I Hear The Cries Of Children; And Other Songs Of War (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Standing On The Moon")

          This should be a time of year when parents take stock of their child's academic accomplishments. School is drawing to its inevitable conclusion and numerous elementary school, middle school, high school, and university students have "step-up" ceremonies as they move from one grade to the next, or graduate. As my family and millions of other families prepared to celebrate this type of transition, we all experienced deja vu all over again. Sandy Hook, Parkland, and now this week the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas was the sight of another mass school shooting where 19 children, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders were killed. Nineteen families, who like millions of others, were preparing for their children to "step up" to celebrate a transition of learning, tragically must now mourn the ultimate transition. Of course, this could have been avoided, of course, society can do things that minimize the possibility of this kind of tragedy. As the days and weeks go by, and the discussion of Uvalde occurs, it will be fascinating to listen and watch, once again, the handwringing, the call to "pray for the victims and their families", the insistence that nothing would have stopped the shooter from the heinous act he perpetrated, or "guns don't kill people - people kill people" or "the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to make sure that a good guy has a gun". Some people might believe the boiler plate statements. Many will not. Some won't believe it at all, but they will say it over and over again. These are cynical people who want the status quo. These are cynical people who treat the lives of children cavalierly, they treat the law and the Constitution that they were sworn to uphold and protect cavalierly. They tread their elected position as legislators cavalierly. 

          This Shabbat we read from Parsha Bechukotai. It is the final Parsha of the Book of Leviticus. For the past ten Parshiot, Sefer Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus, has taught us how to act in a holy manner. We have learned how to behave towards God in a holy manner. We have been taught how to treat members of our family in a holy manner. We have been taught how to treat people outside of our family, friends, acquaintances, employees, and the needy in a holy manner as well. We have been given tools by which we are able to approach God in a sanctified way. We have been given tools to sanctify the seasons and the land of Israel. Finally, here in the last Parsha, we are told the reward as well as the punishment if we fail to learn and observe these commandments. The reward is quite simple and straightforward.  Im B’Chukotai Teileichu v’Et Mitzvotai Tishmeru Va’Asitem Otam V’Natati Gishmeichem B’Itam V’Natna Ha’Aretz Y’Vulah V’Eitz Ha’Sadeh Yiten Piryo – If you follow my decrees and observe my commandments and perform them; then I will provide you with rains in their time, and the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit. (Lev. 26:3-4). Ultimately our reward is predicated upon fulfilling the commandments.

          The punishment is neither simple nor straightforward. Normally one would think that merely our failure to observe and fulfill the commandment would be reason enough for punishment. However, this is not the case. Our punishment is a result of something worse than our failure to observe and fulfill these commandments.  V’Im Lo Tishme’u Li, V’Lo Ta’asu Eit Kol HaMitzvot Ha’Eila – If you will not listen to me (obey) and will not perform all of these commandments; V’Im B’Chukotai Timasu V’Im Et Mishpatai Tigal Nafshechem – if you consider my Decrees loathsome, and if your being rejects My ordinances (Lev. 26: 14-15) then we receive punishment. There are a series of seven sets of punishments and after each set; we are given an opportunity for Tshuvah, for Repentance. If, after each set of punishments, we continue to ignore God, then we receive another set of punishments. The Torah keeps repeating a phrase that seems far more powerful than “ignoring” God. V’Halachtem Imi B’Keri and if you behave towards Me cavalierly. The result of continued cavalier behaviour will bring the next series of punishments. It could be argued that our divine punishment results from our lack of passion, our lack of care and concern for our role and responsibility in our relationship with God.

          Torah is teaching us a valuable lesson about life. Life is sacred. The relationships that we make can and should be sacred: not only with our husbands and wives and our children but with God as well. Life is not something to be treated cavalierly and with disdain. Yet as my children and I continue watching the heartbreaking news that comes out of Uvalde, Texas, and that came out of Buffalo, NY the two weeks before, as we look back at other school shootings, church shootings, synagogue shootings, the words that are spoken afterward seem empty, vapid, cynical and cavalier. My children find it difficult to see those elected officials as anything but empty suits with no soul. For if they had a soul, they could not continue to remain cynical and cavalier about another school shooting, another mass shooting at a supermarket, church, or synagogue. Perhaps it is the sin of treating the electorate cavalierly and disdainfully that allows this tragedy to happen again and again. It's time to stop permitting these people from treating human life cavalierly and disdainfully. 

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Am I The Driver Or The Driven (Gerrit Graham & Bob Weir - "Victim Or The Crime")

Our household experienced another “rite of passage” that will contribute to my graying hair. Our 17-year-old daughter took her the road test for her in order to get her driver’s license. In Canadian speak, she took her driving test for her G2 license. Over the past several months, she was one of those kids in a driving instructor’s car that we see all over Toronto. If anyone was ever stuck behind her, waiting for her to turn left at a traffic light, or waiting for her to merge, please forgive us. When she wasn’t taking her driving lessons, she was constantly asking me to drive, to practice various maneuvers including three-point turns, parallel parking and backing into a parking spot. Over the past several weeks, the frequency of her desire to practice has grown. Over the past several weeks, we have practiced parallel parking, backing up into a parking spot, and driving all around Thornhill. As I spent time with her and discussed how to respond in various situations; she began to appreciate the importance of being a responsible driver safe driver.  

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Bechukotai. It is the final Parsha of the Book of Leviticus. For the past ten Parshiot, Sefer Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus has taught us how to act in a holy manner. We learned how to behave towards God in a holy manner. We have been taught how to treat a member of our family in a holy manner. We have been taught how to treat people outside of our family, friends, acquaintances, employees, and the needy in a holy manner as well. We have been given tools by which we are able to approach God in a sanctified way. We have been given tools to sanctify the seasons, as well as the land of Israel. Finally, here in the last Parsha, we are told the reward as well as the punishment if we fail to learn and observe these commandments. The reward is quite simple and straightforward.  Im B’Chukotai Teileichu v’Et Mitzvotai Tishmeru Va’Asitem Otam V’Natati Gishmeichem B’Itam V’Natna Ha’Aretz Y’Vulah V’Eitz Ha’Sadeh Yiten Piryo – If you follow my decrees and observe my commandments and perform them; then I will provide you with rains in their time, and the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit. (Lev. 26:3-4). Ultimately our reward is predicated upon fulfilling the commandments.

The punishment is neither simple nor straightforward. Normally one would think that merely our failure to observe and fulfill the commandment would be reason enough for punishment. However, this is not the case. Our punishment is a result of something worse than our failure to observe and fulfill these commandments.  V’Im Lo Tishme’u Li, V’Lo Ta’asu Eit Kol HaMitzvot Ha’Eila – If you will not listen to me (obey) and will not perform all of these commandments; V’Im B’Chukotai Timasu V’Im Et Mishpatai Tigal Nafshechem – if you consider my Decrees loathsome, and if your being rejects My ordinances (Lev. 26: 14-15) then we receive punishment. There are a series of seven sets of punishments and after each set; we are given an opportunity for Tshuvah, for Repentance. If after each set of punishments we continue to ignore God, then we receive another set of punishments. The Torah keeps repeating a phrase which is far more powerful than “ignoring” God. V’Halachtem Imi B’Keri and if you behave towards Me cavalierly, then the next set of punishments are warranted. It could be argued that our divine punishment is a result of our lack of passion, our lack of care and concern for our role and responsibility in our relationship to God.

Torah is teaching us a valuable lesson about life. Life is sacred. The relationships that we make can and should be sacred, not only with our husbands and wives and our children but with God as well. Self-improvement and trying to get the most out of our abilities is directly proportional to how casual and cavalier we are. Success, as Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book Outliers, depends upon putting in tremendous amounts of time, effort and energy to doing something better than the previous time. For our covenant with God, we need to put in the effort and energy to study and learn. For my daughter, she understands that even though she passed her G2, she understands that she still needs to put in the work, obtain experience, and do so responsibly in order for us to be comfortable with her driving and also for her to be comfortable with herself.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Recall The Days That Still Are To Come (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- "Crazy Fingers")

Recently we attended a family function with aunts, uncles, great-aunts, great- uncles, cousins and grandparents. It always amazes me to watch my children with this extended family.  My three children could be talking to the same great aunt, or cousin or grandparent. Inevitably, each of my children will connect to that relative in a different manner, walk away with a different experience, and have a different opinion. Each child has the same parents, grows up in the same house, lives by the same rules, and has the same “relative status” as the other children Vis a Vis the great aunt, or the grandparent. However each child is fundamentally different and each relative relates to each of my child in a different manner. Certainly, each child has his/her own personality as does the other relative. The result is that each child will develop their own relationship with their grandparents, their aunts, their uncles, and their great aunts and great uncles.

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Bechukotai, the last Parsha in Sefer VaYikra, the Book of Leviticus.  We are told of the reward that awaits us for following God’s Torah. We are told of the punishment if we treat God’ Torah B’Keri – in a cavalier sort of manner or if we are stubborn and fail to observe. These Tochachot, these punishments are laid out in a sets of seven. That is to say, the first series of punishments are meted out. We are given the opportunity to change our behavior. If we fail to do so, then the second set of Tochachot are meted out and so on and so forth.  After the seventh series of punishments are meted out, we are told that God will ultimately remember the covenant made with our ancestors thereby re-assuring us that the despite these horrible punishments, there will still be a covenant. The Torah provides instructions in case B’nai Yisroel wants to make voluntary offerings and how to value those offerings. Instructions for redeeming firstborn animals, houses, are also presented prior to the conclusion of the Parsha and Sefer VaYikra, the Book of Leviticus.

After the listing of the Tochachot, the punishments, the linguistic patter of the Torah becomes rather strange. Normally God’s covenant made with the three Patriachs is Avraham Yitzchak V’ Yaakov. They start with the father, then the son and then the grandson. The three are usually lumped together as a type of triad.  However after the punishments are described,  we read: V”Zacharti et Briti Yaakov, V’Af et Briti Yitzchak, V’ Af et Briti Avraham Ezkor V’Ha’Aretz Ezkor – I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also My covenant with Avraham will I remember, and I will remember the land ( 24:42). When reading these words, they sound out of order. Indeed they are out of order. When we think of the Avot, the Patriarchs, we think of them beginning with Avraham. We also think of them as a list of one unit, Elohei Avrham, Elohei Yitzchak’ V’Elohei Yaakov. There is no “Et” in between which would grammatically make each single patriarch an individual item in a list as opposed to single grouping. Why does the Torah do this now? Keeping in mind that this verse appears immediately after the extremely harsh punishment that was to be meted out if B’nai Yisroel fails to observe God’s statutes and laws; according to the Or HaChayim two issues are involved. First, the confession of guilt helps reduce the severity of the afflictions to which B’nai Yisroel was subjected. Second, God invokes each Patriarch as an individual and not as a group, in order to restore B’nai Yisroel to its former status. So first God would invoke his covenant with Yaakov, if the behavior was deemed beyond the merit of Yaakov, then God invokes his covenant with Yitzchak. If that doesn’t work then God invokes the merit of Avraham.

While the covenant with each Patriarch was essentially the same, each Patriarch had his own relationship with God. The covenant meant something slightly different to each Patriarch. Each Patriarch embodied a certain Midah, a certain characteristic that made him worthy of the Covenant. Ultimately B’nai Yisroel should also embody all the Midot of the patriarch in order to make us worthy. However even if we embody one of these qualities, one of these Sacred qualities embodied by our Patriarchs; we too become worthy of the relationship and the covenant. However we will only connect to God in our own way, and in a way that is sacred and meaningful to both God and ourselves. That unique connection makes it possible for us to avoid behaving in a manner that is Keri- cavalier with God’s commandments. The same lesson holds true with our children. We related to them as individuals and each one of them relates differently to me and mom. They relate differently to each relative so that way each relationship is unique and has its own merits and strengths.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

'Cause When Life Looks Like Easy Street, There Is Danger At Your Door (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - (Uncle John's Band")

Our 8^th grade daughter participated in softball tournament with other 8^th girls representing the Toronto area Day Schools. Thankfully the weather was in the mid sixties, sunny and clear. The tournament was held right near my shul so I strolled over and watched for a few minutes. Some of the school teams had talented girls representing them. It was evident that some of the school teams had practiced for weeks, understood the fundamentals of the game and used appropriate technique to catch the ball, throw the ball and hit the ball. I remember that when our daughter was younger, I taught her how to swing a baseball bat, how to catch and how to throw. After she turned 11 or 12 and exhibited absolutely zero interest in baseball, I didn’t exert the effort in showing her how to catch, throw, hit or even really play the game. Thankfully our daughter has a wonderful attitude and likes to participate so she wasn’t too terribly despondent when I showed up and she told me that she had not had a hit yet nor had she even reached base in eight at bats. Interestingly enough her lack of despondency and disappointment were directly related to the fact that this was a casual sort of experience and not something to take so seriously.  

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Bechukotai. It is the final Parsha of the Book of Leviticus. For the past ten Parshiot, Sefer Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus has taught us how to act in a holy manner. We have learned how to behave towards God in a holy manner. We have been taught how to treat member of our family in a holy manner. We have been taught how to treat people outside of our family, friends, acquaintances, employees, and the needy in a holy manner as well. We have been given tools by which we are able to approach God in a sanctified way. We have been given tools to sanctify the seasons, as well as the land of Israel. Finally, here in the last Parsha we are told the reward as well as the punishment if we fail to learn and observe these commandments. The reward is quite simple and straightforward.  Im B’Chukotai Teileichu v’Et Mitzvotai Tishmeru Va’Asitem Otam V’Natati Gishmeichem B’Itam V’Natna Ha’Aretz Y’Vulah V’Eitz Ha’Sadeh Yiten Piryo – If you follow my decrees and observe my commandments and perform them; then I will provide you with rains in their time, and the land will give its produce an the tree of the field will give its fruit. (Lev. 26:3-4). Ultimately our reward is predicated upon fulfilling the commandments.

The punishment is neither simple nor straightforward. Normally one would think that merely our failure to observe and fulfill the commandment would be reason enough for punishment. However this is not the case. Our punishment is a result of something worse than our failure to observe and fulfill these commandments.  V’Im Lo Tishme’u Li, V’Lo Ta’asu Eit Kol HaMitzvot Ha’Eila – If you will not listen to me (obey) and will not perform all of these commandments; V’Im B’Chukotai Timasu V’Im Et Mishpatai Tigal Nafshechem – if you consider my Decrees loathsome, and if your being rejects My ordinances (Lev. 26: 14-15) then we receive punishment. There are a series of seven sets of punishments and after each set; we are given an opportunity for Tshuvah, for Repentance. If after each set of punishments we continue to ignore God, then we receive another set of punishments. The Torah keeps repeating a phrase which is far more powerful than “ignoring” God. V’Halachtem Imi B’Keri and if you behave towards Me cavalierly, then the next set of punishments are warranted. It could be argued that our divine punishment is a result of our lack of passion, our lack of care and concern for our role and responsibility in our relationship to God.

Torah is teaching us a valuable lesson about life. Life is sacred. The relationships that we make can and should be sacred, not only with our husbands and wives and our children but with God as well. Self improvement and trying to get the most out of our abilities is directly proportional to how casual and cavalier we are. Success, as Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book Outliers, depends upon putting in tremendous amounts of time, effort and energy to doing something better than the previous time. For our covenant with God, we need to put in the effort and energy to study and learn. For my daughter’s last at bat of the day, well she finally got on base.  I guess I better find the time and have her put in the time if this is something that she truly enjoys doing.

Peace,

Rav Yitz