But The Heart Has Its Seasons And Evenings And Songs Of Its Own (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- "Eyes of the World")

           We just celebrated my father’s 81st birthday. As his children and grandchildren have watched him age, we are all very aware that he is just a little frailer, a little more fatigued, with a few more aches and pains than he used to have. It is part of growing old. Unlike twenty years ago, or even ten years ago, I am also becoming more aware of my aging father’s mortality. I call him more often, and I make more of an effort to visit. This awareness of our own mortal temporary existence is one of the themes of Sukkot and its corresponding text, Sefer Kohelet the book of Ecclesiastes. We read it in its entirety once a year on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot, the Intermediate Sabbath of Sukkot. According to the tradition, Shlomo HaMelech, King Solomon, towards the end of his life, wrote this Megillah, this scroll. Tradition has this perspective because the language is not one of optimism but rather realism. This is a person who has “seen it all” – Ein Kol Chadash Tachat HaShemesh – There is nothing new under the sun! And yet there is a certain harsh realism and a certain sense of harsh optimism. The author provides us with a no holds barred sense of comfort. He does not coddle us. He does not baby us. Rather the author shoves our faces in this “reality” and gives us a perspective on how to deal with a world that is not as wonderful a place as we might have thought of in our youth, or even a few weeks ago. The question that so many of our sages have asked, is why is such a text, a text that does not offer such explicit hope, a text that does not offer explicit comfort, and is universally recognized as a “downer” of a text, why is such a text read on the holiday that is commonly regarded as Zman Simchateinu – the time of our joy?

        In Eretz Yisroel, the Autumn Harvest is complete. In North America, the summer harvest has been completed as well. We unabashedly celebrate our joy on a physical level because of a successful harvest. We also unabashedly celebrate our joy for having been judged favorably by God, (Rosh HaShanah), and having been the recipients of God’s mercy (Yom Kippur). On Sukkot, we are commanded to Samachta b’Chagecha – celebrate in your holiday. Yet this text tempers our celebration. While the nature of the Sukkot holiday is to celebrate our unrestrained joy in receiving God’s blessing, we also know that very often it is human nature to forget God and celebrate our achievements and ourselves. Kohelet reminds us that, like the fragile nature of the Sukkah itself, not everything is as much in our control as we think. V’Zerach HaShemesh U’Vah HaShemesh – the sun rises and the sun sets- no matter what we do, no matter how much control we may perceive that we have, at the end of the day, we are ultimately powerless. God is the ultimate cause of all things. The sun rises and sets because of God, not mankind. Kohelet helps us maintain our perspective. Kohelet reminds us that we are not the center of the world. Kohelet reminds us that for all the physical pleasures we seek, for all the material comforts we work hard to afford, such things are fleeting.

        So how can such a text offer us comfort? Well if we have the perspective of Kohelet, then we can understand how an elderly person, who has seen everything: man’s goodness, man’s evil, the joy of life, and the futility of life, offers us comfort.  With control comes responsibility. With power comes responsibility. Kohelet teaches us that we should celebrate the fact that we have so little control. Kohelet teaches us that we should derive joy from the fact that we don’t need to worry about the sunrise or the sunset. We shouldn’t be so terribly joyous when life comes into the world or upset when life leaves the world. Intellectually speaking, life and death is not within our control. Living our life is within our control. Living the best possible life is within our control. Living a life that has spiritual meaning and the acquisition of wisdom is the crux of our existence, the purpose for our living. Struggling to acquire anything else is futile. Torah is the embodiment of Wisdom. Sof Davar Ha’Kol Nishmah et Ha’Elohim Y’rah v’Et Mitzvotav Shmor  Ki Zeh Kol HaYamim- The sum of the matter, when all has been considered: Fear God and keep his Commandments, for that is man’s whole duty. By doing so, we don’t need to worry about another Judgment on Rosh HaShanah; we don’t need to worry about God’s showing us mercy on Yom Kippur. We will have guaranteed that we have done everything in our control to make our lives meaningful. The joy in our celebration is the joy in our opportunity to acquire wisdom and internalize it.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

What Fatal Flowers Of Darkness Bloom From Seeds Of Light (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- Blues For Allah)

           Several weeks ago, I was blessed to celebrate my niece's Bat Mitzvah. Maybe as I have grown older, I have become more aware of it, but I cannot help but notice that Simchas and Tsuris, joyous occasions and sorrowful or difficult occasions occur incredibly close together. Over the last few years, in the age of Covid, we have heard how weddings became “super spreaders”. My niece’s Simcha, her Bat Mitzvah, was no exception. The joy of Shabbat when she read Torah and chanted Haftarah in a women’s service, her poise when she gave her Bat Mitzvah speech in the main sanctuary, the joy of watching my children dance and celebrate at their cousin’s party was greeted the next day with the news that people were testing positive for Covid. As we were preparing to drive my parents to their home in upstate New York and then make our way to Toronto, we noticed that my father did not appear well. Coughing and lethargic, we had him wear a mask, left the car windows open, and the air conditioning on. Five and half hours later, we brought my parents into their home and tested them for Covid. My father tested positive and he began his isolation. By the end of the day, there were a dozen people and three babies who had Covid. A day later our twenty-year-old daughter tested positive for Covid. She and her brother were supposed to go to summer camp the next day. That had to be delayed. 48 hours upon returning my parents to their home, my mother tested positive for covid. However, her case was more severe than my father’s case. Within 36 hours of testing positive, my mother was brought to the hospital due to complications resulting from Covid. She remained there for six days. On Day 5 of her stay in the hospital, our daughter finally tested negative and the next morning I drove her and her brother to camp.  Then two days later, my mother came out of the hospital, weakened but on the road to recovery. Within a week, our family went from experiencing the beautiful lifecycle of a young person reaching the age of young adulthood to the stark reality of aging and mortal parents whose vulnerabilities Covid found. Of course, we are not the only ones, Covid has forced us to see with new clarity the blessings and difficulties in life.  

          This Shabbat we read from Parsha Chukat. Chukat begins by telling us the Law for the Red Heifer. A Chok is a statute for which there is no logical reason. Unlike Mitzvot which is a commandment, and for which reasons and rationale may abound in order for the Mitzvah to make sense, a Chok is simply taken on faith. Unlike a Mishpat, which is a judgment that comes from a specific case/decision, a Chok is seemly plucked out of the air and there is no thought given to decisions. The Chok concerning the Red Heifer is that the individual Priest who prepares the mixture that will render the entire nation spiritually pure, will himself become impure from the mixture. However, the Parsha continues the theme of Chukat following the statute of the Red Heifer. 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 Chuk.

          When the people express their fear and anxiety about a lack of water immediately after Miriam’s death,  Moshe and Aaron don’t know what to do. 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). This statute was directed at Moshe and Aaron.  Like the statute regarding the Parah Aduma, the Red Heifer, this statute directed at Moshe and Aaron also appears to have  no apparent logic or reason behind it. Why does Moshe need to take the rod if he has to speak to the rock to get the water? And when Moshe fails to heed the statute, he is punished without any mercy. He is forbidden to lead B’nai Yisroel into Eretz Canaan. The last time God issued such a directive to Moshe (back in the book of Exodus 17:6), Moshe was instructed to strike the rock. Now, without warning, God has changed the way Moshe was to draw water from the rock. Now without warning of the punishment if Moshe fails to heed the directive, Moshe is unable to fulfill his mission and bring B’nai Yisroel into Eretz Canaan. The Parsha concludes with B’nai Yisroel defeating the Amorites and temporarily dwelling on the planes of Moav, on the Eastern side of the Jordan River. The Torah text offers a very simple explanation of Moshe’s sin and ensuing punishment. After striking the rock twice, water came out from the rock, and the assembly drank, God explains the reason for the harsh punishment. Ya’an Lo He’ehmantem Bi L’Hakdisheine L’Einei Bnai Yisroel Lachein Lo Taviu et HaKahal Hazeh el Ha’Aretz Asher Natati Lahem: Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children of Israel, therefore you will not bring this congregation to the Land that I have given them (Num. 20:12). The most humble man who had the closest relationship to God, receives perhaps the most hurtful of punishments for a moment of weakness. However, it seems that Moshe’s ultimate shortcoming was that he wasted an opportunity to teach this new generation, this generation that was not familiar with slavery, familiar with life in Egypt, nor directly experience the miracle of the Exodus. Moshe, the greatest teacher, prophet, and transmitter of law and theology missed a glaring opportunity to teach B’nai Yisroel. 

          When Moshe hit the rock, he not only missed an opportunity to teach a fundamental lesson to this new generation that was coming of age in the Wilderness. By losing his temper, as justified as he may have been, by hitting the rock, he also diminished himself. No longer was he a statesman concerned about the welfare of the community during a moment of crisis. For a brief moment, he became caught up in his own emotion. When such a person with vast amounts of power and responsibility misses a sacred opportunity to teach, explain and create an opportunity for the common folk to draw closer to God, then we can understand the harshness of the punishment. Experiencing the joy of the entire weekend only to be struck with the cold reality of my parents' mortality, made us understand the importance of acknowledging, and cherishing blessings but never getting so caught up that we forget the fragility of our blessings and the lives of our loved ones.  

Peace,
Rav Yitz

The Wheel Is Turning And You Can't Slow Down (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "The Wheel")

This week we celebrated our son’s 11^th birthday, we also commemorated my father in law’s Yartzeit and my Grandfather’s Yartzeit. As our son’s birthday approached, he asked why so many people whom he knew seemed to have died this month.  I reminded him that he was born this month, so it wasn't so sad of a month; and then I added that this was what life means. There is Joy and Sorrow and Life and Death – balance. Sometimes both occur within the same year, the same month, the same week, and even the same day. The Hebrew Month of Av draws to a close and the new month of Elul begins on Shabbat. As the month of Av departs, I couldn’t help but notice just how a unique Hebrew month it is. What made Av so unique? Well it is considered to be the saddest month of the calendar since it was on the 9^th of Av, the Jewish People commemorated the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Also the Jewish People assign a number of other national tragedies to the month of Av. For the first nine days, national mourning manifested itself in our refraining from Weddings, eating meat (except on Shabbat), shaving, haircuts and attending live entertainment. However a week later, the happiest day of the year occurs. Known as Tu’B’Av or the 15^th of Av, it celebrated the wine harvest, the sages explained that this was the first day in B’nai Yisroel’s 40 years of wandering that no one died. Everyone who was alive on this day on the 40^th year of wandering was guaranteed entry into Eretz Canaan. Single girls are matched up with single boys for marriages. This truly marks the Jewish Wedding season. The Month of Av, sometimes can seem like a typical Sunday for a Rabbi where there is both a Funeral and a Wedding on the same day. Av is the one month that embodies the complete cycle of life: Joy and Sorrow; life and death.            

This week's Parsha is Re'eh. Moshe continues his discourse. He has already explained the Mitzvot, and he continues to do that. Moshe has alluded to the blessings of life if B'nai Yisroel follows God's commandments. He has and continues to allude to the curses that will befall B'nai Yisroel if they violate the most important commandment-idolatry. "See I present before you today a blessing and a curse" (Deut.11:26). V'haklalah Im Lo tishm'u el Mitzvot Adonai Eloheichem V'sartem Min Ha'Derech Asher Anochi M'taveh Etchem ha'yom La'lechet Acharei Elohim Acheirim Asher Lo Y'Datem-"And the curse: if you do not hearken to the commandments of the Lord your God, and you stray from the path that I command you today, to follow gods of others, that you did know." (Deut. 11:28) Moshe presents B'nai Yisroel with two pictures, a world when B'nai Yisroel lives up to it covenant with God and one in which they don't. Moshe then reminds B'nai Yisroel what the previous generation learned in the Book of Leviticus.  Ritual behavior and ethical behavior go hand in hand. Both are required in order to live a life of Torah and to follow God's commandments. Moshe then explains that even if one grows discouraged in helping the poor, the Jew is still obligated to help. Moshe offers sage advice. Ki Lo Yechdal Evyon Mikerev Ha'Aretz -For destitute people will not cease to exist within the Land, therefore I command you saying, 'You shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your poor, and to your destitute in your land"

(Deut. 15:11).

            The Torah may be many things, but spiritually unrealistic is not one of them. Judaism recognizes the reality. There will always be those less fortunate.  Whether "less fortune" is a physical, emotional, spiritual, economic, or intellectual not everyone is as fortunate as the next person. We learn that tzuris is part of life and it transcends gender, age, and color and nationality. Judaism and in particular Moshe recognizes that in our zeal to make the world better, in our zeal to do Tikkun Olam (fix the world) we may grow dismayed and even beaten down because there is so much suffering. There are so many in pain, so many are in fact destitute. Perhaps that is why the verse begins commanding us to help those who are closest to us and then working outward.  We begin by helping our brother, then those in our community who are in need, then we begin helping the nation. If the order were reversed we would become absolutely overwhelmed that we would become paralyzed. However by starting with the most immediate, and if everyone were concerned with the most immediate their brother/sister and their community, then helping those throughout the land is not so overwhelming. Even the Haftarah that normally coincides with this third Shabbat after Tisha B’Av, and the third of seven Haftarot which precede Rosh HaShanah, reminds of consolation. Our consolation, the consolation that we began receiving two Shabbatot before until the Shabbat prior to Rosh HaShanah is hope. No matter how awful things are, no matter how many destitute are among us; there is hope. If one is helped, that is one less destitute person. Our consolation is that we can always do something. No it may not be enough. But we can always do something. We can always give Tzedakah, we can always educate others and ourselves, we can always learn more than the day before. We can always offer compassion and solace. And we must always care.

            Peace,

                Rav Yitz