Goin' Where The Climate Suits My Clothes ("Going Down The Road Feeling Bad" - Traditonal Folk Song)

With my wife’s birthday around the corner and our 18-year-old daughter in Israel, I came up with the perfect gift. I sent her to Israel to visit our daughter. As excited as she was to go to Israel and to see our daughter; I think she was just as happy to be out of the snowy wintry cold that has gripped Toronto. As her flight date approached, I would have thought that her excitement and anticipation would have increased. Instead the anxiety of “what to pack” replaced some of that excitement. Over the years, when I watched her go through the internal debates on the merits of which skirts, which dresses and what sweaters to bring, I used to grow impatient and aggravated. Perhaps packing clothing is fundamentally easier for me. I focus on the reason for wearing the clothes. I don’t focus upon whether or not I like a particular article of clothing or anticipate a desire to wear a specific article of clothing. So this time as my wife’s anxiety increased, I just attempted to disengage. Amazingly enough, the stress of her packing remained essentially confined to my wife. The stress and the anxiety didn’t spread to me or the kids. If she asked me if something fit, I answered. When she needed me to bring down her suitcase, I did. When she needed me to help with laundry, I did. Because I essentially stayed away from her packing the suitcase, I didn’t have to experience her concerns about what to pack.

 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. However, Parshah Tetzaveh teaches us something radically different. Instead of clothing making us look sharper, slimmer, better proportioned, what if clothes could express 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? Such clothes would have to express the degree to which we have permitted God into our lives. Such clothes would have to express the holy magnificence of God’s presence within our lives.

                The Torah is very clear as to the reason for such highly decorative, highly ornate clothing. 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 son’s, 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 strives to create 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 can wear our spiritual clothing: prayer, Kashrut, study, and simple acts of kindness (Gemilut Chasadim) and make sure that these spiritual clothes match our external clothes. Sometimes it is very easy to lose sight of what matters. Frequently we focus on the outside.  As my wife was almost finished packing, she asked me about an article of clothing. I smiled before I responded and she answered herself. Her answer stunned me. She explained that she wouldn’t take that particular article of clothing because she was going to Israel to visit her daughter and spend time with her. Nothing else really mattered. With that answer, there was no more anxiety and we all were excited for her birthday journey to Israel.

Peace

Rav Yitz

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

She Went Down To A Tailor's Shop And Dressed In Man's Array ( "Jack A-Roe" - Traditional Folk Song)

Earlier this week, there was a particularly disturbing news story about three teenage British girls (15,15,16) who packed their respective suitcases, went to the airport, boarded a flight to Turkey, and from there planned to make their way across the border into Syria and join ISIS. As the story broke, the parents of these teenagers were interviewed shaking their heads, shocked that their daughters had become radicalized. Their sibling were interviewed and they begged from their sisters to return to England knowing that once they enter Syria and join ISIS they will never be able to leave. Each news story showed the three girls wearing the traditional garb of religious Muslim women including a hijab (traditional scarf head covering). If and when they arrive in Syria and join ISIS; they will add a niqab (face covering) and burka (a full body cloak).  At first we all thought that hijab was an expression an Islamic woman’s extreme religious fervor. By the time the news story finished and we saw the niqab and the burka, we realized that the hijab was actually an expression of moderate religious fervor compared to the other two articles of clothing. Soon after the story broke, we were in a mall and my son and I were walking in front of two woman wearing the entire uniform: head covering, face covering and full body cloak. We were wearing our kippot.  We heard the two woman speaking Arabic. Maybe it’s the times in which we live, maybe it’s my own ignorance, maybe it’s a bias that has developed over the past 15 to 20 years, maybe it’s the images that I see in digital media or print media regarding Islamic fundamentalism, terrorist attacks, and the every increasingly loud call for Jihad; but I held my son’s hand just a little tighter, walked just a little quicker and was just a little bit uncomfortable. I felt this way simple because of the clothing that these woman were wearing.

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”. Make no mistake, clothing also make the woman. Clothing defines who and what we are, and sometimes it defines our beliefs and even the depth and fervor of that belief. However Parshah Tetzaveh is teaches us something radically different. Instead of clothing making us look sharper, slimmer, better proportioned, what if clothes could express 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? Such clothes would have to express the degree to which we have permitted God into our lives. Such clothes would have to express the holy magnificence of God’s presence within our lives.

            The Torah is very clear as to the reason for such highly decorative, highly ornate clothing. 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 (Ex. 29:44). God’s presence will make the Tent of the Meeting holy. In other words, God’s presence will make a particular space holy.  Aaron and his son’s, serving on behalf of the people must achieve a higher degree of holiness compared to the rest of the people since Aaron and his sons work on behalf of the people directly dealing with God. This higher level of holiness must exist both inside and outside. Any inconsistency renders his the Kohen Gadol impure. If the clothes become physically dirty, then he is momentarily impure. If his heart wanders, if his mind is elsewhere, if he has not completely given of himself to the process and the service to God on our behalf, then he is momentarily impure as well.

            If this was seventy five years ago we would be uncomfortable if we saw young men in brown shirts, tall leather boots and a swastika. If this was twenty years ago we would be uncomfortable if we saw a group of teenagers  with shaved heads, tattoos, and symbols of Aryan Nation on their jackets. Nowadays if we see men and woman, dressed in clothing that is not only the clothing of religious fervor but is clothing that has been co –opted by Muslim extremists that want to bring harm to the world. While clothing always expressed socio-economic status, religious belief, political affiliation and gang affiliation; now the combination has become much more toxic and dangerous to those vulnerable young people being actively recruited in the by a perverse and evil ideology.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Going Where The Climate Suits My Clothes ( "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad - sung by Jerry Garcia)

Summer must be coming to an end. Our kids just returned from two months at sleep away camp.  Now the sorting begins. The kids unpack their duffle bags. They sort the clothes into piles. Clothes that no longer fit but are in reasonable condition and no one wants, will be donated. Clothes that fit, get washed, dried folded and are returned to their respective drawers. The last pile is the pile that I find so fascinating. This is the pile that contains clothing, and often time sneakers that have just plain worn out.  This pile is the ultimate in irony. These are clothes and sneakers and shoes that our children liked so much that they wore them all the time. Sometimes they wore them so much and neglected to wash the clothes so were filthy and threadbare. Often these were sneakers and clothes that we bought brand new for camp. That’s right; the kids wore out clothing and sneakers in eight weeks. Well they certainly don’t make clothing and shoes like they used to.

This week we read from Parsha Ki Tavo. The Parsha begins with Moshe explaining the laws that are specific to B'nai Yisroel’s entry into the Land.  He reminds them of the laws of first fruits, and tithing.  Moshe reminds them that there is a powerful link between God, B'nai Yisroel and the Land. Each needs the other.  Moshe then describes the ritual specific to this generation that will symbolize their acceptance of the Torah and the covenant.  As they cross the Jordan River, they would inscribe two stones with Kol Divrei HaTorah HaZot BaEir Heiteiv – You shall inscribe on the stones all the words of this Torah well clarified.” Then the stones would be covered with plaster in order to protect the inscriptions. Moshe then reminds B'nai Yisroel that they are now an Am Yisroel– a Nation and no longer B’nai Yisroel – Children of Yisroel.  With that change of status comes responsibility, and Moshe lists the blessings and the curses that will result depending upon Am Yisroel’s behavior.  Moshe concludes his passionate plea to fulfill the covenant by giving Am Yisroel a brief history lesson. He reminds them that they left Egypt and saw all the signs and wonders (they didn’t, rather their parents and grandparents experience the Exodus and witnessed the plagues). Moshe reminds them that he let them for Forty years, and they didn’t eat bread nor drink wine, rather they experienced the miracle of the Manna. He reminds them of battles they fought and won and finally he reminded them they were ready to begin their new lives in the land.

Certainly the concluding verses are incredibly uplifting as Moshe passionately explains that they are ready to enter the land. However there is one verse in this “pep-talk” that reminds us that Moshe is really an old man, a zeide (a grandfather or great grandfather), who apparently worked in the shmatte business. “V’Oleich Etchem Arbaim Shana BaMidbar – And I led you for forty years in the Wilderness, Lo Valu Salmoteichem Mei’Aleichem V’Na’alcha Lo Valtah Mei’Al Raglecha – your garment did not wear out from on you, and your shoe did not wear out from on your foot.” (Ex. 29:4). Moshe does not explicitly mention the parting of the Yam Suf, nor surreal and miraculous moments at Sinai. Yes he mentions some battles but shoes and clothes? The fact that they didn’t wear out after all those years; that the miracle? Well yes. Besides water and Manna, this was the one miracle that touched them on a daily basis. This is the one miracle that while it happens, they probably didn’t think about it. At least with the Manna they had to go and gather it. At least with the Water they had to go and draw it. However, with clothes and shoes they would just put them on without any thought, nor effort. Now, looking back, Moshe reminds them that even the smallest miracle, the thing most taken for granted was indeed miraculous.

Yes, the kids have made their piles. Yes, it’s amazing how our son wore through a pair of sneakers in a matter of weeks, and our daughters wore through shoes and shirts in a matter of weeks. No miracle here. Maybe the miracle for these kids is that they came home with the majority of their own clothes and are content with what they have!

Peace,

Rav Yitz