ukrainians continue to defend themselves against Putin’s army. We watch the Russian army fire rockets indiscriminately into civilian areas. We watch refugees flee, and we see images reminiscent of Europe circa 1938-1939.  We listened to President Zelenskyy speak to Canada’s Parliament and the United States Congress. We couldn’t help but be aware of the dichotomy between the Joy of Purim and the horror that continues to unfold in Ukraine.  Indeed our Talmudic Sages that there is Haman in every generation and there is Amalek in every generation. As we watch the events in Ukraine unfold and resistance to Putin stiffen in Ukraine and grow in Russia, it appears that this Amalek might not be as powerful as he thought. Yes, he is still dangerous but not as powerful. This makes for fascinating negotiations.  

          This week we read from Parsha Tzav. In it, we learn that the Kohanim are responsible for their own offerings as well as making offerings on behalf of the people. God instructs Moshe to teach the Kohanim their responsibilities in slaughtering the offerings, cleaning up, what must be burnt, and what the Kohen may consume. After God completes the set of instructions specifically for the Kohanim, God then instructs Moshe as to B’nai Yisroel’s responsibilities as well. Finally, God instructs Moshe to make the required preparations for the Kohen to assume his position among the people. This includes the bringing of sin offerings, achieving a certain spiritual mindset as well as learning how to make all the offerings.

        As the instructions are issued concerning each offering, there is a general pattern. V’Zot Torat [name of offering] Hakreiv –And this is the law of the meal-offering (the peace offering, the feast offering, etc.) However, the Sin Offering breaks with the Parsha’s formula.  Zot Torat Ha’Chatat Bimkom Asher Tishacheit Ha’Olah Tishacheit HaChatat Lifnei Kodesh Kodashim Hu – This is the law of the sin offering; in the place where the elevation offering is slaughtered shall the sin offering be slaughtered, before God, it is most Holy (Lev. 6:18). Why is this the only offering that designates a specific place that is exactly the same as another offering? If this offering to God is so important why wouldn’t the offering take place separately in its own time and in its own location? Precisely because it is so important, and this offering requires such sensitivity, we are extremely concerned. One makes the Sin Offering after an unintentional sin is committed. If someone points out a mistake that we make, our first response might be defensive, to make excuses. This is normal if we experience shame and embarrassment. However when we are not embarrassed, when we are not humiliated then it is much easier to admit to the sin, or the mistake and apologize in a humble manner. If the Sin Offering occurred in its own location, then everyone else would know that those people had sinned and were now making an offering as a form of apology. People would talk and the individual bringing the offering would perhaps be too embarrassed to work on his/her relationship with God. This is tragic. So in order to preserve the individual’s dignity, the Torah provides anonymity. Someone looking on would never know if the individual making the offering is there with a sin offering or an elevation offering. Torah creates an environment to allow the individual to be forthright, honest, and still save face within the community.

        No, Putin’s “sin offering” cannot be made anonymously. The negotiations will be public. Any “loss of face”  will be public or at least public to the rest of the world. He will always be able to “save face” in Russia since he controls so much of the Russian press. Nevertheless, the world will have a very difficult time in trying to find a peaceful solution unless Putin concludes that the cost to re-create a “Greater Russia” reminiscent of Peter the Great is personally to financially, emotionally, and politically too expensive.  Hopefully, those costs will be worth more than his “saving face”.  Maybe then, there can be a serious discussion about peace.       

Peace,
Rav Yitz 

Don't Waste Your Breath To Save Your Face When You Have Done Your Best (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Built to Last")

           This week we watched as another terrorist attack rocked Europe, this time in Brussels. As our home had been preparing for Purim; I couldn’t help but acknowledge the commonly held view of the Talmudic Sages that there is Haman in every generation and there is Amalek in every generation. Part of our Purim preparations involve my wife organizing and making the Mishloach Manot, our kids loading the Mishloach Manot into cute boxes, and my delivering the Mishloach Manot. Amid the preparations, and our kitchen covered in Hamentashan dough, I was able to watch the various Presidential candidates speak at the AIPAC conference. In case the Jews who attended the conference, and those throughout the United States and Canada were unsure if Purim was actually scheduled for this week or not, several of the candidates were good enough to remind us. As I listened to the speeches and re-read their speeches, I can appreciate the reasons why many support Donald Trump. His rhetoric sounds very tough and very strong. We know that there are many who genuinely gravitated to people who appear strong, whose words are strong, who exude strength, and speak in a language that offers no apologies, takes no prisoners,  makes no excuses and “tells it like it is”. As a business man, Donald Trump’s political rhetoric is remarkably similar to his business negotiations. For the Donald, every deal is about demonstrating power absolute terms. This means that after he finishes negotiating, there is nothing left of the other side. For Trump, a negotiation is really about destroying the other side. This “Art of the Deal” was a very different negotiating style than the one I learned from my grandfather. For my grandfather, a negotiation was very rarely a demonstration in power. He knew he had plenty, rather it was to demonstrate the ability to withhold the use of power. For my grandfather, a negotiation was never about vanquishing the other side, instead he always made sure “leave something on the table” in order for the counterpart to “save face”. My grandfather made sure never to humiliate his counterpart because, as he explained to me, “you never knew when and if you might need a favor from him or if have the opportunity to do more business.” Many years ago, I once wrote my grandfather’s name as a write-in vote for a Presidential election. It’s pretty safe to say, I would never vote for Trump.

             This week we read from Parsha Tzav. In it we learn that the Kohanim are responsible for their own offerings as well as making offering on behalf of the people. God instructs Moshe to teach the Kohanim their responsibilities in slaughtering the offerings, cleaning up, what must be burnt, and what the Kohen may consume. After God completes the set of instructions specifically for the Kohanim, God then instructs Moshe as to B’nai Yisroel’s responsibilities as well. Finally God instructs Moshe to make the required preparations for the Kohen to assume his position among the people. This includes the bringing of sin offerings, achieving a certain spiritual mindset as well as learning how to make all the offerings.

            As the instructions are issued concerning each offering, there is a general patter. V’Zot Torat [name of offering] Hakreiv –And this is the law of the meal offering (the peace offering, the feast offering etc.) However the Sin Offering breaks with the Parsha’s formula.  Zot Torat Ha’Chatat Bimkom Asher Tishacheit Ha’Olah Tishacheit HaChatat Lifnei Kodesh Kodashim Hu – This is the law of the sin offering; in the place where the elevation offering is slaughtered shall the sin offering be slaughtered, before God, it is most Holy (Lev. 6:18). Why is this the only offering that designates a specific place that is exactly the same as another offering? If this offering to God is so important why wouldn’t the offering take place separate in its own time and in its own location? Precisely because it is so important, and this offering requires such sensitivity, we are extremely concerned. One makes the Sin Offering after an unintentional sin is committed. If someone points out a mistake that we make, our first response might be defensive, to make excuses. This is normal if we experience shame and embarrassment. However when we are not embarrassed, when we are not humiliated then it is much easier to admit to the sin, or the mistake and apologize in a humble manner. If the Sin Offering occurred in its own location, then everyone else would know that those people had sinned and were now making offering as a form of apology. People would talk and the individual bringing the offering would perhaps be too embarrassed to work on his/her relationship to God. This is tragic. So in order to preserve the individual’s dignity, the Torah provides anonymity. Someone looking on would never know if the individual making the offering is there with a sin offering or an elevation offering. Torah creates an environment to allow the individual be forthright, honest and still save face within the community.

            As we continue to listen to Trump’s rhetoric, as we continue to be told that “he loves Israel” and that he is great negotiator; I wonder how his rhetoric will play in  a part of the world that respects power as the well as the threat of power. I wonder how his rhetoric will play in a part of the world where tribes go to war when they feel as if they are humiliated and have lost face. I wonder if he can speak with the subtle nuance that is spoken between Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, a language that allows Israel to actually get along with several of her neighbors.

           

Peace,

Rav Yitz

The Darkness Never Goes Some Men's Eyes -(John Barlow/Bob Weir-"Throwing Stones")

We have all been focused on the tragedy of the Japan earthquake, the tsunami, and perhaps the most terrifying, the potential nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear plant; and rightly so. However last Shabbat, anti-Semitism once again reared its ugly head. This time it took the form of two Muslim Arab terrorists entering the Fogel family home in the town of Itamar and proceeded to stab the Fogel family to death and then slit their throats. Father- Udi, mother - Ruth, 11 year old son - Yoav, four year old son Elad, and three month old girl Hadas were brutally slain. There was no burglary gone awry. There was no military operation with ensuing "collateral damage", or innocents victims caught in the crossfire of gun battle. Rather a random act of anti-Semitic violence perpetrated upon a family that was guilty of being Jewish and living in Itamar. As heinous and evil as the crime was, even more disturbing and just as evil is the aftermath of this terrorist attack and other terrorist attack. Some group claims credit; in this case Al Fatah claimed "credit" for the attack, and the Palestinians who reside in Gaza celebrate the criminals and great "freedom fighters". In Israel, this crime, like the previous anti-Semitic crimes perpetrated by the terrorist, will also be remembered in Israel. Like previous anti- Semitic crimes perpetrated by terrorists, Israel will also make every attempt to blot the terrorists out from the face of the earth.

This Shabbat, the Shabbat that immediately precedes the holiday of Purim is known as Shabbat Zachor. Two sifrei Torah are taken out and read. From one Torah, we will read the weekly Parsha (Tzav). From the second we will read the last three verses of Deuteronomy chapter 25. "Remember what Amalek did to you, on thew way when you were leaving Egypt, that he happened upon [ambushed] you on the way, and he struck those of you who were hindmost, all those where were weak at your rear, when you were faint and exhausted, and he did not fear God. It shall be that when Hashem, your God gives you rest from all your enemies all around, in the Lad that Hashem, your God, gives you as an inheritance to possess it, you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heave - you shall not forget!" These three verses are read as a reminder of the fact that Haman, the evil antagonist of the Purim story can trace his lineage back to Amalek. Just like Amalek sought to destroy the Jews and had no sense of awe in regards to God, so it was with Amalek's descendant Haman. Just like we are commanded to wipe out Amalek and the evil that it represents; we wiped out Haman and his descendants in the Megillat Ester (the Purim Story).

While this explains the reason why these P'sukim (verses) are always read on the Shabbat immediately preceding Purim, the Psukim themselves raise an interesting tension when the commandment does not have a corresponding explicit physical action. If you think about it, the general rule is that positive commandments have a corresponding physical action ie: lighting Shabbat candles, making Kiddush, bringing Korbonot to the Holy Temple (and then replaced by prayer), studying Torah, blowing the Shofar to name a few. Zachor et Amalek"- remember Amalek is also considered a positive commandment. What is the explicit corresponding physical action of "remembering Amalek", or remembering what Amalek did to our ancestors as they made they way out of Egypt? The explicit physical activity is to "blot out the memory of Amalek". Remember what Amalek did but blot them out of your memory. The two ideas, remembering, and blotting out, seem to be at cross purposes. After all if we blot something out from our memory then by definition we don't remember it. This is why people go to therapy.

Rashi explains that to "blot out from the memory" means M'Ish v'ad Isha M'Ollel V'ad Yoneik, M'shor V'ad Seh - from all the men and women, children, livestock, anything associate with Amelek. Sforno, the Italian Rennaissance rabbi of the late 15th / early 16th century is even more explicit. The term Timche et Zeicher Amalek -Blot out the memory of the Amalek means to totally annihilate the evil for which Amalek represents. Only by remembering Amalek's evil deed, can we know to destroy that same type of evil when confronted by it. Perhaps we can best understand and appreciate the example of an individual who experiences cancer surgery. The scar that an individual carries with him following cancer surgery serves as a reminder that these malignant cells have been removed. In a sense, the malignancy has been blotted out or eradicated, but the scar remains to serve as a reminder and a motivator for changing one'slifestyle.

Haman and his anti-Semitism was a cancer upon the reign of Achashveirosh as well as the Jewish people. Only when the cancer is eradicated can people live their lives with some semblance of normalcy. The cancer that was this heinous terrorist act, like all those that came before, will be remembered by Israel as something that needs to be eradicated. For the evil to stop spreading, it is not enough for Israel to eradicate the evil of Haman, and the evil of the terrorist attack upon the Fogel family. Evil needs to be eradicated in the places where it is allowed to fester, and to grow. It was eliminated in Shushan, Persia and it needs to be eradicated in places where anti-Semitism remains so prevalent, in places where murderous terrorist acts are celebrated.

Peace,
Rav Yitz