Long Is The Road We Must Travel On Down (John Perry Barlow & Brent Mydland: "I Will Take You Home")

While we watch the Senate vote to acquit and Mitt Romney’s courageous vote to convict, Kirk Douglas, otherwise known as Spartacus to my son passed away at 103. As we watched the news, the first sentences about Kirk Douglas could have been the first sentences about my Grandfather. “Born in 1916 in upstate New York to Russian Jewish Immigrants…”  Both men changed their name, Kirk Douglas changed his name from  Issur Danielovitch, and my grandfather changed the family’s last name from Lifshitz to Lipson.  Yes, my grandfather would have been 103 years old. My grandfather’s parents arrived five years before Kirk’s parents did, but who's counting.  However as I listened to the news about Kirk Douglas’s passing, he was once quoted as saying that the luckiest thing that ever happened to him was the courage his parents had to leave Russia and come to North America. My grandfather (z’l) used to tell me the same thing. While they might not have been the best parents in the world, he always thankful for their courage to leave the miserable life they knew for the unknown possibility of a new life, a life that could be worse or could be better.

                This Shabbat we read from Parsha Beshallach This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Shira (Shabbat of Songs) because of the "songs" or poetry in both the Parsha, Beshallach, and in the Haftarah. In Parsha Beshallach, B'nai Yisroel finally leaves Egypt. Pharaoh sends them out and they hurriedly leave. Three days later, B'nai Yisroel arrives at the Yam Suf, the Reed Sea, which is along the Mediterranean coast. With Pharaoh's army behind them, and the Sea in front, B'nai Yisroel is trapped. Then the sea opens up, B'nai Yisroel crosses through and arrives safely on the other side. The Egyptian army drowns in the sea as the waters come crashing down. Out of joy and relief, B'nai Yisroel composes Shirat HaYam, the Song of the Sea. No sooner are they finished celebrating, then they begin complaining about the lack of water and food. God provides water and Manna. However, B'nai Yisroel is still not safe. Now they are attacked by the indigenous tribe, the Amalekites. B'nai Yisroel must put aside its hunger and thirst and fight for their lives. They do, and they are victorious. The Parsha ends with God commanding Moshe to blot out the very existence of the Amalekites.

                Underlying the miracles and wonders of B’nai Yisroel’s departure from Egypt: the cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night, the splitting of the Yam Suf, and the Manna; is the portrayal of B’nai Yisroel and the damage wrought by centuries of slavery. They cry out when stuck between the Egyptian army and the Yam Suf. They cry out after their song of joy for water and food. They are hesitant to move forward and they actually think that life was better in Egypt than whatever they are about to immediately experience and face in the decades to come. Amid the spiritual, psychological, and emotional damage of centuries of slavery; there are the vestiges of something very different.  B’nai Yisroel displays moments of greatness, profound faith, and trust in God. ChaZaL, the Talmudic Sages, consider the very act of leaving and following Moshe to be an act of profound faith and courage: “R’Eliezer said: When Moshe said to them ‘Arise and Go Forth’, they did not say: ‘How can we go forth into the wilderness when we have no sustenance for the way? But they had faith and followed after Moshe.”  Yes, they complained, groused, expressed skepticism and yearned for Egypt, but when push came to shove, they left, they entered into the water, pitched their tents and they packed it all up.

                Perhaps we, the descendants need to be reminded that it is not a straight line from slavery to freedom. It is not a straight line from leaving Europe to arriving in New York or Toronto and suddenly life was simple and terrific. The courage they are ancestors displayed occurred when doubt crept in when they complained but they didn’t stop moving forward. The same holds us as we embark on the paths of our lives. Our lives are not a straight line. The transition from one phase of life to another is full of fits and starts. However perhaps the less we learn, the less we teach our children is to have the courage to face the future, to face the unknown and keep moving towards it with a supreme faith that we have the tools to deal with the future.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

And You Of Tender Years, Can't Know The Fears That Your Elders Grew By (Graham Nash -"Teach Your Children")

          Our university-bound daughter returned from summer camp this week. With only a few days to get her clothes washed and packed before being dropped off at University next week; I reminded her that one of the important aspects of being a “college student” is the opportunity to question, question authority, and to question the dominant culture. The idea of questioning is incredibly Jewish and in a sense, “counter-cultural”. As we spoke, I happen to be listening to a band who played for only the second time together fifty years ago before several hundred thousand people. As she listened to the lyrics, I reminded her that fifty years ago this week, in August of 1969, on a farm dairy farm owned by Max Yasgur the Jewish son of Russian immigrants, outside the small town of Beth El, NY, a music and arts festival took place known as Woodstock. Hundreds of thousands of “college-age kids” gathered together. Woodstock would eventually come to represent the counter-cultural movement of an entire decade and generation. Forget for a moment that the nearest town was Beth El, named after the Bet El in Torah. Max Yasgur, the Jewish Dairy farmer, was a member of the Republican Party, a supporter of the Viet Nam war, and he essentially disagreed with everything that the Woodstock came to represent. When asked why he leased his fields for the Woodstock festival, Yasgur explained: “that if the generation gap is to be closed, we older people have to do more than we have done.” ("Farmer With Soul: Max Yasgur". The New York Times. 1969-08-17)

          This Shabbat, we read from Parsha V’Etchanan; it is also known as Shabbat Nachamu “Shabbat of Comfort”. Parsha V’Etchanan is always the Torah portion that immediately follows Tisha B’Av. Certainly, after commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, B’nai Yisroel needed spiritual comforting. Certainly, in this week’s Parsha, V’Etchanan, Moshe’ reassures B’nai Yisroel of its destiny and in doing so, comforts them. After concluding a brief history of B’nai Yisroel’s wanderings and a gentle rebuke of this generation which is about to enter into Eretz Canaan, Moshe now provides a framework for all the laws he will teach in succeeding weeks. Moshe presents the Aseret Dibrot, the Ten Commandments to this news generation. Moshe infuses the people with self-respect. He reminds this generation that the entire basis for our nationhood and our relationship to God is avoiding idolatry at all costs. Avoiding idolatry ultimately distinguishes us from the rest of the world. Finally, Moshe reminds the people that if they follow the advice, then everything will go well. From that perspective, Moshe is re-assuring the people that the future is possible and plausible.

          Certainly the re-iteration of the laws, the inspiring words of the inevitable entry into the land and the realization of a covenant that God made with B’nai Yisroel’s ancestors are considered to words that are both comforting and inspired. However, those words provide comfort in the short term immediate future. Moshe understands that insuring a future is not about the next day, week, month or year. Moshe needs to provide comfort, inspiration, and sustainability for not only the generation that is ready to enter the land but all the generations that will be born in the land, born while in exile and all the generations that transcend time. First, Moshe invokes the two witnesses that embody the infinite. Heaven and Earth are the witnesses to B’nai Yisroel’s acceptance of covenant (Deut 4:26). Moshe reminds this generation that they will become parents and grandparents (Deut. 4:25). Moshe reminds this generation that their primary responsibility is to teach these ordinances, these laws to their children and grandchildren. Moshe reminds this generation that it must teach “how” to observe, “when” to observe, and “why” to observe, and every parent must be prepared for the inevitability that the children will question (Deut. 6:7; 6:20). For Moshe, the most important way to sustain the generational commitment to the covenant is for parents and grandparents to teach and transmit the data, the information, and the values to the next generation.

          Moshe understood and warned B’nai Yisroel that the success of the covenant is depended upon B’nai Yisroel remaining separate and apart from other people. Moshe understood that the covenant remains viable as long as and as effective as parents and grandparents are able to teach it to their children. Moshe also understood that children’s curiosity, children’s desire to learn, to question and to seek reminds parents and grandparents of their sacred task. Then it is up to the older generation to do what it can to pass along their experiences, their wisdom, their knowledge and diminish that generation gap. Fifty years ago, a Jewish dairy farmer in Beth-El, New York understood that and fifty years later, with our daughter preparing to head off to university, we understand that as well.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Born Where The Sun Don't Shine, And I Don't Deny My Name (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia)

After our children have spent time studying the Holocaust in school, I always asked each of them a question. I always wondered at what point did our children sense that Jews in Europe began to be de-humanized, and is there one image that symbolized that dehumanization. The Yellow Star of David was a symbol of dehumanization, much of the anti-Semitic imagery and language served to dehumanize the Jews. Suggestions in language that Jews were vermin or images of an octopus with its tentacles wrapped around the earth and squeezing out all its wealth also served to dehumanize the Jews. However, for my children, perhaps the tattooed numbers upon Jews entering into work camps and concentration camps, however, seemed to be the most powerful moments of dehumanization. When asked why, each said that the numbers were an attempt to take away their names, their own individual identity. Last week, our children saw stunning images at the border between Mexico and The United States. As more and more people try to enter the United States’ southern border and U.S. immigration officials have figured out a solution to avoid the risk of losing children if and when they are separated from their parents. The U.S. immigration officials have started writing numbers upon parents  and children. Numbers have started to replace names as a form of identity for those Spanish speaking people trying to cross the border from Mexico to the United States.

This Shabbat we begin the Book of Exodus with the Parsha Shmot. Jacob’s twelve sons have died. With the passing of that generation of immigrants, a new Pharaoh took over and did not have the same relationship with Joseph’s family as the previous Pharoah. He enslaves Jacob’s descendants. Then in the second chapter of Shemot, a baby is born from the tribe of Levi, He is hidden and eventually found by the Pharoah’s daughter and raised as Egyptian and given the named Moshe. The grown boy sees an Egyptian beating a slave and kills the Egyptian taskmaster. He sees two Hebrew slaves arguing and again gets involved. However, he is identified and known as someone who has killed a taskmaster.  Moshe flees Goshen and Egypt and arrives in Midian. He marries and becomes a shepherd for his father in law. While serving as a shepherd he encounters God at the Burning Bush. During this moment of revelation, God tells Moshe that he has been chosen to lead the people from slavery to freedom. Moshe hesitatingly accepts the jobs and he returns to Egypt. Moshe meets his brother Aaron, and together they meet Pharaoh and makes the first request to release the slaves.

Parsha Shemot begins V’Eilah SHmot B’nai Yisroel, these are the names of the Children of Israel (Yaakov) HaBaim Mitzraima Eit Yaakov Ish U’Veito Bau- who were coming to Egypt with Jacob, each man, and his household. Each son and each tribe is mentioned. Keeping in mind that each tribe received a blessing at the very end of Breishit, each tribe represents some innate quality and value that is vital to the people as a whole. Each name is a source of identity to those people. With the appearance of a new Pharaoh, these children have swelled in population: Paru V’Yishretzi VaYirbu V’Ya’Amtzu B’Meod Meod V’Timaleh HaAretz Otam - fruitful, teemed increased and became strong - very very much so; and the land became filled with them. The new Pharaoh sees the increasing minority population as a threat. He doesn't see individuals, he sees a group, a tribe, a people.  In the second chapter of the Shemot we read narratives how Moshe receives his name an the meanings of the names of Moshe’s sons. When Moshe encounters God, the first thing Moshe asks of God is Ma Shmo What is His name? Commenting on the importance of Shem - name, the Chatam Sofer, the late 18th/ early 19th-century commentator taught “Be careful not to change your name, language, and do not dress like non-Jews, Heaven forbid. This alludes to the fact that Jacob arrived in Egypt  Shalem (intact) and for Bnai Yisroel to remain intact, and complete, they must not change their names (Shem), their language (Lashon)  and their dress (Malbush). A name is one of the three legs upon which identity rests.

Names are sacred. Names are empowering. Parents name their children. Pet owners name their pets. To give another a name is a source and perhaps a demonstration of power and authority. Receiving a name or a title could be empowering when it separates and elevates the individual. However, receiving a name or a title could also be incredibly demeaning.So when we see those in power writing numbers upon the arms of the powerless; we see an act of dehumanization. We see a people telling a powerless group that they are insignificant and have no identity. Treating them like second-class citizens could be considered acceptable and perhaps expected. As our children continued to watch those immigration officers write numbers upon the wrists of those immigrant children, we couldn’t help but think how dangerously weak the beacon of liberty and democracy has become.    

Peace,Rav Yitz

Who'll Go Right Through The Book And Break Each And Every Law (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "I Need A Miracle")

This week, Canada celebrated Canada Day (formerly known as Dominion Day) and the United State celebrated Independence Day. Both countries are the embodiment of the “New World”, a world built upon laws, democracy and based upon a dream that the future is genuinely brighter and more hopeful than the “Old World’s” paralyzing history and restrictive social mores. Both countries offer a possibility, an opportunity and that one ought to be judged by the “content of character”, not by skin colour, country of origin, wealth, or family connections. Both countries have always made it clear that no person is above the law: Not the poorest, not the wealthiest, not the meekest, not the most powerful.  So as my children celebrate both Canada Day and Independence Day; I feel compelled to remind them that what they should keep in mind when they celebrate is that more than any form of government more than any form of a society’s basic principle of organization; Democracy is the holiest form of government and, besides Torah, Democracy is one of the holiest organizing principles of a society. Like Torah, in Democracy the Law is sacred, the law is Holy, and no king no leader is above the Law. Like Torah, Democracy and Law work best when it avoids fundamentalism/extremism of the left and right; but rather sticks to the middle (Deut. 28:14).

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Pinchas. The first few Psukim of the Parsha are a direct continuation of the previous Shabbat Parsha: Balak. There is no elapse of time in the narrative. Balak concludes with a plague upon B’nai Yisroel for its worship of Moabite/Midianite god, Baal Peor. Aaron’s son Pinchas zealously acts by killing Zimri from the tribe of Shimon and Cozbi the Midianite woman. God tells Moshe to reward Pinchas for his behaviour by giving him the Brit Shalom, the Covenant of Peace. This covenant is only for Pinchas and his descendants. Keeping in mind that B’nai Yisroel has now concluded it 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and are poised upon the eastern bank of the Jordan River; a new census is taken. Just like we needed to know how many left Egypt, we now need to know how many will enter into Eretz Canaan. After the census is taken Moshe must judge a legal case concerning the laws of inheritance when a man has only daughters. This brief narrative is about the “Daughters of Tzelophchad”. Following this narrative, God commands Moshe to teach the new generation the laws for time-bound offerings including the Shabbat offering, the Rosh Chodesh offering, the offerings for the Shalosh Regalim (Three Pilgrimage Festivals etc).

Isn't it odd, or perhaps even disturbing, that Pinchas' zealousness, his subsequent spear throwing and impaling his targets appears rewarded with a Brit Shalom - a Covenant of Peace and Brit Kehunat Olam - a covenant of an everlasting Priesthood? (Num. 25:12). Through our modernist lens, many readers will perceive Pinchas’ act to be nothing more than fanaticism or vigilantism. It appears as if vigilantism is rewarded. To offer Pinchas Peace and the Priesthood becomes seems incomprehensible. The NeZiV (Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Berlin Poland 1817-1893; the Rosh Yeshiva of the Volozhin Yeshiva) offers a fascinating explanation that might be valuable in today's’ age of extremists recruiting young people. The NeZiV explains that the Brit Shalom is a guarantee of peace from an inner enemy from whatever lurked within Pinchas that caused him to kill another human being without due process. "The Holy One Blessed He blessed him [Pinchas] with the attribute of peace, that he should not be quick-tempered or angry. Since it was only natural that such a deed as Pinchas' should leave in his heart an intense emotional unrest afterward, the Divine blessing was designed to cope with this situation and promised peace and tranquility of the soul." We can now begin to make some sense of these covenants. Once Pinchas committed his first act of zealous defence of God's glory, perhaps it becomes easier and easier to commit the second, third or forty-eighth act of zealous defence of God's glory. At some point, from the NeZiV's perspective, the zealot's soul becomes damaged, the zealot's emotions are incapable of feelings, and the zealot's eyes become unseeing except through the lens of their zealousness. The zealot by definition is an extremist and we know that extremism in Judaism is frowned upon and halachically unacceptable (see the laws of the Nazarite).  Precisely because the zealot does not know peace when he/she commits such an act, in Pinchas' case the only gift God could give was that the tumult of his own soul should cease and he should be whole, complete and at peace.

Yes, Pinchas saved a community from further pain and suffering by hurling that spear at Zimri and Omri. Yes, Pinchas murdered that Prince of the tribe of Shimon and that Princess Midian. The Covenant isn’t so much a reward but rather it is a salve or a balm for the tumult within Pinchas’ soul. Now, Pinchas and his descendants could ill afford to ever act as vigilantes, Pinchas and his descendants could ill afford to take on a such a fundamentalist attitude because Pinchas has now been thrust into a position of leadership and rather than embracing the fundamentalist and tumultuous aspect of soul, he must rather embrace the calm, loving demeanor of his grandfather, Aaron, who chased after Justice and loved Amcha.  

Peace,

Rav Yitz

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

Camp has started. Our 18 year old began her staff week late last week. My wife left for camp on Sunday and I dropped off our son this past Tuesday. A friend of mine, a self-identified Orthodox Jew and avid supporter of Israel, and I chatted for a few moments at the camp before I left. He mentioned that he has participated in the recent protests out the offices of the OU. I asked why he was protesting.  He explained that he felt that the OU had sold their soul to a corrupt administration in order to for support for Israel. He explained that the OU should be a little more judicious in their praise of leaders and that support and praise must be based upon something more than just support for Israel. He went on to say that in the long run, he worried that support from divisive leaders, is bad for Israel and bad for the Jews. He worried that Israel has become a partisan issue.  We spoke for a few more minutes and he explained that many in his community share a similar perspective. While support for Israel (the message) matters,  so does the messenger. 

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Balak. Balak was a King of Moab. He heard of Bnai Yisroel’s most recent victory against the Amorites and he understood that fighting Bnai Yisroel would mean certain defeat.  Balak decided that invoking God and cursing Bnai Yisroel would be a better way of defeating Bnai Yisroel. So Balak hired a prophet named Balaam to curse Bnai Yisroel. Balak paid a large sum for Balaam’s curse. However try as he might, Balaam was unable to curse Bnai Yisroel. Since Balaam's donkey wouldn't even move, Balaam could not even get close enough to issue a curse. Finally, when Balaam actually drew near enough, made the necessary offerings and then tried to curse Bnai Yisroel, only Brachot (blessings) came out of his mouth.  The Parsha concludes with Bnai Yisroel encamped on the Eastern side of the Jordan River on the plains of Moab and Balak thinking of another way to weaken Bnai Yisroel. He had the Moabite women to seduce the men of Bnai Yisroel. Once seduced, the men would start engaging in idolatry and the result was God grew angry with Bnai Yisroel and indeed, they were punished with a horrible plague. Only Pinchas’s (Aharon's grandson) vigilance stopped the plague.

Two questions we taught our children to ask are questions that the Jewish people have always asked. Is it good for the Jews? Is it good for Israel? The Talmudic Rabbis have great difficulty in answering these age-old question regarding Bilaam, the Prophet for hire that was supposed to curse Israel but blessed Israel instead. Some of the Midrashim (Rabbinic comments) compare Bilaam to Abraham Moses and Jacob as a non-Jewish alternative (Sifre, Zot HaBracha section 16). However in the Targum Yonatan in the Jerusalem Talmud and Rashi’s comment in Sanhedrin 105a refers to a tradition of comparing Bilaam to Laban. According to the Midrash in Breishit Rabbah God spoke to both Laban and Bilaam in the evening. Both Laban and Bilaam misuse their words.  Laban hoodwinked and tricked Jacob into working for him as an indentured servant form nearly two decades. The Passover Hagaddah tells us that Laban wanted to uproot everything simply by keeping Jacob near him rather than leaving and becoming independent. Had Jacob and the children (Laban’s grandchildren) remained with Laban, then Israel would have been subsumed by Laban’s tribe. Bilaam also wants to destroy Israel. He tries to curse B’nai Yisroel on numerous occasions only to utter an incredibly beautiful blessing: Mah Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov (How Goodly Are Your Tents O’ Jacob…) However it is also Bilaam who noticing the morality and the purity of B’nai Yisroel’s camp (Rashi’s comment in Num.24:5); called on King Balak to send the Moabite and Midianite daughters to seduce the men of Israel both sexually and religiously: VaTikrena L’Am L’Zivchei Eloheihen VaYochal Ha’Am VaYishtachu L’Eloheihen - They (the daughters of Moab and Midian) invited the people (B’nai Yisroel) to the feasts of their gods; the people ate and prostrated themselves to their (the Moabite and Midianite Gods). Israel was threatened both physically and spiritually, first with food and drink, and then by worshipping Baal Peor. By creating and initiating this plan designed to get the Jews to assimilate, some Rabbinic Sages consider Bilaam to be even more evil and more dangerous than Laban.

I wished my friend a good summer hoping he enjoyed his work at the camp and looked forward to seeing him when I pick up our kids. I drove off wondering about the conversation with my Orthodox Jewish friend, I wondered about his community. I wondered if supporting Israel is enough or do I need to also worry about all those messengers, the type of people that support Israel. When I returned, I sent my friend an email asking him what message did the protesters want to convey.  My friend responded by telling me that those who protest outside the OU offices, those who participate in the Protest Mincha outside the OU offices are reminding Jewish Leadership that it in this complex, politicized era, we need to pay attention to the messenger as well as the message then evaluate whether the messenger is good for Israel and the Jews. I was re-assured that like the Sages, we need to continue asking the same questions.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

The morning sun will rise, but the darkness never goes from some men's eyes. (John Barlow & Bob Weir- "Throwing Stones")

We attended two commencements this week, a middle school commencement and a High School commencement.  Grandparents attended as well as our eldest daughter in from Florida.  Yes, there was a lot of pride, and a realization of a “new normal”. Each graduation featured a similar comment regarding a need for the “graduates to be aware that the world is full of possibilities as well in need of some fixing.  When we talked to our graduates that the world might need some fixing, we immediately asked them if they had seen the pictures of children being taken from their immigrant parents along the Texas/Mexican border. We asked if they heard the White House Press Secretary refer to the Bible as the pre-text to justify a policy of separating children from parents as a deterrent from entering a land of freedom and opportunity.  As I watched my kids walk across the stage, to receive their diplomas; I thought about all the stages my wife and I walked across to receive our diplomas, diplomas from schools in the U.S. and Canada.  I thought about my Grandfather, a son of immigrants. As I watched our children, my grandfather’s words, one of his many mantras, haunted me. “Parents sacrifice so that the children, the next generation will do better”. I thought about my mother in law whose parents were among the last leave Germany, arriving in New York before Jews were turned away like the “Voyage of the Damned”. As our kids walked across the stage, I thought about all those parents just traveled 1500 miles fleeing the for their lives and their children’s lives seeking asylum,  only be refused entry and have their children taken from them in the process. 

This week we read from Parsha Chukkat. This Shabbat we read from Parsha Chukkat. Chukkat begins by telling us the Law for the Red Heifer. The Priest who prepares the mixture of water and the Red Heifers burnt ashes will render the entire nation spiritually pure; but the mixture will render him impure. A brief narrative concerning the death of Miriam, the lack of water and B’nai Yisroel’s resulting anxiety and lack of faith leads to the issuance of another test of faith in the Wilderness. Moshe and Aaron don’t know what to do; so God tells them: Kach et HaMateh v’Hakhaeil Et Ha’Edah Ata v’Aharon Achicha v’Dibartem El HaSela L’Eineihem V’Natan Meimav V’Hotzeitah Lahem Mayim Min HaSela V’Hishkita et HaEidah v’Et B’Iram – Hashem spoke to Moshe saying: Take the staff and gather together the assembly, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes that it shall give its waters. You shall bring forth for them water from the rock and give drink to the assembly and to their animals (Num. 20:8). Instead of following instructions, Moshe succumbed to his anger and hit the rock with his staff. Indeed water came out, the people drank, but Moshe and Aharon were punished. Aharon died and Moshe learned that he would not be able to enter into Eretz Canaan. As B’nai Yisroel resumes its wandering, they are attacked by Amalek. As a result, B’nai Yisroel is forced to go around the heart of Amalek territory. The people complain to Moshe again. They try to seek permission from the Sihon, the King of the Amorites, to pass through Amorite territory. Sihon denies permission and B’nai Yisroel attacks and eventually defeats the Amorites. Og King of Bashan tries to prevent B’nai Yisroel from marching through his land, B’nai Yisroel, with the help of Hashem, defeats King Og and his army.  The Parsha concludes with B’nai Yisroel settling on the Plains of Moab on the eastern side of the Jordan poised to enter into Canaan.

After the decree of the Law of the Red Heifer, the Torah begins a new narrative, a narrative about Miriam’s death, a lack of water, B’nai Yisroel’s complaint and God’s response. Rashi comments on the first Pasuk of Chapter 20.  Eidah Shaleim – the congregation is complete (whole). Sh’Kavar Meitu Metai Midbar, V’Ilu Parsho L’Chayim (Tanuchuma) – All those of the generation that left Egypt that was supposed to die have died in the wilderness, and all those who are alive at this point are supposed to enter into Eretz Canaan.  From this point on, the Torah records the final year of B’nai’ Yisroel’s time in the wilderness.  So 38 years have transpired from the first chapter of the Parsha to the second chapter of the Parsha. Yet in 38 years, a generation that didn’t really know slavery, which only knew that Hashem provided food and water, a generation that didn’t have do anything except learn Moshe’s Torah begin to sound like their parents and perhaps their grandparents. Yes, Moshe disobeys God by hitting the rock rather than talk to the rock. However, Moshe’s frustration might have been a result of the fact that he expected this generation to know better, to have more faith in Hashem, more trust in Hashem, more of sense of purpose in terms of its relationship with Hashem. Sadly, after thirty-eight years, our ancestors, this time, a generation born to freedom, still had work to do Vis a Vis its relationship to Hashem. Yes, they came a long way since their parents were slaves, but they still had a long way to go in terms of trust in Hashem, faith in Hashem, and a confidence that Hashem would not abandons his chosen people.

                Sadly, the White House Press Secretary is right.  The events transpiring along the U.S. Mexico border have a biblical sensibility about it. She thinks that the “enforcement of the law” defines the biblical nature of the treatment of these immigrants/refugees. A group of people fleeing a miserable place and seeking a “promised land” is indeed biblical. However, it is the behavior of Og and Sihon, denying entry of a people seeking a better life that is so troubling.  One would have thought after the dismal record of preventing Jews from entering with the outbreak of WWII and the detention of Japanese Americans, it would do better than that. Sadly, a nation that had once been a moral beacon is not an Eida Shalem (a Complete Congregation). Instead, it is incomplete and as such a darkness emanates from that moral beacon rather than light. Needless to say, at each graduation, my family has never sung the “Oh Canada” louder nor with as much pride.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Little Stranger, Don't Try To Hide Now You Look So Young And You're Afraid (John Barlow & Brent Mydland - "Easy To Love You"

For the past several weeks, there have been two images of Jews that have provided our family with valuable lessons in what it means to be Jewish, American and Canadian. The first image is a 31 year old Jewish man from Santa Monica, California, author of a Presidential Executive Order otherwise termed "The Muslim Travel Ban" that was blocked by the 9^th Circuit Court. This Jewish White House advisor recently appeared on all those Sunday morning news shows telling us that immigrants are murderers and the promised a return to nativist glory days just so long as we never question the president and accept that the President determines truth. This image of stands in stark contrast to a Chicago Rabbi and his son marching at an airport demonstration against the Muslim travel ban. There is a picture that has gone viral of the Rabbi’s son (whose grandparents are part of the shul community) sitting atop his father's shoulders reaching out to a little Muslim girl sitting atop her father’s shoulders. The Rabbi and the son each hold signs that said: “We’ve Seen This Before. Never Again. Jews Against The Ban”, and “Hate Has No Home Here”.  In our home, as we watched the demonstrations at numerous airports, as we listened to words and watched the deeds of these two Jewish men, I asked our children which of these two Jewish men embody Torah, embody Jewish values either through deeds or words. Our children listened to the words, they saw the images, they read the signs, and they thought about Moses, the Exodus, and being slaves in Egypt. They thought about much more recent history: the Holocaust, the immigration quotas that prevented Jews from entering the United States immediately before the war, the internment of Japanese Americans during the War, and awareness that we are “immigrants” to Canada.

This week we read from Parsha Mishpatim. Moshe is still at Mt. Sinai. However the revelation that occurred with the giving of the Aseret Dibrot (Ten Commandments) is long gone. Instead, God has now started giving Moshe numerous laws that affect the day to day issues raised by human interaction. There is no shofar blowing, there is no anticipation of meeting God at the mountain. Rather there is only God telling Moshe how to decide various legal matters including the damages to be paid if my ox gores your ox; two men are fighting near a pregnant woman and she gets hurt,   and how to treat to a Jewish servant, observing festivals, the issues of liability for those who are asked to safeguard another’s property as well as manslaughter, to name just a few of the fifty three commandments (according to the Sefer HaChinuch).  Moshe tells these laws to B’nai Yisroel and they respond with the words Naaseh v’Nishmah – we will do and learn.  The Parsha concludes with glowing fire upon the Mountain that Moshe ascends once again.

Following the awe inspiring revelation at Sinai in Parsha Yitro, it might seem like a spiritual let down as we read of one law after another and the mundane rules that are established to govern human interaction. However buried beneath these rules and regulations God reminds Moshe of the foundations upon which these executive orders are based.  V’Ger Lo Toneh  V’Lo TilChatzenu Ki Geirim Heyitem B’Eretz Mitzrayim – You shall not taunt or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. The Talmudic Sages in Baba Metzia 59b reminds us that the Torah cautions us regarding our treatment of the stranger no less than thirty six times. No other “executive order”, no other commandment, loving God, Shabbat, circumcision, forbidden foods, uttering a falsehood occurs as frequently loving the stranger or refrain from oppressing the stranger.  The Talmudic sages understand this commandment in terms of the “stranger” (the idol worshipper turned proselyte). When the “stranger” ceases worshipping idols and begins the process of Torah study; no one oppress, mock or demean his origins. Later Medieval Commentators explain that the “stranger” is not only an idol worshipper turned proselyte, in other words, the spiritually defenseless. The “stranger” is the economically defenseless as well. RaShBam (11^th Century French commentator and Rashi’s nephew) clarifies “Do not oppress him” to do your work since he has no champion. RaMBaM, the great Spanish commentator, adds a caveat to RaShBam. God defends the defenseless. God protects the widows and the orphans. In the previous Parsha, Yitro, God reminded Moshe to tell B’nai Yisroel that they were to be a Nation of Priests, that is to say, B’nai Yisroel is supposed embody Godliness here on earth. Caring for the stranger embodies Godliness. Failure to care for the stranger embodies the Egyptians. 

Underlying the mundane concern of human relations lies the most profound and awe-inspiring idea. A group of former slaves can either embody the holiness of God or it can embody the corruption and the evil of their former task masters.  A Chicago Rabbi and his son, demonstrating at O’Hare Airport, embody the fulfillment of the commandment. A Jewish White House Advisor who grew up in a non-observant Southern California home, forgot that his ancestors were once slaves in Egypt. He apparently forgot that his maternal grandparents were Eastern European immigrants that came before the War and settled in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. One understands his roots and his peoples’ roots and one doesn’t care or appreciate his roots or his people’s roots. Thankfully, our children can see this commandment and this Torah lesson play out in real time and learn the lesson of the Chicago Rabbi and the White House aid.

Peace,

Rav Yitz