PHILOTORAH


YERUSHALAYIM in/out times for NITZAVIM

28 Elul 5782 <> September 23-24, '22

5:59PM <> Earliest (Plag) 5:19PM   <<>>  7:09PM <>  R' Tam 7:50PM

For other locales, click on Z'MANIM link

Remember PROZBUL before Rosh HaShana
Hatarat Nedarim, too
CALnotes

5783

You can find the details of the new year by looking at a calendar - printed or online, or...

You can do it the way it's done, so you'll know how the calendar people do it.

First, we have to determine when Rosh HaShana is.

To do this, we need the molad of Tishrei. This can also be found by calculating it from scratch, or we can look it up. Let's look it up. 

The molad of Tishrei 5783 is Sunday night (September 25th), no minutes and 6 chalakim (parts, there are 18 to a minute) after 9:00pm. We call it Sunday night, but in calendar terms it is LEIL SHEINI, the eve of Monday.

Rosh HaShana therefore, is on Monday (and Tuesday), September 26-27.

Based on Rambam's Hilchot Kidush HaChodesh, RH is on the day of the Molad of Tishrei, unless one of the D'CHIYOT (factors that will push RH one day later) apply. Which for 5783, they don't. Molad on Monday. RH on Monday.

Next we need to determine if the year 5783 is a 12-month year (Shana P'shuta) or a 13-month year (Shana M'uberet).

Divide 5783 by 19. We get 304 remainder 7. This means that 304 Lunar Cycles have past since Creation, and the new year is the 7th year of the 305th cycle.

Years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19 of each Lunar Cycle are M'uberet. So 5783 is not M'uberet. It has 12 months.

Now we need to know the molad of Tishrei 5784. Again, we could calculate it, but to keep things a little easier, we'll look that up, too.

The molad of Tishrei 5784 will be on Friday morning, September 15th 2023, at 5 hours 49 minutes, even. Friday morning molad means RH is that same day - unless it is a Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday, in which case, RH is pushed to the following day - namely, Shabbat, September 16th.

We now determine that there are 355 days between RH 5783 and RH 5784, which necessitates adding a day - specifically, 30 Marcheshvan. This makes 5783 a SHANA SH'LEIMA, a full year.

We now have the three factors that determine the year-type of 5783.

P'SHUTA (PEI), begins on Monday (BET), and it is full (SHIN).

The year-type code is PEI-BET-SHIN.

Side point: P'SHUTA-SH'LEIMA is the most common combination of factors for a year. Regardless of when RH is, they all have 355 days. The gimatriya of SHANA is 355. SHANA TOVA UMTUKA.


NITZAVIM

Nitzavim & Vayeilech are read separately when RH is MON-TUE or TUE-WED. They are combined when RH is THU-FRI or Shabbat-SUN.

51st of the 54 sedras; 8th of the 11 in D'varim

Written on 87 lines in a Torah (rank: 52)

4 Parshiyot; 1 open, 3 closed

40 p'sukim - ranks 53 (10th in D'varim)

657 words - ranks 51 (8th in D'varim)

2575 letters - ranks 51 (8th in D'varim)

Only Vayeilech has fewer p'sukim than Nitzavim, but in words and letters, Nitzavim also beats out Haazinu and V'zot HaB'racha. Ironically, Nitzavim's p'sukim are longer than those of any sedra in the Torah except for Vayeilech. In lines in a Sefer Torah, Haazinu has more than Nitzavim because of the extra blank space in the special way Haazinu is written.

MITZVOT

None of the Taryag are in Nitzavim

But what about T'SHUVA? See further

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.

Kohen - First Aliya - 3 p'sukim - 29:9-11

[P>29:11] Having so recently heard the frightful Tochacha and the curses that are invoked against those who betray G-d, Israel is understandably nervous about its future. Nitzavim therefore, begins on the positive, reassuring note that we are ALL standing before G-d and entering again into a covenant with Him. These opening p'sukim call our attention to the "inclusiveness" of the People of Israel. We are made up of scholars and leaders, judges and functionaries, men, women, and children, converts, wood cutters and water gatherers (Ashkenazim and S'faradim, religious and secular, Mitnagdim and Chasidim, baseball Giants fans (or Red Sox fans) and fans of lesser teams...). But together they all stood to reaffirm their commitment to G-d. Jewish Unity has always been our strength; its lack, our greatest weakness. 

SDT: Rav Aharon of Karlin pointed out that ATEM is made of the letters of the word EMET, truth. This, he said, is the only way to achieve LIFNEI HASHEM, to stand before G-d - in truth.

SDT: The Alshich points out that the Torah describes the People as "all of you, before G-d", and then proceeds to delineate different types of Jews. Before G-d, we ARE all the same. Whatever differences might exist pale into insignificance in comparison with the fact that we are all created B'TZELEM ELOKIM, in the Divine Image. Differences might be important from our perspective. We view some people as more valuable than others. But we really have no way to know how G-d views us. In His eyes we are all standing erect this day...

Levi - Second Aliya - 3 p'sukim - 29:12-14 

And there is more. The second three-pasuk set proclaims that it is not just the entire People of Israel who were alive at the time, who are making this covenant with G-d, it is also our ancestors to whom G-d made His special promises, and to the generations of Jews in the past AND the future, whose spirit (souls) were present at this covenant. 

Perhaps this is the meaning of the prophecy to Avraham Avinu that his descendants will be as countless as the stars of the heavens. Take the millions of Jews alive today, add the millions who have preceded us, add the - how many more? - future generations, and we can truly be called "without number". Nations that have come to an end, can be numbered. An eternal people cannot ever be counted.

Shlishi - Third Aliya - 14 p'sukim - 29:15-28

As he has done several times before, Moshe Rabeinu presents both sides of the covenant with G-d before the People: You have been in Egypt and you are aware of their abominable practices and those of the other nations which you have encountered. Perhaps there is a rebellious individual among you who will turn from G-d and embrace another faith. 

SDT: The phrase describing what we would today refer to as a "rotten apple" is SHORESH POREH ROSH V'LAANA, literally a poisonous root of gall and wormwood. The initial letters of this phrase rearrange to spell SHOFAR, the antidote to this negative facet of Jewish life. The Shofar must awaken the one who stray and start him on the road of T'shuva.

A person who turns to another religion will be severely punished, even if he thinks otherwise. These p'sukim are a miniature version of the Tochacha from last week's reading. 

The portion concludes with the statement that there are mysteries of this world that are G-d's and there are revealed truths that belong to us and our children. Our challenge is to remain faithful to the Torah. 

This pasuk has wide applications. In all areas of human knowledge - science, math, history... - there are mysteries and there are revealed truths. But remember, today's mysteries can be revealed tomorrow, next year... or never. As much as the pasuk reminds of how much we don't know - it comforts us with the idea that our finite minds don't have to know everything. We try our best to understand, and that's enough.

R'vi'i - Fourth Aliya - 6 p'sukim - 30:1-6

[S>30:1 (10)] From the perspective of absolute justice, if we break the terms of our agreement with G-d, punishment should be swift and complete. But we could not survive such an existence. This portion of Nitzavim tells us that if (when) we break the covenant and are dispersed among the nations of the world as punishment, all hope is not lost. We have the golden opportunity to return to G-d - and He will help the process along. This too becomes part of the agreement with G-d. The concepts of return in a physical and spiritual sense are intermingled in this Torah portion. 

The wayward Jew turning back towards HaShem and the Torah, and the Jew exiled to a distant land coming back to Eretz Yisrael are presented simultaneously. This represents the dual nature of T'shuva. What a wonderful opportunity beckons each Jew - and the Jewish People as a whole - in being given a second chance to live a true Torah life. 

MITZVAnotes

Rambam and Sefer HaChinuch (and others?) do not count T'SHUVA per se among the 613 mitzvot. Sefer HaChareidim, the SMa"K, and others do count T'SHUVA as one of TARYAG. 

One can say that Rambam counts only specific, distinct mitzvot. A command which is all-inclusive, such as "Keep My mitzvot", "Be holy", "Be straightforward with G-d", are not numbered as part of the 613 on their own, because they are really part of all other mitzvot. T'shuva can be viewed like that. Part of the mitzva to Recite the Sh'ma is that if one does not, or does it without kavana, then he must repent his ways and say the Sh'ma correctly. Part of the prohibition against eating non-kosher is that if one does, then he must repent. More than T'shuva being its own mitzva, it is an add-on to and part of all the others. 

This is one way of looking at T'shuva, specifically in explanation for its not being numbered among the 613 by Rambam. Let's call it a supra-mitzva (and a super-mitzva).

Here's another way of looking at why Rambam did not count T'shuva as a mitzva. Remember - he and everyone else consider T'shuva to be a mitzva; the question here is whether it gets numbered among the 613 or does it have a different, higher status.

We can look at T'shuva as a gift from G-d. He doesn't HAVE to command it. He just has to let it be possible. And we should jump at the opportunity. The Torah does not have to command us to breathe. We do it because it is helpful to living. So is T'shuva. The Torah doesn't have to tell us to repent, just how to do it. 

On that note, there is one aspect of T'shuva that IS counted by Rambam as a mitzva among the 613 - Vidui, verbal confession. This is a specific aspect of T'shuva that DOES "qualify" for the Rambam's count (which he counts from Parshat Naso). And yet, as mentioned earlier, some mitzva-counters DO count T'shuva per se among the 613.

Rambam's Hilchot T'shuva begins this way: All mitzvot of the Torah, positives or prohibitions, IF a person violates one of them, whether intentionally or inadvertently, WHEN he does T'shuva and repents his sin, he is obligated to verbally confess before G-d... It is as if the Rambam assumes that a person who sins will surely repent, but the VIDUI part, the verbalizing of the regret for the past and resolve for the future, the verbalizing of one's plea to G-d for forgiveness - this is what Rambam counts among the 613 mitzvot. 

Bottom line: Is T'shuva an obligation - a mitzva? Of course it is. And where do we find it? In Parshat Nitzavim. Don't worry too much about the counting issue. It's definitely the proper thing to do. At this time of year... and always.

The last pasuk of the portion contains one of several ELULs, in the form of Rashei Teivot, initial letters. And G-d will circumcise ET L'VAVCHA V'ET L'VAV zar'echa, your heart and the heart of your children. Baal HaTurim actually says that this is why we say S'lichot during Elul.

Chamishi - 5th Aliya - 4 p'sukim - 30:7-10

If (when) we return to G-d, then G-d will rain the curses (mentioned) upon our enemies. We have only to be faithful to HaShem and keep His mitzvot, and all His blessings will be showered upon us. Again a "pitch" is made for T'shuva. And again. And the T'shuva should be completely sincere. 

Shishi - Sixth Aliya - 4 p'sukim 30:11-14

[S>30:11 (4)] But how can we hope to keep our part of the agreement? Is not the Torah so exalted and remote that a mere mortal has no chance of attaining spiritual heights? The answer is eloquently stated in the famous words of the Torah - For this mitzva is not in the heavens nor is it across the ocean. It is so very close and attainable that every Jew can feel confident in taking up its challenges. It is up to us to make the commitment, feel it in our hearts, and ACT upon it. 

This portion of the Torah can be understood as referring to the mitzva of T'shuva specifically, or to all of the mitzvot of the Torah. The words and the concept apply well to T'shuva, as they also apply to all of Torah. Perhaps this confirms what we said earlier about T'shuva being a supra-mitzva. It has a wide-sweeping character that defies constricting it to an identity as a single mitzva in the family of mitzvot. This also can explain why the Rambam put Hilchot T'shuva in his first book which focuses on the fundamentals of Judaism.

Sh'VII - Seventh Aliya - 6 p'sukim - 30:15-20

[S>30:15 (6)] The concept of Free Will is beautifully expressed in the concluding portion of Nitzavim. It marks the difference between human beings and all other creations (including the bonobo!). The Sun and the Moon "fulfill" G-d's commands without conscious decisions. A bee doesn't think things out and decide to pollinate a flower (the Bee Movie, notwithstanding). Nor does a lion attacking a weak zebra evaluate the morality of his act. Only humans have the choice to do good or evil. G-d recommends and pleads with us to choose Life and Good, but He leaves the choice to us. That is why we are accountable for our actions; and that is why we stand before G-d in judgment on Rosh HaShana - animals do not. The choice is offered, but not only does G-d "command" us to choose Life, He warns us again of the devastating results of the wrong choice. Heavens and Earth are called upon to witness this most significant fact of human existence. It is the Land of Israel that is the "prize" for choosing wisely, as G-d had promised Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. G-d reconfirms His covenant and promises to us. 

We have Free Will. We can be whatever kind of people we choose to be. We have His "recommendation" and encouragement to choose Life over Death, Good over Evil. Our proper choices will earn us long life and a firm hold on the Land that He promised our ancestors. 

Let us heed the warnings of Nitzavim, let us be inspired by the beautiful challenges of Nitzavim, let us be uplifted by the lofty messages of Nitzavim, and let us have a "successful" Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, and a happy & healthy year of peace & prosperity. 

Haftara - 23 p'sukim - Y'shayahu 61:10-63:9

Seventh and final of the Haftarot of Consolation. Yeshayahu prophesies of when there will be universal peace and Jerusalem will not only be rebuilt, but will be the center of universal worship of G-d. Not only will the nations of the world recognize The One G-d, they will also acknowledge the People of Israel as His People. The idea of universal acceptance of G-d fits with our notion that ALL people are judged by G-d on Rosh HaShana, not just the Jews.


Bringing the Prophets to Life

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

Nitzavim

SOS ASIS BASHEM!

"I shall rejoice in G-d!"

No longer do we hear Hashem urging the prophets to comfort Israel.

No longer do we read how Israel weeps because that G-d had abandoned them!

Nor does she claim that all consolation has failed.

Hashem need no longer reassure her that He will comfort her, or that she should rejoice and bask in His light.

All of these were the opening messages of the first six haftarot of consolation. But it is not the message of this seventh and final haftara of comfort. Y'shayahu opens with no words urging solace or promising a glorious future. He expresses no reassurance that the nation would comforted by G-d. Not at all. 

This selection from the 61st, 62nd and 63rd p’rakim of Sefer Y'shayahu is the culmination of previous chapters of comfort because it is not G-d or the prophet who proclaims the message - it is Israel herself! Which is precisely why this is the high point of this series of haftarot - because the people have accepted the message, they have felt the comfort that Hashem promised and have recognized the redemption.

We might think that recognizing the arrival of geula would not be among the final stages of redemption. If anything, we would rightly believe that identifying Yad HaShem, the hand of G-d, as He miraculously begins to fulfill His prophecies would be something we would realize in the very early stages of the redemptive process. But at the end will there be SOS ASIS?

Hard to believe after two-thousand years! Hard to believe after almost one-thousand years of promising ANI MA'AMIN, how we believe that the Mashiach, the Geula, will be coming!

Or is it really so hard?

When a spouse returns home after a late meeting in the office… When a child returns after driving the car for the first time after getting a license… When a soldier wearily enters his home after a military campaign… What is the common response of those who waited impatiently when they hear that knock on the door? 

"I don't believe that you're finally here!"

So what about those who waited for two-thousand years? 

An oppressed people, thirsting for relief, cannot believe when it finally arrives. So often in the past, they have believed that the "knock on the door" would bring their long wait to an end. Only to be disappointed over and over again.

SOS ASIS is a reaction that comes with time. It will not be recognized by everyone during the first stages of Geula and, perhaps, not even in the middle. Some will make aliya early on and prepare the Land for the return of the exiled. Some will return in time to defend the Land from the enemies. Some will return to join their people and contribute to BINYAN HA'ARETZ in any way they can. And some will take longer.

We rejoice at all stages of the redemption. But the SOS ASIS will come only when all will recognize that HaShem returned to His Land and, perhaps, it is time for them to do so.

And only then can there be a complete rejoicing when all will declare: SOS ASIS BASHEM! 


Rosh HaShana Haftara

In generally, when we recall the haftarot of Rosh HaShana, we generally think back to the reading from the beginning of Sefer Shmuel, i.e., the haftara of the first day of the Yom Tov. Many are familiar with the poignant story of Chana's pain and her pleas to Hashem, Who responded to Chana through the miraculous birth of Shmuel HaNavi, to his once-barren mother. It is a fitting choice for this day, not simply because it parallels the stories of the other barren matriarchs who, according to tradition, were remembered on Rosh HaShana, but also because, through Chana's t’filot, we learn how effective prayer can be - certainly, a primary lesson for Rosh HaShana. But there is a second haftara, as well - and that selection for the next day is not as easily understood.

The haftara we chant of the second day is a selection taken from the 31st perek of Sefer Yirmiyahu. We have often mentioned that Yirmiyahu was burdened with delivering harsh - even blistering - criticism against the sinful Judean nation. It is no wonder that the first two haftarot read during the "Three Weeks" and the haftara we read on Tish'a b'Av itself are all nevu'ot of Yirmiyahu. It is, therefore, rather surprising that his words are read on Rosh HaShana. 

Surprising? Perhaps, but only if we fail to read the preceding perek, 30.

In that preceding chapter, the navi predicts of a time in the future when Israel would return to her Land. But the prophecy that continues into this 31st perek does not depict the ideal Geula that we commonly read in the comforting words of Yishayahu. The reading's opening words make it clear that nevu'a focuses upon AM S'RIDEI CHAREV, the people that "survived the sword". HaRav Moshe Lichtenstein reminds us that the prophet is speaking of those who "survived the sword", the survivors of the nightmare of golus. Yirmiyahu is describing the return of those who suffered war, oppression and starvation; of those Jews who remained after the tyranny, the subjugation and the repression.

And their return to the Land would not be the perfect geula with an idyllic life. Not at all. This redemption would be marked by… relief. It would be a time of calm and safety, a time of ease and peace, and, simply, an era of return from golus - as Yirmiyahu predicts HALOCH L'HARGI'O YISRAEL, G-d would bring you to a place of tranquility. But even more remarkable, the navi promises that this redemption would NOT be caused due to the nation's feelings of deep remorse, or by an era of massive t'shuva, or even by their pure acts of neighborly love. This geula, remarks Rav Lichtenstein, would be brought by Hashem as a result of His unending mercies and deep compassion for the suffering of His children. Just listen to the prophet's words [v. 7-8]:

"Behold, I will … gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, … the blind and the lame, the woman with child … a great company will return here.. They shall come weeping, and I will lead them with prayers; I will cause them to walk … in a straight way and they will not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Efrayim is My first-born.

This is precisely the underlying message of the beautiful vision of the crying Mother Rachel that Yirmiyahu depicts for the people. G-d responds to Rachel's tears over her children's pain because they are HIS children and, in effect, her tears are His. And only then, as Rabbi Lichtenstein goes on to state, the people, relieved of their suffering and recognizing G-d's mercies, would now turn back to Hashem.

In this geula "scenario" of Yirmiyahu, it is not t'shuva that would bring the geula… it is the geula would bring t'shuva! 

And how fitting is this message for Rosh HaShana! G-d may offer forgiveness for more reasons than repentance alone. Hashem weighs the suffering and pain of His children and after ghettos and concentration camps; He hears the crying and the wailing and sees the tears of Rachel - so He brings His children back home… even before they complete their process of t'shuva!!! 


ParshaPix explanations

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

Ki Tavo

what about Yitzchak in the lower-right? a.k.a. And who else? one person, one cartoon character - common name. And another Unexplained

Isaac Sidney Caesar (1922-2014) was an American comic actor and writer. He was known as SID, as in SID that coated the 12 stones...

The other fellow is Frank Fontaine (1920-1978), an American stage, radio, film and television comedian, singer and actor. One of his characters on the Jackie Gleason show was CRAZY Guggenheim. The cartoon character is Krazy Kat - a comic strip character from 1913 to 1944. CRAZY, M'SHUGA from the Tochacha.

The other Unexplained is the double-six domino above a G and an A. G stands for Har G'rizim and A is for Har Eival, on which 6 times each were to stand.

Nitzavim

Family in upper-left represents the beginning of Nitzavim that describes all who are standing today before G-d. Included are men, women, and children <> 11 dots above the family are for the sofer's practice of writing dots above the words LANU ULVANEINU <> all types of people, including the wood-cutter (George Washington, as in the cherry tree) and <> a water drawer <> Xed out sky scene is for LO BASHAMAYIM HI (not like the English hi, but like hee), it is not in heaven... (referring to the whole Torah an/or the Mitzva of T'shuva) <> the question mark and the up arrow are for the question, Who will ascend to the heavens and get the Torah for us? - answer: LO BASHAMAYIM HI <> the same with the land on the other side of the sea, it isn't there, so don't ask who will go there to get the Torah. <> The answer to both is that T'shuva (or the Whole Torah) - very close to you... <> Acid rain symbol is for the punishment for turning away from G-d <> S is for Sulfur, NaCl is for salt, and the triangle is the symbol of heat - GOFRIT VAMELECH S'REIFA... <> The fork in the road is for the choice of choosing Life or Death, Good or Evil <> Chatan & Kallah under the Chupa is from the haftara <> Shofar is for the RASHEI TEIVOT of the phrase SHORESH POREH ROSH V'LAANA, a reference to bad people among us - in the "warnings of Nitzavim" <> the two plants are hemlock and wormwood <> YO-YO, a RETURNING top, is for T'SHUVA, return. Specifically, the fact that a person can stray and sin, return, stray again, return, and again and again... and G-d is still eager (so to speak) for the T'SHUVA rather than punishing the person. The Yo-yo keeps coming back too. But beware: if the string breaks, the yo-yo keeps getting further and further away and return is very much more difficult <> pedestrian traffic lights? Nitzavim is the red man standing - Nitzavim. The walking man is for Vayeilech, the first sedra of 5783 (could also represent the first 13 of the 30 p'sukim of Vayeilech, which we read at Mincha of Shabbat Parshat Nitzavim <> we'll leave a bunch of Unexplaineds. In the lower-right corner is a thought-provoking quote about Free Choice (which is presented in the sedra.


In Memory of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l

Why Judaism?

Nitzavim

This week's parsha raises a question that goes to the heart of Judaism, but which was not asked for many centuries until raised by a great Spanish scholar of the fifteenth century, Rabbi Isaac Arama. Moshe is almost at the end of his life. The people are about to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land. Moshe knows he must do one thing more before he dies. He must renew the covenant between the people and God.

This nation's parents had entered into that commitment almost forty years before, when they stood at Mount Sinai and said, "All that the Lord has spoken we shall do and we shall heed" (Sh'mot 24:7). But now Moshe has to ensure that the next generation and all future generations will be bound by it. He wanted no-one to be able to say, "God made a covenant with my ancestors but not with me. I did not give my consent. I was not there. I am not bound." That is why Moshe says:

Not with you alone am I making this covenant and oath; with you who are standing here with us today before the Lord our God I make it, and with those, too, who are not with us today (D'varim 29:13-14).

"Those who are not with us today" cannot mean Israelites alive at the time who were somewhere else. The entire nation was present at the assembly. It means "generations not yet born". That is why the Talmud says: we are all MUSHBA V'OMEID MEIHAR SINAI, "foresworn from Sinai" (Yoma 73b, Nedarim 8a).

Hence, one of the most fundamental facts about Judaism: converts excepted, we do not choose to be Jews. We are born as Jews. We become legal adults, subject to the commands, at age twelve for girls, thirteen for boys. But we are part of the covenant from birth. A bat or bar mitzva is not a "confirmation". It involves no voluntary acceptance of Jewish identity. That choice took place more than three thousand years ago when Moshe said "Not with you alone am I making this covenant and oath... with those, too, who are not with us today", meaning all future generations.

But how can this be so? There is no obligation without consent. How can we be subject to a commitment on the basis of a decision taken long ago by our distant ancestors? To be sure, in Jewish law you can confer a benefit on someone else without their consent. But though it is surely a benefit to be a Jew, it is also in some sense a liability, a restriction on our range of legitimate choices. Why then are we bound now by what the Israelites said then?

Jewishly, this is the ultimate question. How can religious identity be passed on from parent to child? If identity were merely ethnic, we could understand it. We inherit many things from our parents - most obviously our genes. But being Jewish is not a genetic condition. It is a set of religious obligations.

The Sages gave an answer in the form of a tradition about today's parsha. They said that the souls of all future generations were present at Sinai. As souls, they freely gave their consent, generations before they were born (Sh'vuot 39a).

However, Arama argues that this cannot answer our question, since God's covenant is not with souls only, but also with embodied human beings. We are physical beings with physical desires. We can understand that the soul would agree to the covenant. What does the soul desire if not closeness to God? But the assent that counts is that of living, breathing human beings with bodies, and we cannot assume that they would agree to the Torah with its many restrictions on eating, drinking, sexual relations and the rest. Not until we are born, and are old enough to understand what is being asked of us can we give our consent in a way that binds us. Therefore the fact that the unborn generations were present at Moshe's covenant ceremony does not give us the answer we need.

In essence, Arama was asking: Why be Jewish? What is fascinating is that he was the first to ask this question since the age of the Talmud. Why was it not asked before? Why was it first asked in fifteenth century Spain? For many centuries the question, "Why be Jewish?" did not arise. The answer was self-evident. I am Jewish because that is what my parents were and theirs before them, back to the dawn of Jewish time. Existential questions arise only when we feel there is a choice. For much of history, Jewish identity was not a choice. It was a fact of birth, a fate, a destiny. It was not something you chose, any more than you choose to be born.

In fifteenth-century Spain, Jews were faced with a choice. Spanish Jewry experienced its Kristallnacht in 1391, and from then on until the expulsion in 1492, Jews found themselves excluded from more and more areas of public life. There were immense pressures on them to convert, and some did so. Of these, some maintained their Jewish identity in secret, but others did not. For the first time in many centuries, staying Jewish came to be seen not just as a fate but as a choice. That is why Arama raised the question that had been unasked for so long. It is also why, in an age in which everything significant seems open to choice, it is being asked again in our time.

Arama gave one answer. I gave my own in my book A Letter in the Scroll. But I also believe a large part of the answer lies in what Moshe himself said at the end of his address:

"I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today. I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life - so that you and your children may live..." (D'varim 30:19).

Choose life. No religion, no civilisation, has insisted so strenuously and consistently that we can choose. We have it in us, says Rambam, to be as righteous as Moshe or as evil as Yerov'am. We can be great. We can be small. We can choose.

The ancients - with their belief in fate, fortune, Moira, Ananke, the influence of the stars or the arbitrariness of nature - did not fully believe in human freedom. For them true freedom meant, if you were religious, accepting fate, or if you were philosophical, the consciousness of necessity. Nor do most scientific atheists believe in it today. We are determined, they say, by our genes. Our fate is scripted in our DNA. Choice is an illusion of the conscious mind. It is the fiction we tell ourselves.

Judaism says no. Choice is like a muscle: use it or lose it. Jewish law is an ongoing training regime in willpower. Can you eat this and not that? Can you exercise spiritually three times a day? Can you rest one day in seven? Can you defer the gratification of instinct - what Freud took to be the mark of civilisation? Can you practise self-control (which, according to the "marshmallow test", is the surest sign of future success in life)? To be a Jew means not going with the flow, not doing what others do just because they are doing it. It gives us 613 exercises in the power of will to shape our choices. That is how we, with God, become co-authors of our lives. "We have to be free", said Isaac Bashevis Singer, "we have no choice!"

Choose life. In many other faiths, life down here on earth with its loves, losses, triumphs, and defeats, is not the highest value. Heaven is to be found in life after death, or the soul in unbroken communion with God, or in acceptance of the world-that-is. Life is eternity, life is serenity, life is free of pain. But that, for Judaism, is not quite life. It may be noble, spiritual, sublime, but it is not life in all its passion, responsibility, and risk.

Judaism teaches us how to find God down here on earth not up there in heaven. It means engaging with life, not taking refuge from it. It seeks not so much happiness as joy: the joy of being with others and together with them making a blessing over life. It means taking the risk of love, commitment, loyalty. It means living for something larger than the pursuit of pleasure or success. It means daring greatly.

Judaism does not deny pleasure, for it is not ascetic. It does not worship pleasure. Judaism is not hedonist. Instead it sanctifies pleasure. It brings the Divine Presence into the most physical acts: eating, drinking, intimacy. We find God not just in the synagogue but in the home, the house of study, and acts of kindness; we find God in community, hospitality, and wherever we mend some of the fractures of our human world.

No religion has ever held the human person in higher regard. We are not tainted by original sin. We are not a mere bundle of selfish genes. We are not an inconsequential life-form lost in the vastness of the universe. We are the being on whom God has set His image and likeness. We are the people God has chosen to be His partners in the work of creation. We are the nation God married at Sinai with the Torah as our marriage contract. We are the people God called on to be His witnesses. We are the ambassadors of heaven in the country called earth.

We are not better, or worse, than others. We are simply different, because God values difference, whereas for most of the time, human beings have sought to eliminate difference by imposing one faith, one regime or one empire on all humanity. Ours is one of the few faiths to hold that the righteous of all nations have a share in heaven because of what they do on earth.

Choose life. Nothing sounds easier yet nothing has proved more difficult over time. Instead, people choose substitutes for life. They pursue wealth, possessions, status, power, fame, and to these gods they make the supreme sacrifice, realising too late that true wealth is not what you own but what you are thankful for, that the highest status is not to care about status, and that influence is more powerful than power.

That is why, though few faiths are more demanding, most Jews at most times have stayed faithful to Judaism, living Jewish lives, building Jewish homes, and continuing the Jewish story. That is why, with a faith as unshakeable as it has proved true, Moshe was convinced that "not with you alone am I making this covenant and oath... with those, too, who are not with us today." His gift to us is that through worshipping something so much greater than ourselves we become so much greater than we would otherwise have been.

Why Judaism? Because there is no more challenging way of choosing life.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Why was it so important that Moshe renewed the covenant with the Children of Israel?

Why do you think people so often choose to pursue wealth, power, and fame?

How can you "choose life"?


PTDT - PhiloTorah D'var Torah

Elul's 5th Sedra

The title follows last week's PTDT and the IYH BN statement that I'd complete the 5-sedras-of-Elul theme. The first title that came to mind when I decided what to write about was Damage Control. A few other titles also came to mind - let's leave it at this one.

It is well-known (by people who know it well) that the cycle of Torah readings is organized so that Nitzavim is always the sedra that brings us into Rosh HaShana - alone or with Vayeilech (this year, alone). Nitzavim and Vayeilech are combined when there is no Shabbat between Yom Kippur and Sukkot and read separately, when there is.

Part of this arrangement is to keep Ki Tavo from being the sedra which brings us into Rosh HaShana. The heavy Tochacha warnings/prophecies would be too frightening to be read right before Yom HaDin - Judgment Day.

Sounds okay, except look what it says in D'varim (29:17-27):

Today, there must not be among you any man, woman, family or tribe, whose heart strays from God, and who goes and worships the gods of those nations. There must not be among you a root whose fruit is gall and wormwood.

...God will not agree to forgive such a person. God's anger and demand for exclusive worship will be directed like smoke against that person and the entire dread curse written in this book will lie [at his door], so that God will blot out his name from under the heavens. God will separate him so that he will have more evil than any of the Israelite tribes, and he will be subject to all the dread curses of the covenant, which are written in this Torah scroll. A future generation, consisting of your descendants, who rise up after you, along with the foreigner from a distant land, shall see the punishment directed against that land, and the plague with which God has struck it, and they will say, 'Sulphur and salt has burned all its soil. Nothing can be planted and nothing can grow - not even grass can grow on it. It is like the destruction of S'dom, Amora, Adma and Tzevoyim, [the cities] that God overturned in His anger and rage.' All the nations will ask, 'Why did God do this to the land? What was the reason for this great display of anger?' They shall answer, 'It is because they abandoned the covenant that God, Lord of their fathers, made with them when He brought them out of Egypt. They went and served foreign gods, bowing down to them. These were gods alien to them, something that was not their portion. God displayed anger against this nation, bringing upon it the entire curse written in this book. God drove them from their land with anger, rage and great fury, and He exiled them to another land, where they remain even today.'

Doesn't look and feel any less frightening than the Tochacha. It actually feels like the Tochacha coming to pass rather than just be a series of threats.

What makes Nitzavim a better candidate for the pre-Rosh HaShana Torah reading?

Perhaps, it is these p'sukim that follow the above quoted ones (apologies for how long the quote was). D'varim 30:2-10 -

You will then return to God your Lord, and you will obey Him, doing everything that I am commanding you today. You and your children [will repent] with all your heart and with all your soul. God will then bring back your remnants and have mercy on you. God your Lord will once again gather you from among all the nations where He scattered you. Even if your Diaspora is at the ends of the heavens, God your Lord will gather you up from there and He will take you back. God your Lord will then bring you to the land that your ancestors occupied, and you too will occupy it. God will be good to you and make you flourish even more than your ancestors. God will remove the barriers from your hearts and from the hearts of your descendants, so that you will love God your Lord with all your heart and soul. Thus will you survive. God will then direct all these curses against your enemies and against the foes who pursued you. You will repent and obey God, keeping all His commandments, as I prescribe them to you today. God will then grant you a good surplus in all the work of your hands, in the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your land. God will once again rejoice in you for good, just as He rejoiced in your fathers. All this will happen when you obey God your Lord, keeping all His commandments and decrees, as they are written in this book of the Torah, and when you return to God your Lord with all your heart and soul.

That's the answer. The Tochacha in last week's sedra ended with a statement that it is a covenant with G-d, aside from the one made at Sinai.

No hope. Just a devastating description of what will happen if we turn away from G-d.

But the Tochacha-like p'sukim in Nitzavim are filled with hope and promise. Good hope and good promise.

Bottom line: T'SHUVA, repentance - literally, RETURN. Return to G-d and to Eretz Yisrael. And G-d will help greatly on both counts: Circumcise our hearts (to help us onto the pathway to T'shuva) and He will gather us from wherever we have been scattered.

Now that's the way to lead into Rosh HaShana. 

K'tiva VaChatima Tova


Walk through the Parsha with Rabbi David Walk

Chana Inspires Prayer

Rosh HaShana

As a child the most notable reality of my Rosh HaShana experience was the length of the davening. My memories of six and seven-hour services were generally not great. However, with maturity grew an understanding of the prayers and, with it, a greater appreciation for these meaningful pleas to God. Plus, in Eretz Yisrael. I've found more streamlined services, coming in under four hours, bringing hope for the ADD-afflicted. But ultimately, we should be less concerned with the quantity of prayer and more with its quality, and that's where Chana comes in.

Our Haftara for the first day of Rosh HaShana is the story of the prophet Shmuel's mother Chana and her supplication to God for a child. Her inspiring prayer (Shmuel Alef 2:1-10) is credited with molding the Musaf service conceived by our Sages. The Talmud asks: What was the stimulus for having nine blessings in the Rosh HaShana Musaf? Rabbi Yitzchak of Carthage said: They correspond to the nine mentions of God's name in Chana's prayer (Rosh HaShana 29a).

So, the Sages of antiquity saw something stirring and significant in the ten verses which make up her prayer. What did they notice? Well, some of the major themes of Rosh HaShana. The core ideas of Rosh HaShana revolve around the three concepts of God's Kingship over the world, which is an outgrowth of the act of Creation (MALCHIYOT); God's Justice (Yom Hadin), which is based upon God's perfect recollection of every human action and every covenant forged with the Patriarchs and the people (ZICHRONOT); and, finally, God's Revelation to the Jewish People, both at Har Sinai and, in the future appearance of Mashiach, which are heralded by SHOFAR blasts (SHOFAOT).

What did Chana say? 'My horn (KEREN) is raised in pride' (verse 1) hints at the SHOFAR. 'For my joy is in Your salvation' (verse 1), also a SHOFAR theme. 'There is no Rock like our God' (verse 2) declares God as ruler and king (MALCHIYOT). 'For the Lord is an all-knowing God; by Him actions are measured' (verse 3), this clearly refers to God as the Judge with perfect recall (ZICHRONOT). We've already got the three major themes of the day.

But Chana wasn't done. 'The Lord deals death and gives life... He casts down. He also lifts high' (verses 6-7), also God as judge. 'For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's; He has set the world upon them' (8), God as Creator. 'The wicked perish in darkness' (verse 9), God as judge. Finally, 'The Lord will judge the ends of the Earth; He will grant His own king strength, and raise the horn of Mashiach' (verse 10), this references all three themes: remembering Judge, King, and the SHOFAR blast of the final Redemption.

Phew! Got it all covered. There is another reason for including Chana in the Rosh HaShana liturgy. Rosh HaShana is about birth and Creation. In the repetition of the Musaf prayer we chant: Today is the birth of the Universe! This concept is also expressed through the institution of Motherhood, especially when the mother had previously been barren. This emphasizes the miraculous involvement of God in the wonder of birth. We don't only read about Chana. We also discuss Sarah in both the Torah reading for the first day and in Musaf. The Haftara for the Second Day is all about Rachel. The tradition is that these three famously barren women conceived on Rosh HaShana. 

But I don't even think we've yet arrived at the central reason that we read this moving prayer on Rosh HaShana. I think it's because Chana teaches us how to pray (B'rachot 31a). She taught us to pray silently with our lips reverently mouthing the precious words (1:13). The Malbim suggests that she taught us four critical prerequisites for great praying: 1. She was broken-hearted and Hashem hears those prayers; 2. She prayed with full intention to Hashem Himself; 3. She cried, and the gates of tears are never closed; 4. She took upon herself a specific commitment that should help get her through this painful time.

Excellent! Chana's course in Prayer 101. This combination of clear expression and personal vow is very instructive, but there is another crucial element. Chana's prayer discusses God beating back the Jews' foes, God feeding the hungry, God punishing the evil as well as giving children to the barren. Great prayers are also empathetic. We pray for others as well as ourselves.

The Magen Avraham introduces section 46 of the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim with the words: Before morning prayers one should accept themselves the positive commandment of, 'And you shall love your fellow (commonly rendered 'neighbor') as yourself' (Vayikra 19:18).

Rosh HaShana is about davening; therefore, I can't leave this discussion without referring to another Chana, who also taught an amazing prayer concept. Chana Senesh (1922-1944) was not only a war hero killed by Nazi supporters; she was a poet. After she made ALIYA in 1939, she lived in Kibbutz S'dot Yam, next to Caesaria. She wrote a poem ostensibly about hers walks to Caesaria:

My God, my God, 

I pray that these things never end:

The sand and the sea, the rush of the waters, 

The crash of the heavens, 

The prayer of the heart.

What a prayer! Avraham Yehoshua Heschel famously said that it's foolish to ask what to pray for. We pray to pray. Prayer isn't a means; it's an end. Just being in communication with God is a GEVALT! What else can we possibly want or need?

I hope, wish and pine for a Rosh HaShana which is filled with prayerful conversation with God, no matter how long those services may stretch. Shana Tova Umtuka!


Walk thru Davening with Rabbi David Walk

Memories & Expectations

Rosh Hashana Musaf, pt 2

Last week I wrote about the third and fourth blessings of Musaf for Rosh HaShana. These two blessings emphasize the Kingship of God. This concept is core to the day's message and essence. But in the Torah this holiday is called ZICHRON T'RU'A ('a memorial of trumpet blasts' - Vayikra 23:24). So, this week we turn our attention to the fifth B'RACHA called ZICHRONOT and the sixth B'RACHA called SHOFAROT. These blessings directly describe the Torah's names for Rosh HaShana.

The format for those B'RACHOT follows the pattern set for MALCHIYOT. There is an introductory paragraph. Then we have ten verses (three from Torah, three from T’hilim, three from Nevi'im and a final verse from Torah), and, a concluding paragraph culminating in a B'RACHA.

In ZICHRONOT, something fascinating occurs. The feel or mood of the first paragraph is very different from the closing section. I'm sure that many of you, my dear readers, come into the High Holidays with anxiety, if not dread. The opening statements of ZICHRONOT feed that frenzy:

You remember all the deeds in the world, and You also visit the behavior of all creatures who lived in earlier times. In Your gaze all hidden things are revealed, including the multitude of secrets from the beginning of creation; for there is no forgetfulness before the Throne of Your Glory, and there is nothing hidden from Your eyes. You remember and note all that has been done, nothing is concealed from You. All is revealed and known before You, the misdeeds of man's actions, the thoughts of man and his schemes.

Wow, talk about surveillance, and you were worried about the CCTV in your company's parking lot. Actually, it's easier for us to imagine that level of scrutiny than for our pre-modern forebears. But that doesn't make it any less daunting and creepy. Like signs outside public restrooms (WC's for my British brethren) warning that the premises are monitored.  No one would want to see replays of our most embarrassing moments from the previous year, a highlight reel to be avoided. God is presented as Big Brother.

However, the final paragraph of this section is much more reassuring:

Our God and God of our forebears remember us favorably before You and be mindful of us for deliverance and compassion from the Eternal High Heavens. Remember on our behalf, Eternal our God, the covenant, the kindness and the oath which You swore to our father Avraham on Mount Moriah, so may Your compassion suppress Your anger against us... And fulfill for us Eternal, our God, the promise You made in Your Torah, through Your servant, Moshe: 'I will remember for them the covenant with their forefathers whom I took out of the land of Egypt.' Blessed are You, O God, Who remembers the covenant.

Here we have a transition from PACHAD, fear or dread to KAVOD, respect and honor. We saw the triple list of emotions (fear, honor, joy) in the third blessing of KEDUSHA, last week. We've entered stage two, and feel much more comfortable with God's inability to forget. 

Continuing that process forward, we come to the third leg of the middle B'RACHOT of Musaf: SHOFAROT. If MALCHIYOT brings PACHAD, fear, and ZICHRONOT delivers us to KAVOD, honor, then SHOFAROT must usher in SIMCHA, joy. And it does. The verses in this section are about the Shofar being sounded for redemption at Sinai, and to usher in the Messianic Era. But there's more going on with the Shofar.

In the Talmud we are told, 'Recite before Me on Rosh HaShana MALCHIYOT, ZICHRONOT and SHOFAROT. MALCHIYOT to enthrone Me over them, ZICHRONOT to bring their remembrances before Me for positive purpose. With what do we accomplish this task? Through the Shofar (Rosh HaShana 16 a). 

The Shofar not only has its own message of Revelation and Divine intercession, it is also a means of communication. It heralds the themes of Rosh HaShana. The Pachad Yitzchak suggests that we required a wind instrument for this role because Rosh HaShana is the anniversary of the creation of humanity. How was the first human created? 'And God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life' (B'reishit 2:7). It's no coincidence that the word for 'breath', NESHIMA, is almost identical to the word for 'soul', NESHAMA.

That heavy breathing or blowing into the Shofar is using the power granted through God's unique gift to humanity for the purpose of proclaiming the messages of the anniversary of that CPR event. The Shofar has its message but it also broadcasts the other themes of the day.

Finally, it's crucial to the understanding of the day that we note that there are two categories of SHOFAR. We have regular, garden variety SHOFAROT, but we also have SHOFAR GADOL, industrial strength SHOFAR. The normal SHOFAR has been sounded throughout history. But the Great Horn will be sounded on that day (BAYOM HAHU, Y'shayahu 27:13). The joy or good vibes engendered by the SHOFAR, not only brings us back to the wonderful memories of Divine Revelation in a glorious past, but also imagines a future, better Revelation yet to come. The optimism overflows by the end of this B'RACHA, culminating in: Blessed are You, O Eternal, Who hears the sounding of the SHOFAR of His nation Yisrael in compassion.

This massive, magnificent Amida service is a roller coaster ride of emotions and fervor. It brings us from the depths of despair over our guilt and shortcomings, to the heights of delight and elation in anticipation for the splendor yet to come. It's a long and intricate journey from our very beginnings to our Ultima Thule, but the sublime experience is definitely worth the price of admission, devoted davening.


Rav Kook Torah

by Rabbi Chanan Morrison <> www.ravkooktorah.com

Dances of T'shuva in Poriah

"The Eternal your God will once again gather you from among all the nations where He scattered you... bringing you to the land that your ancestors possessed.

"God will remove the barriers from your hearts, and from the hearts of your descendants; and you will love the Eternal your God with all your heart and soul" (D'varim 30:3-6).

Avraham Rosenblatt was eighteen years old when he ran away from his parent's home in Kishinev. His parents objected to Avraham's dream to leave Russia for Palestine; life under the oppressive rule of the Ottoman Empire was difficult and dangerous. So the young man, active for many years in a local Zionist youth group, quietly stole away from home and made his way to Eretz Yisrael.

Many years later, Rosenblatt was a highly respected accountant and comptroller in Tel Aviv. But when he first came to the country, he was employed by the moshavot of the Galilee area as a farmhand and security guard for the Hashomer organization.

During the winter of 1913, Rosenblatt was in Poriah, a small community near the Sea of Galilee, south of Tiberius. Poriah was a fledgling agricultural community recently established by a group of forty young pioneers from St. Louis, Missouri. The moshava was eventually abandoned several years later, after relentless confiscations and harassment by the Turks during World War I. Forty years would pass before the village of Poriah was re-established.

A high point in the short history of Poriah took place one November evening in 1913. Many of the pioneers present, including Rosenblatt, cherished the memory of that wonderful winter night, when the young secular pioneers sang and danced with the Chief Rabbi of Jaffa.

The Rabbis visit Poriah

The pioneers of Poriah heard that Rav Kook was leading a rabbinical delegation to visit the remote Jewish settlements in the northern part of the country. When they learned that the delegation was close by, they sent two representatives - on Shabbat! - to invite the rabbis to visit their community.

Poriah was beyond the Shabbat limits; it would have been forbidden for the pioneers to return to Poriah, even on foot. Thus, to prevent any further Shabbat desecration, Rav Kook did not give them an immediate answer. Instead, he informed the Poriah pioneers that if they waited until Shabbat was over, he would announce his decision. After Havdala at the end of Shabbat, Rav Kook agreed to visit Poriah the following evening.

The visit to Poriah made a powerful impression on the young pioneers, who felt distant from rabbis and were estranged from religion in general. Rav Kook spoke to them about Jewish values and the mitzva of settling the Land. He spoke of the need to unite the entire nation with a connection of souls and spirits.

"We need", the rabbi proclaimed, "to bind together all Jews, from the elderly rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Zonnenfeld, to the youngest laborer of Poriah."

The pioneers responded with cheers and applause. Full of youthful enthusiasm, the young men jumped up and danced with Rav Kook.

The Guard's Account

We are fortunate to have Avraham Rosenblatt's testimony of that evening. In a letter written nearly sixty years after the event, he described in detail the stirring encounter, vividly etched in his memory:

I recall a beautiful episode that took place 57 years ago, when Rav Kook toured the moshavot in the Galilee. I was working on the Poriah farm near the town of Tiberius. At the time we were just a handful of sixty workers. In the end of Tishrei 5674, we heard that Rav Kook, together with three other rabbis - Rabbis Zonnenfeld, Yadler, and Horowitz - were touring the isolated moshavot in the Galilee to encourage them to greater religious observance and purity.

I remember that we were told that the delegation was staying nearby, and that the rabbis would also visit Poriah. We sat in the dining hall, singing and dancing, as was our custom back then. Then we heard that the delegation had arrived in Poriah and was in the office of the manager, Eliyahu Israelite, and that the rabbis wished to meet with us.

We had already finished eating. We were dancing and singing, "God will rebuild the Galilee", when Rav Kook joined in and danced with the men.

Suddenly Rav Kook turned to me and my friend, Pinchas Schneerson. We were both on guard duty that night; we were wearing Arab cloaks and kefiyyeh headdresses, with rifles slung on our shoulders. Rav Kook asked us to accompany him to the manager's office. I was shorter than the rabbi, but Schneerson was tall, so Rav Kook asked Schneerson if he could borrow his "uniform".

The three of us returned to the dancing, with the Rav wearing a kefiyyeh on his head and a rifle over his shoulder. Everyone stared at Rav Kook's change of dress. The truth is, the clothes suited him. The Rav began to sing a song from the liturgy, V'TAHEIR LIBEINU - "Purify our hearts, so that we may truly serve You."

Then the rabbi stopped and spoke to us. "Dear brothers! Holy brothers! Builders of the Land! Just as I am not embarrassed to wear your garments, so too, I request - do not be embarrassed by the Torah of Israel! In the merit of observing the Torah's mitzvot, you will live many years in the Land of Israel, in sanctity and purity, in the study of the holy Torah. Is it so hard to be a Jew? In your homes in the Diaspora, you were certainly educated in the spirit of Judaism. Your homes were conducted in purity and religious observance. Please, please..."

Rav Kook concluded his address with the following request: "I will not remove the uniform of your guard unless you promise me - all of you, with one heart and a willing soul - that you will fulfill my request. I ask that you should be shomrim (guards): that you guard over your pintele yid, your inner Jewish spark."

We all cried out, "We promise!"

And the Rav responded, "Happy is the eye that witnessed such dances of t'shuva [repentance] and holiness. Praised be God's name!"

Rav Kook then went to the manager's office and quickly returned to join in our dancing. He sang V'KAREIV P'ZUREINU - "Bring home our dispersed from among the nations" - and other such songs. The Rav continued to dance and sing with us for over an hour.

The delegation remained the following day to oversee the kashering of all the kitchen utensils. They instructed the young women working in the kitchen in the laws of kosher food; and the rabbis departed in joy and happiness.

Another worker who was present that evening, Ze'ev Horowitz of Kibbutz Geva, recalled the happy exuberance and high spirits:

I will never forget that image: Rav Kook, a tall, handsome man with a high hat, spied a security guard wearing a Bedouin cloak. He said, "Let's exchange - I'll take your 'rabbinical cloak', and you'll take mine."

Oh, how our spirits soared!

At the end, the Rav announced, "I wore your clothes, and you wore mine. So it should also be on the inside - together in our hearts!"

Stories from the Land of Israel. Adapted from Megged Yerachim no. 156 (Elul 5772); Eileh Massei; Encyclopedia of Founders and Builders of Israel


Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher

Rosh Hashana's Enigma - Fearful with Joy

from September '19

In the Torah, Rosh Hashana is called YOM T'RU'A (a day of blowing the horn: Bamidbar 29:1). Although horns are generally sounded on joyous occasions, here the horn or, more specifically the shofar, signifies a solemn holiday, when we are all put on trial. We all stand before the Supreme Judge - G-d! This heavenly trial continues for 10 days until Yom Kippur.

On Rosh Hashana, according to the Mishna in Masechet Rosh Hashana, "all inhabitants of the earth pass before Him [G-d] like sheep (KIVNEI MARON)." Our heavenly Shepherd, G-d, counts each and every one of us, determining what our fate will be in the coming year. This statement is the basis of the well-known piyut, UNTANEH TOKEF, which is recited on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. This Piyut includes the moving words "Who will live and who will die, who will rest and who will continually wander."

Obviously, Rosh Hashana doesn't appear to be a joyous holiday. How can we rejoice if we are passing under the staff of our Heavenly Shepherd and do not know what the future holds? We are fearful and tense; thus, on this holiday, the Talmud informs us, we do not recite Hallel - the song of praise that is part of the liturgy on Jewish festivals: "The ministering angels said to G-d, 'Master of the Universe, why does Israel not sing a song of praise on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur?' 'While the King sits on His throne with the Book of Life and the Book of Death open before Him,' G-d replied, 'can Israel sing a song of praise?'" (Talmud Rosh Hashana)

However, if we take a look at the different versions of this Mishna in Rosh Hashana, we can suggest that perhaps the text should read not KIVNEI MARON, but rather KIVNEI MARON - like battalions parading before the King.

This interpretation changes the meaning of the Mishna dramatically. Accordingly, we are not only on trial, but rather we are participating in a military parade to celebrate a joyous occasion - namely the coronation of G-d as King of the entire universe. Thus, we can say that Rosh Hashana is actually concerned primarily with crowning G-d anew as our Heavenly King, and that we must sound the shofar in joy to honor His coronation. We must stand proudly before G-d as soldiers, and declare with utmost solemnity the fact of His dominion.

The above interpretation explains why on Rosh Hashana we do NOT recite S’lichot - the penitential prayers we recite before Rosh Hashana and through Yom Kippur, in which we ask G-d to forgive our sins. Accordingly, we can see that Rosh Hashana has two very different, seemingly contrary aspects. On the one hand, we fear the King's judgment and, on the other hand, we stand tall before Him as soldiers in His heavenly regal army.

These two elements may seem to be contradictory, but together they give Rosh Hashana its unique character. During its two days, we are BOTH fearful and proud. We find this combination in the Torah: "you stand this day all of you before Hashem your G-d, your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all of Israel" (D'varim 29:10). Rashi cites a Midrash that connects the beginning of this Torah reading with the end of the previous parsha.

In the latter is a terrifying description of our fate should we disobey G-d: disease, pogroms and holocausts, a life of constant fear. Rashi states: "When Israel heard all of the 98 curses, their faces were pale as chalk as they asked Moshe, 'How will we be able to go on living, now that we have such knowledge of what might befall us?' Moshe comforted them, saying, 'You stand this day all of you before Hashem your G-d - although you have angered G-d in the past, you have survived to this day. Take heart.'"

Each year we look back on the previous 12 months and fear the consequences of our past actions, not only at the personal level, but at the national level as well. Our "bank balance" of good deeds and bad is frightening. The blowing of the shofar is unnerving. Yet, our anxiety is countered by the knowledge that we have survived for close to 3500 years as a nation despite persecutions and holocausts.

Rashi ends his interpretation of the above verse with an emphasis on the word HAYOM (this day): "The Torah says, 'You stand this day all of you before Hashem your G-d.' Just as day never ends, but constantly passes from darkness to light and back again, similarly, G-d has shone His light upon you in the past and will continue to do so in the future. The curses and the suffering enumerated here help maintain you and they cause you to stand erect and proud before Him" (D'varim 29:10).

I will end with the traditional blessing: "May this year and its curses end and may the New Year with its blessings now begin." ESP


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

Nitzavim 5776

The 20th century could be crowned as the century of Kibbutz Galuyot - the Ingathering of the Exiles.

In my years as the Rabbi of the Jerusalem Absorption Centers, I witnessed and was part of the ingathering of 3 quite distinct aliyot. There was the aliyah of Ethiopian Jewry (Mivtza Moshe and Shlomo), perhaps best typified by the response of Kes Adana (Ethiopian Chief Rabbi) to my query as to where Ethiopian Jewry would like to pray. I let him know that the Mevasseret Absorption Center had an Ashkenazic and a Sefardic shul and he was free to choose one or to have a 3rd facility opened to cater to Ethiopian needs and traditions. Kes Adana responded succinctly: "Ethiopian Jewry has been separated from world Jewry for over 2000 years. Now that we are coming together we would like to pray with our brethren and, therefore, where you pray, there I will pray." From then on they joined our Ashkenazic minyan.

Ethiopian Jewry had harbored Zionist link over the years. Though they knew no Hebrew, they yearned to return to Zion and Jerusalem. This is best summarized by the father of 7 sons who lost 5 sons during the treacherous trek through Sudan to Eretz Yisrael. I said to him: "You must be very sad, having lost most of your children." He responded: " o, because 2 of my sons made it to Zion and Jerusalem." 

A different kind of Aliyah was the ingathering from Russian communist countries. These people were not motivated by the magnet of Eretz Yisrael. Their primary motivation was to leave the Soviet Union. The iron curtain had opened for Jews and many jumped at the chance to escape. As opposed to the Ethiopian Olim, these Jews were highly trained and educated in many professions but lacked any semblance of Judaism. One 80 year-old man came with his daughter and 30 year old grandson. The grandson asked for T’filin but I hesitated to heed his request because of the story he told me. The grandson said that his grandfather had left America to join the socialists in the Soviet Union. He married a Russian woman and now, through the Law of Return, he, the halachically non-Jewish grandson was able to make Aliyah. The grandson had been imprisoned for lobbying for human rights in the Soviet Union and, while in jail, under the tutelage of a Russian Orthodox priest who was also in prison with him, he read the bible. Finding out that he had Jewish blood, he requested to go back to his "homeland". His mother and grandfather reluctantly came with their only kin. Once I explained to the young man that he would have to study Judaism and appear before the Bet Din and only if he were accepted to Giyur would I be able to offer him a pair of T’filin. This story is not representative of all Russian Olim (there were many refuseniks) but is also not atypical. 

A third group of Olim were the ones from Western countries. These Olim, on the whole, had Zionist motivation, Jewish education, and many professions. At one time I thought that most, if not all, western educated frum Jews would make their way here, to Eretz Yisrael. But I was in for a surprise as only a small percentage came. The rest seemed to agree with the following statement:

"We must definitely disavow the notion, held by our people until modern times, of a completely comprehensive kibbutz galuyot, the ingathering of all the Jews in the Diaspora. We cannot aim at brining all Jews back to Eretz Yisrael. Not only is Eretz Yisrael incapable of absorbing the entire Jewish people, but millions of Jews have thrown in their lot with the nations of which they form a part, and have no desire to be uprooted from their present homes. However, Eretz Yisrael must be kept open as a haven of immigration for all Jews who are not able to feel at home in the lands where they now reside…"

The above quote is from Mordechai Kaplan, the late founder of the Reconstructionist Movement. While most Orthodox Rabbis consider making aliyah as a mitzva, yet, judging by their actions and the actions of their congregants, they seem to be in silent agreement with the above quote.

This week, leading into Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and the Aseret Yemei Teshuva, is it now time now for all to do T'shuva and follow Hashem's lead? "HaShem, your God, will bring back your exiles, and He will have mercy upon you. He will once again gather you from all the nations, where HaShem, your God, had dispersed you" (D'varim 30:3).

The above verse seems to be repetitious. First it says "HaShem your G-d will bring back your exiles" and then repeats, "He will gather you from all the nations." The answer may be that for those who very much want to make Aliya, G-d has mercy on them and helps to bring them. Others, simply give lip service to the concept because they have been seduced by the society in which they live. Hashem must gather them from all the nations. 

Don't wait to be gathered in-gather yourself!


Q&A

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

The Timing of Shehecheyanu on New Clothes on the 2nd Night of Rosh HaShana

Question: If I want to solve the problem of Shehecheyanu on the second night of Rosh HaShana by wearing a new suit, when should I put it on? If I put it on before Ma'ariv, it seems to be hachana (preparation) for the second day of Rosh HaShana. And in any case, shouldn't the b'racha be made right after putting on the new garment? Should I instead put it on right before Kiddush or even put on the jacket during Kiddush right before Shehecheyanu?

Answer: Let us first dismiss the question of hachana. Although it is prohibited to prepare on one day of Yom Tov for the other, there is no prohibition of hachana if there is a purpose to the action on the first holy day itself, even if the main benefit is for afterward. Putting on a new article of clothing has an immediate benefit; it makes no difference how long one will wear it now or how important it is for him to wear it on the next day.

The question of whether it is too early to put on the clothes a couple hours before reciting Shehecheyanu has two parts: First, is the b'racha still valid? Second, is one permitted to wait so long before reciting the b'racha? 

Let us review the reasoning for having new clothes (or fruit) on the second night of Rosh HaShana. In deference to the minority opinion that Shehecheyanu should not be said at Kiddush on the second evening, the accepted practice is to try to have an additional reason to recite it anyway. That way, the b'racha will certainly not be l'vatala, even for those who hold no Shehecheyanu on the second night. This goal is fully attained even if the b'racha should have ideally been recited earlier, as long as it is still definitely appropriate at the time of Kiddush. Indeed, the halacha is that if one did not recite Shehecheyanu on an article of clothing as soon as he put it on, he can still recite it until he takes it off, at least if he still feels happiness from its being new. One who was happy to put on a new suit before Ma'ariv still feels good when he thinks about it at Kiddush of the first meal at which he wears it. Thus, the effectiveness of the Shehecheyanu is not an issue (not to mention that the need for the new clothes is itself only a chumra, as many authorities maintain that the Shehecheyanu may be recited simply because of Yom Tov).

The next question is whether one may purposely delay reciting Shehecheyanu on the garment, and the answer is that it is permissible. The accepted opinion is that there is no actual obligation to make a b'racha of Shehecheyanu upon happy occasions. If the b'racha is not obligatory, waiting cannot be forbidden, and it indeed is proper when there is a valid reason for the delay. There are indeed other halachic contexts in which we delay b'rachot to solve problems, such as waiting to say the b'racha on tzitzit to subsume it under the b'racha on the tallit. 

Keep in mind that the practice of using new fruit/clothing probably entails a halachic compromise, as we see from the following question that many poskim raise. The entire reason for using new fruit/clothing is the concern that otherwise the Shehecheyanu is uncalled for, in which case its recitation will relate to the fruit/ clothing. But if the Shehecheyanu relates to clothes, isn't the b'racha a hefsek between the Kiddush and drinking the wine? There are many nuances of answers to this question, but according to most of them, the situation of having the b'racha relate to the fruit/clothing is not optimal, but only acceptable - considering the gain. Essentially, a halachic compromise is called for due to necessity in any case, and waiting with Shehecheyanu is not a bigger compromise than the matter of possible hefsek. We do the best we can.

Let us consider alternatives. Putting the jacket on in the middle of Kiddush is not only strange, but also inappropriate for a number of reasons. Might it be better to put on the clothes right before Kiddush? Maybe. But the combination of the fact that it is not natural to do so with the fact that we found no authoritative source that mentions this suggestion strengthens our impression that the standard practice is to put the new clothes on before going to shul. Although we understand the tendency toward stringency on Rosh HaShana, we do not consider it worthwhile to be innovative and "holier" than the very reasonable practice of putting on the clothes before Ma'ariv.


OzTORAH - Rabbi Raymond Apple

IT'S NOT IN HEAVEN

The Torah portion says of God's Word, "It's not in heaven nor across the sea" (D'varim 30:12).

Even if it were in heaven or over the sea we would still be duty-bound to strive for it, but it's not as distant as all that. It is accessible wherever we happen to be.

There must be a symbolism in the use of the words "in heaven" and "across the sea".

Possibly it is this: The Torah is neither spiritually and intellectually beyond us, nor is it geographically inaccessible.

Take each category on its own. The first says that the Torah is not too high for us - "in heaven", as it were.

God bless you if you're a saint or a genius, but most people aren't. Saints and geniuses can find their way to the Torah; so can the rest of us.

On one level or another, we can all comprehend and adopt Torah ideas and insights.

The second category says that the Torah is not "across the sea".

If you live in the Diaspora, forget about saying, "Things are different in Israel. There it is easier to follow the commandments." Israel is certainly different and superior, but don't make it an excuse for not raising your religious levels in whichever place you happen to be.

And if you do have the blessing of being in Israel, don't make an excuse out of that either, saying, "If I were in Jerusalem things would be different."

In Jerusalem things would be different, but that shouldn't stop you elevating yourself anywhere else.


Whenever I Feel Afraid

Julie Andrews made it into a famous song - the notion that whenever I feel afraid I make out that I don't fear the future.

In "The Sound of Music", Julie's response to fear was to hold her head erect and whistle a happy tune so that no-one would suspect she was afraid…

In my case, there hasn't ever been a Rosh HaShana when I didn't feel afraid and uncertain about what to do. You probably always felt as afraid as I did.

This Rosh HaShana is no exception. How can we not feel afraid when health crises have not been overcome, the war in Eastern Europe shows no signs of abating, the cost of living is skyrocketing and inflation is rampant, the climate is zigzagging, crime is surging, racist attitudes abound, Israel is menaced, and the earth alternates between fire and flood?

When the air is anguished, and the clouds are dark, when we feel it is UNTANEH TOKEF all over again? When we wonder who will live, and who will die? Who will be born into the world, and who will not reach old age? When even the sheep are distressed, even the ministering angels are ill at ease, and God probably shakes His head in anxiety about the state of His Creation.

What did Julie Andrews do when things were not going well? She pretended. She put on a show. She wanted people to get the impression that all was well. She whistled a happy tune.

How wonderful, but how unrealistic. Surely it is better to face facts. The Midrash (Pir'kei d'Rabbi Eliezer 31) suggests how. It says the world's problems need the SHOFAR. The ram which Avraham found in the thicket and sacrificed in place of Yitzchak yielded two ram's-horn shofarot.

One shofar was for the here and now, resounding at Mount Sinai to arouse hearts to the Torah. The second horn is for the future, resounding to announce the day of redemption.

We blow the first shofar to know how to build a moral society, seeing in the other person the face of a brother or sister and looking after each other and dealing with the world's problems one by one in a constructive way.

We blow the second shofar to say that human redemption will come through faith, and not fear; hope, and not hatred; forgiveness, and not folly; practical effort, and not pretence... OZ


Meshech Chochma - Dr Jacob Solomon

When (in exile) all these things come upon you, the blessings and the curses that I have put before you… [with you being] among all the nations where G-d dispersed you. You return to G-d… then G-d will bring back your captivity and have mercy on you. He will return and gather you in from all the nations in which He has dispersed you… (30:1-3)

Moshe's warning to the Israelites of their future exile and dispersal amongst nations finishes with words of comfort. G-d, Moshe says, will heed the people's repentance there, and reunite them together in the Promised Land. However, his assuring that G-d will eventually return the Israelites to the land of their fathers (30:5) is not expressed in the HIFIL (causative, with the word V'HEISHIV) "He will bring back", but with simple form of the verb, V'SHAV, meaning "He will return" - G-d Himself will return. 

Rashi explains that the meaning is, indeed, that G-d Himself will return with the Israelites, stressing that the miracle of the return of the exiles will appear to be so great that it will be as though G-d Himself will be returning together with His People. The Meshech Chochma (1843-1926), looking at the double use of word V'SHAV suggests that the return of the Israelites to the Promised Land will happen in two phases; those with a great passion to return will come first, and then the rest of the dispersed of the Israelite nation will follow. 

These elements may be combined into the following, which do fit in with the events of the last century, as well as in the days of Zerubavel, Ezra, and Nechemiya:

First, G-d will return His Presence to the Holy Land. That, and only that, will make Jewish resettlement possible against all the odds: physical barriers, political barriers, and economic barriers. G-d will be with them at the time and "have mercy on them" despite their shortcomings. 

But the verse continues: eventually G-d "will return, and gather you in from the all the nations in which He has dispersed you".

After the early waves of settlement by those who want to return, G-d will bring events together so that the rest of His People will return to the Land.

That second phase did not happen in the days of Ezra. But whilst writing this, the waves of Jews embarking on settling in Israel continue… 


Menachem Persoff

The Correct "Root" to Redemption

Yiddish has a well-known phrase: SHVER TSU ZAYN A YID, meaning it's tough being a Jew. Indeed, it is. We are supposed to be partners in fixing a broken world, and our responsibilities weigh heavily on us. But, just as a robust tree must have strong roots, so we, God's chosen artisans, must firmly be loyal to the oath undertaken in this week's Parsha to succeed in our mission.

However, our Parsha raises the notion that some persons (even whole tribes) might not possess the motivating spirit to uphold the Covenant with Hashem, not in the biblical era or any future period.

Indeed, one whose heart turns away is compared with a root that bears gall and wormwood, akin to the weakening of one's disposition with time. However, such individuals "go in peace" even though they walk in the stubbornness of their hearts (D'varim 29: 17-20).

These self-satisfied individuals conjecture that they are immune from punishment, arguing that the merits of the righteous will protect them. Or they protest that they repudiated the Torah and never accepted the oath and are thus immune from curses essentially designated to the righteous who leave the path. 

Of course, some interpret the Torah according to their mores, desires, and fashionable (even worthy) notions. They are content to observe commandments that suit them not necessarily consonant with Torah teachings.

These individuals rationalize that their interpretations of the Torah are noble and progressive. So, no wonder the Parsha tells us that the oath applied to everyone from the elite to the woodcutters, independent of personal views, current ideologies, or contemporary interpretations of Tikkun Olam. Everyone is bound by the covenant. 

The Torah is our guidebook. Moreover, our loyalty to Hashem and His Torah is not a matter for the negotiating table, as hard as it is "to be Jewish". In the sporting world, we learn of "No pain, no gain." So it is with us Jews: We appreciate that Hashem did not make the task easy. However, by facing the challenges, we grow and gradually learn that Hashem runs the world and that we are partners in bringing about the final Geula.

As Rosh HaShana approaches, we might internalize that our every action, however small, can lead us - and the entire world - to a totally new condition whereby all of Hashem's creations give Him homage. V'CHEIN Y'HI RATZON. MP


The Daily Portion - Sivan Rahav Meir

5 items regarding the Chofetz Chayim

Translation by Yehoshua Siskin

1. Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen Kagan, who passed away 89 years ago this week, was a highly esteemed rabbinical leader and teacher who came to the conclusion that insufficient attention had been paid to one especially critical area of daily living: the content of our speech. He wrote "Chofetz Chayim" (and was subsequently known by that name), a book whose title was taken from words in Psalm 34: "Are you someone who desires life, who loves days of seeing goodness? Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceitfully." (Chofetz Chayim means 'one who desires life'.)

2. His students emphasized that he was extremely careful regarding the laws of gossip and lashon hara (insulting or negative speech) and yet, perhaps surprisingly, he was not a quiet person. He proved that it's possible to be talkative, but still speak in a consistently positive manner.

3. It's fascinating to see how a lone individual can become an icon, symbolizing a single great idea and even start a popular movement. Just looking at the widely seen picture of him reminds us of his life's work on the subject of proper speech.

4. He taught that lashon hara is a complex subject and that proper speech may include sharp words, if they are beneficial, and that sometimes the best policy is simply to remain silent. The intricacies of lashon hara demand rigorous study which is why the Chofetz Chayim wrote voluminously on this topic.

5. His workshop on proper speech was prepared long before the era of social media. Today, Internet shaming may occur as the result of baseless rumors. If once people would gossip by the town river, our speech today has a much wider reach. The Chofetz Chayim wanted us to understand the awesome power of speech and taught us how to utilize it in the best possible way.

In his memory. 

To receive Sivan Rahav-Meir's daily WhatsApp: tiny.cc/DailyPortion


The Weekly 'Hi All' by Rabbi Jeff Bienenfeld

Nitzavim 5781 - Rosh HaShana 5782

In Parshat Nitzavim, there is an important allusion to one of Judaism's most powerful ideas. On the verse (29:28) which speaks about the hidden things being for HaShem and the revealed matters are for us and our children forever, "to carry out all the words of this Torah" - Rashi, quoting the Talmud (Sota 37b), states that once the Jewish people crossed the Jordan and accepted upon themselves the oath at Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Eival (D'varim 27:11 ff.), they became guarantors for one another - AREIVIM ZEH BAZEH. 

It is this religious reality of fellowship and mutual responsibility which has, since Biblical days, connected Jews world over, no matter their exilic nationality, language, or culture. It is this AREIVUT which commits every Jew to be ready to offer assistance - religious, economic, or camaraderie - to any Jew in spiritual, material or psychological need.  And it is this AREIVUT of mutual responsibility which has - and continues to be - the halachic underpinning of our doctrine of community - of TZIBUR. The story below has been making the rounds and is one of countless episodes in the life of our people which highlights the amazing and mystifying connectedness that so distinguishes our people.

There was a soldier serving in Hevron some 7-8 years ago, his name is Chananel. Hevron is not a fun place to serve for a soldier. There is the Machpelah - the Cave of the Patriarchs, the place where our forefathers are buried; Adam and Chava, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, plus Sarah, Rivka and Leah. This is one of the holiest places to pray in the world. We lost many soldiers in Hevron, unfortunately. They are there to protect the place, and the visitors and Jews who live there. 

One day there was a lot of screaming. Chananel went to see where it came from. He sees another soldier, laying on the road bleeding to death. He stopped the bleeding and called for help. An ambulance came and the driver asked "who is with him?". In Israel, a soldier never goes alone, somebody has to go with him. The soldier answered "me", which was crazy, because he was on a post somewhere else, and was not supposed to leave his post. He could get in serious trouble. Anyway, he went with the wounded soldier to the hospital; there the doctors were able to stabilize him. The wounded soldier was identified by his tag and the parents came to the hospital in panic to visit their son. Chananel left as soon as he heard the parents coming. No need to stay. 

The parents heard from the doctors, "if it would not have been for his friend that stopped the bleeding, he would have died." - "Who is it" asked the parents? "The soldier that is sitting outside." They went to look for him, but he had already gone. They looked for someone in a uniform, they had a burning desire to thank him, but there was nobody to thank. 

In a few weeks the wounded soldier made a complete recovery, and the parents went to the media. "Whoever saved our soldier son, please make contact with us. We live in Kiryat Malachi." There was no response. They made a large poster and put it up in their store in Kiryat Malachi. They wrote on it the story of their son and the unknown soldier who saved his life. If anybody knows that soldier, to please contact them.

A year and a half went by and nothing happened. People stopped to take pictures of the poster, but nobody knew the anonymous soldier. One day a couple drove through Kiryat Malachi. They pulled up at the corner shop. The woman sees the poster, reads the story and starts crying. She goes into the store with tears running down her cheeks. The shopkeeper sees that she is in stress and asks how she can help. 

The women said she is crying because of the poster outside. "I have a son, he came home on weekends, shared his stories and this story I know. The details match perfectly. He saved a soldier's life, went to the hospital and when the parents came, he left. He went back to his post, no big deal. My son was the one that saved your son's life." 

The mother of the wounded soldier hears this and it is a dream come true, now she starts crying. They call the army, Chananel is still serving. They explain the story and asked if Chananel could come to Kiryat Malachi. The IDF being a compassionate army, let him come. He was in Kiryat Malachi in no time and greeted the young man that he saved and the parents that had been looking for him for so long. He gets hugs and kisses. They make a small celebration and pledge to stay in touch. 

At that moment Chananel's mother asked the "shopkeeper mum" to come to the side for a private chat: "I did not cry because my son saved your son, for that makes me very happy. But I want to remind you of a story that happened 21 years ago. I got pregnant, I was not married and I was poor. I concluded in my mind that I was going to have an abortion. I lived in Kiryat Malachi at the time. On the way to the clinic, I stopped at your store to get something to drink because I was stressed out. You asked me if I was alright, she turned to the mother. I decided to tell you everything. You spent the whole afternoon convincing me not to abort. You ended up sending money and food every weekend the first year to make sure I was OK. You helped me get through. The son you saved that day when I came into your store, was Chananel, the one that saved your son's life in Hevron!

When two Jews - two total strangers - choose to care about one another, they are tapping into a reality of TZIBUR whose cohesive power mysteriously binds Jew to Jew in an everlasting bond of peoplehood. 

No wonder, in Nitzavim, which always precedes Rosh HaShana, this AREIVUT principle is underscored. It is one thing to come before HaShem as an individual and pray for a good year, and it's quite another to approach Him as part of a TZIBUR. Joining with the TZIBUR declares that you are about more than just yourself. It announces that you care and are ready to help. And when that commitment to AREIVUT presents itself before the Almighty on Rosh HaShana, the chesed which emerges from that bondsmanship triggers HaShem's attributes of CHESED and RACHAMIM, and our prayer that we be written in the Book of Life will surely be heard.

Our own deeds of AREIVUT may not be as poignant and dramatic as Chananel and the mother of the soldier whose life Chananel saved, but the rewards will be no less significant and life-changing. May this New Year hold out that very promise for all of us.

K'TIVA VACHATIMA TOVA 


Afterthoughts - Yocheved Bienenfeld

V'HAYA HASHEM L'MELECH

…BAYOM HAHU …U'SH'MO ECHAD

"On that day, HaShem will be One and His Name will be one." We are about to proclaim HaShem as Melech on Rosh HaShana and I wanted to try to understand what it means when it says that 'His Name will be One.' Rav Shimon Schwab (Rav Schwab on Prayer) explains: "Despite having revealed certain aspects of His Name, HKB"H tells us ZEH SH'MI L'OLAM - This is My Name forever (Sh'mot 3:15) with the word L'OLAM written as if it could be read L'ALEIM, meaning 'hidden'. Just as I am beyond your comprehension, so shall My true Name, My essence, remain unknown and hidden to the human mind. So, we humbly say: BARUCH SH'MO - blessed is His Name. Since there is no way to "know" Gd, then when we refer to SH'MO, His Name, we are referring to those behaviors He exhibits to us from which we can draw conclusions as to His nature. If this is true, then I think I finally understand what it means when it says that "His Name will be one."

BAYOM HAHU YIHYEH HASHEM ECHAD - On that day Gd will be One - that will be the day when the whole world recognizes and admits that there is only One Gd. But that really isn't enough. For example, the Jews and the Moslems also believe in only one Gd. But is it the same Gd? The "name" of Gd means one thing to a Jew and something quite different to a Moslem. The Jew sees Gd, first and foremost as Y-H-V-H, merciful, giving, beneficent; a gomel chesed - after all, aren't we taught that this is why He created the world? 

[Derech HaShem (Ramchal) Chapter 2:1: Gd's purpose in Creation was to bestow of His Good onto another.]

Only then, do we say He is Elokim, the all-powerful One Who can initiate this very Creation. But a Moslem sees Allah as 'akhbar' - first and foremost Kabir, gibor - powerful, mighty. That is a very different deity than the one in Whom we believe. So, although we both believe in only one Gd, it clearly doesn't mean there is any unity in understanding just Who this Gd is, what His true Nature is. But BAYOM HAHU, on that day, not only will there be an agreement that there is only one Gd, that all good and bad derives from Him, but also USHMO ECHAD - there will be agreement, as well, as to that nature. And that Gd is HASHEM TZ'VAKOT SH'MO, K'DOSH YISRAEL, the Sanctified One of Israel. 


Insights into Halacha - Rabbi Yehuda Spitz

Ohr Somayach (yspitz@ohr.edu)

Sh'mitat K'safim & the Prozbol

Ed. note: Some footnotes are included in the PT version of the article; most are not. Some of those that are included have been edited and shortened. See the website for full footnotes and sources.

SH'NEI SH'MITOT

The Torah enumerates the importance of observing Sh'mita, not working the land on the seventh year, several times, stressing its significance. That there are agricultural prohibitions and produce restrictions (addressed at length in several previous articles) in letting the land lie fallow is known to most. Yet, there is another imperative aspect of Sh'mita observance - the cancelling of debts.

The Torah states (D'varim 15:2, in R'ei): V'ZEH D'VAR HASH'MITA: And this is the matter of Sh'mita: every creditor that lends to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not demand payment of debts from his neighbor or brother."

In fact, the Gemara (Gittin 36a) derives from the double language of the word Sh'mita in this pasuk, that there are two types of Sh'mita: Sh'mitat Karka and Sh'mitat K'safim. See also Sefer Hachinuch (Mitzva 84 and 477) who explains that a focal point of both 'types' of Sh'mita is to teach us VATRANUT (willingness to concede) and to demonstrate how to properly care about others' needs. The Rambam writes that from the fact the Torah used the word SHAMOT (which is a command) to describe this occurrence (of absolving a debt), it is an actual Mitzva D'Oraita encumbent upon us to actively let Sh'mita erase a debt. However, the Sefer Yere'im (278) maintains a different understanding of Sh'mitat K'safim. He explains that Sh'mita does not actively erase a debt, but rather 'YANU'ACH, lets lie', meaning that the lender cannot demand it back, but it does not actually forgive the loan. He concludes that if the borrower uses Sh'mita as an excuse to never pay back the loan, he is deemed a RASHA. Although this is not the normative halacha, nevertheless, Mishnayot Sh'vi'it (10:9) concludes with praise for one who anyway pays back his debt: HAMACHZIR CHOV BISHVI'IT RU'ACH CHACHAMIM NOCHA HEIMENU.

This teaches that all loans between Jews are cancelled by the Torah; meaning that the lender may not collect what was owed to him. This is known as Sh'mitat K'safim.

Yet, there is another pasuk regarding this issue, which adds another dimension to this rule (D'varim 15:9): "Guard yourself, lest there be in your heart a lawless thought, thinking that the seventh year, the year of Sh'mita, is approaching, and you look selfishly upon your needy brother and do not lend him anything, and he cries out to Hashem against you, and it is considered a sin on your part." This teaches us that one transgresses a prohibition if he refuses lending to a fellow Jew before Sh'mita due to fear of his debts being cancelled.

Enter… The Prozbol

Yet, unfortunately history has proven that that is exactly what happened. The wealthy refused to lend to their poorer brethren out of fear of not recouping their cash. The Mishna teaches us that Hillel HaZakein instituted the device of Prozbol to alleviate the plight of the poor on Sh'mita. [Mishnayot Sh'vi'it 10:3,4 and Gittin 34b and accompanying Gemara (36a-b) and commentaries]

Quite interestingly, and not even remotely connected to the similar sounding All-Star Football game or even the popular frum singer, Prozbol is an abbreviation of the words PROZ BOLI BOTI - meaning 'institution for rich and poor' people. In other words, it allowed the poor to benefit from loans from the wealthy, who would not be afraid that their loans would be automatically cancelled in the Sh'mita year.

The Prozbol entails handing one's debts over to Beit Din, or authorizing and appointing Beit Din to collect his debts on his behalf.

The actual Sh'mita prohibition is that a lender may not pressure a borrower to pay him back. This, however, does not preclude Beit Din from being able to collect on one's behalf.

In the Gemara (Gittin 36b), Rava gives an additional insight into the mechanics of how this institution works: HEFKER BEIT DIN HEFKER, meaning the Torah provides Beit Din with the power to declare property ownerless. Hence, this empowered Hillel with the ability to require borrowers to pay their debts that would otherwise been released by the Mitzva of Sh'mitat K'safim.

Hillel's institution of Prozbol is considered so incredible that the Mishna literally describes it as a 'Tikkun HaOlam' (loosely translated as 'World Saving').

As detailed extensively by Rav Yirmiyohu Kaganoff in a recent article titled 'Pruzbul', there are at least four ways to make loans that would not have been affected by Sh'mitat K'safim: via Beit Din, at the time of the loan to schedule the loan's due date for after Sh'mita, a loan conditional to be payable even after Sh'mita ends, and it being collateralized (receiving a mashkon worth more than the loan). Accordingly, creditors at the time could have easily arranged matters such that Sh'mitat K'saifim could have been avoided, and they would have had a halachically acceptable manner to collect their loans, Sh'mita notwithstanding. Nevertheless, Hillel realized that people were not utilizing these kosher methods to guarantee return of their funds, but rather were refraining from lending money - thus violating both a Mitzvat Asei of lending money to those in need and a Lo Taasei. This necessitated Hillel's new takana of Prozbol.

Bizman Hazeh

There is some debate among the authorities whether Sh'mitat K'safim nowadays is Biblical in nature or not. Although the Ramban and Ba'al Ha-Itur maintain that in this day and age it is still a Mitzva D'Oraita, we find at the other extreme that the Rama cites several Rishonim who are of the opinion that this Mitzva is currently not applicable at all.

However, the vast majority of poskim rule that in our time it is nevertheless a Mitzva D'rabbanan - due to the fact that Yovel does not currently exist. In fact, and although disputed, the Rambam adds a very important point based on Abayei's conclusion in the Gemara Gittin (36a), that the whole reason a Prozbol actually works is because Sh'mita nowadays is D'rabbanan.

There are different opinions as to whether a Prozbol will work when the mitzva of Sh'mitat K'safim will again be a d'Oraita.

Moreover, and as opposed to Sh'mitat Karka'ot, the Sh'mita of the Land (the requirement of letting the land lie fallow), regarding this Sh'mitat K'safim, the halachic consensus is that it applies equally in Chutz La'aretz.

This is indeed the halacha p'suka. The Tur relates that his father, the Rosh, took great umbrage and "screamed" at those who did business as usual without writing a Prozbol. In fact, many later authorities, including the Levush, the Bach, Rav Yonason Eibeshutz, the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, the Chasam Sofer, the Sh'lah, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, Ben Ish Chai, and the Aruch Hashulchan, all stressed Sh'mitat K'safim's significance and application even nowadays and in Chutz La'aretz, as well as the importance of making sure to write a Prozbol.

Pre- or Post- Prozbol?

Another important matter is defining when the Prozbol should be written, prior to the onset of the Sh'mita year, or at its close, shortly before the Sh'mita year ends. The Torah clues us in. Regarding the issue of Sh'mitat K'safim it states: MIKEITZ SHEVA SHANIM TAASEH SH'MITA - At the end of every seven years, you should make a release." The Gemara (Eirachin 28b) explains that this is referring to the end of Sh'mita.

The Sifri elucidates that this is similar to the Mitzva of Hakhel, where similar wording is used - and is exclusively observed at the end of every Sh'mita cycle - meaning the beginning of the eighth year. So too, concludes the Sifri, Sh'mitat K'safim only wipes out loans at the end of the Sh'mita year. Therefore, a Prozbol must be written at the conclusion of the Sh'mita year, prior to the onset of the eighth year. This is the actual halacha. In fact, the Beit Yosef writes that "this is the minhag pashut in Eretz Yisrael and its environs, to write a Prozbol on Erev Rosh Hashana of Motza'ei Sh'vi'it." Indeed, and on a more recent note, in Rav Yechiel Michel Tukachinsky's Sefer HaSh'mita, he writes that the minhag of RUBAM K'KULAM in Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim is to only draw up a Prozbol at the end of the Sh'mita year. This means that now is the time to make sure to write a Prozbol, before the conclusion of our Sh'mita year.

Tale of Two Prozbols?

Yet, we find that the Rosh, quoting a Tosefta, maintains that a Prozbol should be written before the Sh'mita year, not at the end. He explains that although Sh'mitat K'safim only takes effect at the end of the Sh'mita year, nevertheless the prohibition of LO YIGOS, not demanding back during Sh'mita money that was previously lent out, already applies from the start of the Sh'mita year. Therefore, he maintains that a Prozbol should be written prior to the onset of Sh'mita. Several Rishonim agreed with this approach as well.

However, it has since been proven that the version of the Tosefta the Rosh quoted in formulating his ruling had textual mistakes (incorrect girsa). Additionally, most authorities reject this novel approach outright, averring that it is not normative halacha.

On the other hand, several authorities, including Rav Yonason Eibeshutz and the Shulchan Aruch Harav, argued that L'CHAT-CHILA one should take the Rosh's opinion into account and hence write a Prozbol before the onset of Sh'mita as well. It is said that the Vilna Gaon was machmir to write two Prozbols, one before and again at the end of the Sh'mita year, to fulfill both opinions. Although not the basic halacha, and many great authorities did not write a Prozbol before Sh'mita, on the other hand, it is known that Rav Shmuel Salant, Av Beit Din of Yerushalayim in the end of the 19th century, ruled that it is proper to do so, as later did the Steipler Gaon and Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv.

That is why many were makpid to write an additional Prozbol before the onset of Sh'mita. However, practically, regarding this Prozbol, the rules are somewhat relaxed. In fact, according to Rav Moshe Sternbuch, since this Pre-Sh'mita Prozbol is not MEI'IKAR HADIN, one need not bother to seek out an actual Beit Din, or even members of a Beit Din, but may suffice with three fellow knowledgeable Yidden serving as an ad hoc Beit Din, similar to the annual Erev Rosh HaShana Hatarat Nedarim.

Prozbol via Real-Deal Beit Din?

What about our mandated end-of-Sh'mita-year Prozbol? Does that need to be performed done by an actual Beit Din? Or are three Yidden sufficient to be called 'Dayanim' for this purpose?

The Gemara (Gittin 36b) states that a Prozbol can exclusively be created by a high-level, established Beit Din, such as that of the renowned Amora'im, Rav, Shmuel, Rav Ami, or Rav Asi. The Shulchan Aruch rules accordingly, following the precedent of the Rambam, and Rabbeinu Tam, that it needs to be performed with a 'Beit Din Chashuv'. On the other hand, the Rama rules like the Rosh, Tur, Sefer HaTerumah, and Rashba, who understood that the Gemara later reevaluated this position and counters that nowadays any Beit Din will suffice. The Bach concludes that the halacha here indeed follows the Rama.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we find that the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Aruch Hashulchan and others maintain that nowadays a Prozbul does not even need a genuine actual set Beit Din, as there are opinions in the Rishonim that it does not apply at all nowadays. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch writes similarly and simply that 'three Bnei Torah may serve as the Beit Din.'

On the other hand, we find that the Chochmat Adam and Chatam Sofer were nevertheless MAKPID L'CHATCHILA to write the Prozbol in a Beit Din Chashuv. Come what may, it is known that the Chazon Ish was very makpid that his Prozbol be presented by a 'Beit Din Chashuv', and used to send his Prozbol to the Badatz Eida Chareidis in Yerushalayim. Later on, toward the end of his life, he would send it to the much younger Rav Shmuel HaLevi Wosner and his Beit Din, as he was the official Av Beit Din of the Zichron Meir neighborhood in Bnei Brak. Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv would also LCHAT-CHILA attempt the same, to write his Prozbol with a 'Beit Din Chashuv.'

In contrast to this, from numerous examples (and actual Prozbolim) cited in Orchot Rabbeinu, it is clear that the Steipler Gaon was not makpid to seek out a 'Beit Din Chashuv'. Similarly, it is reported that Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was likewise not makpid for his Prozbol to be written by such a Beit Din. Likewise, Rav Yechiel Michel Tukachinsky writes that UVIZMAN HAZEH EIN TZARICH BEIT DIN CHASHUV L'PROZBOL, nowadays a 'Beit Din Chashuv' is not necessary.

Practically speaking, the common contemporary Ashkenazic minhag follows the Rosh and Rama, and that the same three "dayanim" who perform Hatarat Nedarim on Erev Rosh HaShana also sign someone's Prozbol. Yet, and although not obligatory, nevertheless, it seems that there is a preference, if possible, to perform the Prozbol using an actual set 'Beit Din Chashuv,' like the Shulchan Aruch's psak.

Indeed, several contemporary S'fardic authorities maintain that S'fardim, who follow the Shulchan Aruch's rulings, should most definitely seek out a 'Beit Din Chashuv' for their Prozbolim. In fact, it is known that the Mabit invalidated several Prozbolim not written via 'Beit Din Chashuv'. On a more contemporary note, this is the S'fardic minhag, as cited by Rav Ovadiah Yosef, Rav Ben Tzion Abba-Shaul, Rav Yaakov Hillel, and the Yalkut Yosef. However, Rav Ovadiah Yosef qualifies that even for S'fardim, if the Prozbol was not presented by a 'Beit Din Chashuv,' it still has validity and works b'dieved.

When in Rome…

Now that one Beis Din issue is settled, there is one more wrinkle to iron out. Does a Prozbol need to be written in front of the Beit Din (as in personally), or is it sufficient for it to be performed in front of witnesses in the name of the Beit Din - meaning authorizing a non-present Beit Din to collect one's debts in his name. Not a simple question, this is debated by the Rishonim, and the Shulchan Aruch cites both opinions with no clear-cut ruling.

It is interesting that much of the debate seems to be based on a few words in the Yerushalmi. When discussing how a Prozbol works, the Yerushalmi succinctly comments TANA, V'AFILU HEIN B'ROMI, It is taught, (that a Prozbol works) even if they are in Rome." Well, who or what is the "they" referred to that can be all the way in Rome, while one is presently in Eretz Yisrael trying to write a Prozbol?

Many Rishonim understand this to be referring to the loan documents, that even though they were left in Rome, as long as one is physically present at a Beit Din, a Prozbol can still be drawn up. Yet, other Rishonim and Acharonim understood this cryptic statement of the Yerushalmi to be referring to the actual Dayanim - that even if the Beit Din is in Rome, one can still authorize them to collect his debts for him, although his is physically far, far away.

Although there does not seem to be one clear psak in the Rishonim or Acharonim, practically, the Rama ruled leniently, and several contemporary Poskim write that the minhag in Yerushalayim for generations was to allow this. Hence, for Ashkenazim, either option would be sufficient, certainly MEI'IKAR HADIN.

However, for S'fardim, it comes out that it would be preferable to perform a Prozbol in front of witnesses authorizing a set 'Beit Din Chashuv' to collect one's debts, rather than have an ad hoc three 'Dayanim' (such as those who do his Hatarat Nedarim) do it personally.

Please Process the Prozbol!

Either way, and whether or not one performed the chumra of a pre-Sh'mita Prozbol, everyone should ensure that they follow the actual halacha to write an end-of-Sh'mita Prozbol.

The Ben Ish Chai further advocates for after writing a Prozbol, lending a small token sum to someone in order to tell him when he comes to pay it back after Rosh HaShana that the loan is cancelled. This is an ingenious way of fulfilling the Takanat Hillel of Prozbol and still fulfilling the Torah's command of SHAMOT (to absolve a debt) and actively letting Sh'mita erase a debt.

To sum it up, a little Prozbol can alleviate a lot of future complications.


Disclaimer: This is not a comprehensive guide, rather a brief summary to raise awareness of the issues. In any real case one should ask a competent Halachic authority.

Rabbi Yehuda Spitz's recent English halacha sefer, "Food: A Halachic Analysis" (Mosaica/Feldheim) containing over 500 pages featuring over 30 comprehensive chapters discussing the myriad halachic issues pertaining to food, is now available online and in bookstores everywhere."