Parshas Ra’eh: Two Interpretations But Not really

For thousands of years, the Jewish people have prided themselves on being unique, on following a different path, on having a mission. In order to, please Hashem soon, fulfill our ultimate goal of being a mamleches kohanim, a nation of priests – a nation that leads the world in matters of spirituality and holiness (and thus ethics) - we need to hold ourselves to different standards; and that is often really very hard. Living in galus, the imperfect state of the world, has forced us to be surrounded and, thus, influenced by nations and peoples who have different goals. It is up to us to navigate that path between.

 

In this week’s parsha, Parshas Ra’eh, there is a seemingly short and simple pasuk that could easily be overlooked as a simple wrap up to the subject being discussed but is far more impactful than might be realized. Pasuk 12:4 states: “Lo ta’asoon ken la’Hashem E-lo-kay’chem. Do not do thus to Hashem your Gd.” The pasuk follows instructions to Bnei Yisrael that upon entering the Promised Land they should make certain to destroy all the places where the other nations had worshipped false gods. Indeed, the pasuk before says: “And you shall tear down their altars, smash their monuments, burn their asherim with fire, cut down the graven images of their gods, and destroy their name from that place.”

 

The preceding pasuk, however, is exactly what makes this pasuk so curious. It seems as if the Torah is telling Bnei Yisrael not to tear down or destroy anything that is part of the avodah to Hashem, but that seems like an obvious statement. The entire focus of the Torah is getting to the Promised Land to fulfill the ultimate means of serving Hashem, so who would even think to tear down Hashem. That would seem to fall under prohibitions against blasphemy and rebellion and the like.

 

Perhaps it is this conundrum that has led a great number of wise scholars to interpret this pasuk as meaning that one should not worship Hashem in any way that is similar to the worship of Avodah Zara. It isn’t as simple as don’t carve images or designate holy trees. Taking Jewish worship and shaping it to reflect modern standards is a slippery slope. Just look at where the introduction of an organ led… And it is tempting. Seeing outsiders in the throes of their own faith could very well lead one to wanting to bring that passion or joy to Jewish prayer. If you’ve ever seen gospel, it is full of energy and joy that is aimed at God. But it is not for us. We can be inspired by that to inflect more energy and joy into our own avodah, but we should not transform our avodah to mimic theirs.

 

Don’t worship like the others and don’t destroy the places or vehicles of avodas Hashem - one verse with two very different understandings, and yet they are both relevant comments on life in our modern day galus. These two instructive interpretations merge in that much of popular culture seems to thrive on erasing religion. For thousands of years of history, one could not have imagined a world where so much secularism reigned. Jews avoided the ways of worship of other nations – to the point that it is common to avoid even giving directions using a church as a landmark – but now we must be wary of the penchant for the world around us to diminish, if not erase all together, the Creator of the Universe.

 

There is one more powerful aspect to this verse: “Lo ta’asoon ken la’Hashem E-lo-kay’chem. Do not do thus to Hashem your Gd.” The power is in our hands. Hashem instructed us on how to connect to Him, and He commanded us what to do or not do according to His “Creator’s Manuel,” His omniscient view of all things. The word La’asot, as in ta’asoon, means to do or make. It is a powerful word that implies just how much bechira, free will, each of us has. Hashem gave us control over our relationship with Him, because, ultimately, that is the only way we will be able to fulfill our role as a mamleches kohanim.

 

I wish you all a beautiful Shabbas, a good start to the new school year, and an upcoming chodesh tov.

Parshas VaEschanan: Thinking About What is Coming

This past week was…intense. Not a few people went into last Shabbas wondering if this week would see unthinkable disaster or, perhaps, ever-yearned for salvation. With Iran threatening to attack and reports insinuating that they would do so on Tisha B’Av, the Jewish world held its breath. And life continued forward as before. And many wondered, even as they were grateful for the lack of attack, why or when – and even why we keep cutting to the edge of a new era but are unable to get there.

 

There are many interesting aspects to this week’s parsha, Parshas Vaeschanan, that could speak to the situation in which we are living. In particular, it is interesting to look at the second half of perek hey (5), starting at pasuk 20, which is the beginning of the fifth aliyah. In the parek, Moshe is describing the reaction of Bnei Yisrael to hearing Hashem at Har Sinai, at the giving of the Aseres Hadibros.

 

“And it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, and the mountain was burning with fire, that you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord, our God, has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we saw this day that God speaks with man, yet [man] remains alive. So now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we continue to hear the voice of the Lord, our God, anymore, we will die. For who is there of all flesh, who heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? You approach, and hear all that the Lord, our God, will say, and you speak to us all that the Lord, our God, will speak to you, and we will hear and do’” (Devarim 5:20-24).

 

In other words, the people stood at Sinai, saw the thunder, heard the lightening, listened to Hashem’s voice, and grew terribly afraid. They knew that they were receiving something sublime, that they were experiencing a moment that would take them to another level of existence – and they backed away from it. They feared it. They asked Moshe to intervene for them.

 

The Rambam listed 13 tenets of Jewish faith, the Ani Maamins, and one of those is “I believe with complete faith in the coming of Moshiach, and although he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait every day for him to come.” Waiting – yearning – planning – pining for Moshiach. This is what a Yid does.

 

But, to say something controversial…

 

It is part of the human condition to fear change.  It is natural to be afraid of the unknown. And as much as we all may express our emunah, true emunah and bitachon is incredibly difficult to achieve. Over the past few weeks, the question of what to daven for has been a conundrum. If one davens that this is Moshiach coming, does that mean one does not daven for peace and stability. And if one davens that the enemy backs down, is that buying more time until global decisions necessary for spiritual change are made?

 

Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai were at an inconceivable level of spiritual awareness, and their fear drove them to make space between themselves and the Divine. Have we grown past that? Can we? Ani Maamin b’emunah shelaima bviyas Hamashiach…but is that enough? Believing Moshiach is coming, wanting Moshiach to come, preparing for Moshiach –  but will we be able to embrace Moshiach when he comes?

 

This week’s parsha is named Va’eschanan, which means “And I entreated.”  This week’s Shabbas, however, is known as Shabbas Nachamu, after the opening words of the Haftarah, which mean “Console, console My people," says your God” (Yeshiyahu 40:1).  There is a tremendous lesson of bitachon in the two names associated with this Shabbas. When one takes it upon themselves to truly beseech Hashem, to reach out and entreat Him for help – whether that be asking Hashem to send Moshiach or asking Hashem to help one get to the level of emunah to fulfill the ani maamins – then one will be able to witness Nachamu, the consolation and comforting of our nation.

 

May we achieve this soon.

Good Shabbas

 

Parshas Devarim: These are the words of Moshe – [This is] the vision of Isaiah

 Without question, Jews around the world are “holding our breath” this Shabbas. For many of us, we do not remember a Nine Days that felt so rife with threat – and we in the diaspora are experiencing only a small sliver of that tension.  Some may be asking “How did we get here?”, while others are pondering “How can the situation be saved?”

 

This Shabbas is known as Shabbas Chazon, which technically translates into the Shabbas of vision but receives the name because chazon, vision, is the first word of the Haftara, the opening lines of Sefer Yishayahu (Isaiah). Shabbas Chazon is always the Shabbas right bfore Tisha B’Av, and it is also always Parshas Devarim. Within that duality lie responses to both questions.

 

How did we get here? Parshas Devarim begins with Moshe reviewing the actions of Bnei Yisrael throughout their sojourn in the Wilderness. Most significantly, however, Moshe focuses on the appointment of the spies who so thoroughly led the nation astray. And it is only here, in Devarim, that we learn the subtle details of how Moshe felt about their request to spy out the land and how troubled he was by their lack of bitachon. Here it is that we are reminded that had we, meaning the whole of klal Yisrael, not cried out in self-pity that Hashem was leading us to our destruction, all of history would have been different. We are reminded of how often Klal Yisrael can be its own worst enemy.

 

How did we get here? Hashem makes it clear in Yishiyahu’s vision that all of our trials and tribulations stem from our own behaviour. We bring upon ourselves destruction because we did not learn from our mistakes, because we allowed our society to become selfish and sinful. More importantly, even as we practiced perfect sacrifices and orderly rituals, it is clear from Yishayahu’s words that we lost the ikker, the heart, of the Torah – which is about creating a true and just society.

 

How did we get here? Ritual and ceremony, and even prayer, mean little without actual bitachon. Without bitachon, we cannot set up a just society because we work under the pretense that we control the outcome and so our instincts for self-preservation kick in. Alas, as pointed out in Shaar Habitachon (I believe), the ways of Hashem are such that when mankind believes in a force other than Hashem – be that an idol or money or people or self – Hashem leaves them in their delusion.

 

Parshas Devarim wraps up with the assignment of land to Reuven, Gad, and half of Menashe on the far side of the Yarden. This is significant because it reminds us of an important aspect of bitachon, which is knowing that we are in a relationship with Hashem, that Hashem listens to our opinions and desires as well.

How can the situation be saved? Loftily stated – by creating a society built on bitachon. This doesn’t mean religiosity, but rather “Learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; Aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan; Defend the cause of the widow” (Yishayahu 1:17). One can build a truly just society only when one truly comprehends that Hashem runs the world for the good of all and that we are each only tools for His will to be carried out.

 

Of course, life, and faith and individuality are far more complicated than just saying trust Hashem, and true bitachon is an exceptionally hard feat – made even harder by a host society that asserts its rights to self-expression and self-fulfillment above all else. Most of us are self aware enough to know that we as individuals are not in positions to shape national policy – or often even community behaviour. What we can shape is ourselves.

 

Will Iran attack? Might Hezbollah go rogue? Are our synagogues safe? We must daven that this evil will pass, but we can’t just daven in a vacuum. We have to do our hishtadlus by incorporating acts that lead to just-ness and by building our bitachon.

 

Shabbat Shalom.

 

 

Parshas Matos-Masai: Learning from War

 War… It means far more to us today than it did a year ago. Indeed, after the actions of this week it means far more to us today than it did a month ago. The war we hoped would come to a quick and victorious end hovers on the precipice of regional escalation. And this calls to the question the conundrum of the very existence of war.

 

One would think that in the ideal world there would be no such thing as war. Utopian fantasies are often premised on the very idea of a society so advanced and enlightened that there is no fighting. And, in truth, there are certainly ideas that in the coming days of Moshiach (bimhera, byamenu) the “lion shall lie down with the lamb” and “"nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” But that’s the dream of the future, and this week’s parsha, parshas matos-massai, is just one of several parshios in the Torah that discuss Bnei Yisrael going to war.

 

Perek lamed -aleph actually presents a particularly relevant call to arms. “So Moshe spoke to the people, saying, ‘Arm from among you men for the army, that they can be against Midian, and carry out the revenge of the Lord against Midian’” (31:3). God has instructed Moshe to arm Bnei Yisrael to fight the Midianites as his final leadership act before he dies.

 

Quite clearly, this is neither a war of defense nor a war of conquest, but specifically a war of revenge against the Midianites. To those of us raised in the 20^th or 21^st century Western culture, the idea of a war of revenge seems anything but religious or Godly. Nevertheless, that is exactly what Hashem ordered.

 

What was it that needed to be avenged? Parshas Balak, it may be recalled, contains two nations trying to interfere with the Jewish people. Balak was the king of the Moabites, and, according to the commentaries, they had reason to be concerned about the Israelites. Chizkuni, on pasuk 25:17 states: “whatever the Moabites had done, they had done because they had believed that they had a legitimate reason to fear for their lives from the Israelites. Furthermore, the Israelites had already taken possession of lands which used to be theirs before Sichon had conquered it from them in war.”  The Midianites, however, also busied themselves with Balak’s war, and Rashi points out on Bamidbar 31:2 – “The Moabites entered into the matter out of fear, because they feared that they might plunder them, since about them it was stated only, (Devarim 2:9) “Do not contend with them in battle”; but the Midianites, however, had got excited (had interfered) in a quarrel that did not concern them.”

 

This is not so different from the world we live in today, when everyone seems to have an opinion and a sense of a permission to get involved in a quarrel that does not concern them.

As much as we may disagree with their ideology, the Palestinian battle has a morsal of reason to it (which is not to say that any of their means of fighting are legitimate or that their distortions of history are acceptable. There is a country for Palestinians as understood by the term as those who lived in the Ottoman entity of Palestine and that is the Kingdom of Jordan that was created from the majority of the original territory…but I digress). However, what have Houthis of Yemen to do with it? What does Iran have to do with it?

 

But there is a deeper issue at hand as well. What was it that the Midianites did to the Israelites? They followed the advice of Balaam of Moav and attacked Israel on a moral level. They lured them into licentious behavior so that Hashem would turn His favor away from them.

 

So much of the world today seems to believe that Israel wants to be aggressive, that Israel deserves to be judged and condemned. That sentiment is not just about Israel and Zionists, but as we see through the general increase in anti-Semitism, it is about all of Klal Yisrael. The global situation today, while it is actually bringing many Jews closer to their Judaism and the community, is derailing the Jewish nation from their greater responsibility, which is to be an Ohr LeGeula, a light unto the nations.

 

We are not in a world today where Hashem directly communicates. We have no great leader to tell us exactly what to do and how. But we do have to recognize that through all the trials and tribulations our nation is going through, it is up to us to remember our mission. It is up to us to make an even greater effort to make a Kiddush Hashem and show the world who we truly are. We also have to know and recognize that it is okay to fight, it is okay to engage in war, to let the truth shine through.

 

May Hashem protect Israel and all of the brave men and women who must stand strong in the face of so much danger and who protect our nation both physically and spiritually.

301 – BRING THEM HOME, please Hashem.

 

Good Shabbas