Parshat Noach

When G-d commanded Noach to build the ark, He specified the dimensions of the ark precisely. It is clear from the size of the ark that there is no way that all the animals and their food could have fitted into it under normal circumstances. Either it was a TARDIS (which is much bigger on the inside than on the outside), or else G-d miraculously enabled all the people and animals to fit inside a space that would not otherwise have been large enough for them. There are two principles which explain why G-d would put Noach to the trouble of building an ark if it would take a miracle to save him and the animals anyway. Firstly a person may rely on miracles, but must do whatever they are able, and only then can they ask G-d for help. Secondly, G-d always tries to minimise obvious miracles to allow for free choice. In addition, in the case of Noach, G-d wanted him to spend 120 years building the ark so that the people of the generation would realise that the flood was imminent, and have the opportunity to repent. This explains why G-d did not save Noach and the animals in a simpler way. The question remains however, that if the ark is only a decoy, to hide the miracle, why does the Torah bother to tell us the dimensions. What difference would it make whether it was 300 cubits long, or only 299?
There is clearly some deeper significance to the dimensions of the ark. Rabbi Yonasan Eibschitz quotes the Arizal who states that these specifications correspond to the Tetragammaton name of G-d (Yud, Heh - Vav, Heh). Rabbi Eibschitz explains that the width of the ark is 50 cubits, which is ten (yud) times five (heh). The height is 30 cubits which is six (vav) times five (heh). This four letter name of G-d refers to His attribute of mercy, so it is fitting that the ark, which was built to ensure the continuation of the human race should be based on this name.
The only other place where the Torah gives us such specific building plans is in the building of the Mishkan, (tabernacle), where each item is described in detail. It would appear therefore that there is some connection between the Mishkan and Noach’s ark. There are many similarities between the ark and the Mishkan. Both were three tiered - the ark had an upper deck for humans, the second for the animals, and the lower deck for the refuse. The tabernacle also had three different levels of sanctity, the Holy of Holies, containing the ark* of the covenant with the stone tablets, the Holy section with the menorah, table and golden altar, and the outer courtyard which had the earthen altar.
The plans for the Mishkan were given to Moshe on Yom Kippur, after his final forty days on Mount Sinai. The forty days obviously corresponds to the forty days and nights that the rain fell at the beginning of the flood. Just as Noach’s ark was bigger on the inside than on the outside, so too the Mishkan, the dimensions of the Holy of Holies were not big enough to contain the ark which was within it. Similarly, no matter how many people came to the Temple there was always room for them, and though they were packed in standing on Yom Kippur, when it came time to bow down everyone had enough space to prostrate themselves on the ground. Finally, Noach spent 120 years constructing the ark, which was the age of Moshe, who was ultimately responsible for the construction of the Mishkan, at the time of his death.
However, conceptually the ark and the Mishkan appear to be opposites. The ark saved those who were within from destruction outside, whereas the Mishkan destroyed those who entered, but sustained the entire outside world. Noach and his family were saved by remaining in the ark, so that Noach’s ark was the point of interaction with G-d, but that the Divine Presence was not discernible outside the ark. In contrast, the Mishkan was the point of interaction with G-d, but through the Mishkan G-d’s Presence was felt throughout the world. The most intense point of interaction was the Holy of Holies, where nobody was permitted to enter, with the exception of the High Priest on one day of the year.
The first High Priest in the Mishkan was Aharon, who is associated with the kabbalistic concept of Chen. Translated as ‘grace’ this is a difficult concept to explain, but is typified by the Mishna which describes Aharon as one who ‘loves peace and pursues peace, loves people and brings them closer to Torah’ (Pirkei Avot 1: 8). Aharon was constantly reaching out to others, and actively pursuing peace. Thus he was the most appropriate person to dwell within the confines of the Mishkan, which was ultimately the place of G-d’s Presence reaching out to the world.
Noach is also associated with Chen, as the last verse in last week’s Torah reading states “And Noach found Chen in G-d’s eyes”. However Noach is the opposite of reaching out to others, his main fault was that he did not pray for the other people of his generation. Therefore his name is the letters of the word Chen inverted. So too his ark was closed off from the rest of the world, and no one else could enjoy the interaction with the Divine.

*The Hebrew word for Noach’s ark is teva but the word for the ark of the covenant is aron, so we cannot cite this as another similarity.

Parshat Noach

“Noach, the man of the earth...” (Genesis 9; 20). Ramban explains that the description “man of ...” denotes a complete dedication to that thing, and a separation from anything else. As soon as he left the Ark Noach immediately set about sowing and planting the desolate world that he found. He devoted himself entirely to the earth. Similarly, Moshe was described as “man of G-d” (Deuteronomy 33; 1), signifying his complete devotion and total dedication to G-d.
In the very beginning of our portion Noach is also described as a man, but a ‘righteous man’ (6; 9). According to the Ramban’s definition this means that he dedicated himself to righteousness, and separated himself from anything else. Noach transforms from the epitome of righteousness, to a farmer, concerned not with righteousness, but with the earth. In the same verse that Noach is described as being a ‘man of the earth’ the Torah also shows us his descent from his level of sanctity. “vayachel Noach”, “Noach debased himself” (9; 20).
One could mistakenly assume that it was Noach’s concern with the earth that caused him to lose his righteousness. We assume that someone designated by G-d as ‘righteous’ must spend their time removed from worldly pursuits, engaging with the spiritual. Yet from his birth Noach had been recognised as someone able to work the earth, and transform it like nobody before him. He had a special relationship with the earth. Since the time of Cain nobody had been able to till the ground, yet during Noach’s lifetime the curse of the ground disappeared. Noach is also credited with the invention of the plough allowing people once again to work the ground (Midrash Tanchuma Bereishis 11). In fact Noach was named for his relationship with the earth, “And he called his name Noach saying, ‘This one will bring us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands, from the ground which G-d has cursed’.” Lamech, Noach’s father, recognised his potential to work and develop the ground, and remove its curse.
His relationship with the ground was actually the source of Noach’s righteousness, and in that merit he was chosen to survive the flood. Rather than being removed from the physical world, Noach dedicated himself to working the soil. However, his sole intention in so doing was to bring himself closer to G-d. Therefore after the flood, Noach simply continued with that work which he knew best, tilling the soil, and sowing and planting. He even found support for his actions in G-d’s commands to him. Since (according to Midrashim) G-d had told Noach to take saplings and seeds with him into the Ark, he concluded that he should plant them when he left the Ark a year later.
Rashi explains that Noach’s sin was not in planting, but in what he chose to plant first. Of all the species which he had with him in the Ark, he began by planting grapevines, with the disastrous results mentioned in the continuation of the story. This shows the importance of beginnings. Noach lost his exalted status only because he made the wrong beginning when he emerged from the Ark. Yet Judaism sees nothing intrinsically wrong with wine and grapes - at every Jewish ceremony we mark the transition from holy to mundane or from mundane to holy, with a blessing over wine. Thus we begin Shabbat with Kiddush on wine, and end it with Havdalah on wine. We use wine at a wedding to signify the higher spiritual level of a couple than two individuals, and we use wine at a circumcision to show the higher sanctity of a child who has entered the covenant with G-d. But before Noach became drunk the Torah already saw that he was no longer ‘a righteous man’, but ‘a man of the earth’.
Noach refused to leave the Ark without a Divine command to do so (8; 15-17). “Every living being that is with you … take them out.” In the Torah the Hebrew word ‘take them out’ (hotzei) is read as ‘order them out’ (ha’ytzei), meaning that if the animals refused to leave the Ark voluntarily, Noach and his family should forcibly remove them. Perhaps this reluctance to leave the Ark was also felt by Noach. Therefore G-d subtly told him that there was not an option to remain in the Ark. Why would Noach not want to leave the Ark? Surely a whole year separated from his beloved earth would have been enough for him?
“G-d said to Noach; ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me … and behold I am about to destroy them with the earth (es ha’aretz)’” (6; 13). Rashi explains that not only the people and animals, but even the upper three tefachim of earth were destroyed during the flood. Three tefachim is the depth of a plough, and we can only surmise that the corruption of humanity had even penetrated the earth as they were working it. When Noach emerged from the Ark he realised that because of his invention of the plough, he had indirectly caused the earth to be even more desolate than it should have been. Had he not invented the plough, people would have been unable to work the ground, and it would have been spared destruction. His beloved earth was now ruined because of him.
Perhaps this is why Noach was reluctant to leave the Ark, and why he began the new world by planting vines and becoming drunk. His greatest achievements, the plough and removing the curse from the ground seemed to him to have caused only destruction. Despite receiving Divine sanction for his invention, in his depression he failed to realise their value. He reasoned that it would be better for the world if he were drunk, and unable to contribute any more destructive inventions to the world. This depression caused him to temporarily lose sight of G-d, and become only ‘a man of the earth’.

Tosefet Bracha - Bereishit 2

In the beginning (1: 1)

There are many hints in this first verse. Look at Rashi, who brings some of the allusions. We can also find a hint to what we explained in the previous piece. We have a tradition in the Talmud that the world will exist for 6000 years, and then be destroyed for 1000 years. We explained above that this is a 7000 year cycle which repeats over and over again.
We can find a hint to this in the first verse. The Hebrew word for 1000 is eleph, and the word for destroyed is shamam. In the first verse there are seven words – Bereishit Bara Elokim Et Ha-shamayim v-Et Ha-Aretz. Each of the words contains the letter aleph (related to the word for 1000) except for the word Ha-Shamayim The root of the word Shamayim is the word shamam (as we find in Iyov 32: 43 “Utterly destroyed without any life”). The six words with the letter aleph allude to the six thousand (eleph) years, and the seventh word (Shamayim) alludes to the destruction (Shamam), which is the only world without the letter aleph.

Tosefet Bracha - Bereishit

“In the beginning” (1: 1)
(an exploration of the idea of when the world was created)

It states in masechet Sanhedrin (97a): The world will be for 6000 years and 1000 it will be destroyed.
Rashi explains that apart from the 6000 years there will be another 1000 years of destruction and desolation.
The Talmud there explains that the 1000 years of desolation corresponds to the shmita year (as explained in parshat Behar), and thus the world has a shmita of 1000 years every 7000 years.
The relationship between the years of the world and the shmita year can be explained because the reason for shmita every seven years corresponds to G-d resting on the seventh day of creation (which was Shabbat). Therefore the shmita of the 7000th year primarily relates to resting from Creation. It is known that a day of G-d is 1000 years, as the verse states “For a thousand years in Your eyes is like from yesterday to today” (Tehillim 90: 4). Therefore the worlds has a shmita every 7000th year.
However the entire concept of the shmita of the 7000th year, based on the wording “and one thousand destroyed” means that it is part of a long chain without end, from the time of the first creation. Since then this cycle has repeated itself every 6000 years, with 1000 years of destruction following. It as then rebuilt every time for another 6000 years. This repeated over and over again.
It is almost certain that this is the meaning of the midrash rabba on this parsha on the verse “And it was evening and it was morning” which says that G-d creates worlds and destroys them, creates worlds and destroys them.
This also fits with the words of the Talmud that we brought above, that the world will last for 6000 years then be destroyed for 1000. This means that after every 6000 years there is 1000 of destruction before the world is renewed. Only G-d knows which cycle of 7000 years we are in at the moment.
This is clear from the words ‘destroyed for 1000’ which implies a cycle as we have said. If there would only be 6000 years to the world altogether followed by destruction it would not make sense to talk of 1000 years of destruction since after the 6000 the destruction would be forever. But according to what we have said it makes sense, because after the destruction there will be a new beginning.
There is another reason why it is difficult to understand that after 6000 years there will be total destruction forever, because we are now towards the end of the 5000th year, with only a couple of hundred years until that destruction. Even if the redemption were to occur today, does it make sense that the reward for all the thousands of years of exile would be sandwiched into such a small time of only a couple of hundred years? About this the Talmud says ‘Do you think G-d brings judgement without justice?’ (Brachot 5b).
Furthermore, just before the redemption all settlement of the world will cease. As the Talmud says (Avodah Zarah 9b) ‘if a person were to offer to sell you a field worth 1000 dinars for only a single dinar don’t accept the offer’.
Also, based on the analogy between the seven year shmita cycle and the years of creation it must be that the destruction of the 7000th year cannot be a permanent destruction. The shmita year only lasts for one year, and after that year everything returns to the way it was, so it must be also that the years of creation with the ‘shmita’ of the 7000th year is only temporary, and afterwards everything will return to its normal way.
Perhaps the reason for the destruction of the world from time to time is congruous with the way things work in the world. When someone builds new houses in a place where old houses stood earlier, the entire foundations of the original buildings must be completely destroyed and the area cleared and only then can the foundations be laid for the new buildings. So too with the world, after a period of 6000 years all the building and foundation of the past era must be destroyed so that new building can begin for another 6000 years afterwards.
This is the way that G-d fixed the nature of the world. When someone plants seeds in the earth, they must first be destroyed and only afterwards can they begin to sprout. Similarly, a new world can begin to sprout after the destruction and decay of the world and everything that is within it.
Based on this we can explain the Aggada in Talmud Shabbat (152b): If someone has jealousy his bones will rot (after his death), and anyone who doesn’t have jealousy, his bones will not rot. This is based on the words of a verse. Then the Talmud challenges: Doesn’t the verse states, “You shall return to dust” (and Rashi explains that the decree against Adam the first man also applies to every person since). The Talmud explains that this only applies just before the resurrection of the dead. In other words, the rot that was decreed for someone who doesn’t have jealousy will only be a moment before the resurrection. It doesn’t explain the purpose of the rotting, or define the time which is ‘just before the resurrection of the dead’.
But the explanation is as follows, based on what we said above: In order to have a new life in the resurrection of the dead, it is necessary that the former body be destroyed and rots into dust. If someone is jealous this rotting takes place as part of the natural process. However, someone who does not have jealousy, his bones remain whole and ready until a moment before the resurrection. At that time it is necessary for them to rot so that they can come back to the new life that will come, to fulfil the decree of “You shall return to dust”.
We will see the purpose of the destruction of the world in the Aggada that we will bring shortly. For those thousand years while G-d is renewing the world, He will make wings for the righteous and they will fly over the surface of the water. However we understand the Aggada, it certainly seems that the world will be completely covered with water.
With what we have explained we can also understand the verses in parshat Va’etchanan (Devarim 7) where it says about G-d that he keeps the covenant and the kindness for a thousand generations. Also in Tehillim (105: 8) it states “He commanded His word for a thousand generations”. As we know, a generation is seventy years, as the verse states “the days of his life in them are seventy years” (ibid. 90: 10). See also at Talmud Yevamot (50a). A thousand generations is therefore 70,000 years. G-d is guaranteeing the world’s existence for that length of time. So the number of 6000 years for the world must be only for one period of the world’s existence, which will repeat until that total number of years.
With this we can understand how scientists have found trees and bones of animals that clearly lived tens of thousands of years ago (look at ‘Oh Hachaim’ by the author of Tiferet Yisrael at the end of Nezikin). This is no contradiction to our counting of years, since they are just remnants of earlier periods of the world’s existence which somehow survived the destruction and lasted until now. Just as the Talmud (Nida 61a) says that Og King of Bashan remained (and survived) from the flood, or that three boiling pools of water survived from the time of the flood (Sanhedrin 108a).

Bereishis Summary

SUMMARY OF THE TORAH PORTION

On the first day of creation, G-d makes light. On the second day a firmament to separate between the upper and lower waters. On the third day dry land and vegetation appear. On the fourth day the sun, moon and other celestial bodies. On the fifth day G-d creates fish and birds. On the sixth day animals and mankind. And on the seventh day G-d rests from creating.

G-d places Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He commands them to work and guard the Garden and to eat of all its fruit except for the fruit of the trees of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and of Life. Adam gives names to all the animals. The serpent entices Eve to eat from the forbidden fruit and she also persuades Adam to eat it. G-d punishes the serpent, and the ground, and banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden.

Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain becomes a farmer and Abel a shepherd. They both bring offerings to G-d, but G-d only turns to Abel’s offering. In a fit of jealousy Cain slays his brother, and is then punished by G-d and banished to wander the earth. Cain’s descendants are listed in the Torah. Adam and Eve have another son, Seth. His descendants and their life spans are listed, culminating in Noach. When Noach is 500 years old he has three sons, Shem, Cham and Yaphet.

As mankind increases upon the earth they rebel against G-d and become involved in adultery. G-d says that from this point on human lives will be limited to 120 years. G-d decides to blot out all the inhabitants from the earth, except for Noach who finds favour in His eyes.

Parshas Bereishis II

In story of Cain and Abel we tend view Cain as simply a big bully, and Abel as the righteous innocent. However a closer look at the text shows a different aspect to each of them. “It came to pass in the process of time that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the L-rd. And Abel also brought from the firstlings of his flock...” (Genesis IV; 3). It was Cain who first thought to bring a sacrifice. It was not as generous as his brother’s, which is why G-d turned to Abel’s offering and not Cain’s. However, the Torah gives the impression that had Cain not brought his offering, Abel would not have taken the initiative. Furthermore, though nowadays we find it hard to understand the purpose or benefit of sacrifices, at that time it was the most appropriate way to strengthen a relationship with G-d. Cain was searching for a path to spiritual growth. Additionally. the Ramban writes that both Cain and Abel understood the deep inner meanings and secrets of the sacrifices. Certainly both of them were on a tremendously high spiritual level, to such a degree that G-d spoke directly to Cain, both before and after he killed his brother.

“And it was when they were in the field, that Cain said to Abel his brother...” (v. 8). The Torah fails to tell us what Cain said to his brother before killing him. Targum Yonasan (a translation/ commentary on the Torah from the Mishnaic period) fills in the missing dialogue: “Cain answered and said to Abel, ‘There is no judgement, and there is no judge. There is no World-to-Come, and there is no one to give reward to the righteous, nor to punish the wicked’.” How could Cain have gone from such a high level, where he was able to fathom the mysteries of creation and of the sacrifices, and spoke to G-d as a prophet, to denying G-d’s very existence, and Divine purpose to the world? This seems to contradict the Talmudic dictum (Shabbat 105b) that the Evil Inclination works gradually. “Today it says ‘do this’, tomorrow ‘do that’, until eventually it persuades a person to commit idolatry”. Unfortunately we can see how true this is. Yet this is a process which takes time. How could Cain fall into the trap of atheism in an instant?

Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz explains based on this text the dangers of depression and anger. When a person is thinking rationally, the Evil Inclination can only lead them one step at a time. It knows that the suggestion of idolatry would be rejected out of hand. However, when a person is in a crisis situation they react instinctively, not logically. Then the Inclination can attack them and drive them to extreme behaviour. The Torah tells us that after G-d turned to Abel’s offering that “Cain was very angry and his countenance fell”. This anger and depression caused him to lose control of his rational faculties and behave in a way which would otherwise have been totally out of character for him.

This is what the Talmud (Pesachim 66b) means when it tell us that anyone who gets angry is as if they have worshipped idols. This is not merely a metaphor, showing the negativity of anger, but the reality. Once a person becomes consumed with anger there is no limit to the spiritual depths to which they can fall, even to the extent of idolatry.

Similarly, the Rabbis tell us that depression is one of the most destructive traits. King Solomon tells us in Song of Songs that there is a time to rejoice and a time to be sad, however, there is never a time when depression is the appropriate response. We are to express sadness or happiness based on the events as we perceive them in this world, but we know that G-d is the True Judge, and that in the World of Truth everything is ultimately for the best. This is why the opening of the funeral service is Tziduk HaDin, proclaiming the justness of G-d, and the recognition that this tragedy is part of the greater plan. Depression causes a person to deny the greater good, and fail to see any purpose in life.

Certainly we all have ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ from time to time, and once in an emotional slump it is often difficult to get out of it. However we must always know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Because Cain failed to realise that there was a larger picture, though he spoke to G-d directly he thought that there was no justice in the world, and through his depression came to fratricide. Had he been able to view the situation objectively he would have understood that G-d was teaching him how to come to a closer relationship with the Divine, and instructing him on the path to spiritual perfection.

Parshat Bereishis

At the end of our Torah portion there is a list of the ten generations from Adam to Noach. Anyone studying the portion would usually skim read this part, as it is repetitive, and doesn’t contain anything interesting, except to help construct a timeline of Jewish history. There is a similar section at the end of next week’s portion, Noach, which again simply lists the generations from Noach to Avraham. It seems that even the Mishna considers these sections unimportant parts of the Torah, as it states, “From Adam to Noach there were ten generations, to show the extent of G-d’s patience...” (Avot 5; 2).

However, if we examine the two lists of names, we find an important difference between them. In this week’s list we are told the age of each person when they had their first son, the remaining number of years of their life, and then the total number of years they lived, “and he died”. In contrast the list at the end of Noach appears to be more sensible, and only gives each person’s age when they had their first son, and their total number of years. Why does our portion bother to give us the total number of years, when this total can be calculated by simply adding together the number of years before and after the first son was born?

There is a question that I am often asked, ‘How could people live so long in those days?’ Certainly we are puzzled by the average antediluvian life expectancy which seems to be in the high 800s. There are several answers given (e.g. Ramban to Genesis 5; 1), however the strangest answer is given by the Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim (2; 47). He states “As for the precise statements made by the texts of the Torah regarding the length of life of certain individuals, I say that only that individual who is mentioned lived so long a life, whereas the other men lived lives that had the natural and usual duration....” Why should G-d miraculously cause a single individual in each generation to live ten times longer than his contemporaries?

At the end of our portion G-d despairs of humanity and states, “I will blot out man whom I created from the face of the ground - from man to animal, to creeping things, and to birds of the sky, for I have reconsidered making them” (6; 7). Rashi (ibid.) explains why the animals were wiped out “Everything was created for mankind, and since mankind was being wiped out, there was no need for the animals”. Before the flood animals were just an adjunct to humanity, and had no significance or merit on their own. Yet by the end of the flood we find, “G-d remembered Noach and all the beasts and all the animals that were with him in the ark...” (8; 1). G-d ‘recreated’ the world both for Noach and the animals. From this point on animals seem to have an intrinsic value which they lacked in the original creation.

Rav Matis Weinberg (Frameworks I) explains that there was a fundamental change between the purpose of mankind before the flood and after. Originally each person was the totality of creation. The Midrash (Kohelet Rabba 7; 13) explains “When G-d created Adam he took him and showed him all the trees of the garden, and said to him, “Look at how nice they are. And everything that I created, I created for you. Take care not to sin, so that you do not destroy the world”. Usually this is understood as the earliest environmental protection statement. However, we can also view it in light of what happened at the time of the flood. Everything was only created for the use of mankind, therefore when people sin the whole world is destroyed.

It is not only the animals who are secondary to people before the flood, but even the human population of the world is only the backdrop for the actions of those ten people mentioned in the list of generations. This is perhaps the key to understanding the Rambam’s comment that everyone else lived lives of normal duration. Those ten generations were the entire focus of creation, and they had to justify their existence through their actions, otherwise the world could not continue to exist. Therefore the Torah lists the total number of years that they lived, but stresses that ‘they died’, - none of them were able to justify their existence through their actions.

After the flood however, human beings were no longer the sole purpose of creation, but one more creature amongst many. Certainly people are endowed with intellect, and free-choice which separates them from the animals, but ultimately they are still only one species among many. This is why G-d remembered not only Noach, but the animals who were with him. Similarly in the book of Jonah we read “G-d said, ... ‘shall I not take pity on Ninveh the great city, in which there are more than 120,000 people who do not know their right hand from their left, and many animals as well?” (4; 11).
Richard Dawkin wrote a book called ‘The Selfish Gene’ in which he shows that the goal of life and evolution is solely to ensure the continuation of the genes of each species. Each species is striving for eternal life through the continuation of their genetic structure, and each individual is only another step in the chain of life. We find a less extreme version of this statement in the genealogies from Noach to Avraham, that the total life of each individual is not as important as the fact that they had children to continue the human race. Before the flood everything was dependent upon each individual, afterwards people become valuable through population numbers even if as individuals they fail to live up to their full potential. We see this difference most clearly in the different reactions that Noach and Avraham have when they are told of imminent mass destruction. Noach recognises the futility of praying to save people who have failed to justify their individual existence, but Avraham immediately begins bargaining for the people of Sodom according to the number of righteous people.

The postdeluvian view of humanity does not mean that individuals cannot justify their existence through their actions, or diminish the importance of each individual, but it means that even if someone fails to fulfil their potential their merit can come from the future generations. Conversely each of us can bring merit through our actions to all our progenitors.

Yonah (Yom Kippur)

Even Wikipedia has a d'var Torah on Yonah (but this is my one)

THE BOOK OF YONA (JONAH)
The Haftorah for Yom Kippur afternoon is the book of Yona. It tells the story of the prophet Yonah who was sent to Ninveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. He was to tell the people that G-d was displeased with their actions, and the city would be overturned. Yona refuses his mission and attempts to flee from G-d by leaving Israel for Tarshish. He is eventually forced by G-d to accept his task and go to Ninveh. The citizens of Ninveh, led by their king, repent and G-d forgives them. Meanwhile Yona, who has set himself nearby to watch the imminent destruction of the city, complains to G-d that He is not being truthful and just if He forgives the people. G-d uses the kikayon tree to teach Yona that He shows mercy to people because they are dear to Him.
It would seem that the theme of the story is repentance, thus making it appropriate for Yom Kippur. What is not clear though, is whose repentance we should be focusing on. At first glance it would appear that Yona repents and admits that G-d is right, and he is wrong for wanting the destruction of Ninveh. In fact the Midrash records Yona’s repentance before G-d, in which he acknowledges that he has sinned. However the text of the book itself gives us no indication that Yona has learnt his lesson.
Perhaps we are supposed to learn from the repentance of the inhabitants of Ninveh, that they immediately changed their ways. However, there is dispute amongst the commentaries as to whether the repentance of Ninveh was sincere or only the outward appearance of repentance, with no real commitment to change. Also, if that is the punchline, why does the story continue?
Maybe the message that we should learn from the book of Yona is the comparison between the non-Jewish reaction to the warning from G-d, and the Jewish one. For decades before and after this episode, G-d sent prophets to Israel and Jerusalem berating the people for having abandoned the ways of justice and goodness, and threatening them with destruction. However they refused to listen and to change, just as Yona in this story seems impervious to G-d’s lesson. Ninveh, on the other hand, a non-Jewish city, immediately take note of G-d’s displeasure with them and make a change. Even if it is not a complete repentance, at least they heeded the warning that they were given. Therefore it seems apt that their empire was the one to eventually wage war against Israel and take the ten tribes into exile. Those who can repent are the ones who are able to punish those who cannot repent.

Yom Kippur d'var Torah

Teshuva is the main theme of this season. The days from Rosh HaShana until Yom Kippur are known as the “Asseret Yemei HaTeshuva”, “Ten Days of Repentance”, the Intermediate Shabbat is called “Shabbat (Te)Shuva” and the Machzor for Yom Kippur is full of references to Teshuva. What exactly is demanded of us at this time of year, and especially on this day?
We know that during the past year we have not constantly lived up to the standards expected of us by G-d, by our peers, and often even our own standards of right and wrong. Were there no higher power and no absolute values we would have no recourse to forgiveness. If we, or society, set the values by which we should live, then there is no way of undoing any past wrongs. Judaism recognises G-d as the supreme authority of all morality; good and evil are defined as revealed by G-d. Therefore the same Authority that declares something wrong and sinful, can also declare it forgiven. The way to forgiveness is through teshuva.
Teshuva involves change. It means changing our actions, our attitudes and our goals to conform with those set by G-d. However change is very difficult to do. Try folding your arms now. Do you fold right over left or left over right? Now try to do the opposite. It feels awkward and strange. To reverse a simple mannerism is hard, how much more difficult it is to make any lasting change on ourselves through teshuva.
Before it is possible to altar our lives, we must recognise the need for change. The first of the “twelve steps” used in Alcoholics Anonymous and other such groups is “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.” No matter how obvious it is to others, no amount of persuasion can prevent someone from drinking unless they themselves realise that there is something wrong. As long as they continue to delude themselves that they are functioning normally, they will continue their addictive and destructive behaviour. Only after seeing the need for change is change possible.
Some people think that Judaism should change to encompass our lifestyle. This ingenious approach suggests that our actions are never objectively wrong, therefore it must be our religion of the past several thousand years which is at fault. It is obvious that with this attitude it is not possible to do teshuva or to maximise the potential of Yom Kippur. Following this course leads to “lowest common denominator” Judaism, where any action or attitude can and must be justified in order to prevent any guilt feelings of wrongdoing. Instead of a religion of absolutes, where G-d is the object of worship, rewriting the book to suit our personal habits makes Judaism into a security blanket, where G-d must conform to our own self indulgence. This approach is ultimately doomed to failure. After 2500 years of probing, philosophy has finally come to the conclusion that unless revealed by some higher power, no objective standard of good and evil exists. In this century we have seen the failure and downfall of many societies that were once touted as the new utopia. To continue to try and set our own rules is doomed to failure. The first step that we must all take this Yom Kippur is the resolution that change is not only possible, but necessary.

Yom Kippur summary

SUMMARY OF THE TORAH PORTIONS

Shacharis
The morning Torah reading is the section from Leviticus which describes the service of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) on Yom Kippur. The commands are addressed to Aharon, Moshe's brother, as the first Kohen Gadol. This service of the Kohen Gadol also forms the main text of the Mussaf service. However the Torah lists the various activities thematically, rather than in the chronological order in which they were performed.
After the death of his two sons, Nadav and Avihu, Aharon is commanded that he may only enter into the Holy of Holies on one day a year, Yom Kippur, and only in a cloud of incense. He must first offer a bull and a ram as sin offerings, then change into special pure white garments and enter the Holy of Holies. Two identical male goats are taken and lots are cast over them. One is to be offered as a sacrifice on the altar, while the other is sent to the wilderness and pushed over a cliff known as Azazel.
After leaving the Holy of Holies, the Kohen Gadol takes the blood of the bull and goat sacrifices and sprinkles them on the outside of the Parochet (the curtain dividing the Holy from the Holy of Holies), thus achieving atonement for the entire nation. The Kohen Gadol confesses the sins of the entire nation before the goat is sent to Azazel. He then enters the Holy of Holies a second time in order to remove the incense pan which he had left there earlier, and changes back into his normal golden vestments.
This is to be an eternal law, enacted each year on the tenth of Tishrei. The Jews are also commanded to fast and afflict themselves on this day.
The Maftir reading is from Numbers, and lists the festival offerings that are to be sacrificed on Yom Kippur.

Mincha
The afternoon Torah reading lists the forbidden sexual relations. A man may not have relations with his mother or his father’s wife, nor his sister or granddaughter. Nor with his stepsister or aunt, nor daughter-in-law or sister-in-law. He may not marry a mother and daughter or two sisters. A husband and wife must refrain from having relations at the time of menstruation. Adultery, homosexuality and bestiality are forbidden. Because of these sins, the nations who previously lived in Israel were exiled and therefore the Jews must observe them so that they are not similarly exiled.

Parshat Haazinu (Rabbi Sedley)

"The Rock (G-d), His actions are perfect (whole), for all His ways are justice. He is a G-d of faithfulness and without iniquity, He is just and upright" (Deuteronomy 32; 4). This is one of the opening verses of the song of Ha'azinu, Moshe's final words to the Jewish nation. Moshe is about to describe punishments that will befall the nation for their sins, but he first affirms G-d's justice. The concept of G-d's justice is one of the most fundamental ideas in Judaism, and one which seems particularly appropriate at this time of year. On Rosh Hashanah we proclaim G-d's majesty over the world, and acknowledge that He sits in judgement of creation.
The Rambam lists as the tenth 'principle of faith' (at the end of his introduction to Perek Chelek) that one of the fundamentals of belief is that G-d knows all of our actions, and watches over the world. There is nothing that happens in the world that G-d is not aware of. In the eleventh 'principle' Rambam continues that we must believe that G-d rewards every good deed and punishes each transgression. According to the Rambam the greatest possible reward can only be given in the world-to-come, and the greatest punishment is for a soul to be destroyed and be deprived of the world-to-come. However, other commentators also recognise that there is a certain degree of reward and punishment that takes place in this world.
The Talmud (Ta'anit 11a) explains our verse: 'G-d of faithfulness' teaches us that just as G-d punishes the wicked in the world-to-come for even a minor transgression that they have committed, so too He punishes the righteous in this world for any transgression. 'Without iniquity' for just as G-d rewards the righteous in the world-to-come for even the smallest Mitzvah, so He rewards the wicked in this world for any Mitzvah that they have done.
We see from here that G-d does not just 'balance the books', and allow merits to cancel out sins or vice-versa. Rather every single action must be rewarded or punished appropriately. Rashi explains that G-d rewards the wicked in this world in order that they can be removed in the world-to-come, as the verse states (Deuteronomy 7; 10) "G-d repays His enemies in their lifetime to destroy them". Conversely, by punishing the righteous in this world their sins can be erased, and they receive only reward in the world-to-come.
However, according to this G-d's justice seems very unfair. The world-to-come is a place of boundless goodness and delight. Even the smallest reward there is infinite. By contrast, this world is temporary. The greatest pleasure that a person could receive is by definition finite, both in value and duration. The converse is also true for punishment, any punishment in this world is limited, and any punishment in the world-to-come is forever. The Mishna (Avos 4; 22) states, "Better is one hour of enjoyment in the world-to-come than the whole of the life in this world". How can it be justice for G-d to punish the righteous in this world, and reward them in the world-to-come, yet reward the wicked in this world and punish them in the world-to-come?
The answer is based on the first part of that same Mishna, "Better is one hour spent in repentance and good deeds in this world, than all of the life of the world-to-come." When a person performs a Mitzvah for the right reasons they connect to the infinite spiritual energy which is G-d. Therefore their reward can only be obtained in the world-to-come, which is infinite. Conversely, any sin they perform may be only a temporary lapse of reason, and is only punished in the finite world. However, someone who is 'wicked' may perform many good deeds, but not necessarily because they believe that G-d commanded them. The performance of a Mitzvah 'because it makes sense', or 'because it is a good thing' is by definition only temporary. If a Mitzvah is only done for finite reasons, and not to connect to G-d, then the greatest reward that can be received can only be in this world. An infinite future reward is meaningless to someone who only believes in the reality of the present.
This may seem incomprehensible to us, but the Talmud (ibid.) continues, and explains the end of our verse. "He is just and upright". This teaches us that when a person dies all his deeds come before his soul, and say, 'You did such and such, at this time in this place' and he admits 'Yes'. The soul then agrees to the judgement, and exclaims, 'You have judged me justly'. We are unable to understand how the justice of G-d works from our vantage point in this world, but we know and proclaim that He is just and fair, and that after death we will be able to acknowledge His justice.

Haazinu Summary

Moshe summons the heavens and the earth to stand as eternal witnesses to what will happen if the Jewish People sin and do not obey the Torah. G-d has shown the Children of Israel tremendous kindness in each generation. However prosperity can lead the people to become bloated and corrupt the morals of the people. They will worship empty idols and powerless gods and indulge in all kinds of depravity. G-d will then show His anger by "hiding His face" to let foreign nations subjugate Israel and scatter them across the world. However, when these nations think that it is through their own power that they have dominated Israel, G-d will remind them that they are no more than a tool to execute His will. He will comfort the Jewish People, in the knowledge that neither exile nor suffering can sever the bond between G-d and His people. Eventually, in the final redemption, this closeness will be restored. G-d will then turn His anger against the enemies of Israel, as though they were His enemies, showing no mercy to the tormentors of His people.
Moshe speaks all these words to the Children of Israel. Then G-d commands Moshe to Mount Nevo and be gathered there to his people.

Tosefet Bracha Netzavim

“You are standing here today” (29: 9)
Rashi brings a midrash: Why is this section of “You are standing” immediately following the portion of Ki Tavo? Because when the Israel heard 98 curses their faces turned green, and they said to themselves, ‘who can possibly live up to this?’ Moshe began to calm them down and said, ‘you are standing here today. You have angered G-d many times in the past, yet you still stand before Him’.
It seems to me that this is the basis for the Mishna in Pirkei Avos (1: 7) ‘Don’t despair from the punishment’. In Yalkut Yirmiya (34) this is explained in two different ways. When a person is surrounded by good things, he should not ‘despair’ of the bad things, and think that they can never happen to him. And when things are going badly for him, he should not despair that good things will happen to him in the future. Look also what we wrote about this later (verse 12).
We should point out that the Gemara (Brachot 10a) says in the name of King Chizkiyahu: ‘This is the tradition I have from my father’s house. Even if a sharp sword is placed to your neck, never despair of G-d’s mercy’.
It seems likely that the basis of this tradition are the words of the Torah here, as Rashi explained them.
It is also possible to explain a related concept in the laws of stolen or lost items. If the owner despairs of ever finding the stolen or lost item again, he loses his rights to it (if it is found by someone else in a different place – Bava Kama 115a). It is not explained why the original owner should be punished and lose his possession.
Perhaps this is some kind of ‘penalty’ for the fact that he despaired of ever finding them again, since it is forbidden to despair, even if a sharp sword is held to your neck. This person who despaired of finding it again showed a lack of trust in G-d, and therefore was penalised.

Parshat Vayelech (Rabbi Sedley)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

"[Moshe] said to them, 'I am one hundred and twenty years old today, and I am no longer able to go and come...;'" (Deuteronomy 31; 2). Rashi quotes the Talmud (Sotah 13b) to explain Moshe's words: 'Today I have completed my days and years (in fulfilment of the verse (Exodus 23; 26) "I [G-d] will cause you to live out full lives"). On this day I was born, and on this day I will die'. Alternatively 'I am no longer able to come and go in matters of Torah'. This teaches us that the wellsprings of wisdom were closed before him.
The Talmud (Chullin 139b) finds a hint to Moshe's life in the story of Noach, where the verse states (Genesis 6; 3) "G-d said 'My spirit will not continue to judge man forever, since he is nothing but flesh. His days shall be 120 years'". The numerical equivalent of the word "nothing but" is the same as the numerical value of the word Moshe. Therefore, long before Moshe was even conceived it was decreed that he would live to be 120.
Rabbi Yonasan Eibschitz cites an obvious question. If that day was the same date that he was born (and we have a tradition that it was on the 7th of Adar), then that would be his 121st birthday. In order to complete his allotted years exactly he should have died the day before.
The Midrash (Beis Hamidrash a; 122) tells us that Moshe passed away on a Shabbat at Mincha time. However, elsewhere it tells us that on the last day of his life Moshe wrote out thirteen copies of the Torah. Certainly this could not have been on Shabbat, so it seems that the day of his death was on a Friday, before Shabbat. How could there be a disagreement about which day Moshe died on?
We know that the Torah is the source of life, from the verse (Proverbs 3; 18) "It is a tree of life to those that grasp it...". Therefore in certain respects someone who does not learn Torah is removed from life. How much more so would that be true of Moshe whose whole essence was dedicated to the Torah, to the point that it is known as the 'Torah of Moshe'. This is why Rashi gives the alternative explanation that on this day the wellsprings of wisdom were closed before Moshe. Though he was physically alive on this day, in his own eyes he was already dead because he was no longer able to learn Torah. So the 7th of Adar marks the day of his birth and his physical death, but he had completed his years of Torah life on the day before. This explains the two opinions as to when he died, physically it was on Shabbat, but spiritually it was on Erev Shabbat.
The Talmud (Megillah 13a) tells us that Haman was casting lots for a day on which to kill all the Jews. "When the lot fell out on the month of Adar he became overjoyed. He said, 'The lot has fallen on the month that Moshe died'. However he did not know that on the seventh of Adar Moshe died, and on the seventh of Adar he was born." This is very peculiar. If Haman was such an expert on Jewish history that he knew the Oral tradition for the date of Moshe's death, why would he not also know that he was born on the same date, which is explicit in the text of the Torah in our portion? Also, why did it make Haman so happy when he saw that the lot fell out on Moshe's Yarzheit? How would that help him kill the Jews?
Perhaps we can answer these questions with Rabbi Eibschitz's explanation of the day of Moshe's death. The 7th of Adar was the date of Moshe's physical death, but he was already considered as if he had passed away from the day before because he was no longer able to learn Torah. Maybe Haman knew that the Torah was destroyed because the Jewish people had forsaken their study of the Torah. He knew that as long as they studied the Torah and observed the Mitzvot G-d would protect them and ensure that they not be wiped out. But when his lottery fell on the month when even Moshe gave up learning Torah he thought that this was a sign that he would be able to succeed in destroying the Jews.
Certainly he would have known the date of Moshe's birth, but what he didn't know was that at the same time that Moshe's sun was setting, and he was unable to continue with the Torah, he was investing Yehoshua with the task of leading the nation spiritually. "Moshe called to Yehoshua and said to him before all of Israel 'Be strong and brave, for you will come with this people to the Land...'". The Talmud (Sanhedrin 8a) explains the phrase 'will come with', rather than 'will lead' that Moshe said to Yehoshua, you and the elders of the generation will lead the people into the Land". While Moshe was alive he was the Torah, and any questions or doubts would be resolved by him directly. After his death the decisions were rendered by a Sanhedrin (High Court) of many sages. Though they did not have the same direct relationship with G-d as during Moshe's lifetime, more people were involved with the Torah.
Instead of Moshe's death symbolising the end of Torah learning, as Haman had hoped, it marked the beginning of an era of increased individual connection to the Torah. The Torah lived on through all future generations who were learning 'the Torah of Moshe'. This is what Haman failed to understand. "On the seventh of Adar he was born" refers not only to Moshe's physical birth, 120 years earlier, but also to his spiritual rebirth through the continued study of the Torah by the Jewish people on the day of his death. Instead of Adar being the month when the Jews were more vulnerable to his threats, this was the time when each individual took over the role of Moshe, and strengthened their Torah study.

Parshat Netzavim (Rabbi Sedley)

For now and forever

The portion opens with Moshe gathering all the people "That you should enter into the covenant of the L-rd, and into His oath which the L-rd G-d make with you this day." Included in this oath are not only that generation, but "with those that stand today before the L-rd our G-d, and also with those who are not here with us this day" (v. 14). Both Rashi and Ramban explain that this comes to obligate all future generations in this covenant. The Abarbanel asks "By what right did that generation, which had stood at Sinai, obligate all the following generations to keep the Torah, when the other generations were not partners to that covenant?"
Nachshoni cites many different answers to this question. The Talmud seems to indicate that the souls of all future generations were present at that time. The Torah does not mean 'those who are not with us', but those who are with us, but only in spirit, not in body. According to this explanation our original question disappears, but we have to understand how souls, which do not yet have free choice, not having entered into a physical body, are able to make a decision. The answer must be that even though once the soul enters a body the person may think that they no longer wish to keep the covenant, in reality their true essence is their soul which does want to keep it. The corollary of this is that though we may sometimes act as if we have forgotten about G-d, this is only an aberration brought about by the yetzer hara influencing the body, but in essence a person always wants to do what is correct.
Rabbeinu Bachaye explains that one generation may legally obligate later generations in the vows which the earlier generation have made. Since the earlier generation are the roots from which the children grew, anything which affects the roots, also affects the branches. The first generation gives life to later generations, and in return can obligate them with their debts. Tevye the milkman tells us the importance of 'Tradition'. However, this explanation tells us that not only do we continue with our Judaism because 'that's what we've always done', but because our very existence is dependent upon continuing in the ways of our ancestors.
The Malbim gives several explanations. There is a principle in Halacha that a person may not cause a person a debt or loss without their knowledge, however they can cause them benefit even without their knowledge or consent. The Mitzvot are to our benefit, as the Mishna states (Maccot 3; 16), "Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya said: The Holy One Blessed be He, wanted to give merit to Israel, therefore He gave them a copious Torah and many commandments, as it is said, 'It pleased the L-rd for the sake of Israel's righteousness to magnify the Torah and make it glorious'". Therefore the generation of the desert were able to obligate future generations in this covenant, because ultimately it is for their benefit. We can see from this the tremendous gift that G-d has given us through offering us the Torah, and how happy we should be in having the chance to observe the laws. This is part of the reason that G-d punishes the nation so severely for not keeping the laws with happiness: "Because you did not serve the L-rd your G-d with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart ... therefore shall you serve your enemy..." (Deuteronomy 28; 47-8).
The Malbim also explains that G-d did not need the Jews to accept the covenant upon themselves. Even had they not agreed to the terms and conditions, G-d could still have expected them to keep the Torah and its laws, since He created them and redeemed them from Egypt. The Jewish people were thus acquired by G-d, and He can instruct them to do anything that He wants. However, in His mercy G-d gave the people the chance to accept the Torah voluntarily, and thus earn further merit for themselves. When the Jews were given the choice to accept the Torah, and did so voluntarily, they strengthened their faith to such an extent that it became deeply embedded in their souls, and was passed on to all future generations. This is one meaning of the Talmudic statement (Shabbat 88a) that even though G-d forced the Jews into accepting the Torah at Mount Sinai, they voluntarily accepted it upon themselves in the days of Mordechai and Esther. They realised then the kindness that G-d had done for them in saving them from Haman, and with renewed faith they accepted the Torah unconditionally.
Furthermore, since the covenant is unilateral, G-d will cause events that will bring the Jews back to the correct path if they fail to live up to what is expected of them. This is a mixed blessing. On the one hand G-d will never allow us to forsake Him, and so will never abandon us. On the other hand, in order to bring us back to the proper behaviour G-d may need to cause us oppression and hardship, until we turn to Him in repentance, in recognition of our behaviour which caused the evil to befall us.

Netzavim - Vayelech summaries

This week is a double portion, leading up to Rosh Hashanah. So here are the summaries:

NETZAVIM
On the last day of his life Moshe gathers all of the Israelites and renews their covenant with G-d. This covenant also introduces the concept of Areivut, mutual responsibility for one another. He warns them against committing idolatry; G-d's anger and jealousy will be kindled against anyone who turns to the gods of the other nations. The punishment will be so great that the Land of Israel will be decimated, causing future generations to recognise that G-d has punished His nation. The Jews will be exiled to the four corners of the earth.
Eventually, through the difficulties of this exile the Jews will return to serving G-d. Then He will gather all of them to the Land of Israel and give them blessing and prosperity. The Torah is not distant from the Jews, but is accessible to all. Moshe tells the Jews that G-d has placed before them life and good, death and evil, and beseeches them to chose life. Moshe ends by calling heaven and earth as witnesses that the Jews should not forsake G-d and the Torah.

VAYELECH
Moshe takes his leave of the Children of Israel. He is now 120 years old and will not lead them across the Jordan River. They should nevertheless remain strong and courageous. Moshe summons Yehoshua and instructs him to not be afraid, for G-d will be with him. Moshe writes out the entire Torah and gives it to the Kohanim.
At the end of the seven year cycle when all the Israelites come to Jerusalem for Succoth, the king should read out the book of Devarim to them. This is in order that everyone will hear, learn and fear G-d and be careful to perform all the words of the Torah.
G-d tells Moshe that his days are coming to an end, and tells him to summon Yehoshua to the tent of meeting. G-d appears to them both and tells them that the Jews will eventually turn to other gods, and therefore be punished with the curses mentioned. However eventually they will return to serve G-d and recognise the reason for their punishment. The Torah should be placed in the ark along with the tablets that Moshe received on Mount Sinai as a testimony to G-d's covenant. Moshe once again gathers the people and speaks to them the words of this song:

Parshat Ki Tavo (Rabbi Sedley)

Our Torah reading gives the commandment for the Jewish nation to recite the blessings and curses on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival, after they have entered the Land of Israel. The Mishna (Sota 7; 5) describes how this took place: "Once the Jews had crossed the Jordan river and come to Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival which are in the Shomron; Six of the tribes ascended Mount Gerizim, and six ascended Mount Eival, while the Cohanim, Levi'im and the ark remained in between at the bottom. They turned towards Mount Gerizim, and began with the blessing, 'Blessed is the person who shall not make a graven or molten image' and all the people answered 'Amen'. Then they turned toward Mount Eival, and recited the curse 'Cursed is the man who will make a graven or molten image' (Deuteronomy 27; 15), and all the people answered 'Amen'. This continued until they had completed the blessings and the curses."
The problem with this Mishna is the fact that the Torah doesn't actually list the blessings that are mentioned. In our Torah reading we only have the curses. We have to rely on the principle (Nedarim 11a) that from a negative we can infer the positive to work out that we should recite the blessings also.
The Torah always tries to use positive language. Why in this case did G-d only give us the curses? Would it not have been better to list the blessings and leave us to deduce the curses on our own?
We know that there is nothing which remains stationary, either physically or spiritually. Anything which is not moving upwards is decaying downward. This is explicit in several places in the Mishna, e.g. "Hillel said ...He who does not increase his knowledge decreases it" (Chapters of the Fathers 1; 13). Using this concept we can explain why the Torah only listed the curses. Had we been given only the blessings, we might have thought that keeping the Torah led to blessing, but not keeping the Torah had no consequences. However, since the Torah lists the destructive results of transgression, we can infer the blessings that come into the world through observance. The Torah is teaching us that there is no such thing as taking 'time out', and doing actions which have no consequence whatsoever. Every act that we do either brings blessing into the world, or the opposite, there is no such thing as a 'pareve' action.
The Kli Yakar gives another two explanations. Firstly he explains (verse 12) that the main blessing which is promised will only occur in the World-to-Come, which is hidden from us now. As a sign that the real reward is not in this world, G-d chose to hide the formulation of the blessings, so that they are not explicit in the Torah. The reason that the reward must be in the World-to-Come is in keeping with the Talmudic maxim that the reward from G-d is always far greater than the punishment. Though G-d will "visit the sins of the fathers on the sons and grandsons for four generations" (Exodus 33; 7), the reward is for one thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7; 9). The consequences of Mitzvot are thus 250 times more powerful than the results of sin. Thus, though a sin could be punished in this world, reward for Mitzvot occurs only in a world which is infinite. Since it has no physical constraints there is no limit to the effects of the Mitzvah.
Alternatively the Torah tells us the curses, because we know that through the repentance process sins and curses can be turned into merits and blessings. "Reish Lakish said, 'how great is repentance, for through repentance premeditated sins are accounted as merits, as it is said (Ezekiel 33; 19) "When a wicked man returns form his wickedness and practices justice and charity, he shall live because of them"" (Yoma 86a). Therefore the Torah gives us the curses, not only to infer the blessings from them, but to teach us that through repentance the blessings can actually be contained within the curses.

Ki Tavo summary

When the Israelites enter the Land of Israel, they should bring the first fruits from their trees each year to Jerusalem and offer them at the Temple. As they place the fruits before the altar they recite a paragraph which mentions the origins of the nation as slaves in Egypt, and that G-d in His goodness brought them out of slavery and into the Land of Israel. One tithe (ten percent) of the crops from the third and sixth year shall be given to the poor. This replaces the normal tithe which is to be eaten by the farmers in the city of Jerusalem. These tithes may not be eaten when in a state of mourning, nor used to pay for funeral expenses.
Because the Jews accepted these commandments upon themselves, and dedicated themselves to serving G-d, He has also chosen them as His treasured nation. Moshe and the elders command the nation that when they enter into Israel they must renew their covenant of Torah. They shall take rocks from the Jordan river, set them up as monuments and inscribe the whole of the Torah on them. After this, six of the tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim and six on Mount Eival. The Cohanim and Levi'im shall stand in between these two mountains and read out the blessings and curses for the nation. After each blessing or curse all the people shall answer 'Amen'. The curses are listed, as are the blessings. If the Jews observe all the laws in the Torah they shall receive material and spiritual blessing and success. They will be invincible in the face of their enemies, and shall be a major world superpower. If they fail to keep the commandments then they will be beset by the curses. They will not prosper materially, and will be conquered by their enemies. They will perish from famine and thirst, and will not know where to turn. Their children will be taken away and they will go mad from the pain and suffering that will surround them. All the nations of the world will talk about how far they have fallen and the calamities that have befallen them. They will be sent into exile, and their numbers decimated. And even in exile there will be no rest, but still they will suffer and be persecuted. These are the words of the covenant which G-d commanded Moshe to seal with the Children of Israel before entering the Land of Israel.
Moshe gives final encouragement to the people, and reminds them of all that they have been through and all that G-d has done for them. He urges them to keep the covenant.

Tosefet Bracha - Ki Tetzei

“You shall take her for yourself as a wife” (21:11)

The Talmud in Kiddushin (21b) says regarding this marriage: The Torah spoke (and gave this leniency) only to a man’s evil urge. If it would not be permitted he would come to marry her anyway in a forbidden manner.
We can ask on the usage of the word ‘only’, which is not usually used in this context. It is coming to teach a limited leniency because of certain factors. The normal Talmudic word to mean this is ‘because’. For example, ‘because she wouldn’t be able to remarry otherwise, they were lenient’ (Yevamot 88a); ‘because she should be attractive to her future spouse’ (Ketuvot 84a); because the land of Israel should be settled’ (Gitin 8b); ‘because he needs something to live on’ (ibid. 59a); ‘because people need an option of repentance’ (Bava Kamma 94b) and many other such cases.
Here the Talmud should have said ‘because of the evil urge’. However our text reads ‘the Torah spoke only because of the evil urge’, which is too wordy, and it means to say something specific.
Perhaps we can explain this use of the words based on the story in Yevamot (63a): Rabbi Chiya’s wife was very cruel to him. Despite this, whenever he would find something that he knew she would like he would purchase it and give it to her. Rav asked him, ‘why do you do this, since she is so cruel to you?’ He replied, ‘it is enough that they raise our children (in the proper way) and save us from sin’ (from thoughts of sin – Rashi).
It is clear from here that the purpose of married life is twofold. To raise children in the proper way, and to save the husband from thoughts of sin.
Later in our portion, in verse 18, it explains the laws of the rebellious son. Our Sages said about this (Sanhedrin 107a), ‘why does the portion of the rebellious son follow the section of the wife captured in war (which is the section we began writing about)? To teach you that anyone who marries a woman captured in war will eventually have a rebellious son.
With this we can understand that in every marriage there are two purposes – to raise children in the way of the Torah, and to be saved from thoughts of sin and the trials of the evil urge. However, in the marriage to the woman captured in war there is only one goal – to be saved from the evil urge. In this case the purpose is not to raise children and to educate them in the proper way, since the Torah says that eventually they will have a rebellious son.
In this way we can understand the intention of the Talmud that we cited in the beginning: ‘The Torah spoke only to a man’s evil urge’. In other words, being saved from sin. But without the second goal of raising children in the correct way, since the man knows that this will not happen. It is decreed from the Torah that his son will be rebellious, as we have explained.
We also find a practical halacha in this explanation. Since the Torah spoke only to a man’s evil urge, we understand that if a person is not being attacked by the evil urge and wishes to marry a wife in order to build a home as is the way of the world, he may not capture a wife in war. The entire leniency is only for someone who is being attacked by the evil urge, as is implicit in the verse “and he craves her”.
In the Torah Temima we discussed the basic reason for this leniency of a woman captured in way, ‘that if we don’t permit her, he will marry her in a forbidden manner’, as cited above. If that is true, then we have undermined the whole purpose of mitzvot which is to distance a person from sin. A person could always say ‘better that I do it in a permitted way than in a forbidden manner’. This is certainly not correct. Why in this case did the Torah permit something because of the evil urge, more than in any other mitzvah where the same reason may apply?
The answer is that this leniency is given only during the time of war, so that a man should not cause himself pain, and weaken his battle abilities. For this reason, if soldiers enter a town and don’t find kosher meat available they are permitted to eat non kosher meat (Chullin 17a). Rambam also brings this law in chapter 8 of the ‘Laws of Kings and their Wars’. But during peace time and in places where there is peace there is no basis for this leniency for the reason of ‘better to do it in a permitted way’. This is obvious and clear.

Parshat Ki Tetzie (Rabbi Sedley)

The last Mishna in Chullin (142a) says, "For a Mitzvah as simple as shooing away the mother bird the Torah promises 'In order that things go well for you and you will have length of days' (Deuteronomy 22: 7), how much more so for a Mitzvah which is difficult to perform". The Talmud (ibid.) comments "Rabbi Ya'akov taught about honouring one's parents the Torah says, 'In order that you have length of days, and it go well for you', and in regard to sending away the mother bird it states, 'In order that things go well for you and you will have length of days'. If a person's father were to ask them to climb up to a nest and bring down the chicks, and he went, and sent away the mother bird and took the chicks, and on his descent he fell and died, in such a case where is the length of days, where is the good that he will receive? Rather, 'length of days' refers to the World-to-Come which is infinite, and that 'It shall things go well' refers to a world that is only good".
One of the leading personalities of the Mishnaic period was Elisha ben Avuha, a contemporary of Rabbi Akiva. The Talmud (Chagiga 14b) tells how he, Rabbi Akiva, Ben Azai and Ben Zoma once entered the Pardes (metaphor for the deepest esoteric wisdom of the kabbalah). Despite the warnings of Rabbi Akiva, the others were unable to deal with the knowledge that they had gained. Ben Azai died, Ben Zoma became crazy, and Elisha ben Avuha gave up his religious beliefs. He acted in a manner so unbecoming with who he was that people at first refused to believe that it was him, and he gained the nickname of 'Acher' (Another). Though the reason that he cast off the yoke of Torah was because he delved too deeply into the kabbalistic secrets, the Talmud also explains the immediate trigger of his actions.
"Rav Yosef said, 'If Acher would have understood the verse [of sending away the mother bird] like Rabbi Ya'akov he would never have sinned'. What did he see? One opinion is that he saw an incident of a child sending away the mother bird and falling to his death. Another opinion is that he saw the tongue of Rabbi Chutzpit the interpreter lying in a rubbish heap. He said 'How could the mouth that spoke pearls of wisdom should come to lick the dust?'. Acher didn't realise that 'length of days' refers to the world to come which is infinite, and that 'it shall go well' in a world that is only good." (Chullin ibid.).
How could one of the greatest Sages of the time come to make such a basic mistake about the simple meaning of the verse? Surely it is clear that any reward promised refers to the World-to-Come.
The Midrash (Bereishis Rabba 8; 8) tells us that when Moshe wrote the verse "Let us make man in our image" (Genesis 1; 26) he asked G-d why he allowed a verse which may cause people to think that there is more than one god. G-d replied "One who wants to sin will sin". Ultimately any sin is motivated by a subconscious desire to sin. Though different events may be the trigger for rebellion against G-d, or give us an excuse for sin, the blame lies solely in ourselves, for if we would not want to sin, we would not.
This is the reason that Elisha ben Avuha could not understand a simple explanation of the verse. Though he had scaled the heights of Torah knowledge, and reached greater insights than almost anyone else, deep down in his subconscious he must have been looking for an excuse for departing from the path. This is a message for all of us as we approach Rosh HaShana. If even the greatest of the sages could be led so easily into sin, how careful must we be in examining the depths of our souls to search out any imperfections, or traits that may lead us to sin.

Ki Tetzei summary

During battle against an enemy nation, a man may capture a woman as a wife, but must give her a month to mourn her family. If at the end of this time he still wishes to marry her he may do so, provided that she converts to Judaism. If either he or she refuses, she must be set free and may not be sold into slavery.
The eldest son receives a double portion of his father's inheritance. A rebellious son who refuses to listen to his parents or any other authority, but steals to obtain food and alcohol, should be put to death by the courts1. The corpse of someone who has been put to death by the courts must be hung on a tree, but must be taken down and buried before night fall.
Lost objects must be returned to their owner. If the finder cannot contact the owner he must care for the found object until the person who has lost it can reclaim it. If someone sees an animal fallen under the weight of its burden they must help the owner to reload the animal properly. Men may not wear women's clothing nor vice versa. The mother bird must be shooed away before taking the eggs from her nest. We are commanded to build a safety fence from any accessible roof to prevent injury. We may not plant grape vines and other plants in close proximity. We may not plough with an ox and a donkey together. We may not wear a garment which contains both linen and wool. We must wear tzitzit on all four cornered garments.
If a man falsely accuses his wife of having had an extramarital affair while they were betrothed he shall be fined 100 silver shekels. If the accusation is true the woman shall be put to death by stoning. If a married woman commits adultery both she and the and the adulterous partner shall be put to death. If a man rapes a woman he shall be put to death. If a man seduces an unmarried woman he shall be fined 50 silver shekels.
A man may not marry his father's wife. A man whose reproductive organs have been damaged so that he is impotent may not marry2. A mamzer (the child of a relationship which is incestuous or adulterous) may not marry into the nation. A male Ammonite or Moabite may not marry into the nation even after they convert to Judaism because their nation was inhospitable to the Jews during the exodus from Egypt. We shall not reject an Edomite or Egyptian convert. The third generation may marry into the nation.
When the Jews go out to war their camp must remain holy. Any man who has a seminal emission must leave the camp and not return until the evening after immersion in a Mikva. A latrine should be made outside the camp, with a shovel to cover over the refuse.
We must not force a slave who has escaped to return to his master. There shall be no promiscuous men or women amongst the Children of Israel. We may not charge interest on loans to other Jews. Any vow of a sacrifice to the Temple must be fulfilled without delay. The workers have the right to eat from the produce that they are harvesting.
If a man and woman get divorced the man must write a bill of divorce and present it into his wife's hand. If she remarries, her first husband may not later remarry her. Any man is exempt from army duty for the first year of marriage. He must remain at home and make his wife happy. We may not take something needed for livelihood as collateral on a loan. Someone who kidnaps another and sells him as a slave must be put to death. We are commanded to beware of Tzora'at (a spiritual malaise brought about through speaking slander about another) and to not speak slander. Someone who loans money may not enter the house of the debtor to take collateral. Workers must be paid immediately, and must not be cheated. Each person is responsible for their own actions, and will not be punished for the sins of others. There is an explicit prohibition on perverting the judgement of a convert, orphan or widow. The corners of the field must not be harvested, but left for the poor people to glean.
The punishment for breaking a negative prohibition which has no other explicit punishment is forty lashes. An ox must not be muzzled while it is threshing. If a man dies without any children, one of his brothers should marry his wife to keep his name alive. If the brothers refuse to do this, they are publicly humiliated by the widow in the chalitza ceremony, after which she is free to marry someone else. In any other case, it is forbidden to humiliate another and compensation must be paid for causing embarrassment. It is forbidden to own dishonest weights or measures.
We are commanded to always remember what the tribe of Amalek did to the Jews as they left Egypt, and when we have the opportunity G-d will command us to utterly destroy their descendants.

1)This is in order to save him from committing murder when he gets older, which he will certainly do in order to maintain his addictions. In fact the Talmud understands that the requirements for killing a rebellious son can never be met, and this entire section is only for study, but has no practical application.
2) If the impotency came about through natural means such as a birth defect or illness this prohibition does not apply.

Tosefet Bracha - Shoftim

“So that he not elevate his heart from his brothers nor to depart from the mitzvot right or left” (17:20)

The connection between these two attributes – prevention of pride and observance of mitzvot – can be explained based on the well known story in Shmuel 1. When Shaul sinned by not completely destroying Amalek and all his possessions, he tried to excuse himself before Shmuel “For the people took pity on the best of the flocks”. Shmuel said to him, “If you are small in your own eyes, nevertheless you are the head of the tribes of Israel” (Shmuel 1 15:16). The meaning of these words of chastisement is to say that even though a simple, private individual may take into account that “the people took pity”, and that would be sufficient excuse, because he would not be able to go against the will of the people. But before the head of the nation, that is the king, this is not an excuse, because he should have stood up to the people with strength to fulfil the mitzvah of G-d.
This is the meaning of this mitzvah here, that his heart should not become elevated. Even though he also doesn’t have permission to elevate himself above the people – ‘to trample on the heads of the holy nation’, yet despite that he must know how to use his authority when it is required for the honour of G-d, to not “depart from the mitzvah”.
Based on this explanation I also understood the meaning of the words regarding Yehoshafat king of Yehuda. “He raised his heart in the ways of G-d and removed the altars from the high places and the asheiras” (Divrei Hayamim 2 17:6). The connection between the raised heart in the ways of G-d and removing the altars is that Yehoshafat was modest and humble, as the verse in Melachim (22:43) testifies about him, and the Sages (Ketubot 103b) explained based on the verse in Tehillim (15:4) “Those who feared G-d were heavy upon Yehoshafat”. The Sages said that when he would see a Torah scholar he would stand up from his throne and hug and kiss him, and call him ‘my master, my master, my teacher, my teacher’. And he instructed the judges that he established in the cities of Yehuda and Yerushalayim in the fear of G-d with faithfulness and a full heart (Divrei Hayamim 2 19:6-9). He was very far from any kind of feeling of pride. Nevertheless, when it came to a matter of G-d’s honour, then he conducted himself with haughtiness and did what had to be done for this purpose, to remove the altars form the high places and the asheiras. He didn’t use his modesty as an excuse.
It is also possible with this explanation to understand the continuation of the verses in Tehillim (51:19) “the offerings to G-d are a humble spirit, a broken and lowly heart won’t reject G-d”. The meaning is that even though a person offers sacrifices to G-d though feeling humility and lowliness before G-d, and not becoming proud, since “G-d hates anyone who is proud” (Mishlei 16:8), and “Haughty eyes and proud heart, he will not eat” (Tehillim 101:5), and there are many other bad character traits connected to this trait of pride.
Nevertheless, this verse says that even though “an offering to G-d is a humble spirit, a broken and lowly heart”, yet they “won’t reject G-d”. In other words, despite all this, they may not use this character trait to become so attached to the trait of humility that it comes to degrading the word of G-d, to desecrate the holy things, or to desecrate the Torah and mitzvot.
This verse comes to teach and to limit the trait of modesty. With every trait there is a time to use it and a time to abandon it. As the Sages said (Shabbat 119b) ‘Yerushalayim was only destroyed because they didn’t reprove one another’. The explanation is that the Sages were so strong in their trait of modesty, to an extreme degree, that they felt that they were not worthy of reproaching others. This path of theirs led to the destruction of Yerushalayim and the exile of the Jewish people.
We find a similar concept in Gitin (55b): ‘The humility of Rabbi Zechariah destroyed our city’, and everything that is explained there, with the results of those events.
In the Talmud Sotah (5a) the Sages said: ‘A Torah scholar must have a tiny fraction (and eighth of an eighth) of pride’. Rashi explains the reason is that they should not allow the fools to mock them. And they should ensure that their words are heard by others. This explains the Talmud in Brachot (34b) that the king bows (at the beginning of the Amida and doesn’t straighten up until the end). Rashi explains that the greater a person is, the more they must humble and lower themselves. There it is referring to humility before G-d while praying. But this is not relevant to our discussion here. Look what we wrote about this on the last verse of the Torah.

Parshat Shoftim (Rabbi Sedley)

A KING'S TORAH

This week's Torah reading contains the commandment to appoint a king over Israel. The king is to be not only the economic and military advisor and leader, but also is to set a spiritual and religious example to the nation. The Torah places extra prohibitions on a king, in order that he should not lead the rest of the nation astray. One of those extra commandments is to write himself an second Sefer Torah. The last of the 613 commandments (according to the order in which they appear in the Torah) is the instruction for each person to write themselves a Sefer Torah. As the Sefer HaChinuch states: We are commanded that each person should have a Sefer Torah for themselves. If he is able to write it by himself that is very praiseworthy, and if not he should hire someone to write it on his behalf. This is the meaning of the verse "Now write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the Children of Israel." (Deuteronomy 31; 19).
[Based on the explanation of the Rosh, many contemporary halachacists have written that this commandment is also fulfilled through purchasing Jewish books such as Chumashim and Siddurim. However, anyone who is in a position to write themselves a Sefer Torah could fulfil this commandment in its best form.]
One of the extra laws which applies only to the king is to write himself a Mishne Torah (ibid. (17; 18), which is translated literally as 'a repetition of this Torah'. Amongst the commentators there are three different explanations of this phrase, teaching us three necessary approaches to studying Torah, which we learn from the example that is to be set by the king.
Onkelos (the 5th century Aramaic translation of the Chumash) translates the phrase Mishne Torah as 'Patgeshen Oraita', meaning 'A Torah which is constantly repeated and spoken'. The key to observing the commandments is to constant review the laws, and be immersed in study day and night. This is both in order that none of the laws be forgotten, and more importantly, so that he not lose sight of the goal of Torah observance at any time. This is why the Torah adds the word 'all' (He will read it all the days of his life), which comes to include the nights as well as the days, in fulfilment of the dictum "This book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall meditate upon it day and night" (Joshua 1; 8).
Rambam (Hilchot Melachim chap. 3; 1) defines the Mitzvah further. He says that if the king already has a Torah which he inherited from his father, that one remains in his treasure house, and he only has to write himself one more Torah. This seems to be allegorically referring to the transmission of Torah, traditions and customs. A king should ideally have a solid foundation in the Torah which he has learnt from his parents, with which he grew up. Once that has become his inheritance, he can place that in the palace, and carry second Torah with him, one which he has written himself. This symbolises his own personal approach to Judaism, building on that which he has learnt from the previous generation. This Torah that he has written, however, is only valid if it is something which he carries with him constantly, and lives by at all times.
Rav Yonasan Eibschitz gives a further interpretation. He says that the two Torahs represent the revealed Torah and the hidden Torah. Wherever the king goes, he should have access to the Halacha and p'shat which are the open meanings of the Torah. However, the hidden secrets of the Torah, the Kabbalah and mysticism of Judaism, should only be studied in the palace, in private. Though actions should primarily follow the Halacha of the revealed Torah, it is important for the king to know that it is all ultimately based on the Kabbalah and other spiritual sources. Though the actions we perform are a key to living in the physical world, they also have a tremendous impact on the spiritual worlds, and have far reaching consequences.
Through total absorption in Torah, through basing anything new on that which has come before, and with an understanding of both hidden and revealed aspects of Torah, the king will be able to act as a role model for the rest of the nation. As the verse concludes (Deuteronomy 17; 19), It shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, in order that he can learn to fear the L-rd his G-d, to observe all these laws and statutes in order to fulfil them".

Shoftim summary

G-d commands the Jews to set up courts of justice in each city. The judges must not be corrupt or accept any form of bribery. G-d forbids setting up any idolatrous tree or pillar. Any animal which is blemished may not be offered as a sacrifice. A Jew who worships idols and is seen by two witnesses must be brought to trial. If he or she is found to be guilty they shall be put to death by stoning. The Jew are commanded to follow the rulings of the Sanhedrin, or when there is no Sanhedrin, the Rabbis of their time. A rebellious elder, who teaches others to go against the ruling of the Sanhedrin shall be put to death.
G-d warns that when the Jews come into the Land of Israel they will want to appoint a king over themselves. The king has stricter laws that apply to him; he may not own too many horses, or marry too many wives. He must write a Sefer Torah for himself and carry it around with him at all times.
The tribe of Levi shall not receive an inheritance of land in Israel. Instead they shall receive a portion of each sacrifice that is offered.
In the Land of Israel there will be temptations to follow after omens and divination. However these are prohibited, as are consulting with the dead, charming animals and astrology. We must be wholehearted with G-d. G-d will send other prophets to the nation, and if they are true prophets, proven through signs and not coming to add to or contradict the Torah, then we are commanded to listen to them. If they are a false prophet, speak that which they have not been commanded, or prophesy in the name of another god, they shall be put to death.
The Jews must set aside six cities of refuge. Someone who accidentally commits manslaughter must flee to one of them and remain there until the death of the current High Priest. If he leaves the confines of the city, the next of kin of the victim may kill him. Someone who commits murder wilfully and flees to one of these cities shall be tried, and either sent away or put to death, depending on the nature of the evidence of the witnesses. The testimony of a single witness shall be inadmissible. Witnesses who conspire against another to falsely accuse him or her shall receive the punishment that they intended their victim to receive.
G-d promises that He will be with the people in their battles, and therefore they should not fear their enemies. A Cohen shall be appointed to encourage the people before the battle, and to send home those who are afraid. Anyone who has just built a new house, or planted a vineyard or betrothed a woman shall also return home and not fight. Before attacking the Jews must first make overtures for peace. Only if they are refused may they lay siege to their enemies. They may not chop down fruit trees while they are besieging a city.
If a corpse is discovered and the murderer cannot be found, then the elders of the nearest city must bring an atonement. It shall be a heifer which has never been worked, they must bring it to a barren valley, and there axe its neck. They shall wash their hands over the blood of the heifer and declare that they had no knowledge of the cause of the murder.

Tosefet Bracha - Reeh

“The blessing, that you will listen to the commandments of G-d” (11:27)

In the following verse regarding the curses it states “and you veer from the path that I command you this day, to go after other gods”. The contrast is clear and obvious. With the blessing the verse says “listen”, which implies merely hearing and accepting to keep the commandments even without any actual action to do so. Whereas in the curses the verse makes them contingent on “veering from the path”, only if a person actually goes and does something, but as long as they are only thinking about it, even though in their mind they have already veered, they won’t receive the curses.
In the Torah Temima we wrote that this can be explained based on the Talmud (Kidushin 40b), that G-d combines good thoughts to the actions (and gives reward already from the moment of thought), but with bad deeds He only considers it from when the deed is actually done. Therefore regarding the blessing it states “you will listen”, as soon as you have listened you already receive the reward as if you have already done the action, whereas with the curses it is only once you have actually veered from the path, to do actions, and the thought is not counted.
That was how we explained in the Torah Temima. However now I regret having written that, because the Talmud there explains that with the sin of idolatry even thought is included with the action. Here in the verse it states “and you veer from the path that I command you this day, to go after other gods”, which is idolatry. Therefore we have to explain based on the Talmud in Shabbat 105b which says that a person doesn’t commit the sin of idolatry with the first tempting of the yetzer hara. Rather it works gradually, from the small sin to the bigger sin. The first sins are not sins of idolatry, and therefore the thought and intent for them is not included in the punishment.
This is implicit in the verse: “you will veer from the path that I command you this day” – from ordinary mitzvot, and this will lead to “to go after other gods”. This is the meaning of the Talmud, initially the yetzer hara says to a person ‘do this small sin’. The next day it says ‘do this slightly worse sin’ until finally it leads a person so idolatry.

Parshat Reeh (Rabbi Sedley)

Search for Jerusalem

The Torah portion opens with the instruction to pronounce the blessings and curses on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival. The Torah gives the location of these two mountains very precisely: "They are across the Jordan, just beyond the Sunset highway, on the way to Gilgal, near the Plains of Moreh, in the territory of the Canaanites who lived in the flood plain" (Deuteronomy 11; 30). This is in sharp contrast to another mountain mentioned in the portion, to which the Torah gives us no geographical clues: "There will be a site that G-d will chose as the place dedicated to His name" (ibid. 12; 11). This is referring to Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, yet we find no explicit mention of Jerusalem anywhere in the five books of Moses. Several times it says "In the place that He will chose to dwell" (e.g. ibid. 16; 16). Since at the end of our Torah portion we find the commandment to appear before G-d at the place that He shall chose, why does He not tell us exactly where that place will be?
There are many answers given to this question (e.g. Tzena u'Rena on this week's portion) but the answer of the Birkas Mordechai seemed most appropriate.
The Talmud (Zevachim 54b) describes the great lengths to which King David and Shmuel went to in order to discover the exact place where the Temple was to be built. Only through days and nights without sleep were they able to finally arrive at the correct location.
We find elsewhere in the Torah that the site of the Temple Mount is only described in vague terms. When Avraham is told to go and offer Yitzchak as a sacrifice, G-d tells him "Go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you." (Genesis 22; 2). Rashi there explains that "G-d delays with the righteous, and only reveals to them their task later, in order that they should receive more reward." This seems strange, why should G-d withhold information from the righteous? And why would the lack of knowledge increase their reward?
Similarly with Ya'akov, the Torah says "He encountered that place, and slept there..." (ibid. 28; 11). Rashi (ad loc.) explains that 'that place' refers again to Mount Moriah, the 'place' mentioned earlier in the text (in connection to Avraham).
The Birkas Mordechai explains that the search for the location of the Temple is part of the Mitzvah of building the Temple. The location of the mountains upon which the blessings and curses are to be given is made explicit in the text, just as the blessings and curses are accessible to everyone through their actions. Blessings or curses are the automatic results of any deed, either positive, or the opposite. However the Temple, which symbolises the point of interaction between mankind and G-d, is not easily accessible. Before we can find the location of the Temple we must search for G-d in the world. When we find G-d, and recognise His interaction with the world, then we can begin to find the exact focus of that interaction. Only through the struggle of locating the Temple is it possible to fulfil the Mitzvah of building the Temple. This is actually implicit in the verse: "There you shall search for Him at His dwelling" (Deut. 12; 5).
This explains why G-d did not immediately reveal to Avraham the location where he was to offer his son. Through giving him the opportunity to search out the site himself, G-d allowed Avraham to take a greater share of the reward for the Mitzvah of listening to what he had been commanded.
Perhaps with this we can also explain the wording of the Halacha. The Shulchan Aruch (based on the Talmud Brachot 30a) states that "When a person stands up to pray, they should face the direction of Jerusalem, and the site of the Temple" (Orach Chaim 94; 1). However, "One who is unable to discern the correct direction should direct their heart to their Father Who is in Heaven." (ibid. 3). Why does the Shulchan Aruch not state that a person should at least direct their heart to Jerusalem? We can explain allegorically that unless they first direct their heart towards G-d, and commit themselves to searching for the Divine in this world, they will not be able to discern the site of the Temple.
Perhaps this is also the reason that the Temple is known as Beis HaBechira, 'the house of free choice'. It is the place which can only be discovered by one who has used their free choice to search out G-d in this world.

Reeh Summary

G-d offers two options, blessing or curse. The blessing is given to those who observe the commandments, and the curse to those who stray from the path that G-d has commanded, and worshipping false gods. When the Israelites enter the Land of Israel they should stand on the two mountains of Gerizim and Eival, six tribes on each, and proclaim the blessings and curses.
The Jews are commanded to thoroughly destroy any remnants of the idols of the nations who occupied Israel before them. Conversely they are prohibited from destroying G-d's name or anything that has been sanctified to Him. G-d will appoint a certain place where all the sacrifices and offerings should be brought. Though in the desert, and for the 14 years before the altar was set up in Shiloh (and later Jerusalem), it was permitted for people to bring offerings on private altars, once this Temple has been built and dedicated it will be forbidden for the Jews to offer any sacrifices outside of its boundaries. Any sacrifice which has become blemished may be redeemed and then eaten outside of Jerusalem, provided it has been ritually slaughtered like all other Kosher meat. However certain tithes and offerings may only be eaten within the walls of Jerusalem. During their time in the desert, the Jews only ate the meat of sacrifices, because everyone lived within close proximity of the altar. However once they enter Israel they will also be able to eat non-sacrificial meat.
The Israelites are commanded not to copy the ways of the Canaanites who occupied the Land before them. They are reminded of the horrific rites which they practised, including child sacrifice. Should a prophet arise amongst Israel and tell them to abandon any of the commandments which G-d has given them they should be put to death. Even if they performs miracles and signs, once they say something that contradicts the Torah they must be a false prophet. If someone tries to persuade others to follow false gods and to abandon the G-d of their ancestors they must be put to death. If there are rumours that an entire city has begun to worship false gods, the Sanhedrin (High Court) must thoroughly investigate the matter. If it is found to be true, all the inhabitants of that city must be put to death.
The Jews are considered by G-d as His children and His treasured nation, and therefore they must not make marks on their body as a sign of mourning. They must also be careful as to what they eat, and the Torah here reiterates the species of Kosher and non-Kosher animals. Ten percent of all the crops harvested must be set aside and only eaten within the boundaries of the city of Jerusalem.
At the end of the seventh year there shall be a remittance of all loans. However the Jews are commanded not to be reluctant to give out loans even knowing that if they are not repaid by the seventh year the loan will be nullified. G-d commands the Jews to be generous in making loans. A Jewish slave must be set free at the beginning of the seventh year. He shall also be given wages for the time that he has worked. Should he decide that he would rather remain a slave than return to his home, his master must take him to the courts and the judges shall pierce his ear as a sign that he refuses to be set free.
Every firstborn male animal is sanctified and must be brought as a sacrifice to G-d. However if it has a blemish it may be eaten by its owner. The Jews are commanded once again about the observance of the three pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Succoth. When they come to Jerusalem at these three times they should also bring with them sacrifices to offer to G-d.