When All We Ever Wanted Was To Learn And Love And Grow (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Days Between")

Last weekend and this weekend millions of and millions of Americans suffering from the exhaustion that is the drama of FBI Investigations, Senate confirmation hearings, Trump-care, alleged collusion with the Russians; found solace and will seek solace from a bunch of university age young men playing basketball. Indeed, for a college basketball fan, these final two weekends in March are a great time of year. Last Thursday sixty-four teams began the tournament and by the end of this weekend, four teams will play for a national championship. It is truly some of the most competitive dramatic and exciting basketball. More importantly it is a wonderful escape from the constant and overwhelming flow of political news out of Trump administration. In order to win the national championship a team must win six games in a row. In order to win these final six games of the season, each individual must put aside his ego, his own individual needs and accept his responsibility and his obligation to the team. Each individual must fulfill his role even more effectively and efficiently than during the games leading up these final six games. Each individual must decide that the common goal of the team is the most important goal.  Everything that can be done to fulfill this goal even if it means diminished personal satisfaction and glory must occur otherwise there is no hope of a championship.

            This week we combine the final two Parshiot, Vayakahel-Pekudie, and complete the Book of Exodus. Following the sin of the Golden Calf and Teshuvah (repentance), B’nai Yisroel begins executing God’s instructions for the Mishkan, the Ark, and the Tent of the Meeting. You will recall that when God gave these instructions to Moshe, God started from the middle of the Mishkan – the Aron and worked out to the walls of the Tent of the Meeting.  When B’nai Yisroel begins the building process, it begins with walls of the Tent, then concludes with the altar and finally the Ark. 

After the destructive behavior of worshipping the Golden Calf, B’nai Yisroel comes together, and shares a common constructive experience bound by a common goal. Their goal is to complete the construction of the Mishkan. The common experience is their contributions of raw materials. V’Yavo’u  Kol Ish Asher Nasahu Libo V’chol Asher Nadvah Rucho- Every man whose heart inspired him came; and everyone whose spirit motivated him brought the portion of God for the work of the Tent of the Meeting, for all its labor and for the sacred clothing (Ex.35:21). By participating in this constructive process, everyone had an opportunity to repent for the sin of the Golden Calf and for their lack of faith. If viewed as a process, B’nai Yisroel began on the outside of its relationship with God, struggling to connect to God by means of idolatrous behavior.  After repentance, and with the completion of each aspect of the Mishkan and the Ohel Moed; B’nai Yisroel began moving towards the Holy of Holies. They started with the walls of the Tent of the Meeting, and finished with the ark. They started where they were capable and as they continued to spiritually and grow and develop they were able to move to the next aspect until finally concluding with the Aron.

For the vast majority, we approach God in a similar way. As we become inspired, we come to Judaism. As we become motivated, we dedicate a greater portion to God, both in terms of Tzedakah and time. It is very rare when our motivation or dedication comes as a result of a “bolt of lightening” or some existential metaphysical sign or wonder. No, our motivation and dedication is a result of our recognition that there is something missing in our lives. We miss meaning and purposefulness in our lives. We miss contentment in our lives. We miss peace in our lives. Certainly we can be happy without meaning. Certainly we can be happy without contentment. Certainly we can be happy without peace. Why? Happiness is rather fleeting and quite often it is the result of some external factor. Meaning, contentment and peace are ultimately internally influenced and far less fleeting.  Our movement towards God, our movement towards greater observance, is a series of steps. We don’t begin as a Tzaddik observing all mitzvot.  Rather, one mitzvah leads to another, learning leads to more learning which eventually leads to doing.

We learn several vital lessons from these Parshiot. First, we learn that Judaism requires two parties, God and B’nai Yisroel. Both must exist together in a balanced relationship. When God and Torah become so far out of reach, B’nai Yisroel will become alienated and turn to idolatry, such as the Golden Calf, crass materialism, money or some other “God”. When B’nai Yisroel fails to elevate itself in Kedushah, in holiness, then we fail in our dual mission: make our lives more meaningful and spiritual; “be a light among the nations”. However when we enter into a highly participatory and shared communal experience, such as building the Mishkan, or any project or program that we build, we must sacrifice some of our personal needs for the well being of the community. Second, we learn that when the community shares a commons sense of purpose, something wonderful happens. We achieve that balance between God and ourselves. The result, of course, is that God will dwell among us. God’s dwelling among us makes our community a little warmer, a little kinder, and more significant. Third, we also learn that the actual process of building requires hard work. B’nai Yisroel, like any team shared in the difficulty of the task. Greater participation makes the experience that much more meaningful and more rewarding. What is the reward? The reward is a community that shares simchas and tsuris, victories as well as defeats. The reward is that no individual member of the community should ever feel alienated and alone. The reward is a community that strives for growth and improvement. This brings more meaning to the life of the individual, the family, and the community.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Esau Gave Me Sleeplessness And A Piece Of Moral Land (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "My Brother Esau")

This past week, my family and I had the opportunity to get in touch with our American heritage. I had the opportunity to pass the tradition and history of college basketball to my children. However, I had an eye opening experience that indicates that perhaps we have been living in Canada for a long time. This past Shabbat, one of the final four teams playing was the University of Connecticut. They won their semifinal game and eventually were crowned National Champions on Monday night with their victory over the University of Kentucky. Among the people who live in New England and New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania: the University of Connecticut is also known as UConn. When my children kept hearing UConn, the dominant cultural context of our lives: Jewish Culture and Canadian culture became quite apparent. Until the championship game began, my children couldn’t’ understand why we weren’t cheering for the University of Kentucky when after all, they knew that Kentucky was one of the 50 States. When I asked them why they would cheer for Kentucky, a team that I grew up cheering against, my three children looked up at me and said in great patriotic fervor, “How can we root for UCONN that is one of the provinces in Canada!” I looked my children blankly and responded UConn is in Connecticut not the Yukon, but UConn - University of Connecticut!”

This Shabbat is Shabbat HaGadol; the Shabbat that immediately precedes Pesach. The Parsha is Acharei Mot. After two Parshiot, Tazria and Metzorah, which essentially interrupted the narrative and the laws that had been focused upon the Kohanim, we now return to the Kohen as the central focus in the Parsha. Now that he has become spiritually pure, the Torah is now ready to teach the laws for the spiritual purity of the nation. We have focused upon the impurities of individuals, now we focus upon the community. The Kohen acts on behalf of the nation just like he acts on behalf of the individual. The Torah teaches us the laws for the offerings of Yom Kippur, national atonement, and Azazel otherwise known as the Scapegoat. The Scapegoat is not offered as a sacrifice to God, but rather is sent out from the camp and left to wander in the wilderness eventually succumbing to the elements.

The second half of the Parsha focuses upon the holy and holy relationships within the family. However the list of inappropriate behaviors between family members is taught within the context of the other nations. What is particularly troubling is the fact that our interaction with the two nations was a direct function of God’s plan. God invokes Egypt and God invokes Canaan. We went down to Egypt and now we were being brought to Canaan.  K’Maasei Eretz Mitzrayim Asher Y’shavtem Bah Lo Ta’Asu UchMa’Asei Eretz Canaan Asher Ani Meivi Etchem Shamah Lo Ta’Asu UvChukoteihem Lo Teileichu – Do not practice of the land of Egypt in which you dwelled; and do not perform the practices of the land of Canaan to which I bring you, and do not follow their traditions. (Lev. 18:3) For the past two centuries Bnai Yisroel dwelled in Egypt, a morally decadent community. Now B’nai Yisroel is about to head into Eretz Canaan, which was also a morally decadent land inhabited by the Moabites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Jebusites and the Edomites to name a few. I can justify using Egypt as the example. First our descent into slavery both physical and spiritual was hardly overnight but rather a gradual process. Second, our experience in Egypt serves as the origins of our becoming a nation. Invoking that experience is at the core of our national memory. We remind ourselves of Yetziat Mitzrayim three times a day when we say the Shmah. We are reminded of Yetziat Mitzrayim when we make Kiddush on Shabbat and all festivals. We reminded ourselves of Yetziat Mitzrayim and pass down that collective memory to our children at the Pesach Seder. But Canaan? Canaan is God’s covenant with us, originating with Avraham Avinu. So why would God promise us a land that is as morally bankrupt as Egypt? Why would God bring us to a place that is the equivalent to a place where God brought us out?

The Be’er Yitzchak, the 19^th Russian Rabbi offers a comment that is relevant to today’s Jewish experience. “The reason for mentioning Egypt and Canaan is simple: if you imitate the Egyptians – then why did I take you out of Egypt? And if you behave like the Canaanites- why should I expel them before you; it was on condition that you will not do so that I took you out of Egypt and that I shall expel the Canaanites… do not imitate even their innocuous practices, for these lead to total assimilation.” The experience in Egypt was an incubation period to prepare for Torah at Sinai. Our experience in Egypt would constantly serve as a reminder that we ultimately rejected physical slavery and that we ultimately rejected the institutions and behaviors of that master. It is certainly easy to reject all things Egyptian while we are reminded of how damaging the experience was. It is quite another thing to reject the behavior, and culture of a society when one is free, when one is not scarred by such a damaging experience. Yet, the success of our people, the future viability of our relationship with God through Torah could only occur if we are able to reject a dominant culture’s behavior as a free nation and not as an enslaved nation. Bnai Yisroel’s survival ultimately depends upon remaining separate and apart from the cultural majority. Bnai Yisroel’s survival depends upon remaining spiritually distinct from the majority. Bnai Yisroel’s survival depends upon the spiritual strength needed to reject the behaviors of any dominant culture, to refrain from behavior because “everyone else does it”.

It is always nice to feel part of something. It is always nice to feel included. It is always nice to be culturally recognized. From an individual perspective, going along with the crowd means never feeling left out. For our children, there is always the tension of fitting in to Canadian culture and still retaining a sense of individuality and their American cultural heritage and history.  For the Jewish people, historically it has been a similar issue. How much of the dominant culture to we integrate into Judaism, how much Judaism to we give up into order to fit into the dominant culture? Our national sin, our national mistake is our individual yearning, our desire to be like everybody else, to assimilate.

Peace,

Rav Yitz