parshat shavua shiurim

Parshat Devrarim

2008-08-03T05:31:00.002+03:00

Here is the summary of this week's parsha - Devarim.

You can also find a d'var Torah by me here: http://rabbisedley.com/?q=sed/devarim

and a translation of a section of Tosefet Bracha on the parsha here: http://rabbisedley.com/tos/devarim

Have a great week.

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Summary of Devarim

The book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) contains Moshe's final words to the nation before they enter into the Land of Israel. Most of the book contains a review of the laws that they had already received from G-d until this point. Moshe begins by summarising their sojourns in the desert. He hints to the sins that the Jews had committed throughout their journey, by listing the place names where those sins occurred.

Moshe retells how he was unable to provide for the nation alone, and G-d commanded that he appoint leaders over the people, to provide judgement and leadership on a local level. He reminds the people of the sin of the spies, how they listened to the evil report that the spies brought back when they scouted out the Land of Israel and they refused to trust G-d and enter into it. Only Yehoshua bin Nun and Calev ben Yephuneh remained from that generation to enter into the land, because they remained firm in their faith.

The Israelites had wandered through the desert for another 38 years. Finally they journeyed towards the land of Se'ir, but the children of Esav refused to let them pass through their country. G-d also commanded that the Israelites not wage war on the Moavites, and they had to journey around their country also.

As the Jews approached the Land of Israel, Sichon and Og led out armies to battle against them. With the help of G-d the Israelites defeated them and conquered their lands. The tribes of Reuven and Gad asked to remain on the East side of the Jordan river and claim their inheritance there, where they saw there was good pasture land because they had large flocks and herds of animals. Moshe gave them this land on the condition that they enter with the other tribes into Israel and help them conquer the land before returning home to their families and their inheritance.

Chukat Summary

2008-06-28T22:53:00.003+03:00

For a d'var Torah on the parsha written by me click on the link.

For a translation of a section of Tosefet Beracha (by the author of the Torah Temima) click this link.

Summary of Parshat Chukat

G-d commands the Children of Israel about the laws of the Red Heifer. It must be completely red without any blemish, and never have been placed in a yoke. It shall be slaughtered outside of the sanctuary, and some of its blood sprinkled in the direction of the Sanctuary. It shall then be entirely burnt, and cedar wood, hyssop and crimson thread thrown into the fire. The Kohen who performs this ceremony becomes tamei (ritually impure). The ashes should be gathered and placed outside the camp for safekeeping. The person who gathers the ashes also becomes tamei. Anyone who comes into contact with a corpse becomes Tamei, and must purify themselves by being sprinkled with water containing the ashes of the Red Heifer on the third and seventh day of the purification process. The person who sprinkles the ashes becomes tamei. Anyone who enters the Temple without undergoing this purification process will receive karet (be spiritually cut off). If there is a dead body in a room, any person or thing that is in that room, or enters into it becomes tamei, and requires purification with the ashes of the Red Heifer.

In the fortieth year in the desert, in the first month, the Children of Israel arrived at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin. Miriam dies and is buried there. There is no water for the people to drink, and they gather against Moshe and Aharon, complaining that they are about to perish. G-d instructs Moshe to take his staff and speak to the rock in the presence of the entire congregation. Moshe and Aharon gather the congregation, but instead of speaking to the rock, Moshe hits it twice. Water comes gushing out, but G-d punishes Moshe and Aharon for disobeying Him. Because they didn't sanctify G-d in the eyes of the nation, they will not be able to bring the Jews into the Land of Israel.

Moshe sends emissaries to the king of Edom asking permission to pass through their land. The king of Edom refuses and threatens war against the Jews.
The Jews arrive at Mount Hor. G-d instructs Moshe to lead Aharon and Elazar his son up the mountain. Moshe dresses Elazar in Aharon's priestly robes, and Aharon dies there. The entire nation mourns Aharon's death for 30 days. The Canaanite king of Arad wages war against Israel and takes a captive. Israel vows that if G-d will help them to defeat the Canaanites they will consecrate all the spoils of victory to G-d. G-d hears the prayer of the people, and delivers the Canaanites into their hands.
The people journey on, and once again complain that they have no substantial food or water. G-d sends serpents to attack the people. and a large multitude die. The people come to Moshe, admit their sin and ask Moshe to pray for them. G-d instructs Moshe to make a serpent and place it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten should look at the serpent and they will live. Moshe makes the serpent (Nachash) out of copper (Nechoshet).

The Torah lists the journeys of the Children of Israel.
After passing through valley of the river of Arnon the Children of Israel sing a song of thanksgiving to G-d for the miracles which he performed to them there. (The Torah doesn't explain the miracles, but we have a tradition that He miraculously killed the Emorites who were waiting there in ambush for the Jews.)
The Jews ask permission to pass through the land of Sichon, king of the Emorites. He refuses and wages war on them. They defeat Sichon and take possession of his land. Israel settles in the land of the Emorites and Moshe sends spies to Yazer. They conquer its suburbs, and drive away the Emorites remaining there. They then turn toward Bashan. Og, the king, comes out to fight them and he and his people are totally destroyed. The Children of Israel take possession of his land. They then journey and encamp on the plains of Moav on the bank of the Jordan opposite Jericho.

Parshat Korach

2008-06-21T22:42:00.000+03:00

Korach's main complaint against Moshe was that there should not be a single leader for the nation, "For all the congregation are holy." (Bamidbar 16; 3). He was against what he saw as a dictatorial theocracy, and instead claimed to be advocating equality for all. This, however, was only a pretext for his true motivation, which was to become the new leader of the nation. This is why he accepted Moshe's challenge that he and all those who joined his rebellion should bring an incense offering, and let G-d choose who the leader should be. Despite his claims of equality, Korach personified the famous line from ‘Animal Farm’ that "all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others".

Not only Korach, but all those who followed him also openly espoused equality, but in reality were aiming for personal political power. This is why the Mishna (Ethics of the Fathers 5; 17) states: "What is an example of an argument that is not for the sake of heaven? The argument of Korach and his congregation." Were his followers supporting Korach, the Mishna should have said the argument of Korach and Moshe. We see from here that there was more fighting between Korach and his followers than between them and Moshe, and this is because they each wanted to be in charge.

Maor VaShemesh explains the Talmud (Nedarim 39b) based on this idea. "When Korach confronted Moshe, the sun and the moon went before G-d and said, 'Master of the Universe, if you do justice for the son of Amram (Moshe) we will continue to shine. But if not we will cease to shine'". Maor VaShemesh asks why the sun and moon were particularly involved in this argument? He bases his answer on the Talmud (Chullin 60b) which relates that originally G-d created the sun and the moon both the same size, as the verse states "G-d made the two great luminaries" (Bereishis 1; 16). However the moon complained to G-d that two kings cannot both rule equally. Therefore G-d told the moon to make itself smaller, as the verse continues, "the big light and the small light". We see from here that G-d agreed fundamentally with the moon's claim that there can only be one ruler. Therefore, when Korach tried to claim that everyone was equal, and there was no need for a single ruler, both the sun and moon objected.

The Torah contains a story which deals with the inherent risks of having two equal leaders. Cain and Abel were originally the only two sons of Adam and Eve. The Torah states: "And Cain said to Abel his brother" (ibid. 4; 8). The Midrash (Bereishis Rabba 22; 7) explains that Cain's pretext for killing Abel was making a pact with him. Cain was to take the entire earth as his inheritance, and Abel was to have all the chattel. Cain would claim that the ground on which Abel was standing belonged to him, and Abel claimed that Cain's clothes belonged to him. Abel told Cain to remove his clothes, and Cain told Abel to fly in the air. Eventually Cain resolved the argument by killing his brother.

Korach hadn't learnt the lesson that it is not possible for two leaders to divide their kingdom. He continued to uphold the argument of Cain that everyone should have equal rights to govern. Therefore Moshe's challenge to Korach was the same as that of Cain and Abel. Just as they brought offerings to G-d, so too Moshe told Korach and his congregation to each bring an offering, and in that manner let G-d decide who should be the rightful leader. Moshe's prayer was "Do not turn to their gift offering", which is clearly a reminder of the earlier verse "G-d turned to Abel and his offering, but to Cain and to his offering He did not turn".

Rav Yonasan Eibeschitz in his book Tiferes Yonasan takes this idea to the point where he writes that Korach's soul was actually a reincarnation of the soul of Cain, and Moshe was a reincarnation of Abel. At this point in history the record is set straight, that ultimately righteousness, and serving G-d with a pure heart and good intentions, will triumph over might and egotistical power lust.

Korach summary

2008-06-21T22:39:00.000+03:00

Korach assembles Datan, Aviram and On, along with 250 other men from the tribe of Reuven, and leads a rebellion against Moshe's leadership of the nation (in fact, On did not fight against Moshe, but withdrew from the fight after discussion with his wife). He claims that everyone heard G-d at Mount Sinai, and therefore everyone is equally able to lead the Israelites. Moshe, in consulatation with G-d, tells the rebels to make incense pans and to prepare incense on them, to see who's offering G-d chooses to accept. He privately summons Korach and tries to dissuade him from leading this revolt. He also summons Datan and Aviram, but they refuse to come to speak to him. G-d tells Moshe to separate the people from the tents of Korach, Datan and Aviram. G-d makes the earth open its mouth and swallow Korach, Datan and Aviram, all their families, and all that belonged to them. A flame descends from heaven and consumes the 250 men who were offering the incense.

G-d commands Moshe to tell Elazar (Aaron's son) to gather up the fire-pans. They are hammered out and made into a covering for the altar. This acts as a reminder to everyone else that only Aharon and his descendants the Cohanim may offer incense before G-d.

The entire assembly of Israel gathers the next day and complains that Moshe and Aharon are killing off the nation. Immediately a plague begins killing the people. Moshe tells Aharon to intercede by offering incense, and thus appease G-d's anger. Aharon stands between the living and the dead, offers the incense and stops the plague.

G-d then instructs Moshe to bring a new proof of Aharon's greatness. Each tribe should bring a staff inscribed with the name of the leader of that tribe. The staff of Levi should have Aharon's name on it. All the staffs are placed in the Mishkan overnight. In the morning when Moshe enters, Aharon's staff has blossomed and brought forth buds, ripening into almonds. Moshe brings out the staffs, and each leader takes his staff. The staff of Aharon was kept as a safekeeping and a reminder to prevent any future claims against Aharon.

G-d reiterates the duties of the Cohanim. They shall perform all of the sacrifices in the Temple. Any non-Kohen who performs these tasks shall die at the hands of heaven. G-d awards a portion from every sacrifice to the Cohanim. They shall also receive a tithe of the first fruits and crops. Every firstborn animal shall be given to the Cohanim. Part of it is offered on the altar and the rest of the meat belongs to the Kohen. The Cohanim will not receive a share in the Land of Israel because G-d alone is their portion.

The Levi'im receive a tithe of ten percent from all produce in return for the service that they perform in the Temple. From this tithe the Levi'im must take ten percent and give that to the Cohanim.

Tosefet Bracha Shelach Lecha

2008-06-14T22:08:00.002+03:00

l'ilui nishmat R' Avraham ben Yona Ya'akov

"Send for yourself men” (13; 2)

Rashi points out the reason that the story of the spies follows immediately after the story of Miriam (at the end of Beha'alotecha), since they both speak about lashon hara.

It is not clear to me why Rashi has to point this out. There are many sections of the Torah that we never ask about the reason for their juxtaposition, so why does Rashi need to say anything here?

Perhaps we can say that this juxtaposition requires particular explanation, based on the Talmud in Shabbat (116a) that it is not correct to put two bad topics next to each other. Here we have the tragedy of the spies immediately after the tragedy of Miriam, and this requires explanation. Therefore Rashi explains that they both deal with the same topic of lashon hara.

"Moshe called Hoshea bin Nun - Yehoshua” (13; 16)

We must point out that every time in the Torah and Nach that the word 'ben' appears it has three dots (segol) under the 'bet'. However, every time it says Yehoshua's name there is only one dot (chirik) so that it is read as 'bin'. This is strange. There must be some special reason for this unusual vocalisation.

There is only one other time that the word 'bin' is used, and that is in Mishlei (30; 1) “These are the words of Agur, son of (bin) Yakeh...” when the 'bet' also has a chirik. [There is also another time in Parshat Ki Tetzei, Devarim 15; 2, but there it doesn't mean 'son', so perhaps that is why the author doesn't mention it.] The Sages have discussed this in the midrash, and explained it aggadically (metaphorically) in Shemot Rabba Parshat Va'era section 6. However the explanation there has no relevance to the verse here. The Sages appear to say nothing at all about our case. Nor have any of the commentaries discussed it, and this is extremely strange.

Perhaps we can explain based on the Talmud (Sanhedrin 107a) and midrashim that say that the 'yud' that was taken from Sarai (after he name was changed to Sarah) complained about being removed from the Torah. It was only consoled when Moshe took it and added it to Hoshea's name to make Yehoshua (by adding a 'yud'). In this way the 'yud' that was removed from Sarai was replaced into the Torah.

This Talmud still leaves a difficulty, because even though Moshe found the 'yud' to add to Hoshea's name, where did he find the vowel to go under it? The 'yud' from Sarai had no vowel under it, whereas the 'yud' of Yehoshua has a 'sheva', which is two dots. We know that the number of dots in the Torah is precise and exact, so how could Moshe add two dots to the 'yud'? Therefore he had to remove the two dots from the 'bet' of 'ben' and replaced the 'segol' with a 'chirik'. This left two dots extra which were used for the 'yud'.

Even though this explanation is subtle and unusual, nevertheless, because of the uniqueness of the vocalisation of this word you should accept it.
[This doesn't explain why he was called Hoshea 'bin' Nun before Moshe added the 'yud' (verse 8) – perhaps the 'segol' was already removed in advance of the name change?]

"Moshe called Hoshea bin Nun - Yehoshua” (13; 16)

Rashi explains here, based on the midrash, that Moshe's intention in changing his name was to add a 'yud' to the 'heh' so that it would spell G-d's name, and as if to say 'G-d should save you from the advice of the spies' (because Moshe saw in a vision that it was posssible that the spies would sin, and he prayed that it shouldn't happen). We have to explain why Moshe prayed for Yehoshua more than for all the other spies, that he should be saved from speaking lashon hara and saying bad things about the land of Israel.

Perhaps we can explain based on the Midrash Rabba in parshat Vayeshev (end of section 86) regarding the nature of people. 'Throw a stick to the ground and it will return to where it came from'. This is an analogy to people who inherit their behaviour patterns from their parents. Like we find in the Midrash Rabba, Parshat Miketz, that when the goblet was found in the sack of Binyamin, and the brothers thought that he had stolen it, they all called him 'thief, the son of a thief'. They thought he was following in the footsteps of his mother who had stolen the idols from her father (Vayetze 31; 32). We also find this as a common saying amongst people, 'the lamb follows the ewe, the actions of the daughter are like the actions of the mother' (Ketubot 63a). Also in Yechezkel (16; 44) we find “the daughter is like the mother”.
We know that Yehoshua was from the tribe of Ephraim ben Yosef. Yosef had the attribute of speaking badly about others, like we find at the beginning of parshat Vayeshev (37; 2) “Yosef brought evil reports (about his brothers) to his father”. Therefore Moshe was concerned that this attribute might be part of Yehoshua's genetic makeup. Since he was so close to him as his student, Moshe prayed for him in particular, like for something which is likely to cause damage [which explains why he didn't also pray for Gadi ben Sussi from the tribe of Menashe, who was also descended from Yosef.]

We gave a similar explanation to something which we find many times in the Talmud. When Rav Yosef was amazed about something he would say 'Master of Avraham' (for example look in Shabbat 22a, and the other places listed there). We don't find anyone else who used this expression, nor is it explained why Rav Yosef chose this phrase to express his surprise or amazement, or why it was unique to him.
Perhaps we can explain based on what the Ran brings in Kiddushin (chapter one on the Talmud 31a) in the name of an aggada. That Rav Yosef was careful not to look outside of his immediate four amot. For this purpose he damaged his eyes [which eventually led to him becoming blind]. This trait of never looking outside the four amot was also a trait of Avraham. Like Rashi explains in parshat Lech Lecha on the verse “Now I know that you are beautiful” [that until that moment Avraham had not noticed how beautiful Sarah, his wife, was]. Also in the Midrash Rabba on Vayera (parshat 53) they said that he fulfilled the verse “close his eyes from seeing evil” (Yishiya 33; 15). Because of this trait of not looking at things away from himself, he didn't notice the actions of Yishmael. Therefore Rav Yosef had the same trait as Avraham, and therefore used this expression of surprise 'Master of Avraham'.
We also explained similarly the Talmud in Chagiga 14b, which tells of Rabbi Elazar ben Erech who expounded upon kabbalistic secrets of the nature of G-d. After he finished, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai stood up and kissed him on his head, and said, 'Blessed is G-d who gave such a son to Avraham our father'. He meant this same idea, because we know from midrashim that Avraham explored these kinds of ideas, and as explained by Rambam at the beginning of his laws of idolatry. Therefore he connected Elazar ben Erech to Avraham because he followed in his footsteps.

Shelach summary

2008-06-14T22:02:00.001+03:00

G-d gives Moshe permission to send spies to scout the land of Canaan. Moshe sends the twelve most distinguished men, one from each tribe. One of the spies is Hoshea bin Nun, whom Moshe renames Yehoshua. The spy from the tribe of Yehuda is Calev. The spies are instructed to investigate the land, and bring back a report of the strength of its inhabitants and its fertility. When the spies return, ten of them report that the Jews will not be able to conquer the land because its inhabitants are too strong for them. Despite Calev's protestations that they should obey G-d's command to enter the land, national hysteria ensues.

The Children of Israel weep throughout the entire night, they question why G-d brought them out of Egypt, and contemplate returning to captivity there. The nation is about to stone Moshe and Aharon, along with Yehoshua and Calev, when G-d's presence appears in the Ohel Mo'ed. G-d tells Moshe that He wants to destroy the entire nation, and begin anew with Moshe's descendants. Moshe pleads on behalf of the Children of Israel, and G-d agrees to forgive the nation. However, all of the generation who left Egypt will not enter the Land of Israel. Only after they have died will G-d bring their children into Israel. Meanwhile they must spend forty years wandering in the desert. The ten spies who came back with the bad report perish immediately in a plague.

When Moshe tells this decree to the nation they begin to mourn again. They rise early the next morning and attempt to enter the Land of Israel by force, in defiance of G-d's decree, but are severely defeated by the Amalekites and the Canaanites.
G-d instructs Moshe about the libations that must accompany the animal sacrifices. He also instructs the Jews to set aside Challa, a portion from every dough to be given to the Cohanim. G-d instructs the nation about sacrifices they must bring if the entire nation unintentionally worships idols, or if an individual unintentionally commits idolatry. Someone who purposely worships idols will receive the punishment of karet (spiritual excision).

The Jews find a man gathering wood, defiantly breaking Shabbat. They bring him to Moshe, who asks G-d what his punishment should be. G-d explains that he must be put to death by stoning, which the Children of Israel then do.
G-d instructs Moshe to tell the nation to make tzitzit (tassels) on the four corners of all garments. One of the strings should be dyed with techeilet (blue dye derived from a variety of sea snail). The tzitzit will be an eternal reminder of all the commandments.

Parshat Nasso

2008-05-31T22:21:00.001+03:00

Take a census of the sons of Gershon, as well, ..." (verse 22). Many commentators have asked about the seeming redundancy of the words "as well". Rav Moshe Feinstein explains that family of Gershon were charged with carrying the curtains and covers of the Mishkan, the external protective items. This is in contrast to their younger brothers, the family of Kehat, who were responsible for the actual utensils of the Mishkan. The Torah adds in the words "as well" to teach us that though their tasks are different from each other, and one seems more prestigious, both families and their respective functions are equally important.

The portion ends with the sacrifices of the twelve princes in the dedication service for the Mishkan. The Torah, which is normally so concise with words, repeats the details of the sacrifices for each tribe, though they are identical. Rabbeinu Bachaya (7; 84) explains that though each offering appears to us to be the same as the others, each of the leaders had totally different intentions in their gift. For example Yehuda, who was the tribe of kings, brought a silver plate, which symbolises the entire world over which Kings David and Solomon would rule. The tribe of Yissachar brought an identical plate, but to symbolise Torah, which was their domain, and which is likened to bread (Proverbs 9; 5). Zevulun, a tribe known for their seafaring trade, brought an identical plate to show their sphere of influence. And similarly for all the other tribes. We see from here that though each tribe had different abilities and skills, and though they were given individual tasks within the nation, they all brought the same sacrifice because they are all equally important.

One other main section of this portion is the laws of a Nazir. A person may decide, for various reasons, to take on a higher level of holiness in their lives. In order to do this the Torah forbids a Nazir from drinking wine, cutting his or her hair, and coming into contact with a corpse. The spiritual elevation of becoming a Nazir is incompatible with these activities. However, at the end of the duration of Nazirut (usually thirty days), the Nazir must bring a sin offering to the Temple. On the one hand, the Midrash Bamidbar Rabba 10; 28) says: "Since this person forbids himself from drinking wine and causes anguish to himself in order to keep away from sin [it is as if] G-d says, 'He is considered before me as a Cohen Gadol'". Contrasting this the Talmud (Nedarim 10a) says: "This person has only forbidden himself from wine [etc.] and is called a sinner (because he must bring a sin offering at the end of his time as a Nazir)". Though the Nazir strives for holiness, and in one aspect reaches the level of the high priest, because one's own personal task, which was to partake of the good things that G-d has put in the world, has not been fulfilled, that person is considered a sinner.

Following the laws of the Nazir, G-d commands Moshe to instruct the Cohanim with the text of the Priestly Blessing (verses 22-27). The Cohanim are to act as the conduits for G-d's blessing, both in the Temple and in the Synagogue. The ending of the blessings is 'Shalom', 'Peace', as the Sifra says, without peace any other blessings are worthless. The blessings are in the singular, showing that the path to peace is for each individual to play their role in the nation, and in so doing to bring out their own personal strengths. The ideal is not for everybody to be identical, but for everyone to fulfil their own unique potential within the nation.

The prerequisite for a person to be able to fulfil their role as part of the Jewish people is to recognise their importance as an individual. Without self-esteem a person will lack the strength and ability to play their part. This is the literal meaning of the name of the Parsha, Naso. In context it means to take a census, but it can also be translated as "elevate the head". Through defining the task of each person within the nation, a result of the census, each person gains self esteem and importance. Though their task may not be as prestigious as that of another, each individual plays an equally vital role in the well-being of the nation.

Nasso summary

2008-05-31T22:12:00.001+03:00

Moshe is instructed to take a tally of all the family of Gershon (one of the families of Levites) between the ages of 30 and 50, who are able to work in the Mishkan. Their task in the desert is to carry all of the tapestries and hangings that cover and surround the Mishkan. The males between 30 and 50 of the family of Merari (another Levitical family) are to be counted. Their task in the desert is to carry all of the beams and pillars, along with the pegs and bases with which they fit together.
G-d instructs Moshe to send anyone who is impure out of the inner camp of the Mishkan. The Torah then lists the procedure for the Asham (guilt sacrifice) which is brought for a false oath about a deposit left for safekeeping.

The Torah lists the laws of the Sotah (suspected adulteress). She and her husband who accuses her must come to the Temple bringing a sacrifice. She is to drink specially prepared water. If she has committed adultery she will die within the year, but if she is innocent she will be rewarded by becoming pregnant within the year.

The laws of the Nazir are listed. When a man or woman chooses to become a Nazir they are prohibited to drink any grape products, cut their hair, or to come into contact with the dead. This is for the duration of their Nazirut (usually 30 days). Upon completion of their Nazirut they must shave off all their hair, and offer it on the altar along with a sacrifice.

G-d told Moshe to speak to Aaron and instruct him how to give the Priestly blessing. The Cohanim shall be a conduit through which G-d's blessings will rest upon the people.

When the Mishkan was erected the Princes of each tribe brought sacrifices, one each day for the first twelve days. They also donated the silver and gold containers in which they brought their flour and oil offerings.

From this point onwards, G-d would communicate with Moshe from between the two cherubs on the cover of the Ark of the Covenant.

Bamidbar summary

2008-05-31T22:11:00.001+03:00

The book of Bamidbar opens with a census of all the males over twenty, the age when they are able to serve in the army. The total, excluding the tribe of Levi who were not counted, was 603,550. The Levi'im are placed in charge of carrying the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and all of its fittings throughout the journeys in the desert. G-d designates each tribe's place surrounding the Mishkan in which they will remain during their time in the desert. Yehuda, Yissachar and Zevulun shall be to the East; Reuven, Shimon and Gad are placed in the south; Ephraim, Menashe and Binyamin to the West; and Dan, Asher and Naftali in the North.
The Torah lists Aaron's genealogy. The Levi'im are instructed to safeguard the Mishkan, and to serve the Cohanim. The tribe of Levi is given the honour of looking after the Mishkan in lieu of the firstborn who were originally intended for the position. The Levi'im are subdivided into three family groupings and a census of their numbers taken, from the age of one month upward. Their total number is 22,000. The tally of firstborn males is 22,273. The firstborn are exchanged for Levi'im, and the remaining 273 firstborn have to redeem themselves for five shekels each. This money is given to the Cohanim.
Special instructions and precautions are given to the family of Kehat who are the ones who have to carry the vessels of the Mishkan. First the Cohanim must enter the Mishkan and cover all of the furnishings with special covers; only when they have completed this may the Kahatites come to carry them. Because they are in contact with the most holy parts of the Mishkan, they are most at risk of being killed if they don't perform their task properly.

Behar Summary

2008-05-10T21:24:00.000+03:00

G-d instructs Moshe about the Shemita (Sabbatical year) for the land. For six years we may work the land, but in the seventh we must leave it to lie fallow. Anything that grows during this year may be eaten by anyone who wants it, or is left to the animals. We must also count a cycle of seven Sabbatical years and on the 50th year proclaim a Yovel (Jubilee year). This is also a year of rest for the fields and is a time when all slaves must be set free and all land returned to its original ancestral owners. The selling price of any land must reflect the fact that it will return to the original owners in the Jubilee year. G-d promises that in the sixth year the land will provide enough crops to last for Shemita and in the 48th year, also for the Yovel that follows. No land may be sold in perpetuity.

If a person becomes impoverished and is forced to sell their hereditary land, they or their relatives should redeem it as soon as they are able. The redemption price shall be calculated based on the sale price and the remaining years until the Yovel. Houses in walled cities may only be redeemed up until one year after they have been sold. If they are not redeemed by that time they shall become the permanent property of the purchaser. Houses in Levitical cities may always be redeemed, and if they are not redeemed they revert back to the Levites in the Jubilee year.

We are commanded to help our brethren who become impoverished with interest free loans. If a Jew becomes so impoverished that he is forced to sell himself as a slave, his master must not work him unnecessarily hard. The master must also provide food and accommodation for the slave's wife and children, and must set him free in the Jubilee year. Non-Jewish slaves however become hereditary property and should not be set free.

If a Jew is sold to a non-Jew as a slave he must be redeemed as soon as possible. We are obligated in all of these laws because G-d brought us out of bondage from the land of Egypt. We are commanded not to build idols or altars to false gods.

Parshat Behar

2008-05-10T21:16:00.002+03:00

Behar

This week’s Torah reading contains the commandment of Sh’mita, allowing the land to lie fallow in the seventh year. The Midrash (Yalkut Tehillim 103) says about this mitzvah, “Bless the L-rd, you angels of His, you mighty ones who perform His bidding, hearkening to the voice of His word” (Tehillim 103; 20). Rav Yitzchak Nafcha says that this refers to those who observe the Sh’mita laws. The normal course of the world is for a person to perform a mitzvah for a day, or a week, or even a month; is it possible to keep something for a whole year? Yet these farmers watch their fields become destroyed, and their vineyards ruined, and they remain silent.

A person can refrain from something for a single day, with extra strength of character they can continue for a week or a month, but to remain observant of this law of Sh’mitafor an entire year, slowly watching years of hard work falling into ruin and seeing other people come in and treat the field as ownerless, is almost beyond the capability of a normal person. All of a person’s resolve and determination to observe this law is worn down day by day. Therefore the Midrash refers to such people as “angels, the mighty ones”.

The Talmud (Shabbat 88a) learns out from the same verse in Tehillim the greatness of the Jewish nation as they received the Torah. “At the moment that the Jews said ‘We will do’ before ‘We will understand’ a voice came out of heaven saying ‘Who revealed to My children this secret that the angels use, as the verse says, “… You mighty ones who perform His bidding, hearkening to the voice of His word”. First they obey, and then they understand. This ability to accept G-d’s will unquestioningly, and only afterwards to attempt to understand it, is the secret of the Jews’ strength as a nation. It is the phrase that they used at Mount Sinai, the phrase that the angels use, and it is also the only way that the nation can observe the commandment of Sh’mita. The people don’t ask how they will be able to eat in the seventh year; they first observe the commandment, and then have faith and trust that G-d will provide for them.

We see that this commandment is almost beyond human capability to perform, being in the realm of the angelic. However, in the second of today’s readings the Torah describes a severe punishment for not keeping the mitzvah of Sh’mita. “Then the land will be appeased for its Sh’mitot during all the years of its desolation, while you are the land of your enemies. Then the land will rest, and it will appease for all its Sh’mitot” (Leviticus XXVI; 34). The Talmud derives from here that exile results from Israel’s failure to observe Sh’mita. Because of the seventy Sh’mitot that they had violated prior to and during the First Temple period, the Babylonian exile lasted for seventy years, during which time the land made up for the rest of which it had been deprived.

This shows the tremendous spiritual level of which the Jewish nation is capable of achieving. G-d demands that we achieve the status of angels, otherwise we are severely punished with exile and suffering. Being a nation like all other nations is not an option for the Jews; there is no middle ground. Either we reach almost inhuman spiritual heights, and receive the blessings detailed in Bechokosai, or we fail and incur the punishments and curses listed there.

Parshat Acharei Mos 2

2008-04-13T07:25:00.001+03:00

There is a movie called “Sliding Doors” which shows how differently things could have turned out if the doors on a tube in London had closed a few seconds later. The movie simultaneously shows what the woman’s life could have been like had she arrived home a few minutes earlier, and what happened when she arrived on time. We find a similar concept in the beginning of the Torah reading, which details the order of service in the Temple on Yom Kippur. Two identical goats are taken; they must be the same age, the same size, the same colour, and have the same value. Yet we are given a glimpse of the two totally different outcomes that can happen. One of the goats is offered as a sacrifice on the altar, and is the only sacrifice to have its blood brought into the holy area of the Heichal, the other goat is sent out into the desert, and is pushed off a cliff, being smashed to pieces before it reaches the bottom. The imagery and contrast is striking.

Similarly, two seemingly identical people can end up with such totally different fates, based on which decisions they make in life. Not only two people, but as in “Sliding Doors”, a single person can have two radically different options in life. Sometimes a single decision can change a person’s life from one extreme to the other. This is the message for all those who were in the Temple courtyard on Yom Kippur to witness the service. They could see the importance of repentance, because the stakes were so high; on the one hand entering into the holiest place and a relationship with G-d, and on the other being cast out of the Temple into a barren desert to die.

Yet the way in which this decision is made by the Kohen Gadol seems as random as in the movie, when everything hinges on when the doors on the tube close. The Kohen Gadol reaches into a box with two lots in it, and snatches out two pieces of wood, one saying “To G-d”, the other “To Azazel”. How are we to exercise our free choice, if the decision between eternal life and death hinge on the luck of the draw?

Had the Kohen Gadolbeen the one to decide which of the goats was for G-d, and which for Azazel, we would never have seen that both of these goats had the potential to become holy or the opposite. We would have said that it had already been predetermined that the one on the right would be sacrificed on the altar. However, now that the decision is made through the casting of lots, it appears to us as though G-d has made the decision. Each of the goats had the same abilities and potential. Since animals do not have free choice, they are unable to choose for themselves what their outcome will be. Because G-d chooses through the lottery, He gives us the analogy that we must exercise our free choice to maximise our potential. By seeing what happens to the two goats, we see that there are extreme consequences for our actions.

Parshat Acharei Mos

2008-04-13T07:24:00.001+03:00

There is an inherent contradiction in the way that G-d relates to the world. We describe Him in the “Thirteen attributes” and elsewhere as a G-d of mercy and forgiveness. After the sin of the Golden Calf G-d explained to Moshe the concept and process of repentance and revoking any harsh decree. Yet at the same time we state that G-d is just and truthful, punishing the wicked and rewarding the righteous. Surely these two attributes are in conflict - if G-d is prepared to forgive and overlook punishment, how is that meting out justice or being fair. On the other hand, if G-d were not merciful, the world would stand no chance of survival. From the very creation of mankind we have gone against the Divine will and only survived instant death because of His forgiveness and acceptance of repentance.

Atonement and forgiveness are central to this week’s Torah reading, dealing primarily with the laws and service of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Miraculously, through confessing our sins and by slaughtering some sacrifices, we are given a blank slate to begin again. Whatever happened to Divine justice - does each sin not need to be punished before atonement can be given?

The answer is that from our perspective, bound by the constraints of time, we cannot conceive of justice which is also forgiveness. G-d, however, is beyond any temporal constraints and perceives all of history as one instant. By introducing the dimension of time we can reconcile the apparent contradiction. Something which appears wrong in the present, can actually turn out to be the catalyst or preparation for the future. If a person resolves to repent and channel their energies back to serving G-d, then all those late nights spent watching television could turn out to be a preparation for all the late nights spent performing Mitzvoth. The mental arithmetic involved in keeping track of the football scores may be the same skills needed to fully grasp a page of Torah. Conversely, instead of punishing a sin severely at the moment it took place, that same justice can be meted out a little at a time, through several minor hardships in order to give that person another chance to make amends.

This is also shown in Judaism’s focus on process, the journey through time, rather than on results, which are momentary. The Omer, the days between Pesach and Shavuot are counted not as an end in and of themselves but showing us the importance of the process of spiritual growth. Each day only has meaning in relation to the days that came before it and those that follow.
All of this is encapsulated in a single word in this week’s Torah reading. The Kohen Gadol (High Priest) casts lots over two identical goats. One is offered as a sacrifice to G-d, its blood sprinkled opposite the Holy of Holies, while the other symbolically bears all of the sins of the Jewish nation and is lead out into the desert where it is sent over the edge of a cliff and dies. The Torah states “Aaron shall press both his hands on the live goat’s head, and he shall confess on it all the Israelite's sins, rebellious acts and inadvertent misdeeds. When he has thus placed them on the goat’s head he shall send it to the desert with an Ish Iti.” (Vayikra 16; 20-21). Ish Iti is translated (based on Rashi’s commentary) as “a specially prepared man”, but means literally “a man of the moment”. The sending of the goat comes to remind us of the concept of forgiveness and the importance of time. It is taken away by a man who is related in the text to a single moment in time. If we were to look only at the moment, we would have no possibility of repentance or pleading for repentance. We would be as the goat, thrown of the cliff to certain death. Only because of the future are we able to turn to G-d and ask Him to give us one more chance.

This is also the metaphor of the desert. The barren desolate wilderness is not only devoid of life, but is also a place where time stands still. The Halacha discusses the case of one who is lost in the desert and loses track of which day of the week it is, thereby not knowing when to observe Shabbat. This is because time is meaningless when confronted with an unending horizon of nothingness. Similarly the fledgling Jewish nation had to spend forty years in the desert after leaving Egypt. The total journey should have only taken three days, but time had to stand still in order to rid them of their Egyptian slave mentality.

By sending the goat into this desert at the hand of a “man of the moment” we show our commitment to a real and meaningful future, and accept the importance of process over time rather than the results of an instant.

Acharei Mos Summary

2008-04-13T06:00:00.000+03:00

After the death of Aharon's two sons, Nadav and Avihu, G-d commands Moshe about the Yom Kippur service that Aharon will have to perform. He shall take one bull as an atonement offering for himself, his wife and all the Cohanim. The Cohen Gadol (High Priest) shall cast lots over two identical goats, one of which is offered as an atonement for the entire Jewish nation, the other symbolically bearing all the sins of the nation is sent into the desert to die by falling over the edge of a cliff. The Cohen Gadol shall enter the Holy of Holies and offer incense there. After slaughtering the bull and the goat, he shall sprinkle their bloods opposite the outer curtain of the Holy of Holies. He shall also place some of the blood on the incense altar. All of these things are performed once a year, on the tenth of Tishrei.
G-d commands the Jews not to sacrifice any animals outside of the Temple or Tabernacle. They are forbidden from sacrificing to any idols or occult spiritual powers.

G-d commands the Jews not to eat the blood from an animal. Additionally, when anyone slaughters any wild animal or bird they must spill some of the blood on the ground and cover it with earth. We may not eat any animal which dies of natural causes. Furthermore, if someone does eat from it, they become ritually impure (a law which only has significance in Temple times).

The Torah lists twenty incestuous or otherwise forbidden sexual relationships and instructs us to remain holy, and not defile ourselves with any of them. Furthermore, the land of Israel itself will not tolerate any of these perversions, and will vomit out any nation which engages in them.

Parshat Metzorah

2008-04-13T05:55:00.002+03:00

In a case of Tzora’at of a house, the owner of the house must come to the Kohen and say “It appears to me as if there is something like a plague in the house” (Vayikra 14; 35). Rashi explains that he must not state definitively that it is Tzora’at even if he is learned and can recognise the discoloration for what it is, because that is the perogative of the Kohen. Furthermore, the Torah tells the Kohen to instruct the owner of the house to empty it of all its contents before he enters to look at the discoloration. This is so that if the discoloration is Tzora’at the contents of the house will not become Tamei. This clearly indicates that the declaration of the Kohen actually renders the house Tamei, and makes the discoloration into Tzora’at. He is not simply diagnosing, but actually creating Tzora’at.

To further highlight the Kohen’s role in defining Tzora’at, the Mishna (Negaim chap. 3, mishna 2) states that there are certain people who the Kohen should refuse to see if they have a discoloration on their skin which they think may be Tzora’at. For example, the Kohenmust not inspect a bride or groom before their wedding, but wait until after the first week of marriage in order that they should not have to spend the first week of their married life dwelling apart. In other words, despite all outward appearances to the contrary, a person does not become a Metzora until the Kohen has verbally declared him to be one.

Why should G-d choose to create a Tumah (impurity) that is contingent upon another person’s declaration? Does this not make a mockery of the whole thing? Will a Metzora not always seek a “second opinion”?

Following on from last week’s d'var Torah, we can explain the reason for the disease being dependent upon the words of the Kohen. We said (based upon the Talmud and other sources) that the main cause of Tzora’at is not physical, but rather as a result of a person speaking lashon hara (slander) about others. Tzora’at is a physical symptom of a spiritual disorder. Therefore it is appropriate that part of the disease should be dependent on the words of another.

Lashon Hara is usually not spoken maliciously, but rather because people simply do not pay attention to what the are saying. They don't realise the damage they can cause, and if they are rebuked by others their response is often “It is only words”, or in the words of the children’s rhyme “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me”. This is a fallacy - words and names can do tremendous damage to others. Only when a possible Metzorah is dependent upon the words that the Kohen says does he or she realise the true importance of what they say, and how far reaching and damaging their speech can be. A person can lose his or her house, or be sent into isolation outside the city limits based on a few simple words. This alone should give them pause for thought, and cause them to think carefully before they speak.

The Talmud (Arachin 16b) states :
Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Yose ben Zimra, what is the meaning of the verse “What can He give you, and what can He add to you, O deceitful tongue?” (Tehillim 120; 2). G-d said to the tongue “All the limbs are upright, and you are lying horizontally. All the limbs are external, and you are internal, and not only that, but I have surrounded you with two walls, one of bone (teeth) and one of flesh (lips)”. What can He give you and what can He add to you, O deceitful tongue?.
Despite the fact that it is caged in, many people are still unable to control their tongue. To make matters worse, most of the time we gain no benefit from the lashon hara which we speak, and yet we persist:

Reish Lakish said what is the meaning of the verse “If the snake bites because it was not charmed, then what advantage is gained by the one who uses his tongue?” (Ecclesiastes X; 11). At some point in the future all the animals will gather together, come to the snake and say “The lion kills in order to eat, the wolf tears others apart in order to eat, but you - what benefit do you gain?” The snake will reply “Tell me - what benefit is gained by the one who uses his tongue (to speak lashon hara)?

How much damage can we cause without any gain from not paying attention to what we say? And how fortunate were the generations who were able to realise the importance of what they said by having Tzora’at as a reminder, and opportunity to make amends?

Metzorah summary

2008-04-06T18:43:00.003+03:00

Metzora is a continuation of the previous portion, Tazriah. It begins with the purification process for a Metzora (one who is afflicted with tzora'as). Once the discoloration has healed from his or her skin, the Metzora undergoes a ritual purification which involves bringing a sacrifice and immersing in a Mikva. After seven days he or she may finally return to his house. The Torah also makes provisions for one who cannot afford the full sacrifice, and prescribes a smaller offering for them to bring.#
The Torah describes a form of tzora'at which is a discoloration on the walls of a house. Such a house must be quarantined. If after seven days the discoloration has spread, then the affected stones must be removed. If the mark returns, the house must be demolished. During this whole process the house is tamei (ritually impure), and anyone entering into it also becomes tamei.
The Torah describes a type of male genital discharge called Zav. This renders him, or anything that he sits or lies on, tamei. Any person or utensil that he touches also becomes tamei. Once the discharge has ceased, he must count seven clean days. On the eighth day he immerses in a Mikva to purify himself, and brings a purification sacrifice.

When a man has a seminal discharge, or a woman discharges semen after intercourse, he or she becomes tamei. They must immerse in a Mikva and become tahor (ritually pure) after nightfall.

When a woman menstruates she becomes tamei, and also renders anything which she sits or lies on tamei. She must wait seven days, immerse herself in a Mikva, thus becoming tahor at nightfall. If a man has intercourse with her before she has become tahor, he also becomes tamei and makes anything he sits or lies on tamei.

If a woman has a discharge when it is not time for her menstrual period, she must count seven clean days without any discharge before she can become tahor. During this time she also renders anything which she sits or lies on tamei. On the eighth day she must immerse in a Mikva to become pure, and then brings a sacrifice.

Parshat Tazria 1

2008-03-31T05:33:00.001+03:00

Click on the link for a fantastic dvar Torah that I translated from Pri Tzadik Tazria

Here is a dvar Torah I wrote a few years ago (and in that year Tazria fell out after Pesach)

Last week's Torah reading ended with the laws of ritual purity and impurity caused by animals. This week continues with the laws about human purity and impurity. The Midrash notes that the order is the same as that of creation, where humans came after other life already existed:

"You [G-d] have created me after and before, and have laid Your hand upon me." (Tehillim 139; 4). Reish Lakish said, "After" refers to the last day of creation, "Before" refers to the first day. [where the verse hints to the human soul with the words], "The spirit of the L-rd hovered over the face of the water". If a person merits they say to them, 'You were created before everything else in existence', but if not they say to them, 'A mosquito was created before you'. Rabbi Simlai said, 'Just as humans were created after animals and birds, so too the laws [of purity] of people follow those of animals and birds'.

Reish Lakish's cryptic statement can be understood by recognising that a person is made up of two opposites, a spiritual soul and a physical body. These two are in constant conflict, each pursuing its own desires. The soul yearns for the spiritual delights of drawing close to G-d through performing mitzvot and studying Torah. The body wants physical pleasures, chasing after money, food and physical comforts. In certain areas of our lives the soul has control, in others the body. The point of intersection between the two is where we have free choice to follow either path.

Reish Lakish explains that though the physical body was not created until the end of the sixth day of creation, the soul was present from the first. Therefore if a person follows their spiritual urges seeking to draw closer to G-d, they are defined by their soul and to them it may be said, 'You were created before anything else...'. However, if a person's decisions are made by the body and its physical desires, the soul is less discernible, and therefore they are reminded that their body was created after even the insects.

The higher the spiritual potential of something, the greater is the risk of spiritual impurity. Minerals have no soul, and therefore do not impart impurity. The vegetable kingdom has a lowly form of soul, which allows growth and movement. Animals have a higher soul, which permits thought and instinct. Humans have the highest level of soul, which is described in Jewish literature as the level of speech.

The source of impurity is the body, which leads the soul away from G-d. A newborn baby is full of potential, but this is only realised over time as it is governed less by bodily urges and needs. Therefore birth, which is the completion of the physical body imparts impurity.

It is appropriate that we read this portion so soon after Pesach, the time of the birth of the nation. Similarly the counting of the Omer, of which we are in the midst, ties in with the concept of 'Before' and 'After'. The Jews in Egypt had reached the lowest level of spiritual impurity, to the point that had they remained there even a moment longer they would have lost their spirituality completely, and thus been unable to leave. Yet after counting seven weeks they had reached the level of spiritual perfection where they could experience the revelation of G-d at Mount Sinai. In a sense this self-perfection is the inverse of G-d's creation. G-d first created the soul, and then placed it within the body which draws it away from its true purpose. The Israelite nation elevated their physical bodies to the heights of spiritual perfection.

Each year we are able to relive this growth through the counting of the Omer. The Torah commands us to count from the "day after Shabbat", which refers to the first day of Pesach. Shabbat is both the beginning of the coming week, and the end of the previous week. It is the 'Seventh day' and yet within it we find the spiritual sustenance to get us through the next week. By calling Pesach 'Shabbat' the Torah is telling us that Pesach was both the starting point from which to grow to spiritual heights, and the goal for which we aimed. The Jews were involved in physical labour that gave them no opportunity for spiritual growth. Yet they witnessed G-d's hand in Egypt, the direct revelation that they were to experience again at Mount Sinai. They entire nation was as a newborn baby, full of as yet unrealised potential, redeemed by G-d in the merit of the spiritual heights that they would reach in the future.

Just as the nation experienced spiritual growth during these weeks, we can use this same time period for our own individual growth, in preparation for our personal acceptance of the Torah at Shavuot. We count each day and week to chart the incremental spiritual growth, leading to the fulfillment of our potential.

Parshat Tazria 2

2008-03-31T05:15:00.002+03:00

The main topic of this week’s Torah reading is tzara’at, which is often mistranslated as leprosy. The belief that leprosy is a biblical Divine punishment has become so widespread that I was once speaking to a group of nurses, and was asked if Judaism allows treatment of lepers, or if we must leave it as a sign of G-d’s will. A careful reading of the text clearly shows that the plague of tzara’athas no connection with leprosy.

Firstly, though the Torah does mention a case of a person who is completely covered from head to toe with tzara’at (who is actually considered tahor - ritually pure), the more common case of tzara’at is limited to a small patch of skin or hair. Furthermore, after describing tzara’at which may afflict a person, the Torah goes on to describe tzara’at of clothing, and tzara’at which affects buildings. No one has yet diagnosed a case of leprosy of a house. Finally the Torah explicitly gives permission, and in fact mandates going to a doctor and searching for a cure for an illness, in the cases of tzara’at mentioned in the Torah portion, the afflicted person must go to a Kohen for diagnoses and for treatment.

The only common feature of leprosy and tzara’at is that the Torah commands one who is afflicted with tzara’at to be exiled alone outside the town in which he or she lives. This is similar to the quarantine of lepers which existed in earlier times, and even today in some parts of the world. But the reason for the isolation in the case of tzara’at is not because of fear of the disease spreading.

As the physical world reflects the spiritual world. Tzara’at is a physical expression of a spiritual malady. This is the reason that the healing process must be through a Kohen not a doctor, and why it involves immersing in a Mikva and bringing a sacrifice.

The disease of tzara’at is not contagious, but the sin which causes it is. The main cause of tzara’at is speaking lashon hara about another person. Lashon Harais often translated as slander. In fact it is the sin of embarrassing someone else by publicising certain information about them that they would not wish for others to know, even if that information is 100% true. This is one of the most serious crimes mentioned in the Torah, comparable to the crime of murder or idol worship. It destroys society and can cause untold suffering and loss, both financial and in terms of status.

Someone who has caused this much damage to society must be made to realise the consequences of his or her actions. In biblical times a person was given gradual warnings, signs giving them a chance to improve their behaviour. First their house was afflicted with leprosy. If this did not motivate them to change their ways their clothing was affected. If they still were unable to learn their lesson they themselves contracted tzara’at. The Torah commands that someone who has this tzara’at must dwell alone outside the camp. This is a punishment which is appropriate to the crime. This person had caused a breakdown in society, therefore they were temporarily removed from society and forced to dwell alone. They were given a week to think about their actions and to repent, and if that failed they were given a second week, until they repented from their lifestyle of lashon hara.

Why do we no longer have this disease nowadays? Surely we are no better than the Jews of former times who were punished with tzara’at? The answer is that if only one or two people are speaking lashon hara, they can be effectively punished, and given a chance to think about the damage they have caused. When the whole of Western society is predicated on the concept of free speech and freedom of the press, regardless of the pain and damage that causes, it is impossible to have tzara’at as an effective punishment. Especially in the current lead up to the elections, when the future of this country is going to be decided by how effective the lashon harais! One could argue that the public have the right to know issues are important to the way someone would or could run Britain, but surely we do not need to know about every bit of sleaze that can be dredged up about anyone in the public eye?

Nowadays our lifestyles are so imbued with speaking and listening to lashon hara that we don’t even pay attention to what we are saying most of the time. How many people are careful about what they say, and how many times are we afraid of who might be listening over our shoulder? This week’s Torah reading gives us an annual reminder to be as careful about what comes out of our mouths as we are about what we put into them.

Tazria Summary

2008-03-30T01:48:00.001+03:00

After discussing the laws of tumah (ritual impurity) regarding animals, the Torah now discusses tumah concerning humans. It starts with the laws of a woman who has given birth, and moves on to the laws of leprosy.

A person who has a mark which is suspected of having tzora'at (often mistranslated as leprosy) is brought before a Cohen (priest). He determines whether it is tzora'at and declares it tamei (impure). The different possibilities of tumah and tahara (ritual purity) are explained. Various laws are given for tzora’at of an infection or a burn. Other types of tzora’at are listed, for instance bald patches on the head or beard, white patches on the body. Someone afflicted with tzora’at must leave their home and dwell outside the camp or city until the tzora’at goes.

A garment on which appears a red or green mark is also suspected of tzora’at and must be brought before the Cohen. The procedure for determining the garment’s status is explained.

Shmini Summary

2008-03-22T20:44:00.000+02:00

This portion begins on the eighth day of preparing the Tabernacle. Aharon offers a Chatat (sin offering) and an Olah (burnt offering) and the Israelites offer a Chatat, an Olah and a Shelamim (peace offering). These are prepared by Aharon, together with a Mincha (grain offering), after which he blesses the people. Moshe and Aharon go into the Communion Tent and come out and again bless the people.

The Children of Israel are then shown G-d's glory. Fire descends from heaven and consumes all of the sacrifices on the altar. Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu, bring an unauthorised sacrifice, and a fire descends from G-d and kills them. Aaron and his sons, Elazar and Ithamar, are instructed not to mourn because they are Cohanim (Priests). Instead, the whole congregation mourns for Aharon's sons. The Cohanim are instructed never to enter the Ohel Moed (Tent of Meeting) intoxicated. Then they complete the inauguration service.

The portion continues with the kashrut (dietary) laws. Only animals that have split hooves and chew their cud may be eaten. Four animals are listed that only have one of these signs, the camel, the hyrax, the hare and the pig. Of the creatures that live in water, only those with fins and scales may be eaten. Birds that may not be eaten are listed; all other fowl may be eaten. Flying insects that walk on four legs may not be eaten, unless they have knees which extend above their feet that are used for hopping. Certain types of locust which fall into this category are listed.

Contact with the carcass of a non-Kosher animal renders a person tamei (ritually impure). Carrying the carcass also renders one's clothing tamei. There are eight small creeping animals (sheratzim) which make anyone who comes into contact with their carcasses tamei. The Torah gives some of the laws of tumah for utensils and foods which come into contact with a tamei object. Contact with the carcass of a kosher animal makes a person tamei. Eating from its carcass or carrying it also contaminates one's clothing. Any creature which crawls close to the ground, whether on its belly, four legs or many legs, may not be eaten.

Parshas Shmini

2008-03-22T20:41:00.002+02:00

The opening events in the portion take place on the eighth and final day of the setting up of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), hence the name of the portion, Shemini (Eighth). The Mishkan resembled a giant tent, comprised of many parts that were fitted together, and it was designed to be assembled and taken apart for each of the journeys through the desert. As part of the inauguration process, Moshe was instructed by G-d to set up the Mishkan each morning for seven days, and dismantle it again each evening. The eighth and final day, when the Mishkan was finally erected and not dismantled, is the eighth day of our portion.

Elsewhere in the Torah however, the date given for the inaugural day of the Mishkan is the first of Nissan. The Midrash states that the first of Nissan of that year was ‘crowned’ with ten ‘firsts’. Why is this day of ‘firsts’ described to us now as the eighth day rather than the first day? And why did G-d require Moshe to spend the seven preceding days assembling and dismantling the Mishkan? Surely setting it up once should have been sufficient.

In fact, Rabbeinu Bachaya points out that the number eight was a dominant theme in the Mishkan and its utensils. The High Priest wore eight garments when performing the services, there were eight spices in the anointing oil and incense, and there were a total of eight carrying poles (two each in the Aron, the golden altar, the table and the earthen altar). The minimum age for an animal that could be sacrificed was eight days, and the Levites had eight different musical instruments to accompany the sacrifices.

What does the number eight represent? In the song that we sing at the conclusion of the Pesach Seder we state that eight are the days before the Brit (circumcision). This means that the deeper meaning of eight is contained within the concept of circumcision.

The commandment of circumcision was given by G-d to Avraham at the time that his name was changed from Avram (Genesis 17). The change of name signified that only now had he reached his full spiritual potential. It was also at this time that G-d told Avraham that he would have a son, Yitzchak, who would continue in his traditions of monotheism. Thus with the act of circumcision Avraham became spiritually complete. Before Avraham was circumcised he was unable to stand in the presence of G-d (Rashi ibid. 17; 3).

There is a blessing which women recite every morning, which men are unable to say. They thank G-d “She’Asani Kirtzono” who has created me according to His will. Men are formed spiritually imperfect, and only through circumcision do they conform to the Divine will.

The number seven always represents the natural, physical world. There were seven days of creation, and seven days in a week. There are seven colours in the spectrum, and seven notes in an octave. Seven symbolises the totality of the physical. There are also seven continents and seven heavens. Eight is the number of spiritual perfection. It denotes mastery not only over the physical realms, but also over the spiritual domain.

It is now clear why G-d commanded Moshe to set up the Mishkan for seven days, and only consecrate it on the eighth day. This was to show the world that its function was to complete the universe spiritually, and perfect the material world.

Parshas Tzav 2

2008-03-22T19:35:00.003+02:00

The second verse of our Torah portion states: “Command Aharon and his sons … It is the elevation offering that stays on the flame, on the altar....” In the Torah scroll the Hebrew word for flame, Mokda is written with a small letter mem in the beginning. Why is this letter smaller than the others? The first task of the day in the Temple was to remove a shovelful of ashes from the altar and place them at the side of the ramp at the base of the altar (verse 3). Miraculously these ashes would be absorbed into the ground. This was not in order to keep the altar clean, or to prevent a build up of ashes, because the next verse states a separate command to remove the excess ashes outside the confines of the Temple, and to place them in an ash heap there. What purpose is served in symbolically removing the ashes each morning, and why was it necessary for a daily miracle to absorb them into the ground? Furthermore, why is Aharon mentioned at the beginning of this portion (“Speak to Aharon and his sons...”)? Surely such a menial task as cleaning out the altar from its ashes would
be better given to a younger Cohen, and should not be the domain of the High Priest.

One of the main Yeshivot in pre-war Europe was in Kelm. It was famed not only for the level of scholarship and Torah study, but also for its character training, and emphasis on mussar. Rav Eliyahu Dessler, founder of Gateshead Yeshiva, studied there as a young boy. He writes that in the Yeshiva, menial tasks such as cleaning the floor or cleaning and lighting the lamps were never entrusted to servants; they were considered privileges, to be apportioned amongst the better students according to merit. Rabbi Dessler related that when he first came to Kelm he was considered too young to be given the much coveted task of sweeping the Yeshiva floor. His task was to go once a week to the post office to buy postage stamps for the whole Yeshiva. This philosophy that the menial tasks should be given to the betterstudents derives from our portion, that Aharon should be the one to clean out the burnt ashes from the altar.

Traditionally the world is composed of four elements, water, wind, fire and earth. The Vilna Gaon (Even Shleima 1;1) explains that these four also represent the four main character defects in a person. Water represents physical desires, wind is speech, fire is anger and pride, and earth is laziness. Just as fire always strives upwards, so too pride will cause a person to continually strive to elevate themselves, until they finally topple over. Fire also consumes every flammable thing in its path. Similarly a conceited person will tread on anyone beneath them in order to climb higher on the ladder. However, the gains made in such a fashion are illusory. The Talmud (Eruvin 13b) states, “Anyone who chases after greatness, greatness flees from him.”

Unfortunately, the greater a person is, the greater the temptation to become proud, and conceited. With the other three defects, a person can improve themselves by striving for perfection. However with pride, this is the cause of the sin, not the solution. Therefore a person in an important position needs to take drastic measures to prevent themselves falling into the trap of pride. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 7b) relates that when Rav would se a crowd escorting him to the court where he judged, he would recite the following verse to himself “Though his excellency shall mount up to the heavens, and his head reach the clouds, yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung” (Iyov 20; 6-7).

This is the reason that the Torah prefers that the cleaning of the altar be done by the High Priest. Because of his exalted position it is only too easy for him to succumb to the dangers of pride. Therefore the first action that he should perform each morning is to remove the ashes from the altar. To do so he must remove his fine garments, and change into plain clothes, so that his finery not become soiled. If all the other Cohanim see that the High Priest acts thus, they too will remember their place, and not become haughty. This is the symbolism inherent in the ashes sinking into the ground; the priests need this miraculous reminder that even the sacrifices on the altar eventually sink into the ground, and that they should not consider themselves important. This is also the reason for the small mem in the Torah. When it comes to fire, the metaphorical image of pride, one must make oneself small in order to escape its dangers.

Parshas Tzav

2008-03-22T19:20:00.002+02:00

Though they both speak about korbanot, sacrifices, there is a sharp distinction between last week’s Torah reading, Vayikra, and this week’s Tzav. Rashi explains that the word Vayikra is a term of endearment, as evidenced by the fact that the angels use it when they begin their praises of G-d, as it says “Vayikra Ze El Ze”, “They called one to another” (Yishayah 6: 3. We also recite the phrase daily in the Kedushaprayer, imitating the angels’ praise of G-d). On the other hand, “Tzav” means “command”, and carries with it connotations of inducing and encouraging someone to perform an action that they are not keen to do.

The portion of Vayikra contains instructions to the Jewish people as to how to bring the sacrifices. The Hebrew word “Korban” is closely related to the word “Kiruv”, “closeness”. This is because the purpose of any sacrifice is to draw close to G-d. The two main types of sacrifice are those which are brought to attain atonement for an inadvertent sin, and a voluntary offering thanking and recognising the good that G-d has performed for us. Both of these bring us closer to G-d. Atonement breaks down the barriers of sin with which we have surrounded ourselves, strengthening our relationship with our Creator. Voluntary offerings are our way of showing our total dependence upon G-d, and that He is the source of all our success and prosperity.

Rav Dessler explains that the way to foster love towards someone is to give to them. The classic proof of this is our children. When they are born they are total takers, incapable of returning even a smile by way of thanks. But this enables the parents to give totally to their children, and thus foster a close bond of love. Stories of children separated from their parents show that the relationship is weakened if the parents have not had the opportunity to give and to look after their children. Similarly, G-d in His mercy commanded us to bring sacrifices to Him. Though by definition He lacks nothing, through the sacrifices He gave us an opportunity to ‘give’ to Him as a means of fostering love and closeness.
Therefore G-d calls to Moshe, and instructs him to tell the people about sacrifices using a term of endearment. The concept and purpose of sacrifices can only be achieved through a desire to draw close and express affection.

The portion of Tzav however contains primarily instructions for the Cohanim as to how they should perform the sacrifices. They do not gain personally from offering the sacrifices. In fact they lose their own identity. The Talmud explains that Cohanim perform a dual function, they are emissaries of G-d when they bless the people, and they are messengers of the people when they offer the sacrifices. They are merely performing actions on behalf of others, but do not benefit personally from the sacrifices which they offer.

Therefore G-d instructs Moshe to “command” them about the sacrifices. Rashi adds, “Rabbi Shimon says, the Torah especially needs words of encouragement where there is a monetary loss involved”. At first glance this seems backwards; the Cohanim are not losing out financially by offering the sacrifices. It would have seemed more appropriate to place this command at the beginning of Vayikra before commanding the people to spend their money buying animals for sacrifices. But having looked deeper, we can see that any amount of money is worth paying in order to bring a sacrifice. Who can put a price on drawing close to G-d, and who would not willingly pay whatever that costs. On the other hand, the Cohanim are merely acting on behalf of another. They do not gain anything personally from their hard work, but spend all day working for others. It does not cost them directly, but they are not gaining from their time spent working. It must be tempting for them to give up their role as priests and go out to get a paying job like everyone else. Therefore G-d needs to give them an extra push of encouragement by using the word “Tzav” to get them to perform their tasks.

Tzav Summary

2008-03-15T21:21:00.001+02:00

G-d instructs the Cohanim (priests), through Moshe, the laws concerning the sacrifices. They are commanded to remove the ashes each morning from those sacrifices that were left burning over night. They are also instructed to ensure that a fire is continually burning on the altar. They are told how to offer the flour offerings that are brought by the nation. They are also told what sacrifice a Cohen is to bring on the day he is appointed as Priest. That same flour offering is brought daily by the High Priest.

Explicit instructions are given for the procedures for sacrificing the sin offerings (Chataot), the guilt offerings (Ashamim) and the peace offerings (Shelamim)
The people of Israel are commanded not to eat the cheilev (certain pieces of fat) or blood from any animal. The Torah commands that certain pieces of the meat from the Shelamim are given to the Cohanim to eat.

The portion ends with the anointing of Aaron and his sons as Cohanim. Moshe acts as High Priest during their initiation ceremony. He must dress the Cohanim, anoint them, and offer sacrifices on their behalf. The Cohanim are instructed to stay in the Ohel Moed (Communion Tent) for seven days to complete their inauguration.

Parshas Vayikra 2

2008-03-11T23:54:00.001+02:00

This week we begin a new book of the Chumash, Vayikra. The book is predominantly about the sacrificial rites of the Temple and Tabernacle so the English name seems more appropriate than the Hebrew. Leviticus indicates that the book deals with the work of the Levites (priests). How is the Hebrew name of Vayikra apt for this section?

The book begins, “He called (Vayikra) to Moshe, and G-d spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying...”. Rashi’s opening comment on this portion is: Each time G-d spoke to Moshe, told him something, or commanded him, He first called to him. This is a word denoting love and closeness, as we find with the ministering angels, “They call one to another...” (Yishaya 6; 3). However, when G-d speaks to non-Jewish prophets He appears to them ‘incidentally’, as the Torah states, “The L-rd happened (Vayikar) upon Bilam”.

Since G-d called first to Moshe before every prophecy, why did Rashi not make this comment until now? And what difference does it make if G-d calls first before speaking to a prophet, or just appears to them? We would have expected the message of the prophecy to be important, but not necessarily whether G-d first gives the prophet a warning or not. Ohr Gedaliyahu (Vayikra) explains that when G-d called to Moshe it was as if He was saying ‘Prepare yourself to come near to Me’. This is what Rashi means by calling Vayikra a term of closeness, that it gave Moshe an opportunity to prepare himself and draw near to G-d. The Midrash (Rabba, Devarim Ki Tavo 7-9) finds a hint to this from the way G-d gave the Torah to Moshe. The verse states “G-d called to Moshe to the top of the mountain - and Moshe elevated himself” (Exodus 19; 20). In a similar vein, when a man comes up to read from the Torah, he must first be ‘called up’.

We see therefore that through calling G-d gives a person an opportunity to prepare themselves to come close to G-d. In this way the Torah that they will receive will not be merely tangential to them, but they will be able to absorb it, to make it part of themselves. This is the opposite of what happened with Bilam. G-d came to him ‘incidentally’, without calling to him first. Though Bilam received a message through prophecy, we see that this fact had no effect on Bilam’s personal conduct. He still remained greedy, cunning, and steadfast in his hatred of the Jews.

The main topic of Vayikra is sacrifices. The Hebrew word for sacrifice is Korban, which comes from the root Karov, meaning closeness. Though the whole concept of sacrifices, and the mechanism through which it works seems very strange and foreign to us now, we can accept the principle that bringing an animal to the Temple is a symbol of giving something to G-d. Particularly nowadays, that prayer has replaced sacrifices, we understand that this gives us a chance to give of ourselves to G-d, and through this draw close to Him.

We believe that G-d lacks nothing, and since He created us we would not have expected that there is anything that we could possibly give to him. However, Rabbi Dessler (Michtav Me’Eliyahu - Kuntrus HaChessed) writes that the only way to truly come to love someone is through giving to them (which is perhaps the opposite of the way we normally view things). If we were not given any opportunity to give to G-d we would also not be able to come to love Him. Therefore in His kindness He commanded us to bring certain sacrifices, and nowadays prayers in their place, to offer to Him. In this way we can elevate ourselves, and come to love G-d. With this understanding we see that the commands about the sacrifices are analogous to G-d’s calling before revealing Himself to a prophet. It gives the opportunity to turn G-d’s unilateral love into a relationship, and enables humans to attach themselves to G-d.

Parshas Vayikra 1

2008-03-09T23:53:00.001+02:00

The English (Greek) name for this book of the Bible is Leviticus, which is appropriate because the book is predominantly about the Temple services, and the role of the Levites. In Hebrew, however, the name of both the book, and this first Torah reading is Vayikra, meaning “He called”. This name is taken from the first word, but how is it appropriate to the content of Leviticus?

Rashi’s first comment on this book is: “Each time that G-d spoke to or commanded Moshe, He preceded it by calling to him, which is a form of affection ....”. This is contrasted to the way in which G-d appeared to Bilam, the non-Jewish prophet, with the phrase “Vayikar” (Numbers 23; 4), which means “happened upon”. G-d did not want to enter into the same relationship with Bilam that he had with Moshe, and with later Jewish prophets. Why does the Torah single out this time to tell us that G-d called to Moshe?

Calling someone or something by their name expresses its inner essence. For example, Adam called names to the animals (Genesis 2; 19-20). G-d gave Adam this task because he was able to perceive the true qualities that define each creature. Similarly we find G-d calling names to objects during the days of creation, “G-d called the light day, and the darkness He called night ...” (ibid. 1; 5). If these names were merely a convention to enable reference to objects there would be no need for the Torah to mention that these names are part of the structure of creation. Rather the naming of an object denotes its role in creation. It is for this reason that Rashi explains G-d’s calling to Moshe as a sign of affection. He is defining Moshe’s role as one who can speak to G-d.

How is the book of Leviticus the most appropriate definition of who Moshe and the Jewish nation are? Why does the Torah give us this sign of affection at this point? Rambam writes (Hilchot Me’ila 8; 8), “Mishpatim (laws) are those commandments for which the reason is obvious, and the benefit of observing them is well known, for example the prohibitions on stealing and murder, and honouring parents. Chukim (statutes) are those commandments for which the reason is not known … for example the prohibitions of eating pig, or meat and milk, … and the red heifer. … All the sacrifices are in the category of Chukim.”

Why should we be obligated to keep commandments which make no sense to us? Surely Judaism is a rational religion, yet we are commanded to abide by statutes which are impossible for us to fathom. How can we justify such blind faith? This can be answered with an analogy. There are many things in science which we cannot prove empirically, for example, until very recently certain quarks (sub atomic particles) could not be detected. Even without direct proof, scientists believed that they existed, and were able to describe their properties. This is not blind faith, physicists were convinced of their existence because they were necessary to explain other properties of the universe which had been observed.

So too with the Chukim. Having experienced G-d directly at Mount Sinai the Jews knew that the Torah was Divine, and that it contained the blueprint of the universe. Furthermore, after the Exodus from Egypt it was clear that G-d was working in the Jews’ best interests. Therefore it follows that the laws which He gave are also in our best interests, and even without knowing how or why they work we can accept them as binding. In addition many of the commandments are understandable within a social context, and none of them go against our logic (though many are beyond the grasp of our understanding). So the Chukim demonstrate our conviction of belief even more than those laws which we can understand.

This is why this time G-d began with the word Vayikra. Though He called to Moshe before every encounter, G-d wanted to stress the affection inherent in the sacrifices, as the largest body of Chukim. Observance of these statutes shows our total devotion to G-d, even with regard to laws that we would not have come to make based solely on our logic. Similarly by commanding us with these Chukim G-d shows His affection for us, giving us the keys to the universe that are not accessible to humans through logic alone.

By opening the book with the word Vayikra, G-d also shows that this is the true essence of the Jewish nation. He defines our role in the world as a people who follow G-d’s commands devotedly, even when we are unable to understand them. This explains the reason that the whole book which details the Levitical rites and the sacrifices is known by this name which describes the mutual affection between the Jews and G-d.

Vayikra Summary

2008-03-08T23:55:00.000+02:00

The book of Vayikra (literally ‘He called’, known as Leviticus in English), is primarily concerned with the Cohanim (Priests) and the Mishkan (Tabernacle). In this week's portion, G-d instructs Moshe to tell the people about korbanot (sacrifices). The different types of korbanot are listed and explained. The first group of korbanot mentioned are the olot (singular olah), or burnt offerings. The type of korban that one brings depends on one's wealth, either an animal, a dove, or a meal offering.

After being slaughtered and prepared, each of these is completely burnt on the altar.
Another type of korban is that of the first grain, bikurim. This is to be brought as soon as the grains have ripened on the stalk. A shlamim (peace offering) is a voluntary sacrifice of either a cow, a sheep or a goat. After it has been slaughtered, parts of it are burnt on the altar, and the meat is eaten by the person who brought it. The next group of korbanot are the chatot (sin offering, singular chatat) which were brought after inadvertently committing certain sins. The Torah lists different types of chatat which would be brought by the Cohen Gadol (High Priest), the entire community, a Prince of a tribe, or a regular person.

Another korban is the guilt offering, asham,which includes the korban oleh v’yored (varying sacrifice). It is brought if a person who has witnessed an event refuses to testify. It is also brought if a person makes a verbal oath and forgets about it, or if someone becomes tamei (impure) and enters the Temple. A fixed asham is brought if a person accidentally derives benefit from something dedicated to the Temple. It is also brought when someone is unsure whether they transgressed certain prohibitions for which they should bring a chatat, or if he takes a false oath, denying possession of a deposit or a found object.

Pekudei 2

2008-03-04T23:23:00.000+02:00

Each Torah portion takes its name from its first or second sentence. Yet the name also represents the theme or essence of that reading. Pikudei, the name of this week’s Parsha,is translated in this context as reckonings, or accountings, but we find elsewhere in the Torah that the verb Poked also has several other meanings. When Sarah conceives Yitzchak (Isaac) the Torah says “V’Hashem Pakad Es Sarah Ka’asher Amar”, “G-d remembered Sarah as He had said [that He would]” (Genesis 21; 1). The Torah uses the word when Yosef is appointed, first as head of Potiphar’s household, later as head of the jail, and finally when he appoints others to oversee the storing of grain before the famine (ibid. 39; 4. 40; 4. 41; 34). After the sin of the Golden Calf, G-d says “Uv’yom Pokdi Ufakadti Aleihem Chatasam”, “On the day when I grant special providence to the people, I will take this sin of theirs into account” (Exodus 32; 34). Most importantly, the code phrase that Yosef (Joseph) gives to the Jews before his death, the promise that G-d will redeem them from Egypt, is “Pakod Yifkod Elokim Eschem”, “G-d will surely remember you” (Genesis 50; 24). This is the same phrase that G-d tells Moshe to use when he returns from Midian to redeem the Jews, “Pakod Pokadti Eschem” (Exodus 3; 16). Finally, a Pikadon means a deposit for safekeeping (Leviticus 5; 21). How are all of these meanings connected, and what is their relevance to today’s Torah reading?

The common denominator in most of these quotations is that they involve a special providence; G-d changes the normal order of things in order to influence the future history of the Jewish nation. Under normal circumstances a ninety year old post-menopausal woman does not conceive. Yet miraculously G-d intervenes and causes Sarah to conceive, in order that she should have a descendant to continue the work that she and Avraham had begun. Though Yosef is the son of Ya’akov, thus a prince in his own right, the Egyptians think that he is a slave. Therefore his rise to prominence is truly remarkable; G-d is making provisions for the exile in Egypt in order to create a unified nation out of the small family of Ya’akov. When the Jews built the Golden Calf, they deserved to be annihilated for their sin. . Because of Moshe’s prayers, and those of the whole nation, G-d created history and punished them a little at a time. In this way they achieved a complete atonement, without being destroyed. Each calamity that befalls the Jewish nation throughout time contsind within it a part of the original Pekida of the Golden Calf, and therefore clearly shows His intervention in the normal course of history.

Of course, the time when the world most clearly beholds G-d’s changing of the natural order for the sake of the Jews, is the Exodus. All of the plagues, the splitting of the Reed Sea, and the other miracles that we relate each year in the Hagadda, are an eternal reminder of G-d’s love for us, and His willingness to override nature for our benefit. Before his death, Yosef promises the Jews that the hardship of the slavery in Egypt is also part of the Divine plan. Who knows better than Yosef that even the most difficult injustices are also a sign of G-d’s love for us, and His intervention in history. Pakod Yifkod becomes the phrase which enables the Jews to endure the severest pain of their suffering. They know that it is an open sign of G-d’s concern for them, despite appearances to the contrary.

The reason for Pekida is because the Jews are a Pikadon entrusted to G-d’s safekeeping. In the Covenant Between the Pieces G-d promised Avraham “Look at the sky and count the stars. See if you can count them. That is how your descendants will be... To your descendants I have given this land...”. At that time, G-d promised to ensure the future of Avraham’s descendants and to involve Himself directly in history to fulfil this promise. All of the future generations are a surety to Avraham that G-d will keep this promise.

The completion of the Mishkan in Pikudei is the final step in the spiritual redemption from Egypt. It indicates a return to the level of our forefathers, in that G-d gives a constant indication of His dwelling in our midst. This is the pinnacle of the Pekida that was promised to Avraham and conveyed through Yosef. Ultimately, the setting up of the Mishkan was a necessary consequence of the slavery in Egypt. Thus it was appointed from the time of the covenant with Avraham. In fact the mystics say that the building of the Mishkan was appointed from the very beginning of creation. It was erected “Bayom HaSh’mini”, “On the eighth day”, the natural culmination of the seven days of creation.

Thus the accounting of the materials of the Mishkan also shows G-d’s involvement with the world, and the special providence which He grants the Jewish people. The reason the Jews deserve this special providence is because they are a surety for the promises made to Avraham. Together with the fact that the Mishkan was constructed at a time appointed from the time of creation, this is a fitting ending for the book of Exodus, retrospectively showing how all the pieces of history fit together.

1Often mistranslated as “The Red Sea”
2The first Rebbe of the Gerrer Chasidim, early 1800s
3Singer Siddur p. 725/378
4An anonymous text attributed to Rabbi Aharon HaLevi of Barcelona first published in 1523. In it the author lists the 613 Commandments in the order of the Torah readings, and gives reasons and explanations for them.

Pekudei 1

2008-03-03T06:02:00.000+02:00

The Ba’al HaTurim (commentary on Exodus 40; 33) points out the seemingly redundant repetition of the phrase, “As G-d commanded Moshe” after each item for the Mishkan was constructed. He explains that as a reward for Moshe’s pleading for the Jews after the sin of the Golden Calf, when he said, “Please erase me from your book”, G-d constantly repeats Moshe’s name in this portion.

The Ba’al HaTurim notes further that the phrase “As G-d commanded Moshe” appears eighteen times in this portion, corresponding to the eighteen blessings of the weekday Amida. The phrase, “As G-d commanded, so they did” appears once, and corresponds to the additional nineteenth blessing against heretics. How are these three ideas - Moshe’s pleading, the Amida, and the construction of the Mishkan - related?

The Talmud (Berachot 28b) asks what the eighteen blessings of the Amida correspond to. Several answers are given: Rabbi Hillel son of Rabbi Shmuel says they correspond to the eighteen times G-d’s name is mentioned in Havu LaShem B’nei Eilim (Psalm 29), Rav Yosef says that they are in place of the eighteen times G-d’s name is mentioned in the Shema and Rav Tanchum says in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi that they correspond to the eighteen vertebrae in the spine.

It seems understandable to relate the blessings of the Amida to mentions of G-d’s name, since the purpose of prayer is to create a connection with G-d. However, what is the connection between the Amida and the spine? The Talmud hints at the answer to this with another statement of Rav Tanchum in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, that one should bow during the Amida to the extent that the vertebrae stick out. For Rav Tanchum it seems that the essence of the Amida is subjugation to G-d’s will, evidenced through bowing. Elsewhere (Bava Kamma 16a) the Talmud states that a person’s spine transforms into a snake after seven years if they do not bow during Modim. We understand the metaphor of the Talmud, if a person refuses to show humility before G-d, and does not bow in thanksgiving, they come to resemble the snake of the Garden of Eden, who also rebelled against its creator.

This self-nullification in the presence of G-d is what Moshe did on Mount Sinai. After the sin of the Calf, Moshe was prepared to sacrifice himself in order to save the nation. The Rashbam (commentary on ibid. 32; 32) explains that “Erase me from Your book” refers to the book of life. Moshe was prepared to give up his role in this world and the next in order to save the nation. This is the ultimate in subjugation and humility. Moshe felt that he did not deserve any merit in his own right, but that his only value was as the leader of the people. Therefore if they were to be wiped out, he would forfeit his share of both worlds.

The construction of the Mishkan involved months of skilled and difficult work. Though everyone brought donations for the Mishkan, only a few people had the requisite skills to fashion the materials according to the Divine blueprints. Eventually, when Moshe assembled everything and the nation saw the beauty of the structure, with its gold, silver and precious gems, along with colourful woven tapestries, it would have been natural for those involved in the construction to take a certain satisfaction and pride in their work. However, this would have negated everything that the Mishkan represented. How can a human being using their body, which is a gift from G-d, to fashion the materials which were created by G-d, according to a plan given by G-d, take any personal pride in their accomplishments? This is similar to the statement of Pirkei Avos (2; 9), “If you have learnt much Torah, do not claim credit for yourself, since you were created for this very purpose”.

Therefore the Torah repeats the phrase, “As G-d commanded Moshe” eighteen times, to show that the Mishkan was constructed with the same selflessness which Moshe embodied. The only purpose was to fulfill the will of G-d. Similarly, in prayer, we should strive for this commitment to serving G-d. We do not make requests of G-d for our own pleasure, but so that we will be better able to perform the will of our Creator.

Pekudei Summary

2008-03-01T23:32:00.001+02:00

Pikudei begins with the accountings (pikudim) of the materials for the Tabernacle. It lists which materials, and how much of them, were used. It also explains how the priestly garments are made: the ephod, the breastplate, the robe, the headplate, the tunics, the turban, the breeches, the hats and the belt.

The Tabernacle is completed and brought to Moshe. He sees that all the work has been done as G-d commanded, and blesses the workers. G-d gives Moshe instructions how to erect the Tabernacle. On the first of Nissan, in the second year after leaving Egypt, the Tabernacle is erected by Moshe.

After Moshe has placed all the items in the Tabernacle as commanded by G-d, the Cloud of Glory comes to rest upon it. When the Jews are encamped, the cloud remains there by day, and becomes a pillar of fire by night. When the cloud rises from the Tabernacle, it is a sign for the Children of Israel to continue their travels.

Vayakhel 2

2008-02-25T06:05:00.001+02:00

Vayakhel

Betzalel ben Uri ben Chur, of the tribe of Yehuda did all that G-d commanded Moshe” (28; 22). Rashi quotes the Talmud (Brachot 55a): The Torah does not say “That which Betzalel was commanded”, but rather “All that Hashem had commanded Moshe”. This implies that even with regard to matters which Moshe did not tell him, Betzalel’s mind was in accord with that which had been said to Moshe at Sinai. For Moshe commanded Betzalel to make the furnishings first, and afterwards the Mishkan. Betzalel said to him, “The common practice is to first make a house, and afterwards to put furnishings in it”. Moshe said to him, “Thus as you said I heard from the mouth of G-d, perhaps you were in G-d’s shadow (a play on the name Betzalel, B’tzel - El, in the shadow of G-d), for indeed that is what G-d commanded me [first the Mishkan and then the furnishings].

This raises several questions. Firstly, how could Moshe have misunderstood what G-d told him regarding the construction of the Mishkan? Was he not referred to by G-d as his “trustworthy servant” (Shabbat Mincha)? Secondly, how could Betzalel dare to question Moshe about what he heard at Mount Sinai. If Moshe said to first make the furnishings why was Betzalel so brazen as to question him? Finally, it seems so obvious that one should build a house before making the fittings and furnishings for it. Why does Moshe praise Betzalel so highly for his understanding, which seems so basic that anyone should have spotted it?

Elsewhere (Exodus 35; 30) Rashi tells us that Chur, Betzalel’s father, was the son of Miriam, Moshe’s sister. Normally the Torah only describes a person by their name and the name of their father. Perhaps the Torah is telling us here that Betzalel was following in the footsteps not only of his father, but also of his grandfather and his great grandmother, that in some way he had the same qualities that Miriam possessed.

Miriam was always the realist. It was she who persuaded her father to remarry his wife despite Pharaoh’s decree that all male children be thrown into the Nile. Miriam was able to see that Amram’s decree was harsher than that of Pharaoh, in that it would have ensured that there were no Jewish children at all, whereas Pharaoh only decreed on the males. She watched over Moshe as he was placed in the Nile to see what would become of him, and she arranged for her mother to be Moshe’s wet nurse. Miriam passed on this ‘sensible’ approach to life to her great grandson Betzalel, so that he was the one chosen by G-d to oversee the construction of the Mishkan.

Moshe was the spiritual leader of the people, and as such was continually treading a fine line between total spirituality and communication with G-d, and being the spokesperson for the nation. To Moshe there was no such thing as independent reality, only G-d’s will which was to be obeyed, and taught to the Jewish people.

The Mishkan was no ordinary building. Each part of it was imbued with spiritual qualities and metaphysical meaning. Moshe saw that the Mishkan was beyond human logic and understanding, and therefore anything that G-d told him he conveyed to the builders without question. Betzalel, however, understood that though the Mishkan was to be the dwelling place of the Divine, nevertheless it was physical and as such could not contradict human logic.

Just as Descartes could only believe in his own existence because of his belief in a good G-d who would not give people logic that had no relationship to reality, so too Betzalel knew that though the Mishkan could be beyond human comprehension it could not by illogical. For G-d to dwell within the constraints of the finite world He must limit Himself to abiding by the laws of this world.
Furthermore, the primary value of the Mishkan was that it provided a paradigm for human interaction with G-d. If the Mishkan had been built contrary to the reality of the world, we would have had no way of bringing G-d into the world, except within the very defined bounds of the Mishkan. Betzalel understood that for the Mishkan to have meaning it must conform to normal human behaviour.

Now we can answer the three questions with which we began. When G-d commanded Moshe about the Mishkan, He left the order in which the items were to be built open to two interpretations, in order that we should realise that the Torah does not contradict our logic, and that people are able to interpret the Torah based on the more logical option. It was this point that Betzalel was questioning, not what Moshe actually heard on Mount Sinai.

Betzalel claimed that G-d would not command us to build a Mishkan which went against our logic. He was telling Moshe that the main function of the Mishkan was to facilitate interaction between people and G-d, and as such it had to be comprehensible. Moshe immediately acknowledged that this was G-d’s purpose, and conceded that he had misinterpreted G-d’s instruction. This does not imply that Moshe misunderstood anything else that he learnt on Mount Sinai, but rather that G-d gave him the opportunity to learn from Betzalel the importance of remaining in touch with the normal way of the world.

Vayakhel 1

2008-02-25T06:03:00.001+02:00

Vayakhel is a Parsha dealing with the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). It begins, however, with three verses about observing Shabbat. The Rabbis learn from this juxtaposition that the activities which are prohibited on the Sabbath are those activities that were necessary to construct the Mishkan. They also learn from this that keeping Shabbat takes precedence over the building of the Mishkan. Despite the importance of the work, the Jews in the desert were not permitted to desecrate Shabbat in order to complete it quicker.

What is the connection between Shabbat and the Mishkan that enables us to learn that only the activities used in its construction are prohibited? Perhaps there are other, or different, actions that we should not perform on Shabbat. Also, why does the Torah need to tell us that we may not build the Mishkan on Shabbat? Isn’t it obvious that we cannot desecrate Shabbat for any Mitzvah, regardless of its importance. What is it about the Mishkan that may have led us to believe that its construction takes precedence?

There are many parallels between the construction of the Mishkan and the creation of the universe. The Talmud (Megilla 10b) states that on the day when the Mishkan was erected, G-d showed the same happiness as the day on which the world was created. The world is a “dwelling place” for G-d, where His presence can be perceived by His creations. Likewise, the Mishkan was the focal point for G-d’s presence on earth. G-d is called Shaddai because when the world was being created it was unrolling like thread from a loom until G-d said “Dai”, enough (Talmud Chagiga). Similarly, the people brought so many donations for the Mishkan, that the workmen were forced to say “enough” (Exodus 36; 7). On a Kabbalistic level, the world was created with the three highest sefirot (spheres), chachma, bina and da’as, i.e.,wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Similarly, the Mishkan’s prime architect was Betzalel, who is described (ibid. 35; 31) as “filled with wisdom, understanding and knowledge” (which explains the meaning of his name Betzalel, in the shadow of G-d).

The Mishkan is a symbolic map of the spiritual reality of creation. It is also the ultimate fulfilment of the purpose of creation (v. Ramban’s introduction to his commentary on the book of Exodus). Therefore those activities needed for its construction are a representation of the same activities that G-d used in creating the universe. Obviously G-d doesn’t do “work” in any physical sense, in fact the creation of the world was through G-d’s “utterances” rather than through actions (v. Ethics of the Fathers, chapter 5); but the Hebrew word for “word”, davar is the same as the word for “thing”. At some level the essence of everything is G-d’s word made physical. So if we could understand the deepest meaning of words, we could understand the nature of things, and similarly if we look at the physical activities involved in creating something, we can understand its name and essence.

Shabbat is described as a testimony that G-d created the world in six days, and that on the seventh day He rested from all His Melacha (creative activity). The Melacha that G-d did in creating the world is exactly the same Melacha that was used to build the Mishkan. It is not coincidental that the prohibited activities on Shabbat are the same as those involved in building the Mishkan, because both are the activities of the creation of the world. We acknowledge G-d’s creation of the world, and His mastery over it, by abstaining from those creative activities that G-d rested from when He created the world, which are revealed to us through the building of the Mishkan.

This also explains why the Torah needs a specific instruction not to build the Mishkan on Shabbat. Since both are an acknowledgement of G-d’s creation of the world, one may have made the erroneous assumption that building the Mishkan could serve as a substitute for observing Shabbat. Therefore the Torah needs to tell us that this is not so. Shabbat is an eternal reminder, and cannot be replaced, even by another form of acknowledging G-d’s sovereignty.

Parshat Ki Tissa 3

2008-02-24T05:58:00.000+02:00

The Soul of the Torah

The difference between the two sets of tablets that Moshe brings down from Mt. Sinai represent the two completely different spiritual levels that the Jews are on at the time they receive them. The first tablets are described (Shemot 32;15) “They were tablets written on both sides, with the writing visible from either side. The tablets were made by G-d and written with G-d’s script engraved on the tablets”. In contrast, the second tablets are made by Moshe. “Carve out two tablets for yourself, just like the first ones. I will write in those tablets the same words that were on the first tablets that you broke.... Moshe carved out two stone tablets like the first”.

Writing is described as the soul of a book. It needs a physical form, e.g. a scroll or book, to contain it, but it is the words that give inner meaning and purpose to that form. So too with the tablets. Before the sin of the Golden Calf, B’nei Yisrael (Children of Israel) had attained the highest spiritual level. In the forty nine days from the Exodus until Mt. Sinai, they rose up through the forty nine levels of spirituality to reach the level of Adam and Eve before their sin. It was as if their bodies had been directly created by G-d, like those of Adam and Eve. They were therefore able to receive the tablets that had been hewn by G-d Himself. At this level the inner light of the soul permeates the body so thoroughly that it is clearly visible. So too the tablets - the words are visible from either side.

After the episode of the Golden Calf, B’nei Yisrael descended to the level that we remain on today. Our physical bodies are all that we perceive. The only way that we can make the inner light of the soul shine through, is by constantly working on controlling our physical drives and desires, thus elevating our bodies to become a pure vehicle for the soul. This is analogous to the second tablets, which were man made.

We see from this that the way that we are able to receive the Torah is totally dependent upon who we are. In the world of physics it is obvious that a vessel must be suitable for its contents; Pouring boiling hot coffee into a thin plastic cup will melt and destroy the container. What is less obvious is that the same rule also applies in the spiritual realm. For someone to receive Torah at a higher level than that which they themselves are on is destructive. Therefore G-d made the Torah compatible with the spiritual level of the people.

This rule is equally applicable now as it was 3300 years ago when the Torah was given. The Torah is ready and waiting for anybody who cares to seek it. When an individual delves into Torah learning, he or she relives the experience of Mt. Sinai. This is shown in the Halacha regarding the weekly Torah reading. The Shulchan Aruch (Orech Chaim 146;4) states “One doesn’t need to stand while the Torah is being read”, and the Rama adds “There are those who are stringent to stand, and this is what the Maharam did”. The Mishna Brura explains “Even the Maharam agrees that there is no legal obligation to stand, but he holds that it is appropriate to go beyond the letter of the law and stand, because when a person hears the Torah being read he should feel as if he has just received it from Mt. Sinai, and at Mt. Sinai all of Yisrael were standing.”

However, we must make sure that we are suitable vessels to contain the Torah that we learn. If we are not constantly “carving out” our physicality to prepare it as a slate for the Torah to be written on, we run the risk of not being able to contain the Torah that we try to absorb.

Parshat Ki Tissa 2

2008-02-24T05:55:00.000+02:00

Real Leaders

One of the most difficult things for a spiritual leader is to remain in touch with his or her people. It is so easy to become drawn into the spiritual realm and leave the physical, material world behind. However in so doing, a leader may become inaccessible and no longer able to relate to others. This was the fear of the people which led to the building of the Golden Calf. “The people gathered themselves together around Aharon, and said to him, “Make us a god who shall go before us, for Moshe, the man, who brought us out of the Land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.” (Exodus 32; 1-2). The people were not abandoning G-d, but thought that Moshe had become lost to them.

They wanted an idol, not as a false god, but to lead them. They saw Moshe enter into the fiery darkness of Mount Sinai and they were afraid that he was no longer able to relate to them as mortals. The Talmud (Shabbat) states that with each utterance of the Ten Commandments the souls of the people would depart, and they had to be revived by angels, and yet Moshe went to speak directly to G-d. The people were concerned that they had lost their intermediary, and no longer had any means of communicating with G-d. Therefore they created a new figurehead for themselves, “to go before them”.

We see that G-d was also concerned that Moshe was losing touch with the physical world, thus becoming unsuitable as a leader. “And G-d spoke to Moshe, ‘Go down, for your people… have become corrupt’” (ibid. 7). Rashi explains that G-d told Moshe to go down from his exalted position, because his eminence is only due to his being the leader of the people. If he is unable lead them he is no longer able to remain before the Divine Presence.
The people chose to make a calf, a domestic beast, because they were looking for a leader to whom they could relate, one who can translate their normal lives into a spiritual experience. A calf is trained to work in the fields, to do the most mundane tasks. That is the sort of leader that the people want and need.

The Torah hints to us why Aharon was the most suitable person to build this intermediary. He was the leader who retained his connection with the material world, despite his exalted spiritual status. The Torah describes Moshe as judging the nation “from morning until evening” (ibid. 27; 13). The Talmud comments on this that though he was not literally judging from morning until night, the Torah ascribes this to him to teach that anyone who judges a case fairly and honestly is considered a partner with G-d in creation, which was also created with day and night.
The S’fas Emes points out that Aharon is also considered a partner in creation. He is to light the Menorah from evening until morning (ibid. 37; 20). However there is a fundamental difference between Moshe’s creation and Aharon’s. Moshe takes the day, the clear revelation of the Torah and the Divine Presence, and brings in down to the level of night, the darkness and confusion of everyday life. Aharon’s function is the opposite; to elevate the world, in the chaos of night, and bring it to the level where it can hear the message of Divine Light. This is why Moshe sits in judgement, dispensing the truths of the Torah to the daily realities of life, whereas Aharon lights the Menorah, elevating the physical and turning it into light.

This is why the people asked Aharon to make the idol for them. They were able to relate better to his method of relating to the physical world and elevating it. They were not afraid that he would forget what it is to be human. Therefore he is the high priest of the idol also. Moshe the man has gone, the nation cry out for a new leader whom they can relate to, to bring them G-d’s message. Aharon is the one with whom they can speak, and the calf represents the physicality of the world, and the baseness of human existence, whereas Moshe represented spirituality. Thus the calf had to be destroyed in order to allow the people to attain the spiritual heights shown to them by Moshe. Though they were not on the same level as Moshe, they had the potential to be so and in order to do this the calf had to be destroyed as it held them back spiritually.

Parshat Ki Tissa

2008-02-24T05:50:00.002+02:00

Sorry this was not posted before Shabbos. For a translation of exerpts from Tosefet Beracha on Ki Tissa follow this link.
Tosefet Bracha on Ki Tissa

Idolatry and Yosef HaTzaddik

In this week’s Torah portion we read about the sin of the Golden Calf. Many questions can be asked on this topic; how could the nation who heard G-d’s voice and accepted the Torah only a few weeks earlier suddenly rebel against Him and begin to worship idols? However, I want to address the issue of why, of all the idols they could have made, they built a calf. (Look in the Ramban’s commentary to this section for a kabbalistic idea). The simple answer is that they had seen the Egyptians worshipping cows, and were merely imitating the rituals of their former masters. However, it seems strange that having seen what happened to the Egyptians, and knowing that G-d was greater than any of their gods they would chose to revert back to that form of idolatry.

If we look at the words of the Torah we find that the original intent of the Israelites was not to build an idol in place of G-d, but rather in place of Moshe: The people gathered around Aharon and said to him, “Rise up and make for us gods that will go before us, for we know not what has become of this man Moshe who brought us up from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32; 1). The word Elokim which is translated here as gods is also often used to mean judges, and thus the simple interpretation of this verse is that they want another leader in place of Moshe, who has disappeared. Only after the calf was built did some of the people begin to say that it was in place of G-d.

Moshe had been the one to lead them through the desert, meld them into a nation, and provide them with the Manna (which according to the Talmud fell in the merit of Moshe). When they looked for a suitable substitute they remembered Yosef, who had been the viceroy in Egypt, made Egypt into the superpower of the ancient Middle East, and provided food for the people through his careful planning and storing. He seemed like the perfect person to take over in place of Moshe. The only problem was that he had been dead for over 200 years. However, they were carrying his coffin with them, and they remembered the blessing that Ya’akov had given to Yosef on his death bed. “A charming son is Yosef, a charming son to the eye; the girls stepped the see the rising ox” (Genesis 49; 22). Yosef is associated with the image of an ox. When Moshe wanted to find where his coffin was buried in the Nile, he threw in a piece of parchment containing the words “arise ox” and his coffin rose to the surface. That same piece of parchment was used when they built the Golden Calf to bring it to life. (Midrash Shir HaShirim 1; 11).

However, there was also another side of Yosef that the people tried to capture in their idol, that of youthfulness. He is described several times in the Torah as a na’ar, an adolescent. Yosef throughout his life retained qualities of youthfulness, such as a desire to maintain physical beauty, a belief that nothing is impossible, and the naiveté and honesty which led him to be sold by his brothers in the first place. When Pharaoh elevated Yosef to power he tried to turn him into an ‘adult’ by giving him a new name and identity. Yet as we see from the verse above the girls were still after him, and he retained his charming youthfulness.

The people who built the Calf wanted these qualities in their new leader. Idols often take the form of youthful heroes, with invincible powers. The Talmud also tells us that the main motivation for the Jews to build the Golden Calf was to permit to themselves the sexual liaisons that had been forbidden by the Torah and Moshe. Therefore, they didn’t build an ox as their god, but a calf. The proof that the people were primarily interested in the youthful qualities of the Calf is from the Midrash (Tanchuma 8, quoted in Rashi v. 22) regarding the laws of the red heifer (which we read today as our special Maftir). Symbolically the ‘Cow’ came to atone for the sin of the ‘Calf’ as if to say let the mother come and clean up the mess left by her child. The Calf is the young child, created by the young nation, in their quest to escape from the confining laws they had received at Sinai.

The irony of the situation is that Yosef himself went to great lengths to prevent the Egyptians themselves from worshipping cows. The Midrash (Bereishis Rabti 712) explains that when Yosef told the Egyptians to “Bring your cattle (as payment for the grain)” (Exodus 47; 16) his intent was to wean them from their idols. However, his plan backfired on his descendants, who themselves began to worship the very idol that Yosef had removed from the Egyptians.

Vayakhel

2008-02-23T23:41:00.001+02:00

Moshe assembles the Children of Israel, reviews with them the laws of Shabbat, then instructs them in the building of the Tabernacle. Each person brings whatever their heart motivates them to bring. The women bring precious jewels and spun wool and linen. The men bring silver, copper, wood and cloth. The princes of each tribe bring the stones for the High Priest's breastplate and shoulder pads, and spices and oil.
Betzalel is designated by G-d as master craftsman and Oholiav as his assistant. Moshe summons them, and others with the wisdom and insight to build G-d's Sanctuary. The people continue to bring gifts every day, until they have more than enough materials. Moshe commands the people to stop bringing gifts.

The Torah lists the items made for the Tabernacle, starting with the curtains, the cover, the planks, the partitions and the screen. They the vessels; the Ark, the Cover, the Table, and the Menorah. The two altars - the Incense Altar out of gold and the Burnt Offering Altar from copper. A special copper wash basin is constructed for the Cohanim to wash their hands and feet. Lastly, the courtyard is made by surrounding the area with lace hangings with an embroidered screen at the entrance.

Ki Tissa Summary

2008-02-18T16:19:00.000+02:00

G-d instructs Moshe (Moses) to take a census. All the males over twenty must give half a shekel of silver, as an offering to G-d, and the number of people will be determined by counting the total amount of silver.

G-d instructs Moshe to make a copper washstand. The Cohanim must wash their hands from this before entering the Ohel Mo'ed (Communion Tent). G-d gives Moshe the recipe for the anointing oil. He instructs Moshe to anoint the Ohel Mo'ed, the Ark and all the other vessels, to sanctify them. Moshe must also anoint Aharon and his sons to sanctify them as Cohanim (Priests). G-d gives Moshe the recipe for the incense, which is to be offered in the Ohel Mo'ed.

G-d tells Moshe that He has selected Betzalel ben Chur as the main craftsman for building the Ohel Mo'ed and its vessels. Oholiav ben Achisamach will be his assistant. G-d tells Moshe to instruct the Jews about the laws of Shabbat, and the punishment for not observing it. Shabbat will be an eternal covenant between G-d and the Jewish people.

Moshe receives the two tablets of testimony written by G-d. Meanwhile the people realise that Moshe has not returned when expected and feared he is dead. They ask Aharon to make them an oracle to lead them. He tries to stall them, but eventually melts down gold and a golden calf emerges from the fire. The people begin to offer sacrifices to this idol, and get up to enjoy themselves.

G-d tells Moshe to descend the Mount as the people have become corrupt. G-d threatens to destroy them all and begin a new nation from Moshe. Moshe asks for their forgiveness or else erase his (Moshe's) name from the Torah; G-d accepts his prayer. When Moshe sees the nation practising idolatry he smashes the tablets and destroys the calf. The sons of Levi punish the transgressors, executing 3000 men.

Moshe sets up his tent outside the camp, and the Cloud of Glory came to it. Moshe ascends Mount Sinai again and asks G-d to show him how He conducts the world. Moshe is told to stand in the crevice of a rock and G-d shows him His "back". Moshe is instructed to make new tablets and G-d makes a covenant with the nation; He will drive out the nations from before them and they will observe His commandments. They are commanded against idol worship, intermarriage and the combination of milk and meat and are taught the laws of Pesach, the first born animals, the first fruits, Shabbos, Shavuos and Succos. When Moshe descends with the new tablets, his face is radiant from his contact with G-d and he must wear a mask over his face so that people can look at him.

Tetzaveh 2

2008-02-12T05:48:00.000+02:00

They say that clothes make a man, but it is no less true that the man makes the clothes. This week’s Torah reading deals primarily with the making of the garments for Aharon, and all subsequent Cohanim Gadolim. The garments are described as L’Chavod U’L’Tifaret, “for glory and splendour”. They were fashioned out of elaborate threads and gold, with precious jewels upon the shoulder pads and the breast plates. As the representative of G-d, and the agent for effecting the atonement for the nation, the Cohen Gadol has to be an imposing figure, both spiritually and physically. The Talmud (Yoma 18a) states that the Cohen Gadol has to be greater than the other Cohanim in strength, beauty, wisdom and wealth, and if he is does not have wealth the other Cohanim must make him wealthy from their own pockets.

There is a discussion in the Talmud as to whether the Cohanim are the emissaries of G-d or of the people. On the one hand they offer the sacrifices on behalf of the people, and perform all the Temple services on their behalf; on the other hand they eat some of the sacrifices, and they have special laws that set them apart from the rest of the population. The Cohen Gadol is certainly both of these, the ultimate representative of the people when he enters into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur to seek atonement for the nation, and G-d’s messenger when he returns from within the Holy of Holies to show the crimson thread which has turned white as a sign of G-d’s forgiveness. We say in Mussaf on Yom Kippur: Thus would he [the Cohen Gadol] say, “I beseech of You G-d, I have erred, been iniquitous, and wilfully sinned before You, I and my household and the children of Aharon… Your people, the Family of Israel”. At this point the Cohen Gadol is the representative of the nation. Then we say “How majestic was the Cohen Gadol as he left the Holy of Holies… Like the Majesty in which the Creator clothed the creatures - was the appearance of the Cohen Gadol.” He has become G-d’s representative, symbolising the atonement which G-d has granted to His nation.

The beautiful and ornate garments which the Cohen Gadol wears as he performs the services are necessary to show the people both the splendour of their representative, and to show the heavenly beauty of G-d’s representative. However, when worn by someone who is not worthy of being the Cohen Gadol, the garments transform from being the height of spirituality to the most base, physical excesses of opulence. The Talmud (Megillah 12a) learns from the opening of Megillat Esther that King Achashverosh had taken the raiment of the Cohen Gadol and was wearing them at his feast which was designed to show his wealth and might, and to celebrate the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The text states that he displayed “Yakar Tiferet Gedulato”, “The splendour of his excellent majesty”. The word Tiferet is used to describe the clothes of the Cohen Gadol, which indicates to us that it was those that Achashverosh was wearing.

The result of Achashverosh’s wearing the garments was not his spiritual elevation, but the degradation of himself and his wife through clothing. In his drunken stupor Achashverosh ordered Vashti to appear before the assembled guests wearing only her royal crown. When she refused to be seen naked in public, Achashverosh had her put to death. By misusing the holy garments, Achashverosh was ultimately shamed and punished.

The Malbim explains the difference between the two adjectives Chavod (glory) and Yakar (excellent), which are the words describing the manner in which the Cohen Gadol wears the holy garments, contrasted with how Achashverosh wore them. Malbim (Ya’ir Or, Ot yud, 10) says that Yakar refers to rarity and preciousness of an object, whereas Chavod describes its value in terms of spiritual elevation. For example gold is Yakar, but it does not have Chavod, but a wise sage has Chavod even though not necessarily Yakar. King Achashverosh saw the garments as a precious commodity, and was showing off the wealth that he had looted. However this external pride caused him to become humbled. The Cohen Gadol wears the clothes to show his spiritual level, and self perfection as representative of both the congregation and G-d.

Of course, even the office of Cohen Gadol was open to abuse, and the lure of wealth became a factor in the appointment of the Cohen Gadol in the times of the Second Temple, as the Talmud (Yoma 18a) states: Rabbi Asi said “Two barrels of silver coins were given to King Yannai by Marta daughter of Baitus in order that Yehoshua ben Gamla should be appointed as Cohen Gadol.” The result was that the Cohanim Gadolim were not spiritually worthy of their position, and having entered the Holy of Holies in an unfit state would not survive a year in office.

Splendour is important when used as a tool for giving honour and glory to G-d. When it becomes the goal and the object of desire, rather than a means for spiritual elevation, it is degrading and brings tragedy in its wake.

Tetzaveh 1

2008-02-11T05:47:00.000+02:00

This is the only Torah reading from the beginning of Exodus until the end of Deuteronomy that does not contain the name of Moshe. Even though G-d is speaking to him throughout the Parsha, nowhere does it explicitly state his name. Many explanations have been given for this; here is one possibility.

When Moshe first encounters G-d at the Burning Bush, he argues that he is not worthy to lead the Jewish people out of slavery, and insists that his elder brother Aharon would be better suited to the task. Our tradition tells us that this dialogue between Moshe and G-d lasted for an entire week, until finally “G-d’s anger burned against Moshe [and He said] ‘Behold Aharon the Levi is your brother’ ... ‘When he sees you his heart will be glad’...” (Shemos 4;14). The Sages comment on this verse,
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha says: Every time the “burning of G-d’s anger” is mentioned in the Torah, a lasting mark is mentioned with regard to it. Yet this burning anger has no lasting mark mentioned with regard to it, and we do not find any punishment coming about. Rabbi Yose said to him: A mark is mentioned with regard to this one too; that which is implied by the conclusion of the verse “Aharon the Levi is your brother”. Aharon was destined to be a Levite, not a Cohen, and G-d had intended that the kehuna (priesthood) would come forth from Moshe. Now that you, Moshe, have angered me, it will not be so. Rather he will be a Cohen and you will be the Levite, as it says “But as for Moshe, the man of G-d, his sons will be reckoned among the tribe of Levi” (I Divrei HaYamim 23; 14). (Shemos Rabba 3;17, quoted by Rashi on Exodus ibid.)

This week’s Parsha deals primarily with the garments that the Cohanim wore, particularly those of the Cohen Gadol (High Priest). Since originally Moshe should have been the Cohen Gadol, in deference to his feelings, and as a reminder that he missed out on this opportunity, his name is not mentioned in this section.

However we find a paradox. Although Moshe’s name is not mentioned, G-d speaks to him in the second person; G-d is speaking to Moshe even more directly than usual. Not only that, but it is Moshe himself who is instructed to dress Aharon and his sons in their priestly garments, and Moshe acts as the “Cohen” who performs the service to initiate them into the Kehuna. In other words, at the same time that G-d rebukes Moshe, he draws him still closer to Himself.

This is a fulfilment of the Talmudic dictum “One should always push someone away with the left hand, but draw them closer with the right” (Sanhedrin 107b). The right hand is the stronger, and thus the Rabbis are telling us that any rebuke or punishment should be simultaneously accompanied by a greater kindness. We do not subscribe to the Dr. Spock child-rearing mentality, without any rules or punishments, drawing close with both hands. Nor do we permit harsh punishment to the extent of driving a person away completely, pushing with both hands. Both these options lead to tragic outcomes. Our challenge is to raise our students to adhere to their obligations, punishing when necessary, but always in a manner which leads to closeness, not distance.

Here the Torah is telling us that G-d follows the same guidelines. Throughout history we have seen that whenever G-d needs to punish us, causing us to stumble through he darkness of oppression and persecution, He always brings us even closer to Him at the end, through an outpouring of mercy. At those times that we cannot feel His presence, that we cannot see Him calling us by name, He is actually speaking to us even more directly, and giving us a greater opportunity to draw near to Him.

Tetzaveh Summary

2008-02-10T05:51:00.000+02:00

My translation of a selection from Tosefet Bracha on Tetzaveh can be found by clicking the link.

Parshat Tetzaveh

G-d instructs Moshe about the oil to be used for the Menorah. Moshe is told to separate Aharon and his sons to be the Cohanim (priests), and to make special garments for them to wear. The Ephod is only worn by the Cohen Gadol (High Priest), and is made out of six-coloured thread. It is an apron tied with a belt, and has two shoulder pads with two sardonyx stones on them, on which the names of the twelve tribes are engraved.

The Cohen Gadol also wears the Choshen Mishpat (Breastplate of Judgement). It has four rows with three precious stones in each row, each stone corresponding to one of the twelve tribes. The Urim V'Tummim (Lightings and Decisions) is placed inside the Ephod, and when worn by the Cohen Gadol can be consulted like an oracle. Next Moshe is instructed to make a robe for the Cohen Gadol. It is entirely techeilet (a shade of blue). At its base are "pomegranates" made of thread, interspersed with gold bells. The Cohen Gadol must also wear a Tzitz (forehead-plate) of pure gold, engraved with the words "Kadosh LaShem" (Holy to G-d). He also wears a linen tunic and a turban.

The regular Cohanim wear only tunics, sashes, turbans, and linen pants. These garments must be worn by the Cohanim whenever they perform the sacrifices in the Temple.

Moshe is instructed as to how to consecrate the Cohanim. Moshe must bring them to the Communion Tent and immerse them in a Mikvah (special pool for ritual purity). He must then dress them in their appropriate garments and anoint Aharon (as Cohen Gadol) with the anointing oil. He must then offer sacrifices on their behalf to inaugurate them.
Moshe has to consecrate the altar with the daily Tamid sacrifice. He is also instructed to construct a second altar, to be of wood covered with gold. This altar is only to be used for offering incense, except for the Day of Atonement when the Cohen Gadol sprinkles blood of the Atonement sacrifice on it.

Parshat Terumah 2

2008-02-04T21:16:00.000+02:00

The holiest part of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was the Aron (Ark), which contained the two sets of stone tablets. On top of the ark was the Kapores, the cover upon which two golden k’ruvim (cherubs) stood with their wings stretched upwards. G-d’s voice spoke to Moshe from between these two k’ruvim, as the verse says, “When Moshe came to the Ohel Mo’ed (Tabernacle) to speak to Him [G-d], he heard the voice speaking to him from above the Kapores that was on the Aron, from between the k’ruvim” (Bamidbar 7; 89).

Idolatry is abhorred by Judaism, and making any image is forbidden, yet in the holiest place we find G-d instructing Moshe to place a graven image of two k’ruvim.

After the sin of Adam and Eve, when they have been banished from the Garden of Eden, we also find k’ruvim: “And He [G-d] banished mankind and He placed to the East of Eden the k’ruvim, and the spinning, flaming sword to guard the way of the tree of life” (Bereishis 3; 24). If these angels are intended to keep people away from the Garden of Eden, why are these same angels the conduit for G-d to speak to the Children of Israel?

The two k’ruvim above the ark had the faces of a boy and a girl. The Talmud (Yoma 54b) relates: “When the non-Jews [Babylonians] entered the Holy of Holies, they saw that the k’ruvim were intertwined in an embrace. They carried them out to the market and declared: Israel, who’s blessing is a blessing and who’s curse is a curse, are involved in these sorts of things? Immediately they despised them [the Jews].” In the most holy of places why do we have such physical intimacy depicted?

The word Kapores means atonement, and that was the function of the cover of the ark. The command to build the Mishkan was a response to the sin of the Golden Calf. Had the Jews not been involved with that sin, each individual would have been worthy of having the Shechina (Divine Presence) rest within them. After the sin however, it was only as a nation that G-d dwelt among the Jews. The Kapores, the resting place of the Shechina, symbolised that atonement and forgiveness. The k’ruvim and the Kapores were formed from a single piece of gold. Therefore the k’ruvim stretching upwards out of the Kapores were the bridge between the people and G-d. This was the point where G-d showed His forgiveness and closeness with the Jewish nation.

Rambam explains (Laws of Idolatry, Ch. 1) that idolatry began when people prayed to intermediaries rather than to G-d directly. They reasoned that if G-d is so holy and separate from the earth, people should not approach Him directly; therefore they prayed to the stars and constellations as messengers of heaven. Gradually they forgot that the objects of their worship were only intermediaries, and began to worship them as gods. This is the reason that G-d forbade any graven image. However the k’ruvim represent the opposite of idol worship. After the sin of the Golden Calf, G-d no longer spoke directly to the nation, but the k’ruvim were the focus of speech from heaven to earth.

This explains the seemingly contradictory roles of the k’ruvim. On the one hand they guard the entrance to the Garden of Eden, to show that mankind are no longer able to speak to G-d directly. However they remain the link to the Garden, through which G-d communicates with Moshe and the Jews. Perhaps this is the meaning of the spinning sword, symbolising the dual function of preventing humans from entering, but allowing G-d’s message to be heard from without.

G-d’s message is the Torah, described in the Garden of Eden as the tree of life. The verse refers to the Torah as “A tree of life to them that grasp it” (Mishlei 3; 18). In the Mishkan, the k’ruvim were placed above the ark containing the Torah, with their wings stretched upwards. This showed that G-d’s communication for all time is the Torah, and that it is a taste of the Garden of Eden. The gateway between heaven and earth, between the Garden of Eden and the earthly Torah, is the most intimate place, the place of knowledge. Knowledge implies physical intimacy, as the Torah says (Bereishis 4; 1) “And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived...”.

The only physical analogy that we can have of the loving relationship between G-d and the Jews is the love of a man and a woman. The k’ruvim symbolised this relationship. They depicted two youths, the time when love is most passionate. The moment when the Jews encountered G-d at Mount Sinai is described as a bride entering the wedding canopy. This love was eternalised in the k’ruvim. The other nations saw pornography, but the Jews understood the spiritual metaphor, which led them to yearn to cleave closer to G-d. The Talmud says (Yoma 54a) “When the Jews came for the pilgrimage festivals they would open the curtain and show them the k’ruvim who were embracing one another. They would say, See the love between G-d and the Jews, like the love of a man and a woman. ”

Rabbi Akiva said (Yadayim 3; 5) “All of scripture is holy, but the Song of Songs is the holy of holies”, yet it was almost banned (Avos d’Rebbe Nasan I) because it depicts the relationship between G-d and the Jews as the love of a man and a woman. There was a concern that it would be misunderstood as inappropriate Biblical literature. This is exactly the mistake that the nations made when they saw the k’ruvim .Rather than despising the Jews, they should have understood the metaphor, and been awed at the strength of their relationship with G-d.

Parshat Terumah 1

2008-02-03T21:06:00.000+02:00

For my translation of selections from Tosefet Bracha click the link.

D'var Torah on Pershat Terumah by Rabbi David Sedley

Last week’s Torah reading ended with Moshe ascending Mount Sinai to receive the entirety of the Torah from G-d. Chronologically, the next thing that should occur in the Torah is the building of the Golden Calf. This takes place forty days later, and forces Moshe to make a hasty descent with the two tablets of stone, and smash them. But the Torah makes us wait another two weeks, until Ki Tissa, before continuing with the plot. In between we have what seems like a digression, detailing the plans for the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, and all of its ornaments and utensils. Obviously the Torah was not compiled in a haphazard, random fashion, so why did G-d feel that it was most appropriate to place these two portions here?

Three of the pieces of furniture in the Mishkan - the Ark containing the stone tablets, the altar, and the table - share a common feature. They each have rings at their sides, into which the poles used for carrying them are placed. But the poles of the Ark are unique, in that there is an explicit prohibition in ever removing them from their rings. Even after the Temple was built in Jerusalem, these poles remained in place. Why should our holiest object require portability as part of its design? Clearly it was not simply for the sake of portability. Furthermore, the total weight of the Ark must have been several tons, far more than four people could carry on their shoulders. In fact, the Levites who were carrying the Ark gave the appearance of bearing the weight of the poles on their shoulders, but were actually holding on as the Ark miraculously transported them. Although it appeared that the Ark was being carried, actually it was doing the carrying!

We have a principle that G-d always presents us, as a nation, with the cure, before afflicting us with the disease. One example of this is the story of Esther. The Megilla first relates how Esther came to be queen and how Mordechai saved the life of Ahasuerus, and only then begins with Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews. Thus the mechanism for our salvation was in place before its need actually arose.

So too in our parsha. Had the Jews not built the Golden Calf, they would have remained on the tremendously high spiritual level that they attained at Mount Sinai. There would have been no need for all of the trials and tribulations which we have had to face since then, the purpose of which is to bring us back to G-d. When Moshe goes back up Mount Sinai to plead with G-d not to destroy the nation, he is actually creating Jewish history. He beseeches G-d to be merciful and to spread out our punishment over time, instead of wiping us out on the spot. To this day we are still paying back part of that debt.

The need for a history of anti-Semitism, hatred and pogroms, was caused by the building of the Golden Calf. Our exile from the Holy Land was decreed then. But in order to be able to survive this harsh decree, we could not be tied to a Temple, or to a city. G-d, and the Torah, must be accessible anywhere that we may find ourselves; otherwise we could never continue to exist as a nation in exile.

Therefore G-d decreed that we should build ourselves a Mishkan, a portable Sanctuary, which will follow us wherever we go. And the Ark containing the two tablets, the embodiment of Torah, must be ready to go at any moment. The need for portability and mobility is not because G-d has no other means of transportation available to Him, but rather to teach us that at all times and places the Torah is available to us. If we are prepared to carry its burden, which may appear cumbersome and heavy, it will in fact carry and sustain us throughout our journeys.

There were two Temples in Jerusalem. The first was destroyed by the Babylonians, the second by the Romans. We cannot depend upon them for long lasting security. But the Mishkan was never destroyed. It was buried, and remains hidden to this day, somewhere on the Temple Mount. It is indestructible, and is a metaphor for our continued existence, and connection to G-d. The Ark is portable, and accompanies us through our long and difficult exile.

Terumah Summary

2008-02-02T20:59:00.000+02:00

G-d instructs Moshe to collect the materials that are needed to build the Sanctuary. He gives exact details on how the Tabernacle and other furnishings are to be made.

Moshe is instructed how to build the Ark of Testimony. It is to be made of wood, and covered within and without with gold. It has rings attached, and poles which are inserted in them with which to carry it. There is a golden cover for the Ark, on which two golden cherubs are standing with their wings outstretched. The tablets will be placed in the Ark, and the cover placed on top.

The table is also made of wood covered with gold; it too has rings and poles for carrying. On it are placed the showbreads, which are baked in special moulds that give them two "faces". The menorah is to be made of pure gold. It has six branches extending out from a central stem, each of which faces back towards a central flame.
These three items are to be placed in the Tabernacle itself. The Tabernacle is a tent, constructed of tapestries covered with a layer of goat's wool. These are draped over a frame of wooden beams. The Tabernacle is to be 30 cubits (about 45') in length, and 12 cubits (18') in width. Within this Tabernacle is to be a partition to separate the "Holy of Holies", which contains the Ark, and the "Holy" containing the table and menorah and incense altar. The partition is to be of sky-blue tapestry, with cherubs woven into it.

Moshe is instructed to build an altar for animal sacrifices. This is to be made of wood, and is to be 5 cubits x 5 cubits x 3 cubits (7.5' x 7.5' x 4.5'). It also has rings and poles for carrying. The altar is to be placed outside the Tabernacle, and both the Tabernacle and altar are to be surrounded by an enclosure. The enclosure is to be 5 cubits high (7.5') made of woven tapestry, and will measure 100 cubits x 50 cubits (150' x 75').

Parshat Mishpatim 3

2008-01-29T23:37:00.000+02:00

After a lengthy list of laws and statutes, the Torah portion returns to the narrative of the Jews standing at the foot of Mount Sinai. G-d tells Moshe, “Behold I will send my angel to go before you, to guard you on the way, and to bring you to the place which I have prepared” (Exodus 23; 20). Rashi explains that G-d here warns Moshe and the people that they will come to sin with the Golden Calf, and instead of G-d leading them directly, He will direct the nation through the intermediary of an angel. This is what we find in the Torah after the sin of the Calf, G-d says to Moshe, “Now go and lead the people, to that which I spoke to you. Behold my angel will go before you...” (ibid. 32; 34).

We have a principle that Heavenly punishment always fits the crime, and this is indeed the case here. At the time of the Golden Calf the nation were afraid that Moshe had been killed, and would not return. Therefore they wanted another leader, to act as an intermediary between them and G-d. They said to Aharon, “Make for us a god (or judge) that will go before us, for this man Moshe, who brought us out from the land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him.” (ibid. 1). They did not consider Moshe divine, rather a leader who was an intermediary between them and G-d. Similarly the concept behind the Calf was for to have an intermediary, not a god. Only after it was built did some of the people begin to worship the Calf itself, and proclaim it as a god.

However, even asking for an intermediary deserved punishment. When the people heard G-d at Mount Sinai they were afraid, and asked Moshe, “’You speak to us and we shall hear; let not G-d speak to us lest we die’. Moshe said to the people, ‘Do not fear, for in order to elevate you has G-d come...’” (ibid. 20; 16-17). Moshe rebuked the people for not wanting this direct contact with G-d. In fact we find that the desire for intermediaries was the origin of idolatry in the world. The Rambam writes (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Idol Worship, 1; 1) that in the generation of Enosh the people made a grievous error. They reasoned that it was not appropriate to pray directly to G-d, but they should instead pray to Him via the celestial luminaries that He had placed before him. Over the generations this led to forgetting that these were only intermediaries, and the people began worshipping them as gods.

So, from the outset, the building of the Golden Calf was bound to end in disaster. Though the Jews were only seeking an intermediary, that was itself a sin that would inevitably lead to idolatry. Therefore as punishment G-d told them that He would not be in their midst, but would only relate to them through an angel.

The Ramban points out that this punishment of ‘I will send an angel before you’ never took place. Moshe pleaded for mercy, “If Your presence will not go with us, do not take us out from here...” (ibid. 33; 15), and G-d consented when He said, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken” (ibid. 17). Although this decree did not take place in Moshe’s lifetime, it was fulfilled immediately after his death. Just before Yehoshua led the nation to do battle with Jericho the Bible states, “And it came to pass, when Yehoshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold there stood a man over him… and he said, ‘I am captain of the host of the Eternal, I am now come’.” (Joshua 5; 13-14). The Midrash Tanchuma (Mishpatim 18) explains: “The angel said to Yehoshua, ‘I am he who came in the days of Moshe your master, and he pushed me away and did not want me to go with them.’”. After Moshe’s death, G-d’s relationship with the nation changed, from being direct, to being only through an intermediary.

However, it seems strange that the Israelites were punished for wanting an intermediary, when at the end of this week’s Torah portion we find that they are not able to cope with direct revelation. “Go up to G-d, you [Moshe], Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall prostrate yourselves from a distance… Moshe, Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders ascended. They saw the G-d of Israel… G-d did not stretch out His hand [to punish] the great men of Israel - they gazed at G-d, yet they ate and drank.” (Exodus 24; 1-11). Rashi explains that G-d did not punish them on the spot, though they were worthy of punishment for gazing at Him. However, G-d delayed their punishment so as not to detract from the sanctity of Mount Sinai. The reason that they were punished was for staring at G-d while they were eating and drinking. They were unable to attain the proper level of spirituality but instead were sunk in their material actions. We see from here that even the leaders of the Israelites, with the exception of Moshe and Aharon, were unable to cope with such a direct relationship with G-d. Why then were they punished for wanting an intermediary?

The answer must be that their need for an intermediary was real, and thus their attempt to find one valid. However, their mistake was in settling for this lesser relationship with G-d instead of trying to elevate themselves spiritually to a level where they would be able to sustain a direct relationship. As long as they were in the desert, under the influence of Moshe, they were able to have G-d’s presence in their midst. But as soon as Moshe was no longer with them, instead of remaining on this spiritual level the people settled for intermediaries to lead them. The angel coming was not so much a punishment as it was the inevitable result of the people’s actions and spiritual level.

Parshat Mishpatim 2

2008-01-28T23:31:00.000+02:00

Our Torah reading opens with the words “And these are the judgements that you shall place before them”. Rashi comments: Wherever it says ‘These’ in the Torah it rejects that which has been stated previously. Wherever it says ‘And these’ it adds to that which has been stated previously. Just as those which have been stated previously, [the Ten Commandments] are from Sinai, so too, these commandments are from Sinai.

Why does Rashi need to tell us that the laws contained in this portion were also given at Sinai? Surely the entirety of the Torah was given by G-d to Moshe at Sinai, why does Rashi single out this section?

‘Mishpatim’, the name of the portion, also describes the laws contained in it. There is almost no narrative, only a seemingly haphazard collection of laws. However most of those laws are logical, and clearly understandable as necessary precepts for the functioning of a just society. All the Mitzvoth in the Torah can be divided into two main groups, the Chukim (statutes) and the Mishpatim (laws). Chukim are rules for which we see no apparent logical reason, for example Shatnez, the prohibition on mixing wool and linen in garments. Mishpatim are laws that would probably have been formulated, even without the Torah, for society to function smoothly.

Therefore Rashi comes to tell us that the laws in this section are not merely the result of societal norms, but are also Divine in origin. There is no qualitative difference between the laws of Kashrut or Shabbat, and those of theft or damages.

Why was it necessary for G-d to give us laws that we would have been able to formulate for ourselves even without the Torah? As the Talmud (Eruvin 100b) states: Rabbi Yochanan said, ‘If the Torah had not been given we would have learnt modesty from a cat, [the prohibition of] theft from an ant, sexual prohibitions from a dove and laws of marital relations from a chicken’. Why did G-d deem it necessary to write these laws which we could have discovered for ourselves?

The Mishna (Makkos 3; 16) says: Rabbi Chanania ben Akashya says ‘G-d wanted to give merit to Israel, therefore He increased for them Torah and Mitzvoth, as it says (Yishayah 42; 21) “G-d desired for the sake of His righteousness to magnify the Torah and make it glorious”. Rambam in his commentary to the Mishna explains: It is amongst the foundations of faith that when a person observes one of the 613 commandments properly, and does not have any intention other than to fulfil it out of love for the Creator… behold they will merit through it eternal life in the world to come. About this Rabbi Chanania said that because there are so many Mitzvoth it is impossible that a person will not perform at least one of them in their lifetime with the proper intention, and through that performance will gain eternal life.

By giving us a combination of logical laws and commandments which are beyond our comprehension, G-d ensured that we would be able to fulfil at least some of them properly, and thus earn our eternal reward.

However it is important to bear in mind that the reason that some laws seem to make more sense to us than others is because G-d created us with a finite degree of logic. The definition of some laws as Mishpatim and some as Chukim is almost arbitrary. All of the Torah is G-d’s plan for the universe, and the observance of the laws facilitates the proper functioning of the world.

However, had it all been logical it would have been difficult to keep the laws purely because G-d so instructed us. Had none of it been comprehensible to us we would have not understood that there is a purpose in the universe. By creating us with imperfect understanding, G-d has given us the opportunity to keep part of the Torah because we understand it, and part of it out of pure love for G-d with no ulterior motive.

Parshat Mishpatim 1

2008-01-27T23:30:00.000+02:00

Looking at this week’s Torah reading, one would think that the Jewish Nation was made up primarily of murderers, thieves, violent criminals and other social miscreants. Why else would the Torah need to spend so much time enumerating all of the different types of crimes and their punishments? Not only the Written Torah, but also the Oral Law contains detailed discussions of criminal offences and legalities. One complete Order of the Mishna, one sixth of the Oral Law, is entitled Nezikin (damages) and deals with the power of the Beis Din (the courts) to punish infringements of the laws.

Yet it is common knowledge that, far from being the violent criminals portrayed through this legislation, the Jews have consistently been seen to be moral, just and honest. The Western World owes Judaism a huge debt for introducing many concepts that now form the basis of our society.

The Talmud (Bava Kama 30a) states that someone who wants to become a Chasid (literally, G-d Fearing), should devote himself to studying the laws of Nezikin. Not only do these criminal laws not make us criminals, but they actually make us more moral. The constant involvement with, and awareness of, the rights of others, makes a person think about his or her own actions, and take exceeding care not to infringe upon those rights.

This can be seen through the famous, but often misunderstood, law of “Ayin Tachas Ayin”, mistranslated as “An eye for an eye”. The word Tachas does not mean “for”, but rather “in place of”. Therefore, the Torah is not telling us that the punishment for injuring another’s sight is to lose one’s own sight; that would certainly not be a replacement for the injured party. In reality, each individual’s eyesight has a different value. A microbiologist who spends all day looking through a microscope would give his sight a certain value, while a musician would give a completely different value to his sight. Taking away a damager’s eyesight, therefore, would not be “in place of” the injury he caused. The Torah must be referring instead, to monetary compensation for damages inflicted to others.

If the Torah is only referring to financial payments, why did it use the language of paying with the damagers physical body? It must be in order to teach us the severity of the crime, and the significance of putting ourselves in the place of others, thus doing our utmost to avoid harming them.

The Torah does not present these laws as compensation for the injured party. We do not have a system of suing people for any perceived wrong. Rather G-d is instructing anyone who is involved in activities which could injure others, to be aware of the dangers involved in his actions. “Ve’ahavta l’re’echa kamocha”, “Love your neighbour just as much as yourself”; as much as one looks out for one’s own rights, so too a person must be concerned to guard the rights of others.

Mishpatim Summary

2008-01-26T23:23:00.000+02:00

For my translation of selections from Tosefet Bracha (by R' Baruch HaLevi Epstein) on Mishpatim click here

Summary of the Parsha

This week's Torah reading lists many of the damage and interpersonal laws. Some of the laws given are those concerning manslaughter and murder, kidnapping and stealing, injuring or cursing a parent, personal injury or damages, and killing or injuring slaves. The nation are also given laws concerning animals, damage by grazing, or by fire, the laws of custodians, and money lending. Other laws include those dealing with a man who seduces a woman, occult practices, and idolatry. We are commanded not to oppress widows or orphans and are obligated to lend money to the poor. We must accept the authority of the judges, bring the first of our produce and animals to G-d, and not pervert the system of justice. We are instructed to return lost objects and help unload an animal that is unable to carry its burden.

We are given the laws of Sh'mita, when we let the land lie fallow every seventh year. We are instructed not to oppress converts, and are told the laws of Shabbat and the three agricultural festivals. G-d tells us that He will send an angel before us to lead us into Israel, and warns us of the dangers and temptations that will face us once we enter the land. G-d promises to bless us and our children, and to help us conquer the Land of Israel.

Moshe relates all of these laws to the rest of the nation, and they unconditionally accept them. Moshe and the people offer sacrifices as a sign that they have entered into a covenant with G-d to accept the Torah.
The Parsha ends with the conclusion of the Receiving of the Torah. G-d calls Moshe to ascend Mount Sinai. The nation watch as he ascends into the clouds and smoke which cover the mountain top. Moshe remains there for forty days and nights.

Yitro 3

2008-01-23T05:25:00.000+02:00

The Ten Commandments can be divided simply into two groups. The first five deal with the relationship between mankind and G-d - “I am the L-rd your G-d...”, “You shall have no other gods before Me...” etc. The second five commandments, those on the second tablet, are about our responsibilities to our fellow man - “Do not murder”, “Do not steal”, “Do not commit adultery” etc. The only problem with this classification is the fifth commandment; although supposedly in the ‘man and G-d’ category, the commandment to “Honour your mother and father” appears to be purely interpersonal.

Furthermore, why is this one of the “Ten Commandments” anyway? The rest of the ten deal with major concepts vital to the stability of society or to our relationship with G-d. Honouring parents seems both trivial and so obvious that it need not be stated. And why does the Torah explicitly give the reward for this Mitzvah, “In order that you should....”. Surely every child must feel a sense of gratitude and debt to his or her parents, not only for physically bringing them into this world, but also for all the investment of time and love that their parents have made. Is one not “forced” to honour one’s parents even without any explicit command to do so?

The Sefer HaChinuch4 explains the commandment of honouring parents:

It is appropriate for a person to recognise and perform kindness to someone who has done kindness to him, and not be a scoundrel, estrange himself, and deny that goodness. For this is a very bad and disgusting trait in its essence both before G-d and people. A person should make himself aware that his father and mother are the cause of his existence in the world, and therefore it is truly appropriate for him to give to his parents every honour and every help that is possible. Because they brought him into this world and put every effort into him when he was a child. When a person fixes this trait into his character he will then be able to recognise the good that G-d has performed for him, that He is the reason he exists, and the reason for all his parents and grandparents back to Adam and Eve. And that G-d brought him into this world, provided for all his daily needs and keeps him in health and working order. And He gave him a cognitive and understanding soul, without which he would be like an animal without consciousness of self. Therefore a person should organise in his thoughts how appropriate it is for him to be scrupulous in serving G-d.

From this text we see that our assumptions were wrong. While it is true and obvious that we owe our parents honour and respect for all that they have done for us, this is not the reason that G-d commands it of us. The real question is why G-d created the world in such a way that people have parents, and require so much input for so many years. Surely He could have made us spontaneously generate, or at least have independence immediately after birth, like almost every other species. This commandment is telling us that the reason that G-d created human beings as dependent upon their parents, is in order that we can also recognise our dependence upon Him. Therefore the Mitzvah of honouring our parents rightly belongs on the first tablet with our other responsibilities toward G-d. That interpersonal component of honouring parents is so obvious that it does not require a specific commandment.

The Ten Commandments are listed in the Torah twice - in this week’s Torah reading, and in the book of Deuteronomy when Moshe repeats the laws before his death. Even though they are basically the same in both places, there are subtle differences which give a deeper understanding of them. Thus in Devarim (5; 16) the Torah says, “Honour your father and your mother as the L-rd your G-d commanded you...”. The underlined words are added into this version of the decalogue and seem to give added support to the idea above. The honouring of parents mandated here is not the simple repayment for past kindness performed by them, but is a way to get a closer appreciation of our relationship with G-d.

Yitro 2

2008-01-21T05:23:00.000+02:00

The Jews encamped around Mount Sinai were like converts in many respects, approaching Judaism for the first time. Until now they had been a family, the descendants of Ya’akov; suddenly they became a nation with common goals and aspirations. Though Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov had been monotheistic and spread this belief throughout the ancient world, there was no obligation to keep the commandments which define Judaism until Mount Sinai.

Furthermore, there was no concept of matrilineal descent until Sinai. Sarah, Rivka, Rachel and Leah all came from the family of Terach, but were no more ‘Jewish’ than Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov. Their children were part of the ‘Children of Israel’ because they chose to emulate the beliefs and attributes of their parents, but Yishmael and Esav exercised the freedom to abandon this lifestyle and take a different path in life. Since Sinai, however, a person is Jewish either because their mother is Jewish, or if they convert through the principles of conversion laid down at Sinai.

It is appropriate therefore that the portion begins with the arrival of Yitro, Moshe’s father in law, who was the first true convert. We have a tradition that Pharaoh had three chief advisors, Yitro, Iyov (Job) and Bilaam. He asked them for their advice about how to deal with the Jews, and whether to kill the baby boys. Bilaam agreed that Pharaoh should kill them, and consequently was killed by the Jews in the war with Moav. Iyov remained silent, and as a result suffered terribly later in life (as related in the book of Iyov). Yitro disagreed, and told Pharaoh not to persecute the Jews. He was forced to flee to Midyan and renounce his position of authority, but ultimately converts in this week’s Torah portion, and shares in the inheritance of Israel.

Yitro had also been the high priest of idolatry both in Egypt and in Midyan, and had tried every religion and cult in the world before coming to realise that Judaism was the one and only true religion. When Yitro says “Now I know that G-d is greater than all other gods” (Shemot 18; 11) he is speaking from first hand knowledge, as Rashi explains “This teaches us that he knew all the idolatry in the world and there was not a single idol that he had not served”.

Thus Yitro’s choice to convert to Judaism was motivated by his search for truth. It was this quest that allowed him to speak out against Pharaoh’s decrees, and the same goal led him to every religion in the world. Rashi’s language is carefully chosen; he not only knew every religion but had also tried them all, and experienced them. Often a belief system does not make sense unless one takes part in it, conversely often a philosophy seems utopian until it is put into practise. Only through studying and experiencing was Yitro able to come to the conclusion that Judaism was the only true religion.

Since Sinai we no longer have a need to experiment with other religions. We know the truth of Judaism from our parents, and they from their parents, in a chain of tradition stretching back to Sinai. However one who converts to Judaism often only reaches their decision to convert after having denounced other belief systems as false. In the famous story about Hillel and the convert (Shabbat 31a) we see that Hillel was sensitive to this affirmation through rejection of the other.

A person once approached Shamai and told him that he wanted to convert on the condition that Shamai would teach him the whole Torah while he stood on one foot. Shamai rejected him, and sent him away. The same person then approached Hillel, who told him “That which is hateful to you don’t do to others. That is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary - go and learn it.”

Why did Hillel not simply quote the verse from the Torah (Vayikra 19; 18) “Love your fellow as yourself”? The answer is that Hillel appreciated the ability of the convert to discern truth from falsehood through a process of negation. This is possibly a higher level than simply accepting the truth. The Torah only requires one to examine what they enjoy, and to act in a similar manner with others. Hillel’s statement also requires the convert to search out what they dislike, to understand better how to treat others.

One of the most difficult things is to seek truth. We have become inoculated by the society around us to the point where we question the very existence of an absolute truth. Even once someone accepts that there is such a thing as truth, the search to attain it can last a lifetime and necessarily involves hardship in forsaking any comforts of falsehood. Arriving at the truth is the culmination of a heroic effort, and therefore the Torah instructs us to recognise this effort, and several times (e.g. Vayikra 19; 33 and Devarim 10; 18) enjoins us not to afflict a convert, and to treat him or her with special respect

Parshat Yitro 1

2008-01-20T05:15:00.000+02:00

My translation of a piece of R' Baruch HaLevi Epstein's "Tosefet Bracha" on the parsha can be found here

“And Yisro heard...” (Shemos 18; 1). Rashi comments, “What did he hear that brought him [from Midyan to the desert]? The splitting of the Reed Sea and the war with Amalek”. Hearing of these two events acted as the catalyst which made Yisro leave the comforts of Midyan to join the Israelites in the desert. Surely such miracles would have been reported by every news agency in the known world, but nobody else came to join them. Why does the Torah stress that Yisro heard about these events? Why is this an appropriate introduction to the main part of our portion, the giving of the Torah and the Ten Commandments?

In Hebrew, as in English, ‘hearing’ also has connotations of understanding. It implies more than sound waves entering the aural canal. We find the best example of this meaning in the word ‘Shema’ in the recital of ‘Shema Yisrael...’. The instruction which we proclaim is not to hear audibly that G-d is one, but to understand that belief in G-d’s unity is the bedrock of our faith, and underlies all of creation. Though all of the other nations heard about the miracles that G-d performed for the Jews, only Yisro ‘heard’ and understood that the only possible response was to leave Midyan and come into the desert.

Yisro’s ‘hearing’ is therefore a very apt introduction to the Ten Commandments, when the Jews recited the famous words, “We will do and we will hear” (“Na’aseh v’Nishma”) (ibid. 24; 7). The Sages teach (Shabbat 88b) that when G-d heard Israel utter this phrase He exclaimed, “Who revealed this secret to My children, the secret that the ministering angels use for themselves”, as the verse states, “Strong warriors [angels] who do His bidding and obey the sound of His words” (Tehillim 103; 20). By pledging that they will perform anything that G-d commands without question, and only then try and hear what G-d has asked of them the Jews put themselves on a par with the angels, who also act unquestioningly to do G-d’s bidding.

After Yisro joins the nation, he watches as Moshe judges the people. He realises that having Moshe as the sole adjudicant for the nation will not provide a permanent system of justice, and that it will destroy both Moshe and the nation. He suggests the alternative of appointing courts and judges, with lower and higher courts for lesser or greater disputes. Yisro says to Moshe, “Now, listen to my voice” (ibid. 18; 19). The Torah continues that “Moshe listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.” (v. 24). Why does the Torah state that Moshe heard Yisro’s ‘voice’ rather than just telling us that he listened to his father-in-law?

Yisro understood that he was a newcomer to the nation, and though he was Moshe’s father-in-law, he was not sure whether he would be accepted by the rest of the nation. Would they be prepared to listen to the suggestion of a former idolater, in contradiction of the practise of their leader Moshe? Yet Yisro felt that what he had to say about the courts was as much a part of Torah as the commandments that they had heard directly from G-d. It was as if G-d were speaking from Yisro’s throat, using the G-d given logic in place of prophecy. This is why Yisro stresses that is not making his suggestion out of pride, but because the ‘voice’ of Mount Sinai is using his mouth as a conduit. Moshe understands this and therefore listens to his ‘voice’.

This teaches us an important principle in Torah study, often the Talmud asks on a verse, “This can be derived from logic - why do I need this verse?” There are limitations to our logic, and there are things that we don’t understand, which the Jews accepted at Sinai to do, and later come to an understanding. Also, Torah punishment cannot be given for a law derived purely from logic, and the 613 commandments only include those which are explicitly written in the Torah, but for daily living logic plays a vital role. Therefore, even though the incident with Yisro witnessing Moshe’s judging only took place after Yom Kippur, four months after Mount Sinai, the Torah presents it here as an introduction to the receiving of the Torah.
Later in the Torah reading, having just received the Ten Commandments directly from G-d, the Torah tells us “All the nation saw the voices (alt. thunder), and the flames, and the sound of the shofar and the smoking mountain...” (ibid. 20; 15). The people experienced synesthesia, where sounds became visible to them. Apart from the fact that we find it difficult to even conceive of such a concept, how does seeing a voice differ from hearing a voice? Why was it necessary for G-d to perform the extra miracle of making sounds visible?

We see from here that there is a clear difference from the voice of reason which resonates in the mouths of the scholars, which should be heard, and the direct prophecy of the encounter with G-d. The people went beyond hearing, and could actually see the words. The hidden meanings of each phrase became clear. Just as in English the phrase ‘I see’ implies a greater level of understanding than ‘I hear’, so too the Torah is telling us that the Jews reached the highest level of prophecy and insight. All the secrets contained within the Torah were revealed to them. When the Talmud wants to introduce a point it often uses the phrase, “Ta Shma”, “come and hear”. The Zohar, however, which contains the esoteric secrets, introduces phrases with the words, “Ta Chazi”, “Come and see”. Unless one ‘sees’ the meanings and secrets clearly they have not entered into the realms of the hidden secrets of the Torah.

Thus we see three different types of understanding in our portion. Yisro understood from events that he saw that the correct response was to join the Jews. Moshe heard and understood that Yisro’s logic was as valid as the rest of the Torah which was given directly from G-d. And the entire nation understood the Ten Commandments with such clarity that they went beyond hearing, and were able to ‘see’ what G-d demanded of them.

Yitro Summary

2008-01-19T20:35:00.000+02:00

Yitro (Jethro), Moshe's father-in-law, brings Moshe's wife Tzipporah, and their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, back to Moshe in the wilderness. Yitro observes that Moshe is the sole judge of any disputes. He says that this system cannot work in the long term, and helps Moshe set up a new system of law, by training and appointing judges at various levels to judge simpler cases, thus only the most complicated disputes will actually come before Moshe. He refuses Moshe's offer that he stay with the Jews in their journey through the desert, and returns to his own land.

In the third month after leaving Egypt the Children of Israel come to the Sinai desert and encamp at the foot of Mount Sinai. Moshe ascends the mountain. G-d tells Moshe to tell the people to spend three days preparing themselves, and to set up fences to prevent them going near the mountain. On the third day, G-d reveals Himself in a cloud of smoke and fire, accompanied by the blast of a shofar. G-d gives the Ten Commandments to the people. The people tremble with fear from hearing G-d's speech, and ask Moshe to act as an intermediary, relaying the Divine words to them. The portion ends with instructions prohibiting making idols, and instructions for building the altar.

Parshat Beshalach 3

2008-01-17T22:02:00.000+02:00

After the Israelites have passed safely through the Sea of Reeds, and seen the Egyptians drowned, they sang a song of praise to G-d. The majority of that Song relates the downfall and death of the Egyptians. “I shall sing to G-d, for He is exalted above the arrogant, having hurled horse and rider into the sea… G-d is master of war… Pharaoh’s chariots and army He threw in the sea… In Your abundant grandeur you shatter Your opponents...” (Shemos 15; 1 ff.). Here it seems that G-d is praised through wreaking vengeance on His enemies.

This is in contrast to the specific prohibition against seeking revenge, “You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge...” (Vayikra 19; 18). The Talmud highly praises someone who does not seek revenge, “Those who are insulted, and don’t respond, that hear themselves being denigrated and don’t respond, who act from love, and rejoice in their suffering about them the verse states, ‘Those who love G-d are like the rising sun in its might’ (Shoftim 5; 31)” (Yoma 23a).

Furthermore, the song that the Israelites sang was forbidden to the angels to sing: After the Israelites had crossed through the Reed Sea the angels wanted to sing a song of praise of G-d. He said to them, ‘Should you sing a song while My handiwork [the Egyptians] are drowning in the sea? (Megillah 10b). It seems that the angels were expected to show compassion at the deaths of the Egyptians, despite the suffering that they caused to the Israelites. How were the Israelites themselves permitted to sing praises of G-d?

The Talmud also implies that revenge is not always a bad thing, “Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak, any Torah scholar who does not seek revenge and bear a grudge like a snake is not a true scholar” (Yoma 22b). Elsewhere it states, “How great is revenge, for it was written between two names of G-d, as the verse states, ‘G-d, Who seeks revenge is G-d’ (Tehillim 114; 1)” (Brachot 33a). Furthermore, the Midrash states that the revelation of G-d’s revenge that the nations witnessed at the Reed Sea brought great glory to G-d:

“Then Moshe sang...” (Shemos 15; 1). This is the meaning of the verse “Your [G-d’s] throne was established from then” (Tehillim 93; 2). Rav Berachiah stated in the name of Rabbi Abahu that even though You are eternal, but You were not seated on Your throne, and not known in Your world until Your children recited the Song of the Sea. (Shemos Rabba 23; 1).

The resolution of this apparent contradiction is that there are two kinds of revenge. The common usage of the word revenge implies something which is motivated by pride and a base desire for punishment for one’s enemies. The Talmud explains:

“What is revenge and what is bearing a grudge? A person asked to borrow their neighbour’s sickle, and was refused, then the following the day the same neighbour asks to borrow his axe. If he refuses saying, ‘Just as you wouldn’t lend to me’, this is revenge. What is bearing a grudge? A person asked to borrow their neighbour’s axe, and was refused, then the following the day the same neighbour asks to borrow an item of clothing. If he responds, ‘You may borrow it, because unlike you I do lend out my possessions’ this is bearing a grudge. (Yoma 23a).

There is also vengeance which is solely a quest for justice. Though in English the word ‘vengeance’ has a pejorative meaning, in Hebrew does not necessarily have connotations of vindictiveness. It is this type of vengeance which a Torah scholar must possess, and which was written in the Torah between two of G-d’s names.

The world was set up in a constant balance between G-d’s mercy and His strict justice. Without mercy the world would not have been able to exist for a moment, at the first sin everything would have been returned to emptiness and void. However, without justice G-d is not a G-d of truth. Therefore He must meet out justice, and reward and punishment so that fairness is preserved.

It is through G-d’s carrying out of justice that He is clearly perceived in the world. Every time that a sin goes unpunished, because of G-d’s mercy, there is an opportunity to think that there is no Judge and no justice. When the wicked are punished we see the Heavenly Judge in action.

However, only the injured party can seek this revenge. If someone else seeks revenge on their behalf it cannot be solely a quest for justice. This is why the Israelites were permitted to sing G-d’s praises, because they had suffered under the Egyptians. But the angels who had only observed their suffering were not permitted to rejoice at the downfall of the Egyptians.

We can now understand why G-d was not ‘seated on His throne’ until after the splitting of the sea. For 210 years the Egyptians had persecuted the Israelites with apparent impunity. They forgot that there was a G-d who ran the world. At the time of their punishment all the nations witnessed the fact that everyone ultimately receives their just desserts.

Parshat Beshalach 2

2008-01-15T22:01:00.000+02:00

“Az Yashir Moshe ...”, “Then Moshe sang ...”. This explains the verse “Your throne is established from then (Az)” (Tehillim 93; 2), Rabbi Berachia said in the name of Rabbi Abahu: Even though You (G-d) have existed forever, Your throne was not sat in, and You were not made known in Your world until Your children sang the song [at the Reed Sea]. Therefore the verse states “Your throne is established from then (Az)” (Shemos Rabba 23).
How did the splitting of the Reed Sea and the Jews singing the Song of the Sea make G-d’s presence in the world more known than any of the other miraculous events seen so far? The Midrash implies that this miracle was in some way quite different from that which had gone before. Singing a song in praise had never happened until this time, as expressed in the following Midrash (ibid.):

“Az Yashir Moshe ...”, “Then Moshe sang ...”. This explains the verse “Her mouth is open with knowledge, and the Torah of kindness is on her tongue” (Mishlei 31; 26). From the creation of the world until Israel sang the song at the sea we never find any person who sang G-d’s praises. Adam was created but never sang praise. G-d saved Avraham from the fiery furnace and from the kings. Similarly He saved Yitzchak from the sacrificial knife and Ya’akov from the angel and from Esav and from the inhabitants of Shechem, and none of them sang a song of praise. However when the Jews came to the Reed Sea and it split for them immediately they sang praise before G-d.

It perhaps does not make sense that no one had ever been moved to praise G-d before in spite of the miracles witnessed. Rabbi Y. Y. L. Bloch explains in Shi’urei Da’as that the essence of a song is found in a new experience, and all other songs written about a normal event will be but pale imitations of the original. So, when the Midrash says that no one had ever sung G-d’s praise until this time, it implies that until now miracles could be regarded as understandable in spite of their greatness. The splitting of the sea was something qualitatively different, and not so easily explained.

When G-d created the universe he set up systems of laws, the physical laws which have been understood and explained by scientists, and the spiritual laws which are metaphysical. The ancients had a clear understanding of the spiritual laws, as we see from the Egyptian advisors, who could also replicate many of the plagues and miracles. The Talmud (Chagiga 12a) states: “When G-d was creating the world it was continually expanding like the thread of a loom, until G-d stopped it … This is the meaning of the name Sha-dai; G-d who said “enough” to His world”. G-d is infinite, the act of creation necessitated limiting His influence (Tzimtzum) in order to make a finite world. Sha-dai is the name of G-d which connotes His role as limiting, setting rules and laws by which the world functions.

According to the spiritual laws, a righteous person deserves to have miracles performed for him or her. Avraham had demonstrated his unquestioning faith and trust in G-d, so it was not surprising that he was saved from the furnace or from the four kings. Conversely the Egyptians had harshly enslaved the Israelites, and deserved the plagues with which they were punished. To the discerning observer none of these events would be worthy of song, because they merely follow the laws which G-d set up at creation, implicit in the name Sha-dai.

However the miracles at the sea were of an entirely different nature. The Zohar (Exodus 56) states that the sea didn’t want to split. It complained that the Jews were no worthier of salvation that were the Egyptians, they were both idolaters. G-d chose to save the Israelites not based on laws of reward and punishment, but on future events, that they would eventually accept the Torah at Mount Sinai. By judging based not on the present but on the larger picture of the purpose of the world, G-d was displaying His true essence in this world, which we know as the name Y-HV-H. Only through showing His favouritism to the Jews did G-d reveal His true nature, and His larger role in world history. This is the explanation of the verses “And G-d spoke to Moshe, and said to him, ‘I am Y-HV-H. I appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov by the name of G-d Sha-dai, but by my name Y-HV-H I was not known to them’” (Shemos 6; 2-3).

The Midrash, that G-d’s throne was not sat in until this time, nor was He known in the world is now clearly understood. Until this time everything could be attributed to the laws of creation, and Divine involvement with the world was concealed. But when the sea split before the Jews all of humanity witnessed and acknowledged G-d as the ruler of the world. This is why the Jews were moved to song, seeing a miracle, the like of which the world had never seen.

Parshat Beshalach 1

2008-01-13T21:56:00.000+02:00

The splitting of the Reed Sea was one of the most direct and open miracles in the history of the world. The Talmud relates that even the lowest person crossing through the sea saw more of the spiritual realms than the prophet Yechezkel (Ezekiel) who received one of the highest visions of G-d’s throne of Glory. The verse says “This is my G-d” (15; 2), meaning that each person was able to physically point to G-d and say “Here He is!”. Yet only a few chapters later the Torah says about these same people who have just seen G-d “That they tried G-d, saying ‘Is G-d in our midst or not?’”. How could they have forgotten in such a short space of time the miracles that G-d had performed for them?

Consider the manna. Each morning the Jews would receive their daily food from the heavens. Not only did it arrive fresh and tasty, but it was also shrink wrapped in a layer of dew to preserve the flavour. This miracle begins in today’s Torah portion (16; 4) and continues throughout the entire forty years that they remain in the desert. This was a clear miracle, perceived by every individual person in the nation. Furthermore, it also shows that G-d is constantly involved with the world, and providing for his creations.

Imagine someone who was born during those forty years in the Sinai desert. The only way he knows of getting food is by waiting for it to arrive on the doorstep each morning. To him or her, this is the way the world works. If they would have had science textbooks then, surely there would have been diagrams showing exactly how to recognise manna, and showing how it falls from the heavens. We can picture his or her shock upon entering the land of Israel after forty years. They have never known any other way of life. All of a sudden they are told that by putting seeds in the ground they can grow their own food. Yet, at first, when they experiment, all they see is that the seed disintegrates. How miraculous it must have been for them to actually see grain growing from the ground. Not only are they amazed that dirt can sustain life, but they can plant as much as they like, and have a storehouse full of food, not having to rely daily on G-d’s kindness. They can grow a variety of crops, each with a unique taste and texture, and they can actually feel that they are earning and deserving their food, rather than just receiving a handout form G-d. To this person, which is the greater miracle, bread form the heavens, or bread from the earth?

We define miracles as those occurrences which apparently defy the laws of nature. But surely those very laws themselves are no less miraculous. We become accustomed to the way in which the world works, and therefore there is a danger that we may begin to take it for granted. G-d has given us the independence to provide for ourselves, and at the same time instructs us to maintain and acknowledge our dependence upon Him for everything we have. He has given us blessings before and after everything we eat, and for many other of the pleasures of the world. “Blessed are You, G-d, King of the Universe, who sustains the entire world with His goodness.3” This is our challenge, to continually recognise G-d in the world, not only in the extraordinary, but also, and even more importantly, in the mundane.

This is the mistake that the Jews made when they first left Egypt. They acknowledged G-d as the Worker of Miracles. They saw Him at the Reed Sea, as they had seen Him in the plagues that He brought upon the Egyptians. But when there were no more overt miracles, they questioned “Is the L-rd among usor not?” They had not yet opened their eyes to realise that the greatest evidence of G-d is His presence among us, in our daily lives. They had not forgotten the miracles, and had not lessened their belief in G-d, but they couldn’t see Him with them continuously. It is up to us to constantly try to find the miracles, both overt and hidden, which G-d performs for us.

Beshalach Summary

2008-01-12T21:50:00.000+02:00

You can read some divrei Torah from Tosefet Bracha by clicking on the link. (My translation, R' Baruch HaLevi Epstein's Divrei Torah - aka the Torah Temima)

Here is a summary of the Parsha.

When Pharaoh sends the Jews out of Egypt, G-d guides them on a long route through the wilderness in order to avoid seeing war, which might cause them to return to Egypt. G-d leads them with a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire at night. G-d instructs them to turn back towards the Reed Sea1 so that Pharaoh will think that they are lost and be tempted to pursue them.

Pharaoh and the Egyptians regret letting the Jews leave and chase after them with horses and chariots. The Jews are terrified; the Egyptians are right behind them and the sea is facing them. With no way out they complain to Moshe. G-d instructs Moshe to hold out his staff over the sea, and it splits, allowing the Jews to cross. Once they have all crossed safely , G-d again instructs Moshe to hold out his staff, and the sea returns to its normal state, drowning all the pursuing Egyptians. The Jews, led by Moshe, sing praise to G-d for all of the good that he has done for them.

They travel onward to the wilderness of Shur, walking three days without water. They arrive in Marra but the water is too bitter to drink. The Jews complain about Moshe, who prays to G-d and is told to place wood from a certain tree into the waters, which sweetens them. In Marra G-d gives them some of the 613 commandments.

They journey on to Elim, and camp by twelve springs surrounded by seventy palm trees. Next they go to the wilderness of Sin. The Jews complain about the lack of food and moan about Moshe and Aharon's leadership. G-d sends them Manna and quails, and instructs them about Shabbat. G-d instructs Aharon to take a container, place Manna in it, and keep it as an eternal reminder that He provided for them in the desert.

Again there is no water to drink, so G-d instructs Moshe to hit a rock with his staff in front of the entire nation. Water then flows from it, and this spring follows them throughout their journey in the desert.

The nation of Amalek attacks the Jews at Rephidim. Joshua leads the men in battle, and they eventually succeed in weakening Amalek. G-d instructs them to write down what Amalek did, as an eternal reminder. G-d also states that he will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek.

Parshat Bo

2008-01-09T22:52:00.000+02:00

“By ten Divine utterances was the world created.” (Ethics of the Fathers 5; 1). The Kabbalistic texts explain the ten plagues in Egypt corresponded to these ten utterances with which the world was created. At the time of creation the greatest revelation of G-d’s Presence was ‘In the beginning’, when there was only G-d and nothing else. Each act of creation served to further disguise G-d’s role in the world. However, with the plagues in Egypt, each new affliction brought the Egyptians and the Israelites closer to the recognition of G-d as Master of the Universe. Therefore, the plagues correspond to creation in reverse order.

The second utterance of creation was “Let there be light” (Genesis 1; 3). This light was not the normal light that illuminates our world today, as the heavenly bodies were not created until the fourth day of creation. Rather, according to the Midrash (quoted in Rashi) it was an intense spiritual light, and G-d saw that the wicked were unworthy of enjoying it. Therefore He separated it from the rest of the universe, and set it aside for the use of the righteous in the World to Come. It is clear that this light was not what we call light, because originally it was mingled with ‘darkness’ until “G-d separated between the light and the darkness...” (ibid. 4). We know darkness to be simply the absence of light, and therefore it is physically impossible to have dark and light mingled together, yet this impossibility was the light and darkness of the first day of creation.

The second to last plague in Egypt was that of darkness. But again, this was not merely the absence of light, as the verse states, “the darkness will be tangible ... No person could see another, nor could anyone rise from their place for a three day period.” (Exodus X; 21 - 23). Ramban explains that this darkness was an opaque, fog-like condition that extinguished all flames, so that the Egyptians could not use lamps. For the first three days they were confined to their homes by this darkness, but for the next three days the darkness intensified and became so palpable that the Egyptians literally could not move (Rashi).

Furthermore, this darkness was mingled with light, as the Torah says “but for all the Children of Israel there was light in their dwellings”. Rashi explains that there were two reasons for this plague of darkness. Among the Jews there were many people who had assimilated to the point where there was no hope for them to return to the covenant of Israel. Therefore they were not able to be redeemed from Egypt. G-d provided the darkness so that the Egyptians would not see their deaths and claim that the plagues affected Jews and Egyptians alike. Secondly, G-d had promised that the Jews would go free with all the wealth of Egypt. During the plague of darkness they were able to examine the possessions of the Egyptians, and determine their locations. When the Israelites were about to leave the Egyptians were not be able to deny them anything, as the verse states, “G-d gave the people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they granted their requests, so they emptied Egypt” (ibid.. 12; 36). So while the Egyptians were paralysed by the darkness, the Jews were able to walk through their homes, looking through their possessions with clear illumination. This seems to be the mingling of light and darkness before G-d decreed their separation at the time of creation.

Parshat Bo

2008-01-08T22:49:00.000+02:00

Rashi begins his commentary of the Torah with his famous question. Why does the Bible begin with the account of creation and of the patriarchs. Surely G-d did not need to tell us all of that; this is not a history book. Rather says Rashi, the Torah should have begun with the first real mitzvah (commandment), that of declaring the new month, which is in this week’s Torah reading. It is clear from this question that today’s Torah reading introduces a qualitatively different type of Torah. Therefore it must also herald the beginning of a different Jewish Nation that is able to accept and relate to such a Torah. What is so special about the Mitzvah of declaring the new month that it should be the first commandment that G-d gave us as a nation?

King Solomon tells us in Koheles (Ecclesiastes) “There is nothing new beneath the sun” (1; 9). “Beneath the sun” is a phrase used to denote the natural order, the scientific laws of the observable universe. Everything has been set in motion from the time of creation, and therefore there is nothing “new” that can occur. All that we are able to do is to better understand how these laws operate, and thus to find ways of using them to our benefit. But we are not able to actually create anything new.

Of course this implies that there are “new” things, but that they are “above” the sun, beyond the realms of science and nature. Our Rabbis tell us that “beyond the sun” refers to G-d, the spiritual world, and the Torah which is our gateway to that world. Actual creation and renewal is possible, but only through the study and observance of the Torah and its laws. This is the world order that we as Jews have access to if we choose to delve into it.

The Hebrew words for new month are “Rosh Chodesh”. “Chodesh” is closely related to the word “Chidush” meaning renewal. By giving us the Mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, G-d is also giving us the power of Chidush. Here we have our opening into the world of Torah and closeness to G-d, the world beyond the sun. Therefore, Rashi questioned why the Torah doesn’t begin at this point, when we are given the key to renewal that separates us from the rest of the world.

Why is this the first commandment given to the Jews before leaving Egypt? Why couldn’t G-d wait until they were standing at Mt. Sinai, and they could have had access to the renewal of the new month at the same time that the rest of the Torah was given to them?

The book of Exodus begins with “There arose new king...”. The Chiddushei HaRim2 asks how is it possible that the Torah describes the king of Egypt as “new”, implying that he was somehow connected to this higher order beyond the parameters of the sun? He answers that G-d puts this power into the world, and it is intended for the Jews to connect to. If, however, they forget that they have this ability, and don’t utilise it, others are able to make use of this potential for renewal against them. This is what happened in Egypt. The Jews forgot what they were there for, and that they could connect to the spiritual power of Torah, the inheritance of their forefathers. Therefore Pharaoh and Egypt were able to use it to enslave them, as it says “There arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Yosef”. Pharaoh was only able to forget about Yosef because the Jews had also forgotten.

Therefore, in order to get out of Egypt, the Jews needed the ability to start again. Despite the fact that they had sunk to the lowest levels of morality, and become as Egyptian as the Egyptians, G-d gave them the gift of Chodesh and Chidush so that they could rise out of the slump and begin again. This is why the new month sacrifices that are commanded in the Torah include a sin-offering. It is a mini Day of Atonement and gives us the chance to begin again.

Many other nations have risen to become superpowers, but eventually their strength collapses inwards as their society disintegrates. All the nations that once ruled the world no longer exist, they have been relegated to the realm of history. Once the social rot sets in, they find no way out. Only we Jews have survived every up and down of history. Whenever we hit a spiritual low and there appears no way out, G-d punishes us, but at the same time gives us the opportunity to begin again with a clean slate. Our G-d given ability to renew ourselves, as individuals and as a nation explains the seemingly impossible longevity of the Jewish nation in world history.

Bo Summary

2008-01-06T22:55:00.000+02:00

This is a summary of this week's Torah portion.

For my translation of exerpts of Tosefet Bracha on the parsha click these links:

Tosefet Bracha - Bo

Tosefet Bracha - Bo (part 2)

Hashem tells Moshe that He is hardening Pharaoh's heart, so that through miraculous plagues the world will know for all time that He is the one true G-d. Pharaoh is warned about the plague of locust and is told how severe it will be. Pharaoh agrees to release only the men, but Moshe insists that everyone must be allowed to go free. During the plague, Pharaoh calls for Moshe and Aaron to remove the locusts and he admits that he has sinned. Hashem ends the plague but hardens Pharaoh's heat, and again Pharaoh fails to free the Children of Israel.

The country, except for the Jewish People, is then engulfed in a palpable darkness. Pharaoh calls for Moshe, and tells him to take all the Jews out of Egypt, and to leave their flocks behind. Moshe tells him that not only will they take their own flocks, but Pharaoh must add his own too. Moshe tells Pharaoh that Hashem is going to bring one more plague, the death of the first born, and then the Children of Israel will leave Egypt. Hashem again hardens Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh warns Moshe that if he sees him again he will be put to death.

Hashem tells Moshe that the month of Nissan will be the first month in the calendar year. The Children of Israel are commanded to take a sheep on the tenth of the month, and guard it until the fourteenth. The sheep is then to be slaughtered as a Pesach sacrifice, its blood to be put on their door-posts, and its roasted meat to be eaten. The blood on the door-post will be a sign to Hashem, to pass over their homes when He strikes the first born of Egypt.

The Jewish People are told to memorialise this day as the Exodus from Egypt, by never eating chametz on Pesach. Moshe relays Hashem's commands, and the Jewish People fulfill them flawlessly. Hashem sends the final plague, killing the first born, and Pharaoh sends the Jews out of Egypt. Hashem tells Moshe and Aaron the laws concerning the Pesach sacrifice, pidyon haben (the redemption of the first born son), and tefillin.

Parshat Vaera 3

2008-01-02T07:36:00.000+02:00

“G-d said to Moshe… ‘Speak to Pharaoh, that he should send the Children of Israel from his land. But I shall harden Pharaoh’s heart...” (Exodus 7; 2-3). These verses raise two obvious questions - what does it mean when G-d hardens a persons heart? How does that accord with our understanding of free choice? Furthermore, if G-d has stated that He will harden Pharaoh’s heart, what point is there in sending Moshe and Aharon to speak to him? This seems like mockery, asking Pharaoh to do something which has become impossible for him to do.

The Rambam writes (Hilchot Teshuva 5; 1 ff.): Each person has the opportunity to turn themselves towards the good path and be righteous, or to choose to follow the path of evil, and become wicked. This the meaning of the verse “Behold mankind is like one of us to know good and evil” (Genesis 3; 22). This means that human beings are unique in the world in that through their own intellect they know the difference between good and evil, and do whichever they desire, without anyone (or anything) preventing them. This principle is a foundation of the Torah and commandments for if G-d would decree that a person would be righteous or wicked, or if there were something forcing a person to a certain path, how could G-d command us to act in a certain way, or how could the prophets chastise us and instruct us to improve our actions?

However, it is possible that a person could sin so grievously, or so often, that strict justice dictates that they must be punished for this, and therefore have their free choice removed so that they are prevented from repentance. Therefore the Torah writes “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart” (Exodus 7; 3). Since he sinned initially of his own choice, and acted evilly against Israel who were living in his land, justice therefore dictates that he eventually lose the option of repentance. Why then did G-d send Moshe to him to tell him to send the Jews from his land and repent, if that option was already removed from him? If a person should do something of their own free will, G-d may remove from them the ability to repent and they must die in their wickedness.

We have a principle that G-d helps a person to follow the path that they chose. Pharaoh chose to be stubborn and obstinate, therefore G-d caused him to take his path to its conclusion. His decisions to oppress and kill the Jews, and then refuse to listen to Moshe and Aaron, caused G-d to take him to a point where the gates of repentance were sealed before him.

Pharaoh was not the only one to exhibit this trait of stubbornness. G-d accuses the Jewish nation of being ‘a stiff-necked people’ at the time of the Golden Calf (ibid. 32; 9), and cites this as the reason that His presence will not remain within the midst of the nation (ibid. 33; 3). Yet despite their stubbornness, when confronted with the enormity of their sin they readily repent, as evidenced by their removal of the crowns that they gained at Sinai (ibid. 5).

Rambam writes (Hilchot Gerushin 1; 1) that a bill of divorce (get) may only be written with the voluntary consent of the husband. Yet later (2; 20) he writes that in a case where the law mandates that a husband should give his wife a get and he refuses, the beis din (Jewish court of law) should whip him until he says ‘I want to give my wife a get’. The Rambam is telling us that sometimes a person’s stubbornness gets in the way of their true intentions. Therefore whipping them removes the stubbornness, and enables them to give the divorce willingly.

In a sense this is what G-d was doing to Pharaoh. He smote him and all of Egypt with plagues to see whether he would repent and let the Jews go voluntarily. Only after the sixth plague, when it was clear that Pharaoh’s inner desire was not to repent did G-d actually intervene to harden his heart. By this time if Pharaoh were to repent it would not be in order to bring him closer to G-d, but only to avoid the plagues. He had reached the point where he needed to follow through and see the consequences of his actions, and receive his due punishment.

Parshat Vaera 2

2008-01-01T07:34:00.000+02:00

This week’s Torah reading contains the four expressions of redemption, “I am the L-rd, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgements, and I will take you to Me for a people...” (Exodus 6; 6-7). The Midrash states that these four expressions also correspond to the four decrees of Pharaoh which caused the Jews to cry out to G-d, and to be saved.

The Ba’al HaTurim finds another quartet to which these four expressions correspond. He explains that the four expressions of redemption correspond to the four nations who would exile and enslave the Jews in the future.

How do these “fours” relate to each other? Pharaoh’s first decree was to subject the Jews to slave labour. Therefore the first phrase of redemption is “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,” specifying that G-d will end the slavery and the harsh labour. One of the main purposes of the slavery was to prevent the Israelite people from retaining faith in G-d. Because they were forced to work so hard they had no time left to contemplate religion and the promises that G-d had made to the forefathers. This corresponds to the first exile, to Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. At that time the greatest threat to the Jewish people was idolatry. The Babylonians were steeped in a culture of idol worship, and Nebuchadnezzar erected a statue of himself to which all his subjects were forced to prostrate themselves. The Jews were later punished for bowing to this idol. The phrase “v’Hotzeti”, “And I will bring you out” reminds us of G-d’s promise to Avraham at the Covenant between the Pieces, where G-d “brought Avraham outside” (Genesis 15; 5). The Midrash explains that at this moment G-d brought Avraham outside the influence of the constellations and astrology, and established a direct relationship between Himself and Avraham’s descendants. From this time forth there was no need for any idols or other intermediaries between the Jews and G-d. So too in Egypt, G-d promises to bring them out, to remove the Jews from the idolatry which they will be surrounded with in Babylon, and to redeem them from that.

The second expression of redemption, “I will deliver you from their bondage” corresponds to Pharaoh’s second decree to throw all the new-born males into the Nile. This parallels the second exile, of Persia and Medea, which culminated in Haman’s decree to wipe out all the Jewish people. During this exile the Jews were faced with physical destruction, just as Pharaoh’s aim was to physically destroy the nation by killing all the males. The word “v’Hitzalti”, “deliver” or “save” implies G-d’s saving from the threat of extermination.

The third expression of redemption, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm” is G-d’s response to Pharaoh’s third decree. Pharaoh became ill with leprosy, and tried to cure himself by bathing in the blood of Jewish babies. The Hagaddah says: “Outstretched arm” this refers to the sword, as it says (I Chronicles 21; 16) “His sword in his hand, outstretched over Jerusalem.”. The simple explanation is that this refers to the slaying of the first born, which the angel of death performed with a sword. Just as Pharaoh had Jewish babies slain so that he could bathe in their blood, so he was repaid in kind when all the firstborn in Egypt were slain.

The third exile was that of the Greeks, which was unique in that it was the only exile where the Jews actually remained in the land of Israel. We do not normally think of the Greeks, the most “cultured” nation of the ancient world as being bloodthirsty murderers. However the mystical sources indicate that metaphorically they did just that. Blood is likened to the soul, as the Torah says “For the blood is the soul” (Deuteronomy 12; 23). Therefore removing a person’s spirituality is likened to shedding blood. The Greeks didn’t enslave the Jews or oppress them physically, rather they banned the study of Torah and other Jewish practices, forcing them to renounce their religion. Thus the Greeks are considered murderers in their attempt to remove the inner essence of the Jewish nation. The word “Ga’alti”, “redeem,” implies taking one nation out from the midst of another. Just as both Pharaoh on a physical level, and the Greeks on a spiritual level attempted to remove the inner essence of the Jews, so too G-d responds by removing the Jews from inside another nation.

The final decree of Pharaoh was instructing his taskmasters to stop supplying the Israelites with straw with which to make bricks. The real hardship of this decree was that it forced the Jews to spread throughout Egypt to search for straw, and thus prevented the Jews from being united. G-d responded to this decree with “I will take you to Me for a people”, G-d will externally impose unity upon the Jewish people, by being their G-d. The other three expressions of redemption all specify saving from oppression. However this final stage of redemption comes after all the external pressures have been removed, and is G-d bringing the Jews to Him, not away from something else.

The fourth and final nation to exile the Jews was Edom. They destroyed the Second Temple, and scattered the Jews throughout the world. Our Sages tell us that the Temple was destroyed because of the sin of causeless hatred between the Jews, a lack of unity. Therefore the exile was one which dispersed the Jews and aggravated that disunity. And the redemption from that exile must be a bringing together of all the Jews, uniting them in the purpose of being the nation of G-d.

Parshat Vaera 1

2007-12-31T07:32:00.000+02:00

“And G-d said to Moshe, ‘Tell Aharon your brother ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over the rivers, the pools, the lakes and over all the bodies of water’ and they will become blood.” (Exodus 7; 19). Surely this is an impossible command. How could G-d instruct a person to stretch out their hand over all the water in the land? Furthermore, since G-d is clearly the One performing the miracle, what purpose is there in Aharon or Moshe waving their hands about as if they are some sort of magicians? Doesn’t this trivialise the effect of G-d controlling the forces of nature? Yet we find that G-d instructs them to perform actions in order to bring about many of the plagues.

Both of these questions can also be asked about the miracle of the splitting of the sea. With the pursuing Egyptian army behind them, and the impenetrability of the Sea of Reeds1 in front of them, Moshe prays to G-d for help. G-d’s response seems absurd; “G-d said to Moshe, ‘Why are you shouting at Me? Speak to the Children of Israel and go forward’” (ibid. 14; 15). The Midrash tells us that the sea didn’t part until Nachshon ben Aminadav, the leader of the tribe of Yehuda, jumped in and started to cross. As soon as he was up to his neck in water, the whole sea divided and the Jews were able to cross on dry land. Why does G-d demand of the Children of Israel to attempt the impossible, and why does He require human input, when He is about to perform one of the greatest miracles?

The mystical sources tell us that our world is just one of many. Ours is the most physical, but parallel to it, and bound to it, are intangible spiritual worlds; each world less physical and more ethereal then the one below it, ultimately reaching to the foot of G-d’s Throne of Glory. These worlds are the conduit for G-d’s interaction with us, diluting the awesome light and power of G-d, so that we are able to perceive it in our world. Without these worlds to gradually translate ethereal spirituality into our physical world, the natural desire to draw close to G-d’s Presence would overpower us, and our spiritual souls would be unable to remain in their physical bodies. This is the meaning of the verse “For no man can perceive Me and live”. All the laws of nature which were set up in creation are channelled through these worlds.

This is not purely a one way system. Our world is called by the Kabbalists “Olam HaAsiya”, the world of action. Because human beings were given free choice, we have the ability to decide upon our actions, and these actions are translated upwards to the highest worlds. Therefore, G-d promises us “If you will carefully obey My commandments... to love the L-rd your G-d and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will provide rain in your land in its proper time...”. G-d is not offering us physical gifts as a reward for obedience, but is teaching us the spiritual laws of nature and the direct consequences of our actions. What we do influences the spiritual worlds, which in turn affect our world.

However, because this is the “Olam HaAsiya”, it is our physical actions which have a direct and far reaching effect. Whilst our thoughts and speech are important, it is with our actions that we alter the spiritual channels and can influence the laws of nature. That is why G-d commands Moshe and Aharon to perform actions to bring about the miracles. Even though it is impossible to reach out over every stretch of water in the physical world, the attempt unleashes spiritual conduits which change the normal physical rules. Similarly at the Reed Sea, everything was in place for it to split, but opening those channels required someone prepared to demonstrate their faith and start swimming.

No one should ever say “Who am I?”, or “What difference do my actions make?”. Every detail of every action that we perform is translated through the spiritual worlds into laws of nature. We are usually unable to see the results directly, but who knows the consequences of lighting Shabbat candles, or of spending Shabbat morning in Synagogue? Putting on tefillin, giving charity, or offering hospitality could affect the health, livelihood or Jewish awareness of ourselves, our loved ones, and ultimately the whole world.

Summary of Vaera

2007-12-30T08:12:00.000+02:00

G-d tells Moshe to inform the Jewish People that He is going to take them out of Egypt; however the Jewish People do not listen. G-d then commands Moshe to go to Pharaoh and tell him to free the Jewish People. Although Aaron shows Pharaoh a sign by turning a staff into a snake, Pharaoh's magicians copy the sign, emboldening Pharaoh to refuse the request.

G-d punishes the Egyptians and sends plagues of blood and frogs, but the magicians copy the miracles on a smaller scale, again encouraging Pharaoh not to grant Moshe's request. However, after the plague of lice, even Pharaoh's magicians concede that only the one true G-d could be performing these miracles.

Only the Egyptians suffer during the plagues, not the Jews in Goshen. The plagues continue with wild animals, pestilence, boils and fiery hail. However Pharaoh continues to harden his heart and refuses to let the Jews go despite Moshe's offers to end the plagues if he will let them leave Egypt.

Parshat Shemot 1

2007-12-25T05:50:00.000+02:00

We find in this week’s Torah reading that Pharaoh tries different methods of limiting the Jewish population explosion. First he gives the men so much work that they won’t have the time or energy to have children. When he sees that this is ineffective, he tells the Jewish midwives to kill all the Jewish boys that are born. Finally, in a last desperate attempt, he orders that all baby boys, including the Egyptian ones, should be thrown into the Nile.

Pharaoh had received information from his astrologers that the saviour of the Jews would die through water. Since he didn’t know whether this saviour would be Jewish or Egyptian, he simply had all baby boys thrown into the Nile in order to fulfil the decree of the astrologers. (What he didn’t realise of course, was that the prediction referred to Moshe striking the rock in the desert in order to provide water for the Jews, which was ultimately the reason that he was not permitted to enter the land of Israel, thus it was the cause of his death.)

Despite his fears of the Jews escaping, how could Pharaoh be so cruel as to have all the babies thrown into the river to drown? Surely there must have been some other way to prevent the Jews from leaving Egypt. Even if there was not, was it worth killing an entire generation?

Pharaoh, as the leader, represented the entire nation in his thoughts and actions. (We see this from the fact that all of Egypt was decimated as a punishment for enslaving the Jews. Had this only been Pharaoh’s private plan, the remainder of the nation would not have been destroyed.) His tyranny was motivated by the Egyptian “world view”. The Hebrew word for Egypt is “Mitzraim”, which is closely related to the word “Mitzarim” meaning “narrow boundaries” or “definitions”. The Egyptians were firm believers in empiricism. They were only interested in those things that they could observe, or test. Therefore, when Moshe tells Pharaoh that G-d demands that he let the Jews go, his response is “Who is this G-d that I should listen to Him”. Furthermore, Pharaoh refused to believe in G-d, or His powers, despite warnings from Moshe, because all of the plagues defied scientific explanation. Pharaoh was unable to accept anything beyond the realms of the “definable”.

Taking empiricism to its logical extreme, even a person is defined only by what he or she has accomplished. A person becomes no more than the sum total of their activities and achievements; future potential is irrelevant. If I can’t see the result now, it has no value. Therefore a baby, which is a bundle of potential but has not yet achieved anything, has no value. Pharaoh decreed that the babies should be thrown into the Nile to fend for themselves. If they are able to save themselves, then they may live; if not, by what rights do they deserve to live? They have not yet earned any rights.

This attitude is antithetical to Judaism. Every new-born baby is a bundle of potential. It must be cared for and looked after until it is in a position to realise that potential. We are forbidden to stand aside and let another person suffer merely because they are not able to look after themselves. We have a collective responsibility to each other, regardless of whether someone “deserves” our giving or not. It is not for us to judge other people, or how well they are fulfilling their potential.

When we cease looking at what we can give to others, instead being interested only in what we think they deserve, we end up with petty infighting and eventually hatred.
This is known as “Sinas Chinam”, hatred for no reason. Our “justification” and motivation for behaving in this way is “What has that person done for me?”, or “Why do they deserve to be treated better?”. Once we look at what rights another has, based on our own evaluation, we are faced with a breakdown of society. This baseless hatred is what led to the destruction of the Second Temple. It is interesting to note that the period between the fasts of the Seventeenth of Tammuz and Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the lead up to, and destruction of the Temple is known as “Bein HaMitzarim”, “Between the Boundaries”.

Concern only with the physical and measurable leads to a denial of G-d, even in the face of undeniable evidence. Worse than that, it denies any higher meaning to human life. If people are merely the sum total of their achievements, and have to earn their right to life, then a nation can throw their children into the Nile with no pangs of conscience.

Shemot Summary

2007-12-24T05:57:00.000+02:00

Pharaoh, fearing the population explosion of Jews in Egypt, enslaves them. When their birth rate continues to increase, he orders the Jewish midwives to kill all baby boys. A daughter of Levi (Yocheved) gives birth to a son and places him in a basket in the Nile in order to save him. Pharaoh's daughter finds and adopts the baby, even though she realises he is a Hebrew. She names him Moshe (Moses) meaning "drawn from the water". Miriam, Moshe's older sister, offers to find a nursemaid for the baby, and brings her mother to help raise him.

Years later, Moshe witnesses an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and in anger kills the Egyptian. Moshe realises his life is in danger and flees to Midian where he rescues Tzipporah, whose father Yisro approves their subsequent marriage.

On Chorev (Mt. Sinai), Moshe witnesses the "burning bush" where Hashem commands him to lead the Jewish People from Egypt to the Land of Israel, which Hashem promised to their ancestors. Moshe protests that the Jewish People in Egypt will doubt him being Hashem's agent, so Hashem helps Moshe perform three miraculous transformations to validate him in the eyes of the people: Changing his staff into a snake, his healthy hand into a leprous one, and water into blood. When Moshe declares that he is not a good public speaker, Hashem tells him that his brother Aaron will be his spokesman.
Aaron greets Moshe on his return to Egypt and they petition Pharaoh to release the Jews. Pharaoh responds with even harsher decrees, declaring that the Jews must produce the same quota of bricks as before, but without being given supplies. The people become dispirited, but Hashem assures Moshe that He will force Pharaoh to let the Hebrews leave.

Parshat Vayechi 3

2007-12-19T18:32:00.000+02:00

Ya’akov called to his sons, and said, ‘Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather yourselves together and hear, you sons of Ya’akov, and listen to Yisrael your father.” (Genesis 49; 1, 2). Ya’akov seems to suddenly change the subject, promising to tell his sons about the end of days, but instead continuing with the blessings.

The Talmud explains that Ya’akov wanted to reveal the time of the coming of the Messiah to his children, as they gathered at his bedside. However, at that moment the Holy Spirit departed from him, and he was unable to do so. (Pesachim 56a). Why did Ya’akov want to reveal the events of the end of days, and why G-d prevented him from so doing.

Many of the people in the Torah have had their name changed, but Ya’akov is unique in that he is still known by his former name as well as the new one. ““Your name shall no more be called Ya’akov...” (Genesis 35; 10). Not that the name Ya’akov should not be used, but that Ya’akov should be in addition to Yisrael. Yisrael is the main name, and Ya’akov secondary.” (Yerushalmi Berachot 1; 6). The simplest explanation for Ya’akov’s two names is that when he is referred to as an individual the name Ya’akov is used, and when the Torah speaks of him as the father of the nation, symbolically encompassing all of the nation, he is known as Yisrael.

The Talmud (Ta’anit 5b) states: Rav Yitzchak said to Rav Nachman, thus said Rabbi Yochanan, ‘Ya’akov our father never died.’ He replied, ‘In that case why did they eulogise him, embalm him and bury him?’ He said ‘I learn this fact from a verse, as it states (Jeremiah 30; 10), “Therefore fear not, my servant Ya’akov, says G-d, for I will save you from afar, and your seed (children) from the land of their captivity...” The verse connects Ya’akov to his descendants. Just as his descendants are alive, so too he is alive.’

The simple explanation of this perplexing piece of Talmud is that Ya’akov was the father of the twelve tribes, and the only patriarch to have all his children follow in his spiritual footsteps. Therefore he is more directly connected to the Jewish people, and remains alive as long as we do. However, it is strange that Rabbi Yochanan stated that Ya’akov never died. I would have expected him to use the name Yisrael, since it is referring to the patriarch in his role as progenitor of the nation.

The name Ya’akov was given to him because he was born holding on to the heel of his brother Esav. This name shows both that he is subordinate to Esav, in that he was only able to grab the lowest part of him, but also that he is involved in a constant struggle with his brother. Ya’akov managed to take away Esav’s birthright, and his blessings, but it is still the descendants of Esav who control the world physically and financially. The Jews have always remained only a small, though influential, part of the human population. The name Yisrael was given to Ya’akov after his struggle with the angel, who represented the spiritual side of Esav. The name means ‘You have struggled with angels and with people, and prevailed’. (Genesis 32; 29).

Ya’akov’s life was a microcosm of Jewish history. The trials that he faced, with his brother, Lavan, Shechem and the loss of Yosef, are trials that we are still facing today, on a national scale. Therefore it would appear that the name Ya’akov relates to the events that are part of the struggle of our existence throughout history, whereas the name Yisrael represents the final vindication and victory of the Jewish nation, that will come at the end of days. This is why Rabbi Yochanan said that Ya’akov never died. As long as the Jewish nation are still in exile, still having to face trials and suffering, Ya’akov is still alive. However, in the future, when history has run its course and the Jewish nation will be recognised for having prevailed it will be Yisrael who is alive.

Perhaps we can say that allegorically when Ya’akov wanted to reveal the end to his children, G-d hid it from him to teach him that the struggle, and the process is as important, or even more important than reaching the goal of the end of days. Realising this, Ya’akov changes his final words to his children from being an esoteric description of the Messianic era, to giving them the blessings which will help them through the world as it is at the moment.

This seems to contradict the statement from the Yerushalmi that Yisrael is the main name, and Ya’akov only secondary. However, the continuation of the Talmud there records a discussion between Ben Zoma and the sages as to whether the Exodus from Egypt will still be remembered in the times of the Messiah (a discussion which is part of the Pesach Haggadah). Ben Zoma claims that the miracles of the Messianic era will make the miracles of the Exodus irrelevant. However the sages counter, “Not that the Exodus from Egypt will be removed, rather the Exodus will be additional to the future redemption. That will be the main redemption, and the Egyptian one secondary to it.”

Though ultimately the future redemption will overshadow the Exodus from Egypt, for the present that one is more relevant and important to us. Even at the time of the ultimate redemption, we will still remember the trials, tests and miracle of the Exodus from Egypt. This is the message that Ya’akov received through the temporary loss of Divine inspiration. Though ultimately the end of days will overshadow the present events of history, our current struggles won’t be forgotten, and for the moment they are the ones that are more relevant to us.

Parshat Vayechi 2

2007-12-18T18:30:00.000+02:00

Before his death, Ya’akov gathers his children around him in order to bless them. But listen to what he says to them. “Reuven, you are my firstborn... Because you were as unstable as water, you will no longer be the first. Shimon and Levi are a pair; instruments of crime are their wares. Let my soul not enter their plot.... Cursed be their rage...” By the time he got to his fourth son, Yehuda was already backing away anticipating a rebuke like those his brothers had just received! On his deathbed, has Ya’akov nothing better to say to his sons than to point out their weaknesses? Is this the blessing that he summoned them to receive?

Earlier in the reading Yosef brings his two sons, Menashe and Ephraim to Ya’akov for a blessing. Ya’akov switches his hands to place the right on Ephraim’s head, even though Ephraim is the younger. This displeases Yosef and he tries to move his father’s hands. Ya’akov justifies himself by saying that though both sons will become great, the younger will become greater than the older. It appears that Ya’akov is doing things the wrong way round. If the purpose of a blessing is to bestow greatness, couldn’t he decide through the way he places his hands, which son will be the greater? He seems bound by the future, and is not conferring greatness, but making a prophecy.

The Midrash1 states that the Torah opens with the letter beis because this is the letter of blessing. In what sense does beis represent blessing? Certainly the word b’racha begins with beis, but so do many other words, some of which even mean the opposite of blessing.

The Maharal explains that the word b’racha which is usually translated as “blessing” in fact means “increase” or “many”. Therefore the letter beis is in essence b’racha, because its numerical value is two. It is by definition “many”. Furthermore, the root of the word b’racha is the letters beis, reish, and caf. Each of these letters has a numerical value representing double. Beis is two, reish is two hundred, and caf is twenty, two tens.

When Ya’akov comes to bless his sons, he cannot redefine who they are. Rather he points out their strengths and weaknesses. Then they are able to improve themselves, by channelling their negative traits toward positive actions, and by increasing their good qualities. Similarly, Ya’akov cannot change the future for his grandsons, but he can bless them that G-d should help each of them to realise their fullest potential. Actualising one’s abilities is the increase inherent in b’racha.

The Talmud uses the following story to illustrate the concept of b’racha:

A man was walking in the desert. He was tired, hungry and thirsty. He came across a tree with sweet fruit, nice shade and a stream of water flowing beneath it. He ate from the fruit, drank from the stream and rested in the shade. When he was about to leave he said “Oh tree, how can I bless you? If I would say that your fruit should be sweet - your fruit is already sweet; that you should have pleasant shade - your shade is already pleasant; that you should have a stream flowing beneath you - you already have a stream flowing beneath you. Instead may G-d bless you that all the saplings that come from you should be like you.”2

The best blessing that one person can give to another is to help them realise and fulfil their true potential. In this way they will grow and expand and become the embodiment of b’racha.

Parshat Vayechi 1

2007-12-15T18:17:00.001+02:00

In our Torah portion Yosef brings his two sons to his father for a blessing. “Yosef took the two boys. He placed Efraim to his right, (to Yisrael’s left), and Menashe to his left, (Yisrael’s right). … Yisrael reached out with his right hand and placed it on Efraim’s head, thought he was the younger. He placed his left hand on Menashe’s head. He deliberately crossed his hands, even though Menashe was the firstborn. … He too will attain greatness. But his younger brother will become even greater....” (Genesis 48; 13-14).

There are several questions to be asked on this section. Why does the Torah explain in such detail the position of the two boys. Is there not a simpler way that we could have been informed that Ya’akov gave Efraim the greater blessing? Secondly, why did Ya’akov change the order to bless the younger son over the elder? Surely he knew from his own experiences with his brother Esav the dangers in reversing the order of blessings. And finally, when Yosef questions his father about the order Ya’akov doesn’t seem to answer him, but simply restate what he had done.

Rashi explains that though Menashe and Efraim were brothers, they were involved in very different endeavours. Menashe spent his time in the court of Pharaoh, acting as Yosef’s interpreter (Rashi on 42; 23), whereas Efraim was involved in full-time Torah learning (48; 1). Their lifestyles complemented each other, and they had a partnership that allowed them to share the material and spiritual gains equally. Yosef knew that both of these were worthy pursuits, but it seems from their names that he felt that Efraim’s Torah learning was more important for their long term survival. “Yosef named the first-born Menashe ‘because G-d has made me forget my troubles and even my father’s house’. He named the second Efraim - ‘Because G-d has made me fruitful’. (41; 51-2). On the face of it Efraim represented the future, while Menashe severed Yosef’s links with the past. However, on a slightly deeper level we could see these two names as also showing the different approaches to serving G-d in Israel and outside of Israel respectively. In Israel Yosef and his brothers were shepherds. They worked the land and, though they also learnt ‘Torah’ from their father and grandfather, their physical relationship with the Land was paramount. In Egypt Yosef felt that the emphasis must be on Torah learning to retain the close connection with G-d, and that though he embodied Torah Im Derech Eretz, (Torah combined with living in the material world), precedence was with the Torah.

Therefore the Torah tells us that when Yosef approached Ya’akov, Efraim was on his right, symbolising the superiority of Torah outside of Israel. However, the blessing they were to receive, which was really for the time when the Jews returned to Israel, Yosef envisaged a return to the dominance of Menashe’s lifestyle, and intended Ya’akov to give him the blessing of the ‘right hand’.

Ya’akov’s response was that even in Israel Torah must still be placed before Derech Eretz. According to Rashi, Ya’akov’s response “He too will attain greatness. But his younger brother will become even greater.” refers not to numbers, but the leaders of the nation who will be descended from the two boys. The greatness of Menashe is that Gidon will come from him. The Bible introduces us to Gidon “as he was threshing wheat by the winepress...” (Judges VI; 11). His success as a saviour of Israel was based on the fact that he was a working person, not a great Torah scholar. Yet he merited to have miracles performed on his behalf because of his dedication to G-d and Israel.

However, Efraim’s descendant was Yehoshua, who was even greater. It was he who led the Jews into the Land of Israel, though he was primarily a Torah scholar and teacher, not a warrior or worker.

Thus Yosef thought that the primary need for Torah was a temporary necessity of life outside of Israel, which would be reversed upon the Jew’s return to Israel. However, Ya’akov demonstrated through his order of blessing that even in Israel precedence must be accorded to Torah learning, which would remain the prerequisite for physical and material prosperity.

Vayechi Summary

2007-12-15T18:17:00.000+02:00

Ya'akov lives in Egypt for 17 years, to the age of 147. Before he dies he summons Yosef and makes him swear that he will bury him in the land of Israel. A short while later Yosef is told that his father is sick. He takes his two sons to Ya'akov for a blessing. Ya'akov blesses Yosef that his two sons, Menashe and Ephraim, will be considered tribes in their own right. He then blesses the boys, but places his right hand on Ephraim's head, though he is the younger. Yosef tries to correct his father, but Ya'akov explains that the younger son will become greater then the elder. Ya'akov gives Yosef an additional portion in the land of Israel, the city of Shechem.

Ya'akov summons all of his sons and blesses them, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. He once again instructs all of them to bury him in the land of Israel, in the cave of Machpela. As he concludes his instructions to his sons, he draws his feet into the bed, breaths his last and is gathered unto his people. Yosef instructs the court physicians to embalm Ya'akov, and all of Egypt mourns him for 70 days. He then requests permission from Pharaoh to go and bury his father. Pharaoh allows him to go, and he and his brothers, accompanied by all of the palace courtiers, go to bury Ya'akov.

Upon returning to Egypt the brothers fear that Yosef still bears a grudge against them. They therefore send a message to Yosef that their father had instructed him to forgive them. They present themselves to Yosef, and he reassures them that he will provide for them, and that they have nothing to fear.

Yosef lives to the age of 110, and lives to see his great grandsons. Before he dies, he makes his family swear that they will eventually bring him to the land of Israel for burial. When he dies he is embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Parshat Vayigash 2

2007-12-08T19:46:00.000+02:00

Throughout his stay in Egypt, Yosef has shown himself to be a master politician. From his meteoric rise to the head of Pharaoh’s court. to his amassing the wealth of Egypt for the monarchy he has shown that he is firmly in control, and able to deal with the politics of each situation. So much so that at the end of this week’s portion he is able to move the population around, to make it easier for his family to “fit in” to Egyptian society. His brothers, on the other hand, have shown a dazzling ineptitude at knowing how to relate to Yosef as viceroy. To every question they respond with honesty and total naïveté. This is the reason that they are humbled before him, having admitted to having a younger brother, Binyamin, and thus being forced to bring him before Yosef. They are also at a complete loss to understand how the money they spent on buying grain, and later Yosef’s goblet appear in their bags after they leave his presence. It never occurred to them to take precautions so that nothing could be surreptitiously placed in their bags. And even as Yehuda approaches Yosef at the opening of the Torah reading, he speaks in an exceedingly honest and forthright manner. The brothers play straight into Yosef’s hands, and he is able to plan and predict their every move.

Yet even after Yosef has revealed himself, and he instructs his brothers on how to speak to Pharaoh, they ignore his advice and don’t deviate in any way from the bare truth. Yosef tells his brothers “When Pharaoh summons you and inquires as to your occupation, you must say ‘We and our fathers have dealt in livestock all our lives’. You will then be able to settle in the Goshen district”1. Yosef wants them to present a position of power. They are not “shepherds”, which was considered the most abominable profession by the Egyptians, rather they are dealers in livestock; they are not refugees fleeing from famine, but have come with all of their sheep, cattle and possessions to settle in Egypt. Yosef is concerned that Pharaoh not think that they are just poor vagrants dependant upon his mercy. Yosef has also planned the conversation so that they will not need to request that they be given Goshen to live, but that Pharaoh should offer it to them. In this way, Pharaoh will not be in a position to refuse them.

The brothers choose to ignore all of his expert advice, and instead tell Pharaoh “We are shepherds, we and our fathers before us. We have [only] come to stay in your land awhile, because there is no grazing for our flocks, so severe is the famine in Canaan. If you allow us, we will settle in the Goshen district”.2

Pharaoh cannot believe that these are the brothers of Yosef, his skilful counsellor. These men are so tactless, and worse, they are shepherds. Instead of replying to them Pharaoh completely ignores them, instead turning to Yosef to continue the conversation. He pretends that he has not heard that the brothers are shepherds, but tells Yosef that if any of his brothers are livestock officers they can be appointed over Pharaoh’s cattle.

Yosef is known as “Yosef the Tzaddik”, Yosef the righteous. He has passed the tests of faith with Potiphar’s wife, and in jail, and has succeeded in raising his sons as Torah observant Jews, despite being in a foreign environment. He has shown that he can survive and remain strong in his faith regardless of the people he is constantly in contact with. Therefore he is also able to play their game, and survive in the dog eat dog world of politics and diplomacy. His brothers, however, are more susceptible to outside influences. When Yehuda left his other brothers and set up in business, he was faced with the story of Tamar, and having to admit that he behaved wrongly while she was right. Reuven is punished for acting rashly to defend the honour of his mother. Their strength is that they can admit when they have made a mistake, and do T’shuva, but they can’t risk putting themselves in challenging situations. That is why before they even go to Egypt, Ya’akov sends Yehuda ahead to set up a suitable Torah environment3. Therefore, even when faced with the most powerful men in the known world, Pharaoh, or his viceroy, they have no option but to stick totally to the truth. They are prepared to risk humiliation, and even death, rather than risk falling into the trap of assimilation into Egyptian society. Even though Yosef only asks them to colour the truth a little bit, they realise that even changing their identity, and the way that they are perceived, slightly could be enough to cause them to lose sight of who they are and how they must remain, in order to withstand the coming 210 years in Egypt.

1Genesis 46; 33
2ibid. 47; 3
3Genesis 46; 28 and Rashi’s commentary there

Parshat Vayigash 1

2007-12-08T19:40:00.000+02:00

For the D'var Torah I published last year on Vayigash click here

Reproof and Rebuke

Yosef’s brothers have no idea of what is going on. They come to Egypt to purchase grain, instead they are treated like spies and thrown into jail. They are released on the condition that they return with their youngest brother Binyamin, but when they do so they are again arrested on trumped up charges. When Yosef threatens to keep Binyamin as a slave and send the others back to their father, Yehuda finally confronts him. This elicits a response which is even more puzzling. Yosef sends all the Egyptians out of the room, breaks down and cries. It is only when he says to them “I am Yosef, is my father still alive?” (Genesis 45; 3) that the brothers realise what has been happening. But with those few words Yosef’s brothers suddenly have a clear understanding, not only of what has occurred during the past few weeks, but for the whole 22 years since they had sold their brother. “And his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified before him” (ibid.).

The Midrash (Yalkut Vayigash 152) comments on this: Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said “Woe to us from the day of judgement, woe to us from the day of tochecha (rebuke). Yosef was one of the youngest of the brothers, yet his brothers were unable to stand before him because they were terrified. When G-d will come and rebuke each and every person for their actions how much more terrifying will it be!”

This Midrash needs explanation. Where do we find that Yosef rebuked his brothers? All he said to them was “I am Yosef”, and immediately “they were unable to answer him”. Rashi (Genesis 45; 3) explains that they were not terrified of Yosef that he may harm them, but rather because of embarrassment. But the question remains, where is the rebuke that the Midrash mentions?

The brothers had sold Yosef 22 years earlier because of his dreams. He told them all that he would become ruler over them and that they would have to bow down before him. His brothers saw this as an act of rebellion against Yehuda, from whom all future kings of Israel would be descended, and therefore sentenced him to death. In an act of mercy they commuted that sentence, and sold him as a slave to passing traders. Their primary motivation in all of this was to ensure that his dreams did not come to fruition. After all this time had passed, seeing that their father Ya’akov was not consoled over Yosef’s death, the brothers resolved to try and find him when they were in Egypt. This is why they came into Egypt separately; they split up to search for Yosef (Rashi ibid. 42; 3). This in fact was the pretext that Yosef used to accuse them of spying. Where did they look for him? They expected to find Yosef in the slave markets, and were prepared to redeem him. The last place that they thought he would be was on the throne of Egypt, which is why the idea never crossed their minds, despite all the hints that Yosef gave them.

With the two words “Ani Yosef” (I am Yosef), his brothers were forced to admit that they had been wrong about everything from the very beginning. They suddenly realised that selling Yosef had not thwarted his dreams, but had caused them to come true. They had to admit that they had misjudged Yosef, and should not have sold him or mistreated him, because he had been absolutely correct all along. They had to confess that the past 22 years that they had been deceiving their father, and letting Yosef suffer in prison, had been a mistake. They were forced to admit that Yosef had not been just a ‘dreamer’, but a prophet in his predictions.

The Hebrew word tochechameans not only “rebuke”, but also “proof” (as in English - “reproof”). When Yosef revealed himself to his brothers he proved to them the error of their ways. This is the strongest reproof that there can be. This explains the Midrash. There are two components to G-d’s future judgement of us; “Woe to us from the day of judgement”, when G-d replays the video of our lives and shows us the things that we have done wrong. “Woe to us from the day of rebuke” when, upon seeing this video we will be forced to concede that we have transgressed, and that it has been without just cause, and furthermore that it has not helped us to attain the goals that we were hoping for.

Vayigash Summary

2007-12-08T19:36:00.000+02:00

Yehuda pleads with Yosef that Binyamin be set free, and he remain as a slave in his place. Yosef is unable to control his emotions, and reveals himself to his brothers. He instructs them to bring Ya’akov and the remainder of the family down to Egypt, and that he will provide for them all during the famine. News spreads to the palace, and Pharaoh tells the brothers to bring Ya’akov and settle in the best land of Egypt. The brothers return to Ya’akov and tell him that Yosef is alive. His spirit was then revived. As Ya’akov heads towards Egypt G-d appears to him and blesses him. Ya’akov, his sons and grandchildren descend to Egypt along with all of their livestock and possessions.

The Torah lists all of Ya’akov’s family who went to Egypt. They total 66 people (plus Yocheved who was born as they entered Egypt). Yosef and his two sons make 70. Ya’akov sends Yehuda ahead to make preparations in Goshen. Yosef goes to greet his father, and throws himself upon his shoulders weeping for a long time. He instructs his brothers as to what they should say when they meet Pharaoh. After meeting with them, Pharaoh instructs Yosef to settle them in Goshen, the best land in Egypt. Yosef brings Ya’akov and presents him to Pharaoh. Pharaoh asks him how old he is, and Ya’akov replies that he is 130, but his life has been hard. He then blesses Pharaoh.

The famine is very severe. Yosef collects money from all the people of Egypt and Canaan in payment for food. When their money is used up, Yosef instructs them to bring their livestock in exchange for food. The next year they are forced to sell their land and become serfs to Pharaoh. Yosef thus acquires all the farm land in Egypt for Pharaoh, and moves the people from one place to another. The only land that Yosef does not acquire is that belonging to the priests. Meanwhile the fledgling nation of Israel lives in Egypt. They buy property there and their population increases rapidly

parsgat miketz 3

2007-12-03T18:44:00.000+02:00

Yosef stores provisions for the seven years of famine which are about to come upon Egypt. He takes a percentage from all the crops during the seven years of plenty, and warns all the Egyptians of the approaching famine so that they too can store food. However, once the famine arrives the Torah relates that the Egyptians also had to come to Yosef for food. “When all the land of Egypt hungered, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread. So Pharaoh said to all of Egypt, ‘Go to Yosef, Whatever he tells you, you should do.” (Genesis 41; 55). The Midrash (Tanchuma) explains this strange dialogue. When the people came to Pharaoh asking for food, he asked them why they had not set aside provisions for themselves during the years of plenty. They replied that everything they had in their storehouses had rotted, so Pharaoh told them to go to Yosef. However they replied that Yosef would only give them food if all the males first circumcised themselves. Pharaoh told them to do whatever Yosef asked, for if he was able to make their grain rot in the storehouses, perhaps he would also be able to kill them if they did not comply with his demands. After the men had been circumcised Yosef sold them food.

There are many questions raised by this Midrash. Firstly, how was Yosef able to store the grain without it rotting, yet the Egyptians were unable to? If he knew of some special storage techniques why did he not also tell his subjects how best to prevent the rotting. Secondly, why did he not provide them immediately with food when they came to him? And why did he single out the Mitzvah of circumcision, a law that does not even apply to non-Jews, before giving them the food they needed?

There are several answers given by the commentators as to why Yosef wanted the people to circumcise themselves. The Yafeh To’ar explains that Yosef knew of the imminent exile of the Jewish nation to Egypt, and was worried that they may assimilate there. He knew that the Egyptians would make fun of them for being circumcised, which may have led to the cessation of this practice amongst the descendants of Avraham. Therefore he made all the Egyptians also circumcise themselves, in order that the Israelites would not feel embarrassed to do so when they eventually arrived in Egypt.
However, this cannot be the complete answer, for circumcision does not seem to be the best guarantee that the Jews not assimilate. By removing the main physical difference between Egyptian and Israelite men, Yosef would appear to be encouraging intermarriage and assimilation, rather than lessening the risk.

According to the Sh’lah, Yosef was trying to wean the Egyptians from their sexual depravity. The Torah (Leviticus 8; 3) warns the Israelites to refrain from the deviant sexual practices of the Egyptians, “Do not perform the practice of the land of Egypt in which you dwelled...”. Yosef foresaw that the Egyptians would eventually be punished in the future for their behaviour, and therefore hoped to temper or limit their actions through circumcision.

However, if this is the sole reason for his actions, did Yosef not realise that the Egyptians would abandon circumcision, and return to their former ways as soon as he was no longer in power?

There is another possible answer to why Yosef mandated circumcision. The Rambam (Guide for the Perplexed 3; 33) explains that the covenant of Bris Milah is sealed on the organ of reproduction to teach us restraint in regard to our sexual desires. Circumcision symbolically shows that we limit ourselves, and set guidelines and rules about our physical conduct. Clearly Yosef personifies the highest level of sexual restraint, in not succumbing to Potiphar’s wife. Therefore he is closely associated with the Mitzvah of Bris Milah. The restraint that the Torah advocates is not only in matters sexual, but in all areas to do with the material and physical world.

The fact that the food of the Egyptians rotted is a metaphor for their lack of restraint in anything physical. Food spoils because the microbes multiply at an exponential rate, symbolising an affliction of excess. The overabundance which they had stored caused them to lose all of it. When the Egyptians told Yosef that their food had spoiled he realised that the only way in which they would be able to retain food without it rotting would be through limiting their involvement with the physical world. This was the message he was trying to teach them through the command for them to circumcise themselves. It was not that he had magic powers to cause their food to rot, as Pharaoh had feared, but rather that he had the spiritual understanding to realise the root of the problem, and deal with it in that manner. This explains how Yosef himself was able to stockpile grain without it rotting. Since he personifies restraint, he was able to guard his food against the excesses which would have spoiled it.

parshat miketz 2

2007-12-02T18:43:00.000+02:00

Yosef appears an enigma. On the one hand he is so humble, he insists that all dream interpretations are a gift from G-d and that without Him, he is unable to accomplish anything. Yet he is not intimidated by Pharaoh, although he came from jail literally moments earlier. He not only interprets Pharaoh's dream for him, but also suggests policy strategies to run the country. It seems that his ego has completely carried him away. Even more amazingly, Pharaoh listens to his advice and appoints him “prime minister” to implement his plan.

With hindsight, the meaning of Pharaoh's dream is so obvious to us. What was so special about Yosef’s interpretation that made Pharaoh listen to him? Why could none of Pharaoh's wise men, astrologers and necromancers understand what the dreams referred to?

The text says that there was no one to interpret the dream “to Pharaoh”. In other words, the men of Pharaoh’s court could interpret the dreams, but not to Pharaoh’s satisfaction. They all explained the dream in terms of events affecting Pharaoh personally, for example that he would have children and bury them. But Pharaoh realised that he had received this dream as the representative of all of Egypt. This is what the Torah means when it says “Behold, it was a [complete] dream”. Therefore he wasn’t satisfied until Yosef interpreted the dreams as having repercussions over the entire known world.

From the fact that the dream was repeated, Yosef understood that the famine was imminent. G-d was giving Pharaoh advance warning in order to prepare for it. Therefore the interpretation involved Yosef telling Pharaoh how to act in response to the dream. Setting up storehouses of grain was part of the meaning of the dream.
Nevertheless, wasn’t Yosef intimidated, standing before Pharaoh, telling him how to run the country?

Despite conventional thinking, humility doesn’t involve false modesty. It means knowing exactly who we are, knowing our own strengths and weaknesses, and using them to serve G-d efficiently. Moshe is described in the Torah as the most humble of men, yet when the need arose he knew how to stand up against Korach and others. Not because he had an inflated sense of self worth, but because he knew that G-d had chosen him for a specific purpose, and that therefore he was best suited to that task.

So too Yosef. When he was brought before Pharaoh he understood why he had been sold into slavery and thrown into jail. He realised that G-d had placed him in this situation in order to provide sustenance for the world. For him to feign embarrassment or to seem unsure of himself would have defeated the purpose. Therefore he was able to stand up to Pharaoh without any feelings of intimidation.
When Yosef interpreted the butler’s dream in prison, he did not see interpretation completely as a Divine gift. Therefore he felt that he could ask for a favour in return, and asked that the butler remember him to Pharaoh. Because of this he was punished, and had to remain in jail. Now, when he stands before Pharaoh he sees that interpretations come entirely from G-d. It is no longer Yosef the individual speaking. He is acting as an agent to fulfil his part of the Divine plan.

Modesty and humility don’t mean belittling oneself; they entail knowing exactly who we are and how we can best utilise the opportunities that we are given. The story is told of Zusha, who always used to say “When I reach 120 and come before the heavenly court I am not concerned that they will ask me why I wasn’t Moshe. I can respond that I was never given his talents, upbringing or opportunities. Likewise I have an answer if they ask why I was not the Rambam, Yosef Karo or the Vilna Gaon. But when they ask me why I was not Zusha what will my defence be?”

Parshat Miketz 1

2007-12-01T18:50:00.000+02:00

Pharaoh summons Yosef from the dungeon and tells him, ‘I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it. I have heard say of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it’. Yosef answers, ‘Not from me (biladai). G-d will answer Pharaoh’ (Genesis 41; 15-16). With Yosef’s first word to Pharaoh, biladai, he states his credo. Whatever happens, good or bad, it is G-d who is running the show. Therefore if G-d gave Pharaoh a glimpse of the future through a dream, He will also provide an interpreter to explain it. If Yosef has been divinely chosen to fulfil that task then he will be given the insight to do so, if not someone else will be found who will interpret it.

Yosef’s whole life was affected by factors beyond his control, and at each step of the journey he understood that this was the Divine plan, and therefore he should make the best of the situation, without questioning. His two dreams, the brothers selling him as a slave, Potiphar’s wife’s false accusations led to him being imprisoned as a slave in a foreign land. Unquestioningly Yosef tried to do what was required of him in each situation, and he saw G-d’s blessing on everything that he did. Similarly he knew that G-d has many messengers to perform His will. If G-d chose for him to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams he was only acting as G-d’s agent. The only time that Yosef tried to take control of his destiny was when he asked the butler to remember him to Pharaoh after he was reinstated to his duty. Rashi explains (40; 23) that because Yosef placed his trust in a person rather than in G-d, he had to remain in jail for a further two years. We are commanded to serve G-d in everything that we do, but whether we achieve the results we had hoped for is not in our control. To expect to be in control of our destiny shows a lack in our faith in G-d. The Mishna summarises this idea beautifully, “It is not for you to complete the work, neither are you free to desist from it” (Avos 2:16)

This also explains why Yosef never sent word back to his father that he was alive in Egypt. Even if he was unable to do so while a slave, or in prison, why did Yosef not end Ya’akov’s mourning upon his appointment as viceroy? The Midrash states that when the brothers sold Yosef they made a decree of excommunication on anyone who would reveal the truth to Ya’akov. Since Reuven and Binyamin were not with them, and Yosef did not take part, they needed a tenth for the minyan to give the decree validity. Therefore they included G-d as the ‘tenth’, which is why He never revealed the truth to Ya’akov prophetically. Yosef understood that if the Divine plan called for Ya’akov to remain in mourning for the 22 years until he was reunited with his son, then Yosef himself would have been powerless to inform him until the plan was complete.

There is a Yiddish saying to the effect that ‘people plan, and G-d laughs’. We have no idea what lies in store for us or how events will pan out. In these areas we have no free choice, and all we can do is rely on G-d that everything is for the best. Our free choice lies only in how we make use of the opportunities which G-d has given us. We are commanded to follow His commandments to the best of our abilities, and try to live up to our potential. Everything else is ‘not from us’. This idea which was personified by Yosef can be very comforting. If we attribute our successes to G-d and acknowledge that we are only acting as His emissaries, then we are also not culpable if events don’t work out as we had planned. Those things that we consider failures often lie in areas which are beyond our control. The only failure for which we must take responsibility is not trying our best, or doing as much as we could. Judaism considers failure or success not on the outcomes, which is the yardstick of Western culture, but on the effort which we put into doing our best.

Miketz Summary

2007-12-01T18:46:00.001+02:00

Two years have passed. Pharaoh dreams that he is standing near the Nile river, and sees seven healthy cows emerge, followed by seven lean cows. The lean cows devour the healthy ones. He then dreams of seven good ears of corn growing on a single stalk. Seven parched ears swallow up the seven good ears. Pharaoh awakes and summons the interpreters of Egypt, but no one gives him the correct interpretation. The wine steward remembers Yosef (Joseph) who is in jail and tells Pharaoh. Yosef is summoned from the prison and brought before Pharaoh.
Yosef tells Pharaoh that all answers come from G-d, but interprets the dream as representing seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. He tells Pharaoh to appoint a wise man over the country to stockpile the grain during the years of plenty. Pharaoh recognises that Yosef is the most suitable person for the task and appoints him “Prime Minister” to oversee the storing of grain. Pharaoh calls Yosef Tzaphnat Paneach, and gives him Osnat the daughter of Potiphar as his wife. Yosef is thirty years old at this time. Yosef inspects the entire land of Egypt and collects food for seven years. He has two sons, Menashe and Ephraim, before the onset of the famine.
When the famine begins the people of Egypt come to Pharaoh asking for food. He sends them to Yosef and instructs them to do whatever he tells them. People from all over the world come to Egypt in search of food. Ya’akov sends Yosef’s ten brothers, without Binyamin, to Egypt to buy grain.
Yosef recognised his brothers, but they do not recognise him. Recalling his previous dreams, he accuses them of being spies and places them under arrest. After three days he lets them return home except for Shimon. He instructs them to prove that they are not spies by bringing their brother Binyamin back. The brothers realise that all of this is happening as Divine retribution for the way they treated Yosef. Yosef sends them off with bags of grain, and returns their money in the top of their sacks. They return to Ya’akov, and report on all that has happened to them in Egypt. Ya’akov initially refuses to let Binyamin leave, but as the famine gets worse he concedes that there is no alternative. Yehuda (Judah) undertakes to guarantee Binyamin’s safety, and Ya’akov lets them leave.
They return to Yosef bearing gifts, and present Binyamin before him. Yosef invites them all to dine with him, and releases Shimon from jail. Yosef is overcome with emotion and is forced to leave the room. He returns and personally serves them food. He again instructs his overseer to fill each of their sacks with food, and return their money at the tops of the sacks. He also places his silver chalice in Binyamin’s pack. After the brothers have departed, Yosef sends the overseer after them and accuses them of stealing his chalice. When it is found in Binyamin’s pack the brothers tear their garments in grief and throw themselves on the ground before Yosef. They offer themselves as slaves on the condition that Binyamin be set free, but Yosef demands that Binyamin alone be kept as a slave.

Parshat Vayeshev 4

2007-11-29T05:47:00.000+02:00

Yosef is described in our Torah portion as ‘the dreamer’ (Genesis 37; 19). This is clearly a reference to his two dreams which he described to his father and brothers, in which they symbolically became subservient to him. Thus dreams were the cause of the brothers’ jealousy of Yosef, and the reason for his sale into slavery. Yet it was also because of dreams that Yosef was freed from jail and elevated to become the viceroy of Egypt. The end of our portion describes the dreams of Pharaoh’s butler and the baker. Yosef is able to interpret these dreams correctly. Then the opening of next week’s portion describes Pharaoh’s dream of the impending fat and lean years. Yosef is let out of jail and through his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream he becomes second in command over all of Egypt. Thus the fulfilment of Yosef’s dream comes about through the dreams of others. It thus seems that the appellation ‘the dreamer’ is an appropriate one.

Being the dreamer gives Yosef a close link with his father, Ya’akov, who is also famous for his dream. When he fled from his brother Esav, Ya’akov had the famous dream about the angels going up and down the ladder, and he saw G-d standing over him. That event changed his life, and as a result of that dream, he began his transformation from Ya’akov, who stole the blessings, to Yisrael, who rightfully earned those blessings. In this light we can interpret the opening of our portion, “These are the descendants of Ya’akov, Yosef...” (ibid. 2). Though he had twelve sons, it was Yosef the dreamer who was the continuation of the dream of Ya’akov.

The Torah explains Ya’akov’s favouritism towards Yosef “because he was the child of his old age (ben zikunim)” (ibid.). This phrase demands interpretation, since it was Binyamin, not Yosef who was Ya’akov’s youngest child. Therefore Rashi explains, based on Onkelos’ commentary, that the phrase ben zikunim can be interpreted as ‘child of wisdom’. This means that Ya’akov passed on to Yosef the Torah that he had learnt from the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever (where he went for 22 years before going to live with Lavan - see Rashi to 28; 9). Obviously growing up in the home of Yitzchak and Avraham, Ya’akov had learnt Torah all his life, but there seems to be something unique about the Torah of Shem and Ever which enables a person to become a dreamer. Before Ya’akov’s dream the Torah tells us “he slept there” upon which Rashi comments that “he slept there, but for the preceding 22 years in the Yeshiva of Ever he had not slept at night”. Similarly with Yosef, two verses after stating that Ya’akov taught him the Torah of Shem and Ever we read of his dream.

However, there is a fundamental difference between the dream of Ya’akov and the dreams of Yosef. Ya’akov dreamt of the world-to-come, where G-d is perceived as ‘standing over him’. The Midrash explains the angels climbing up the ladder in terms of each nation’s ascendance to world domination, then their subsequent downfall.

Yosef’s dreams, and those he interprets, all deal with the physical world, and were fulfilled in the space of a relatively few years. Ya’akov, as the last ‘patriarch’ of the Jewish nation dreamed of the history of the world, and the role of the Jews in it. Yosef dreamt of himself, and the people and nations surrounding him. Ya’akov’s dream occurred in the ‘house of G-d’, the future site of the Temple, and contained no falsehood. Yosef’s dream did not take place in such a grand location, and did contain certain elements that were not entirely true.

The Talmud (Chagiga 5b) states: G-d said, ‘Even though I have hidden My face from the world, through dreams I will communicate’. We could describe Jewish history since the destruction of the Temple as taking place in a dream. Without the Temple and prophecy we lack a direct avenue of communication with G-d. Therefore we live in the ‘night’ of a dreamworld. The first festival which commemorates exile and G-d being hidden is Purim, when the name of the heroine, Ester, means ‘hidden’. G-d’s name does not appear anywhere in the text of the Megillah, and we see throughout the story the hidden hand of G-d. However, the next historical festival, Chanukah is even more dreamlike. Not only does G-d’s name not occur, but there is no direct mention of the festival or laws in any of the books of the Bible. The story itself is hidden and confused in the strands of history.

Yet Chanukah also provides us with the light to survive the darkness of exile. With the light of the Chanukah miracle we are able to at least glimpse the path that will lead is through our dreamlike existence in exile, and show us the way to the ultimate light of the Messianic era. As a nation we must undergo the trials and tribulations of Yosef’s dreams until ultimately we arrive at the revelation of Ya’akov’s dream, when the whole world will perceive G-d standing over, and everyone will exclaim that “this is none other than the house of G-d”.

Parshat Vayeshev 2

2007-11-27T05:49:00.000+02:00

“Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks in Shechem” (Genesis 37; 12). In view of the brothers’ attack against Shechem (ch. 34) it seems strange that they would chose to return there, particularly as immediately after the incident Ya’akov was terrified of the threat from the surrounding cities (“Ya’akov said to Shimon and Levi, ‘You have disgraced me, making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanite and among the Perizzite; I am few in number and should they band together and attack me, I will be annihilated - I and my household” v. 30).
It seems that Shechem was a place set aside for trouble and creating schism within the Jewish nation, as Rashi says, it was a place set aside for tragedies. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 102a) tells us, “In Shechem Dina was raped, in Shechem the brothers sold Yosef and in Shechem the kingdom was divided (in the days of Rechavam and Yeravam)”. Thus it seems ironic Ya’akov promises Yosef this place, as stated in the verse, “As for me, I have given you Shechem - (one portion) more than your brothers...” (48; 22).
The town of Shechem is named for Shechem, whose father, Chamor, built the city. Shechem raped Ya’akov’s daughter Dina, then tried to marry her. Reading between the lines of the Chumash we see Shechem as the classic spoilt child. Everything that he has ever wanted has been given to him, even the town in which he lives was built only for his sake. All his life he has received everything that he has asked for, no matter how unreasonable. This explains how he had the chutzpa to go back to Ya’akov after raping his daughter, and ask to marry her. He has no concern for the feelings of Ya’akov and his family, his only interest is in how much it will cost him in dowry to procure Dina as his wife.
This selfishness and egocentrism became infused in the town of Shechem. The meaning of the word Shechem is ‘portion’, indicating selfishness and schism. Rashi comments that in the Torah scroll there are dots over the word es in verse 12, which teaches us that they went to Shechem not to look after the flocks, but to look after their own interests. If they have gone to Shechem they must be only interested in themselves, rather than the good of their family.
The name Yosef has a dual meaning. When his mother named him she said, “G-d has gathered up (Asaf) my disgrace, so she called his name Yosef, saying, ‘May G-d add on (Yosef) for me another son’” (30; 24). Thus the name means both gathering, and adding. This explains the duality of Yosef’s nature. On the one hand he seems to be ‘adding on’ to the work that his father has done, as an extension of Ya’akov, as our portion states at the beginning, “These are the chronicles of Ya’akov - Yosef...” (37; 2). This is also clear from the verse in Ovadia (1; 18), “The house of Ya’akov will be a fire, and the house of Yosef a flame...”. Yosef has the power to kindle and bring to life the spark of Ya’akov. The Midrash (Bereishis Rabba 84; 6) goes even further: “Ya’akov and Yosef had the same appearance … and similar histories. Both had barren mothers, both were one of two children, both were considered the ‘first born’, both were hated by their brothers, both were victims of attempted fratricide, both left the Land of Israel...”. Not only is Yosef the extension of Ya’akov, but in many respects they lived the same life.
However, it is precisely this part of his nature which led his brothers to try to kill him, as the Talmud (Shabbos 10b) states, “For the sake of two selahs worth of material (paid by Ya’akov for the coat of Yosef) our fathers went down to Egypt”. Ya’akov showed favouritism to Yosef, and saw in him his own future, causing the brothers to became jealous and want to kill Yosef. This is what brought them to the divisiveness of Shechem in the first place.
Yosef also means to gather, and it is he, more than any of the other brothers, who has the ability to unite the entire nation. He orchestrates the eventual reunification of the entire family in the land of Egypt. And in the future the Messiah descended from Yosef will unite the nation and pave the way for the coming of the Davidic Messiah. It is Yosef who has the vision and ability to bring all the other brothers together to a single purpose (“Your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf” Genesis 37; 7). This is why Ya’akov gave Shechem to Yosef, for it is he who is able to take the divisiveness of egocentrism and channel it towards the single purpose (Shechem echad) of service of G-d.

Parshas Vayeshev 3

2007-11-26T05:48:00.002+02:00

Yehuda’s behaviour in the incident of Tamar is in stark contrast to Yosef’s reaction to the temptations of Potiphar’s wife. Yehuda becomes enticed by his daughter-in-law, thinking that she is a prostitute; he sleeps with her and she conceives twins. Not knowing that he is the cause of her pregnancy, Yehuda orders that Tamar be put to death. However, at the final moment he acknowledges Tamar’s righteousness and accepts responsibility for his actions. He thus becomes the paradigm of a Ba’al Teshuva, one who repents their former actions. In actuality, his ability to admit when he is wrong is implied in his very name; Yehuda comes from the root “lehodot”, “to admit”.

Yosef, on the other hand, is subjected to many temptations from Potiphar’s wife, yet overcomes them all. The Talmud explains “Every single day, he was approached by Potiphar’s wife, who tried to seduce him, changing her clothes from morning to evening. When she begged him to consent to her, he refused. When she threatened to lock him in prison, he replied “G-d loosens the bound”… She tried to bribe him with a thousand talents of silver, but still he would not come to her...” (Yoma 35b). Yet despite the fact that Yehuda succumbs to temptation, whereas Yosef overcomes it, Yehuda is the one chosen to be the father of kings. His two sons with Tamar, Peretz and Zerach, are the progenitors of kings and prophets.

Not only does Yehuda fail the test of sexual temptation, but it appears that this is also part of the legacy that he passes on to his descendants. The two greatest kings of Israel, David and Solomon, are both from Yehuda, and both fail the test when encountering women who are forbidden to them. Though David sins with Bat-Sheva, and Solomon with Pharaoh’s daughter, they are still held up as the paradigms of what a Jewish king is supposed to be.

The only king who is not from Yehuda is Shaul. He is from the tribe of Binyamin, genetically the closest tribe to Yosef. His downfall is not that he succumbs to temptation, but that he is unable to admit when he has made a mistake. Though his sin is almost trivial, offering a sacrifice a few moments before he has been instructed to, his inability to recognise his mistake causes him to lose the line of kingship.
Yehuda’s son from whom the kings are descended is Peretz, which means literally “breaking forth”. This is a hint to the Talmudic dictum that “HaMelech Poretz Geder”, “The king is permitted to break through boundaries (as he goes out to war)” (Pesachim 110a). Though this refers primarily to the physical walls that the king and his army may break through as they go out to battle, it is also true spiritually.

The Talmud says (Brachot 34b) “The place where Ba’alei Teshuva stand is a place where the completely righteous are unable to stand”. Elsewhere (Yoma 86b) the Talmud states “How great is Teshuva (repentance), that [through it] wilful sins are transformed into merits”. The simple explanation is that the efforts that one used to sin have now been channelled into the service of G-d, therefore the actions performed were the catalyst for a closer relationship with G-d and are therefore counted as Mitzvoth.

Though sinning takes a person further away from G-d, through Teshuva they can reach even greater closeness to Him, and therefore they stand before G-d in a place where someone who has never sinned is unable to stand.

Similarly, the king breaks down fences and boundaries. The family of Yehuda, who though their sin are able to repent and do Teshuva, are able to serve G-d in ways that Yosef, and other completely righteous people, are unable to do. They create new ways of serving G-d, though their actions are wrong. This is why the kings of Israel are all descended from Yehuda; they are able to exist in the real world. Though they are tempted, and often fail the tests which they are confronted with, they are able to admit their mistakes and repent. A king who is always right, and unable to see his own faults however slight they may be, cannot relate to the people whom he is ruling, and is similarly limited in his relationship with G-d.

Parshat Vayeshev 1

2007-11-26T05:48:00.001+02:00

The Talmud states (Shabbat 23a), “Rav Kahana said Rav Natan bar Minyuma expounded in the name of Rav Tanchum; What does the verse mean ‘The pit was empty, there was no water in it’? If the pit was empty, isn’t it obvious that it doesn’t have water? Rather, the verse teaches us that the pit contained no water, but had snakes and scorpions instead.”1 Yosef’s brothers didn’t want to kill him directly. They had judged him deserving of death for his rebellion against the kingship of Yehuda, yet they were unable to actually shed the blood of their baby brother. Therefore,they threw him into a pit full of venomous snakes and scorpions in order to kill him. Yet miraculously Yosef escaped unharmed; G-d prevented the reptiles from biting him. Why is this miracle not mentioned explicitly in the Torah? Surely something as extraordinary, and important for the future, as an escape from death by the father of two tribes should be stated openly, rather than just alluded to.

To answer this we have to find out the nature of miracles in general. Surely if G-d created the entire universe, then the mere fact that gravity remains constant, or that DNA replicates itself correctly, is as much an act of G-d as the splitting of the Red Sea, or manna falling form heaven. Yet we find that Judaism recognises ‘miraculous’ miracles as important. For example, there is a blessing to make upon seeing the site where a miracle happened for our ancestors. And the Torah states several times “Remember this miracle that occurred”.

G-d doesn’t perform miracles to ‘show off’; He doesn’t do ‘magic tricks’. In fact, praising G-d for performing a special action which goes against the natural order is an insult to Him. It is like describing a multi-billionaire as having at least a couple of pounds. In other words, it is totally demeaning. To say how wonderful G-d is for changing nature occasionally, when He is the one who keeps everything going constantly, is not praising but limiting.

In fact the question is even stronger. Why should we praise G-d for miraculously saving us, when He is the one who put us in the predicament in the first place? In our case, wouldn’t it have been better if G-d had never created poisonous reptiles, rather than having to perform a miracle to save us from them?

The answer to these questions is that a miracle is meant as a wake up call. Sometimes we forget about G-d and about our purpose in life. Though we thank G-d every day for all the things He has given us, most importantly life itself, we can begin to take these things for granted. When that happens we need a reminder; G-d puts us in a position where we can clearly see His hand in our lives. Each of us has had times when we could clearly see G-d intervening for us. Often we can utilise this to strengthen our relationship with the Creator. A miracle is a sign where G-d says to us “Here I am”. This is why the Hebrew word for miracle, ‘ness’, also means ‘flag’. A miracle is a proclamation to the world.

It is to our benefit, not G-d’s, that we remember the miracles that He has done for us; what we learn from them and how they affect our lives. Therefore the miracle of Yosef being saved from the snakes and scorpions is not recorded by the Torah because the brothers didn’t learn from it. Instead of realising that G-d was vindicating Yosef from the crime with which he was charged, they sold him into slavery. Since they were unable to learn from this miracle, it is not appropriate to record it in the Torah.

Perhaps this is the reason that the preceding statement of the Talmud that we quoted above is “Rav Kahana said Rav Natan bar Minyuma expounded in the name of Rav Tanchum; A Chanukah candle that is placed higher than twenty amot (cubits) is invalid”. The purpose of the celebration of Chanukah, and the lighting of the candles, is not only to brighten mid winter. It is to remind us of the miracle that G-d performed in the time of the Maccabees, and the reason He let the Greeks defile the Temple and persecute the Jews before He miraculously saved us. A Chanukiah placed higher than twenty amot is too far removed from us. It is not a reminder that we can learn from, therefore it becomes just another light in the dark.

Short Vort Vayishlach

2007-11-25T07:38:00.000+02:00

I recorded the 'Short Vort' this past week for Darche Noam. The only rules are that it has to be on the parsha, and has to be 2 minutes long.

Here is the recording of the vort:

Listen to the Short Vort as streaming audio

Download the Short Vort

On Friday someone told me that he was concerned that people would be offended by it, because I was saying that someone who followed baseball and the world series was not-Jewish and an idolater.

That had not been my intent when I wrote or said the vort, nor do I really see how someone could get that message.

But, as usual, when in doubt, blog it out. What do you think? Could this be misunderstood as an 'antibaseball' (or substitute any other Western cultural norm) d'var Torah? Do you find it offensive?

If you haven't got a spare 2 minutes and 9 seconds to listen to the vort, here is the text of the short vort (before I edited it and shortened it to fit into the allotted 2 minutes:

In the middle of this week’s parsha we find a very strange event. In chapter 34 G-d tells Yaakov to go back to Bet El to fulfil his vow. Yaakov tells his family to prepare for the return to Israel. He says to them, “remove the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, change your clothes. Let us arise, and go up to Bet El.”

He collects all the idols, and the verse continues “Yaakov buried them there under the oak tree” (Bereishis 35: 4).

Why did Yaakov’s family have idols with them at all? And what is the significance of Yaakov burying them under an oak tree?

Rav Shimshon Rafael Hirsch explains that the preparations for Yaakov’s return were similar to the preparations before B’nei Yisrael received the Torah at Mount Sinai. In Shemos 19 we read that “the people purified themselves and cleansed their clothes”. Coming back to Israel was not a physical journey for Yaakov as much as a spiritual one.

Rav Hirsch goes a step further and says that the foreign gods represent the foreignness of Chutz La’Aretz. Removing these gods represents the rejection of the non-Jewish world’s values and ideals. Returning to Israel and to Torah can only occur once those ‘Western’ values have been discarded and buried.

Shechem, where Yaakov made these final preparations, eventually became home to a group of people called Kutim, who were brought there by Sancheriv after he exiled the Ten Tribes, and who converted by force to Judaism. Throughout the period of the Mishnah they have an ambivalent status as not fully Jewish, but not non-Jewish.

The Talmud in Chullin, daf vav, tells us that the final reason that the Rabbis decreed that the Kutim were to be considered not Jewish was that they found a statue of a dove on the top of the mountain that the Kutim were worshipping.

Tosefot there brings a Midrash which says that this idol was made from the idols that Yaakov buried there many centuries earlier, under the oak tree.

Using the explanation of Rav Hirsch we can say that the Kutim not only built a physical statue, but rediscovered the alien values of Shechem that Yaakov had rejected and buried there.

We see then the difference between someone who is coming to Israel with the right intentions, to fulfil G-d’s word, and someone who has other motives. Yaakov prepared for Israel by removing any last vestiges of non-Jewish thinking from himself and his family.

The Kutim, even when they were in Israel, managed to dig up the rejected values of a previous era, and began worshipping them, rejecting G-d and Torah in the process.

May we all strive to be like Yaakov, and prepare ourselves for the spiritual journey we all make of coming closer to G-d.

Shabbat Shalom

Vayeshev Summary

2007-11-25T05:42:00.000+02:00

Ya'akov (Jacob) settles in the land of Canaan. He makes his son Yosef (Joseph) a colourful coat. Yosef's brothers hate him because of their father's love for him. Yosef has two dreams showing his prominence over his brothers and they hate him even more.

Ya'akov sends Yosef to Shechem to see his brothers. They plot to kill him, but Reuven (Reuben) saves him, and persuades the brothers instead to throw him into a pit. They later decide to sell Yosef to a passing Arab caravan. They take Yosef's coat back to Ya'akov. Assuming that Yosef must be dead Ya'akov mourns him inconsolably.

Yehuda (Judah) leaves his brothers and goes into business with Chirah the Adullamite. He marries the daughter of Shua and has three sons, Er, Onan and Shelah. Er marries Tamar, but because he is evil in G-d's eyes he dies young. Onan performs levirate marriage and marries Tamar, but because he knows that any children would be considered his brother's, he makes sure that Tamar would not become pregnant. Therefore G-d makes him die also. A long time passes, and Tamar sees that Yehuda will not let her marry Shelah. In order to keep her husband's memory alive she dresses as a prostitute, seduces Yehuda, and becomes pregnant from him. When Yehuda finds out that Tamar is pregnant, he sentences her to death for adultery. Tamar gives Yehuda signs that she is pregnant from him, and he acknowledges that she has acted more righteously than he. Tamar gives birth to twin boys, Peretz and Zerach.

Meanwhile Yosef is sold to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officers. G-d grants him success and he quickly rises to being in charge of the household. Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Yosef, but when he flees from her, she falsely accuses him of raping her, and has him thrown into jail. G-d again shows Yosef favour, and he is soon placed in charge of all the other prisoners.

Pharaoh's wine steward and baker offend their master, and are thrown into jail. One night they each have a dream. Yosef interprets their dreams to mean that the steward will be returned to his former position in three days, and that the baker will be executed at that same time. He asks the steward to remember him to Pharaoh. On the third day it comes to pass as Yosef had said. But the steward forgot about Yosef.

Parshat Vayishlach 3

2007-11-19T20:46:00.000+02:00

This week’s Torah portion contains within it the story of the rape of Ya’akov’s daughter Dina, and the revenge of her brothers on the perpetrators of that deed. “Leah’s daughter Dina, whom she had borne to Ya’akov, went out to visit some of the local girls. She was seen by Shechem, son of the chief of the region, Chamor the Hivite. He seduced her, raped her, and afflicted her. He became attached to Dina, and fell in love with her...” (Bereishis 34; 1-3). Though his crime was unspeakably horrendous, it does not seem from the text that Shechem was a sociopath, or serial rapist. Were that the case he would not have come to Dina’s father to ask for her hand in marriage, and certainly would not have agreed to circumcision, which was the demand made of him and his village by Shimon and Levi, Dina’s brothers. Through a closer examination of this incident we can gain an insight into Shechem and behaviour (though it is without justification).

Not only was Shechem the name of the son of the Chief of the town, it was also the name of the town itself. It seems that Chamor named the town in honour of his son, to show the world his love for his son. The word Shechem actually means ‘treasure’ or ‘special portion’ (see ibid. 49; 22), so Chamor’s name for his son denotes the special place he had in his father’s heart.

The name Chamor is related to the word Chomer, meaning ‘substance’ or ‘material’. We have a tradition that a person’s name gives us an insight into who they really are, so the Torah seems to be telling us that Chamor was someone who was very connected to the physical world. He showed his affection to his son through materialism, by naming the town after him, and presumably by giving him any worldly possession that he wanted.

We see from Shechem’s request of his father, “Get me this young girl [Dina] as a wife” (ibid. 34; 4) that he was used to asking for and receiving anything he wanted. Similarly, when negotiating with Ya’akov and his sons, Shechem shows that he is used to getting anything that he wants: “I will give you whatever you ask. Set the bridal payments and gifts as high as you like - I will give you whatever you demand of me. Just let me have the girl as my wife.” (verse 12). His assumption is that everything has its price, and his father can afford to purchase anything for him.

Since Shechem considered that his father would give him everything that he wanted, perhaps he assumed that it was already his for the taking. If he saw a woman that took his fancy, he would first take her and rape her, confident that since he desired her his father would ensure that he could marry her. In his mind the whole world was his to do with as he wished, since he was the son of the Chief.
Shechem and Chamor were living in a totally money oriented society. Ya’akov realised this from his first encounter with the place. The Torah tells us that Ya’akov’s first action upon arriving in Shechem was to purchase the land for his tents. We are even told the purchase price of that real-estate, 100 kesitas (33; 19). The focus on money in Shechem is in sharp distinction to the place where Ya’akov had just left. After his encounter with Esav, Ya’akov went to a place named Succot, where he built a house for himself and temporary shelters (succot) for his livestock. By naming the place Succot he demonstrated that he was only going to be there temporarily, and that he was not interested in the permanence of lavish housing or accumulating wealth. When he left that place, he arrived in Shechem Shalem, ‘complete’. Rashi quotes the Midrash which explains that he was complete in his finances and complete in his health. In other words he lacked nothing, and therefore was not interested in money, possessions or acquisitions. He had freed himself from the rat race of chasing after material well being, and was thus free to complete himself spiritually. This is what he had intimated to his brother as explanation for the gifts that he had sent to Esav, “I have all [I need]” (verse 11).

Thus Ya’akov elevated himself above concerns with materialism and possessions. He was unable to understand the world-view of Shechem and Chamor, who treated not only objects, but even people as belonging to them, and having primarily a financial worth. Though Chamor did mention love in his negotiations with Ya’akov for his daughter, his main concern was that this arrangement would bring financial gain to both parties, “The land will be open before you. Settle down, do business here, and the land will become your property.” Ya’akov does not even speak in the negotiations that follow, since he cannot even understand the concept of negotiating for a person as if they were only chattel.

Shimon and Levi did negotiate with Shechem and Chamor, but instead of asking for money they demanded that they must circumcise themselves in order that Shechem be able to marry Dina. Though this may have been only a ploy to weaken the defences of the town so that they could attack, we could also perhaps understand their terms and conditions as trying to explain that their sister was not a physical object for sale. The Rambam explains (Moreh Nevuchim section 3) that through circumcision a Jewish male shows that he does not view sexual relations solely in terms of physical pleasure, but as a spiritual means to fulfil G-d’s will. It seems that Ya’akov’s sons wanted to teach Shechem that women are not merely objects, and that marriage is primarily a spiritual commitment.

Parshat Vayishlach 2

2007-11-18T20:46:00.000+02:00

Parshat Vayishlach 1

2007-11-17T20:42:00.000+02:00

“It is not good for man to be alone” (Bereishis 2; 18). With this introduction G-d prepares Adam for the creation of his wife, Eve. The purpose of creation is to imitate G-d, as the Torah tells us that mankind were made in the image of G-d. Just as G-d has no needs, and therefore only gives, so too a person should strive to become a ‘giver’ and not a ‘taker’. For Adam to remain alone would have deprived him of the opportunity to give to another, who has different requirements to him. This is why G-d created men and women with distinct emotional, physical and spiritual needs.

However, ‘aloneness’ is only a negative thing when it deprives a person of the opportunity to give to others. But to be ‘alone’ in the sense of self-sufficient, and not needing to receive from others is also a form of imitating G-d. Yishaya (2; 11) tells us that G-d is ‘alone’, “The L-rd ‘alone’ shall be exalted”. This is the meaning of the verse “One who hates gifts will live.” (Mishlei 15; 27). The goal of self-sufficiency is best described by Ben Zoma in the Mishna (Pireki Avos 4; 1) “ Who is rich? Someone who is happy with their portion.” We see from here that spiritual perfection does not depend on others, but on utilising the capabilities and tools that a person has themselves.

This embodies the difference between Ya’akov and Esav. When they meet and Ya’akov offers his brother gifts (Bereishis 33) Esav responds “I have much”. Ya’akov on the other hand, says, “I have everything.” Someone who has a lot always wants more, but someone who feels that they have everything is ‘happy with their portion’.

“And Ya’akov remained alone” (ibid. 32; 25). Normally we think that the guardian angel of Esav was able to attack and wrestle with Ya’akov because he remained alone, without perfection. However, Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz explains that it was precisely because he had reached the level of spiritual independence and self-sufficiency that is referred to by the Torah as ‘alone’, that he was able to battle and defeat the angel. Ya’akov had spent 20 years with Lavan perfecting himself to be able to return and face his brother Esav. He was only able to survive his encounter with his brother because he had attained such a level of independence that he was able to send a message to Esav saying “With Lavan I remained a stranger (garti), and remained there until now” (ibid. 32; 5). Rashi points out that the word garti has the numerical value of 613, the number of commandments. Despite, or perhaps because of, dwelling with Lavan, Ya’akov was able to remain firm to all the laws and commandments of the Torah.

This quality of ‘aloneness’ was part of Bilam’s blessing of the entire Jewish nation, “This is a nation that dwells alone, and is not considered with the other nations” (Bamidbar 23; 9). Though popular culture changes the value system every few years, the strength of the Jewish nation is that we are not swept away by every passing phase, but are able to remain true to our Torah values regardless of how we are viewed by the rest of the world. We too are able to wrestle with the angels of Esav, and defeat them, because we define ourselves independently of the culture and society in which we live.

Vayishlach Summary

2007-11-17T20:39:00.001+02:00

Ya’akov (Jacob) makes preparations before facing his brother Esav (Esau). He divides his camp into two, so that in the event of war one half will be able to flee and survive, prays that G-d save him from his brother, and sends Esav gifts. During that night an angel comes and wrestles with Ya’akov and his hip is dislocated in the struggle. Ya’akov forces the angel to concede defeat and to bless him. The angel departs at daybreak, but to this day Jews are not permitted to eat the sciatic nerve in animals as a reminder of this battle.

Esav approaches with four hundred men. Ya’akov bows seven times before his brother, as do his wives and children. Esav doesn’t want to accept the gifts from Ya’akov, but because of his urging he finally takes them. Esav offers to accompany Ya’akov but Ya’akov refuses the offer, preferring to proceed at his own pace. Esav returns to Se’ir, while Ya’akov goes to Succoth. Ya’akov then sets up camp near the town of Shechem, and erects an altar there.

Leah’s daughter, Dina, wanders out to visit the local girls. She is seen by Shechem, son of the chief of the region, Chamor the Hivite. He seduces her, rapes her, and then falls in love with her. Shechem asks his father to get him Deena as a wife. Ya’akov’s sons demand that as a dowry, all the men of the city must be circumcised. Chamor and Shechem agree, and persuade all their subjects to allow themselves to be circumcised. On the third day, when the men are in the greatest pain, Shimon and Levi come and kill the men of the city, including Shechem and Chamor. When Ya’akov chastises them, they reply “Should he have been allowed to treat our sister like a harlot?”

Ya’akov instructs his entourage to get rid of their idolatrous artefacts in preparation for going to Bet-El. When they arrive in Bet-El, Ya’akov builds an altar at the site where G-d had appeared to him when he was originally fleeing from Esav. While there, Rivka’s nurse, Devorah, dies and is buried in a place named Alon Bochot (Weeping Oak). G-d appears to Ya’akov and renames him Yisrael (Israel). He also confers upon him the blessing originally given to Avraham, and promises the land of Israel to his descendants. As Ya’akov and his family approach Efrat, Rachel goes into labour. She gives birth to a son and names him Ben-Oni (Son of my sorrow), but Ya’akov calls him Benyamin (Benjamin, son of the right). Rachel dies and is buried on the road to Efrat.

The Torah gives a complete listing of all of Ya’akov’s sons. Ya’akov returns to his father, Yitzchak, in Kiryat Arba. Yitzchak lives to the age of 180, and when he dies is buried by his sons Esav and Ya’akov in the cave of Machpela. The Torah lists the descendants of Esav, also known as Edom. It also records the descendants of Se’ir, the original inhabitant of Esav’s country. The portion ends with the names of the twelve kings who ruled the land of Edom

Parshat Vayetze 3

2007-11-11T05:46:00.002+02:00

According to the tradition there is a gap of 14 years between the end of last week’s Torah reading, when Ya’akov leaves his parents’ home, and the beginning of this one, when he goes to Haran. The Rabbis tell us that he spent that time studying in the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever. Ya’akov had grown up in the house of Yitzchak, and had spent the first 63 years of his life immersed in study, as the verse states, “Ya’akov was a wholesome man, abiding in tents” (Genesis XXV; 27). Yet he realised that his was not adequate preparation before going to face Lavan, the arch enemy of the Jewish people (As the verse says, “An Aramean [Lavan] tried to destroy my father” Deuteronomy). In fact his study in this Yeshiva was so intense that he didn’t sleep a proper night’s sleep for the entire time that he was there.
So it seems strange that despite all this preparation Ya’akov makes a deal with G-d after he has the dream about the ladder. “Then Ya’akov took a vow saying, ‘If G-d will be with me, will guard me on this way... and I return in peace to my father’s house, then G-d (A-donai) will be a G-d (Elokim) to me.’” (Genesis XXVIII; 20-21). I wonder what the alternative would be? Can we deduce that had things not worked out so well Ya’akov would not have accepted G-d, despite all those years of study and preparation?
We have a tradition that all of the events that happened to the patriarchs were a foreshadowing of events that would happen later in Jewish history. This is especially true of Ya’akov, who became Israel, embodying the entire nation and all later generations. The Rabbis tell us that the four tribulations that befell Ya’akov symbolised the four exiles that the Jewish nation has experienced. Ya’akov’s encounter with Lavan represents the Babylonian exile, his dealings with Esav shows the Persian exile, the trial with Dina is the Greek exile, and his final suffering with the loss of Yosef represents the present Roman exile. Ya’akov somehow senses the importance of the events that are about to take place, and therefore his final ‘pact’ with G-d before leaving the borders of the Land of Israel define the entire future of Jewish history, and the nation’s relationship with G-d.
There are many different names for G-d that are used in the Torah. Each of them highlights a different way in which G-d interacts with, or is perceived in the world. The name A-donai always represents G-d’s attribute of mercy, whereas the name Elokim is used where G-d’s attribute of strict justice is shown. This is also the name for G-d as perceived through nature, the numerical value of the name Elokim is the same as that of Hateva, nature. This is because nature works on the principles of the survival of the fittest, and has no room for mercy. In a sense nature is the ultimate judge, because it shows no favouritism at all.
We know that the exiles are characterised by the hiding of the Divine Presence, as the verse states, “On that day I [G-d] will surely have concealed My face” (ibid. XXXI; 18). This means that it will be a period without the direct connection to G-d strengthened by open miracles and prophecy. This is a time when it will appear as if the world is running through the ‘random’ laws of nature, and G-d’s Presence will not be felt as clearly. However, we have assurances from the earlier prophets, that though there may be very difficult times for the Jewish nation, G-d will never forsake them, or abandon them. He will always ultimately provide for them, and direct world history to the events that will return us to a state of open recognition of His involvement in the world.
Ya’akov makes his preparations for exile, for the time of G-d’s apparent concealment by immersing himself totally in the world of Torah for 14 years. Only with this preparation is he able to withstand the trials and tribulations of exile. Even with all his preparations he is still unable to detect G-d’s Presence, “Surely G-d is present in this place, and I did not know” (Genesis XXVIII; 16). However he knows that G-d will never forsake him completely. Perhaps we could better translate the ‘bargain’ that Ya’akov makes with G-d not as a conditional agreement, but as a statement of fact. “G-d will be with me, and guard me... even though A-donai (the attribute of mercy, and direct involvement with history) will be Elokim (the hidden nature of G-d through miracles)to me.”

Parshat Vayetze 2

2007-11-11T05:46:00.001+02:00

Rachel is barren for years before she is finally able to have a son. During this time she complains to her husband that she feels worthless - “Give me a son, otherwise I am dead!” (Genesis XXX; 1). Yet when she finally gives birth to a son, instead of being happy that her childless days are over, she immediately looks to the future, and complains that she doesn’t have a second son, “So she called his name Yosef (Joseph), saying, ‘May G-d add on for me another son’.” (ibid. 24). She seems as if she will never be satisfied.
As soon as Yosef is born, Ya’akov asks Lavan’s permission to leave, to return to face his brother Esav (Esau), from whom he has been fleeing for all these years. The juxtaposition in the Torah seems to link the birth of Yosef with the ability to face Esav, how is that so?
The Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 68; 1) explains the imagery in Ya’akov’s vision of the ladder reaching heaven, as he slept in Beis-El. Each of the angels ascending represents one of the nations who in the future will exile the Jewish nation. Ya’akov sees the angel of Babylon climb 70 rungs, then fall back to earth. This represents the 70 years that the Jews are in exile in Babylon. Next he sees the angel of Medea, who reaches 52 rungs, then plunges downwards. The angel of Greece climbs 120 steps, then falls. Finally Ya’akov sees the angel of Edom, the nation of his brother Esav. This angel climbs higher and higher, in an apparently endless ascent to the heavens. Ya’akov does not see him fall, and becomes afraid. “Will this exile be never-ending?” he asks G-d. “No”, replies G-d, “Even if this angel climbs to the heavens, I Myself will take him down when the time comes.”
Ya’akov remains in fear of Esav because of that dream. He is unable to see the downfall of Edom, and foresees all the suffering that his descendants will experience at the hands of Esav’s children. However, Ovadiah prophesied that Yosef would be the one to conquer Esav: “The House of Ya’akov will be a spark, and the House of Yosef a flame - and the House of Esav like straw, they will kindle among them and consume them; and there will be no survivor of the house of Esav, for G-d has spoken.” (I; 18). Though Ya’akov is unable to see the end of Esav, he knows that Yosef will be able to carry his spark outwards, to challenge and consume Esav.
The Talmud (Brachot 7b) explains that a person’s name has an influence on their personality. When parents name a child they are given a minor form of prophecy, the ability to see the potential contained within the new-born baby. This is clearly seen in the naming of the twelve tribes in our Torah reading; though Leah and Rachel name their children based on their relationship with Ya’akov and G-d, the Talmud also derives prophetic meaning in each of the names. For example, Leah names her eldest son Reuven because G-d has seen her plight. However the Talmud also explains it as a statement “See the difference between Leah’s son, and the son of her father-in-law. Reuven tries to save his brother Yosef from being killed, even though Yosef took his birthright, whereas uncle Esav hated Ya’akov, and tried to kill him despite having willingly sold his birthright for a bowl of pottage.
Though Rachel named Yosef in anticipation of another child, she also brought his potential out in his name. He is thoroughly committed to the future. Yosef, meaning G-d will increase, shows his nature to see the long term vision, and be able to endure the short term in the hope of that ultimate future. We see this from Yosef’s earliest days, telling his father and brothers of his dreams that they will eventually bow down to him. Though he was an outcast, orphaned at a young age, and disliked by his brothers, he could already see the future happening. Every insult and hardship that he had to endure in the present was only a means to the eventual happiness. Similarly, while in Egypt, he never questioned the right of his brothers to sell him, he never complained about being a slave, or being thrown in jail without cause. He knew that it was all part of G-d’s plan. Therefore when Pharaoh eventually calls him to interpret the dreams, he is able to look beyond the present, and understand the vision in the context of the future of the country.
Ya’akov is unable to see the long term. He made the mistake of wanting contentment in the present. “Ya’akov settled in the land...” (Genesis XXXVII; 1). Because the Torah uses the word “settle” which implies permanence, rather than the word “sojourn”, Rashi explains that Ya’akov wished to finally settle down in tranquillity. Immediately he falls from centre stage, and the anguish of Yosef’s kidnapping devastates him. He thought that he had reached the end of his mission, and therefore was unable to see the whole picture. Yosef is left to be the main protagonist in the story, and pave the way for the Egyptian exile.
Because only Yosef can see through the limitations of the present, Ya’akov realises that he is the one who will be able to help him to confront Esav. Though Ya’akov is unable to perceive Esav’s downfall in his dream, he understands that Yosef, who lives in wait of the ultimate conclusion, will be the one to enable Ya’akov to return home.

Parshat Vayetze 1

2007-11-11T05:44:00.000+02:00

“Lavan”. A name meaning “White”, connoting purity and holiness. He has tremendous potential, as we see that both his sister and his daughters became the matriarchs of our religion. Yet this same Mr. White, Ya’akov’s uncle, is described in the Haggada we recite each Pesach as “The Aramean who tried to destroy everything”. He is described as worse than Pharaoh, who only wished to kill all the Jewish males. How did Lavan descend from such a tremendous spiritual height, to the ultimate depths of attempting to murder his own son-in-law, and the fledgling Jewish nation?
This week’s Torah reading gives us the paradigm of Galus, exile from the land of Israel, and from the continuously-felt Divine Presence which dwells there. Ya’akov sets off alone, fleeing from his brother, seeking a safe haven and a wife. The portion begins at night, with the famous dream. Night is always a metaphor for exile, the darkness of G-d hiding His face from us. The exile of Ya’akov, who later became Yisrael, the personification of the nation, sets a precedent for all exile later in history.
Exile is a punishment. We were sentenced to leave the Holy Land for our sins. Yet it is not a meaningless sentence. It gives us the opportunity both to directly influence the nations who we find ourselves amongst, and enable us to incorporate within the collective soul of Israel the positive aspects of those nations. Our influence upon them is not as clearly defined as it was when the Temple stood in Jerusalem, and all the peoples of the world would come to see the G-d of Israel and recognise His Kingship. Yet it is more direct, we interact with everyone else and contribute directly to both their technical and moral advances. And we also gain from the experience. As a people, we mature and evolve through the influence of our surroundings.
However, when we have gained all that we can from a nation, and become so involved in their ways that we begin to lose sight of our own true identity, the Higher Wisdom decrees that we must move on from there. The rulers of the country suddenly decide to expel the Jews, or try to destroy them physically or morally, until we are forced to flee and find another safe haven. This has happened time and again, most notably in Spain, with the inquisition and the expulsion, and in Germany this century. Historians may try to trace the reasons for these tragedies, and analyse the psyches of the nations that suddenly altered, almost over night. The real reason, though, is that the Divine Plan calls for us to move on to our next destination, our mutual relationship has reached its end. And inevitably when this happens it is not only the Jews who must rebuild their lives again, but also the former host nations. The “Golden Age” in Spain ended with the expulsion of the Jews, European “culture” embodied by the art, music and intellect of Germany came to an end with the Second World War and the Holocaust.
This is what happened with Lavan. Ya’akov brought blessing and prosperity to his household. He gave him material wealth and prestige. Yet Lavan did not avail himself of the opportunity to internalise this, to recognise and form a partnership with Ya’akov. Therefore, as soon as Ya’akov had absorbed what he lacked from Lavan, the Torah testifies “Ya’akov saw the face of Lavan, and behold, it was not with him as in former times”. Ya’akov is once again forced to flee, this time from his uncle, who instead of appreciating what he has done for him, pursues him to try and kill him.
The Torah is not a history book. We do not need the Bible to tell us about ancient times. But we would do well to look in the Torah to help us to understand contemporary events.

Vayetze Summary

2007-11-10T18:04:00.000+02:00

Ya'akov (Jacob) departs from Be'er Sheva, fleeing from his brother, to seek a wife in Charan. He stops to sleep on the way and dreams of a ladder stretching from the earth to the heavens, with angels descending and ascending. G-d stands at the top of the ladder and blesses Ya'akov that He will guard and protect him while he is with Lavan. Ya'akov awakens and names the place Beth-El. He sets up an altar as a witness to the promises that G-d made to him.

Ya'akov continues to Charan and finds the local shepherds at a well. They are unable to water their flocks, because the rock covering the mouth of the well is too heavy for them to lift individually. Rachel comes with her sheep. When Ya'akov sees her he single-handedly rolls the rock off the well. Rachel runs to tell her father Lavan, who comes to greet Ya'akov. Lavan brings Ya'akov into his house, and hires him as a shepherd. Ya'akov agrees to work for seven years in order to marry Rachel. After the seven years, Lavan tricks Ya'akov by substituting Leah, Rachel's older sister, in her place. When Ya'akov realises that he has been tricked, he agrees to work for another seven years for Rachel. Lavan also gives Bilhah and Zilpah to Ya'akov as handmaids.

Leah gives birth to Reuven, Shimon, Levi and Yehudah. Rachel sees that she is barren, and gives Bilhah to Ya'akov in her stead. Bilhah gives birth to Dan and Naftali. Leah gives Zilpah to Ya'akov, and she has Gad and Asher. Reuven finds some mandrakes (a fertility drug) which he brings to his mother. Rachel buys them from her sister in exchange for her spending the night with Ya'akov. Leah has two more sons, Yissachar and Zevulun, and a daughter, Dina. Finally Rachel gives birth to Yosef.

After the birth of Yosef, Ya'akov asks Lavan for permission to return to his home. Instead, Lavan convinces him to stay and earn himself a flock of sheep. Lavan separates all the sheep with any black on them. Ya'akov is to have all the mottled and speckled sheep that are born. Ya'akov uses trees with the bark peeled off to encourage the sheep to have coloured lambs. Miraculously all of the sheep are born speckled from then on, and Ya'akov becomes wealthy.

Ya'akov hears Lavan's sons becoming jealous of his wealth, and decides to return to Padan Aram. Lavan hears that he has left and pursues him. G-d appears to Lavan, and tells him not to attempt to harm Ya'akov. Lavan bids his daughters and grandchildren farewell, and accuses Ya'akov of having stolen his teraphim (idols). Ya'akov does not realise that Rachel has taken them, and declares that whoever has taken them shall die. Lavan does not find his teraphim, and returns empty handed. He and Ya'akov set up a monument of their pact of non-beligerence. After Lavan leaves, Ya'akov encounters a camp of angels and calls the place Machanaim.

Parshat Toledot 3

2007-11-07T21:06:00.000+02:00

In almost all of the events of his life, Yitzchak remains a passive actor, or else he is not in control of the situation. His birth and his name, were prophesied a year earlier; in his ‘binding’ on Mount Moriah, he lay passively as his father was about to sacrifice him. When it was time for him to get married his father arranged for his servant to find the right wife for him. Even when he comes to bless his sons at the end of his life, it is really his wife who is pulling all the strings. In fact the only action that Yitzchak himself does is the digging of the wells in this week’s Torah portion (Genesis 26: 19-22). Therefore it seems worthy of closer examination if we are to gain an insight into Yitzchak’s personality.

“Yitzchak dug anew the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Avraham his father and the Philistines had stopped up after Avraham’s death; and he called them by the same names that his father had called them. Yitzchak’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of fresh water. The herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled with Yitzchak’s herdsmen saying. “The water is ours,” so he called the name of that well Esek (involvement), because they involved themselves with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarrelled over that also; so he called its name Sitnah (quarrel). He relocated from there and dug another well; they did not quarrel over it, so he called its name Rechovot (width), and said, “For now G-d has granted us ample space, and we can be fruitful in the land.” He went from there to Beer-Sheva...”

Since the Torah seems to spend so much space on actions which seem so trivial, the commentators have understood that there must be deeper significance to these events. Ramban, based on the principle that the experiences of the patriarchs are precursors of events in Jewish history, explains that the three wells represent the three Temples, the two that were destroyed, and the third Temple that will be built in the Messianic era, and which will not be destroyed. The Temple is likened to a well of water, as Jeremiah says “because they have forsaken the L-rd, the well of living waters” (17: 13). The first Temple was destroyed because of involvement with idolatry and other forbidden things, the second was destroyed because of the quarrelling between the Jews, the baseless hatred that divided them. The Third Temple will be in a time of increased borders and fruitfulness, and is therefore implied in the well named Rechovot.

It seems strange, however, that after the first two wells were lost to the herdsmen of Gerar, Yitzchak persevered and dug another well, yet after the third well which was uncontested he abandoned the place, and relocates to Beer-Sheva. If these wells represent the three Temples should he not have remained at Rechovot for a greater length of time, just as the third Temple will be the final one? The Ba’al HaTurim explains the historical significance of these wells slightly differently. He says that Esek refers to the Babylonians, who involved themselves in military conquest against the Land of Israel, Sitna refers to Haman, who plotted evil against the Jewish nation. And Rechovot corresponds to the Greeks who forbade the Jews from going to the Mikva, thus preventing them from having children. Miraculously the Jews found ways of immersing themselves in Mikvas surreptitiously, and were able to be fruitful, hence “we can be fruitful in the land”.

Rav Tzaddok HaCohen explains that these two explanations, of the Ramban and the Ba’al HaTurim are two sides of the same coin. The first well refers to the First Temple period, when the threat to the nation was from Babylon, who were engaged in a war of conquest. They were not against the Jews any more than any other nation in the region, and were simply trying to extend their borders as far as possible. The second well represents the Second Temple period, which was categorised by the hatred of Jews best symbolised by Haman. Wars were directed against Jewish rights to independence, not with a desire to take control of the Land of Israel. The third well, which according to the Ba’al HaTurim represents the Greek conquest, represents the entire period of Jewish history from the time of the Greeks, through the destruction of the Temple by the Romans, to our present situation. The Greeks did not try to kill the Jews physically, or even deny them vestiges of self-rule. Their goal was to try and destroy the spirituality and religion of the Jews. This was the approach taken by the herdsmen of Gerar with the final well, watching as Yitzchak and his men dug it, and perhaps even offering assistance. However, Yitzchak realised that this situation was even more dangerous than the former two. When nations attempt to destroy the Jewish nation there is usually very little that we as Jews can do. We can only persevere and pray that things will get better. However when the nations try to welcome the Jews that can be even more dangerous. For Yitzchak the only option was to leave there, and return to Beer-Sheva, a city founded by his father and a bastion of the ideals that Avraham had brought into the world.

Parshat Toledot 2

2007-11-04T23:50:00.000+02:00

“G-d formed from the earth every beast of the field and every bird of the sky and brought them to Adam to see what he would call each one; and whatever Adam called each living creature, that remained its name” (Genesis 2: 19). We see from here the importance of names. A person’s Hebrew name is not mere coincidence, but is has an influence over their character traits, and shows us the potential within that person. The Hebrew word for “name” is Shem, which is related to the word Sham meaning “there”. How much more important to understanding the character of a person is a name given in the Torah, where every word has many layers of hidden meaning.

Esav (Esau) is born at the beginning of this week’s Torah reading. But his name appears to be a description of what he looked like as a baby, rather than a key to understanding his personality. “The first one emerged red, entirely like a hairy mantle; so they called him Esav” (ibid. 25; 25). Rashi explains that the word Esav is from the word Assui (made), because when Esav emerged from the womb he was covered in hair like an adult. This seems a strange reason for a name. All babies when they are born look like either aliens or Winston Churchill, yet very few are named E.T. or Winston.

Equally perplexing is the other name which Esav receives later in life, Edom (Red). This name is not a consequence of his ruddy appearance, but rather because he sold his birthright for a pot of red stew (ibid. 30). Why is the colour of Esav’s lunch the most appropriate description of who he really is?

The fact that Esav was born “fully made” gives us an insight into his attitude to the world. Adam and Eve were created after everything else was already formed, in order that they should enter into a “made” world, where they would not lack for anything. They had the potential to take the finished world, and elevate to a higher plane through their actions. However, through sinning, they plunged the world into imperfection, and forced their descendants to have to work to survive.

Similarly Esav was given everything when he was born. He was complete, and should have used that perfection as a building base to strive for even greater spiritual heights. To do this he needed to appreciate the world into which he was born, and recognise his debt of gratitude to G-d. However when he returns home exhausted, he tells Ya’akov that he doesn’t even want to know what he is eating “Pour into me now some of that red stuff”. He doesn't want to eat and enjoy the food, but just to have it poured into him. And the only thing he sees in the food is its colour.

Instead of perceiving the physical world as a tool to reach spiritual perfection, he thinks that this world is the totality of reality. He sees no use for the birthright, because he is finite, “I am going to die”. Therefore he is labelled with the derogatory name “Edom”, which not only means red, but is also related to Adam, the first man who also spurned the gifts that G-d had given him in this world.
Just as Adam forfeited his right to remain in the Garden of Eden, so too Esav gave up his birthright, the heritage of Avraham and Yitzchak. In place of the quest for spiritual perfection Esav sees only the material finite world, and despairs. However, by spurning the birthright he also gives up his share in the world to come, in the unbounded paradise that remains stored away for the righteous. He only sees only the physicality of the world, and that he is going to die, but ignores the spiritual elements of life, and the future rewards that they can bring.