The Black Throated Wind Keeps On Pouring In With Its Words Of A Life Where Nothing Is New Ah, Mother American Night, I'm Lost From The Light (John Barlow & Bob Weir- "Black Throated Wind")

           Three ongoing activities have dominated our home this past week. During the day, we take one daughter for her physiotherapy as she rehabs her surgically repaired knee.  We help our youngest daughter get packed and prepared for her gap year in Israel. She leaves next week. After dinner, I sit down and turn on the Democratic National Convention and text with my eldest daughter, a Democratic campaign manager. As I listened to some of the “big names” speak, three of whom my daughter has worked for: Hillary Clinton, Senator Warren, and President Obama, I was struck by a theme that each alluded to and President Obama so eloquently and explicitly pointed out. Speaking from Philadelphia, from the site where the U.S. Constitution was signed, the former president reminded us that the President’s job is to defend the constitution. In order to do that, the President must appreciate the sanctity of the Constitution’s words. the President must understand the meaning of those words. The President must acknowledge that those words are applicable to every American citizen no matter color, gender, religion, voting preference, or ethnic background.  President Obama reminded viewers that the oath of the President is serious, the office weighs heavy and should not be taken lightly nor cavalierly. From President Obama’s perspective, it appeared that the words of the Constitution must be held close to the President’s heart in order for him/her to have the character to fulfill its words.

          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 Sifrei Torah. 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 standard. 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”. Instead of living a life based upon “how much can I get away with”, “What am I entitled to”, “how can I enrich myself”, Judaism reminds the leader that there is a code by which life must be lived.  Judaism understands that we all make compromises. Sometimes we may even, unfortunately, compromise our integrity our values, and our own sense of propriety. Sometimes our drift from the ideal is not even that pernicious. Sometimes we just slowdown or get sidetracked. However, Judaism is about behavior that expresses our relationship with each other and with God. Like a king that needs to periodically check the “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. As we have just started the month of Elul, this notion of self-reflection is even more important. Yet as former President Obama explained, a successful President keeps the Constitution’s words close and every decision must be based upon defending and living by those words. It requires self-reflection, honesty, integrity, and moral character. Funny, these are the same qualities that we try to instill in our children.

Peace

Rav Yitz

Got To Find A Private Line (Ron McKernan- "Operator")

The North American Jewish world was further divided these past few weeks when the United States who normally vetoes UN resolutions against Israel abstained instead. It is interesting to note that this was the first time in the eight year Obama administration that the US abstained rather than vetoed a resolution.  This first and last abstention under the Obama administration equals the same number of abstentions that occurred during the eight years of the George Bush Jr. administration. By the way, Ronald Reagan’s eight years saw the US abstain eight times in UN Israel resolutions.  However those are historical and statistical facts. It doesn't relieve my disappointment with the recent U. S. abstention.  My disappointment is not because this administration spoke truth to power and disagrees with Netanyahu and the settlers. My disappointment is not because there is an enormous financial and spiritual cost that results in sacrificing Israel's national morality.  I believe in a Jewish state. I believe that Israel must remain Jewish and democratic, based upon the democratic ideals under which it was established.  My frustration, my aggravation, and my deep disappointment in the recent U.S. abstention stems from the fact that the administration chose to speak truth to power in the corrupt and hypocritical halls of the United Nations.  I would have preferred that these two nations, these allies, approached each other as friends dedicated to the ideals upon which Israel was founded.

This week’s Torah portion is VaYigash.  The confrontation between Yosef and his brothers is about to occur. The Parshah begins with Yehudah approaching his brother Yosef, whom he does not recognize, and pleads for Benjamin’s freedom.  Yosef reveals his identity and the brothers hug and kiss each other. They cry and they forgive each other. Yosef asks about his father’s welfare. The brother’s return to their father, Yaakov, and tell him that Yosef is alive. The brothers add that everyone, the entire clan, should go down to Egypt. So this clan, including: Jacob, the brothers, their wives and children, heads down to Egypt. Yaakov meets Pharaoh. Yosef’s family is given a parcel of land outside of Egypt in a place called Goshen, where they can tend to their flocks. Yaakov is re-united with his beloved Yosef in the land of Goshen.

For the ChaZaL, the Sages of Blessed Memory, the Sages of the Talmud, the confrontation between Yosef, the second most powerful man in Egypt, and Yehudah, the leader of the Yaakov’s sons; the confrontation is much more than just two brothers meeting up after a couple of decades. For ChaZaL, the word VaYiGaSh refers to Yehudah girding himself for war. Remember, Yehudah does not yet know the identity of the man standing before him. For all Yehudah knows, this man, who looks Egyptian, dresses Egyptian, and speaks Egyptian embodies the most powerful empire and the most dominant culture in the world. However, according to the Or HaChayim that is not the plain meaning of the word. The Or HaChayim explains that if Yehudah was “girding himself for war” then he would not have spoken so respectfully and politely to Yosef: Bi Adoni “if it pleases my lord”. Nor would Yehudah be concerned with antagonizing Yosef’s anger. Instead,  Yehudah’s approaches  Egypt’s second in command  not girded for war but confidently approaches bypassing guards and advisors and manages to speak quietly and privately into the minister’s ear. Make no mistake, when Yehudah tells the minister that he is just like Pharaoh, when he speaks truth to power, Yehudah does it in a whisper, privately, without causing embarrassment to second most powerful man in the Egyptian empire.

Yehudah’s approach to Joseph was based upon several factors. First, he felt a deep sense of responsibility for his brother Benjamin. Second, he felt a deep sense of responsibility and commitment to his father. Third, he felt a deep sense of respect of the power and authority of the man standing before him and what that man represented.  As a result, Yehudah had to project the perfect blend of strength and humility. He had to speak politely yet forcefully. Most of all he had to make sure that that he wouldn’t embarrass the second most powerful man in the Egyptian empire. I only wish that more of an effort had been made by this administration to speak truth to power in a manner that was more dignified and respectful than an abstention in a UN resolution.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

"For a Person as Perfect as You" (John Barlow, Bob Weir, Brett Mydland - Hell in a Bucket)

This past Sunday night, I received a text message from my eldest daughter “to turn on the news; the President was about to speak”. Usually Presidents like to speak during prime time during the weeknight, not on a Sunday night. Certainly Presidents do not like to ever speak after 11pm EST. However this President did precisely that, appearing before the American people a little after 11:30pm on Sunday night. President Obama stated quite simply that a Special Forces op had found and killed Osama Bin Laden. Considering that two Presidents over the course of nine years and 7 months had been looking for Bin Laden, this was certainly newsworthy. As more information about the special operation consisting of two helicopters and Navy Seals was revealed; several important ideas became evident. One of the Helicopters malfunctioned and landed in Bin Laden’s compound as opposed to outside the compound as originally planned. There was some doubt as to whether Bin Laden was at that compound. Although, due to its size at the height concrete wills and barbed wire fence; administration officials believed that there was a strong likelihood that bin Laden was there. The Navy Seals and bin Laden’s body were all loaded onto one helicopter and quickly fled from Pakistani airspace with three Pakistani jets giving chase. This information and information similar to it supports the administration’s claim that this mission was far from perfect. What has captured the fancy of the press and the American public is that this special ops mission overcame several “several less than perfect” variables and situations and still managed to succeed. At the very least, it was abundantly clear that these Navy Seals performed in a manner that allowed them to overcome the “less than perfect”. Had the Seals performed in a less than “perfect” manner, American lives would have been lost, Bin Laden may have survived, and the United States would have become a laughingstock, as with the 1979 failed hostage escape from Iran. We learned from this very successful Special Forces op that we can practice behavior, control our responses, and perfect our behavior as we respond to that which may or may not be perfect.

This week we read from Parsha Emor. The four chapters that comprise Parsha Emor focus on the various aspects of Perfection. First the Torah focuses upon the importance of the physical and spiritual perfection and purity of the Kohen. He must remain in a perpetual state of purity. He is restricted in terms of whom he can marry. He is restricted in regards for whom he can mourn. He cannot go to a cemetery. He cannot make sacrificial offerings if he has physical abnormalities. The second of the four chapters reminds B’nai Yisroel that when approaching God with an offering, the individual must be spiritually pure and perfect and so must the offering. These offerings must come directly from the individual making them and not from “the hand of a stranger” (Lev.22:25). The third chapter of the Parsha deals with the perfection and the purity of time. Time is define as perfect in the season follow an order, the holidays such as Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur are designated to come in a particular order. That order is both pure and perfect since time and the designation of “Sacred” time comes from God. The fourth chapter speaks about maintaining purity and the perfection of physical space in this case the Mishkan, and all that is in the Mishkan. The Torah even deals with perfection and purity of human relationships and the punishments to be meted out when that perfection, purity and holiness is violated. “If a man inflicts a wound on his fellow, as he did, so shall be done to him: a break for a break, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…” (Lev.24:19-23). In a sense, this last chapter reminds us of God’s charge to B’nai Yisroel.

Everything we do is designed to sanctify God’s name through deed. Whether attending to the Mishkan, the treatment of animals or of our fellow man, it all boils down to the sanctification of God. It is quite evident that the Parsha deals with both the “big picture” of human behavior (“a life for a life” Lev. 24:18) and the seemingly insignificant minutiae of measurements of certain offerings “a meal offering shall be two tenth ephah of fine flour mixed with oil,” (Lev. 23:13). It is also quite evident that parts of the text seem overly restrictive, discriminatory, and harsh. By combining both the “big” issues, and the minutiae, we learn that Judaism is a holistic orientation designed to elevate every aspect of our physical existence.

In Parshah Emor, we learn why Judaism can be so difficult. Our sole purpose as Jews is mentioned in Leviticus 22:32. V’Lo T’Chalelu et Shem Kodshi V’Nikdashti B’Toch B’nai Yisroel, Ani Adonai M’Kadishchem –“You shall not desecrate my holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among the Children of Israel, I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” In a way, desecrating God’s holy name (blaspheming) is tantamount to murder. Why? Both blasphemy and murder are punishable by death, or in other words “a measure for measure”. We know that mankind, like other animals, seeks pleasure. However unlike the rest of creation, mankind is the only animal that is capable of spiritual pleasure as well as physical pleasure. Judaism’s orientation is based on the value that sanctifying God can be a pleasurable experience. Yet, the irony of our society is that doing "good" is often difficult and perhaps painful. Very often being good and doing good is considered boring, and “not cool”. Also, the prevailing attitude of our society is neither “measure for measure”, nor the assumption of responsibility for our actions. Instead we try to “get one over” on the next person. Parshah Emor teaches us that we “cannot get one over on the next person”. Ultimately, we are all equal. While the expression of such equality may differ, we are all equal. Ultimately we have the same purpose. Ultimately, we are all charged to uphold Torah, and live a life of Kedushah, Holiness. Ultimately we are all judged by one law (Lev. 24:22).

Certainly Judaism is difficult. Part of the difficulty is that climbing the ladder of holiness requires effort and desire. Climbing this ladder will affect and even change our lives. It affects what we eat, it affects how we relate to our mates, it affects our treatment of others, it affects how we look at time and space, it affects our relationship to God, and how we relate to ourselves. The other reason for its difficulty is that we are all examples to our families, our communities and the outside world. Therefore Judaism, and the knowledge required to do Judaism must be accessible to all of us. We only need to put in the work. Judaism must be accessible not only to the Orthodox but to all of us since we, as a people, are supposed to be a “light unto the nations”. We are supposed to be role models for the rest of the world. If Judaism, the sanctification of the self, and the sanctification of God were easy, then neither could we appreciate it, nor commit to it. Therefore we must struggle to climb the ladder of holiness everyday. Only by climbing this ladder we begin sanctifying God as well as ourselves and demonstrating to all that life of Mitzvot can be very meaningful.

Peace,

Rav Yitz