Once We Grew Into Our Shoes, We Told Them Where To Go (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Days Between")

I suppose my wife and I have acknowledged that summer is drawing to a close.  Yes, it still very hot in Toronto. Yes the public swimming pools are still open and full. However this past week, we took our annual drive down to the Pocono Mountains to pick our two youngest children from camp.  We always make sure to arrive after the campers taking the buses have departed. By the time we arrive, the staff and the staff’s children are all that remain. We say hello to some friends, and gather our children. They have already cried the good byes to their friends. By the time we arrive, they are just very tired but ready to leave. This time was no different. I parked the car, my wife ran out to find the children and say hello. I schlepped the duffle bags and loaded the car. When that was finished, I began walking towards the main office, where our children came to meet Mommy. From the distance, it seemed our son and daughter had grown.  They saw me and began running. Our fourteen year old tired ran with her long loping strides. She didn’t look any worse for wear, just tired. Later we found out that she hadn’t slept had been awake for more than 24 hours. Behind the fourteen year old daughter came our twelve year old son. He was running as well. However as he ran, I notice that something kept flapping near his foot which caused him to pay attention to where he place his foot. Some piece of red material was flapping. Now we had purchased a pair of red Nike sneakers prior to camp. When he finally arrived in my arms and we hugged, he took a step back from me and sheepishly smiled. The red material flapping oddly while our son ran towards me was his sneaker. It was torn practically from the sole. It was beyond repair and I asked what had happened. He explained that he tore it while rock climbing.  Seven weeks of camp and he had completely destroyed a new pair of sneakers. He also informed me that he threw away several pairs of pants because they no longer fit. Seven weeks of camp and he had grown enough that he had outgrown some of his clothing. 

This Shabbat we read from Parshat Eikev. This week’s Parsha is Eikev. Here in his second discourse, Moshe explains to the new generation how the second set of tablets that contain the Aseret Dibrot (Ten Commandments) came into being. He explains how God forgave their parents for their idolatrous behavior in regards to the Eigel Zahav (Golden Calf), Moshe explains that B’nai Yisroel’s essential task is to refrain from Idolatry, serve God, worship God, and the nation will be rewarded with water, grass and quality lives. Moshe also reminds B’nai Yisroel that they have nothing to fear when they enter into Canaan and conquer the land even though they maybe outnumbered. God has already, and will continue to protect his people. He did so during the Yetziat Mitzrayim (Exodus from Egypt). He did so when B’nai Yisroel defeated Og and Bashan. As long as B’nai Yisroel keeps its side of the Brit, God will continue to protect his people.

While Moshe recounts the experience at Mt Sinai, now known as Mt. Horeb, he explains that the misfortunes that befell B’nai Yisroel were L’Nastocha LD’aat et Asher Bilvavecha HaTishmor Mitzvotav Im Lo – tests , to know what is in you r heart whether you would observe His commandments or not (Deut. 8:2). While Moshe explains B’nai Yisroel’s recent history in terms of a Divine Test, he makes an odd statement as he cites some of the miracles that B’nai Yisroel may have overlooked or took for granted. Simlatcha lo Valtah Mei’Alecha, V’Raglecha Lo VaTzeika Zeh Arbaim Shana- Your garments did not wear out upon you and your foot did not swell these forty years (Deut.8:4). Forty years of living in the Wilderness and no one outgrew their clothing nor wore out their clothing or their sandals. Certainly their clothing and sandals were not made with the same high quality material as our son’s sneakers nor his denim jean (that he outgrew). Rashi, the great 11^th century French commentator, offers an explanation base on a literal understanding of the verse. Anenei Kavod Hayu SHafin Bichsutam –The Clouds of Glory would rub their clothes U’MGaHaTzim Otam- and press them, Kmin Keilim M’Guhatzim – like freshly pressed garments. V’Af Ketaneihem Kmo Hayu Gdeilim Haya Gadeil Levushan Imahem – and their young too, as they would grow, their clothing grew with them, K’Lvush HaZeh shel Chomet Sh’Gdeil Imo – like the clothing (shell) of a snail which grows with it. This is not the kind of miracle that one notices and has an awe inspiring moment. Rather this is the type of miracle that one becomes aware of after the fact. Maybe this type of miracle is imperceptible on a day to day basis but over the course of years and decades, looking back, one realizes what took place.  However a more figurative way to understand Moshe’s statement is that the clothes are God’s teachings, God’s commandments, the Torah. Torah, and Moshe’s teachings, by design, are supposed to grow with the person and never become old, worn out or obsolete.

I suppose Nike and Levis and all the other clothing and shoe manufacturers would hate the idea that clothing is synonymous with Torah. After all, Torah is designed to withstand time and space. Clothing manufacturers need children to outgrow their clothes and wear out their shoes. Otherwise there would be no need to buy more sneakers and jeans. I became very aware of this as I closely inspected by son’s shredded sneaker.  As we drove back to Toronto, we passed an outlet mall on the New York State Thruway and bought him another pair of sneaker. I know that his foot hasn’t stopped growing, so we will have to buy more sneakers in another 9-12 months. I told him that I did not want to buy him another pair because he wore them out so quickly but rather because he outgrew them. Maybe he should read and study more since one doesn’t outgrow or wear out his knowledge base like he does with his clothes and his sneakers.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Count the Angels dancing on a Pin (Barlow/ Weir - Weather Report Suite Part II: Let it Grow)

The weather says late spring. The leaves on the trees have sprouted, the flowers are in bloom, the rain is warm, the bees are buzzing, and swimming pool owners have opened up their pool. Canada celebrated Victoria Day earlier this week which marks the beginning of the summer season. This Monday, the United States will celebrate Memorial Day thereby marking the beginning of the summer season in the U.S. For me it means baseball season. It means that at least four nights a week, my poor wife has to be fight for my attention as it is torn between my job, my family and the New York Yankees. Here in Canada, I have quickly learned that it is not baseball season quite yet. Sports headlines begin with the same story every night and will continue until the middle of June. The focus is playoff hockey and the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Whatever the team sport of choice – Hockey in Canada or Baseball in the U.S; anyone who has ever played a team sport has learned a powerful, age-old, sports adage. “There is no ‘I’ in TEAM”. The adage means that the individual must forsake his/her ego for the good of the team. Everyone on the team has a role. If that role is not executed with efficiency and excellence, then the team’s effectiveness is compromised and the risk of losing games increases. For anyone who has participated in a group activity outside of a team sport: a play’s cast, a band, the army, a business, or a family, very frequently the individual must sacrifice for the good of the group. Individual satisfaction must be linked to group satisfaction and success; otherwise tension between the individual and the group will increase. When the individual possesses the same sense of purpose as the group, forsaking one’s ego is quite easy. When the group achieves success, forsaking one’s ego is also quite easy. When there are clearly defined roles and expectations, forsaking one’s ego is easier. Simultaneously, members of successful groups do not have the attitude of, “that’s not my job, I don’t know” or, “they don’t pay me for that, so I can’t help you”. Instead, their attitude is to “pick up the slack” and “play within their skill level”. Again, ego gratification is sublimated for the good of the team.

This week’s Par shah is Bemidbar. Bemidbar marks the start of the fourth Book of the Torah, Sefer Bemidbar (the Book of Numbers). If the Book of Leviticus focused upon all the ritual and ethical behavior a community must observe in order for “God to dwell among it”, The Book of Numbers focuses upon something quite different. Sefer Bemidbar consists of lists, lists of names, numbers and places. The Book begins and ends with a census. The Book begins with B’nai Yisroel still wandering from place to place as they completed their first year free from captivity. As they begin their second year, there will be more narrative, and more events. The Book of Numbers concludes with B’nai Yisroel’s temporarily dwelling in one spot for the next 38 years, overlooking the Promised Land.

Parshah Bemidbar begins with God commanding Moshe to count the people. Then God commands Moshe to organize the people according to tribal formation around the Mishkan. Three tribes are in each of the four directions: three in the North, three in the South, three in the East and three in the West. The tribe of Levi, (the priest) was not counted in this census because it occupied the center of the camp. Instead of the first born from other tribes serving in the Mishkan, the Levites became the designated tribe to serve God in the Mishkan. Counting the Levites was the second census. In Parshah Bemidbar, we also read a list of names. These are the designated leaders of each tribe. Every tribe has a place within the camp, every tribe has a flag, and every tribe has a leader. The Parshah concludes with another census, this time it is limited to a particular family within the tribe of Levi.

Every tribe had a role. Every tribe had a place. Every tribe had a function. The Midrash Tanchuma Bemidbar 12 explains that when God suggested the arrangements and roles for the tribes, Moshe questioned the idea. “Now there will be disputes between the tribes.” Moshe reasoned that by assigning certain tribes to certain places, other tribes would become envious and grow disenchanted with their place within the camp, relative to the Mishkan. God explained that there was no need to worry. Each tribe’s designated spot was based upon Jacob’s sons’ positioning around Jacob’s coffin. Each tribe had a clear and proper place within the greater community. There was no fighting, no bickering, nor any disenchantment. VaYa’Asu B’nai Yisroel kChol Asher Tzivah Adonai et Moshe, Kein Asu – “The Children of Israel did everything that God commanded Moshe, so did they do” (Num.1:54). Knowing their role or their place had a positive effect. Each tribe had a defined space and specific function that insured the welfare of the community.

Towards the end of the Parsha, the census for the Levite tribe begins. The first family with the Levi tribe to be counted was the Kohatite family: Moshe and Aharon’s family. The Kohatite family was assigned a certain task in regards to the maintenance of the Mishkan. Remembering what happened to Aharon’s two eldest sons when they inappropriately approached the Mishkan back in Parsha Shemini; clearly this family bears an inordinate amount of risk to life and limb in regards to its particular responsibilities. V’Zot Asu Lahem V’Chayu V’Lo Yamutu B’Gishtam et Kodesh Hakodashim, Thus shall you do for them so that they shall live and not die; when they approach the Holy of Holies Aharon U’VaNav YaVo’u V’Samu Otam Ish Ish Al Avodato v’El Masa’o –, Aharon and his sons shall come and assign them, every man to his work and his burden. (4:19). Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno, an Italian Renaissance commentator explains that each of the Hohatites should be appointed to do a specific task in the breaking down and carrying of the Mishkan. They should be so organized in order to insure an orderly approach to the Mishkan. Otherwise they will invariably compete with one another in order to be the first one and someone might get jostled. The jostling could result in someone knocking into the Mishkan thus bringing death upon himself.

So, what can we learn from Parsha Bemidbar? First we learn that every individual counts and every individual has value. We only count that which has a perceived value, such as: money, cd’s, cars, and whatever we have collected over the years. God ordered two censuses. B’nai Yisroel mattered to God; each individual must have had value. Otherwise, God would not have counted. From this we learn that a community’s strength is only as great as the individuals that comprise that community. Second, we learn that everyone must have a role, or a function within that community. Each individual must have a means to contribute to the community. By reaching out to the individual, recognizing how each contributes to the whole, and each individual’s contribution, the larger group benefits. A family, a team, a community and a nation can achieves holiness.

Peace,

Rav Yitz