PHILOTORAH

#105 - Parshat VA'ETCHANAN-NACHAMU

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YERUSHALAYIM in/out times for VA'ETCHANAN - Shabbat Nachamu
16 Menachem Av 5782  <<>>  August 12-13, '22

6:51PM <> Earliest (Plag) 6:03PM  <<>>  8:05PM <> R' Tam 8:42PM

For other locales, click on Z'MANIM link


CALnotes

In the last Mishna of Taanit, Rabban Shimon b. Gamliel tells us that there were no more joyous festivals in Israel than TU b'Av and Yom Kippur. 

In the middle of this "tragic" month, the month at whose entrance we are commanded to diminish our joy, we find a most joyous festival. If you will ponder the various reasons for TU b'Av, you can see that each one is a counterpoint to Tish'a b'Av and carries a message of consolation and promise... and joy.

<> In the aftermath of the "Sin of the Spies", G-d decreed that the entire adult male population of that generation should die out during 40 years of wandering. Not only was this decree handed down on Tish'a b'Av, but the "sentence" was carried out on Tish'a b'Av each year... In the final year of wandering, none of the remaining 15,000 men died... Only when the full moon of Av took its place in the sky, all joyously realized that the decree had been rescinded through G-d's mercy. The 15th of Av was thus marked as a day of joy. It marks the existence of forgiveness, even from very serious sins.

<> TU b'Av was the end of the season for wood-gathering for the Mizbei'ach. It was an occasion for special korbanot in the Mikdash, and TU b'Av was celebrated as a family festival by those involved in this mitzva. Again, a contrast to the Beit HaMikdash being in ruin and no Avoda being done.

<> Following the terrible episode of the "pilegesh from Giv'a", there was a ban on marrying into the tribe of Binyamin. This ban was lifted on a TU b'Av.

<> For a long period of time, due to a misunderstanding in the rulings concerning who the daughters of Tz'lofchad should marry, there was little or no inter-tribal marriage. After a later Sanhedrin clarified the issue, intertribal marriages became common-place. This reuniting of all of Israel, was associated with TU b'Av, and the cause of great joy.

<> The mishna referred to above, tells us that the young maidens of Jerusalem would wear borrowed white dresses, so as not to embarrass one who had no dress... and they would dance in the vineyards.. (so that eligible young men might choose their brides). The two items just mentioned, and the fact that there have not been weddings during the Three Weeks (or at least the Nine Days), combine to make TU b'Av a special day for Shidduchim and marriages, and a truly joyous day. Again, a contrast.

<> Following the fall of Beitar about 65 years after the destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash (on a Tish'a b'Av, non-coincidentally), the Romans did not permit the bodies of the dead Jews to be buried, as a punishment for rebelling against and resisting Rome. A few years later, a new emperor allowed burial of the bodies. Tradition records that this was on the 15th of Av. The bodies were found not to have decayed in the years that they lay unburied. The Sanhedrin at Yavne declared this a miracle and composed the fourth bracha of Birkat HaMazon - HaTov V'ha'Meitiv, to thank G-d for His kindnesses, even in darkest of times.

<> On a TU b'Av, Hoshe’a ben Elah removed the roadblocks set up by Yeravam ben Navat that prevented the people of the northern kingdom from traveling to Yerushalayim for Aliya L'Regel.

Each item above is in some way the other side of a Tish'a b'Av coin. Churban and exile vs. a way back to Yerushalayim and the Mikdash. Decree against Dor HaMidbar vs. they stopped dying off in the last year of wandering. Fall of Beitar vs. burial of the victims. Sin'at Chinam vs. reconciliation. And more. 



VA'ETCHANAN - Nachamu

45th of 54 sedras; 2nd of 11 in D'varim 

Written on 249 lines in a Torah, rank: 7

21 parshiyot; 5 open, 16 closed, 7th (tied with Ki Tavo)

122 p'sukim - rank: 17 (2nd in D'varim)

same as Vayakhel & Ki Tavo - but larger

1878 words; rank: 10th (2nd in D'varim)

7343 letters; rank: 10th (2nd in D'varim)

Va'etchanan's p'sukim are longer than average, hence the jump in rank from 17th for p'sukim to 10th for words

MITZVOT

12 of 613 mitzvot: 8 pos., 4 prohibitions

and many more that are counted elsewhere - this is so for several sedras, but it really shows for Va'etchanan (e.g. Aseret HaDibrot in Yitro has 14 mitzvot, repeated here but not counted here)


Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary

[P> X:Y (Z)] and [S> X:Y (Z)] indicate start of a parsha p'tucha or s'tuma. X:Y is Perek:Pasuk of the beginning of the parsha; (Z) is the number of p'sukim in the parsha.

Numbers in [square brackets] are the Mitzva-count of Sefer HaChinuch AND Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot. A=ASEI; L=LAV (prohibition). X:Y is the perek & pasuk from which the mitzva comes.

Kohen - First Aliya - 11 p'sukim - 3:23-4:4

[S> 3:23 (7)] Moshe Rabeinu continues his farewell words to the People. He tells them that he had asked G-d to rescind His decree banning him from entry into the Land of Israel. 

SDT: The Baal Shem Tov commented that Moshe, who had learned the entire Torah, Written Word and Oral Law, from G-d Himself, used the term "You have begun to show me Your greatness..." The more one learns Torah, the more one learns about G-d, the more one will realize that he has just begun to understand Who G-d is. 

G-d refused this request and forbade Moshe to ask again. Moshe ascended a mountain from where he saw the Land. G-d then told him to transfer the leadership to Yehoshua. 

[P> 4:1 (24)] He (Moshe) proceeds to review the laws and statutes (Torah and mitzvot) by which the people are now to live... in Eretz Yisrael. 

Neither should the Torah be added to nor detracted from.

[These mitzvot are counted in R'ei. Strange that they are counted the second time they occur and not the first, which would be expected]. 

Another warning against idolatry follows. Then, "And you who cling to G-d are all alive today". (This is one of many hints to T'CHIYAT HAMEITIM in the Torah.)

MITZVAnotes

The twin prohibitions of neither adding nor subtracting from the Torah, are mentioned in Va'etchanan and again in R'ei (where they are counted among the 613). The Vilna Gaon points out that the plural form is used one time and the singular form is used in the other case. This, he says, alludes to two different aspects of these prohibitions. It is forbidden to add to or subtract from a particular mitzva - for example, one may not take 5 species or 3 species on Sukkot for the fulfillment of the mitzva of "Lulav & Etrog". (If you add something to the Arbaa Minim to beautify them - but don't do it - it would not be BAL TOSIF.) Nor may one add or subtract to the total of the mitzvot. To treat a Rabbinic mitzva as a Torah law, or vice versa, would be an example of the other aspect of these prohibitions. 

The spirit of these prohibitions (if not the actual definitions) would include treating (or teaching) a CHUMRA as if it were required, or vice versa (claiming that something that is prohibited is "only" a chumra or custom, when it is a halacha). Aside from people who intentionally do this, it is more common to find people doing it one way or the other inadvertently, either because of ignorance or because of a sincere (but slightly misguided) desire to enhance the observance of mitzvot. This is especially important for parents and teachers of young children. Don't say ASUR if you mean, strictly speaking it isn't actually forbidden, but it is considered a proper thing to abstain from doing such and such. It sounds more complicated, but it is more "honest" and therefore it is the more proper way to transmit Torah to your children and students. (Obviously, when a child is very young, you have to simplify matters. But don't forget to upgrade the child's level of understanding as he or she grows older.)

Levi - Second Aliya - 36 p'sukim - 4:5-40

Once again, Moshe emphasizes that mitzvot are meant to be kept in Eretz Yisrael. (This not only applies to Land-related mitzvot, but to the entire range of mitzvot.)

There is repeated reference in the book of D'varim, and especially in Parshat Va'etchanan, to Eretz Yisrael being THE reason for our having been taken out of Egypt, formed into a Nation, and given the Torah and mitzvot. 

Prolonged exile has taught us that the Torah can be kept, must be kept, no matter where a Jew finds himself. This was one of the reasons that the Torah was given at Sinai, prior to entry into the Land. On the other hand, one should not lose sight of the fact, repeated often by Moshe Rabeinu in D'varim, that G-d has always intended us to observe His mitzvot IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL. Are there more mitzvot to keep in Israel than outside? YES. But maybe more significantly, every mitzva - even those that are performed all over the world, can reach their full potential ONLY in Israel. This is a message that each of us has to realize, understand, and internalize. Then we must spread this message to family and friends abroad who feel that they "have everything we need to be fully Jewish" in their respective religious communities around the world. AND the vital significance of Torah AND Israel to our lives as Jews must be taught to those less committed Jews here in Israel and abroad. 

On the other hand, we must not forget that Israel today is not the realization of The Dream, but rather a step on the road to the Complete Redemption, the restoration of Zion and Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash, and the coming of Mashiach. This idea helps us refocus after the mourning period that ends with the 10th of Av, and is an appropriate theme to usher in the periods of consolation and T'shuva. 

We must be careful to preserve and perform the mitzvot because (among other reasons) it is the mitzvot that project Judaism as an intelligent religion to the nations of the world. This in turn, sanctifies G-d's Name. We must be extremely careful to remember and transmit to our children, the "Sinai Experience". 

Moshe Rabeinu describes for the new generation the details of Matan Torah. He includes a specific warning against the potentially idolatrous thoughts caused by the combination of the magnificent, tangible universe in which we live, and the invisible, intangible G-d. 

A primary cause of idolatry is the natural human tendency to relate better to the concrete, visible, tangible rather than something abstract and intangible. The Sun is in the sky. It's hot, full of energy, gives us light, and sustains life as we know it. People found Sun-worship easier to accept than the worship of He Who created the Sun and everything else, but cannot be seen. True worship of the One G-d was what Avraham and Sara taught many people. And, as OR LAGOYIM, a light unto the nations, it is what we are supposed to teach and show the world.

G-d had taken us out of Egypt in order to make us His Nation. He got angry at me, says Moshe, and forbade me to enter the Land. Again, Moshe warns the People against abandoning the covenant with G-d after his (Moshe's) passing. 

[P> 4:25 (16)] The next portion is read on Tish'a b'Av morning (in addition to Shabbat Nachamu)... In spite of the many warnings against idolatry, Moshe prophesies (predicts) that there will come a time when the People will turn from G-d and be exiled from their Land. It will then come to pass that the People will seek out G-d and return to Him. Moshe emphasizes the uniqueness of the People of Israel and their special relationship with G-d and beseeches the People to remain faithful to Torah and mitzvot. One can hear a pleading in his voice, as if he is begging the people not to go in the direction of his prophecy.

This theme is oft-repeated in the Torah. Do what G-d asks of you. Don't turn away from Him. If you remain faithful to Him, wonderful things will happen to and for you. If you turn away from Him, terrible things will happen. You will turn away from Him; terrible things will happen; and then you will turn back to Him... We have the ability to skip the bad stuff - LET'S.

Shlishi - Third Aliya - 9 p'sukim - 4:41-49

[P> 4:41 (9)] Although the cities of refuge will not function as such until conquest and settlement of Eretz Yisrael, Moshe (with enthusiasm to do G-d's bidding, even though he knows what's coming soon thereafter) designates the 3 cities on the East Bank of the Jordan - Betzer in the Mishor Wilderness area for Reuven, Ramot in the Gil'ad area for Gad, and Golan in the Bashan area for Menashe. 

These (the mitzvot about to be presented) were taught by Moshe to the People following the Exodus in the lands on the East Bank of the Jordan. 

(Note the detail in the description of the location of the people, the repetition of their successes in conquering the "east bank" lands. It seems to be encouraging to the people for what lies ahead.)

V'zot HaTorah... said when the Torah is lifted, comes from D'varim 4:44. In the Siddur, the words AL PI HASHEM B'YAD MOSHE are added. That phrase appears four times in Bamidbar, but 9:23 seems to be the one from which it is taken. (Some say V'zot HaTorah without the added words in order not to recite partial p'sukim. And some say the whole pasuk 9:23, which ends with AL PI HASHEM B'YAD MOSHE.

R'VI'I - Fourth Aliya - 18 p'sukim - 5:1-18

[P> 5:1 (5)] Moshe begins the review of mitzvot with a restatement of the Aseret HaDibrot. He emphasizes that the Covenant at Sinai was not just between G-d and the previous generation, but between G-d and all generations of Jews to come. 

MITZVAnotes

The most well-known difference between the two presentations of the Aseret HaDidrot is the "Shamor v'Zachor" of Shabbat. Generally, "Zachor" is interpreted as referring to the positive mitzvot and aspects of Shabbat, whereas "Shamor" is a command to preserve Shabbat by not violating the prohibitions. The traditional minimum of two candles for Shabbat (although one candle satisfies the halacha), are said to represent these two facets of Shabbat. It is this intertwined nature of the positive aspects of Shabbat and its prohibitions that is "responsible" for Kiddush on Friday night being obligatory upon women. Rather than treat Kiddush as a pure "time-related positive mitzva" which would (probably) mean that women would be exempt (as they are from the mitzva of Sukka, for example), Kiddush is viewed as part of the whole Shabbat package, which means full and equal obligation for men and women. The two sides of Shabbat were commanded B'DIBUR ECHAD (in a single Divine utterance) and are inseparable. 

On a hashkafa level, we can see the prohibitions of Shabbat as more than a restrictive list of DON'Ts. Abstention from Melacha can be seen as Dayan Grunfeld z"l puts it in The Sabbath -- as laying G-d's gifts of creative activity to us at His feet (so to speak) in homage to the Creator and Master of All. This, on a weekly basis, so that we will not take these gifts for granted nor assume that our abilities and talents are self-produced. There is a subtle difference between not doing Melacha and abstaining from Melacha. If we understand and appreciate the distinction, our Shabbat observance and enjoyment can be greatly enhanced. Shabbat is more than just "don't do this; don't do that!"

MITZVAnotes

The Aseret HaDibrot in Yitro contains 14 of the 613 mitzvot. (The 2nd commandment has four prohibitions related to idolatry, the 4th has two mitzvot related to Shabbat, and one each from the other 8.) The first 9 commandments in Va'etchanan contain the same 13 mitzvot as their counterparts in Yitro. Those mitzvot are counted from Yitro. The 10th is worded differently here and is counted separately (in addition to "Thou shalt not covet") as the prohibition of "lust and unhealthy desire" [416, L266 5:18]. Although the first part of the tenth commandment uses the term V'LO TACHMOD (covet), the second part introduces a new term which deals exclusively with thoughts and feelings; its counterpart in Yitro involves acting on those feelings. V'LO TIT'AVEH in a way, completes a set of prohibitions, that starts with obviously sinful acts - murder, stealing, etc. to a feeling in the heart (LO TACHMOD) which can, and often does, lead to acts which are "milder", but nonetheless "problematic". For example, if a person is jealous of a friend's cellphone - the iPhone 72, and comments about it often enough, the friend might just feel uncomfortable enough to give it to the jealous friend. Nothing wrong, per se, in complimenting someone's phone, but in this case it is part of the prohibition of LO TACHMOD. And V'LO TIT'AVEH is the feelings even without anything else happening as a result of the envy.

The Aseret HaDibrot lay out in the following manner:

[S>5:6 (5)] Anochi and Lo Yih-yeh, which we consider the first two "dibrot" are contained within a single parsha s'tuma. [S>5:11 (1)] The prohibition against taking G-d's name in vain (vain oaths) is its own parsha s'tuma. [S> 5:12 (4)] The Shabbat commandment is its own parsha s'tuma. Shabbat's commandment is a P'tucha in Yitro. [S> 5:16 (1)] Honoring parents is a s'tuma. [S> 5:17 (¼)] Do not murder, [S> 5:17 (¼)] And do not commit adultery, [S> 5:17 (¼)] And do not steal (kidnap), [S> 5:17 (¼)] And do not bear false witness. These four dibrot are each a separate parsha s'tuma, all in the same pasuk! Interesting, that in Yitro, they were LO, LO, LO, LO - but here in Va'etchanan, they are LO, V'LO, V'LO, V'LO [S> 5:18 (½)] And do not covet another man's wife and [S>5:18 (½)] and do not lust after anything that another person possesses are each a s'tuma, from the same pasuk, and counting as a single (the 10th) dibra (or dibur) [416, L266 5:18].

Chamishi - 5th Aliya - 15 p'sukim - 5:19-6:3

[S> 5:19 (15)] Moshe next reminds the People that those who were present at Matan Torah were afraid to continue hearing G-d's Voice and agreed to listen to the words of a true prophet speaking in G-d's Name in lieu of direct communication. (Actually, take a look at the pasuk right before the Aseret HaDibrot and you'll see that Moshe Rabeinu was saying the same thing "right up front".)

This episode is crucial to our understanding of the Chain of Tradition and the method of transmission of the Oral Law. It made not only Moshe Rabeinu vital to our hearing and understanding of G-d's Word, but so too the Moshe Rabeinus of every generation. This is so for prophets, during the period of prophecy, and by the Sages throughout the generations.

Moshe emphasizes that G-d agreed to the People's request. 

And yet again, Moshe links observance of mitzvot with the only proper environment for Jewish life - Eretz Yisrael. (This idea is actually expressed in THREE different ways in the final p'sukim of this Aliya.) 

Shishi - Sixth Aliya - 22 p'sukim - 6:4-25

[P> 6:4 (6)] The first portion of this Aliya is the first parsha of SH'MA. "...HaShem is One." This statement of Jewish faith is also considered the mitzva to believe in the unity and uniqueness of G-d [417, A2 6:4]. 

Note that G-d's unity is also part of the mitzva to believe in Him [25, A1 Sh'mot 20:2], but warrants its own mitzva to emphasize this essential element of belief, in contrast to many other religions.

"Love" G-d with your entire being [418, A3 6:5]. (Many mitzvot, Jewish practices and the attitude with which we do mitzvot are all considered manifestations of Love of G-d.) We must study and teach Torah [419, A11 6:7] (for practical purposes AND purely for the sake of learning). We are to recite the Sh'ma twice daily [420, A10 6:7], wear T'filin on the arm [421, A13 6:8] and front-center on the head [422, A12 6:8], and put Mezuzot on our doorposts [423, A15 6:9]. 

SDT: The mitzva of learning and teaching Torah can be fulfilled with one's head, one's intellect. Tell someone a Dvar Torah and you both have fulfilled V'SHINANTAM L'VANECHA. But, tell that same Dvar Torah in an animated way that shows love of Torah and that ignites the emotion of the listener, so that he not only adds to his knowledge of Torah, but his excitement and enthusiasm for Torah and Mitzvot has increased, then you have fulfilled an additional mitzva, V'AHAVTA ET HASHEM ELOKECHA, to love G-d with all your heart (based on Sefer HaChareidim).

We can generalize this aspect of AHAVAT HASHEM to include all mitzvot. Shabbat, for example. Someone can go through all the motions and not violate the Shabbat; but do it with love and that fulfills V'AHAVTA, in addition to the mitzvot and details of Shabbat.


Requited Love
Although the opposite (unrequited) is more well-known and used, we have a beautiful example of the two-way love that the title implies. In this week's sedra, we find the first passage of the SH'MA, with the command to love G-d. Chazal composed a bracha to precede the Sh'ma in Shacharit - AHAVA RABA. Before we recite our command to love HaShem, our Sages state that G-d loves us with a deep and eternal love (RABA and OLAM, depending on your nusach). The bracha concludes with BARUCH... He who chose His nation Israel, with love.

[S> 6:10 (6)] Now, another warning. You'll go into Eretz Yisrael, have big homes filled with all good things, that you did not work for... Still remember that G-d took you out of Egypt... don't turn away from Him...

It is said that a wealthy person has a harder time with faith in G-d than a poor person. A poor person tends to turn to G-d, to complain, but also to express his faith that his lot will improve. The wealthy tend to pat themselves on the back and take credit for that which he should be thanking G-d. Generalizations, of course, but something to think about, nonetheless.

[S> 6:16 (40)] Do not test G-d... (as you did repeatedly in the Midbar). Understood as the prohibition of overly challenging a true prophet and demanding signs from him (beyond what is reasonable to determine his claim as a true prophet) [424, L64 6:16]. Keep the mitzvot... be straight with G-d... so that things will be good for you in Eretz Yisrael... (there it is again!) 

[S> 6:20 (6)] When your child will ask you tomorrow... tell him "we were slaves to Par'o in Egypt and G-d took us out... and He commanded us... and it will do us good to listen... 

Sound familiar? one of the questions of a child that mold the form of the Seder.

Sh'VII - Seventh Aliya - 11 p'sukim - 7:1-11

[S>7:1 (11)] Finally, Moshe tells the People that the nations in Eretz Yisrael whom we will encounter are mightier than Israel. But G-d will give them over into Israel's hands. We are required to destroy the "Seven Nations" [425, A187 7:2], not to show mercy to idolaters in the Land [426, L50 7:2], and certainly not to intermarry with them [427, L52 7:3] or any other non-Jews. 

Regardless of how secure one is in one's belief, intermarriage and other close contact with other cultures will have an adverse effect upon the Jew and on the Jewish People. In addition to the Torah-prohibition of intermarriage, there are many Rabbinic prohibitions geared to restrict social contact with non-Jews.

We must destroy the idolatry in the Land. We must always keep in mind the basis upon which G-d has built His relationship with us. 

It is because of G-d's love for us and His promises to our ancestors that He has taken us out of Egypt.

Know that G-d is trustworthy to keep His promises and reward those who properly follow His ways, as well as punish those who do not. The sedra ends with a 'command' to keep the Torah.

The final 3 p'sukim of the sedra are reread for the Maftir.

Haftara - 26 p'sukim - Yeshayahu 40:1-26

First of the 7 Haftarot of Consolation, (all of which come from Yeshayahu from ch 40 and onward). Yeshayahu as a prophet of destruction and Divine punishment for faithlessness, can be seen in ch 1 which was the haftara last Shabbat (Chazon), and in subsequent chapters through 39. With our haftara this week, ch 40, we see another side of the prophet. G-d commands the prophets (through Yeshayahu) to bring the message of comfort and the end of Babylonian captivity. How appropriate a choice for the post-9Av haftara.


Bringing the Prophets to Life

Weekly insights into the Haftara
by Rabbi Nachman (Neil) Winkler
Author of Bringing the Prophets to Life (Gefen Publ.)

Va'etchanan-Nachamu

With the haftara of "Nachamu" we begin the "Shiv'a d'Nechemta," the post-Tish'a b'Av readings of consolation that lead up to Shabbat Shuva, the Shabbat before Yom Kippur. Each one of these haftarot is taken from the Sefer Yish'ayahu and are aimed to lift us from the depths of depression and rejection to the heights of joy and acceptance. This journey of seven weeks is meant to be a time to repair our relationship with G-d that was, seemingly, torn asunder by the Galut, so that we would be prepared for the season of T'shuva.  

Tosafot (Megila 31b) points out that these selections are arranged in ascending order, i.e., that each haftara progresses in its comforting words to the prophecies of the previous one.  

In the opening words Hashem calls to the prophets: "Nachamu, Nachamu Ami", "[Go and] comfort My people", which certainly appears to be a most powerful message to the post-churban generation.  In what way, we might wonder, is this selection any less comforting than those messages that would follow?  Let us consider: 

The Temple lay in ruins.

The population was driven into exile.

And thousands of Jews were killed.

So the prophet calls for us to be comforted because… G-d has completed the punishment since you have already suffered twice as much as you deserved (KI LAK'CHA MIYAD HASHEM KIFLAYIM B'CHOL CHATOTECHA").

Is this comforting? The Jews may have been relieved to learn that the punishments had ceased - but would that have been a "soothing comfort" for them?

Furthermore, the haftara focuses upon G-d's power and His ability to punish - but says nothing about His willingness to forgive! The perek also speaks of G-d's might and His ability to change nature - but does not speak of Israel's future redemption. And, whereas the other prophecies of comfort depict G-d's relationship with us as that of a father to his child or even husband to his wife, this haftara speaks in terms of a Ruler to his nation, an Almighty Power who judges the people - lacking the warmth and caring of a relationship the nation so desperately needed!  In but one verse alone does the navi paint the picture of G-d as a compassionate shepherd gathering His sheep and holding the wandering lamb in His bosom, portraying a warmer and more intimate connection between Hashem and His nation.

Perhaps this is why Tosafot regarded this prophecy as the least comforting of the seven. And, if so, then how, indeed, were they to be comforted?

I suggest that that Israel were comforted by Yishayahu's message because they, and future generations, for 2500 years, firmly believed in the in the words of the prophet that they WOULD have a future. 

After the horrors of the churban and throughout the torment and torture of the Diaspora and incomparable pain they suffered, in was only logical for them to believe that they were doomed; that they had NO future. The simple promise they found in the words of this haftara gave them the strength and inspiration to go on.

They survived - because they knew that they would survive.

And we, more than past generations, can see these prophecies come to life. We see the fruition of those promises that our ancestors could only pray would come true.

Yes, we have survived and, therefore, can confidently declare to our nation:

 "Nachamu, Nachamu Ami" - we all can now be comforted, for Yishayahu's prophecy has been realized. 


ParshaPix explanations

The fun way to go over the weekly sedra with your children, grandchildren, Shabbat guests

Va'etchanan

Plus and minus in a negation circle is for the prohibitions of adding to the Torah or detracting from it <> Mitzva to designate cities of refuge - 3 on the east side of the Jordan (and 3 on the west side) <> LUCHOT in the TORAH on an open Gemara on top of the mountain stands for the repetition of the Aseret HaDibrot and reminds us that the whole Torah - Written and Oral - was given by G-d at Sinai, not just the Big Ten <> Mezuza is one of the mitzvot from Va'etchanan, from the first parsha of the SH'MA <> Shabbat candles for SHAMOR and ZACHOR. They are contained B'DIBUR ECHAD, in one speech-bubble <> Hearing ear represents SH'MA, not just the well-known one, but the many times the Torah commands us to listen (and understand - this is an important aspect of SH'MA) <> Warning lights for Moshe's warnings to us to remain faithful to HaShem and not to be confused by what we witnessed but cannot totally comprehend <> Big number one is for HaShem Echad, as well as the other pasuk that emphasizes G-d's Unity, 4:35, ...there is none besides Him <> The reminder-finger is for the command to never forget the Sinai experience and to pass on the memory to future generations <> Seder plate for the Chacham's question and the answer of We were slaves to Par'o in Egypt... both of which are found in Va'etchanan <> speaker and an Xed out video monitor: On that great day of Revelation at Sinai, we HEARD what G-d said, but we did NOT SEE any image of Him. Mentioned more than once, and is a reason for Moshe's deep concern and warnings to the people <> a face in the clock face is for the term PANIM BIFANIM <> telescope is for Yeshayahu's words at the end of the Haftara: Lift your eyes heavenward and see Who created these... Also for Moshe's warning lest we lift our eyes heavenward and see Sun, Moon, etc. and worship them <> seven pens are for the 5 PENs in the sedra and another two U'FENs <> Grasshopper - K'CHAGAVIM, like grasshoppers, appears only twice in Tanach - in Parshat Sh’lach and the haftara of Va'etchanan <> Extended pinky is for V'ZOT HATORAH... The words are from Va'etchanan <> The Raven saying Nevermore from the poem by Edgar Allan Poe - the word PO is not a rare word in the Torah, but its two occurrences in Va'etchanan are significant <> Compass directions are numbered in the order in which they occur in the pasuk. It's a different order from p'sukim elsewhere <> building is LEV YERUSHALAYIM - from the haftara <> the guard is for the many times in Va'etchanan that words with the root and meaning of SHAMOR occur <> a few Unexplaineds


In Memory of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l

The Right and the Good

Va'etchanan

Buried among the epic passages in Va'etchanan - among them the Sh'ma and the Ten Commandments - is a brief passage with large implications for the moral life in Judaism. Here it is together with the preceding verse:

Be very vigilant to keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and the testimonies and decrees with which He has charged you. Do what is right and what is good in the Lord's eyes, so that it may go well with you, and you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you (D'varim 6:17-18).

The difficulty is obvious. The preceding verse makes reference to commandments, testimonies, and decrees. This, on the face of it, is the whole of Judaism as far as conduct is concerned. What then is meant by the phrase "the right and the good" that is not already included within the previous verse?

Rashi says it refers to "compromise (that is, not strictly insisting on your rights) and action within or beyond the letter of the law (lifnim mi-shurat ha-din)". The law, as it were, lays down a minimum threshold: this we must do. But the moral life aspires to more than simply doing what we must. The people who most impress us with their goodness and rightness are not merely people who keep the law. The saints and heroes of the moral life go beyond. They do more than they are commanded. They go the extra mile. That, according to Rashi, is what the Torah means by "the right and the good".

Ramban, while citing Rashi and agreeing with him, goes on to say something slightly different:

At first Moshe said that you are to keep His statutes and His testimonies which He commanded you, and now He is stating that even where He has not commanded you, give thought as well to do what is good and right in His eyes, for He loves the good and the right.

Now this is a great principle, for it is impossible to mention in the Torah all aspects of man's conduct with his neighbours and friends, all his various transactions and the ordinances of all societies and countries. But since He mentioned many of them, such as, "You shall not go around as a talebearer", "You shall not take vengeance nor bear a grudge", "You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbour", "You shall not curse the deaf", "You shall rise before the hoary head", and the like, He went on to state in a general way that in all matters one should do what is good and right, including even compromise and going beyond the strict requirement of the law… Thus one should behave in every sphere of activity, until he is worthy of being called "good and upright".

Ramban is going beyond Rashi's point, that the 'right and the good' refer to a higher standard than the law strictly requires. It seems as if Ramban is telling us that there are aspects of the moral life that are not caught by the concept of law at all. That is what he means by saying "It is impossible to mention in the Torah all aspects of man's conduct with his neighbours and friends."

Law is about universals, principles that apply in all places and times: Do not murder. Do not rob. Do not steal. Do not lie. Yet there are important features of the moral life that are not universal at all. They have to do with specific circumstances and the way we respond to them. What is it to be a good husband or wife, a good parent, a good teacher, a good friend? What is it to be a great leader, or follower, or member of a team? When is it right to praise, and when is it appropriate to say, "You could have done better"? There are aspects of the moral life that cannot be reduced to rules of conduct, because what matters is not only what we do, but the way in which we do it: with humility or gentleness or sensitivity or tact.

Morality is about persons, and no two persons are alike. When Moshe asked God to appoint his successor, he began his request with the words, "Lord, God of the spirit of all flesh" (Bamidbar 27:16). On this the Rabbis commented: what Moshe was saying was that each person is different, so he asked God to appoint a leader who would relate to each individual as an individual, knowing that what is helpful to one person may be harmful to another. This ability to judge the right response to the right person at the right time is a feature not only of leadership, but of human goodness in general.

Rashi begins his commentary to B'reishit with the question: If the Torah is a book of law, why does it not start with the first law given to the people of Israel as a whole, which does not appear until Sh'mot 12? Why does it include the narratives about Adam and Chava, Kayin and Hevel, the patriarchs and matriarchs and their children? Rashi gives an answer that has nothing to do with morality - he says it has to do with the Jewish people's right to their Land. But the Netziv (R. Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin; 1816-1893) writes that the stories of B'reishit are there to teach us how the patriarchs were upright in their dealings, even with people who were strangers and idolaters. That, he says, is why B'reishit is called by the Sages "the book of the upright". 

Morality is not just a set of rules, even a code as elaborate as the 613 commands and their rabbinic extensions. It is also about the way we respond to people as individuals. The story of Adam and Chava in the Garden of Eden is at least in part about what went wrong in their relationship when the man referred to his wife as ISHA, 'woman', a generic description, a type. Only when he gave her a proper name, CHAVA, Eve, did he relate to her as an individual in her individuality, and only then did God make "garments of skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them" (3:21).

This too is the difference between the God of Aristotle and the God of Abraham. Aristotle thought that God knew only universals not particulars. This is the God of science, of the Enlightenment, of Spinoza. The God of Abraham is the God who relates to us in our singularity, in what makes us different from others as well as what makes us the same.

This ultimately is the difference between the two great principles of Judaic ethics: justice and love. Justice is universal. It treats all people alike, rich and poor, powerful and powerless, making no distinctions on the basis of colour or class. But love is particular. A parent loves their children for what makes them each unique. The moral life is a combination of both. That is why it cannot be reduced solely to universal laws. That is what the Torah means when it speaks of "the right and the good" over and above the commandments, statutes, and testimonies.

A good teacher knows what to say to a struggling student who, through great effort, has done better than expected, and to a gifted student who has come top of the class but is still performing below their potential. A good employer knows when to praise and when to challenge. We all need to know when to insist on justice and when to exercise forgiveness. The people who have had a decisive influence on our lives are almost always those we feel understood us in our singularity. We were not, for them, a mere face in the crowd. That is why, though morality involves universal rules and cannot exist without them, it also involves interactions that cannot be reduced to rules.

Rabbi Israel of Rizhin (1796-1850) once asked a student how many sections there were in the Shulchan Aruch. The student replied, "Four." "What", asked the Rizhiner, "do you know about the fifth section?" "But there is no fifth section", said the student. "There is", said the Rizhiner. "It says: always treat a person like a mensch."

The fifth section of the code of law is the conduct that cannot be reduced to law. That is what it takes to do the right and the good.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What does it mean to be a good friend, beyond the obvious rules of ethics?

Which day-to-day interactions cannot be reduced to rules, although you feel there is a right and good way to approach them?

How can we work on our interactions with others, to ensure we always treat a person like a mensch?


PTDT - PhiloTorah D'var Torah

Double-Sided Fear

The Sun, the Moon, the Planets, the Stars - how do we look at them? I don't mean with naked eye, binoculars, telescope. I mean, how do we see them?

In Va'etchanan, Moshe Rabeinu warns the people to be exceedingly careful to preserve their souls. He says this when he tells the new generation about the Sinai Experience - Matan Torah. He specifically reminds them, that we heard G-d speaking to us, but we did not see any image of Him. Seeing Him is not possible. And this is something that our human nature has difficulty with.

Moshe warns us about looking heavenward and seeing the heavenly bodies, and be so awed that people might bow to them and worship them... 

Rambam, in the first chapter of his Hilchot Avoda Zara - the Laws of Idolatry, describes the great mistake that began in the generation of Enosh, grandson of Adam and Chava. People reasoned that the Sun is such a magnificent creations, that it is like a high-ranking minister of G-d... and worthy of worship - as a way of giving honor to the One G-d.

Big mistake. And it snowballed into all types of pagan worship - with G-d eased out of the picture.

Too much detail, and yet, there is plenty more. Let's suffice it to say that G-d's creations - all of them - or better put - none of them, is an object of worship. Not lofty mountains, majestic trees, magnificent animals... not angels. We worship only G-d.

But, as mentioned earlier, people have trouble relating to the invisible, intangible Divine Being. This difficulty led to the Golden Calf and countless other veerings away from HaShem.

There is another fear when it comes to the heavenly bodies, as well as all other elements of nature. And that fear is in the opposite direction - seeing nature and science, astronomy, biology, and so on, as something not connected to G-d. G-d is found in the religious and spiritual realms - not nature.

Scientists - and many other people - seem to have a difficulty in using belief in G-d and His Creation to help explain scientific observations. Again, more detail is necessary, but not for now.

We might say that once upon a time a long time ago, there was a powerful tendency of people to worship different things - even if belief and worship of the One G-d was maintained. Sometimes one way, sometimes the other - both AVODA ZARA.

Today, it is more common for the opposite to happen. To separate G-d and religion for Nature and Science.

Both are problematic.

Moshe Rabeinu expressed the fear in one direction, and Rabbi Yaakov in Pirkei Avot expressed the opposite fear, namely that if one's admiration of a beautiful tree is a HAFSAKA, and interruption in one's Torah life, then such a person is putting his life in jeopardy.

So how do we handle all of this? Yishayahu HaNavi gives us the simple path to follow:

Last pasuk in the haftara for Shabbat Nachamu, 40:26 - Lift up your eyes on high and see, who created these...

By all means, study nature, study science, but don't be afraid to Give G-d credit for the wonderful world He created for us.



Walk through the Parsha with Rabbi David Walk

WHO WAS THERE?

Va'etchanan

This week's Torah reading is a powerhouse parsha. We have the heart-breaking scene of Moshe begging God to enter the Land. There is the reprise of the Ten Commandments. Plus, we have the first passage of the SH'MA with its dramatic six-word introduction which has become, perhaps, the motto of our people. But I'd like to discuss a couple of verses which precede the repetition of the Ten Commandments, because they present a delicious mystery.

Here they are: It was not with our ancestors that God made this covenant, but with us - all of us who are here and alive right now. Face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire God spoke with you (D'varim 5:4).

Whoa! Just a minute there. It was indeed their parents who were standing at Mt. Sinai, and, problem number two, most of those listening to Moshe hadn't been born yet. The bulk of that generation died in the desert, but those under 20 were exonerated and survived to enter the Land.

Rashi, famously, adds a word to the statement, L'VAD, 'alone'. It was not only with your ancestors who were there at the foot of Sinai. This works, but isn't satisfying. 

The Abarbanel agrees with Rashi, and adds, 'so that the Torah should not be taken lightly by the many coming generations... the Torah was directed only at all of those who will live from generation to generation, not to those who would receive it.' This begins to explain the intent of the declaration: The Torah and the Covenant belong to those dedicated to its survival and transmission.

Reb Kalonymus Kalman Epstein in his great work, Ma'or V'Shemesh goes a bit further. He quotes from a Midrash (Sh'mot Rabba 42:8) which elucidates a very tough verse in Psalms: Then they would not be like their ancestors, a flattering and lying generation, a generation whose heart was not loyal and whose spirit was not faithful to God (T'hilim 78:8). He expounds that to mean 'the verse refers to the people at Har Sinai, that there were amongst them many whose hearts weren't true... Torah must be accepted with devotion... but many of that generation 'flattered and lied'.' 

According to the Ma'or V'Shemesh, this all fits in beautifully with the next verse: PANIM B'FANIM DIBEIR (Face to face He spoke). The Rebbe suggests that because of the BET before the second PANIM, 'it means that God saw into their innermost selves.' Even with all the pyrotechnics going on during the Revelation at Sinai, it was an intimate affair, and God knew that some participants weren't into it.

Based on this last point of view, there are clearly many possible ways to understand what Moshe Rabbeinu is teaching the Jews about the Covenant. The most famous approach is that since this Covenant is based upon a long-term sense of duty which supersedes the time frame of the event at Sinai, anyone can be understood as being there at the foot of the Mountain. All they need is the long-term commitment to the deal and the transaction. My affirmation today places me at the event 3300 years ago. How's that for time travel?

But there's another time frame issue going in our parsha. We seem to have an obsession with HAYOM, 'today'. The word appears in the famous verse, 'Those of you who hold fast to God are alive HAYOM' (4:4). It is in verse three of our chapter, and later in our parsha it's in the third verse of Sh’ma: Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day (HAYOM).

Now we could just continually push the 'every committed individual was there' agenda, but Rav Dr. Avraham Twerski had another approach. This renowned expert on addiction shares with us that he was, 'indebted to one of my alcoholic patients who called me, citing the verse in the Torah which says that Yaakov loved Rachel so intensely, that the seven years he had to wait for her seemed to him like just a few days. He noted that some commentaries say that this is contrary to nature. Separation from someone you love makes each day seem endless, rather than the reverse. "But if you look closely at the words in the Torah", my patient said, "the answer is obvious. The Torah says that the seven years were YAMIM ACHADIM, which means single days. Yaakov was able to tolerate the long separation because each day he thought, 'I only have to deal with today', and that was doable."

What a powerful and cool idea! My commitment to Torah is an infinite obligation, but I must live it day by day by day. Let's put the two ideas together. Those whose loyalty to Torah is embedded deep into their very being are considered as if they had personally stood at Sinai. Plus, this undertaking is best accomplished when viewed as a day-by-day duty. So, I (and every Jew) can and, indeed, should relive MA'AMAD HAR SINAI every day of my life. Wow, what a way to feel truly alive!

Rav Kook Torah

by Rabbi Chanan Morrison <> www.ravkooktorah.com

In Mind and Heart

The Aleinu prayer, recited at the conclusion of every prayer service, contains the following verse:

"Know it today and ponder it in your heart: God is the Supreme Being in heaven above and on the earth below - there is no other." (D'varim 4:39)

What is the difference between "knowing it" and "pondering it in our heart"?

Two Stages of Acceptance

Sometimes, people admit that there is a gap between what they know intellectually and what they are ready for emotionally. They will say, "Yes, this makes sense. This is a better way, a healthier way, a truer way. Still, it's not for me. It's too hard; I cannot do it."

Therefore, the Torah emphasizes the importance of two steps. First, we need to recognize the truth. This is the initial cognitive stage of V'YADATA HAYOM, "know it today".

This stage is critical, but it is still only on a theoretical level. It must be followed by the second step: to internalize that which the mind comprehends. We need to accept emotionally the ramifications of this understanding and be willing to act upon it. That is the second stage, V'HASHEIVOTA EL L'VAVECHA, "ponder it in your heart".

The second stage of practical acceptance should be rooted in the initial step of intellectual comprehension. As the Sages taught (B'rachot 13a), "First accept the kingdom of Heaven, and then the yoke of practical mitzvot."

Above and Below

The verse continues by stating that God is supreme in both "the heaven above and on the earth below". What does this mean?

This does not refer to God's unity in the universe, but to our own inner unity when we accept His reign. "Heaven" and "Earth" are metaphors for our two major faculties: the mind and the heart. We need to be consistent so that how we act is not detached from what we believe.

In summary, we should accept God's kingship on both levels:

To understand intellectually - in the "heaven above" - using our minds, in cognitive thought and belief.

And to act upon that wisdom on a practical level - "on the Earth below" - with our hearts and our will, by implementing our intellectual understanding in the realm of deed and action.

Gold from the Land of Israel. pp. 299-300. Adapted from Olat Re'iyah vol. I, pp. 324-325

CHIZUK a IDUD

Divrei Torah from the weekly sedra with a focus on living in Eretz Yisrael

Chizuk for Olim & Idud for not-yet-Olim

by Rabbi Yerachmiel Roness - Ramat Shiloh, Beit Shemesh

Va'etchanan 2016

Near the beginning of this week's parasha we read the following words (D'varim 4:1), "And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and ordinances which I teach you, to do them, that you may live and go in to possess the Land which the Lord, the G-d of your fathers, giveth you". Verses 4:5 and 4:14 repeatedly convey a similar message: Moshe teaches us the ordinances and statutes so that we may perform them in the Land of Israel.

This being the case, it seems reasonable to conclude that the mitzvot of the Torah were given in order to be performed exclusively in the Land of Israel. However, as we all know, this is not the case. A small Sefer entitled "Sefer Eretz Yisrael" written by Rav Yechiel Michel Tukchinsky, enumerates the various differences between prayers as said in Eretz Yisrael, and the way they are uttered in the Diaspora. This is then followed by a listing of differences in various Minhagim. One example he notes is that at a Brit, minhag Eretz Yisrael is that the father holds the child up in front of the Aron Kodesh and says the Sh'ma with those in attendance repeating after him. Coming to Israel and accepting this Minhag alone, would make your Aliya worthwhile. So join us and we will join you saying SH'MA YISRAEL!

Aside from the minor differences, though, the picture is clear: The performance of the mitzvot is basically the same whether here or there.

The Malbim comments that with the exclusion of the MITZVOT HA-T'LUYOT BA'ARETZ, all the other mitzvot which are not directly dependent on the Land of Israel are clearly intended to be performed the world over. Nonetheless, he points out, there still is a direct connection between these mitzvot and the Land. Even though the fulfillment of these mitzvot is not dependent on the Land, the Land is dependent on the mitzvot. We acquire the Land and are allowed to reside within its boundaries only when we carry out the mitzvot. Conversely, the Land, like a sentient being, will angrily spew out its inhabitants when they perform immoral acts within it.

While it is a sine qua non of Judaism that the commandments are universally applicable, the Sifri on D'varim 11:17-18 seems to have a different take on the issue. 

The Torah (D'varim 11:17) warns us that as a consequence of our sins, the Jews can only but expect to be banished from the Land. In the following verse (11:18), the Torah directs us to "Place these words… upon your hearts… tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them between your eyes". The Sifri (as quoted by Rashi) explains that the Torah wishes to convey the message that "Even when in exile we are to continue to put on T’filin and to make Mezuzot - do this when you are in exile, so that when you return they will not be new to you. As Yirmiyahu (31:20) states: "Place markers before you." When we are in the Diaspora, the mitzvot serve like markers, or sign posts on the road, their primary purpose is to guide us and direct us back to the Land of Israel. 

The Sifri adds a parable: A king of flesh and blood grew angry with his wife and sent her back to her father's house. As she left his home he said to her, "Be sure to continue wearing your jewelry, so that whenever you return, it will not be new to you." Thus also the Holy One, blessed be He, sends us away from his Land he said to Israel, "My children, you must continue to be marked by the commandments, so that when you return, they will not be new to you."

The Ramban quotes this Rashi and proceeds to explain the SOD, the hidden meaning, encapsulated in these words. Ramban explains that due to the special kedusha inherent in the Land, there is a highly significant qualitative difference between the performance of the very same mitzvot inside, or outside, the borders of the Holy Land. Expanding upon this same understanding, he writes (Vayikra 18:25) that - the mitzvot are in essence for those who dwell in the Land of the Lord.

The Kuzari expresses a similar view explaining that since "The Land of Israel is especially distinguished by the Lord of Israel, no performance of the commandments can be perfect except there… heart and soul are only perfectly pure and clean in the place which is known to be especially selected by God" (Kuzari 5:23).

To give a colloquial twist to the Sifri's (and R. Yehuda HaLevi's, and Ramban's…) teaching, we can say that although the same mitzva may be performed in Israel as well as in Chutz La'Aretz, the difference between the two is like that between a practice match played away from home, and experiencing the same tournament while playing on one's home court.

The Jewish People's home court is right here in Eretz Yisrael, and we should learn from sports lovers not to discount the importance of the home court advantage! hm


Q&A

Reprinted from Living the Halachic Process by Rabbi Daniel Mann - Eretz Hemdah, with their permission [www.eretzhemdah.org]

Women Making Havdala

Question: I am a woman who lives alone. Do I need to make Havdala on Motza'ei Shabbat?

Answer: Women must at least recite HaMavdil or the equivalent on Motza'ei Shabbat before doing work that is forbidden on Shabbat. There is a disagreement whether or not they are required to make Havdala. The issue is as follows: Havdala is a MITZVAT ASEI SHEHAZ'MAN G'RAMA (time-dependent positive mitzva), and as such we would expect women to be exempt. On the other hand, Havdala is similar to Kiddush, as we sanctify Shabbat when it enters and exits. Since there is a special source that women are obligated in the positive mitzvot of Shabbat, including Kiddush, they should be obligated in Havdala as well. Yet Kiddush is more closely linked to the Shabbat experience than Havdala is. Thus, the exception to the rule exempting women from time-dependent positive mitzvot, which obligates women in Kiddush, may not apply here.

The Shulchan Aruch cites two opinions, but favors the one that obligates women in Havdala. However, the Rama, who serves as the primary authority for Ashkenazic Jewry, instructs women to avoid the issue by hearing Havdala from a man who is certainly obligated. The Bach takes issue with the need to hear it from a man, saying that a woman could always accept upon herself to make Havdala even if she is not obligated.

There are two additional issues that arise when a woman makes her own Havdala, which make it preferable to hear it from a man: First, there is a serious question whether she can make a b'racha on the candle, as this is a time-dependent mitzva that is only tangentially related to Havdala. Second, there is a minhag that women do not drink from the cup of Havdala, which someone must drink. 

In the final analysis, if a woman will not hear Havdala from a man, she can and should make Havdala, drink from the cup, and make the b’racha on the candle after drinking. Even Sephardic women, who generally do not make b'rachot on mitzvot that they perform voluntarily, may make the b'rachot of Havdala when necessary.

A complication pertaining  to a woman hearing Havdala from a man (which applies even to a husband and wife) is as follows: If one has fulfilled a mitzva, he can perform the mitzva again for someone else only if that other person is obligated in the mitzva. Since a woman may not be obligated, a man who has already fulfilled Havdala may make it again only if it is on behalf of another male (even a male child who is rabbinically obligated) who has not yet heard Havdala. If such a male is not present, it is preferable for the woman to make Havdala herself, which is permitted, according to the Bach, even if she is not obligated.


From the Pen of Rabbi Nachman HaKohen Kahana

Va'etchanan-Nachamu - TU b'Av

Moshe declared before the Jewish nation D'varim 4:5-8):

See! I have taught you decrees and laws as HaShem my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 

Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding before the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

What other nation is so great as to have their god near them the way HaShem our God is near us whenever we call to Him? 

And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this Torah I am setting before you today?

The goal was to create an unprecedented God-fearing society, which even the idolatrous nations of the world would be influenced by the wisdom and intelligence of the Creator and the greatness of His chosen people, Am Yisrael. Today, however, the world is more impressed with the scientific findings of our Weizmann Institute and the discoveries of our Technion, than the way we uphold our Shabbat or the attention by which we choose our kosher food or the diligence we practice in the study of our Torah.

Many good Jews observe the Torah, yet, we are not making any headway in breaking the k'lipa (shell) of anti-Semitism which girdles the majority of gentiles. Where did we go wrong? And obviously we did go wrong, because the verse states: Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. Implying that if the nations are unimpressed with the Jewish people's spiritual "wisdom and understanding," there is clearly a fundamental failure in our Torah observance.

I suggest:

The incidents leading up to the destruction of the Second Temple are recorded in Tractate Gittin beginning with page 55b.

A Jew by the name of Bar Kamtza, who was close to the Roman aristocracy, was highly insulted when he was publicly requested to leave a wedding party. He took revenge on the Jewish community by convincing Caesar (or another highly-placed Roman official) to send an animal to the Temple in order to see if the Kohanim would accept the offering. The Roman sent an animal with Bar Kamtza, who intentionally made a cut in its lip (or ear) to render the animal invalid to be a sacrifice for a Jew, but still valid for a gentile. So far so good!

However, a prominent Kohen by the name of Zecharia ben Avkules used his position to reject the sacrifice on the grounds that non-learned Jews could conclude that it is permissible to sacrifice animals with physical blemishes, without discerning between blemishes of this type which are permitted for the sacrifice of a gentile but not for a Jew.

At the alternate suggestion that Bar Kamtza be killed so that he would not reveal to the Romans that the Kohanim rejected the sacrifice, Zecharia ben Avkules again objected on the grounds that people might mistakenly conclude that one who causes a blemish in an animal intended for a sacrifice is liable for the death penalty. 

Under the circumstances, Bar Kamtza was set free. He then informed the Roman that his sacrifice was rejected, which eventually ending in the Temple's destruction.

This historical incident is preceded in the Gemara (ibid) with the verse from Mishlei 28:14, as a means of summarizing the actions of the people who brought the nation to tragedy.

Praised is the one who calculates the results of his actions, but whoever hardens his heart (obsessively) falls into evil.

Bar Kamtza was obsessive in his desire for revenge, but so too was the host of the wedding feast who embarrassed Bar Kamtza without considering the possible implications of his act, as well as the rabbis who were witness to this embarrassing ejection but did nothing to placate Kamtza.

But the severest criticism was saved for Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkules who was so stubbornly fearful of violating the halacha that he became impervious to the potential disaster he was creating.

Had he allowed sacrificing the animal which was halachically permitted (being the animal of a gentile), the Temple might not have been destroyed. But his intransigent obsession - lest some ignoramus misinterpret what was done in the Temple (what we call today a "chumra") without calculating the possible religious, social and national repercussions of his severities - brought about the destruction of the Temple.

The issue can be illustrated as follows: Halachot are like building stones of different sizes and color and the rabbinic decisions about how and when to implement a particular halacha is the mortar which binds halachot together. A rabbi may not overturn a halacha, just as a laborer cannot change the color or size of the bricks. However, just as a laborer must choose which stone to use at a particular stage, a rabbi must use his knowledge and experience when applying a particular halacha and its supplementary severities (chumrot).

The Gemara (Sota 21b) uses the term "chasid shoteh" - a righteous fool, to describe one whose irrational, rigid and scrupulous failed misunderstanding of the halacha causes tragedy. As in the case of a drowning woman, where instead of saving her the chasid shoteh looks the other way lest he see her in an immodest situation.

The application of Torah today by certain influential chareidi leaders is aimed at an hermetically-sealed group. This group has no desire to emphasize the beauty and wisdom of Yiddishkeit as a way of life for a nation in this modern era, and by so doing has shown the wrong face of what we really are.

The most devastating mistake of the chareidi sector is its refusal to recognize the hand of God in the establishment, survival and thriving of our holy Medina.

The weak link in their chain of thought and the mother of all mistakes is their premise that our return to Eretz Yisrael must be headed by great Torah scholars and not by secular Jews, like those who spearheaded the Zionist movement at the beginning of the last century.

There are two fallacies in this thinking.

One: If the return to Zion was so dear to their hearts, why was the ideal of a Jewish State not initiated by the religious leaders of the time? And why were there so few rabbis who established the "Mizrachi" organization which became part of the World Zionist organization? And why, even now after seeing the great miracles of HaShem, do they still withdraw into the ideological isolation of "Mashiach Now", instead of becoming partners in the the major institutions of the Medina, like the military and the work force?

Two: In D'varim 9 (Eikev), Moshe recalls the devastating sins of the Jews in the desert perpetrated by the people standing in front of him and by their fathers, including the sin of the Golden Calf and the refusal to enter the Promised Land.

Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that HaShem your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger of HaShem your God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against HaShem.

... And HaShem said to me, "I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed!

Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they."

... I feared the anger and wrath of HaShem, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again, HaShem listened to me.

... You also made HaShem angry at Tav-eira, at Masa and at Kivrot HaTaava.

And when HaShem sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, "Go up and take possession of the land I have given you." But you rebelled against the command of HaShem your God. You did not trust him or obey him.

You have been rebellious against HaShem ever since I have known you.

But with all this very disturbing behavior, HaShem still said to Moshe (10:11):

"Go", HaShem said to me, "and lead the people on their way, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to their ancestors to give them."

In no way can one compare the conduct of the so-called secular Zionists to the huge transgressions of the Jews in the desert. And, nevertheless, HaShem brought the generation of the desert into Eretz Yisrael in fulfillment of His promise to our fathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.

And today we are living the greatest of miracles surpassing all human rationality - we have survived 2000 years of exile and the unspeakable Sho'ah, and even the secular in Eretz Yisrael adamantly demand to remain sons and daughters of the Jewish nation.

Many chareidi leaders have much to contemplate and much to change, and this week's parasha is a good place to begin.

Unfortunately, a bitter joke I heard has become the bitter reality in many chareidi circles. The season of the archeological dig in search of remnants of the Second Temple period ended, and the head of the dig turned in his report. The only thing we found remaining from the period is the sin'at chinam (unwarranted hatred).

TU B'AV

The Mishna in Tractate Ta'anit states: "There were no happier days (yamim tovim) than Yom Kippur and the 15th of Av." In Tractate Ta'anit of the Jerusalem Talmud our sages state that the reason Yom Kippur is a yom tov is obvious, for on this day our sins are eradicated. However, they ask, what transpired on the 15th of Av to elevate it to the level of happiness of Yom Kippur?

And the Gemara explains that on this day Hoshe’a ben Ela, King of the Northern tribes of Israel, rescinded the edict prohibiting the Jews of the northern tribes to go up to Yerushalayim.

In order to fully appreciate what this meant, let's return to 300 years prior to the time of Hoshe’a ben Ela. The arch-evil Yeravam ben Nevat incited the people of the northern tribes to secede from the union that had begun with King Shaul, followed by King David, King Shlomo and the then king Rechav'am, son of Shlomo Ha'melech.

In order to complete the secession, Yeravam began expounding the Torah in his own way, thereby created the first reform movement; but the formal act of secession was accomplished by closing the roads to Yerushalayim.

He created two substitute spiritual centers - Beit El, and Dan in the north - knowing that as long as the connection to Yerushalayim existed, his break away nation would not endure.

Yeravam imposed a harsh prohibition on going to Yerushalayim, and placed police along the entire border. This situation continued for over three hundred years, during which time the Jews of the north were severed from Yerushalayim and the Holy Temple.

Upon ascending the throne, Hoshe’a ben Ela withdrew the border guards and opened the way to Yerushalayim - and this happened on the 15th of Av.

Indeed, this was a day to parallel Yom Kippur, for now the Jews would be able to offer korbanot in the Mikdash and achieve atonement for their sins.

After this explanation in the Jerusalem Talmud, Rav Kahana asks: If Hoshe’a was such a great man, why then did HaShem permit Shalmanetzer, King of Assyria, to invade the northern tribes and exile all the Jews in Hoshe’a's time?

The Talmud answers that Hoshe’a ben Ela opened the way to Yerushalayim - BUT NO ONE CAME!

Hoshe’a ben Ela was punished because he did not use his authority to prod and encourage the people to renew their covenant with the holy city.

And the Gemara explains that in the 300 years when pilgrimage to the Holy City was prohibited by the evil kings of Yisrael, the heavenly court could not accuse the people of the north of neglecting their responsibilities to Yerushalayim. However, now that the government of Hoshe’a permitted the movement of people to the Holy City, there was no longer an excuse for not going. It was as if HaShem were saying, "You did not come to My house, so I will eject you from your houses."

Hence, this day is most appropriate for the rabbis in today's lands of the galu'yot to declare Rabbis' Day, because they are continuing in the tradition of Hoshe’a ben Ela by not utilizing their authority and influence to encourage their congregations to leave the exile to return home.

When was the last time your rabbi stood at the pulpit and banged his fist on the lectern demanding that the congregation "go up to the Land, as I am about to do?"

Remember the mantra "He who does not make kiddush, HaShem will make for him havdala." If you don't understand what this means ask your local rabbi. 


OzTORAH - Rabbi Raymond Apple

The K'RI'AT SH'MA SECRET

The K'RI'AT SH'MA, the twice-daily proclamation of the Sh'ma, emanates from this week's Torah portion. It is the basic statement of Jewish identity and belief. JH Hertz called it "the keynote of all Judaism".

The first line is often translated as "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One." A better translation is "Listen, Israel: HaShem (the four-letter Divine Name) is our God, the One HaShem."

It is telling us three things -

1. The existence of God is the chief fact of Jewish identity.

2. The name of God is the four-letter Hebrew word symbolised by HaShem.

3. HaShem is Unique (not just mathematically one as against any other number but totally distinct from anything or anyone else).

Saying these things in one sentence answers the common questions,

- Who made God?

- What is God?

- Are there any other gods?

According to Israel Abrahams, the Sh'ma is "the fundamental dogma (monotheism), the fundamental duty (love), the fundamental discipline (the study of Torah) and the fundamental method (the union of 'letter' and 'spirit') of the Jewish religion." At least twice a day the believer says the Sh'ma and thus daily proclaims: "I am a Jew!"

Some Jews who only visit shule yearly, only say the Sh'ma once a year at the end of Yom Kippur, implying, "Wherever I have been this year, today I am with my people!"

Some only say the Sh'ma once in their lives, just before they die: this proclaims, "Even if I have strayed, I die as a Jew!" OZ


Meshech Chochma - Jacob Solomon

When the Israelites had contacted the voice of G-d at Mount Sinai 40 years previously, Moshe reminds them, they were desperately overwhelmed. They came to Moshe Rabbeinu and pleaded with him:

Let it be just you, you approach G-d… and whatever G-d tells you, you tell us. We will listen, and we will do (5:24).

G-d told Moshe that the people were right. He accepted that the people at Mount Sinai felt bewildered in His Presence. Yes, His Presence to that intensity was suitable for Moshe Rabbeinu, but not for lesser mortals. But He would be delighted if the people would just strive to follow His teachings and communicate what they experienced at Mount Sinai to their future children and grandchildren, so that they would continue likewise.

The Meshech Chochma explains what Am Yisrael had experienced at Mount Sinai. With the words NA-ASEH V'NISHMA: "we do and we will obey" (Sh'mot 24:7) they acquired a type of spiritual sensitivity that is characteristic of MAL-ACHIM, angels. Within MAL-ACHIM, the Meshech Chochma explains, G-d's words and expectations resonate. They know what He wants and they do it, without Him having to say anything. Am Yisrael are not MAL-ACHIM, but in having committed themselves through NA-ASEH V'NISHMA, they have acquired the following dimension. That is that their souls recognize The Truth when they meet it without having to be told that it is The Truth, and their souls respond to it. The Truth at Mount Sinai was so intense that they recognized it for what it was: an experience beyond their spiritual capacities. Hence they begged Moshe Rabbeinu: "Let it be just you, you approach G-d."

It is partly for that reason, the Meshech Chochma suggests, that AVODA ZARA, idolatry, is one of the three cardinal sins in the Torah. Just like the soul within Am Yisrael senses The Truth, similarly that soul senses something that is manifestly incompatible with The Truth. It feels the severe dissonance. Which in the case of AVODA ZARA, it then flagrantly defies.

And similarly, the workings of the NA-ASEH V'NISHMA soul even today recognizes the truth. Why, for example, are our Batei Knesset so full on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur? The most heavily spiritually-laden days in the whole year. Perhaps that is it: it is the N'SHAMA, the soul, that is responding to The Truth, and it cries out to be within it. 

Which may well answer the question. How will we recognize that the Mashiach is the Mashiach on arrival? The answer: there will be no need for antics of past false messiahs. Our souls will duly respond. 


Menachem Persoff

SH'MA YISRAEL: A Roadmap for Life

In this week's Parsha, we come across the first passage of the SH'MA. SH'MA YISRAEL has become the clarion call of every believing Jew from time immemorial. But what must we "hear", internalize, understand and actualize?

In essence, these words that we utter twice (if not three or four times) daily draw us into recognizing the basic tenets of our Jewish faith.

We are to express our belief in what Rabbi Elie Munk describes as the Absolute Prime Spirit that incorporates the concept of Unity - "the unity of love and justice, spirit and matter, freedom and necessity, of the Infinite and the multitude of finite forces."

The Almighty appears to us as HASHEM, the merciful father, and ELOKIM, the omnipotent majestic Master of Judgement. However, when we recite the SH'MA, we are to embody the notion that everything stems entirely from One Source, including the contradictions of joy and pain, life and death. 

With that central motif in mind, we can better appreciate the directive to serve HaShem with every fiber of our being - heart, soul, and bodily assets. By so doing, suggests Rav Munk, we lead a moral life that permeates all the diverse phases of our lives and being. Moreover, to the extent that we achieve that goal, our personalities will be forever integrated and harmonious.

Notably, there is a sequence to the application of these noble sentiments embedded in the three passages of the SH'MA. First, through recognition and knowledge of the infinite God, love arises that expresses awareness that HaShem is the Source of all our blessings - dependent, of course, on our reciprocating His Chesed.

Then, we must continually review Hashem's teachings with our offspring and students. We are to surround ourselves with symbols awakening us to Hashem's Presence. And we are to observe God's commandments and appraise the path to follow so that we might better fulfill His will in this world.

The three passages are addressed to the individual, the society, and the nation, reminding us that our responsibilities incorporate these three different but critically connected domains. Ultimately, whether as individuals or as a nation, our mission is to "be holy unto your God". 

May we be worthy of living up to these ideals, applying all our faculties in the service of HaShem at all times and in every circumstance. MP


The Daily Portion - Sivan Rahav Meir

It's not enough to know the truth

Translation by Yehoshua Siskin

According to a famous saying, the longest distance in the universe is not between planet earth and some remote galaxy but between the head and the heart. There are many things we know intellectually but have difficulty internalizing and bringing into the heart.

The dire warnings on cigarette packages are clear for all to see, but does that mean such messages necessarily influence people to stop smoking? Videos we see on TV urging caution on the roadways are of critical importance, but does that mean all of us stop looking at our cell phones while driving?

Knowledge is not enough. We need to change when we understand the truth and live in its light. This is relevant when it comes to staying on a diet or to getting up at the same time each morning; it is relevant to upholding eternal truths as well.

In this week's Torah portion Moshe Rabbeinu stands opposite the nation and declares: "And you shall know this day and take it into your hearts, that HaShem He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth below; there is none else." 

Our commentators ask us to pay special attention to the word order in this declaration: "And you shall know this day", followed by "and take it into your heart". The first stage is to know, but the second stage is to immediately take this knowledge into the heart. To remove the barrier between knowledge and action, to succeed in living according to what we know and want. Everyone is invited to think of examples of how they would benefit from closing the gap between head and heart.

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The Weekly 'Hi All' by Rabbi Jeff Bienenfeld

Va'etchanan-Nachamu 5779

Our Parsha contains one of Judaism's most celebrated declarations of faith - the SH'MA (6:4-9). Following the affirmation of Gd's absolute unity (6:4), the Torah proceeds to command: "And you shall love HaShem, your Gd, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your possessions." How are we to understand this behest "to love HaShem" - or, more generally, what does it mean to love another? 

The Targum, who most often translates the text into its literal Aramaic, strangely enough, consistently renders the verb OHEIV, love as RECHEM, compassion. Understood this way, are we to understand this verse as requiring us to have mercy on Gd, to feel sorry for Him? Is loving someone merely a patronizing expression rooted in feelings of pity?

In attempting to appreciate the deeper wisdom behind Onkeles's translation, it is always helpful to investigate when the first time the verb ALEF-HEI-BET appears in the Torah. In the famous episode of the Akeida (the sacrifice of Yitzchak), Avraham is commanded to "take your son, your only son whom you love …" (B'reishit 22:2). Here too, the Targum interprets Avraham's love for Yitzchak as a statement of RACHAMIM. However, to say that Avraham simply had mercy on his son does not even begin to do justice to the profound, intensely passionate love that Avraham felt for his only child. 

A fresh approach to decipher the Targum's equation of love=compassion becomes clear If we choose to understand the word REISH-CHET-MEM as also meaning a womb - RECHEM. Much like the womb is physiologically part of the woman's body, the child is experienced as being organically part and parcel of the parent's very existence. The mother's life revolves around her child. She sees herself in him; she lives for him and lets him not only share her personal existence but absorb it. As the Rav put it, "Love asserts itself in feelings of possessiveness, of inseparability from the beloved … [It is] an expression of ontic unity, of existential compresence and community." (Worship of the Heart, pp. 134-35)

Defining love in this fashion helps us understand how it conflates with feelings of compassion. To love someone means to sympathize with another's loneliness, to recognize his cold solitude and have compassion for his sorry state of solitariness. Loving someone means to be ready to rescue that person from his melancholy aloneness and aver - nay proclaim - that he need never be companionless again. Avraham's love for Yitzchak was such that he could not conceive of life without him, so bound up was he in his son's very existence. 

Indeed, the plaint of the beloved to her lover is, "Don't ever leave me!"

What does it signify then to profess love for Gd? Based upon the above, perhaps the Targum was suggesting that loving the Almighty means to have RACHAMIM, compassion for His loneliness. Possibly, the Targum was proposing that such love/compassion bespeaks of man's impassioned desire to join with his Creator, integrating into His existence, thus remedying His solitude and together realizing the eschatological vision of a redeemed universe. 

For the Jew, this love / RACHAMIM compliance traditionally asserted itself in his commitment to abide by the Torah and its mitzvot, whose charge follows immediately upon the V'AHAVATA command. It was to be the Torah, that sacred covenant, which was to define this seemingly absurd empathic union of Gd and man. A union whose truth retains its existential vitality notwithstanding it paradoxical nature. Man, longs to anchor his existence in the absolute and unconditional, and in his seeking to love and relate, he eo ipso displays great compassion for his Gd, relieving His Loneliness and becoming His loyal and devoted partner. 

The Sh'ma begins by declaring HaShem as One, HASHEM ECHAD. To be the Absolute One is, by definition, to be the Lonely One. To this theological pronouncement, the Jew quickly responds with V'AHAVTA, with love as compassion, as if to say, "Master of the Universe, I, though insignificant and mortal, feel for Your painful aloneness and I stand ready to join You in covenantal embrace.

This, according to the Targum, is what it may mean to love Gd, a magnificent challenge that elevates and ennobles man and enthrones him as a bit "lower than the angels".

This Shabbat begins the seven weeks of consolation - NECHAMA - after the Tish’a B'Av mourning. Perhaps the concept of N'CHAMA as well can be seen as an expression of love as understood by the Targum. 

When one lonely soul merges with another, a person's sense of completion and wholeness is restored. The experience of N'CHAMA is rooted in the reciprocal compassion that two lonely people express toward one another and the comforting solace they then feel. 

As such, after tragedy and destruction, HaShem consoles His people by promising He will never abandon them. And it is only with that categorical pledge of compassionate love that we are strengthened - emboldened - to optimistically greet a New Year. It is then, when the period of consolation reaches its apotheosis in the final Haftara of SOS ASIS before Rosh HaShana, that HaShem declares: "No longer shall forsaken be said of you … for the Lord desires you … and [as] the rejoicing of a bridegroom over a bride, shall your Gd rejoice over you!" (Yeshayahu 63:4,5) 


Afterthoughts - Yocheved Bienenfeld

MATAN TORAH 

In parashat Va'etchanan, after recounting the Aseret HaDibrot and the Mt. Sinai experience, the text says ET HAD'VARIM HA'ELEH DIBEIR HASHEM… MITOCH HA'EISH… KOL GADOL V'LO YASAF - HaShem spoke these words… from amidst the fire… a great voice that didn't cease. Targum Onkeles translates YASAF as PASAK - the voice did not stop. When the people approach Moshe afterwards to request that he be the go-between lest they die from hearing the voice of HaShem, they say LAMA NAMUT… IM YOSFIM ANACHNU LISHMO'A ET KOL HASHEM ELOKEINU OD VAMAT'NU - why should we die… if we continue to hear the voice of HaShem, our Gd anymore, we will die. 

The p'shat, simple understanding is clearly that YOSFIM here means 'to continue'. But this word has been used in other contexts of the Torah where this meaning is not so clear. In parashat Vayeishev (32:26), the Torah tells us that after Yehuda realizes that he is the one who impregnated Tamar, V'LO YASAF OD L'DA'ATAH. Rashi tells us this can be understood in two different ways: 'there are those who say that he didn't continue (being intimate) and there are those who say that he didn't stop. In addition, we find this same split in parashat B'ha'alot'cha (11:25) when the Torah talks of the 70 elders who received the spirit of prophecy from Moshe. It says: VAYITNAB'U V'LO YASFU. Onkeles and Targum Yonatan both translate this as LO PASKU - they didn't stop prophesying. 

If this is so, perhaps we can use this option to understand the sentence in Va'etchanan. Instead of it meaning "if we continue to hear His voice, we will die", we can hear a warning here: "If we POSKIM - stop - listening to HaShem, then we will die"! 

Indeed.