As Well As To Count The Angel Dancing On A Pin (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Let It Grow")

          Several weeks ago, Israel commemorated Yom HaZikaron, a day in which Israel takes a moment to remember its fallen soldiers. This past Monday, the United States commemorated Memorial Day. Originally known as Decoration Day, it commemorated all those soldiers who had died fighting in the Civil War – for both the North and the South.  By the early Twentieth century, Memorial Day replaced Decoration Day as a day to commemorate all soldiers who had died in all of the United States' wars.  As a kid, I always remember that each town would have a Memorial Day Parade. There would always be an elderly veteran lighting a candle at the town’s  War Memorial.  This past Memorial Day was the first Memorial Day in 20 years that the United States was not engaged in a “hot” war.  Yet, the last of the victims from the Buffalo mass shooting were buried during that American holiday weekend, and the first funerals of the 19 children murdered in Uvalde Texas began this week.  Indeed, these funerals in Buffalo and Uvalde, suggest that Americans are indeed at war. These funerals remind us of who exactly is on the front lines of this war. These soldiers are school-age children and everyday regular people who happen to be African American, Jewish, Asian, women, LGTBQ, Muslim,  immigrant, or any other minority that is perceived to be a threat to a certain type of “white” America.  These “soldiers” tend to be of any and all ages. Ironically, these “soldiers” never seem to have the formal training required to actually fire an assault rifle and end life; rather their training is in living life, going to school, going to the supermarket, attending a concert, worshipping in churches and synagogues, or trying to make a better life for themselves and their children. These "soldiers" are the target of an enemy that is generally male, 18-24, troubled, alienated, and vulnerable to all gun manufacturers marketing their product, as well as vulnerable to some of the vilest and poisonous misinformation on the internet. 

        This Shabbat we begin the fourth book of the Torah, Sefer Bemidbar, by reading the first Parsha, Bemidbar. Literally meaning “In the Wilderness”, this fourth book of the Torah resumes the narrative format with B'nai Yisroel preparing to leave the foot of Mount Sinai. For the past year, B'nai Yisroel has essentially camped out at Har Sinai and listened to Moshe and Aharon teach all the laws concerning Tamei/Tahor –Purity and Impurity, Kodesh/Chol – the Holy and the Mundane, as well as the laws for Korbonot, sacrificial offerings. Prior to B'nai Yisroel’s embarking on the remainder of its journey a census is required. In fact, Parsha Bemidbar consists of three types of the census. The first census counts all men over the age of twenty that come from all the tribes except for the Levites, essentially a census of all males eligible to fight. The second census focuses only on the Levites. Since this tribe’s sole function is to operate and manage the Mishkan, ascertaining the number of workers in the Mishkan suggests the importance of the Mishkan to the everyday life of the B'nai Yisroel. The third census focuses on the organizational placement of each tribe around the Mishkan while traveling.

          The Census that God commands Moshe at the beginning of this fourth book of the Torah is very different than the last census taken. Until now there had been one Census taken while Bnai Yisroel was at Sinai, engaged in the construction of the Mishkan. All the way back in Parsha Ki Tissa, in Sefer Shmot (the Book of Exodus) God had commanded Moshe to count everyone by levying a half shekel tax. In fact, we are commanded not to count by pointing and counting but rather we would count the number of ½ Shekalim collected and that number would then tell us the total number of men twenty years and older. (Ex 30:11-14) Now God commands Moshe S’u Et Rosh Kol Adat Bnai Yisroel L’Mishpechotam L’Veit Avotam Mispar Sheimot  Kol Zachar L’Gulgulotam; Miben Esrim Shana Va’Malah Kol Yotzei Tzavah B’Yisroel Tifkedu Otam….- Take a census of the entire assembly of the Children of Israel according to their families, according to their father’s household, by the number of the names and every male according to their head count; from twenty years of age an up everyone who goes out to the legion in Israel, you shall count them (Num. 1:2-3)…. Abravanel, the 15th-century Portuguese commentator points out the apparent contradiction in the two types of censuses:  the first being found in the Sefer Shmot, and the second in Parsha Bemidbar. “Surely this (Bemidbar) is just the opposite of what the Torah had commanded on an earlier occasion (Sefer Shmot Parsha Ki Tissa).” There, in Ki Tissah, the poll (a tax) was taken.  “How could the Almighty have commanded them here to number them by their polls?” Abravanel notes the word “Tifekedu Otam” – you shall “account for them” (according to Rashi and “accounting” is a Poll or a levied tax).  Ramban, the 12th-century Spanish commentator/philosopher, points out that Tifkedu is an expression of visitation, remembrance, and providence.  

          The Census in Parsha Bemidbar was a census to determine those who were eligible to fight, who will be asked to perhaps give their lives for the welfare of the nation.  If and when the time came and they did have to lay down their lives who would have remembered them? Who would have mourned them? Who would tell stories about them and carry on their name?  L’Mishpechotam L’Veit Avotam Mispar Sheimot to their families, according to their father’s household by the number of the names. With each of the funerals that have occurred in Buffalo and started in Uvalde, we are reminded that each of these victims of war touched lives. They had children and grandchildren, and they were involved in their communities. They had parents, grandparents, and siblings. Each was so much more than just a number. Each individual had been created B’Tzelem Elokim in the image of God, and as  Ramban explained,  is worthy of remembrance. 

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Ooh Freedom, Ooh Liberty, Ohh Leave Me Alone To Find My Way Back Home (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia -"Liberty")

          Another week passed by, and another horrific shooting occurred in the United States. Like Pittsburgh, and Charlottesville before, this time it was Buffalo. The perpetrator is an avowed racist who included a 180-page manifesto “justifying” his actions with a mix of “Replacement Theory” conspiracy and white paranoia (otherwise known as “white supremacy”) he acquired from Tucker Carleson, QAnon, and assorted hate forums like 4Chan. Over the course of ingesting “Replacement Theory”, white paranoia, and racism for these past several years, a young man’s idea of citizenship, community, democracy, and sacred words of a liberal democracy found in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution became twisted and perverted. Instead of viewing liberal democracy as aspirational affording all people with opportunities for “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”  he now saw liberal democracy as a dystopian place where a Jewish Kabal has organized and manipulated people of color to replace Christian white men and their traditional hierarchy. 

          This week we read from Parsha of Behar. For most of  Vayikra (Leviticus), we learned how the Kohen Gadol, the individual, and a community attains holiness both in terms of interpersonal relationships and with God.   B’nai Israel had been instructed to create “Holy” Time in terms of the seasons, and “Holy” spaces in terms of their proximity to the Mishkan.  Now we read about the laws in which we acknowledge the holiness of Eretz Canaan Israel. We learn that the Jubilee is similar to  Shemitta except on a grander scale, leaving the land to lie fallow for a year while it rests. We learn about the Yovel, the Jubilee year, and all that it entails in terms of our behavior. 

          During the discussion of the Sabbatical year, we read: V’Kidashtem Eit Shat HaChamishim Shana Ukratem Dror Ba’Aretz L’chol Yoshveha Yovel Hi Tiheyeh Lachem V’Shavtem Ish El Achuzato V’Ish el Mishpachto Tashuvu – You shall sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants; it shall be the Jubilee Year for you, each of you shall return to his ancestral heritage and each of you shall return to his family  Lev 25:10. The context of this verse is clear. During the 50-year cycle, whether the indentured servant has served the usual minimum of six years or not, all indentured servants are to be freed. Everyone returns to their tribal land of origin and everything is then, according to modern parlance, “rebooted”.  The Hebrew word for “freedom” that appears in the verse is Dror. The more common Hebrew word for  “freedom” is “ChoFeSh.” In  Ex. 21:2 Ki Tikneh Eved Ivri Shesh Shanim Ya’avod U’Vashviit Yeitzei LaChofshi Chinam If you buy a Jewish servant, he shall work for six years; and in the seventh, he shall go free (LaChofshi), for no charge. The word Dror, in the context of “freedom,”   appears once in the entire Torah in this context, “Proclaim Liberty throughout the land…” The word Dror appears in one other place in an apparently unrelated context.  In Ex. 30:23 Dror appears as a term for  “pure myrrh”. Why would the Torah use a less common word Dror that has another seemingly unrelated meaning as opposed to the more common word Chofshi (Free/freedom) to describe the declaration of Jubilee? 

          Certainly, the word “Freedom” is more commonly used than “Liberty”.  However, when Patrick Henry made his famous statement, he used the word “Liberty”. “Give me Liberty or give me death”. The Declaration of Independence speaks of “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.  The political theorist Hanna Fenichel Pitkin observed that liberty implies ”a network of restraint and order”, hence its use by America’s Founding Fathers in its founding documents and the Liberty Bell.“Proclaim Liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants thereof". Lev 25:10”.    R’ Avraham Bedersi, a late 13th century French Rabbi, explained that both terms Chofesh (Freedom) and Dror (Liberty) are the opposite of bondage.  However, Dror (Liberty) denotes clarity and purity, without any contaminates like "pure Myrrh".  It is not accidental that the Torah uses a word that is the opposite of bondage but connotes “pure” freedom. Throughout the book of Leviticus, the overarching themes have been purity and holiness.  

          So it would make sense that Dror would connote the holiest or purest sense of the concept of Freedom.  R’Avraham Bedersi suggests that Chofesh (freedom) implies the mitigation of slavery, or “freedom from”. Whereas Dror (Liberty) suggests the purest form of freedom, a holy sense of freedom that only exists within the laws and restraints presented in Torah, in other words, a “freedom for” a more sacred purpose. Indeed, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, et al, understood Rabbi Bedarsi’s comments.  Liberty” is a Godly concept.  Liberty invokes holiness and therefore something to which those that live in a democracy ought to aspire. “Declaring Liberty throughout the land”, is an aspirational call for all the inhabitants of the land to live lives of holiness. Declaring a Jewish Cabal that plans and organizes people of color to replace white Christian men perverts and twists the very words that appear on the Liberty Bell. 

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Standing In The Clothes You Once Wore (Bob Dylan - "It's All Over Now Baby Blue")

 For the past couple of weeks, Canada has experienced a loud minority publicly demonstrating against vaccine mandates, mask mandates, and any other public health mandate for the sake of their “freedom”. As my son and I watched the news coverage of truckers occupying Ottawa, demonstrating in downtown Toronto, along the border in Alberta, Quebec City, and other parts of Canada; our daughters called us to tell us that this “trucker demonstration” has made the national news in the U.S. and even the local news in New York City. As the days passed and we continued to watch what was occurring in Ottawa, our son commented that these truckers were starting to look like some of the same types of people who appeared at another national capital, protesting their general unhappiness. He noted that the appearance began to change when he started to see Confederate Flags, Nazi flags, and swastikas at the trucker demonstrations. He noticed the appearance began to change when one western  Conservative leader went to speak to the truckers and commented that they were just like his neighbors. Indeed, it seems that below the surface of the “trucker protest” there is a very different type of uniform.   

This Shabbat, we read from Parshah Tetzaveh, and in it, we learn about the uniform of the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest. Just like last week’s Parshah was a series of instructions on the way in which a physical space becomes beautified and holy, Parshah Tetzaveh offers a series of instructions on the way in which a certain individual’s physical appearance is beautified, and glorious. From head to toe, we are told that each item of the Kohen Gadol’s priestly uniform is made of fine linen, valuable stones, gold, cotton silk turquoise wool to name just a few of the ingredients. 

Certainly, we could understand the Parshah from a superficial perspective but to do so would be to misunderstand a deeper and perhaps more powerful message. We live in a society where “clothes make the man”, clothes define who and what we are Clothes express our likes, our dislikes, as well as express our “brand” and even how we wish to be identified. However, what if clothing were a symbolic expression, an indicator of our intelligence, our emotional health, our sense of decency, the holiness that exists within our soul, and the degree to which that holiness is expressed?  What would such clothes look like?   Parshah Tetzaveh teaches us that clothing, our exterior can serve as an expression of spiritual holiness.  The Bigdei Kehuna -The Priestly Vestments express the degree to which the Kohen Gadol must permit God into his life in order to achieve the requisite level of Holiness to serve the people as well as establish the appropriate environment for God Shechina (the godly Aspect that dwells among the people) to dwell in the Mishkan. V’Kidashti et Ohel Mo’Ed v’Et Ha’Mizbeach V’Et Aharon v’Et Banav Akadesh L’Chahen Li – I shall sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the Altar, and Aaron and his sons shall I sanctify to minister to Me V’Shachanti B’Toch Bnai Yisroel V’Hayiti Lahem L’Elohim I shall rest My Presence among the Children of Israel, and I shall be their God (Ex. 29:44-45). God’s presence will make the Tent of the Meeting holy. In other words, God’s presence will make a particular space holy.   Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno (15/16th Century Italy) explains that God rests among us in order to accept with favor our prayers and service. However, God resting his Presence is not enough. The Kohanim and ultimately the rest of us need to recognize that this is our God and we need to act appropriately. We can never take God’s proximity for granted. Therefore Aaron and his sons, serving on behalf of the people, must achieve a higher degree of holiness compared to the rest of the people. This higher level of holiness must exist both inside and outside. Any inconsistency renders the Kohen Gadol impure. If the clothes become physically dirty, then he is momentarily impure. If his heart wanders, if his mind is elsewhere, or if he has not completely given of himself to the service to God on our behalf, then he is momentarily impure as well.

        Judaism is about creating opportunities where the physical world seamlessly connects to the spiritual world. In the realm of time; Shabbat is a designated day when the physical seamlessly knits together with the spiritual world.  However, even in the course of a regular day, we have the opportunity through prayer, Kashrut, study, and Gemilut Chasadim for our internal “clothing” to match our external clothing. Sometimes it is very easy to lose sight of what matters. No, there is nothing wrong with protesting against disagreeable policies. Such expression is one of the protected rights and one of the privileges of living in a liberal democracy. However, there is a difference between the trucker and the typical clothing a trucker wears while on the road, protesting public health policies, and the trucker who wears a cap with an emblem of the Confederate flag or has the Confederate Flag on his truck, and swastika flag next to the Canadian Maple Leaf. Suddenly, the trucker's clothing has been "accessorized with symbols of a darker and far more sinister message. Just as clothing can elevate the soul, some uniforms and symbols can diminish the soul and express a blight upon the soul.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

So I Give You My Eyes And All Of Their Lies, Please Help Them To Learn (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Black Throated Wind")

          For the past few weeks, I have followed the latest in the cultural wars. The latest battlefront is the response to Critical Race Theory (CRT). Essentially Critical Race Theory suggests that social and legal institutions created by a white-dominated social and legal institution are intrinsically racist or racially insensitive to people of colour. This theory originated in law schools as a way of challenging the racial bias that occurs anywhere. The recent battle that we have been hearing about is not the CRT per se, but the assumption that unless CRT is eliminated, little white children will be taught a version of history that might make them either feel bad about themselves, somehow makes them less appreciative of their society or even unpatriotic. Obviously, the perpetrators of this highly emotional and utterly chaotic response are those incredibly hypersensitive white people who are afraid to acknowledge the past and are certainly anti-intellectual enough that they are incapable of learning from the past. Just imagine if Moshe had to bring that group into Eretz Canaan!

          This week’s Parsha is Devarim, which is the first Parsha of the Book of Deuteronomy or Sefer Devarim. In very large brushstrokes, Moshe recounts the experiences of the generation that fled Egypt. Very few details are given. In fact, Moshe begins the story at the foot of Sinai; however, the name is changed from Sinai to Horev. In his recounting, Moshe speaks as a participant in this national experience not in the third person, as was presented in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. This is quite different from the Moshe we have seen. Until now he spoke as a prophet. God spoke to him and he spoke to B'nai Yisroel. Now Moshe displays a certain amount of freedom as he shares the experiences of the past from his perspective. Parsha Devarim is the introductory Parsha to Moshe’s formal teaching of the Torah to this new generation. Moshe begins with a history lesson beginning with the most recent events and working backward to the Exodus. Moshe Rabeinu, now only a few weeks from the moment of his death, imparts his teaching and his wisdom upon B’nai Yisroel like a dying grandparent or parent would to his/her children.  This re-telling or repetition of history and laws to a new generation inspired the Talmudic Sages to call Sefer Devarim (The Book of Words- Deuteronomy) the Mishnah Torah or the repetition of the Torah. 

          Moshe does not whitewash anything. He is not terribly worried about offending historical sensitivities. While addressing this generation who is about to enter Eretz Canaan, he holds no punches. He points out that their parents and grandparents were unworthy. He points out that their parents and grandparents were spiritually weak. The first issue that Moshe discusses is the reason for wandering forty years. He recounts the incident 40 years earlier with the twelve spies. Moshe does not sugarcoat their parents and grandparents' response to the spies' report.  V’Lo Avitem La’Alot VaTamru et Pi HaShem Elokeichem But you did not wish to ascend, and you rebelled against the word of Hashem, your God. VaTeiragnu V’A’Haleichem VaTomru B’Sinat HaShem Otanu HoTzi’Anu M’Eretz Mitzrayim LaTeit Otanu B’Yad Ha’Emori L’Hashmideinu- You slandered in your tents and said, ‘because of the Hashem’s hatred for us did he take us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorite to destroy us.” (Deut. 1:26-27). Who is the “you” that Moshe refers to? Clearly, he is speaking to the generation that is physically before him, that is with him on the eastern bank of the Jordan River preparing to realize the covenant. Is Moshe confused? It seems doubtful. Clearly, he is talking about the parents and grandparents of the current generation. Why does he address them as “You”? Clearly, Moshe is not too terribly worried about hurting feelings, destroying love of country, or creating anti-patriotic feelings, nor is Moshe concerned about self-loathing. No, Moshe had one very real concern. If the generation that experienced the miracle of the Exodus, the Revelation at Sinai, Miriam’s Well, Manna, and God’s constant presence,  could lack faith, then each and every generation after could also lack faith. So, Moshe wanted this current generation to learn from their parents' and grandparents' mistakes and not repeat them. By referring to this generation as “you”, Moshe has inserted them into the past and holds them responsible for the future. 

          When I listen to the critics of Critical Race Theory and their fear of teaching history so that everything is whitewashed (no pun intended); I realize that is so antithetical to Judaism. First of all, how do we teach Jewish History? Our history is not only a history of oppression at the hands of dominant and frequently anti-semitism, the Rabbinic Sages look at history as self-inflicted wounds, and shortcomings in faith (Tisha B’Av and the destruction of the First and Second Temples), as well as moments when we rose to such challenges. Judaism does not have saints. Moshe points out that our ancestors had real shortcomings, Moshe had a nasty temper, King David committed numerous morally questionable acts (and paid the price for those morally questionable deeds), King Solomon had numerous non-Jewish women in his concubine that led him to engage in idolatry. Joseph’s brothers conspired against their father and lied to him about Joseph. In the Talmud, our sages record the majority opinion and the minority opinion. Judaism doesn’t whitewash anything. We struggle with the words, we struggle with the text, we interpret, we re-interpret, and interpret some more. Our Sages understood and established a tradition of learning from the successes and the failures of those who preceded us. For our Sages, the reward for learning these lessons was a vibrant Jewish society built upon learning, a society that took care of its most vulnerable, and a society that aspired towards holiness. Maybe all those overly sensitive white parents need to be reminded that the purpose of studying history is not about making sure that their fragile egos are soothed or that their fragile children feel good, but rather learn from the past in order to take responsibility for the future.

Peace
Rav Yitz