The Hebrew Scriptures are not readily or easily understood by native English speakers, we post a weekly addition to regular Torah commentary. "Cutting to the Root" is intended to promote an understanding of the complexity of the Hebrew language and thereby gain a richer and deeper understanding of the Scriptures. It is our goal that these notes will teach tolerance and understanding.Please visit our web site at www.shefaisrael.com

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Reading for Chanuka

Chanukah
22nd December – 29th December
25th Kislev – 2nd Tevet 5769



The History of Chanukah
Chanukah, the Festival of rededication, is also known as the festival of lights. Chanukah is an eight day festival, and always falls on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, even though its corresponding date in the English calendar varies. This year, 2008, Chanukah begins on Monday, December 22nd in the evening. In the Western world, Chanukah is probably one of the best known Jewish holidays, principally because of its proximity to Christmas. While many may think of this holiday as the "Jewish Christmas," including elaborate gift-giving and decoration, Chanukah is actually a simple historical commemoration, celebrating the victory of a small band of rebels fighting against the imposing might of the Hellenistic Assyrian army. Commemorating this fight against oppression and assimilation, we kindle lights to remember the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, and to rededicate ourselves to strengthening our own identities today.
Talmudic Beginnings.


The rabbis of the Talmud ask a strange question: ‘Ma hi Chanukah?’ (Shabbat 21b). Loosely translated, this means, "What the heck is Chanukah about anyway?" At this point you may be asking: "you mean the ancient sages of our tradition didn't know the story about the wicked Antiochus. ‘Achashverosh’ in Hebrew - and the flask of oil that lasted eight days and about latkes and dreidels and little chocolate coins?"


Well, except for the latkes and dreidels and little chocolate coins part, the ancient sages did know that story. In fact, they gave it to us. What they were not sure was how to properly celebrate the holiday, or how all the different traditions that had developed fit together.


To explain how the ancient rabbis saw Chanukah, first let's take a step back and look at the historical record, as best we understand it. In 167 B.C.E., a king named Antiochus Epiphanus (interestingly ‘Epiphanus’ means in the Greek ‘as God’) ruled over a chunk of the Middle East that included the land of Israel. He wanted to unify all the peoples under his rule with one culture, the Greek-Roman culture called Hellenism, which had been handed down from the time of Alexander the Great (ca 323 B.C.E.). So Antiochus outlawed the study of Torah and the practice of Judaism, and put Greek gods in Jewish holy places.


Some Jews went along with Antiochus's edicts and assimilated into Hellenism, but other Jews rebelled against these oppressive laws. The most successful rebel was a Hasmonean priest named Mattathias. He and his five sons, including the legendary Judah the Maccabee (Judah the "Hammer") led a successful rebellion to retake Jerusalem and reestablish Jewish sovereignty. Eventually, they even established themselves and their descendants as native Jewish kings. When they took over the Temple and cleaned out all the remnants of the idolatrous Greek worship, they rededicated the Temple and then immediately held a late observance of the eight day festival of Sukkot, the most important festival of Temple times. The next year, to commemorate their victory and the rededication of the Temple, a "late Sukkot" was held again, thereby giving birth to our eight-day celebration of Chanukah - which means "dedication".
The deeds of the Maccabees were recorded and reported to other Jewish communities throughout the Land of Israel and to those communities outside the land that developed during the first exile and who never returned. The oldest sources we have for the story of the Maccabees is the First and Second Books of the Maccabees. The First Book of Maccabees is a simple history, telling the story of the revolt and continuing the story of resistance that continued after the revolt when the Hasmoneans took over the monarchy. The Second Book of Maccabees was composed as a letter, written to the Jewish community of Alexandria, explaining the events that took place and encouraging them to commemorate the Hasmonean victory by observing the new holiday of Chanukah.


While these books tell the important story of the Maccabees, they were not universally embraced by Jews everywhere, and when the time came for the canonization (selection process) of the Hebrew Bible, they were left out. They were, however, preserved by the early Church, who did include the Books of the Maccabees in the Apocrypha, the Greek writings that appear in Christian Bibles between the "Old" and "New" Testaments.


So what happened to the story of the oil and the miracle of the lights? Well, that's where the rabbis come in. In the rabbinic sources, we find virtual silence on the topic of Chanukah in the Mishnah. It is only in the Gemara (the later rabbinic material which, along with the Mishnah makes up the Talmud) that we find the new story about the oil and the miracle of the lights. By the time of the development of the Talmud, around 200-500 C.E., the Jews were living under Roman rule in Israel and under Persian rule in Babylon. In these circumstances, celebrating stories about military rebellion might not be viewed in too positive a light by the authorities, and the sages also feared that some Jewish hotheads might stir up trouble and cause all kinds of problems for the Jewish community. So the Talmudic sages put a new spin on the established holiday: YHVH wrought a great miracle for the people, enabling the few to triumph over the many, and YHVH showed the people another miracle in the oil, when a flask of ritually pure oil sufficient for one day lasted for all eight days.


But there is also more. The battle fought by the Maccabees was not only a revolt against religious oppression and colonial domination, but it was a civil war as well, fought between pietistic adherents to a strict traditional observance of Judaism (as practiced in those days) and those who were attracted to the might and worldliness of Hellenism and sought to acculturate. Ironically though, after their victory, the Hasmoneans assumed the Monarchy of Israel - which, in of itself was prohibited for a priestly family, and eventually, after some generations, became advocates of Hellenization and invited the Roman Empire to become protectors of Israel, setting the stage for the eventual Roman conquest. As a priestly family, the Hasmoneans sided with the Sadducees, the priestly advocates of the authority of Temple Sacrifice, against the Pharisees, the forerunners of the rabbis and the form of rabbinic Judaism we continue to practice today. With the destruction of the Second Temple, the fall of the Sadducees, and the ultimate conquest of the Land of Israel by the Romans, the new rabbinic authorities assume the mantle of religious authority. Unhappy with the Hasmoneans and critical of the eventual outcome of the Maccabean revolt, the Rabbis set out to relegate Chanukah and the Maccabees to a mere footnote in Jewish history. Hence the exclusion of Maccabees from Hebrew Scriptures and the shift in the emphasis of Chanukah from the victory of the Maccabees to YHVH's miracle of light. Effectively, the Rabbis sought to write the Maccabees out of Jewish history. Like the exclusion of Moses from the Passover Haggada, the Maccabees were removed from Chanukah, and the spotlight was put on YHVH.


So back to our Talmudic question: ‘Ma hi Chanukah?’ "What is Chanukah?" Well, the answer depends on your perspective. It could be a holiday of religious freedom, inspired by the people's desire to shake off oppressive laws. It could be commemoration of the human capacity for courage and hopefulness, as we remember the Maccabees' brave revolution. It could be an opportunity to reflect on Jewish distinctiveness and the miracle of Jewish survival in societies that offer so many opportunities to just chuck it all and assimilate. It could be a spur to many Jews to reach out to each other across denominational and ideological boundaries, inasmuch as the Maccabean revolt was also a civil war between Hellenized and non-assimilated Jews. It could be, as the Talmud suggests, a time to thank YHVH for the miracles in our lives; a time to think about what is in YHVH's hands and not in human hands. It could be a chance to ask ourselves: what seemingly ordinary things can I experience as miracles today?


Chag Sameach

Parashat Miketz - the Haftara

Parashat Miketz – the Haftara
Zecharia 2:14- 4:7
Reading date: 27th December 2008 – 30th Kislev 5769



Our highlighted Haftara text
“Then Solomon woke; it was a dream!” I Kings 3:15
Do we 'wake up' from a dream or do we roll over and go back to sleep?
In our parasha, Joseph is recognized for his divine wisdom and appointed royal vizier to Pharaoh. Similarly, King Solomon is known for his wisdom demonstrated by his solving the case of the true mother with his test of threatening to cut the live baby in two. Both the parasha and the haftara begin with the king (or Pharaoh) awakening ‘vayikatz’ from a dream.


King Solomon, the son of King David reigned from 970 BCE to 928 BCE. Through marriage alliances and international treaties, Israel had extensive and close relations with neighboring countries that brought gold, spices and exotic animals. During his reign, Israel was a dominant political and economic force, with a flourishing agriculture (every person living safely and peaceably 'under their vine and fig tree'), spice trade and mining industry for valuable metals (copper, silver and brass). The prosperity of Solomon's reign, however, was short-lived, and after his death the Northern Kingdom of the Ten Tribes seceded. The books of Song of Songs, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are traditionally ascribed to King Solomon. Although he was considered the 'wisest of men' and many Midrashim talk of the wonders of his powers and his monarchy, he was also an absolute monarch who dealt harshly with his subjects.


Dreams figure prominently in the Joseph narratives. Joseph is known as a dreamer, and last week, he had the dreams of being bowed down to by his brothers (which will come true this week) and interpreted the dreams of his fellow prisoners, the baker and the wine steward. This week, it is Pharaoh himself who has a (two-part) dream of 7 cows and 7 stalks of wheat (emmer- not corn, notwithstanding most children's books and the King James translation). Joseph had the uncanny ability to see the true messages within others' dreams. In the haftara, King Solomon, awoke from his dream where he had asked YHVH for wisdom instead of riches.


What exactly are dreams? Science hasn't yet adequately explained the phenomenon of dreaming, and dreams still fascinate us. Are they messages of the future, or simply the brain doing its housekeeping at night? The advice to 'sleep on it' refers to going to bed in the hope that overnight, we might find a solution to a problem or gain some insight that eludes us during the day and when we're awake. The scientist Kekulé is said to have discovered the arrangement of the benzene molecule, when he saw a chain of carbon atoms rotating in a circle, like a snake chasing its own tail in a dream. Other discoveries (like the sewing machine's needle) have been attributed to dreams, too.


In the ancient world, dreams were thought to be divine communication and were considered to be omens. However, dreams (both then and now) are largely symbolic and therefore require interpretation, called ‘oneiromancy’. The dream, like even the Torah, has little meaning without proper interpretation. (Today, dream interpretation 'dictionaries' are available online, but even in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, there existed 'dream books', that deciphered the images). But these have little value because the true meaning of the symbols in the dream relate to the individual's unique associations. Jung writes in Civilization in Transition, "The art of interpreting dreams cannot be learnt from books" (pg. 327).


It may be that in our 'collective consciousness' as a species, certain archetypes have specific meaning in our dreams, but more likely, it is our own private, personal associations that have significance. In a Midrash from Bereishit Rabbah, a man came to R. Jose ben Halafta, saying: "I was told in a dream to go to Kappadokia, where I should find the money of my deceased father." When the rabbi learned that the man (or anyone in his family) had never been to Kappadokia, he explained the dream as follows: "Count twenty beams in your house, and in the twentieth you will find the treasure, for 'Kappadokia' means [kappa=] "twenty" and [dokia=] "beams".
It is not the literal message of the dream (ie. going to Kappadokia) that is important, but the meaning assigned to it. Again, Jung writes of the danger of dream interpretation: "Every interpretation is an hypothesis, an attempt to read an unknown text. An obscure dream, taken in isolation, can hardly ever be interpreted with any certainty" quoted from "The Practical Use of Dream Analysis" (1934) in The Practice of Psychotherapy, pg. 322.


It was also believed that individuals could not accurately interpret their own dreams. Yet, the importance of understanding dreams was still deep-rooted in the time of the Talmud that 24 dream interpretation 'professionals' worked in Jerusalem. Jewish tradition is divided over the significance of dreams.


According to the Talmud, "The words of dreams neither benefit nor harm" (Gittin 52), and "We see at night in dreams only that of which we were thinking by day" (Berachot 55b). The Talmudic sage Jonathan expresses the Freudian idea: "A person is shown in a dream only what is suggested by one's own thoughts" (Berachot 55b). When R. Meir had a dream to apologize to the head of the academy, R. Simon ben Gamliel, he didn't go, because according to him 'dreams are of no consequence' (Horayot 13b). Other sages still held the view that dreams were a form of prophecy.


Not all dreams come true; there are also false dreams. Even if dreams are full of meaning, how are we to understand them? The point is that true wisdom (like Joseph and Solomon) is not in having dreams, but in waking up and knowing their 'true' interpretation. Joseph demonstrates this by not only 'interpreting' the dream, but suggesting a course of proper and sensible course of action.


Rabbi Aharon of Karlin compares Jacob's dream with Pharaoh's. When Jacob dreamed, it says, "He awoke from his sleep, and said, 'Surely YHVH was in this place.' “(Gen. 28:16). In contrast, when Pharaoh awoke, he went back to sleep, for it says, "He awoke, and he dreamed a second dream...." (Gen. 41:5). We can ask ourselves the same question: do we 'wake up from a dream' or do we roll over and go back to sleep? Dreams are dreams, and what their meaning is may be debatable, but the point is, when we finish dreaming, are we truly awake.


Shabbat Shalom & Chag Chanukah Same'ach.

Parashat Vayeshev - the Haftara

Parashat Vayeshev – the Haftara
Amos 2:6 – 3:8
Reading date: 20th December 2008 – 23rd Kislev 5769


Our highlighted Haftara text
“People of Israel, hear this word the Eternal has spoken about you, about the whole crowd that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:You alone have I known of all the families of the earth--therefore I will punish you for all you iniquities. For the day of the Eternal draws near for all the nations:As you have done, so shall it be done to you;Your deeds shall come back to haunt you”. Amos 3:1 - 2

With great power comes great responsibility.
The book of Genesis now begins its final episode: the extended novella of the Joseph narrative. The haftara from the prophet Amos begins with a list of the sins of Israel. The first example, selling the righteous ‘tzaddik’ for silver, echoes the brothers who sell Joseph (called ‘Yosef Hatzaddik’ in rabbinic literature – in rabbinic literature one who is referred to as a ‘tzaddik’ is one without sin) for silver. His second example of a man and son who go to the same woman recalls the story of Judah who sleeps with his son's wife, Tamar.

Amos is the first of the 'literary' prophets. He lived and prophesied around 784-748 B.C.E. during the reign of King Jeroboam. Like Moses, Amos was a 'reluctant' prophet. That is, he described himself as a sheep breeder and tended sycamore figs and was called by YHVH to proclaim a message warning of Israel's destruction. He prophesied in the Northern Kingdom of Israel against the immoral practices that he saw. His message was the classic prophetic message: that rituals and religious piety do not have YHVH's approval when there is inequity between people and social injustice.

Judaism has never valued asceticism, and if one can afford good things, there is no sin in enjoying life. We don't have to suffer. At the same time, we must be careful that our enjoyment does not become the be-all and end-all. Those of us who are blessed with a high standard of living know that we should do more for those in the world without clean water, enough food or decent housing even though we don't always put that knowledge into practice.

Amos, a peasant coming from Judah, is similarly disturbed by the ill treatment of the poor. He is shocked by the lifestyle of the rich and famous in Israel's North Country. His listeners were probably annoyed by his message, thinking, 'Hey, we're comfortable. Don't bother us.' But he wouldn't relent, and in passionate language, he castigates those hypocrites who exploit the poor. We think our situation is different; we don't enjoy our privileged life on the backs of the poor and the disadvantaged. Unless you've read 'No logo' by Naomi Klein and realize that the clothes we wear and the sneakers we buy are being produced by workers (often children) in Bangladesh under inhumane conditions and with no rights. Let us remember the climactic verse from Amos (regrettably not included in our Haftara), "Let justice well up like water, righteousness like a raging stream" (Amos 6:24).

The job of leaders today, they say, is to 'comfort the afflicted' and 'afflict the comfortable.' And as we are in full swing of the season of consumer shopping, it is hard, but maybe more necessary than ever, to hear the message that the goal in life is not more 'stuff.' It is a challenge to teach children to understand the difference between: I need, and I want. (The sentence from your teenager: "I really need the new iPod nano" should be corrected: "I really want the new iPod.")
A few weeks ago in Parashat Lech Lecha we talked about the possible meanings of 'being chosen.' The prophet Amos says something else: Being chosen means being accountable to a higher standard. As the children’s story teaches, "With great power, comes great responsibility." Amos might say, "With great affluence, comes great social responsibility." It's a message suitable for all of us, not just those with super powers.

Don’t we often feel like Scrooge at this time of year? Many have long forsaken the tradition and religious celebration of Christmas; we need to realize that we live in a multicultural society. Rather it is the incessant marketing of mostly unnecessary products that irritates us. As we celebrate Chanukah next week, celebrating the light of our freedom, one of our Chanukah gifts one night should be a donation to any number of charitable causes that increase social justice in the world.

Especially looking back at the untold suffering caused this past year by the natural disasters, war and economic hardship, helping to heal the world would make the Chanukah candles glow just a bit brighter.

Shabbat Shalom

Parashat Vayishlach - the Haftara

Parashat Vayishlach – the Haftara
Hosea 11:7 – 12:12
Reading date: 13th December 2008 – 16th Kislev 5769


Our highlighted Haftara text
"And Jacob set up a pillar at the site where YHVH had spoken to him, a pillar of stone, and he offered a libation on it and poured oil upon it...
Over her grave Jacob set up a pillar; it is the pillar at Rachel's grave to this day”. (Gen. 35:14, 20)

“Rock of Ages”
Stones seem to be a trade mark for Jacob; they just keep appearing in Jacob’s life. In this week’s Parasha VaYishlach, we learn that Jacob [again] at Beth El, sets up a (matzevah) stone pillar (Gen. 35:14). Last week, when we read of Jacob’s journey from Canaan, Jacob stopped at Luz/Beth El where he built an altar of stones. The term ‘beth el’ (literally, House of YHVH) refers to this specific type of stone pillar, but later became associated with a sacred site at the town of Luz. The shrine on the boundary of Ephraim and Judea was of great importance in the time of Judges and Kings. Jeroboam made it the chief sanctuary to compete with the southern Jerusalem. Consequently, in the prophets, Beth El became a symbol of Israel’s iniquity, and was condemned by Amos and Hosea, notwithstanding its association with the patriarch Jacob.
But Beth El is not the only place that we see Jacob with rocks. Last week, we read how Jacob set up a stone cairn at Gilad after making a pact with Laban. And twenty years earlier in the story, he had put a rock under his head for a pillow where he had his famous angel dream (‘sulam’ here means staircase, not the ladders we imagine today). And when he met Rachel at the well- in a moment of passion (and super strength) he rolled the stone from the mouth of the well. When Rachel died en route Hebron, Jacob buried her, and again we read that he sets up another [stone] pillar. Jacob even uses the term ‘ehvehn’ in his final blessing to Joseph to describe YHVH: “By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob— There, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, The God of your father who helps you, And Shaddai who blesses you. With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that couches below, Blessings of the breast and womb. The blessings of your father Surpass the blessings of my ancestors, To the utmost bounds of the eternal hills” (Gen. 49:24b-26a).

The word for rock is ‘ehvehn’ or ‘sela’. Rocks represent strength, stability and permanence. Another term ‘tzur’ is often used to refer to a large boulder, and hence conveys the sense of a place of shelter. Not surprising then that ‘tzur’ is an epithet for YHVH: ‘Tzur Yisrael’. "HaTzur- The Rock!—YHVH’s deeds are perfect, Yea, all YHVH’s ways are just; A faithful God, never false, True and upright is YHVH" (Deut 32:4). In just a few weeks, we will sing a Chanukah song with that reference to YHVH: ‘Ma’oz Tzur’ (Rock of Ages).

Rocks are also associated with Torah, since the Ten Commandments were written on stones. In one midrash, Rabbi Levi cites a parable of king who protects a city from attacking soldiers with soldiers of his own. So too, YHVH gave us the Torah to guard against our impulse to do evil. Since our impulse to do evil (“I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh (Ezek. 36:26)) is compared to a stone, the laws of Torah are called ‘stones’ (from the stone tablets). ‘Stones’ [of Torah] therefore effectively will guard against ‘stones’ [of evil impulse] like some will say that a remedy is for ‘like’ to cure ‘like.’

The Patriarchs and Matriarchs are seen as more than individuals; they are archetypes. Maybe one thing that made them special was their ability to see the Divine in particular aspects of nature: Abraham saw it in trees; Isaac in water. Jacob found holiness in rocks.
All this thinking about rocks’ potential to symbolize Torah or even YHVH reminds us of a modern day parable or ‘moshal’ of a Jewish school that wanted to create a small portable ‘Aron Kodesh’ (a Torah ark) to house a Torah for a classroom. They bought a standard, no frills white cupboard from a put-it-together-yourself furniture store and decorated it. How blessed this one cupboard was, to become a Holy Ark instead of a plain cupboard. And then we see an image- that the thousands and thousands of plain cupboards in this store's warehouse that were being probably being sold for kitchens and bathrooms and garages all had the potential for holiness, to be an ‘Aron Kodesh’.

Each of us has a special gift to discover holiness in the world; some find it in family, others in ritual, some feel it in nature, others in music. Like the Patriarchs, each of us can choose to uniquely find something holy in our lives that will ultimately lead to fellowship with YHVH.

Shabbat Shalom

Parashat Vayetze - the Haftata

Parashat Vayetze – the Haftara
Hosea 12:12 – 14:9
Reading date: 6th December 2008 – 9th Kislev 5769


Our highlighted Haftara text
“Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
Israel served for a wife;
and for a wife he kept watch [over sheep]”
Hosea 12:13

“Are we running towards something or running away”?
This week's Torah portion begins "And Jacob left Be'er Sheva and journeyed towards Haran" (Gen 28:10). The Ashkenazi haftara portion begins with an almost exact parallel to our Torah portion: "Then Jacob had to flee to the land of Aram..." (Hosea 12:13). While the Ashkenazim begin the story at verse 13 and continue to chapter 14:10, the Sephardic rite is to read the earlier verses found in Hosea chapter 11:7-12:12. In these prior verses, highlights from Jacob's life are retold recounting Jacob's struggle in the womb, and the later episode of his night-struggle with an 'angel.' There is one additional connection between Hosea's prophecy and this week's parasha pointed out by Ibn Ezra. Hosea prophesied in Beth El, the shrine established by Jeroboam. Beth El is where Jacob stopped for the night and had his dream of a staircase (not ladder) going to heaven. "Shaken, he said, 'How awesome is this place, this is none other than the abode of God and that is the gateway to heaven.' ... And he named that site Beth El" (Gen. 28:17, 19)

Hosea is the first prophet included in the second section of the Bible (Tanakh), after the historical books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. He lived around 700 BCE and was a contemporary of Amos. After the death of Solomon, the united kingdom had split into two. The northern tribes were called Israel (or Ephraim after the tribe of their first king Jeroboam) and the southern kingdom was called Judah. Although this was a time of material prosperity, it was also a time of moral laxity and growing paganism.

It is often overlooked that before the curtain rises on our Parasha, the Torah has already told us that Jacob (Ya’akov) left for Haran: Then Isaac sent Jacob off, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban... (Gen. 28:5). The Torah then briefly digresses with a notice of Esau's genealogy and the story's flow is interrupted with the details of Esau's family tree. According to Rashi, our parasha repeats Jacob's departure in order to resume our story with Jacob.

But why does Jacob leave Be'er Sheva? According to both the Torah (chap. 28) and our Haftara verse, Jacob is going to Haran to find a wife, similar to the servant's mission to find a wife for Isaac that we read two weeks ago (Chayei Sarah).

However, there seems to be another reason. If we look back at the conclusion of the previous chapter, we see that the blessing-stealing episode ended badly:
"Esau said to himself, 'Let but the mourning period of my father come, and I will kill my brother Jacob.' When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebecca, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, 'Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. Now my son, listen to me. Flee at once to Haran, to my brother Laban. Stay with him a while until your brother's fury subsides'..." (Gen. 27: 41b-44)

Here we have a totally different motivation. Here, Jacob is not leaving to find a wife, but to escape his brother's wrath. Possibly, the Torah repeats Jacob's departure because there were two reasons.

Furthermore, many commentators consider the first phrase "And Jacob left Be'er Sheva" extraneous; after all, the important thing is that Jacob went to Haran. We can figure out for ourselves that he obviously also left where he was. Some commentators see Jacob as fulfilling the commandment of "Honor your father and mother"; according to Isaac, Jacob was going to find a wife; according to his mother Rebecca, he was running away from Esau.

The Haftara captures both the fleeing from something and going towards something by choosing the verb 'flee' instead of the Torah's more neutral 'left' (vayetze). This is true in our lives as well. When considering a new job or a new school (or even a new partner) are we making a positive choice, or simply running away from something negative? It is not enough to reject our childish notions of YHVH and Torah principles we have to also be pursuing a mature understanding of Torah. When Jacob left Be'er Sheva, on some level, he left his past behind him. It is fine to leave our past behind us if we are sure that we are moving forward and going somewhere!

Shabbat Shalom

Parashat Toldot - the Haftara

Parashat Toldot – the Haftara
Malachi 1:1 – 2:7
Reading date: 29th November 2008 – 2nd Kislev 5769


Our highlighted Haftara text

“Give honor to My name.
If you do not listen,
if you do not take it to heart,
says the God of heaven's hosts,
I will send a curse upon you,
and turn your blessings to curses.
In fact, I have [already] turned them into curses,
because you do not take it to heart”.
Malachi 2:2

“We should be careful that our actions 'say' what we mean”.

In this week's Haftara, YHVH reminds the Israelites that though Jacob and Esau are brothers, YHVH only loves Jacob. The prophet therefore criticizes the Israelites for their lackluster performance of the Temple sacrificial service. In the Torah portion, the relationship of children to their father is emphasized. The Haftara asks, why do the Israelites not honor YHVH like a parent? In Genesis, hands (disguised by animal skins) offer the father a prepared meal; the prophet says that YHVH will not accept an offering "from your hands." The Hebrew words for spurn (bozei, vayivzeh both from the Hebrew root: b.z.h.) are used to describe how the Israelites spurn YHVH through improper sacrifices (Malachi 1:6,7) just like Esau spurned his birthright (Gen. 25:34). YHVH wants the service of the heart.

Malachi, which simply means 'My messenger,' is more of a title, than an actual personal name. The anonymous individual we call Malachi was the last of the prophets, and lived in the middle of the 5th century B.C.E. before the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah. (Some sources in fact identify him as Ezra.) At that time, Judea was still a province of Persia. While it seems that he lived at a time when the Temple had been rebuilt (515 B.C.E.) religious performance was perfunctory. Malachi calls for a religious revival.

Isaac and Rebecca have twins: Jacob and Esau. Esau and Jacob are the opposite of identical twins. In the ancient world, twins were often depicted as the two complementary halves of a complete personality. This is what we find here: Esau is the active, physical individual, a hunter who loves the outdoors. Jacob, on the other hand is portrayed as a gentle, cerebral soul who stays inside. Both however, are to become the father of a people. Esau was born covered with red hair, (‘adom’ in Hebrew means red; hair is ‘se'ir’). Esau is therefore linked through this wordplay to the two names of the land of Edom, or Seir and is considered to be the father of the Edomites (Gen. 36:1). Like the name Israel, Edom can refer to the individual (Esau) or the people (the Edomites) or the land. The land of Edom, in what is now present day Jordan often appears red (think of the red rock of Petra). The sibling rivalry in the Genesis narrative foreshadows the enmity between the Edomites and the Israelites. The Edomites were displaced by the Nabateans, and in rabbinic times, the term 'Edom' came to represent Rome, and then later Christianity. Jacob and Esau become therefore, the archetypes for the Jew and non-Jew respectively.

The prophet begins his address by reminding Israel of YHVH's preferred relationship to Jacob over Esau, but then berates the Israelites for their cavalier attitude to YHVH's service. He warns them that the blessings YHVH has promised could in fact become curses. Blessings and curses are a theme which appears in the Torah portion since Jacob initially fears that in trying to steal his brother's blessing, he will be cursed instead. And Isaac's blessing to Jacob echoes the blessing that YHVH previously gave to Abraham, that "Cursed by they who curse you, Blessed they who bless you" (Gen. 27:29). YHVH's very blessings, and the special relationship with YHVH enjoyed by the Israelites, are at risk.

The prophets often admonish the Israelites for offering sacrifices while engaging in corrupt behavior. In future columns we will see that YHVH instead delights in kindness, justice and righteousness; YHVH does not even want sacrifices (Jeremiah 7:22-3). But here, we have a slightly different message. In our passage the prophet is not complaining of social injustice or the Israelites' moral failings. He is not even making the [legitimate] point that ritual observance also requires ‘kavannah’, proper intent. All that is for another time. Instead, the point being stressed here is that ritual acts, if they are to be done, need to be performed properly.
The Israelites 'lame' offerings YHVH will not accept, but surprisingly, incense and pure sacrifices offered to YHVH's name "from the setting of the sun to its setting among the nations" are acceptable. Abravanel comments: “You should have learnt from the ways of the nations. Though they have not been vouchsafed the light of the Torah... they magnify and exalt YHVH and perform the most pure sacrifice that they themselves are capable of doing according to their lights”.

This message is all the more exceptional because the Haftara begins by proclaiming that YHVH hates Esau. Yet, sincere religious devotion, (even pagan, it seems) is more acceptable to YHVH than improperly performing the rituals. When it comes to YHVH's blessings, we want the genuine article, not a cheap substitute, yet the Israelites are satisfied with offering blemished and unfit animals. The prophet's complaint is that the Israelites are taking YHVH's beneficence and special relationship for granted.

This is one of the challenges of Torah. To follow Torah is skill-based, and ritual observance often requires a minimum of technical expertise. We all know of individuals performing ritual in a sloppy manner: putting up a mezuzah incorrectly, (or even without the parchment!). They may have sincere intent. But just like the Israelites sent a clear message that they didn't really take their relationship with YHVH seriously in the way they performed the Temple rituals, we communicate how we feel about our faith by the effort and care we put into our actions.
When Jacob resorts to the subterfuge of disguising himself with animal skins, Isaac says: "The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the hands of Esau" (Gen. 27:22). One interpretation of this verse is that it refers to hypocrites who say one thing with their mouths but do something else with their hands. Torah has always stressed action over belief: deed, not creed. We have to 'walk our talk.' Since actions speak louder than words, we should be careful that our actions 'say' what we mean.

Shabbat Shalom

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Parashat Chayei Sarah - the Haftara

Parashat Chayei Sarah – the Haftara
1 Kings 1:1 – 31
Reading date: 22nd November 2008 – 24th Cheshvan 5769


Our highlighted Haftara text
And the King took an oath, saying:"As YHVH lives, who has rescued me from every trouble: The oath I swore to you by YHVH the God of Israel, that your son Solomon should succeed me as king and that he should sit upon my throne in my stead, I will fulfill this very day!"I Kings 1:29-30

“Inner Beauty”
This week the Haftara is taken from the book of I Kings. King David is old and will soon die. The charismatic Adonijah, the heir apparent, declares himself king, but Nathan the prophet and Bat-Sheva, David's favorite wife, persuade the ailing king to name the younger son, Solomon as king. The phrase, ‘zaken, ba bayamim’ echoes the description of Abraham (Gen. 24:1). The Torah portion similarly includes the announcement of the death of Sarah (which provides the name for the Parasha- literally the 'Life of Sarah'), and the death of Abraham. The swearing of David (I Kings 1:29) also parallels the swearing of Abraham's servant (Gen. 24:2).

This week's Haftara is taken from the book of I Kings (from the section called the 'Early Prophets' or Historical prophets as opposed to the later 'literary' prophets like Isaiah and Amos). The book of Kings was divided in two by the early Greek translation (the Septuagint). The book of I Kings deals with the monarchy of David and his son Solomon.

Abraham and David are pivotal characters in the Bible: Abraham is a model of righteousness and David is considered the greatest king of Israel and the archetype for the Messiah. In this parasha, both are old and prepare for death. Abraham performs the final act of pure ‘hesed’, securing a burial plot for his wife Sarah, and arranges for an appropriate wife for his son Isaac. In contrast, we see a feeble monarch, easily manipulated and unable to manage his affairs. Although Nathan instructs Bat Sheva to 'remind' the king of his oath to choose Solomon, there is in fact no record in the text of such a promise. The reader cannot know if this was a ruse, or in fact a crucial promise that was made privately? Their choice of Solomon seems reminiscent of Rebecca’s manipulation of Isaac to bless Jacob instead of Esau. One can well sympathize with Adonijah and his supporters, since the Torah explicitly states that the eldest son cannot be deprived of his inheritance, and passed over for a younger son of a preferred wife (Deut. 21:16) although we see this rule violated in almost every family story with a loved wife and an unloved wife.

King David's reign is held up as the model for the future, and traditional prayers include the restoration of ‘Malchut Beit David’, the reign of the House of David. Although David was a great leader and reigned for a golden period in Israel's history, in his old age, he is incapacitated. Even a beautiful young woman who lies in bed with him is unable to "warm him up" (meant either literally- in terms of body heat, as earlier he was covered in bed clothes and was unable to keep warm, or meant sexually). After he is convinced that Solomon should succeed him and be king (which ensures the safety of his beloved Bat Sheva who surely would have been killed together with Nathan and Solomon had Adonijah ascended to the throne), in the chapter after our Haftara reading, King David gives Solomon his advice for survival. Along with the spiritual message to observe the Torah (so YHVH will keep YHVH's promise), he is advised to kill off or neutralize his political opponents. Solomon has Joab, the soldier who supported his brother killed, and dismisses High Priest Aviatar and banishes him. Adonijah promises to be loyal to Solomon, and initially Solomon relents but later reconsiders and has him executed.

In contrast, when Abraham passes on his legacy to Isaac, we do not hear any speeches. The parasha begins with the lengthy negotiations with Ephron over the burial plot. Then the Torah records in great detail (67 verses in chapter 24) how Isaac's wife Rebecca was chosen by Abraham's servant. And in the final chapter, Abraham is careful to arrange his affairs. Abraham remarries (the little known Keturah) and has six more sons. Although everything that is owned by Abraham is willed to Isaac, and Isaac clearly inherits the mantle of his father, there is little rancor. Abraham diplomatically sends away the sons of his concubines to the land of the east with gifts. In other words, he does what he can to ensure Isaac will live in peace and harmony. When he dies "at a ripe old age, old and contented" even Ishmael and Isaac come together to bury him at the cave of Machpelah. What can we learn from Abraham's actions? He does what he can to defuse conflict among his children. He takes care of the dead, and arranges for the future.

The contrast of Abraham and David's legacy in the two stories of the Torah and Haftara is striking. How different were their deaths. While David dies with unfinished business, one gets a sense that Abraham has done everything he had to do, and planned for the future. What advice would they give us? There is a beautiful tradition to write an 'ethical will.' This usually takes the form of a letter addressed to one's family and friends that includes one's important personal beliefs and values, and contains blessings for the future. Ethical wills that have been preserved are wonderful snapshots of lives from long ago. A famous example of such an ethical will was written by Judah ibn Tibbon in the twelfth century.

One doesn't have to be dying to write such a document. It is a clarifying exercise to articulate what is important in life, what lessons have been learned (thus far) and what advice we would want to pass on to others, instead of worrying about who gets the china or the jewelry. Abraham and David left legacies. What will be our legacy for the future?

Shabbat Shalom

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Parashat Vayera - the Haftara

Parashat Vayera – the Haftara
2 Kings 4:1 – 37
Reading date: 15th November 2008 – 17th Cheshvan 5769


Our highlighted Haftara text.
“Elisha went into the house, and there was the dead boy lying on his bed. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to Adonai. Then he stretched himself over the boy, placing his mouth eyes and hands on the boy's mouth, hands and eyes. He crouched over him and the boy's body grew warm. Elisha got up, walked to and fro about the house and again crouched over the boy. The boy then sneezed seven times and opened his eyes”.II Kings 4: 32-35

“Every morning how grateful we should be to awaken to a new day”.

This week's Haftara features the prophet Elisha, a disciple of the better-known prophet Elijah. Elisha, too, was famous for performing miracles, and the Haftara tells of two such miracles. In the first, a jar of oil miraculously fills all the jars of the house- (a tale that might be more appropriate for Chanukah!) The second narrative of a Shunamite woman, however, connects the Haftara to our Torah portion. This Shunamite acts like Abraham in graciously providing hospitality to her guest. Like Sarah, she has no son, and expresses disbelief when she is told the news. The phrase 'k'et hayah' (II Kings 4:16) echoes the language in Genesis (18:14). Her young boy collapses -- the biblical text indicates that he has died- and is miraculously revived. (Scholars suggest it was possibly sunstroke.) The account parallels the near death experience of Isaac, who (according to some Midrashim- see below) actually died, and was resurrected.

This week's Haftara is taken from the book of II Kings (from the section called the 'Early Prophets' or Historical prophets as opposed to the later 'literary' prophets like Isaiah and Amos). The book of Kings was divided in two by the early Greek translation (the Septuagint). The book of I Kings deals with the monarchy of David and his son Solomon, and II Kings continues with the history of Israel after the kingdom was split into two. Elisha prophesied in the Northern Kingdom around 850-800 BCE, during the reign of Jehoram, son of Ahab.

This week's Torah portion concludes with the climactic 'Akedat Yitzhak - the Binding of Isaac' (also read on Rosh Hashanah). Immediately after, Isaac disappears from the narrative. While Abraham and Isaac went up the mountain, the text reads: "And Abraham returned (in the singular) to the men..." (Gen. 22:19). Where was Isaac? Various Midrashim suggest different solutions: he was sent home early (at night) to avoid the evil eye. Rashi quotes the Midrash that he went to study at the academy of ‘Shem’ and ‘Ever’. Even more fanciful is the suggestion (in Midrash Hagadol) that "The Holy Blessed One brought Isaac to the Garden of Eden for three years" (one wonders, perhaps to recuperate from the psychological trauma). According to several Midrashim, Isaac sustained at least an incision that had to be healed.

There is no limit to the creative Midrashic mind, and there exists a surprising tradition that when Abraham's knife touched Isaac's neck, Isaac's soul left him. We need how ever to remain focused on the truth and simplicity of the Torah.

The Rabbis match each of the first three paragraphs of the ‘Amidah’, the central standing prayer, to the three patriarchs. The first paragraph ‘Avot’ is associated with the first of our ancestors, Abraham, and concludes with 'Shield of Abraham.' The third, the ‘Kedushah’, concludes with 'the Holy YHVH' and is connected to Jacob who came upon the 'gateway to heaven' when he lay down and dreamt of the staircase with angels ascending and descending. The second paragraph, ‘Gevurot’, which concludes with 'who revives the dead' would then match the remaining, second patriarch, and the Rabbis suggest that Isaac recited this benediction when he was revived.

Although the 'pshat' or plain meaning of the biblical text is emphatically clear that Abraham did not go through with this near sacrifice (after all, the whole point of the story), one Midrash pushes the limits of rabbinic imagination and turns the story on its head:
When Father Isaac was bound on the altar and reduced to ashes (!) and his sacrificial dust was cast on to Mount Moriah, the Holy Blessed One immediately brought upon him dew and revived him...Forthwith the ministering angels began to recite: 'Blessed are You Adonai, who revives the dead.' [Shibbole Haleket quoted in The Last Trial, by Shalom Spiegel, pg. 33].
The idea that Isaac was actually sacrificed is shocking, and the exegete Ibn Ezra, obviously familiar with this tradition, forcefully disagrees and comments, "But he who asserts that Abraham slew Isaac and abandoned him and that afterwards Isaac came to life again is speaking contrary to Word." But during the Crusades, where entire Jewish communities were slaughtered, they saw themselves martyred as Isaac [almost] was in the Akedah, except this time, without the miracle of being delivered at the last second. Medieval poems that memorialized these tragedies often compared the victims to Isaac on the altar.When Christianity emerged with its central doctrine around crucifixion, resurrection, and the atoning power of Yeshua’s blood however, the Jewish parallel that Isaac too was actually slaughtered, atoned for our sins and was resurrected was almost purged from Jewish sources. While the concept of bodily resurrection was debated by the Sadducees and Pharisees, it was accepted as a tenet in Judaism, and is included in Maimonides' thirteen principles. It can be found in the concluding hymn of 'Yigdal.' Today many Jews still believe in bodily resurrection of the dead. As many people, both Jew and Gentile distance themselves from the idea of resurrection, perhaps we should not distance ourselves from this idea of resurrection so quickly. ‘Modeh Ani’, the first prayer recited in the morning upon awakening (and therefore usually not included in synagogue liturgy) describes YHVH as returning our souls- as if we were dead and have been revived. Each morning we are "born again." Although the ‘born again’ concept is largely a Christian idea, one who returns to faith within Judaism is called a ‘baal teshuvah’ – one who has come to repentance and has returned to Torah and the ways of YHVH. But when we recite the ‘Modeh Ani’ prayer, or the second paragraph of the ‘Amidah’, we should remember how grateful we should be to YHVH that He has awakened us to a new day.

Shabbat Shalom

Friday, November 7, 2008

Parashat Lechlecha - the haftara

Parashat Lech Lechah – the Haftara
Isaiah 40:27 – 41:16
Reading date 8th November 2008 – 10th Cheshvan 5769


Our highlighted Haftara Text
“But You, Israel, my servant,Jacob, whom I have chosen,Seed of Abraham My friendYou whom I drew from the ends of the earthAnd called from its far cornersTo whom I said: You are My servantI chose you, I have not rejected you--Fear not, for I am with you,Be not frightened, for I am your God;I strengthen you and I help you,I uphold you with My victorious right hand”.Isaiah 41:8-10

“It is not so much that The Children of Israel are the Chosen people, but that we are the Choosing people”.

Ten generations after Noah, Abram (his name is changed later in the Parasha to Abraham) hears a call from YHVH: Lech Lechah - Go Forth. Abram together with his wife Sarai, are to leave their "home and native land" and go on a physical and spiritual journey. YHVH makes a covenant with Abraham and blesses him. Abraham will become the father of a great nation (with descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky) and the land of Israel will be given to his offspring. In return, Abraham is to follow YHVH's ways (the details are not specified). Our highlighted verse refers to the Children of Israel as 'seed of Abraham.' Like Abraham was brought from the 'ends of the earth,' The Children of Israel in exile should not fear but have trust that YHVH, the Creator of heaven and earth, would redeem them. By reminding them of YHVH's promise to Abraham, Isaiah is reassuring the Israelites that there is hope.

This is the third (and for a while at least, the last) Haftara taken from the book of Isaiah. There are a total of 14 Haftarot taken from Isaiah, more than any other book from the Prophets. Scholars identify this 'deutero-Isaiah' (from chapters 40 on) as a different author from the Isaiah ben Amotz identified in Isaiah 1:1. The 'Second Isaiah' preached in Babylonia in the sixth century BCE and brought a message of consolation to the Nation of Israel who had been captured and exiled.

The verse in the Haftara makes YHVH's election of Israel explicit: "You are my servant, I chose you, I have not rejected you" (Isaiah 41:9b). The Children of Israel, descendants of Abraham, are described as 'chosen,' just like Abraham is called by YHVH. Why did YHVH choose Abraham? A well known Midrash comes to answer that question and describes the world's first 'iconoclast' (literally: a breaker or destroyer of images), smashing the idols in his father's idol shop. (Contrary to popular belief, this story is not in the Torah!) The verse before, however, alludes to the makers of idols, who busy themselves with their crafts, oblivious to the fact that the whole earth trembles before YHVH:"The woodworker encourages the smith; He who flattens with the hammer [encourages] him who pounds the anvil. He says of the riveting, 'It is good!' and he fixes it with nails that it may not topple" (Isa. 41:7). Perhaps this portion was chosen because of its allusion to idol makers.

The rabbinic imagination (Genesis Rabbah 38:18) portrays Abraham as the world's first monotheist to discover YHVH. Upon closer examination, this doesn't seem to be entirely true. After all, we see Adam talking to YHVH, Cain and Abel making sacrifices to YHVH, and after the birth of Adam's (lesser known) third son, Seth, the Torah tells us, "... It was then that people began to invoke YHVH by name" (Gen. 4:26). YHVH chooses Noah, too, and even makes a covenant through him with all humanity.

What made Abraham special? Did YVH choose him, or was it Abraham who (first) chose YHVH? Did Abraham have some intrinsic spiritual quality? The biblical scholar Speiser has proposed that Abraham was a religious 'genius' just like the scientific genius of a Galileo, or a Newton or a literary genius like Shakespeare. Others suggest that true monotheism didn't emerge until Moses (or even the later prophets). But it was not only Abraham who was chosen. Biblical and rabbinic texts make it clear that the Children of Israel were also chosen by YHVH.
The Torah describes the Children of Israel's relationship with YHVH: "Now, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine, but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Ex. 19:5-6)

Note that being YHVH's treasured possession is conditional: "If we obey YHVH... then we shall be YHVH's treasured people." Why did YHVH choose the Children of Israel? YHVH alone only knows. Some rabbinic texts suggest that the Children of Israel were not even that willing to be YHVH's chosen people. The Midrash (Mechilta Yitro 5) describes YHVH going to other nations with the Torah, and after being rejected, holding Mt. Sinai over the Children of Israel's heads saying, "Will you accept My Torah? (If not, I drop the mountain.)" Only then, with the proverbial 'gun (well in this case- mountain) to their heads' did the Children of Israel all of a sudden think it was a good idea to accept the Torah saying 'Na'aseh v'nishma- we will do and we will hear.'

This Midrash makes it clear that it was YHVH doing the choosing. The Siddur includes several passages such as the traditional blessing before the Torah that still retains this language: ‘asher bakhar banu mi kol ha’amim’, "who has chosen us from among all peoples."
It is understandable that in today's egalitarian and democratic society, the concept of ‘choseness’ is problematic. The Italian humanist commentator Sforno seems to share our modern discomfort, commenting on the Exodus verse above: Although the entire human race is more precious to Me than all other existing creatures, for humanity alone among them represents My intention, as our Sages say, "Precious is humanity who was created in the [divine] image (Pirkei Avot 3:14), still you shall be to Me a treasure beyond all of them.

The Bible certainly supports Sforno's thesis that YHVH cares about all humanity. (YHVH even calls Egypt "My people," and Assyria "My inheritance." Isa.19:25-26). Some of the Children of Israel are embarrassed with this delineation of 'us' and 'them,' of Jew and gentile. It is hard to speak of 'chosess' and avoid chauvinism or feelings of superiority. Historically, in times of persecution, it is understandable that these verses may have been a source of hope and reassurance. However, they may have also been the foundation for religious conceit and false superiority (and subsequent hatred and persecution of the Children of Israel- creating a vicious circle). No wonder they are today viewed with suspicion. In an age of tolerance and equality there seems little room for this doctrine.Chosen doesn't mean 'superior' and the Children of Israel are not like the 'teacher's pet' who get preferential treatment-- quite the contrary. Because YHVH is just, the prophet Amos warns, "Only You have I known of all the families of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for your sins" (3:2). The Children of Israel are obligated to a life of unique responsibility to YHVH. We are to be a 'light to the nations.' The Children of Israel are called a Kingdom of Priests because they introduced the world to our concept of YHVH. As Israel Zangwill was the first to phrase it, maybe it is not so much that Jews are the Chosen people, but that we are the Choosing people. Rabbi Meir Simcha Kagan of Dvinsk teaches that Israel is called YHVH's first born. Every child is treasured by a parent, just as every child is unique. However, it is only the first born who defines the adults as parents for the first time. YHVH loves the Children of Israel and all humanity, just as a parent loves [all] their children. On one level, all humanity is one, yet we should also recognize the uniqueness of every individual and the distinctiveness of every group. It is like comparing animals. Some can swim, some can fly, some even have sonar. Is it chauvinistic to say that bats and dolphins are unique to use echolocation? No animal is 'better' than another. Similarly, every people has made a unique contribution to society, and the Children of Israel no less so. Each group has their own culture and should rejoice in their people's accomplishment. The Children of Israel should therefore be proud of their contribution: to remind the world that there is but YHVH, and that we should do good buy being obedient to Him.

Shabbat Shalom

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Parashat Noah - the Haftara

Parashat Noah – The Haftara
Isaiah 54:1 – 55:5
Reading date: 1st November 2008 – 3rd Cheshvan 5769



Our Highlighted Haftara Text


"Ho, all who are thirsty, Come for water,Even if you have no money;Come, buy food and eat:Buy food without money,Wine and milk without cost.Why do you spend money for what is not bread,Your earnings for what does not satisfy?Give heed to Me, And you shall eat choice foodAnd enjoy the richest viands.Incline you ear and come to Me;Hearken, and you shall be revived.And I will make with you an everlasting covenant,The enduring loyalty promised to David." Isaiah 55:1-3

This week we read the familiar story of Noah and the flood. The Haftara taken from Isaiah, (54:1-55:5) includes an explicit reference to Noah: "For this to me is like the days of Noah: As I swore that the waters of Noah nevermore would flood the earth, so I swear that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you." The story of Noah illustrates that YHVH cannot stay angry forever. After the flood YHVH promised (in fact, made a covenant) to never again flood the world (I guess recent tsunamis and hurricane disasters excepted). Just like YHVH made a covenant with Noah and his descendants, YHVH would restore Israel to Zion. The word 'brit' (covenant) and the expression 'lo... od' (not again) and the root 'tzedek' also appear in both the Torah and Haftara.



Sections from this week's haftara portion are also read on Shabbat Re'eh and Shabbat Ki Tetze.This week's parasha of Noah could well be titled: ‘Breishit, The Sequel’. In many ways, it is the story of Re-Creation. Last week the Torah opened with the world covered in water, and this week, water destroys the world and YHVH starts over. After the flood, as the water recedes, the earth emerges from the water, with echoes of Creation as described in last week's parasha. Even Noah is like a second 'Adam' as all of humanity can be traced to Noah, and Noah is blessed (with a blessing that is usually more associated with Adam): 'to be fruitful and multiply' (Gen. 9:7). But Noah, while parallel to Adam, takes our relationship with YHVH up one level. Noah is the first person that enters into a covenant with YHVH. YHVH sets the rainbow in the sky as a sign of this covenant (Gen. 9:12-13). (Upon seeing a rainbow, the traditional blessing is: "who remembers the covenant [with Noah] is faithful to it and keeps promises"). Noah is still passive; although he builds the ark, we never hear Noah speak. Further, no expectations nor demands are put on Noah for his part of the covenant. Next week, Abraham, will continue this trend with a mutual (ie. two sided) covenant with YHVH, reflecting an even stronger relationship with YHVH. (This concept of covenant is stressed in the Haftara and the relationship between YHVH and Zion is even described as a (healed) marriage, with the husband (YHVH)Needless to say, the motif of water is pretty central to this week's portion. And the Haftara reading continues with the first five verses of chapter 55, where Isaiah compares water and food to YHVH's spiritual teaching.



The Talmud in fact uses this verse from Isaiah as the 'prooftext': Water means nothing but Torah, as it says: "Ho, everyone that thirsts, come for water (Isaiah 55:1)." Baba Kama 82a. Isaiah may have been familiar with the imagery, used by the earlier prophet Amos: “A time is coming, declares Adonai my God, when I will send a famine upon the land; Not a hunger for bread or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Adonai”. (8:11)


Water is a common metaphor for Torah, and the midrash in Song of Songs has a long list of qualities of water that are analogous to Torah. Still, we find it surprising that the Rabbis chose to include this image of Torah as water for the week we read of the flood! Most of the examples they give in Shir HaShirim Rabbah favorably compare the Torah to water. However, they allow that, "Just as someone who does not know how to swim is drowned in water, so is Torah - if one doesn't know how to 'swim' one can drown in it" (Shir HaShirim Rabbah I:19).


There is a profound spiritual message in this. Water, like its opposite, fire, can be a source of life and blessing, or a force of destruction and devastation. The point is that water, like the rest of nature, has no moral value and is neither 'good' nor 'bad.' By comparing Torah to water we are cautioned that while Torah can be a source of wisdom and great spirituality, even it can be misused to be harmful. The Rabbis even compare Torah to a 'drug' (making a pun on the Hebrew word ‘sum’: which spelled one way means 'placed' and spelled another means 'drugs.' Used improperly, even the Torah can be poisonous (Taanit 7a). Everything in life has potential for good and for bad.Like water, events don't have intrinsic meaning; they have the meaning we assign them. This is true of personal tragedy, for example. We've all heard of a family or an individual who has suffered a terrible loss. Sometimes they are poisoned by it, and become depressed or bitter, while other times, the same tragedy has propelled them into becoming the greatest mitzvah and doers of good works. One of humanity’s greatest abilities is not to find meaning in random events, but to make meaning from them. Life can be likened to being dealt with a hand of cards. Some people are dealt a royal flush, or a full house, or a simple pair of twos. We don't have a choice of what we're dealt in life, but we can choose how to play with the hand we're given.


Shabbat Shalom.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Parashat Breishit - the Haftara

Parashat Breishit – The Haftara
Isaiah 42:5 – 32:10
Reading date: 25th October 2008 – 26th Tishrei 5769


THE HAFTARA
Unlike the weekly Torah portion, the Haftara is generally shorter (1-2 chapters long) taken from the Prophets, the second section of the Bible. This section (Nevi'im) includes both the historical books (sometimes referred to as the Early Prophets) Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, as well as the more famous 'literary prophets' Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. There are also twelve 'minor' prophets (minor here does not refer to their importance, but rather the quantity of their preserved writings- usually only a few chapters. The minor prophets were all written on one scroll). Some suggest that the institution of the reading from the prophets comes from the dark ages when the public reading of the Torah was prohibited. Others propose that it was introduced to challenge the Samaritans who claimed that only the Torah was divine, but not the other books. (Surprisingly, the oldest reference is not in Jewish sources, but in the book of Acts, when it is related that Paul spoke to the congregation "after the reading from the Torah and the Prophets").

Our Highlighted Haftara text
“Long enough have I held my peace;I have kept still and held myself back;now, I cry out like a woman in labor;I pant and I gasp”.Isaiah 42:14

“What kind of relationship do we want to have with YHVH in the coming year”?
Each week, in addition to the Torah portion, we will be looking at the Haftara portions, and seeing what connections and insight we can find.

This week we begin the Torah cycle again starting with Gen. 1:1, and the Torah opens with the description of the creation of the cosmos and of humanity. The Haftara taken from Isaiah, (42:5-43:11) begins: "Thus says the Eternal YHVH, the One who created heavens and stretched them out, who made the earth and all that grows in it, who gives breath to its people and spiritual to all who walk on it." The connection is clear. In both passages, YHVH is the Creator of heaven and earth. YHVH is further described as the creator and maker of Israel (43:1). The Haftara also uses images of light and darkness to describe liberation from exile.

Our highlighted verse describes YHVH as a woman in labor. K.I.Parr suggests that the prophet transforms the image of the exaggerated breaths of a birthing mother (think Lamaze) into the forceful breath of YHVH that 'hovers over the water' and that is breathed into humans.
Scholars identify this 'deutero-Isaiah' (from chapters 40 on) as a different author from the Isaiah ben Amotz identified in Isaiah 1:1. The 'Second Isaiah' preached in Babylonia in the sixth century BCE and brought a message of consolation to Israelites who had been captured and exiled.

In the ancient world, since women gave birth, the female element was often associated with creation. (The waters of creation can be imagined as the world's amniotic fluid.) However, in our Parasha YHVH is not described as a birthing mother. The Haftara, describing YHVH's special, covenantal relationship to Israel, pictures YHVH as ready to battle Israel's enemies. But juxtaposed to verse 13, "The Eternal goes out like a warrior..." Isaiah uses a surprising image. YHVH is described as a woman in labor! This use of female imagery is quite distinctive to Isaiah. Women were (and, in some settings, still) excluded from full participation in religious cultic life. Mayer Gruber suggests that this and the typically prophetic description of YHVH as husband and Israel as wife may have contributed to women's feeling of marginalization and their attraction to cults where femaleness existed as a positive and Divine value. He writes, "Perhaps, as a result of this realization, our prophet deliberately made use of both masculine and feminine similes for YHVH."

With the tunes and liturgy of the High Holy Days still reverberating in our ears, YHVH is pictured as father and king: ‘Avinu, Malkeinu’. Various attempts have been made to make this image less male, though I don't find Our Mother, Our Queen a particularly effective solution. Some ‘mahzorim’ (prayerbooks) leave the Hebrew ‘Avinu, Malkeinu’ un-translated and simply written in English letters.

But the High Holy Day liturgy is full of metaphors besides father and king. One of my favorite passages that is sung quite joyously is: ‘Ki Anu Amecha v'ata Malkeinu’.
For we are Your People and You are our God; We are Your children and You are our Father. We are Your servants, and You are our Sovereign.

Even with gender neutral translation, the images remain all pretty hierarchical. The prayer continues with language that would have resonated for the ancient Israelite farmer: For we are your sheep and You are our Shepherd, we are Your vineyard and You are our keeper, we are Your treasure and You are our kin. These images of YHVH as shepherd and vineyard keeper feel closer and warmer, even though we are still passive.

Shabbat Shalom.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Parashat Vezot Habracha

Parasha: Vezot Habracha – Deuteronomy 33:1 – 34:12
Haftara: Joshua 1:1 - 18
Reading Date: 21th October 2008 – 22th Tishrei 5769


V'zot Ha'bracha is a classic example of a Parasha that almost everyone knows by heart, but almost no one understands. That's because it is read numerous times, but its words are very difficult to translate. This week we try to 'break ice' by undertaking a basic analysis of the Parasha’s structure and theme.
Before we begin our study of what the "brachot" [blessings] are all about, let's begin with the two obvious problems that one encounters when studying their order. First of all, one tribe (Shimon) appears to be missing, i.e. his tribe is not even mentioned within Moses’ blessings. Secondly, the order of these blessings (tribe by tribe) proceeds in what appears to be a rather random sequence.

To better appreciate these two problems, the following table lists the tribes according to their order in V'zot Ha'bracha. To accentuate the apparent lack of sequence in this list, next to each "shevet" [tribe] is noted their respective matriarch and relative position according to birth.



* Note that the tribe of Shimon is missing!

Carefully study this list. Although the tribes are not listed according to age or common matriarch, they do clearly divide between the children of Jacob's wives (Rachel & Leah) and those of the maidservants (Bilhah & Zilpah). Within these two groups, however, there seems to be little logic in the progression.
For example, although it's pretty clear why Reuven is first, as he is the oldest, why does Moses skip to Judah? Likewise, why does Benjamin precede his older brother Joseph, and why do the children of Rachel 'interrupt' Moses’ blessings to the children of Leah?
Finally, why does Zevulun precede Yissachar, why does Gad precede Dan, and why do the children of Bilhah 'interrupt' the children of Zilpah?
Even in Parashat Bamidbar, where we find the tribes listed in various orders as they prepare to organize the camp around the Mishkan, we find no list that is even slightly similar to the order of the blessings in ‘vezot ha'bracha’. In summary, although the list is clearly not altogether random, it doesn't appear to follow any definite order, either. In the following study, we attempt to identify the underlying rationale behind the sequence of Moses’ presentation. To that end, we must first consider the nature and purpose of these blessings.

Vezot Ha'bracha is not the first time in Torah where we find that each tribe receives a blessing. Recall that back in Parshat Vayechi, Jacob blesses each tribe before his death. Unlike Moses, however, Jacob addresses his children in almost exact age order: Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Judah, Zevulun & Yissachar [note slight deviation], Dan (first born of Bilhah), Gad (first born of Zilpah), Asher, and Naftali. [The only problem, of course, is that Zevulun precedes his older brother Yissachar (for an explanation, see Seforno Br. 49:13, based on Midrash Tanchuma Vayechi 11.). Although Gad & Asher precede Naftali, they may very well have been born first, depending on how one understands Genesis 30:5-10.]
The reason why Jacob blesses his children in 'age order' is quite simple. Jacob (prior to his death) blesses each son according to his individual potential, as exhibited and manifest throughout each respective son's life. Therefore, whereas these blessings relate to personal destiny, it is only reasonable that they follow (more or less) the order of the sons' births. Moses, by contrast, is not the 'dying father' of twelve sons. He is rather the 'departing leader' of twelve tribes to whom he has given the Torah and who are about to conquer and occupy the Land of Israel. As we would expect, his blessings accurately reflect the setting and circumstances in which they are administered. As we will see, each blessing relates in one form or another to either:
* the forthcoming military conquest of the land, * the nature of the specific "nachala" (territory apportioned to that tribe), or* a leadership function charged upon that tribe.
We will first demonstrate that this is indeed the case, and then we will be able to answer our original questions concerning the order of the tribes' presentation.

THE 'GIST' OF THE BLESSINGS
First, let's quickly review the gist of each blessing. Notice that almost every blessing relates to either the defining characteristic of its tribe's "nachala" or the tribe's role in the imminent conquest of the land.

REUVEN
"Let Reuven live and not die, and let his numbers be counted." (33:6)
Rashi explains that this blessing addresses Moses' concern that Reuven may not receive any "nachala" at all! Considering that Jacob basically cursed Reuven instead of blessing him (on account of his sin with Bilhah), Reuven may have lost his right to a "nachala," just as he forfeited his claim to the "bechora" (birthright). Additionally, the tribe of Reuven had already 'set up camp' OUTSIDE the biblical borders of Eretz Canaan (in Transjordan), another reason to doubt whether Reuven would taken its place as an 'official' tribe of Israel. As Rashi explains, Moses’ blessing counters this fear and reassures Reuven that he will remain 'alive,' an integral part of the "nachala" of the Nation of Israel.Chizkuni, however, offers a 'military' explanation for Reuven's blessing. Since the tribe of Reuven had promised to fight as the "chalutz" [the front line attack force - see Numbers 32:20-32] in the conquest of the Land of Israel, Moses confers upon them a special blessing for protection in battle. He prays on their behalf that their 'number' ["mispar"] - population - should remain the same after battle as it was beforehand. [This approach also appears in the commentary of Rabbenu Yosef Bechor Shor.]

JUDAH
"Hear YHVH the [battle] cry of Judah and help him lead his people. Make his hands strong for him, and help him against his enemies." (33:7)
[See Rashi/Ibn Ezra]Clearly, the blessing to Judah relates to his military leadership, as Moses foresees that the soldiers of the tribe of Judah will be particularly enthusiastic and diligent in the conquest of their portion in the Land (see Joshua 14 Judges 1).

LEVI
"[After a short reference to Aaron, the tribal leader and Cohen Gadol]... They shall teach Your laws to Jacob and Your instructions to Israel; they shall offer KTORET – incense ... and whole- offerings [OLOT] on the MIZBAYACH. YHVH should bless his CHAYIL - forces and favor his undertakings. Help him smite the loins of those who rise against him, and don't allow his enemies to succeed." (33:8-11)
The focal point of Levi's blessing is his responsibility to provide spiritual leadership, to teach YHVH’s laws and officiate in His Temple. Interestingly, however, even this function is presented in 'military' jargon ["chayalo" in 33:11]. [Note also 33:9, an apparent reference to the sons of Levi's preparedness to prosecute and execute those who sinned at Chet Ha'egel – the golden calf (see Rashi 33:9 and Exodus 32:26-29). Indeed, their conduct at that point was of a "military" nature.]
Whereas all other tribes earned a "nachala," a specific, designated portion of land, the tribe of Levi was scattered among the various tribes in order to serve as teachers throughout the country (note Deuteronomy 18:1-2, "Hashem hu nachlatam"!). Understandably, then, their blessing relates to their leadership role, rather than their allocated portion in the land.

BENJAMIN
"Beloved to YHVH, He shall allow His SHCHINA to dwell securely within him. He constantly protects [surrounds] him, as He rests between his shoulders." (33:12)
This blessing focuses on the special quality of Binyamin's "nachala," its designation to house the Bet Ha'Mikdash – Temple - in Jerusalem.

JOSEPH [Ephraim & Menashe]
"God's blessing is given to his land, with the bounty of dew from heaven... with the bounty of the earth in its fullness... His 'horns' are like those of a wild ox, with them he gores other nations... these are the 'tens of thousands' of Ephraim and these are the 'thousands' of Menashe." (see 33:13-17)
The precise translation of this blessing is somewhat elusive, but it clearly speaks of the bountiful nature of the "nachala" apportioned to Joseph. It appears that Joseph will bear the responsibility of forming the backbone of Israel's agrarian economy (as was Joseph’s job in Egypt). The final verse alludes to Joseph’s military competence that will grant him victory over enemy nations. Specifically, Rashi understands the final verse as a reference to the leadership of Joshua - a descendant of Ephraim - who led the Children of Israel in their conquest of Eretz Canaan.

ZEVULUN & YISSACHAR
"Rejoice Zevulun as you go out [to war; compare with Exodus 27:17] and Yissachar in your tents. [Their prosperity will catalyze] a call to other nations to ascend YHVH's mountain where they will offer proper sacrifices, for they draw from the riches of the sea and from the hidden hoards of the sand." (33:18)
The opening sentence may refer to Zevulun's military prowess, but the conclusion of the verse clearly relates to the importance of his "nachala." His territory was situated along the sea [the coast from Caesarea to the Acco/Haifa bay area], thus forming Israel's gateway to foreign trade and, consequently, economic relations with other nations. Moshe anticipates that these business alliances will lead to the recognition on the part of those nations of the God of Israel - the primary long-term goal of the Nation of Israel (see Deuteronomy 4:5-8).
The "nachala" of Yissachar, too, facilitates international trade (and influence), as it lies in the Jezreel valley, at the heart of the VIA MARIS - the ancient trade route connecting Egypt with Mesopotamia. The Rashbam (Genesis 49:14) understands the "tents" of Yissachar as a reference to this tribe's involvement in agriculture, while Rabbi Yosef Bechor Shor (here) associates Yissachar's tents with the cattle industry. All this, too, relates directly to Yissachar's portion: the fertile soil of the Jezreel valley renders it an ideal location for both agriculture and livestock breeding.

GAD
"Blessed be He who enlarges [the "nachala" of] Gad. He is poised like a lion to tear off arm and scalp [i.e. military strength]. He chose for himself the best ['nachala']..." (33:20-21)
[The rest of the verse is very difficult, but most likely refers to his nachala as the chosen spot for Moshe's burial site - see Rashi.]Once again, Moshe's blessing focuses on the unique nature of the given tribe's "nachala", Gads initiative to widen his inheritance in Transjordan, as well as their military capabilities.

DAN
"Dan is like a lion's whelp that leaps from the Bashan." (33:22)
Dan's blessing obviously relates to their military might and the location of their "nachala" - at the western slopes of the Golan Heights [Bashan is the biblical name for the Golan - see Deuteronomy 3:8-10], today the area of Tel Dan and Kiryat Shmona in the Chula valley of the Upper Galilee. Anyone who has been on a tour to the Golan, and visited the old Syrian bunkers that overlooked the Chula valley and the area of Tel Dan and Kiryat Shemona, can easily understand how the phrase "yezanek min ha'Bashan" – to throttle from the Bashan, describes the nachala of Dan.
Even though Deuteronomy 4:43 indicates that the Golan region itself was included in Menashe's nachala, not Dan's, the Targum here explains, our verse means that Dan lived near the Bashan, and the land in his region was watered by the streams flowing down from the Bashan. Note as well that Ibn Ezra (and others) explain Moses' blessing as having nothing to do with Dan's actual portion, rather the tribe's military strength. He interprets "yezanek min habashan" as modifying the lion to whom Dan is compared, rather than the tribe of Dan itself.]
Additionally, Rashi explains the lion metaphor as a reference to Dan's location on the border, standing guard against enemy intrusion. [Very prophetic!]

NAFTALI
"Naftali should be satiated [for his "nachala"] is full of YHVH's blessing, to the west and south (of his brother Dan) he shall/must conquer his land."
Again, Moses' blessing relates to the agricultural potential of this "nachala" and the conquest of that portion. Naftali's nachala is situated in the fertile and beautiful region of the Upper Galilee, to the west and south of Tel Dan (including Tzfat & Mount Meron).

ASHER
"May Asher be the most blessed of sons, may he be the favorite of his brothers and may he dip his foot in oil. Iron and copper are your door-bolts, and your security should last for all your days." (33:24)
These verses require further explanation, but what is clear is that they relate to two unique characteristics of Asher's "nachala": its abundance of olive trees (and hence olive oil) and its location on Israel's northern border. [See Ramban's interpretation, that Asher's portion guards the country's northern border (and thus serves as an "iron lock" securing the country).

SUMMARY
As we review all these blessings, it becomes clear that they all focus on the nature of each "nachala" and the conquest of the land. In fact, almost all the commentators, especially Ibn Ezra, Chizkuni, and Seforno (in addition to Rashi and Ramban), relate to this aspect of the "nachalot" throughout their interpretation of these verses.Hence we conclude that Moses, aware of the military capabilities of each tribe and the anticipated geographic division of the land, blesses each tribe to encourage them to achieve their fullest potential in the forthcoming conquest of Eretz Canaan.Based on this understanding of the basic purpose behind these blessings, we can return to our original question and make some sense out of the seemingly random order of their presentation.

'INHERIT' ORDER
As you have probably guessed by now, since the blessings focus on the "nachalot," it stands to reason that the division of the Land of Israel among the tribes serves as the basis of the sequence of presentation in this parasha. Let's see how it works. Moses begins his blessings with Reuven. He does so not because Reuven is the oldest, but because he is the first tribe to take his "nachala," as recorded in Numbers Ch.32 (see also Deuteronomy 3:16-19).Next, we would expect to find Gad, who joined Reuven in their request to take their "nachala" in Transjordan. However, there is one important, 'overriding' rule in the blessings - that the tribes from Jacob’s wives (Leah & Rachel) take precedence over the tribes from the maidservants (Bilhah & Zilpah).[This principle explains why Gad later precedes Dan, even though Dan is older (and the head of a "machaneh"!). Gad is blessed first because he took his "nachala" first.]This also helps clarify the content of Reuven's blessing. Moses must emphasize that EVEN THOUGH Reuven's "nachala" lies outside the borders of Eretz Canaan, they retain their status as an 'official' tribe as explained earlier.

JUDAH FIRST
Once we skip Gad, Reuven is followed by Judah - the first of the tribes to successfully conquer his portion of land, as detailed both in Sefer Yehoshua (chapters 14->15) and in Sefer Shoftim (1:1-15). This also explains why Yehuda's blessing focuses on his military power.

A 'SOLUTION' FOR SHIMON
Once Moses begins with Judah's portion, the most southern region of Eretz Canaan, he now works his way 'up north,' through Benjamin to Ephraim and Menashe. As we will show, this principle will explain the order of the remaining blessing.
First of all, this explains why Benjamin precedes Joseph, for his nachala is located north of Judah, but south of Ephraim. This also may provide us with a clue as to why there is no blessing for Shimon. Considering that Shimon's "nachala" is later included within the borders of Judah (see Joshua 19:1 & 19:9!), one could conclude that Shimon basically never received their own nachala (a fulfillment of Yaakov's 'blessing' to Shimon in Genesis 48:5-7).
Furthermore, in the aftermath of "chet bnot moav" – the sin of the sons of Moab - their numbers were severely reduced (see Numbers 26:14, compare 1:23!), hence we can conclude that their army may not have played a major role in the conquest of the land as well.[Note Rashi on 33:7 (towards the end), where he quotes a Midrash Tehilim that the blessing to Shimon is actually 'included' within the blessing to Judah: "shma YHVH" contains the first letters of Shimon's name, "shin.mem.ayin." In fact, the same wording is used when Shimon is first named by his mother: "ki SHAMA HASHEM ki snuah anochi" (see Genesis 29:33!).]

Hag Sameach

Shabbat - Hol haMoed Sukkot

Shabbat Chol haMoed Sukkot
Reading Date: 18th October 2008 – 19th Tishrei 5769


On Shabbat Chol HaMoed (both Sukkot and Pesach) we deviate from the normal Torah reading cycle and read a portion from the Book of Shemot - Exodus. This section (33:12-34:26) contains a variety of different topics, several of which are quintessential principles of our faith. YHVH reveals His Thirteen Attributes of Mercy amidst the backdrop of Moshe's request that YHVH bring His presence closer. In this portion, we also receive the commandment not to cook a goat in its mother's milk, (the verse from which the laws of Kashrut are derived.) One might ask why the Attributes are placed at this point in the Torah and also why we read them during Chol HaMoed of Sukkot and Pesach.

In essence, the text of these Thirteen Attributes is a call to arouse YHVH's compassion for His chosen nation, the Children of Israel. It is these qualities of mercy that prevented YHVH from destroying all of the Children of Israel after the incident of the Golden Calf. Appropriately, they are revealed to Moshe during his second ascent of Mount Sinai so that from that point onward, he would have the key to preventing a national disaster similar to the great sin committed just a short time ago. This cry beseeching YHVH's forgiveness is an important element of the prayer during the Yamim Noraim - High Holy Days.

At this time of judgment and renewal at the onset of the new year, we must remember that we are constantly dependent on YHVH's mercy and His interaction in the world. It is so easy to forget that Chol HaMoed, like the Yamim Tovim serving as its bookends, is also a time permeated with holiness. Without YHVH's mercy, we would not even have the opportunity to engage in our everyday activities. This Chol HaMoed Torah reading and these Thirteen Attributes of Mercy come to remind us that we are constantly at YHVH's disposal and that we must continually strive to improve ourselves so that we may always merit His mercy.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Parashat Ha'azinu

Parasha: Ha’azinu – Deuteronomy 32:1 - 52
Haftara: 2Samuel 22:1 – 22:51
Reading Date: 11th October 2008 – 12th Tishrei 5769


The greater part of the Torah reading of Haazinu ("Listen In") consists of a 70-line "song"
Calling heaven and earth as witnesses[1], Moses exhorts the people to "Remember the days of old[2] / Consider the years of many generations / Ask your father, and he will recount it to you / Your elders, and they will tell you" how YHVH "found them in a desert land," made them a people, chose them as His own, and bequeathed them a bountiful land.
The Song also warns against the pitfalls of plenty -- "Yeshurun[3] grew fat and kicked / You have grown fat, thick and rotund / He forsook YHVH who made him / And spurned the Rock of his salvation" -- and the terrible calamities that would result, which Moses describes as YHVH "hiding His face [4]." Yet in the end, he promises, YHVH will avenge the blood of His servants and be reconciled with His people and land.
The Parasha concludes with YHVH's instruction to Moses to ascend the summit of Mount Nebo, from which he will behold the Promised Land before dying on the mountain. "For you shall see the land opposite you; but you shall not go there, into the land which I give to the children of Israel."
I will end with the true life account of Tzippora Unger[5]. It is the story of her struggle with her identity as a Jew. I think that there are many within the Roots movement that can identify with her story.

Shabbat Shalom


[1] Deut. 32:5
His people Israel, on the contrary, had acted corruptly towards Him. The subject of “acted corruptly” is the rebellious generation of the people but before this subject there is introduced parenthetically, and in apposition, “not his children, but their spot.” Spot (mum) is used here in a moral sense, as in Prov. 9:7; Job 11:15; Job 31:7, equivalent to stain. The rebellious and ungodly were not children of YHVH, but a stain upon them. If these words had stood after the actual subject, instead of before them, they would have presented no difficulty. This verse is the original of the expression, “children that are corrupters,” in Isa. 1:4. (Keil & Dilitzsch)

[2] Deut.32:7
“Remember the days of old, consider the years of the past generations: ask thy father, that he may make known to thee; thine old men, that they may tell it to thee!” With these words Moses summons the people to reflect upon what YHVH had done to them. The days of old (עֹולָם), and years of generation and generation, i.e., years through which one generation after another had lived, are the times of the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, including the pre-Mosaic times, and also the immediate post-Mosaic, when Israel had entered into the possession of Canaan. These times are described by Moses as a far distant past, because he transported himself in spirit to the “latter days” (Deut.31:29), when the nation would have fallen away from YHVH, and would have been forsaken and punished by YHVH in consequence. “Days of eternity” are times which lie an eternity behind the speaker, not necessarily, however, before all time, but simply at a period very far removed from the present, and of which even the fathers and old men could only relate what had been handed down by tradition to them.

[3] YESHURUN – The name given to Israel by YHVH in the time that they are in His perfect will. The name means ‘righteous’ in its simplest form. The Septuagint implies ‘beloved one’ as an explanation.
Yeshurun-The Upright One (Spouse)
In the Re-gathering of the Tribes of Israel, they will be called Yeshurun, meaning “upright or straight”. The nations will acknowledge the greatness of Israel and Ya’akov/Israel will be metamorphosed into Yeshurun.
The wicked ways of Ya’akov will become straight when Messiah returns and they are resurrected and stand upright in His image
and likeness.

Isaiah 44:2 This is what YHVH, who made you, and formed you from the womb, Who will help you says: "Don't
be afraid, Ya’akov my servant; and you, Yeshurun, whom I have chosen.
Deut 33:4-5: Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance for the assembly of Ya’akov. He was king in Yeshurun, When
the heads of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together. [Showing Moshe as a type of Messiah at the
regathering of the tribes of Israel]

Song of Songs 6:3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine. He browses among the lilies.
The name, Yeshurun, is the final manifestation of the blessing given by Yitzchak to Ya’akov. This final tikkun olam (the final redemption and transformation of mankind must await the return of Messiah.

Because Ya’akov received the blessing and became known as Israel, that consciousness will take precedence over physical and draw the Light of Messiah into this world. In the resurrection Israel will fulfill its destiny to become Yeshurun, the Upright One, and the Beloved of YHVH.
[4] Darkness. There different types of darkness. There is darkness that is beautiful, darkness that is transparent, darkness that is liberating, darkness that is necessary, darkness that is creative, darkness that is challenging, darkness that is horrifying, darkness that is illuminating and the darkness that is the space for Him to fill.
[5] Growing up in the Sixties and the Seventies as an American Jew was a confusing experience, to say the least. We were the "baby-boomers," the post-war generation who had known no Depression, educated to meet the challenges of the space age, the generation which--it was assumed--would continue the spiral upwards in material success. In this we were completely American.
The Jewish part was the source of the confusion. Yes, we should be completely assimilated into our public schools. But go to Hebrew School afterwards. We were taught to get along with everyone--but don't date non-Jews.
At home, everyone ate chicken soup on Friday night, but the chicken wasn't always from a kosher butcher. And everyone ate pizza out. If you "kept kosher" you just told them to hold the pepperoni.
This nebulous Jewish identity had somehow been enough for our parents' generation. They still remembered a parent or grandparent who had had stronger ties to Judaism, memories of anti-Semitism which had left their mark, a feeling of the "old neighborhood" which they had left for the better part of town and then suburbia. Jewish food was a piece of their heritage, so chicken soup made from non-kosher chicken was still comforting to them if there was enough schmaltz floating at the top.
But mine was the generation that scoffed at schmaltz. For the most part, my peers have rejected the ersatz Jewishness of our parents. Many have rejected their own Jewishness as a result. Others are now in Israel, consoling themselves by practicing secularism among other Jews. And the lucky ones have rediscovered the source of their parents' emotions, the kashrut that had been rendered into mere schmaltz, and have reversed the process.
I count myself among the lucky ones.
The message I received growing up at home was somewhat schizophrenic. I was expected to act like everyone else but to feel Jewish. My home was relatively observant. We kept kosher. We went to Hebrew School. We went to Temple every Friday night and Saturday morning. We were discouraged from bringing non-Jewish friends home. My mother lit candles every Friday night at six oclock--summer and winter.
My father believed in G-d and wanted us to believe in Him too. But if his faith was purer because it lacked intellectual understanding, it was all the poorer in its transmissibility to his children.
I knew that I was different because I was Jewish. My parents never quite made it to the suburbs so by the early sixties we were in a gentile neighborhood by virtue of social immobility. I read a lot and wanted to read about Jewish things. But there were no Jewish books in the local branch of the public library. My first attempt at writing came at the age of nine; I tried to write a Jewish version of the Bobbsey Twins. I only wrote two pages and then I had to quit. A book has to have action; and while I knew that the Jewish Bobbseys would feel differently than the originals, I didn't quite know how they would act differently.
When the sixties reached their peak, I was still in high school. The initial message of the sixties wasn't bad: one should find absolute truths and guide one's life by them. That message lasted about ten minutes. Then it became formulated into generalities like peace, love, and brotherhood. The final equation looked like this: peace = burning down the campus; love = indiscriminate distribution of one's bodily favors; brotherhood = rejection of established morality/religion as a divisive factor.
The social law established in the sixties was: Thou shalt not follow any rules.
The intellectual result of the sixties milieu was not nearly so direct nor easy to see through. On the one hand, intellectuals pursued the goal of finding the absolute truths of social science. On the other hand, one could prove himself only by proving that someone else's absolute truths were false. Academic success required total arrogance and the ability to convince others that the arrogance was justified. Belief in anything higher than ones own intellectual ability was a badge of shame and dishonor. Finding a reason to disagree with anything and everything was the ultimate sign of brilliance.
As I entered college in 1973 I planned on being intellectually successful. But world events collided with my plans, and the feelings that I had never understood took over.
I had (as had everyone) been influenced by the sixties. I knew my parents did not possess absolute truths and therefore I had to find my own way--with all the arrogance, stubbornness, and obnoxiousness of my generation.
Jewish youth had produced its own particular questions. There had been a few heroes presented to us. Meir Kahane with his shout of "Never Again!" led us to recognize that we were part of a people. Elie Wiesel was my personal choice. While his books never advised Jews to act differently, they were based on the assumption that the Jewish experience had made Jews into a people who felt differently, who asked different types of questions, whose natural state was to be somewhat alienated from the general world.
Acting on those feelings, I dropped out of college in my first semester and went to Israel to be a kibbutz volunteer in wartime. Ten thousand American kids went that year, most against the wishes of their parents who thought such Jewish identification to be a bit extreme. And why? Because we knew that our people were in trouble and we chose to be with them. Ahavat Yisrael ("love of a fellow Jew") drove us, although we boned up on Zionist philosophy to claim a rational basis to our actions.
Our parents still identified more strongly with America than with other Jews. Their hopes were pinned on their children achieving success professionally and financially, and they were all uneasy about the prospect that we might just decide to stay in Israel. Jewish peoplehood was not a big deal to them; they felt chicken soup should be enough.
So I spent six months on a communist kibbutz in the Negev as an act of Jewish identification. I had thought that Israel would be the place where I would feel relaxed as a Jew, but instead found that the ideology of the kibbutz was to rid the Jew of any feelings of being different. If there are no gentiles to make you feel alienated then you can feel comfortable acting like a gentile. I didn't act Jewish on the kibbutz; I acted less Jewish than I had in America.
So it was with a secret sense of relief that I went home to my angry parents, and back to school. I felt Jewish--but wished I could feel better about it.
I decided to major in History. Somehow, I felt that by understanding the past I could understand where I stood in the world.
The Holocaust is the obsession of any self-respecting Jewish history buff and I was no exception. But Jewish history in the University curriculum rejects a priori the reality of Judaism. All topics of study are based upon the assumption that the best thing a Jew can do is escape from Torah.
In the pursuit of the Jewish past, I immersed myself in the study of the Haskalah movement, the Enlightenment as pursued by Jews. The irony of it was that the individuals and movements I studied were those that advocated the rejection of Judaism, while I was trying to find it.
There were Torah-observant Jews around. There was a Chabad House; I knew the rabbis and some of my friends went there. But my academic training indoctrinated me to believe that anybody who could keep the laws of a Medieval religion in the twentieth century had to be intellectually deficient or crazy or both. I would have nothing to do with them.
So I devoted myself to the writings of Jews who dealt with modernity: atheists, reformists, humanists, communists, etc. Each admitted that he was a Jew, but felt that Jews had to be something else in the modern world. And of course I studied anti-Semitism. It is paradoxical that I somehow thought I could come to grips with my own identity by wading through the thoughts of intellectuals (some of them Jewish) who had devised new and different ways to revile my great-grandparents.
Most of these courses were offered under the heading: "Judaic Studies." One class in particular shook me to the core. It was a seminar on German-Jewish intellectuals, taught by two very eminent Jewish professors who had themselves escaped Germany in the thirties.
It was toward the end of the semester that we read Freud's Moses and Monotheism. For those who have had the privilege of avoiding this polemic, it theorizes that the Jewish people originated as a low-class rabble led by an incestuous Egyptian prince.
Something snapped in me. Yes, I was a rationalist. Yes, I believed in evolution and the A scroll and the J scroll and all that stuff anthropologists said about the Bible. But this was too much. I knew in the pit of my stomach that my ancestors had not suffered for two thousand years because they had been deluded by an egocentric Egyptian con artist.
"Freud went too far," I said through clenched teeth. The student near me, a German-born son of a Nazi, smiled. We had argued all semester and now he had me. "What's the matter?" he sneered. "What are you? A FUNDAMENTALIST!"
There it was. The dreaded word of the intellectual world. Everyone literally gasped in horror. It meant you believed there might actually be something higher than the human mind, even higher than the mind of a professor. If I was a fundamentalist then I was an academic heretic.
I took a deep breath. I said nothing. I didn't owe him an explanation. This son of a Nazi had, quite possibly, in his German accent, inadvertently taught me a truth. If he was the opposite of a fundamentalist, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to be.
Mine was the generation that hungered for Jewishness, but couldn't believe in G-d. I was taught to pray to Him, but was also taught that the entire Torah had been written by imaginative men who invented miracles and an afterworld to make people behave better. So if the rabbis we grew up with didn't believe that G-d had ever really talked to anybody, why should we believe He existed at all?
Something inside of me began to loosen up. I began to realize that people who kept the mitzvot of the Torah were not necessarily stupid. And just maybe they weren't crazy.
I had come to what was one of the most humbling realizations of my life.
It was two and a half years before I decided to make a firm commitment to Torah Judaism. Somewhere along the way, I began to suspect that when things didn't go right in my life it was because I was doing something wrong. And the more I began to associate with Torah-observant Jews, the more I liked the lifestyle. It had order. It made sense. It was better than anybody else's lifestyle.
So I made a sociological decision to adopt the lifestyle and beliefs of my ancestors. I then decided to go and study at Bais Chana Women's Institute in Minnesota so that I could really fit in.
The first few days were wonderful. The classes were interesting, the company was good, the food was great. Then it hit me. This was not a sociological exercise. After telling myself for years that I was looking for truth, I came face to face with it.
There really was a Creator of the Universe who expected us to behave in a certain way. And I had spent the last 23 years not behaving that way. I couldn't choose to change my lifestyle. I had to change.
I cried.
I was horrified.
I survived.
Because despite the blow to my ego when I realized that I was not my own clever creator, that the entire value of my intellectual training lay in my rejection of it, it was a relief.
I wasn't schizophrenic--my education was. America has raised three generations of Jews to feel like Jews--but to think and act like gentiles. So when popular novelists and filmmakers portray Jews as neurotics, they aren't really distorting the picture; they're telling the embarrassing truth: the secular Jewish identity promotes schizophrenia.
When one Jew gets another to do something Jewish, to do a mitzvah, he's promoting mental health.
And that, Dr. Freud, is a fundamental truth.