Plenty Easy Answers Now, Listen To Me Here (Robert Hunter & Bob Weir - "Easy Answers")

           During the month of August, our twenty-two-year-old daughter had ACL surgery and then had 30 days to get herself ready for college. That meant she needed to have enough strength to walk without crutches, get up and down stairs, and have enough endurance to handle physiotherapy as well as a typical university course load. To prepare herself for University, our daughter was incredibly focused and dedicated throughout her knee rehab while at home. Three days a week I would drive her to physio. When not at physio, she did her rehab at home. We spent a lot of time together either driving to physio or taking walks.  We had an opportunity to talk a lot about the surgery, her physio, the exercises, her frustration with the healing process, and a host of other things. All the while, she was laser focused on arriving at school by the Labour Day holiday. Much of the rehab process involved thinking about certain techniques and motions in physio and then applying those techniques and motions at home and every day. She listened and watched. Then she followed my instruction and asked, “How did you know to do that? You aren’t a physiotherapist.” No, I am no physiotherapist,  but I have had enough leg injuries and gone through enough physio, that I learned through experience. So, I smiled and explained to my daughter, that I have learned a few things based on my own experiences.

          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 on 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. 

          Moshe also reminds them that if they listen, they will be blessed. If they fail to listen and fail to live up to the covenant, then they will be cursed and sent into exile. V’Haya Im Shamoah Tishmah B’Kol Adoshem Elokecha - It shall be that if you hearken (surely listen/obey) the voice of Hashem, your God, - Lishmor et Kol Mitzvotav Asher Anochi Mtzavcha Hayom - to observe, to perform all His commandments that I command you this day, Untancha Adoshem Elokecha Elyon Al Kol Goyei Ha’Aretz - then Hashem, your God, will make you supreme over all the nations of the earth. (Deut. 28:1)  Rashi explains that the force of this emphatic doubling of the verb ShaMA-listen. “If you take it upon yourselves, it will become easy for you, since it is only the beginning that is hard.” Rashi, and the Talmud Sages before him, offer a psychological truth about observing Mitzvot and about anything new for that matter. At first, the action may prove daunting and perhaps even overwhelming. However, as the action is repeated, it becomes easier and easier and almost second nature. Rambam (Maimonides) commented that “the more man is drawn after the paths of wisdom and justice, the more he longs for them and desires them (Code, Teshuva 6:4) However it is not enough to listen, but rather one must listen emphatically, that is, internalize what has been listened to and then used.

Whether it is observing Mitzvot or just listening to dear old dad, our daughter learned this most valuable lesson. Sure, she whined a little; sure, there were times she grew frustrated. However, she also learned to listen, trust, and do the work and things have a way of working out. Of course, like B’nai Yisroel, it is all predicated on listening, observing, and then consciously acknowledging that it actually works.  Hopefully, she learned the important lesson of listening to her dear old dad.  Well, good luck with that!

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Think This Through With Me, Let Me Know Your Mind, What I Want To Know Is, Are You Kind? (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Uncle John's Band")

          An elderly gentleman told his friend about a magnificent restaurant. “The food is great, the prices are reasonable, and the ambiance is really elegant.” His friend asked for the name of the restaurant, and the elderly man struggled to remember the name of the restaurant. Finally, he asked his friend, “There is a flower with beautiful petals… it has a long stem with thorns on it- what do you call it?” The friend replied, “A rose?” “Yeah, that’s it!” said the gentleman. So he turned toward the kitchen and yelled, “Hey, Rose! What was the name of that restaurant we ate in last night?” Sometimes we all need a reminder. We even need a reminder for those things that we really know.

          Besides Shabbat, it is also Shavuot. This is essentially the yearly reminder of two important concepts of Judaism: Mitzvot and Chesed (Commandments and Kindness). Shavout has numerous alternative names, but perhaps the most well known is Chag Matan Torah, the Holiday of the Giving of the Torah. On Friday, the first day of Shavuot, we read about B’nai Yisroel’s revelation at Sinai (Ex. 19:1-20:23). We read of their three days of preparation, Moshe’s ascending and descending from the mountain, and finally, we read the Aseret Dibrot (The Ten Commandments). Needless to say, the Torah reading for the first day of Shavuot is replete with laws. Explicitly, we read the Ten Commandments, ten universal rules that were all punishable by death. We also read and understand that our ancestors purified themselves in preparation for meeting God. They washed their clothes, they bathed, and they refrained from conjugal relations. We are reminded that Torah possesses a ritual/legal aspect that enriches the relationship between the individual and God, and the community and God. Both of these relationships require that we approach the sanctity of these relationships in a state of purity.

          The second day of Shavuot coincides with this Shabbat, therefore instead of the weekly Parsha, we read the passage in Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17. If the first day Torah reading for Shavuot focused upon the Commandments, the receiving of Torah at Sinai, The second day Torah reading focuses upon Chesed, Kindness. On three different occasions, the Torah reading either implicitly or explicitly reminds us and challenges us to engage in Gemilut Chasidim and Act of Kindness. First, we read about laws concerning tithing. Explicitly, we are again discussing law, however, this is not ritual law or law concerning Man’s relationship to God. Implicitly, we are reading about those laws that govern our behavior towards our fellow man, ethical law. We are commanded to care for those who are less fortunate. “At the end of the three years you shall take out every tithe of your crop…then the Levite can come-for he has no portion or inheritance with you – and the proselyte, the orphan and the widow who are in your cities so they may be satisfied….(Deut. 14:28-29). The second topic discusses the laws concerning Shmittah, the seventh year when debts are canceled, fields lie fallow, slaves are set free, and any firstborn male born during this year is considered Hekdesh (sanctified and therefore belonging to God.) Even here, the Torah’s focus is upon what we consider to be ethical concerns. “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). We are commanded, and obligated to always take care of those who are less fortunate. The third topic discusses the Mitzvot related to each of the three Pilgrimage Festivals (Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot). On Pesach, we are commanded to eat only unleavened bread and the Pesach offering. On Sukkot, we are commanded to dwell in the Sukkah. On Shavuot, having already counted seven weeks since Pesach, we are now commanded to bring an offering commensurate to total production. Everyone is commanded to rejoice before God, “You, your son, your daughter, your slave, your maidservant, the Levite in your city, the proselyte, the orphan, the widow who are among you” (Deut.16:11). Again, implicit in the Torah reading is the notion of caring for those less fortunate. The ethical concerning, mankind’s relationship to mankind is the second concept of Torah.

          Unique to the holiday of Shavuot is the reading of the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth contains no laws regarding impurity and purity, nor laws of what is prohibited and what is permitted. It is however a beautiful story of a young woman willing to remain with her mother-in-law, return to the mother-in-law’s (Naomi’s) homeland of Eretz Canaan, and convert to Judaism. Implicit in the Book of Ruth is Gemilut Hasidim, Acts of Loving Kindness. Boaz, a wealthy landowner and distant relative of Naomi’s late husband, leaves the prescribed part of his field to be harvested by those who are less fortunate. He cares for the destitute, the proselyte, the widowed, and the orphan. He doesn’t abandon his communal nor familial responsibilities. Ruth, under no obligation, did not abandon her mother-in-law. As a non-Jew, she chose to accept those obligations and converted. The two are married. They embody Torah, the symbiotic relationship between the ethical and the ritual. As a result, they have the z’chut (the merit) to be King David’s great grandparents.

         Like the old man who needed to be reminded of his wife’s name as well as the restaurant’s name, every once in a while we need to be reminded that Torah and Judaism have as much to do with God and ritual as with Mankind and ethics. The Ethical and Ritual are inseparable. Our attempt to separate the two diminishes Torah, Judaism, our community, ourselves, and our relationship to God.

Peace,

Rav Yitz 

If Only I Could Be Less Blind; If Only I Knew What To Find ( Phil Lesh & Jerry Garcia - "Mindbender Confusion's Prince")

For some reason, when Israel has elections, I feel compelled to reach out to a few friends who have made Aliyah.  This week was no different. I reached out to a few of my friends, a Brit and several Americans all of whom are all politically quite savvy and quite cynical. I spoke to them about a week before the elections and then immediately after the returns were finalized. With the results in, it appears at this point that Prime Minister Netanyahu does not have enough support to form a government. Perhaps the most fascinating result of the election was the fact that friends on the political left of the issue of peace and Palestinians and friends on the political right of the issue of peace and the Palestinians were both hopeful that Bibi would not remain Prime Minister. Both pointed out that Bibi has a cynical pattern: increasing tensions with Hamas which allows Bibi to threaten or militarily engage Hamas. My friends explained that this decision to respond militarily is completely justified; both sides point out the fascinating coincidence that tensions and incursion seem to occur around an election. They pointed out that a couple of weeks before this election there was increased tension with Hamas. My friends explained that rising tensions and a military incursion allow Netanyahu to portray himself as “Israel’s Protector”.  My friends also pointed out that Bibi tends to make extravagant promises regarding Israel’s security. Approximately a week before the election, Israelis heard President Trump’s talking about a defense treaty with Israel and Netanyahu’s pledged to annex the Jordan Valley. “So”, I asked, “What’s different this time?”

This week's Parsha is Ki Tavoh. For the past several Parshiot, Moshe has been listing and explaining all the precepts and laws. Last week's Parsha and the first part of Ki Tavoh explains the rewards. We will inherit the land; we will keep the land. Our enemies will be rendered weak. We will be fruitful and multiply. However, the second half of the Parshah explains all the curses that would befall us if we neglect to observe these laws. Every curse, of course, is the diametric opposite the previous blessings. So if we were promised bountiful harvests and many children, then our curse will be drought, famine, and bareness. Traditionally, the Aliyot that contain the curses are read in a softer voice. However, as horrible as these curses are, we must understand that it is up to us. We can either follow these laws or not, and as a result, we will bear the consequences of our actions. This is not necessarily a bad lesson for us as well as our children to learn. We are responsible for our actions, and we must bear responsibility for the consequences of those actions.

            One of the curses is most poignant given what my friends in Israel were explaining to me regarding cynical and corrupt leadership.  Arur Mashgeh Iveir Ba'Derech, Va'Amar Kol Ha'Am Amen - Accursed is one who causes a blind person to go astray on the road. And the entire nation said 'Amen" (Deut 27:18). If we read this literally then we are talking about a guide or a seeing-eye dog that would lead the blind astray. However, this curse is symbolic. We know that the Torah is light and the word Derech (way) is usually in combination with the Way of the Lord (God's Laws). On a metaphorical level, the curse is upon those leaders of a community that causes the less knowledgeable to go astray. If that knowledge causes those who are blind to go astray, then that leader should be cursed. Implicit to that statement is that the one who causes the blind to go astray sees the light, has the knowledge and teaches or guides the community away from God. Our Talmudic Sages offer an Aggadah about the teachers/Rabbis who were the leaders of their communities. "If there are two teachers, one who covers much ground but is not exact, and one who does not cover much ground but is exact, Rav Dimi b. Nehardea maintained that the one who is exact and does not cover much ground is to be appointed. The reason? A mistake once implanted (in the mind or in behavior) remains [a mistake]. (Talmud Baba Batra 21a-b). The Talmudic sages essentially understood the first rule in education. It is terribly difficult to undo that which has already been incorrectly taught.

It appears that the Talmudic Sages also understood quite a bit about Israeli political campaigns as well. My friends, both on the “right” and the “left” explained that at least half of the country has started to see that the Prime Minister takes a cynical approach to campaigning and governance. They explain that at least half of Israel has become aware that he is concerned about remaining in power and avoiding any corruption charges rather than solving the issues that matter to at least half of Israelis. They also sensed that Bibi’s disdain for democratic institutions including the courts, the press, and Israel’s Declaration of Independence had become evidently troubling to many Israelis. My friends all agreed that it doesn’t bode well for a leader of democracy to outwards and cynically express disdain for the very institutions that ought to be defended. Nor does it bode well for a leader of a democracy to divide and weaken the very institutions that make Israel such an incredibly unique and special place. As we hung up, they were all left wondering if there will be a new Prime Minister and if not, hopefully, this Prime Minister received the message transmitted by friends and the rest of the electorate.  

Peace,

Rav Yitz